Data Storage

The days of floppies and burning CDs for transferring data are long gone. Floppy disks don't hold more than 1.5 MBs (less than half a song) and CDs can hold up to 700 MBs, but are impractical for burning once (or in the case of rewritables, a handful of times).

Enter the flash drive. Just plug it into your USB port, and you've instantly got gigabytes of rewritable storage at your fingertips.

The range varies in price, capacity and other features. Here's what to keep an eye out for:

Keychain
This tiny little flash drive fits easily in your pocket or on your keychain, and carries a smaller capacity. You can easily find versions for under $40, if not less. But be sure to get at least 2 GBs worth of storage. Anything less would be uncivilized.

Portable Hard Drive
For extra big storage, check out a portable hard drive. 80 GBs should be a good size, and you can find them for under $100 (on sale, of course).

External Hard Drive
If you need enough storage to park an ark, something north of 200 GBs should do. Typically, bigger hard drives need their own power source, so consider that as well. As far as price goes, don't settle for less than 1 GB per dollar.

It certainly beats the alternative.

Internet Browsers

You don't need to just stick to Internet Explorer or Safari just because they come with Windows and Mac OS X. You've got options!

Firefox
Firefox is a hot browser right now, hotter than Hansel.

The Good:	Tabbed browsing keeps all your web pages in one window, add-ons like Adblock keep advertisements and pop-ups from appearing on pages, very secure against programs hijacking your browser, it's skinnable and it's free
The Bad:	It's not much more stable than Internet Explorer and it's not much faster either
For:	Windows, Mac, Linux

Avant
Avant is a new browser, based on Internet Explorer

The Good:	Bookmarks are available anywhere online, tabbed browsing, plug-in options and its free
The Bad:	Because it's built on Internet Explorer, it's just as slow and it's not all that easy to use
For:	Windows

Opera
Opera is a bit more obscure, but its goal is to become the leanest and meanest browser out there, with every feature of its competitors

The Good:	Opera is as quick and easy as it gets for browsers, it also has support for torrents, tabbed browsing, it's likely the safest browser there is and its free
The Bad:	Not skinnable
For:	Windows, Mac, Linux

My Verdict: Firefox is dominant, and makes an easier transition from whatever stock browser you're running now. But if you're already running that and want a new option, go for Opera.

iPod Options

Previously I'd given you MP3 player options other than Apple. But iPods are the dominant players, so let's take a look at what options you have within Apple.

Most important are the capacities and the price (which are closely linked). Be sure to compare your options below, but check out the specifications between them.

iPod

Capacities:	30GB (7,500 songs)
	80GB (20,000 songs)
Size:	30 GB: 4.1" H x 2.4" W x 0.43" D (4.8 oz)
	80 GB: 4.1" H x 2.4" W x 0.55" D (5.5 oz)
Comes with:	Headphones, USB cable, dock adapter, case
Screen:	2.5" wide, 640x480 resolution
Sound quality:	20Hz to 20,000Hz
Battery life:	30GB: 14 hours (music), 4 hours (pictures), 3.5 hours (video)
	80GB: 20 hours (music), 6 hours (pictures), 6.5 hours (video)
Extra features:	Plays video, connectable to iPod Dock
Price:	30GB: $249
	80GB: $349

iPod Nano

Capacities:	2GB (500 songs)
	4GB (1,000 songs)
	8GB (2,000 songs)
Size:	3.5" W x 1.6" H x 0.26" D (1.41 oz)
Comes with:	Headphones, USB cable, dock adapter
Screen:	1.5" wide, 176x132 resolution
Sound quality:	20Hz to 20,000Hz
Battery life:	24 hours (music), 5 hours
Extra features:	Connectable to iPod Dock
Price:	2GB: $149
	4GB: $199
	8GB: $249

iPod Shuffle

Capacities:	1GB (240 songs)
Size:	1.62" W x 1.07" H x 0.41" D (0.55 oz)
Comes with:	Headphones, dock
Screen:	N/A
Sound quality:	20Hz to 20,000Hz
Battery life:	12 hours
Extra features:	N/A
Price:	$79

Be sure to decide how much space you need on your iPod. The price is usually based on this factor. Beyond that, it's all bells and whistles; whichever extra feature you like will help determine which form of iPod works best for you.

