Sunday Breakfast Menu, Sept. 1

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

With President Obama’s announcement Saturday that he will seek Congressional approval to strike Syria, the Sunday shows will interview lawmakers about how the United States should respond to the the use of chemical weapons in Syria, previewing the debate ahead.

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will join CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama’s former presidential opponent, has been an outspoken advocate of intervention in Syria.

Also on the program will be Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia and another member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee â€" Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who chairs the committee, and Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky â€" will share their thoughts on Syria.

Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, are scheduled to weigh in on “Fox News Sunday,” discussing whether there is Congressional support for a strike.

Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Mike Baker, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, will also join Fox to talk about the latest revelations from Edward J. Snowden.

Representative Eliot Engel of New York, ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Representative Scott Rigell, Republican of Virginia and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, who is hesitant about military intervention in Syria, will also appear on the program.

ABC’s “This Week” will include interviews with Gen. James E. Cartwright, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Vali Nasr, a former senior State Department adviser and dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

In addition to NBC, Mr. Menendez will appear on Univision’s “Al Punto” at 10 a.m. Eastern and Telemundo’s “Enfoque” at noon Eastern. Otto J. Reich, a former ambassador, will also join Telemundo to talk about Syria.

Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will join C-Span’s “Newsmakers” to talk about policy issues including immigration and jobs.

William S. Cohen, former defense secretary, was interviewed about Syria on Bloomberg’s “Political Capital,” which aired Friday with repeats throughout the weekend. Richard L. Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., also appeared on the program to talk about organized labor.

Mary Cheney Criticizes Her Sister on Same-Sex Marriage

Mary Cheney, the younger sister of Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Senate candidate, sharply criticized her sister’s stance on same-sex marriage and urged her own Facebook friends to share the message.

Posting on Facebook on Friday evening, Mary Cheney, who is gay and married her longtime partner last year, wrote: “For the record, I love my sister, but she is dead wrong on the issue of marriage.”

Their father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, supports same-sex marriage, and the younger Cheney echoed some of his language on the issue when she added, “Freedom means freedom for everyone.”

“That means that all families â€" regardless of how they look or how they are made â€" all families are entitled to the same rights, privileges and protections as every other,” Mary Cheney wrote.

Earlier Friday, Liz Cheney revealed her position on same-sex marriage, a topic she has kept relatively quiet about since declaring her candidacy in July against incumbent Senator Mike Enzi, Republican of Wyoming.

“I am not pro-gay marriage,” Liz Cheney said in a statement responding to an apparent push poll against her in Wyoming. “I believe the issue of marriage must be decided by the states, and by the people in the states, not by judges and not even by legislators, but by the people themselves.”

That position â€" deferring to the will of the voters on a state-by-state basis â€" may represent something of a compromise between total support or opposition. But it did little to placate her sister.

“It’s not something to be decided by a show of hands,” Mary Cheney wrote.

And to emphasize that she was not shying away from drawing attention to her view, Mary Cheney concluded her Facebook post: “Please like and share if you agree.”

In an e-mail, Mary Cheney declined to comment further on her sister’s position, saying she would let her Facebook post speak for itself.

The Cheney family dispute mirrors the broader disagreement among Republicans on same-sex marriage. Less than a decade after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney won re-election in part thanks to conservative enthusiasm over enshrining traditional marriage into law, some in the party believe they are losing voters, particularly younger ones, over an issue on which public opinion has changed rapidly. But other Republicans believe traditional marriage is a pillar of family values, and in some cases are reluctant to abandon their social conservative base on the issue.

Liz Cheney’s stance underlines the degree to which full-throated support for same-sex marriage, even in a libertarian-leaning state like Wyoming, still poses a political risk in a Republican primary.

Mr. Enzi opposes legalizing same-sex marriage.

Bill Clinton to Raise Cash for Democratic Governors

Bill Clinton, who was the governor of Arkansas before moving to the White House, will return to his political roots â€" and earn a few more chits for his wife’s political future â€" next month by raising money for the Democratic Governors Association at a high-dollar New York City fund-raiser.

Mr. Clinton is set to headline a $5,000-per-person dinner in Manhattan for the governors association on Sept. 12, according to a person familiar with the planning. The gathering will include Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont, the group’s chairman, as well as Terry McAuliffe, a Virginia governor hopeful and Mr. Clinton’s longtime friend. The money raised will go to help elect governors across the country and not just Mr. McAuliffe’s bid this November.

The organization will need the money ahead of next year, when 36 governors’ races will take place. As of the first six months of 2013, the Republican Governors Association had outraised its Democratic counterpart, $23.6 million to $15 million. Both groups can take unlimited amounts of money.

By helping the ranks of governors, Mr. Clinton also earns some more good will for himself and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who may run for president again in 2016. The governors are often the most politically powerful Democrats in their states and can, at times, feel underappreciated by Washington politicians. President Obama, for example, has not raised money for the governors association since 2009, a fact that has caused some irritation among the Democratic governors.

Mr. Clinton has always been a fixture on the political fund-raising and campaign circuit and is expected to both raise cash and stump individually for Democratic governors and candidates next year. Mrs. Clinton has begun a series of policy speeches but has been hesitant about plunging back into electoral politics. She is, however, hosting a fund-raiser for Mr. McAuliffe late next month in her Washington home.

Congress Points Out the Cost of War

President Obama may go it alone with a military strike against the Syrian regime, but for the financially struggling Defense Department there will be a price â€" and skeptics in Congress appear ready to play the money card.

The Pentagon has already absorbed one round of across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. Military officials have told Congress that they do not have excess money to carry out a military strike in Syria. And come Jan. 1, the next round of defense cuts will be $20 billion deeper, thanks to a quirk in last January’s “fiscal cliff” budget deal that spared the military some pain.

That means that President Obama will more than likely have to go to Congress to ask for more money, even if â€" as expected â€" he does not seek authorization before military engagement. And on Friday, that led to this warning from the office of the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio:

“If the president is going to need a supplemental spending bill, we would caution him to consider how that request would be received if he chooses to act before Congress is satisfied with his plan,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner. “Buy-in from Congress and the American people is critical if he’s going to act.”

Such a supplemental request could open up the president to bipartisan approbation. But rejecting financing for continuing military operations would be difficult for Congress â€" and possibly untenable politically.

Still, senior Republicans in the House, facing a rebellion among rank-and-file members who oppose anything that could lead to a new United States war in the Middle East, tried to make clear Friday that Congress’s power of the purse should not be ignored.

“You can’t thumb your nose at members of Congress and then turn around and ask them to pay the bill,” a Republican Congressional leadership aide said.

Pogue\'s Posts: Use the Airline’s App, and Other Tips for Flying Efficiency

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President Obama Announces Gun Control Actions

Stymied by Congress, President Obama used his executive powers on Thursday to advance his gun control agenda by closing a loophole in the current background check system and barring the reimportation of surplus American military weapons.

Months after failing to push significant gun legislation through the Senate, Mr. Obama announced the actions as part of what the White House said would be a continuing push to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people. Gun rights advocates have criticized him as overstepping by trying to use his own authority to curb gun proliferation.

“Even as Congress fails to act on common-sense proposals, like expanding criminal background checks and making gun trafficking a federal crime, the president and vice president remain committed to using all the tools in their power to make progress toward reducing gun violence,” the White House said in a statement.

