Computer Shopper articles from May 2003

Computer Shopper archives from May 2003

Giving you what you want. (from the editor in chief).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... At Computer Shopper, we do a lot of research to keep abreast of what readers want. Every month, for example, we conduct a thorough editorial survey, soliciting feedback on each story in the issue. The study helps us suss out what you like, what...

Too much hot air. (Letters).(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... In your March feature "The Complete PC Tool Kit" (p. 114), you recommend taping a piece of air-conditioner or aquarium filter behind your PC's power supply. That's a foolish thing to do in the real world. Modern power supplies, which heat...

The right to cho-os-e. (Letters).(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Your March and April Tune-Up articles on how to assemble a PC from scratch (March, p. 132; April, p. 134) were great--up until the last step. Install Windows? As the articles point out, the best reason to build a PC from parts is that you get...

Sponsored searches can pay. (Letters).(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Regarding Rik Fairlie's April column, "Search Engines Rank Revenue Over Relevance" (p. 32), I agree that sponsored search results should be marked as such by search engines. But as a frequent Google user, I've found that I tend to click on the...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2003... In our April antispam software roundup, "Spam Slammers" (p. 106), we mistakenly stated that McAfee SpamKiller 4.0 is compatible with AOL. In fact, SpamKiller 4.0 does not support AOL mail.

Online shopping gets more taxing. (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Thanks to a deal recently implemented by 38 states and the District of Columbia, several large retailers have begun collecting sales tax on Internet purchases. The agreement was struck last fall after state officials complained that their...

Intel answers the 64-bit question. (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Intel (www.intel.com) will release its "Prescott" desktop chip later this year and follow it with a successor (code-named Tejas) in 2004, but the company isn't planning to release a desktop 64-bit chip--similar to those found in high-end...

Is BlackBerry in a Jam? (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A little more than two years ago, Research In Motion (www.rim.com) looked poised to be the next Palm (www.palm.com). Offering wireless e-mail and a keyboard for easy input, RIM's PDA-like BlackBerry devices had become cult favorites among...

Intel, Linksys connect on networked devices. (Trends).(Media Navigator)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Intel (www.intel.com) and Linksys (www.linksys.com) are aiming to bridge the gap between PCs and consumer electronics with the forthcoming Media Navigator, an adapter that will let consumer-electronics gadgets connect to a network and access...

Is Wi-Fi destined to replace 3G in next year's cell phones? (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Wi-Fi certainly knows how to steal thunder. First, it displaced Bluetooth as the preferred wireless-networking technology for notebooks and PDAs. Now it's challenging 3G, with mobile phones expected to adopt Wi-Fi by early 2004. That's the word...

Wi-Fi sales surge, prices plunge. (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Demand for wireless home networking equipment helped fuel price cuts that resulted in huge sales increases, according to a recent report from NPD Techworld. The study found that sales increased almost fourfold for Wi-Fi hardware in 2002....

Rumors of disk demise may not be greatly exaggerated. (Trends).
May 1, 2003... The floppy drive, no stranger to premature pronouncements of its obsolescence, is once again being fitted for a coffin. The disk drive is the component computer manufacturers are most keen to render obsolete, despite the reluctance of consumers...

A software license to sue? (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... California woman is suing Microsoft, Symantec, and several software retailers, claiming the companies "concocted a scheme" to mislead consumers by requiring them to consent to software licensing agreements they haven't read. The suit,...

Office Internet surfers tend to work more at home. (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Maybe companies shouldn't be so quick to pull the plug on personal Web surfing at work. A new study finds that employees may waste time surfing on the job, but they tend to make up for it by working from home in their off-hours. ...

New net ads win over viewers. (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Online advertisements get called a lot of names, from obtrusive and annoying to terms unfit to print in a technology magazine. But a new style of advertising earns what until now has been an utterly foreign description for the medium: classy....

Direct marketers hate spam, too. (Trends).
May 1, 2003... Tired of being lumped in with the purveyors of sex aids and credit-free loans, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA, www.the-dma.org) has announced its support for federal legislation governing unsolicited commercial e-mail. The organization...

The new shopping destination: work. (Trends).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... According to a recent study by The Wall Street Journal Online and eMarketer, more and more office workers are finding a new way to spend their lunch hours: shopping online. Some may only be trying to break up the Dilbert-like monotony, but...

