April 2007, Week 3 -- Staying Dry

   If we ever get a boat, we "Otter" get one of these boxes. It's a watertight case for a video iPod -- $50 from a company called Otter Box, of course. You can still work the iPod controls while it's locked in the case.

   The company also has a laptop case, though it's quite heavy, so it's not something you want to carry around -- with or without a laptop computer inside. Another disadvantage for underwater use is you have to take the computer out of the case to use it, which kind of defeats the purpose of being watertight, we guess. But it seems just right for boats, where a laptop computer would likely be brought aboard but would always be subject to spray or simply sliding off onto a wet surface.

   The same circumstances might apply to other cases Otter Box makes, for handheld PDAs, GPS locators and even headphones. It also makes a big watertight case for desktop computers, which we guess is for people working under leaky roofs or hyperactive sprinkler systems.

   We've seen such cases before over the years, but what got our attention is the claim that some of these are completely watertight to a depth of 100 feet. Too bad the iPod case works to only 3 feet; we've always wanted to listen to our iPod while collecting sponges in the Keys. If you're still wet behind the ears, you can take a look at more waterproof cases at the Web site: Otterbox.com.

To Skype or Not to Skype

   Skype is the free phone call software. All right: It's sometimes free, sometimes just real cheap. The point is, more people would probably use it if they could also use their regular phone, just like old times.

    Viola, as we say in fractured French. Netgear has come out with a cordless phone that works both ways. It's called the SPH200D Cordless Phone with Skype (where do they come up with these catchy names?), and it was voted Best of Show at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It was voted Best of Show because unlike many products at computer shows, this one actually works.

   The phone's base station has to be connected to a regular phone line (for regular phone calls) and to the Internet (for making Skype calls). When you turn the phone on, a menu screen appears on the phone's display, offering you the choice of making a regular phone call or a Skype call.

   That is the really good part. Before, you had to have either one kind of phone or the other; now it's just one phone.

   The advantage of Skype calls, of course, is that they are free to any other phone that also uses Skype and is connected to the Internet. Calls to non-Skype phones anywhere in the world typically cost 2 or 3 cents a minute, or you can have unlimited service for $30 a year in the United States and Canada. Let's face it: That's cheap.

   The Skype software itself is free. You can download it from Skype.com, or, in this case, it comes pre-loaded on the Netgear phone.

   The downside of Skype calls is that you sometimes get poor connections. Of course, we have also had poor connections with our regular phone at times. On the whole, we thought our Skype calls to users on regular phones were the clearest we had ever experienced. In the past, there have always been echoes, static and other problems when we weren't talking to fellow Skype users.

   The phone lists for $200, but we found it for $130 after rebate at Amazon.com. You can get a lot more information about this phone and Skype use in general at www.Netgear.com.

On the Bubble

   Did you see the video clip in a bubble on this page? It hovers over the page for a few seconds, and you see and hear one of us saying something really boring.

   Anyone can use the bubble by going to BubbleGuru.com. It's free for the next few months, and goes to $10 a month after the official launch this summer. After registering at the Web site, you connect a Web cam or video camera and click "record." This is really simple. On the next page of the site you see Web site code that you paste into your Web site so it can get the video clip you just made. You only have to do this paste once.

   YouTube.com  also lets you put video on your site, but it can interfere with the look of your page.

Internuts

·  OldBaileyOnline.org contains the proceedings of London's Old Bailey from 1674 to 1834. The Old Bailey is the name of London's primary criminal court, and this recently organized Web site contains the records of more than 100,000 trials. Great material for aspiring or even already accomplished mystery writers. In fact, it's already been mined for that purpose and for movies too. With 100,000 cases, there should be some material left.

   LanguageIsAVirus.com  has aids for writers and advice on how to overcome writer's block. (What is writer's block?)

Free Storage

   Starting this May, Yahoo.com is offering unlimited free storage for anyone who has a Yahoo e-mail address. Such addresses are free. Unlimited is a lot of storage, of course, and the only limitation placed on using it is that you can't open a business selling digital storage space. Well, we guess that makes sense.

NOTE: Readers can search several years of columns at the "On Computers" Web site: www.oncomp.com. You can e-mail Bob Schwabach at bobschwab@aol.com and Joy Schwabach at joydee@oncomp.com.