The two actions were modest in scope. Currently, the White House said, felons can evade background checks by registering a weapon to a trust or corporation. A proposed regulation would require people associated with trusts or corporations to undergo background checks just as if they had bought the firearms as individuals.

The second new policy will deny all requests to bring American military-grade firearms sold overseas back into the United States to private entities except in rare instances like those for museums. Since 2005, the White House said, the government has authorized requests to reimport more than 250,000 such weapons.

App Smart: Streaming for a Good Beat That’s Just to Your Taste

Streaming for a Good Beat That’s Just to Your Taste

Remember the radio? It was the best way to hear new music when I was a boy. My friends and I would listen to the songs that made the weekly charts and we’d talk about the great tracks and the terrible tracks at school the next day.

Spotify's Android app.

Rhapsody in some places overseas goes under the Napster brand.

SoundCloud, a free app for iOS and Android.

Since then, the music landscape has undergone a sea change. But discovering music in a similar way is still possible via the latest and fast-evolving trend in digital music: streaming.

Perhaps the best-known streaming music app is Spotify. This app lets you listen to any of your favorite tracks at will, and it is also a digital radio that streams new music. Its interface is simple, bordering on spartan: it has a main screen where you control the music you are hearing, and a menu screen that lets you access different sections of the app and adjust settings.

To listen to a track you simply choose “Search” and type the artist’s name or a word from the track’s title. Spotify then lists the results by artist, album and song title. A more interesting way to use the app, however, is to select the “Discover” option. This reveals a long graphics-heavy list containing all sorts of different music.

Some of this will be familiar (right now, my app is telling me “You’ve been listening to a lot of Daft Punk lately” and recommends one of their albums), some of it will be new. These tracks include new releases, and music that is popular or is being listened to by nearby Spotify users.

There’s also a “Radio” option that has “stations” that stream either a particular band’s music, or genres of your choice, from Alternative to Trance. The app has straightforward controls and will show you album art and even band biographies.

Spotify has changed how I listen to music. But while the app is free on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8, using it may cost you. In the United States, you can listen to the app’s radio stations free, but to listen to specific tracks you’ll have to subscribe for $10 a month.

For a different experience, you might try Rhapsody (which in some places overseas goes under the Napster brand). As in Spotify, you can search for music you want to hear, or discover new music through a few different routes. For example, the Browse section breaks music into genres; inside each genre’s page you can choose from new releases or popular tracks.

Alternatively, you can find new music through Rhapsody’s home page, which offers access to featured music, new releases and popular tracks. There are also Playlists, which are a little like Spotify’s stations. These lists have a regularly updated selection of music that will stream to you. There are extras like album reviews, so you can learn more about the artist you’re listening to.

Rhapsody’s interface is graphically richer and feels easier to navigate than Spotify’s, thanks to features like its ever-present icon bar. Bu you may find that Rhapsody’s graphics and many settings get in the way of your listening experience. It’s free to download on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8, but you’ll have to pay $10 a month for unlimited music streaming.

Last.fm was one of the first players that streamed music over the Internet, and now it’s available as an app. Instead of concentrating on giving you access to new music, a bit like traditional radio, Last.fm tries to recommend new music based on the tracks you already listen to. In fact, it monitors music that you play through your mobile device, and keeps a list of it in your profile â€" a trick it calls “scrobbling.”

The scrobbled list can be shared online and is used to recommend lists of music similar to the kind you already like. The data comes from other Last.fm users’ lists. Last.fm is powerful and entertaining, but its interface is more basic than its peers’ and it doesn’t quite have the same range of music discovery options. And, though the app is free on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8, to listen to the recommended lists you have to pay $3 a month.

Finally, there’s SoundCloud, a free app for iOS and Android that offers a different kind of streaming music. Where Spotify is like having radio on your phone, SoundCloud is more about hearing new music shared by indie artists via a social network. It has a wonderfully simple interface and it’s fun to use â€" you can upload your own music and share that too. Just don’t expect to find mainstream rock bands on this app.

Hopefully, you’ll find tons of new music to listen to via these apps, but remember there are other options. The Pandora app is well known and definitely worth trying. Apple is also poised to introduce iTunes Radio â€" a free service with advertisements. Streaming music is a fast-changing scene, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for special offers.

Quick Call

Telenav Scout, a successful GPS navigation app that’s done well on Android and iOS, has finally hit Windows Phone 8 devices. The core app is free, but advanced features like red light alerts will cost you $25 a year.

State of the Art: A Better Way for the iPad to Talk to a Home Computer

A Better Way for the iPad to Talk to a Home Computer

90 Seconds With Pogue: Parallels Access: The Times’s David Pogue reviews at Parallels Access, an iPad app that allows a user to remotely control a desktop or laptop computer.

You don’t have to be a technophile to know a few things about compatibility. VHS tapes don’t play on a laptop, iPhone apps don’t run on your microwave and a CD won’t play in a toaster.

Most people probably assume you also can’t use Mac or Windows programs on an iPad. The iPad, the world’s most popular tablet, runs its own flavor of software.

Which is a shame, really. All kinds of programs would be useful to have on your lovely, lightweight tablet: Quicken. Photoshop. iTunes. The full-blown Word, Excel, PowerPoint. AutoCAD.

I’m pleased to report that such a thing is possible, thanks to a remarkable new app, Parallels Access. Parallels, the company, has a good deal of experience running incompatible programs on popular computers; its best-known product lets you run Windows on a Mac.

Access is not some miracle adapter that runs Mac and PC programs on the iPad itself. Instead, it’s a glorified porthole into the screen of a real Mac or PC back at your home or office. You see everything on your distant computer remotely; you can even click, type and drag in the programs there, even listen to audio and watch videos. The iPad becomes like a detached touch screen for a Mac or PC that’s thousands of miles away.

It’s not just about running desktop software, either. This setup also means you can access the far greater storage and horsepower of your computer. And you can work with files you left behind. The one catch: It requires an Internet connection. Access works over slower connections â€" like 3G cellular â€" but barely. You may encounter severe lags and blotchiness.

To make this come to pass, you set up Access on both ends. You install one app on your iPad, and another on your Mac or PC (Mac OS X 10.8 or later, Windows 7 or later). You also create a free account at Parallels.com.

From now on, whenever you want to operate your Mac or PC by remote control, you open the Access app on the iPad. You tap the picture of the computer whose brain you want to enter; there’s nothing to stop you from setting up two, or 12, or hundreds of Macs and Windows machines to listen for the iPad’s call.

When you first connect, you see a launcher: an iPad-style screen full of icons. In this case, they represent your Mac or PC programs. Tap one to open it. This launchpad starts out showing only the icons of your most frequently used Mac or Windows programs, but you can tap a “+” button to add other icons.

Parallels Access is not the first product that lets you access your Mac or PC remotely. There are many iPad apps that do that, bearing names like VNC Viewer and Real VNC. They cost $10 or $20. Corporate tech workers adore them. From wherever they happen to be, they can see, operate and troubleshoot the computer back at headquarters from the screen of a single iPad, without having to put on pants and drive to the office.

But Parallels Access is superior, for many reasons.

