OTHER TECH

With summer just around the corner, there's no better time to upgrade your digital camera. CASIO's Exilim EX-Z75 ($230; casio.com) is perfect for a day trip or an extended vacation. I used mine for some basic around-the-house stuff, but this 7.2 megapixel would be a great travel companion. Setup was easy (just charge the battery), and the 2.6-inch widescreen was a hit with friends and family who wanted to view pix right after I took them. I did miss having a viewfinder, but the generous monitor made it easy to see and operate the menus that provide useful info like when to change settings. A cool eBay Best Shot mode - one of 34 Best Shot modes - enables you to take photos optimized for selling items on eBay.

Laptops continue to evolve, becoming more rugged and ready to take on Herculean challenges, particularly for hardcore gamers. If you happen to be one, there's no better beast than ALIENWARE's Aurora m9700 (from $1,600; alienware.com). Featuring a 17-inch widescreen monitor, four USB ports, a built-in TV tuner, and a whopping 500-gigabyte hard drive, this is a powerful desktop replacement. The exterior's rubberized grips and signature illuminated Alienware logo make for a total package that is - you guessed it - outta this world.

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