Tech News & Reviews

If you have used a computer very long, you know it can cause eye strain. Especially if you decide to use your computer in a not so well lit room. Good background room lighting is essential for computer users to prevent this strain. With modern lighting coming in all different shapes and sizes, there is simply no reason not go use it in your home office area. It helps save on electric bill, and helps save on eye strain as well!

Microsoft announced Wednesday that Windows Vista SP1 will be ready with a beta version in the next few weeks, with a full fledged version in the first quarter of next year. This is good for Microsoft, as this can usually signal an increase in companies that are willing to migrate over from an older operating system. Most companies will not make the transition to an untested, brand-new OS.

Consumers look forward to service packs to fix pesky glitches in their application. However, desktop managers have been anxious for Microsoft to make a Windows Vista SP1 announcement because it directly affects their plans for deploying a new operating system. Soon the wait will be over for both parties. We can only cross our fingers and hope that this new release will cover the issues that make a difference for the actual users of the operating system. Only time will tell.

Internet security is a big deal, especially if your computer system is online all the time. This is especially true of broadband users who leave their systems on, even when they are not using them. Online security and virus security is very important these days. But how do you figure out which software or services to choose from?

If you are looking for reviews of computer security and Internet control software, then turn to Filterguide.com. They have computer security software to help protect your computer from unwanted internet intrusions. They also provide reviews and ratings of the best internet firewall, privacy and parental control software in the marketplace.

There have been some reported meeting between Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs and Volkwagen’s chief, Martin Winterkorn. Apparently there have been some discussion about integrating some of Apple’s products into the make of Volkswagens automobiles.

Apple already works with many automobile manufacturers to offer an integrated in-car hook-up for ipods. Perhaps this meeting of the minds will lead to the next stage in the evolution of the automobile. Maybe one day in the future you will be able to cruise down the road, while cruising through cyberspace to pick up your latest video podcast.

Give me a break. This will take wreckless driving to a whole new dimension.

If you have ever taken a look at SEO (search engine optimization), then you know that there can be some pretty complicated things to help your site hit the top 10 search results for any term. One of the most important aspects of SEO is link building. Link building has proven to be an effective strategy for getting a higher page rank from Google’s algorithm.

However, not all links are the same. Link popularity is important. If a site that is linking to you is blacklisted, for example, it can have a negative impact on your rating in the eyes of the search engines. Link building is a science that must be completed well. Simply getting hundreds of irrelevant links from poorly rated sites will not help your own site’s link popularity in the long run. It might have an initial impact because of some black-hat effects, but it simply won’t last.

If it all sounds a bit complicated, then it might be best to utilize search engine optimization services, such as Submitawebsite.com. In business since the late 1990’s, they have serviced over 1 million websites with their services. If you are interested in obtaining help with SEO for your site, get a quote today!

As a work-at-home freelance person, I have found out one thing that is certain. Each client will require you to use a different IM service to stay in touch with them, if possible. While I prefer Google Talk myself (mostly because I find myself addicted to Google apps), my various clients are using everything from AIM and YIM to MSN and even an IRC room!

OK, so what’s the solution to prevent me from having a gajillion little icons floating around in my task bar, sucking down my system resources? It’s a new IM service called Pidgin (pronounced like the bird, pidgeon). It’s an open source system, and it’s working great for me! I set it up today and I’m currently using it on 5 different IM systems simultaneously. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistled integrated from each system, but it has enough to keep me happy and going. It’s not a big stealer of system resources either, only taking up around 4 MB of memory when running full bore.

So it’s two thumbs up, five stars, ten toes, and whatever else you can come up with for Pidgin. highly recommended service. If you use a lot of different IM services, get it. Nuff said.

It was only a matter of time before the ultimate safety use for GPS was developed. We’ve already seen Disney’s cell phones for tracking our little ones, and now there is a way to track them. With auto tracker, there are several options to choose from.

Whether you are looking for live, real-time stats and information, or whether you are simply wanting to keep tabs on the locations and activities of your teenager, this is a great deal! Starting at $225 (on sale) and up, there are a ton of options available. As the screenshots show on the site, interpreting the data from the devices is more than half the battle! The presentation of the information is excellent, and this is something that a parent of every actively driving teenager can use. Check it out.

Over 250 million users of Yahoo! Mail will soon be seeing a new feature from their e-mail service: free text messaging to cell phone users! This program is moving out of the beta testing phase, and will roll out to their entire subscriber base over the next six weeks. Yahoo! will continue to offer the classic e-mail interface, for those who are not interested in this new feature.

With competition heating up and recent pressure from investors, Yahoo! Inc. is in a run for the money. Coming up with new ideas and improving on old ones (such as the Yahoo! Mail service) may not be enough, or too little too late. With Google and MSN so heavily into the search game, it’s only a matter of time before somebody comes out the loser. So far, Google is way ahead, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be upset by an up-and-coming Web 2.0 company, perhaps like Mahalo! After all, it was only 10 years ago when they came on the scene, and nobody had ever heard of Google … only Yahoo!, DMOZ, and Netscape.

Anyone looking for product support for the IBM AS/400 and iSeries servers has found that a good source is hard to find. If you are in the market for support of your IBM AS/400 iSeries equipment, you should take a look at Perfdata.com. This company has the resources to provide support and equipment to meet your needs.

From hard to find parts, new parts, refurbished and mid-range parts - they provide a full range of services. They have been in business since 1991, and are an Authorized IBM Business Partner for the AS/400 and iSeries platform. They even provide free UPS ground shipping to anywhere in the US for any product under 50 pounds.

In case you haven’t heard, here’s a news flash that will either make you proud of the youth of America, or make you sick because you didn’t do it first:

George Hotz, aged 17, became the first person to publicly announce a real hack for the iphone, unlocking it from only using AT&Ts cellular service. In exchange for this phone, CertiCell has given him a new Nissan 350Z, and a job as a consultant.

Wow! So what’s the kid really doing with all his new-found fame? Going back to college, of course. Good job George. You can read all about it, and learn how to unlock your own iphone on George’s blog, where he outlines the process, step-by-step. One word of caution: this is not for the tech newbie or faint of heart.

http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/