Computer and Web Articles

Write anywhere. Really – I mean it.

With Inka pens, you can pretty much write anywhere.

The technology of an Inka pen comes in most handy when you’re actually away from the web-world–when computers, networks, and wires are out of sight. In fact, Inka pens were specifically designed for use in extreme environments.

With features like pressurized ink cartridges, stainless steel barrels, integrated PDA styluses and watertight exteriors, Inka pens will write wet or dry, at any angle, at any temperature, at any altitude. Sounds like the pens were developed with the people of Summit County in mind.

Learn more at www.writeanywhere.com.

Question: Dear Erin, You recently wrote about how to send text messages to cell phones from a computer. I’m hoping you can help with something kind of related that I’m experiencing. It’s cell phone spam and I don’t have any clue how to stop it so I was wondering if there’s a cell phone spam blocker or something like that I can use or maybe some other tool like that out there? Please help!!!!!!!!! — Cindy (from Dillon, Colorado)

Answer: I actually experienced the same problem of too much cell phone text spam myself at one point, so I understand your frustration. Cell phone spam is even worse than email spam because you can’t just install a spam-blocker into your phone *and* you have to pay when you receive the spam! Booooooo.

Instead of rewriting the explanation of how you can go about decreasing the amount of spam you receive on your cell phone, I’m going to recommend you have a look at this great post in the New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/5cauyq. This should help a ton. Good luck!

If you still have a big, bulky fax machine in your office, I just have to ask … why?!

With access to a variety of premium, low-cost, and ever free web-based fax services right at your fingertips, why in the world would you opt to keep the clutter of a fax machine in your office? In fact, I’d wager there’s an affordable online service out there that can do absolutely everything your stand alone fax machine can do — and more. No extra phone lines, no extra supplies, no fixing the machine when it breaks, no more wasting paper or toner on faxes that didn’t need to be printed.

For those with occasional, basic faxing needs, check out FaxZero at www.faxzero.com. Send up to three pages anywhere in the U.S. or Canada for free, or send up to 15 pages with no ad for $1.99.

For those with more regular faxing needs, check out eFax at www.efax.com and start reducing your company’s paper clutter. Fully featured plans start at less than $20/month. You might also wish to take a look at RapidFax (www.rapidfax.com), which offers basic plans for personal use as well as professional plans tailored specifically for small businesses.

One would assume that after years of writing tech articles in addition to the approximately 3 billion hours I’ve spent online thus far in my life, I’d know what to do with my technotrash.

Even I assumed this.

Yet lo and behold last week I found myself looking at a broken monitor far beyond donation potential, and I wasn’t quite sure what the most responsible method of disposal was.

A bit of research cleared my confusion and I now know of an incredibly useful, socially responsible company that can handle whatever technology-related trash I might have. The company is called GreenDisk, and it can handle whatever you’ve got — from a single DVD to a printer to an office building filled with unusable computers. Greendisk safely and securely destroys old data, recovers reusable components, and recycles the rest.

Learn more at www.greendisk.com.

California-based BlueLouge sells some very nice gadgets for the common computer workstation, and their tagline says it all: “Minimalism has never been so useful.” Unclutter your desk and mind with their simple solutions to everyday problems and watch your daily work stress float away (well, at least some of it, anyhow!).

My favorite item that BlueLouge sells is the SpaceStation, which is a beautifully minimal desk organizer for laptop users containing internal coiling pins that conceal all the cords that come standard with the modern computer.

The SpaceStation sells for $79.95, and you can view plenty of photos and read all about its features by clicking the nice big photo of it on BlueLounge’s homepage (www.bluelounge.com).

Liberate your power strips with the Power Strip Liberator and Power Strip Liberator Plus.

Essentially, the Power Strip Liberator helps you to get full use of your power strips and UPS outlets by allowing you to plug those big bulky power adapters into their cables … and plug those cables into the previously unusable outlets. The Power Strip Liberator Plus is the same gadget, but it offers an additional pass-through plug, providing you with twice as many outlets.

At a whopping $2.59 each, the Power Strip Liberators are handy little gadgets to have around. If you’re interested, you can purchase the standard Liberator at http://tinyurl.com/2rg5qh and the Liberator Plus at http://tinyurl.com/24rdt2.

Logitech’s Wave Keyboard is a lovely combination of form, function and affordability. It’s laid out in a slightly curved manner to conform to the natural inward inclination of your hands, and its keys are progressively elevated in the middle.

The Wave Keyboard’s ergonomics mean that your hands and wrists will experience less fatigue and strain when you type, and with it retailing at only $49.99, it won’t put much strain on your wallet either. (And if you spend a minute or two on a Google search for “Logitech Wave Keyboard,” you’ll actually be able to find it for even cheaper.) Learn more here: http://tinyurl.com/2df4bp.

It’s pretty. It’s functional. It’s tiny. It’s amazing. It’s currently the world’s tiniest two-microphone Bluetooth headset.

Motorola’s H12 headset sports what’s called “CrystalTalk,” a dual microphone noise cancellation technology that cancels out background noise, meaning the person on the other end of the line will here nothing but your voice, even in the noisiest of environments.

The H12 weighs in at a whopping 12 grams and offers approximately 5.5 hours of talking time (with approximately 200 hours of standby time). Design-lovers will drool over the glossy black top, spun metal accents, diamond-cut metal, and matching desktop charger.

The cost, you ask? $120 -$130, depending on where you’re buying it from. Available at a countless number of online stores as well as directly from Motorola right here: http://tinyurl.com/2ortkn.

First I’d like to make it clear that I never once thought I’d be writing about a fire extinguisher in this column, but my goodness, this really is some gorgeous technology.

The HomeHero Fire Extinguisher offers an intuitive design that “enables anyone in your family to use the product with ease, even under the most challenging circumstances.” And did I mention it has a gorgeous design? It does. It’s simple, sleek, white and minimal.

I do have to be upfront with you, though: the HomeHero fire extinguisher isn’t available yet; I believe it’ll be available for purchase this coming summer. See for yourself and learn more here: http://www.homehero.net/productInformation.html.