Small businesses and high-end consumers who need high-speed color printing need look no further than HP’s new CM1017. This is a great, multi-function laser printer that does it all.
I once spent about $600 for a black and white dot-matrix printer that used ribbons, so I am amazed at the price of printers these days. For a list price of $699, HP is delivering color laser printing, color copying, color scanning, color direct digital photo printing, black-and-white printing, black-and-white copying, black-and-white scanning and black-and-white direct digital photo printing. (Missing is fax capability.)
If you have a small office with color printing needs beyond a deskjet printer, this ought to be your first stop. (It has a recommended rate of 500 to 1,500 copies a month)
The printer is heavy, about 50 pounds, so make sure you have an adequate work surface. It’s also pretty tall (about 21 inches) so don’t expect to stick it on a shelf somewhere.
Unpacking the box is simple. After you install four print cartridges (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) and install the software, you’re ready to go. (Ooops, no you’re not because HP has neglected to include the $1 cable… a major pet peeve of mine. I agree that some offices may need more than a six-foot USB cable or even use the built-in Ethernet but even so, throwing a cable or two in the box would be a nice gesture.)
Installing the software takes a while but it went fine on Windows XP and Mac OSX. (You also can install it on Linux but I didn’t try it.)
Color output was exceptional on this printer when compared to my deskjet printers, as you’d expect from a color laser. (The trick for this in a small office is to keep people from printing all manner of personal stuff on it and making your cartridge bill go out the window.)
Of course the trick to saving money on toner, which is the way printing companies make money, is to print everything except the final version in draft-quality black and white. HP, like nearly everyone else, buries the printer settings so it’s not terribly easy to make a draft copy but once you get the hang of it you can set that as the default and change to high-quality color only when needed.
The printer has four media card slots, so you can just insert the media cards from your digital cameras and look at your images on a bright 2.5-inch LCD screen. That’s nice if you don’t have a PC handy and just want to directly print your images. This is a pretty unusual feature for office-oriented printers, so real-estate agents and others who use photos a lot may find this compelling. (The printer has 94 megs of RAM onboard which you can upgrade to 225 megs if you print photos a lot.)
Replacing toner cartridges is a snap; just flip open the front panel and take one out and pop one in. New cartridges are $70 to $85 depending on which one you need. Each one is rated for about 2,500 pages for black and 2,000 pages for color.
All in all I liked this a lot and if you don’t need fax it’s a solid choice.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: In my quest to find a good replacement for Google Answers there is now Just Answer (www.justanswer.com). Give it a look.

James Derk (www.derk.com) is computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com

Another episode of reader mail hits the books today. Let’s get right to it.
Q. I was surprised that my security software was automatically renewed on my credit card without my permission. I think this is something that you need to disclose in your column.
A. Yes, more and more security packages and anti-virus programs are using automatic renewal “for your convenience” in an effort to retain more of their customers. As the price of competitors reaches “free”, they are increasingly using devices like this to hook consumers into a renewal. So before you give your credit card to renew a product, read the fine print. Another option is to use one of those “one use” numbers you can get from your card’s Web site (that way the renewal will fail.) If you still plan to use one of these retail packages, I frankly would never renew and instead buy the latest version of the program every year. That way you’d get not only the latest virus definitions but the newer program.
Frankly I am happy with AVG Free Edition 7.5, which is free.
Q. How much RAM memory do I need for Windows Vista? I plan to install the upgrade in a couple of weeks.
A. It seems 1 gig is the sweet spot. I would have thought 2 gigs would be better but PC World did some testing and found it only increases performance another 10 percent on a typical computer.
Before you upgrade make sure you do a complete backup of your data files. Any major upgrade isn’t a slam dunk and you need to be cautious (but not scared) when you do it.
Q. I ordered a new computer and was surprised it did not come with Microsoft Office. (I guess I just assumed it would come with it.) When I went to the store to buy it I was surprised at the price. My PC did come with Microsoft Works… is it a direct replacement?
A. For basic word-processing and spreadsheet work you will find Works will do just fine. (The rumor is Microsoft plans to make Works free for download sometime soon.) If you need more features you can download OpenOffice from www.openoffice.org for free. This is an open source version of Office that many people find a suitable replacement. If you need the “real” Office and you or someone in your household is a student you can get the “Academic” version for significantly less money.
Q. My PC shuts down after about an hour. I have run all of the spyware and virus scans. Sometimes it beeps but that’s it.
A. Your PC is full of dust and the fans are probably stopped. Turn off your PC, unplug all of the wires and open the case. Get a can of compressed air. Touch your hand to the metal of the case to dispose of any static electricity and carefully blow out all of the accumulated junk. (A typical PC will take almost a can if it has been a while.)
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Linked In, the business networking site, has launched an Answers feature where business people can ask each other professional questions. You can use Linked In for free (www.linkedin.com)

