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REACH OUT AND TELEMARKET SOMEONE When ABC announced and then retracted plans the other week to leave thousands of ''personal'' voice-mail messages -- recorded by Norm MacDonald and promoting the [...]

SO MUCH FOR THE PENMANSHIP LOBBY Congress just passed ''an act to regulate interstate commerce by electronic means by permitting and encouraging the continued expansion of electronic commerce through the [...]

GROUNDED Take ''neurons,'' add an ''rf'' (for radio frequency) and you've got Motorola's Neurfons project, which aims to embed tiny radio systems in common consumer goods and industrial materials. One [...]

Nokia Corp. should continue to have steady growth despite slightly negative investor response to its somewhat thicker mobile phones than those produced by its competitors.

Prospects for an autumn rebound for the high technology industry are presented.

Several investors are finding that shares of Chinese Internet companies are still too pricey in June 2006, given increased business risk. However, analysts believe that with conditions in place for good long-term growth in online traffic, it might be a good idea to have a short list of stocks that could bounce back in the near term, such as Ctrip.com International and TOM Online.

TiVo's share of digital video recorders (DVRs) could be eclipsed in 2006 by competition from Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola, the two largest cable set-top makers. TiVo has great technology, but faces a long road ahead with cable operators who find it difficult to work around the company's patents.

The $49 Apple iLife '11 allows easier and better presentation of photos, movies, and music. The software collection enables its users to create coffee-table books, home movies, and sound recordings more easily.

Apple and Google are expected to compete for supremacy in the market for information technology services. The two companies are holding on to their cash in preparation for investments in the sector.

Research in Motion faces technological challenges, including supporting separate operating systems for the BlackBerry and completing a transition to the QNX software. The shares of Sp rint Nextel could gain value if the company manages to lower operating costs and divest Cl earwire.

Analysts believe that Google's acquisition of e-commerce company Groupon is being done because Google has money for such acquisitions. The move is seen as an effort by the company to gain a presence in the e-commerce market.

Observers say that tablet computers are positioned to cannibalize personal-computer sales and one analyst says that one PC sale is lost for every 2.5 tablets sold. Hewlett Packard and Research in Motion's earning amidst the trend in favor of tablet computers is discussed.

The intense bidding by Hewlett-Packard and Dell for 3Par was foreseen in a previous Barron's cover story and 3Par's stock has almost triple the price after the story. Other possible acquisition targets in the tech industry include Brocade Communication Systems, NetApp, Xyratex, and Isilon Systems.

The $199 Research in Motion BlackBerry Torch performs the basic tasks of smart phones but falls short of expectations compared to other smart phones. It appeals to classic BlackBerry users, uses the BlackBerry 6 operating system, gathers social network updates, and allows enhancements to text messages.

The 16-gigabyte version of the Apple iPhone 4 is available for $199 while the 32-gig version costs $299 with plan from AT&T. There is very little flaws in the iPhone 4 as it has very sharp graphics on the 3.5-inch screen and its voice quality during calls is very much improved.

The Apple iPad tablet computer enables the user to perform various tasks through its different applications. The iPad, which sells from $499 to $829, can be used as an e-book reader, a PDF reader, a sketch pad, or a word processor, among others.

The $259 nook electronic book reader from Barnes and Noble is slow in performing basic functions and has fewer features than tablet computers. The reader has a less extensive electronic book selection and has ill-conceived menus.

The Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona, Spain, has lost importance due to the entry of Apple and Google into the smart phone market. The trade show is expected to play a minor role in the battle for mobile phone software dominance.

The Motorola Cliq smart phone costs $199.99 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile. The phone runs on Google's Android operating system and the phone feels solidly built and the keyboard is relatively comfortable but it is not as elegant as the iPhone. The phone is a fine alternative for business users who want timely updates on what friends and colleagues are doing online.

Investors are advised to choose the shares of Google over those of Yahoo! Inc. as the former appears to have emerged from the recession stronger. The profits of Yahoo! were mostly derived from an 18% decline in expenses.

Johnson & Johnson's 2009 third quarter sales fell 5.3 percent to $15.1 billion but earnings rose 2.6 percent to $1.20. Their shares have risen but they still appear undervalued based on its franchises and the earnings they could deliver once consumer spending on health and beauty products improves.

CEO John Chambers of Cisco Systems has sort of acted as a manager of a value-stock mutual fund as the company's shares have risen nearly 74 percent after their a stock repurchase plan by the company. The shares have risen 36 percent from a bullish article in April 2009 to October 2009 and the company is positioned to grow with roughly $35 billion in cash.

