I often get offers to review fancy HDTV sets, computers, computer programs, and once --- I promise this is true --- a self-cleaning electronic litter box for cats.

Most of the gadgets are beautiful and intricate toys that are fun to use. But most are not indispensable.

The items in my high-tech arsenal that are indispensable seldom are glamorous; nor do they often represent some new breakthrough technology. So I often have trouble figuring out a reason to write about them.

I've kept quiet long enough. Today I'll tell you about the high-tech products I can't live without.

> My keyboard: It's made by IBM and weighs more than some laptop computers. Whenever I get a new computer, I store the keyboard that came with it --- usually made of plastic so light that I can flex it --- and plug in the IBM keyboard. Keyboards are a big deal, since that's the way most of us talk to our computer. The IBM keyboard I use is long out of production. But that's no big deal. Go to a big computer store and look through the dozens of keyboards on display. Type on them. Heft them. Buy a sturdy one.

> My monitor: If we "talk" to our PC with a keyboard, we get the PC's side of the conversation by viewing the monitor. I have a 19-inch CRT monitor on my desk. A big LCD screen would do just as nicely. And if I had room for a 21-inch monitor, that would be even better. A big monitor lets me use a type size that is kind to my old eyes. But if I were 18, I'd still put the big screen on my list of indispensables. There is room to view two programs at once on the big screen. And computer games --- I'm playing Microsoft's "Guild Wars" now --- are more fun on a large screen.

> The UPS: It's an uninterruptible power supply --- basically a big battery that powers my desktop computer during a power outage. The idea isn't to serve up enough power to work through the outage. Instead, it gives me time to save information without using it. Since a modern UPS works by continuously --- even when the AC is on --- feeding filtered battery power to the computer, it makes the circuitry last longer. Power from the UPS to your PC is continuous. That means that even little hiccups, when the AC flickers, are no problem.

> Screen wipes: I clean my monitor at least once a month with special screen wipes made for that purpose. Each time I do, the wipe turns as dark as the bath water for a 7-year-old. It makes a surprisingly big difference in screen clarity.

> The mouse: If you haven't moved to an optical mouse --- the kind that uses a beam of red light instead of a ball at the bottom --- you should. You'll no longer need a mousepad and, unlike with the kind that uses a rubber ball, there's no need to clean it. While you're at it, make sure you get a mouse with a small wheel at the top. You can use that wheel to scroll down a document or Web page, instead of moving the mouse.

> A pencil or pen: I'm not kidding. I have a nice printer --- actually several --- but there are times when I just need to note a telephone number from a work e-mail, or copy down an address. I could print it out, but it seems wasteful and also is too big of a production for that. So I keep an old-fashioned ballpoint pen on my desk.

> Google: I have reference books on computing that are meant for professionals. Some of those books weigh as much as an infant. I also get most of the tech magazines. But by far my most useful reference work is free --- Google. While most of you use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, I'll bet there's plenty for you to learn about using them. Spend some time with the help section of your favorite search engine and learn how to narrow a search to specific phrases, and for Web pages created within a certain time frame. I'd give up my entire library of reference volumes before ditching Google.

If you exclude the monitor and UPS, you could get all my indispensable items for $55 or so.

Add in $100 for the UPS and, if you stick to a CRT monitor, an additional $300 or so for the 19-inch screen, and it's still a bargain.

I can't pretend that anything here is as glamorous as a self-cleaning litter box. But I can almost promise that the gadgets I recommend will be a much sweeter deal.

tecbud@ajc.com