Psst! You with the laptop. Wanna watch some TV? And I'm talking HDTV, pal, not that standard-def garbage. All you need to do is plug in Pinnacle's HD Ultimate in your USB port and you're done. Yep, that's it. The stick has its own antenna, receiving HD broadcasts from the airwaves (remember those?) for you to enjoy on your monitor. An improvement on the old PCTV HD Pro, the Ultimate doesn't need you to install any software and includes some flash memory for recording shows (about 2 hours' worth).

Of course, if analog broadcasts are the only thing available the Ultimate can pick those up, too. Anything you receive, you can record, and converting the video to something your iPod (or whatever) can handle is a fairly painless process. You'll be able to pick one up by Halloween for $130. The PC card version for desktops will be $80. — Peter Pachal