Stories by Yardena Arar

Astak EZ Reader PocketPro E-Book Reader

The Astak EZ Reader PocketPro is about the same size as the Sony Reader Pocket Edition. Both have 5-inch, 8-grayscale E Ink screens and cost $US199, putting at the small (and inexpensive) end of the e-book reader continuum. But some significant differences - pro and con - distinguish the two; and for all its extra features, the Astak's limited and rather strange font size options are a serious drawback.

Sony Reader Pocket Edition E-Book Reader

The Sony Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300) is about as inexpensive as e-book readers corrently get: $US199 for a slim gadget with a 5-inch, 8-grayscale E Ink screen.

Small-business network security 101

Today more than ever, good network security is vital to businesses of all sizes. Cybercriminals, equipped with sophisticated software that automates the task of seeking out vulnerabilities, aren't focusing on large enterprises alone; any easy target will do. Fortunately, however, good security isn't as expensive or as complicated to implement as it used to be.

The best and worst of BlackBerry App World

Research in Motion's new BlackBerry store, called Blackberry App World, lets you buy and download any of a few hundred applications without connecting to a PC or creating a special account

Sony Ericsson, Samsung Battle for Megapixel Supremacy

How many megapixels can you squeeze into a cell phone? On the eve of the big Mobile World Congress wireless telecom trade show here in Barcelona, Spain, the race is on. At pre-show press conferences, Samsung and Sony Ericsson between them unveiled three handsets, each with cameras boasting at least as many megapixels as my current Canon point-and-shoot (a PowerShot SD1100 with 8 megapixels).

Fore! Garmin to debut GPS for golfers

Golfers, take note. Garmin's newest GPS line may not improve your handicap, but at least you'll know exactly where the greens are. The Approach G5, the first Garmin touch-screen handheld designed for golfers, will come preloaded with detailed maps for thousands of U.S. golf courses--no subscription required.

10 ways to waste time on the web

Want to idle away a few minutes--or hours? These sites will help you test your knowledge, name that tune, or write a haiku. You'll wonder where the time went.

Still Nervous About Online Shopping? Really?

Last October, I wrote about Assurz, a service that-for a small up-front surcharge-would let you return anything you bought at a participating retailer, on very generous terms: no questions asked, a 90-day window, and no shipping charges or restocking fees. Sadly, Assurz is no more. The gist of the story is that Assurz filed for bankruptcy protection in late June after informing its retail partners that it was ending service because of excessively high return rates. What a shock: Whoever came up with the company's business model apparently didn't anticipate that the type of person who'd sign up for the service would be far likelier than the average customer to use it.

RIM's BlackBerry Bold beats Apple to the 3G punch

Amid swirling rumours about the impending announcement of a 3G iPhone, Research in Motion today introduced its slickest, speediest, most powerful, and most connected BlackBerry to date: the BlackBerry Bold 9000.

Bluetooth to work with Wi-Fi

A future version of Bluetooth will be able to increase throughput for sending videos, music, and other high-bandwidth applications by using a nearby Wi-Fi network, the group in charge of Bluetooth development says.

CES - GPS navigation gets smarter

The GPS gold rush is in full swing at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, with industry veterans introducing increasingly sophisticated navigation systems while newcomers try to get a foot in the door.

CTIA - Use your cell phone instead of loose change

Wave your cell phone at a Coke machine, hit a couple of keypad keys, and moments later an ice-cold beverage tumbles into your hand. Lack of loose change (or a credit card) becomes no barrier to the pause that refreshes.

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