Cheap keys mar Asus U6's slick look

The new Asus U6 notebook is aimed at lonely executives in search of a surrogate partner. In its promotional materials, an Asian model is used to sex up the laptop, much like an old sports car ad. Big turnoff.

Even so, the U6 is something you will want to touch. Its shell is dark and glossy, with a sparkling fabric embedded in a lacquer finish. The laptop's keyboard has a textured leather palm rest.

The 12.1-inch U6, compact and slick, has a brilliant, crisply backlit LED screen and a built-in webcam. It comes loaded with the Microsoft Windows Vista Business operating system.

The U6 is brilliant for wannabe secret agents. It uses its webcam and face-recognition software to automatically log you into the machine. It has a fingerprint reader below its touchpad, and an eight-in-one card reader. Too bad, but I was unable to get the biometrics working properly. I blame myself. I am unwilling to plumb the depths of any Windows OS or application for very long, however cool it promises to be.

If the U6 can't read your face, for want of a shave, or whatever, the Asus SmartLogon application lets you enter your password. It's a lifesaver when you want your projector to work at the start of a presentation.

The U6's hot keys and keyboard keys, however, seemed cheap. Perhaps Asus used the lightweight keyboard to trim the U6's bulk. I also found the U6's touchpad mouse buttons to be very tight, which made navigating through Windows menus uncomfortable. The keys also struck me as a little soft. I realize that not every typist wants keys that punch back. And it occurred to me that this laptop is for executives who dictate their letters, rather than type them.

There are two U6 models, ranging from $1,750 to $1,800.

Setting up a wireless network never struck me as being all that complex. But the airwaves are quickly filling up with new signals. And new standards, including those for home automation, are around the corner.

"The Book of Wireless" (2d Edition, No Starch Press) does a brilliant, thorough job of describing how WiFi, mesh, and other networks work. It includes practical advice about where to position a rooftop antenna, for example, or indoor routers. The book also unravels acronyms, such as WPA and VPN, for the security-minded, and shows you how you can use your wireless network to make voice over Internet phone calls. And neighborhood hackers should not be your only concern. My fear is that free networks will be used by intelligence agencies to spy on Americans. That should be easier than soliciting access to AT&T's network.

Maggie Orth, the Seattle e-textile designer and MIT alum, has red, white and black e-textile gadgets and DIY kits ready for Valentine's Day.

Her company, International Fashion Machines (ifmachines.com) has also been selling interactive installations under the title Petal Pusher. The works have parts that change in brightness when you touch their tufted yarns, which are laced with conductive metal fibers.

Petal Pusher, available in dozens of patterns and variations, costs $450.

Orth also makes smaller works of art, which the rest of us working stiffs can afford.

My crafty friend Kathy and I have enjoyed playing with Maggie's ElectroPuff fabric dimmer switches, for instance, which cost less than $30.

The Valentine's ElectroPuffs are priced similarly to the original.

Designer Paul Pape is tapping into a "geek vein," as he puts it, with his Chocolate Avatars, which you can find at paulpapedesigns.com. White, dark, or milk chocolate. Male or female. Lots of options, and a gift box that resembles the Wii console. What I'd really love is a customized chocolate version of my own Mii. "Marko" is a funnier, cartoonier version of the meat-space original, with thick-framed glasses and a bald pate. He'd look great in dark chocolate, with a candied beard.