Digital Bits Technology Column

Just for a moment, you need to be a superhero. For the trip we’re taking, you need to be Superman, Silver Surfer, or any super-duper fella with the ability to fly and who doesn’t need to breathe. You’re going straight up. Crashing through the roof of your house, you shoot through the bright sunlight sky, […]

Help listen for ET with SETI@Home

Silence falls over Proxima Post at the Top Secret Military Base. Eyes grow large as the control room loudspeakers broadcast a strange, warbling, gibbering sound. “Hold on… Enhancing…” A technician peers intently into a monitor, adjusting his glasses with one hand, slowly twisting a dial with the other. The odd noise resolves into a musical-sounding […]

How to read books on an iPod

The iPod does not have an ebook-specific reader, or just a text format good for reading ebooks. It’s unfortunate, because the style and capabilities of iPods make them perfect for such functions. Sure, you can use the iPod as a portable hard drive to read ebooks on any PC. But if you want to use […]

Morphing pictures into video is fun, easy and free. Just ask Georgia Clobberts.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts, sittin’ on your screen, M-O-R-P-H-I-N-G. Morphing is used so often in movies, it’s become a science-fiction special-effect cliché. The hero, monster or robot stops during the middle of a chase, fight or conversation, and faces the camera. Features start to blur, stretch and warp. In just a few seconds, […]

Motorola Rapture review

The Motorola Rapture from Verizon Wireless is a slick-looking basic cellphone with one very handy (and not so basic) feature. When the clamshell phone is in closed position, the front display of the phone is touch sensitive! This allows you access to certain features that don’t need an open phone for operation. It gives the […]

Computer security scams, and how to test your antivirus software

“Your PC needs a tune-up – click HERE to begin!” “Make your PC go faster for FREE!” “You’re being spied on – protect yourself NOW!” What do these sentences have in common, apart from the gratuitous capitalization and pointless exclamation marks? That’s right – they’re Internet ads that most everyone is exposed to. I get […]

Review of Mobile TV by Verizon Wireless

Mobile TV is a recent and impressive offering by Verizon Wireless. The name itself is the perfect description: Mobile TV is TV streamed to a mobile device. Yes, it’s TV, including primetime as well as popular cable channels. Yes, the video and audio quality is very good. Yes, I like it. My demo of Mobile […]

BlackBerry Storm2 review

This article is a continuation of my review of the BlackBerry Storm. Be sure to read that one first, particularly if you’re unfamiliar with the BlackBerry Storm. It’s a different enough cellphone (mostly in a good way!) that users need to know what it is, how it works, and under what conditions you should purchase it. […]

BlackBerry Storm review

[Andy’s note: After this article, be sure to see my review of the Storm2.] The BlackBerry Storm from Verizon Wireless (also called the BlackBerry 9530) is an excellent smartphone. Comparisons and contrasts to the iPhone are of course inevitable, but the Storm can hold its own. It’s not an iPhone killer, but it does have some […]

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