Walkvest: As you progress in your exercise and weightloss program, it’s harder to improve as quickly. The Walkvest, made famous recently by actress Valerie Bertinelli, who used it to shed pounds, allows you to add half-pound weights, up to eight pounds, to make your walking or running regimen more challenging ($59.90; walkvest.com).

Goody: If you often have to stop mid-workout to adjust your hair band or clip, what good is it? Goody’s StayPut collection really does just that. Its hair bands ($3.99) have 52 percent more holding power than a regular band, and the quarter-inch and half-inch claws ($3.99 to $4.99) grip probably longer than you can on those barbells (goody.com).

Customer call centers tend to do one thing efficiently: frustrate complaining customers. Beat them at their own game with these tips from “Gotcha Capitalism” by Bob Sullivan (Ballantine Books. $14.95):

Start by checking the Web site gethuman.com for the secret code that will get you to a live rep more quickly. Call during regular business hours, when the best employees are manning the phones. And consider pressing the number for Spanish, as you’re likely to get a bilingual operator faster than you would by waiting for an English-only agent. Or call the sales office instead. Once you get through, jot down the rep’s name or operator number, and then state your case simply. Ask if he or she has the authority to solve the problem for you. If not, ask to be switched to a supervisor who does. Take that, “hold” music!

Nov. 5, 2007 issue 

Thanks to a new wave of handheld, video-friendly devices, it’s never been easier to keep yourself (or the kids) entertained. But before you buy a portable boob tube, there are a few things to consider.

If you plan to eye lots of video, consider a display of at least three inches. In general, expect to squeeze about 20 to 60 hours of video into 16 gigs (most new players come with 8 or 16GB of memory). If that’s not enough, look for a player with a memory-card slot, or consider a hard-drive player. For the video itself, iPod owners can seamlessly download movies and TV shows from Apple’s iTunes Store, while other devices play videos bought from services like Amazon Unbox, CinemaNow and Wal-Mart (though integration isn’t as smooth as Apple’s). Still unsure? Here’s a look at the latest portable video players: