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For anyone who routinely scopes out Wi-Fi hotspots in hopes of finding some free broadband action, here's a gadget you gotta get: the WiFi Detecting Watch. Just like it sounds, it's a wristwatch (complete with countdown timer, alarm, calendar, etc.) with a built-in Wi-Fi detector. Just press a butt...
While I'm not quite as excited about the new online scheduler Presdo as the folks over at TechCrunch, I will say that it's pretty darn simple, and it seems to integrate seamlessly with Google Calendar. It also has Google's intuitive understanding of what you mean when you use natural language; fo...
Whenever I migrate to a new PC (it happens more often than you might think), I immediately install the following five programs. I can't live without them, and neither should you. Copernic Desktop Search I don't know why desktop-search utilities have all but vanished, but thank goodness Copern...
In an interesting display of cross-platform love, Microsoft just released a BlackBerry applet that taps into its voice-operated Tellme service. Here's how it works: You press and hold your phone's Call button, then say something like "coffee," "travel," or a business name. Tellme finds local result...
Windows is a gunk magnet: The more you use it, the more it gets bogged down with the digital equivalent of dust bunnies. Fortunately, it's easy enough to clear out all that performance-sapping detritus: Just run CCleaner 2.0. This mega-popular system tuner cleans out temp files, browser histori...
Zoho continues to one-up Google Docs. (Actually, they're more like four or five "up" at this point.) Zoho Sheet, the company's Web-based spreadsheet, just added over a dozen new features, including support for Visual Basic macros (the same kind used in Excel) and pivot tables/charts (which are alrea...
If you're considering replacing your bulky laptop with a smaller one, or simply want another, tiny notebook to take on short business trips, you're probably confused by onslaught of new ultraportables making their way into the market. Yes, you've probably heard about the expensive ones: the impos...
Foxit Software just released a new version of freeware PDF viewer Foxit Reader, adding tabbed document browsing to an already robust feature set. In case you're not familiar with it, Foxit Reader is perhaps the most popular alternative to Adobe Reader, as it offers much of the same functionality...
I know not many of you are Google Docs users (according to our recent poll, anyway), but maybe more of you will take advantage of the Web-based office suite when you learn that it's now possible to access your documents even when you're not connected to the Internet (like on trains and airplanes, fo...
We knew Comodo had a killer free firewall (the aptly named Comodo Firewall Pro), but who knew the company offered a free backup utility as well? Comodo Backup lets you archive specified files and folders to any number of destinations: external and network drives, blank discs, an FTP server, and s...
You know we're all about saving paper here at Business Hacks, so we appreciated this smart, simple tip from Productivity Cafe: The next time you're exchanging faxes with someone, reuse the cover sheet instead of printing out a new one. Suppose you get a fax from Bob. After you sign the docume...
Need a few sheets of graph paper? How about dot paper? College-ruled? Before you run to the local office-supply store and pay for more than you need, head to the aptly named Printable Paper site. It's home to hundreds of paper templates you can download and print free of charge. The PDF-form...
There are a couple of awesome deals I want to let you know about, both of which seem to be pretty legit. First, Mozy--one of my favorite easy data backup tools--is offering 25% off its one and two-year unlimited backup plans, meaning that you will only have to shell out $40 bucks for a year (or $...
Are you the type who leaves rambling, endless voice-mail messages? That's not the way to make a good impression on clients, co-workers, or the public at large. The Art of Manliness offers 10 tips for leaving the perfect voice-mail message, including these two: State your name first. You would th...
Speaking of international communications (see David's recent post about free overseas text-messaging), Skype just announced a plan that offers unlimited international calling to 34 countries for just $9.95 per month. That could save small businesses a small fortune. For those unfamiliar with it, ...