Combo communicator: Palm Tungsten W. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Palm Tungsten W Workaholics of the world, unite: Palm's latest high-end handheld, the Tungsten W, gets down to business with wireless-phone, Internet, and corporate-e-mail capabilities. It also comes with productivity and...

Deltron Cinema Disk. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 1 A/V to go Smartly shuttle your multimedia to and fro with the Deltron Cinema Disk. The $450 portable device supports a variety of data-file types. It can play back MP3s, as well as JPEG-image slide shows and MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and Motion...

iTrip. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 2 broadcast your beats Use your iPod to play DJ to anyone within a 10-to-30-foot range with Griffin Technology's $35 iTrip. Simply plug the tiny transmitter into your iPod via its headphone and FireWire jacks, and you're ready to broadcast...

Nike PSA CD8. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 3 just disc it Anyone who's ever spent time on a treadmill will tell you the right digital audio player can mean the difference between riding like the wind and running on empty. Put the spin back in your step with the $180 Nike PSA CD8...

Fujifilm FinePix F700. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 4 massive megapixels Not only is the Fujifilm FinePix F700 the world's first 6.2-megapixel digital camera, at only $599.95 it's also surprisingly affordable. The F700 employs Super CCD SR technology to produce film-quality pics. This...

Sputnik3 Laptop Bag. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 5 astropack Kick your boring black notebook case to the curb and sling the $80 Sputnik3 Laptop Bag over your shoulder instead. This chic silver carrier is constructed of heavy-duty vinyl strong enough to withstand whatever Mother Nature...

P800. (Gear).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 6 variophone Song Ericsson's $649.99 P800 squeezes virtually every multimedia capability a gadget hound could want into a svelte 5.5-ounce package. A Bluetooth-enabled flip phone, the P800 can play multiple roles, including a Symbian...

When ads and prices just don't add up: if a company refuses to sell a product at the advertised price, you don't have a lot of options for recourse. Here are your best bets. (opinions).
May 1, 2003... AS SOON AS HE SPOTTED THE ad for a $159 2.4GHz Pentium 4 processor at Newegg.com, Robert Clodfelter reached for his wallet. When he called the e-tailer, however, the cost had snuck up to $164. He mentioned the price in the magazine ad, but the...

Pint-size printers" deliver big results: snapshot printers such as the Canon CP-100 offer plug-and-print simplicity and great results, but at a high price. (Opinions).(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... A GOOD DIGITAL CAMERA IS A must-have for new parents, right up there with diapers and bottles. Okay; maybe it's not quite that important, but since my son was born a little more than a year ago, we've snapped literally thousands of...

The ultimate Spam killer is right around the corner: the antidote to spare could be a combination of artificial intelligence and rules-based spare-filtering systems. (Opinions).(Brief Article)(Column)
May 1, 2003... THE SPAM SITUATION JUST keeps getting worse. Although many people, including me, have advocated government intervention, I realize this will just move the worst spammers offshore, where nothing can be done about them. This presents an...

Editors' top 5. (top 5).(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... Computer Shopper editors handpick this month's best home desktops, desktop-replacement notebooks, recordable-DVD drives, wireless-networking products, and security software. HOME DESKTOPS EDITORS' PRODUCTS ...

Robust gaming rocket is missing some flair: Adamant Gamers Dreams 6030.
May 1, 2003... A DAMANT COMPUTERS' $2,392 GAMERS DREAM 6030 performs like a rocket and has enough extras to keep you flying high, but it lacks a few touches that make a good system great. Adding to the system's other-worldly feel, the metallic-blue tower...

Media center PC gets the big picture: ABS Media Center PC 8400.
May 1, 2003... DON'T LET THE ABS MEDIA CENTER PC 8400'S $5,894 price frighten you--almost $4,200 of it goes toward its magnificent 30-inch LCD. Monitor aside, this system packs an impressive array of components and peripherals, but the bundled OS, Windows XP...

Latest Athlon processor lifts PC to new heights: Polywell Poly 880NF2-3000.
May 1, 2003... ONE OF THE FIRST SYSTEMS WE'VE SEEN WITH AMD's Athlon XP 3000+ processor (code-named Barton), Polywell's Poly 880NF2-3000 flew through our benchmark tests. Experienced gamers and demanding graphics users will revel in this $2,099 system. ...

