Best- Great stuff - tested and approved in our top-secret labs.
500 VOLT-AMP UPS SYSTEMS
__First Class: __
__APC Back-UPS Pro 500 USB __
Designed for blackouts, not campouts, uninterruptible power supply systems prevent the bowel-loosening fear of lost files that strikes when the circuits blow. Models storing 500 volt-amps, like American Power Conversion's Back-UPS Pro 500 USB, hold enough charge to cover most desktops. APC's tower of power has seven plugs up top - four for backup and three for surge protection - and software that automatically shuts down PCs and Macs via USB port. With the Back-UPS backing them up, our test PC and 15-inch monitor performed unplugged for 21 minutes.
__Back-UPS Pro 500 USB: $199. APC: (800) 800 4272, www.apcc.com. __
__Business Class: __
__MGE Pulsar ellipse 500 __
MGE's pretty Pulsar ellipse offers first-rate features at a midrange price. Its four backup and two surge-protect plugs are a bit hard to reach, but the unit has a wiring-fault indicator, user-replaceable battery, alarm, and remaining-time display, just like the upmarket competition. The Pulsar ellipse kept our PC and monitor humming along for 20 minutes, and its drivers gracefully shut down Unix and Linux machines as well as Windows and Mac via either serial port or USB, depending on the model.
__Pulsar ellipse 500: $169. MGE UPS Systems: (800) 523 0142, www.mgeups.com. __
__Coach: __
__Tripp Lite Internet Office 500 __
Tripp Lite's UPS has three backup and three surge-protect plugs, and software that runs auto-shutdowns for Mac, Windows, and Unix machines via serial line. The Internet Office 500 ran our test setup for 10 minutes, not as long as the others despite its identical power-capacity spec. Still, that's more than enough time for the system to save and get out when it's tripped by the flow of current events.
__Internet Office 500: $99.99. Tripp Lite: +1 (773) 869 1234, www.tripplite.com. __
MOTORCYCLE HELMETS
__First Class: __
__Arai RX-7RR4 __
Looking to safeguard your intellectual capital? Time to spring for Arai's swoopy RX-7RR4, an info-age racing lid that's ready for the local interstate. Like all topflight helmets, it's DOT- and Snell-certified, but this one keeps you looking and feeling ultracool: A diffuser up top sucks in fresh air, which travels through interior channels and out five exit vents - making the RX-7RR4 one of the most thermally radiant units ever. Inside the lightweight fiberglass composite shell, swappable cheek pads and a supersoft liner make for a mug-hugging custom fit.
__RX-7RR4: $595.95-702. Arai: (800) 766 2724, www.araiamericas.com. __
__Business Class: __
__Shoei Syncrotec __
Finally, complete head protection for bikers who live to eat and run. At the push of a button, the entire front of Shoei's Syncrotec - not just the visor - flips up to transform the full-faced crash helmet into an open-faced feedbag port. You can enjoy quick drinks, snacks, and roadside conversations without shouting through padding. Snapped shut, the generously vented and beautifully finished fiberglass hard hat is as solid, quiet, and watertight as any one-piece unit.
__Syncrotec: $431.99-443.99. Shoei Safety Helmet: +1 (909) 520 0500, www.shoei.com. __
__Coach: __
__HJC LT-12 __
By matching established brands feature-for-feature at half the cost, relative newcomer HJC has become the top seller in the helmet biz. Its ultralight LT-12 outvents and outcools many higher-priced brain buckets and beats them all at reducing wind noise. Without compromising on safety, the HJC cuts costs with its cheaper finish and less luxurious and flexible fit.
__HJC LT-12: $199.99-229.99. Helmet House: (800) 421 7247, www.hjchelmets.com. __
STEREO MINISYSTEMS
__First Class: __
__Linn Classik __
All-in-one stereo minisystems pack great sound in small places, hassle-free. Some audiophile manufacturers snub the compact category, but not Linn - its crystal-clear Classik fuses top-notch electronics with high-end design tricks like short signal paths. The main unit has a CD player and a 150-watt amplifier/tuner with 99 radio station presets. The speakers, which can take additional inputs (like from a TV), use the same ceramic-domed tweeters that go into Linn's $9,995-a-pair Keltiks.
__Linn Classik with Tukan speakers: $2,745. Linn: (888) 671 5466, www.linn.co.uk. __
__Business Class: __
__Denon D-M5 __
Mass-market minisystems often use cheapie "house brand" speakers that contribute little more than a matching finish. But Denon tapped UK-based Mission Electronics to produce its loudspeakers, and the result is 60 watts of rich, realistic audio. The D-M5 has a three-disc CD changer, and its AM/FM tuner has 40 presets and displays Radio Data System (RDS) text - program genre, et cetera - from a growing number of stations worldwide.
__D-M5: $599. Denon: +1 (973) 396 0810, www.del.denon.com. __
__Coach: __
__Aiwa XR-M33 __
Your really small small-office is no longer too tiny for a little workplace harmony, thanks to Aiwa's ultra mini XR-M33. The footprints of the main unit and each speaker measure just 63/4 inches wide and less than 10 inches deep, but the system puts out 30 watts of great sound - aided by QSound virtual-surround processing. The main component hosts a cassette deck as well as a CD player and a 32-preset AM/FM tuner.
__XR-M33: $200. Aiwa: (800) 289 2492, www.aiwa.com. __