James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail is jim@cyberdads.com

Letters are filling the box today; let’s go to the mailbag and see what’s on your mind.
Q. Your comment about $100 cables for the PS3 was off-base. If you shop around you can find the high-def cables for $20 or so, sometimes less if you go with an off-brand.
A. True, but my comment reflected my thought that Sony should have tossed in one of those cables and since it did not, I was forced to find one on Christmas Eve at one of the big-box rip-off stores. It is the same thing with USB cables for printers; if you buy one online or on Ebay they are a buck or two; if you have to buy one at local retail they are $20. Cables can be found cheaper but you often pay mightily for immediacy and convenience.
Q. I followed your advice on updating windows and did receive an update. Thanks. Surprisingly, my "automatically update" button was turned on. Must the computer be connected to the Internet at the time you request windows to update?
A. No but those with full-time connections will receive updates on the schedule you pick (the default is 3 AM once a week.). If you don’t have a full-time connection it takes Windows a bit to figure out you’re online and it won’t necessarily run the update sequence quickly. So periodic connectors should run Windows Update at least once a month. (The new patches come out from Microsoft on the second Tuesday of the month.).
Q. I followed your advice about going to www.filehippo.com but never can find the free cleanup that you write about. Everyone I try is only trying to get me to purchase their product. How do I do the free download that you write about?
A. There are some ads on that site that can be confusing but the applications I recommend (AVG, Spybot Search and Destroy, AdAware SE Personal and CCleaner) are indeed there and free. Click on the name of the application on the front page and the file download link is in green on the second page, upper right corner.
Q. Which software do you recommend for recovering deleted files?
A. It honestly depends on how badly they were deleted in terms of how long ago and by what process. One of the packages we use in our computer repair firm is from OnTrack (www.ontrack.com), which can recover files in some instances even after a complete reformat.
Q. I'd like a backup system for my personal PC (I have a Dell, Windows XP Home Edition). I'd prefer something that is very user friendly but I don't have an idea which software is good. Can you recommend one?
A. I use both Acronis True Image and Symantec’s Ghost. I find Acronis easier to use and more powerful but either of those would do well. Both will make a complete image of your hard drive so when it fails (not “if”) you can recover your entire system in a few hours. After the first full backup both will schedule “incremental” backups once a day or once per week to catch the changed files.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Like the excellent site “Snopes” (www.snopes.com) the Museum of Hoaxes seeks to limit the amount of forwarded “fact” on the Internet. See if before you forward at www.museumofhoaxes.com

James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail is jim@cyberdads.com

