It seems like lately I’ve been using my cell phone a lot. What would I do without it?! It’s still surprising to see so many people unaware of the nifty little tricks our cell phones are capable of, especially in a business environment.

If you’re still fresh to cell phones take a few minutes in your spare time and check out your manual. I was shocked at how big the manual was for my first cell phone. Of course, I fell prey to the typical guy mentality of disregarding the manual.

I’m pretty tech savvy so I of course figured out the majority of it myself but I was surprised to find a few little features in the manual that I didn’t know about.

Of course, doing a Google search for your phone could clue you in on some other neat things you can do with your cell phone!

Here’s a list of the things I use my cell phone for aside from calling:

An alarm clock - I’ve used my cell phone as my alarm clock for years now. For some reason it’s more effective and easier than a normal alarm clock. Plus, if you’re stuck somewhere and want to take a quick snooze you’ve got your alarm right there with you.

Phonebook - Of course this is the most common use aside from calling but I have addresses, notes for people, etc. that I might need in the future for each contact.

Internet - For about a year I used my cell phone for EVDO because I couldn’t get dsl or cable internet where I lived. EVDO is so much better than dial-up

Entertainment - Pretty much all cell phones have some form of a game…and when I’m utterly bored and stuck somewhere it’s just enough to keep me busy and entertained.

Make shift flash light - I can’t tell you how many times I manage to get stuck in a dark room or something and can’t see anything. My cell phone screen is so bright it will illuminate the room to where I can find even small items.

Texting of course - I don’t text a lot, but I do text every day. It’s my way to keep in touch with my girlfriend while I’m at work and a pretty easy way to get a message to someone quick without having to talk to them. I’m not big on small talk so a short and sweet text message is perfect for the job.

Pictures & Video - Cell phones are great for a quick snapshot or video. Now that phones are getting more and more high tech, this is a feature I may use more often once the quality starts really going up. Now that phones have way more memory it’s not an issue having 50-100 pictures on your phone either.

Music - I don’t really listen to music on my phone but I have a few songs that I really like on it and when I don’t have my iPod or aren’t by a computer and really want something to listen too.

Anyway, those are the majority of uses I have for my phone. I use to have a PDA and used it basically like a micro-computer for email, document editing, etc. but I’ve since downgraded to a sleek and stylish flip phone from LG, the VX8700.

I’m sure there are a ton of other great ways to use cell phones, if you have one share with a comment and I’ll add it to the list

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I happened to come across this tonight and wow! I already love Gmail (except for the recent spam problems that should be solved soon) but this just adds yet another reason why people should be using it.

(credit to MakeUseOf.com for the original post)

Part 1:

You can receive email to youremail@gmail.com with a dot in any part of the “youremail” section. For instance, y.ouremail@gmail.com (or @googlemail.com). You can put the dot anywhere in “youremail” and it will go to youremail@gmail.com. That isn’t anything I got excited about.

Part 2:

Here’s the awesome part. You can add extra information into your address! What you do is add a + and then the extra info. you want. So youremail+website@gmail.com (again, @googlemail.com as well).

This one is particularly nice because you can use that to figure out if you’re getting spam from a particular website by signing up using youremail+website@gmail.com

Additionally, if you use labels and filters you can setup filters with this. So maybe myemail+netflix@gmail.com and have them all filtered into a Netflix label. 

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This has been around for awhile but I know tons of people who don’t know about it. It’s pretty nifty and could be pretty useful. 

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I signed up for Twitter recently to see what all the fuss was about and quite frankly, I still don’t see what the big deal is.

I don’t really care for it much but maybe I need to spend more time on it to actually catch the twitter bug. 

So, you’re supposed to just post what you’re doing right? Update as you go through your daily tasks? Why exactly would I want to keep everyone up to date on what I’m doing right now? I mean, should I update that I’m going to go poop?

So Twitter is supposed to be like a micro-blog. So far, what I like about it is that some of the bloggers I follow (ProBlogger, JohnChow, DoshDosh, ShoeMoney, etc.) sometimes use Twitter to let people know they are working on a new blog post, or to ask a question, or even just shout out to their followers about something cool they found. 

So it definitely has it’s uses…I’m just not totally convinced it’s all that great. That could be because I am only following a few people at the moment or that none of my friends are using it or that nobody is really following me.  

So here’s what I gather I’ll be using Twitter for:

• A source for news (quicker than blogs)
• A place I can ask a quick question and get a pretty quick response
• A status report for my far far away friends (soon, they aren’t on it right now)
• A form of letting my followers (maybe more soon?) know what I’m going to be posting next, working on currently, when I’m using the toilet (I kid, I kid! ) or any other “important” update
• A place to tell people about something funny or interesting that happened or that I found
• Lastly, I’ll setup my phone to twitter while I’m at WinCo….a micro-rant! Stupid Sucks!

I’m sure there are tons of other uses for Twitter out there, if you have one (or many) please share…because if Twitter really is so freaking amazing, I’d like to be in on the fun!

