Snap Away With your cool digital camera you feel like a professional photographer, but the photos take so long to process and those skimpy storage cards don't seem to hold many shots. Lexar's High Performance Pro Series digital film PC Cards hold a whopping 160MB of images each, and their 8X speed lets you take consecutive shots so you won't miss a thing.

New Connections An increasing number of peripherals give you a choice of USB or parallel connection--the Visioneer PaperPort OneTouch 5300, for example. But USB is still the exception. Expect that to change as more PCs ship with USB. By next year, USB should overtake both the serial and parallel port as the standard PC connection.

Editor's Picks

Personal Document Scanner

Visioneer PaperPort One Touch 5300 If you're intimidated by scanners, this one will change your mind. It's as easy to use as a copy machine. The PaperPort One Touch 5300 has five handy buttons in front to launch scanning, printing, copy and fax utilities, and other apps. Choose either the USB or parallel port version.

Graphics Scanner

Epson Expression 800 Executive Don't let the professionals get all the good scans. Now you can do it yourself with Epson's 36-bit color flatbed Expression 800 Executive. It delivers high-resolution scans that are incredibly true to the original. You'll also love the handy software bundle that helps you get perfect scans with minimal effort or hassles.

Digital Camera

Kodak DC260 Zoom Camera Finally, a good reason to chuck your film camera. Kodak's DC260 Zoom Camera may be just the perfect digital camera. Its 1,536-by-1,024-dpi resolution, 3X optical zoom, easy LCD controls, and hassle-free connection to your PC mean you don't give up a thing.

Sound Card

Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live Want PC sound that rocks? The SoundBlaster Live's PCI audio with 256 voices, true 3-D surround sound, and a generous software bundle will liven up games, music, even presentations. Plug in a four-piece speaker set and really make the most of your PC's audio.

Speakers

MidiLand S2 4100 Don't settle for rinky-dink sound from pint-size speaker sets. If you want to crank up the volume, give this 100-watt, four-piece speaker set with an enormous subwoofer a spin. Its sleek design looks pretty cool too. Who needs a separate stereo when you've got this PC sound system pumping out the tunes?

Uninterruptible power supply

American Power Conversion Back-UPS Pro 650 All it takes is one power surge to zap your PC--and obliterate your data. Armed with the Back-UPS Pro 650, you won't sweat any storm. Its long battery life, 650 VA protection, three battery-backup outlets, and three surge-only outlets will keep you safe.

Input Device

Logitech Cordless Wheel Mouse How many times has your mouse cord sent your coffee cup flying? Here's a wireless device that works and will keep your desk spill-free. Its RF technology means you don't even need to point the mouse at the receiver to make it work. And thanks to its handy scroll wheel, you can navigate up and down Web pages with a flick of the finger.

Cheat Sheet File Formats

TIFF? JPEG? BMP? Which format is best for saving your scans or digital photos? Here are the quick answers.

— Liesl La Grange Noble