With the holidays fast approaching, my thoughts turn to gifts. Or, more to the point, how to get all of my shopping done with everything else that is on the to-do list. The answer, of course, is that I'm going to be doing most (all?) of my shopping online. And while shopping from the comfort of my living room may be the greatest invention known to a time-starved mom, that doesn't mean it is without problems. Problems, that often can be resolved with the help of another great invention – live chat with a customer service representative. The first time I tried live chat was while visiting the L.L. Bean web site. I had just placed an order when I remembered that I had several coupons which could have saved me a significant amount of money on my order. Thanks to the help of a friendly online rep, I was...
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A few weeks back I wrote that I'd started my search for the perfect vacuum. Since then I've been reading user reviews, researching vacuums online, and asking almost every woman I know what she uses to clean her floors. Since writing my review of the Roomba, I've spoken to several women who swear by their little robot. And I've met several more who swear by their Dyson.
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My son loves to listen to Magic Tree House, the audiobooks featuring the stories of Jack and Annie, read by Mary Pope Osbourne. He also enjoys the adventures of Little Proto as performed by "Odds Bodkin." But here's the thing . . . He listens to his stories on CDs. That's right. He, the boy who's mother owns more than one type of MP3-playing device including a Shuffle, a "sad" 2nd generation iPod and an iPhone, listens to his stories on a CD player I bought at Target. At the time, I bought his sister the same player. Which is probably why when one broke, the other soon followed it into CD player heaven. Leaving us to make a decision - should be buy the kids new CD players? We considered the option of buying each child an iPod Nano ($145 for 8 GB) and dock ($59.99 for the iHome...
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Now this is exciting holiday news for business travelers: Google announced yesterday it is working with with airports across the country as well as Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income and others to provide free WiFi as a holiday gift now through January 15, 2010. The plan currently includes 47 airports, including Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis and Charlotte.
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One of my all-time favorite shopping Web sites is Delight.com. Whenever I am on the hunt for something special or unexpected—mainly to give as a gift—I shop here first. Every day features a daily delight: a discount or product that's available in limited quantity. This week they've been showcasing some cool tech gadgets and accessories that are making it on to my holiday shopping lists. Yes, I do realize it was just Halloween. But once they start playing Christmas tunes 24/7 on the radio, I start making lists. This year I plan to have the majority of my shopping done by December first and if all goes well, I will do almost all of it on line.
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If you've been a patient PC user in need of a new computer but have been waiting for Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows 7, early reports say that your patience will be rewarded.
Vista, the disappointing three-year tour between Windows XP and Windows 7, may have improved over time, but the public relations damage was done early by the sluggish, overly alarming, and often-incompatible-with-other-gadgets-and-software system's performance. Two third of corporations never made the move from XP to Vista, which made Microsoft want to get its newest iteration more right than ever.
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Through the years my husband and I have gone through our share of video game systems. Together we have owned the original Playstation (which we gave to my parents for their vacation home) and the original XBox, which we used, on and off, for many years. Then, we received a Wii from Nintendo and I thought we had found the perfect family-friendly video game system. But even as we enjoyed playing Wii Sports and Mario Party, I found my husband and then 6 year old son kept returning to the old XBox. And, when given the choice to buy Lego Star Wars for the Wii or the old XBox my son chose the latter. Which is why, when given the opportunity to receive an XBox 360 from Microsoft, I said yes, even though I wasn't convinced we NEEDED another video game console in our house. Seriously, how many does one...
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For a few months now, I’ve been over-paying for my mobile phone service. When I signed up for my Verizon plan, I thought minutes were going to be most critical. I use my BlackBerry primarily for reading e-mail and talking, sending tweets and occasionally scanning Facebook. While Web is included in my plan, I don’t typically surf on my BlackBerry. And until a few months ago, I rarely sent text messages. Text messaging was not included in my monthly plan.
But at the start of the school year I hired a high school senior to babysit my boys two days after school.