Luxury gaming rig is the color of money: VOODOOPC Limited Edition F-Class F510.
May 1, 2003... VOODOOPC'S LIMITED EDITION F-CLASS F510 COMES in eight colors, but was it mere coincidence ours shipped in green? This machine is blazingly fast and incorporates some of today's hottest technology--a 2.17GHz Athlon XP 3000+ processor, 1CB of...

Well-rounded budget PC goes beyond the basics: HP Pavilion 514N.
May 1, 2003... HEWLETT-PACKARD'S PAVILION 514n is a solid entry-level PC for students and families. Although performance-minded users may view this $848.99 system with nose-in-the-air disdain, the Pavilion is built to handle virtually any home or business...

High-performance notebook powered by desktop engine: Winbook J4.(Winbook Computer WinBook J4)
May 1, 2003... ENTER THE RAREFIED WORLD of superfast notebooks with the WinBook J4. This gargantuan desktop replacement definitely isn't for the physically weak or the financially faint of heart, but it features a never-before-seen level of notebook...

A thin-and-light chock-full of extra business acumen: Sharp Actius MV12W.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... FREQUENT FLYERS AND MObile business travelers will do well to consider Sharp Systems of America's $1,899 Actius MV12W. Although relatively pricey, this capable laptop delivers plenty of powerful business attributes in an easy-to-manage,...

Packed with software and priced to move: Sony Vaio PCG-FXA63.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... THE SONY VAIO PCG-FXA63 IS NEITHER SLEEK NOR ultrapowerful, but at $1,299, it's one portable that's certainly I priced to move. The model we tested featured an AMD Athlon XP 1600+ processor running at 1.4GHz, 256MB of RAM, and a small 20GB...

Thin-and-light offers portability, affordability: Sotec 3120X.(Sotec 3120X)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... IF YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD GET A QUALITY thin-and-light notebook for less than $1,000, think again. Sotec's stylish $909 3120X is lightweight, compact, and fast enough for the average user. At the heart of the 3120X, you get a 1.2GHz...

Display maker's PDA is an eyeful, not a handful: Viewsonic Pocket PC V35.(ViewSonic V35)
May 1, 2003... VIEWSONIC, BEST KNOWN FOR ITS PC DISPLAYS, has entered the PDA theater with its $299 V35, a remarkably portable Pocket PC device. You can certainly find more-powerful Pocket PCs, but the V35 holds its own with a unique blend of size, power, and...

Discreet drive stores gigs of files on the go: Shecom Ikebana 2.0 Slimline.(Shecom Ikebana USB 2.0 Slimline)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... THESE DAYS, MOVING THROUGH LIFE INEVITABLY means collecting gobs of digital data. Whether it's that must-have party pic, the tunes that get your groove thing going, or top-secret corporate intelligence, some files are mandatory to have on your...

PDA/phone combo is competent but bulky: Kyocera 7135 Smartphone.(Kyocera 7135)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... THE 7135 SMARTPHONE FROM KYOCERA is a full-featured handheld computer and flip phone. Although it may be slightly bulky compared with other smart-phone designs, this Palm OS-based wonder offers a seamless combination of computing and...

A booming bundle of clever MP3 features: Archos Ondio.
May 1, 2003... THE ELEGANT, FEATURE-PACKED ARCHOS ONDIO packs in plenty of groundbreaking features for a flash-based MP3 player. You might expect this innovative device to be pricey, but the 128MB Ondio is surprisingly inexpensive at $139.95. A study in...

Standout LCD merits desk space: Dell Ultrasharp 170SFP.(Dell Computer UltraSharp 1702FP)
May 1, 2003... DELL COMPUTER MADE A NAME FOR ITSELF SELLing high-quality PCs for low prices and has applied that business model to its line of peripherals as well. Case in point: the $549 UltraSharp 1702FP 17-inch LCD. This monitor's exceptional image quality...

Lesser-known DVR steals the scene: Sonicblue ReplayTV 5040.(Sonicblue ReplayTV)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... IN THE WORLD OF DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDERS (DVRs), TiVo has hogged the spotlight, but Sonicblue's ReplayTV has quite a few fans. The latest model, the $299.99 ReplayTV 5040, will win over even more with features not found on the competition's...

