Affordable new HP laptop arrives at Best Buy

You know you're facing gadget overload when, for a trip, you've packed your laptop, your GPS device, your MP3 player (or iPod), your cell phone, your camera…and you think you've forgotten the charger for one of them. The Holy Grail for travelers is a device that does it all. Sony's Playstation Portable (PSP) claims to be that device. While it's sold as a game player, it can also serve as a mini-computer, a cell-phone, a music player and--soon--a GPS device. I recently put it to the test. The PSP game console (starting at $169, not including games) is very light and extremely fragile. This means that if you're the type of traveler that ransacks your bag to find your plane ticket and passport, you're going to need a case (about $10 for a plastic one) to protect your device from getting dinged. I also suggest a neoprene case of some type to store the PSP's spare parts (headphones, games, movies) so that nothing gets crushed accidentally during your trip. What the PSP can do: Tech critics rave that the device's 4.3-inch LCD screen is the sharpest out there, which is handy when you want to browse the Internet. The console takes a few minutes to get connected to the Internet wirelessly. Need to make a phone call? Connect to the Skype Internet-telephony service. As a side note, if you plan to make calls via Skype, you'll want to bring headphones that have a microphone attached. (The newest model PSP, the PSP-3000, hit store shelves on October 14 and includes a built-in mic.) Want to bring music or digital photos? Store your tunes and images on a memory stick (generally $30 to $80, depending on its size). Or before your trip, you could tether your PSP to your laptop with a USB cable (typically $8) and transfer songs over. The PSP also has the ability to become a camera. The attachment is about $80 and the picture quality it produces is probably not going to win you any photography awards. It could work if you just want some memories of an island vacation with your friends without carrying around a Nikon on a strap like a tourist. For movies, Sony offers a video delivery service where you can download movies directly from the PlayStation Store for fees comparable to ones charged by Netflix and Blockbuster. Sony has also created a special type of CD/DVD for the PSP. It's called a Universal Media Disc (UMD). You can buy recently released movies and games (sometimes even in airports) and sit back and relax during your flight with your own entertainment and no longer have to pay for in-flight movies. In South Africa, low-cost carrier 1time Airlines has even started renting PSPs to passengers instead of providing seatback screens with in-flight entertainment. Sony is expected to launch a GPS attachment for the PSP sometime in early 2009 which means one less thing you'd have to remember during traveling. But you can already download Sony's road maps for use for plotting itineraries. Overall verdict: Not yet sturdy enough. But if you need to convince your spouse that you should buy one, you can honestly say that it's a useful travel tool. —Katie Jakub

We're guessing you might have plans for the Fourth and that they involve fireworks, hot dogs, and American flags ... not necessarily in that order. But if you find yourself near Philadelphia, join the city’s Welcome America Festival. Festivities began June 28 and continue through Sunday, but the high point is July 4. Expect an ice cream festival, a ceremonial ringing of the Liberty Bell, a parade, and a concert by John Legend—followed by fireworks over the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The celebration concludes with the Taste of Philadelphia food festival, a chance to sample the best local cuisine. Thinking of photographing some of those fireworks? See our five easy steps to spectacular photos. PREVIOUSLY Save the Date: Wacky Festivals Philly: Tour guides will have to pass history tests

A TSA inspector at a small East Coast airport has contacted us with a tip. I am choosing not to identify her because, as a TSA employee, she is not supposed to talk to the press without official permission. Plus, TSA workers do not have whistleblower protections, which other federal workers have. That's an overly dramatic introduction, I admit, to a rather simple travel tip: It's not necessary to buy the pricey, TSA-approved locks. You don't have to buy fancy luggage locks at all. Instead, buy a pack of plastic zip-ties, or cable locks, for about $1. Here's what our tipster says: I see hundreds of locks and zipper pulls get broken off as they go through the conveyor belts at airport security gates. The locks fall off and land under the conveyor belts. Most locks that people use are the kind you could pick with a bobbie pin or paper clip. Zip ties (also called cable locks) are something that we use at the airport. They are long plastic ties that lock. They can't be opened unless cut with a scissor or nail clipper, which are allowed to be packed in a carry-on bag. The ends of the plastic ties fit through the zipper pull tabs. They come in all sorts of sizes. Use zip ties for carry-on or checked luggage. We put them on for people after checking their bags if they want them locked. I did this for a guy traveling to India today. If we have to cut a lock we zip tie it afterwards at my airport. The zip tie is something I use for International travel myself. TSA locks are useless in other countries. I have never had a bag opened and you know if your zip lock (in your choice of color) is still there it hasn't been messed with, unlike a lock...which you can't tell if it's been opened or not. As an aside, I will say that out of 2000 bags today maybe 40 bags were opened. If they don't alarm the X-ray machine then the bag is cleared. 100 count bag of zip ties, at Amazon.com for $5. Also sold at local hardware and housewares stores, typically for $2 for 100 count bags. EARLIERFAQs about items stolen from checked bags

Sony announced today that it has taken the technology behind noise-canceling headphones a step further with its (eloquently named) MDR-NC500D. Sony claims in its press release that the headphones will block 99 percent of noise in the range of a jet engine. That's good news: Some medical studies say that jet-engine noise helps cause jet lag because the brain gets worn out having to deal with the buzz for a prolonged period of time. Sony's headphones aren't a budget-travel option yet, given their expected $400 price tag when they go on sale in February. But hopefully the technology will filter down to lower-priced models in the years ahead. Gizmodo, a technology blog that was present at Sony's announcement in Las Vegas, asked Sony what exactly made these a world's first digital noise canceling headphones. Sony says that while other headphones use an analog mechanism for equaling out the sound, their headphones "do an analog to digital conversion using a digital signal processor with three filters. That should, in theory, result in far better sound since the sound gets cleaned up with digital equalizer before you hear it." If you can explain what that means, feel free to post a comment. EARLIER ON THE BLOG Before you buy a digital camera, visit this website.