• PC World
• » Computers

Comdex's Software Side

Most Innovative Software: Start-up Serious Magic demonstrated Visual Communicator, a $99 package that lets you point, click, and create video productions with network TV-like production values--and the only special hardware you need is a Webcam. In a world full of humdrum applications, Visual Communicator(which ships in January) looks to be a package that lets you do things that have never been done on a PC before. --Harry McCracken

Rev Up Your Web: Dubbed a reverse plug-in, Browse3D lets users find and view multiple Web pages simultaneously in a clever three-walled display. Pages can be saved as active or static in "sticky rooms" where they can be referred to later--great for keeping links handy during searches. --Michael Lasky and Harry McCracken

Not for Kids Only: One of the most entertaining products was Reallusion's Crazy Talk 1.5, software that lets you turn a digital picture into an animated and humorous mini-cartoon. The downloadable free program converts a photo into an animation, complete with facial expressions and comments. A selection of expressions are included, and you can make the character talk by entering text or importing a WAV file. The resulting files are small enough to attach to an e-mail message. Anyone over the age of 12 should be able to have a great time monkeying around with this humorous software. --Ramon G. McLeod

Seemed Like a Good Idea

Whew, Get Me Off This Merry-Go-Round: No dice to the Dyna-Flex Exercise Ball, which you're supposed to rotate in your hand. Its internal gyroscope spins at 9000 rotations per minute (faster than the hard drive in my notebook), purporting to "build strength while improving coordination." Thanks but I'll stick with the craps tables. --Steve Bass

Not Quite Ready: While the USB 2.0 pavilion featured considerably more vendors than its sad-sack counterpart at PC Expo, most of the players were far from household names. Companies such as Bafo, Pacific Digital, and Ambir Technology displayed Hi-Speed USB products, but few major vendors were on hand to show support. One analyst notes the standard won't likely hit the mainstream until Intel incorporates it into its chip sets, which won't happen until next year. --Tom Mainelli

Too Little, Too Late: Acer Communications' AcerCM 1208 DR combination 12X/8X/40X CD-RW drive that also reads 16X DVD-ROMs sounds like a dream machine. It was--nearly two years ago, when the first such drive was introduced. However, today, CD-R write speeds have jumped to 24X, 32X drives are imminent, and faster combo drives are available. --Melissa Perenson

Pop This Into My Holiday Package

Let's Drool: Shown in private and in press meetings only, Fujitsu's LifeBook P Series Windows XP notebook with a built-in DVD/CD-RW drive and a low-voltage Transmeta CPU that permits battery life of up to 6 hours--and weighs less than 3 pounds. The basic model starts at around $1500, but even the high-end version comes in at under $2000. We liked it so much we gave it the Notebook and Best-of-Show prizes at the Best of Comdex awards. --Denny Arar

Get Ready to REALLY Cocoon: New digital home entertainment products--projectors, sound systems, plasma displays, LCD TVs, and more--from Philips, InFocus, and others should make watching DVD movies and playing games better than ever. Now if only those big display prices would come down a bit. --Denny Arar

I Want More Than My MP3s: Slimmer, lighter and packed with more features than other portable audio jukebox devices, Archos' Jukebox Multimedia is to die for. It features a 10GB hard drive, USB 1.1 connectivity, and real-time MP3 encoding for direct recording from an audio source, and it plays MP3 and WMA files. But the real piece-de-resistance is the tiny color LCD screen for watching videos and viewing photos. Look for it at the start of the new year. --Melissa Perenson

Get Organized: Are cables sprouting like weeds in your office? Help is on the way. The Cable Clamp looks like half a handcuff--gather up your cables, ratchet the gizmo closed, and you're in business. --Steve Bass

• See more like this:
• comdex,
• usb,
• bluetooth,
• intel,
• fujitsu,
• Hewlett-packard,
• hp,
• transmeta