NOW, BLU-RAY STORAGE FOR MAC USERS
Blu-ray discs can hold 50 gigabytes of data, making a regular DVD seem cramped. They can also make life easier for digital photographers, video editors or anybody else who needs to stash big files on a recordable disc.
For those who don't want to drag around an external Blu-ray drive with their Macintosh laptops, Fastmac recently released an internal slot-loading Blu-ray drive that replaces the DVD drive.
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Fastmac's Blu-ray drive works with several recent Macintosh laptop models, as well as the iMac and Mac Mini desktop systems. A list of compatible Macs and full technical specifications are at www.fastmac.com, which is also an online store.
Several third-party programs, including Roxio Toast 8 Titanium and Adobe Premiere CS3, can actually do the Blu-ray disc burning on the Mac once the drive is installed. The drive's US$800 price is steep, but that will eventually edge downward. For now, early adopters can record data not only to Blu-ray discs, but also to standard recordable DVD and CD media as well.
Sadly, the early adopters will not be able to watch Blu-ray movies on their Macs. Fastmac says several companies are working on the software to do this.
DOUBLE TROUBLE ON THE ROAD
Nothing beats a portable DVD player for a long trip — except perhaps one with two screens. Designed for those with more than one child, the Disney Dual Screen Mobile DVD Player can simultaneously display a movie or video game on two 7-inch screens.
The screens are tethered by a single 2.1m audio-video and power cord, long enough to have one screen in the front seat attached to the beverage holder, and the second on a headrest for viewers in the far back. Each screen has an independent volume control and a headphone jack. Just one has the video controls and actually plays the DVD, though there is also a remote control.
The kit, available from www.disneyshopping.com, includes two power supplies for either car or house power, two pairs of headphones and an extra video cable that could be plugged into a TV at home. Missing are rechargeable batteries, so when your car's ignition turns off at a rest area, so does your movie.
The screens are easy to move around the car, thanks to clever holding straps designed to stretch around the back of a seat, just in case one child needs some space. As anyone who travels with children knows, options are good.
NOT LIGHT, BUT WORTH A LOOK
It would be impossible to build one computer to please everyone, but Toshiba's new Satellite A205-S4617 notebook sure takes a whack at it. It is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.66 gigahertz and has 2 gigabytes of RAM, which is what you need to run all the features of Windows Vista's Home Premium edition.
The computer has four USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire port. Toshiba says it set the USB ports far enough apart to accommodate bulky devices that would normally block the use of the adjacent port.
For audiophiles, the S4617 has built-in Harman Kardon speakers. The 15.4-inch screen is in the 16:9 format that is favored for viewing and editing high-definition widescreen video, and it has a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. To help the budding filmmaker handle all that video, the unit comes with a 250-gigabyte hard drive. The five-in-one media reader can handle the most common storage cards used in digital cameras and camcorders.
The S4617 is available for less than $1,250. While it is not the lightest notebook, weighing less than 3.2kg, it does have a shiny black case with electric-green display lights.
A MEDIA PC THAT CAN STAND UP NEXT TO THE TELEVISION
Some PCs look great on an office desk, while others are more suited to a home study. The Shuttle X200M, an update to the X100 media PC, looks great next to the TV.
This PC weighs 2.7kg and is about 12 inches wide, is about as big as Apple's Mac Mini.
In its most expensive configuration, about US$1,833, the X200M includes a tuner for TV and FM, a remote control and software to record live television and burn DVDs.
The X200M, available at www.shuttle.com, has 2 gigabytes of memory and a maximum of 750 gigabytes of hard drive space. It uses a 2-gigahertz Intel processor and offers 7.1 HD surround-sound audio playback for more realistic Hollywood explosions.
Designed to act as a living-room media device, the X200M can run Windows Vista Ultimate as well as Microsoft's Media Center software, which lets you record and play back video, select music for playback and create networks with PCs in the home wirelessly or over Ethernet.
Don't be misled by its size. The Shuttle X200M offers Media Center performance in a PC the size of a personal pan pizza box.
AN INTERNET HANDSET WITH LANDLINE OPTION
Luddites who have been afraid to make the leap to Internet calling can finally get a taste of the 21st century. The Philips VOIP841 acts as a standard landline telephone but can also make calls using the Internet phone service Skype, allowing a switch from Alexander Graham Bell to Buck Rogers in seconds.
The phone has two jacks, one for a regular telephone line and another for an Ethernet cable. The wireless handset uses Philips DECT technology to improve call clarity. To make an Internet call, the caller just scrolls through a list of Skype contacts — the phone holds up to 500 — and dials away. The call is routed over the Internet without the need to involve a computer.
The handset battery lasts for up to 12 hours of talk time and about 120 hours when not in use. Multiple base stations or handsets can be added to the system, allowing everyone in the house to hop on and make calls.
The phone even has separate rings for landline calls and Skype calls, so you'll know which era is calling.
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