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Google Wallet Takes on PayPal with Send Money Function

Remember checks? Some of us still use them on occasion. They are those paper things we have to fill out by hand and use to pay for stuff, mostly rent and maybe a birthday gift for the nephew. Just like the U.S. Postal Service is rapidly being replaced by e-mail, checks (and, in some cases, cash) are ... More >>

R.I.P. Hotmail: Five Classic E-Mail Addresses to Honor a Fallen Comrade

As of last week, Microsoft migrated all Hotmail accounts to their new Outlook.com platform ending a run that has lasted nearly 16 years. It was a classic. Yes, it was abandoned by most years ago. Sure, when the box wasn't filled with spam, it was filled with semi-lurid requests from porn sites and p ... More >>

Seven Things You Should Never, Ever, EVER Send Via E-Mail

Recently, the IRS has made a broad claim that communications via e-mail are not directly protected under privacy laws. This would seem to be counter to many of the discussions Congress has had over the past few years about tightening up those same privacy concerns. Whatever the outcome of these on ... More >>

"Feds Order 1.6 Billion Bullets" -- New Spam E-Mail Goes After FEMA Conspiracy Theorists and Sports Fans?

Spammers don't care about your political causes or your beliefs. They prey on the innocent and the naive, which is why a recent spate of e-mails I've received using conspiracy theory scare tactics does not surprise me in the least. I am not a "prepper," nor do I fear the end of the world or being j ... More >>

Internetocalypse! Facebook and Gmail Go Down in the Same Afternoon

When I read yesterday that Facebook was down, only hours after Gmail servers had gone dark, I actually laughed a bit to myself because I realized I was reading it on Twitter. I began to imagine what would happen if it also had server issues. What would the world do...go back to MySpace? Then, it da ... More >>

Google Discontinues Free Version of Google Apps for Business

Most people could care less about Gmail outside of the free e-mail accounts so many of us use on a daily basis, but one of the best kept secrets of Gmail was the fact that Google provided a free version of its Google Apps for business that allowed small businesses to create up to seven users under a ... More >>

Some Advice for General Petraeus

Some Real World Techie Advice for Petraeus, His Wife, His Mistress and Cheaters in General

I'm no Dear Abby (she's shorter than me), but reading the sordid details of the David Petraeus affair and how the whole thing blew up in his face causing him to resign from the CIA helped to confirm the fact that way too many people do not understand technology and need some help. Oh, sure, my first ... More >>

Alternatives to Five of the Pricier Software Titles

The Business Software Alliance announced last week that it had come to an agreement with local business Affordable Power, LP, to settle legal claims that the company pirated software titles. According to the release: As part of the settlement, Affordable Power agreed to pay $150,000 to settle legal ... More >>

Life in the Cloud: The Complications and Conveniences of a Connected World

Over the last year or so, I've grown increasingly aware of and interested in the idea of life without a hard drive. My existence is, admittedly, a bit unique. I spend a lot of time on my laptop; in fact, it is my main computer. When I'm in my office, it is connected to a big monitor for convenience, ... More >>

App of the Week: Google Chrome Finally Available for iPhone

App: Google Chrome Platform: iPhone, iPad Website: App Store Cost: Free With all the upgrades to iOS over the years, one thing that has lagged has been browser technology. The built in Safari app for iPhone is fine, but has a number of limitations that make it a less than desirable option for peopl ... More >>

"Reply All" & the Five Other Dumbest/Most Annoying Things People Do with E-Mail

Hard to believe, but the very first electronic messages were around 50 years ago. It wasn't the sophisticated, snail mail-replacing juggernaut most of us use every day, but it existed. As it has grown, communication has shifted and things none of us ever dreamed were necessary -- emoticons, for exam ... More >>

The Good, the Bad and the Spam: The Complexities of Switching to Gmail

My aunt called me on Tuesday. She just got an iPhone. Admittedly, she is not technically inclined and was in need of a little technical support. Apparently, when she deleted e-mails she received on her computer in Outlook, they still showed up in her inbox on her phone. I diagnosed the problem, but ... More >>

App of the Week: SugarSync and DropBox, Two Great iCloud Alternatives

App: Dropbox Platform: Most smart phones Website: Dropbox.com Cost: Free (includes 2GB storage) App: SugarSync Platform: Most smart phones Website: SugarSync.com Cost: Free (includes 5GB storage) There has been an awful lot of talk about cloud computing over the last couple years, particularly sin ... More >>

Collusion: Firefox Extension Tracks Who's Tracking You

When it comes to online security, most of us want to feel safe in the knowledge that our normal Internet behavior won't sacrifice our privacy. We all want to believe that when we surf the Web, the only person who knows what we are looking at are the people in view of the computer monitor and anyone ... More >>

