Archive for May, 2007
Old things are new again — with WiFi and Bluetooth
I was sorry to see the death of the clamshell pda market a few years ago. The ultracompact laptop replacement devices seemed like an obvious choice for truly mobile computing. My own IBM Workpad Z50 got a lot of use , despite it’s somewhat limited capabilities and poor screen quality. So I’m excited by Palm’s announcement today of the Foleo, which they describe as a mobile companion designed to work closely with a smartphone. What it really is is an awesome Linux-powered ultra-compact solid-state laptop replacement — with WiFi. I want one. $500 — $600 is a bit [...]
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Popular Mechanics: You Can Do it
Posted by Joe on May 30, 2007 · Comments Off
Useful stuff from Popular Mechanics:
5 Better Ways to Hammer a Nail: Skill Set
How to Replace a Broken Shovel Handle: Skill Set
How to Hang a Picture Frame: Skill Set
How to Solder to a Circuit Board: Skill Set (with Video)
How to Solder: Skill Set (with Video)
How to Snap a Fastener: The Laws of Extraction
Electrical Basics: Skill Set
Skill Set: Stripping Cable
Who knew there were 5 ways to hammer a nail?
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Microsoft Table Top Computer Surfaces
Posted by Joe on May 30, 2007 · Comments Off
Microsoft’s big secret turns out to be a web-enabled coffee table:
Microsoft Corp. has chosen what it sees as the next-generation in PC form factors — a computer the size and shape of a coffee table with a flat, touchscreen display — as the third major product it has designed and is branding for the consumer electronics market.
On Wednesday, the company revealed five-year old project “Milan,” a computer that uses wireless autosync and touchscreen technology to allow users and devices to interact with files and applications using a flat, table-top screen. The company [...]
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Your Mileage May Vary
Posted by Joe on May 29, 2007 · Comments Off
From the EPA, some ways to improve gas mileage:
* Go easy on the brakes and gas pedal. Avoid “jackrabbit†starts by accelerating gradually whenever possible. Also, anticipate stops to avoid sudden braking.
* Avoid long idles. Turn off the engine if you anticipate a lengthy wait. Instead of idling at a drive-up window, park the car and go in. Idling burns more gas than restarting the engine. Limit car warmups in winter.
* Avoid carrying unneeded items in the trunk. Extra weight decreases gas mileage. Also, reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks.
* [...]
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Smelly Tips
Posted by Joe on May 29, 2007 · Comments Off
How cool is the web? You can even find tips for “better manure application in alfalfa.” There’s a lot of manure spreading where I work, but no alfalfa.
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Fix a Stuck Pixel
Posted by Joe on May 29, 2007 · Comments Off
From wikiHow: fix a stuck pixel on an LCD monitor. It’s worth a try. I once used Dell’s no-questions-asked 30 day return policy because my new laptop had a dead pixel. You had to have 5 or more to get a warranty repair, if I remember right.
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Blog Musik Good While It Lasts
Posted by Joe on May 29, 2007 · Comments Off
I’m a fan of blogmusik.net, which lets you stream songs on demand. However, there’s a general consensus that the site is illegal, and it will eventually be pulled. Now TechCrunch is talking about an upcoming service from CD trading company Lala that offers the same thing — legally. Good luck to them getting approval from record labels — a bunch of dinosaurs who are terrified of change. Meanwhile, enjoy blogmusik while it lasts:
.
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Living Zen
Posted by Joe on May 28, 2007 · Comments Off
There’s an awesome new post full of life hacks over at Zen Habits: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity
And for you life hacker haters, here’s a rather snarky take on long lists of productivity tips.
I enjoyed both links, although I’ll hopefully get more out of the first. But maybe “laugh, and make others laugh” would be a good addition?
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Credit Score Care
Posted by Joe on May 28, 2007 · Comments Off
Protect your credit score with the solid advice in this post at the Get Rich Slowly blog. Step one is to get a free copy of your report from the major reporting agencies. You can do that easily at AnnualCreditReport.com.
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Low Price HD-DVD Player
Posted by Joe on May 28, 2007 · Comments Off
It looks like the price of HD-DVD players are dropping right along with Hi-Def LCD TV prices. Amazon has the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player for just $237.88 shipped, and you get to pick 5 free HD-DVD titles. Current status is “In Stock Soon”, but you can place your order and get in line.
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Books and Kids and a Blog
Posted by Joe on May 28, 2007 · Comments Off
For summer reading ideas for the kids, the Books For Kids Blog is a great starting place. A new children’s book is reviewed pretty much every day. From the site:
A blog which offers book reviews for young people of preschool to high school ages by a children’s librarian with decades of experience in reading guidance.
Here’s the review of A Dangerous Book For Boys I’ve mentioned before.
