Small advances define '05
This may be remembered as the year Google turned from search engine powerhouse into Web-wide applications giant.
Pick a computer to suit you
Thinking about a new computer this holiday season? If so, the options have never been broader. But do some hard thinking before you buy.
Goal: one laptop per child
Computing needs to be cheaper. So cheap, in fact, that replacing a student's laptop has about the same significance as buying a new copy of a lost textbook.
Team beats Google print
I'm looking at an edition of Henry James' "An International Episode." It's a library copy containing handsome illustrations interleaved with the text. But it's not a physical book.
Open source getting better
I am writing this in OpenOffice 2.0, the recently released version of a software suite that challenges the dominance of Microsoft Office.
'Folksonomy' developing
Not all that long ago, the Web seemed to be turning into just another television station.
Sharing your bookmarks
Bookmarks used to be a key part of Web browsing. Before the advent of good search engines, a bookmark let you keep valuable sites in an easily accessible place, and my own bookmark list quickly grew beyond my ability to manage it.
Faraway aid with images
Back in 1979, as Hurricane David slammed into the Dominican Republic, I remember listening to the shortwave radio and wishing there were some way to help.
Messaging ripe for mining
If I were a software developer looking for openings, I'd put my efforts into instant messaging.
Computer on a keychain
Small devices and high-density storage are converging in spectacular ways. One of Apple's latest iPods carries 60 GB, enough for all your work files and thousands of digital photos and songs as well.
Google Earth tours planet
It's been years since I've run into a product as exciting as Google Earth. This mapping program lets you choose your place -- anywhere on the planet -- and look at aerial and satellite photographs, zooming in and out on landscapes and cities as if you
Customer service lacking
The best technical support is often a mix of company representatives and customers who understand their equipment or software.
Software highlights text
It occurred to me the other day as I was editing a document in Microsoft Word that in the entire time I've used Word, there has been only one occasion when I took its grammatical advice.
Finding video clips online
One of the reasons people want huge hard disks is video. Sure, video clips can be gigantic files, but high-speed Internet connections make them easy to download, and sophisticated software tools make it easier than ever to produce homemade video cont
BitTorrent file sharing can be virtue or villainy
Watching the big media companies cope with Internet file sharing is a fascinating pursuit.
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