Archive for May, 2007
Dell Gets Linuxy
Posted by Joe on May 24, 2007 · Comments Off
Dell began selling computers pre-loaded with the Ubuntu flavor of Linux today. Interestingly, they are also offering computers loaded with FreeDOS, an Open Source clone of MS-DOS. See more at Dell’s Ubuntu page.
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Save From Office to Web Folder
Posted by Joe on May 24, 2007 · Comments Off
A new plugin allows Box.net users to save MS Office documents directly to their Box.net web storage folder. From Webware:
Box.net is beta testing a new plug-in for Microsoft Office that lets users save Office files to their Box.net storage folders. The plug-in works for both Office 2003 and 2007 on Windows XP and Vista, provides users a new “Save to Box.net” button, and gives visual notification when the file is uploading and then successfully sent. Users can then access that file anytime on their Box.net Web storage folder.
This would seem to be a no-brainer for Box.net users, and [...]
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A Health Revolution
Posted by Joe on May 24, 2007 · Comments Off
Steve Case has unveiled RevolutionHealth.com. The new site offers free health related tools and resources. From MarketWatch:
Steve Case, founder of America Online, wants to make health-care resources, services and products easy to find and use so people will track their health as they do their stock portfolios. He’s put information, tools, commerce and online communities in a single place called RevolutionHealth.com, a free, comprehensive consumer health site that launched on Thursday.
Visit RevolutionHealth.com for more information.
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Wal-Mart To Sell Dell Computers
Posted by Joe on May 24, 2007 · Comments Off
Dell PCs will soon be available in Wal-Mart stores around the country:
A representative for Wal-Mart on Thursday morning said that the PCs are slated to be in stores on June 10, with two models each offered in a bundle priced below $700. Details on the PCs were not provided.
This would seem to be a positive development for consumers, given the relative quality of Dell PCs and Wal-Mart’s aggressive pricinig model.
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Nuts to CBS
CBS canceled Jericho after a cliffhanger season finale. And I’m not the only one mad about it. Disgruntled fans sent CBS 10,800 pounds of nuts!
Jericho’s initially strong ratings dropped after it was pulled off the air for 3 months in the middle of the season for no apparent reason (Heroes and Lost got similar “midwinter breaks” — with similar ratings drops). Instead of picking it up for another season and giving it a fair shot, CBS pulled the plug. Meanwhile, new CBS dramas for next season include a series about 1970′s wife swappers, a vampire crime drama, [...]
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Be Safe At The ATM
Posted by Joe on May 23, 2007 · Comments Off
Bankrate.com offers tips for ATM security and safety.
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Cheap Cars — to buy and to drive
Posted by Joe on May 23, 2007 · Comments Off
Hybrids are expensive. So is gasoline. Cars.com recently looked at cars with great mileage and a low sticker price, to find the lowest cost of ownership for cars in various categories. For example, the Toyota Yaris has a base sticker price of $11,150 and highway mileage of 40 mpg. There are hybrids getting worse mileage at twice the cost.
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Go For It
Posted by Joe on May 23, 2007 · Comments Off
A great example of someone who takes chances and doesn’t give up:
Every morning for two years, Debra Borden considered the possibility that she was, in fact, delusional.
” ‘Are you out of your mind?’ ” the clinical social worker asked herself. “‘You’re fortysomething years old, and you just woke up and decided you wanted to write a novel?’ ”
Luckily, the Upper Saddle River resident remained convinced of her own sanity.
After 36 bruising rejections — including one that came back with “No” scrawled on her manuscript — [...]
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Google Ups Attachment Ante
Posted by Joe on May 23, 2007 · Comments Off
Google has doubled the maximum Gmail attachment size to 20 mb.
[via LifeHacker]
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Crying at Work OK — Still No Crying In Baseball
Posted by Joe on May 23, 2007 · Comments Off
Is it ok to cry at work? I’d have to say no, unless you’re a soap opera actress or a mechanic under a car when a jack fails. Apparently, I’m a little out of touch, though.
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Friends Don’t Let Friends Spam Friends
Posted by Joe on May 22, 2007 · Comments Off
Should you spam-filter your friends? In the New York Times, John Tierney takes a look at friends turning into spammers, and what to do about it.
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Coming Out of the Unorganized Closet
Posted by Joe on May 22, 2007 · Comments Off
Unclutterer takes on clothes today, with 15 great tips to organize and unclutter your wardrobe. Sounds like a great weekend project.
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Backup Is Easier Than Ever
Posted by Joe on May 21, 2007 · Comments Off
Mozy is an online backup solution that offers 2 gb of free storage, or an unlimited storage plan for a reasonable $4.95 a month. It’s been around for a while, although the Mac version is new.
What You Get
Continuous or scheduled backup options
2GB of free, secure storage (Or go Unlimited for $4.95/month!)
Open/locked file support
Block-level differential backup
128-bit SSL support (to secure your data during transport)
448-bit Blowfish encryption (to secure your data on our server)
I just installed Mozy and backed up a few megabytes, and it works great so far.
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Assign Drive Letters to Folders
Posted by Joe on May 21, 2007 · Comments Off
Freeware program Visual Subst lets you assign a drive letter to any folder, making frequently used folders more accessible.  Like all great software, it works as advertised.
