Better Living Around the Web

Here are some great tips and news on digital tools and resources.

• 65% of Web Users Buy Digital Content: More Music, Fewer E-Books
  Source GigaOMTech
  Nearly two-thirds of Internet users are paying for some form of digital content as more information, services and media continue moving to the web. The numbers, resulting from a Pew Internet survey of Internet users, skew towards dollars spent on dig...
• Turn a Projector into an Interactive Whiteboard with a Wiimote [Video]
  Source Lifehacker
  If you teach or have to make a lot of presentations, you can make your life a lot easier with an interactive whiteboard like a Smartboard. Instead of an expensive piece of technology, though, you ca...
• RoboForm 7 Expands Password Management to Chrome and Opera [Updates]
  Source Lifehacker
  Windows/Mac: RoboForm, a fairly popular all-in-one password manager, has updated to a version 7 that includes support for Chrome and Opera (10) browsers, adds bookmark syncing, improves and clarifies...
• Resolved: How to Keep Your Computer Safe, Clean, and Backed Up in 2011 [Resolutions 2011]
  Source Lifehacker
  Those important computer tasks—like securing, cleaning, and backing up—are like any other resolution: we all say we're going to do them but rarely keep up with them all year. Here's our simple g...
• Plugin by C. Murray Consulting

Manage Email, Feeds and Social Networks from One Spot

I recently read an article that indicated technology was giving attention deficit disorder. I have to agree that while it has made communication faster and easier, it definitely creates interruptions that make the flow of work difficult. Part of the problem is that there are so many places one needs to check… email, Twitter, Facebook, news feeds etc. But now there is Gist, which not only manages all your social contacts in one place, but you can choose the place you’d like to manage them.

With Gist you can manage everything from the Gist dashboard online, or through your email (Gmail, Outlook, Lotus Notes), Salesforce or your iphone or android phone. It offers a one-stop shop to find out your latest news as well as to update your own status. You can learn more and sign up for free at Gist.

Family Management the Cozi Way

Most planners and productivity tools are geared towards work, but running a household requires many of the same tools CEO’s need to manage a company.  Cozi offers such a resource for families. With Cozi, families can:

• Manage the family calendar
• Create customizable lists (shopping, chores, etc)
• Send reminders and messages (text message to phones) to keep everyone in the loop.
• Access the calendar, to-dos and other tools from a cell phone.
• Keep a family journal.
• Create a photo collage
• And even sync with MS Outlook

Cozi is a web-based organizational tool for families. It offers a desktop feature as well as the ability to access Cozi tools through a cell phone. What’s really helpful about Cozi is that its not just for mom but for the whole family so they can keep insync with activities and events.

Cozi is free and easy to use. You can learn more or sign up by visiting Cozi.

One Password to Rule them All

The most difficult task in working in the digital world is managing passwords. The easiest way is to have one password for everything. But it leaves you vulnerable. If someone gets it, they have access to EVERYTHING. So you have to have different passwords for all your log ins. But how do you remember them all?

One trick is to have a base keyword that is part of all your logins and is tweaked slightly for each program. For example, your base keyword could be mypassword (no don’t use that. This is just an example). Your eBay password could then be something like mypasswordeb or ebmypassword. This creates a separate password for everything that’s based in a single root word. The trick of course is remembering how you choose the specific variant for each program. Again you want to be creative. If you use the initials for all of them, if someone figures out your base word, they’ll be able to figure out your specific logins as well.

Perhaps the best option is to store all your passwords. The problem with that is if someone gets your PC information, they will have your password information as well. Unless you use a program like KeePass. KeePass is a software that stores all your passwords in a safe, secure, encrypted file that is accessed with a single password. You can store all your login information including username, password, URL and details about the login. You can even group them by categories you designate.

KeePass is free and easy to use. The trick of course will be to remember the login information you create for the program.

Download KeePass for Windows

Download KeePass for Mac

Avoid Registration to Read Online Materials with BegMeNot

Have you ever been sent a link to an article only to discover that you have register to read it? At BugMeNot you can access shared logins for thousands of web sites so that you can read the materials without divulging your personal information. The most popular sites include the NY Times, NY Post, Washington Post, and Youtube.

There are two ways to use BugMeNot. The first is:

1) When you get to a site requiring a registration, open another tab or browser and visit www.bugmenot.com

2) Copy and paste the URL of site you want to access into the URL box on the BugMeNot website.

3) Use one of the usernames and passwords provided to access the page you want to read.

The second option is the use the BugMeNot bookmarklet.

1) Drag the bookmarklet found on the BugMeNot FAQ page to your toolbar.

2) When you visit a site requiring a log in, click on the bookmarklet for login information.

BugMeNot is only for websites that offer free materials. Don’t try it on sites that require a fee.

Visit BugMeNot to learn more.