Microsoft Office Alternatives

Everyone needs Microsoft Word, right? If you're creating documents at work, writing term papers or just letters at home, you need to process words.

But Word, and especially Office, is so expensive. A quick look at Amazon.com shows a sticker price of a whopping $350. Ouch.

Thankfully you have options. OpenOffice is a free, open source suite of programs that lets you produce the same documents as Microsoft Office.

Writer (), Impress (), Math (), Draw (), Calc () and Base () are all included to produce text documents, presentations, mathematical functions, vectored drawings, spreadsheets and databases.

OpenOffice can run on Windows, Mac, Linux and a few other OSes, too. One thing to note though Mac users, OpenOffice requires an extra addon that can be a pain to install and run the suite. Luckily though, OpenOffice has a more useful cousin, NeoOffice, which is also free and contains the same programs, but is native to Mac OS X.

There are a other Microsoft Office alternatives, but none with as nice of a price as OpenOffice/NeoOffice.

HornTones

It's like someone's been reading my dream journal.

Thanks to the recently unveiled Horntones, you can now blast any song or sound out of your car's horn. The device is wired directly to your car's horn, and the interface connects via USB cable to your home computer. From there, you can preset several songs in the event of any driving situation.

• Did someone graciously let you cut in front of them? Play "Driving In My Car" from Tah Greggy.
  
• Someone riding your bumper? A little "Get Back" from Ludacris ought to send the right message.
  
• Get cut off? Well, I'll let you figure out which obscenity-laden song would be best.

The device prices at $150, plus installation fees, when it lands in April.

My verdict: Awesome. Ridiculous, but awesome.
Note: Wes does not actually own a dream journal.

The Google You're Not Using

Google is a great search engine. Maybe you even use GMail or Google Maps. But there are many other services that Google offers that you may not be using. Here's the top five other Google features (in my opinion):

	5. Video - Sure, Google bought YouTube. But its own video service provides plenty of TV shows and shorts, all with quality better than YouTube. And no fake 17-year-old girls.
	4. Book Search - One of the most ambitious projects in Internet history, Google is currently scanning and making searchable entire libraries of books. Feel free to read Great Expectations, Hamlet or a nutty 1869 book on Freemasonry.
	3. Calendar - If you've got a GMail account, get your use out of it by using this built-in feature. Keep your life straight anywhere you go with this easy to use dayplanner.
	2. Docs & Spreadsheets - These are two online applications that allow you to create documents, like in Word, and spreadsheets, like in Excel, on any computer without having to install software. The features are a little limited, but this is a very promising feature.
	1. Earth - Okay, this isn't that obscure. And it's not as much an online feature as a free download. But install this the first time, and try not to spend twenty minutes looking up your house, your friends' houses, your office and the Starbucks where that cute barista works.

For a list of all Google's fun extra features, check out the complete list.

All-in-One Instant Messengers

Do you like instant messaging? Well you've got options. AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, and countless others. If you've got more than one account, you'll need to run one program for each account, slowing your computer way down.

Or do you?

Turns out there are several programs available for download that combine all these accounts into one program, handling most if not all of their cool features.

Windows
Trillian
Supports: AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! and IRC.
Good: Handles all the most popular services, provides encrypted chat sessions, customizable by cool skins, plug-in options for cool extra features
Bad: Only for Windows, doesn't handle the more obscure services natively, direct connect sessions are shaky
Cost: Trillium Basic is free, Trillium Pro is $25. Basic is limited by certain features offered.

Mac OS X
Adium
Supports: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, LiveJournal, Lotus Sametime, .Mac, MSN, Novell GroupWise, QQ, Yahoo!, Zephyr
Good: Handles nearly every service you can imagine, provides encrypted chat sessions, colorful and intuitive, tabbed chatting in one window
Bad: Only for Mac OS X, direct connections are shaky
Cost: Totally free

Windows/Mac OS X/Linux
Gaim
Supports: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Jabber, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Novell GroupWise, OpenNap, Silc, Yahoo!, Zephyr
Good: Works on every OS, supports plenty of services
Bad: Not entirely native to Windows, encryption only available through additional program (OTR), direct connections shakiest with this one

One service has yet to be supported, but deserves honorable mention, is Skype. This service allows you to video chat and make phone calls anywhere in the world for free. Its as great as it sounds, as easy as it gets and it's free. Plus Lech Wałęsa has an account. Don't let Lech show you up.

