Stories by Mike Elgan

Elgan: 'Getting Things Done' to go

I'll admit it. I'm one of those annoying "Getting Things Done" fanboys. I love David Allen's productivity system, which he lays out in three books: Getting Things Done, Ready For Anything and the brand-new Making It All Work.

Why products fail

Why do some people prefer Windows XP and Mac OS X over Windows Vista? After all, Vista is pretty and sleek and much more advanced than XP, and, in many areas, Mac OS X. Why is there so much love for Xbox, but none for Windows Mobile?

10 things that won't survive the recession

The government says we've been in a recession for the past year. Experts say it'll be at least another year before it's over. And everybody says it's the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Why you'll never see a real 'Zune phone'

A rumor circulating says Microsoft will unveil a Zune phone at CES. Most columnists and bloggers who mentioned it said Microsoft should not build a Zune phone, but probably will.

How a flash drive could be the solution to laptop security

Why is Sony bothering with entertainment when it could be using flash drives to dramatically improve laptop data security?

We need a mobile broadband space race

On October 4, 1957, Russia launched Sputnik, the world's first-ever man-made satellite, into Earth orbit.

Why you can't trust 'friends' on Facebook

Every form of communication, from snail-mail to e-mail, chat and others, is subject to fraud and scams. But social networks like Facebook are subject to new, more dangerous opportunities for fraud.

Post on Twitter by talking into a phone

Microblogging on Twitter is great. But sometimes you're just too busy to sit down and type that 140-character tweet. Maybe you're climbing a volcano, sprinting through the airport or running a marathon and just can't stop to type. Here's how to post ...

Mobile tech under Obama

We've just elected a new president. Barack Obama starts a four-year term starting January 20. There's no way to know how America and the world will change during this time. But we can see how mobile technology will change.

Why netbooks will soon cost $99

Subnotebooks like the Asus Eee PC, the Dell Mini 9 and the HP 2133 Mini-note will soon cost as little as US$99. The catch? You'll need to commit to a two-year mobile broadband contract. The low cost will come courtesy of a subsidy identical to the on...

In search of the smartphone laptop

In the past two years, mobile phone and laptop companies have unveiled breathtaking innovations -- from 24-hour battery laptops to dual-screen laptops to "augmented reality" mobile phone applications.

Here comes the digital nomad dream vehicle

The economy is in full-blown meltdown. Home values are dropping. Businesses are closing. Layoffs are coming. Maybe it's time to escape from civilization and wait out the crash?

Gadgets that will make your mobile phone jealous

There's no question that mobile phones are the Mother of All Convergence Devices. In the past 10 years, bland, single-purpose mobile phones have assimilated digital cameras, media players, PDAs, GPS devices, camcorders and much more.

I want my mobile social address book

Business cards are as obsolete as fax machines. And like fax machines, business cards have us still using paper to move electronic data from one digital system to another.