Serial-port downloads are slow; use the USB if your PC is equipped

The viewfinder aims low up close, so you’ll have to adjust

Fixed focus means great midrange shots, but close-ups can be blurry

Three resolution settings; lower res means more shots

The image sensor adjusts to light levels, from daylight to dusk

Comes with image editing and enhancement software; fix red-eye, add a caption

COMPUTERSNeed a Charge? Type Away!

Compaq wants to let you type your way to portable power. Engineer Adrian Crisan has developed a design that would outfit the company’s laptop-computer keys with magnets and wire coils. When you press a key, it produces a mini-current. That energy flows into a capacitor, which sends the cumulative charge to the computer’s battery. No word yet when the system will be available.

HUMORMad, Mad Love

Those who contend that too much time in front of a computer can change your mind to putty have a compelling new argument: Totally Mad, a seven-CD-ROM collection of nose-thumbing cartoons, parodies, jokes and songs from the pages–all 22,000 pages–of Mad magazine. While fans will love the new multimedia material, the real prize is easy access to the complete contents of every issue since 1952 from the mag that’s the Microsoft of twisted humor–but with a much better mission statement: “What, Me Worry?” (Was Alfred E. Neuman a Bill Gates role model?) At $70, Totally Mad is cheaper than Windows 98, but it’s more likely to crash your brain cells than your Gateway.

SOCIALIZINGNow, Really Chat

Can we talk? The Web is alive with the sound of live voices. Find yours at:

What we liked: It’s free Internet telephony here today. Get your overseas relatives signed up fast! Cool tricks: The software dumps you into a ’lobby’ where you can troll for strangers–or be trolled Tech tips: All three require a sound-enabled PC with Windows 95, microphone and speakers

What we liked: Unlike voice chat that lets only one person talk at a time, up to five people can be heard Cool tricks: If you’re in a conference call, you can kibitz separately with another person on the side Tech tips: The software is in user testing, but you can try it at www.firetalk.com

What we liked: Lets you chat only with people you select and then block the ones you decide you don’t like Cool tricks: Talk to someone you meet in Yahoo Personals without disclosing your phone number Tech tips: If the quality drops off, clicking the ‘press to talk’ button may repair the connection