What to Look for in a Digital Camera

So you want to buy a digital camera. Among all the megapixels, zooms, LCDs and any other factor you can find in weekly Best Buy circular, what should you look for? Well, see which consumer generalization best fits you for the answer:

Basic Shooter (basic) - You want a simple point-and-shoot camera that works just like your old reliable 9mm film camera. Fancy stuff is not for you, you're the tried-and-true type who just wants the ability to print and e-mail your shots.
Megapixels: 4-5
LCD: 1.75"-2"
Extra features: red-eye reduction, picture-printer-dock capability
Price: $150 to $300

Budding Artist (intermediate) - You've been a photographer for a while, and you want something a step up from Fisher-Price. Something you can take on your trip to the Vatican and capture the detail on every last fresco, then later drop into Photoshop.
Megapixels: 5-7
LCD: 2"-3"
Extra features: manual focus, image stabilization, basic video capability (320x240 VGA)
Price: $300-$500

Professional (advanced) - If its new, you gotta own it. Price is no object for you. The only camera you'll settle for is one that doesn't take x-rays. Yet.
Megapixels: 8-10
LCD: 3" and up
Extra features: high quality video (640x480 VGA), wi-fi, extra small size
Price: $500-$1,000 (or higher)

If you'd like to learn more about what cameras have to offer, CNET has a nice buying guide, and reviews for damn near every camera you can think of. When it's time to buy, Best Buy, Amazon and Overstock all have good deals. Be sure to compare.

Tech Talk:

Megapixel	One million pixels (tiny digital dots). The higher the number, the better quality the photo.
LCD	Liquid Crystal Display. This is your screen on the back of the camera. The bigger, the better, the more expensive.
Image stabilization	Helps overcome taking a shaky picture/video when the button is pressed.
###x### VGA	The numbers are the number of pixels in the video. VGA stands for video graphics display. A 320x240 video will look small, about 3"x2" on a typical monitor. A 640x480 video will look about 4.5"x3" on the same monitor.

iPod Alternatives

With every new Apple innovation, the press tends to swab all over the latest iProduct. The iPod is no exception. But if you're not feeling the Apple scene, you have options.

Microsoft Zune
The Good: It sports a 30 GB capacity, a 3 inch screen that can rotate to show photos and video and the same sleek intuitiveness that Apple users love. It's coolest feature, though, is its ability to wirelessly share music with other Zune owners.
The Bad: It only works with Windows (at least for now), and while the size is nice, it's the only option you get (you can get an iPod with up to 80 GB for the same price).

Creative Labs Zen Vision
The Good: The Zen Vision has up to a 60 GB capacity, a 4.3-inch screen for pictures and videos (complete with a TV-out jack so you can watch videos on the big screen), an FM tuner and an audio recorder.
The Bad: Like the Zune, it will only talk with Windows. It also features a 60 GB capacity, which still can't compete with iPod's 80 maximum, and at $400, it's more expensive.

Archos 504
The Good: The 504 sports up to a whopping 160 GB worth of music/photos/videos, a 4.3" widescreen display and built-in camcorder and DVR.
The Bad: The 160 GB version is $600.

My verdict: It depends on your OS. Plenty of MP3 players are Windows-only. If you've got Mac OS, stick to the iPod. If you've got Windows and are resistant to Apple, the Zen Vision offers some nice features for a similar price. And if money is no object, that Archos player is amazing.

XBox 360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii

The video game console wars have simmered a bit since the holidays, so I thought it was time to compare each of them and see who's winning.

First, the basics. As you may have read in my previous post, Sony comes equipped with Blu-Ray drives and Microsoft equips the XBox 360 with HD-DVDs (for an extra price). As it stands right now, the Wii supports neither, though rumor has it it will also be packaged with an HD-DVD player soon.

