Cingular's New Data Network
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about Cingular data networks, the quality of Compaq laptops and options for connecting an iPod to home speakers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: In your review of the new T-Mobile BlackBerry Pearl, you said Cingular Wireless has a data network that is much faster than the EDGE network that T-Mobile uses. But I have a BlackBerry from Cingular and it, too, uses EDGE. So how is Cingular faster?
A: In 80 cities, Cingular has now rolled out a new network based on a technology called HSDPA that, in my tests, can be 10 times as fast as EDGE. However, most of its phones and digital devices haven't been updated in new versions that can use the new, faster network. So far, only a few regular phones and laptop data cards from Cingular can use HSDPA. Its data-centric hand-helds, like BlackBerrys and Treos, are still stuck on EDGE, which Cingular continues to maintain alongside the new faster network.
But Cingular plans to offer new versions of the data devices in the coming months that can take advantage of the new, higher speeds. By contrast, T-Mobile has nothing faster than EDGE. Verizon Wireless and Sprint also have networks that are much faster than EDGE, based on a technology called EVDO. They are way ahead of Cingular in both the number of cities deployed and in the variety of devices that can use the highest speeds. For instance, the Verizon Treo I carry uses EVDO and can download Web pages and email attachments much more quickly than any EDGE device can.
There is a catch. With Verizon, Sprint and Cingular, even if your phone or data device can use the highest-speed networks the carriers offer, they will drop down to a lower-speed network if you enter an area where the higher-speed coverage isn't available.
Q: I bought a Compaq laptop in January 2005. Now in August it will not turn on. Naturally I only had a one-year warranty. The Geek Squad tells me I need a mother board, and that will cost more than a new laptop. Does Compaq have a history of only lasting a little over a year, or did I get a lemon?
A: Neither my email from readers nor anything I have read suggests that Compaq computers typically last only a year or so. However, reader surveys published by Consumer Reports and PC Magazine rank the Compaq brand (which is now owned by Hewlett-Packard) at or near the bottom in categories like how often its laptops need repairs and how reliable they are.
In general, I believe that as the factories in China (where nearly all laptops are made) jam more powerful and numerous components into slender laptops, quality and reliability are falling. Even Apple, which ranks at or near the top on the surveys I mentioned, is having problems with some of its newest laptops (and I am not referring here to the burning batteries Apple and Dell purchased from Sony).
Q: Are there any good, effective options for getting an Apple iPod to work with a home speaker system? I guess I'm envisioning a "receiver" that allows an iPod to dock with it.
A: There are lots of products on the market that allow you to connect an iPod to a home audio system, or even just speakers. They range from simple audio cables you can buy at Radio Shack to iPod docks that connect to speakers or an audio receiver, and even wireless approaches. Apple itself makes a $19 cable and a $39 dock for this purpose and also sells a complete kit, with dock, cables and remote, for $99. But other companies sell similar products as well as self-contained docks.
There are way too many of these to list here, but there are some Web sites that can help you. Apple has a Web page listing some accessories, at
www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html. More are listed at Apple's online store, at store.apple.com, under iPod Accessories -- "Cables & Docks." Another good source for information about this topic is ilounge.com.
iPod如何连接家用音响系统
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。
本周我将回答读者关于康柏笔记本电脑质量的问题以及把iPod与家用音响连接起来的问题。
问：2005年1月我买了一台康柏(Compaq)笔记本电脑，到今年8月的时候就无法开机了，而我只有一年的免费保修服务。Geek Squad的人告诉我需要换一块主板了，可是更换主板的成本比买一台新笔记本电脑还贵。难道说康柏的产品一般只有一年左右的使用寿命吗，还是我买到的是个次品？
答：读者的电子邮件和我看到过的资料还没有反映康柏产品只有一年左右寿命的问题。但在Consumer Reports和PC Magazine刊登的读者调查中，康柏（现归入惠普旗下）笔记本电脑在修理频率和可靠性方面在各大品牌中经常排在倒数的位置。
总的来说，我认为随着设在中国的工厂（那里几乎生产全球几乎所有牌子的笔记本电脑）向薄薄的笔记本里添加越来越多的功能更强大的部件，电脑的质量和可靠性确实在下降。即使是在上面两本杂志排名居前的苹果电脑，其最新出品的几款笔记本电脑也存在着这样或那样的问题。苹果电脑和戴尔(Dell)笔记本电脑购自索尼(Sony)的电池还会出现起火燃烧的现象。
问：有没有把苹果电脑的iPod与家用音响系统接驳起来的好方法呢？我猜应该有一种“连接器”可以实现这个功能。
答：市面上有很多产品能够帮你把iPod与家用音响系统或音箱连接起来，例如可以在Radio Shack买到与iPod基座兼容的音频线，然后把用音频线把iPod和音箱或音频接收器连接，甚至还可实现无线连接。苹果电脑自身也有售价19美元的缆线和39美元专用基座出售，它还提供一个含有基座、缆线和遥控器的套装配件，售价为99美元。其他公司也出售类似的产品和全套的基座。
可实现这个功能的配件多得一下子罗列不过来，或许一些网站能帮上你的忙，例如苹果电脑展示配件的网页
www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html。更多的配件出现在苹果电脑的在线商店里面，具体网址是store.apple.com，你可以在iPod配件栏目下的缆线和基座类别里找到。ilounge.com也是一个不错的可以提供相关信息的网站。
Walter S. Mossberg
（编者按：本文作者Walter S. Mossberg是《华尔街日报》科技栏目Personal Technology，Mossberg's Mailbox等栏目的专栏作家。这些栏目主要介绍一些最新的消费类科技产品和解决方案，并解答读者提出的问题。）