Here’s a cool list of 50+ Guides, Hacks & Scripts for Twitter. While you’re at it why don’t you follow me on Twitter!

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The internet, a magical place, where bloggers roam free, techies abound and newbies frolic about. The internet really is the ultimate form of communication with the rest of the world. Places like Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, WordPress and other social networks or blogging networks have made it an easy 3 step process to sharing yourself with anyone else of your liking.

You don’t have to know how to code or have hardly any interweb skills Well, for some of us, that just isn’t enough. If you’re like me, you want your own domain, your own website or blog, on your own hosting server!

Now, I have spent the time learning the coding and all the techie stuff but you would be surprised at how easy it is to get yourself or your business on the web. I have outlined a 5 step guide to the DIY website that just about anyone can follow.

1. Brainstorm & Establish - Most people want to just jump right in and get something, anything on the internet. Don’t do that, it will look like crap, function like crap and ultimately you’ll loose interest and it will just become another piece of crap in the internet junkyard. Here are a few things you should establish:

• Content subject
• Objective and goals for the site/blog
• How you want the page layout
• What colors you would like it to be

Go old school and write all this stuff down. Sketch out some ideas or layouts. I always loose anything I write down so I prefer to type everything up in notepad or similar but people seem to loose that just as easy. Whatever works for you!

2. Find Web Hosting - The most common hosting uses PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), MySQL for your database needs and Apache (Apache HTTP Server). If those sound like foreign words to you, don’t worry, you don’t need to know anything about them.

I did mention those however because you will want to make sure you find a host that supports those (easy). You might want to read “5 Steps to Finding a Quality Web Host“. If you want to keep reading to a minimum, be sure the one thing you DON’T DO is use a “Top 10 Web Host” list. You’ll end up using a web host not worthy of your hard earned cash. Here is a list of web hosting companies I would recommend:

Shared & Reseller Hosting Services

• Steadfast.net
• Liquidweb.com
• Godaddy.com (cheap, quick, dirty )
• InnoHosting.com

VPS Hosting Services

• ServInt.com (who I host with, VPS & higher)

• Steadfast.net
• Liquidweb.com

Confused on which service to go with? No problem!

• Running a small personal site/blog? - Shared Hosting
• Running multiple small scale websites for yourself or others - Reseller Hosting
• Running medium/large scale website(s) for yourself or others - VPS Hosting

NOTE: Some web hosts offer a domain name when you sign up, before choosing a domain name/web address please refer to step #3 below.

I recommend using Cpanel for the web host control panel software. It’s easy, common and flexible. Control panels like VDeck, Plesk or others might be available and will likely work just fine.

A good resource to find more information on web hosting is WebHostingTalk.com The members are friendly and you’ll be able to find a solid, quality web host given you spend the time to research the companies.

3. Web Address / Domain Name - Once you have chosen and signed up with a web hosting company, it’s time to find a domain name. This is going to be the address people use to navigate to your website. If your web host offers a free domain name with your sign-up, you can do this step at the same time as step #2.

Tips for picking a domain name:

• Pick a domain name related to your content subject or objective.
• Try to keep it short so that it will be easy for people to remember.
• Feel free to get clever (ex. del.icio.us, ma.tt, website.name) but don’t make it too complicated.
• Type out your chosen domain name a few times to get a feel for how difficult/easy it is to type.
• “I suggest not buying your domain from the same place as you get your web hosting, sometimes trying to change it doesn’t always work out.” - Simon Koldyk

Places to register your domain name (Domain Registrars):

• www.namecheap.com
• www.domaincentral.com
• www.enom.com
• www.name.com
• www.godaddy.com

Once you figure out what domain name you want to use and you begin the process to register it, you might be given the option to change your nameservers. It’s easier to do this now, rather than later (later isn’t hard just takes a few more minutes ). What are nameservers? Thats a good question, I wondered the same thing when I started out. You can read about DNS (Domain Name Servers) at HowStuffWorks.com or Wikipedia.org

Basically, your domain name points to your nameservers, which point to the IP address for your server (like your server’s phone number). When you sign-up with a web host they will tell you what nameservers to use, if they didn’t you can find them in your control panel or by calling your web host. Usually they are something like NS1.EXAMPLE.COM & NS2.EXAMPLE.COM - it doesn’t matter what order you put these in for your domain name.

Once you register your domain name it will take awhile to activate/process (usually anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours).

4. Setup Your Website / Blog: You’re almost there! - You have a couple options at this step. You could go get a website template and update the content yourself (which would require HTML editing) or you can setup your website using a Content Management System (CMS). By using a CMS you will only have to get things setup and from there you can use an easy control panel to update your content. This is the recommended way to go and what I will cover here.

