Philip G. Baker

One of the best products that I reviewed last year for my "On Technology" column in the San Diego Daily Transcript was the Chevy Volt. After driving it for about a week, I found it to be one of the most innovative automobiles to come along in years,...

On average, 20 children are killed each year in school bus loading and unloading accidents. The most frequent cause is a child being run over by his own bus. While buses are safer than passenger cars, these tragic fatalities have occurred year after year, impacting not only the immediate relatives,...

When we look back at 2010, it will be remembered as a year in which we continued to lose our privacy at an astonishing rate. Facebook notoriously released its members' private information for anyone to see and permitted advertisers to access information that it promised to would be private.

Facebook has been in the news for opening up much of the information on their members' personal accounts to a much broader audience. It's not just that they've made this change, they also made it difficult if not impossible for users to protect themselves. In order to opt out, you...

This past week we brought our 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid to our local Toyota dealer for an unexpected recall. Just a few weeks earlier we were assured that the car was not on the recall list. Now, we were told, our floor mats needed replacing and the accelerator pedal needed...

Toyota is in a huge amount of trouble with the government for its cover-up of safety issues. But based on a dozen recent conversations with friends and family members, Toyota appears to be rapidly losing credibility with the public just as quickly. That will not be helped when, according to...

All the evidence points to a coverup by Toyota in dealing with the more than 1,600 complaints and 34 deaths, alleged to be caused by their cars suddenly accelerating. The company told complaining owners for 7 years that their problems were due to faulty floor mats, including one owner that...

I've been involved in the development of scores of technology products, and I can safely say that most of the products were shipped in spite of having design flaws, performance issues, or quality problems. (I'm not referring to safety issues, which would prevent a product from being shipped by law.)...

With the recent terror plot foiled on the Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, let's see if our government officials react sensibly or foolishly. If their past actions are an example, I'm not hopeful. They seem to equate more rules and more harassment of the flying public with better security....

I sent an email to Senator Lieberman expressing my disappointment on the position he has just taken on healthcare. I noted that I was a contributor and worker in his campaign for president in 2003, contributing more money and time than I had ever given to any candidate prior.

The headline across the top of today's Op-Ed page in the WSJ reads "Tax Day Becomes Protest Day." The op-ed piece notes how the Tea Parties could change American politics.

My protest was to call up and cancel my 28-year subscription to the WSJ. It's becoming Murdoch's print version...

Apple made a splash with its advertising comparing the Mac to the PC. Now Microsoft has fired back with their own commercials touting PCs as a better value. So what are the true facts? It all depends on how you make the comparison and what's important to you. But I...

Why can't U.S. auto companies compete with cars from Asian and European companies?
It seems to me that it comes down to one thing: the product. Not having the right products at the right time, mediocre execution and lack of innovation. As one who writes about and lives products...

I was one of about 400 attendees at Palm's CES press conference announcing their new phone and operating system. The audience showed an enthusiasm for the product usually reserved for Apple announcements. The new Palm Pre looks like a slightly shrunken iPhone with a more sculptured look, but with two...

What is it with Steve Jobs and batteries?

A new 17-inch MacBook Pro was announced today at MacWorld. It's thin, lightweight (for a 17-inch notebook), but has one serious flaw: A non-removable battery. No matter how Apple tries to explain how they've been able to make the battery last longer...

TV brands rated for recycling program

As seen in a recent 60 Minutes expose, e-waste is becoming an environmental and public health hazard. The Electronics TakeBack Coalition's Annual Report Card grades TV manufacturers for their recycling programs that reduce this waste, and has just been released. With so many TVs...

Triage is the process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition. This facilitates the ability to treat as many patients as possible when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately.

Nowhere is this more appropriate than in addressing the problems of the Big 3 automakers....

Why can't U.S. auto companies compete with cars from Asian and European companies?

It seems to me that it comes down to one thing: the product. Not having the right products at the right time, mediocre execution and lack of innovation. As one who writes about, reviews, and lives...

Solana Beach, a town of 13,000 is a suburb north of San Diego. Unlike conservative San Diego it's more Democratic. Our neighborhood has had many more Obama lawn signs than McCain, by a a ratio of almost 10:1. Today someone drove through this part of the town and stole all...

Slow connections, 3G turning to 2.5G, and dropped calls. Is the Apple 3G phone fatally flawed? I've been using the 3G iPhone since it came out on July 11. And yes I get dropped calls and poor signal strength in many locations, just the same as others report.