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Increasingly, I'm finding the people that I do business with are on the popular business networking site, LinkedIn. But did you know you can also create a profile for your business on the site? So, how do you know if your business is listed on LinkedIn? Simple, visit the web site and, rather than searching for people, select from the drop down box "Search for Companies" and type in your company name. If your company is in LinkedIn, the listing should look something like this page for Sundin Associates (my day job). As you will see, the profile includes some background about the company, the number of employees, links and headlines from our newsroom. If you are a member of Linked In, you can also see all the employees of our agency who have LinkedIn accounts. The good news is if your business isn't listed, LinkedIn has made it easy...
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It's happened to all of us at one time or another. You've just finished writing a funny diatribe about your coworker who always eats smelly lunches at her desk and instead of sending it to your college roommate Bob, you send it over to Bob in IT who happens to be offending coworker's BFF. Then there's the woman in your book club who you seem to forget to include on every e-mail you send the group. She's pointed out the oversight several times and yet you still forget to include her. Despite how it looks, you're not trying to be a heartless hag, you just have too much going on. Really.
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Last August I wrote about a post about how The American College of Emergency Physicians' warned of the dangers of texting and, [insert your activity here]. Since then, there has been increased attention on the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers attempting to text and drive at the same time. I will admit that I have caught myself trying to send a text message, finish an e-mail or post a "clever" tweet, when I should be driving. And I will also admit that I know it is very, very stupid, and I'm determined to change my ways. Which is why I signed the "Keep Your Mind on the Wheel" pledge which says: We pledge to model safe behavior when we drive. We pledge to set firm house rules on texting and phoning while driving. We pledge to help spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving. It's been...
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Along with millions of others, I had trouble accessing my Facebook account the other day. And now that I can, the messages in my inbox seem to have disappeared. Facebook has been experiencing lots of problems in the past few days, most related to technical issues with one of its databases that the company says it is working on.
The fact that a website is having technical difficulties is not news, for sure. But the reaction by members of the popular social network is a sure sign of how dependent we are becoming on networks like Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family--and to network about our work and our search for new work.
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Friends, I have a confession to make. My name is Erin and I am a little OCD when it comes to cleaning. Nothing makes me happier than a clean and organized home. A place for everything and everything in its place. That's my motto. Some weeks I achieve this with ease. Other times, it's a struggle to get both the breakfast crumbs wiped off the kitchen counter and my bed made and still make it to the office on time. (Yesterday I just closed the door to my bedroom and left the mess behind).
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For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed playing handheld games. First, there was my beloved Speak & Spell, which I brought with me everywhere, then the memory game Simon, followed later by the original Gameboy from Nintendo. (Okay, the Gameboy actually belonged to my brother, but the truth is I coveted that small grey box - even though I was sure that it wasn't "acceptable" for a girl to want to play video games.) Until recently, if I wanted to play handheld video games, I had to use my Nintendo DS, which the company's publicist sent me last year. While I enjoyed the easy access to video games, I didn't like carrying around another piece of electronic equipment and charger. Which is why I was thrilled to discover the many, many, many video games available on the iPhone. So, now my DS is collecting dust and I'm...
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I bought after our PC crashed and we lost everything. Set up was beyond easy. I took the Time Capsule out of its box and had it configured and connected to the Internet in just a matter of minutes. Working with Time Machine, the software that automatically backs up an entire computer, I felt assured that everything—from system files to applications, documents, music, photos and movies—was (finally!) safe and sound.
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As I write this I'm wearing one of my favorite t-shirts, an old shirt that my husband received as a kid when he attended the Kastari School in Athens Greece. It is, to me, the perfect t-shirt. The cloth is soft, the fit is generous (covers the low slung top of my jeans), the writing is faded and the shoulder stripes add just the right touch of retro flavor. Unfortunately, because of it's age, it's not a t-shirt I can wear regularly. So I've bee on the hunt for new t-shirts that are vintagey, cute, comfortable and just right for the weekends. Here are some of my favorite finds . . . Seriously - don't you just love the internet? Rizzo Tees - I first discovered this site through one of my Twitter followers, which also makes my favorite t-shirts so appropriate. While "props to my tweeps" and "friends don't...