Whisper-quiet all-in-one excels at small jobs: Canon Multipass F60.(Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000)
May 1, 2003... HE $299.99 CANON MULTIPASS F60 MULTIFUNCTION device doesn't do faxes, and the resulting output isn't always stellar. But factor in its ease of use and super-silent engine, and the MultiPass is an able imaging and printing work horse for small...

PC camera clicks with snapshots, web video: Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000.(Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... LOGITECH'S CLASSIC WEB CAMERA IS BETTER THAN ever. The $99.95 QuickCam Pro 4000 surpasses its predecessor, the 3000, with better picture quality and performance. In addition, the OuickCam Pro 4000 ships with the new IM Video Companion for...

Stylish camcorder puts form before function: Sony DCR-IP55.(Hardware Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... ALTHOUGH SONY ELECTRONICS' DCR-IP55 CAMcorder is stylish and ever so cool, this $1,499 model's functionality is only average, and its proprietary MicroMV tapes will limit its appeal. But if you have an eye for style and a liberal budget, the...

Sluggish DVD drive holds steady with features: Panasonic LF-D521U DVD Burner II.
May 1, 2003... WITH FAST 4X DVD-R DRIVES WIDELY AVAILABLE, it's strange that Panasonic waited so long to release its LF-D521U DVD Burner II, which burns DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs at 2x, and DVD-RW discs at 1x. Although DVD-RAM discs hold up to 9.6GB of data...

A Wi-Fi cable modem for one-box networking: Netgear Wireless Cable Modem Gateway (CG814M).
May 1, 2003... COMBINING A CABLE MODEM, A FOUR-PORT ETHERnet router, and an 802.11b access point, Netgear's Wireless Cable Modem Gateway (CG814M) establishes itself as home networking's jack-of-all-trades. Its performance lags behind the competition's, but...

802.11g device is flexible but not yet up to speed: Linksys Wireless-G Access Point (WAP54G).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... RATED FOR 54MBPS THROUGHPUT, AND BACKward-compatible with existing 802.11b networks, Linksys' $149.99 Wireless-G Access Point (WAP54G) represents an advance in wireless networking. But like many emerging technologies, the access point has its...

Inoculate your system against viral attacks: PC-Cillin 2003.(from Trend Micro)(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... WITH ITS 20021 VERSION, TREND MICRO'S $49.95 PC-cillin regains its rank among the top antivirus programs on the market. While it's marred by a few minor glitches, it's an excellent choice for anyone seeking protection from rogue code. ...

Upgrades to burning app are only lukewarm: Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... ROXIO'S NEW EASY CD & DVD CREATOR 6 PACKAGE has most of the pros and cons of its predecessor. On one hand, the $99.95 disc-burning software is as solid as ever; on the other, flaws are evident in the subpar DVD Builder module and minimal...

A dewey decimal system for your digital images: Adobe Photoshop Album.(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... THINK OF THE $49.99 ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ALBUM AS a digital-photo Dewey Decimal system. This photo manager skillfully sorts the images scattered around your hard drive and catalogs them in an easy-to-browse format that becomes more useful as your...

Handy registry utility needs better docs: Regrun III Security Suite 3.5.(from Greatis Software)(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... GREATIS SOFTWARE'S $29.95 REGRUN III SECURITY Suite 3.5 supplies tools specifically designed to manage the executables Windows runs on startup--many of which never show up in your Startup program group or your system tray. But unless you...

PC talk isn't cheap, but it's worth the price: Viavoice For Windows Pro USB Edition 10.(from IBM)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... THE $189.95 VIAVOICE FOR WINDOWS PRO USB Edition 10 costs a bundle, but if you want the best speech recognition money can buy, IBM's program is it. Setting up ViaVoice is simple: Load the software on your PC, plug in the included USB...

Pluses outweigh minuses in windows add-on pack: Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition.
May 1, 2003... LIKE ALL WINDOWS PLUS PACKS, THE $19.95 PLUS Digital Media Edition (DME) delivers goods that Microsoft left out of Windows, in this case Windows XP--from superficial Windows dressing to some genuine gems. It's also an obvious attempt to turn...

