Your Technology

By Anita Hamilton

LIFESAVER Back-country skiers, snowboarders and mountaineers who get buried in avalanches will soon have a new way to stay alive while waiting to be rescued. The AvaLung by Black Diamond Equipment ($200, available in September) is a special mesh vest designed to keep snow from melting around the face and freezing into a deadly ice mask. A tube filters fresh air into the wearer's mouth and then channels warm, moist, exhaled air safely out the back.

MIGHTY MOUSE It's a dirty little secret any gamer worth his or her salt knew all along: nobody really needs all those fancy joysticks, steering wheels and game pads. Most players blast bad guys and dodge fighter planes with the humble little mouse that came with their computer. Now Logitech's Wingman Gaming Mouse ($40)--the first mouse designed for fun--offers improved control and a five-fold jump in response rate to let you navigate mazes and target enemies with deadly precision.

RAM'S BEST FRIEND Looking for the perfect pet, one that never slobbers, growls or barks in the night? Meet Sony's AIBO (Artificial Intelligence Robot), a foot-tall plastic pup, powered by computer chip, that can walk, sit, lie down, even raise a paw in the air. Stroke a sensor on its head, and AIBO wags its tail; throw a ball, and a digital camera in its snout will track it. A remote control turns it left or right. Available at www.world.sony.com/robot/for $2,500, AIBO costs more than most purebreds. But it doesn't shed, can't dig holes in the yard and needs no food or water. Best of all, you never have to clean up after it.

--By Anita Hamilton