Your Technology Apr. 29, 2002

THRICE AS NICE Desktop computers are sprouting all sorts of stylish accessories these days. The latest, from Creative Labs, is this groovy-looking webcam. The PC-CAM 600 ($150) is really three cams in one: a videocam that can host a videoconference call, a still camera that can snap 20 digital still pictures (with crisp 1.3-megapixel resolution) and a camcorder that can record 75 sec. of video and up to an hour of audio.

RIP 'N' ROLL It used to be that when you heard a song you liked, you had to go to your computer to make a digital copy. No more. Just plug the PoGo! RipFlash ($198) into the headphone jack or Line-Out of any music system (CD player, radio, tape deck), and RipFlash's software will convert the song into an MP3 file on the fly, as it is playing. Don't forget to buy the recording, however. Musicians need to make a living too. SPY RAM James Bond would have loved this crafty little item. Targus' Go-Anywhere ($80 to $150) looks like one of those highlighters students use to underscore their textbooks' juicy parts. But open it up and--presto!--you've got a digital storage device with a USB plug on its business end. Slot it into a computer, and download up to 128 MB of data, music or pictures faster than you can mix a dry martini.

--By Roy B. White