Version: 2008
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CNET'S VACATION GEAR MAKEOVER: Let our editors redo your travel tech Back to intro
Meet the contestants Click below for each contestant's profile
Nathan AndersonCrystal BeanDominique ChirinciucDale Del Fierro Jason Esters
Heather McGinnisBrad RapleAdam ShieldsDwayne WilsonHarold Woodman

Sponsored by Canon
Contestant file
Harold Woodman
My age: 34
My location: Helena, Alabama
What I do: Computer operations manager

What I take on vacation
• Sony Walkman held together with duct tape
• Portable CD player that works only when held sideways
• CD-eating player in my van
• Headphones that fell victim to daughter's teething 
Listen to my audiocastListen to Harold: RealAudio | WindowsMedia

My dream setup
Apple iPod
Apple iPod
Is there any other MP3 player?


Etymotic ER-6 Isolator headphones
Etymotic ER-6 Isolator headphones
When the kids sing "100 Bottles of Coke on the Wall"


  Color GPS system
So my wife won't question my sense of direction


  Entertainment system for car
So my offspring can drift into a TV coma


Digital video camcorder
Digital video camcorder
To record our family road trips


Laptop
Laptop
To edit out "Don't make me stop this car!"


Large plasma TV
Large plasma TV
A stretch, I know, but to show the vacation video to my parents



What the experts think
Brian Cooley Harold's on the right track with picks that will get him on the road to a relaxing vacation. You simply can't go wrong with an Apple iPod and our Editors' Choice noise-canceling earbuds. Other specific product suggestions: a GPS-enabled handheld such as the Garmin iQue 3600 ought to keep his wife happy; the Panasonic DVD-LV65 portable DVD player will keep things quiet in the backseat. The plasma is a stretch, though.

Why I need this makeover
Harold Woodman My father-in-law is moving to Utah next year: that's over 30 hours in a van with three kids and a wife who thinks I'll get lost unless she asks me where I'm going every five minutes. I need something to keep my wife and children entertained. I need to have the gear to escape from the noise during a road trip. I need daddy alone time. Most of all, I need to be able to travel without losing my sanity. Help!

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What the panels' eyes
CNET Five Harold sounds like the inspiration for National Lampoon's Vacation. But like Clark Griswold, he's a big softie underneath. The devoted dad has carted the family all over the country to visit with relatives, while maintaining a good sense of humor about his personal tech: "I have a 90-day guarantee on my techware. Within 90 days, one of my children will drop, smash, or paint it." But he could be facing a long, hot summer in the family trickster without a high-tech makeover.


See the finalists
Nathan Anderson Crystal Bean Dominique Chirinciuc Dale Del Fierro  Jason Esters
Heather McGinnis Brad Raple Adam Shields Dwayne Wilson Harold Woodman
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