The $330 HTC Hero is not recommended for consumers as it suffers from hardware glitches and an inferior user interface. The smart phone copies features from Apple iPhone and the Palm Pre.

Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis said he will resign by the end of 2009 and speculations about his successor have been raised. This should not distract from the bank's strength as they have beaten earnings estimates for the two quarters up to October 2009 and they posted record trading revenue of $6.7 billion in the June quarter. Their shares could reach $30 in two years.

Sonic Solutions hopes that revenue-sharing agreements from digital movie downloads becomes a source of income for the company. The company's sales have been declining as digital video disk sales decline.

The movie business is being threatened by Coinstar's Redbox kiosks that rent DVDs for a dollar a day and are located increasingly near cash registers at stores. Leap Wireless and Metro PCS both reported higher churn rates which shows how hard it is to hold on to business even when you can charge.

Apple Inc. is developing a multimedia computer capable of performing functions done by consumer electronics devices. The device, which could cost up to $799, could be released in November 2009.

Netflix met expectations when they announced their second quarter sales but their shares still fell by almost 10 percent. Analysts say their entry into the 'streaming video' business is a mixed bag since customers are increasingly buying the cheaper monthly plan and this is dragging the economics of the business.

The Apple iPhone 3G S works faster than the iPhone 3G and is capable of recording and uploading video. The 16-gigabyte version sells for $199, while the 32-gigabyte version sells for $299.

STEC announced that their revenue jumped 25 percent in the three months ended March 31, 2009 which made its shares rally 30 percent. Plenty of upside remains for the shares even at $14.

Cisco Systems Inc.'s purchase of Pure Digital and their plan to start selling servers makes good sense since the acquisition allows Cisco to gain access to Pure Digital's design and marketing team while diversifying beyond routers and switches allows Cisco to go where corporate computing is heading. There is abundant value in the shares of Cisco which could trade up to 26-27.

The shares of disk-drive maker STEC may continue rising as the company experiences high demand for its flash drives. The company virtually controls the flash-drive market due to its deals with major storage equipment manufacturers and number of patents.

The shares of Infosys Technologies appear attractive to investors due to their low prices, continuous dividend payouts, and sound company earnings. The company's shares are trading at $26.26 each, 12 times projected 2009 earnings.

Informatica, Manhattan Associates, Quest Software, and JDA Software Group are four software companies that trade at forward price-to-earnings multiples well below their five-year medians. These companies are also acquisition targets for a large software company that seeks to consolidate the corporate software market.

The $900 Sony Vaio P scores high points for fashion and it looks elegant enough to look at home in an evening bag. However, the machine is slow at tasks such as starting up programs, and trying to manipulate the Vaio P's mouse is very hard to do. The screen is bright and sharp but its resolution is far too small to be legible.

The $199 BlackBerry Curve 8900 from Research in Motion offers a reliable alternative to users wanting a reliable keyboard on smart phones. The Curve 8900 falls short when compared to the Apple iPhone but is a significant improvement over other BlackBerry products such as the Bold or the Storm.

Paychex, Automatic Data Processing, and Molex are the three companies identified after screening for technology companies that offer dividend yields above the S&P 500 and could continue paying despite a worsening economy. These companies are trading at 16.8, 15.5, and 21 times their expected earnings four years from 2009.

The $999.99 HP Touchstone tx2z tablet computer suffers from hardware and software shortcomings. Its user interface is unfriendly to users, and its design does not come across as stylish.

The shares of Intel will not receive a boost from the Atom chip, which will decrease the company's profits. Company profits could go down from $1 per share to about $0.70 a share by 2010, driving Intel shares down.

One analyst is enthusiastic about the semiconductor industry as he sees a quarter-to-quarter boost in sales in the April-June 2008 quarter. However, the downward trajectory of consumer spending and the disrepair in the manufacturing sector make it hard to be confident about bright forecasts. The safest investment in the tech sector is those companies selling close to their available cash.

Wal-Mart declared that it will be selling the Apple iPhone in 2,500 outlets in the US. The move could increase the profitability of Apple and make its competitors Research in Motion, Palm, and Nokia, less profitable.

The shares of Microsoft are forecast to rise due to the stability of the company's finances and continued demand for its products. The company's stock is trading at $19.30, 10 times estimated 2009 earnings, and has a 2.7% dividend yield.

The $1,299 Apple MacBook notebook computer offers laptop owners better performance for a budget laptop. The laptop computer has a touch-sensitive trackpad, a display using light emitting diodes, and an aluminum case.

The shares of Pulte Homes have jumped 31 percent from its five-year low of $8.11 on October 23, 2008 when it closed at $10.66. Some investors think the shares could rise to $15 or more despite bad third-quarter earnings.