Gadgets

Now and then I run across a gadget that meets my criteria for cool technology. That means it has to do something useful, and do it better than other gadgets of its ilk. And it has to work right out of the box. Roadmaster USA's odd-looking VRFM8 makes the cut. It's an elegant package of old FM broadcasting technology and new electronics that solves a real problem for many digital music lovers - how to play that great collection of tunes in the car. ...

High-tech gifts generate lots of excitement on Christmas morning, but they present a certain peril that traditional presents just don't generate. When your child unwraps a Barbie doll, a football, a Frisbee or a Slinky, you never have to worry about whether it's going to work. With computers, DVD players, video game consoles and other gadgets, there's always that element of doubt: What's going to happen when I turn it on? If there's a problem, you can wind up with a very disappointed family.

There are few sights sadder than a kid with a new robot, truck, talking doll or hand-held poker game that won't play because Mom, Dad or Grandma forgot one simple thing: the batteries. Sadly, millions of youngsters will be disappointed Christmas morning by this or some other glitch that makes electronic gift-giving a source of parental peril as well as pleasure. But whether it's a battery-powered toy, a computer, a camera or a new high-def TV, there's still time to make sure it works when the family unwraps it - and you'll spend your day enjoying the gift instead of debugging it. First things first.

Mitchell Kertzman was flying to San Jose, Calif., when he pulled out a Fujitsu Loox-T, the smallest laptop with a built-in DVD drive that his seatmate, Marc Benioff, had ever seen. Soon, Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.com, was ordering his own sub-notebook from a little-known online retailer that provides English-language software and tech support for computers and gadgets from Japan. "We are both pretty fanatical about minimizing the travel weight of the electronics we carry," said Kertzman, CEO of Liberate Technologies.

There are plenty of bargain PCs on the market today, and they offer astonishing power for the money. For $1,000 or less, you can buy a computer that will run rings around virtually anything that was on the market two years ago.But when I went shopping for an inexpensive machine a few weeks ago, I learned that all too often, what you see is exactly what you get. And what you may not get is the ability to expand or upgrade your PC as your needs change.While...

It isn't easy being "green," but for shoppers seeking gifts that go easy on the environment, 1990 may be a banner holiday season.April's Earth Week festivities touched off a tidal wave of demand for Earth-friendly household devices and gadgets. As as result, more are available than ever before, mostly through mail-order firms. But many devices that make recycling easier are finding their way into Maryland groceries, upscale gadget shops, museum stores and hardware outlets. Can crushers and sorting bins are all the rage.

Thirteen-year-old Zachary Lasko has it all - the skeleton light, the magnifying screen, the purple neon battery pack and a cool-looking quadraphonic speaker system. And they're all attached to a tiny, hand-held Nintendo Gameboy. "Every now and then somebody looks at it and says, `Where's the portable in that?'" says Zachary, an eighth-grader from Rockville. "I guess it's not really a Gameboy. It's more like a Gametank." Zachary and tens of millions of other youngsters around the world are dressing up their Gameboy consoles with so many gadgets that it takes a small briefcase to carry them around.

My Gadget of the Week is the Jiff-V-Sealer, which seals bread wrappers, frozen food bags and other packages airtight -- something you can't count on twist-'ems to do. Push the end of the wrapper through the slot of the gadget and slide it out with a professional-looking seal on the end.(The company makes a big deal of the fact that you can pull the ends of the seal apart and reseal them, but I found that was more trouble than it was worth.)The Jiff-V-Sealer, with 200 seals, costs around $13. Call (800)

Travelon's Wine Backpack/Shoulder Bag is a nice hands-free way to tote all the makings for a romantic picnic outdoors, or even in your hotel room. The padded black nylon pack has cradles for two bottles of wine and elastic bands for four wine glasses (not included), with plenty of extra space for napkins, cheese, crackers, a little cutting board and perhaps a crusty baguette. An internal mesh pocket can hold your corkscrew and other utensils, and there's a roomy external pocket. All that's missing is the ants.