Tech Gifts for the Holidays

The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro was online Monday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. ET to answer your personal tech questions, discuss recent columns, and provide advice for finding the right gadget for the holidays.

For more advice on holiday tech giving, check out this year's Holiday Tech Gift Guide.

Want to know what upcoming topics are being covered? Sign up for the Fast Forward e-letter-- get updated information on personal technology news and product demos.

Past editions of Rob's e-letter are online here.

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Rob Pegoraro: Good afternoon - what can I tell you about tech shopping today?

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Arlington, Va.: Rob, many thanks for Fast Forward's efforts to keep us up-to-date on burgeoning consumer electronics. Saturday, I was talking to a Radio Shack salesperson who, amont other things, claimed that plasma HDTVs brightness faded about 50 percent after a month. Yikes! True?

Rob Pegoraro: Hahahaha.... and people wonder why sales reps in mass-market stores have such a terrible rep! No, plasma TVs don't fade like that, or anything close to it. Almost all of them are rated to go 60,000 hours of use before losing half of their original brightness. I'm not that great at math, but I'm pretty sure that 60,000 hours don't fit into a month.

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London, U.K.:1. Please comment on your view concerning the new Apple laptops capabilities to run both Windows (via Bootstrap or similar software) and OS X. Are they realistic options if one wishes to have ability to run both systems?

2. Will Bootstrap or Parallels be able to run the new Windows Vista on Apple machines?

3. If Vista will be available to consumers in Feb 07, when do you think it will be 'safe' to buy it as replacement for XP? History suggests early releases are often not without problems. Thank you very much. David

Rob Pegoraro:1. Yes, absolutely.

2. I was able to install a beta version of Windows Vista using Boot Camp last summer, so I'm sure the same thing will be possible when Vista actually ships. Likewise with Parallels... remember, Vista was designed to run on millions of existing computers. It's not *supposed* to be picky about what machines it will consent to being installed upon.

3. Ask me when I've tried out the final version!

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Los Angeles, Calif.: Hi Rob, Following your excellent advice, I use Firefox as my principal browser, and it works well for almost all sites except Amazon.com. I frequently have to reload an Amazon page several times to get it to display. Do you have any ideas as to why, or how to solve this problem ? Thanks in advance.

Rob Pegoraro: No, because I've never had the slightest problem browsing and buying at Amazon in Firefox.

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Stanton Park, D.C.: Hi Rob. Do you have any idea when Apple will release Leopard? I'm getting a bit of an itch to upgrade from a 3 year old Ibook, but I would feel like a sap if I bought a new laptop right before Apple released a new operating system, which I would then have to/want to buy to keep up to date . . Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: Leopard is the next major release of Mac OS X. Apple hasn't specified a shipping date any more specific than, I think, "early next year." I wouldn't delay a purchase on its account; Apple's OS X updates aren't expensive ($129) and aren't tricky to install either. You pop the DVD in, then an hour or two later you've got your new system. No drama at all.

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New York, N.Y.: I recommend, if anyone's looking for home theatre entertainment, the Optoma HD72 True High Definition 720p home theater projector. It's DLP technology is the best and at $1489.99 (after $400 rebate) is fairly reasonably priced for a mid-level projector. I'm extremely happy with it.

Rob Pegoraro: This is a projector, not a projection TV--you need a flat expanse of wall to watch the projected image on. A brightly lit room doesn't help things.

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Annandale, Va.: Hi Rob, I've read about HDTV in your recent discussions and heard your advice about making sure any one I bought had a digital tuner in it. Here's my dilemma: I have enough United Air Miles to obtain a Toshiba 26" HD LCD TV/DVD Combo, but it doesn't have a digital tuner (only NTSC). Can I just buy a separate digital tuner (I've seen them for about 25-50 dollars) and use it for over the air HD signals. I live in the DC area and think I should be able to pick up the major networks. Also, I don't plan to use my miles for travel and don't have much money to buy an HDTV. Advice?

Rob Pegoraro:"Buying" physical items with ff miles is rarely a good deal, especially when it's on something that, like this Toshiba model, is already obsolete. Pay cash for an HDTV with a digital tuner built-in--c'mon, do you really want to have to mess with two devices and two remotes to watch TV?--and cash in those miles on an upgrade or two instead.

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Speaking of televisions...: We would like a flat screen but don't care about HD or plasma or any of that. We just want it to work reliably. How much should we expect to spend for a 32" and what should we be looking for?

