HOLIDAY GAMES FOR YOUR COMPUTER

It's the holiday season, and that means blissful days sitting in front of the computer staring mindlessly at your screen saver because you just don't have any new games to play. Fear not, gentle reader, for Craig Crossman is riding to your rescue armed with a fistful of holiday game recommendations. Now these won't be the latest 3D first person shooters, or even massively multiplayer games. Those are Mark's passion. Craig is a master of games of chance. Board games, card games... You name it. Step inside and be bored no more! It's holiday games for your computer!

KEYCHAIN GIZMO TURNS OFF TELEVISIONS

If your television suddenly turns itself off, before calling the repairman ask yourself this very important question. "Did I invite Craig Crossman to this party?" If you did, then you'd better search his pockets for TV-B-Gone. This handy-dandy keychain wonder does one thing and does it very well. It turns off over 200 different brands of television sets. Why, you ask? Well, for that you will need to turn to the ultimate gadget guru and ask Craig what he likes about it. Go forth, gentle reader, and delve the mysteries of what Mark has come to call "Suicide by TV-turn off."

PICTUREMATE IS A PHOTO LAB ON YOUR DESK

Digital cameras are outselling all other computer peripherals this holiday season, with most experts predicting that within just a few years the entire country will be converted from film to digital for personal photography. So what do you do with all these digital snapshots? Craig says, if you want stunning photo lab quality prints, there is an option to driving to the photo lab with your memory card. The Epson PictureMate is a true photo lab, but it fits comfortably on a corner of your desk. Craig and Mark are both great fans of this nifty printer. Come read, and find out why!

DEVICE LOCATES HOTSPOTS, DISPLAYS WIFI INFORMATION

WiFi hotspots are changing the way we use the internet. Not only do those traveling for business find hotspots indispensable, but students slurping coffee while they cram for their courses and even regular geeks like me who want to catch up on email while we order a tuna salad are finding that a hotspot is an information oasis that makes us more productive with our time. But how do you find hotspots? It's easy when there are signs posted all around you, but what about when there are no visible indications of the hotspot? Canary Wireless has what Craig calls a device that tells you "everything you need to know" about a hotspot. Read all about the Digital Hotspotter, from Canary Wireless, in this week's column.

DIGITAL CAMERA LIVES UP TO ITS NAME

When it comes to digital cameras, Craig says they're all the same. Boring silver boxes that fit in the palm of your hand. Megapixels, blah blah blah. Optical zooms, blah blah blah. What's needed here is some style, some color, some...verve? Craig has news about the new Verve digital cameras from Olympus. He says it's high time you put an end to boring silver boxes.

HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR GEEKS

Ever vigilant to be certain you have sufficient help in choosing gifts for your favorite geek this holiday season (or perhaps for the geek inside of you?), Craig has compiled a list of geeky goodness gift ideas, featured on the pages of ThinkGeek.com, the web's number one destination for Geek Cool. If you didn't know there was such a thing, don't miss this week's column!

COMPUTER WORKS AS A PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDER

Personal Video Recorders (also called Digital Video Recorders) are all the rage now, with brand names like TiVo and ReplayTV on the tip of every electronics-savvy television watcher in America. Craig says that the most powerful PVR might just be the computer sitting on your desk. Read all about a product called Sage TV that transforms your computer into a PVR capable of recording from one or more TV tuner cards at the same time.

USB FLASHDRIVE PROTECTS WITH FINGERPRINT

USB flashdrives are the new floppy disk. No, really, they are. Faster, larger, more reliable, and extremely easy to swipe. How can you keep your data safe? Users who require security now have an excellent option in Lexar's TouchGuard USB flashdrive, which Craig reports needs the correct finger before it coughs up the data. Read all about it!

