Back to School Tech 101

Still using a big ol' CRT monitor that takes up 80% of your desk? This 20" Dell LCD monitor offers several good reasons to upgrade: Its 1680 x 1050 resolution, 2000:1 contrast ratio, and 2-millisecond response time deliver deep blacks and sharp edges while reducing blur from videos and games; it has a built-in 2-megapixel webcam that works right out of the box for video chatting, conferencing, etc.; and it has 4 USB ports so you don't have to crawl under your desk every time you want to plug something in. More LCD monitors.

Calling all students and laptop users on a budget: Sony has released an entry-level Vaio laptop that offers both strong performance and long battery life. The Sony Vaio NR430 has a 1.86GHz Intel Pentium dual-core processor, 15.4" screen, 160GB hard drive, built-in CD/DVD burner, and 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN. It ships with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium. And right now Best Buy has it for $600. More budget laptops.

This HP printer doesn't look like much, and that's exactly the point. It can crank out 18 laser-quality black and white pages a minute, and 12 color pages a minute, and can also handle borderless 4" x 6" color prints, but its footprint is small enough (16.6" wide and 5.5" deep) so you can stash it on a bookshelf or under your desk, saving work surface area for more important things like coffee cups and Trapper Keepers. And you can get it for as little as $67. Shop for inkjet printers by price, manufacturer, and type.