...team from recruiting to spring training through a World Series. Bottom line: A dependable home-run hitter. Details: Win 98 or newer, PlayStation 2, $50. HOME RUN KING, Sega Arcade-style baseball game. Sega tries too hard to make this...

...reward is a printable certificate with their name on it. Bottom line: You might go bananas trying to figure out this one. Win 98 or newer/Win 2000 or newer/Mac OS 8.6 or newer, $20, ages 3-6

...format but must pay 99 cents apiece to burn them onto CDs or play them on other devices. (MusicNow requires a PC running Win 98 SE or newer.) MusicNow (www.musicnow.com) is aimed at older listeners who tend to be employed and busy, according...

...AntiVirus is the best-known virus defense. The 2004 version (Win 98 or newer, $50) offers a lifeline to users who only get...VirusScan, the second most familiar anti-viral utility (Win 98 or newer, $60), looks friendlier than it is -- its...

...Beyond their standard USB port, some also include a parallel port for use with old computers. HP's LaserJet 1012 (Win 98 or newer/Mac OS 9.1 or newer, $200) was among the fastest printers we tested, turning out 12 pages in only a minute...

...before next to the clean, largely nuisance-free Rhapsody.) At the low end, anybody can download the Rhapsody program (Win 98 SE or newer) to listen to 25 tracks a month free, out of a 1.1 million-song inventory. They can also buy songs at...

...Timberwolves needed shots in the final seconds to win. Kevin Garnett banked in a 10-foot jumper with 3.3 seconds left to win 98-96 on Jan. 6 in Minneapolis, and Joe Smith got a 17-footer to fall in off the glass with 15.1 seconds left for...

...evocative musical score, is just too cool for words. Bottom line: This game karate-chops the competition. Details: Win 98 or newer/Win 2000 or newer, $50. GRAND THEFT AUTO III, Rockstar Games/DMA Design Violent-minded mobster simulation...

...other areas. Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2003 (Win 98 or newer/Win 2000 or newer, $70) is particularly strong...legitimate mail. McAfee's Internet Security 5.0 suite (Win 98 or newer/Win 2000 or newer, $90) was a bit more difficult...

...and your address book online, providing a similar experience whether you log in at home, on another PC running MSN 8 (Win 98 or newer) or the Hotmail Web page. MSN 8 also includes McAfee's anti-virus software to guard incoming and outgoing...