Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Hurricane Alex was upgraded to the season’s first hurricane as of 10 pm CDT Tuesday, June 29th, but it may be only the beginning. Many weather experts are forming comparisons between the 2010 hurricane season and the 2005 season (which produced 28 named storms, including Hurricane Katrina) and Joe Bastardi (Chief Hurricane Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com) predicted that 18 to 21 named storms will occur in the 2010 season, four of which are expected to occur during July. What does this mean for you and I? How do we prepare? What do we prepare?
For any hurricane season, there are a few basics to concern yourself with. You should have a safe place to weather the storm and enough food and water to last for at least a few weeks. Check for flashlights, batteries and other essentials. But then what? It seems like we always forget something important when rushed into situations like this. Imagine the post-storm recovery. You might have evacuated the area or worse, your home might have been destroyed by flooding or tornadoes. What then? Were you prepared to start over or deal with the enormous task of insurance claims and a mountain of paperwork? Wait, the paperwork!!!!! That’s where today’s article comes in.
Before it’s too late, before you say “I wish I had thought of that,” before you have time to forget about it…. you need to locate and backup your important documents.
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Tags: alex, back up, backup, checklist, credit card information, documents, financial information, hurricane, identification, important, prepare, preparedness, scan, scanning
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Over the last couple of weeks, we have covered both Father’s Day Gift Shopping and How to Get FREE Tickets to See Toy Story 3. While most readers are painfully aware of the date (and the limited time between now and the weekend), it never hurts to send a gentle reminder out to those who might just be too busy to have spent any time on either of these. Today marks the last day that you can order anything online and expect to receive it before the weekend, without paying overnight fees.
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Tags: Amazon, Amazon.com, blu-ray, dad, day, dvd, father, father's, FREE, Pixar, tickets, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3
Posted in Online Shopping, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Last week I posted an article titled Manage Your Growing Disc Collection, in which I talked about physical storage of home movies, music CD’s, etc. While researching and organizing my own collection I came across my copies of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 (on Blu-Ray) and realized that I had not taken advantage of my FREE Movie Ticket offer. Realizing that the release of the latest installment of the Toy Story franchise was only days away, I immediately followed the instructions provided and, within minutes, I was printing our tickets to see Toy Story 3. As it turns out, there is more than one way to get these FREE tickets, and I want to share the details with the JumpstartMyPC.com audience.
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Tags: Amazon.com, Best Buy, blu-ray, Disney, dvd, energizer, FREE, kellogg's, movie, Pixar, target, tickets, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3
Posted in Deals, Online Shopping, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
The compact disc (CD) was originally introduced to the world in 1982 and, since that switch to the 12 cm wide (standard size) disc, there have been numerous formats released in the same size and shape. CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-Ray and HD DVDs, a multitude of computer writable discs, plus video games for consoles like the XBOX, XBOX360, Playstation 3, Wii, etc., have taken over and it seems this format will be here for many years to come. Even though most of us didn’t purchase or begin collecting these optical discs until the mid-90’s, we all have a collection of some sort.
Organizing this collection of digital data and keeping track of what we have becomes more and more difficult as time goes on. Storage cabinets, boxes, shelving units, entertainment centers and other furniture options are available at every store from Walgreens to Ikea and everyone has owned a few in hopes of keeping their collection organized, accessible and visually appealing. No matter what you have to hold your data, it is most likely a temporary solution, as you’ll soon be purchasing that latest album, movie or video game.
What do we do next?
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Tags: blu-ray, catalog, CD, collectorz, disc, discgear, discs, disk, dvd, holder, iTunes, media, moie, movie collector, Music, playstion 3, PS3, Storage, Wii, XBOX, XBOX 360
Posted in Gaming, Online Shopping, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Several months ago, I stumbled onto a graphic artist’s portfolio containing some “updates” to movie posters of the past. At first glance, the images looked basic and bland, but as I navigated through the artist’s site I saw the complexity of these re-imagined posters and began to wonder if others had seen these and if any other digital artists had done anything like it. As it turns out, vector artists have been creating minimalist movie and television themed posters for some time and their works are truly amazing. If you are a fan of the movies or love television, you’ll love these original creations from some 21st century illustrators.
In an effort to minimize the space used for this article and share as many of these wonderful creations as I can, I’ve provided thumbnails of many posters and links to the sites of the artist or article about these posters. Feel free to visit the links, comment on the posters, download some and use them as wallpaper and/or (most importantly) support the artists by clicking on any ads on the sites you visit. You don’t have to buy anything, just click on a link or two and they’ll get paid for your click. I like to think of this as digital tipping.
Tags: films in black and red, graphic artist, illustrations, movie, Movies, poster, posters, propaganda, superheroes, tarantino, Television, True Blood, TV, Video Games, vintage, Weeds, wes anderson
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Google has and (hopefully) will always be primarily a search engine. Sure, Google has an insane amount of tools and applications for everything from your computer to your television, but searching the web has always been it’s primary function. It all started with a simple site and a box. No advertisements. No sports scores. No world news. Just a text entry area and a few buttons.
