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he Washington Post’s con- sumer technology expert finds nine things to add to


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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010


9 smart buys for techie wish lists — and one to skip T


your wish list—and one to skip. 1 Apple iPad: After years of


ple’s iTunes rentals, but Roku’s frequent additions to its Channel Store help make up for those omissions.


computing, Apple’s $499-and-up line of touch-screen devices put this category on consumer wish lists. The iPhone’s big brother has since spawned its own growing selection of iPad apps that take advantage of its roomy, 9.7-inch screen. The only catch: It’s proba- bly due for an update, which a lot of people expect will add a web- cam for FaceTime videoconfer- encing.


2 iPhone 4: Apple’s other big


brought a much sharper screen and FaceTime videoconferencing to Apple’ssmartphone line. It also had a few weeks in the headlines for an antenna-reception issue thatmany users never saw. But its biggest flaw isn’t “antennagate” but AT&T’s continued monopoly onthe device in theUnited States. Maybe the new year will bring other choices.


3 A good Android phone. Google’s Android software


now appears on phones from every carrier and in almost every smartphone size imaginable. Ver- izon’sMotorola Droid 2 is among the best current examples ofwhat the Android can do, with its slide- out keyboard and fast processor; Sprint’s Samsung Epic offers the same hardware formula with the addition of faster 4G WiMax data service.


in the headlines more, but this Web-media receiver is even cheaper, at just $59.99, and con- nects to far more Web video, audio and photo sources. It’s not good at playing media from your own computer and can’t play Ap-


4 Roku HD: Apple’s re- launched Apple TV has been failed experiments in tablet 5 Xbox Kinect: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console


seems new again with this $149.99 add-on, which lets you control the action in games by just waving your arms and legs around and making simple ges- tures in the air. Just make sure your living room has enough space for it.


6 Amazon Kindle: If you’re go- product launch this year ing to buy an e-book reader


—something I’ve yet to domyself — Amazon’s $139 Kindle has the advantage of a wide and growing variety of Kindle apps for com- puters and phones that allow you to keep reading even if the Kindle device itself goes out of style. I’d rather see Amazon dump the “digital rights management” re- strictions that require you to read Kindle titles on its own software, though.


7 The two-tuner HDTV. Forget


3D TV hype, the HD set you want is one that includes a


digital tuner for over-the-air re- ception and “connected TV” soft- wareto play audioandvideo from such Internet sites as Amazon, Netflix and Pandora. Both just might help you ride out the next interruption of cable or satellite service by a carriage dispute.


8 Prepaid mobile-broadband receiver. If you or someone


you know require only occasional wireless-data service for a com- puter, there’s no need to sign a contract with a monthly fee. Pre- paid services from Sprint’s Virgin Mobile, Clear (sold as “Rover”), T-Mobile and others now let you pay only for the data or the time you need, then let the receiver collect dust until the next contin- gency.


9 SD Card: One of the elec- tronics industry’s most


pointless, least helpful format wars quietly ended in January when the last manufacturers to support competitors to this stor- age-card standard gave up.Nowa- days, if you buy something that


takes flash-memory cards, you can bet on it accepting either SD or its microSD smartphone ver- sion, making a high-capacity card in either size a cheapandsafe gift.


And here’s one to skip: An evil Android phone. The


same wireless carriers that have rushed to ship different Android phones haven’t been able to resist the temptation to put their own spin on these devices, even when they don’t know that they’re do- ing. Exhibit A:Verizon’s Samsung Fascinate, which ships with Mi-


crosoft’s Bing search engine stan- dard — as well as a boatload of unnecessary, unhelpful apps that you can’t uninstall without non- trivial tinkering. robp@washpost.com


PR NEWSWIRE The RokuHDgoes up against Apple TV as aWeb-media receiver will connect you toWeb video, audio and photo sources.


This year, a longer list of questions to get you to the right gadget FAST FORWARD


forward from G1


expertise, just a buyer’s sense of whatworks: Is this laptop’s screenbig enough? Is its key- boarduncomfortable?CanI reachthe expansionports easily?


