The Buzz

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 13, 2003

TurboTax activation code prompts backlash

A new antipiracy feature on Intuit's popular TurboTax software has triggered a consumer backlash.

Intuit says the scathing criticism stems from misconceptions about the product-activation code, which customers must obtain to use the top-selling tax-preparation software.

The activation code, which isn't required on the Macintosh version, ties the software to a single computer to prevent buyers from sharing it.

The Mountain View, Calif., company announced the new restrictions in September but many customers are just learning about them as they install the software to begin their 2002 tax returns.

Customers are blasting the change as something that could cause problems if they buy a new computer before the April 15 tax-filing deadline or need to amend their 2002 returns a year or two later.

Intuit is making some changes in response to complaints.

For instance, customers soon will be able to download an update giving them direct access to income tax forms on other computers. That flexibility hasn't been available.

TaxCut software from rival H&R Block doesn't currently require activation codes, but the company isn't ruling them out in future editions.

The GameBoy grows up . . .

The world's most popular video gaming gadget just got a tuneup.

Nintendo Co. unveiled the latest in its handheld GameBoy line last week, the GameBoy Advance SP, a slick-looking device aimed at adult gamers that's about as big as a wallet and weighs just 5 ounces.

"There's nothing kid about this system," Nintendo spokesman Chris Campbell said.

The GameBoy Advance SP (the SP stands for "special") looks more like an executive plaything than a child's toy. But it handles all the roughly 1,000 games for the hit GameBoy, including the Advance model that went on sale in June 2001.

Square in shape, the new unit opens and closes like a laptop, is 31/2 inches long and an inch thick -- perfect, Nintendo says, to be dropped in a purse or briefcase. The battery lasts for about 10 hours with the display illuminated or 18 hours with it off.

The GameBoy Advance SP will sell for $99.95, $30 more than the GameBoy Advance. Watch for it in stores beginning March 23.

Sirius radio counts 30,000 subscribers

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., which offers more than 100 radio channels that can be heard across the United States, had 30,000 users at the end of 2002, chief executive Joseph Clayton said.

The satellite radio broadcaster expects to have 40,000 new subscribers by the end of the first quarter of 2003, he said. Sirius had 16,136 subscribers as of Oct. 31. It began offering its service nationwide on July 1.

Sirius will have to sign up 2-million users to break even, Clayton said. He said the company expects to attract that many subscribers in 2005. Sirius rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. has said it expected to have more than 340,000 subscribers by the end of 2002.

Taking notes? Check out these laptop alternatives

Packing a laptop computer on trips is a pain, even if you're lucky enough to own one. But if you want to take notes on the road, that's what you were stuck doing -- until recently.

The Detroit Free Press tested two gadgets that turn handwritten notes into digitized pictures -- and for a lot less than the cost of one of those new $2,000 Tablet PCs. One is the Logitech Io, a super-fat pen that, when paired with special paper, stores up to 40 pages of documents until the next time you synch it with a desktop or laptop computer.

The other is the Seiko Instruments InkLink, a normal-size pen with an extra gadget that attaches to normal notebooks or even single sheets of paper.

The $200 Io has a rechargeable battery, which means that you'll need both the included cradle and the AC adapter if you plan to synch it with desktop or laptop PCs on the road. Also, its size -- about four times that of a fat pen you typically see in office supply stores -- is exhausting to use for people with small hands.

On the other hand, setting up the InkLink ($100) requires pulling its eyeglass-size case out of your bag, clipping the main unit to your pad of paper, telling the handheld or laptop what size the paper is (if it's not immediately clear), pointing to the corners, clipping the infrared unit to your handheld or notebook computer, uncapping the pen and finally, writing. It runs on one AAA and three watch-style batteries.

The Free Press found that it was remarkably accurate, reproducing a near-exact copy of the original handwritten notes. The pen was comfortable to write with.

The images can be saved as popular types of graphics files. They're lower resolution than the Io, but tend to be better quality.

-- Compiled from Times wires.

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