How much do you pay each time you call 411 from your cell phone? It seems like ten bucks, am I right?
Google has a free, voice activated information system, whereby you can get business listings.
You don't need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device. GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free.
Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you're looking for. Example: Pizza. Then, say the city and state. GOOG-411 will give you multiple choices for pizza in the area. If you know the exact pizza place you want, then you can say it in the first place and it will connect you.
If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say "Text message" or "Map it."
Sometimes, it can't understand what I'm saying -- and it doesn't help that my children are talking loudly in the background, but it's been golden so many times that it has afforded us great eating opportunities in unfamiliar neighborhoods. (I live in Los Angeles, so there are a lot of neighborhoods -- and choices.)
2.27.2009
2.23.2009
Magic Jack! $40 for a year's worth of phone calls...
It's a friggin' miracle! No, it's MAGIC. Yeah. Magic.
So we got the Magic Jack and within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box (30 day free trial, by the by) and plugging it into our computer, we had a new phone number with voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling blah blah blah. The works!
After the 30 day trial is over, we will pay $40 plus shipping and handling and that will give us a YEAR of free calling to the US and Canada. We provide the phone. Right now, we use Vonage, which is pretty inexpensive at $25/month. But folks: $40 a year is INSANE.
Here's the negative: the jack plugs into your computer, so your computer must remain on to receive incoming calls. Otherwise, they will go straight to voice mail. I haven't figured out the other negatives yet, but if I do, I'll let you know.
A no brainer -- and great for a new small business. I'm just saying...
So we got the Magic Jack and within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box (30 day free trial, by the by) and plugging it into our computer, we had a new phone number with voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling blah blah blah. The works!
After the 30 day trial is over, we will pay $40 plus shipping and handling and that will give us a YEAR of free calling to the US and Canada. We provide the phone. Right now, we use Vonage, which is pretty inexpensive at $25/month. But folks: $40 a year is INSANE.
Here's the negative: the jack plugs into your computer, so your computer must remain on to receive incoming calls. Otherwise, they will go straight to voice mail. I haven't figured out the other negatives yet, but if I do, I'll let you know.
A no brainer -- and great for a new small business. I'm just saying...
2.19.2009
YAPTA! Save on Airfare!
Yapta is a newish website where you enter in your flight information so that the website can track whether the price of your airline ticket is going up or down. It will send you an email alert every time the ticket fluctuates in price. When it goes down, you can decide that now is a good time to buy.
And that’s when the fun begins…
After you purchase your ticket, you let Yapta know at what price you locked it in — and it will continue to monitor the ticket price. If it goes down again, you will get the email alert and then you immediately contact the airline, telling them that you want a voucher for the difference in cost between what you paid and what the cost is right now. Yeah, they will actually send you a voucher.
Last Summer, I bought 4 tickets to Boise for $300. The price went down three times. The lowest eventual price was $240. Can you do math? I saved $240 on those tickets.
And when I bought tickets for Denver for this Spring, I was able to apply those vouchers to my next tickets (they expire in a year, so I had motivation). End result: we are flying from LA to Denver for $77 roundtrip each.
My arm hurts because I’m patting myself on the back so much.
And that’s when the fun begins…
After you purchase your ticket, you let Yapta know at what price you locked it in — and it will continue to monitor the ticket price. If it goes down again, you will get the email alert and then you immediately contact the airline, telling them that you want a voucher for the difference in cost between what you paid and what the cost is right now. Yeah, they will actually send you a voucher.
Last Summer, I bought 4 tickets to Boise for $300. The price went down three times. The lowest eventual price was $240. Can you do math? I saved $240 on those tickets.
And when I bought tickets for Denver for this Spring, I was able to apply those vouchers to my next tickets (they expire in a year, so I had motivation). End result: we are flying from LA to Denver for $77 roundtrip each.
My arm hurts because I’m patting myself on the back so much.
1.27.2009
Win a Nintendo DS Game
If you're into your Nintendo DS, read on:
Nintendo travelers alert! Win a DS game that is guaranteed to keep the kids busy while you drive (or read your book). Simply submit your own adventure story on TravelingMom.com and be entered to win. Hurry! Contest ends January 31.
http://travelingmom.com/blog/neopets-adventure-contest.html
I don't believe that there are a lot of submissions, so your chances are good.
1.12.2009
Wait a Minute: Backup!
You know you should, and yet, you don't. No, I'm not talking about essential fatty acids, I'm talking about backing up your data.
Imagine this scenario:
Your hard drive fails. You haven’t backed up your data because
A) you were too lazy,
B) you were too lazy or
C) you have been meaning to do it.
All of your financials, all of your emails, all of your contacts, all of your digital music and photos of your CHILDREN are lost forever. Oh wait! You could pay a company $750 to get that data back. Oh. They say that it actually can’t be done. It’s gone. Now you have to buy a new hard drive and totally reconfigure your computer and…
It’s a nightmare. And it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when. You can easily avoid this. There are many ways backup your data:
* You can get an extra hard drive, put it in your computer, and transfer the data.
