By JAMES DERK, Scripps Howard News Service

Pardon this space while I go on a rant, but I hope you can relate.Batteries are getting worse.I mean, in the space of a week or two the batteries in my iPod, my wireless mouse, a smoke detector, my cell phone, my wife's cell phone, two laptops, a TomTom GPS and the TiVo remote have gone south.

More letters from readers have filled the pot. Let's jump into the middle.Q. This week I tried to install Windows Defender per your recommendation from the Microsoft Web site and got a warning that the volume license on my computer had been deactivated and I needed to buy another one from Microsoft for more than $100. What does that mean?

With today's economy going into the dumper it seems clear that fewer computers will be moving off the shelves this fall and winter season.That will mean more computer upgrades as users try to get more performance out of aging machines. So let's discuss the upgrades that make the most sense and when to upgrade and when to go for a new machine.

The tens of millions of people who use Web-based e-mail clients probably sweated some bullets last week when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account was compromised and its contents leaked onto the Web.If they didn't, they should have.

I miss Ben Bradlee.Not just Ben Bradlee, but everyone like him. Bradlee, in case you don't know, was the crusty executive editor of the Washington Post from 1968 to 1991 and one of the main reasons I became a journalist years ago. Basically nothing of note was printed in The Post unless Bradlee took a look at it first.

It has been a few weeks since I tried to answer a few questions and they are piling up. Let's get right to the pile.Q. I have been watching flat-panel monitor pricing dropping and I am ready to buy one and I am not sure if my computer has enough power to make a larger display work. Do I need a special PC to make a 22-inch monitor work?

Time was when you wanted to browse the Web there was no real choice what tool you'd use to do it. Netscape was the only real game in town. It was small, it was fun and it was free.

There is an ominous trend growing among Internet service providers -- that consumers should "pay by the drink" for their Internet usage.

Anxiously awaited is this week's installment of the e-mail bag and your questions. Let's get right to it.Q. A few weeks ago you mentioned that you were removing Windows Vista from your computer and would install Windows XP. You never mentioned how it went, as I am about to do the same thing.

Letters are filling the box this week, many from parents looking to buy the right laptop for a college student. Let's get right to the pile.