This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Skype and Dell have teamed up to make it easy to stay in touch. Skype has announced an agreement with Dell to ship Skype software with new Dell XPS mobile systems - the XPS M1210 and XPS M2010.

The agreement will allow Dell to provide its customers with easy access to Skype's voice and video Internet calling software. Dell will be able to pre-load Skype on the XPS 2010, a unique mobile entertainment system featuring a 20.1-inch high-definition display with integrated webcam.

The XPS 1210 can be configured with Skype as part of an optional audio-video communications package that also includes an integrated rotating webcam, noise-isolation earbuds and mobile broadband capability.

With Skype, customers can talk for as long as they like with other Skype customers across the world without worrying about the cost or the distance of the call. The Dell XPS M1210 and M2010 are available immediately worldwide.

Source: [TechZone] 

Posted by mcapehart on June 7, 2006 at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Continue reading "Adobe's has a spat with Microsoft" »

Posted by mcapehart on June 6, 2006 at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

In October 2005, Yahoo and Microsoft announced that they will soon be adding interoperability between their instant messaging offerings - Yahoo Messenger and Live Messenger.

As reported, interoperability between the two competing services would occur in Q2 (Quarter two) of 2006. Now that it is Q2 of 2006, we should be expecting these new capabilities soon, according to Leah, a MSN Product Manager.

Posted by mcapehart on June 6, 2006 at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

As a Skype user, I may have to get me one of these hotties.  Looks really cool.

I can definitely see myself picking up my mouse to take a phone call.

See the review at TechCrunch.

Posted by mcapehart on May 17, 2006 at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

The Intel® Core™2 Duo processor is the new brand for Intel Corporation’s upcoming powerful and more energy-efficient processor families for desktop and laptop computers that will arrive in the third quarter, the company announced today.

Formerly codenamed Conroe and Merom, the Intel Core 2 Duo processors for desktop and notebooks PCs respectively are based on the newly designed Intel® Core™ microarchitecture and will include two processing cores — or brains — per chip, hence the “Duo” addition. Intel will also call its highest performing processor for enthusiast and gamers the Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor.

Continue reading "Intel Releases Naming for its Next Generation of Processors" »

Posted by mcapehart on May 10, 2006 at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

What's your workspace look like at this moment? How many different projects and tasks are in your field of vision?

Piles of paper have a way of spontaneously forming on your physical desktop.  This is true for documents and shortcuts on your computer desktop, and old email messages in your inbox.

This kind of clutter is called "unfulfilled commitments" and "unfinished projects."

It creates stress and mental fatigue. Below are a few techniques from Gina Trapani at LifeHacker for helping you clear it up.

"Whenever I start in on a big project, I always find myself clearing a tabletop to begin fresh with a clean slate. Your monkey mind is like a kid in a candy store of senses. Pop-up thoughts and tempting detours beckon at every twist and turn of a workday. If you keep your control panel free and clear of distractions, you'll maintain a sense of peaceful control as well as a working environment conducive to focusing, brainstorming and creative work. Here are a few ways to get there.

Continue reading "Clear your workspace" »

Posted by mcapehart on May 8, 2006 at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Via: BetaNews 

Soon Wal-Mart customers will be able to build their own computers through the expansion of a pilot program in 1,200 of its 3,200 stores in the United States. 200 more would join the program by the end of the year, and possibly more during 2007, the company said.

The new program is a departure from Wal-Mart's current strategy of selling pre-packaged systems. Consumers would be able to choose various components to build their own PC, including processor, monitor and other computer specs.

It is also an effort by the company to increase its profit margins by focusing on high-margin products. Traditionally, Wal-Mart consumers have stuck to much lower margin items, such as food.

However, unlike build-to-order providers like Dell, the customer would be able to take the computer home right away, saving on shipping costs and other related expenses associated with ordering a system online or through a mail order catalog.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart to Sell Build-To-Order PCs" »

Posted by mcapehart on May 6, 2006 at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

McAfee said Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had awarded it a patent regarding methods to update computer files on mobile devices. The company says that the technology could be used to update a file on a mobile device with a newer versions that exists on another device.

For example, a communication link is established between two devices with the file. The wireless device first determines whether the file stored is updated. If there is an up-to-date version on the other device, the file is downloaded. Once the file is fully downloaded, it can then replace the older file.

Additionally, the technology allows for the file to be downloaded in segments, as wireless devices are not always connected. The device would know which segments need to be downloaded and would restart the download from that point.

"This technology caters to wireless environments," said Victor Kouznetsov, senior vice president of McAfee Mobile. "To accommodate updating wireless devices, portions of updates may be stored as and when they become available."

McAfee says that the method would also save bandwidth, as the complete file would not need to be updated, rather only the segments of the file that have changed.

No specific methods of usage were given, but the technology could be used for the company's mobile antivirus offerings. McAfee could also license the technology to other companies that need to download files over a wireless connection from nearby devices.

Via: BetaNews 

Posted by mcapehart on May 3, 2006 at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Microsoft has released a refresh of Windows Live Messenger and has made it publicly available.

This build offers some significant speed enhancements for signing in.

