Objects of Desire
Some last-minute gift ideas for the technophile on your list:
Intel PC Camera
* What: Who needs a digital camera to take digital pictures? With Intel’s PC Camera, you can use your computer to take photos and even make short movies. Simply mount the lightweight spherical camera on your monitor, plug it in to the USB port on the back of your PC, install the software and start taking pictures. You can set the camera to take pictures at regular intervals--say, every 15 minutes--and upload them directly to a Web page. (Intel calls this the “keep an eye on Fluffy” feature.) The camera can also record short videos, which are easy to edit. Or plug your camcorder in to the PC Camera and turn those home movies into video postcards to e-mail to family and friends. You can even use the camera to turn your computer into a video telephone. After all, who among us isn’t looking for reasons to spend more time in front of our PCs?
* Price: $129 suggested retail price, $99 after manufacturer’s rebate
* System requirements: Pentium 166 with MMX, Windows 95 or 98, 32 megabytes of RAM, USB port
* Availability: Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA and other nationwide retailers. Also available from online retailers.
* Information: https://www.intel.com/pccamera
Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer
* What: If you think you’ve seen one mouse, you’ve seen them all, then check out Microsoft’s IntelliMouse Explorer. Instead of the traditional tracking ball, this mouse uses an optical sensor that the company says will scan your desktop at a rate of 1,500 images per second. That translates into accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. There are the usual two buttons on top, but there are two additional buttons on the side that can be used as forward and back buttons on a Web browser. A wheel allows for scrolling or zooming in on an item. The IntelliEye optical feature allows the mouse to work on almost any non-reflective surface--walls, jeans or an armrest. Mac users won’t be left out in the cold because this mouse works with a Mac with a USB port or a Windows machine using either a PS/2 or USB port. The absence of the rubber ball means there are no moving parts to clean or break down. The mouse comes with a limited lifetime guarantee. And if all that isn’t enough, the shape is pretty cool too.
* Price: $54.95 for basic IntelliMouse with IntelliEye; $74.95 for the larger IntelliMouse Explorer.
* System requirements: Windows 95 or above with 30 mb of RAM with either PS/2 or USB port, or Macintosh OS 8.5.1 with 15 mb of RAM and USB port (iMac requires iMac update 1.1)
* Availability: CompUSA, Best Buy, Fry’s and most computer retail stores; Buy.com, Amazon.com, PCMall.com and other online retailers; and Microsoft’s Web site at https://www.microsoft.com
n Information: https://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/explorer.htm
Your Handwriting
* What: If your holiday cards are lacking that personal touch but your wrist is too sore for handwritten messages, try turning your own handwriting into a computer font. Your Handwriting software from Data Becker walks you through the process, which involves filling three pages of templates with handwritten versions of every letter, number and punctuation symbol imaginable, then scanning them in to your computer. Once your handwriting is on the computer screen, Your Handwriting allows you to adjust the size, thickness and other features before turning the characters into a computer font. When you’re done, simply launch your word processor, select your personal font and start typing. But you’d better hurry if you are planning to use it for your holiday cards.
* Price: $19.95 suggested retail price
* System requirements: Pentium 133 with Windows 95 or 98, 32 mb of RAM and 40 mb of hard disk space. A scanner, printer and mouse are also required.
* Availability: CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, Babbages Etc., Micro Center, Future Shop and Data Becker’s Web site at https://www.databecker.com
* Information: https://www.databecker.com or (781) 453-2340