CORDLESS NOTEBOOK MOUSE RIVALS DESKTOP MODELS

Notebook computers come with a variety of built-in pointing devices. None the less, Craig points out that mice are one of the hottest accessories for the portable computer crowd. A new model from Logitech, the V500, has Craig's head on a swivel. He says it not only works good, but looks good too. Is this the best mouse for your notebook computer? Craig says it might be the best compact mouse...period. Come read all about it.

CASSETTES ARE NEVER COMING BACK

This week, Craig outs the closet cassette tape users among us. We've got tapes of music and other recorded material that has never seen the laser light of optical media. These memories will fade with the oxide unless we take action to get them off tape and into digital format where they can live happily ever after (assuming we remember to make backups). Craig calls your attention to the PlusDesk 2 from BTO, which just may be the easiest way to bridge the divide. Oh, and he's really sorry about that whole "outing" thing. But you eight track tape owners should be worried, just the same.

WINDOWS RETURNS TO THE MACINTOSH

If you're a Mac user and you need to run Windows programs from time to time, you have two choices. You could buy an inexpensive Windows computer...but who wants to do that? All the clutter of a second computer, plus your Mac just might catch something (those Windows computers just aren't "clean," right?). Or, you can get Virtual PC 7 from Microsoft (yes, THAT Microsoft). Craig says that Virtual PC 7 lets your Mac emulate a PC's hardware so well that Windows XP boots and runs without a hitch. Sounds like just the thing for those occasional times when you need to see how the other half lives.

MSN TRIES AGAIN FOR YOUR TV SET

Craig says Microsoft is trying again to make a set-top box for your TV that brings the internet into the living room without a computer. The secret this time, according to our Gadget Guru, is that this set-top box is...well, A COMPUTER! Older models failed because they locked you out from too much of the internet's rich multimedia content. Can the new MSN TV 2 Internet & Media Player succeed where the others have failed? Craig says this one "has a fighting chance." Read all about it!

ANTENNA BOOSTER FOR COMPUTER AND CELL

We've all seen those goofy commercials for the stick on "antenna boosters" you paste under your cell phone's battery. And we all know they don't work (don't we?). This week, Craig has the scoop on an EXTERNAL cell phone antenna that is perfect for your desk or car, giving you a TRUE boost in reception in those low signal areas. And, oh by the way, it can be used with some wireless Ethernet devices as well! It's the Freedom Antenna, from ARC Wireless Solutions, available at a Radio Shack near you.

AN IGNITION KEY FOR YOUR COMPUTER

Keeping your data safe -- it's a problem all of us face at one time or another. From simple passwords to advanced biometric security products, a myriad of solutions exist. Craig brings you news of one that is as simple to use as the ignition key to your car, while still extremely secure. It's actually two products, both from Griffin Technologies. SecuriKey and ControlKey give you total control over who can use your computer, and when. Read all about it!

SERVICE SIMPLIFIES EBAY AUCTIONS

You've heard all about eBay from your family and friends. It's the nationwide flea market, the worlds biggest garage sale, or as they put it: The World's Online Marketplace. You drool over the prospect of turning your garage full of castoffs into pockets stuffed with cash, but you're just a bit put off by not knowing how to get your listing displayed properly. Digital picture? What's that? Well, fear not, gentle eBay-wannabe, help has arrived. Craig tells you about AuctionDrop, a new service offered at your local UPS Store. It's simple to use, and Craig says it can have anyone selling like a pro on eBay in just minutes.

APPLE'S NEW IMAC IS THINNEST YET

Thin is in, according to Craig, and no place more so than your computer. Craig adores the new iMac from Apple Computer, the thinnest computer system ever made for the general consumer market. (Mark insisted on the disclaimer, remembering those IBM scientists who like making computers that are two or three molecules thick.) If you've not yet seen the latest iMac, jump on in to Craig's latest column and take a look!

NEW MOUSE PUTS LASER ON "STUN"

Optical mouse technology has advanced a long way, from the days when you had to move the mouse over a special pad featuring a grid to aid its tracking to the modern optical mouse with its red LED able to work over most surfaces. Craig brings you the news of a new model from Logitech that sets aside the red LED for a red LASER. That's right! A real, honest-to-Bill-Gates laser. Mark can't wait to see whether it can double as a personal defense device. Read all about the incredible new Logitech MX1000 laser mouse!

