Stories by Lincoln Spector

Protect Your Notebook and Its Data

A stolen notebook can mean more than just lost hardware. If you've got sensitive data on the hard drive, someone could find out more about your business than you want them to know.

Smile, It's Three New Ink Jets

Ink jets are all about photo quality these days, and photo quality was clearly on the corporate mind of Hewlett-Packard Co. when it announced three new printers last week. According to HP, the DeskJet 990Cse/Cxi, PhotoSmart 1215, and PhotoSmart 1218 will make your photos look the way you want them, and perform like LaserJets. But they all come with hefty, laser printer-style price tags.

Samsung Laser for $200: Now That's Low

Laser printers are getting cheaper. Samsung America Inc.'s new ML-4500 is the first one to sell for under $200. Of course, you know what "under $200" really means--an estimated street price of $199. The 4500 ships this week.

Olympus Cameras, Printer Aim High

Come October, you'll be able to choose between two new Olympus cameras that push digital photography technology in different directions. The Camedia E-10 RS takes still pictures at a speed more often associated with video, while the Camedia E-100 RS pushes the limits on resolution and has a lens Olympus claims will provide a sharper image. Olympus announced both cameras last week and is showing them, along with others, at the Seybold show here.

Delete Files Safely, Recover Files Easily

While uninstalling an application recently, I was given the option to remove several shared files. The uninstall program stated, 'The system indicates that the following shared file is no longer used by any programs'. But if programs are indeed using the file, there may be problems. Should I or should I not delete these (formerly) shared files?

Net Appliance Targets Seniors

If you've ever struggled to help get an elderly parent online, you know there's a market for Sagevision, a combination Internet appliance and service geared toward seniors.

Camera, Printer Blend in Box

Polaroid invented instant-gratification photography decades ago. And digital cameras provide another kind of gratification--you can look at the picture immediately and decide whether to keep it. Now Olympus America Inc. and Polaroid Corp. are working together to put both kinds of gratification into one camera.

Stop Those Windows Boot-Up Error Messages

Every time I turn on my computer, I get an error message saying that a particular file is missing. Once I get past that, Windows loads and runs fine. How do I stop this message from appearing?

Find Files Fast- For a Hefty Price

There's a program out now that can search all your files for a particular word faster than you can move your hand from your mouse to your keyboard. But it costs more than what that speed is probably worth.

Add-on Broadens Your Browsing

You're looking at a Web page. You're curious about a company. So you click an icon, and up comes a tabbed box, in which you can find things ranging from the company's stock value to better prices on what it has on sale.

FileQuest Challenges Windows Explorer

Let's face it: Windows Explorer is a lousy tool for managing files. Take a look at FileQuest 2.0, recently released by PiQuest Software Inc., and you'll see just how inadequate Explorer is.

StickyAds Bring Depth to Banners

You may soon surf an ad just like you now surf the Web. That's the hope of a company called Spidertop Inc., which is introducing a StickyAds technology aimed at turning banner ads into minibrowsers.

Get Your PC to Boot Up Faster

How can I shorten the amount of time that it takes my computer to boot up? I don't want to have to wait so long between turning on the machine and getting down to work.

1Vision Tools Track Removable Media

No matter how large hard drives get, we still can't do away completely with removable storage. But once you've archived or backed up your important files to a Zip or rewritable compact disc, can you find them again?

Minimise the hazards of trying W2K 2000

Want to try out Windows 2000, but afraid that it may render your computer unusable? PowerQuest utilities PartitionMagic and Drive Image help you experiment safely.

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