In Brief

By Lev Grossman

BURN, BABY, BURN These days videotapes are starting to feel a little last-century--they're big, they jam, and the pictures often deteriorate over time. If you feel in need of an upgrade, take a look at the Terapin CD Video Recorder ($499). As its name implies, the device records video from your TV, VCR or camcorder and then burns it onto regular old CDs. Video on CDs? It sounds weird, but you can play them on a PC with a CD-ROM drive, or on some DVD players or on the Terapin itself.

BE LIKE MIKE You've eaten at his steakhouse. You've sprayed on his cologne. Now you can organize your data the Michael Jordan way. Palm Computing has announced a Michael Jordan edition of its m100 and m500 handheld computers, each of which is emblazoned with the legendary hoopster's name and comes with special software, including a Jordan trivia game and a basketball-scoring program.

KEY BRAIN Where does James Bond keep the keys to his Aston Martin? Chances are they're dangling from a remarkable (and at $14, unusually inexpensive) gadget called the Merconnet Magic-I Keychain Databank. About the size and shape of an anchovy, the Magic-I holds 120 names and phone numbers, plus a calendar and an alarm clock (with times for 100 cities worldwide). You don't even need cables to upload data to it--it reads the information straight off your monitor screen. Aston Martin sold separately.

--By Lev Grossman