GPS HARDWARE INCLUDED WITH NEW MAP SOFTWARE

Craig says that getting lost might just become a thing of the past with Microsoft's Streets & Trips 2005. Included in each box is something WAY better than the toy surprise in your breakfast cereal. What is it, you ask? Read the column and find out, we say!

MACINTOSH BACKUPS JUST BECAME EASIER

Everyone, even co-host and certified Apple hater Mark Lautenschlager, agrees that Apple's Mac OS X is a reliable operating system. One thing it lacked, however, was the ability to make a complete, "disaster recovery," backup. You could copy files, sure, but backing up the entire system including all your settings and preferences was not something built in to the operating system. Host and certified Apple apologist Craig Crossman wishes to suggest Shirt Pocket's SuperDuper!, a program that Craig says is "right-sized." Come and read all about it!

TINY PRINTER PRINTS DIRECTLY ONTO CD AND DVD

Avoid mislabeling disasters! Give a clear and professional look to your CDs and DVDs. Primera's new Signature Z1 rates high on the cool factor as a solution for sharp, single-color printing directly on your discs. Small form factor, low price, but great results. Craig says it's a winner!

BACKUP YOUR DATA ONLINE

Ah, backups! Everybody needs them, but most of us don't make them with any regularity. If you don't make regular backups of your data because it's not convenient or you don't have a good backup device, Craig has a suggestion for you. Online backups, such as the Glorio service from Restorion, can save your data and your time, all at once.

NEW PC ABILITY MAY BE A NEW TREND

Toshiba has announced a new notebook computer that incorporates a TV tuner. That in itself is not unique, but the Qosmio will let you watch TV without having to boot up the computer itself, or load the Windows operating system. Craig likes it and ponders whether this will be a trend in hybrid computers and entertainment appliances.

ONE HARD DRIVE FOR ALL

Craig goes hardware crazy this week, with reviews of XIMETA's ultra cool network storage device, the NetDisk, and Philippe Starck's gorgeous designer mouse for Microsoft. It's a double helping of hardware goodness, just calling out to your Visa cards! Yum!

HIDE SECRET MESSAGES INSIDE MUSIC AND PICTURES

Holy Secret Decoder Rings! Craig says you can hide secret messages inside your MP3 files and JPEG images, to name just a few possibilities. Wow! We're guessing that Craig is hiding all his passwords inside pictures of Aibo (his robot dog, for those who are new readers).

APPLE, WIDGETS AND KONFABULATOR

Craig goes after a controversy in this week's column. Is Apple's new Macintosh operating system, OS X "Tiger," shutting down one of Craig's favorite utilities? Craig talks to Arlo Rose, the creator of Konfabulator, about what Apple is doing and what the future holds for Arlo's company.

APPLE UNVEILS THREE OF A KIND

Apple unveils three new LCD flat panel "Cinema Displays," including a gigantimundo (It's okay, I heard Fonzie say it once on Happy Days. -Ed.) 30 inch model that has Craig green with monitor envy. Yes, yes...we know what he says in the column. He's perfectly happy with his current 22 inch Apple Cinema Display. But we know better, yes we do! Check out the ultimate screen for your Macintosh in this week's column.

CREATE A WEBSITE WITHOUT SOFTWARE

Craig says there's a way your organization or business can build its own web site, including many powerful and advanced features, without having to learn web design software OR outsource to a web designer. How? SpinSite, which combines browser-based web site development tools with web hosting. Read all about them!

CAPTURE ANY SOUND YOUR COMPUTER MAKES

Have you ever wanted to record the audio your computer was playing back? Perhaps a live internet stream, or the soundtrack to a DVD movie you're watching? Whatever the source, Craig has uncovered that it's possible to record anything that is played back. Find out how!