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Fall is here and the weather in New England is absolutely fabulous. The mornings are cool, the afternoons warm, and if you look closely you can see early signs of leaves turning color. Take a walk through the neighborhood and you can practically smell the apples baking. Last week in my kitchen I made an apple cake, apple sauce and an apple tart.
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I'm always on the hunt for the perfect pair of headphones, and through that "process" (which makes it sound so much more formal than the truth) I have collected quite a pile of headphones, earbuds and other devices designed to get music from my iPod or lapotop into my brain. Here's what I've discovered - there is no one perfect solution. Instead, I've found a couple favorite headsets which, together, make the (almost) perfect solution for me: Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic ($79) I'm certainly not the first person to complain about the earbuds which come with my iPhone (my biggest issue is they wouldn't stay in my ear). But I liked the combination of a headset which I could use to listen to podcasts and music, as well as talk on the phone. So, upon the recommendation of some of my Facebook friends, I purchased a pair...
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So, you've seen a few things about Windows 7, Microsoft's new operating system, and you're wondering (especially if you are not a particularly pleased Vista user): Should I upgrade?
It's not a simply answered question because it depends on how demanding you are of your computer.
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With today's technologies, it' easier than ever to capture life's moments in movie form. As I have written in the past, I prefer to do this with small devices that fit in my purse, beach bag, or whatever pouch I happen to be lugging on any given day. I'm not one for schlepping large video cameras to the school auditorium, the soccer field, or Disney World. But once I capture my video, then what? Sometimes I'll plug my Flip Mino HD right into the side of my HDTV and watch the videos directly from the recording device. Usually I transfer the videos on to my laptop with the intention of someday "doing something with them." Maybe I'll turn them into iMovies and burn them onto DVD (I've done this only once and it took half the afternoon). Or perhaps I'll actually upload them to YouTube and share them with the...
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This week my 7 year old son has been home sick which, in addition to missing three out of the last five days of school, means that he has spent an inordinate amount of time watching television and playing with his Nintendo DS. Normally I wouldn't be thrilled about my son spending so much time playing video games, except that among the pile of Pokemon, Donkey Kong and Sponge Bob-themed games is one that could help my son become a better reader – My Virtual Tutor: Reading Kindergarten to 1st Grade. We had been sent the game a couple of weeks ago, but never got around to trying it until recently because a) my son couldn't find his DS and I refused to let him use mine and b) I didn't have high hopes for any game that was educational in nature. The few educational games we've tried in the...
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Let's not pretend that my kids need alarm clocks. As I have said before, they wake up with the birds. If I'm lucky, they might fall back asleep and roll out of bed at a more respectable 6:30am. Last night, when I was tucking my son into bed before his first day of kindergarten, he asked me he could have a clock in his room.
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We parents of teens know social networks like Facebook are a big part of their social lives, just as we know texting on phones has replaced calling for lots of back-and-forth chit chat. But Common Sense Media recently took a look at kids’ actual social network activity versus parents’ perception of how often they check in with friends online, and the results are pretty interesting.
About 22 percent of teenagers surveyed said they check social networks more than 10 times a day, but only 4 percent of parents said they think their kids are checking in that often.
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My second grader starts school on Tuesday, and although his school supply list contains nothing that plugs in (mostly it's erasable markers, scissors and crayons), there are five tech recommendations I would make to families with older children who are heading back to class.
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A couple of days ago a company I’ve been working with was trying to send me some very large pdf files (30-40 pages with lots of graphics), that, due to their size, kept being bounced back to the sender. After a few attempts the coordinator at the company asked if I had an ftp site or other place where she could upload the files. Just as I prepared to say no, I remembered the new tool I had been testing for the last month – Pogoplug. Pogoplug is a small tool which, when connected to an external hard drive and router, turns that hard drive into a networked server that is accessible through the internet. In short, it creates your own private cloud (click here for Erin’s post about computing in the cloud). From the comfort of my office, I was able to access the hard drive at my house,...
