More Cool Stuff for Mom

Nifty gifts to bring plus one you can wear--and a shameless plug for myself.

Steve Bass

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I have a few more nifty products you can bring along (and one you can wear) when you visit your mother. Mother's Day is the holiday I always thought was created by Hallmark Cards. But apparently I'm wrong, at least according to the Everything Mother's Day site.

You're a Week Late!

Yes, I'll get to the gifts in a minute. But I know that for some of you, the folks reading this newsletter online, Mother's Day has come and gone. Well, it's your own fault. Listen, I'm delighted you found this page and you're taking the time to read my scribblings. But did you know you're seeing the newsletter a week after it's sent to subscribers via e-mail?

Signing up for my e-mail newsletter missives won't take more than a minute; just go to our Free Newsletters page. You'll also be able to check out a slug of new newsletters we're offering. For instance, PC World's geeky Tom Mainelli appears in Upgrade Report and Laura Blackwell covers the coolest additions to the PC World Downloads library in Software Report. There are seven newly minted newsletters, each covering fresh territory with many of PC World's top-notch authors doing the writing (and they'd better not elbow in on my turf, or there will be hell to pay).

Dig This: Is the idiot in the next cube so loud you can't think? The ISerenity site offers the perfect solution. Background sounds include the ocean, rain, a warm shower, and others. For motivation, I first load "Bubbling Brook," then open another browser session with "Bird Songs," and finally, to get me in the mood for writing, "Typewriter." [With thanks to Gus.]

And now [Drum Roll] Some Gifts

Improve Mom's Reception: For years, my mother's complained about getting poor reception for one particular FM station.

The solution was Terk's FM Edge Model 4000, an indoor, amplified antenna. I was skeptical--but it works, way better than I expected. All I did was connect the antenna to the radio's 75-Ohm antenna output, turn the amplification control until I got good reception, and then get kudos from my mom. The 8-inch-tall gizmo looks sharp, too.

Interested? You can find the best price at the PC World Product Finder.

Quick aside: Mom's using an old but still terrific Cambridge SoundWorks Model 88CD Table Radio. The current model, which I heard at a trade show, is SoundWorks 740 Radio CD and it costs $250. See "Wave Good-bye, SoundWorks for Me" for a thorough review; and check our Product Finder for pricing.

If you still have $40 in your checking account, there's one more gadget to consider. Terk has a TV Volume Regulator that I tested at Bass International before letting my mother have a shot at it. The gadget works miracles at leveling out sound levels. For instance, many DVDs sound okay when people are talking but when music starts playing, the sound level is outrageously loud. Ditto for TV commercials. Fair warning: You won't have any trouble setting up the device if you have a straightforward setup like my mother's, with, say, a TV, VCR, and DVD player. My system has DirecTV and an amplifier for speakers, forcing me to fiddle with the connections before getting it right. (Our Product Finder has prices for this, too.)

Gussy Yourself Up: The best gift of all is you showing up to mom's looking like a mensch. When I visited my mother, I wore a Scott E-Vest, a sleeveless jacket that has dozens of pockets for me to tuck assorted electronic gadgets in. Read my review in "More Hot Gifts for a Cool Home Office."

What's cooler, and would have looked better, is the Tec Sport Jacket. You can see what the prolific Michael Lasky had to say about it in "What Do You Wear With Your PDA and Cell Phone?"

Dig This: It's way too late for April Fool's Day; but if you want to scare the dickens out of a novice, pass along this Notorious Blue Screen link. (Hey, you might even enjoy sending this URL to your boss.)

More Cool Products

Here are a few short takes on gifts your mom (or you) might like.

Jasco Wireless MP3 Transmitter: For about $40, Mom can beam tunes from her PC to her home stereo system in another room. The transmitter connects to any device with a 3.5mm sound output (PC, CD player or, goodness knows, even a Mac) and the receiver plugs into your stereo's RCA input jack. If you'd rather spend a little less (and with this crowd, that's a given), try the wired version, which runs about $25 and comes with a 50-foot cable. Specs on both products are at the Jasco site.

PC Annoyances: Oh, come on--you didn't think I'd pass up a chance for an unabashed plug for my book, did you? My mom loves it. It's available at bookstores practically everywhere, or on Amazon.com for the unbearably low price of $14.97 (and even lower used, though I can't imagine how anyone would want to part with it).

Programming Guide/Remote: Does your mom have a TV and a computer? Of course she does. She may be interested in a remote control that connects to her PC via USB and downloads programming info from the Internet. Read about it in "Evolve Remote Tells You What's on TV."

Wireless USB Stick: Need a fast, small Wi-Fi adapter, something to stick into the USB port of a notebook (or even desktop PC, for that matter)? Then take a look at Zyxel's Wireless USB Stick. The Zyair $40 B-220 802.11b Adapter has a built-in hotspot finder, a blue LED that flashes while doing a WLAN search and turns solid when connected. Prices and availability are listed on our Product Finder.

Special Dig This Note: In the April 14 newsletter, I mentioned a site with some terrific Photoshop enhanced images. An alert reader [thanks, Sean] said that the images also appear on Worth1000.com. The real deal is "if anyone deserves credit for the images," says Sean, "it's the artists." I agree.