| Introduction |
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xvii | |
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1 The Computer: It's What Makes Everything Possible |
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1 | (23) |
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Why Shouldn't I Buy a Windows Computer? It Seems As If Everyone Uses One |
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3 | (1) |
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Is One Type of Computer Better to Use on the Internet? |
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4 | (1) |
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What Is the Best Internet Browser? |
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5 | (1) |
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The Windows Operating System Has More Programs Available. More Choice Is Better, Right? |
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5 | (1) |
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Aren't Apple Computers Much More Expensive Than Windows Machines? |
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6 | (1) |
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I Hear That Apple Computers Are for Artistic People, and I Consider Myself to Be Creative. Will I Be Stymied by a Windows Computer? |
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7 | (1) |
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So Why Shouldn't I Buy a Windows-Compatible PC? |
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7 | (1) |
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But I'll Save a Lot of Money with a Windows Machine, Right? |
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8 | (1) |
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Aren't Windows Machines Much Easier to Use Than They Used to Be? |
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9 | (1) |
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What Are the Reasons to Buy a Mac? |
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9 | (1) |
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Aren't All Computers Built by the Same Handful of Chinese Companies? |
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9 | (1) |
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Is It Really True That Macs Don't Get Viruses? That Sounds Like an Urban Myth |
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10 | (1) |
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Can I Get the Programs I Need for a Mac? |
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11 | (1) |
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Computers Scare Me. What If the Computer Crashes? |
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11 | (2) |
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What If Restarting My Computer Doesn't Solve the Problem? |
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13 | (1) |
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If I Use My Computer to Store All My Documents, Photos, Movies, and Music, How Do I Find Everything? |
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13 | (3) |
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How Do I Find What I'm Looking For on the Internet? |
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16 | (1) |
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How Can I Make Sure I Don't Lose All My Digital Stuff? I Keep Hearing Horror Stories About Getting Hacked. Or What If My Computer Is in a Fire? |
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17 | (1) |
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What Happens If My Backup Hard Drive Breaks? |
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18 | (1) |
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19 | (2) |
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How Do I Get My Stuff into the Cloud? |
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21 | (1) |
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Is the Cloud Just for Backing Up My Files? |
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22 | (2) |
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24 | (5) |
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Is a Computer Printer Still a Necessity? |
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25 | (1) |
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What Should I Look For in a Printer? |
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25 | (1) |
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What Are the Newest Features of Today's Printers? |
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26 | (1) |
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Why Is Printer Ink So Expensive? |
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27 | (1) |
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Which Printer Brand Should I Buy? |
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28 | (1) |
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3 I Just Want to Watch TV! |
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29 | (24) |
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What Is High-Definition TV? |
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31 | (1) |
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Is Everything on TV in High Definition? |
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32 | (2) |
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How Much Do These HDTVs Cost? |
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34 | (1) |
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How to Choose a Good HDTV |
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34 | (1) |
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A Few Simple Rules about What TV to Buy |
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35 | (1) |
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What Do I Look for If I Want an LCD TV? An LED or an LCD? |
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36 | (1) |
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What Size TV Should I Get? |
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36 | (1) |
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What Do I Do with All the Picture Settings on the TV's Menu? |
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37 | (3) |
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Getting the Best Picture from Your HDTV |
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40 | (2) |
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But Why Didn't This Work for My Blu-ray Disc Player? |
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42 | (2) |
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Sharp and Sharper: DVD vs. Blu-ray |
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44 | (2) |
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3D TVs: Should I Buy One? |
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46 | (1) |
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How Can I Get 3D TV Programming? |
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46 | (1) |
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Will My Blu-ray Player Work with 3D Discs, and a Few Other Things You Need to Know About 3D TV |
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47 | (1) |
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Do I Have to Wear Glasses When I Watch 3D TV? |
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47 | (1) |
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What Kind of Glasses Are There? |
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48 | (1) |
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Pros and Cons of 3D TVs with Active and Passive Glasses |
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49 | (1) |
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Does the 3D TV I Want Use Active (Expensive) or Passive (Cheap) Glasses? |
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50 | (1) |
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I Don't Like Glasses! Why Can't I Get a 3D TV That Doesn't Require Them? |
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50 | (1) |
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4K TVs: Higher than High Definition |
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51 | (1) |
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Should I Buy a 4K Ultra HD TV? |
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51 | (1) |
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Are There 4K Movies or TV Shows Available? |
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52 | (1) |
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If There's No 4K Programming, What Good Is a 4K TV? |
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52 | (1) |
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4 DVRs and TiVos: Watch What You Want, When You Want |
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53 | (3) |
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What's the Difference Between a DVR and a TiVo? |
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54 | (1) |
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What's the Difference Between a DVR and a VHS Machine? |
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54 | (1) |
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55 | (1) |
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5 Recreating the Sound of a Movie Theater in Your Home |
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56 | (5) |
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How Many Speakers Do I Need? |
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58 | (2) |
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If Five Speakers Are Good, Aren't Seven Speakers Even Better? How About Ten, or One Hundred? |
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60 | (1) |
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6 Surround Sound Technologies |
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61 | (4) |
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Why Do I Want Surround Sound? |
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61 | (1) |
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I Can't Figure Out What Speakers and Audio Receiver to Buy, So What Do I Do? |
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62 | (1) |
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I'm Not Going to Drag Cables Across the Living Room Just to Get Speakers Behind My Sofa |
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62 | (1) |
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Setting Up Wireless Speakers in the Rear Is Just Too Much for Me |
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63 | (1) |
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Why Can't I Just Use the TV's Built-In Speakers? |
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64 | (1) |
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Dolby Digital, Dolby HD, DTS, DTS HD, SRS, THX: What Are They, and Which Are Important? |
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64 | (1) |