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Most of us can probably agree that audiobooks are a terrific way to pass the time on long road trips with the family. But what we can't seem to agree on is which title to listen to. My husband would likely choose some business or self-help tome (Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, perhaps) while I would rather enjoy something funny, like David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames. My 7-year-old's choice? Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.
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As the summer of 2009 winds down, our family is doing a lot of road travel. In August alone we've taken a vacation at the beach, a road trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and a day trip to an amusement park. Along the way we've come to rely on our less than dependable two-year-old Magellan Maestro GPS system. This basic, inexpensive GPS model (that we received as a gift and is no loner available) seems to deliver more inaccurate directions than accurate ones. While I've been routinely frustrated by the device (the voice loves to say "when possible make a legal U-turn"), it wasn't until our trip to Cooperstown yesterday that I decided it's really time for an upgrade.
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When I was in high school and college, I really enjoyed reading comic books. I would read just about anything, but my favorites, all from Marvel, were X-Men and Daredevil (both before the movies), and the Avengers. Then I graduated college, got a job, got married, and the time I had for reading comic books diminished until it reached a point that I couldn't remember when I had watched my last book. (I think it was "Marvel 1602" an alternative universe collection by Neal Gaiman. Weird but good.) Then, I had a son, and suddenly it was "cool" that I could name all the members of the X-Men, knew why Spider-man couldn't "sense" Venom, and would watch vintage super hero cartoons on Boomerang. I also realized that, through comic books, I could encourage my son to learn to read. Who would have thought parenting would allow me to be a...
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The start of school is just two short weeks away and I am ready to celebrate! As I begin to tackle the heap of registration papers and emergency contact forms required by my sons' two schools, I have become even more grateful for my new Google Voice number. That's because Google Voice is a single phone number that rings all of your phones—your home, your mobile and your office—simultaneously. Ask anyone who works at a school or day care and they'll tell you: Sometimes it takes six phone calls before they actually reach a child's parent. In a true emergency, that's five calls too many.
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There is something strange, and a little funny, when the US government starts to use the tools and tricks-of-trade we in marketing and social media use to promote our products and services. Whether they are politicians raising money only (thanks to Howard Dean's success in 2004); would-be presidential candidates sounding off on Twitter; or Barack Obama's staff posting weekly video addresses on the web site, the people in politics do appear to be embracing web 2.0. The latest example is from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services which is preparing for the upcoming school year and renewed outbreaks of the H1N1 influenza (aka Swine Flu). Through their web site, Flu.gov, the department has invited people to create their own 15- to 60-second public service announcement (PSA) educating viewers about how to avoid H1N1. The winning video, which will be selected by a panel of judges, will receive $2,500....
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My husband drives a bright red Audi wagon which he bought, used, from a dealership in New Jersey through eBay. Every time I tell people that my husband regularly buys, and sells, our cars through eBay they look at me like I'm a little crazy. And there have been times when I thought he was a little crazy. Especially after he took a train down to New Jersey, bank check in his pocket, to buy a car he'd never seen in person, only to drive it home without the registration (which, long story short, took over a month to arrive and only after intervention from local police. I actually threatened to take the car to a chop shop, because it was worth more to me in parts!). Just like individual consumers can buy and sell used cars through eBay, so can used car dealerships. In fact, one of our local...
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With the nature of the work I do, it's not unusual for me to fire up my computer and click around a bit before brushing my teeth in the morning. If I were to reflect on what everyone else in my house is doing in the morning, I'd have to honestly report that my teenage son checks in on his WiFi-enabled iPod Touch to scout the latest baseball standings, my teenage daughter checks her cell phone for text messages, and my husband occasionally checks email on his BlackBerry or computer before heading out the door to the office.
Ah, the morning routine has changed, thanks to technology.
