Retail: Opinions

In a world in which gadgets are getting ever-smaller, SanDisk's new Sansa View is, strangely, significantly larger than both its competitors and its own predecessor, the company's Sansa e200 line of media players.

The scoop: Pleo, by Ugobe, about US$350

There is nothing we industry pundits love more than a good food fight. Cisco vs. Lucent. Google vs. Microsoft! Intel vs. AMD! Cable vs. Satellite! SAP vs. Oracle! But the Fight of The Future is what is going to happen on your mobile phone and in your home.

Video games have occasionally served as a convenient scapegoat for whatever ails youth. But just this week, the normal trickle of blame has become a torrent, with loud proclamations from many quarters that computer games are making kids violent, stupid and sick.

Sony Electronics' Vaio TZ191N notebook proves that good things do come in small packages. Inside the black carbon-fiber case is an Intel Centrino Duo processor (a 945GMS chip running at 1.2 GHz) with a bus speed of 533 MHz, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM and a double-layer DVD writer. The 11.1-in. WXGA active-matrix TFT color LCD screen (1,366 by 768 resolution) is amazingly sharp and drew oohs and ahhs from colleagues. In terms of size and weight, it's a road warrior's dream: It measures 10.9 in. wide by 7.8 in. deep by 1 in. high and weighs in at a mere 2 lb. 10 oz. (with battery) or 3 lb. 6 oz. (if you throw the power cord into your travel bag).

E-books have emerged from the shadows with Amazon's launch this week of its US$399 Kindle e-book reader and service.

Maybe for the first time ever, somebody in the recording industry has admitted in public what a colossal screw-up the labels' approach to the Internet and digital media has been.

Mere days after a group of Blu-ray-supporting studios orchestrated an event to show off the Blu-ray Disc format in Los Angeles, the HD DVD format achieved a dramatic resurgence with Toshiba's move to a $100 player. Never let it be said that consumers don't love a bargain--but will price alone decide this format war?

Put down the credit card. Turn away from the Apple Store. Of course you want to jump on the latest Apple bandwagon and upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5, better known as Leopard. It has been almost two and a half years since its predecessor, Version 10.4 Tiger arrived, and the new operating system offers a slew of changes, including a revamped user interface, new apps, tweaks to older programs and numerous under-the-hood changes.

While the U.S. feds and carriers are taking turns taking the heat for warrantless wiretapping (and a pox on both their houses, say I), I'm beginning to wonder why we ordinary Joes and Janes don't spend more time watching each other. Or more accurately, wondering when we're going to start.

In the beginning, there were computers.