Rob Pegoraro: If you do want a flat-panel TV at that size, you're looking at a high-def LCD--it's the only kind fitting that description. You should be able to get one for no more than $1,000 and change, possibly a good deal less.

If you just need the *front* of the TV to be flat, you can get a CRT with a digital tuner for a few hundred dollars less than the LCD would cost you. Samsung and one or two other manufacturers now sell some thinner CRTs that are maybe two-thirds as thick as conventional models... they could be a good compromise between "flat" and "cheap" goals.

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Where My Girlfriend Plays PS2: Rob, We've got a PS2 in the house--and all my girlfriend wants to do is play Super Mario Brothers on our old Super Nintendo. What in the world, man? I'm looking for some game that can get her into gaming with me on the new system. I'm not some game-wonk but it would be fun to have some easy game for her with big graphics that we could play together. Any thoughts? Or do I just need to upgrade us to a Wii? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: Going by everything my colleague Mike Musgrove has written--that is, the guy who could mop the floor with me in Guitar Hero--it sounds like you should get a Wii.

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Reston, Va.: Thank you for doing the gift guide. Do small (say 14") HDTV's exist? I'd like to have a nice picture in without having to run cable TV to that room and instead use the over-the-air HD signal. I know I could buy an HD-ready TV and a tuner but would prefer an integrated model with a built in tuner. If one does not currently exist, is there a reason for this and do you think they will exist soon? JT

Rob Pegoraro: Not yet. I haven't seen a TV with a digital tuner in any size smaller than 23 inches, and I'm not even sure about that... 26 may be the current minimum. But if you wait until this spring, you should have your choice of small-screen TVs with digital tuners--there's an FCC mandate kicking in at the beginning or end of March that will require digital (ATSC) tuners in everything with a screen over 13 inches.

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Los Angeles, Calif.: I need some help picking out a USB Flash Drive. I will be working with a remote computer (either Mac or PC) and want to have my important data with me. Need abut 2 Gigs. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jon

Rob Pegoraro: Buy one that looks nice and won't block an adjacent USB port when it's plugged in. Seriously... these babies are commodity items now.

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Centreville: Hi Rob. I bought a new digital camera over the weekend. It takes SD memory cards. When I went to buy a larger one I noticed a big difference in price. One 1 GB card was $14 but another 1 GB card was $70. Is there any difference in these? I would hope there is.

Rob Pegoraro: Not necessarily. Some memory cards are rated for faster data-transfer speeds than others, but that higher performance shouldn't translate to more than 3x the price. Lemme guess... the $70 card came from a big-name vendor, while the $14 card was from some company you'd never heard of?

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Arlington, Va.: I saw in yesterday's technology gift article that the iTrip Auto was recommended. I have had one for a while, and I have been very disappointed in it. It's a wonderful concept, but I have been unable to find a radio frequency in this area that is empty enough that the iPod's sound overcomes the underlying noise on any frequency. Any thoughts on what to do, or has anyone found a frequency in Northern Virginia that actually works?

Rob Pegoraro: I've tried one or two FM adapters for iPods and don't remember having any trouble--the last time I used one, I stuck with the default frequency (87.9?) and didn't have any issues.

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DC: Rob, I own an Ipod, but want to be able to borrow audio books in MP3 format from the library, and these are not Ipod compatible because of DRM issues. Can you recommend a good, inexpensive MP3 player that I could use only for such books? Otherwise, I would have to buy audio books, which gets too expensive. Thank you.

Rob Pegoraro: A Windows Media-based player with a "PlaysForSure" logo--one indicating compatibility with subscription content, not just purchased content--ought to work. But then again, it might not. I had an exchange in e-mail with a reader who couldn't get a single PlaysForSure player to work with her library's audiobook loans... but finally got things to work by buying the Pocket Tunes software for her Treo smartphone.

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San Diego, Calif.: If my digital cable or dish uses coax to get to my cable or dish box, why would I want to using HDMI cable from the box to my HDTV? It seems like the signal would be degraded by the time it gets to the box so paying extra for the HDMI cable from the box to the set wouldn't be helpful. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: No - the point of HDMI, a digital connection, is that nothing gets lost or degraded in transit from the cable/sat box to the HDTV. (Well, that and the way that HDMI can enforce copying restrictions or rules on the receiving device.)

