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
Dwayne Wilson
My age: 65
My location: Buhl, Idaho
What I do: N/A

What I take on vacation
• Keystone Criterion 16mm movie camera
• Promaster AF Tele
• Panasonic Palmcorder bought in the '80s 
Listen to my audiocastListen to Dwayne: RealAudio | WindowsMedia


My dream setup
Itronix GoBook II
Itronix GoBook II
To download pics of the little woman, beautiful scenery, and grandkids


Garmin iQue 3600
Garmin iQue 3600
To locate hidden caches in the woods


Creative Nomad MuVo NX 256MB
Creative Nomad MuVo NX 256MB
To achieve the perfect meditative state


Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Canon EOS Digital Rebel
To hopefully catch a UFO at deserted campgrounds


Sanyo RL2000
Sanyo RL2000
To call for help for when I get lost in the woods


A DV camcorder
DV camcorder
So that my wife has visuals of me falling over logs and slippery rocks to entertain the neighbors


Panasonic DVR
Panasonic DVR
To record and send all this to my kin


  Hummer
It would make my day



What the experts think
Brian Cooley For someone who spends so much time in the woods, Dwayne has sure picked a bunch of stuff with short battery lives. The Itronix GoBook II is a rugged brick, but he'll be better off with a smaller, lighter model such as the Panasonic ToughBook. The Canon EOS Digital Rebel's continuous-shooting capabilities won't keep up with a UFO, unless it hovers right over him; that'll take an EOS 1D Mark II. And sorry, but we couldn't quite squeeze that Hummer into our $4,000 makeover budget.

Why I need this makeover
Dwayne Wilson You may see an old, old coot,
But I'm geek who gives a hoot.
I geocache with a GPS.
Got ole contraptions, I confess.
Grandkids need some pics of them.
My equipment ain't no gem.
So many doodads comin' out.
Don't make this ole guy sit and pout.
I'm 65 and wanna go camping.
But darn, my gear needs revamping.
Each day new stuff's out in the mall.
Shucks, life's too short to see it all.
Money's tight and I want more.
Let contest prizes reach my door.
With gizmos, I'll be young again.
Please, oh please, just let me win!



What the panels' eyes
CNET Five Rhyming couplets! How could we resist? And that poor, pathetic, plastic point-and-shoot with its guts hanging out: aren't there telethons for needy products like that? Lugging all that heavy equipment around, we're not surprised Dwayne falls down so much. Perhaps a tech makeover would be good for his health.


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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