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1 PC, multiple users, plus headlines that will save you money

October 18th, 2008, 8:07 am by

Deals and freebiesSince I can’t get to every story out there, I compile a list of money-saving stories to give you something to read on the weekends. I’ve been tracking money-saving tech headlines for a few months now and in the past week, there have been a ton. Most are just common sense tips, which we probably could all be reminded about. 

This week’s collection:

NComputing’s solution lets multiple users share a single PC and save money and electricity (The Nation) Looks at NComputing, in Redwood City, is pitching a PC subscription plan. Multiple people share one one computer through a virtualization process.  Each person, however, must have their own keyboard, mouse and monitor. But all are connected to the same PC. 

Six money-saving secrets to help stretch your tech budget (ZDNet) Buy refurbished hardware, get educational discounts, watch out for hidden costs — not a bad post.

Money-Saving Office Tech (Forbes) — Focuses on free and discounted software for wrting, spreadsheets and other office-type activities.

How to save money and stay tech-savvy in tight times (Austin American Statesmen) Mentions comparison shopping, cheap/free software and cutting back on some monthly tech expenses.

Money-saving tips for home-based entrepreneurs (The Street) – Do-it-yourself, outsource and barter.

78 Ways for Your Small Business to Save Money in this Economy (CRM) Categorizes tips into advertising, overhead, office items, insurance, travel and technology.

Save Money, Fire Your PR Agency (SitePoint) As the author points out, “…for many web 2.0 startups, PR is a luxury, not a necessity.”

Save money on groceries (ABC News) Not very techie, but several tips for the grocery-shopping crowd.

This week’s Gadgetress posts you may have missed:

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This week’s headlines to help you save money

August 23rd, 2008, 11:45 am by

Alt+Save: Deals and freebiesSaving money is definitely on the brain for people these days. I scour the web daily to see what others have to say. Instead of keeping these goodies to myself, I’ve decided to compile a post each week with stuff that can help all of us.

Here’s a free way to save on your wireless plan (St. Louis Post Dispatch) Review of CUBcellphonesaver.com.

Save green as you go green (CBS News) Money-saving tips from solar outdoor lighting to laundry fresheners.

Make 3D images with your own camera (The Times UK) Photosynth, a free application from Microsoft, creates interactive panoramas with photos from a standard digital camera.

Why can’t Generation Y save money? (Foster Folly News) Mentions Save252 (www.save252.com), which allows people to put $1 into a retirement or bank account for 252 days a year.

And one for those thinking green:

‘Green’ gadgets or greenwashing? (InternetNews.com) If you actually want to help the environment, then buy consumer electronics that are super high-end and built to last.

And don’t forget to check out this week’s posts from Gadgetress:

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Tech headlines that will save you money

August 16th, 2008, 11:38 am by

Alt+Save: Deals and freebiesSaving money is definitely on the brain for people these days. I scour the web daily to see what others have to say. Instead of keeping these goodies to myself, I’ve decided to compile a post each week with stuff that can help all of us.

Top Five Free iPhone Productivity Apps - PC World’s favorite iPhone apps let you aggregate various online accounts, back up notes and photos, create to-do lists, look up local businesses, and surf the Web offline–all without spending a dime.

Money Matters: Studies suggest why some people save while others spend (U.S. News & World Report)

Energy-efficient living – Homeowners seeing the rewards in specially designed homes that use less energy and water (Chronicle Herald in Nova Scotia)

New air conditioner could save money — Making the right choice when replacing an old air conditioner (Sun Herald in Mississippi)

Smart Meters save money for everyone — New utility meters let consumers adjust their energy consumption. (New York Daily News)

PC Owners Urged to Manage Power Use and Save Money (PC World)

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Free software to help your PC conserve energy

August 6th, 2008, 5:20 pm by

Edison PC energy saver softwareJust spotted software from Washington’s Verdium Corp. that will monitor and control your PC’s energy usage.

Called Edison, the software is a friendly-looking widget with a simple slider to save more or less energy.  Slide the bar to the far right to “save more” and the software will turn off the display after five minutes, power down the hard drive after five minutes and suspend the computer after 10 minutes. That, apparently, will save you on an annual basis $28.78, 323.38 kWh of energy and 440.76 pounds of carbon dioxide.

But sliding the toggle bar to the far left to “save less” (as I did in image on right) results in the computer never going to sleep, powering down the drive or turning off the screen. However, you still save: $19.18, 215 kWh and 293.76 CO2. Hmmmm…

You can also set your own schedule so it knows when you do work or don’t.

It’s a free download in exchange for your e-mail and it’s available HERE. Works only with Windows XP and Vista.

