Go ahead, call me a tightwad. I revel in my skinflinted ways. Every moth
that flies out of my rarely-open wallet is a badge of honor to me. Not
that I ever deprive myself of things that I want or need, of course, but
if I can buy something that serves not one but two purposes, I'll
consider it money well spent. A dessert topping and a floor wax, you
say? Bring it on!
This month, I'll be singing the praises of a few two-trick ponies I have
come to know and love. One of them actually replaces three pieces of
software I currently use-a trick so impressive that I don't mind paying
$25 for it even though the pieces of software it replaces are free. What
kind of tightwad does that make me? A happy tightwad, that's what kind.
I don't have to fuss with three programs or upgrade my RAM to handle
them all. And that contentment is worth spending a little cash.
Thrillin' Trillian
I'm not a chat addict, though I often AIM or Yahoo-message with people
who are. But chat does appeal to me-I like the idea of dashing off a few
quick words live and direct with far-flung friends without making a
long-distance call. But chat gets complicated when your friends use
different chat services. AIM, Yahoo, Windows Messenger, ICQ, IRC ... who
has the patience to deal with five different chat apps just to stay in
touch?
Thankfully, you don't need five apps, just one: Trillian Pro 2.0. This
$25 download from Cerulean Studios >www.trillian.cc< provides
one-program access to all five big chat services, integrating buddy
lists in each service into a single alphabetical list. When you fire up
the program, you immediately log in to any service you subscribe to, and
can hail any online buddies from a single list. You don't need to know
which service you're using, because Trillian Pro handles all the
behind-the-scenes stuff. All you do is click on names and receive
incoming pings.
Trillian Pro also acts as a clearinghouse for the Webmail services
associated with your chat accounts-HotMail, YahooMail, AOL, and so
forth. The program kicks up a notification whenever mail arrives in your
online inbox, and with a single click on Trillian's control panel,
you're logged in and delivered to your Web inbox.
TV eye
Ilike my new LCD monitor very much. It's not huge, but it has decent
speakers built in, and it's cheaper to run than my bulky old hot-plate
of a cathode-ray tube. But I didn't buy the really expensive model with
the built-in television tuner. So I'm sneaking a little box into the
office from AVerMedia >www.aver.com< that adds TV capabilities to a
regular computer monitor. And, I'm taking it home on weekends so I can
use my old monitor and a gut-rumbling subwoofer sound system as a mini
home theater system in my den.
AVerMedia's $179 TVBox 9 is a paperback-sized console that sits between
TV signal sources such as cable box, VCR or DVD player, Nintendo or
PlayStation game system, or even a rabbit-ear antenna. It feeds the
signal to a computer monitor up to SXGA resolution (up to 1280x1024).
The image is nicely de-interlaced, so it's almost completely
flicker-free, and it features a picture-in-picture function, so you can
watch CNN or soaps as you plug away at your PC.
The TVBox is every bit as easy to install as a DVD player or other
boringly standard piece of consumer hardware-and it comes with a more
than decent remote control. The only gripe I have is the box's blue
indicator light. It shines more brightly than the green on-light on my
monitor, and tends to distract me as I watch. But then again, my eyes
are always wandering when I'm watching something I shouldn't while I'm
working.
Squid pro quo
It's little and altogether cute-looking, which is usually a sign for a
practical person to look the other way. But the Squid Light
>www.squidlight.com< is also eminently practical. This AAA
battery-powered flashlight sports three flexible arms, each with its own
energy-conscious LED light. When the three arms point in the same
direction, it's a decent enough flashlight with two brightness settings
and 20 hours of continuous light on the brightest setting. When you're
feeling fidgety on the phone, it's a cool desk toy you can play with,
bending the arms every which way. And according to the company, it's
water resistant and floats, making it a handy camping tool and bath toy.
But the flexible arms have a hidden purpose that the company doesn't
even tout: They make the thing a great directional light source when
you're poking around inside PCs or other tight spots and need direct
lighting on an out-of-the-way component. I do that just often enough to
justify carrying this 4.5-inch doohickey in my coat pocket.