First, VNC apps are extremely technical to set up. Here’s an excerpt from the dozens of setup steps for Real VNC, one of the best reviewed apps: “By default, VNC Server listens on port 5900. You can listen on a new port, providing no other service or program is doing so. Note you will have to specify the new port when connecting, and you may need to reconfigure firewalls and routers.” O.K. then!

Parallels Access requires no fiddling with routers, firewalls or port numbers. You fill in your Parallels name and password, and boom: the connection is made, with 256-bit AES encryption (translation: “very securely”).

Second, VNC apps display the entire computer’s screen on the iPad. Icons, toolbars and buttons wind up about the size of subatomic particles.

Access, on the other hand, “appifies” the Mac or Windows program; the document you’re editing fills the screen. All the iPad touch-screen gestures work to operate the remote program, too â€" drag with one finger to scroll, for example. Tap to “click the mouse.” Tap with two fingers to “right-click.” Pinch or spread two fingers to zoom out or in. No matter what the Mac or PC program is, it suddenly behaves as if it is an iPad app.

Access is filled with additional touches that VNC-type programs generally lack, which further adapt mouse-and-keyboard software to a touch screen.

E-mail: pogue@nytimes.com

Nintendo to Offer Lower-Cost Game Device

The Nintendo 2DS is capable of running all the games made for the 3DS, but without 3-D effects.

SAN FRANCISCO â€" Nintendo’s portable video-game device, the 3DS, is selling well. But a plan to court children has the Japanese company cutting prices.

Nintendo on Wednesday introduced a new portable gaming system, the Nintendo 2DS. The device will cost $130, or about $40 less than its 3DS sibling, when it is released Oct. 12. It is capable of running all the games made for the 3DS, but without 3-D effects.

For Nintendo, the price drop is a hedge against a future filled with tablet computers made by companies like Apple, Samsung and Amazon.

The growing popularity of tablets among adults means children are increasingly exposed to tablets at an early age. Indeed, about one-third of American adults own tablets. But that figure rises to about 50 percent when counting parents with children living at home, according to Pew Internet Research. And games are routinely played on those tablets, making a dedicated gaming device less appealing.

“Forty bucks may not be a lot, but for families it’s a lot,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, in an interview. Mr. Fils-Aime said the 2DS was intended for the “entry gamer,” especially in families with multiple children.

Also on Wednesday, Nintendo said it would reduce the price of its console for the living room, the Wii U, by $50, amid disappointing sales. The new price will be $300.

The gaming market has expanded over the last several years thanks in part to smartphones and tablets. The new devices have attracted what analysts call casual gamers â€" the people who yank out their smartphones and tablets to play games a few minutes on the commute to work, or the toddlers who play Angry Birds at family dinners.

Despite all that competition, Nintendo’s portable gaming device has been doing well.

The 3DS has been the best-selling piece of gaming hardware over the past three months, according to NPD Group. The last, best-selling portable gaming device was the Nintendo DS; with over 150 million units sold, it has become the best-selling portable gaming device in history.

With the addition of the 2DS, Nintendo now offers three portable devices, including the 3DS and the larger 3DS XL.

Tablets are considered a threat to Nintendo because games can be downloaded for a few dollars, or even free. In addition, Nintendo’s strategy has been to make most of its money off sales of the games it produces exclusively for Nintendo devices. Therefore, it has refused to offer its games to makers of tablets and smartphones.

That means famous titles native to Nintendo, like Super Mario or Donkey Kong, could be left to earlier generations. And that’s bad news for the Japanese company.

“The longer that they abstain from those platforms, the longer they risk failing to acquaint children with that stable of characters,” said Ross Rubin, an independent technology analyst for Reticle Research. “Since there is virtually no presence on these screens that kids are starting to increasingly spend more and more time with, Nintendo is going to have to work harder to gain exposure to that audience.”

Mr. Rubin said there were several ways for Nintendo to participate in the mobile market outside of selling games for its own devices â€" without cannibalizing its own business. The company could offer software that complements its games and systems, like iPad apps that turn the tablet into an extra controller for the 3DS or Wii U. Nintendo could also create lightweight versions of its games for tablets and phones, using them to promote the superior versions of the games available only for Nintendo systems, he said.

For the moment, however, cost-cutting appears to be Nintendo’s answer.

“All we’re doing is making available a device that, for consumers who want a lower price point but want to play all these great games, now you have the opportunity,” Mr. Fils-Aime said. “And we think it’s going to work.”

Nintendo to Offer Lower-Cost Game Device

The Nintendo 2DS is capable of running all the games made for the 3DS, but without 3-D effects.

SAN FRANCISCO â€" Nintendo’s portable video-game device, the 3DS, is selling well. But a plan to court children has the Japanese company cutting prices.

Nintendo on Wednesday introduced a new portable gaming system, the Nintendo 2DS. The device will cost $130, or about $40 less than its 3DS sibling, when it is released Oct. 12. It is capable of running all the games made for the 3DS, but without 3-D effects.

For Nintendo, the price drop is a hedge against a future filled with tablet computers made by companies like Apple, Samsung and Amazon.

The growing popularity of tablets among adults means children are increasingly exposed to tablets at an early age. Indeed, about one-third of American adults own tablets. But that figure rises to about 50 percent when counting parents with children living at home, according to Pew Internet Research. And games are routinely played on those tablets, making a dedicated gaming device less appealing.

“Forty bucks may not be a lot, but for families it’s a lot,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, in an interview. Mr. Fils-Aime said the 2DS was intended for the “entry gamer,” especially in families with multiple children.

Also on Wednesday, Nintendo said it would reduce the price of its console for the living room, the Wii U, by $50, amid disappointing sales. The new price will be $300.

The gaming market has expanded over the last several years thanks in part to smartphones and tablets. The new devices have attracted what analysts call casual gamers â€" the people who yank out their smartphones and tablets to play games a few minutes on the commute to work, or the toddlers who play Angry Birds at family dinners.

Despite all that competition, Nintendo’s portable gaming device has been doing well.

The 3DS has been the best-selling piece of gaming hardware over the past three months, according to NPD Group. The last, best-selling portable gaming device was the Nintendo DS; with over 150 million units sold, it has become the best-selling portable gaming device in history.

With the addition of the 2DS, Nintendo now offers three portable devices, including the 3DS and the larger 3DS XL.

Tablets are considered a threat to Nintendo because games can be downloaded for a few dollars, or even free. In addition, Nintendo’s strategy has been to make most of its money off sales of the games it produces exclusively for Nintendo devices. Therefore, it has refused to offer its games to makers of tablets and smartphones.

That means famous titles native to Nintendo, like Super Mario or Donkey Kong, could be left to earlier generations. And that’s bad news for the Japanese company.

“The longer that they abstain from those platforms, the longer they risk failing to acquaint children with that stable of characters,” said Ross Rubin, an independent technology analyst for Reticle Research. “Since there is virtually no presence on these screens that kids are starting to increasingly spend more and more time with, Nintendo is going to have to work harder to gain exposure to that audience.”

Mr. Rubin said there were several ways for Nintendo to participate in the mobile market outside of selling games for its own devices â€" without cannibalizing its own business. The company could offer software that complements its games and systems, like iPad apps that turn the tablet into an extra controller for the 3DS or Wii U. Nintendo could also create lightweight versions of its games for tablets and phones, using them to promote the superior versions of the games available only for Nintendo systems, he said.