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7 Programming: How to Get It and How to Save Money |
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65 | (2) |
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8 Wires, Wires, and More Wires! Does This Plug into That? |
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67 | (6) |
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Why Are There So Many Connectors in the Back of a TV? |
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68 | (3) |
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A Simple Guide to Connecting Everything Audiovisual |
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71 | (2) |
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9 Remote Controls: Why Can't We All Just Get Along? |
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73 | (4) |
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Why Can't One Remote Be Designed to Control Everything? |
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74 | (1) |
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I Got Everything Set Up, But Now My Remote Doesn't Work! |
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74 | (3) |
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10 Getting More from Your TV |
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77 | (5) |
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Watching TV on Your Computer, and Vice Versa |
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77 | (3) |
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Is There Any Way to Watch Programming That Doesn't Originate from Where I Live? |
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80 | (1) |
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81 | (1) |
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11 Internet-Connected TVs |
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82 | (4) |
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12 Creating a Home Network |
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86 | (8) |
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What Kind of Router Should I Buy? |
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88 | (1) |
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88 | (1) |
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What Router Speed Do I Need? |
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88 | (1) |
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89 | (1) |
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Wired vs. Wireless: Nobody's Perfect |
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90 | (2) |
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How Do I Get the Internet into My TV, My Blu-ray Player, and My Xbox 360, All at Once? |
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92 | (2) |
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13 Should I Get Rid of My Landline Phone? |
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94 | (8) |
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What Alternatives Are There to Landline Phones? |
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97 | (1) |
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How Can I Call Overseas Without Spending a Fortune? |
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98 | (4) |
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14 Everything Is Connected |
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102 | (4) |
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What Can I Do with Connected Devices? |
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103 | (2) |
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Is There Any Reason I Wouldn't Want Everything Connected? |
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105 | (1) |
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15 You (Used to) Light Up My Life: The New Light Bulbs That Will Change the World--and Yours |
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106 | (10) |
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Are Standard Light Bulbs Being Banned? |
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107 | (3) |
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So I'll Have to Use Those Ugly Compact Fluorescent Bulbs? |
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110 | (1) |
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Are There Any New Lighting Technologies on the Horizon? |
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111 | (2) |
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Why Wouldn't I Want to Use an LED Lamp? |
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113 | (1) |
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How Can You Motivate People to Spend More Upfront Just for a Better Bulb? |
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113 | (1) |
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Should I Buy LED Lamps Now or Wait for the Price to Come Down? |
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114 | (1) |
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Where Do I Get LED Lamps? |
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115 | (1) |
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16 Simplify Your Life Away from Home: Android, iPad, iPod, iPhone, Oy Vey! |
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116 | (21) |
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118 | (1) |
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How Does the Android Experience Differ from Apple's? |
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119 | (2) |
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Which Is Better? Android or Apple's iOS? |
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121 | (3) |
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124 | (1) |
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Then Why Do I Need an App If I Can Go to the Actual Web site? |
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124 | (2) |
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QR Codes: That Little Black Box with Patterns That Appears on Many Print Ads |
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126 | (1) |
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Aren't Smartphones Very Expensive? |
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127 | (2) |
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129 | (1) |
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Can I Use My Mobile Phone Overseas? |
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130 | (2) |
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Ergo, If You Take a GSM Phone from the United States and Bring It to Europe, It'll Work, Right? |
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132 | (1) |
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So If You're an AT&T or T-Mobile Customer, the Problem Is Solved, Right? |
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132 | (3) |
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But What If I Can't Unlock My Phone, or It Won't Work in the Country I'm In? |
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135 | (2) |
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17 Tablets: Android and Apple |
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137 | (5) |
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What's the Difference Between a Kindle, a Nook, and an iPad? |
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139 | (1) |
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What Can't You Do with an iPad or Any Other Kind of Tablet? |
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139 | (1) |
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Why Would I Want a Tablet, Whether It's an iPad or an Android-Based Device? |
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140 | (1) |
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Why Wouldn't I Want a Tablet? |
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141 | (1) |
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18 Your Digital Life, Everywhere |
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142 | (5) |
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143 | (2) |
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But I Don't Have iCloud/iPad/iPhone/Mac. What Can I Do? |
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145 | (2) |
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147 | (6) |
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Bluetooth: Necessary or Not? |
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147 | (1) |
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Do I Want (or Need) GPS Navigation? |
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148 | (1) |
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Should the GPS Be Built into the Car, or Should I Get a Portable Unit? |
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149 | (2) |
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Do I Want a Backup Camera? |
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151 | (1) |
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Should I Get a Blind Spot Detection System? |
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151 | (1) |
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I Have Apps on My Smartphone. Why Would I Want Them in My Car? |
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152 | (1) |
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153 | (1) |
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154 | (2) |
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22 Buy This, Not That: The Bottom Line on Consumer Electronics |
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156 | (8) |
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Do I Need an Extended Warranty? |
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158 | (1) |
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How Do I Choose a PC? How Do I Choose a Mac? |
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158 | (1) |
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What Tablet Should I Buy: An Android-Based Product or an Apple iPad? |
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159 | (1) |
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Does an Android Tablet Offer Enough Apps? |
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159 | (1) |
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How to Choose a Flat-Screen TV |
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160 | (1) |
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161 | (1) |
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162 | (1) |
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162 | (1) |
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Phoning to and from Abroad |
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163 | (1) |
| Acknowledgments |
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164 | (1) |
| Notes |
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165 | (3) |
| Index |
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168 | |
