Consumer Issues

By HELEN MALANI
Friday, October 27, 2006
As I was walking though my local Apple Store I did a double take. No, it wasn't the new iPod that caught my eye, but a customer getting a lesson on how to use her new laptop.

This is rather unremarkable in itself, except that she was my grandmother's age and I just never imagined my grandmother buying a laptop.

Thursday, October 26, 2006
2007 CHRYSLER SEBRING

TYPE: Front-drive, five-passenger, mid-size sedan.

PRICE: $18,995 base.

WHERE BUILT: Sterling Heights, Mich.

KEY RIVALS: Toyota C

By RICHARD WILLIAMSON
Thursday, October 26, 2006
After redefining full-size cars with the visually stunning 300C, Chrysler is aiming for an encore with the midsize Sebring sedan.

Modeled on the 2003 Chrysler Airflite concept introduced at the Geneva motor show, Sebring is designed to look more expensive than its $18,995 base price would suggest.

Showing up in showrooms in the fourth quarter of this year, Sebring will compete with the most successful names in mid-size cars, particularly the redesigned Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and updated Nissan Altima.

Sebring's segment represents roughly 12 percent of overall car and truck sales and 28 percent of the passenger-car market.

By RYAN KIM
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
When Mobile ESPN pulled the plug last week on its phone service after only eight months, it caught many analysts by surprise and served as a warning to other emerging niche phone carriers.

That a huge brand like ESPN with established content and a heavy marketing campaign could call it quits so soon has raised questions about the future of this class of cellular carriers known as mobile virtual network operators.

Essentially, virtual network operators are niche phone carriers that provide service and deliver content over another operator's wireless network.

Some analysts said ESPN Mobile's pullout points up the need for better planning and strategy in starting a cellular service.

By CHRIS CAMPBELL
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
("Test Drive Unlimited." Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PC. Genre: Racing. Publisher: Atari. ESRB Rating: E for Everyone. Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5.)

"Test Drive Unlimited" takes a more leisurely approach to racing; after all, you reside on the tropical Hawaiian island of Oahu and spend your time (either offline or online) collecting money, clothing, houses, and most importantly, new cars.

Atari has billed this game as a massive multiplayer online racing simulation and pretty much delivers on that promise from start to finish.

There are plenty of things to do offline, but the main thrust of "Unlimited" is the online component.

There's really no storyline to speak of; you'll either love this aspect of the gameplay or be left wondering just what is the point of the game.

By BRIAN D. CRECENTE
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
"Killzone: Liberation"

Grade: B-

Rating: Teen

Platform: PSP

What we liked: Well-balanced action with a nice variety of weapons and level design.

What we didn't like: Seemed a bit short; aiming can be troublesome at times; the online multiplayer has yet to be released.)

When the PlayStation Portable reached the market last March the handheld's games seemed to come in two flavors: casual pick-up-and-play titles and miniaturized versions of PlayStation 2 games.

Only recently has the PSP started getting more original and creative content like "Daxter," "LocoRoco" and, now, "Killzone: Liberation."

With "Liberation," developer Guerilla decided to build the game from the ground up instead of trying to recreate the PlayStation 2 sci-fi first-person shooter "Killzone" for the portable.

You play the game floating above the action at an angle that lets you get a full view of the diminutive heroic lead, Templar, as he fights his way through legions of jack-booted Helghast.

The third-person vantage, controlled dynamically throughout the game, helps you play strategically, relying on finesse rather than brute force to make your way through the game's 16 tricky levels.

The games controls are fairly intuitive, letting you move around, crouch, do a diving roll, interact with objects, reload, throw grenades and fire your weapon.

The aiming system creates an interesting balance between allowing you to auto-lock on a target and making you aim manually.

By ANNA WALLNER and KRISTINA MATISIC
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Autumn means foraging season for many wild mushroom enthusiasts. But whether you're foraging in the forest or at the grocery store, here are some tips on finding the freshest fungus for your table.

By HELEN MALANI
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
October is breast cancer awareness month. Make an extra effort to rally around this battle by donating to the many organizations that are helping fight against this disease.

By RICHARD WILLIAMSON
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Amid the aroma of corn dogs and funnel cake, General Motors aims to strengthen its grip on the Texas truck market with its State Fair intro of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado.

Next door to Ford's display of its best-selling F-Series pickups, Chevrolet dished out barbecue and cobbler as its marketing execs talked up the all-new Silverado to the accompaniment of country band Montgomery Gentry.

This week's coming-out party for the Silverado gives Chevrolet the jump on the new Toyota Tundra, which will be rolling off a San Antonio assembly line for the first time in 2007.

At the Toyota display, fairgoers see signs that promise "another reason not to mess with Texas: the full-size Tundra from Texas." Toyota has its own established challenger in the Nissan Titan, built at the new plant in Canton, Miss.

By JUSTIN HOEGER
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Massive, free-form epics like "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" and online games such as "World of WarCraft" encompass role-playing in the true sense of the term _ players start with a blank slate of a character and travel through the game's world in whatever way they see fit.

Most Japanese-made RPGs take a narrower route _ a typical game has a well-developed cast of characters, a relatively linear progression and an engaging, complicated story line.

"Enchanted Arms" is the first such RPG for the Xbox 360; "Xenosaga Episode III" comes as the PlayStation 2 gets ready to bow out and Sony's new console enters the market later this year.

"Enchanted Arms" adds some intriguing tweaks to the formula.