When it comes to the tech specs, the Wii packs less punch than the 360 and PS3. The former's processing power is about 1/6 that of the other two. It also has less graphics power, less RAM, slower read times, less memory and lower digital video output. So why is the Wii competitive at all? Because of its controller.

The creators of the Wii designed a new way to play video games. Players can use the Wii Remote (thankfully they changed the name from the original Wiimote), the Nunchuk, the classic controller or the light zapper.

The other two spent more time beefing up their graphics and processing. The PS3 barely edges out the XBox 360 in categories such as CPU speed, memory and others.

Game selection then becomes important. Many are still being worked on, some still without release dates. Franchise games for all three (e.g. Mario for Nintendo, Final Fantasy for Sony or Halo for Microsoft) will also determine who buys a system.

And who is buying these systems? As of the middle of this month, here are the totals.
XBox 360: 4.5+ million units in the United States
PS3: 687,000+ units in the United States
Wii: 1.25+ million units in North America
Bear in mind, the XBox launched long before the other two, and they price differently. XBox 360 Premium is $400, Playstation 3 Premium is $600 and the Wii is about $450 (quantities are scarce).

My verdict: It all depends on you. Sorry to be so vague on this one, but if you're a graphics fan, the Wii isn't your system. If you're a casual gamer, then it might be. If you love Final Fantasy, the choice if obvious. Just don't make it lightly. You're dropping hundreds of dollars on a way to not do homework/do chores/spend time with your loving family.

Windows Vista

Microsoft will launch Windows Vista on Tuesday. Do you need it?

The short answer: probably not. At least, not right away.

That's not to say it's not a great new operating system. Check out some of the new features:

• Look and Feel - Windows has a clean, sleek look called Aero. Windows are semi-transparent, and looks similar to Mac OS X. It also features a new tool called Flip 3D which allows you to browse your open programs and documents in a 3D card-shuffling way. Windows Desktop Search also allows you to browse your computer much more accurately. Finally, Windows includes new "Gadgets," tiny programs that provide quick access to the weather, time, calculator and other mini-tools.
  
• Updated Windows programs - Microsoft Mail, Movie Maker, Paint and many other standard Windows programs have gotten facelifts and are built with new features. Among the coolest is that WordPad can now take dictation, allowing you to talk to your PC and have it write for you.
  
• Security - Microsoft has had a real problem with hackers trying to sabotage and hijack its software. With every release, the company claims its most secure version, only to release many fixes later. This time is no exception.
  
• Audio and Video - Microsoft is also putting plenty of effort into making Windows more graphics intensive. Mac OS has always given Windows a run for its money in the video department, but time will tell whether Vista can put OS X to shame. As mentioned above, Vista has also incorporated speech recognition.
  
• Networking - Vista has rebuilt its wireless networking capabilities, making the "connections" easier to enable and more stable.
  
• There are lots of other improvements, but it would take all day to list them. If you'd like to read up on more on them, check out Microsoft's Vista site or Wikipedia's list.

So do you need it? The better question is can you handle it? It's a really system-intense operating system, and odds are, unless you bought your computer within the last six months, Vista will drag. You can find out if your PC is tough enough with the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.

If you've got enough muscle in your machine for it, the next question is, which Vista do you need?
There are three editions for the non-business user:

• Vista Home Basic - $99 (upgrade)/$199 (full), doesn't include the new look and feel
  
• Vista Home Premium - $159 (upgrade)/$239 (full)
  
• Vista Ultimate - $259 (upgrade)/$399 (full)

Don't get the Basic edition. It's missing most of the cool stuff, even if it is less intense on your computer. Home Premium will work for most average home PC users, unless you plan on recording TV on your computer. In that case, you'll need the Ultimate edition.

So, if your computer is new enough and you don't mind shelling out roughly $200 for the new version, Windows Vista is a good investment.

Nerds are pretty much in agreement on its greatness. The New York Times/CNET gave it a 7.8 out of 10, and PC World gives 15 reasons to upgrade.
But Wired is joining the anti-Vista minority, stating that "you don't need Vista now."

No one is yet stating that Vista isn't a great OS. Instead, all the reservations people seem to have are about it being too potent for most computers, and certain issues it has with anti-virus programs.

