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.
A tiny new computer called the Eee PC is better than competing products in certain respects, such as text entry and price. But it still has too many compromises to pry most travelers away from their larger laptops.
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.
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.
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)
Apple’s answer to Microsoft Office isn’t as powerful or versatile as its rival. Walt faults iWork ‘08 for emphasizing elegance over the nuts and bolts of writing and number-crunching, but praises Apple’s alternative to PowerPoint. (Video)
Walt Mossberg tests out the new smart phone from Helio. He finds the Ocean has an elegant solution to the common design problem of how to optimize smart phones both for making voice calls and for email and Web surfing.
Kodak is offering a new line of home inkjet printers that use cheaper ink. Walt tries one out to see if its quality is good enough to satisfy people attracted by the lower ink costs. Video
The latest version of Microsoft Office, called Office 2007 and due out Jan. 30, is a radical revision, the most dramatic overhaul in a decade or more. (Video) Plus, Mossberg’s Mailbox.
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.
In early battles for dominance of the PC market, Microsoft’s component-based platform crushed Apple’s end-to-end model. But in today’s post-PC era, where the focus is on music players, game consoles and cellphones, the end-to-end model is the early winner.
Microsoft’s Office Live aims to help small companies manage key aspects of their businesses using only a Web browser. It’s a step in the right direction, but could be more flexible and sophisticated.
Fujitsu got the size right when making its tablet PC, but like other models, it’s still annoying to use more often than it should be, because not enough thought has gone into tablet-specific hardware innovation, writes Walt Mossberg.
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.