CNET's New Guide to Internet TV

In years past, you had three basic choices when considering TV reception: cable, satellite, or the good old-fashioned over-the-air antenna. But a fourth option is now coming on strong. It goes by a wide variety of names--IP TV, streaming video, online TV, even "over the top" (OTT) TV--but we're calling it Internet TV for lack of a better name.

This guide is intended as a straightforward overview of this new entertainment medium. We compare the available services and hardware, and help you choose which ones are right for you.

More here

Best Free Online Applications

Gizmo's Freeware site is the best place to find reviews on free software. He recently added a new category of reviews for online apps. I discovered several apps that will be very helpful to me. Check the list out here.

2009 Top Ten Lists: Technology

A lot of my favorite blogs and websites from 2008 are still my favorite blogs and websites this year, so I decided to add a new category this year: Technology. I like gadgets, but some gadgets and technologies are more useful than others.

10. iTunes - I use it to keep all my music organized as well as my feed for podcasts. Free.

9. Files lite - I use this to keep Word and Excel documents on my iPhone. It doesn't allow for editing, but I don't really need that feature. I just want to have them available for reference. Free.

8. Grooveshark - allows you to listen to any song in its entirety as many times as you desire. Pretty simple. And free.

7. Syncback/Mozy Backup - Anyone who has lost data on a hard drive will tell you that you have to get a backup system in place. Here's mine. I use Syncback (scroll down to the free version) on my pc's. I use it to sync files between MyDocs and a separate partition on my hard drive. I do it every few days. I also use it with an external hard drive. Mozy costs $5/month, but provides secure offsite backup.

6. ReQall - This free service gives me a phone number that I have on speed dial in my iPhone. Here's how it works: I hit the speed dial, then a nice lady comes on, asking me if I want to add, share, or reqall. I always use the "add" feature. I hear a beep, then I make a statement like, "pay credit card bill" or "call John." I then get an email with the transcription. Best use is when I'm driving and think of something I need to do. Free.

5. Evernote - I had heard about Evernote for awhile before trying it out. Everything I read about it indicated that there are some very loyal fans of it. I've been using it for several months now, and really find it quite handy. I use it to organize research I'm doing online. For example, I'm teaching through Luke right now, so when I'm studying and come across a quote, link, idea, etc, I copy and paste it in the folder. There's an iPhone app as well. Free.

4. Twitter/Echofon/Facebook - I started twittering several months ago, and though I'm not near as deep into it as others, I've found it to be a useful and fun tool. Case in point: It's been easy to get updates on Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village in Dallas. Up to date info is the primary reason I read twitter feeds, and the primary reason I post is that I have my blog, facebook and twitter all linked up together. Echofon is the iPhone app I use. Free.

3. Kindle for iPhone/PC - I've written about the Kindle elsewhere. Amazon has most books available in Kindle format, and the majority are cheaper than the normal format. Plus, they are always offering Kindle books for free. Here is a list of their bestsellers (many are listed because of the fact that they are free). Free.

2. Google Reader - I've been using this as my RSS feed for the past year (after being onBloglines). It has a great iPhone application, which I use to browse feeds when I'm away from my computer. Free.

1. The iPhone - I probably don't need a link for this one, do I? You've probably noticed that almost all of the apps above are only possible because of this, or at least are greatly enhanced by this. Here's the review I wrote when I first purchased my iPhone last January.

PC Mag's Best Freeware for 2009

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Why pay? You've already shelled out money for a computer, so there's no reason that what's running on that pricey PC should cost a darn thing. Not in this day and age of amazing freebie software and Web apps. That's why every year PCMag.com presents a look at the best programs you can download or access online at no cost. All are worthy replacements for your ancient and sometimes forgotten desktop applications, and they'll save you thousands of dollars to boot.

Read the rest of the article here.

No More Firefox?

For the past few months I've been having lots of issues with Firefox.  I decided this weekend to download Google Chrome, and liked it so much that I uninstalled Firefox.  It has a few issues, but nothing too frustrating, and it seems to be a lot faster than either Firefox or IE.  I may give Firefox another chance at some point, but for now, I'll stick with Google.

Do you backup?

I've been using Syncback for awhile. It's free, and it's very easy. Lifehacker has a great tutorial on how to set up daily, weekly and monthly automatic backups. Check it out.

Computers: Can't Live with Them...

I am just about ready to throw my laptop out the window. In the last five weeks I've had to reformat my hard drive four times. I finally determined yesterday that something is wrong with the hard drive, so today I'm going to order a new one. It's times like these that remind me just how dependent I am on computers (kinda like foreign oil). I don't know what I would do without a computer, which scares me a little. A friend yesterday suggested the reason I'm having these problems is because I don't have a Mac. I don't like him anymore. A few more of these issues, though, and I may start thinking about making the switch.

MSCONFIG

I just found this site tonight. Most of us have a bunch of programs start up when we boot up our computers. You can go into MSCONFIG (Run --> MSCONFIG --> Startup) and select which programs you want running at bootup. More importantly, you can deselect those programs you don't want to always be running. The problem is that normally you don't really know what some of these programs are. That's where this site comes in. You can search for the name of the program and it will advise you as to whether or not you can get rid of it or not.