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I have been doing posts 5-days-a-week now for several months and although I enjoy it, I am going to end it for a couple reasons. First, when I schedule posts, I am forcing myself into doing 5 posts a week and making sure that I have all the posts that I need and force myself into writing lower-quality articles. Instead, now when I have a good idea for a post I will write it and post it that day. Also, writing daily posts is keeping me from trying other projects and I really want to start some new projects. Finally, I am going off to college this fall and I am not sure if I will have the time for a daily blog post anymore. I still plan on writing frequently and doing a lot of coll stuff just not everyday but, I still will write a lot of content and will be starting some new projects as well.

So you bought that shiney new computer, but what are you going o do with your old computer? There are actually a lot of options but, most people end up just throwing it out. I want to provide some better suggestions than putting it in a landfill and many of these options can help you in the long run.

1. Run Linux

I have said how much Linux has grown recently and has become a viable contender in the operating system marketand why not give it a try, since you already have the old computer. Then you will know what all the fuss over Linux is about

2. Home Server

Another option, is setting the old computer up as a home server where you can server files, stream music and backup data. The easiest way of acheieving this is to run FreeNas and install that which will make all the modificatiojns needed to turn your old junker into a awesome home server.

3. Media Center

A old PC would also make a good media center which will allow you to a lot more in your living room. First, you can play web-content like podcasts and videos over your big TV and fully enjoy it. You can also play music over your home sound system and surf the web on your big screen. Finally, you could buy a TV capture card and turn that computer into a Digital video record and watch your favorite shows anytime, anywhere.

4. Donate your Processing Power

You can install a program called Folding@home and donate your processing power to research and help cure cancer and many other important issues.

5. Turn it into a Hardware Firewall

If you have several computers and why worry about running software firewalls on each one when with one more network interface card, you can install SmoothWall and put the firewall on your network and not have to bother with running software on each machine and still stay safe from hackers.

6. Donate it!

As the administrator of a church computer lab whose computers were all donated, I can not stress enough how helpful donations are. If you don’t want yout old computer laying around your home and want to give3 it to people who need it check your local churches, schools, and other non-profit organizations because they can really use them.

7. Sell it online!

If the computer is still functioning you  can sell it online, it may not make you rich but, it could definitly get you some money towards a new computer.

8. Sell if for Parts

If you have a few working parts, and the skill to disassemble a computer, then you could make some money off selling your computer for parts. You will be amazed how desperate people are if their computer breaks and how much they are willing to pay for a replacement part, especially if the parts are rare.

9. Recycle It

If all else fails, take it to a recycling center that can properly dispose of the parts and minimize the impact on the economy.

I hope this article helped everyone decide what they should do with their computer and hopefully get even more out of them.

The music industry as we know it is in shambles and the way it currently operates is no longer viable or logical anymore. In the next ten years or less, the entire industry will operate under a totally different model and will be much better for the artists and the listeners. This new model is as follows, first there are no record labels music will be produced directly by the artists and their own crews although they may rent studio space for recording so the quality remains the equivolent with what is on the rest of the market. The music will then  be distributed over digital music stores only, no more CDs and records at the same prices as they are now and all tracks will be DRM free. But, since they don’t have to pay the record label more of the money will be given to the artists. The artists may also adopt the free download model, like Nine Inch Nails, or the donate what you think the albulm is worth model like RadioHead.  This would, I think provide more money to the artists because they don’t have to all that money to the record labels. I think this new model will be much more efficent than the current music industry and would make it more fair to listeners and artists.

The Mac Mini  is a small computer that is currently the least expensive Mac on the market. The reason is because the Mac Mini only comes with the computer and leaves out the keyboard, mouse and monitor which is fine if you have those laying around. However the entry price is very high at $600 and does not provide the specs that are equivolent for that price tag. Howevr, there are a few uses that the Mac Mini is perfect for.