If you're not a videophile, the real advantage of HDMI is that you only need a single cable to send video and audio from a set-top box to the TV instead of the five or more you might need with analog connections (three component-video cables, plus at least two L/R audio cables).

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Norfolk, Va.: Why do (some) MP3 players include FM radio but never AM radio?

Rob Pegoraro: Wish I knew! Haven't the designers of these things heard of listening to baseball games on AM?

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HoCo, Md.: Rob, I was planning to buy a new LCD or plasma set this holiday season, but cash flow problems have made me delay until next year. Any suggestions on when will be a good time in the early part of the year for TV deals? Might be able to swing a Super Bowl purchase, but do you know of any other times in the February-April time frame when TVs tend to go on sale? Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: My guess is that you won't see a "best" time; for every store that has a sale at a traditional time (like in the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl), you'll be able to find another--probably online--that has the same discounted prices before or after the first store's sale.

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Re: Audiobooks and Plays for Sure: But the Microsoft Zoom is NOT compatable with free library audiobooks, right?

Rob Pegoraro: Zune, not Zoom. And yes, it can't play those audiobooks or any other "PlaysForSure" content.

You almost have to admire the audacity of a company that comes up with a brand like "PlaysForSure," then makes its own new hardware incompatible with it.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Any idea on when Comcast is going to begin offering cable boxes with Tivo, in place of their existing DVR system? I believe that the deal with Tivo was announced in the Spring of 2005, with an initial expectation of rollout in late 2006, but I haven't heard anything further.

Rob Pegoraro: Don't hold your breath. Cable companies have a bad, but deserved reputation for taking as long as humanly possible to roll out new technologies. TiVo, in turn, hasn't broken any speed records in rolling out its own updates.

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Washington, DC: Rob, I loved the gadget guide this weekend. I wanted to know if there was something wireless that would transmit music from my computer (windows music player mp3's, etc.) to speakers in another room? Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: Sure - take a look at the Roku SoundBridge (if you buy music from "PlaysForSure" online stores like Napster or Yahoo) or the SlimDevices Squeezebox (if you don't).

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iTrip: I use 98.1 and haven't had a problem in this area, or in any area for that matter. My Sirius radio is programmed to operate on 88.1 and that works here, as well as anywhere I have traveled.

Rob Pegoraro: Obviously, you haven't been to College Park lately :)

(U-Md.'s radio station broadcasts on 88.1, but WMUC's signal is so weak that you can use it as a homing beacon--if it keeps getting louder and clearer after you exit the Beltway, you're on the right way to campus.)

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Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Hi Rob, Would you comment on the new version of Internet Explorer?Thanks.

washingtonpost.com: Fast Forward: Must-Have Browser Upgrades

Rob Pegoraro: There's a link to my review. The only thing I'd change in that review--I mean, besides not making a mistake requiring that correction you'll see at the top!--would be to give more of a warning about compatibility issues. More than most Microsoft upgrades, this one seems to have introduced some weird compatibility problems in the field.

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Game for girlfriend:: Katamari Demarcy or however it's spelled. Chicks dig it.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Gfg... I'll take your word for it.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Audiobook: Rob, you recommended "A Windows Media-based player with a 'PlaysForSure' label". That excludes the Zune, right?

Rob Pegoraro: Correct.

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RE: Microsoft: Zune is a stupid name. Zoom would have been better.

Rob Pegoraro: And it would rhyme with "doom." Not sure that would have worked...

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confused by the milliseconds: In the ads for flat panel computer monitors, a number is given for the response time in ms, which I guess means milliseconds. Some have a response time of 2ms up to 8 ms. What should I take as the minimum or the slowest to buy?

Rob Pegoraro:8 ms. I'm not seeing LCD HDTVs advertising any slower response times these days.

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Atlanta, Ga.: FM-only Radio on Music Players: The reason why you can't get AM receivers is that interference from other other electronics in the device interfere with the AM signal. (Just try playing an AM radio next to a spun-up harddrive.)

Rob Pegoraro: Ah! That makes sense...

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Baltimore, Md.: My Sony Clie is dead, dead, dead. I want to see if a memory stick might fix it but don't want to shell out for one (proprietary I think) and then find out it's not the answer. Just sending it out for repair would be $75 minimum. Suggestions?

Rob Pegoraro: Buy a new handheld--I can't imagine that a new memory card would do anything to fix a busted Palm-compatible organizer.

