Stories by: Gregg Keizer

Over half the repairs in our investigation were botched or overpriced. Here's how to protect yourself when your computer goes to the shop.

The plane was going down. I was sure of it. As the 737 made its approach to storm-lashed San Francisco, a brutal gust of wind lifted one wing and yanked down the other. Luggage lurched in the overhead compartment while passengers gripped their handrests. Even the off-duty airline pilot next to me grew wild-eyed. And all I could think was, What moron booked this flight?

Meetings are the ties that bind business. Without meetings--no matter what Dilbert says--commerce grinds to a halt. Today, widely dispersed participants can meet without spending a fortune getting together. Placeware Inc.'s MyPlaceWare.com, a no-cost e-meeting service, lets you host meetings of up to five people on the Web, using nothing more complicated than a Java-enabled browser.

Excess inventory, limited local markets, modest advertising budgets... Small businesses face a tough challenge in any market--and in today's go-go economy, the competition is even rougher. Luckily, help awaits just around the corner, in the form of online auctions. Sure, hobbyists and junk addicts love them, but online auctions can also open doors for businesses of many sizes.

"I can't believe they're giving this away for free," says John Ettema, owner of Inside-Out Home and Garden, a store in Campbell, California. He's talking about ECongo Inc., a free e-commerce hosting service that he used to add online sales to the business he does at his brick-and-mortar shop. "If you had told me a year ago when I opened my store that I'd be on the Web by now, I would have said you were crazy," Ettema continues.