PRODUCTS TO WATCH
(FORTUNE Magazine) – MUSIC KIOSK If your local music store doesn't carry ''Rhapsody in Blue'' in the key of B, you'll be looking forward to NoteStation. This computer kiosk by MusicWriter of Los Gatos, California, can store up to 20,000 titles on a hard disk (about 1,000 are currently available) ready to print out. Using a touch screen, you select pieces by title, performing artist, or composer, or browse through seven music genres. NoteStation displays your choice on the screen and plays ten to 12 bars aloud. Don't like the key it's in? Pick another, and NoteStation transposes it on the spot, especially useful for beginners who want to play a piece written in a difficult key. Sheet music costs $3.95 per piece. Available now only in San Francisco, the kiosks will start spreading to other cities in January. SMART TOOTHBRUSH The American Dental Association recommends that you replace your toothbrush every three to four months, but most of us forget. Now there's a brush that knows when to quit. The Oral-B Indicator has a strip of bristles partially impregnated with a harmless blue dye that wears off as you brush. Within a week the tips of the bristles will start to fade, and after about three months the dye will recede halfway down, telling you it's time for a replacement. The Indicator can also help improve your brushing technique. If the dye wears off prematurely, you are probably bearing down too hard; slower fading means more vigorous or frequent brushing is in order. The ADA-approved Indicator comes in compact or regular sizes and six colors. It sells for $2.99, about 30 cents more than Oral-B's conventional toothbrush. TINY AUTODIALER Tired of punching in all those digits for your most frequently called numbers? Slip the Teletag automatic dialer by Loredec of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, in your wallet and forget them. The size of an extra-thick credit card, Teletag dials one or two numbers of up to 17 digits with the press of a finger when held up to the mouthpiece of any push-button phone. The dialer can also be used as an electronic business card or promotional device. Teletag is sold only in bulk to corporate users now, but Loredec says consumers will be able to buy single cards in January: $3.99 for one number, $4.99 for two. COMPUTER BUGS Challenge yourself by digging into the real world of insects. Inspired by The Ants, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by two Harvard biologists, SimAnt, by Maxis of Orinda, California, simulates the behavior of a black ant colony. Players try to defeat rival red ants and overrun a suburban backyard and house, forcing the occupants to move out. They must avoid such hazards as rain, hungry spiders, and a lawnmower. You learn the ant way of life by gathering food, leaving chemical trails, and digging nests. A winning strategy requires the right mix of ant castes and activities for the colony. SimAnt is available for the Macintosh; IBM-compatible and Amiga versions are imminent. Price: $59.95. |
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