For the moment, however, cost-cutting appears to be Nintendo’s answer.

“All we’re doing is making available a device that, for consumers who want a lower price point but want to play all these great games, now you have the opportunity,” Mr. Fils-Aime said. “And we think it’s going to work.”

State of the Art: A Better Way for the iPad to Talk to a Home Computer

A Better Way for the iPad to Talk to a Home Computer

90 Seconds With Pogue: Parallels Access: The Times’s David Pogue reviews at Parallels Access, an iPad app that allows a user to remotely control a desktop or laptop computer.

You don’t have to be a technophile to know a few things about compatibility. VHS tapes don’t play on a laptop, iPhone apps don’t run on your microwave and a CD won’t play in a toaster.

Most people probably assume you also can’t use Mac or Windows programs on an iPad. The iPad, the world’s most popular tablet, runs its own flavor of software.

Which is a shame, really. All kinds of programs would be useful to have on your lovely, lightweight tablet: Quicken. Photoshop. iTunes. The full-blown Word, Excel, PowerPoint. AutoCAD.

I’m pleased to report that such a thing is possible, thanks to a remarkable new app, Parallels Access. Parallels, the company, has a good deal of experience running incompatible programs on popular computers; its best-known product lets you run Windows on a Mac.

Access is not some miracle adapter that runs Mac and PC programs on the iPad itself. Instead, it’s a glorified porthole into the screen of a real Mac or PC back at your home or office. You see everything on your distant computer remotely; you can even click, type and drag in the programs there, even listen to audio and watch videos. The iPad becomes like a detached touch screen for a Mac or PC that’s thousands of miles away.

It’s not just about running desktop software, either. This setup also means you can access the far greater storage and horsepower of your computer. And you can work with files you left behind. The one catch: It requires an Internet connection. Access works over slower connections â€" like 3G cellular â€" but barely. You may encounter severe lags and blotchiness.

To make this come to pass, you set up Access on both ends. You install one app on your iPad, and another on your Mac or PC (Mac OS X 10.8 or later, Windows 7 or later). You also create a free account at Parallels.com.

From now on, whenever you want to operate your Mac or PC by remote control, you open the Access app on the iPad. You tap the picture of the computer whose brain you want to enter; there’s nothing to stop you from setting up two, or 12, or hundreds of Macs and Windows machines to listen for the iPad’s call.

When you first connect, you see a launcher: an iPad-style screen full of icons. In this case, they represent your Mac or PC programs. Tap one to open it. This launchpad starts out showing only the icons of your most frequently used Mac or Windows programs, but you can tap a “+” button to add other icons.

Parallels Access is not the first product that lets you access your Mac or PC remotely. There are many iPad apps that do that, bearing names like VNC Viewer and Real VNC. They cost $10 or $20. Corporate tech workers adore them. From wherever they happen to be, they can see, operate and troubleshoot the computer back at headquarters from the screen of a single iPad, without having to put on pants and drive to the office.

But Parallels Access is superior, for many reasons.

First, VNC apps are extremely technical to set up. Here’s an excerpt from the dozens of setup steps for Real VNC, one of the best reviewed apps: “By default, VNC Server listens on port 5900. You can listen on a new port, providing no other service or program is doing so. Note you will have to specify the new port when connecting, and you may need to reconfigure firewalls and routers.” O.K. then!

Parallels Access requires no fiddling with routers, firewalls or port numbers. You fill in your Parallels name and password, and boom: the connection is made, with 256-bit AES encryption (translation: “very securely”).

Second, VNC apps display the entire computer’s screen on the iPad. Icons, toolbars and buttons wind up about the size of subatomic particles.

Access, on the other hand, “appifies” the Mac or Windows program; the document you’re editing fills the screen. All the iPad touch-screen gestures work to operate the remote program, too â€" drag with one finger to scroll, for example. Tap to “click the mouse.” Tap with two fingers to “right-click.” Pinch or spread two fingers to zoom out or in. No matter what the Mac or PC program is, it suddenly behaves as if it is an iPad app.

Access is filled with additional touches that VNC-type programs generally lack, which further adapt mouse-and-keyboard software to a touch screen.

E-mail: pogue@nytimes.com

Tool Kit: A Digital Back-to-School Checklist

A Digital Back-to-School Checklist

Clockwise from top left, a PowerGen Dual Port USB Adapter, a 1 TB Toshiba hard drive, a Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition, a a TI-84 Plus calculator, Skullcandy 2xl earbuds and an Acer Chromebook.

The days are getting shorter. The swimsuits have been put away. The football season has begun.

That can mean only one thing: The start of the school year is near.

At one time, preparing children for school required buying new clothes and a fresh set of pencils. These days, your child is likely to need Internet access and a laptop even more than a composition notebook.

For parents, the choices can be overwhelming â€" and expensive. Here are some tips to get started.

FOR THE FAMILY First, you need to prepare your home. Make sure you have robust Internet access. Much homework these days requires children to do research on the Internet, even in elementary school.

And while much of the world is abandoning paper copies â€" airplane boarding passes can be displayed on a smartphone screen and many stores offer e-mailed receipts, for example â€" most schools require students to hand in homework in printed form.

Make sure you have a printer at home, as well as a spare printer cartridge and an extra ream of paper. Too many parents discover that sinking feeling when the printer ink runs out the night before a child’s big project is due. Now is the time to stock up on backup supplies.

Also make sure there are multiple ways to back up, save and transfer files between home and school, and the other way around. A 16-gigabyte thumb drive, $10 at Best Buy, for example, might seem low-tech, but it can provide enough storage to get an edited video project off a student’s laptop. Most models can also survive a trip through the washing machine.

To ensure that gadgets have power, invest in spare cables and an extra USB charger, like the PowerGen Dual Port USB Adapter, $9 at Amazon, to increase the chances that your phone and your child’s will be fresh in the morning.

It’s also time to update your browser’s school-related bookmarks, for easy access to the health office or a teacher’s home page. While you’re there, plug in your school’s dates into your shared family calendar.

MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS Middle school is generally when many parents first give a child a smartphone or laptop. According to a Pew survey released this year, nearly half of middle and high school students own these devices.

Amy Dirlam, the technology integration specialist at the St. Joseph Public Schools in St. Joseph, Mich., recommends checking with your child’s school before investing in a device. That is because schools are increasingly providing some sort of hardware to students, she said. In Ms. Dirlam’s district, for example, this fall each incoming sixth-grader will be issued a MacBook Air that will follow them into high school, provided they take care of it.

Chances are, though, you’ll be faced with spending your own money if you want to buy your middle-schooler a computer. For most children, a laptop is a better bet than a desktop because it is portable and can be taken to school or to a library.

The Acer Chromebook, $200 at Best Buy is one of many light, durable Internet-centric appliances built around Google’s Android operating system. These have full keyboards and robust batteries, but limited local storage. That’s a similar issue with many tablet options, like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition, $320, a bundle that includes a keyboard, tablet and docking station.

If you want to add more storage, a USB hard drive like the 1 TB Toshiba hard drive, $75 at B&H Photo works for local storage; for individual projects, cloud-based services like Dropbox, Google Drive or SugarSync are free, provided you register and stay within the minimal storage requirements.

