Michael L Berman's blog

I smell turkey, which means Thanksgiving is around the corner and the fat guy in the red suit will be trying to shimmy down chimneys in another month. It also means I get to tell you how to spend your Christmas bonuses.

Although pickings have been slim this year in the console gaming world, there are a few new games that have caught my eye - - - sometimes both eyes.

In an era when everything comes under close scrutiny --- especially when it comes to products from Uncle Bill and the Boys from Redmond --- it's refreshing when something new works almost as advertised.

Windows 7, which is due to hit store shelves later this month, has exceeded my expectations.

Are you cramped for desk space?

Is the lack of elbow room giving you nightmares?

You may want to check out a new small format keyboard from Logitech and two new "mini" keyboards from Adesso that can help you reclaim some of that lost real estate.

What a Summer!

-- Uncle Bill and the Boys from Redmond announced that the Windows 7 operating system will be released in October. Hopefully this won't be just an upgraded version of Vista in sheep's clothing.

Stuff! It's all around us, surrounding us like a viral menace.

You can find it:

-- In the closet;
-- On shelves;
-- Closing in on you in your office.

In an effort to clear out some of this "stuff," here's a look at a few things I've been meaning to write about that have been piling up, taking up valuable, but limited, space in my office.

It's been our link to the world! Our trip overseas as we listen to broadcasts from France, Germany, Italy and, of course, the good old BBC. But it's fading fast.

Bet you thought my tirade was going to end with Part 1 -- WRONG! I have only begun to rant!

Users of Windows XP have been hit with a new, updated version of the classic smitfraud virus, which attaches itself to various programs and files on your PC or netbook. Unfortunately, this one isn't as easy to eradicate as the older versions and has converted many PCs into expensive door stops.

When was the last time someone read to you? Fifty years ago? Thirty years ago? Yesterday?

Well, I've been playing with a neat device that can read you to sleep every night - - - the Plustek BookReader V100.

I've had it!

I'm not going to take it anymore!!!!!!

Here are a few of the things that cause what's left of my hair to rise on the back of my neck:

Alienware produces a super, teched-out gaming computer for $6,200 but doesn't include wi-fi for all of us online gamers. C'mon guys, you've produced a computer we gamers would otherwise drool over. But no wi-fi? That's annoying!

If you have more than one computer on your wireless network and are bedazzled and befuddled as to how to share your printer among them, the new Lexmark X9575 Professional($249) wireless printer may be the answer to your prayers.