It’s that time of year, when we try to review some of the best toys you can fit under the tree for the techno-nerd in your house. No time for the bad stuff so let’s get right to it.
I never wanted to be one of those Trekkie-looking people with the Bluetooth headset attached to my ear jabbering on the phone. Then I ended up with a Blackberry, which is a great e-mail device and a fairly cumbersome telephone. So it made sense then to have the headset so I could keep the Blackberry on my hip or in my pocket.
(Let’s back up for those who don’t know what Bluetooth is. It’s a short-range, fairly secure wireless product that lets you transmit data over 10 feet or less. You can use it to power cordless mice and keyboards, to beam your location from the GPS in your car to your cell phone or transmit your cell phone call to a remote headset.)
So one of my goals was to find a headset that wasn’t too geeky yet offered uncompromising performance. (And I promised to always take it off when I wasn’t on the phone.)
After trying a few I found the Jabra BT500. The main benefit of this little gem is that it fits behind your ear and not on top of it. It is sort of shaped like a crescent moon with the mouthpiece sliding out from under your ear.
The BT500 gives you one more thing you have to keep charged but it comes with both an AC adapter and a handy USB charger so you can keep it going from your PC if need be. It has a claimed 240 hours of standby time and 8 hours of talk time but I have never been on the phone that long.
A small earpiece snakes into your ear to allow you to hear the caller; some people may find that annoying but for me it helps me hear and note that it doesn’t go into the ear cavity, just outside of it.
Overall it’s pretty small, measuring 4 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches and weighing only 0.7 ounces. I quit noticing it on my ear during long calls and I certainly appreciated the lack of wires from a conventional headset or having to hold a phone to my ear.
The downside? When you’re walking along people think you’re talking to yourself. I also wasn’t crazy about the volume control but I only have to set it once.
List price is $119 but it’s often on sale at retail for less than $80. Details are at www.jabra.com
---When one of my children want to borrow a digital camera I often shudder and wonder if I will get the unit back in one piece. The Disney “pix micro” has come to my rescue. For less than 20 bucks I can give each of my kids a digital camera of their own. It takes 40 pictures and comes with easy to use software that the kids can use to play with the images that they have taken.
It is powered by a single AAA battery and connected seamlessly to my Windows XP desktop.
It’s a sure winner at this price and highly recommended for children 5 and up.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Check out the user opinions for various products at www.epinions.com

James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com

Microsoft, a company that rarely blinks, did the blinking in a battle with anti-virus vendors over Windows Vista the next version of Windows.
This was a battle you may not have been paying attention to but one that I found pretty fascinating.
Simply put, when Microsoft entered the security market in a big way a couple years ago, vendors such as Symantec and McAfee were in deep trouble. After all, when the owner of the operating system builds the utility in, there is little reason to buy a third-party utility.
When Microsoft was planning Windows Vista, it decided to lock down the core of the operating system. It claimed that would keep it the most secure. The other vendors, of course, threw down the anti-trust card and claimed the company was unfairly locking them out of the competition. After all, without access to the core, or kernel, the other companies claimed they could not effectively protect Windows Vista.
Here is what drives me nuts. I don’t know who to believe in this mess. I do know when McAfee is preinstalled on a new Dell and at first boot I decline the End-User License Agreement, it installs anyway.
I know it then is nearly impossible for normal users to uninstall because the virus product is running. (More than one client has hired my computer repair company just to uninstall this product and the other junk Dell pre-installs.)
My favorite trick that both Symantec and McAfee offer helpfully to “disable duplicate alerts” from Windows but what that really means is they disable Windows Security Center.
My opinion is just that, my opinion, but as these anti-virus products became what I call “bloat-ware” they became less valuable to consumers. They are now these large suites containing a half-dozen applications, some of which people don’t want or need. I think especially dangerous are consumer-level firewalls, which are pretty troublesome for the average consumer to use and configure when compared with the one built in to Windows XP Service Pack 2. (Yes, I know the after-market ones are more powerful but for an average consumer they also are very troublesome if you answer incorrectly on one of those pop-ups.)
On the other hand, I see the point that Microsoft should not both own the operating system and the security system that controls it. Instead there is something to be said to having Microsoft focus on making its OS better and then having the folks at Kapersky, Symantec and other third-parties making tools to secure the perimeter. That way there are more people focused on the issue, a better chance that security will be a priority and that holes will be filled faster.
Of course, Microsoft didn’t make this decision out of the goodness of its corporate heart. It was possible that the sale of Vista would have been blocked in Europe under anti-trust had it not been opened.
So we shall see in January when Vista goes on retail sale how virus protection will finally work. I would expect Microsoft to offer a year of protection for less than $10 if not free.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Remember when radio was cool? Me too. Relive it at Radio Free Phoenix (www.radiofreephoenix.com)

James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair company, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com

Be the first on the block to own the hot off the press copy of "Hungarian Rhapsody," my new book about international adoption. You can get the details at www.derk.com

Thanks!

