September 2007 Archives
By KELLI B. GRANT
September 23, 2007
As owners of the Apple iPhone recently learned, it rarely pays to be the first to buy into a hot new technology.
"Sure, there's some intangible value to being the first kid on the block to have that new toy," says Denny Arar, senior editor with PC World magazine. "But -- and I can't think of a single product where this isn't true -- the first generation is bound to be buggy. Plus, you have to realize that the price is going to drop eventually."
The bottom line is that holdouts get a better deal on consumer electronics, whether it's a sleek new smartphone or a high-definition television set. In the case of the iPhone, waiting just 10 weeks after the product's launch saved consumers $200. (Early adopters were quickly offered a $100 refund as salve for their shock.)
But there is one caveat: Wait too long, and your item won't just be cheap -- it'll be obsolete.
Generally, six months after a product is released is a safe bet. Tech products have a lifecycle of up to a year before the "something-cooler-is-on-the-horizon price drop" kicks in, says Ms. Arar. Plus, most of the bugs associated with the launch of a new technology will have been fixed at that point.
Another suggestion: If possible, wait until January to do your gadget shopping, advises Jerry Grossman, editorial director for Demystifying Digital, an electronics education site. Post-holiday sales abound and prices fall even further as the latest hot gadgets are unveiled that month at major tech shows like the International Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld.
Beyond those basic rules of thumb, how long you should wait depends on the gadget you're eyeing:
Computers: Wait as long as you can -- even longer than a year.
Technology advances in computers are so rapid these days that even a discounted, year-old "obsolete" model is still pretty darn fantastic, says Brian Cooley, editor at large for electronics review site CNET.
Digital Cameras: Wait one year.
Digital cameras are still a niche market, which means prices are slow to drop, says Mr. Cooley. But advancements have slowed somewhat, too. After all, your average photographer only needs so many megapixels and so much memory. Wait for the manufacturer's latest products to be released, and you can snag an older model at a discount, without missing more than a new design and a minor feature or two.
High-Definition Video: Wait until the dust settles.
The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray could be the plot of the latest blockbuster action flick. "It's war," says Richard Glikes, executive director of the Home Theater Specialists of America, a trade group. "And in the end, only one will survive."
Wait until the balance has clearly tipped in one format's favor, he says. Price drops should follow, securing widespread consumer adoption. (Currently a high-definition DVD player can set you back $300 to $1,000.)
Software: Wait one month.
The big glitches in a software program typically reveal themselves quickly -- and software makers tend to scramble to fix the problem as soon as possible. Expect the first free patches and updates to be available within a month of the software's release.
Televisions: Wait one year.
There's just no reason to buy the latest flat-screen model as soon as it's released, says Mr. Cooley. For one thing, high-definition content has yet to catch up with the cutting-edge technology that's being incorporated into the latest sets. Therefore, you're paying a premium for future viewing potential.
At the same time, prices are dropping dramatically, to the tune of 25% to 30% annually.
Videogame Systems: Wait for cutting-edge videogames to be released.
Last year, consumers buying hot new videogame consoles -- the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 -- literally battled for consoles amid store shortages. And for what? Even if you were one of the first people to snag a PS3 or Wii, you weren't able to exploit all of your new console's bells and whistles.
That's because it takes time for the videogame makers to play catch-up and incorporate the new capabilities into their games. Meanwhile, prices for the consoles tend to drop after a year or so on the market.
There's a new service that cuts the time it takes to get directions from a cellphone. It's called Dial DIR-ECT-IONS, and it works as it sounds: You dial the word "directions" into a cellphone (347-328-4667) and speak the address, name of business chain or event to which you need directions. Step-by-step directions are instantly sent to your phone via SMS, or text message.
The service, from a company called Dial Directions Inc., is free -- except for the cost of receiving text messages on your phone. After the first 30 days of use, a one-line advertisement will start appearing at the bottom of the last text message sent per set of directions (some take multiple text messages to include all of the steps).
The service was launched in July, but this week marks its expansion to metropolitan areas as the company attempts to take the service nationwide.
To receive these directions, you must first tell the service what you're looking for. The female voice representing Dial Directions is friendly and doesn't sound stiff and robotic. She offers to give instructions on how to use the service if you don't know how. After telling her what you're looking for, she asks what city you're in and where you're trying to go.
Today, IBM plans to post on the Internet a package of its own software with applications that square off against the Microsoft's Office suite -- a word processor to rival Word, a spreadsheet to go up against Excel and business-presentation software as an alternative to PowerPoint.
The IBM package, called Symphony, can be downloaded free of charge at http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.jspa
Symphony is based on software available from Open Office, a development project that also provides the basis of Sun Microsystems Corp.'s Star Office and a Google Inc. desktop-software suite.
By introducing Symphony in an internationally recognized information-display standard called the Open Document Format, IBM also hopes to boost acceptance of that standard, which doesn't work well with Microsoft products. The stated aim of the international standard is to allow documents to be read by multiple software applications, rather than requiring any one system.
The Symphony introduction comes on the heels of Microsoft's failure last week at the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization to have its own document coding approved as an international standard.
Microsoft says it has sold 71 million licenses of its latest version of Office in the fiscal year ended June 30. But IBM hopes the move could open buyers' eyes to alternatives. Users of Symphony software will be able to view and edit most documents created in Microsoft's Word, IBM says.
