Your Technology

By Anita Hamilton

Not Microwave, FlashBake

Microwave ovens are fast and easy, but they can't broil, caramelize, steam, grill or roast food. The new Wolf/FlashBake 120 by Quadlux in Fremont, Calif., cooks nearly as fast as a microwave but runs on halogen lights controlled by a computer chip. Infrared rays brown the food while visible and near visible light penetrates and cooks it. First used in commercial kitchens in 1993, the new FlashBake oven for home use will cost $1,400 to $1,600 when it goes on sale Dec. 1.

Gaming on the Go

The touch pads and eraser-head pointers on notebook computers are great space savers but aren't much good for dodging a tackle in NFL Blitz or going for the goal in Fox Sports Soccer 99. The Gravis Stinger ($40), designed especially for notebooks, handily plugs into a serial port (rather than the game port notebooks lack) but is nearly as bulky as the computers it plugs into.

Oral-B's Plaque Buster

Gillette wants to jazz up your daily routine with its new $5 Oral-B CrossAction, the most expensive mass-market toothbrush ever sold. Gillette claims the brush removes 25% more plaque than its leading competitor with angled bristles that penetrate deeper between teeth and a PowerTip to reach back teeth. The thick, rubberized handle may be easier to hold, but it's too wide for most toothbrush holders. Due out in early 1999.

--By Anita Hamilton