My verdict: Upgrade when you get your next computer

Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD

Even for a tech-minded guy like me, I get easily confused on this debate. What is the difference between these two DVD technologies? Big companies are throwing lots of time and money behind two competing formats: Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.

And there are lots of important technical differences. There are transfer rates, audio and video codecs and video systems. But what's it all mean?

First, how they differ from the DVDs you currently have on your shelf. The new formats have noticeably better video and audio qualities, hold more video and audio, can play them back with better performance and will hold content that you can really show off on your hot new HDTV.

So what's the difference between the two? Simply put, Blu-Ray is the better quality format. It holds almost twice as much data and video and plays it back at a better quality than HD-DVD. To put it in perspective, a typical Blu-Ray DVD can hold almost six times the video of a regular DVD and almost twice the video of an HD-DVD.

So what's the big deal? Blu-Ray is better, so it will win out, right?
Well, not necessarily.

The debate comes in over cost. More companies (Toshiba, NEC, Microsoft, Intel) have put their weight behind HD-DVD than they have for Blu-Ray (Sony). This is because anyone who wants to put their products on Blu-Ray will need to purchase new facilities to do so. And they pass the cost onto you, the consumer, to the tune of roughly $5-10 more per disc. This also means that the players themselves will cost considerably more, too (roughly $500 vs. $1,000-$1,800).

After reviewing these facts, some of you may be getting flashbacks to the Betamax vs. VHS battle of twenty years ago. In many ways, it's very similar, with some already predicting defeat for Blu-Ray (and Sony).

So who will win? Frankly, it's still too early to tell. One major determining factor is the recent release of the newest generation of video game consoles this winter. Sony, backers of Blu-Ray, put out PlayStation 3. Microsoft, backers of HD-DVD, put out XBox 360. The Consumer Electronics Show this year saw the battle raging on, though some are predicting it is in the final throes.

Either way, consumers will get better quality DVDs. There's no question that these formats are leaps and bounds beyond traditional DVDs. The only questions left are over quality and cost. And millions of high-tech companies' dollars are on the line to answer them.

Tech Talk:

Blu-Ray	HD-DVD
Sponsor: Sony	Sponsors: Toshiba, NEC, Microsoft, Intel
Backing studios: Paramount, Warner Bros.	Backing studios: New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros.
Capacity: 50 GB (dual layer), 23 hours of standard definition content, 9 hours of high definition content	Capacity: 30 GB (dual layer), 13.8 hours of standard definition content, 5.4 hours of high-definition content
Video formats: MPEG-2, VC-1, H.264	Video formats: MPEG-2, VC-1, H.264
Audio formats: Dolby Digital (AC-3), PCM, DTS	Audio formats: Dolby Digital (AC-3), PCM, DTS
Audio quality: 640 kb/s	Audio quality: 448 kb/s
Region codes: 3	Region codes: 0

iPhone

For the first entry of nerds2words, I'm taking a look at Apple's newest launch, the iPhone.

So far, the press has treated it with the typical excitement. But what's the big deal?

Well here's what it's got to offer:

• Bright, wide, rotatable color touch-screen
  
• An iPod that can hold about 1,000 or 2,000 songs (depending on the version you get)
  
• All the features of a regular cell phone, including speaker phone, text messaging, conference calling and a high-end camera
  
• Wireless internet, e-mail and mapping
  
• Price: $499 or $599, depending on the model

So, big question: who cares?
Even at the minimum, the iPhone will run you half a grand. Now, the technology is sound, as is most all of Apple's products. It's flashy, it works great, it'll hold as many songs as the biggest economy iPod.

But if you've got a cell phone and an iPod (or some other MP3 player), the biggest advantage you'll have is instead of carrying around two five ounce products, you'll have one. Granted, the combination makes things simpler. For example, you're going out to meet friends at a new restaurant. You can call them to get the address and time to meet, get driving directions, read a review of the restaurant, all while checking out the newest Killers album.

Of course, all this could be done without an iPhone, between your existing iPod and Internet-enabled phone. And you could have that $500, some of which could be spent at the restaurant.

My verdict: Hang on to your money. When the iPhone can provide you with features that are not available anywhere else, then maybe you should consider dropping a paycheck on it, no matter how sleek it is.