Stories by: Darren Gladstone

Sony's big news announcement at CES involves a very tiny package. But don't call it a netbook. Sony spokesfolk were adamant that--even though the newcomer packs an Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM--this superslim P-series computer is a lifestyle machine. The distinction sort of makes sense, too: At the $899 starting price that Sony expects the unit to command when it ships in February, it had better do more than be small.

Asus is one of those companies that always manage to come up with funky designs, new ideas, and out-there prototypes. So it isn't surprising that the trailblazing PC maker is at it again, showing off a number of new laptops at CES. Among them are an ultraportable that runs like a race car (the Lamborghini VX5), a tablet PC (the Eee PC T91), and an even slimmer, sleeker netbook.

I can count more than 25 iPhone games that are better than some Nintendo DS and PSP games that sell for 20 or 30 bucks! Here's what's playing on my iPhone.

The following is a true story: I'm walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, down a well-hidden side street. The mysterious person I had contacted earlier on Craigslist had instructed me to stand near a trinket store at the corner of "Lost" and "Tourist."

Plenty of stories provide advice for elite mobile professionals. But what about you, the unproductive traveler? Maybe you're on vacation. Maybe you're trying to chill out before a day's worth of travel and business meetings. Point is, you need to pack a little smarter to entertain yourself, and that's what this week's column is all about. I have some great roadworthy games and a few ways to watch video--and, yeah, I'll even throw in some helpful, practical tips.

The Sidekick 2008 has the best cell-phone keyboard I've ever used, and its trackball lets you whip through messages at lightning speed. Even so, that isn't quite sufficient to sway me to T-Mobile's newest hipster smart phone. Why? I blame the poky EDGE network, the phone's limited productivity uses, and the fact that I'm apparently not young enough.

Mash-ups and remakes. You've heard the terms for ages when it comes to music and movies, but video games? Yep, even there, you can find some oddly refreshing takes on old games if you know where to look. Today, I'm all about giving new life to old games...or in some cases old life to newer games.

Don't know what a LAN party is? It's a room full of folks getting together to play games. Also, to check out each other's case mods. And occasionally to sleep. It can be a small garage party for an afternoon or a weekend-long marathon in some convention hall. Each one has their own house rules. My favorite, as observed at the annual Quakecon event in Dallas, Texas: "Bathe!"

It usually goes like this: An ad in the paper (or online) catches your eye. It lists a few product specs and claims some special features, but that's about it. Still, the price seems okay. May as well pull out the wallet now, right? Wrong!

How do you define "Extreme"? How about as a high-velocity, quad-core processor packed into a mobile platform? That's what Intel announced this afternoon at the Intel Developers Forum. Heretofore known as Core 2 Extreme, the cat (or chips) are now officially out of the bag.

So many games ask you to shell out 50 or 60 bucks, and for what? Thirty or so hours of playtime? Great, but what if you don't want to spend a whole week in fantasy land? That's where episodic gaming comes in: smaller games selling for less and offered up on a more frequent basis. Y'know, like Heroes or Battlestar Galactica -- shows that keep you glued to the set from one week to the next. Well, the new TV season may be a couple months out, but that doesn't mean PC World's slack celebration can't pay its own tribute. Here's a quick list of new (and old) episodes to try.