Here’s the Amazon link:
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Delightful Deal Site
Posted by Joe on May 28, 2007 · Comments Off
dealighted is a mashup of posted deals from popular deal sites like slickdeals, fatwallet, and gottadeal. An algorithm identifies the most popular deals. An RSS feed would be cool (if difficult to monetize). Other than that, dealighted is a useful addition to the crowded world of deal sites.
[via ProgrammableWeb]
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Waste Some Time
Posted by Joe on May 27, 2007 · Comments Off
Make paper airplanes. Fight Zombies. Escape from a small white room. Maximum PC suggests 12 ways to waste time online.
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Memorial Day Health Tips
Posted by Joe on May 27, 2007 · Comments Off
Revolution Health has 10 tips for staying healthy over Memorial Day weekend. One and two:
Get Spicy to Stay Cool. Eat spicy foods to help you stay cool. Believe it or not, spicy foods dilate your peripheral blood vessels, making you perspire which cools your body.
A Coat in Summertime. Coat both meats and the grill with olive oil to ensure great flavor, but avoid potential carcinogens. Many of us like the flavor of meats with a bit of char (blackening), but research has shown this method can create cancer-causing substances called heterocyclic amines.
Have a fun, safe and healthy holdiay!
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Get Your Deposit Back
Posted by Joe on May 27, 2007 · Comments Off
How to clean your apartment and get back your security deposit, from wikiHow.
We’ve always tended to be pretty hard on the places we’ve lived — especially once the kids came along. I don’t think we’ve ever gotten our full deposit back.
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New Car TV
Posted by Joe on May 27, 2007 · Comments Off
If you’re shopping for a new car, you may want to start with DriverTV. The site offers complete video tours of new cars. DriverTV is easy to use, and the videos load quickly and are packed with information.
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Cheapest Computers In The World
Posted by Joe on May 26, 2007 · Comments Off
Forbes has a slideshow featuring the cheapest PCs in the world, starting at $85. Some choices they list are thin-client types, missing features we expect from computer. Others aren’t available right now (like the OLPC laptop). However, they do include the Linux-powered Microtel MCS7001, which is pretty full featured for the $219 (after rebate) price.
Other dirt-cheap Linux boxes are available at Mad Tux, starting at just $139 (without CD drive).
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Living The Good Life
Posted by Joe on May 26, 2007 · Comments Off
From Pick The Brain, Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life.  Good tips, including:
1. Live Below Your Means
2. Put Your Money to Work
3. Educate Yourself
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How To Say Goodbye
Posted by Joe on May 26, 2007 · Comments Off
Lifehacker points to a good resource for sample resignation letters.
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Surviving a PC Catastrophe
Posted by Joe on May 26, 2007 · Comments Off
PC World offers up a mostly-useful list of solutions to PC disasters:
Your computer won’t boot
You just told off the CEO in an e-mail and instantly regret it
No PCs show on the network
Your identity has been stolen!
Your Net connection is dead
You’re being sued by the RIAA/MPAA
Your device just got doused with water–or worse
You’re inundated with pop-ups when you boot your PC (adware/spyware infestation)
You deleted a critical file–and have no backup
Your hard drive has crashed
You forgot your Windows password
Your presentation just croaked
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Using Yahoo! To Get A Little More Organized
Posted by Joe on May 25, 2007 · Comments Off
I created a Yahoo! email account for my family this evening. It will be nice to have a “family” email address where we can receive and send family emails. However, the real advantage will be using Yahoo!’s very nice calendar to schedule all our events. Blocking out time for church, kid’s karate classes, doctor’s appointments, family obligations, etc., will hopefully help to get us all more organized. And of course, having a central place we can all go for contacts will be good.
I should have done this about five years ago. In fact, I’m sure a lot of people [...]
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Mickey Without Much Money
Posted by Joe on May 25, 2007 · Comments Off
From CNN: doing Disney World on a budget. Lots of good tips. And  MouseSavers.com, which they mention, is an awesome resource.
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GCal To Do Lists
Posted by Joe on May 25, 2007 · Comments Off
Google’s GCAl lacks built-in To Do list functionality.  LifeHacker offers some creative tips for getting around this limitation.
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The Magic of Libertarian Paternalism (a.k.a nudging)
Posted by Joe on May 25, 2007 · Comments Off
In the New York Times is an article by David Leonhardt about the idea that a small change, or “nudge”, can often yield a better end-result than a big change.
Here’s one example from Leonhardt:
Five years ago, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the largest district in North Carolina, started a school choice program, giving parents a bigger say over where their children went to school. But finding good information about schools, like their average test scores, sometimes seemed like an unpleasant exam in its own right. Parents often had to wade through a Web site filled with acronyms [...]
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A Very Good Yield
Posted by Joe on May 24, 2007 · Comments Off
FNBO Direct offers an online savings account that’s currently paying a 6.00% APY. Minimum deposit is just $1, and the rate is guaranteed at least through September 28. FNBO is, of course, FDIC insured.
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