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Anyone like me who has been using a computer for over a decade probably has a lot of digital clutter as well as extra web accounts that you no longer want. The solution to this is that you can purge your digital life regularly and get rid of what you no longer want. I did this recently and it has cleaned up digital life significantly.

First, go through your computer or computers and find all the files that you no longer need. From there sort them into these folders: Save, Delete, and Undecided. For the “Save” folder, either put them in a special “archive” folder like I do, so that you can have easy access to your files but, they are not in the way of getting to the files that you need more frequently. Or, if you want to save space on your hard drive, you can archive the files on a  thumb drive or external hard drives. Everything in the delete folder just delete that folder and remember to empty the recycling bin or Trash Can. Then, once all that is done, go through the undecided folder and sort them out and repeat the process.

Next, it’s time to go through your applications on your computer. I recommend uninstalling any program that you do not use regularly or has been inactive for 6 months or more unless you have a specific use for it. That would help clear out your applications and give you more free space on your hard drive. Now go through your saved bookmarks in your web browser, delete any bookmark that you no longer need or don’t use. This will make navigating your bookmarks much easier in the future. The next step is to go through all your web accounts and delete once you don’t use anymore and get rid of what you no longer need. Finally go through all your email and delete old emails and getn rid of things you no longer want or need anymore.

By following my process and using it on your computer and digital life, you will have a lot more working room and less mess to deal with and your computing experience will be much easier.

While I was in New York City, Plaz and I visited a Sprint Store and had the chance to try out the new Palm Pre. At first I thought the Pre was the first phone that could challenge the iPhone but after using the device it seems the Pre still needs to be developed signifigantly to be a true iPhone competitor.

The device itself is significantly smaller the iPhone also leading to a smaller screen which makes the device harder to use. The other major issue is the keyboard, while the iPhone has a generous touch screen keyboard, the Pre has a minuscule plastic hardware keyboard and makes it difficult to do long writing on while on my iPod Touch I can easily write full blog post and data entry to me is very important in choosing a mobile device.

The Palm WebOS is nice but has a steep learning curve. The gestures to operate the phone are quite confusing and makes getting started using the phone complicated. The multi-tasking is the one feature that makes iPhone user jellous and it is well done in a Mac OSX  expose style. However at first using this powerful feature is hard to use. The other major flaw is the lack of and app store and it’s over dependance on web apps. This enraged early iPhone users and I had hoped that Palm had learned from Apple’s earlier mistake.

Overall, I think that the Palm Pre was a good first try to challenge the iPhone but still needs a lot of improvements before becoming a real iphone challenger. It has potential but if they fix the problems I pointed out, then it could be a rival to the iPhone. But for now and with iPhone 3.0 Software and the new iPhone 3Gs on the horizon, they are still the best smartphones on the market.

I recently took a Trip to New York City with my friend Michael Plasmeier and found out about a great Bus service that was extremly affordable as well as luxurious with features that many other buses that cost more do not have.

First, for cost, it cost us $22 each for a round trip ticket to New York City from Philadelphia! Bolt Bus also goes to Boston as well as Washington DC, sorry Non-Northeasterners! Bolt provides the riders with wireless Internet and AC power free of chard which is great to be able to check email and surfing the Internet while traveling. Bolt Bus was a very enjoyable ride and highly recommend it for high quality transportation and affordable pricing!

Writer’s Note: This article was written on the ride back from New York City on the Bolt Bus!

This is a product idea that I think will come out in the next few years that  will create better PDAs that will be way better than any before. My idea is creating a PDA that instad of running applications that are on the local device, they access cloud services like Google Dcs, Gmail and many others. This way a PDA doesn’t need to be directly syncronized, via tethering, and syncing but, instead everything will be done over 3G internet connection. I know there are devices that lets you access services on PDAs, but this device will be all cloud and let people get work done anyuwhere. Cloud computing on a PDA makes everything easier and data won’t lost and if you have a computer or device malfunction.

When my old phone was on the verge of breaking, and I was already at the shopping center, I decided to buy a new cell phone to replace my old Motorola C70 and I chose it’s big brother, the W76g which although is very similar to my old phone, has a few features that are very conveient for me.The Motorola C76g is a prepaid flip phone that costs $30 from Tracfone, which is my favorite prepaid cell phone provider.

The W76g is a basic flip cell phone that does everything a regular phone does. The phone itself, is slimmer than my own phone but, besides that it looks almost identical to the old phone.  The keyboard is great, it is a very nice, rubberized keyboard that makes typing very enjoyable as well as easy. Another feature that I probably will never use is the built-in Fm Radio Tuner, but as I have said, I am not very interested in radio. The camera on the phone is very nice, it has various shooting modes and options that are very advanced for a camera phone like exposure control, that usually only appear in higher-end digital cameras. This is my first camera phone and I think I will make good use of it in the near future. The only complaint is that the camera is at the base of the lid and sometimes my fingers get in the way when I am holding the phone. The other big feature is Bluetooth, which is great for using hands-free headsets and headphones.

