Read "Fuel prices have workers eyeing telecommuting - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com" [Productivity Tool]

After just putting another $60 in my van that use to fill up after $36, I thought I'd pause for a few moments and share an article on MSNBC.com about revisiting the idea of telecommuting.

Fuel prices have workers eyeing telecommuting - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com

Read "Instant Messaging for Dummies" [IM Tool]

As I surfed the Internet on a rainy Sunday morning, I ran across Christine Louise Hohlbaum's article, "Instant Messaging for Dummies." Instant messaging has been embraced quickly and widely by the Generation X and younger--it many ways, it has replaced the phone as the communication tool of choice for the teenage set. Though not without its own pitfalls (like the current expectation that someone can be reached at anytime and that he/she will respond "instantly"), instant messaging is here to stay and picking up steam--read Ms. Hohlbaum's article and join the instant messaging revolution on YOUR own terms ;-)

Read "Instant Messaging for Dummies."

Produce a quick & easy podcast using Propaganda [Podcast Tool]

I discovered this cool podcast tool browsing through the shelves of Best Buys one weekend.

Propaganda, a product of MixMeister Technology, is an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop program that let's you produce your very own professional-quality audio shows.

Click the audioclip below to hear a sample of my visit with Cameron and Brandon on 04/02/06 to the San Francisco Exploratorium--a neat place to visit, by the way!



I recorded all the clips using my trusty digital recorder, then just pieced them together in Propaganda adding transitions and background music clips.

Call phones from your PC using Yahoo! Messenger with Voice 7.5 [Phone Tool]

Incredible!! Yahoo!, my all-time favorite web portal has really upped the ante on cool services by introducing the ability to call phones from the PC using its newly upgraded Yahoo! Messenger with Voice 7.5.

For $29 a year (or $2.99 per month), you can get unlimited "incoming" calls from people trying to reach you by phone--you actually get to pick a phone number (using whatever area code you'd like). Just attach a headset w/ mic (I purchased a $15 bargain, the Yahoo! ready Internet Chat Headset from Logitech, from WalMart) and you're ready to go. To make outgoing calls, you need to set up a $10 or $25 credit that Yahoo! then deducts from depending on the VERY cheap rate per minute--US domestic rate is $0.02 per minute!!

I started using it yesterday and conducted test experiments with Cameron and Alexandra--works GREAT!

Now, just imagine running conference calls from your local WiFi-enabled cafe--this has a LOT of possibilities. ;-)

Click on Yahoo! Messenger with Voice to download.

Use Free WiFi Spot to locate free wireless Internet hotspots [WiFi Tool]

If you're hooked on wireless Internet like I am, you're gonna need to use Free WiFi Spot to help you locate all the free hotspots locally and throughout all the states.

Free Wifi Spot - Keepin' it Real, Keepin' it Free