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Since receiving our Nintendo Wii almost two years ago video games designed for the console have come, and they have gone. Some have been smashing successes that kept my family busy for months, others were dismal disappointments that were so bad they didn't even make it into the entertainment unit before being sold online or traded at our local Game Stop. But there is one game that has never failed to please, whether my son was playing solo or we were entertaining friends – Wii Sports. The game that, as any Wii owner knows, COMES with the Wii and allows you to play a variety of activities in the categories of bowling (our favorite), golf, baseball, tennis (our other fav), and boxing. Looking back at all the games we've tried on the Wii, none but Wii Sports took full advantage of the Wii's unique remote control (or Wiimote). Which is...
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When my kids are around, I haven't much need for an alarm clock. Even on vacation they wake up with the birds. It's drizzly and foggy here on Cape Cod, a perfect morning for sleeping in, and yet there they were at 6am—standing over me—their little faces silently screaming, "Where are the pancakes?"
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This October, my husband and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. If ever there was a time to convert our decade-old VHS tape—the one that lovingly documents the dresses, the flowers and the fun on the dance floor—this is it. I happened upon the dusty tape just a few weeks ago, when I was cleaning out the closet in my home office.
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If you're not yet using Google Docs, the free online tool that allows you to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online, I encourage you to take a few minutes and give it a try. I have dabbled in Docs before, but it wasn't until my recent interview with Jennifer Mazzon of Google, that I realized just how much of my life I could tackle using Docs. All you need is a Google account to get started.
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Yesterday I spent the morning with my 7-year-old son at a university-based learning lab here in Boston. I had been told by the university in advance to come prepared with something to do, since my son's tests would likely run three hours and I would not be allowed to observe. I was totally fine with this scenario since I always have plenty of work to do. With my laptop and a wireless Internet connection I can get it all done from anywhere.
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Back from BlogHer, the overwhelming, inspiring convergence of hundreds of women bloggers in one Chicago hotel (New York next year), I am once again in awe of how the singular act of writing has led to such a strong online community of writers who seek each other out in person at conferences like this. One of the best things about BlogHer is when women bloggers share their expertise and experience with each other, and real learning takes place.
That's what happens when people like Anne Collier, danah boyd, Christy Matte and Regina Lewis are on a panel. At a discussion on kids and online safety, this measured group did a great job of putting fears at ease when it comes to what kids are doing online.
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Last Christmas, my mother-in-law requested a gift that I thought would be relatively easy to find: a portable radio for her daily walks through the neighborhood. I searched high and low for a device that was affordable, easy to use, with good user reviews. But since the invention of the iPod and other portable mp3 players, it seems small portable radios have gone the way of the VCR. Remember your old Sony Walkman? I loved mine. And yet I haven't listened to radio through tiny headphones in years. I honestly can't remember the last time I did.
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As an Apple user (I have a MacBook Pro laptop), I regularly run into laptop compatibility issues when I'm on the road. Which is why, in addition to checking I have my charger and extension cable, I always check to see I have these three "must haves", along for the ride: Memory card reader Both my cameras and the audio recorder we use for Manic Mommies use Flash Memory cards, but they don't all use the same type of cable to connect to my computer (seriously, how irritating is that?). My mom likes to give me photos she's taken of my kids, but she can never find her cable, and her Sony camera uses a special type of camera card. And, I have a client who regularly stops by our office to ask for help unloading her pictures from past events, and sure enough, her camera uses a DIFFERENT memory...
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Like many of his peers, my son is much more interested in computers and hand-held video games than he is writing on paper with a pencil. Come September he'll be in the second grade and I know his teacher is going to expect more from him than chicken scratch. So every other day this summer I've been cajoling, pleading, and forcing him against his will to write a few sentences in a notebook. He views this as primitive torture. I view it as just another one of my many motherly responsibilities. Food, check. Shelter, check. Religion, getting there. Penmanship, not so much.
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I have 16,691 photos and 609 movies dating back to August 2002 (right after my son was born) on my computer, which takes up over 32 GB of space. And I have to admit, I really haven't known what to do with all of them. Since I began taking photos digitally, Apple's iPhoto has been my photo-editing and cataloging software of choice. But like so many others I know, I have a hard time getting photos off my computer into a format that we can peruse offline. I have printed one or two photo books, as well as a few prints, but largely, most of my photos are trapped on my laptop (and various back up devices). I've been meaning to get my photo-act together. My goal for this year is to make albums recounting each year from 2002 through 2009, print out the album I made of LAST summer's...