Overall, the W76g, is a very good basic phone that does everything I need for only $30, I reccommend you buy it because if you use your  phone infrequently and just need a no-frills phone this is the phone for you. It also comes with a built-in freee minutes for life subscription so everytime you buy a airtime card you get double the value for as long as you continue to use Tracfone.

It was 10 years ago today the ZDTV, which later evolved into TechTV,was created and it was a television network that aired 24/7 programming about computers and technology. This created geek celebrities like: Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose and many others. This was great for technology enthusiasts to learn more and learn more skills. However, in 2004 TechTV was sold to Comcast and merged with their gaming network, G4, into G4TechTV and later G4. It was at this point in time that TechTV lost the technology programming that made it so special and became more of a general-interest channel. In this process, over 270 people were laid off from TechTV and causing an outrage in the tech community.

Although this was a sad state of affairs, it led to better media in the for of podcast and video podcast networks like TWIT and Revision3. Now you can get even better web programming over the internet for free all over the world not just where you have access to a specific channel. The beloved hosts of TechTV became entreprenuers in new ventures that have wider audiences and I think have cause more people to become interested in technology. So, on this anniversary, remember techTV it was a great network that has led to even greater things!

As technology has further developed and become more powerful and more portable, there have been a certain group of gadgets that I carry with me wherever I go and I thought it would be neat to share with all my readers:

1. iPod Touch and Headphones with Mic

The iPod Touch has become so much more than a media player for me and has taken the place of my Nokia N800 and Pocket PC as a PDA. I use it to check my email, write email, keep a to-do list, surf the internet, keep a calendar and I even write many of my blog posts on my iPod Touch. For me, the iPod Touch has become a productivity device that lets me do what I need whereever I go. This in fact has become the best PDA I have ever  had!  I use the headphones to listen to music, watch and listen to podcasts and I also use it to make skype calls to both Skype users and SkypeOut Calls to regular phone owners.I also can make free, unlimited text messages with TextFree Unlimited!

2. Cell Phone

My cell phone is really nothing special, it is just a $50 prepaid phone from Tracfone but, it gets the job done when it needs to! Although I use it infrequently, when I do I only use it for which is phone calls and sometimes text messages if I am unable to use TextFree.

3. Digital Camera

My theory with the digital camera is that if I carry the little bit of extra weight that my camera adds, I can get a lot more pictures and videos that I wouldn’t just because I was too lazy to carry my camera. Now, that I carry it with me a lot more, I have gotten many more pictures than I usually would have and have enjoyed all my new pictures.

That is then list of most of the gadgets I carry with me although there are other things I carry depending on the situation like thumb drives and SD cards among other things!

Everyone has a favorite companies for certain types of products and I am not and exception and because of that, I would like to share with all my readers the brands that I prefer and why I do to hopefully help make buying decisions when it is time to buy a new product.

Technology:

Computer:
Apple

Non-Apple Computers:

HP

Printer:

HP

Headset:

Logitech PC Headset 960 USB

Camera:

Canon

Music Player:

Apple

Game Console:

Nintendo Wii

Services:

Photo Sharing:

Flickr

Email:

Gmail

Calendar:

Google Calendar

Blogging CMS:

Wordpress

Web Host:

1and1

Online TV:

Hulu

Backup:

Mozy

Other:

Tea:

Adagio

Although Inkjet printers are relativly inexpensive, they have another major cost that people seldom think of which is the cost of ink, ink could cost anywhere from $15 to $50 and depending on use the user could go through ink very quickly and could cost them a fortune justm on ink. It is almost a bait and switch scenario because they sell printers for low prices and sometimes give them away with new computers but, then they do not mention the cost of ink and how much it will cost you if you print frequently.

The remedy to this problem is if you avoid the glamour of the low price inkjet and consider the more expensive laser printers which have a larger entry cost and larger ink cost but, the average user eliminates them from the process because they think it is too expensive. What many people do not know is that for most people a Laser Printer cartridge can last about a year before needing to be changed. Laser printers also print faster and do not smudge like inkjet printers. Despite the higher entry costs, and higher toner costs, laser printers actually save money in the long run and they have a longer lifespan than cheap inkjet printers.

As I have said before I believe that in the future, that people’s home media centers will all be based around a computer or computer like device like the Apple TV. This is important because instead of just being able to play media you have on physical media like tapes and DVDs you can play off your hard drive and stream media from the internet. I bleieve that in the next 20 years a computer-based home media solution will be standard. This also allows people to play media off computers in the house and stream media. It also allows users to watch and listen to podcasts on their full media center so they can have enjoy their media on the full setup in their living room.

If you want to do this now you can buy and Apple TV or hookup a computer to your TV and have it stream from other computers and from the internet. I think that is one of the best ways to reuse your computer and can help everyone enjoy their media much more.