For all our interest in databases that scale to mega terabytes, super server performance, or the challenge of keeping thousands of PCs purring, there comes a time when we just need to kick back and look at how little slices of technology can make our lives more productive -- OK, more fun.
Welcome to TechTarget's first annual look at some of the latest gadgets and gizmos that can help an IT professional get through the day. In the hope of giving our readers some insight into what's neat and not so neat, we drew on the talents of editors from throughout our portfolio of Web sites, newsletters and conferences, and tapped the technical experience and creativity of our own IT organization.
We sought out review copies of products that represent the leading edge in some sectors. In some other cases, we looked for products that may have been leading edge a year ago, but now are priced within reach of the average person. The result is that we've been juggling cell phones, PDAs, cameras, editing tools, games, notebooks and strange little devices that make your home run better. We gave each product a hands-on test, and shared our experiences with you.
Each product was rated on the following five-point scale:
5 - Must have
4 - Pretty neat
3 - Could be useful
2 - Get it if you must
1 - Back to the drawing board
You'll see a bunch of 'Pretty neat' products, and we've slipped in a few 'Must haves' (Check out the IBM T30 notebook, Sony's U.S. Navy SEALs and EA Games' Need for Speed games, Logitech's QuickCam, Adobe Photoshop, and Macromedia's MX Studio and the Pockey-Datastor hard drive).
Have fun, and, please, share your thoughts, your likes, and your dislikes.
