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Don't lug around a computer that makes you feel like an abused pack animal. Ultralight laptops weigh less than 3.5 pounds, making them barely noticeable when tucked under your arm or stuffed in your bag. And while these superportables may be the most jaw-dropping, drool-inducing PCs ever to set up shop in a coffeehouse, there are drawbacks. Features, power capacity, and processing speed all get sacrificed in favor of trim figures. We looked at the lightest and thinnest to separate the lean from the flimsy. - Seén Captain
WHAT'S THE CATCH?
In the battle against bulk, some muscle gets trimmed with the fat:
• Optical omissions Among the first amenities purged is the disk drive. You may have to purchase (and carry around) an external unit.
• Crummy keyboards Sizes range from slightly cramped to carpal-tunnel torture device. When at your desk, plug in a full-size QWERTY.
• Squinty screens LCDs from 10.4 to 12.1 inches are fine for email and word processing, but they'll drive you mad when you're working with spreadsheets. Connect to an external monitor.
REAL-WORLD BATTERY LIFE
Even the lightest notebook becomes deadweight when its battery conks out. We tested for longevity by running screens at maximum brightness while playing digital music files to moderately tax the processors and hard drives.
5 hrs 18 min: IBM X40
4 hrs 24 min: Panasonic Toughbook
2 hrs 6 min: Sharp MM20
2 hrs 6 min: Sony Vaio VGN-X505ZP
IBM ThinkPad X40 23866GU
Big Blue's little black box gets it right. Its rugged, matte finish looks sharp and resists scratches, making it ideal for heavy road use. Though it's compact, the X40 seems big when open. The relatively large keys click resolutely and are easy targets for even the clumsiest fingers. The 12.1-inch LCD displays rich, saturated colors, making it a good choice for managing vacation pics while still at the beach. Performance was excellent: Its 1.2-GHz Pentium M processor ripped Moby's 18 to WMA Lossless files in about five and a half minutes - more than twice as fast as some of the other models tested (all using the same external drive).
The X40 lacks a built-in optical drive, but IBM's $499 USB 2.0 Multi-Burner drive - which reads and writes DVD and CD media - adds minimal bulk. Power-draining movies ran for nearly four hours before the extended-life battery died.
WIRED: Sleek. Comfy keyboard, fine screen, and decent-sounding speakers.
TIRED: Lacks a FireWire port. Price climbs to $2,798 with the optional Multi-Burner drive.
$2,299, www.ibm.com
Panasonic Toughbook W2
WIRED: Tonka Toy-inspired magnesium-alloy shell resists dents, scratches, and stains. Built-in combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive.
TIRED: "Toy" also describes the quality of the mono speaker. Colors looked a bit faded on the 12.1-inch LCD.
$1,995, www.panasonic.com
Sharp Actius MM20
WIRED: At less than an inch think and just 2 pounds, it's the smallest notebook we recommend. Relatively inexpensive. Included cradle lets you sync files with your desktop PC.
TIRED: Its 1-GHz Transmeta Efficeon CPU is a bit underpowered. (The others here use Pentium M.)
$1,499, www.sharpsystems.com
Sony Vaio VGN-X505ZP
WIRED: The lightest and sexiest model tested will earn you serious bragging rights.
TIRED: Crazy expensive and doesn't include an optical drive. Tiny, stiff keys. No built in Wi-Fi. Dongle is easy to lose yet necessary for Ethernet. No modem.
$3,000, www.dynamism.com
Friendly user interfaces, speedy downloads, consistent quality - online music stores are becoming better than the P2P networks that inspired them. They don't have every song ever made, but hey, the tunes are legal. - Paul Boutin
Apple iTunes
iTunes owns 70 percent of the online music store market for good reasons: It has innovative features, an interface that's stylish without being gaudy, and rock-solid stability. The downside? Apple's iPods start at a budget-busting $249. If you want to use iTunes tracks with a Rio, a Nomad, or something cheaper, you'll need to figure out a way to convert songs from Apple's protected AAC format to MP3. Wasn't convenience the whole idea?
WIRED: Slick, smart interface. Tight integration with iPod. Lots of extras - Billboard charts, audiobooks, exclusive tracks.
TIRED: Difficult to use with non-Apple portable players. Annoying cult-of-Mac aura.
99 cents per song, www.itunes.com
Rhapsody
WIRED: Ten bucks a month for all the music you can stream. Smart server and client tech avoids the dropouts. Burn CDs as you listen.