* You can have the extra hard drive external to your computer, or
* You could backup online.
The simplest solution for the external hard drive is SimpleTech SimpleDrive. The software (StorageSync Backup) leads you through the setup, and once you’ve backed up the first time, the following backups will go much faster as it will be backing up only what is new or changed since the last time you did it. Some people love Simple Tech, some hate it. Let’s get to the good stuff…
My backup of choice is online backup. No more external hard drives, no more CDs and no more fiddling with backup software.
A company that backs up online elegantly and less expensively is Mozy. Mozy is an exciting (because it’s) FREE new software that lets you effortlessly, automatically and securely back up your data OFFSITE. The first 2 gigs are free, if you want unlimited gigs (um, that’s a lot of space!), it’s $5/month.
Good story: I told an acquaintance of mine heard about Mozy and she spent the five bucks a month for the big backup. TWO DAYS later, her hard drive failed! Kaput. Totally dead. No biggie, because she bought a new hard drive (for $80) and downloaded her backed up data from Mozy onto her new drive. This woman LOVES me. And I barely know her.
Here's how Mozy works:
Go to Mozy.com and click on "get mozy free." You will give them your email and create a password. In moments, you will receive an email from Mozy with a link to click. Once you've clicked on the link, you will be walked through a series of easy instructions to get backed up. That's it! If you choose, it can be a continuous backup, so when the software sees that you’re not active on the computer, it will backup your data securely because it’s encrypted.
Aaaah, the magic and mystery of online backup!
Imagine this scenario:
Your hard drive fails. You haven’t backed up your data because
A) you were too lazy,
B) you were too lazy or
C) you have been meaning to do it.
All of your financials, all of your emails, all of your contacts, all of your digital music and photos of your CHILDREN are lost forever. Oh wait! You could pay a company $750 to get that data back. Oh. They say that it actually can’t be done. It’s gone. Now you have to buy a new hard drive and totally reconfigure your computer and…
It’s a nightmare. And it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when. You can easily avoid this. There are many ways backup your data:
* You can get an extra hard drive, put it in your computer, and transfer the data.
* You can have the extra hard drive external to your computer, or
* You could backup online.
The simplest solution for the external hard drive is SimpleTech SimpleDrive. The software (StorageSync Backup) leads you through the setup, and once you’ve backed up the first time, the following backups will go much faster as it will be backing up only what is new or changed since the last time you did it. Some people love Simple Tech, some hate it. Let’s get to the good stuff…
My backup of choice is online backup. No more external hard drives, no more CDs and no more fiddling with backup software.
A company that backs up online elegantly and less expensively is Mozy. Mozy is an exciting (because it’s) FREE new software that lets you effortlessly, automatically and securely back up your data OFFSITE. The first 2 gigs are free, if you want unlimited gigs (um, that’s a lot of space!), it’s $5/month.
Good story: I told an acquaintance of mine heard about Mozy and she spent the five bucks a month for the big backup. TWO DAYS later, her hard drive failed! Kaput. Totally dead. No biggie, because she bought a new hard drive (for $80) and downloaded her backed up data from Mozy onto her new drive. This woman LOVES me. And I barely know her.
Here's how Mozy works:
Go to Mozy.com and click on "get mozy free." You will give them your email and create a password. In moments, you will receive an email from Mozy with a link to click. Once you've clicked on the link, you will be walked through a series of easy instructions to get backed up. That's it! If you choose, it can be a continuous backup, so when the software sees that you’re not active on the computer, it will backup your data securely because it’s encrypted.
Aaaah, the magic and mystery of online backup!
1.07.2009
What If Your House Burned Down To The Ground?
OK, admittedly, it’s not something you really want to think about. But, what if? Let’s just imagine that no one was home, but that you lost every material item that you owned. Insurance could cover a lot of your loss, sure. But how are you going to get your children’s birthday photos off of your ashy external hard drive, mommy?
Back up your data! That is the single best piece of advice I will ever give you. Back it up online, even if you have an external drive. For $5/month at Mozy, you can achieve peace of mind in case, god forbid, your house burned, or someone stole your computer or your external drive crashed at the same time as your internal drive. See what I mean? Five dollars a month is NOTHING! For an unlimited amount of data! Sister, that is the bargain of the new millennium.
1.03.2009
Just Tell Me The Answer! Cha Cha!
Have you been to Cha Cha? Here’s how it works: you text message or call via your mobile phone a burning question that you need answered immediately. (probably because you don’t have your computer handy, eh?) Within moments, you will get a text back on your phone with the answer. That’s it.
So, let’s say your in San Francisco for the week and you have no idea how to dress for the weather. Simply text your question to 242242 (spells ‘ChaCha’) or call 1-800-2ChaCha (800-224-2242) from your mobile phone to ask any question.
Or how about if you’re on a long road trip and you need a new joke to entertain your kids? Text cha cha! Truly! They will send you a kid-appropriate joke.
Now if your mobile could only babysit…
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