Damnit. I've been working on a great review of GrandCentral's online service for several (ok several, several) months and we keep finding a reason to postpone it. First, there was the buyout by Google and as usually happens, no one cared about the service, they just cared about the price. Then there was the fact that they closed the Beta and the only thing anyone cared about was, "Where can I get a Grand Central invitation?"

Sometimes you want to get things done right and sometimes you just want to get them done. When you're installing a PHP 5 and Apache 2.2 development setup on Windows Vista using the automatic installers, it may seem like neither one of these is an option. This quick tip is going to save you a lot of time and trouble.

Are you one of the loyal AT&T customers who will have to pay full price to upgrade to the new version of the iPhone?

If you're having problems pairing a Bluetooth® device (for example a phone or PDA) with your Mac here is a quick suggestion. Make sure that your computer's name (listed under System Preferences --> Sharing) is less than 20 characters. Longer names can cause problems with the pairing process in some versions of MacOS.

I've been testing the AuctionAds and ShoppingAds services for several months now. Despite some promising results early on (as mentioned in this post), I am very disappointed with the overall results. Over the past six months, I tested a variety of AuctionAds and ShoppingAds ad blocks from in numerous positions on various sites.

Timebridge has released a web-based, public scheduling manager into beta that may cut down on the amount of "back and forth" it takes to schedule a meeting through Outlook. If you have ever scheduled a meeting through Outlook, you know that it may take several emails and cancellations to get a time that works for all attending parties. With Timbridge, you are allowed to pick up to 5 possible meeting times that attendees can pick from. And you're not restricted to Outlook, as Timebridge also interfaces with Google calendars.

The BTO Plusdeck 2c is a nifty little invention that allows you to convert cassette tapes into CD's.  Had I known that a technology like this was going to emerge, I might not have gotten rid of all of my tapes from the past. 

Online desktops have the potential to change the way we use computers as much as or more than any other technology that has recently emerged. What, you've never used one? I'm not surprised. The basic idea behind them is very sound, but so far their real world implementations haven't been. Online desktops provide internet-based services that allow you to do all the things you could do while you are at home sitting in front of your desktop, from any computer connected the the 'net. Specifics vary from product to product, but generally there's some sort of online storage, a few applications, and an interface that emulates an operating system. Sounds like a great idea, but

Yesterday, I had a service call, one of the "standards" as I like to call them. A slow PC.  I got on-site, and looked at the usual suspects.  There were no viruses or spyware, but there were a dozen little icons in the system tray.  NO WONDER! All this junk loading, XP was choking!

The Pertelian X2040 PC Assistant is a device that condenses the various tasks running on your computer and puts them into a central location right in front of your eyes.  The device itself is a small LED screen that connects to your PC via USB port.  The screen scrolls at a speed you choose, and updates the information that you program into it.