Evolution of gadgets Gadgets,however, find them-


selves onthe other end of anevo- lutionary cycle.The same com- petitive pressures thathave pounded downthe costs of pro- cessing power and storagehave allowed computer-like capabili- ties to bubbleup intomobile de- vices suchas smartphones and tablet computers and evensuch living-roomgear asHDTVs and


Blu-ray players. That’s led to a flowering of pos-


sibilities among these digital de- vices.Your phone cantake a pic- ture of a product ina store, then tell youwhat it sells for online and inother storesnearby; your TVorBlu-ray player canserve as anInternet radio and video store. But inthese rejuvenatedmar-


kets,nothing seems too settled or understandable. Look at the boomingmarket


for “connectedTVs.”Nobody ex- pects aTVto runWindows; few people evenknowwhat operating systemwhirs away behind their TVscreen. (Mine runs a versionof Linux, althoughthe onlyhint of that is a license agreement inthe


manual.) But the software coded into


yourhigh-def set or the video de- vice parked ona shelfunderneath it candeterminewhere andwhen you’llwatchmovies andTVs two years fromnow. If yours doesn’t tune into the right sites and ser- vices, you’ll be stuck buying add- onhardware to bridge those gaps. “WhatWeb-media receiver


should I get formyTV?” could be- come 2011’s versionof the 1994- vintage query “WhatCD-ROM drive should I buy formy desk- top?”


Long-termprospects The identity of yourmobile de-


vice’s software ismore obvious, but its long-termprospectsmay be just as obscured.Howmuch money do youwant to bet onthe relevance—let alone success—a year out ofResearchinMotion’s BlackBerry software,Microsoft’s WindowsPhone 7 orHP’swebOS? Whichof thesehas a shot at spawning aworthy tablet com- petitor toApple’s iPad? Eventhemost obvious success-


defin e. develop. acquire.


es inthemobile space,Apple’s iOS andGoogle’sAndroid,have risky elements.Worthwhile applica- tions canand do get blocked from the iPhone byApple’s curatorship of theApp Store;usefulAndroid


featureshave beendeleted or re- placed by shortsightedwireless carriers. Withall of these electronic


items, younowhave the sort of worries once confined to forward- thinking computerusers.Will I getnext year’s versionupdate? Are enoughdeveloperswriting software formy platform?How longuntil I getherded into buy- ing thenext generationofhard- ware? It’shard to knowwhat tomake


of these trends as youread this story onanold laptop parked on the coffee table, thenlookup at a newHDTV—already download- ing itsnext operating-system patch—anchoring onewall. Inthe short term, it could be


easier to predict the future of computing by looking at the re- centhistory of electronic devices. Consider themost innovative


computer this year,Apple’sMac- BookAir. Itmainly departs from earliermodels byusing only flash


HELP FILE


Q: I just bought a newkeyboard from a company I don’t know. Is it safe? Could this firm have hidden a virus or keystroke logger on it?


A: It’s possible but not probable for a hardware item to ship with a virus as a stowaway. In early 2008, for example,


Best Buy apologized after discovering that it had shipped some of its Insignia house-brand digital picture frames with a Windows virus on board. Two years earlier, Apple had


to make a similar confession after selling some video iPods with a different Windows virus stashed on their hard drives.


Considering that history, it’s


easy to think of a scenario in which somebody has stashed a virus on a newkeyboard. But that would be a dumb


way to try to get into the virus business. If you want to get a jump on anti-virus developers, you need to get a virus into the wild via theWeb, not the slower medium of container ships or cargo aircraft. There are also far more people who browse the Web than use newkeyboards. So if you have current security


software, I wouldn’t worry about this risk too much. (I’massuming you haven’t


done anything that would make


police or spies anxious to log your keystrokes in particular. If you have, that’s an issue beyond the scope of this column.)


Q: Howdo I removeWindows XP Service Pack 3 frommy PC?


A:Microsoft lists a fewremedies, none simple, on its support site (support.microsoft.com/kb/9502 49). But I can’t endorse any of them. The company stopped supporting older, less secure versions of XP in July. If “SP3” really gives you fits, you should uninstall it—then update your computer’s add-on software and try installing this patch again.


