These days, almost everything is digital. Almost anything can be done from a simple key stroke of a cell phone. Although most products are expensive when they first appear, with time, the price goes down and the technology goes up. Here are a few of the latest and greatest:
- DVD X Show. About $40. www.dvdxcopy.com. This software lets users transform boring digital pictures into a fun slideshow or movie complete with special effects and background music.
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel. About $900. www.canoneos.com. This digital camera has a 6.3 megapixel CMOS censor, which allows the photographer to achieve film-like quality while having the benefits of digital photography. It comes with an exclusive imaging processor called the DIGIC Chip. PC Magazine named this one of the best products of 2003.
- Sony UX50 CLIÉ. About $650. www.sonystyle.com. This PDA, named best of 2003 in PC Magazine, comes with a built-in digital camera and voice recorder. It also can be connected to the Internet with built-in wireless. The screen is a little bigger than the average with high resolution and the keyboard's keys are a little further apart to make typing easier. You can either use the keyboard or the screen twists to hide the keyboard and use the touch screen.
- The Hewlett-Packard Scanjet 4670. About $200. www.hp.com. The noiseless, clear, vertical scanner scans items and saves space at the same time - perfect for college environments. This product can stand vertically on two metal legs to save space, but can also rest horizontally. PC World magazine also rated this three and a half stars out of five.
- muvee autoProducer. About $40. www.muvee.com. This product converts digital video footage or pictures into a music video. Users can select background music and choose styles, tempos and clip orders. The autoproducer helps to find the best sequences and examines the digital footage selections to pull the project together. PC Magazine chose autoProducer as a best product of 2003.
- Pioneer DVR-810HS. About $800. www.dvd-recorder-buying-guide.com. www.tivo.com. Not only is this a DVD recorderm but it has a 80GB hard drive and TiVo DVR capabilities to let users digitally record about 102 hours of programming. Record shows on DVD-R for permanent storage. The January issue of PC World magazine rated this product three and a half stars out of five.
- Canon Optura 20. About $999. www.canondv.com. This digital camera uses high resolution and a 3.5 color LCD to view the video. The camera
named Best of 2003 in PC Magazine also functions in low light with the Super Color Night Mode setting.