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Manassas, Va.: Do the most recent IPODs have "inline recording" What I mean by this is that IRIVER Clix and Creative Zen V Plus have a way to record music onto it directly from a cable that connects from the MP3 Player to your CD Player. I was wondering if Apple IPODs had this same feature. Thanks for answering!

Rob Pegoraro: Their software can record, but you need to add a plug-in microphone (for instance, Belkin makes one for the nano that goes for $50 or so... it doesn't seem like something you'd use to bootleg a concert, but I I might get it to "tape" interviews).

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Anonymous: Do you know anything about this Google Checkout? It seems like if you use it online, everywhere has a 10 or 20 dollar discount.

Rob Pegoraro: Google Checkout is Google's attempt to compete with PayPal. It works in about the same way--you set up a credit card for GC use to get billed to, then you enter your GC info when you check out. Nice discount, eh? Enjoy it while it lasts!

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Minneapolis, Minn.: What are the pros and cons of switching phone service to a cable provider?

Rob Pegoraro: Pro: You no longer have to separate bills to pay, and you can save money if you make enough long-distance calls (or use enough calling features like voice-mail).

Con: If you barely use your landline phone, you'll spend more. And if you want to switch from cable to another video service, you'll have to redo your phone service too.

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Anonymous: What is the best camera for taking shots while driving?

Rob Pegoraro: One operated by the passenger.

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Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Seeking hard drive back-up software: I've been trying to find software that will provide a simple back-up process to an external hard drive. I'm looking for software that will only back up files that have changed, so that I don't have to write the entire document folder to the external drive every time. It seems like a simple task, but I'll be darn if I can find one package that does just that. Any suggestions?

Rob Pegoraro: I share your befuddlement--too much backup software is written for people who actually know what hidden directory their e-mail resides in. Any suggestions for our friend in Florida?

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Acton, Mass.: Comment: As the owner of both a 50" 720p plasma and a 40" 1080p LCD, I assure you that the plasma has a better picture (I have a bare plasma monitor necessitating speakers but it does allow both computer and component video hookups). On the other hand the LCD is lighter (my 9 year old daughter helped carry the box)and is easier to mount on an arm. In either case, there is nothing like a high def picture. Enjoy, John

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks for the report!

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Cottonwood, Ariz.: I have a Compaq desktop with Windows 2K pro, and could easily handle Windows XP, but certainly not Windows Vista. Will XP come down in price this spring after Vista is out? And also, even though I use Firefox almost 100 percent of the time, is it really true that IE 7.0 won't run on Windows 2K pro? Thanks much. I enjoy everything you write.

Rob Pegoraro: I doubt XP will drop in price; if anything, I'd expect it to disappear from shelves. Yes, IE 7 is most assuredly XP-only.

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Marietta, Ga.: Re: your request for input on LCD TV manufacturers: I bought a 46-inch Sony XBR3 two weeks ago, and couldn't be happier with it. It has three HDMI inputs (most have only two) and a terrific picture. I haven't noticed any motion blur at all, and it looks great even when viewed from a 45-degree angle. Cosmetically, it's black frame is also very attractive. the only thing it doesn't have is picture-in-picture. The XBR2 is virtually identical, with a different frame, and comes in 40-inch and 46-inch screen sizes.

Rob Pegoraro: Here's another HDTV recommendation...

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Stillwater, Okla.: Rob, I've had good results with the 42" LCD 1080p Westinghouse display. (Didn't need a tv/hd rcvr.) Good luck! Mac

Rob Pegoraro:... and one more

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Closed Captions user: Your article Sunday indicated the Philips plasma HDTV had poor reception. Can you comment on whether HDTVs might be different in how well they receive closed captions? (I bought a new 20" HDTV last Friday and see very inconsistent captions on some channels despite a good signal.) Dana

Rob Pegoraro: I'd think that would be a consequence of how each station transmits closed captions--they should be sent as part of the overall digital signal, so if you get a clear picture you ought to get clear captions as well.

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Re: Girlfriend and the PS2: You want Katamari Damacy or its sequel, We Love Katamari. I am a video-game impaired girl (can't handle Madden, e.g., because I can't remember what the huge array of PS2 controller buttons do) and I LOVE the Katamari games. My husband does too, and he does like Madden, Final Fantasy, etc. They're pretty cheap, too, so should tide you over until the Wii is actually available when you walk into Best Buy.

