Stories by: Dan Littman

Umax Technologies Inc. is releasing on Monday the AstraNet iA101, a US$129 scanner that streamlines tasks for one-button operation.

Contrary to ads promising fade-resistant, long-lasting photos, color prints made with several Epson Stylus Photo ink jets turn orange in locations with heavy concentrations of ozone in the air, Epson America Inc. officials confirm. The company offers to buy your printer if you're not satisfied with several recommended fixes, including using new types of paper Epson will introduce this fall.

Consider the ancestral Galapagos finch. As Darwin first noted, that species has evolved into numerous forms, each adapted to a particular environmental niche while retaining its essential finchness. Likewise, the standard beige-box computer is evolving. One branch of the PC family tree is sprouting funky colors and legacy-free designs that shed older slots and ports, limit expandability, and embrace new, unusual shapes. Another branch is budding with Internet appliances--products whose limited functions make them easier to use. Will the average beige-box PC end up on the endangered species list as a result?

Scanner and digital-camera maker Umax Technologies Inc. is taking advantage of this week's Seybold digital-media show here to announce two midprice high-resolution scanners, which are expected to ship in mid-September.

This week Umax Technologies Inc. is announcing two new scanners in its low-cost Astra 3400 series that are designed to scan and upload directly to the Web. Both models include a one-year account on the ImageOnline photo-sharing site.

You multitask every day. Why shouldn't your office equipment? New color multifunction devices from Hewlett-Packard Co. and Xerox Corp. -- machines that print, fax, copy, and scan -- can help your office pick up its pace.

Just days after Visioneer Inc. announced a low-cost flatbed scanner that captures 42-bit color at 600 by 1200 dots per inch, archrival Umax Technologies Inc. is announcing a flatbed with the same specs in the same price range.

Visioneer Inc. has released a new flatbed scanner designed to offer high-end imaging features in a low-price system.

Say hello to some great new color lasers--and good-bye to two favorites. Recently discontinued printers from Lexmark International Inc. and Xerox Corp. leave space for three fresh faces to debut on our chart.

Lexmark International Inc. has upped the ante on color laser printers with a new release.

Fledgling online businesses can get help finding their e-commerce wings at a new Web site that provides the tools they need, including transaction processing.