What if you needed to borrow a couple thousand bucks to replace your washer and dryer but didn’t want to pay 18 percent interest on a credit card?
What if you had a couple thousand bucks but wanted to earn more than 2 percent on your money than you would on passbook savings account at a bank?
Such is the idea behind Prosper.com, a Web site designed to anonymously link borrowers and lenders in the spirit of Ebay.
Of course, the best idea is not to borrow money at all (see also: Dave Ramsey) but if you have to this is one interesting concept.
Prosper was founded by Chris Larsen, the founder of E-Loan, an online mortgage broker. Once he shook up that market he decide to shake up another.
What’s in it for the borrower?
Generally you will pay a lower interest rate than on a credit card, a bank loan and (shudder) a payday loan joint. You specify your own repayment terms, the interest you are willing to pay and lenders bid on your business. You can borrow up to $25,000 for up to three years. And you have to release your income and your credit score. (A credit rating and a debt ratio is released to your potential borrowers.)
You also can join a “group” of like-minded borrowers that may make you a more attractive risk.
What’s in it for the lenders?
Here it gets a little more dicey.
If your borrower pays as promised you can get a decent rate of return in many cases (certainly a lot better than a bank savings account or a CD.)
There is one main strategy that lenders use to reduce their risk: to widely diversify and invest across lots of individual loans to reduce your individual exposure.
It’s a tad hard to explain but it is explained well on the site. I am not necessarily recommending the site but it is another sign of how the Internet is changing how things are getting things done.
When my mother passed away in 2003, I found a Web site called “Beanies for Baghdad” to which I donated her collection of Beanie Babies. They are now in the hands of Iraqi children thanks to American troops, which distributed her toys and tens of thousands of others. (www.beaniesforbaghdad.com)
Without the Internet how could such a worldwide grassroots effort have ever existed?
Take another one, called Modest Needs. This Web site (www.modestneeds.org) matches compassionate persons with people with short-term emergency needs. These things are the things you can imagine coming up in your life, the sick child, the bad water heater, the car transmission.
You explain your need and hope for the best.
It’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up.
Again, without the Internet, where would we be?
All three are great examples of how the Web are moving the dial of our society and removing the middlemen in out culture. No need for the banker, no need for anyone between you and the soldier. You mail him or her a toy and he or she puts it in their backpack and hands it out on their next patrol.
That’s amazing stuff.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER:
Help a soldier at Thanksgiving. See how at America Supports you (www.americasupportsyou.mil)