Rob Pegoraro: And a follow-up posting on the "games for the girlfriend" front. Thanks!

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Atlanta, Ga.: I like your writing style and E-mail pushes. I just did the LCD TV R&D and pruchase this weekend and bought the Sony 40 inch LCD. Be careful some are higher resolution than others. Get the full HD which is 1080. I got great advive from Crutchfield then went and looked at COSTCO. I almost bought the 40 Sony at COSTCO untill I saw the full 1080 HD 46inch at Coastco. The picture stood out from 20 TVs in a row. So I went home and bought the set from Crutchfield. No tax, no shipping, and excellent technical service. Hope this helps. BTW a close second was the 42 inch full 1080 Sharp, which Crutchfield also recommended.

Rob Pegoraro: Hate to sound like a broken record, but I will--"full HD" is a marketing fiction. You can't get a 1080p feed from any broadcast source on Earth or in space; your only option is to buy into the insane Blu-Ray/HD DVD format war.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Rob. Jeff from ABC here. You asked in your email for recommendations on a 40" LCD. I highly recommend Sharp Aquos. You've seen how good those 32's look in our lobby. We just bought some of the new 65" LCDs for our new control room project and they look unbelievable (I don't think you've seen our new control room yet - I'll show it to you next time you're in.) I've done a lot of comparisons of LCDs, and this is a product where spending a little more and going with a name brand like Sharp provides a noticeable improvement over the no-names. Since almost all LCDs (as well as plasmas) need to use interpolation to fit the HDTV signal into their pixel count, higher quality electronics make a big difference in picture quality. The name brand displays also provide much deeper blacks and richer colors. Take a look at a Sharp, Sony, or Samsung side-by-side at a store compared to an Olevia or Westinghouse or another unknown name and you'll definitely see the difference.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Jeff! (He works over at ABC News, a few blocks away from the Post.)

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Brattleboro, Vt.: Hey Rob, Suggestion for 42" flat panel. Samsung LCD. Was looking at the Sony and Panasonic, but my wife was turned off by the techie looks of the models. But the sleek black Samsung? It's like a slinky black dress--and the picture is razor sharp (although, I understand that newer models have faster processing for pixel redraws--this is an issue for watching fast moving sports, such as football, but not an issue for the Jane Austen box set! lol). Anyway, hope this helps. -Greg in Vermont

Rob Pegoraro: I really liked the Samsung LCD that I tried out--and that was a bit of an entry-level model.

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Rockville, Md.: Have you found any resources comparing the reception effectiveness of different HDTVs? I've looked for this after reading your article on Sunday but haven't found anything. Is there an objective measurement of this?

Rob Pegoraro: No. It's something that most other reviewers don't seem to address... you might want to try going to the AVS Forum Web site (www.avs-forum.com/avs-vb) and looking through the chat threads there, if you don't mind being inundated with technical details.

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Upper Marlboro: If you were purchasing a new HDTV, what would you purchase? (plasma or LCD?)

Rob Pegoraro: As I wrote in this morning's newsletter, I'd get an LCD. The odds are that I'll have either a computer or a computer-like device (i.e., a wireless media receiver of some sort) plugged into the screen. Also, my living room is reasonably bright; there's an orchid on the windowsill that my wife and I have yet to kill off.

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Arlington, Va.: rob, my wife and I are separate users on the same computer. Lately, it takes forever for the computer to switch users, and it's been really slow to load Firefox. I think the problems are coincident with my having installed the free AVG antivirus software. I know that antivirus software in general is resource-heavy, but have you heard of anyone having bad slowdown issues with AVG?

Rob Pegoraro: No. AVG is not a resource-intensive program (I've got it running on the slowest laptop I have at home for that exact reason.)

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Baltimore, Md.: Hi Rob - I noticed that you mentioned that one might not want to get the 20-inch iMac if one played games. Well, I've been trying out both Company of Heroes and Rise of Legends on my MacBook Pro (in Windows mode) and let me tell you that it plays them quite well indeed. The video card in the MacBook Pro is the same as the card in the 20-inch iMac (albeit the processor is maybe 10 percent slower). Company of Heroes is considered one of the most demanding PCs games currently on the market and the MBP handles it with aplomb. So you might consider revising your comment about Macs and gaming - I've been pleasantly surprised. Sorry to use this forum to communicate but I couldn't find your email in your newsletter - is that intentional?? thanks, Stefan

Rob Pegoraro: My e-mail is no secret (just ask the spammers!).

