iPod models, and the best choices in free e-mail accounts.
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
Q: If I am considering buying a new laptop, should I wait until the new 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking standard is available? If I purchase a laptop now, should I buy one with an external wireless card so I can easily upgrade to the new standard later?
A: If you need a new laptop now, I wouldn't wait, even though the new "n" flavor of Wi-Fi promises to be faster and to have much better range than the current "a," "b," and "g" versions. I have no idea when the "n" standard will make it into the marketplace, since it's still in the hands of a standards committee, and such bodies tend to move slowly.
I would also note that the new standard is almost certain to be backwards-compatible with the current wireless chips sold as internal equipment on today's laptops. So it isn't as if a laptop purchased now with built-in Wi-Fi will be useless when the new standard emerges. In fact, based on my testing of the so-called pre-N Wi-Fi gear made by Belkin, some of the new standard's range and speed improvements will still be attainable, even with older chips in your laptop.
However, if you expect to keep the laptop for years and are determined to get the maximum speed and range from the forthcoming "n" gear, then buying an external, removable Wi-Fi card, instead of built-in Wi-Fi, makes sense. Just be prepared to pay more than you would for the internal solution.
Q: I was all set to buy an iPod , but now Apple has brought out so many new models at so many different prices, that I'm totally confused. Which iPod model offers the most bang for the buck?
A: It's not a simple calculation. It depends on how much value you place on price, song capacity, style, size, battery life and screen displays. Apple is now blanketing the market with seven models priced between $99 and $449, rising mostly at $50 increments. Capacities range from half a gigabyte, or 120 songs, at the bottom end of the range; to 60 gigabytes, or 15,000 songs, at the top. Screen types range from no screen at all -- for the $99 and $149 iPod Shuffle models -- to a color screen that can display pictures on the $349 and $449 iPod Photo models.
If "bang for the buck" means how little you can pay for each gigabyte of storage, then the costliest iPod , the $449 white model with 60 gigabytes of storage, offers the most bang. But it's also the largest model. Many people, with fewer songs and a greater sense of style, might prefer the slimmer, multihued iPod mini models, which cost $199 for four gigabytes or $249 for six gigabytes, and also offer the longest battery life of any iPod . And people with limited budgets will prefer the low-end Shuffle models, which are tiny but cheap.
All these models can be used on either Windows or Macintosh computers, all are compatible with Apple's iTunes software and all can play songs sold by Apple's iTunes Music Store. But none can play songs sold by most other online stores.
Q: I am ready to leave Hotmail and switch to another free mail service. I tried to set up a Google "Gmail" account, but was unable to find any sign-up page on their Web site. What are my best choices for setting up a new free e-mail account?
A: At the moment, Gmail is available only to new users who have been invited to join by existing members. That's why you couldn't simply sign up. The main attraction of Gmail is that it offers one gigabyte of mail storage free, a huge amount for an online e-mail service. So, if you know somebody who is a Gmail user, you might try to get invited.
Overall, I prefer Yahoo Mail among the free online competitors. I find it's easy to navigate, reliable, and packed with useful features. And, for a modest $20 a year, you can boost your Yahoo mail storage to two gigabytes from the standard 250 megabytes, and get some other added services as well.
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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column. 如何挑选 iPod
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者有关是否应该等到 Wi-Fi 新标准推出才购买笔记本电脑、哪种 iPod 比较划算、以及选择哪种免费电子邮件服务的问题。
问：如果我想购买一台新的笔记本电脑，我是否应该等到最新的 802.11n 无线保真 (Wi-Fi) 网络标准推出后再买呢？如果我现在就买一台笔记本电脑，我是否应该购买配有外部无线网卡的那种，这样我好方便地在以后将电脑升级至最新的标准？
答：如果我现在需要一台新的笔记本电脑，我会毫不犹豫立即去购买，即便是新的 Wi-Fi “ n ”系列标准的上网速度更快，并且覆盖范围较目前的“ a ”、“ b ”和“ g ”标准更广。我不知道“ n ”标准何时推向市场，因为它目前还握在一个标准委员会的手里，而这类机构的办事效率总是很慢。
我还想指出的是，几乎可以肯定新标准将兼容目前用在笔记本电脑中的无线晶片，因此将来在新标准推出后，现在购买的有内置 Wi-Fi 的笔记本电脑也还一样能用。事实上，根据我对 Belkin 推出的所谓的“ pre-N ” Wi-Fi 设备的测试结果，即使你的笔记本电脑中用的是老的晶片，你还是可以部分享受到新标准带来的覆盖范围和速度的改进成果。
不过，如果你打算若干年内都使用这台笔记本电脑，并且决心要充分享受到“ n ”标准下的最快网速和最大覆盖范围，那么你最好买一个外置可移动的 Wi-Fi 卡，而不是内置的 Wi-Fi ，只不过前者可能花的钱要多一些。
问：我打算购买一个 iPod ，但现在苹果电脑 (Apple) 推出了这么多的新机型，价格又千差万别，我不知道选哪款好。哪种 iPod 划算呢？
答：这可不好说。这取决于你更看重哪一点，是价格、歌曲容量、大小、电池寿命还是屏幕种类。苹果目前在市场上销售的 iPod 有 7 款，最低价为 99 美元，价格基本是以 50 美元为一级上升，最高价为 449 美元。歌曲内存容量也有所不同，最少的为 0.5G ，可储存 120 首歌；容量最大的为 60G ，可储存 15,000 首歌。屏幕类型也各不相同， 99 美元和 149 美元的 iPod Shuffle 根本就没有屏幕，而 349 美元和 449 美元的 iPod 配备彩屏，能显示图片。
如果你所说的最“划算”指的是每 1 个 G 的存储空间你需要支付的价钱，那么 449 美元、内存为 60 个 G 的 iPod 最划算，不过它也是体积最大的一款。许多人要听的歌曲并不是很多，并且很注重时尚品位，他们可能会喜欢纤巧、机身有多种颜色可供选择的 iPod Mini ，它的售价是 199 美元，存储量为 4G ，其电池寿命也是所有 iPod 中最长的。手头不是十分宽裕的人可能喜欢低端的 Shuffle 系列产品，它们体积较小，但很便宜。
所有这几种 iPod 都既能用在 Windows 电脑上，也能用在 Macintosh 电脑上，并且都和苹果的 iTunes 软件兼容，都能播放苹果的 iTunes Music Store 出售的歌曲。不过，它们均无法播放其他网上商店出售的多数歌曲。
问：我准备放弃 Hotmail ，转而使用其他免费电子邮件服务。我试图注册 Google 的“ Gmail ”的帐户，但是在他们网站上找不到注册的页面。哪种免费电子邮件帐户是我最好的选择呢？
答：目前 Gmail 只接受那些受到现有用户邀请的新用户的注册。这也是你无法注册的原因。 Gmail 主要吸引人的地方是它提供的免费邮箱容量是 1 个 G ，这在电子邮箱中算得上是容量大的。因此，如果你认识什么人是 Gmail 用户，不妨试试让他向你发出邀请。
总体而言，我最喜欢 Yahoo Mail ，它浏览简便，使用可靠，并且配备了许多有用的功能。如果每年花上不多的 20 美元，你还能将这个邮箱的容量从标准的 250 兆提高到 2G ，同时还能获得一些其他附加的服务。
