E-photos made easy

Chute says that one reason people are buying digital cameras is to create their own Web sites. However, the biggest reason is to e-mail digital photos to friends and family. Digital cameras are available for as little as $79. But you'll have to spend more than that to get good picture quality.

The first factor prospective digital camera buyers should consider is megapixels. This is the term for how many millions of pixels reside on a digital camera's internal image sensor. A two-megapixel camera, for example, has 2 million pixels on its image sensor. The basic rule is that the more megapixels, the better the picture quality. Two- and three-megapixel cameras are the most popular for consumer use and take high-quality pictures. They cost about $300. Professionals use four- and five-megapixel cameras, which can cost upwards of $2,000.

Once users reach the $300 mark, Chute says, they can expect removable memory and downloads to their computers via Universal Serial Bus cables. Sony Corp.'s Mavica line of digital cameras uses a 3.5-inch floppy disc for storage. Chute says that the Mavica has been the top-selling digital camera in the United States for the past two years.

Technology companies like Sony tend to make their cameras with superior user interfaces, Chute says. Traditional camera companies, such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Fuji, on the other hand, take advantage of their experience to turn out digital cameras and lenses that take superior pictures.

What do you do with digital photos once you've taken them? If you want to see your pictures on paper as you would with a traditional camera, special inkjet printers are available that produce high- quality, glossy reproductions. Chute cautions that such printers can use up an entire printer cartridge to turn out just 20 to 30 pictures. And that can be expensive.

Another route is to use a Web site devoted to digital photography. On sites such as Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com) and Ofoto (www.ofoto.com),you can upload your shots and get prints back in the mail. Shutterfly and Ofoto's charges range from 49 cents for a 4-by-6-inch photo to $3.99 for an 8 x 10. Shipping via U.S. Mail costs between $1.49 and $4.99, depending on the number of prints you order.

Now that digital cameras are in the hands of so many consumers, Chute says the photo-finishing market is about to change. He foresees the development of kiosks and digital mini-labs where users can upload their pictures and retrieve them later in shopping malls and camera stores.

Go Ahead, Drop Me

Itronix Corp., a notebook computer vendor based in Spokane, Wash., has a new notebook designed for use in rugged conditions that dares you to drop it. Itronix designed the GoBook to withstand severe water, shock and temperature fluctuations.

The GoBook sports a 600-MHz Celeron processor from Intel Corp. and up to 256 megabytes of memory. Users can outfit the unit with up to a 20-gigabyte shock-mounted hard drive.

If you're alone in the woods at night, the GoBook's glow-in-the-dark keyboard could come in handy. Its 12.1-inch screen is viewable in daylight and is touch-sensitive.

The Bureau of Land Management has used Itronix's "rugged-use" products to help timber survey crews since the mid-1980s.

The GoBook starts at $3,700 and is available to federal purchasers through CDW-Government Inc., a Vernon Hills, Ill.-based reseller.

Flower Power

Apple Computer Inc. revitalized itself with the introduction of the iMac in August 1998. Now, it has invoked the spirit of the 1960s to infuse the iMac with a new retro "flower power" look.

The new iMac Special Edition, which sells for $1,499, speeds along at 600 MHz with 128 megabytes of memory. And users aren't likely to run out of hard disk space any time soon with the iMac's 40-gigabyte drive. As if that weren't enough, Apple has upgraded its standard CD-ROM drive to a CD-Rewritable, an important feature for a computer without a 3.5-inch floppy drive.

If flowers don't suit you, the iMac Special Edition also comes in Blue Dalmatian (white polka dots on a light blue background) and Graphite (a translucent dark gray).