IBM says it will provide support for Symphony, but it hasn't determined at what price.
In the 2007 version of Microsoft Office for Windows, Microsoft introduced new default file formats whose extensions end in the letter "x". The one for Word is "docx," for Excel it's "xlsx" and for PowerPoint it's "pptx."
Earlier versions of MS Office can't open these files due to the new formats. Microsoft has made available a free auto-conversion patch for the older Windows Office versions, but most people don't have this patch. (It can be found at "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.")
Unless you can persuade all of your collegues and coworkers to install these workarounds, I suggest you change a setting in Word 2007 so that, henceforth, all of your files will be saved in the traditional "doc" format.
To make the change, first click on the round "Office Button" at the top left of Word 2007. Then, at the lower right of the window that appears, click on "Word Options." In the next screen that comes up, click on "Save" in the column at the left. In the panel that appears at the right, you'll notice an option called "Save Files in this format," with a drop-down list of choices next to it. Display the list of choices by clicking on the arrow and select "Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)". Then, click OK at the bottom of the window.
Microsoft warns that some new features in Word 2007 won't translate into the old format, but I believe this will have no effect in 99% of cases.
A lot of devices have been created to help visually impaired computer users. But until recently, not much attention has been paid to the particular needs of one segment of that population -- colorblind people.
Colorblindness affects millions of people. It's estimated that about 8% of males and 0.5% of females in the U.S., Canada and Europe have some type of colorblindness.
There is software available, though, that can help colorblind people detect the differences among colors on their computer screens.
Tenebraex Corp., a Boston-based company that works primarily on defense technology, recently put on the market a $34 program called eyePilot, which offers several tools to help people navigate color graphics and Web sites.
One of the software's functions is a "gray" tool, which turns everything on the screen gray other than the chosen color, allowing for everything in the selected color to be seen more easily. For example, on a subway map, where lines of different colors could be difficult for a colorblind person to follow, clicking on any one of the lines will make it stand out against a gray background.
EyePilot also offers a "flash" tool, which makes all instances of a given color flash as white or black when the user clicks on an area of the screen with that color. This can be particularly useful for reading maps or charts that include a color key that tells the reader what data are represented by each color.
There are a couple of free options that also may be helpful to colorblind people. One is software called Visolve.
Visolve sharpens the contrasts on a screen by brightening or darkening the colors that colorblind people have trouble discerning -- it can make reds brighter and greens darker, or blues brighter and yellows darker. It can also make a given color stand out by darkening all other colors on the screen. And it can draw different hatch patterns on colors to make them easier to tell apart.
Visolve can be downloaded from www.Ryobi-sol.co.jp/visolve/en/.
Another tool is available at Vischeck.com, the Web site of Vischeck of Menlo Park, Calif.
Vischeck offers what it calls a "Daltonizing" program, named for the British scientist John Dalton, who was a pioneer of colorblindness studies. This program, which is a free Web-based service, alters images by taking colors that are hidden to colorblind people and moving them to a range of the color spectrum where they are visible again.
Excerpts from the Wall Street Journal
A Seattle man was arrested after Limewire and Soulseek were used to commit identity theft. Gregory Kopiloff allegedly trolled through data on other file sharers' computers. Financial information was found, and was used to open credit cards.
Kopiloff is accused of buying more than $73,000 worth of goods with the credit cards. The theft affected at least 83 people. The Justice Department says this is the first case of its kind.
Children often use Limewire to exchange music files. The songs are usually copyrighted, so sharing them is illegal. It can land the kids' parents in hot water.
Here's a line of questions that I get a lot: Is my computer a zombie? Has it been hijacked by a hacker? How can I tell?
This is actually a serious problem. According to legitimate studies, millions of computers have been hijacked. They are used to send spam. Or they are grouped with other zombies into armies, called botnets. They are used to attack and to bring down Web sites. And their owners probably don't have a clue.
The truth is, if your security is up to date, you're probably OK. Computers are typically hijacked through Trojans. These programs are generally distributed by spam. They pose as something desirable, but are actually malware.
Oops! You clicked on an attachment
If you're the kind of person who just has to open spam or you accidently clicked on an attachment, you could be infected. Otherwise, you probably aren't.
If the Trojan has been around awhile, your security programs should find it. Antivirus programs catch some of them, as do anti-spyware applications.
Firewalls are also important in this battle. The malware on your computer has to communicate with another machine. It does this through the Internet. So you need a firewall that blocks outbound transmissions.
The Windows firewall is not adequate. You have to buy more software to make it work well. Rather than do that, I use ZoneAlarm. It's free. And it will not let a program out without your permission.
If your firewall blocks something, check the file's name online. If you're still not sure, say no. You can always change your mind later.
Let's review. Hackers have turned millions of computers into zombies. Nobody wants to be a zombie. So how do we avoid that fate?
Trojans usually come to us via spam. Prevention is the key. Don't open spam. Don't open attachments you weren't expecting. Don't go to some Web site on a stranger's word. You could get hit by a drive-by download.
In other words, practice common sense. You'll be OK.
However, we all make mistakes. If you get hit, your security software could save the day. Be sure it is up to date.
Also, use a firewall. Don't depend on the Windows firewall. It is inadequate. I like ZoneAlarm.
These Trojans are sophisticated programs. Paranoia pays these days.
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