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• By Rob Wright One of the criticisms of the Xbox 360 when compared to its chief competitor, the PlayStation 3, was that it didn't include a built-in high definition DVD player. This was an unfortunate result of Microsoft launching its console a full year earlier than the PS3. Microsoft eventually released a companion HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360, and it's a fine addition to the platform. The drive looks similar to the Xbox 360 but is about half its size, connects to the console through a USB port, and can play all HD-DVD movies and discs. The drive also has two additional USB ports, and a spot for the Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter. The Xbox HD-DVD looks something like a scaled-down Xbox. The Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive has no A/V ports, so it can't connect directly to a television; an Xbox 360 console is required for all TVs, including HDTVs. The good news, though, is that the HD-DVD drive can connect to your PC (an OS X Mac, too) quite easily. If you have a decent display, then HD-DVDs look impressive on the small screen. The drive offers 1080i resolution (1080p with a VGA connection or the Xbox 360 Elite's HDMI connector) and comes bundled with the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote and the HD-DVD version of Peter Jackson's "King Kong." The movie's clarity and picture quality are amazing, especially the eye-popping special effects sequences that feature computer-generated visuals. While the Xbox 360 console has been plagued by overheating, assorted hardware issues and high failure rates, the companion HD-DVD drive is smooth and efficient. It's easy to set up, and delivers true HD picture quality. Microsoft recently reduced the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player by $20 - its current MSRP is $179.99. The unit also comes with a rebate offer for five free HD-DVDs, good through February, 2008.

• http://www.netgear.com $370 By: Ed Tittel As more households begin to deploy their own in-home networks to serve multiple PCs, more home users discover the allure of networked storage to accommodate burgeoning media collections, backups, and shared files. Although the term "home network-attached storage (NAS)" may sound like an oxymoron, it represents a viable and growing market niche for networking appliance vendors to pursue. In case you haven’t already guessed, the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo is an excellent case in point. Whereas heavier-duty NAS devices usually include four or more drive bays to accommodate lots of storage, the ReadyNAS Duo includes two bays in a compact and attractive package. The ReadyNAS Duo is not without its benefits, either. The device supports hot-swapping of drives and its front-mounted swing-open door makes it trivial to get at its easy-swap drive mounts. Slide drives in or out of SATA connectors at the rear of each bay to enable careful but unsophisticated users to switch out drives at will. There is also a Backup button on the front of this unit that fires off a one-step backup of its drive(s) on demand. It also includes three USB 2.0 ports (two on the back, one in front) to which external drives, flash drives, printers, or a wireless adapter may be attached. The ReadyNAS Duo is architected so that a second drive (if installed) automatically mirrors the first drive (this is a RAID 1 configuration) to maintain duplicate copies of everything and to take over automatically if the primary drive should fail. As shipped, the unit includes a single 500 GB drive (which can be mirrored by any second drive of equal size or greater). With 500 GB SATA drives going for under $85 these days, you may simply want to slap another one into the second drive bay to mirror your storage at a modest price. Those who need more storage can opt for 750 GB or 1 TB models of the ReadyNAS Duo at higher prices. The ReadyNAS Duo supports a broad range of network clients, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Setting up the device requires designating one such machine to run its management console (RAIDar software) which uses a Web-based interface for set-up, configuration, updates, and maintenance. A Wizard will walk you through the setup process where you’ll handle IP addressing, configure shares, assign users and groups, and select file system types for shares (SMB for most clients, AFP for Macs, NFS for Linux/UNIX, HTTP/S, FTP, and so forth). Client backup works with either Netgear’s own NTI Shadow utility, Windows built-in NTbackup facility, or other third-party packages. That said, if you want to make an image-based backup of a network drive, you’ll need a third-party utility (a capability not included as part of the ReadyNAS Duo’s built-in backup). The Home NAS angle for the ReadyNAS Duo really comes to the fore when used for media-serving capabilities. It offers support for a photo sharing Website and includes an iTunes server and a media server that works with Windows Media Center, Logitech Squeezebox, Sonos Digital Music Center, the Xbox 360, the Sony PlayStation3, and any UPnP AV-capable networked media-handling device (like Netgear’s own EVA8000 media server). Its GbE interface delivers files and media content quickly and effectively (those seeking to kick up its performance might want to replace its paltry 256 MB PC2700 SODIMM for a 1 GB modules for $25 or so). Lots of multi-computer households are bound to find the ReadyNAS Duo an attractive proposition. If Santa comes bearing one of these babies in his bag-o-gifts, big grins should break out all around.

• By Rob Wright The debate about which is better - PC gaming or console gaming - often breaks down into a simple discussion about controllers for shooters. PC gamers frequently lament the lack of accurate aiming ability with a basic console controller thumbstick, as opposed to the precision of mouse and keyboard. For most PC gamers who wish for a better way to control the crosshairs in console games, the FragFX PlayStation 3 Controller ($59.99) from Splitfish may be a welcome development. The FragFX includes a mouse as well as a thumb controller for the PS3. The FragFX is designed to bring mouse and keyboard functionality to the PS3, and looks very much like a basic mouse and keypad setup - sort of. In addition to a mouse and keypad that are colored black to match the PS3, the FragFX also features a left-hand grip controller with a thumbstick instead of a keyboard with WASD keys for movement. Thus, players still retain some traditional console controller functions, but precision mouse aiming. The FragFX mouse includes the same four-button configuration as a basic PS3 controller, located on its left side. The mouse also includes a zoom button on top, and the left-hand grip offers a speed dial to increase the pace of the game as well as a "Frag" button to adjust mouse sensitivity. While the keypad itself is small, the mouse and left-hand grip work quite well together; the grip also acts as a Sixaxis motion controller just like a regular PS3 controller. The FragFX works with all PS3 games and is easy to connect to the console. If you know somebody who's looking for PC gaming comfort on this console, look no further. Nyko Charge Stations By Rob Wright One unfortunate drawback of wireless console controllers, be they for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Wii, is a nagging power issue. Controllers gulp down their battery power before you know it, and gamers find themselves forced to shut down whatever game they're deep into to replace batteries or plug controllers back into their consoles - neither option is any fun. Thanks to Nyko Technologies' controller chargers, though, gamers won't have that problem anymore. Nyko offers charge stations for all three next generation consoles. Although Nyko offers Charge Stations for the PS3 and Xbox as well, we shot Sarah with the dual Wii battery pack model. The PlayStation 3 Charge Base ($39.99) holds four PS3 controllers and, like all three chargers, plugs into any standard wall outlet. PS3 controllers charge simultaneously through mini-USB ports on the charge base. The Xbox 360 Charge Station ($29.99) is slightly different: the station holds two Xbox 360 Wireless Controller batteries with LEDs to indicate when the batteries are fully charged. This means that gamers can have two batteries ready to swap into their controllers at any time. The true gem of Nyko collection, though, is the Wii Charge Station ($29.99. It houses two Wii Remotes and keeps them topped up with rechargeable batteries that also come with the unit. Anyone who has played the Wii for more than a day knows how quickly motion controllers gobble up the power of the two double As inside its remote. Nyko's product swaps out regular batteries for two NiMH battery packs plus specially designed grip covers that are actually better than those on the original Wii Remote - these replacement covers include a small opening that exposes the NiMH batteries to the charge station connectors. When gamers finish playing with the Wii, simply park the Wii Remote into the charger station sitting upright, and its battery power will be replenished. Two controllers regain a full charge in eight hours. Avid Wii gamers can't help but treat the Nyko Wii Charge Station as a must-have product.