Stories by Michael S. Lasky

5 quick fixes for 'Net connection hang-ups

When you start up Firefox or Internet Explorer, the last thing you want to see is a plain, white screen declaring 'The page cannot be displayed'. But if you ever do encounter one, we have the fix. Whether you work in Windows XP or Vista, tracking dow...

IBM Lotus Symphony free office suite

IBM's free Lotus Symphony office productivity suite does much of what Microsoft Office can do. And it costs nothing.

iPhone versus your phone: tips to avoid iPhone envy

We'll show you how to spruce up your handset so that it rivals an iPhone.

VOIP phone looks and sounds good

Designed for use with Voice over IP (VOIP) services from brands such as Skype, MSN, Yahoo, and Google, Kensington's $US90 (list) Vo200 BT Internet Phone is way cool. The svelte design is the picture of minimalism, and the phone works quite well.

Notebook Helpers

Here are some hardware secrets to enhance your mobile computing experience.

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

Poor typing posture can wreak havoc on your wrists, but few people take the time to correct such hazardous habits. Enter Microsoft's Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Although it took us a while to get used to the keyboard's unconventional design, the...

Palm Zire 72

Palm's Zire 72 was obviously the brainchild of a committee in which everybody got what they suggested. The slim, royal blue-and-silver device is so jam-packed with hardware and software features that it's the PDA for all reasons. For business, there ...

Toshiba Libretto U100

"That's just like a computer, only smaller!" a friend exclaimed when he spied the preproduction version of Toshiba's new Libretto U100 mini-notebook I was testing. About the size of a videocassette and weighing just over 900 grams, the Libretto is sm...

PDA/mobile phone hybrid: Tungsten W

People call PDA/mobile phone hybrids ‘smart phones’ for a reason: you have to be smart to use them. That’s certainly the case with the Palm Tungsten W.

Alphasmart Note-Book/Pda Hybrid

Alphasmart’s $999 Dana is an affordable and lightweight notebook alternative: a mini-portable with a full-size keyboard, it runs on Palm OS 4.1 and can store 8MB of data or programs, and even more with cards in its two built-in Secure Digital slots.

Credit card-size hard drive can hold 5 GB

Take a look at one of those credit cards in your wallet. That's the exact size and thickness of an upcoming, revolutionary removable storage device called StorCard.

Logitech MX700 Cord-less Optical Mouse

The MX700 comes with a rapid-charge base station in which you dock the mouse when you’re not using it. Logitech says a 10-minute charge keeps the mouse going all day, and six to seven hours of recharging gets you 10 days of service. But that’s optimi...

Easy label printing

With most desktop label printers, threading the roll of labels into the device is a major hassle. Dymo’s nifty, petite LabelManager PC eliminates that headache by working with rolls stored in pop-in cartridges that come in assorted background hues an...

Evoluent VerticalMouse

Unlike a conventional mouse, which you grip with your hand parallel to the desktop, the optical VerticalMouse lets you work in a relaxed handshake position that eliminates unnatural forearm twisting — a potential factor in carpal tunnel syndrome and ...

Tote-Remote, Cordless Presenter and Cordless PC presenters

If you often present PowerPoint slides, you've probably yearned to be untethered from your laptop. Atek Electronics' Tote-Remote and Logitech's versatile Cordless Presenter give you the freedom to conduct a presentation without touching a keyboard --...