TECHNOLOGY: STOP, SNOOP!

If you've used your laptop on an airplane, you probably know the uneasy feeling that your neighbor is watching you. Whether you're a business person working on a sensitive document, a would-be writer fine-tuning a screenplay or a romantic penning a love letter, privacy counts. With wireless hotspots popping up all over--IT research firm Gartner predicts their numbers will increase tenfold between 2001 and 2005--keeping your laptop screen from prying eyes is a growing problem. You can close your laptop when you're not working on it, but for protection from snoops when you're reading or typing, a privacy screen is a handy solution. It fits over your laptop screen and filters light at certain angles--like vertical blinds. Glimpsed from the left or the right, the screen appears black; viewed head on, the image is bright and clear. We like the filters from 3M, which come in sizes to fit all standard laptop screens (PC and Mac). The 14.1-inch model (photo) is easy to slide in and out of position ($62.57 at compusa.com; 800-266-7872). So pop one of them on your screen, order a latte and get some serious work done next time you're at Starbucks.