Electronics
 The Palm V Connected Organizer is a sleek new incarnation of the PDA that some claim has changed their lives. At only 4.7 by 3.2 inches, the elegant anodized-aluminum case is far smaller and lighter than that of the old IIIx. And at 0.4 inches thick, it's truly pocket-size at last. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which charge while the unit sits in its HotSync cradle, make battery life a nonissue. We had no trouble setting up the device, synching with our PC-based Netscape e-mail, using the Graffiti character-recognition software, or working with the address book, date book, memo writer, to-do list, and all the other apps that put the Palm OS on the map. 3Com rates the unit for 6,000 addresses, five years' worth of appointments, 1,500 to-dos and memos, and 200 e-mails. All in all, this is a great upgrade to an already strong product. If this is your first Palm, it's a great way to start. Check it out!
 Toshiba has pared an excellent DVD player down to its essentials for high-quality sound and image playback, making the SD-2109 a no-frills alternative to higher-priced models. However, it is not entirely bare-bones as besides traditional DVD features such as camera-angle selection, subtitling, and language preference, the Toshiba SD-2109 also offers three levels of zoom and reverse, and forward-play speeds from 1/8x to 30x. It also does a great job locating specific sections on a disk through title and chapter skip as well as a convenient "time search" feature. A nice touch is the Video Black Level expander circuitry. With this function you can expand the picture's overall contrast range to derive richer, deeper blacks and finer tonal gradation, both of which we found enhanced low-light viewing. As expected, the SD-2109 proved extremely easy to set up and navigate. A super entry-level DVD player! Buy it now!
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Books
All Too Human is a
personal and candid memoir by the former senior counselor to the president about life in the White House
during Clinton's first term. A brilliant combination of pragmatic insight and idealism, buy it
and see another side of the story
Check out Monica's version
Music
 Andrea Bocelli's
Sogno ("dream")
is a pop album of entirely original compositions Bocelli himself describes as
secular Italian traditional melodic music with a contemporary twist. The album's 14 tracks
include "The Prayer," a Bocelli and Celine Dion duet produced by David Foster; and "Sogno"
(the first single excerpted from the album), a light-as-a-feather, emotional composition sung
by Bocelli with his typical vocal emphasis, which has made him famous around the world since the
release of his self-titled debut.
Video
 With the phenomenal
success of their 1996 hit thriller Scream,
Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson combined again,the result being
Scream 2 with
Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, and Liev Schreiber reprising their
roles. Just as the slasher movie Stab (based on the events from Scream) is about to make its local
premiere, they're caught in a new cycle of murders. That's the setup for another frantic guessing
game involving a number of possible suspects, and the mystery is complicated by the
reappearance of the masked killer from the first film. Featuring several scenes that will have
you biting your nails and gripping your seat, this movie's an exception to the rule--a sequel
that satisfies its target audience.
DVD
 Pixar's second
feature film, A Bug's Life,
is hard to find anything less than irresistible. It is the sweetly
told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant. His colony revolves around feeding and
fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced by Kevin Spacey). The ensemble of creatures
and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include comedian Denis Leary as
an un-ladylike ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a
stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. It also contain Pixar's
delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game.
Electronics
 This is the highly anticipated next installment in the Quake series of adventure games. Quake 3: Arena continues the action of the earlier two games but adds more intense action, surreal graphics, and a phenomenal multiplayer mode. Three player classes (light, medium, and heavy) with their own strength, speed, and armor levels, together with new characters and weapons (plus old favorites like the BFG), make this a thrilling first-person shooter game. The game also features body armor and health kits to help keep you alive. Quake 3 makes for an exhilarating single-player game, but to truly discover what makes this game great, try out the mulitplayer mode for up to 32 players, in one-on-one matches or group conquests. Find out more
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