Escape from Flatland

Logitech's Magellan, a 3-D controller device, is desinged to hold and rotate an object on your screen while you work on it with a mouse. Used on the space shuttle Columbia in 1993, the Magellan's spring-mounted puck transmits both motion and rotation information to the computer. Its patented optical absolute measurement system provides a high degree of precision, making Magellan a useful tool for engineers, designers, and architects.

Magellan: US$550 plain, and US$650 for the airbrushed model. Logitech Inc.: +1 (510) 795 8500.

  ICE Cube

The Fujitsu ICE³ (Interactive Computer Edutainment) is a pint-sized, cube-shaped multimedia player that uses your television screen to play CD-ROMs, music and video CDs, and 3.5-inch floppy disks. The wireless game controllers fit into storage pockets built into the side of the unit, and frequently used disks can be stored in a top-mounted rack. Designed for families with small children, the ICE³ can also be used by adults and older kids for word processing, spreadsheets, and database management.

For more information contact Fujitsu Ltd., Japan: (044) 777 1111.

  Pictures from Your Pocket

Choosing a travel camera just got a lot easier. The hand-sized Minolta Riva V-70W, the world's smallest 28-70 mm zoom camera, allows you to shoot both panoramic scenes and portrait shots without a lens change. It has all the features you'd expect from a modern camera (built-in flash, autofocus), and, weighing in at only 9.25 ounces (with battery), it stashes neatly in your shirt pocket. With a camera this size, you'll be snapping everywehre you go.

Minolta Riva V-70W: £200. Minolta: +44 (01908) 200 400.

  Turning Tables

It's the coffee table that turns into a video projector - perfect for those who'd like the benefits of wide-screen home cinema combined with the aesthetics of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It may look like a high-quality piece of wooden furniture, but when activated by remote control, a central cube emerges from the table surface, revealing the high-tech apparatus within. This example's in maple and burr yew and contains a TV/video projector, but other combinations can be hand-made to your requirements.

Video projector table: from £5,500. Guy Mallinson Furniture: +44 (0171) 371 5099.

  Wrist Rest

Inventor Joseph Young thought the splints worn by his tender-wristed computer-using friends looked dog-ugly and uncomfortable, so he boned up on carpal tunnel syndrome and created the A-Q Stimu-Sage. This abacus-like panel of olive-sized, rolling beads is placed at the keyboard's base, providing a resting place for your wrists. Just glide those hands and fingers over the wooden beads for a quick massage.

A-Q Stimu-Sage: US$29.95. Joseph Young: +1 (818) 791 5370.

  Sunglasses for Your Brain

Electromagnetic radiation leaks from computers, radios, power lines, and TV sets all around us. Not only that, but covert government agencies transmit mind-debilitating rays from huge machines hidden in urban warehouses around the world. The CyberCap, made from a new type of reflecting material, is designed to protect your head from these invisible toxic waves; the cap's creators claim it shields your pineal gland and hypothalamus from line-of-sight radiation. It may not make one bit of difference whether you wear a CyberCap or not, but it sure looks nifty.

CyberCap: US$39.95. ShieldWorks: +1 (919) 403 0255, e-mail shieldwork@aol.com.

  Baseball in Your Pocket

There's no denying that Americans love their baseball and now they can even buy a radio pager to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of games in progress. Motorola features detailed statistics and an LCD screen showing the progress of players around the pitch, while different sounds alert you when a side is retired, your team hits a home run, or the other team scores.

SportsTrax: US$199. Motorola Pan American Paging Subscriber Division: +1 (617) 461 9500.

  Rude Awakening

Adrenalin rushes are cool, but not when they're caused by horn blasting idiot drivers who refuse to share the road with bike riders. It's time for revenge. Louder than a truck's honk, the Air Zound bicycle horn will make any car move out of your way. Just tap the horn with your finger and away it blows, knocking over lorries and launching smaller vehicles into orbit. Air Zound mounts easily on your handlebars and operates on a water-bottle-sized tank of compressed air (which can be "recharged" with a standard air pump). No more getting cut off from now on: use the Zound and let 'em know you're there!

Air Zound: £19.99 from all good bike shops.