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Using the power of time, people and the Internet

I Stumbled on this extremely interesting video the other day answering the questions, “How do people find the time?”

The speaker explains how many hours are spent watching TV and how just carving 10% of that time can harness tremendous amounts of brain power to work together on the web. The more I thought about the video, the more I was amazed so I wanted to share it with you.

Click here to watch the video and then come back here and leave me a comment about your thoughts on the subject.

The $399 Power Computer

Last week, I was charged with finding a computer for a customer who only wanted it for Internet, email, and word processing. He didn’t want to add any games, extra programs, or anything else to it. My first thought, as I was listening to his needs, was Ubuntu. One other request was not to break the bank on cost. Lastly, he told me that he would be hooked up to a high speed cable Internet service.

Upon talking a little more, I explained my idea bout an Ubuntu Linux machine. He asked, “Does it do Internet? Email?” I said, “Yes.” He agreed that it sounded fine to him.

CNET Web 2.0 Awards


CNET Web 2.0 AwardsGet used to me writing more articles about Web 2.0 applications…applications that run in your web browser. I’ve written many already, but today I’m writing about the  CNET people’s choice awards for best Web 2.0 applications in ten categories ranging from productivity to entertainment. This is CNET’s second year compiling the awards. This year almost 2 million votes were cast for over 300 Web 2.0 applications.

Many of my own favorites won awards including Zoho, Netflix, LogMeIn, Wikipedia, Gmail, Woot, Firefox, and Pandora. Click over to the article and read about some of these amazing applications.

Computing power is truly leaving the desktop and moving to the Internet. I personally think web computing makes perfect sense for a majority of computer users. Let me know what you think of Web 2.0 or what online applications are your favorites by leaving a comment below!

PayPal Agrees

Last week I wrote a tip called 7 Habits of highly inefficient Internet Users.   The very first habit I wrote about was the use of old browsers. Literally, the next day PayPal (the leading online payment source for eBay and person-to-person payments) announced that it would stop supporting old browsers and users who did not upgrade to more modern and safer browsers would not be able to use the service. This will not be an isolated incident. Some banks also require the use of at least Internet Explorer 6 with all its updates or Firefox 2.0.

Living online with your applications and data

Here I go again talking about online applications and data storage. I keep bringing it up because the idea makes more sense to me everyday.

In just my first two days of work this week, I found multiple examples of how computing online instead of on your desktop makes sense for so many people. It will be a long time before serious photographers, movie makers, engineers, and graphic designers can make do with online applications because their programs require a great deal of computer speed, power, and storage. However, for the bulk of computer users at home and many in small businesses, migrating data online and utilizing online applications can save a great deal of time and money.

2 fantastic alternatives to Mapquest maps

Mapquest.com used to be synonymous with online maps. They offered online maps when few others did and did a good job. Unfortunately, Mapquest hasn’t changed much since the late 90’s except get more and more advertisements hovering around their slow and out-dated system. Their innovation and improvements seemed to stop around the same time AOL bought them.

For faster, easier, and better online mapping, I like two products; Google Maps and Microsoft’s Live Search Maps.

Gmail convertee

Three weeks ago, I switched from using Microsoft Outlook (which I had used since 1998) to Gmail.

What is Gmail?

Gmail is the fast, free web based email from search giant Google. Gmail offers free POP3 access (if you want to download your email into Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc), 6.5 GB of storage (and the number continually grows), and the best web based spam filter I’ve seen so far.

AVG Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade Advice

The past few days calls and emails started filtering in about the new AVG 8.0 version folks have seen appear on their free versions of AVG Antivirus. The common query is, “Should I upgrade?” No, home users of AVG Antvirus do not need to upgrade at all. The current free version of AVG will continue to be updated and as… Read More »AVG Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade Advice

Where to buy a book manual for your computer

“Why didn’t my computer come with a manual?”

One of the most common complaints we hear is about how new computers don’t come with manuals. I am here to explain why this is the case.

The sad answer is that if the computer company came with a manual, it would weigh more than the computer.

“But my old computers used to come with manuals…,” Is the next comment.

Back in the old days of computers there weren’t many uses. You would use computers for word processing, finances, Internet and email. In each case there were only a handful of options.

Cloudmark, Zonbu, Hostgator OH MY!!

You may have noticed that HelpMeRick.com has something new. We have added ads, but not just any ads.

The ads you see on HelpMeRick.com are only for companies that we recommend strongly.

So far, we have ads for Hostgator – our favorite web hosting service.

Zonbu, an excellent laptop for those who want a laptop in a standard size package but alternative operating system. If you can’t afford Mac and the Eee PC is too big, take a serious look at the Zonbu.