What's the Password?

Identix Inc., a security solutions provider based in Sunnyvale, Calif., sells two products that go a long way toward solving the password problem. BioLogon, the password management software, works with BioTouch, a PC-card fingerprint reader designed for notebook use. In tandem, the products enable users to touch the fingerprint reader with their thumbs when they are prompted for a password. When the thumbprint is recognized, the software automatically provides the appropriate password. Dell now sells such a solution with its notebooks. BioLogon can also be used with thumbprint readers designed for desktop systems.

Palm Power

If you have waited to buy a handheld computer, Palm Computing Inc.'s newest models might tempt you. Not only are Palm's new handhelds slim and light, but they have also gained versatility and expandability. The Se- cure Digital/MultiMediaCard slot on the rear of the new M500 and M505 units can be used to boost storage and applications. Palm developers are constantly bringing out new gear, so users should expect wireless products that integrate with the Palm M500 and M505 soon.

The M500 has a monochrome screen and sells for $399, while the M505, which has a color screen, costs an extra $50. Palm sells these products through its Web site (www.palm.com).

Titanium Apples

Apple Computer Inc. isn't throwing mythical golden apples into the notebook market. Rather, they are solidly titanium. With one of the most luminescent screens on the market, the Apple PowerBook G4 Titanium can spark some real double takes. The moniker isn't just some cutesy label. The Titanium actually is made of the strong light metal. As a result, the PowerBook weighs in at just over 5 pounds. "It's 1 inch thin," says an Apple spokesperson. Yet Apple hasn't sacrificed any features to be so slender. The PowerBook can be equipped with up to a 30-gigabyte hard drive.

GTSI, a product reseller in Chantilly, Va., sells the PowerBook G4 with a 500 MHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256 megabytes of memory and a 15.2-inch screen on its NASA Scientific and Engineering Workstation II contract for $3,194.

Word for Word

Have you ever wished you could zap a key sentence from a magazine or government report into your computer rather than type it out? The QuickLink Pen from WizCom Technologies Inc., an Acton, Mass., company that specializes in handheld scanning technology, does just that. Users can scan text by sliding the pen over the words they want to capture. "Think of it as an electronic highlighter," says Pete Simonetti, a WizCom channel account manager.

The text can be transferred to a computer's word processing program by using a universal serial bus cable or an infrared port. Users also can scan business cards with a feature that stores the information in the format used by contact databases such as Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook. The pen can hold up to 1,000 pages of scanned text.

WizCom also makes the Quicktionary, a pen-scanner that functions as a foreign language translator. The QuickLink sells for $179 while the Quicktionary goes for $149. Check out the pens at www.wizcomtech.com.

In Focus

InFocus Corp., a Wilsonville, Ore., projector maker, has created one of the lightest, most compact portable projectors on the market. The LP130, with its digital projection technology, is quite a departure from the days of heavier, analog units. Even at just 2.8 pounds, or 3 pounds with the necessary cabling, the projector can cast a brilliant display, even under glaring lights. It also is equipped with sound.

InFocus sells the LP130 on its own General Services Administration schedule for $4,400.