Archive for 2008

Have I mentioned that I lurve Lifehacker. Even now, working for the man as I do most of the time, they still have great tips I can put to use in my own life. A nifty example is Friday’s post about Soocial.

I’ve had my smartphone for 6 months now, and I still barely use a fraction of its capabilities and one of the reasons is because the syncing process drives me nuts. Soocial could help. At the very least, now that I’ve added a gmail account to my already lengthy list, it would keep me from having to recreate my existing contact list.

Oh, yea, and my favorite part, Soocial is free.

My second most favoritest bit? The visuals they use to convey that it is “Hassle-Free” (think Hassel(hoff)-Free)

It got a bit lost in all the election hubbub, so I thought I’d mention it now. JP Morgan Chase, the bank who bailed out/bought Washington Mutual, has changed how they are handling mortgages, particularly those inherited from the banks that failed. In the meantime, they have issued a 90-day moratorium on foreclosure while they implement the new plan.

The cynic in me can’t help but notice the great PR for JP Morgan Chase:

We may have to foreclose down the line, but it’ll be after the holiday season so we’re not kicking anyone to curb at Christmas/Hanukkah/the Winter Solstice/Kwanzaa, et al. Go us!

More details from JPMC (can these merged banks please pick just ONE name! lol) at CNNMoney.com, here.

For a real-world explanation that boils it down for homeowners, check out this recent NPR interview.

Do you remember the first time you encountered Windows, specifically a 3.x version?

When all of a sudden you could navigate your computer visually instead using a bunch of commands–although those still worked for those who needed time to adjust.

For better or for worse, no matter what you think of Windows, it was a HUGE moment in user-driven computing. And now the early versions are finally gone for good. As of November 1, 2008 Microsoft stopped issuing licenses for all Windows 3.x products. For more details, check out BBC News’ article on the subject.

Am I the only one surprised that this just happened? I haven’t actually SEEN a computer with Win 3.x since, uh…. 1999.

No, this is not a new article, but with the holiday season creeping up on us faster than we might like (or maybe that’s just me?), a few productivity tips can’t hurt, right?

Check out the LifeHacker article above, from motivational speaker John Womack. After all, getting back in the groove is hard, no matter what time of year…

Time magazine has released their 50 Best Inventions of the Year list for 2008. Want the video version instead? Find it here.

Among my personal favorites are

#3 – the LRO. What can I say, I’m the child of an astronomy buff who has followed the space program practically forever…

#5 – the LHC. The astronomy buff mentioned above also taught HS physics for 20years, so I’m a natural fan of this one.

#10 – Roadrunner. Not the cable service. I think I liked this one because (a) fast is good and (b)”petaflop” is a fun word. Say it, you’ll see what I mean.

#11 – Algae Oil. A potential carbon neutral alternative fuel source that doesn’t impact the world food supply. What’s not to love?

#15 – Singing Supervillain. A blow for life w/o the big studios as well as a darn entertaining lil flick.

#18 – the MSL. Just in time. The Mars Phoenix lander/lab will be going offline any day now due to the Martian winter. This tough little buggy, launching in Feb. 2009, will pick up where Phoenix left off, but more durably.

#25 – Thin Film Solar. Cheap(er) solar, what’s not to love?

#33 – Portable Power. Take a walk and charge your ipod/crackberry/cell phone without an extension cord. Sweet.

#37 – Clean Building. Concrete that cleans the air!

#42 Disemvoweling. It’s not actually that cool, I just love the made-up word used to describe the process.

#47 – Offshore Internet. We liked this one so much we already blogged about it last month.

Go, check out the list, then come back & tell us ~your~ favorites.

PS – those are Dy’s faves above, not OA at large

This week’s Tech Republic newsletter had a geekalicious article I just have to share. Why? Because I am both a low level tech geek (I’d probably be wearing a red shirt, lol) and a writer-type, and this article has a bit of typographic history, too.

What do you call ” @ ” ? Does it have a name, like the ampersand (&) or what? Did you know the ” @ ” has hundreds of names, depending on the language used? Or that it pre-dates email by over 50 years? Learn all this and more Where the action is @ !

We all know times are lean, the news and the government won’t let us forget. Which begs the question, how do you keep growing your business in tough times?

Erica Stritch at RainToday.com has some great ideas in her article, “Forgotten Leads: How to Find a Treasure Trove of Leads Hidden Within Your Firm.”

People need to see/hear your name between 7 and 11 times before they remember you. Even if you are busting your tail to make ends meet, make sure you take the time to keep in touch. You never know when your efforts will be rewarded, but if you never try, they never will.

Tech Republic blogger Jack Wallen is in favor of migrating to Linux, but urges caution. Yesterday he gave a 10-point list of things to think about before making the move.

I confess, he gave me a few things to think about, but, as someone who is considering making the switch personally, it doesn’t come close to answering all my questions.

• I use Open Office, and it’s okay, but it is U-G-L-Y and, frankly, as a longtime MS user, kind of a PITA to navigate. If they would just put a little more effort into making super common functions easier to locate, that would rock. Plus, I just spent a ton of cash upgrading to Office 2007 5 months ago–is there a way to make the kids play nice so I can still use it?
• I am an iTunes junkie. How does this work with something like Ubuntu? Does it?
• Still haven’t found an open source equivalent to MS Publisher. I know, I know, it’s desktop publishing for dummies, but it’s what I know how to use and I can make it sing when I’m in the groove.

I’m sure there’s more, but those are just what kind to mind immediately. Think you (or your business) are ready to go The Way of the Penguin? Check out the article above and let us know what you think.

Working from home is hard work. Employees who work 8 to 5 are usually given an hour for lunch and two 20-minute breaks throughout the workday. Why should VAs be any different?

Not sure what to do with those 20 minutes?

Check out this spiffy list of 50 websites to waste some time, courtesy of Time Magazine. The article is a couple years old, but the info is still good.

Now, go Goof Off! You’ll feel better for it, I promise!

There are not enough digits to express how far into debt we are as a nation. It’s true!

In 1989, less than 20 years ago, a Manhattan real estate developer put up the National Debt Clock to call attention to what was then a $2.4 trillion debt.

Sadly, he obviously never thought he’d need more digits. The current national debt is up to 10.2 trillion dollars. The dollar sign on the clock was temporarily converted to a “1″ to allow for the higher number and the organization that maintains the clock plans to add slots for 2 more digits some time nexty year.

Then the will be able to show us our national debt up to a quadrillion* dollars. Yay. I think it’s safe to say that if it gets that high, we probably won’t be worrying about whether or not the clock is accurate, eh?

Shamelessly re-written from CNN.com’s article on the same topic


*Who else thinks this sounds like a made-up number?