IRS

The U.S. tax season still has a few more days to go before it's over (for punctual filers anyway), but it appears many Americans have already done most of the work needed to file their personal financials.

Research firm Nielsen today released its findings on tax-related-site usage during the busy season. Not surprisingly, given past history, February was the most active site among Americans, with one-quarter of all U.S.-based Web users heading over to tax-related sites. All told, the 53 million Americans who went to tax sites in February viewed more than 1.4 billion pages.… Read more

Be extra careful on the Internet if you live in Arizona, the local legislators may soon make it a Class 3 felony to be a "troll."

House Bill 2549 has already made its way through both houses and is waiting for the signature of Governor Jan Brewer. If passed, a minimum sentence of 2.5 years will be handed down to non-dangerous offenders that use any electronic device in a lews or lascivious act." Head over to Governor Brewer's Facebook page and send a message of protest!… Read more

Sorry to burst your bubble, folks, but it is fully tax season. So, if you haven't gotten your W-2s, 1099s, and 1040s all compiled and organized, you'd best get moving.

In any case, here are a few tax apps that you should check out, no matter where you are in the tedious filing process. Download them and enjoy. They will definitely make your life a bit easier. And who knows? They might even make your tax-filing experience fun! Maybe.

TaxCaster (Android | iOS) If you're not quite ready to file, but you want to see what your return … Read more

For the past several years, TurboTax has impressed us with its clear language and simple step-by-step tax prep, and Intuit's offering for the 2011 tax year is no exception. Whether you're an experienced taxpayer or you're fairly new to the system, TurboTax can help you file.

The first thing I should point out is that TurboTax comes in four versions--Basic, Deluxe, Premier, and Home & Business--each of which offers both an online prep option or a software download. All of the online apps let you start a single e-file for free, while the downloads cost a bit … Read more

For the past several years, TurboTax has impressed us with its clear language and simple step-by-step tax prep, and Intuit's offering for the 2011 tax year is no exception. Whether you're an experienced taxpayer or you're fairly new to the system, TurboTax can help you file.

The first thing I should point out is that TurboTax comes in four versions--Basic, Deluxe, Premier, and Home & Business--each of which offers both an online prep option or a software download. All of the online apps let you start a single e-file for free, while the downloads cost a bit … Read more

It's that time of year again: tax season. For many of us, the constant visits to the IRS Where's My Refund site are in full swing, checking to see when our refund is going to be deposited into our bank account.

Early last year the IRS released a mobile app, allowing people to track their refund status while on the go.

From the mobile app users can track the status of their refund, view videos on the IRS YouTube channel, request old tax records, and contact the IRS directly with any questions.

To track the status of your … Read more

Intuit's TaxCaster app can quickly estimate your federal tax refund based on just a few bits of personal information. Even for the most inexperienced taxpayer, it's incredibly simple to understand and use.

At the top of the screen is a meter that displays your estimated tax refund. As you make your way through the app, it considers your answers and recalculates its estimate accordingly. And of course, the more answers you provide, the more accurate its estimate gets.

Three main tabs sit just below the meter, each housing a different category of questions: About You; Total Income; and … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Vizio is not a company that wants to be pigeonholed.

Best known for its TVs, the company threw us all a curveball at last year's Consumer Electronics Show when it showed off an Android tablet and Android phone, both of which doubled as universal remotes.

For CES 2012, Vizio's surprise announcement was a line of laptop computers. But the manufacturer is also quietly teasing its second Android tablet, the VTAB 3010 (also known as the M Series).

Unlike its first foray, the VTAB 1008, this new model has an iPad-like 10-inch screen instead of an 8-inch display. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The highest-end plasma and LED TVs Samsung announced at CES yesterday offer a feature called Smart Interaction, which among other functions allows volume and channel changes at a word or gesture. Most TV watchers, however, use a cable box and not their TVs to change channels.

The solution is an IR blaster, a device designed to send infrared signals (just like a remote control) to operate the box. The little device pictured above handles that duty for Samsung's 2012 Smart Interaction models, namely the UNES7500, UNES8000, and PNE8000 series.

The TVs communicate with the blaster via Bluetooth, as … Read more