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.

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!

Here's a simple trick that will amuse your friends and make it look like your site has gone from a few readers a month to a web sensation overnight.

These are statements I've heard on the job that I never want any of you to have to utter: "I thought I was backing up regularly, but when my computer crashed and we tried to upload the backup files, nothing was there!!" "Yeah, I back up. How often? Every 6 months or so." "I sent my computer to [insert computer company name] for a keyboard fix and they had to replace my motherboard and OMG WHERE ARE MY FILES???" "Back up? What does that mean, back up?" You shouldn't be thinking about backing up for the first time when your computer crashes. By then, it may be too late. Get in the habit of regularly backing up while your computer is still in good health, and you'll be glad you did if it ever fails.

I was sitting at my desk yesterday, typing away, when I heard a shriek from the cube next to me. My co-worker had been experiencing a problems with her computer all morning long; it was performing much slower than normal. She said she had thought about backing up her hard drive and then BAM! Her computer crashed and everything was lost. She said it was the closest she had come to crying at work, EVER, and I understand where she is coming from. Many of the resources that I use to do my job on a daily basis are on my hard drive. Templates, reports, important contact information (this is why I am a strong supporter of web-basted contact managers).

This article refers to Excel 2003, but should apply to most other versions as well. I work for a large company that uses a vast mainframe system to track data. We've got programmers who've written fabulous scripts, so that we can just go click a button, make a couple of choices, and BAM - there's a CSV file with the data we need to analyze. Problem is, the data is often not in a very useful format. The names are all upper case, first name and last name are in the same cell, phone numbers are regarded as generic numbers and are dropping zeros, etc. What a lot of people at my company don't know, and that I try to help them learn, is that Excel has functionality specifically to help you work around these problems.

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.

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.

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.

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.