Unique Products

By P.J. HUFFSTUTTER

Nov. 24, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Comdex is over--finally--and computer companies are starting to recuperate from the six-day blitz of more than 10,000 of the latest and greatest devices. Several products stood out because of their quirky nature:

Techmedia Computer Systems Corp. of Garden Grove, a maker of high-performance computer systems, was showing its wireless mouse. Dubbed the 3DZoneMaster, the hand-held device is compatible with most personal computers and can be used as a joystick for playing computer games. Light and easy to use, the 3DZoneMaster could be a hit over the holiday season.

AirMedia Inc., the Newport Beach-based firm known for its wireless news broadcasting system for the PC, has developed a device that works on mobile computers. Called the Airmedia Internet Antenna, the product plugs into a computer’s serial port. Once hooked up, the antenna gathers regularly updated news from more than 50 outlets, including CNN and the Weather Channel.

Then there’s Mr. Java, a talking coffee maker that always brews the perfect cuppa joe. MIT undergraduates Joseph Kaye, 20, and Niko Matsakis, 18, spent several days luring attendees to their coffee machine, which recognizes a user’s personal drink preferences.

A small chip sealed to the bottom of a mug tells the machine which drink to make and what kind of music or news programming the user wants to hear while the coffee is brewing. Once it recognizes the user, the machine can then pull audio clips off the Internet.

“The whole idea behind Mr. Java is to look at what happens when a computer knows your preferences and eliminates waste,” Kaye said. The $26,000 product is sponsored by MIT Media Lab’s “The Things That Think,” a consortium devoted to finding new applications for technology.

Starbucks Coffee is interested in the Mr. Java concept, Kaye said. The java giant provides the pair with ground beans and helped the developers get their wares to Comdex in Las Vegas last week.

P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.