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January 14, 2003 |
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The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is the trade show for anyone looking for what's in the pipeline from major electronics makers--both big and small. Our editors were there, and our readers were eager to find out what we saw. |
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CES
Serious gadget hounds and home-theater buffs know that the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas each January is the Super Bowl of techie trade shows, and this year's CES was the biggest ever. The show organizer's now say CES 2004 broke all previous show records with more than 129,000 attendees and 2,400 exhibiting companies. And since you faithful CNET readers know that our editors are always on top of all things personal tech, you came to us looking for info on the latest and greatest from the show floor. Good news: we have coverage in spades. This year, we posted more than 35 stories as part of our package, including some of the biggest CES showstoppers, such as high-definition DVRs, Microsoft's new personal video player OS, and new lines from big players such as Sony and Panasonic. Finally, we wrapped it all up with our list of the show's 10 best products in our Best of CES 2004 feature. Getting to our package is easy; just remember ces.cnet.com. |
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iPod
Those of you who have read Buzz Report in the past are likely to know that I'm not an Apple fan, and I have no problem bashing the sacred cow of iPod. But even I can't deny that the pastel iPod Minis (just announced at last week's Macworld) are just too darn cute. And they come in pink! However, I have to be a little skeptical, since this Mini still includes the iPod's trademark nonreplaceable battery and costs a fairly hefty $250. And after seeing some of the very cool, inexpensive devices coming down the pipeline at last week's CES, I'm not sure how appealing that Mini will look in a few months. I guess it all depends on how much you love those iPods. |
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TurboTax
Now that you've rung in the new year, it's time to start thinking about taxes. And while some of us wait until the last minute, a lot of our wise readers are getting started on tax prep early. The most popular tax-prep software has always been TurboTax--that is, until last year's product activation controversy. Many users complained to TurboTax maker Intuit that they'd never buy the package again, saying that the activation made the software difficult to install and run. Intuit was quick to react and ultimately issued a full apology via advertisements to users, vowing never to use the technology again. Our editors haven't evaluated this year's TurboTax program yet, but let's hope it scores better than last year's 6.5 rating. We usually post our evaluations of the most popular tax packages in about the last week of January, so look for our annual tax-prep roundup in the coming weeks. |
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Backup
It's good to have a New Year's resolution, and like watching what you eat or flossing every day, backing up your computer has become a favorite. Judging from this week's search results, many of you are getting started early. The good news is that it can be pretty painless when you have the right tools. For a basic software package that will help get the job done, check out Handy Backup and Norton GoBack, which is now put out by Symantec but hasn't changed from its Roxio version. If you don't mind spending more for a more comprehensive package, go for the thorough Dantz Retrospect. If you're looking for some suggestions on free apps to help you take care of your backup business, check out these two handy guides: "Backup matchup" and Power Downloader's guide, both from CNET's Download.com, which offer advice on how to perform backups as well as a few downloads to help get it done quickly and easily. |
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Web hosting
Sure, the topic of Web hosting sounds pretty dull, but for anyone who's looking to set up his or her own Web site, it suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. Which host is cheaper? Which is the best value? Which has the best performance and is most reliable? Start your search at CNET's Internet Services, which offers a number of tools to sort out the right host for you. First, check out which hosts provide the best performance as judged by NetMechanic, which monitors hosts using Server Check Pro. Or narrow down a perfect host by its features, using our Host Power Search. Finally, you can go on the simple rule of popularity by checking out the list of most popular hosts. If none of these tools answers your questions, peruse the full list of hosts as well as some handy reviews on our main hosting page. |
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