Logitech's WiLife provides a working video surveillance system at a relatively low price, although it does have limitations compared to professional setups.

USB drives can be widely different in performance, depending on the type of memory they use and the type of I/O controllers they are built with. But it's nearly impossible for consumers to distinguish them.

Toshiba's latest Satellite Pro notebooks offer face recognition software, but the technology may not yet be ready for prime time.

Now available in beta, Ubuntu 8.04 is a popular Linux distribution that offers some updated features along with its usual easy-to-use interface and good support.