Here are some CMS’s to consider:

• WordPress (Ok, not really a CMS but used as one by many)
• Joomla
• Drupal

If you’re just starting out, I would highly recommend using WordPress. It has probably the easiest install process of any blog software or CMS available. You can find an install guide for WordPress here. To make things even easier, you can have it installed FOR YOU, FOR FREE! (install4free.wordpress.net) It doesn’t get much better than that.

5. Load Your Content! Yay! You made it! - This is the easiest step and the most fun. All you need to do now is load your site/blog with content. There are a few things you might want to read if you installed WordPress to customize and optimize it for search engines and your visitors. “Ok WordPress is installed. Now What?“

Don’t worry, they are very easy steps and will help you get one step closer to a website you’ll really be happy with.

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This review has been long over due and I’m excited to finally get to write it.

Awhile ago I was introduced to the idea of solar roadways. You know, like all the roads being made out of solar panels. My first reaction was… well, not exactly positive. I just didn’t think it was all that feasible of a thing to do. Solar Roadways was impractical to me.

There is no better time to say this than now…. Stupid Sucks! Really, the idea Scott & Julie Brusaw has come up with is simply brilliant and I was being closed minded and ignorant about it. Every new technology is going to have its challenges to overcome but that doesn’t mean they aren’t possible.

The more I thought about the possibilities and potential of something like this, the more I realized this is one of those things that would change man kind and the way our world lives. From energy to global warming to traffic management to roadway safety, this could really be the next best invention to the car.

As amazing as the thought of the endless possibilities was, the thought of the astronomical price tag was much more overbearing. Here’s a big shocker though… It would actually cost about the same to produce these solar roadways as it is to produce current asphalt roads. That’s not even taking into consideration what we would get back from them either!

These roadways would literally pay for themselves! I won’t go into detail on the overall cost analysis but if you’re interested, visit Scott & Julie’s cost analysis page. What’s more amazing that you’ll find there is just how many other uses solar roadways would have to us and the world. Less pollution, no more energy problems, safer driving conditions and even better technologies delivered to our homes.

Now think about this idea…. if our roadways were built out of solar panels using a specialized type of glass that is as durable if not more durable than asphalt, had built in lights for traffic management instead of painted lines that wear off, collected our country’s energy needs x3, melted ice during winter and could carry a more advanced communication & data infrastructure, how incredible would that be?

Here is a video of Scott presenting the idea, which better explains how it works.

If you haven’t heard of this already, it’s worth checking out. Before you know it this kind of technology could be put into the roads you’ll be driving on. Solar panels have been developed with increasingly more efficient abilities and lower production costs.

If you’d like to support Solar Roadways, there are many different ways to do so. Bumper stickers, t-shirts, dog shirts , their encouragement list and even myspace. In fact, check out the countries from around the world already supporting the idea!

If you liked this article and/or would like to support and spread the word about this idea you can Digg it.

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During the day I work as a graphic designer at a local newspaper and I work on…. wait…. I’m not sure if I can say it…… Windows … 2000.

Now, you can’t really blame the newspaper because not every company can afford to buy the latest and greatest and believe me, this company does try.

As a designer though, it’s the equivalent of working without a soul…

It’s always amazing to me at just how much more inspired I am to be creative as soon as I get home and jump on my iMac, crank up the tunes (iTunes isn’t allowed at work so I use my iPod) and get into the mood Apple products inspire.

They really are much more conducive to creativity than… well, I don’t even need to say it (windows).

I don’t have Apple’s newest operating system (leopard) but tiger alone puts any version of windows to shame. I mean, I just don’t have the problems I used to have with windows, and I’m a pretty advanced user. I always manged to fix whatever arose but seriously, why deal with that? I just don’t have problems on my iMac (ok, I lie, games aren’t exactly Mac friendly).

Here are 10 reasons why people should switch and give Mac’s a shot:

• They’re conducive to creativity and fun
• They’re easy and intuitive
• Your mac isn’t going to get sick from all the viruses running around the internet
• Macs don’t come with all that extra crapware (crap software) installed that is a total pain to get rid of.
• They come with software that is useful, works and isn’t annoying.
• Macs can run anything a PC can
• Mac users are apparently smarter
  
• Installing and Removing applications is so simple a 5 year old can do it
• Everyone I know that has made the switch vows they will never go back and wished they had switched sooner.
• You don’t have to defrag macs

Those are just a few, here is a list of 50 reasons. Want 10 reasons to upgrade to a PC though?

Top Ten Reasons for Upgrading to a PC instead of a Mac:

• You enjoy reading computer manuals
• Buying parts ‘not included’ is your idea of being patriotic
• Blaming it on the PC is a great excuse… for anything
• Tech support is your idea of telephone dating
• Your favorite computer game is figuring out where your files are
• You look forward to today’s new virus (or worm, or both)
• You like listening to telephone support hold-button music
• Letting the kids play on the Mac next door frees your time (eliminates after-school kid sitters)
• You think Bill Gates deserves the money
• You have nothing better to do with all the extra time

I thought this video was pretty hilarious!

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