Better at burning video than making movies: Ulead DVD Moviefactory 2.
May 1, 2003... THE $49.95 ULEAD DVD MOVIEFACTORY 2 IS A UTILItarian and inelegant tool for quickly shuffling video from a camera or a TV-tuner card straight to CD or DVD. If you need more than a basic video-archiving tool, MovieFactory's industrial approach...

This firewall software just can't hack it: Kaspersky Anti-Hacker.
May 1, 2003... ANTIVIRUS VENDOR KASPERSKY LABS NOW OFFERS a $39 downloadable personal firewall called Anti-Hacker. It has the basics to keep PCs safe from most attacks, but it lacks the sophistication to adapt to new break-in techniques. Anti-Hacker...

The battle rages on: Battlefield 1942: the road to Rome.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A remarkable first-person shooter set in World War II, the original Battlefield 1942 featured loads of weapons and vehicles modeled on their real-world counterparts. In multiplayer mode, the game's combination of fast-paced gameplay and...

Take your best shot: Unreal II: The Awakening.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... First, the good news: Unreal Ii: The Awakening is better than Unreal. Unlike the original, it doesn't climax during the first few missions and then peter out over an interminable 30 hours of endless, forgettable levels. The bad news is that...

The flag comes down: NASCAR Racing 2003 Season.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Having already proved that an authentic stock-car-driving simulation is entirely possible on the PC, the frost dominant racing series of the last decade is heading into retirement. Yes, Papyrus Racing Games has officially ended tile run of its...

No braveheart here: Highland Warriors.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Highland Warriors does a decent job portraying the characters and landscapes you'd expect to see in a real-time strategy (RTS) game set in medieval Scotland. But the game's historical accuracy doesn't compensate for the deficiencies in its...

Top 50 free for all: the price is right for our selection of the best essential downloads. From old standbys to can't-live-without-'em newcomers, they're all available at Download.com for no hassle--and at no cost. (Top 50 Free Downloads).
May 1, 2003... The old adage "You get what you pay for" is just a pithier wag of saying "Pay a lot, get a lot; pay a little, get a little." But what of you PAY NOTHING? Can you really get SOMETHING FOR NOTHING? When it comes to downloads, we've found that you...

No-name recognition: ever consider taking the less-traveled path to buying a PC? These five desktops from relatively low-profile vendors can give the better-knowns a run for your money. (Lesser-Known PC Vendors).(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... Until a couple of years ago, people shopping for a new PC had a veritable universe of sellers to choose from. Today, the PC market is largely dominated by a handful of top-tier vendors with familiar, if not household, names, such as Dell...

Zoom in on the right digicam: whether you want to spend as little as $150 or as much as $1,000, one of these 53 digital cameras is likely to be picture-perfect for you. (Digital-Camera Superguide).(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... FILM CAMERAS STILL HAVE A PLACE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD. But for many PC owners, that place is the top shelf of the guestroom closet, between a dusty slide projector and a scuffed-up VHS camcorder. The reason is obvious: With a digital camera, you...

Online photo labs: we tested 10 leading online printing sites to find out which one offers the best prints--and the best prices. (Online Photo Sites).
May 1, 2003... Way back in the early days of digital photography--five years ago--the photo industry had a term for all the steps necessary to get prints of your digital images. It called this process the "chain of pain." The pain has subsided...

Office 2003 unwrapped: we look inside Beta 2 of Office 2003 to help you decide whether it's an essential upgrade or just feature overkill. (Microsoft Office 2003).
May 1, 2003... Now that you've gotten comfortable with your current version of Microsoft Office, the giant from Redmond is planning to release the next rendition of its wildly popular office-productivity suite sometime this summer. Does Office 2003 have what...

The Hard Edge: vacuum-tube motherhoods; mini video editing and is it time to embrace the external device? (help & how-to).
May 1, 2003... TODAY, AS BOTH ALICE AND Bill spend more time wrestling with media servers and digital connections to everything they own and touch, it's becoming clear to them that the next round of innovation will happen in the home. But one of the...

New life for old system: give your PC a fresh start without losing any applications or data. (Tune-Up).
May 1, 2003... Sooner or later, it happens to the best of systems: Software doesn't run as fast as it once did, you have to reboot more often to avoid problems, and your hard drive seems closer to maxing out than you ever thought possible. Sometimes your...