Also, they appear to have made some changes to the user interface in order to make it more streamlined and more consistent with the Windows Live theme.

Download MSN Messenger 8.0.0689

Posted by mcapehart on May 3, 2006 at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Continue reading "New Skype 2.5 Introduces one-way SMS" »

Posted by mcapehart on May 3, 2006 at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Skype said Friday that it had hit 100 million registered users worldwide, which it claims is the fastest growth of any Internet program ever in its first two and a half years. According to the company, the 100 millionth name came at 1:12PM GMT Thursday.

Via: BetaNews 

Posted by mcapehart on May 1, 2006 at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, Reviews

Are you a Palm junkie like me?  Do you sometimes find it inconvenient to stop your work on the PC to pick up your Palm and work on it, independently of your PC work?

I know both of those apply to me.  Sure I have my desktop PIM application running for my Calendar, Tasks, Email, etc.  But what about all those other Palm applications I paid precious money for?

TapSmart HandShare has resolved this issue.  

I use my Palm continuously.  I also spend most of my day in front of my PC, so having to stop to work on my Palm isn't always very convenient.

With HandShare, you have access to (as far as I can tell), 100% of the Palm's functionality via your computer's  keyboard and mouse.  

This includes using the hard buttons, the 5-way navigator, enterering data, launching apps, and for smartphone users, even making phone calls.  Of course making the call, does require you pick up the phone to speak, or have a headset connected.  I DO have a bluetooth headset connected, so this is super convenient.

If you need to create screenshots of your Palm images, this is an extremely simply way to do it.  Just right-click-->Save Image.

Additionally, you can record a series of actions just as easily, which are saved as bmp files.  This is a great way to quickly prepare images for a presentation, or there is actually a presentation mode that blacks out the background, hides the hardware skin and shows only the Palm screen.

Continue reading "Review: TapSmart Handshare" »

Posted by mcapehart on April 29, 2006 at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Via: BetaNews 

Responding to customer demand, TiVo on Tuesday introduced its first standalone digital video recorder with dual tuner capability. The new model will be optimized for cable households and features built-in Ethernet and a refreshed look.

The company said the first shipments would arrive at Circuit City, Best Buy, Amazon.com and its Web site on May 1. The dual-tuner model will offer 80-hours of recording time.
"We've been hearing from our subscribers that they wanted a TiVo DVR that could record two shows at once," said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo. "With the TiVo Series2 DT DVR, we've delivered that capability to our customers at a very affordable price."

The TiVo box will retail for $99.99 USD after rebate and service activation. TiVo would also give consumers the option to purchase the unit bundled with service from tivo.com, the company said.

All the standard features of the Series2 systems would be included, such as TiVoToGo transfers, the capability to schedule programs to record through the TiVo Web site, and online services provided by Yahoo and other sources.

Until Tuesday, the only dual-tuner DVR with TiVo capabilities was available through DirecTV. However, since the satellite operator began promoting its own DVR, it has stopped selling the popular units. Those wishing to obtain the box have had to turn to eBay, shelling out $100 or more

Continue reading "TiVo Introduces Dual Tuner DVR" »

Posted by mcapehart on April 26, 2006 at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Home / Office, News

Apple said it had been named a "Forward Green Leader" -- a title given to the top ten environmentally progressive companies by the Sierra Club. The computer maker has been operating the recycling program since 2001, and has recycled nearly 90 percent of the electronic equipment it has collected.

Continue reading "Apple expands recycling program" »

Posted by amyz on April 24, 2006 at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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This entry was posted in the following categories: Guides, Home / Office

This is a really great article I found at NewsForge on learning how to turn Thunderbird inside-out and master all its features. 

Even if you use Thunderbird on a daily basis, you probably don't know it inside out. There are still quite a few 'hidden' features not covered in the online help that can significantly improve your emailing habits. And since Thunderbird's functionality can be expanded via extensions, you can add some clever features to it too.

Work smarter with Smart Folders

Smart Folders is a nifty feature that allows you to save your searches as a virtual folder. The idea behind smart folders is not new: for example, many media players allow you to define dynamic playlists based on criteria such as most played or highest rated songs. The smart folders in Thunderbird work in the same way. You specify a set of search criteria, then save the search and view it as a conventional folder.

Let's say you subscribe to the OpenOffice.org user mailing list. One way to keep tabs on the messages addressed to the list is to create a folder and then define a filter. A quicker way is to create a smart folder that keeps track of the messages. The main difference between the two approaches is that the smart folder is not a real folder and no messages are actually moved into it. In other words, the smart folder is just a virtual folder, and every time you select it, it runs the specified search and displays the results.

There are several ways to create a smart folder. The fastest way is to type your search criteria into the Quick Search field, then select Save Search as a Folder from the drop-down list. Alternatively, you can choose File -> New -> Saved Search and define a new search. This option allows you to create a saved search that includes subfolders and runs across multiple accounts. No matter which way you choose to create a smart folder, you can always modify its search criteria by right-clicking on it and selecting the Folder Properties item.

Continue reading "Become a Tunderbird Master" »

Posted by mcapehart on April 21, 2006 at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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