Gift Guide
MAXIMUMPC DECEMBER 2003
KiSS DP-500 DVD Player
If anyone knows what’s hot for the holidays, it’s elves. And a recent raid on
an unauthorized elf workshop several miles southeast of the North Pole
revealed the most coveted item this season. In a dark warehouse littered
with pointy shoes and green spangles, authorities discovered hundreds of
DVD players from KiSS Technology. This is no ordinary progressive-scan DVD
player, of course. It plays MPEG-4 compliant video, including DivX and Xvid
booty gathered from the Internet, and even lets you turn your TV into an
instant fun-maker with MP3 and OGG Vorbis support right out of the box. A
built-in Ethernet port allows the player to hop onto your network and access
media files directly from your PC, or access Internet radio stations in your
living room. Naturally, the whole shebang is firmware upgradeable for future
audio and video codecs. http://www.kiss-technology.com$300
Creative Labs MuVo NX
The original MuVo MP3 player and USB storage device just got an update, and our love
for it has only blossomed. You can carry and listen to the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa everywhere
you go. You can connect to a USB port and enjoy downloaded Internet footage of some
fat kid doing something he’ll live to regret. And you can use the MuVo to record what
someone else thinks is a private conversation for blackmail purposes.
Despite being just slightly larger than a Zippo lighter, the MuVo serves up MP3
playback, flash memory-based storage, and voice recording
in a tiny, lightweight bauble that’s sure to brighten the eyes of
anyone with a music collection and a pulse. And now it even
offers an LCD screen so you no longer have to play “Name
That Tune” while scanning your tracks. http://www.creativelabs.com$210
Garmin Rino 120
This is convergence we like. A two-way radio married to a GPS unit. Even better, when the waterproof
Rino 120 is in FRS mode, you can transmit the coordinates of your position to fellow Rino users.
Say you fall into a ravine or find a great deal at the world’s largest outdoor computer show, the Rino
will help you spread word to your posse and transmit a way-point to your whereabouts.
The radio has 8MB of RAM, which can be used to store detailed street or
topographic map information that you download from the PC. The radio
supports both GMRS and FRS frequencies, the latter of which allows
GPS positioning. http://www.garmin.com$120
APC TravelPower Case
You know what we hate most about traveling these days? Not the intermi-
nable wait times in airports, or the perplexing security precautions at “his-
toric landmarks.” Heck, we don’t even mind having our sneakers inspected
for explosives. But, by Jove, if we aren’t bothered by having to lug around
multiple heavy power bricks for all our portable electronics.
Thank heavens for the TravelPower Case. It’s a durable, stylish, and
roomy satchel outfitted with a universal power brick and adapters for just
about any modern-day laptop. It also includes a couple USB accessory
ports, so you can simultane-
ously charge your laptop,
cell phone, and PDA
off a solitary
power source.
http://www.apc.comGreen Laser Pointer II
If the Green Laser were a superhero, he’d no doubt rule the roost.
For one thing, he’s way more powerful than his mischievous
cousin, Red Laser.
Green Laser’s able to emit 532nm of pure, unadulterated ver-
dant light. Able to scale the tallest skyscrapers, no problem. Able
to leap onto low-flying aircraft, and bound from cloud to cloud. And
it goes without saying, Mean Green performs these feats at the
speed of light. What’s more, unlike his crimson kin, Green Laser’s
beam is clearly visible across the night sky. Which one would you
rather put money on?
Let us make this perfectly clear: Green Laser is the absolute
finest laser pointer we have ever used, and wherever we bring it,
it becomes the life of the party. http://www.thinkgeek.comThis is convergence we like. A two-way radio married to a GPS unit. Even better, when the waterproofsupports both GMRS and FRS frequencies, the latter of which allows$150 128GB
$200 256GB
$35