Entries for October 2007

Letting Grandma see the kids over the Web has gotten pretty good in recent years, and it's easy, too. With free programs like AIM, MSN Messenger, and ooVoo, we can videoconference over the Internet. While the quality isn't great, it's good enough to be worth the trouble.

While you can argue if today's update to Mac's software is a compelling upgrade, you have to applaud Apple for regularly releasing steady updates to its system. It stands in stark contrast to Microsoft, which struggled for five years to release its latest version of Windows. And that update seems no more compelling than what Apple offers every couple of years.

The transition to high-definition TV can now proceed: TiVo said this week that its new HD box will soon get all the powers of its lower-end versions. And more. That is, the new TiVo HD and its Series 3 sibling will soon accept external drives through an outlet that's been beckoning from their boxes. And when it comes to high definition, TiVo can quickly feel constricted.

There is an answer to Verizon's irritating ways. The carrier crippled the mapping function on my BlackBerry while leaving the maps program on the device. That was just to tease me, I guess.

Garmin has a GPS receiver that works with the BlackBerry, or many other smart phones. The Garmin GPS 10x receiver costs about $100 and brings the BlackBerry Maps program to life. The BlackBerry maps offer more basic navigation compared with a low-end, dedicated GPS device. It doesn't let you pan the map, for example, by using your finger on the touch-screen. But it can find where you are and plot a route to a destination. It can also map a nearby gas station, hotel, or other business.

Saving something to "the cloud" may not sound secure. But it's a great idea to send data to professionally managed computers, even if they are off somewhere in the wisps of the Internet. New online backup services are popping up frequently, including one with a hard twist from a start-up called Fabrik.

Wireless companies for years have told us smart phones would burst into the mainstream. We're still waiting. The iPhone added to the allure for more people, but at $400, it remains too expensive for all but true believers. Now Palm hopes to start reaching a true mass market with a fully equipped smart phone that can be had for only $100.

If you've never created a website of your own because it seems daunting, or expensive, fret no more. There are a number of services that make it dumb-down easy to build a Web presence and even host it free.

We recently tried freewebs.com and had a site up and running in an hour or two. It's nothing fancy, but it's professional-looking and serves the purpose as an online meeting place for our neighborhood. More important, it's so easy that others can make changes. That's a relief to my wife, who put it together but didn't want to forever maintain it. "Anybody can do it," she says.

Expectations are building that Sony will finally cut the price on its PlayStation 3 gaming rig, having announced a cheaper version in Europe and Japan. Analysts expect a similar model here in time for the holidays that would be $400, or $100 less than what's been the least expensive U.S. offering. The less expensive PlayStation would have a smaller hard drive and some missing capability, including backward compatibility with the PlayStation 2. But it would still have a Blu-ray disk drive.

Just when you thought Windows XP would soon die at the feet of its successor, Windows Vista, Microsoft has deigned to give the tried-and-true system a few months more to live. And the company is even readying an update that will keep the old version of Windows running smoothly for those who choose to, and can, avoid problem-plagued Vista.

Tracking health records and costs is a bear for consumers, beset with a maze of providers, paperwork, and bills. Tech companies smell opportunity and are racing to tame the beast with Web tools and software that can offer health information and maybe even manage personal records.

DirecTV's satellite service has long delivered more televised NFL football to fans willing to open their wallets, and it's now delivering it without the satellite or TV. The company this season launched its Supercast service, which offers all televised NFL games (except those blacked out by broadcasters) for viewing over the Web.

The Tube went dark this week, leaving us antenna-using TV watchers with one less channel to view. Started by one of the folks who launched MTV, the Tube offered 24 hours of music videos in free, over-the-air broadcasts. It was one of several now-failed ventures that tried to take advantage of new bandwidth available through digital broadcasts.

Downloading movies is getting more popular. But it's still a pain to get them from the PC to our TV, where we can watch from the comfort of our couches. Sonic Solutions is launching new gear to free downloaded movies from studio handcuffs—at least enough to get flicks from the PC to the TV.