2007 January

Whatsamatta, sports fan … bummed out that you won’t be watching the Super Bowl on a HDTV? It doesn’t have to be that way! You can tap into a HDTV signal faster than you might think. Cable or satellite isn’t required. You just need a HDTV-tuner equipped TV and a HD antenna … best of […]

Employment advertisement site CareerBuilder.com is laying off its affiliate program. In an email to its affiliates, CareerBuilder, which bills itself as “The Largest Job Search, Employment, and Careers Site,” announced today that it is canceling its Commission Junction-administered affiliate program, as of February 10, 2007. There was no reason given for the cancellation, […]

Are you sitting on a domain name or two (or three), just waiting for the right opportunity to cash in? I wouldn’t call myself a speculator … I’m more of a collector, with more domain names than I need. I’ve been thinking about unloading a few. Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken to […]

My introduction to computers and caffine happened nearly simultaneously, when I started my first real job, many moons ago. The graphic artist’s position I landed led to long hours and a neverending flow of free coffee. Before long, I was hooked on both the computers and the coffee. These were the days before personal computers […]

By virtue of its portability, the notebook is the most personal of personal computers. When your laptop travels with you, it says something about your personal style, as much as a car or an article of clothing. The perils of choosing a cheap notebook that is inadequately engineered and poorly manufactured are many. Bang for […]

Does a security system make you feel more secure? My mom called a few weeks back, out of the blue. “You don’t have to worry about me,” she said. “I just had a new security system installed.” Now I don’t have quite as many neurosis as the lead character in any given Woody Allen movie, […]

Still haven’t found the perfect 2007 calendar? Have I got a deal for you! PhotoWorks is offering a whopping 50% off their custom photo calendars through the end of the month. How cool would it be to have a fully customized family photo calendar? Way cool, baby … and just in time for Valentines […]

Bring on the cold weather. The office here at Ranchero Indebto has a brand-new bargain-priced electric fireplace! How the heck did that happen, you ask? I never thought I’d own an electric fireplace … they’re tacky, or so I thought. Lo and behold, my search for a suitable space heater ended the minute we saw […]

Check your mobile bills, my friends. Three of the big four cellular phone service providers are upping their per-message SMS rates for many by a whopping 50%. It all began with Sprint Nextel, then Cingular, and now Verizon … they’re all lining up to take advantage of the unwary. That’s the bad news. The good […]

It’s not very often that a check arrives in the mail out of the blue. I opened the mailbox today to find a check from Verizon Wireless for $93.94. There was no explanation other than a form letter laser printed on the check stub.
Dear Customer,
Verizon Wireless has done an extensive audit of accounts and determined […]

Have you checked your car insurance rates lately? Ever stopped to think how much you might save by shopping around? It’s nothing like the bad old days when those rates were cloaked in mystery. Auto insurance companies are fighting for your business like never before. No doubt you’ve noticed how hard the car insurance companies […]

A storage shed can be put to many uses - from backyard barn, to pool cabana, greenhouse, or office. But how many sheds are versatile enough to be used for three out of four purposes? That’s what I’m setting out to with my little saltbox shed. I’m looking to carve out a little home office […]

While Bill Gates was in Las Vegas yesterday, singing the praises of the new Microsoft home server (video), I was wandering around our local CompUSA, looking to cobble together a home server on the cheap. Now I’m not going to invoke the GMTA statute, but a home server or network attached storage device (NAS) has […]

So what makes a great Myspace background? A while back, I put a bunch of retro MySpace backgrounds out there just for hoots. I’ll do a bunch more when I have the chance. I’ve been trying to figure out what folks are looking for … which begs the question: what are the most popular Myspace […]

Looking for Help Desk software? After tackling the topic a number of times, I turned up a new resource outside of the gnomieverse a few weeks back. Greg Bulmash has penned a nice review on finding the right help desk ticket solution. With a new site almost ready to launch, Greg needed to have a […]

I need some suggestions. What’s the best customer relationship management (CRM) program out there these days? A friend of mine is buried in customer email and feverishly combing the market for a solid CRM program for his ecommerce company…
I’m looking for a good CRM solution that I can use to handle all […]

I first wrote about energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs here on Lockergnome two and a half years ago. Chris just saw “An Inconvenient Truth” while floating around the Caribbean and decided that compact fluorescents are the way to go. Well, yeah little brother! I guess Al Gore is more convincing than yours truly…
We’ve had compact fluorescent […]

The online photo labs are battling it out for your post-holiday snap business. Isn’t it time you think twice before plunking down those big bucks on yet another set of ink cartridges (that seem like they drain themselves while you’re not looking)?
A whole slew of digital photo printers are offering free photo print deals to […]

Thinking about adding a shed to your backyard but don’t know where to start? The Internet might present a confusing landscape, but there’s help out there. The geekbooks.com sheds site is a beacon of light … it doesn’t sell sheds … it’s all about helping you make the right choices, whether you’re looking to buy […]