Smartphones are becoming a middle school staple â€" and may provide more than just a social advantage â€" but be sure your child’s school allows them.

IN HIGH SCHOOL A high school student is more likely to need more technology, particularly the computing power provided by a full-featured laptop for editing video and other jobs that require more storage, a large screen and specialized software.

A Windows 8-based Toshiba Satellite laptop, $365, with 500 GB of internal storage and a DVD drive might be one choice for a high-schooler. At a huge price jump, the light and powerful MacBook Air, $1,000 and up, continues to be the top choice for power, ease of use and durability. You can always add more storage, either locally or online.

The high school years are when apps and gadgets start forming around a child’s interests. If your child is taking an advanced math class this fall, you may be dismayed to learn that many schools still require a specialized calculator, like a TI-84 Plus, $90 at Walmart. You could buy a much cheaper calculator app, but most schools will not allow students to use a tablet or a smartphone when taking a test.

Young musicians might need an app like AccuTune, $1 for Apple devices, and an extra pair of personal earbuds, like Skullcandy 2xl, $10, will come in handy.

COLLEGE FRESHMAN A college freshman’s first test? Getting his or her laptop in tune with the school’s network. This is easier said than done, which is why it helps to tap into the expertise found in most college technology departments to help you access the institution’s printers and shared drives. The department can also set up your child’s e-mail account on a laptop and smartphone. Don’t forget to have the student put phones and other devices on the university’s Wi-Fi network, to reduce data charges. Some colleges will lend gadgets like external DVD drives, which may be needed to install specialized software.

Giving a child any device with an Internet connection requires oversight. A sudden wave of adolescent emotion could generate a photo or a social media message that could become what Gail Lovely, a former teacher and owner of Lovely Learning, a consulting firm for schools, refers to as a “digital tattoo” that comes up in a job interview 10 years later.

Ms. Lovely also suggested that phones, tablets or laptops that leave home should be insured and stored in a protective case, and recommended that every parent learn how to limit a child’s access to things like in-app sales and mature-rated content.

Also critical is something that can’t be purchased â€" a trusting parent-child relationship, and your ability to properly match your child’s growing desire for Internet access with his or her emotional maturity. For that, there is no app.

Gadgetwise: A TV Speaker System Heard but Not Seen

A TV Speaker System Heard but Not Seen

The Cynema Soundfield from Niles.

The Niles Cynema Soundfield in-wall sound bar may not be the ultimate in home theater surround-sound equipment, but it does one thing other sound bars do not: it fits flush to the wall, with no unsightly cabinet, and has a grille that can be painted to disappear into the décor.

Once a cutout is made in the sheet rock of a wall, a supporting rail is installed that the Niles Cynema Soundfield components hang from.

The Cynema Soundfield doesn’t require modification to the studs behind the sheet rock, nor does it need to run wires to a separate amplifier. Speakers, amplifier and a wireless signal out to an optional subwoofer are all enclosed in a design that an experienced installer can have set up in about an hour.

The sound bars come in three sizes â€" 48 inches ($1,600), 55 inches ($1,750) and 60 inches ($2,000). The 48-inch model can be bought without the amplifier ($1,200).

Once the cutout is made in the sheet rock, a supporting rail is installed that the components hang from. The smallest rail fits three sets of speakers and the 30-watt amplifier. Each speaker set has one high-frequency and two midrange speakers.

One interesting feature is that the in-wall amplifier turns itself off when the TV shuts down, so you don’t have a needless draw of power.

A wireless subwoofer module mounts in the array and sends the low-range signal to a receiver made to work specifically with the Niles SW6.5 ($500) subwoofer.

These sound bars are not to be confused with ones from companies like Yamaha, Polk and Definitive Technologies, which create an illusion of surround-sound from a single cabinet. The Cynema Soundfield speakers are close enough that you won’t even get much stereo separation. But the quality of that nearly mono sound is a big step up from the tiny speakers built into most flat-panel TVs.

Gadgetwise: With Disney Infinity, a Virtual Toy Box

With Disney Infinity, a Virtual Toy Box

The Disney Infinity toy box mode allows players to create worlds and adventures of their own.

When the executives at Disney conceived of Infinity, they imagined a video game that resembled a toy box: random toys could be pulled out for any adventure.

The Disney Infinity game, which was released last week, embraces that “anything goes” attitude with vigor. Initial properties include “The Lone Ranger,” “The Incredibles,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Monsters University” and “Cars 2,” and more are scheduled to follow. Disney has said that anything from its vault, including movies, TV shows, theme parks and animated shorts, could eventually show up in the evolving platform.

But Disney Infinity is more than just a video game. Like Skylanders from Activision, Disney Infinity incorporates physical toys, which unlock characters, powers, vehicles and other features when the toys are placed on the Infinity base, which is connected to a game console (Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii).

Once a figure is on the base, its digital doppelgänger appears in a “play set,” a virtual realm based on each character’s respective world. Changing characters and play sets is as easy as swapping the toys on the base. Or characters can come together in the “toy box” mode, in which players create worlds and adventures of their own.

The game itself is simple but engaging. The characters inhabit their worlds and can go on missions, collect objects, build energy and earn points, pretty much as in any video game. But the toy box mode offers the opportunity for real creativity, giving players the ability to design a 3-D world from scratch using landscapes, buildings, vehicles, characters and other objects from the Disney universe.

The Disney Infinity starter pack, which includes the game, three figures and three play sets, costs $75. Add-ons include single figures at $13 apiece, sets of three figures for $30 and a pack that includes two figures and a play set for $35. In addition, power discs, which provide special abilities, toys and themes, are sold in packs of two for $5 (but they are in blind packaging, which means you don’t know which discs you will get.)

Paying extra for additional characters and content is nothing new to video games. But Disney is starting with five play sets, 17 figures and 20 power discs, with much more to come. This game has the potential to fill up your toy box as quickly as it empties your wallet.

10 Questions for Jacob Lew

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew has been part of Washington’s fiscal battles for three decades, since he served as an aide to then-House Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill. But soon he will be the Obama administration’s point man on an unusual convergence of fronts: extending government funding past the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, dealing with the so-called budget sequester and raising the federal debt limit.

On the morning after he informed Congress by letter that the debt limit must be raised by mid-October, Mr. Lew sat down with John Harwood of The Times and CNBC for an interview at the Treasury Department. What follows is a condensed, edited version of their conversation.

Q.

Since you sent your letter to Congress, have you spoken to Speaker John A. Boehner and, if so, how was the conversation?

A.

I have exchanged calls. I haven’t actually spoken with the speaker; I did speak with other leaders yesterday. I think in general the news was taken as it was intended, which was sharing the information that we have. I think it’s helped frame how they are thinking of coming back in the fall.

Q.

The speaker says we need dollar for dollar spending cuts in return for a rise in the debt limit. Some conservatives have talked about linking the defunding of the health care law to a rise in the debt limit. Both of those are total nonstarters?

A.

John, the president has been very clear. We are not going to be negotiating over the debt limit. Congress has already authorized funding, committed us to make expenditures. We are now in the place where the only question is, will we pay the bills the United States has incurred? The only way to do that is for Congress to act, for it to act quickly. What we need in our economy is some certainty. We don’t need another self-inflicted wound. We don’t need another crisis at the last minute. Since 1789, every Congress has acted to pay the bills of the United States. This Congress needs to do the same.