DEVICE CONNECTS COMPUTERS TO ONE ACCOUNT

The only thing better than a high speed connection to the internet is being able to share that high speed connection with all the computers in your home or small office. Craig says the best way to do that is with a broadband router like the WGR614 from NETGEAR. It's combination of wired and wireless access has Craig surfing in the fast lane from every direction and he says it can do the same for you!

WEB CALENDAR MAKES BEST ORGANIZER

What's the best way to keep today's scattered virtual offices on the same page? Put that page on the INTERNET, of course! Craig explores web calendars this week, and explains why they might be the right choice for your business or organization. Find out about EzWebCalendar and see whether it can do for you what it did for Craig.

SOFTWARE DOUBLES SCREEN REAL ESTATE

The search for maximum productivity is often restrained by the size of your screen. Let's face it, if you can't see it, you can't work on it. Wouldn't it be nice if you could have a second monitor to double your screen's real estate? Owners of portable computers can rejoice, for a clever piece of software called MaxiVista will transform that display on your notebook (sitting idle next to your desktop while you're back in the office), into that longed-for second display!

PRODUCT HELPS RECOVER A STOLEN PORTABLE COMPUTER

Increasing numbers of us carry portable computers now, for business, school, or just because we're geeks. More portable computers means more opportunity for theft. Craig says you can protect yourself against theft by using nTracker from Synet. It's Lo-Jack for your computer!

DSL GETS EVEN FASTER

Broadband wars between cable and DSL are heating up. The latest arena of competition? SPEED! Craig has the details for you.

NETWORK MUSIC PLAYER DELIVERS TUNES IN ANY ROOM

Stream digital music from any computer on your network with Roku's SoundBridge Network Music Player. Connect your stereo or just a pair of speakers. Craig says it's high tech music goodness!

CELL PHONES NAME THAT TUNE

You can hum it, you can sing along and get every third word right, it's your favorite song at the moment...wouldn't it be great if you knew the title and the artist? Forget calling your local radio station, they're all run by computers these days anyway. Try holding your cell phone up to the radio! Think I'm nuts? According to Craig, customers of AT&T Wireless can do just that.

CREATE, SELL ONLINE MERCHANDISE WITH YOUR LOGO

The title says it all...Craig has dug up one of the most unique internet stores we've seen yet. Cafepress.com will take your logo and apply it to a broad array of merchandise, handle the sale from end to end, and all you have to do us provide the logo and collect a check. Some restrictions apply. Don't delay. Read Craig's column today!

BRAVO II IS A WELCOME ENCORE

It burns, it prints, it stacks discs neatly up to 50 at a time. Craig says you can't find HUMAN assistants that efficient! We're talking about the latest revision to Primera's amazing do-it-all disc publishing device, the Bravo II. Find out what's new and whether it's time for you to have a disc production assistant that doesn't need to get paid overtime, or take coffee breaks, or...well, you get the point.

GOOGLE CONTINUES TO AMAZE WITH USEFUL FEATURES

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Super Search Engine! Sometimes, that's how we all feel about Google. This week, Craig explores some features of the powerful search engine that you might not even know existed. Find out what it takes to amaze the Gadget Guru who has seen it all and has two of every t-shirt. Don't miss this week's column.

LOW PRICE SCANNER OFFERS PHOTO RECONSTRUCTION

Craig has the details on the new ScanMaker i320 from Microtek. According to our Gadget Guru, the advanced features of the i320, combined with its low price, make it an essential part of your computer. Read all about it in this week's column.

ONE TERABYTE DRIVE NEARS DEBUT

Craig predicted a one terabyte drive would be available by the end of 2004. Mark disagreed, suggesting 700MB units would be common but a full terabyte would wait until 2005. We're not sure how much Craig paid LaCie to make this drive just so his prediction would come true, but...see for yourself. Craig was right.

