Skype, by the way, has flaws, but it’s really made having a phone number superfluous except for anyone that will only use a regular phone or isn’t on the net a lot or doesn’t take it with them where they go, or have it waiting there for them already. Image via CrunchBase Case in point: [...]
I’m deliriously happy. Happy to be wrong, that is. The other day I said Google didn’t know how to do “to do” lists properly. They don’t. But that’s beside the point – it seems google has figured out that I don’t yet know how to do “to do” lists. In the same way, I used [...]
My Filofax is back! I confess, I’d let it sort of decline. Partly when I got really busy and started spending 18 instead of 16 hours online – and partly because I fell in love with my netbook and cloud computing. Still am – deeply – but they just don’t do it all for me [...]
I used one of the very first netbooks from about 1994-1998. There have been micro-laptops that fit in your palm for perhaps 20-years, but I’m talking about one of the first subnotebooks that was internet friendly: the Compaq Contura Aero (thumbnail photo at right – from the Computer Museum in Germany). I had the top [...]
So you want a low cost, collaborative workspace with big capabilities, and not much to learn? Here’s a recipe: Web-based: you want to access it from anywhere and not have it be dependent on your own hardware. Besides, you’re not lugging around a 20-pound laptop are you? You’ve been good, and upgraded to a netbook [...]
The previous post talked about online business receipt storage (No More Shoeboxes). When tossing out shoeboxes, I think I spoke too soon. I’ve since surveyed what seem to be the contenders: Shoeboxed: Very nice. Excellent for receipts and business cards. Allows you to e-mail or scan them. A bit slower than I’d like on navigation [...]
The IRS, according to Revenue Procedure 97-22, permits businesses (and individuals) to store receipts and other records in digital format (and destroy the paper versions), provided certain standards are met, namely w. regard to clarity, indexing system, etc. This makes me very happy, since I’m busy going nuts with a shredder. Thermal paper fades, paper [...]
Last second gift? Next-day air won’t do it? Give by e-mail: An online gift doesn’t even require shipping. Give a gift card, gift certificate, or gift in someone’s honor from globalgiving or givemeaning or kiva or oxfam. What do you get for the person who has everything?: You’ll find lots of articles on the web [...]
I just bought a Navigon 2100 from Office Depot for under $80. That’s right: it’s $20 instant savings – no mail-in rebates here! Here’s the scoop: It’s German engineering. Think porche look and feel. The US location is in Chicago. It’s got true text-to-speech, unlike the other below-$100 models. Think “turn on wildbush drive” rather [...]
Idea for slimming down your space: digital photo frames. I’ve written before about our plan to shrink our footprint – smaller car, smaller living quarters, less use of consumables, less acquisition, etc. We’re working on it. Things are being consumed and not replaced. We long ago threw off the “upgrade” addiction that has gripped the [...]
I try to regularly review products or services that help my business or are just plain good representatives of the business values I espouse. Well the latest is the Kiva Mastercard from Advanta. I’ve mentioned kiva.org before. You make a $25 micro-loan that is combined with other microloans and used to fund a small entrepreneur [...]
Why kiva gift certificates are the ultimate gift: it’s giving twice. Give a $25 gift certificate. The recipient goes to kiva.org and uses it to lend the $25 to a micro-entrepreneur in the third world. He watches the business grow through online updates. In a few months, the loan is repaid. The recipient can now [...]
It no longer matters what operating system I use: Windows, Linux, Mac-OS. Every application that’s essential to me is online (I’m almost entirely supported by Google’s full line of applications), and every other one that I need is cross-platform (firefox and a few plugins, nvu, etc.). It no longer matters what kind of computer I [...]
With initial product reviews, I think it’s generally a good idea to revisit a while later, and see if the glamour has worn off, or if the product is still showing it’s value. Two products I’ve mentioned here have been the Motofone F3 and the Mazda 3. So how are they holding up? M3: There [...]
The Motofone F3. For one thing, it’s an act of dissidence, like entrepreneurship, so I like it a lot in that way: it’s been called the anti-iPhone. It’s the opposite of the culture obsessed with texting and constantly communicating with little of substance to say. What it’s not: I use my phone as a phone. [...]
This is it. HIIT! High Intensity Interval Training. It’s going to be my new best friend. I’ve been hitting the gym, but what I’ve been doing is just not for the impatient. If you’re a decisive, bottom line, goal-driven, task intensive, and even impulsive kind of person, HIIT is it! Seriously – this is the [...]
Daniel writes prolifically about subjects ranging from work to social justice, does literary writing, and is Marketing Director of Free Agent Source. Daniel founded JobHacker (formerly the Rules of Work) blog when the bottom fell out of the mortgage market, and the US economy started its death rattle.
Reader Comments