Short Circuits

New and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.

DVD

Wizard works a little magic "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Warner, $29-$36) features love potions, common-room snogging and adolescent heartbreak. It's hard to blame screenwriter Steve Kloves or director David Yates for focusing on the romance. After all, as young-adult adventures go, the sixth book in the Harry Potter series is awfully light on the adventure. The three leads, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma Watson (Hermione), give their most charming performances to date. Ron is particularly funny under the addling effects of a love potion, and Hermione is sad and sweet in a moment of romantic disillusionment. All of which is to say that the film, with its romantic triangle (square? pentagon?), its gorgeous production design and its bang-up final action sequence, might be the most enjoyable Harry Potter movie yet for people who don't particularly care about Potter movies. Whether die-hard fans of the books will love it is another story.

WASHINGTON POST

Also out today: "The Cove," "The Dog Who Saved Christmas," "The Fugitive" (Season 3, Vol. 2), "Julie & Julia," "Lost" (Season 5), "Perry Mason" (Season 4, Vol. 2), "Public Enemies," "Rescue Me" (Season 5, Vol. 2), "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Season 6, Vol. 1).

GAME

REO rolls with the changes The classic rock band REO Speedwagon is the subject of a new computer game, "Find Your Own Way Home." As casual games go, it's a fun diversion -- especially if you're among the many fans who religiously flock to see the band whenever they come to the Twin Cities. In the game, players must help an entertainment reporter get to the big show to interview the band. Tasks include spotting the differences between similar images and finding hidden objects, all while REO's music plays in the background and the band pops up here and there. "Find Your Own Way Home," for PC and Mac, goes for $7 to $8 through the Republic of Music (www.therom.com) and Big Fish Games (www.bigfishgames.com), which offer a free one-hour demo.

RANDY A. SALAS

WEB

Surf as you fly - for free I was surprised to find on a recent trip that Atlanta-based discount airline Airtran was among the few carriers offering in-flight Wi-Fi. Delta, American and United are some of the other airlines that use Gogo Inflight Internet. The service costs $6 to $10 a flight, which isn't bad. But I didn't pay a thing. The secret? Register for free in advance at Gogo's website (www.gogoinflight.com), and then enter one of the promotional codes listed at RetailMeNot for a free session when you're in the air. I did, and it worked without a hitch.

RANDY A. SALAS