From The Original Search Page Until Now
Over the years, that main Google page has not changed much, but now there is much more going on behind the scenes. “Googling” something has slowly evolved into a very intelligent, yet simple, way to find information on any topic imaginable. Over the last year, Google has introduced new search technology like Social Search and Location Aware Mobile Searching. And now, almost entirely under the radar, some new features have emerged from the Google Labs to further “enhance the experience of searching and help you find exactly what you’re looking for.”
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Tags: Android, applications, apps, background, Google, image, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Picasa, Search, searching
Posted in Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, May 24th, 2010
One of my many hobbies/addictions is saving money on the web. I love to hunt for the ultimate deal by using price comparisons, coupon codes, cashback options, etc. I have had these tools at my disposal for at least 10 years now and have saved thousands of dollars, yet I still make some purchases in physical stores. Grocery shopping, although attempted as a web service years ago with Peapod, is not available here in Houston so I venture out to my local Kroger, Randalls or HEB at least once a week. Until now, these trips to the supermarket meant I had to leave the technology behind and earn my savings the old-fashion way (printed coupons). Thanks to Grocery IQ, that is all about to change.
Grocery IQ is a FREE application (originally priced at $4.99) for smartphone users and is currently available for iPhone and Android owners. The tool, powered by coupons.com, was designed to help users with a number of typical grocery shopping activities (listed below):
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Tags: Android, barcode, cellfire, Coupons, groceries, grocery, grocery iq, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, P&GeSAVER, randalls, safeway, savings card, scanner, Shopping, shortcuts.com, smartphone, supermarket
Posted in Free Programs, Online Shopping, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Wallpaper FAIL!
Of all the articles I have written and research I have done, no topic seems to be as popular as wallpaper. Believe it or not, it seems that more people are drawn to dressing up their desktop than making their computer run faster. I sure can’t blame anyone for pursuing a pleasant scene to stare at for hours a day, I was just surprised when I saw the numbers. Luckily for you desktop connoisseurs, I recently stumbled onto an article over at digital inspiration (via lifehacker.com) that outlines the benefits of using bing (the search engine) for wallpaper hunting. You don’t want to miss the details.
The original article on digitalinspiration.com, written by Amit Agarwal, outlines how you can use the bing image search to find wallpaper that fits your screen. While this may not seem like a difficult task to most, picking the proper image size for a desktop background can be more difficult than you think. In order to really explain the benefits of the “bing wallpaper search” I want to take a step back and demonstrate the “old” method for hunting down wallpaper and compare the two.
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Tags: bing, desktop, filter, Google, image, Resolution, screen, VladStudio, wallpaper
Posted in Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
This is NOT another article about the weaknesses of the AT&T network, but an open-letter to Apple and electronics manufacturers everywhere. When will the iPhone work in the place I really need it… the car? Sure, you can use the iPhone in your car, but when can I begin to use it as THE device in the car?
The iPhone and iPad seem to be everywhere. Try going out or turning on the TV without seeing a commercial, hearing a reference or actually seeing someone using one of these great devices. While the iPad is still very new and only 1,000,000 have been sold (there is a little sarcasm there), the iPhone has had years to make the rounds and find it’s way into the hands of over 50 million users (taken from TechCrunchies). The numbers are staggering, but the reasons are not. Apple has produced numerous solid products (multiple iPhones, iPod Touch, iPad) and made them easy enough for just about anyone to use. Add in the amazing list of applications available from the App Store and you have a product line that will be around for many years to come.
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Tags: Apple, car, dock, email, iPhone, iPod, navigation, safety, stereo, text
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Laser Virtual Keyboard - Yes, it's real
Several weeks ago, we brought you the article Your Keyboard is Dirtier Than a Toilet Seat. For some of you, cleaning that old keyboard became a top priority and the Clorox wipes probably made an appearance. For others, it might just have been easier to toss that old keyboard and purchase a new one. After all, if you’ve been using the same one that came with your computer 5 years ago, you may have other issues that needed attention, like broken or sticking keys. Or maybe you belong to another group of PC users completely. Maybe you are just looking for a change or upgrade. No matter which group you belong to, you should take a minute and read this guide for buying a new keyboard.
Buying a new keyboard my seem like a simple task, but you might be surprised to find that not all keyboards are created equal. In a recent trip to Micro Center here in Houston, I found myself on an aisle full of these necessary components and honestly, a little overwhelmed. There were close to 100 different options that ranged from $9.99 to almost $200.00. I needed a new keyboard to replace my aging, frustrating hunk-of-junk that required 40 pounds of force to press the “a” and “e” keys. Where should I start? Why hadn’t I already researched this? Oh, the choices!
Before stepping foot in an electronics superstore or hitting up Amazon.com, you should go through a checklist of needs and double-check your bank account balance. Determine what you want and how much you want to spend, then get in and get out. Here are some helpful topics to narrow down your choices and speed up your decision-making process:
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Tags: Agama, bluetooth, computer, diNove Mini, guide, iHome, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, keyboard, music lover, number pad, PC, photog, purchase, Shopping, typing, USB port, wireless
Posted in Online Shopping, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
