Books and CDs Are So 2005

It's time to digitize your music--and your novels, too.

The worst thing about being a geek (or the best, if you're into that sort of thing) is that we tend to be hoarders: celebrity autographs, trolls, pop-culture collectibles, whatever. With physical goods, most of these issues are handled with furniture and the strained patience of our families. So it's good to know that the fine folks in the electronics industry work tirelessly to allow us geeks to get to our media while safely hiding our CDs and DVDs--and even books--in the attic.

Exhibit A is JVC's new UX-HD1-M , a mini-stereo with two 20-watt speakers that fits nicely on the bookshelf and plays CDs and MiniDiscs, as well as MP3s--either stored on its 40GB hard drive, on your computer (Ethernet + DLNA = streaming-music goodness), or downloaded straight from an online music store. There's also an AM/FM radio. Extra icing on the geek cake: a 4.3-inch color LCD screen.

Exhibit B is Escient's $999 FireBall SE-D1 . Further proof that accessorizing is everything, this sleek brushed-metal component doesn't actually store music, but makes it easier to manage the 400-CD/DVD Sony DVP-CX777ES jukebox by looking up disc information online and providing a screen guide on your TV. The SE-D1 also provides sorting/categorization, playlist, parental controls, and Internet radio features. Extra geek licks: A Web browser and PDA remote control.

Harman Kardon's recently released Drive + Play iPod interface has always seemed like a safer, better alternative to CDs stacked on the floor of your car. But I didn't realize how cool it was until some Harman Kardon folks pulled up in a BMW 325 outside my house the other morning and gave me a quick demo.

The Drive + Play is a custom-install job for your car. There's a screen that mounts to your dashboard (think of it like a satellite-radio screen); a cool, futuristic-looking knob that can be installed on your car's console or front panel; and a serial cable that you can hide away in a glove compartment (for hooking up to your iPod's dock connector). The knob, which mimics the iPod's scroll-wheel, lets you control the device while the screen replicates your iPod menus.

The unit can connect to your car's audio system in one of three ways: through an audio input if your car has one; via an adapter that connects to a car's factory CD changer; using an FM radio frequency.

The tech doesn't come cheap--the unit is $199, plus about another $70 for installation, plus about another $29 to $100 depending on which connection method you choose. But it might just make that next traffic jam a little more bearable.

I don't care if you call them e-paper, e-books, or e-readers, but tablet-shaped, lightweight, straight-outta-Star Trekreaders are a good idea. I would love to do with my books and magazines what I've done with my CDs: digitize the lot of them and stick the originals in storage. (See? We're back to the storage thing again.)

I've been a proponent of e-books since the days of NuvoMedia's ill-fated Rocket eBook , so Gizmodo's report that iRex Technologies' iLiad reader is due for a 2006 launch is welcome--especially since it hits just about all of my criteria for a viable product of this type. It's about the size and weight of a graphic novel, has a battery that can withstand a week of commuting time, reads three kinds of flash memory, and has Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity. It reads PDF, XHTML, and text files, rather than leaning on some arcane proprietary format.

We're not talking magazine-quality displays here--the 16-level grayscale and 160 dpi resolution are serviceable at best--but by iRex's own admission, this is a first-generation product.

Cheap HDTVs:Remember just a few years ago, when a 30-plus-inch CRT HDTV cost more than a grand and required a team of linebackers to move it? Times have changed. Dell recently released a couple of new, inexpensive, flat-panel HDTVs , including 23- and 26-inch widescreen LCDs for $799 and $999, as well as a 42-inch plasma for $2499. According to Dell, these TVs feature enhanced image and resolution quality, and the plasma even comes with two HDMI connectors. If you're looking for a cheap way to get into the HDTV market, these might be worth considering.

Must...Pedal:We all could use a little extra push in our workouts, but few of us have the cash needed to hire a personal trainer. The $100 EnterTrainer sounds like an evil, yet effective way to give you the kick in the pants you need. Hang the EnterTrainer on your favorite exerciser, wrap the included heart rate monitor around your chest, and turn on your TV. Use the EnterTrainer to enter your age, gender, length of workout, and fitness goal (for instance, fat burn or cardio). Start working out. This baby measures your heart rate, and if it detects you're not working hard enough, it turns down the volume on your TV. Start pedaling, running, or ellipticalling faster and the EnterTrainer will restore the volume.

I know it sounds cruel, but at least it's better than having to do an extra 100 leg squats.