PC Magazine -- March 26, 1996
	Here are Michael's answers to some questions that have been on the minds of our readers. Submit a question or suggest a topic

	Compaq just lowered its laptop prices by 25 percent. Is now a good time to invest in a laptop or should I wait a little while longer?
	Welcome to the PC business, where prices always fall and new features and better performance are always just around the corner. Laptop prices are very attractive these days, but like anything else in this business, they'll continue to offer more for less. Ask yourself this question: Do I need a laptop right now? If you do, then now is the time to buy.

	I've just visited Yahooligans! Do you think this is a good way to keep kids away from "red-light" sites?
	I think it's great to see sites designed with kids in mind, and Yahooligans! is an easy and well-organized way to find these sites. I'm not sure that Yahooligans! will end the controversy over sex on the Internet (because everyone has different ideas about what is acceptable), but at least it can lead kids to sites that are more appropriate for them.

What other kid-safe solutions are the major Web search sites using?

Good question. Lycos has a Just for Kids section; it's mainly just an alphabetical list of G-rated sites. The McKinley Group's Magellan Internet directory gives you the ability to narrow your search field to those sites to which they've given green-light status. Unfortunately, most other popular search tools, such as Digital's Alta Vista and Architext's Excite, don't do much organizing. But for family-tested Web sites, check out the Family PC home page.

Now that AT&T has announced its intentions to provide Internet access, do you think I should stick with my local Internet access provider? If not, when should I make the move?

For now, I would stick with any provider that gives good service at a reasonable price. As the market becomes more competitive, however, my guess is that we'll see lots of consolidation among Internet providers in the next year, until we're left with a dozen or so fairly large service providers. When this happens, choosing a provider will be much like choosing a long-distance carrier; you look for the best deal and the best service.

I hear that the long-distance companies have petitioned the FCC to forbid the further sale of hardware and software designed to let Internet users use the Internet for voice communications. Does this mean that if I have a LAN, I can't use any TCP/IP–based voice communication product?

Not surprisingly, the long-distance companies are worried about their rates. With one breath, the long-distance carriers say the quality of voice communication over the Internet isn't good enough to be a worry. With the next, they worry about competition and start lobbying to stop it. So far, nothing has happened, so TCP/IP–based voice communication products are still okay to use. But if you're worried, you should write the FCC and let them know how you feel.

Copyright (c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company