To ECC or not to ECC? (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... If I have two otherwise identical PCs, will one without error-checking-and-correcting (ECC) memory run any faster than one with ECC memory? If yes, what's the benefit of pricier ECC memory? Kenneth Noelsch Yes, ECC memory may slow...

Mind-of-its-own mouse. (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... I replaced the original mouse on my Windows Me system with a new one, which worked well for several months. Recently, however, it seems to be executing random, undesired commands, such as selecting data to delete, opening the toolbar dialog...

Dampening drive din. (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... My hard drive started making a strange clicking noise recently. I've been told that this is a sign that it may fail soon. Should I replace it? Ray Ocasio In most cases, a noisy hard drive is not a happy hard drive. Failure may not...

Giving Windows the reboot. (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Is there a way to schedule reboots on Windows NT, 2000, and XP PCs? T.K. Ko Microsoft includes a reboot utility in its resource kits for Windows, but freeware and shareware options are also available. You could try Shutdown.exe...

A note-able tip. (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Recently, my onscreen Post-It-style notes in Microsoft Outlook began appearing in full-screen mode, which obviously limits their usefulness. I've tried everything to make them smaller. I've been using the preview panel, but how can I get my...

Fax without the phone. (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... How can I fax from my PC without a land telephone line? Dick Anderson Internet faxing services such as eFax (www.efax.com) and ClickFax Pro (www.clickfaxpro.com) allow businesses and individuals to send and receive fax messages online...

PC weatherproofing. (computer cures).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... I'm interested in donating a computer to a school in Ghana, West Africa. I've been told, however, that computers from nontropical environments often suffer breakdowns related to the motherboard and hard drive, and that this can be avoided by...

Power switching. (tip of the month).(Sears' Craftsman Auto Switch)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Many PC users use a power strip to turn a system's components (such as a monitor or printer) on and off with a single switch. But newer computers don't have a typical mechanical on / off switch; instead, they have what I call a "power on...

Capturing a solution for cutting media clutter: spring cleaning takes on a new meaning as we help a legislative aide find the tools he needs to digitize his domain. (Buying Advisor).
May 1, 2003... JAMES BREM, 43, A LEGISLATIVE aide from Buffalo, N.Y., is cleaning house. No, not the statehouse, but his own home, where years' worth of press clippings and videotapes are taking over. He's begun to scan his magazine and newspaper articles,...

Tech shopping. (Site Reviews).
May 1, 2003... abesofmaine.com Abe's of Maine Cameras and Electronics specializes in all types of cameras, with a healthy dose of audio and video electronics thrown in for good measure. You'll get a 30-day satisfaction guarantee on everything you buy,...

Froogle.google.com. (site of the month).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Undoubtedly, Google has changed the way you find information on the Web. Now the search-engine folks aim to change the way you shop online, too. Google's new price-comparison engine, Froogle, will peek into the remote corners of the Web for the...

Mobile gear. (Site Reviews).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... www.expansys.us Expansys carries an expansive selection of mobile and wireless technology products, including PDAs, mobile phones with built-in cameras, Tablet PCs. and GPS-navigation hardware. Check in for plenty of software for Palm and...

High-tech television and home theater. (Site Reviews).
May 1, 2003... avsforum.com The AV Science Forum is an active community of home-theater buffs. Resolve your AV issues on the lively message boards, then read news and tips about video gear, high-definition televisions, DVD players, and digital-video...

Direct PC vendors. (Site Reviews).
May 1, 2003... abspc.com Expect gaming, multimedia, and business PCs aplenty at ABS Computer Technologies. The company offers a choice of Intel or AMD processors, a three-year parts and lifetime labor warranty, and toll-free technical support. Every...

PC resources. (Site Reviews).
May 1, 2003... catalogs.google.com Search or browse mail-order catalogs with Google Catalogs. The site presents online-viewable editions of 5,400 paper catalogs in categories from computers to automobiles to gourmet food. Search them all in one fell...

Software sites. (Site Reviews).
May 1, 2003... academicsuperstore.com If you can produce a student or faculty ID, you'll qualify for big discounts on software at Academic Superstore. Each product-info page includes a chart that shows who's eligible for the discounted price. If you find...