Storm warnings in the palm of your hand

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's alert system, operated by the National Weather Service, provides around-the-clock travel conditions and weather forecasts. But broadcasts are outside of the AM/FM bands and require special receivers.

There are many weather radios on the market, but  Oregon Scientific�s WR-8000 is particularly handy. The size of a cellular phone, it has a belt clip or can fit in a pocket to go along outdoor trips. The radio can scan all seven NOAA channels, so you'll always be within the 40-mile range of the radio.

The WR-8000 can also use the Emergency Alert System, which transmits a tone that "wakes up" the radio from standby mode when emergency broadcasts are aired. 

Other features include an alarm clock with a snooze setting and a digital thermometer that can trigger a freeze warning when the temperature drops below 34 degrees.

Precision navigation

Whether traveling for business or pleasure, 3Com Connected Organizer (Palm Pilot) users can now turn their electronic organizer into a hand-held navigation system, complete with maps and an electronic compass with the Palm Navigator.

The Palm Navigator is a hardware sensor module that plugs into the bottom of the Palm Pilot (like a modem) turning it into a map navigation system and an electronic compass. Included with the Palm Navigator is free MapSync, which is software that allows for easy downloading and storing of multiple maps from the Web onto the Palm Pilot.

The Palm Navigator is the first navigation system developed for the Palm Pilot that isn't a Global Positioning System (GPS) but an electronic compass. Unlike GPS, the Palm Navigator provides direction information instantaneously and continuously whether moving or not. In addition, the Palm Navigator works even under trees, near tall buildings or in a canyon, which GPS can not do.

Commanding your car

With Clarion's AutoPC, you can tell your car what to do - and it actually listens. The first car computer that recognizes verbal commands, AutoPC has a more than 1,200-word vocabulary. It understands commands to change radio stations, provide turn-by-turn directions based on its Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation unit, or even read e-mail subject lines. Running on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system, the $1,300 AutoPC's control module fits in a single dashboard slot, with the computer and six-disc CD changer stored in the trunk.

Don�t be in the dark

A new way of looking at the world is promised with Cadillac's night-vision system, to be introduced on the year 2000 model DeVille. Detecting infrared energy, the display shows pedestrians and animals as far as three times beyond the range of conventional headlights. The technology is lightweight and sensitive, while the carefully thought-out display makes the system as easy as using a rear-view mirror.

The iMac goes portable

Apple's new iBook hopes to do for the laptop market what the iMac did for the desktop.

The geeky specifications: 300 mHz G3 PowerPC processor, 32 megabytes of memory, 3.2-gigabyte hard disk, 12.1-inch active-matrix screen, 4 mb of video memory, 56k modem, built-in ethernet, CD-ROM. Apple claims battery life can top out at up to 6 hours.

At 6.7 pounds, it is not as small or light as some laptops. The design resembles a giant colorful clam, and it contains little Apple design touches such as a carrying handle and closes without a latch.

 AirPort, a $99 add-on card plus a $299 �base station� allows the iBook to network without wires to a modem or network, with data flowing at rates up to 11 megabits per second. (That�s 196 times faster than a standard 56k modem.) The antenna is built into the iBook, and each base station can communicate with up to 10 iBooks up to 150 feet away.

Apple founder and president Steve jobs says the iBook will be �huge in education.�

The ultimate laptop 

The ultimate laptop for the power-thirsty road warrior, Toshiba's PortÈgÈ 7000 Series redefines the expectation of an ultrathin portable PC. A mere 1 inch thick and only 4 pounds, the PortÈgÈ 7000 is both one of the thinnest laptops so far and one of the most potent, with a 300MHz Pentium II processor, 32MB of memory, a 4-gigabyte hard drive, and a luxurious 12-inch color LCD screen. Pound for pound, it's the most for the least.

 previous   next