Plugged In: Hollywood Locks Down Digital Video

Plus: Rising LCD costs, PCs with flair, and Net phones that work.

Contributing Editor Steve Fox covers buzzworthy products, ideas, and trends. Contact him at steve_fox@pcworld.com. Click here to view past Plugged In columns.

1. Hoisting the Antipirate Flag

The Buzz: The FCC has adopted the controversial "broadcast flag," a snippet of code to be embedded in all digital TV signals. New TV sets and digital recording devices will be required to include flag-decoding software, though older equipment will still be able to pick up and record encoded broadcasts. The flag won't block copying, but it will prevent consumers from distributing recordings, via computer, over the Internet. Copies made on a new flag-enabled device, however, will be unreadable on older DVD players, thus rendering some hardware obsolete.

Bottom Line: How nice of the FCC to think up a project for hackers. Disabling the broadcast flag should be loads of fun.

2. Flat Panels, Flat Prices

The Buzz: Waiting until after the holidays to nab that LCD panel you've been eyeing? Don't. Strong demand has created a shortage of panels. "Customers may want to take advantage of holiday pricing, since we don't expect to see further price reduction on notebooks or monitors in the first quarter of 2004," says Ross Young of research firm DisplaySearch. If anything, prices on 15-inch models have already begun inching upward.

Bottom Line: If you're reading this item in December, check the Christmas sales carefully; they might be your best shot at a good deal on an LCD.

3. Here Comes the Mod Squad

The Buzz: The modder underground--the world of computer users who modify their PCs to make them into personalized works of art--is suddenly mainstream. Memorex has just introduced the Modz line--LED-festooned fans, colorful cables, and cold-cathode lights designed to dress up the drabbest system. Though the products focus on aesthetics, they provide other benefits as well. The see-through fans, for instance, vary speed depending on the heat emanating from the PC, while the rounded, multihued cables help promote airflow.

Bottom Line: What's coming next--Isaac Mizrahi's line of high-style PCs at Target?

4. Phone Calls for Free

The Buzz: For years it's been possible to make free phone calls over the Net, assuming you have plenty of patience, tech chops, and a tolerance for garbled sound. But now a peer-to-peer application from the developers of Kazaa is raising the ante. An instant messaging app look-alike, Skype requires Windows XP or 2000, a sound card, a microphone, speakers, and an Internet connection. The sound quality is close to that of POTS (plain old telephone service), dropped connections are rare, the service works through firewalls, and it's free (though a for-pay version is coming). There is one catch, though: It connects you only to other Skype users, still a limited audience.

Bottom Line: After 2 million downloads in the first two months, Skype hype is ripe. Once Skype can hook into the POTS system (sometime in 2004, we hear), the Baby Bells should start sweating.

Nagging Question: Why Is the Control Key Called That?

The Ctrl key is a keyboard mainstay, used in combination with other keys to issue commands and, far too often, to give your computer the three-finger salute (Ctrl-Alt-Delete). Turns out, the key is a holdover from the old teletype terminal days. Back then, pressing a "control code" initiated some physical operation that didn't involve printing characters. Ctrl-G would ring a bell, for example, while Ctrl-M would kick off a carriage return. When teletype gave way to computers, the Control key name stuck. Good thing, too. Who would want a PC that was out of control?