Fetish

__ Fetish __

__ Super Compression __
On the Net, smaller is better. That's why the Internet ViewCam records video and sound in MPEG-4 format, one-third the size of old MPEG-1. And at less than 5.2 ounces and 3.5 inches square, the camera itself is ultracompressed. The video plays in a small window on your computer, and an hour's worth fits onto one 32-Mbyte card. A rotating lens shoots from any angle, so someone's concealed ViewCam may be taping you now - and anything you do might be all over the Net by tomorrow. Internet ViewCam VN-EZ1U: $699. Sharp Electronics: +1 (201) 529 8200, www.sharpelectronics.com.

__ Unmistakable Signals __
For all the advantages of HDTV, its signal is generally more fragile than analog NTSC. Reflections that conventionally cause ghosting can make HDTV reception drop out completely. Terk Technologies has responded with the eye-catching TV60HD antenna: Steel shielding protects broadcast signals from interference, while a helical design lets the directional outdoor antenna receive both UHF and VHF, despite its relatively slender profile. To make things even clearer, a preamplifier boosts the signal to the television. TV60HD: $399.95. Terk Technologies: +1 (516) 543 1900, www.terk.com.

__ Multiple Personality __
Call it a modem/speakerphone or a fax/answering machine - the SmartMemory 56000 defies categorization. Once it's connected to your PC and phone line, the device works as a paperless fax, a 56K modem, a digital answering machine, and a speakerphone, all controlled by a handheld remote. It calls or pages when messages, faxes, and emails arrive, and the busy traveler can retrieve them all - even the faxes - from anywhere. You can store anything the Smart Memory 56000 receives on removable SmartMedia cards (enlarged near left), so you can save your friends' late-night ramblings for posterity. SmartMemory 56000: $179. Olitec: (800) 221 2882, +1 (510) 649 4924, www.olitec.com.

__ Mixing Colors __
Serious audiophiles insist on neutral colors, but Pioneer's musiQube minisystem doesn't take music so seriously. Aimed at teens, the flexible bookshelf stereo has a remote control, plays CDs and radio, and wakes you up in time for morning classes. Connect the optional MiniDisc recorder/player and you can mix SoundScapes into the music, adding crashing waves or chirping crickets to your hip hop - just like the kids in Japan do. musiQube with MiniDisc: $600. Pioneer Electronics: +1 (213) 746 6337, www.pioneerelectronics.com.

__ The Promised LAN __
3Com can finally unchain you from your desk. The AirConnect wireless LAN runs faster than Ethernet and keeps you connected anywhere on-site. To unwire a building, you install Access Point "bricks" on the ceiling every 250 feet. Each one supports up to 64 devices equipped with wireless PC cards. AirConnect uses the IEEE's long-awaited 802.11 standard, so it promises to work with future products and systems. And think how much room you'll have for those desktop family photos. AirConnect: approximately $2,500 for three PC cards and one Access Point. 3Com: +1 (408) 764 5000, www.3com.com.

__ Thin But Healthy __
Don't misjudge the SuperSlim Pro. At 3.5 pounds and 1 inch thick, it's just a wisp of a thing, but few other ultralight notebooks use a Pentium II, and its XGA display shows more detail and drives beautiful presentations. It also has more ways to interface than a full-size laptop: a firewire port to move large sound files and still images, fast Ethernet, a V.90 modem, and a slot for Sony's own Memory Stick flash ROM. This little device is one of the smartest around. Vaio Z505SX SuperSlim Pro: $2,999. Sony Electronics: (888) 315 7669, www.sony.com/pc.

__ For Amusement Only __
The problem with old-fashioned pinball is that the targets don't explode when you hit them. How unsatisfying! Pinball 2000 adds videogame mayhem to authentic pinball action. Far-out animations project onto the glass in back, creating an unworldly mix of physical and virtual realities. The machine itself is a pinball "platform" that converts to different games in minutes. In the first Pinball 2000 game, Revenge From Mars, hostile Martians surround an open playing field. Pinball 2000 with Revenge From Mars: $4,300. Williams Electronics Games: +1 (773) 961 1000, www.pinball2000.com.

__ Soapbox __
Do people walk right by you and ignore your dire warnings? Maybe you just aren't loud enough. Suitable for both street-corner rants and boardroom earnings presentations, Fender's Passport P-150 packs a public-address system into a 28-pound suitcase. The two 75-watt speakers draw from a novice-friendly mixer that can take three mikes and one line input. You can even add reverb - a nice Fender touch. The system sets up in minutes, and includes a microphone. You can stand on it (so people look up to you), and with the optional battery pack you can run cordless for eight hours - a full day shift of spreading the word. Passport P-150: $699. Fender Musical Instruments: +1 (602) 596 9690, www.fender.com.

__ Mighty Mouse __
Unlike older optical mouses, Microsoft's streamlined IntelliMouse Explorer needs no pad; it correlates 1,500 images per second to track movements on almost any surface and delivers the information at 12 times the typical rate. Due out in September, the ball-less wonder works through either a PS/2 or USB port, and its scrolling/zooming wheel and customizable buttons make frequent operations reflex-fast. Now if Microsoft would only stop adding Explorer to every product name, they'd have it made. IntelliMouse Explorer: $74.95. Microsoft: +1 (425) 882 8080, www.microsoft.com.