Yes, you can play Windows games on a Mac. But if you're going to do that with any frequency, you have to decide if it wouldn't be easier to just get a PC... or buy an Xbox 360 in addition to the Mac.

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Fairfax, Va.: Is there any way, preferably wireless, to use an iPod to play music thru a home stereo system?

Rob Pegoraro: Yup - you can get a Bluetooth kit for an iPod that will work in the way you outlined. Or just get an iPod cradle from Apple or somebody else (which will also charge up to the iPod while it's parked there).

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Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Rob, Trying to follow your advice when shopping for a mid-sized LCD HDTV (ca. 37") -look for a set with the highest possible "dynamic contrast ratio" (4,000:1 or higher) and the quickest refresh rate (8 ms or fewer) - I find it hard to get contrast specs and impossible to get refresh data. Any recommendations?

Rob Pegoraro: Some manufacturers don't do a good job of advertising this data. You might have to download a manual from their site... or you might find it easier to hit Amazon or some other online retailer for the fine-print details.

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Ellicott City, Md.: I'm looking for a non-phone PDA for my wife. She likes the Palm TX, but I'd like to compare it against a comparable pocket PC. She likes the balance of the smallish size of the device with the larger screen size. She needs basic calendar and contact with ability to run modern PDA software (e.g., databases, recipe software, sudoku :). I think she'd like the bluetooth and wifi eventually, but not right now. Be nice if it could eventually run GPS/mapping software. Thanks for any ideas.

Rob Pegoraro: I think your shopping decision ended with the words "I'm looking for a non-phone PDA for my wife. She likes the Palm TX." *She's* going to use the thing, not you.

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Southern Maryland: Rob, my young children are still learning how to handle CDs properly. Should I simply make home-burn copies of their CDs so they don't scratch the originals? Or is there a speaker-based digital music player suitable for preschoolers?

Rob Pegoraro: Burning copies of your CDs is the easiest and cheapest option... and when they graduate to "real" CDs you've got yourself a nice set of coasters or Xmas-tree decorations.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Help Rob, I have the TV and the sound system but can't figure out what to do for HD signal and DVR. I am stuck with Comcast (no sat signal for me), but want to get a TiVo Series 3 DVR. Am I crazy to pass up the comcast DVR and HD box and go for the expensive TiVo solution? I will hang up now and take my answer off the air.

Rob Pegoraro: I think you are crazy. I know that people with TiVo love it, but c'mon--$800 for the box, plus $17 a month for the service? I just don't see how the value-add here justifies paying so much more over what Comcast charges for its DVR (no upfront cost, $5-$10 a month).

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wash dc: Hate to sound like a broken record, but I will--"full HD" is a marketing fiction. You can't get a 1080p feed from any broadcast source on Earth or in space. That's all true, but what no one talks about is that 1080 panels have smaller pixel structure and allow you to comfortably sit closer to a larger screen. This is a useful advantage and something maunt would be willing to pay more for. especially useful for LCD's which suffer more form screen door effect. cheers.

Rob Pegoraro: Why would you want to sit closer? Are you planning to move the sofa two feet in from the wall? Is there something I'm missing here?

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Late question but quick: Is it safe to upgrade to iTunes 7.whatever yet?

Rob Pegoraro: I think so -- but, just so you know, I didn't have any serious issues even with the first, buggy 7.0 release.

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Prescott Valley, Ariz.: Do you know if altitude has any effect on the longevity of Plasma?

Rob Pegoraro: If you're really high up, apparently there can be problems. I was reading a recent issue of Ski magazine (not my usual source for HDTV info, but stick with me here...) and it mentioned that some new ultra-luxe ski resort found that its new plasmas didn't work well at that altitude; they wound up swapping them out for LCDs.

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Re: Audiobooks from library: ipods play MP3s, dont go out and buy another MP3 player!

Rob Pegoraro: And most libraries don't loan out MP3 files. They give you a "DRMed" Windows Media file that an iPod can't play.