Q.

But you will negotiate over the budget; government funding runs out at the end of September.

A.

We have been very clear for quite some time on fiscal policy generally: the president thinks the right answer is a balanced approach. We have pressed very hard for the kind of agreements that would do spending reform, entitlement reform and tax reform. We’ve hit a bit of an obstacle with the Congress, because there hasn’t been an openness to doing the balance with the tax reform. The president has tried to reach out in every way that is possible to make it clear. He’s looking for the sensible common middle ground.

That’s very different from, do we take something as fundamental as the full faith and credit of the United States and put it in jeopardy. I think if you look back at 2011, we see what the problem is when you can confuse the two. 2011 was the very first time in â€" certainly my years in Washington, that’s three decades â€" where there was debate about whether or not to default. It used to be the debt limit was treated as a deadline to force action to come together. In 2011, we actually saw the specter of default raised to something that was an affirmative position some were saying was better than the alternative. That was dangerous. It was bad for the economy, and we can’t go back there.

Q.

Given the stance the Republicans have taken and the stance that the administration has taken, are you 100 percent confident this will get worked out without any of the negative repercussions we saw two years ago?

A.

As I talk to leaders on both sides, there is an understanding of the seriousness of this issue. I don’t think that the leaders are in a place where anyone wants a repeat of 2011. I don’t yet see that they have a plan to avoid it, which is one of the reasons it’s so important for them to come back in just a couple of weeks and get to work on getting this done and trying to make the debt issue different from other debates that we have.

Q.

What if the speaker calls you and says, Jack, I want to help you, I know we have to raise the debt limit, but I’ve got to give something to my members or I can’t get the votes. What do you say?

A.

Look, I think we saw in 2011 the danger of going down the path of having the kind of negotiation over the debt limit that you have over other issues. The debt limit is just different. It’s just different. There cannot be any question. We are a country that pays our bills. It’s not as if we get to go back and undo the commitments we made. These are old bills that have to be paid. It is part of the rock-solid stability of the United States that we always pay our bills. Congress has the job to raise the borrowing authority to make that possible, just as Congress has the authority to authorize the expenditures in the first place.

Q.

On funding the government, is there any circumstance under which the administration would accept either a delay in parts of Obamacare or a defunding of parts of Obamacare?

A.

No.

Q.

Is the only way the sequester is replaced, in whole or in part, is if Republicans agree to additional tax increases? Or could you see a trade of entitlement cuts, some of which your administration has said are necessary, for the discretionary cuts we have now?

A.

There should be sensible, balanced approaches to medium- and long-term deficit reduction. I don’t want to get into the details of what a package would be, because a small or large package might have different characteristics. The president made clear he was prepared to do tough things on entitlement programs, but those tough actions on entitlement programs require balance in terms of revenue, both for fairness and for economic results.

Q.

Chairmen Camp and Baucus are pursuing a tax reform process â€" corporate tax reform as well as individual reform. You have watched Congress for a long time. Is this still possible to do in both realms in this Congress?

A.

The president tried very hard just a couple weeks ago to make clear there is a path to do business tax reform. There was a way to do it so we could simultaneously do some other important things for the economy â€" invest in infrastructure, invest in manufacturing centers or job training.

I think there has been a convergence of views on the business tax reform. On the individual side, it is a bit more complicated, because it is intrinsically connected to the larger fiscal policy conversation. So without additional revenues, I don’t see a path towards comprehensive tax reform.

Q.

How concerned are you about the reaction of financial markets to two different events: the possibility of military action in Syria and the tapering of bond buying that the Fed has signaled is likely to happen this fall?

A.

I focus on the core economy here. I think we have to take every step we can as we make policy to try and keep our eye on the ball of, what does the economy need to keep growing in the future? We have foreign policy decisions that are going to need to be made for reasons other than core economics, and obviously we’ll have to manage accordingly.

In terms of Fed tapering, you know, as Treasury secretary, I don’t comment on monetary policy. But I will focus on core economics. Our core economy has been growing in the 2 percent range, and, I think it’s important to note, that’s with substantial headwinds from federal policy â€" some on purpose, some not on purpose.

We withdrew the payroll tax cut because that was a short-term policy that had to be withdrawn as we started to see economic growth. The across-the-board cuts of sequestration are an unintended, self-inflicted wound in the short term. They were meant to be replaced by medium- and long-term savings that would be a better, sensible path for the future. In spite of those drags on the economy, we are seeing 2 percent growth. As we get to the end of the year, we think without the headwinds of additional federal cuts, the economy should pick up a notch again.

Q.

Could Larry Summers be an effective Fed chair if he is the president’s choice?

A.

John, I will leave my comments on Fed transition where they belong: in the Oval Office.

Ickes Returns to Democratic Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Panel

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. â€" The Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting here late last week was starkly different from the gathering of its Republican counterparts earlier in the month. There were no surefire news-making speakers like Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey or former Speaker Newt Gingrich, nor was there consideration of any made-for-cable-news resolutions, like one that tried to bar a pair of television networks from sponsoring future presidential debates.

Rather, it was a sedate gathering where routine party business was conducted routinely by national and state Democratic officials in a suburban Phoenix resort.

But when Harold M. Ickes walked into the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on Thursday afternoon and rejoined the panel, at least one longtime Democratic strategist raised her eyebrows.

“He predated the Clinton era, but when I saw Harold reappointed to the D.N.C., he surely, in my judgment, symbolizes the return of the Clintons,” said Donna Brazile, a fellow member of the rules committee.

Mr. Ickes said he was put back on the committee by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the national committee and herself an ardent advocate for Mrs. Clinton in 2008, but he also acknowledged that he “actively sought” the seat.

“It is in my view the most important committee at the D.N.C. because of its role in shaping the nomination process,” he said, adding a bit mischievously, “The goal is to design rules to nominate the strongest candidate for the general election.”

That, he added, would be up to the voters but there is no question who he believes that candidate is.

Mr. Ickes, 73, is a fixture in Clinton politics. He ran Bill Clinton’s New York campaign in the 1992 Democratic primary and served as a deputy chief of staff in Mr. Clinton’s White House. He was a top adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, and Mrs. Clinton’s chief liaison at the D.N.C. during her primary battle against Barack Obama. From his perch on the rules committee he memorably railed against a compromise on disputed delegates in the waning days of the Democratic primary.

At a notably less sedate national committee meeting in late May 2008, Mr. Ickes argued in vain against what he called the “hijacking” of Mrs. Clinton’s delegate share from two disputed state primaries. “I am stunned that we have the gall and the chutzpah to substitute our judgment for 600,000 voters,” Mr. Ickes said at the time.

A few weeks later, Mrs. Clinton conceded the race to Mr. Obama. The following year, with Mr. Obama as party leader, Mr. Ickes left his rules committee post and the national committee. According to party records, he had served on the rules panel since at least 1992.

“I was not reappointed after the 2008 election for some pretty obvious reasons,” Mr. Ickes said.

Now, five years later â€" with Mr. Obama a lame duck and speculation soaring about whether Mrs. Clinton will seek the White House again â€" her procedural maven is back in his old position at the national party. The rules committee is tasked with setting the guidelines governing the presidential nominating process.

