Entries for January 2007

The question of the day is whether it's worth upgrading to Microsoft's Windows Vista. From personal experience, my answer is no–unless you're willing to futz around with your computer or pay someone to do it.

Life has gotten just a bit easier at home by scattering around a few radio-controlled clocks, also called atomic clocks, that set the time automatically. No more wondering if we've got the right hour and minute, and no more resetting when it comes to daylight saving time or a power outage.

The jukebox is joining the digital age, and what a beautiful thing it is. We're not talking bland, black-box media players sold by the PC world–no, it's Rock-Ola turning its nostalgic, '50s-era beasts into MP3-playing splendors.

Rechargeable batteries have their appeal, including cost savings over time and ecofriendliness, but they have been too inconvenient to be wildly popular. It's hard to keep them charged–the power fades quickly, much more quickly than in traditional alkaline batteries. You also have to charge them for initial use.

Tech keeps shrinking. An MP3 player now fits in your wallet. The Israeli company Walletex Microelectronics has reduced a full-fledged music machine to the size of a credit card, less than a tenth of an inch thick, and says it's durable enough to carry alongside your MasterCards and Visas.

Besides making computers prettier and more secure, the next release of Windows will open new markets, PC makers hope. Hewlett-Packard, for example, is showing off its new TouchSmart PC, which makes use of Windows Vista to combine a touch-screen with a full-fledged media server. HP is aiming the device toward the kitchen, or other family center, with software that organizes calendars and to-do lists, as well as media like photos and music.

Many phones will step up to challenge the iPhone, over which analysts appeared all agog after Apple's announcement this week. In one effort, a phone called the "Neo1973" will enlist an army of developers around the world.

In my quest to get good digital pictures without cable or satellite service, I've tried TV tuners that come installed in flat-panel sets, in set-top boxes, and as add-on cards for a desktop PC. Surprisingly, none have done much better at pulling in a crisp signal than the tiny PCTV HD Pro Stick from Pinnacle Systems ($130 list price).