THE TELEPHONE OF THE FUTURE

Craig has discovered the telephone of the future. It harnesses the power of the internet to make your telephone work the way you want it to, anywhere in the world. Read all about VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephones!

PUT ON A HAPPY FACE

After all these years, Craig has FINALLY discovered a way to always leave them smiling. No, not people...photographs! See how you too can have complete control over facial expressions in your digital photographs with FaceFilter from Reallusion.

SUPER SCANNER COMES IN SMALL SIZE

Pen scanners are nothing new. Small, extremely portable, and labor intensive. You scan in text one line at a time. Craig says no more! For now there is the DocuPen from Planon System Solutions. It's a full page scanner in a pen form factor. To un-boggle your mind, read Craig's latest column and find out how it's done. ALSO: A dead battery spells disaster for cell phone users with no handy electrical outlets for recharging. Unless you have the SideWinder from Innovative Solutions and Technologies. Craig says the arm is mightier than the dead cell phone battery, or something like that...no, really, we heard him say something like that.

DISCOVER THE MISSING LINK

Craig is in search of the Missing Link! No, never fear, our Gadget Guru hasn't suddenly become an archeologist. He's talking about the link between your external files and your Microsoft Office documents. If you've ever had the pain of a missing graphic during a crucial PowerPoint presentation, then you need LinkFixerPlus from LinkTek. Craig says it's just the thing for a healthy set of links. We're guessing that he doesn't mean golf, here.

FREE INTERNET BROWSER OFFERS BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Are you suffering from browser envy? You want tabbed multi-site browsing and sophisticated features like pop-up blocking, web site groups, fully skinnable interface, but you don't want to give up Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser because it's the most widely supported on the internet? Craig has the answer. Don't give up Internet Explorer, enhance it with Flash Peak Software's SlimBrowser. Best of all, it's free!

KEEP YOUR EMAIL INFORMATION UP TO DATE

Hundreds of contacts, changing email addresses, it's like trying to hit a moving target. How do you keep your contacts up to date? Craig says Windows users have help automating this task. Plaxo Contacts is a combination of software and a web-based application that keeps your contacts up to date. Craig says he'll never forget your birthday, again!

COMPOSE YOURSELF WITH GARAGEBAND

Craig's in the garage and it's not what you might think. The Gadget Guru hasn't taken up auto racing, no... It's GarageBand, part of Apple's new iLife '04 software and Craig says it's revolutionary to home audio recording. So all you budding American Idols take note, Craig says GarageBand is for you!

TAME THE WORD MONSTER

Craig has two fascinating bits for you this week. The first is a program called CrossEyes that helps take the bizarre out of Microsoft Word's document formatting habits. The second is a book on hacking your TiVo. Power to the people, baby!

NOW THE REST OF YOUR FAMILY CAN WATCH YOUR TV

It will come as no surprise to you that Craig's home entertainment system is big, complex, and comes with a 480-page operator's guide. Do you have a similar problem? Do babysitters refuse to work for you because they can't figure out how to watch Friends? Craig says the Harmony Remote might be the answer. It's smart, so the operator doesn't have to be. Check it out!

APPLE'S NEW MINI HAS BIGGER FEATURES

If you want your mobile music, but an iPod is just too big, Apple has a new device for you! It's the iPod mini and Craig says it's big on features and sound, while staying small in size.

TINY FROGPAD MAKES A BIG LEAP

To the list of things Craig can do with one hand, he now adds...typing! Yes, typing. You'll be green with envy as you see his fingers flying over the innovative new FrogPad keypad input device. If you need a portable keyboard for your computer, Craig says this one's a winner. Read all about it!

TRANSFER YOUR OLD VIDEO TAPES TO DVDS

Your video tapes are getting old. Very, very old. Your memories may be lost for all time as the tape they are stored on decays. Craig says now is the time to convert to DVD. HP's dc3000 is the device our Gadget Guru says will make this an automatic, painless process. Read this week's column, before it's too late for YOUR videotapes!