Mops are so 2004
The future is now. Since 2002, iRobot, makers of the Roomba line of vacuums have been pitching us on the idea of robotically cleaning our carpets. They are now releasing third generation Roombas that can be scheduled to perform their vacuum tasks. But up until now, the dirtiest room in the house, the kitchenÁ-?s floor, was left to the mop.

Welcome in the era of the Scooba, a robot that is more than a mop. A machine that takes a special Clorox cleaning solution, safe for even hardwood floors, and scrubs your floor clean. Sound good? TechLife, thought so too, so we got one for the Á-°lab.Á-?

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Eiffel to Empire
Say you find yourself in CBS’s The Amazing Race or maybe just the urge to visit the Big Apple hits you. How fast could you get there? Pretty fast you say. Now the bonus, can you reach NYC’s Planet Hollywood and tell us what’s across the street? Easy! Not so fast, we want to know what’s across 45th Street, not across Broadway. How about finding out before you arrive using only your PC?

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Happy 1 year Birthday Life Poster
The holidayà-?s are over. (sigh) The gifts have been opened. (sigh) You have mountains of digital photos (with your new camera) from Thanksgiving through New Yearà-?s totaling 100 shots? 1000 shots? 5000 shots? (sigh)

Not a problem if you recall TechLifeà-?s November 2005 article about Picasa; an easy to use and free of charge tool to organize digital images. While Picasa is great for digital organization, it also has a few hidden tricks; one of them is a Life Poster. A Life Poster is a collection of photos grouped together in a single image. Usually they focus around a specific subject. The best part is they are easy to make, and Picasa makes them even easier.

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Content Consumption
Are you interested in the Japanese toilet craze? Yes, really there is a craze. Today’s digital universe has created global interest in reading and following the developments the Japanese have regarding their bathroom experiences.

Do you sell iPod socks? Yes that’s right, socks. The digital storefront has allowed the smallest micro-entrepreneur to launch a line of iPod Socks, basically a hand knit iPod case.

Do you know someone uprooted by Hurricane Katrina? Okay maybe not. The uprooting of life, by powerful forces of nature is seemingly more commonplace. You are likely to know someone displaced by a job, family or schooling. Interestingly, staying in touch has never been easier.

Do you like to comment on the local, state, national or worldwide politics? Before you say no, ever thought about how high your taxes are? Commentary on politics has always been reserved for those that have an own audience; the digital universe has made the audience one click away.

So what do these four seemingly unconnected topics have in common? They are all Blogs.

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Photo Logic
Your phone is ringing; it’s your editor. They just got a call from Oprah, she loves the advance copy of your book and wants you on the show. They just need a few things. Your editor says not to worry; they will send Oprah over the packet of information. Your editor then asks for the book’s last few digital images, a headshot, and maybe some family shots. “Can we get them all in 30 minutes?” Are they kidding? How will you find it all? More after the jump (more…)

The recent explosion of email to techlife [at] dkworldwide dot com has been great. Thank you. I try to answer all the emails I get, and some are just interesting enough to get published.

Food for Katrina

Dear TechLife,
My son recently inquired about how to make the donated canned food for the Katrina victims taste good. I tried to explain that canned food is non-perishable, which was promptly replied to with, “you mean non-edible?” I decided to look online for good recipes to cook for him and there were a lot of sites, but I couldn’t find exactly what I needed. Any suggestions?
Hungrily yours,
Katie D.

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School is in session. Please pay attention; there will be a pop quiz! Does buying online scare you? It shouldn’t. There are few keys to making the experience simple, painless and cost effective.

Quick Shopping Tips from Shopping dot 101

• Use Amazon.com Customer Reviews
• Pay attention to shipping prices
• Froogle’s learning curve is worth it
• Look carefully at smaller vendors
• Email vendors before and after the sale

Search and re-Search
I was recently buying some gifts. A friend of mine had told me about the “space pen”, with gas-pressurized ink allowing writing upside down. It takes its name from the fact that all NASA and Russian space missions have taken the pen with them to outer space. Clever aren’t they?

Visiting Amazon.com, I typed in “space pen”. I got back a cool looking bullet pen, by Fisher Space Pens for $19.00. The reviews all gave the pen 5 stars. Great! I clicked to add it to my shopping cart. Amazon often offers free shipping, but this product did not meet the requirements.

Looking closer I saw, the actual vendor was not Amazon but The Writer’s Edge, hence no offer for free shipping. Not to worry, I trust Amazon to vet their vendors for excellent customer service and quality. Simple, right? Maybe…
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Techlife has some very smart readers. We get letters all the time from readers who ask technical questions, “how to” questions, and even the occasional praise for the column. Thank you to everyone. Nothing brightens my day more than getting email from people I have never met. (Though there are those pesky ex-kings around the world who insist my current career could be greatly enhanced by sharing in their millions.)

1 – A Reader’s Letter
So was it was nice to see this email:

The letter and answer after the jump. (more…)

This is it! The middle of the decade! July 2005 is the exact halfway point between January 2000 and December 2010. Remember back towards the end of 1999? You were going to change your life, learn new things and overall life would be different. So where are you in “Life’s To-Do-List”? Still looking to add a few more “checks” to completed items?

Techlife would like to share a few helpers in the quest…

Keep reading after the jump. (more…)

Most of us are thousandaires. Millionaires you know who you are. Billionaires we all know who you are. But trillionaires? Financially, there is no one even close to this level of net worth. But you can be a trillianaire.

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