1. Media Center

One of the simplist uses for this, is a media center where you just hook up the Mac Mini to you big screen TV and  unlock a lot of possibilities. First you can play web meda like, Podcasts on your big home theater and other digtial media like music, video and many others in the comfort of your living room. You could also get a capture care to let you use your Mac Mini as a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) to record TV and watch whenever it is convienient for you.Finally, you can surf the internet and watch video on the big screen with sites like Hulu.

2. Home Server

The Mac Mini also makes a great home server where you can store your files for either backing them up, sharing with other computers or streaming media throughout your home. All you need to do is hook it up to your home network and setup file sharing on each computer.

3. Kitchen Computer or Home Management System

Maybe you want to have a computer to browse and store recipies using software like, SousChief, where you can find recipes or to track a family schedule or what you need to pick-up at the market. The Mac Mini is perfect because you don’t need to much power and you can just set this up on a kitchen counter and you can do all this and more.

There are 3 great uses for the Mac Mini and could make it much more worthwhile and more viable. One note though, is that if you don’t want to pay full price you can try and buy it used and save some money!

Mike Gdovin shows you how to make Composite Images

In the early days of the internet, email newsletters were the best way to spread information and news to interested people. This was great to inform people because any news you want will be delivered directly to interested people’s inbox and directly to the target market. This was great in the early days, however, now we have RSS feeds that send articles to a RSS reader that you can access anywhere and doesn’t clog-up people’s busy inboxes. This new technology is much easier to access and not only that it keeps your imformation more organized, and  easier to read than newsletters. Although people read their email a lot more, I think that newsletters are past their time and need to switch over to RSS and I reccommend unsubscribing from email newsletters because they will soon become a thing of the past.

The Financial markets have been tough these past few years and by the estimates of the Federal Reserve will continue that way for the rest of 2009. People have been forced to accept lower wages and many have lost their jobs. Many people have had trouble making ends meet, and I have a few ideas on how to save a good amount of money.

1. Cancel Newspaper subscriptions

Newspapers not only cost money, but also take up space and why bother with the cost and mess when you could read news online for Free? Just subscribe to the free RSS feed and now you can read it on your computer instead of in paper.

2. Cut Your Landline

Another great way to save a lot of money is by canceling your landline subscrription and that saves a quite large monthly fee, and just have everyone call your cell phone and now you will always have your main phone with you at all times!

3. Subscribe to Bargain Hunter sites

I know that there are things people want to buy but, a lot of stuff is out of price ranges now, but may become more affordable laer. I like to check sites like: Woot, Lifehacker and Engadget which all provide daily baragins mainly in technology but also in other topics as well.

4. Buy used

I mentioned why buying used is so great and it truley is a great way to save cash so that you can get what you want and save money at the same time.

5. Buy off-brand

You don’t need the big brand-name products and off brand is fine. I do this with many gadgets like memory which you don’t need Sand disk, generic brands do just fine and save you a lot of money.

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.

Podcasts are great ways to inform many people as well as express your self about any topic that you want. I have started several podcasts and I want to provide the steps that you need to take to start a podcast of your own. I will focus mainly on what you need to do and not specifics for audio or video because the creatiuon process is still very similar. I want to share my knowledge because podcasts are a great media to inform others of what you know as well as a profitable buisness.

1. Find A Topic
2. Plan the Format or Flow of the Show
3. Name Your Show
4. Make a topics list (Unless time sensitive show)
5. Create a Website (I Recommend Wordpress and Podpress plugin)\
6. Make A Logo
7. Revise Show Format
8. Prepare to Record:

Audio:

In-Person:

Audacity

Skype:

PC: Hot Recorder

Mac: Eccam Call Recorder

Video: Camera and Microphone (Suggested)

With those steps I have created several podcasts and I think are a good workflow to creating a podcast and is what I will use in the future. I hope that anyone considering starting their own podcasts try it because all though it can be difficult and nerve racking at times, it is very rewarding and very fun!