We use email for more than just messaging people. These other things could be reminders for things such as paying bills, or even relying on them to act as tasks to accomplish. Unfortunately, outside of filing messages in a to do label or folder or marking them as unread, it’s difficult to stay on top of them. Especially since we all get so much email (spam messages aside) that it gets to be a task just even reviewing messages. Announcing a solution: Boomerang.

Boomerang is a plugin for Gmail that allows you to automatically send prewritten messages at a specific time. Also, it can easily set messages to return to your inbox as new messages (boomerang) after 2 hours, 4 hours, 2 weeks or any other time. It can even have new messages that you are composing come back as reminders to follow up with someone you may have not heard back from. In other words, if you’re sending a message to someone and hoping for them to respond within 2 days, you can have the message come back to you as a reminder to check in on them after 2 days. Furthermore, you can even have the boomerang message NOT come back if the person responds prior to your reminder. This ultimately reduces clutter and allows you to be thorough in your work.

What you need

1. Gmail (or Google Apps)
2. Chrome or Firefox web browsers
3. The Boomerang Plugin

See it in action – Watch the Video

How much

Boomerang is free for Gmail users who only need it for 10 messages or less in one month. If you require more messages to be boomeranged, then you can sign up for their $4.99/month plan (gmail users only). If you’re a Google Apps user (using gmail with your personal website), then you have a $14.99/month plan available with unlimited boomerangs. More details can be found here.

Conclusion

We’ve been using Boomerang for the last couple of weeks and have been very impressed. This is a great tool for ensuring you get a get return on your email for business and personal use. More for business.

This is a common question we get asked by many of you. Since it’s back to school time, let’s focus on what makes them so special.

About each platform
A PC is manufactured by many different companies and it runs the Microsoft Windows operating system. Manufacturers such as HP, Dell, Acer, Sony, and more produce these desktop and laptop computers for use with Microsoft Windows. Windows is what most of us are familiar with. Windows has a start bar at the bottom of the screen and a handy start button to launch programs. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 20 years,  you’ve already seen a Windows computer at offices, schools, and homes. Windows computers account for almost 90% of all computers used today. As a direct result, most software and hardware are compatible with PCs.

Macs are unique in both, hardware and software. The hardware and software are produced by one company: Apple. Macs have a bar similar to Windows on the bottom of the screen, but it’s called a dock and allows you to have frequently used programs appear for easy access. The environment is similar to windows, but has subtle differences. Despite having less than 10% market share, Apple has managed to drop it’s unique “for creative people” status, and enter a variety of environments. Macs are now used by students, business professionals and, of course families. Most peripherals, such as printers and other devices, and software are Mac compatible. Since Macs are produced by one company, their tighter integration results in a quality product. Battery life, performance, and design are all as good or better than most PCs. They’re also much slimmer and lighter than their PC counterparts.

Advice: If you’re considering buying for a student, make sure the school’s software or applications are compatible with your preference. Some may require you to buy one over the other based on curriculum. Most schools allow either choices.

Security
Computers are susceptible to viruses and malware. Viruses and malware can reduce performance, open access to your files for outsiders, or be used for other harm. PCs tend to be open to these problems very often. Macs, until recently, have been well protected, even without security software. Unfortunately, recent issues reveal that Macs are also susceptible, but fortunately not as bad. Most of these threats exist because of simple numbers. Since there are more PC users, virus and malware creators tend to create infections for PCs. This is still the case today. Young adults and children tend to get into more trouble than adults because of their higher downloading activities. Macs will reduce your child’s chances of getting an infection.

Advice: If you find yourself having to consistently remove viruses and malware, then you’re better off with a Mac.  

Price
PCs cost less than Macs. In some cases, a comparable Mac can cost almost twice that of a PC. A good PC laptop can cost about $600-$700, whereas an equivalent Mac will cost $999. A difference is definitely noticeable. The Mac is lighter, slimmer, and manufactured in a special unibody metal. The PC is the opposite and has a plastic casing. However, it is important to note that if your computer is plagued by infections often, a PC will cost you just as much as a Mac when you consider the amount of repairs.

Advice: If you’re on a budget, a PC is your best bet. Apple does offer students and some businesses reduced pricing, a free printer, and other discounts.

Conclusion
Both platforms have their benefits. A PC is widely used and therefore most compatible, but this widespread use also means more security risks. Macs tend to be more secure and have a better set of hardware features, but at a higher price.

Need more buying advice? We provide it for free.  Just click on the “Help” button on the right side of this page.

Check out the post here:

http://peekskill.patch.com/blog_posts/top-5-things-your-business-website-should-have

Every time you buy something from a store, the cashier scans the barcode and the register instantly finds the price and adds it to the total. Wouldn’t it be cool, if the register also found and showed the prices of other store’s? There’s an app for that!

PriceCheck

Of course a store will never show you it’s competitor’s pricing – Unless they are trying to show that they have the lowest prices, but your smart phone will!

Best of all, it’s free and easy. All you need is an iPhone and an app named PriceCheck by Amazon.com. This app not only lets you scan the barcode of an item, but you can also take a picture of the item and even say the items name. And then this app will find the lowest price. It couldn’t get any easier than that!

Click here to get it now!

HP’s changing the printer industry all over again. This time, they’re making it small, quiet, and…living room friendly ?

I tested this printer at a local retailer and was impressed by it, so I shot a video of some of its coolest features:

Key features:

• Sexy design
• Very low noise when printing
• Motorized touch screen and output tray (opens and closes on its own – see video above)
• Stylish for the living room (as presumed)
• ePrint – print from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch
• ePrint – printer gets its own e-mail address, so anyone who has the e-mail can simply print to your printer by just sending a message to that e-mail address (like a fax!)

