TECHWATCH

By KATHLEEN ADAMS, DANIEL EISENBERG, LISA GRANATSTEIN, TAM GRAY, ANITA HAMILTON, JANICE HOROWITZ, LISA MCLAUGHLIN AND ALAIN SANDERS

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING PERSONAL COMPUTER

The knock against palmtop computers has always been the same: too small to be useful as PCs and too big to make a mark as a personal organizer. But computer companies are getting better at miniaturizing everything from color screens to disk drives, and the result is a new collection of very small, very powerful computers that are surprisingly useful. Below are just the first in a series of small computers set to hit the market within 12 months. The machines are small enough and powerful enough to find a real home as communications and productivity tools.

HITACHI MINI-NOTE: Making its debut in December is Hitachi's Pentium-based, 2.7-lb. "micro-notebook." Ideal for Windows95 users who need to pack a lighter load. $2,499 (estimated)

SHARP MOBILON: The first Windows CE device to offer a color screen and a snap-on camera. It's slated to be in stores by December. $899 (estimated)

GEOFOX-ONE: Geofox, based in Britain, came up with a neat idea: include a keyboard and touchpad. The handheld's 6.8-in. screen is bigger than traditionally tiny portable displays. Due out in November. $499

MITSUBISHI AMiTY CN: This powerful "micro notebook" is roughly the size of a VCR tape. It runs Windows95 and can handle everything from Microsoft Word to Web surfing. $1,995

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND IRRITATE PEOPLE

Nothing like a few lawsuits to help drum up business. As Internet service providers mobilize to keep bulk E-mailers at bay, the junk E-mail (called spam) has only become more pervasive. It represents, for instance, up to 20% of the 9 million E-mail messages processed by America Online each day.

For much of the past year the service has engaged in a running--and losing--battle with spammers. In the past three weeks, AOL has filed two lawsuits, most recently against Prime Data in Kentucky, for deluging AOL members with ads for online entrepreneurs. But techies are starting to accept that junk E-mail may be here to stay. The problem: new technology makes it impossible to distinguish between mail you want and spam you don't. Courts may offer temporary relief, but serious spammers say the new suits don't have them worried. "We've been through 12 lawsuits since last year," says CyberPromotions' Sanford Wallace, "and have still shown a profit every quarter."