Also this issue: Holiday Gift Guide -Debra Auspitz Shiny & New -Nancy Armstrong, Debra Auspitz, Deborah Bolling, Daniel Brook, Juliet Fletcher, Lori Hill, Frank Lewis, Ted Mann, Patrick Rapa and David Warner Birthday Presents The gift-giving big leagues are on display at the Art Museum. -Debra Auspitz Home on the Range Discs for Your List DVDs that won't disappoint. -Sam Adams Wrappers Delight It's all about the presentation. -Juliet Fletcher Box It Up Why buy one cd when you can have a whole set? -A.D. Amorosi, Nate Chinen, Jesse Delaney and Patrick Rapa Get Game Five picks for video game gift-giving. -Frank Lewis and Chris Newborg

November 21-27, 2002

cover story

Technically Speaking

In the Air Tonight

Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have all brought the promise of online gaming to console systems. But what do you do if your game system and television are located in another room and want to take advantage of the new online gaming? Until now there were only two options: running an Ethernet cord long enough to reach the modem or, even less desirable, installing Ethernet cables in the walls. The WET-11 Ethernet bridge, coupled with a wireless router, allows you to lose the lengthy cable or construction plans. It works flawlessly with all three game consoles, and amazingly enough, no configuration is required -- the first plug-and-play device that works right out of the box. Chris Newborg

$129, available at www.linksys.com.

Advertisement Blues

"I haven't seen a commercial in months," boasted a friend recently. He was trumpeting the features of TiVo, a personal video recorder (PVR) that digitizes umpteen hours of television, and then lets him zip through annoying Slim Jim ads. New research into PVRs shows that users skip commercials 72.3 percent of the time. Now, with a little help from TiVo's competitor, Replay TV, we can get that number up to 100 percent. The SONICblue ReplayTV 5000 series has what may be the coolest feature in modern electronics: "Commercial Advance." This function automatically filters out ads on playback -- no fast-forward required (as with TiVo). Also, a Napster-like file-sharing system allows unlimited exchange of Buffy reruns. In the TiVo vs. Replay battle, as with Beta vs. VHS in the '80s, it's hard to predict who will reign supreme, but if infomercials become a thing of the past, they're both winners in my book. Ted Mann

$299.99, available at www.sonicblue.com.

Visions of Grandeur

There was a time, not too many years ago, when only the wealthiest people could afford to own cell phones. Weighing in at close to five pounds and with airtime charges of three dollars a minute or more, it was apparent that changes would have to be made to garner widespread acceptance. My, how things have changed. These days we aren't even satisfied with being able to make and receive phone calls on the go -- now we want multi-function phones. Enter the new Sprint PCS Vision phones, equipped with full-color screens and enough extras to impress even the most jaded techno-geek. These new phones support a wide variety of applications including games, text messaging, e-mail and Web browsing.

Then there's the marriage of the digital camera and cellular phone. The new James Bond-esque SCP-5300 Phone by Sanyo is the first camera-embedded phone to hit the market. The phone has digital zoom, optional flash and a 2.2-inch color screen that displays photos. In addition, the PCS Vision Pictures service lets users edit, manage and view online photo albums. Chris Newborg

Sprint PCS Vision phones, $179.99-$399.99; Sanyo SCP-5300 phone, $399.99, both available at www.sprintpcs.com.

Get into the Groove

Do you love to burn your own CDs, but hate how they all look like total crap? If you shouted yes, then calm down, because Verbatim's new vinyl-topped CD-R is the answer to your rather tiny, short-sighted wishes. Swankly designed to look like little grooved 45s, there's nothing else particularly interesting about them. Chris Newborg

$10.60 for 10, available at www.shopverbatim.com.

Wishing and Hoping

There are a lot of rich people in the world, and one of them should, upon reading this little piece, purchase an iPod and send it to me. Please. With its superfast downloading speed, 10-hour lithium battery and built-in iTunes capabilities, this sleek, compact gadget is the mp3 player of my dreams. But alas, it costs too darn much -- $299 for the weak 5-gig version, and $399 and $499 for the 10- and 20-gig models, respectively. Either of those last two will do, kindly rich person -- they come with a little remote built into the headphone wires! How cool is that? This year there's even a PC-compatible model (not that I swing that way) and you know what else? For $20 you can have my iPod engraved. My suggestion: "Dear Patrick, Here is the free iPod you deserve because you could not afford it otherwise. Sincerely, Rich." Please somebody send me an iPod. I'm serious. Please. Patrick Rapa

$299-$499, available at www.apple.com. and the Apple Retail Store in King of Prussia