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WE'VE BEEN TALKING people's ears off--colleagues, relatives, friends, and even complete strangers around town (to make reservations, for instance)--all for a good cause. We wanted to find the best Bluetooth [...]

LOWER PRICES, new features, and greater functionality: All three factors contribute to Bluetooth's march forward as a must-have for daily communication. Although you'll find plenty of options among monaural Bluetooth [...]

Predictions are always perilous in the PC industry, but one thing's certain: Technology buying decisions won't become any easier in 2003. New gizmos--and old standbys with new shapes, sizes, and […]

This past year, did you successfully bid for something at an auction, to find it didn't arrive? Or, buy something from a site only to have the item -- and […]

Our undercover shoppers bought PCs via mail order, online, and retail shops across the country. Some found great deals... some got screwed. Would you make vital business decisions on the […]

If you prefer to talk your way through to-do items, proposals, and e-mail, the new Olympus DM-1 Digital Voice Recorder may help. The elegant shipping model that I looked at […]

My Simon Most of us don't have time to hop from site to site ferreting out the best deal, so MySimon (www.mysimon.com) does the job for us. It's easy to […]

ARE YOU overflowing with ideas and action plans--but don't have time to jot them down? The Olympus DS-320 Digital Voice Recorder can capture your spoken thoughts as digital files. Then, […]

Auction scams, dangerous downloads, investment and credit-card hoaxes--the ancient art of the swindle is alive and well on the Internet. Here's how to make sure that you don't become the […]

ISN'T IT ANNOYING when you discover that an item you just bought dropped in price shortly after you purchased it? That's what happened to Frank Day, vice president of operations […]

NICK SCOTT OF Pennington, New Jersey, decided to give his three-year-old PC a full makeover. He added a faster processor, more RAM, a new hard drive, a CD-RW drive, and […]

Are today's PCs too Cheap? We go behind the scenes to see if manufacturers are cutting corners, and survey 30,000 readers to find vendors that deliver solid systems and support. […]

WHEN IT WAS TIME to upgrade his five-year-old Pentium-75 Gateway computer, Scott Noren of Columbus, Georgia, considered buying a refurbished PC. Refurbished or remanufactured PCs are usually unwanted units returned […]

NEW YORK - Artificial voice and speech recognition are gaining on human ears and vocal chords, especially with the debut of tools that may make Internet chats verbal, not textual. […]

NOW IT'S EVEN easier to start talking the talk with your computer. Both IBM's ViaVoice for Windows Pro Edition and Lernout & Hauspie's Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 5 offer improved, easy-to-follow […]

IF YOU'VE CONSIDERED babbling to your PC but don't like headsets, there is an alternative--IBM's unique ViaVoice Pro Elite hardware and software combo. For $249 you get IBM's latest ViaVoice […]

From brick-and-mortar to click-and-order, our exclusive survey reveals where you should spend your money. Best and Worst Places to Shop for a PC ALMOST MOMENT BY MOMENT, computers get cheaper, […]

YOU'LL GET PLENTY of touchy-feely with Logitech's new $99 WingMan Force Feedback Mouse. Using Immersion's funky Feelit technology, this rodent gives you added sensation as you scroll around. When your […]

IF YOU LIKE talking to your computer, you know that wearing a headset can be a real drag. Four new freestanding microphones come to the rescue: Andrea Electronics' DA-400 Desktop […]

From the September 1, 1999 issue of PC World. Input Device Dr. Mouse PRO: Comfortable, innovative design; Pro version has convenient scroll button. CON: Initial discomfort when learning to use […]

Talk can be cheap: At $110, Philips FreeSpeech 2000 is a really good deal. You get Pentium III- optimized dictation software that works in English and five foreign languages; multiuser […]

ViaVoice Takes the Typing out of Online Chat SPEECH RECOGNITION If you're a chat room fanatic who's tired of typing furiously to keep up with the flow, IBM's ViaVoice Online […]

You Can Tell NaturallyOrganized What to Do SPEECH RECOGNITION I wish I had my own personal Jeeves to organize my working life--someone who could schedule meetings, write e-mails, and create […]

SPEECH RECOGNITION Until now, training speech recognition software has been time-consuming and laborious. Dragon Systems' $49 Point & Speak 3.52, the first Pentium III-optimized dictation package to hit the market, […]

