washingtonpost.com - Technology- Fast Forward: Electronics and Gadgets Advice and Reviews From The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro

Cameras Get Cheaper, but at a Price

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Something wonderful has happened to digital cameras in the past few years. They've become enough of a commodity for manufacturers to start acting a little silly in their quest to find some new feature to set their hardware apart from everybody else's.

Tech Tactics for Hard Times

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

News flash: The economy stinks.

A Lot for Sports Fans to Like, but the New Slingbox Still Isn't a Slam Dunk

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Watching television on a computer screen is no special achievement these days. Between the free streaming video on the Web and TV downloads at iTunes and elsewhere, you don't need to work too hard to turn your computer into a replacement for the tube.

How Apple Hits Replay Again

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Want to discourage somebody from buying an iPod? Don't talk up other companies' media players -- just suggest that Apple will ship a new iPod soon.

Microsoft and Google Give The Browser a Rewrite

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Your Web browser is probably the most important program on your computer, and it's now getting the competition it deserves.

Dell Finally Thinks Small and Chic

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

One of Dell's latest desktop PCs deserves an adjective that has rarely applied to its products: stylish.

Microsoft Animates the Scrapbook

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Back in those dark days when photographs were confined to a strip of processed chemicals called "film," there wasn't much spare-time photographers could do with pictures. You could order blow-ups of photographs or cut and paste them into scrapbooks, and that was about it.

Internet Providers' New Tool Raises Deep Privacy Concerns

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

If you're reading this story on our Web site, I don't know what you did online before you reached this page.

Balanced Diets for Lighter Laptops

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Cheap, lightweight laptops have quietly gotten better over the past year.

How They Measure Up

Post — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

1 . HP Pavilion tx2500z, $1,539

The Opaque Side of Apple

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

If your computer annoys or amazes you, and you yell at it or congratulate it, you'll be met with silence. But if you direct your feedback to the company that made it, will you have any more of a dialogue?

They Know Where You Are

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Your computer knows what you did last weekend -- but that's okay because most of your other gadgets do, too. Your browser remembers your Web reading list, your cellphone saved your calls, and your MP3 player can recite the songs you heard.

Meant to Sync, MobileMe Is Scattershot at the Start

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

If you want to use the same contact list and calendar on every computer you might sit in front of, there's a simple, reliable and cheap way to do so: Carry around a paper organizer.

The iPhone, Rehashed

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A year ago, Apple's iPhone made most competing cellphones look like stone tablets with antennas. But the new iPhone 3G, introduced last week, doesn't make quite the same leap forward.

Address Book Programs Need to Network to Get Ahead

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A lot of Internet users now find they have two kinds of address books: Ones they've known for years, and ones that are up to date.

It Only Looks Like an iPhone

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

So many people are lining up to buy a new touch-screen wireless phone that the carrier selling it can't keep up with demand.

Do One Thing, and Do It Okay

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Technically speaking, Flip camcorders have no reason to exist.

Building a Better Browser: Firefox Keeps Innovating

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Mozilla Firefox, the little Web browser with the quirky name, has grown up fast. Four years ago, Firefox was an obscure project Microsoft felt free to ignore. Now it has grabbed about a fifth of the market worldwide.

Little PC Gets the Big Stuff Wrong

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A small, light laptop makes an excellent second computer -- unless it costs more than your first.

A Tired Old Script: Web Movie Innovation Thwarted by Studios

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The latest plot twist in home movie viewing comes courtesy of a black box not much bigger than a VHS cassette.

It's Not The Money, Can You Hear Me?

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The wireless-phone business is one of the most competitive stretches of the telecommunications universe, but in one way that competition may be working too well.

In the Puzzle of Prices, What It Costs to ...

Post — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

	AT&T	Sprint	T-Mobile	Verizon Wireless
Talk for 100 minutes a month	$39.99	$29.99	$29.99	$39.99
Talk for 350 minutes a month	$39.99	$39.99	$39.99	$39.99
Share 700 minutes a month between two lines	$69.99	$69.99	$59.99	$69.99
Send 200 text messages	$5	$5	$4.99	$10
Send unlimited text messages	$20	$10	$14.99	$20 (but only 5,000 out-of-network messages included)
Add "unlimited" Internet access to a smartphone	$20 or $30	$30	$19.99	$29.99 or $40

Online Accounting Tools Still Come Up Short

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Few types of desktop software should be readier for replacement by the Web than personal finance.

Yahoo Mail Goes Ad-Free

Post — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

At the end of last week, Yahoo quietly took a step to improve the experience of untold millions of e-mail users: It stopped sticking one-line advertisements at the end of messages sent from its free Yahoo Mail Web e-mail service.

