Every weekday, our guide to the Web takes care of business, tackling tech topics that really matter to everybody. From topic definitions to topical rants, Dan Gray\’s pieces inform as much as they entertain.
As I learned first hand this week, when a company combines great customer service with an effective inventory management system they’re bound to keep their customers happy. Here it was the first official week of spring … and no sooner did I drag the tractor out of hibernation did I realize that old green […]
Distance education is all the rage. But the questions remain… is an online degree the e-ticket to a better job? Is distance education worth the trip? Or is it all an expensive ordeal? The Gnome-o-sphere needs to know! If you’ve completed an online degree program - whether it’s for an associates, bachelors, masters, or doctorate […]
For better or for worse, there are all kinds of franchise opportunities. Can’t see yourself making doughnuts or submarine sandwiches? Don’t sweat it! If you’re the kind of person that thrives in the fuzzy space where bricks and mortar meets the online world, an eBay franchise just might be the ticket to your entrepreneurial dreams. […]
So I’m flipping through the channels tonight, when I wandered into The Band’s “Last Waltz” on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). I tuned in for a stretch and was rewarded with Dr. John knocking out a tune (apropos after watching an hours worth of live CNN coverage from New Orleans), Muddy Waters’ masterful “Mannish Boy,” […]
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve gone insane looking for a remote control here at ranchero indebto, I’d have bought that big flat plasma screen long long ago. From the office, to the living room, to the bedrooms, our remote controls are AWOL more often than not. Just where they go, nobody […]
There’s an interesting article on home oriented network attached storage devices (NAS) running today at news.com. The piece makes some great points about the impending boom in (relatively) affordable network attached storage devices from Iomega, Seagate, Western Digital and others … but what’s most intriguing, or perhaps obvious, about the NAS home market isn’t mentioned […]
We’ve survived our first CompUSA Midnight Madness Sale. Madness it was, indeed. I knew something was up as soon as we slammed the doors on the jalopy. People were running from the parking lot into the store. Not jogging, running. It was 6:00 PM and the madness was officially on. Entering the store, I […]
Surveillance cameras catch all kinds of people doing all kinds of things … and lots of those things are stupid. Take for instance, the Florida bar cleaning crew caught on camera helping themselves to $4K in booze, and the English laptop thief (a.k.a.: Mr. Stupid). Ah, but those tales are just a start. This week’s […]
Could a popular prescription sleep aid prove detrimental to your diet? The New York Times reports that “the sleeping pill Ambien seems to unlock a primitive desire to eat in some patients.” Even worse, it’s reported that Ambien makes people “hell-bent” to eat while sleeping. Eating while sleeping. Now that takes the cake and eats […]
I never thought I’d need a paper shredder … until after I read a considerable amount of information about identity theft. Alas, it took me more than a year to pick up a paper shredder of my own last week. Have you ever considered what might happen to a credit card application you’ve torn […]
The laser hair removal clinic wasted no time following up on information I submitted on their website yesterday. I was underwhelmed by their inital response to my inquiry about their laser hair removal services. In short, the clinic’s email was impersonal and carried a Yahoo return address. Needless to say, it wasn’t the confidence builder […]
Call me a freak, but I’m intrigued with the idea of laser hair removal. It’s not that I want to remove the hair from unmentionable parts of my body. It’s just that I’m fed up with the daily bloodletting of shaving. When I saw an advertisement for a laser hair removal clinic in a local […]
Tick Tick Tick … why does that box of tax software always seems to sit on my desk until the month of March? I don’t even have to go out to the store to buy it. It just shows up in my snaimailbox, as if by magic. Ah, but it’s shrewd marketing, not magic. Intuit […]
Is your car insurance too expensive? Rest assured, you’re not alone. Last summer, Gnomie Terry explained how he saved hundreds of dollars by shopping for car insurance online. Here’s something you may not have heard. This week, news hit the wires about a controversial insurance industry practice, basing car insurance rates on an insured’s educational […]
Okay, I admit it. I’m obsessed with energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs. It’s only been two weeks since I wrote my Energy Saving Light Bulb 18-Month Update …and here I am, at it again. I replaced a slew of bulbs this week and learned a few important things. Chalk it up to experience and the good […]