By JAMES DERK, Scripps Howard News Service

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.

I already have my plans booked for the coming weekend. No, I am not going to take my kids to the park for some summer fun or check out "Hancock" at the theaters like I had planned.

Mail is clogging the box after a few weeks of product reviews. Let's get to it.

Q. I am thinking about getting a cellular modem for my laptop. Have you reviewed any and can you tell me how fast they are? I don't want to spend a lot of money and get dial-up speed.

The enV2, one of the latest cool phones from LG Electronics, has everything most consumers will want in a cell phone (aside from an easy to remember name, I suppose.)

The upgrade from last year's popular enV, this is a popular offering from Verizon Wireless for consumers who need a QWERTY keyboard for text messaging and e-mail.

The columnist log for today is full:

- Here's a prediction ... Microsoft is going to keep selling Windows XP.

I know, XP is supposed to die a slow, horrible death on June 30 but as I am writing this I just can't make sense of why Microsoft is going to make a whole lot of consumers mad by forcing Windows Vista on them when Vista, in many cases, is chock full of junk.

Apple's "Time Machine," a way-cool device designed to be a simple backup device for your gleaming new Apple computer, is appropriately named in my experience.

Letters have been flowing in so let's get to the inbox and answer some questions.

Q. Your column last week talked about AVG Free Edition (anti-virus) and how it expired. Mine did not expire at the end of May and is still working it appears. Should I upgrade to the new edition?

I have been bombarded with questions about AVG's free anti-virus program, which periodically expires in an effort to sell the commercial (non-free version) to unsuspecting consumers.