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Following Up: a PayPal Payoff, an Evite Error

In any line of work, you have to hold companies to their pledges of future improvements. But it may be more important to do so in the field of technology, where people habitually claim that the next version of a program, an online service or a Web site will cure...

By Rob Pegoraro | December 18, 2007; 10:20 AM ET | Comments (4)

Hidden Leopard Feature: Office Drudgery Made Easy

I run a lot of bad software in this job (including some that my employer makes me use!) and so I'll admit to getting jaded about what can seem to be a prevailing culture of mediocrity in the computer business. But then I discover the occasional new feature that makes...

By Rob Pegoraro | December 10, 2007; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (9)

A New Outlook on Office Software

There's a set way to review Microsoft Office competitors: Open up a bunch of Office files in the competing software to see if they look just like they did in Office, then create a set of files in the competitor and verify that they look identical in Office. Finally, verify...

By Rob Pegoraro | September 13, 2007; 11:37 AM ET | Comments (36)

Signing Off Made Simple

Last week, I had to make one last call to tech support at Presto, the "e-mail for people without computers" service that I recently wrote about. I needed to cancel my Presto account before the conclusion of the 90-day free trial provided by the company's PR department, after which my...

By Rob Pegoraro | August 20, 2007; 08:43 AM ET | Comments (12)

Speaking of Maps and Traffic...

... this morning, the perpetually-useful Lifehacker blog brings word that Google Maps now provides estimates of traffic delays with its driving directions. For example, when I look up the route from my home to Dulles Airport, Google Maps informs me that the drive should take "about 36 mins" or "up...

By Rob Pegoraro | August 3, 2007; 10:04 AM ET | Comments (7)

Cheaper Ink For Your Inkjet?

This weekend brought us some good news about one of the computer industry's more annoying aspects--the extortionate price of replacement printer ink. A Kentucky jury ruled Friday that Lexmark "unreasonably restrained competition" with a program that pushed customers to recycle used printer cartridges only through Lexmark. From the Louisville Courier-Journal's...