NBC TODAY: Future Tech Products

For decades, science fiction writers of the 20th century tried to predict what gadgets of the future we'd have in the year 2001. While we haven't seen such perennial predictions as the personal rocket pack or Soylent Green McNuggets just yet, BestStuff.com' s own Corey Greenberg will be on the NBC TODAY Show January 1st with some gee-whiz products we'll see in our homes this year.

DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is the surround-sound music disc format that will eventually replace the audio CD. Based on the hugely popular DVD-Video movie disc that's taken the home video market by storm over the past few years, DVD-Audio is a sound-only version that delivers six channels of better-than-CD sound quality in total surround sound for a virtual musical reality that must be heard to be believed. DVD-Audio players can also play DVD-Video movie discs as well as CDs, so full backwards compatibility is ensured with existing movie and music formats. The players are already on dealers' shelves, and January will see the first wave of software titles from the major labels like Warner Music Group. $500 for players, $20 for discs.




Bluetooth
The next wave of wireless networking between PCs, PDAs, cell phones, and computer peripherals, Bluetooth is a wireless protocol developed by a consortium of communications giants led by Ericsson. Adopted by IBM, Epson, and a host of other major players in the PC and cell phone industries, Bluetooth lets products seamlessly network and stay in sync at distances up to 30ft. away. Imagine unboxing a new Epson printer and being able to print right away from your IBM laptop while your Ericsson cell phone swaps phone numbers with your Outlook database, all without hooking up any cables or installing any new software -- that's the reality of Bluetooth. And it's here now in new products from these companies. Prices vary.




Internet Picture Frames
With digital cameras changing the face of amateur photography, it's only appropriate that manufacturers deliver new ways to share and display digital photos. Instead of paying extra at your local photomat for copy sets to send to friends and relatives, what if you could upload your digital photos to the Internet and have them automatically pop up on Grandma's digital picture frame without her having to touch a thing, or even own a PC? Well, the future is here and Kodak's remarkable Smart Frame digital picture frame makes it possible. Imagine waking up every day to 36 new photos of your friends and family, downloaded automatically by your Kodak Smart Frame. $299.




PC Security
We put our whole lives on our PCs and all it takes is a click of the mouse for anyone to steal every bit professional and personal data you've got on your hard drive. Windows passwords are a joke -- everyone over the age of five knows how to bypass them to get into a computer without authorization. That's why manufacturers like Siemens are coming out with hardware solutions that enhance personal PC security. Siemens's ID Mouse looks like any USB wheel mouse, but closer inspection reveals its high-tech fingerprint ID pad that only boots up your system if you, and only you place your index finger on the pad. $150.




Casio Camera Watch
James Bond wannabees will be at Q's doorstep requesting this wearable digital camera that can be used anytime, anyplace. Whether your business is spying on your comrades or capturing special moments the second they occur, there will be no more lugging around bulky camera gear. It features a built-in LCD monochrome screen (120 x 120 dots) capable of displaying 16 grayscales. You use the monitor as a viewfinder when recording images and as a display screen for playback. The Wrist Camera's 1MB of built-in memory can store up to 100 images. Infrared data transfer function lets you upload images to your computer for editing and archiving, and download them back to the Wrist Camera when you need to take them somewhere. You can even use your images as screen savers. Recording format is Casio original but can be converted to BMP or JPEG file. Approximate Battery Life is 6 months or 60 seconds of camera operation per day. Basic time keeping includes current time on display, five alarms, timer, and stopwatch. $200.