Shortsighted Nostalgia for XP

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

By the strictest definition, Windows XP has been dead since Jan. 30, 2007 -- the day its replacement, Windows Vista, arrived in stores and XP promptly vanished from most new computers.

Google Still Unchallenged

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Microsoft-Yahoo soap opera seems to have reached its last episode: After months of squabbling and snippiness, last weekend Microsoft yanked back its purchase offer, ending its bid to buy Yahoo.

To Wit: Twittering

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Politicians can have their message of the day, but on the Web, anybody can have their message of the hour -- or the minute.

HD Cameras Still Don't Click

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Pocket-size electronic devices can't do just one thing anymore. Phones take pictures, MP3 players show movies and GPS receivers double as photo albums.

Anti-Virus Programs Aren't One-Stop Stoppers

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Many Windows users worry about viruses. Some also worry about the software that's supposed to protect their computers from viruses.

On eBay, A Little Less Conversation

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Sometime in mid-May, the conversations behind each sale on eBay will become a lot more one-sided.

Free Photoshop Express Is a Mixed Picture

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most complicated, expensive, intensive programs you'll never want to use. Adobe Photoshop Express has next to nothing in common with that $649 program, or even its $100, consumer-focused spinoff called Photoshop Elements.

Picture Imperfect

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Digital picture frames have quickly gone from expensive technological baubles to cut-rate commodities that you grab on your way out of the store. For not much more than the price of a professionally framed 8-by-10 print, one of these compact LCD screens can show off hundreds of vacation photos.

That Green Again

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Green text on a blank, black screen, with a square, blinking cursor. This was how most of us wrote on a computer in the early 1980s, and it's resurfacing a quarter of a century later.

They're Not Phones. They're Not Laptops. They're Probably Not Necessary.

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT

How long can you stand to be without access to the Web? WiFi hotspots can bring the Internet to any new laptop computer, and most cellphones offer a more portable but limited view of the Web. Now some devices aim to split the difference between laptop and phone.

The News Is There, but You Might Have to Search for It

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST

Whatever the traditional definition of "news" might be, it can seem far from what fills the headlines at some of the Web's more popular news sites. On a Tuesday in presidential primary season, here are some of their top stories:

The Frustration of Format Wars

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

Last week, HD DVD was unceremoniously exiled to the Island of Misfit Toys. This high-definition video format, which movie studios and electronics manufacturers rejected in favor of the competing Blu-ray disc, will have plenty of company there.

Waiting for a Blockbuster

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

The quest for an affordable and convenient movie-download service has been one of the longest-running plotlines in Hollywood.

Preparing for the Beginning of the End of Analog TV

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

TV as we've known it has barely a year left to live. On Feb. 17, 2009, the analog broadcasts that have taken the networks into American homes for decades will end, replaced by a stream of digital bits that carry video and audio more efficiently and with higher quality.

Upside Elusive in a Microsoft-Yahoo Deal

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

Microsoft's proposal to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion raises many questions. Will Yahoo accept the offer? Can Microsoft win the approval of antitrust authorities in the United States and the European Union? Can the company digest an acquisition this large without suffering an AOL-Time Warner-like meltdown?

The Race for the Ultra-Lightest

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

The race to build the world's most portable laptop can get ridiculous. Companies will build computers that fit on one knee, with screens little bigger than an iPhone's -- all for the sake of having the "world's smallest laptop."

A Clearer View of Vista

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

There are times when I feel like I'm in a tiny minority of people who don't hate Windows Vista.

Visions of a Disc-less World

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

SAN FRANCISCO

Looking for the Next Big Picture

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

LAS VEGAS

Two Pounds of Efficiency

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

The first time I took Asus's Eee PC laptop on a flight, the security screener assumed it was a portable DVD player.

Technology Consumers Got More Choice in '07

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

The technology business has a reputation for innovation, but three things have stayed constant for years: The computing world revolved around Microsoft, your wireless carrier controlled what your cellphone could do, and the record labels locked your legal music downloads with software to limit what you could do with them.

What Should and Should Not Be on Your New Computer

Post — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Five things that should be on a new home computer but often aren't:

7 Steps to Get Your New Computer Running Right

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

The consumer electronics business can craft products that can be taken out of the box, turned on and properly used without a glance at a manual, but the home computer still isn't among them.

Picture Imperfect

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

This time of year, people's thoughts of TV-watching often turn to large screens -- bright, flat-panel displays that dominate walls.

