DESKTOP.(Business)

TOLL FOR TECH

The average U.S. household spent $576 on tele- communications services in the fourth quarter of last year, up from $542 in the year-earlier period, according to TNS Telecoms. The breakdown:

Service ..........Monthly....Share

Cable/Satellite....$40.20....28%

Wireless...........$38.72....27%

Local phone........$37.19....26%

Internet...........$16.46....11%

Long-distance.......$9.99....7%

Local toll calls....$2.40....2%

Calling cards.......$0.27....1%

SPORTSMEN TRACK THE LAW

The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance has put together a clearing- house of information about laws that could impact hunting and fishing across the United States. Go to www.ussportsmen.org to check out the alliance's bill tracker database.

TOP NOTEBOOKS NOTED

PC World magazine ranks the top 15 notebook PCs in its August issue. The Toshiba Tecra S1 ranks No. 1 in power; it retails for $2,879. The best value is the Compaq Presario 2100Z, for $1,024 retail.