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Anonymous: Dear Rob, I'm shopping for my first digital camera -- researched online for months. I want a digital for convenience--mostly family shots, weddings, inside and out. I take good composition photos, and would like the capability of good video shots as well. Would prefer a sub-compact w/optical viewfinder (due to LCD glare outside), optical stabilization, and a large LCD for my 50-year-old eyes. I don't need a lot of manual settings--mostly automatic is fine. Had been intent on buying Sony, but can't find everything I want in a sub-compact Sony. Canon PowerShot SD700 seems to have all above features, but with only 16 MB removable memory (rather than Sony's built-in 58MB), and no date stamp. Reviews say SD700 viewfinder is cheap and blurry with no battery power display. How important are all these features I believe I want? How important is widescreen ratio resolution? I don't need a lot of manual settings--mostly automatic is fine.

Should I wait to buy until camera technology catches up to everything I desire in one, quality, subcompact? I take good composition photos, and would like the capability of good video shots as well. Can you recommend a quality, sub-compact with features I desire? I keep my cameras for 10 to 15 years. Thank you, Joan

Rob Pegoraro: Don't waste a second worrying about the built-in memory on a digital camera. It's a meaningless feature; you'll use removable memory cards, not whatever tiny increment of RAM the camera has on board.

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fairfax, va: I need to purchase equipment to convert my vinyl lps to cds--or load them onto the computer, what is the best approach?

Rob Pegoraro: We ran a how-to story on this last year--good news is, you shouldn't have to buy more than $20 or so of hardware, then download some free software:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9152-2005Mar5.html

(Now could everybody Google-bomb the hell out of that link, so it shows up the next time somebody looks for help on this topic? Thanks...)

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From Daniel Greenberg, Part 2: AVG devours all available resources on only one of several test PCs-- the one gunked up with installs of hundreds of test programs. The only remedy I have found is to CTR-ALT-DEL and kill the process AVGW.EXE from Task Manager. This does not seem to stop AVG from running and protecting the system- it just seems to stop an errant daily updater from hogging resources. Also, I'll be hosting a Washington Post Web chat Wed, Dec 6 on buying tech accessories. Stop on by.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Daniel!

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Crutchfield: A comment to add from a previous poster's comment about Crutchfield. They are the only place I will ever buy my electronics. Love them! Their advisors are knowledgeable and friendly, and their customer service is fabulous. I ordered a Sirius radio on a Wednesday and it arrived via UPS on Thursday! They are a VA company.

Rob Pegoraro: Based right in Charlottesville, in fact. Thanks for the posting...

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Arlington, Va.: Your columns in yesterday's Business section were especially helpful to a technophobe like myself. I see accessories everywhere for my daughter's Ipod. Are there any portable speakers for my son's MP3? He has a donated 78 Cadillac and can't play his CDs or listen to anything but the radio in the car. I'm not crazy about headphones while driving. Short of installing a new system, I'd like to get him something to listen to his music without an earbud.

Rob Pegoraro: There are a lot of different portable-speaker sets for iPods nowadays... not so much for other MP3 players. You might have to get some generic portable speakers, like what you used to be able to buy for a Walkman or Discman, that have a line-in jack and run off their own batteries.

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Washington: Rob, I have a 42" HDTV (a DLP) and love it. I need a smaller model in the bedroom. I see sony has a 23" bravia out - it is pricey, though, so I wonder if it is worth getting such a nice TV for the bedroom. My gut tells me there is a reason that the manufacturers don't have many small sized HDTVs out there ... What are your thoughts?

Rob Pegoraro: There's more money to be made in the larger sizes--but also, I think the average size of TV has been going up over the last couple of decades. In the mid 1990s, 36 inches would have been a huge set; now it's relatively tiny.

Sony sets do tend to cost a good deal more than others... see what you'd pay for, say, an LG, Samsung, Sharp or Panasonic LCD in that range.

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Living on Metro: Am I stuck with only phones that go with the carriers? The network in my neck of the woods makes it clear which wireless carrier I need to use, but I'd love to be able to pick from all the phones out there? Does the unlocking of phones only work for GSM, or other networks?

Rob Pegoraro: Unlocking phones is a GSM-only feature; CDMA phones--the kind Verizon and Sprint use--don't feature a removable subscriber-identity module.

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dc: A quick question: Is the 24 inch iMac worth the extra dough when compared to the 20 inch iMac? Thanks!!

Rob Pegoraro: I don't think so. The 20-inch screen is already big enough that you'll need to leave more maneuvering room for the mouse on your desktop. Unless you're doing desktop publishing or editing pictures in Adobe Photoshop for a living, what are you going to need that extra screen real estate for?

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Libraries: Forget the DRMed audiobooks. Take out a book on CD and rip the file to mp3. Just remember to remove the file from your computer when you return the CD.

