honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Monday, September 17, 2001

Tech Tips
Zip drive collects digital photos

Advertiser News Services

If your hard drive is filling up with digital camera photos, MP3 files and shareware programs, consider offloading some of them to Iomega's new Zip Value drive.

The 100-megabyte drive receives both data and power through its USB connection. That means you won't have to plug in a power cord to use the drive. The drive costs about $70 and includes Iomega QuickSync backup software, as well as photo and music editing programs. It is compatible with computers running Windows 95, 98, 2000, Me and NT 4.0 operating systems; Linux (kernel 2.4.0 or higher); and Mac OS 8.5.1 through OS X.

Information: www.iomega.com/zip

Desktop set offers cordless freedom

Want to break free from working at your desk? Logitech's Cordless Freedom Optical desktop set could help. At $99.95, Logitech's package consists of a stylish, slim cordless keyboard, a wireless optical mouse and a radio frequency receiver.

The receiver connects to a Windows PC with Universal Serial Bus (USB) or PS/2-style keyboard and mouse ports, and transmits information from the keyboard and mouse to the computer.

With this package, you can use your mouse on any surface and never worry about having to pick lint off the mouse's ball. Likewise, you now have the freedom to move the keyboard off the desk and onto your lap — as long as it remains within communication range of the receiver.

Be prepared, though, to have a spare set of batteries on hand because the keyboard requires four AA batteries and the mouse needs two AA batteries. The included software program will warn you when the batteries are low, which Logitech estimates is every six to 12 months for the keyboard and about every three months for the mouse.

Information: www.logitech.com

Software program can read aloud

Next time you come across an unfamiliar word while reading text on the computer screen, you can ask iSpeak 2.0 for help.

The software program can read aloud any text file, a feature that can be a big help to children who are learning to read, college students studying for a test and readers who have a hard time seeing words on a computer screen.

The software is programmed to recognize and pronounce proper names, such as cities and states, and to provide phonetic pronunciation of words it doesn't know.

The program, which requires a computer running Windows 95 or higher, costs about $70.

Information: www.fonix.com