September 2009 Archives

Home phones, even the cordless variety, seem to be going the way of the horse and buggy, but the forward-looking r&d types at VTech seem to think otherwise. Their new LS6245 Dect Phone looks and behaves like a futuristic prop from "Minority Report," replete with a groovy, white-backlit keypad and a large reverse LCD. It would not look out of place next to James Bond's cocktail shaker or his laser toenail clipper.

Aside from its tall, dark and slender good looks, the 6245's DECT technology, more familiar to Europeans, offers crystal clear sound, expanded range and superior eavesdropping protection. You don't want just anyone learning your secret egg salad recipe, do you? To boot, this gun of a son has Bluetooth connectivity, meaning that -- coupled with your cellphone -- it obviates the need to locate the cell when you hear it ringing. Simply pick up the 'house-phone' and commence gabbing.

It's got more standard features covered as well: digital answering system, accessible from the handset; Dual caller ID and call waiting; and for the teenagers, a collection of polyphonic musical ringtones. My daughter Phoebe surreptitiously loaded some funky riffs on mine -- somehow I always think Rick James is calling when the phone rings. Super freaky, that. The touch sensitive pad is quite sensitive, so keep your hair trimmed! I have put people on hold with my curls inadvertently. But for that, $80 bucks buys you a very cool, expandable system.

As all of our intercontinental (thanks, George W.) friends know, La Bistecca means steak in Italian, and the Biltmore Millennium has dibs on the name for their splendid beef-themed eatery in the dramatic Rendezvous Court downtown next to Pershing Square. Helmed by a pair of talented Italian chefs, both the setting and the menu scream elegance and rustic simplicity at the same time. Vaulted ceilings with copious and ornate chandeliers compete with the unfussy cuisine, adding up to an all-around aesthetic experience for the eye and palate.

The affable and articulate executive sous-chef, Orazio Parisi, explained that the menu owed its inspiration to Southern Italian and Sicilian roots, well exemplified by the luscious eggplant parmigiana that started the meal, as well as a toothsome selection of handcrafted salumi. Making it even harder to choose an appetizer, the Tagliolini with a lobster ragu "all'Amatriciana" was rich and delicately spiced, the lobster's sweetness nicely offset by tiny bites of salty guanciale (and I thought I was the only Wild Bore in the joint).

The steaks were nonpareil, cooked perfectly and with the right balance of firmness and fat (the 16-oz. ribeye was especially tasty). For the non-purists among you, the kitchen prepares a variety of condiments for the meat, including a divine Mascarpone-Horseradish Cream sauce. And the truffle parmesan fries are as sinfully delicious as they sound.

Confirmed Valleyites take note: a painless 20-minute subway ride from Universal City deposits you right at Pershing Square, a mere 60-second walk to the Biltmore, which is stuck in time in the most remarkable and admirable way. Nowhere else in Los Angeles has age been so kind to an historic structure, and rooms are both reasonable and as classic-looking and refined as they looked when the place went up in 1923. Some good things get even better by resisting the impulse to modernize. Make it a weekend -- steaks, symphony and sweet escape all in one.

Don't get me wrong: I know small is beautiful, that good things come in small packages, etc., etc. But, truth is, the tiny black housing that holds Agfa's superb Optima 2338mT digital camera boggles the braincells -- how do you squeeze such crystalline photographic image-making into something that wouldn't hold enough Milk Duds to make it through two cartoons and a trailer? Twelve megapixels of light-gathering power in the palm of your hand -- what indeed, will they conjure up next? Optic nerve to USB direct image transfer system? Never say never....

Let's get away from all this, um, small talk for a minute. Amazingly, this pint-sized marvel also boasts a full 3" TFT LCD viewing screen on its wee backside, yet is still as bright and laser-sharp as you please. Not only that, it's a touch-screen, meaning you needn't always be scrolling and clicking to change parameters just when Junior's about to swing at the 3-2, bases-loaded fastball! There's even a face-tracking function that recognizes a human being faster than an FBI man, and, better yet, a smile detector that zeroes in on those happy pearly whites (I wonder if it obscures frowns?).

Other fab features abound: the video recording function can save your Citizen Kane moments and instantly format them for YouTube uploading and certain micro-posterity. The optical zoom checks in at 3X and the digital at 5X, the shutter ranges from a full second to a 2000th of a second and the image stabilization makes sure there's no blur at the slower exposures. There's also a built-in loudspeaker for the video clips, a burst function for snapping off ten quick clicks in a row and 24 different "Scene Modes" -- from Sport to Night Shooting. All that and the Serious Black Look that will set you apart from all the greenhorn point-and-shoot hordes for around three hundred clams, a see-food bargain you can't afford to pass up.

No, it's not a new late night comedy show with a big-jawed goomba at the wheel, the IdeaCentre A600 is a snazzy all-in-one desktop loaded with bells, whistles and kazoos to boot. No, thank goodness, it doesn't do an opening monologue. It will, however, warn you if you get too close to the screen for safety. Yes, Hal, I will drink my Tang now, too....

If coolness and sleek lines were all that mattered, we at AGT would give this baby the Raymond Loewy Award straightaway. Easily mistaken for a compact, James Bondian flatscreen TV, the A600 features a 21.5" viewing area, comes with Vista Home Premium and a matched pair of 2GHz Intel processors. Four gigs of RAM insure mega-multi-tasking ability and zippy performance. The slot-loading optical drive is so seamlessly integrated you could almost overlook it at first. And the screen tilts 15 degrees forward and 5 back depending on personal preference.

The A600 signals a quantum leap forward for Lenovo, whose major impact heretofore has been among suit-and-tie types. This streamlined beauty is equally useful at home as at the sweatshop, and will satisfy gamers as well as HD-movie watchers with its crisp, 1920X1080 resolution. The high end units will also spin Blu-Ray discs. Adding to its Cool Quotient is the multi-function media remote/gyroscopic mouse/VOIP handset/game controller, layer-caking the all-in-oneness of this incomparable machine. Wireless keyboard, yes, wireless mouse, of course, looks great, sounds great -- what else could one ask for except two toaster slots and a loaf of bread?