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Cyber-stocking stuffers come in several forms -- games, hardware, software and books. Here are some suggestions for this season's offerings. (All software products are for Microsoft Windows systems, unless otherwise noted, and lower prices can often be found in bundles or by downloading a copy directly from the company.)

Of general interest

Cruzer Micro 256 MB and MP3 Companion
($40 and $70 each, www.sandisk.com, SanDisk)

The Cruzer Micro is a tiny flash drive that can store and transport computer files between any computers with a USB port. The Cruzer is just one of many such miniature drives available but, with the additional MP3 companion, the Cruzer becomes a musical storage device, allowing the playing of both MP3 and WMA audio files. The price of these two items together is about the price of a dedicated audio player. So it's like getting two uses out of the same unit.

PartitionMagic 8.0
($70, www.symantec.com, Symantec)

There are two main reasons to get this product: to enable multiple operating systems to run on the same machine and to easily partition a hard drive. By creating virtual hard-drive partitions -- which the operating system will see as "real" additional drives -- files can be much more easily organized and backed up. So, for example, many people install games to the "D" drive, which will not get backed up, while important software will be installed to the "C" drive, which will be backed up.

This program makes hard-drive management a breeze. Resizing, creating and merging partitions is done with a few simple clicks. If only other aspects of Windows were so simple. The product was made famous by PowerQuest, which was acquired by Symantec last year.

"Spam Kings"
($23, www.oreilly.com, O'Reilly Media)

This 333-page book by Brian McWilliams tells the fascinating stories of the people and corporations that are filling the Internet with unsolicited solicitations -- "spam" to the rest of the world. McWilliams does a great job of explaining not only technical terms in easy-to-understand language, but he also delves into the personas of both spammers and anti-spammers and the surprising companies that profit from the virtual rubbish that has become far too common.

Firefox 1.0
(Free, www.mozilla.org, Mozilla Foundation)

For those fed up with the slow page-loading and security issues of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, the just-released Foxfire browser is the answer. Users can amaze their family and friends with how quickly pages are displayed, as well as the ability to view multiple pages at the same time. The pop-up blockers and the find/searching features are awesome. This remarkable Internet browser is available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. While there is no charge to use it, the company asks for a donation from users who are happy with the product. It's only when there's real competition that people, not companies, benefit. Also, the company just launched its Thunderbird 1.0 e-mail client.

ZoneAlarm Security Suite
($70, www.zonelabs.com, Zone Labs)

Before connecting any computer to the Internet, a firewall program should be installed. This type of program allows the user to set up which programs can have access to, and be accessed from, the Internet. (The built-in Windows firewall is pretty much useless.) This bundle includes a firewall, anti-virus protection, e-mail virus monitoring and a spam blocker. For those who only want a firewall, ZoneAlarm Pro ($50) is the stand-alone product. Also, there is a feature-reduced, free version, ZoneAlarm.

Digital image help

Paint Shop Pro Studio
($79, www.jasc.com, Jasc Software)

This digital editing software is the bee's knees.

It has the power of much more expensive software but an ease of use that is quite easy for beginners to follow.

For those familiar with the industry-standard "Adobe Photoshop" line, it can take a few minutes to get used to the way "Pro" handles editing chores -- but it's worth the wait. A "Learning Center" tutorial explains how to perform both basic and advanced tasks.

When it comes to tinkering around with special filters, the "Effect Browser" allows one to view the effect of hundreds of filter options on the selected photograph. Other programs use a generic picture. Another fun feature is the Picture Tube Tool, which allows one to "paint" special images, including butterflies, bubbles, leaves and animals.

Advanced users should consider the higher-end product, "Paint Shop Pro 9" ($129), which has more filters. Jasc also makes a wonderful digital organizing program, "Paint Shop Photo Album 5" ($45). All three products have free trial versions. Jasc was recently acquired by Corel Corp., so expect a name change soon.

Virtual Painter 4
($45, Jasc Software)

Typically, photo-editing programs come with a dozen or so built-in artistic filters. But these programs also support a type of very powerful filter known as a Photoshop plug-in, as it was designed originally to work within Adobe Photoshop. Today, the term has been shortened even more to just, "plug-in."

Virtual Painter contains more than a dozen amazing plug-ins that can instantly transform photographs into works of art, including watercolor, oil painting, Gouache, colored pencil, pastel, impasto, pointillism, silk screen, collage, drawing, airbrush, embroidery, Gothic oil painting and Fauvist oil painting.

Genuine Fractals LE 3.0
($50, www.lizardtech.com)

Anybody who has ever enlarged a picture too much has certainly noticed how pictures get fuzzy. The technical term for this is grain. What this plug-in cannot do is add details that aren't there. So, if a picture is fuzzy to begin with, this program will not help. What this program does is allow for an amazing amount of enlargement without adding any grain.

The full version and professional versions cost $159 and $299, respectively, but contain advanced features beyond the typical requirements of home users. A trial version of Genuine Fractals LE is available that will work for 20 uses or 10 images.

Digital Photography Hacks
($30, O'Reilly Media)

Anybody who is serious about digital photography should check out this 390-page book by Derrick Story. It is filled with 100 different tricks. Individually, several of these tricks are worth the price of the book, including several sections about lighting and tripods. The explanations of common photographic problems and solutions are simple and elegant. For those who want a more in-depth primer of digital photography, Ken Milburn's 468-page "Digital Photography: Expert Techniques," ($45, O'Reilly) covers similar topics, but with more detail and photographs.

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