Techwatch

NASA'S HIGH FLYER EARNS ITS WEIRD WINGS

If flying makes you queasy, you'll be relieved to know that Pathfinder--NASA's ultralight, solar-powered aircraft, that is, not the Mars lander of the same name--isn't taking passengers just yet. But according to a NASA briefing last week, the remote-controlled plane's high-altitude (71,500 ft.), low-speed (15 m.p.h.) flights are perfect for the kind of environmental research now being done by orbiting satellites. Pathfinder's flexible 99-ft. wings, glistening with $1 million worth of solar panels, have been tested only in sunny Hawaii. So the plane carries a backup battery system, just in case.

FUTURE TV: A PICTURE WORTH A THOUSAND PIXELS

As America's love affair with color television edges toward its silver anniversary, manufacturers are hard at work on the next generation of eye-popping, high-resolution, wide-screen sets.

The recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was full of new TVs in all shapes and sizes, but the most tempting were the slim-screen plasma displays. Made by Fujitsu, left, and Philips, the 42-inchers offer twice the sharpness of today's sets--perfect for movies in the new DVD format.

Two catches: they carry a jumbo $11,000 price tag, and they aren't wired to display movies in the upcoming high-definition TV standard. The first HDTV sets, due out this fall, will look more like refrigerators than wall hangings, and there still isn't any HDTV for them to show.

VIDEOGEAR

SHOT IN THE DARK Lost in a morass of camcorder specs? Sony's 1998 HandyCam models ($599-$1,399) still offer old standbys like SteadyShot and wireless TV playback, but the standout is the new NightShot feature. Heat-sensitive infrared sensors let you shoot in a pitch-black room, although the washed-out images aren't exactly ready for prime time.

CAR TECH

BEYOND FUZZY DICE Here's a dangerous idea for the upwardly mobile commuter: Ingenious Technologies' $40 PowerDesk platform lets you clamp a laptop to your car's steering wheel.