Mrs. Clinton does not lack for support among national committee members â€" that much was obvious by the rate in which unofficial campaign buttons promoting her for 2016 were sold in the hallway outside the conference room here.

But with Mr. Ickes again on the rules committee, she has a strategist on a key committee who could advocate for her interest.

As one party official put it, Mr. Ickes not only knows how the party works but effectively “wrote the rules” for the national committee over the years, at least until he was thwarted by Mr. Obama.

Mr. Ickes said he did not rejoin the committee at the behest of either Mr. or Mrs. Clinton but conceded that he understood the meaning of his reappearance as Democrats begin to consider life after Mr. Obama.

“I was on the rules committee for years and years, but, yes, I can understand people reading it that way,” he said.

Q&A: Cooking With a New Computer

Cooking With a New Computer

Q. My wife would like to put together a keepsake family cookbook of her best recipes but needs a new computer first. We currently have a PC, but would a Mac or a new Windows model work best, and with most cookbook programs?

A. Unless you need to run a specific program that works on only one type of operating system, the decision between a Mac or a Windows computer comes down to personal preferences and how much money you wish to spend. Windows-based PCs tend to be less expensive, and if you have been using Windows you would probably have less of a learning curve â€" as well as an easier time transferring files and other data from your old machine to the new one.

Apple’s Mac computers may cost a little more upfront, but have their devotees for elegant software and ease of use. Things are shifting, but Macs are still generally less of a target for malicious software as well.

Although the Mac may require some getting used to after years of Windows, the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system â€" Windows 8 â€" is noticeably different from previous versions of the software. If you can, you may want to go to a store that sells both types of computers and try out each one. (With extra software, a Mac computer can also run Windows if you cannot decide which to choose.)

Since both systems can easily handle standard tasks like e-mail, Web browsing, word processing and displaying photo, audio and video files, the cookbook software you like best may be a deciding factor. Some cookbook creation and printing services (like makethefamilycookbook.com or www.familycookbookproject.com) are Web-based and work on both systems, as does desktop software like Cook’n. Other programs like Living Cookbook are Windows-only.

Moving Large Voice Memos

Q. I used the Voice Memos app on the iPhone to record three hours of audio, but when I try to e-mail the file to myself, the app says it can only send a shortened version. I don’t sync my phone with iTunes, so is there a way to copy this recording to my Mac?

A. If Apple’s iTunes-syncing solution does not work for you, there are alternatives. One method is to use a third-party app like iExplorer for Mac or iFunBox for Windows and Mac to browse the files on the phone and copy the ones you need to the computer.

For future large voice memos, there are apps like DropVox which records the audio and sends it right to an online Dropbox account for easy retrieval. And if you ever decide to try out iTunes, voice memos are automatically copied back to the computer’s audio library when you have the “Include voice memos” option selected on the Music tab.

TIP OF THE WEEK To help protect your Facebook account, you can turn on the login approvals option in your settings, which requires that a special code be sent to your phone when you log in from a new computer. But even if you do not have a cell signal when you use Facebook from a new machine, you can still use the company’s mobile app on your Android handset or iPhone to get the necessary security code.

In the Facebook app, tap the top left menu icon. In the iPhone version, flick down the screen, tap Code Generator and follow the steps on screen to grab the numeric code you need to log in. In the Android version, tap Account and then Code Generator from the top left menu button. Tap the Activate option and wait a minute or two to receive the code required to get into your Facebook account.

Pogue’s Posts Blog: How Ballmer Missed the Tidal Shifts in Tech

By now, you’ve probably heard: Steven A. Ballmer will soon be stepping down as chief executive of Microsoft.

It’s supposedly a voluntary retirement, but that holds about as much credibility as a public official’s leaving a job “to spend more time with family.” Microsoft has been flailing, and many prominent voices have been calling for Mr. Ballmer to step aside.

Many of the factors in his departure â€" stock price, internal politics, shareholder pressure, public relations â€" aren’t my area of expertise. I’m a tech critic, a reviewer of products. But even from my particular angle of examination, Mr. Ballmer’s time as the head of Microsoft has been baffling.

He completely missed the importance of the touch-screen phone. (“There is no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share,” he said in 2007.) He missed the importance of the tablet, too. Yes, Microsoft now sells attractive phones and tablets, but they came years too late. They have minuscule market share and little influence.

It doesn’t take a psychologist to understand why Microsoft missed these tidal shifts: It’s always been a PC company. It helped to create the PC revolution, its bread and butter was the PC â€" and so of course the company kept insisting that the PC was the future.

It would have taken an exceptional thinker, an out-of-the-box visionary, to admit that the company’s foundation was crumbling. Mr. Ballmer wasn’t that guy.

Indeed, his instinct to cling to the past is also responsible for the train wreck that is Windows 8. Under Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft created an elegant, clean, easy-to-use, unnamed new operating system that I call TileWorld; it’s the touch-screen face of Windows.

But Mr. Ballmer and his team lacked the courage to break completely with the increasingly complex, bloated desktop version of Windows. So they created Windows 8 simply by grafting TileWorld onto the old desktop Windows. The result is exactly twice as complicated as before, because now you have twice as much to learn.

As I wrote in my review:

“You have what feels like two different Web browsers, each with different designs and conventions. In TileWorld, the address bar is at the bottom; in Desktop Windows, it’s at the top. In the desktop version, your bookmarks appear as a Favorites list; in TileWorld, they’re horizontally scrolling icons. TileWorld has no History list at all (only autocomplete for recently visited sites).

“Settings are now in three different places. In TileWorld, basic settings like brightness and volume are accessible from the panel that appears when you swipe in from the right. A second set of settings appears when you tap Change PC Settings on that panel. A third, more complete set still resides in the Control Panel back in Desktop Windows.”

How could Microsoft not see that this was a design disaster?

Windows 8 computers haven’t sold well; Microsoft’s Surface tablets have bombed; Windows Phone has about 4 percent market share. The dawn of the touch-screen-PC era that Microsoft predicted hasn’t come to pass, either. And PC sales, all over the world, are way down. That may be partly because of the phone-and-tablet revolution â€" but the Windows 8 mess certainly didn’t help.

In some ways, Microsoft has been frozen in time since Mr. Ballmer took the helm 13 years ago. It’s still raking in money from its big three cash cows: Office, Windows and XBox. Even if it did nothing but rearrange the toolbars in each year’s new versions, they’d still sell.

But most of Mr. Ballmer’s initiatives haven’t fallen on fertile ground.

As the New York Times article about Mr. Ballmer’s resignation makes clear, it won’t be easy for his successor, whoever that turns out to be. Microsoft is a sprawling empire without a particularly clear vision, other than, “Keep Windows, Office and XBox alive.”

But here’s hoping that whoever takes his place will have the courage to break with the past, to make the big changes that Microsoft would need to become a tech leader again. Right now, the company’s ship is chained to the traditional PC â€" and it’s turning out to be a very heavy anchor.

Pogue’s Posts: A Reader’s Question: How Do You Hang Up on Voice Command?

From today’s mailbag:

Dear Mr. Pogue:

Three years ago, my husband suffered an accident and is now a quadriplegic. He can never be alone without a reliable fully voice-activated phone.

