Entries for May 2007

Stick-at-home slugs might dismiss navigation devices as a luxury, even at today's low prices. Then again, they might fork over $3 to get directions on those rare times they get lost. That's the starting price for access to VZ Navigator from Verizon Wireless, one of a number of locator services offered by cell companies on many of their phones.

Getting lost seems so quaint now, with the friendly voices of GPS ready to calmly recalculate our routes—and for less than $200. That's a breakthrough price for navigation devices that are good enough for daily use in a car, including a new model from Mio that I've been testing.

I was skeptical. Despite liking new gadgets, I couldn't see spending $80 on a reel for winding up the garden hose. But after a couple of weeks, I went and bought another for the backyard. The No-Crank Hose Reel does what it advertises–it winds up our 50-foot hose with the flip of switch. No batteries, no plug, no effort.

You've got the vanity license plate, E-mail address, and even monogrammed shirts. Now you can have a vanity phone number, too. Something like 314-COOLGUY. But unlike commercial vanity numbers, say 314-TAXICAB, you can get one free of charge.

We're through the first winter with our new, efficient heating system, and it saved us some bucks. But it isn't clear how many because of kinks in the new tech. While a geothermal system isn't a new concept, as drawing heat and cooling from the ground is at least as old as the Romans, it's still unusual in American homes. And we've learned there still is a hassle in being the first on your block.

Finally, a way to always have my grocery list with me. Or hardware list. Or, just in case I needed it, my list of "who I have kissed" (with apologies to the Go-Go's "Girl of 100 Lists)." Always with me, as long as I have a cellphone and took time to enter them into Gubb.

The Tornado is a handy little device for hooking together two computers. It's basically a USB cable wound up inside a fist-size spinner that makes it easy to transfer files between computers. What is particularly intriguing is what it doesn't do or doesn't force you to do: There's nothing to load onto your PC to get the thing to work.

With the flourish of a thoughtful concierge, Dell recently said it would bow to consumer desires and again install Windows XP on some laptops and desktops. The move generated good publicity for Dell and some bad buzz for Microsoft, which was seen as suffering a setback in its push for Windows Vista.

Make no mistake: While there seems to be a backlash building to Windows Vista, over time everyone will make the switch. Microsoft is committed to pushing the PC world to Vista and has said it will bar the sale of WinXP after the end of this year. The software giant also will cut off most support, such as free help over the phone, after 2009–though it will still write security updates and provide online help for some years to come.

From time to time, I toy with Linux, the PC software that can be had free because it's developed by volunteers. But I'm not ready to make the switch, mostly because Linux isn't ready for me – and certainly not for less techie users. Still, for folks fed up with Microsoft Windows and not wanting to pay to make the switch to Macintosh, Linux took another step toward the mainstream with an announcement yesterday that Dell would offer PCs with Linux already installed.