You can't say we haven't helped you out this Father's Day. We arranged for huge discounts on the MySoldius solar charger, gave you a list of cool but inexpensive tech gifts, and we've even got a suggestion for you last minute shoppers: Make: magazine.

In a recent post in the forums reader olhaok mentioned the Ning social networking site. My first thought was, "That thing's still around?" When I first came across Ning several months ago it was very rough around the edges. The concept was interesting but the implementation was very poor. I expected it would soon get lost in the flood of new social networking sites that were emerging at the time. The idea behind the service was good enough: to offer a full-featured, free, online content management system and social networking service (think Wordpress meets MySpace or MyBlogLog), but it just didn't seem like it could recover from some serious design flaws.

With Father's Day rapidly approaching, I decided to to put together a mini gift guide for those of us who want to show our appreciation for dad without breaking the bank. Each one of these gifts is under $60 and is user friendly, as we know sometimes parents just don't understand. The first gift is one I know for sure my own dad would like: 1. The Humminbird SmartCast RF30 Wireless Remote Fish Finder Retails for $59.99, designed as a wrist mount, this little gadget has a 75-foot remote operating range and 100-foot depth capability. It has a 1.25-inch high-visibility display with 48 x 32 pixels of resolution. It is obviously waterproof and has one touch menu navigation for ease of use.

I just spent countless hours of my life playing Super Paper Mario on my Wii. What better way to test out the Penguin United Wii Remote Charging Dock and 2x Rechargeable Battery Combo? With normal gameplay on the Wii, you can wear out your Wii remote batteries pretty quickly. Rechargeable batteries are obviously a better option than regular batteries, but then you still have to take out the batteries, put them in the charger, and wait for hours for them to recharge. But the Penguin United rechargeable batteries are different. These packs replace the normal battery compartment on your remote, and the remote can sit directly in a docking station while recharging.

Passwords are the first line of defense in keeping the unwanted out of your computer, your bank account, and any other personal or business stuff. Yet we tend to take them for granted and even view them as a nuisance. Lately, we hear that identity theft is growing exponentially as more and more people buy computers and hop on the internet, but we put off setting up a password cycling plan or even changing our old password we've used since the 20th century, until tomorrow. And you know how that goes. And yes, there are ways to secure a system without using passwords - I do it for one of my customers using electronic certificates which are unique to each workstation - but that can become a support nightmare. For the average person, it's best (and easiest) just to pick a few secure passwords that you can use and cycle through as necessary.

If you run a website and you haven't yet tried AuctionAds, it's time to get off your ass. A recent post on the AuctionAds blog noted that they had met and surpassed their initial year end goals for new registrations in their first three months. For those interested in getting referral credits, the number of people who haven't yet signed up is decreasing quickly everyday. The AuctionAds service grabs eBay listings and posts them as ads on your site.

For those of you who don't know about Pandora, I am about to tell you what it is, and why it sucks. Pandora.com is a free internet radio service created by the Music Genome Project. The supposed draw of the service is that it customizes the music on a station that you create by choosing artists, songs and albums that you like. For example, if you enter Depeche Mode as an artist you like, Pandora will funnel songs and artists that are similar to Depeche Mode and their songs through the station. This sounds amazing, right? Well it's not for several reasons:

Today we're happy to announce the launch of the Texxors.com store. From now on, many of the products you see reviewed on Texxors.com will be available at special prices for Texxors readers in the Texxors.com store. In honor of our launch we've struck a great deal with the maker of one of our recently reviewed products to bring you the MySoldius Solar iPod and phone charger at a great price (and with free shipping!).

Lately I've been getting this question a lot, "What's better? Treo or Blackberry? The answer isn't so simple. It's really a matter of personal preference and technical prowess. Even as someone who has owned both, it's a tough choice.

I come from a Palm® background. I've used Palm® devices for about 10 years now, and in many different flavors. I will tell you up front that I am a little biased, only because of the 3^rd party applications I've purchased over the years - that I can't seem to live without - which I've transferred from one device to another. The reason I decided to combine the functionality of the Palm® and phone was purely self preservation. I was driving one day, talking on my cell, and I had to look up a number on my Palm®. I almost drove off the road.

This is not a suggestion, nor is it a tutorial.  It is not to be discussed or disputed.  Just do this, and don't talk back to me (I wish I could say this to my customers). Norton Antivirus will not protect you.  MacAfee Security Suite will not protect you.  Antivirus programs that come free with your internet service provider will not protect you. You do need antivirus, I don't care what you do online, you still need it.  You need Spyware protection, Virus Protection and a Firewall, you cannot get by with just one.  That said, here's my review of the various programs I use to disinfect the people's computers who did not understand the message above.