Other takes:

Related posts:

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Over 250 ways to save money on gadgets, cell phones, PCs and more

June 26th, 2008, 10:22 am by

Alt+Save: Deals and freebiesPeople really like lists and I’ve been meaning to compile my own useful list of ways to save money on technology and more. I have yet to do that but in the meantime, I scoured the web to help readers explore the efforts of other list-happy authors. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Printer bonanza: save money and get the right printer for your small business (PC World) It’s the end of the financial year for printer companies so now’s the time to buy.

2. Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money (LifeHacker) Mentions using Firefox to help you save by adding plugins like RetailMeNot, PriceDrop, and Woot Watcher.

3. 9 ways to save money on your cell phone bill (Yahoo Tech) Mentions that some mobile games include a monthly fee so if you don’t play them anymore, get rid of them!

4. 10 ways to save money on gadgets (GideonTech) Join gadget manufacturers’ loyalty programs; also offers some advice on buying on eBay or Craigslist.

5. 9 ways to save money on your next computer (Cash Money Life) Advises to not buy too much computer or software and think twice about buying the extended warranty.

6. Tech-savvy ways to shop smart and save money (Debt Smart) Offers tips such as save money on cell phone plans by going to Billshrink.com, using Frucall to comparison shop while in a store, and find the cheapest flights at Kayak.com.

7. 5 Extreme ways to save money. (Womopo.com) Tip One: Live in your car. This site also offers “10 Incredibly Stupid Ways To Spend Your Money,” including chuck the gourmet coffee and brand-name jeans.

8. 101 Tips for Frugal Living (Dumb Little Man): Suggests buying “open stock items” for big ticket electronics. They are generally deep discounted.” My tip on this: Make sure there is a return policy you can live with. If you get home and the electronic stops working after a week or month, you’ve just wasted money.

9. 101 Ways to save $1 a week (CareOne Credit Counseling): Advises shopping online since many sites offer free shipping, and checking the newspaper or radio for contests and giveaways (which is a good time for me to pitch my weekly Free+Win+Deals post published each Sunday).

10. 12 Simple ways to save money on utilities (FiveCentNickel.com) Lots of familiar tips (use low-flow shower heads and incandescent light bulbs). Also suggests planting trees in strategic locations for shade and boosting carbon.

Related Gadgetress posts:

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5 ways to save money on the new iPhone

June 13th, 2008, 9:16 am by

Save money with the iPhoneAt $199, the new iPhone is cheaper then the original, but it’s going to cost at least $10 more for service per month.

Everyone has already done the math and over the 2-year required contract, you’ll end up paying a total of $40 (or $160 more if you’re a text-messaging fiend, points out Gizmodo). Just $40 though? That’s not too bad, considering you can’t even buy 10 gallons of gas for $40 these days.

But at a minimum of $70 a month ($39.99 for phone service and $30 for data), the iPhone may be hard to justify on a budget. Let me try. Here’s my list of ways you can save money on an iPhone:

1. Move in with another iPhone fan and join AT&T’s family plan. Instead of each person paying $70 per month, the family plan cuts the price for two people by $30 total or two for $110 a month. Add even more ‘family’ members for $40 each. If you care, here are AT&T’s terms for iPhone family plans.

2. Save $25 through AT&T’s referral program. Refer up to 5 people and get a $25 gift card for each person. Your friend gets a $25 gift card too! Funambol offers free e-mail software for iPhone 2.0

3. Skip the $99 for Apple’s new MobileMe e-mail software and opt for the free Funamobl. This open source software lets you retrieve web and POP/IMAP e-mail on the iPhone, backup contacts and calendar items over the air and synchronize contacts (and later calendar items and notes) from Microsoft Outlook. As TechCrunch points out, this won’t sync files and photos but it is open source so maybe one day, it will. The free software will be available for iPhone 2.0 in July at Apple’s official App store.

4. Make free calls. The $39.99 fee for phone service offers just 450 minutes, which may not be enough. Don’t get charged overage fees. Use iCall to make and receive calls over Wi-Fi. Nifty feature: transfer inbound cellular calls to Wi-Fi instantly to save on minutes. iCall’s not the only one. There’s also fring, iPhoneGnome, JAJAH, Talkety, sipgate, and RingFree, according to the folks at VoIP-Sol.com, an “independent blog covering the VoIP market, web 2.0 and related technologies.”

5. Sell your iPod. You don’t need it. Yes, the $199 iPhone only has 8 GBs of room, but consider your old iPod as a small sacrifice to own a multi-functional device. Besides, you can convert music at a lower bit rate so more songs fit.

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Other ways to save money on any cell phone:

Get mobile coupons for your cell phone at CellFire.

Send free text messages, although your recipient could incur text charges at dynadel.com. Also offers quick check on traffic conditions.

Don’t dial 411. AT&T charges $1.79 per call. Try 1-800-Free411, 1-800-Goog411, 1-800-CALL411 or 1-800-YELLOWP (from earlier Gadgetress post).

Track your spending with iPhone-friendly tools like MyBudget, Budget Buster, Google’s Mobile Money or Receipts.

Related:

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