Your Technology Aug. 10, 1998

MURDER ON THE WEB

A rock star is dead. Police say it’s suicide, but could it be murder? In the campy mystery Paul Is Dead (at www.paulisdead.com) viewers find clues by listening to songs, reading articles or gathering tips from the streetwise, slightly neurotic narrator. Updated twice a week, the site looks and sounds almost like TV (after a special player is downloaded from the site), but the story is even better.

A CELL PHONE TO MATCH

If being well dressed means your nails must match your blouse, or your tie must coordinate with your pocket square, then surely your cell phone should look right too. Nokia’s new 5190 phones (about $50 to $200, available this fall) offer a choice of five colorful covers at $25 each. Ours were tough to snap on and off. But the lightweight, dual-band GSM phone underneath worked just fine.

SONY GETS LOST IN SPACE

Ever since April, when Panasonic became the first company to sell a portable DVD movie player in the U.S., Sony has been in the hot seat to one-up its rival. Its comeback: the DVD Discman ($799), which is lighter and cheaper than Panasonic’s $1,400 PalmTheater but has no screen. Instead, Sony wants buyers to plug an upgraded version of its space-age Glasstron headset ($899) into its player. Its lighter design is a plus, but the virtual screen is still a bit dim.

–By Anita Hamilton