Jim Strachan of Fort Worth, Texas, saved plenty when he bought a PC- and-printer bundle from Computer City. His $1400 got him an IBM Aptiva desktop and an Epson Stylus […]

WHEN PAIRED with a compatible cell phone, a Bluetooth headset allows you to make calls without having to hold the phone in your hand. And Bluetooth headsets are more than […]

FOR YEARS, videoconferencing applications have been the province of large companies, but price drops and Web app advances have made the technology accessible to smaller businesses. We found three good, […]

DESKTOP IBM's PCs have a reputation for many things-quality, reliable components, respectable customer support-but competitive pricing hasn't been one of them. That's why PC World has usually recommended systems from […]

***; $70; Jabra; www.jaba.com When I'm driving and chatting through a Bluetooth speakerphone, I prefer huge, easy-to-access buttons. The $70 Jabra Journey delivers, with big buttons that are simple to [...]

***; $10; Superrooth; www.supertooth.net For people who conduct a huge volume of calls in their car, a Bluetooth speakerphone is the way to go. The well-priced SuperTooth Crystal is one [...]

Barbie's got legs. The 37-year-old doll has reinvented herself again--this time as a movie star. And with Barbie Storymaker, you're her Spielberg. Create your Barbie epics from multiple locations, objects, […]

The article presents a review of several wireless keyboards, which include the Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard, the HP K3510 Wireless Keyboard, and the Microsoft Designer Bluetooth Desktop.

RELEASED NOT LONG after Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11, version 11.5 adds a few useful interface tweaks. The new Professional edition ($600 but a free upgrade for current users of version 11) [...]

NUANCE HAS TAKEN almost two years to roll out this new version of its speech recognition software. As I was impressed with the previous Professional edition, I hoped to find [...]

MOTOROLA'S H790 Bluetooth headset is lightweight, comfy, and unobtrusive. The $80 device's chintzy-looking fixed-shape plastic loop isn't flexible for curving around the ear, but it gripped my small ear just […]

IF YOU PREFER the comfort of stereo Bluetooth headsets, give the Motorola MotoRokr $305 a try. The $305 handles calls and music with aplomb, yielding great-sounding conversations and tunes, a […]

GOING HANDS-FREE with your phone while sitting behind the wheel of a moving vehicle is a much smarter decision than trying to negotiate traffic with one hand and half your […]

PCW Test Center LOOKING FOR a luxurious set of wireless stereo headphones that fit your ears perfectly, provide intuitive controls and astounding audio quality, and permit seamless switching between music […]

VIDEO CALLS ARE a great way to communicate. You can talk to and see remote colleagues, clients, friends, and relatives. You can trade files, leave messages, and text chat, as […]

NEVER MIND fussing with a keyboard or mouse: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 lets you talk to your PC to take care of all kinds of business. Dragon says that you can […]

THE $99 SNAP Communicator is part telephone, part intercom. It connects to your PC via USB, and lets you talk to one of eight contacts at the push of a […]

IT'S AN INTERNET phone. No, it's an instant message service. No, it's IPTV. Wait--it's a news feed. Actually, Raketu combines all of the above, and then some. As a software […]

INTERNET TELEPHONY AOL'S AIM PHONELINE lets AIM instant messaging users make Internet-based phone calls. I found the service easy to use, with good call quality most of the time. The […]

AT THEIR BEST, Internet phones provide affordable long-distance and international rates, all-you-can-talk monthly calling plans, online voice messages and other Web-based features that a landline company just can't offer, and--most […]

Gloriously clutter-free, Google Talk's beta gives you text- and voice-messaging, smooth integration with Gmail, rudimentary customisation options ... and that's about it. It's yet another potentially exciting service from the […]

USE BROADVOICE as my Voiceover-IP service. One day I got a call from someone I know who uses Skype. While I was on the call, I got an e-mail message […]

I OWN A TWO-YEAR old Logitech Cordless Elite Duo keyboard. One of its foldable legs broke, so I contacted Logitech to order a replacement leg. To my surprise, the company […]

MICROSOFT'S WINDOWS XP Service Pack 2 is supposed to improve security. Its Windows Security Center should alert you when your antivirus software is missing or out of date. But in […]

Bluetooth headsets are truly a matter of personal taste--especially if, like me, you're fussy about hanging contraptions from your ear. PC World tested Logitech's Mobile Bluetooth Headset with a Bluetooth-enabled […]