Articles by John P. Mello Jr.

Thin is all the rage these days in digital cameras. If a shutterbox can't fit in the pocket of a pair of designer jeans, some consumers will just turn their nose up at it. I'm not one of them Thin has its merits, but so does substantial. Among these merits are more muscular zoom lenses -- 10x or more....

When it comes to gadgets, thin is in. From the latest nano from Apple to the recent crop of slim bar-phones, chunky is strictly L7 for the electronic hipster Among the trimmest of the new cell phones is the Samsung Trace (SGH-t519), distributed exclusively through T-Mobile....

Measuring a Web site's performance isn't what it used to be. Site operators are increasingly turning to outside sources for the components of their Web pages. That can muddy the metrics for companies trying to get a handle on how their sites are really performing Gomez Inc., though, believes it has a solution to that dilemma. The Lexington, Mass., ...

Marketers call them "the influentials," and in a world where word-of-mouth marketing is king, they're royalty. However, they may not be as monolithic a class as hucksters believe them to be, according to a report from JupiterResearch The "classic" influential is an early adopter with a drive to get the newest products first. Their expertise is well...

GarageBand is an outstanding addition to Apple Computer's original iLife software suite What the program does is give musicians and non-musicians alike a tool to create music on a computer....

The scourge of the wired world -- spam -- is making its presence felt in the wireless realm, but carriers hope they can stunt the problem in its formative stage "Spam isn't a problem; however, it's an evolving threat that carriers are constantly working to combat," Joe Farren, a spokesperson for CTIA-The Wireless Association, told TechNewsWorld....

As much as I am enamored with USB "thumb" drives, some storage problems -- such as system backups -- need a more robust solution Robust need not mean bulky. There are USB portable hard drives on the market that fit in the palm of your hand and are big enough to support substantial data demands....

For decades, Apple Computer has counted on the loyalty of its customers to fuel the company's success, but in one of its most important markets there may be signs that that loyalty is flagging According to a survey released Wednesday by ABI Research, 58 percent of iPod owners who plan to buy a new digital music player in the next 12 months said the...

More than a third of Americans are turning to the Internet for information about the elections next week, according to a poll released by the Associated Press and America Online last Friday The telephone survey showed that 35 percent of Americans are using the Internet to get information about the upcoming elections....

Unrestricted access from the office to personal Web-based e-mail can pose security risks to businesses, but the practice is being largely ignored, according to a survey released by a security firm this week According to a poll taken at the Internet security monitoring portal of UK-based Marshal, 48 percent of the 242 respondents surveyed said they ...

In an era when software companies seem to release new versions of their products every month, Xrayz Software is a true anomaly. It hasn't released a new version of its ClipCache software in three years ClipCache (US$24.95) is one of my all-time favorite programs. I use it religiously every day....

In the go-go eighties, Bret Easton Ellis's novel Less Than Zero was a cult classic, but today another "Less Than Zero" is attracting another kind of cult -- one bent on computer mischief or worse "The security industry and trade press have directed a lot of attention toward the 'Zero Day' attack, promoting it as the threat to guard against," Alan S...

Researchers at Stanford University have discovered what they say is more evidence that compulsive use of the Internet may be more than just a bad habit "Potential markers of problematic Internet use seem present in a sizable proportion of adults," the researchers concluded in an article published in CNS Spectrums: The International Journal of Neuro...

Search engines have made a boodle for outfits like Google, but when it comes to online entertainment -- especially entertainment on demand -- they may find their relevance waning "Search engine algorithms are based on text, information and links," Daren Gill, vice president for business development for ChoiceStream in Cambridge, Mass., told TechNew...

Another day, another battery recall That seems to be a disturbing trend in the mobile electronics industry, but some companies are moving to address the volatile situation....

A large part of the appeal of blogging is its simplicity. Setting up an account at one of the large blogging services like Blogger.com is as untaxing as filling in a few fields in an online form As uncomplicated as blogging can be, however, once the bloom fades on its novelty, it can become a chore. You've got to log into your host, navigate menus,...

Microsites -- highly focused mini Web sites within larger ones that encourage consumers to create content -- will be growing in popularity among larger online advertisers in the coming year, according to a report released last week byJupiterKagan "The use of promotional microsites will grow most strongly among the largest advertisers in the coming ...

Video games are often associated with the bloom of youth, but a study released this week shows that isn't true in all segments of the market -- especially the "casual" game market Casual games tend to be family-friendly and non-violent; often they involve puzzles or word play. They're about as far away as you can get from "Grand Theft Auto" or "Hal...

Cell phone worms and VoIP fraud are among the top 10 security threats to watch next year, according to a panel of experts assembled by the SANS Institute The panel's findings were released Sunday at the SANS Network Security 2006 conference in Las Vegas....

During an annual outing of college chums this past summer, one of the bunch, following a flurry of digital picture taking, smiled wryly and said that he'd recently shot his last roll of Kodachrome 25 For those unfamiliar with film stocks, Kodachrome 25, touted by many as the best film ever manufactured in the United States, was discontinued in 2001...