From...

November 26, 1999
Web posted at: 1:40 p.m. EST (1840 GMT)

by Stephen Manes

(IDG) -- In some Jetsonian future, robot-assisted home networks may grab recipes for Thanksgiving dinner from gourmet Web sites and do everything from stuffing the bird to stirring the gravy. These days, we're delighted if the computer and the connection keep working long enough to bring up the football scores. But worthy products, services, and concepts do come our way. This year's list:

RELENTLESS PRICE CUTS. Thanks once more to Moore's Law and the miracle of competition, virtually every piece of hardware you can buy today is significantly cheaper than last year's model, more powerful, or both. This year's growth spurts were particularly noteworthy: No matter how little you pay now, you can't buy a desktop PC remotely as crappy as the 266-MHz unit for which I paid a then-­rock-bottom $800 in September 1998. I give thanks for the price/performance ratio of the next machine I buy.

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FASTER CONNECTIONS. There are plenty of problems with both DSL and cable modems, including service that's sometimes erratic (and often totally unavailable), overblown speed claims, and installation backlogs. The systems can't surmount Internet congestion or slow sites, and video still stinks. But when I listen to streaming MP3 audio clips, or watch my machine Hoover up messages or download the latest security patches in seconds instead of minutes, I give thanks that I can actually get cable modem service in my area.

INK JET IMPROVEMENTS. Even cheap printers, particularly those from Hewlett-Packard, keep getting better and faster. Photo-quality output is now so good it shows up the shortcomings of most digital cameras. If they could just apply these improvements to ink and paper prices, we'd give not just thanks but hosannas.

CD-R REDUX. Recordable CDs always seemed like a good idea, but the media and the drives stayed pricey for way too long. Now discs are finally cheap and devices are reasonably priced. CD-R machines can still be tricky to install, and they're not as easy to use as one might hope, but the ability to play CD-Rs in the vast majority of existing CD and DVD devices makes them the closest thing to a universal storage medium this side of the floppy. And today's drives also include the ability to read and write CD-RW discs -- giving us yet another reason to be thankful.

DIGITAL CAMCORDERS WITH IEEE 1394 PORTS. MiniDV and Digital8 cameras let you shoot a video, blow the bits across an IEEE 1394 cable to your PC, edit your masterpiece, and bring it back out to tape without any loss of image quality. If you have any serious interest in editing video on the cheap, digital is clearly the way to go, and computers that can handle it without busting your budget are now available.

PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDERS. The TiVo and Replay boxes are essentially VCRs that record digitally on hard drives instead of videotape. This allows all sorts of nifty options, including the ability to pause a "live" show when the phone rings and pick up viewing where you left off when you're done talking. The Replay device even lets you press a little button to skip past commercials and reclaim some of your life. The first models lack enough high-quality capacity to be truly useful VCR replacements, but that will inevitably change. Give thanks for the concept now while it's fresh and relatively pure; the two companies' business alliances hint strongly that the devices' interfaces will quickly become cluttered with advertisements.

PROFITLESS E-BUSINESSES. Most of the people I know who have used Internet grocery stores love them for their extra service at regular store prices. Personally, I've been happy shopping online for books, CDs, and computer equipment, all at discount prices that sometimes border on the ridiculous. Now an online outfit in my area promises to deliver and pick up video rentals more or less on demand for less than what the neighborhood video shop charges, which sounds like a business plan for high-speed ruin.

But at least for now, many of these companies are willing to lose money to gain market share or mind share, and that willingness often translates to great deals. Thank you, dot-coms, for making this possible -- for however long the party can last.

PC World Contributing Editor Stephen Manes is the cohost of Digital Duo, a series appearing on public television stations nationwide. For program information, see www.digitalduo.com.