Check

I consider myself a geeky sort of gal with a good understanding of technical gadgets. Technology just makes sense to me. I tell people I was raised not only on a farm, but also on a computer. My dad is a mechanical engineer. When I was a child he taught Computer Aided Crafting (CAD) at a local college, and sometimes he'd take me with him. TSTC's Computer Lab is where I was first introduced to the wonders of technology.

Fast forward a few decades and here I am, twenty-five years old, a business owner and manager, graphics designer for web and print, web hosting provider, and blogger. I do some short run printing for local clients and I modify Wordpress themes for people all over the world.

Today's technology not only allows me to work from anywhere, it keeps me in touch with clients, friends, and family. This is why the Palm Pre is a perfect smartphone for me to test drive. (Thanks to CNET and the Sprint Now Network for the phone and 3 months of service!) … Read more

If you're into toolbars, Internet Explorer, and Google, the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer does more than give IE a mere shot of nitro. With a set of features both useful and self-promoting, Google Toolbar 6 feels like it adds eight cylinders to IE's engine, turning it into a powerhouse of personalized functionality for both IE 8 users and those who are stuck on earlier versions.

There's the dedicated Google search window, the effective pop-up blocker, the form autofiller, the translation utility, the spell checker, and the map tool that automatically links addresses in Web pages to … Read more

They're here--sort of. Twitter has launched the early beta phase of its "verified accounts" program, a background-check for celebrities and other prominent users of the service to weed out impersonators and fake accounts. If they pass the test, they get a graphic "badge" much like a PayPal verified account's.

"We're starting with well-known accounts that have had problems with impersonation or identity confusion," an explanation from Twitter read. "We may verify more accounts in the future, but because of the cost and time required, we're only testing this feature … Read more

Checkbook for Excel is a truly easy-to-use checkbook application that can help alleviate the anxiety of keeping track of expenses, deposits, service fees, and other details of keeping a checking account on the money.

It's so much better than your average paper checkbook register, Checkbook for Excel can be customized to track expenses; flag tax-related events; manage one's PayPal expenses, deposits and fees; prepare and print reports; even print checks. All you have to do is set up a ledger sheet for each financial account you wish to manage. It is here you will be prompted to provide … Read more

Checkbook Ease Freeware will help you take charge of both your checkbook and budget. You will have to spend a considerable amount of time manually entering your bank information, but once you're done it, it'll give you a clear overview of your finances.

This free program is impressive with its practically limitless options, but the number may overwhelm the less experienced. Users are shown a large screen outlining all their accounts in the upper right where bank account, credit, and loan balances are showcased. Dominating the bottom of the screen are recent transactions and to the right are … Read more

Personal Checkbook Advantage offers to help users keep a digital checkbook and a permanent record of their transactions, but it's lacking some useful features and leaves much to be desired in the design department.

This freeware program has a basic interface that is so bare-bones it is a little difficult to navigate at first. With a short list of blue command buttons down the left side of the simple screen, users must choose between Register, Report, Setup, and Utilities. None of which sound much like checking options. Clicking on each showcases submenus of commands, most just as confusing. Once … Read more

This supposedly free program quickly scans your PC to find any problems that might put you at risk. We found it ironic that PC Health Check set off our spyware program during install and then proceeded to add numerous program links without permission. We weren't all that impressed by its capabilities, either.

PC Health Check's user interface is easy to use because there's only one real option. All you have to do is click the Scan button. The program very quickly scanned and identified problems on our PC. We were impressed by its findings, but then we … Read more

DownTester is a portable app that tests download speeds from HTTP and FTP URLs. It's unobtrusive and gets the job done, but also comes with some useful features that make it worth downloading.

The Advanced Options menu is reasonably robust. You can configure the tests to conclude and move on to the next URL based on time or bytes downloaded. Both of these are user configurable, giving the test broad powers to judge how fast data is flowing to you. You can also set the program to retry upon failure and configure the number of times that repetition should … Read more

For a mere $39, the Body Check Ball sounds like a dodgy proposition in terms of claiming to calculate your body fat. More so when it states that it can measure your bone density and muscle ratio, all by holding this in your palms. No "Om" chant necessary.

Instead, true to its Japanese origins, the Body Check Ball employs good old technology. A pair of electrodes pass currents from your hand to the ball, which then churns out your health stats onto the LCD panel. Amazingly, this stores up to 10 user profiles and even sports a clock … Read more