Give your notebook computer an eagle eye
Staying in touch takes on a high-tech twist with Microsoft’s notebook web cam. About the same size and shape as a USB drive, the LifeCam NX-6000 lets you share 7.6-megapixel snapshots and 2-megapixel video via an online connection. The portable webcam has a collapsible lens that fits inside its aluminum frame, a built-in microphone that cancels out unwanted noise and a base that can be clipped to a laptop screen. The webcam also has a one-touch call button that speeds up video calls to online pals, an automatic face tracker that keeps a moving subject in the camera’s field of vision and one-touch blogging for streamlined posting of online photos. Cost: $100.
microsoft.com/hardware/digitalcommunication
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A safe zone for your computer
Nervous about what the kids might do to your computer? You can rest a bit easier with Smart Restart, a security program that allows computer users to surf the Internet, download files and make other changes without damaging a computer’s hard drive. The Windows-based program creates a protected zone for permanent files, a keep zone for working files and user settings; and a temporary zone for unknown files and files downloaded by other users. When you reboot your PC, the program erases all the files in the Temporary Zone, so that any spyware, adware, viruses and unauthorized changes are automatically wiped out, leaving your hard drive as good as new. The software from Centurion Technologies costs about $60.
www.smart-restart.com
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Big air, big storage
Data storage gets a fun lift with the launch of SnowDrives, USB flash drives that mimic the sporty look of Burton and Forum snowboards. The USB 2.0 Burton SnowDrive Flash Drive and USB 2.0 Forum SnowDrive Flash Drive feature a rubberized snowboard-like texture and preloaded snowboard videos and screensavers. A 512-megabyte drive costs $20, a 1-gigabyte version is $30 and a 2GB drive costs $40.
www.acp-ep.com
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A mood ring
for your iPod
Feeling “Smitten,” “Dazzled” or just plain “Befuddled?” You can share your current state of mind with Emotibuds, expressive emoticon charms that can be attached to iPod earbuds or similarly sized earbuds. The removable Emotibuds have 12 different moods, ranging from Zippy and Stressed to Skeptical and Brilliant. Each pair costs $4.
www.futuronomie.com