Google Combines Services and Privacy Documents

​Over the past month, I've gotten multiple notices from Google about an update to their privacy documentation and, apparently, it's caused quite a little furor. As usual with any large tech company that commands so much of our data, any change is viewed with skepticism. When Facebook has a pol ... More >>

If the Wikipedia Boycott of SOPA Spread: Seven Examples of Horror

​With Wikipedia boycotting the Stop Online Piracy Act today by shutting itself down for 24 hours, the powers that be at the crowdsourced information giant hope we all get freaked out enough by their absence that we tell Congress we think SOPA should not be passed. If you don't know what SOPA i ... More >>

Five Hurdles Google Still Faces in the War Between the Social Networks

​Google launched to much fanfare in June and there were all sorts of people proclaiming either its superiority to Facebook or what an utter failure it would be. Since June, the social networking platform has added 25 million users, but there isn't a whole lot of buzz about it and using it sti ... More >>

The Five Biggest Google Fails and Wins

​Google launched with much fanfare recently and, quickly, the reviews poured in. We even wrote about the things we thought Google would need to do to beat Facebook and we have since had a chance to look around inside the social networking platform. It does appear to be easier to use than Fac ... More >>

App of the Week: Five Things Google Will Need to Best Facebook

​Google began allowing invites into its allegedly cool social network (simply named Google ) last week to fairly glowing reviews. The site aims to capitalize on the wildly popular Gmail e-mail platform and other integrated services already offered by Google including its cloud music service an ... More >>

Can You Spot the Real Meat?

Here is George Washington demanding shaved meat from a fellow patriot. (No, really.)​What's more patriotic for a red-blooded American to do on the Fourth of July than eat meat? Grill it, barbecue it, broil it, fry it, tie it to the end of a bottle rocket and shoot it in to the sky (don't reall ... More >>

Amazon Crash Hits Reddit, Others: Social Media Armageddon

Now get some work done.​The spinning of the earth has nearly come to a standstill thanks to major server problems with Amazon.com's Web Services, a cloud-computing platform used by dozens of very popular social networking sites. "The cloud," for you luddites, means stuff that's saved in the ... More >>

App of the Week: Alfred

A quick search using Alfred yielded really helpful results.​App: Alfred Platforms: Mac OSX Web site: Alfredapp.com Cost: Free (Power Pack add-on for about $20) Normally, this space is reserved for apps for the phone and the occasional Web site. This week, we're going to talk directly to M ... More >>

Your Worst Kitchen Nightmare: Gordon Ramsay Coming to Houston

​The more tolerable (but only by a sliver) of Gordon Ramsay's "reality" television shows, Kitchen Nightmares, is coming to town. Get your earplugs ready now. A casting call went out this week from Jen Apploff, casting producer for the show, in search of Houston restaurants that are in dire ne ... More >>

A Wealth of Options at Brown Bag Deli

​One of the reasons I enjoy Brown Bag Deli so much is having options. Yes, it's a locally owned sandwich shop (brought to you by the same folks as Barnaby's), so you can feel good about supporting the community. Yes, they use all recyclable materials. Yes, the bread is baked fresh in house. Y ... More >>

An Ancient Impulse

Portraiture is alive and well.

Lunchwalla Makes Planning a Group Meal Far Less Painful

​No, it doesn't cook all the food for you and transport your friends and family to the same place instantaneously. But what Lunchwalla does do -- and do well -- is offer a platform for you, the constant and intrepid planner, to invite a group to lunch (or dinner) with much less hassle than oth ... More >>

Free Yourself From the Shackles of the Internet!

​You groan as you hit snooze on your iPhone or BlackBerry's alarm, then you resume the ritual of checking your text messages, Gmail, and Twitter with bleary orbs. You drag yourself outta bed, hastily shower, pull anything that's unwrinkled and clean onto your limbs, and scurry to your car to a ... More >>

Social Distortion: Twitter Is Your Friend for the Weekend

​In a sprawling metropolis like Houston, how the hell do you decide what to do on the weekends?  Sure, you could subscribe to the latest newsletter for every single entertainment venue that mildly interests you in the region.  'Cause that totally worked in 2002.  So what if it' ... More >>

Social Distortion: Surf's Up, Go Catch the (Google) Wave

​Remember how you once clamored to be one of the first to have a Gmail account, way, way back in the mid-2000s?  Well, dust off your longboard, gremmy, 'cause the Google surf's up once again, dude.  Ever the splash-maker, Google announced this past week that on September 30th, they ... More >>

Comcast Aside

KTRK, License Plate Frames, City Council, Bun B and Google

KTRK has a "Meet the Rapist!" contest