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Stories by Melissa Riofrio

  • Dell Chromebook 11 review: Basic browser machine keeps up with the times, barely

    Dell's no dummy. It may have built its business on PCs, but its new Chromebook 11 is designed to maintain its presence the education market, where Chromebooks are enjoying some growth. Compared to managing a fleet of Windows-based boxes, tending to a herd of browser-based Chromebooks is far simpler and cheaper (Google even provides a Chrome Management Console for all the tasks that make IT people happy).

  • Intel wants its new mobile chips in your phone, tablet, toaster and more

    Desktop who? Windows what? The classic Windows-based PC remains Intel's bread and butter, but it's needed to diversify its diet for a long time. At an event on Monday morning at Mobile World Congress, the company announced two new Atom chips, code-named Merrifield and Moorefield, that could be its first truly competitive mobile solutions. And not a product cycle too soon.

  • Snubbed in US, Microsoft pins Windows Phone's future on emerging markets

    The Windows Phone market share in the US is so bad, it had to pick on poor BlackBerry to make itself feel better. At least, that's what happened at a Sunday event before Mobile World Congress. In a darkened event space at a swanky hotel, Microsoft video boasted, "We've overtaken BlackBerry." The packed crowd of journalists roared, and even Microsoft exec, Joe Belfiore, couldn't help but smile with slight embarrassment.

  • A car's a car, but the car's apps make the difference

    Car apps: In a few years, we'll wonder how we did without them, just as we have with smartphones and apps since Apple introduced the iPhone seven years ago (January 9, 2007, in fact). These apps can be used either to control basic car functions or do something while in the car, such as finding a pizza place wherever you are, or ordering the pizza.

  • New Sony Fit laptops all offer touchscreens

    As Sony announces its new VAIO Fit line of consumer laptops, it's leading a charge--a necessary one--into the world of touch. Touchscreens will be available across the entire product line, and standard on some models. In a briefing last week, Sony said that it expected touchscreens to overtake non-touch displays rapidly as the laptop norm.

  • The best Windows 8 machines you can buy today

    We've had about six months to play with Windows 8 (like it or not) and with the first generation of hardware designed for the new OS. So now, with PCs based on Intel's Haswell CPU poised on the horizon, it's time to take stock of the best Windows 8 hardware available today. You may be able to snap one up for a bargain-basement price as the industry clears out inventory in anticipation of second-gen machines.

  • The 5 biggest online privacy threats of 2013

    Your online life may not seem worth tracking as you browse websites, store content in the cloud, and post updates to social networking sites. But the data you generate is a rich trove of information that says more about you than you realize - and it's a tempting treasure for marketers and law enforcement officials alike.