From Issue #1 , Page #15

Don't want to miss another episode of "CSI"? Maybe you just need a place to hide out and secretly catch up on "American Idol." Well, soon you will be able to take your favorite TV shows, as well as all of those guilty pleasures wherever you go. Microsoft has announced the Portable Media Center, a new hard-drive device that can take digital movies, TV shows, photos and music files and puts them in one place—and that place can be anywhere you want it to be.

The player was announced in early 2003 under the name Media2Go. It looks like we may finally see a variety of manufacturers producing the hardware later this year.

As of press time, Microsoft was touting their "iPod killer," saying that some of the manufacturers will be launching the device in various parts of Europe to start.

Entertainment companies CinemaNow Inc., EMI Music and Napster will support Windows Media software, while Creative Labs, iRiver International, Sanyo, Samsung and ViewSonic will be producing hardware.

The unit syncs to any Windows XP-based PC, where you can load hundreds of hours' worth of quality audio and video for when you're on the go. A variety of models with a variety of features will be available. Expect to see some of those units hit retail shelves this fall, just in time to make your holiday shopping list.