Tonight on Your Mobile Phone

Post — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Channels included in Verizon Wireless's $15-a-month basic V Cast Mobile TV plan, with the programs airing from 8 to 11 p.m. tonight:

Kindled, but Not Enlightened

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Electronic data have rendered all sorts of paper documents obsolete -- plane tickets, billing statements, card-catalogue entries and even, for many, the morning newspaper. The book, however, has yet to be bumped off by the Internet.

Online Merchants' Middlemen

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Buying things online can make a simple thing absurdly complicated.

Numbers Don't Lie, but They Mislead

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

There are lots of numbers -- gigabytes, megabits, megapixels -- in bold type consumer-electronic ads designed to make products appealing. But letting those numbers dictate your shopping usually leads to buying more than you need.

Zippity Zune? Nah.

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Will the last company to surrender to the iPod please remember to log off of the computer?

Google and Cellphones: Let Freedom Ring

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Google might save the cellphone from its miserable self. In a year. If wireless carriers stop acting like, well, wireless carriers.

On Apple's Leopard, New Tricks and Some Treats

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Apple seems to be doing a lot of things right these days.

Self-Appointed Traffic Cop

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Is the company you pay to bring you the Internet blocking parts of it instead?

Palm, RIM Struggle for Smartphone Formula

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

What gives a smartphone its brains? Is it the contacts list and calendar synced to your computer, the wireless Internet access, the music playback, or something else?

New Cameras Blur Reality

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

It's getting easier all the time to fib with photos.

Networks Are Streaming Into Prime Time Online

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

For years, the Internet has been cutting into my television consumption. Now, though, it's made me halfway literate about the new TV season.

Fios in Your Neighborhood? Don't Ask Verizon

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

You'd be a little crazy to shop for a home without considering the Internet, phone and TV options awaiting in a new neighborhood. But good luck finding that out, especially when it comes to new services.

Apple's Two New Bites

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

After selling more than 100 million iPods, Apple could slack off a little. The digital media players would probably still fly off the shelves if the company just altered their shape or color once a year.

At Home, Cheaper Alternatives to Office

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

In the workplace, Microsoft Office is as inevitable as drawn-out meetings and bad coffee. But Microsoft's combination of Word, Excel and PowerPoint is not the only way to write, crunch numbers or prepare slideshows. And for home users, it isn't even the best way anymore.

Universal Chargers Remain a Dream

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Packing for a trip involves a new level of "what did I forget?" anxiety: What if you depart without all the chargers your gadgets require?

In a Land of Alike Laptops, Weight and Battery Life Are Key

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Laptop design has advanced a great deal over the past decade, but a few things still generally hold true: Batteries won't last through a cross-country flight, and affordable laptops weigh too much.

The New iLife Lives Large on the Web

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

When you've created a photo album, a slideshow or a movie, the natural impulse is to find an audience to applaud your effort. But who should that audience be: a few people peering over your shoulder, several spectators in front of the television or the two-dozen people you e-mail all the time?

Jukebox With Hit Potential

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Some of my favorite radio stations don't have DJs. But they do include some other features not found on FM: a button to pause playback, another to skip to the next song and, most important, a playlist I can customize.

Google Isn't Always The Best Search Choice

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Google has turned into a household verb, but that doesn't make it the last word in Web search.

GPS Units Weighed Down by Buggy Features

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

We've all been spoiled rotten by the Global Positioning System.

Frill-Free Gadgets

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

In a market that says more features are always better, a cellphone devoid of data features and a printer that only receives e-mail should be guaranteed losers.

Friend? Not? It's One or the Other

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Social-networking sites like the big three -- MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn -- act as a sort of shared address book, letting people post profiles, leave notes for one another and find out whom they know in common.

For the World's Poor Children, This Computes

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

The most interesting new laptop shipped so far this year isn't sold in the United States. It's also missing most of the standard parts of a computer: a modem, a CD burner, even a hard drive.

Apple's iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

The iPhone doesn't look, sound or feel like other cellphones. With its smooth, almost button-free contours, it could be the product of an advanced, alien civilization.

Power Naps for Energy Efficiency

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

It's amazing what kind of items can be advertised as "green" these days: a grocery-delivery service, a projection HDTV and a home-automation system, to name a few recently pitched to me.

Wireless Choice Is Far From Clear

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Picking a wireless-phone service is supposed to have gotten easy. Competition and consolidation over the past couple of years have led most companies to adopt the same basic price structure, making it easy to compare rates. Two-week trials are standard. And, in the biggest improvement the business has seen lately, you can keep your phone number when switching service.

What It Costs to ...