Ready to shop? Why not drop some bucks on a charity THE COLOR OF MONEY


procure the goods and services that help keep america moving safely.


Serve as atrusted business advisorprotecting the nation’s transportation infrastructureaspartofTSA’s Office of Acquisition.Asanacquisition professional, youwill have an agency-wide impact—providing business-level supportand aligningyour skills withthe evolving needs to secureairports, seaports, railroads, highwaysand public transit systemsacross the country. Your entrepreneurial efforts willbesupported with competitivecompensation and the exceptional benefits offered to Federal employees.


To learnmore, comesee us at the 29thAnnual Government ContractManagement Career Fair on December 8th,text “TSA” to 95495,visit https://tsajobs.tsa.dhs.gov or call 1.877.872.7990.


U.S. Citizenship Required. TSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. color from G1


—butmuch of it is directed to helping people help themselves. There’s theGatesMillennium Scholars program,which pro- vides full college scholarships to minority studentswith signifi- cant financial need. In one of its many projects, theGates Founda- tion recently pledged $500mil- lion over the next five years to help establish savings accounts for poor families in developing countries.As part of that effort, YaleUniversity received a $7.3 million grant to researchmicro- savings for theworld’s poor. Be- lieve it or not, less than 10 per- cent of theworld’s 2.5 billion poor have access to a formal bank account, according to the foun- dation. “Savings helps families to take


the giant leap fromreacting to events to planning for a healthi- er, happier future,”Melinda Gates said in announcing the sav- ings initiative. While theGateses are out


there trying to have an impact on theworld, you can do this same type of giving in your community. One good example inmy neck


of thewoods is the Training Source in Seat Pleasant, founded by EvelynKimRhim. It offers a wonderful job-training program, weekly self-improvementwork- shops for homeless individuals and skills training for youthwho are about to leave public-school special-education programs.Ad- ditionally, the nonprofit has a free clothing closet that allows job seekers to dresswell for inter- views. “These are life-changing ser-


vices,”Rhimsaid. “If I just give you some food, you are going to be hungry tomorrow. Butwhat we do ismore of a safety net.We are teaching peoplewhat they need to do to buy their own food and pay their own rent so they can sustain themselves and their family.” Rhimis hoping to increase


funding for her nonprofit by bringing in individual donations.


In the past, themajority of her funding had come fromgovern- ment contracts and grants, but that source is drying up because of budget cuts. This great nonprofit housed in


the back corner of a small shop- ping centerwas recognized as one of theWashington region’s best nonprofit organizations and is listed in the 2010 “Catalogue for Philanthropy:GreaterWash- ington,”which vets and then con- nects donors to local nonprofit groups. But likemany such organiza-


tions inmy community and yours, the Training Source doesn’t have a large advertising budget to solicit individual dona- tions. It doesn’t have a glossy marketing package or staff to make calls to donors. At this time of year,when so


many people go fromstore to store looking for the best deals, why not do the samewith your donation dollars? Spend some time shopping for the charitable gems in your community.


There are national databases


where you can search for local charities.Network forGood lets you search for a charity using keywords.At JustGive.org, you can search for one by typing in your Zip code. If you got up in thewee hours


of themorning on Black Friday to shop, or if youwill spend hours in themall this holiday season, certainly you can take the time to find and financially support a charity that is changing people’s lives.


Readers canwrite toMichelle Singletary c/o TheWashington Post, 1150 15th St.NW,Washington,D.C. 20071. Her e-mail address is singletarym@washpost.com. Comments and questions are welcome, but due to the volume of mail, personal responsesmay not be possible. Please also note comments or questionsmay be used in a future column,with thewriter’s name, unless a specific request to do otherwise is indicated.


memory instead of amechanical hard drive.Butmobile devices standardized onflashstorage years ago. Inthe long term, though,who


knows? It’snot the end ofhistory for thehome-computer business or the start of it for the electronics industry.Butwe are seeing end- ings beginand beginnings end in eacharea, andwe’remany soft- wareupdates fromseeinghowev- erythingwillwork out. pegoraror@washpost.com


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