A clock that’s together, whatever the weather
You can keep track of the time and the weather with Oregon Scientific’s WeatherNow wireless weather station. Equipped with a built-in alarm clock, the weather station can wake you up and show you the latest weather report on its easy-to-read display.
Designed to work with MSN Direct technology, the tabletop device displays a four-day forecast that’s updated every two minutes through an FM radio signal. Weather data includes the temperature, humidity, wind chill, sunrise, sunset, and the chance of precipitation. To set up, all you have to do is plug its power cord into an electrical outlet and wait a few minutes for its tiny antenna to start receiving the information for your locale. Cost: $170.
www.oregonscientific.com
MP3 player can go poolside
The water-resistant Hydra MP3 player can handle an unexpected splash by the pool.
Designed with a water-resistant rubberized trim, the digital music player sports an FM radio tuner, a digital voice recorder and a multicolor backlit display. It can play a variety of formats, including MP3 and Windows Media Audio files. When the device is connected to a computer’s USB port, you can drag and drop files to its memory and power up its rechargeable AAA battery. Available in black, yellow or orange, a 1-gigabyte model costs $40, while a 2GB model is $60.
ultraproducts.com
New Photoshop makes it easy
Novices and digital experts can improve the quality of their digital photos with the latest version of Adobe’s easy-to-master imaging software for PCs.
With Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Windows, you can make instant one-click fixes or use sophisticated
editing tools to correct the exposure on images, correct camera lens distortion and convert color images to vivid black-and-white.
The program also includes easy-to-use layout tools that let you resize and arrange photos in flexible layouts. Cost: $90.
adobe.com
Call games just like on ESPN
Think you can out-announce the sportscasters on ESPN? You can give it a try with ESPN Play by Play, a portable audio system that comes with an ESPN microphone, integrated speakers, built-in ESPN theme music and a sound card loaded with sports sounds, including rhythmic stadium claps and crowd chants (DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!). You can even take your show on the road: When you pump up the volume and boost the echo effect, your voice can travel more than 150 feet across a sports field or gym. The sporty red-and-black system includes connections for a microphone, two headsets and a digital device, such as an MP3 player or computer. Cost: $100.
reallivesports.com
