New to Blogging? Watch This Video!

If you are not sure what a blog is or how it works, this video, called “Blogs in Plain English,” will help. Created by the folks at CommonCraft, this video explains why blogs are such a “big deal.” To view the video, just click on the large arrow in the middle of the video window below.

Whole-House Surge Protection

It’s important to protect all your electronic devices, not just computers, from power surges. Printers, televisions, appliances, and computer peripherals all require protection. However, it can be inconvenient to use individual surge protectors on all the devices that need protection. One solution is to install a whole-house surge protector, as shown in this photo. The device is installed by an electrician and is attached to your circuit breaker panel. Whole-house surge protectors work just like other surge protection devices, but they protect all electrical devices in the house at once. The typical cost to buy and install one of these devices ranges from $200 to $300 and is generally less than the cost of buying individual surge protectors for every electrical device in your home.

Making Tech Decisions Easier

The New York Times recently published an article discussing which technology features are worth the price and which are not. If you've ever had to decide whether your computer should have more memory or a faster processor, or which options to include on your cell phone plan, this article might help you sort things out and save some money too. Definitely more help than flipping a coin!

Do Your Homework, Get Rich!

Sounds like an interesting prospect, doesn't it? Before you get too carried away, no... I am not paying you to do your homework!  But, for these students at Stanford, a simple assignment in the Fall of 2007 led them to create free Facebook apps that garnered millions of users and plenty of money and entrepreneurial opportunities. The lesson to be learned? You never know when opportunity will come knocking, but doing your homework might help it show up at your door!

Improve Your Microsoft Office Skills

If you have recently made the transition from an older version of Microsoft Office to Microsoft Office 2010, you may find you have a lot of questions about how things work.  In addition to Microsoft’s Help and Support areas on its website, Microsoft also publishes the Microsoft Office Blog. This blog is a team effort, containing posts from a number of different individuals. The blog’s primary purpose is to provide you with tips and information to help you become a better Microsoft Office user. The blog posts cover the full range of Microsoft Office products and are designed to help you get the most out of these software programs.

In addition to the helpful articles you will find on the Microsoft Office Blog, Microsoft provides a number of tools, tips, and articles to help make the transition to Office 2010 easier. To find these tools, go to www.microsoft.com and type "Getting Started with Office 2010" in the search box. You'll get a list of results that will be worth exploring.