Other thoughts about things I'm thinking I might want to get: Dedicated server: I can see how it might be useful to have a server sitting in my office linked to the Internet via a fixed IP address, but I'd have to administer it myself, and this is not something that interests me. (Unless one of you knows of a no-brain-required way of doing this.) Hardware and software that would enable me to work during my 40-minutes-each-way, 4-days-a-week commute to campus (e.g., to read and reply to emails): I've asked around, and the consensus seems to be that there's no good way to do this yet. I could probably kludge something together with existing tools for speech recognition and speech synthesis, but it wouldn't work too well, so the cognitive load would interfere with my driving. I might try something like this for my treadmill workout routine, where the risks are lower (falling off a treadmill can hurt, but not as much as getting into a car accident!). One complicating problem is noise: whether you're running on a treadmill or driving a car, even the best speech recognition software is going to have problems filtering out the noise. Voice recorder: Well, at least I should be able to record my thoughts while I drive. My Treo 700p has a Voice Memo function, but it's not very versatile. Does anyone have a voice recorder that they like, that's suited to use as a digital dictaphone? Tablet: I think tablet entry would be fun and useful, though I'm worried that existing tablet systems will be too slow to do other things I want my PC to do (like run Dragon Naturally Speaking), so I might just go with an external tablet device. Or maybe one of those "smart pens" that turns any surface into an external tablet (as long as you write on special paper). Anyone know what they're called and where one can get them? Extended Apple technical support: This is a must. Apple tech support is great. Data projector: I'll get one of my own, so that when I'm giving a talk I don't face the problem that suddenly my laptop doesn't understand what resolution I want, or doesn't know whether the screen image should be on my laptop or the display device or both, etc. Steven G. Krantz's "A Primer of Mathematical Writing": I'll probably never find the time to read it, but I've always liked Krantz's essays, so I'd probably enjoy what he has to say about writing. Laptop bags: a friend told me I should be sure to get ones with airbags, because it's so easy to damage a hard drive. Wireless signal booster: I once bought one from a company called Quickertek, but they were never able to get it to work for me (in part because Max OS X 10.3.9 was already ancient by the time I bought the Quickertek device). Anyone out there know of a good way to enhance my laptop's ability to pick up distant signals? (This was a handier thing back before so many people used encryption; back then, it was easier to find some person with a Netgear router who hadn't set up security.) Mini surge protectors: Are these a good idea? Postscript Viewer for the Mac: The one I've got is okay but not great. ispell: Is a free version available? Polydron and Zome kits: Seem like they'd be good for the math club. Then there's a whole bunch of Treo software I'd like, such as: * Good way to view PDF files * A better web-browser than the one Sprint gave me * A C compiler * Notepad/scribble software (BugMe has never worked for me on the Treo, and I suspect that there's no way to get it to work well on a non-Graffiti platform) Jim