Post — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Talk for 200 minutes a month:

A Big Plus From Apple

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Apple's iTunes Store is convenient, cheap and cool. But its music downloads can come with nagging worries driven by the copy-control software behind the iTunes Store -- which generally limits playback to Apple's iTunes software and iPod music players.

Not Much New in New Windows for Handhelds

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

There must be a typo in the name of Microsoft's new software for handheld organizers and smartphones. It's called "Windows Mobile 6," but this release seems hardly different from the 2005 Windows Mobile 5.

Mapping That Puts You There

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 31 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT

In one window on my computer, I'm strolling down the Embarcadero in San Francisco -- but instead of sticking to the sidewalk, I'm somehow occupying the middle of the southbound lanes, where I've been passed by a series of sport-utility vehicles.

Palm's Dumber Smart Phone

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 24 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Not even three years ago, the Treo 650 smart phone looked revolutionary. But its latest successor, the Treo 755p Palm unveiled two weeks ago, feels more like a relic.

The Sound of Copy Restrictions Crashing

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT

The idea of ditching "digital rights management" for music downloads is rapidly changing from dream to business reality -- and faster than anybody might have hoped.

Movie Keystroke Cops

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Some of Hollywood's more aggressive lawyers are learning a painful lesson: The Web doesn't have a delete key.

Buying Into Patent Lawsuits

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 03 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Buying high-tech goods or services often involves some kind of gamble. You're betting that the new software will have fewer bugs than the old one, that the Internet connection will run as fast as advertised, that this year's gadget won't turn into next year's Betamax.

Crop, Sort and Share

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Digital photo album programs can seem like tourist snapshots of the Washington Monument: At first, they all look alike.

Going to Town With WiFi

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

On a chilly April day, the idea of wireless Internet access from a park bench seems overrated.

'Delete' Doesn't Mean 'Disappear'

Rob Pegoraro — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

This might not seem obvious when you're struggling to locate the e-mail somebody sent you last week, but it's not easy to make an e-mail message vanish for good. A lot of the time, it's outright impossible.

The DVD Player, Fully Mature

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

The DVD player has been around for more than a decade, but now it has finally grown up.

Draconian Windows Watchers

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

When some people use Windows without paying for it, Microsoft's honest customers wind up covering their tab.

Apple Tries to Bridge Computer Desk, Living Room

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Digital photos, music and video all conspire to fill up your computer -- but eventually, you'll want to get those files back into the living room, where the big screen and the good speakers live.

Photo Flat

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Like a lot of people, I carry around a digital camera almost full time -- the one built into my cellphone. But that doesn't mean I take many photos with this thing; most of the images it generates look terrible, like a copy of a real photo that's faded in the sun.

Bedeviling Prep Programs And the Tax Code From Hell

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EDT

After spending two mind-numbing days trying to feed the same numbers into the two leading tax-preparation programs, I'm stuck with this puzzler: H&R Block's TaxCut says my wife and I owe the feds $18,000, but Intuit's TurboTax says our bill comes to $3,000 and change.

Playing on Both Sides

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST

You might buy a Mac to get away from Microsoft, but it can be hard to avoid Windows.

Aiming for Innovation, HP Fails for Usual Reasons

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST

For all its public devotion to innovation, the computer industry has been unwilling to break one rule -- it takes a keyboard and mouse to use a home computer.

They Fuse, You Lose

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

The XM and Sirius satellite radio services came into being to give listeners a creative alternative to the soul-numbing monotony of commercial FM. But a proposed merger announced this week comes right off the standard playlist of other merger-happy industries.

Time to Face the Music on File Sharing

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

Customers might not like the idea of technology that allows some uses of music (like copying iTunes downloads to their iPods) but forbids others (like copying the same song to another kind of music player). But until recently, it didn't seem to bother the executives behind these anti-piracy systems.

Missing the Little Picture

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

Browsing the Web on your cellphone can seem so hard that most people don't even try. But why should that be?

Microsoft's Office Remodeling

Rob Pegoraro — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

For years, people who use Microsoft Office have been asking for less.

Vista, for Better and Worse

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST

Windows Vista lands in stores Tuesday, more than five years after its predecessor Windows XP debuted. With that much time for Microsoft to rewrite its operating system, you might expect it to be a sharp break from the Windows we've known.

Counting Down To the Digital Deadline

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST

TV as most people have known it has a little more than two years to live.

Improving Instead of Inventing

Rob Pegoraro — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST

LAS VEGAS The Consumer Electronics Show amounts to a weeklong State of the Union speech for the computing and electronics industries. Thousands of companies gather here each January, filling acres of exhibits with every imaginable device that can beep, blink or buzz.