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Personal Technology Columns Tagged ‘computer’

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How to Avoid Cons That Can Lead to Identity Theft

The most insidious Internet security problems today rely on human gullibility, not tricky software. These types of attacks are called “social engineering” and can be used to steal your money and identity. Here are tips to help you avoid becoming a victim.

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If You Have ChaCha and a Cellphone, You Have Answers

A free cellphone service called ChaCha lets you ask any question answerable via a Web search, by simply making a voice call. In most cases, it gave fast, accurate answers. But it has a few weaknesses.

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Adobe Web Photo Site Is Great for Editing, but Lacks Some Basics

Adobe’s Photoshop Express offers the nicest set of Web-based photo editing tools I have seen. They are sophisticated for a consumer application, yet easy to use. However, it’s rough around the edges.

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KidZui’s Parent Plan Lets Children Explore in Safe Corner of Web

A new service called KidZui aims to offer kids a safe subset of the Internet where they can roam freely without triggering parental worry.

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Apple’s Time Capsule Gives You Easy Way to Back Up Wirelessly

Apple’s new Time Capsule packs both a giant hard disk and a speedy Wi-Fi wireless router into one slender case, allowing computers to easily back up their hard drives wirelessly.

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Price May Be Steep, but Thin ThinkPad Has Abundant Features

Lenovo’s thin and light ThinkPad X300 is an innovative laptop that will be perfect for many mobile PC users. But its file-storage capacity is low and its price tag is high.

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Big Update for Vista Leaves Little Changed for Mainstream Users

Microsoft’s first major update to its Windows Vista operating system, called Service Pack 1, is probably worth installing, but for most average consumers it will likely be a nonevent.

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Solid-State Drives Challenge Hard Drives in Speed, but Not Value

The hard drive is being challenged by the solid-state drive for its role as the principal storage device in computers, but current SSDs offer much lower capacity and have much higher prices.

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Apple’s MacBook Air Is Beautiful and Thin, but Omits Features

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.

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Dell’s All-in-One PC Has the Guts, Design to Compete With iMac

Dell’s new all-in-one PC, the XPS One, is a stylish Windows Vista machine that runs well and won’t cost a fortune. If it didn’t have the Dell logo on it, the XPS One might be mistaken for a product of the PC industry’s design leaders, Apple or Sony.

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Here’s a Mac FAQ if You’re Looking to Buy a Computer

Every average consumer using a computer should at least look at the Mac, suggests Walt Mossberg. Here’s a quick guide — a sort of Mac FAQ — to shopping for a Macintosh.

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Leopard: Faster, Easier Than Vista

Apple’s new version of OS X, called Leopard, builds on Apple’s quality advantage over Windows, says Walt Mossberg. Leopard is better and faster than Vista, with a set of new features that make Macs even easier to use.

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Don’t Tell Your Boss, But There Is a Way to IM Despite Blocks

Internet-based instant-messaging services Meebo and KoolIM circumvent barriers to downloadable software and are far less vulnerable to viruses.

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Linux’s Free System Is Now Easier to Use, But Not for Everyone

Walt reviews Linux’s relatively slick Ubuntu variation and finds the alternative operating system too rough around the edges for the vast majority of computer users. (Video)

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Before Going to Buy High-Tech Devices, Learn the New Terms

Walt Mossberg offers a quick glossary of techno terms shoppers may encounter when looking for a computer, television, digital camera or cellphone this holiday season. (Video)

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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.

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