James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com

A column full of tips and tricks for you today.
---My computer shop often is full of computers that shut off for no good reason. One great toy around the shop is the Thermohawk 200, a small touchless infrared thermometer. You aim the little beam at the processor or whatever and wham, an instant readout of the temperature of whatever you’re pointing at.
This is, in the vernacular of long ago, wicked cool.
This $50 gizmo is no larger than a penlight, fits on a keychain and works in a second. Point, aim and shoot. It’s great for overclocking processors (how hot is too hot?)
It’s from Q3 Innovations (www.Q3i.com) and available in many computer stores.
---If you’re ever tempted to buy one of those $25 mini vacs to clean out dust from your PC, forget it. Not enough suction, I found out after a couple of vacs. Instead I am out about a billion of those little cans of air that I hope don’t harm the ozone layer.
---Speaking of dust, you are periodically opening your PC and blowing it out, right? Right? Well, if you’re like most people, you’re not. If your PC is in an enclosure or other tight space it’s even worse. Investing $5 a can of compressed air and 10 minutes of work is time well spent.
Unplug everything, take it outside and unscrew the two thumbscrews or the slide (unless it’s a Dell) and open the side. Then blow the dust out of the CPU fan, the case fan and the video card fan. Then blow the dust out of the power supply fans and vents too.
Make sure all of the fans spin freely and the dust is all cleaned out before buttoning it all back up.
---I got a great set of Sears/Craftsman screwdrivers (#41711) including some hard to find small Torx screwdrivers to open some odd computers and media players. My only issue prior to finding these was that tiny screwdrivers were tiny. (Opening some Apple Powerbooks were nearly impossible.) So there was very little leverage while using them. These have been a great tool in the repair arsenal. The only trick is not to misplace them.
---If you own an Apple Mac, make sure you run Software Update. There are some critical software patches that have been released for the Mac. If you run a Windows XP machine also run Windows Update for a couple of patches released in September.
---I have received several e-mails with feedback about Ubuntu, a version of Linux offered free on the Internet. It’s not only free on the Internet for download but free on CD (even free postage.)
All of them who have written me so far like it, saying it has given new life to old hardware that otherwise wouldn’t have been used for anything. I agree. It’s just the answer for day care centers and K-4 classrooms who don’t need the latest and greatest stuff, either.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: One of the first sites I found on the Web is still one of the best. Check out Chateau Meddybemps with your kids at www.meddybemps.com

James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com

It has been awhile since I have had a nice rant about something that has ticked me off in the computer world.
Today we’re talking rebates.
It seems everything I buy now comes with a rebate.
I am not alone in thinking this ridiculous idea is keeping retail prices high because the consumer actually thinks they are getting a bargain.
Here are the dirty secrets of rebates.
---Most consumers don’t fill them in and mail them off. That means they are paying a much higher price for the good than they thought they were going to. One industry figure I remember was 14 percent of rebates are actually redeemed.
---Some percentage are redeemed but the user doesn’t ever get the money. The redemption service makes up some excuse about you not including the right UPC code or something and you never hear anything again.
---Some are stolen in the mail (Kingston actually sends checks as postcards.)
So given all of this why am I still ticked off? Well, normal purchases are not so bad. I bought some RAM the other day at Circuit City and the pleasant young cashier stapled everything together for me and even printed duplicate receipts for the two rebates (one for $25 and one for $5.)
The only kicker is the second one required a photocopy of the UPC code. But I did manage to use my all-in-one printer to make a copy and got them mailed off okay.
However, I bought a bunch of parts recently from Tiger Direct, a large online seller. Five of them came with rebates. It was enough money to actually worry about so I sat down with a dozen envelopes and the UPC codes.
Tiger (and some other retailers) now are using a service called On Rebate (www.onrebate.com) that purportedly makes it easier to claim your rebates. I actually consider it a step backward. Here’s why.
For one, if you don’t have a printer handy when you actually make the initial order, you don’t have a chance to print the forms in one handy location. If you go back later, you have to visit Tiger’s Rebate Center. where invariably I can’t find the right form.
Anyway, with On Rebate you enter some information into an online form and you expect to be done. But this sites adds a wrinkle... you have to enter your e-mail address and wait up to 24 hours for a confirmation e-mail before you can click on that to then print out another form and then mail off all of the receipts and UPC codes.
To my mind that 24 hour delay makes it far more likely you’ll never find a second time to sit down to work on rebates.
The plus side of the site is it will directly mail the debate to PayPal in a couple of days; the downside is they want 10 percent of the rebate to do it in a timely manner. (A free PayPal deposit can take six to eight weeks.)
I have to ask... why not just reduce the price?
I know the answer...then everyone would get the lower price. And retailers don’t want that.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Enter “rebate scam” in Google and you will find a page full of interesting sites and columns about how to improve your rebate chances.

James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair company, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com