Laura Blackwell

You can't solve a problem until you recognize it. These three tools -- an energy saver, a bandwidth meter, and a procrastination fighter -- spotlight common issues. All are free

Gathering participants into a conference call or Web meeting may get a little easier, when America Online Inc. launches AIM Business Services this week; it lets users host or join conference calls and Web meetings through the AOL Instant Messenger interface.

Yahoo Inc. is updating its Messenger program with new avatars, emoticons, and other features for fun, but it is also providing ways to conceal the frivolities and keep instant messages more businesslike when desired.

Video instant messaging and videoconferencing are becoming harder to tell apart, both in quality and in price. New products shown at the Instant Messaging Planet Conference and Expo in San Jose this fall cover the spectrum from US$25 monthly for video IM to thousands of dollars a year for full-fledged groupware.