OTHER TECH

Portable media players with touchscreens have been captivating users ever since Apple's introduction this summer of the iPhone. No need to wonder why: Imagine all your music, videos, and photos stored in a device slim enough for your pocket and available for playback at, literally, the touch of a finger.

Except for the color bursting from the reception-area movie posters - The Double Life of Veronique, Black Orpheus, and the Beastie Boys Video Anthology among them - the Criterion Collection's new Park Avenue South headquarters in Manhattan are styled in the same palette as many of the films that the company painstakingly restores and releases on DVD: black and white, with profound gray area

What kind of a tech nerd are you buying for? Someone who likes his audio haute? The lady with multi-pockets for multimedia devices? The dude who likes his dinosaurs remote-controlled? We combed the far reaches of circuit board-dom to find 100 presents for all types. Click on the type of gift-givee below.

TV Freeze Out

Q. I have a three-season home that's closed up and unheated during winter months. Early HDTVs (LCD/plasma) couldn't be guaranteed free of damage by their manufacturers if their screens were subjected to temperatures at or below freezing. A neighbor recently bought a plasma screen, believing it wouldn't be susceptible to such low temperatures.

Don't just stuff those stockings. Tech those halls! Make room on your list for small devices that will deliver big smiles.

How much is music worth? Nietzsche wrote, "Without music, life would be a mistake." That places a high value on sounds that entertain and sometimes inspire us. Then again, at 3 o'clock in the morning, you'd pay good money to have the music at the party next door shut off.