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Over the weekend, on a sandy beach on Martha's Vineyard, five girlfriends celebrated their annual retreat to the island by flopping into lounge chairs and pulling out their favorite magazines, books, and newspapers. In a departure from normal book club etiquette, which dictates the selection of paperbacks only, three of us are reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. As we complained about toting the heavy book in our beach bags, someone pointed out the book is available for the Amazon Kindle.
This started a lengthy debate about the merits of the Kindle.
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Did you happen to notice how the Google logo changed on the 4th of July? How about on New Year's, Thanksgiving, Gay Pride Day, or the 20th anniversary of Tetris? I recently discovered that these little changes to Google's corporate logo for special occasions are called "Google Doodles" and they are created by a team of people led by the "original" doodler Dennis Hwang. (Strangely enough, I just had a conversation with a friend about "cool jobs" and she mentioned the person who changes the Google logo). The Doodles mark special occasions worldwide, including national holidays such as Constitution Day in Denmark, anniversaries like Big Ben's 150th, or other events of interest such as the discovery of Ida. (Thanks to the web site Google Watch for all the Doodle references). Until I started reading about the Doodle, I have to admit that I kind of took it for granted. It...
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There's something about local radio that grounds me. It serves to remind me of where I am at any given time. When I'm driving long distances in my 2004 SUV, as one station is lost, another is found. Whizzing along on the highway, through dozens of cities and towns, my index finger is constantly perched above scan button as I search for my favorite music or the local NPR station. For me, this is an experience that's unique to my vehicle, as it's the only place where my choices are still limited by the reach of my antenna. At home, however, it's an entirely different story.
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I've never thought much about the search engine that I use because, most of the time, I use Google. Even when I don't go to Google.com, I end up using Google because it is the default search engine for so many default start pages (such as the Mozilla Firefox page) or built into so many other pages (we use Google on ManicMommies.com for site search).
I say this all to explain why I didn't understand why the launch of Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, was such a big deal. And why I decided I needed to check it out.
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It seems like I've been writing about Gmail a lot lately. I don't mean to give other Web-based email applications the cold shoulder, but as I spend more time with Gmail, I learn more and more ways to tackle my inbox. For me, e-mail continues to be a blessing and a curse. In some ways, it increases my personal productivity. But unread messages haunt me at work the way piles of dirty laundry haunt me at home. I have to deal with it at some point, but it just keeps getting pushed aside for more immediate, must-do-now tasks.
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If you are a regular blog reader you know that, generally, reading blogs is free. All you have to do is find a blog you like and start reading – easy, right? Unless you are someone like me, who often forgets to go check those fav blogs, and ends up months behind on the goings on of my favorite mom (or dad) blogger or missing out on industry information. Or, you are someone like MY mom who wants to read my blog, but doesn’t like to sit at her computer or read on the screen. I could print out my blog for her, which wouldn’t work out well because blogs usually print out so badly, or I can have the content of my blog delivered directly to her Amazon Kindle. Before I could get mom up and running with her Kindle, I had to add our blog to the Amazon...
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For the past couple of weeks, I've been using a new Flip MinoHD camcorder (retail price $230) from Pure Digital Technologies to record everything from birthday parties to soccer games to my baby boy's preschool graduation. In just a matter of days, I have fallen in love with this tiny gadget! Believed to be the world's smallest HD camcorder and weighing just 3.3 ounces, the Flip MinoHD fits nicely into your purse or your jacket pocket and can shoot up to 60 minutes of high quality HD video with its 4GB built-in memory.
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Here's something that shouldn't shock you: 90 percent of U.S. adults are frustrated by others' etiquette or lack thereof when using mobile devices. According to the recent "Mobile Etiquette" survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Intel Corporation, nine of 10 adults had a pet peeve with 72 percent of adults reporting that their top annoyance is when others text or type on their mobile devices while driving a car.
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