A new, free service launching in nine metropolitan areas sends travel directions to your cellphone via text message after using voice-recognition technology to determine your current location and where you’d like to go.
The H-P Smart Web Printing program is a useful free solution that organizes online research right in your browser, but only works for PC users of Internet Explorer — for now.
Movie download service Vudu likes to think of itself as the instant-gratification alternative to running to the video store. But the device, which plugs into your TV and Internet connection, has a poor movie selection and slow downloads.
Apple’s updates for the iPhone and iPod Touch enable more customization and outfit each device with a handful of new features, making both gadgets much more useful and fun.
Education-related Web sites that provide free school comparisons can help parents choose one for their children, but some sites are more helpful than others.
TiVo has a few tricks up its sleeve that might surprise longtime users and new owners alike. This column includes just a handful of those tricks and highlights some features that may make TiVo more useful.
The best feature in Apple’s second-generation iPhone 3G is the “App Store,” a distribution mechanism for third-party programs. In general, the process of choosing and downloading apps is easy and quick, and most of the programs are useful or entertaining. Here’s a guide to choosing the apps for your iPhone.
Are you a member of the “I-check-my-email-constantly-even-when-I-know-no-one-has-emailed-me” club? If so, your mobile email device is never far and you’ve found yourself wondering how other people can leave unread emails sitting in their inboxes all day.
Today, people interested in seeing the first Google-branded consumer-hardware product will get to satisfy their curiosity as the company, joining with T-Mobile, unveils its $179 G1 handheld computer. This touch-screen device will compete with Apple’s iPhone, and it includes a key feature missing in the iPhone: a physical keyboard.
Many people are heading into this year’s holiday season with tighter budgets, prompting them to be even more selective with their gift buying. One way to make sure you’re getting the most for your dollar is to search the Web for product reviews.
Web video has transformed the way the Internet is used, but finding the exact clip you want can be incredibly hard. And it’s no wonder, considering that sites like YouTube conduct their hunts by looking at a clip’s “contextual metadata” — tags, video title and description — and thus can often be misled by false information.
Katie reviews Windows Live, Microsoft’s Web-based attempt to consolidate many of the regular activities you perform on the Internet: sharing photos on Flickr, emailing via Hotmail, posting status updates on Facebook, following tweets on Twitter, sending instant messages on Google Chat and keeping a calendar on Apple’s MobileMe.
The time it takes to boot up a computer can be a source of frustration — especially if you’re in a rush and just want to log on, get information and move on with your day. If televisions took as long as PCs take to start working, we’d miss game-winning touchdowns.
My grandmother, a college graduate and former reference librarian, recently walked out of an electronics store in frustration. She compared the techie conversations that were going on around her with people speaking in a different language. And she isn’t alone.
Gone are the days when giving away your old stuff involved getting in the car and hauling bags to the local Salvation Army. Now, with a little Web know-how, you can find a number of ways to turn your trash into someone else’s treasure.
Edited by Walt and written by Katie Boehret, this is a guide to gadgets, web services and other consumer technologies.
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