Stamping Out the Rising Cost of Postage

So the price of a First Class postage stamp goes from 41 to 42 cents on May 12. What can you do about it?

Go online! As of May 12, the U.S. Postal Service will offer discounts on certain types of mail if you print your own electronic postage and use printed address labels.

Read my piece from Monday's New York Daily News for more information.

And of course, let me know what you think.

Photo courtesy of Dymo
Text Copyright 2008 Stadium Circle Features

High Tech for the High Road

So what kind of high-tech gizmo will you plunk into your car next? No idea?

Then take a look at my piece on auto gadgets from the recent New York International Auto Show in the New York Daily News.

And of course, let me know what you think.

Copyright 2008 Stadium Circle Features

MGM Grand at Foxwoods: High-Tech Gamble?

The new MGM Grand at Foxwoods doesn't open its doors until May 17, but there's already a buzz over its business-friendly features and high-tech amenities.

Take a look at my piece from Sunday's New York Daily News.

And of course let me know what you think.

Photo and text Copyright 2008 Stadium Circle Features

Wi-Fi: Sometimes free, not always easy

A free wireless Internet connection can be pretty handy when you're out and about town or traveling. Finding it is sometimes the hard part. Why pay up to $30 a day for Wi-Fi when free--and legal--connections are easy to come by?

Take a look at my piece in the Your Money section of the March 3 issue of the New York Daily News.

If you have some tips of your own, let me know. Thanks.

Are Your Tech Tools Tough Enough?

How tough is your cell phone? Can your notebook survive a trip to the sidewalk? Whether you work outdoors or just have a permanent case of fumblefingers, there are plenty of ruggedized devices that can survived being knocked around.

Take a look at my piece in today's New York Daily News ... and let me know what you think.

CES 2008: Simple Pleasures

The 2008 Consumer Electronics Show was jam-packed with sophisticated technology that could do everything except slice your bread every morning, but sometimes the best tech is the simple innovation which makes life easier without much fuss.

Luckily there were many examples of useful, but simple devices at CES and here are a handful that may be worth a glance:

Energizer Duo

The $14.99 Energizer Duo battery charger connects to either an AC outlet or to a computer's USB port and can charge two AAA or AA batteries in two to five hours, depending on size and power rating. Since many small devices, like some digital cameras, require only two batteries, the slim charger can help some mobile professionals travel a little lighter.

In addition to a set of LEDs on the outside that let you know the charging status of the batteries, you can also surf to the Duo's Web site and download a small utility which lets you see the charging status right on your computer screen. The utility is available in both Windows and Mac versions. The unit comes with two AAA batteries and an AC adapter.

Sonic Alert Portable Vibrating Alarm Clock

If you're a really deep sleeper, chances are good that you've met your match with the Sonic Alert Portable Vibrating Alarm Clock (Model SBP100ss) from Sonic Alert Inc. of Troy, Mich. When the alarm goes off, you get not only an audible alert but a surprisingly strong rattling mechanism kicks in and shakes the unit with enough force to send tremors throughout your mattress, thus bringing an abrupt end to your sleep cycle.

No the technology in the $29.95 unit is not particularly cutting edge, but anyone who has missed an important morning meeting because of a wimpy hotel alarm clock or a wake-up call that never came might appreciate the circular unit, which is just one in the company's line of Sonic Boom vibrating, flashing and/or extra-loud alarm clocks.

CES 2008: Sony's Silly Rockin' Robot: The Rolly

So what was the worst thing about the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas? The long lines? The thick crowds?

The answer: The press conferences. Many were very long on fluff and very short on substance. Minor technology advances and fair-to-middling products were trumpeted as if their introductions marked watershed moments in the history of high technology.

For example, Sony Electronics, in a glitzy press conference attended by hundreds of media representatives, literally rolled out a new digital music player which seems destined for some museum of tacky technology: The Rolly.

The best way to explain the Rolly, which will ship this spring at a price still to be determined, is to let you see the darn thing in action.



Yep, that's it: A small egg-shaped digital music player which rocks and rolls and spins with the music and has little clamshell caps at either end that pop open and snap close with the beat.

