Harry McCracken

Articles by Harry McCracken

Smartphone OS smackdown

Apple's iPhone OS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Mobile, RIM's BlackBerry OS, Symbian's S60 and now Palm Pre's WebOS. Which smartphone operating system is the best?

Updated iMac is an energy saver

Apple is turning to materials that have made its consumer products successful, including aluminum and glass, to add some environmentally-healthy features to its latest desktop. Steve Jobs offers a demo

Crystal gazing – After Vista what?

It all starts with vague rumblings of a cryptically code-named operating system upgrade. Next come multiple beta versions, accompanied by repeated delays, mysterious disappearing features, and other indications of altered plans. Eventually, there's a real, boxed product that folks can buy.

PC World contributing editor and Internet Tips columnist

Scott Spanbauer, our veteran watcher of all things WebBloatware. It's an ugly term for an ugly phenomenon: the tendency of software developers to cram in every imaginable feature, including some that shouldn't have been imagined in the first place. Creeping featuritis rarely results in better programs. It often makes them harder to use. And it can leave them sluggish, insecure, and unreliable.

Get organized: PDAs for any budget

Palm or Pocket PC? It

Microsoft Office 10

A peek at Office upgrade

Can Compaq’s iPaq thrive?

When Compaq Computer Corp. unveils a new line of consumer and business-computing devices, you might assume that...

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