Also, despite its small size, it does have a scanner built in as well. No fax,unfortunately, but faxes are useful as the yellow pages today.

Check out the product page from Amazon by clicking here.

What does a small orange cone have to do with watching videos on your computer? EVERYTHING!

What does that orange cone represent?

That orange cone is the icon of a great software called VLC Media Player, a lite alternative to Apple’s QuickTime and Microsoft’s Windows Media Player(WMP).

What does it offer that QuickTime and WMP don’t?

Remember the last time you tried to watch a clip in QuickTime or WMP and it gave you an error saying it can’t play the video? This usually occurs because QuickTime and WMP only support a few types of media files. VLC on the other hand supports

almost every type of media file on the internet!

Recap:

VLC is:

1. Lightweight
2. Fast
3. Plays almost every type of media file

It is also free to download and install.
Click here to read more or download.

This is a handy little service (and device!) by a new startup called Square. Whether you’re a small business or just an individual trying to get paid for something, you can now do it fast and easy by accepting a credit card using your smartphone. Click on the “read more” link to see a great video of it in use today.

Cost

Square sends you the smart phone credit card reader for free after you sign up on their website. They charge 2.75% for any transaction that involves a swipe. You can also accept credit cards manually (without swipe) but the fee is increased to 3.5% + a 15¢ fee per transaction.

Features

• Swipe credit cards
• Manually enter credit card numbers
• Enter frequently sold items – including pictures, prices, and taxes
• Sign to authorize purchases using the payees fingers

Compatibility

Android based smartphones+ iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

Details on supported phones can be found here.

More Media

Signing using Square up

Check out this funny video:

This is called a QR Code. Think of it as a new version of a bar code.

What is a QR Code?
QR stands for Quick Response because it allows the content to be decoded at high speed with a smart phone. Originally for the use in car manufacturing, the QR code is a two-dimensional bar code created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994, and is now the Asian standard and quickly becoming the global standard.

Marketing Popularity:
QR codes are commonly becoming marketing tools because of their ability to share information quickly. With a QR code, you can send anyone to a particular website to participate in a game, fill out a survey, or do just about anything you can do on the web without having to type a long URL or click a link in an e-mail. Below are some great examples of where QR codes are used.

Internally, we put QR codes on our business cards. This allows anyone with a smart phone and a QR code app (many are free on iPhone or Android) to quickly go to our website and request support. It's also a great conversation starter.

Jimmy Fallon using a QR code to reveal the location of secret special content

Large QR code on a building for the movie 28 Weeks Later in London, UK.

QR Code in Magazines allows you to go directly to the product's website

From various media

Do you want to make your own QR Code for FREE? Go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

Lets Jump to the Conclusion. Below my recommendations is details and special features of all the top browsers.

For the Casual User: Google Chrome

For those who jump on only to check email, facebook and the occasional article or google search. Chrome is good for you because you can do almost everything with blazing fast speed.

For the Heavy User: Mozilla Firefox

If you are on the computer for hours and want more than just the basic web surfing experience then Mozilla Firefox is your choice. Secure, customizable, and compatible, Firefox’s vast collection of themes, extensions, and apps allow you to make surfing the web more enjoyable.

For those who hate change: Internet Explorer 9

If you are currently using Internet Explorer 8 and aren’t comfortable changing your web browser and honestly just don’t care then at least update your current browser to the new IE9. It keeps a similar interface but has the benefits of improved security and performance.

Below is a nice video that explains the difference between an operating system, search engine, and a web browser.

There are many web browsers and each has their pros and cons.  The biggest by market share since February 2011 are:

Mozilla Firefox (42.4%)

Microsoft Internet Explorer (26.6%)

Google Chrome (24.1%)

Apple Safari (4.1%)

The Norwegian Opera (2.5%)

Mozilla Firefox 4

Let’s start with the current market leader, Mozilla Firefox.  Firefox’s rise to the top was a result of Internet Explorer’s (IE) epic fall from its 88% market dominance in March of 2003 when Netscape, Mozilla’s spiritual predecessor, had 8%. A lot has chanced since because in December 2008 Mozilla overtook IE as the market leader and hasn’t looked back since.  Firefox did this with creative plug-ins, effective security and the most customizable platform while staying very compatible with current web standards.

A lot of customizations can make Firefox a heavy browser that uses a lot of system resources and as a result it slows down older machines.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer is BACK! If you don’t believe me then get the new IE9 and try it for yourself.  I didn’t want to believe it either but I just downloaded it this week and had to rewrite my entire blog.  Big Blue is back and if IE8 was Vista (slow, buggy, insecure) then IE9 is Windows 7 (fast, reliable, safe).

Look at this speed:

Essential to Microsoft Windows, IE’s fame to popularity was often forced upon web surfers as the default browser on the most popular operating system.  Internet Explorer once was the best browser but as new competitors came out IE’s major flaws were exposed and people soon deflected.  The most recent version of IE 9 takes major steps to catch up to the new advances in web technology.

Internet Explorer 9 is a vast improvement over IE8 but it at best it equals in certain aspects Firefox and Chrome but doesn’t beat them overall and doesn’t sport enough new innovations for most who deflected to come back to camp Microsoft, but it’s a great first step.

Google Chrome 10

Let me keep this short and sweet.  For the casual web surfer who wants to get on their favorite sites fast then the current speed king, Google Chrome, is for you.  Even though Google’s entry into the browser wars was late, they are a strong opponent.  Google choose the minimalist path while focusing on speed and security.

Apple Safari 4

Apple’s Safari started off as an exclusive mac product but gained popularity as it was bundled with the insanely popular iTunes software.  Apple pulled a Microsoft in that aspect but it also done a good job in making Safari fast, safe and creative.  Safari’s speed comes from its minimalistic design.