Files become fragmented as you continue to use your computer, being placed in non-adjacent blocks when you install programs, transfer data and otherwise put your PC through its daily round. Some fragmentation always exists, but if allowed to go unchecked, it can slow your operations and, in extreme cases, lead to data loss.

Which brings me to PerfectDisk, from Maryland-based Raxco (www.raxco.com). A major improvement on the defragmenter utility that ships with Windows, the program can run when you boot the machine to optimize key system files, and its numerous options allow you to defragment and arrange files on your disk depending on usage. PerfectDisk can also do a single-pass consolidation of all free space on the disk, so that new files and programs are laid down contiguously when you install them.

In a business context, PerfectDisk's list of features is particularly impressive, for the software allows administrators to defragment shared drives on computers in a local area network, and provides the kind of robust scheduling options that Microsoft's program does not. Moreover, it can operate with no more than 5 percent of the disk available as free space, making it possible to tune up clogged disk situations that would defeat other programs.

PerfectDisk is clearly a winner in the corporate arena, where its powerful options and useful reporting tools will make it helpful for maintaining PC health throughout the operation. Individual users may want to take advantage of the 30-day free trial to see how a serious defragmenter works, and to find out for themselves whether PerfectDisk's $39.99 price tag is worth the boost in performance.

Pass on Microsoft's mini PC

Microsoft's announcement of the Ultra-Mobile PC, or UMPC, previewed in mysterious Internet appearances under the code name "Origami," is surely the kind of anticlimax the company could have avoided. Not that there is anything wrong with producing a machine that combines the best of tablet PC, laptop and PDA in a single package. But that prospect is long-range, and Origami isn't it.

The basic idea is sound -- it's time for a hybrid that can offer full computing power in a device with crisp 7-inch screen, one that's lighter and more adaptive than a laptop but laden with features. Microsoft created the original specifications for the Origami device and is finding hardware manufacturers to make the actual products. Down the road, UMPC devices customized for particular uses should find a home, once key issues of power and price are settled.

But the first UMPCs surely aren't what the average consumer has been waiting for. The early iterations, several of which were announced at the CeBit trade show in Germany, are expected to be in the $600 to $1,000 range. Moreover, most people will want to defer any purchase until the operating system upgrade called Vista makes its appearance, possibly before year's end. The first wave of UMPC devices will run a modified version of Windows XP, but Vista should offer improved touch-screen options and will, one hopes, do a better job with power management.

The Achilles' heel of the UMPC at this moment is battery life. Sure, it would be great to carry Web searching and e-mail with you, but not when you can expect a mere three hours of battery time. It is beyond comprehension that I would pay up to $1,000 for a device that gave me so little working time before I had to find the power cord. No, I think this is too early, though perhaps a glimpse of the kind of device we still yearn for, one with a fully readable screen, seamless connectivity, packaged in a size and shape that seem just about right."

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