As you pointed out in your column this week, with Android, you have to swipe the screen to reach the mike button, and with the first iteration of Siri, you also had to push the home button â€" all impossible for a quad to do. We bought a Blue Ant device a few years back, which worked nicely (sometimes) with his old HTC. When the phone was last updated, that was the end of a beautiful relationship. I spent hours with both Blue Ant and HTC, and both blamed the other and neither had a solution.

So what do you suggest?

While you’re at it: The command to terminate a call doesn’t exist yet. When your call goes into voice mail, you can’t hang up by a voice command; you must physically terminate the call. We have discussed this problem with multiple brain trusts and no one has the solution yet.

My reply:

Unfortunately, I’m afraid I haven’t done any research on this problem in particular. But the Moto X, as I mentioned in my review, is listening for voice commands all the time â€" you don’t have to touch it to start issuing commands.

Among the many Android apps, perhaps there’s one that lets you hang up with a voice command?

I’ll ask my blog readers. Maybe they know of some solutions!

Gadgetwise: Headphones Combine Good Sound and Sleek Design

Headphones Combine Good Sound and Sleek Design

The M500 on-ear headphones from the British audio company KEF.

The British audio company KEF has been making speakers and studio monitors for more than 50 years, but it only recently turned its attention to headphones.

That half-century of craftsmanship really shows in KEF’s M500 on-ear headphones, which provide great style, comfort and sound. At $300, the M500 headphones are aimed at the higher end of the consumer market. They are available directly from KEF or through retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.com.

The headphones, which won a 2013 Red Dot design award, are elegant yet simple. The lightweight aluminum frame and memory foam ear cushions make the headphones comfortable to wear, even for extended periods. A flexible headband and multidirectional hinge above the ear cups allow the headphones to easily adapt to different head sizes. They can also swivel to lie flat or fold up for storage in a supplied carrying case.

KEF paid attention to the function of the M500 headphones, too. Internal high-fidelity speakers include a 40-millimeter neodymium driver that delivers a clean bass and a full range of sound. A detachable, tangle-free cord plugs into most mobile devices, and a 6.3-millimeter adapter is provided for connection to conventional hi-fi equipment. A second cord has an Apple-enabled in-line remote control with volume buttons and a microphone for phone calls.

Sound through the headphones is vivid and full. On-ear headphones usually don’t offer a good seal, but these do a remarkable job of blocking noise. And they are comfortable.

The inline remote control has tiny buttons and can be hard to press. Still, that’s a minor quibble; over all, the M500 headphones are a solid entry for KEF.

Gadgetwise: Forget the Punching Bag, Try the Robot

Forget the Punching Bag, Try the Robot

With Battroborgs, you punch using hand-held radio controllers.

Battroborgs, an electronic update of the old Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots toy, are a lot of fun, and hardly need the hype that the marketing team for the toy has thrown at it.

The advertising, Web site, and the free Battroborg Trainer app show animations that variously make the Battroborgs look as if they shoot sparks, use martial arts moves, and have light-up eyes. They don’t. They do two things: throw a punch with the left, throw a punch with the right.

And that’s plenty enough to have fun.

You punch using hand-held radio controllers. Hold one in each hand, and when you throw a punch, the Battroborg does too. Alternating lefts and rights move the robot forward. Throwing repeated punches with one arm turns the Battroborg. It can take a little bit of practice just to get them in fighting proximity.

The toy also comes with a “fight arena,” something like a boxing ring, which can be set up so the ropes restrict the toys to advancing toward each other, a help to wee ones impatient to get to the punching.

When a Battroborg takes a punch, a light on its backpack signals the level of damage until blinking red signals it’s game over and shuts down the Battroborg.

There is also a single-play mode, “Auto Drone,” that lets you play against a Battroborg throwing automated punches.

Some of the marketing hype is in good fun. The head of the Battroborg, where you aim your punches, is referred to invariably as the “Neurocranial-Optic Visor.” The on/off switch is on the “Triton Processor.” Cardboard cutouts you can practice punching with are “Training Drones.”

The toy kept two adults entertained for a good 15 minutes, which would have been longer except for looming deadlines â€" and the fact the batteries need a recharge at about 20 minutes. A full recharge also takes about 20 minutes.

The Battroborg play set is $80 with the arena and two Battroborgs. Additional Battroborgs are $35.

Obama Honors Soldier for Bravery Under Fire, and Afterward

For generations, soldiers have been honored at the White House for valor under fire. And no one questions the heroism of Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter, who raced through a hail of bullets to rescue a wounded comrade and helped keep Taliban fighters from overrunning a combat post in Afghanistan.

But when Sergeant Carter, 33, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama on Monday, he was venerated not just for his actions on the battlefield but also for those after the shooting was over. Back in the United States after a war that killed too many comrades, Sergeant Carter has become a symbol of the courage not only to face the enemy, but to face what comes next.

“Ty has spoken openly, with honesty and extraordinary eloquence, about his struggle with post-traumatic stress â€" the flashbacks, the nightmares, the anxiety, the heartache that makes it sometimes almost impossible to get through a day,” Mr. Obama said before draping the medal around his neck. But with the help of the Army, the president said, Sergeant Carter received treatment and now stands as a repudiation of the stigma many soldiers feel.

“Let me say it as clearly as I can to any of our troops or veterans who are watching and struggling,” Mr. Obama said. “Look at this man. Look at this soldier. Look at this warrior. He’s as tough as they come, and if he can find the courage and the strength to not only seek help but also to speak out about it, to take care of himself and to stay strong, then so can you.”

The president paid tribute to heroism in the last war even as he contemplated the next one. The ceremony in the East Room of the White House came on a day when Mr. Obama was reviewing potential military responses to a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government that killed hundreds of civilians.

Mr. Obama, who pulled the last American troops out of Iraq and is winding down the war in Afghanistan, is not considering sending ground troops like Sergeant Carter to Syria, but he is confronting the prospect of other military action in a region from which he has spent much of his presidency trying to disengage.

Sergeant Carter, a married father of three from Antioch, Calif., was the fifth living member of the military to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the Afghanistan war. He was the second to receive it for actions in the battle of Kamdesh recounted in a book by Jake Tapper of CNN, “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.” Mr. Obama honored former Sgt. Clinton Romesha in February.

When Combat Outpost Keating, manned by about 50 American troops, was attacked from all sides by about 300 Taliban fighters early on the morning of Oct. 3, 2009, Sergeant Carter rushed in. He twice ran through a 100-yard gantlet of enemy fire to aid the defense of the outpost and, wounded by shrapnel, killed several attackers. He ran out again into a storm of fire to a wounded colleague, stanched the bleeding, placed a tourniquet on his leg and carried him through the shots to safety.

Speaking to reporters on the White House driveway after Monday’s ceremony, Sergeant Carter openly acknowledged the horror of the day. “Only those closest to me can see the scars that come from seeing good men take their last breath,” he said. Of the wounded soldier, who later died of his injuries, he said, “I will hear his plea for help for the rest of my life.”

Sergeant Carter used the occasion of his medal award ceremony to address the American people. “Ladies and gentlemen, please, take the time to learn about the invisible wounds,” he said. “Know that a soldier or veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress is one of the most passionate, committed men or women you’ll ever meet. Know that they are not damaged; they are simply burdened with living when others did not. Know that they â€" we â€" are not defeated, never defeated. We are resilient and will emerge stronger over time.”