Rob Pegoraro: That's the easiest option. But be aware that you need to, y'know, actually leave the house to put this plan into action.

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From Daniel Greenberg: Backup Software- I like Shadow from NTI. IT not only updates changed files, but it can update them on a minute-to-minute basis, so you nearly always have a perfect backup of your hard drive. I have not tried the new Version 3, but earlier versions tested well. The ideal solution is an external RAID 5 drive with shadowing for realtime backup and failure protection, but that is the expensive way to go- it can cost more than your PC and monitor.

Rob Pegoraro: Another posting from our prolific contributor, this time about backup software.

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Washington, D.C.: Someone at Best Buy tried to sell me a cable for about $60-$100 to connect my plasma TV. He said it would give me a better picture than the cable I got from Comcast. I kind of remember an article on the rip off these stores are doing with selling people high-priced cable to hook up these televisions - comment, please.

Rob Pegoraro: You were probably being sold an HDMI cable. Buy it online, not in the stores--shouldn't cost more than $10 to $20, versus $60 to $100 for whatever premium-brand cable you were looking at.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you have an experience with services that rip your CD collection and put the resulting music files on your Ipod or DVDs or whatever. I have heard of a couple services such as Riptopia and Ripdigital. Do you have any advice on the subject?

Rob Pegoraro: I just ripped my own CDs. It's not hard if you have time... set your MP3 program to rip, then eject each CD as you eject it. Then you can feed in CDs while doing other stuff--reading the paper, reading a book, waiting on hold with tech support. This isn't a quick process, but you only have to do it once.

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Bradenton, Fla.: Hi, Just a suggestion: We got a 26-inch Sylvania LCD at Circuit City a couple of months ago - only $750.00. Best TV I've ever owned.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks for the $.02 worth!

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Los Angeles, Calif.: Hi, Do you have any laptop recommendations for under $1500. I am thinking of going wireless at home, and I'll need the laptop for everything except gaming. Also, any recommendations for an antivirus program. I've found Norton to be bulky and slow, and I'd like the program to take up fewer computer resources. Thanks, Mike

washingtonpost.com: Rob Pegoraro's Laptop Guide

Rob Pegoraro: The reviews linked to above are now a few months old, but should still be valid (it's not like the software bundles on those Windows machines have gotten any better!)

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Philadelphia, Pa.: We have a Canon S400. We have a new baby daughter and have turned off the flash on the camera when we take close up pictures of her. Most of the pictures we take without the flash end up blurry. The ones that aren't blurry look great. Why is this? Is there a setting on the camera I need to change?

Rob Pegoraro: You need a camera with optical image stabilization--it's made for the kind of use you just described.

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Re MP3 player in the car: Wal-Mart sells an FM-modulator that you plug into your car's lighter socket and connect the MP3 player to the modulator. Works perfectly playing song after song, lets you go to the previous or next song, or stop it in place. Only limitation is you can't fast forward/reverse within a song and when you shut off the car, it defaults back to the first song. I listen to OTR with this when I commute. Definitely under $25 and plays through your car's speakers.

Rob Pegoraro: Right, that'd work too. Thanks!

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Burke, Va.: Rob: My wife would like to replace her cell and her (old) Handspring with one device. She likes the Palm interface, but couldn't care less about having e-mail on her handheld. Is a Treo our main option? Are there non-Treo Palm-based devices? Can you help me here -- this is the main item on her Christmas list! Thanks,

Rob Pegoraro: The Treo is about where you shopping list starts and ends--it's the only thing that will meet all the requirements you just specified. (You don't have to set it up for e-mail at all; just reassign the e-mail button to open the SMS program instead.)

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Quick response: For the poster asking about car hook-ups for iPods- I've been using 88.7 and 89.3. I drive up to NY a lot and 88.7 gives me problems when I get close to big cities, I've had no problems at all with 89.3.

Rob Pegoraro:89.3 won't work in D.C.--that's WPFW, the only surviving jazz station in the city

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Rockville: Really true that you can use one flash drive with both Mac OS and Windows machines? Any compatibility or other issues to worry about?

Rob Pegoraro: Some "legal" file names can't be read on one system or another--Windows doesn't like files with quotes in their names, for instance. That's about it.

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Rob Pegoraro: That kicks it in the head for today--but I'll be right back here at 2 p.m. next Monday. Thanks... see y'all then.

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