A new digital photo storage unit from Sony may help. The HDPS-L1, set to go on sale next month for about US$300, offers high-definition output to a compatible television screen and the ability to synchronize photos with music using one of eight transitions between images.
Similar slide shows can be created for use on a DVD player, but the Sony device, besides offering better image detail, can also store 80 gigabytes' worth of photos and can sort them in various ways -- by date or event, for example.
The HDPS-L1 can handle seven types of storage cards and has a built-in USB port.
The unit, about half the size of the average DVD player, comes with standard audio and video cables.
It also has a remote control that allows users to choose transition styles, present slide shows by theme or date or speed up the proceedings -- a feature that dinner guests will no doubt greet with gratitude.
A BOX FOR YOUR BRICKS
If those charging bricks for gadgets are making a mess of your home, one solution is offered by Frontgate, a catalog company known for organizing garden hoses and trash cans by enclosing them in attractive wooden boxes.
Frontgate's Mahogany Charging Station (at www.frontgate.com) is a mahogany box that hides the charging bricks inside, where they plug into a surge-protecting power strip. The small box (30.5cm wide by 40.5cm deep by 15.9cm high) holds up to four mobile phones, MP3 players or other small gadgets in padded cradles on top.
Cufflinks, fountain pens and tickets to the opera can be stored in several small drawers.
Jim Abrahamsen, a Frontgate employee, got the idea when his wife became unhappy with all the phones, palmtops and Game Boys making demands on kitchen outlets. "I brought my complaints to our Frontgate design team, and the Mahogany Charging Station was born," he said.
If rich, brown tropical wood isn't to your taste, Hammacher Schlemmer offers a three-gadget Multiple Unit Recharging Station made of white plastic.
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