Who Knew Your...PC, Software, Camera, Printer, Network, Drive, Handheld...Could Do That?

PCs and Notebooks

...Your USB gadgets could connect via an ordinary wall socket? Are you running out of space in your geekosphere? Here's a thought: Relocate your USB printer or other peripheral down the hall--or at the other end of your home. The only equipment you need is Belkin's PowerLine USB Adapter ($65 street). Simply plug the adapter into your computer, and then plug the adapter into any electrical wall socket. Connect the Belkin PowerLine Ethernet Adapter (another $100) to your computer or network, and plug it into a wall socket, too. PowerLine networking even works with versions of Windows as far back as 98 SE.

...Your printer could go wireless? There's no getting around the convenience of wireless devices. Still, even if you're a big wireless fan, you probably have at least one device that remains tethered to your PC: your printer. But now you can cut that cord, too. All it takes is a wireless print server. The Linksys Instant Wireless Print Server WPS11 uses the 802.11b standard and supports one parallel printer; the company's Wireless G Print Server WPS54GU2 is designed for 802.11g networks and supports two printers (one parallel and one USB). Either model can connect to your network via ethernet or wirelessly, and each costs about $130.

...You could plug your digital camera straight into a slide-show display? If you're like me, you love showing off your digital-camera handiwork, but you don't want to gather everyone around your PC monitor to view the images. With Pacific Digital's MemoryFrame MF-570, you can skip the PC altogether. Your shots go straight from the camera to this 5.6-inch active-matrix LCD that can hang on your living-room wall or rest on a table or desktop. Load up to 55 images (.jpeg, .tiff, .png, .gif, or .bmp) via USB into the device's 16MB of RAM and 8MB of flash memory. The bundled Digital Pix Master software lets you use your PC to create a slide show and then load the images from the PC into the MemoryFrame. But letting the device create the show for you is even more convenient. Its built-in controls enable you to delete images, change timing and transitions, and make other alterations to your slide shows. I do have a few quibbles about the MemoryFrame, though: The device uses a slow USB 1.1 connection, and the wire that leads to the AC adapter is a glaring eyesore. Oh, and then there's the price tag: At $350 list and $270 street, the MemoryFrame isn't cheap (the new 8-by-10-inch model lists for $500). Still, there's just no getting around the fact that this little puppy wows everyone who ventures into my living room.

...Your notebook screen could double as a desktop monitor? If you're looking to go the single-machine route, you'll be interested in the Oyster from Sherpaq Mobile Products, a smart way to convert your notebook into a desktop. Open your notebook flat and slide the keyboard end into this $150 almost-vertical docking station--and just like that, the notebook's display is facing you at the level of a desktop monitor. Connect your mouse, desktop keyboard, and other peripherals to the Oyster's USB ports (the gizmo includes a four-port USB 2.0 hub with a spot to hide the cables), and the transformation is complete.

...Your inkjet cartridges would last longer with regular use? If you're one of those happy souls who don't use their inkjet printer more than once a month or so, keep in mind that its ink cartridges can get funky and its print quality can plummet. I gave my inkjet a long break, and the first photo I printed afterward showed blue roses on a red sky. To keep your printer in shape, print a test color document once a week. To discover more ways to cut your printer costs, see "The Cheapskate's Guide to Printing."

...Your PC could catalog your CDs and DVD movies automatically? It used to take me forever to decide on a movie to watch or music to listen to from my scattered collection of DVDs and CDs. I spend less time scrambling and more time enjoying since I found a couple of great cataloging programs. For movie DVDs, grab a copy of DVD Profiler. Enter the UPC on a movie DVD's case into the $25 program, or just stick the disc into your PC, and the software retrieves more than 20 details about the movie from an online database. DVD Profiler stores the data for easy lookups, too. Keep tabs on your music CDs and MP3s with CD Trustee, a $40 program that creates a database of song titles automatically.

Bonus tip: Now you can wake up from your office catnaps to whatever MP3 or WMA music file you prefer. Jake's Alarm Clock freeware puts a small clock on your desktop that you can set to play the tune of your choice at the time you specify.