1. CLEAR THE REAR Clear taillights became popular because of their simplicity-customizers found the existing mix of red, white, and amber distracting. Sets from American Products Co. fit most small cars (prices vary); be sure to install tinted bulbs so the lights glow red or amber. www.4apc.net

1. ONE CAMCORDER THAT CREDIBLY DOUBLES AS A STILL CAMERAWe're not convinced a single device can be great at both stills and video, but Sony's DCR-IP220-the first digital camcorder with a 2-megapixel CCD-is as close as
it gets. It's even packed with great camera features, including an intelligent pop-up flash and Hologram Autofocus and Night Framing for low-light situations. Price: $1,999. www.sony.com
2. FRIDGE MORE FROZEN THAN COLD

Thanks to smart engineering and materials advances, today's backcountry necessities pack in more tech without packing on more pounds. Here are five items you'll want in your backpack this fall.

At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Florida's east coast, neat young students wearing aviator sunglasses criss-cross the manicured campus lawn, heading from one class to the next, or on their way to simulator training or the actual flight line. Most of them dream of becoming airline pilots, flying the big iron. In the center of campus sits a life-size stainless-steel sculpture depicting the very event that propelled them toward their chosen careers nearly 100 years ago: the exact moment when Orville Wright, lying on his stomach, lifted off the ground in the first Flyer.

With digital cameras hitting 6 megapixels (see "Super Shooters"), this round of the resolution race is over. The new push is to more powerful optical zooms which, unlike digital zooms, enlarge images without degrading quality. Five new cameras now hitting the market offer optical zooms of between 5X and 8X-and at least one 10X is coming this fall.

Lead, barium, boron, cobalt-these are just a few of the toxic substances that make up the average desktop computer, 10 million of which will end up in landfills worldwide this year. To lessen the impact on the environment, NEC has developed the PowerMate Eco. It's made from 100 percent recyclable plastic, contains virtually no toxic substances, and requires just one-third the power of other PCs. An Eco with a 900MHz Crusoe processor, 20GB hard drive, and 15-inch display costs $1,599. www.nec.com

We've been burned before, but here goes: New York Research Frontiers' SPD electrochromic glass has a real shot at commercialization. Its benefit over previous attempts: Apply a voltage, and the glass goes from opaque to clear in seconds, instead of minutes. The key is a film coated with microscopic light-absorbing crystals. These crystals naturally shade the glass, but align to let light through when subjected to a voltage. ThermoView, of Louisville, has licensed SPD for home windows, while Fort Lauderdale-based InspecTech hopes to use it in aircraft cabin windows.

Don't tell Brock Walker that Herman Miller's Aeron is the perfect office chair. He just made it better. Walker is behind PostureFit, a wing-shaped pad that's an option on the Aeron. Placed at the base of your spine, it enables your pelvis to maintain its forward tilt, correcting any swayback tendencies.

Available next month for $90.

www.hermanmiller.com

Creative Labs' MuVo is an excellent little MP3 player, but it's its versatility that we love most. Just shuck the battery case and you'll see it's also a USB-based storage stick, like the Agate Q or Sony Microvault. That means your computer views it like a floppy disk or hard drive, so no software is required to upload tunes (or PowerPoint presentations, for that matter). You just drag and drop the files.


Price: $129


www.creativelabs.com

Escalators run at one speed: slow. But they could become high-speed transports if research at Mitsubishi pans out. Engineers there have invented a way to increase an escalator's speed by 50 percent on straightaways while maintaining a safe, slow pace at entry and exit points. The trick: Large-diameter pulleys at the escalator's edges force the rollers supporting the steps to take wide turns, slowing them down. Mitsubishi hopes to commercialize the variable-speed escalator within two to three years.