[via freewaregenius]
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Walking In Place
Posted by Joe on May 21, 2007 · Comments Off
If you’ve ever felt like you’re walking in place at work, you’re not alone. But this might be carrying things too far:
Could work actually make you fitter? You might think it unlikely as you sit in your office slumped in front of your computer, but a new desk designed at the Mayo Clinic could give you a proper work out.
The U.S. medical practice have built what they called a “vertical workstation” — a desk fitted over a standard treadmill.
Yikes. I’ll stick with workplace naps. One of these treadmills at home might be cool, though.
Here’s the [...]
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Buy that LCD TV
Wired says that LCD tv pricing has bottomed out:
Thinking of buying an LCD television set? Wait no longer: The price plunge is over. After years of accelerating decline, prices for consumer LCD TVs — especially those smaller than 32 inches — have hit bottom, industry insiders say.
That’s because the price of wholesale LCD flat panels — the display component of your TV set — has recently reached its lowest point and rebounded, according to numbers released by market data research firm iSuppli. When a TV’s most expensive single component starts getting more expensive, [...]
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last100 looks at Joost
Posted by Joe on May 21, 2007 · Comments Off
Blogroll-worthy: New site last100 “provides news, reviews and industry analysis on products and services related to the digital lifestyle.” Their tag line is “tracking the digital lifestyle” — sorta like what we’re trying to do here. Check out the post on Joost, the new online TV service from the founders of Skype.
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Sick of Unfair Treatment
Posted by Joe on May 21, 2007 · Comments Off
Feeling unfairly treated may be making you sick, according to a new study:
People who report a sense of being unfairly treated face a greater risk of suffering a heart attack and are in worse overall physical and mental health, researchers from the U.K. and Finland report.
Get over it — your life may depend on it!
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Quicken Envelopes
Posted by Joe on May 21, 2007 · Comments Off
Explained: how to track envelope budgeting with Quicken. Given the popularity of this budgeting technique, I may have to give this a try.
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Scratch That
A group at MIT have developed a programming language for kids called “Scratch“. From the press release:
A new programming language developed at the MIT Media Lab turns kids from media consumers into media producers, enabling them to create their own interactive stories, games, music, and animation for the Web.
With this new software, called Scratch, kids can program interactive creations by simply snapping together graphical blocks, much like LEGO® bricks, without any of the obscure punctuation and syntax of traditional programming languages. Children can then share their interactive [...]
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Clean Up Your PC, and your writing
Posted by Joe on May 19, 2007 · Comments Off
Ok, Yahoo! Tech’s brief article on cleaning up your pc hardware is mildly useful. But what really made it worth reading for me is this reader comment:
I AM GLAD THAT SOMEONE MADE A ARTICAL ABOUT CLEANING THE INSIDE OF COMPUTER I AM A TECH AND ONE THING I HATE IS WORKING ON SOMEONE COMPUTER THAT IS HAVING PROBLEMS AND FINDING OUT THAT HALF THE PROBLEM IS ALL THE CRAP ( DUST ) THAT IS INSIDE OF THERE 5YER OLD COMPUTER THAT IS ENCLOSED IN A COMPUTER DESK AND CAN’T GET ANY AIR ( AGAIN THANK YOU FOR THE ARTICAL )
This wisdom from a person claiming to be a computer professional. ALL [...]
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No Danger Today
I just went to the local Barnes and Noble to buy The Dangerous Book for Boys for my son. It was sold out. For some reason, that really annoyed me. The book is a big bestseller here in the US, as it was in Britain, and B&N apparently under-estimated demand. I love going to Barnes and Noble — it’s an awesome place to waste time. But sometimes you don’t want to wast time. Sometimes you want to buy a book.
I wasn’t too upset at B&N, though. For one thing, the book is a bit cheaper through Amazon, although that means waiting a few days for it. And besides, [...]
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Master Fantasy Writer Dies
Posted by Joe on May 19, 2007 · Comments Off
Lloyd Alexander passed away last Thursday. He was 83 years old. Alexander authored a wonderful fantasy series called Chronicles of Prydain, one of which was made into the underrated Disney film The Black Cauldron. The books were favorites of mine, and I think it’s time to revisit them.
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Organize your office
Posted by Joe on May 18, 2007 · Comments Off
Good advice for getting your office organized from Elizabeth Mayhew on the Today.com site. For example:
First thing you should do is to take stock of those stacks of paper. Elizabeth suggests using your dining room table for this task: the big surface allows you to spread out and sort.
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Affordable Camera Shootout
Posted by Joe on May 18, 2007 · Comments Off
From Laptop magazine, Ten Quality Cameras You Can Afford:
A few years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to round up 3.2-megapixel cameras under $250. Today, it’s possible to pick up a 5-, 6-, or 7-MP shooter for less than $150. Don’t think that these point-and-shoots are clunky plastic boxes, either. They each use two AA batteries and look similar, but they also have LCDs larger than two inches (with some as big as 2.5 inches), at least a 3X optical zoom, the ability to capture video, and a handful of scene modes.
I like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70S, the only camera in the roundup [...]
Filed in: SL
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