Product Snapshots

Product Snapshots give you a quick overview of the most interesting and useful products I have found during the past month. (Please note that these are first-look reviews; I have not conducted exhaustive testing.)

FIRECRACKER HOME CONTROL KIT

Although the FireCracker home control kit has been available for a while, it has only recently been marketed to a wide audience. As a result, I thought it merited mentioning here. After all, who can resist this little piece of convenient technology when it is priced so right--virtually free. (You simply pay shipping and handling costs.) The FireCracker home control kit from X10 uses the wiring that already exists in your home or office to enable you to control lights, appliances, and more from your computer or from the hand-held PalmPad Remote that is included with the kit.

The FireCracker home control kit includes the following components:

• PalmPad Remote. This palm-sized remote enables you to control up to 16 appliances, lights, and more when you are away from your computer.
• Computer Interface. This small device plugs into a serial port on your computer. The throughput design allows you to plug another device into the back of the interface. As a result, you can plug two devices (the interface and one additional device) into the same port.
• Wireless Link Module. The wireless link module receives the signal from the remote or the computer interface and converts that signal to a signal that is carried over household electrical wiring. You can use the wireless link module to control appliances such as a coffeemaker or a radio.
• Lamp Module. Simply plug any incandescent lamp into this module. You can then turn on, dim, or turn off the lamp from your computer or from the remote.
• Downloadable Software. After you receive the hardware pieces of the FireCracker home control kit, you can download the software required to run the equipment. The FireCracker home control kit is compatible with Windows NT, 98, and 95.

The best thing about the FireCracker home control kit is its price. X10 is so certain that you will be satisfied with the technology, that the kit is virtually free. You pay only U.S. $5.90 to cover shipping and handling costs. X10 offers expansion kits so that you can control more household devices. A six-piece expansion kit is U.S. $49.99. A 10-piece expansion kit is U.S. $99.99.

The FireCracker home control kit is available through the X10 web site (http://www.x10.com). For more information about the FireCracker home control kit, visit http://www.x10.com/netware. If you live in the United States or Canada, you can call 1-800-675-3044. Residents of other countries can find contact information at http://www.x10.com/about.htm.

MEMORY STICK WALKMAN

The Memory Stick Walkman, a compact digital storage system from Sony Corp., enables you download your favorite audio files from the Internet. However, unlike many other digital audio players that are available, you can store your music on the Memory Stick removable media. Each Memory Stick holds 64 MB (up to 80 minutes) of music. As a result, you can compile your own music mix and then swap Memory Sticks as your mood changes. For example, you can load one Memory Stick with music from your favorite artist and another Memory Stick with the music you like to listen to while you are exercising.

The Memory Stick Walkman includes Sony's Music Management Software, OpenMG JukeBox, which allows you to select tracks from your audio CDs and save these tracks as Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding 3 (ATRAC3) files on your computer. You can then upload these tracks to the Memory Stick Walkman. The Memory Stick Walkman also supports WAV and MP3 file formats. In addition, the Memory Stick Walkman is Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) compliant, enabling you to download secure digital music. (SDMI is a global specification for secure digital music distribution.)

A USB interface enables you to quickly upload music to the Memory Stick Walkman. In fact, it takes only 3 minutes to upload 64 MB of music. In addition, the Memory Stick Walkman is the perfect companion during physical activities because it has no moving parts, which means you get skip-free music.

The Memory Stick Walkman is 1.41´´ x 3.75´´ x .75´´and weighs approximately 2.36 oz. A built-in Lithium Ion rechargeable battery provides up to four hours of continuous playback. The Memory Stick Walkman is available through retail channels for the suggested price of U.S. $399.95. For more information about the Memory Stick Walkman, visit Sony's web site (http://www.sony.com). You can also call 1-800-222-7669 or 1-941-768-7669.