DismissThis notice is intended to appear only the first time you visit the site on any computer.
A note about tracking cookies
Some of the advertisers and Web analytics firms used on this site may place "tracking cookies" on your computer. We are telling you about them right upfront, and we want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like. Read more »
Tracking cookies are small text files that can tell such companies what you are doing online, even though they usually don't record your name or other personably identifiable information. These cookies are used by these companies to try and match ads to a user's interests. They are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.
We want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like. Here are links to pages where you can opt out of the cookies set by our ad-placement contractor and our analytics contractor:
We'd prefer a totally opt-in system, but, as far as we know, the ad industry doesn't have a practical one as of now.
If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites, here are links where you can download three programs that can clean out tracking cookies:
You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies.
Not all cookies are tracking cookies. Like most other Web sites, ours may place cookies on your computer, in addition to any placed by advertisers. But ours aren't "tracking cookies." They merely do things like save your registration information, if you choose to register. They do not tell us what you do or where you go online.
Apple’s MacBook Air is a beautiful, amazingly thin computer, but one whose unusual trade-offs may turn off some frequent travelers. It’s impossible to convey in words just how pleasing and surprising this computer feels in the hand. But there’s a price for this laptop’s daring design: Apple had to give up some features road warriors consider standard in a subnotebook, and certain of these omissions are radical.
Two new business-card scanners make it easier than ever to organize those cards piled high on our desks, but their software isn’t as easy to work with when manipulating the scanned images.
A new digital music player called the Slacker plays music that is absolutely free, contained in preprogrammed Internet radio stations instead of individually selected songs and albums. But the device has some glitches.
Two new Harmony remote controls help to reduce living room clutter by replacing multiple remotes and make it much easier to use an entertainment system.
New laptops from Toshiba and Dell tackle the design challenge of being both small and powerful. Both machines are stylish and worked fine in the tests, but Walt finds flaws that might give a buyer pause.
Sarmad Ali tests two Web sites that help people to write accounts of their life stories or family histories. But the results can be disappointing, especially for those who opt for the least expensive services.
After buying a new computer, migrating your files and programs from your old machine can be quite a hassle. Walt looks at the quickest, simplest methods for handling this problem. (Video)
Apple’s Intel-powered computers can run both Windows and Mac OS X, but now there’s an even better approach. Parallels Desktop lets users run Mac and Windows programs simultaneously, giving them the best of both worlds.
Kodak’s free EasyShare software is a very nice photo-organizing program that works on both Windows and Mac and is closely integrated with one of the best online photo sites, Walt writes.
The beauty of digital media is the flexibility, Walt argues, and that flexibility shouldn’t be destroyed for honest consumers just because the companies that sell them have a theft problem caused by a minority of people.
Sony’s latest coup is an ultra-portable laptop series that manages to be both smaller and lighter than its predecessor while expanding screen size. An impressive design, Walt says, though the wireless capability has problems.
Edited by Walt and written by Katie Boehret, this is a guide to gadgets, web services and other consumer technologies.
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.