TIRED: Not all songs can be burned, and none can be saved directly to a hard drive or a portable player.
$10 monthly, plus 79 cents per song burned, www.listen.com
Sony Connect
WIRED: Tunes work only with Sony's portable players, but those start at one-third of iPod's price.
TIRED: Another big-name service locking users into one brand of player. Ad-overloaded interface. Few perks compared to iTunes.
99 cents per song, www.connect.com
Wal-Mart Music Downloads
WIRED: No proprietary jukebox or player software to install; tunes come in WMA format.
TIRED: Downloads play only on Windows PCs and Microsoft-licensed portable players. Tracks are edited to remove dirty words, such as pants.
88 cents per song, musicdownloads.walmart.com
It's a Roomba for your lawn. To get started, all you have to do is spend five hours reading the 42-page manual and wrestling with 500 feet of tangled copper wire. The RL1000 - the most sophisticated robotic mower to date - is not for the faint of heart. Fuses must be installed, batteries charged, docking stations assembled, and that wire staked around the lawn's perimeter. But after all that, just press the green Go button and the sleek yellow bot cuts away. Once it's set up, the device is pure gold for browbeaten husbands, lazy teens, and serious gadget freaks. - Joshua Davis
Blades
Three blades moving twice as fast as those of common mowers nearly vaporize grass. The powdered remnants decompose quickly, returning nutrients to the ground.
Sensors
Rubber bumpers surround the mower. When it hits something, it gives a gentle nudge, then goes around. A tethered controller lets you manually steer between patches of grass.
Safety
You'll need to keep children and pets away from the mower during operation.
And be sure to remove the battery before lifting it up - just to keep it from going HAL on you.
WIRED: Onboard Determines the most efficient mowing pattern for your lawn while you sit in the shade drinking piéa coladas.
TIRED: Most efficient mowing pattern turns out to be a crazy drunken swirl.
$2,000, www.friendlyroboticsusa.com
Connected DVD players stream MP3s, digital pics, and other media to your entertainment center. Be warned: Networking can be finicky and PC-side software primitive. - S.C.
Gateway ADC-320 Connected DVD Player
WIRED: Support for 802.11g Wi-Fi. Can stream music and photos at the same time. Two microphone jacks for karaoke! Remote has convenient shortcut buttons.
TIRED: Had trouble connecting to a Wi-Fi network with WEP encryption. Displays photos only in slide-show format.
$200, www.gateway.com
KiSS Technology DP-1500
WIRED: Best DVD picture quality among units tested. Accesses more than 10,000 Internet radio stations through built-in Shoutcast support.
TIRED: Bare-bones PC server software doesn't allow organizing music, photo, and video files. Device can't display photos and play music at the same time. Cool blue LEDs in front quickly become annoying when watching DVDs in the dark.
$350, www.kiss-technology.com
GoVideo D2730 Networked DVD Player
WIRED: Connects effortlessly to a home network through a wired Ethernet link. Pending upgrade will provide access to Universal Plug and Play-enabled apps.
TIRED: Awkward remote. Wi-Fi support is sketchy. (The next version promises built-in 802.11g.) Can't play music and display photos at the same time.
$250, www.govideo.com
Cooking is risky business. In addition to sharp blades and pointy prongs, there's the heat. Stay cool this barbecue season with the latest in hand-protection technology. - Philip Ferrato
Kitchen Grips Mitt
WIRED: Comfortable. Thick synthetic rubber withstands temperatures up to 500 degrees but is supple enough to grasp tools. Dishwasher safe.
TIRED: New gloves give off a strong petroleum scent (which quickly abates).
$20, www.kitchengrips.com
Orka Silicone Oven Mitt
WIRED: Made from cool-looking molded silicone. Heat resistant to 500 degrees. Dives into boiling liquids comfortably enough to grab a lobster or an errant kitchen tool.
TIRED: Snug fit on wide hands or thick forearms.
OveGlove
WIRED: Classic fingered glove made from soft, knitted Kevlar and Nomex - originally designed for welders. Comfortable. Handles the hot stuff up to 480 degrees. Machine washable.
TIRED: No protection from liquids or spills.
$15, www.oveglove.com
credit: . IBM ThinkPad X40 23866GU
credit:. Apple iTunes
credit:.The RL1000
credit:.caption_4="Gateway ADC-320 Connected DVD Player"
credit:.Kitchen Grips Mitt
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