Hot Stuff
Hardware/Software
Epson Stylus Photo 900
Music mixes, iMovies, backups -- we're printing tons of great-looking CDs and DVDs, using the Stylus Photo 900 (
;
August 2003
).
Alphabet Soup
Oz Music Code's new gem turns your Mac into a musical instrument by mapping audio loops and samples to your keyboard. The live-performance tool supports a wide variety of audio file formats, too (www.ozmusiccode.com).
iView MediaPro 2
iView Multimedia kicked up the speed of its digital-asset manager in a huge way for version 2. Other additions we really like are the image-editing tools, integrated PDF export, and the Fast Find feature (www.iview-multimedia.com).
Illustrator's 3-D features
We've seen Adobe Illustrator CS's ability to wrap artwork around a 3-D shape, and boy, are we impressed (www.adobe.com).
Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Photography hobbyists who want full manual controls will be thrilled with this digital SLR camera that costs -- get this -- less than $1,000 (http://usa.canon.com).
Sony's Clié PEG-UX50
This unit gives us hope that Microsoft's PocketPC might not crush Palm after all. This $700 handheld has a usable miniature keyboard and a pivoting color screen, as well as built-in Bluetooth and AirPort, making it a perfect mini-laptop. Its Mac support is weak, even with Mark/ Space's $30 Missing Sync for Clié (www.markspace .com). But this device is undeniably cool (877/ 865-7669, www .sonystyle.com).
Best 20-Inch LCDs
NEC MultiSync LCD2080UX
;
August 2003; $1,699
Formac Gallery 2010 Oxygen
;
August 2003; $1,099
Apple Cinema Display
;
August 2003; $1,299
Sharp LL-T2020B
;
August 2003; $1,799
Sony SDM-X202
;
August 2003; $1,499
Best Games
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 (Aspyr Media)
;
October 2003; $50 (sports game)
Enigmo (Pangea Software)
;
October 2003; $25 (puzzle)
Unreal Tournament 2003 (MacSoft)
;
September 2003; $50 (first-person shooter)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (Aspyr Media)
;
March 2003; $50 (action-strategy game)
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (Aspyr Media)
;
February 2003; $50 (3-D–action game)
Best Quote
"I lo-o-ove my Apple G4 laptop. I always travel with an extra-extra-long power cord and a 40-foot Ethernet cable. I'm really elitist about it."
-- Comedian Margaret Cho, in The Out Traveler (premiere issue 2003)