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Think Small

Bigger isn’t better, no matter what some people might say. The new Mini Cooper, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Beetle are giving the big SUVs a run for their money. Books about Hobbits have never been more popular.

Bigger isn’t better, no matter what some people might say. The new Mini Cooper, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Beetle are giving the big SUVs a run for their money. Books about Hobbits have never been more popular. And all the ladies seem to love Tom Cruise even though he’s only five foot seven.

When it comes to technology, smaller has become the benchmark for just about every new product.

Leaps and bounds in computer technology have not only enabled high-tech manufacturers to make faster, more spacious, and more powerful products, but also to make products that are smaller and more portable.

Laptops are so thin these days that you could fit three of them in a briefcase. Cellular phones are so tiny you can’t tell if people are talking on the phone or talking to themselves. Miniature personal data assistants (PDAs) are so powerful you can throw away your watch, personal organizer, calculator, walkman, and pocketbook, as well as use them to access the Internet, your e-mail, and link to just about every other electronic device in your office.

Here is a look at a few of the little things out there that are making some big waves.

www.oqo.com

No only is OQO Inc. a small company, the San Francisco-based high-tech company is releasing one of the most talked about small products to be introduced in many years.

Picture a computer that fits in the palm of your hand. It’s just five inches wide, three inches tall and less than an inch deep.

It’s not another PDA, but a powerful computer that includes a 10 Gigabyte hard drive, 256 Megabytes of RAM, a Crusoe 0.13 micron TM5800 processor up to 1 Giga hertz, and a four-inch, high-resolution VGA colour LCD screen that you can also write on with a stylus the same way you’d enter something into a PDA.

It comes with Windows XP, and can run just about any software that fits its hardware specs. It also comes with a cradle to dock with a keyboard and monitor, which enables you to turn your OQO into a desktop.

As well, it has the ability to network with other computers, the Internet and peripherals through USB and FireWire ports. It also offers high-speed wireless access with the right peripheral.

You can plug in ear phones, and use it to store more than 1,000 songs or three feature length movies. The battery can last up to eight hours.

The OQO Ultra-Personal Computers will be in stores this fall.

So far this device doesn’t have any direct competition. IBM has plans to introduce a similar device in a few years, but the OQO is way ahead.

www.logitech.com

Imagine a camera so small that you can slide it in between the bank card and Quizno card in your wallet. James Bond had some small cameras in his day, but nothing like this.

Never be caught without a camera again. Fender bender? Take a shot of the damage for the insurance company. Baby’s first steps? No need to go rummaging for the camera and a fresh roll of film. Catch the boss in a compromising position with his or her personal assistant? Just picture all the ways you could spend your raise and decorate that corner office.

It’s called the Logitech Pocket Digital Camera.

It’s just half an inch tall at its thickest point and about the size of a credit card. It can capture up to 52 images at 1.3 megapixels, and upload them to your computer through a USB connection.

www.sonicblue.com

The RioRiot is a personal music player that holds 20 Gigabytes of information, or about 400 complete albums of compressed music. It’s basically an Apple iPod for PC users although it does work with Apple computers as well.

It also has a built-in FM tuner, something other systems lack.

It’s slightly wider, taller and deeper than the OQO, but is considerably lighter at just 10 ounces. It’s also a lot more affordable.

www.mini.ca

You still see the odd Mini Cooper on the road, but as the years go by they are becoming a rarer find. They were built small back in those days because small cars were going to be the wave of the future. Functional, affordable, and the saviour of urbanized living.

With municipalities being forced to widen parking spaces to make room for sport utility vehicles that make those huge cars from the ’50s look like go-carts, the small thing didn’t pan out. Yet.

It’s likely that SUV owners are going to be charged more in taxes to compensate for the increased wear and tear on roads and on the environment. Insurance will also likely go up because being surrounded by 4,000 pounds of metal doesn’t make you a safer driver.

Fuel prices could increase if things don’t get better in the Middle East, which they won’t. Carbon dioxide emissions, plus other combustion-related gases and particulate are becoming a growing health concern, and a concern for the environment.

Alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular, but these new technologies won’t work for SUVs.

Smaller cars are the smart choice under these circumstances, and in a short while they might become your only choice. Enter the Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S.