Somehow I don't foresee the day when many of these things will be scuttling across the floors of high school lunchrooms, college dorms or the platforms of commuter rail and bus stations. The target audience seem to be limited to computer geeks and audio nuts who love scaring their cats.

In Sony's press release, Steve Haber, the senior vice president of Sony Electronics' Digital Imaging and Audio Division, says that the spinning gizmo, "... isn’t just another gadget; the Rolly is a sophisticated piece of entertainment technology."

Yes, it's an interesting, er, spin on high tech, yes it has two gigabytes of flash memory, yes you can stream music to it via a Bluetooth wireless connection and, yes it can display about 700 colors as it spins around, but I still don't get it.

Do you?

Text and video Copyright 2008 Stadium Circle Features

Goodbye Netscape

You might as well tack this sign to New York's Time Warner building:

Netscape Navigator,
the browser that made the World Wide Web famous,
won't be brewed here anymore

(A rewrite of the lead from a 1981 Milwaukee Journal story the day The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company announced that Schlitz, "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," would no longer be brewed there.)

Friday's announcement that America Online, a division of Time Warner, would end development of the Netscape Navigator Web browser on Feb. 1, 2008, comes as a punch in the stomach to those who grew up on it. Yes, most of us, including this writer, abandoned it long ago for Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox or even Opera Software's Opera browser.

However it was Netscape's valiant David-vs.-Goliath court battles with Microsoft that endeared us to the sometimes-troublesome Web browser. Netscape staggered, but didn't slay the software giant, but the court battles gave us all a lesson in not giving up even when the odds were against us.

I've always had a soft spot for also-rans. I was a New York Mets fan when finishing above last place was considered a major achievement. In the end, AOL's decision was a simple one, made like a baseball team owner gazing at a stadium full of empty seats.

According to the official Netscape blog:

"AOL's focus on transitioning to an ad-supported web business leaves little room for the size of investment needed to get the Netscape browser to a point many of its fans expect it to be. Given AOL's current business focus and the success the Mozilla Foundation has had in developing critically-acclaimed products, we feel it's the right time to end development of Netscape branded browsers, hand the reins fully to Mozilla and encourage Netscape users to adopt Firefox."

For more information, zip over to the Netscape blog (blog.netscape.com).

World's oldest e-mail address? Nah!

Happy Birthday 72407,3343!

(Note: Mailing address on card is obsolete.)

Today my CompuServe e-mail address turns 22 years old. Think of how many online services, Web portals, e-mail services and other Internet-borne businesses have come and gone in that time.

I still remember that magic moment in 1985 when I dialed in and signed on and waited -- and waited -- and waited -- for that first CompuServe welcome message to crawl across the monochrome screen of my cutting-edge Tandy 100 laptop.

And I do mean crawled -- at 300 bits per second. That's 300 bits per second -- not kilobits or megabits! Yes, in 1985 most of us could type faster than our computers could transmit data.

At that time CompuServe was by far the top name in online services, offering more useful content and more access to important databases than any other service.

The fact that you could also use it to send e-mail to was almost an afterthought since at that time you could only send messages to other CompuServe members. Other online services of the time had the same limitation. That explains the many e-mail address at the bottom of my old business card (see above).

Of course things changed over time as CompuServe initially opened special gateways to MCI Mail and other select online services and later opened the gates wide open so that members could contact any e-mail address.

CompuServe, born in 1969, is still alive today, although it's hard to tell from its rather lame home page (www.compuserve.com). America Online, which acquired CompuServe in 1998, barely markets the service and seems intent on letting the venerable old name peter out through membership attrition.

Who would have thought in 1985, when cell phones were the size of milk cartons, that we would be checking e-mail on shirt-pocket-size handsets today.

No, my CompuServe address isn't the the oldest e-mail address in the world by a long shot, but... Do you have an older one?

This curious mind would like to know.

Text and image Copyright 2007 Stadium Circle Features

Smartphones for gift-giving

Looking for a new smartphone? Take a look at my latest piece in the New York Daily News for some guidance. And let me know what you think!