In Brief: Mar. 26, 2001

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AIR BALL Weekend b-ballers, beware: Spalding is removing "underinflated ball" from your arsenal of sorry excuses for missed free throws. Its engineers have concocted Infusion ($45), a basketball with a built-in pump. Thanks to clever designing, it meets NBA standards for balance and rebounding. Spalding is talking with the pro league in hopes that Infusion will become the NBA's ball of choice. Shaquille, are you listening?

WAKE-UP CALL There's nothing like radio luck in the morning--the first notes of your favorite song jostling you out of sleep. But why leave it to chance? The MP3 O'Clock ($55 at artistdirect.com can play digital music clips (or even your sweetheart's voice) instead of a buzzer or the radio. The website offers free MP3s and wake-up messages from pop stars to go with its colorful plastic alarm clocks, but you can also use your own digital files. Note to oversleepers: the 50-sec. clips don't leave much room for extra winks.

PAGING THE KIDDIES A California company says it has a techie way to allay a parent's worst fear--a device that finds a lost child. Wherify's Personal Location System packs a global positioning receiver, pager and wristwatch into a plastic bracelet. It will be available this summer for about $300, plus a $10-$25 monthly fee. Parents can page kids directly or pinpoint their location via phone or the Web. A version of the device for seniors is in the works.

--By Jyoti Thottam