I love being able to tweak the pictures I take in Paint Shop Pro, or one of my other photo editing programs, but those programs don’t always do exactly what I need. Other people may not even have access to those programs, and may not realize that you can find sites online to help you give neat photo effects to any photograph. Photofiddle.com is just such a site, enabling you to upload any photograph and apply an art style to the photo. The site has over 50 different styles to choose from, including: Abstract Pop art Oil painting Water color Sketch Collage Film...

It’s really sad when I get gas for $2.82 a gallon and think, “Gee, that’s cheap!” But when you consider that just a few months ago, I was paying $1 more a gallon, yeah, anything under $3 looks good to me. The dropping gas prices are the only thing positive I can find about the current state of the economy. Unemployment is SO high in my country, and I’m feeling lucky to have a job when I see so many people out of work and struggling. Even geeks, who usually have no problem finding work, are getting laid off right and left as...

As I log into the Wordpress admin dashboard for GeekySpeaky, I can’t help but notice all of the incoming links, most of which look like this: Do Follow Blogs Giant List of Do Follow Blogs Do Follow Blogs With PR and so on and so forth Clicking on any one of these links will lead you to a post that links to this blog and all of the other do follow blogs and gives instructions on how to leave a comment for link juice. Most people reading that crap are SO missing the point of this even being a do follow blog, as evidenced by the comments I get here daily....

I get emailed press releases every single day asking me to write about some new geeky gadget or tool. I turn down 99% of those offers, mostly for a lack of time. (I’m also afraid of taking a free review version of a product, finding it stinks, and having someone freak when I post a negative review…ha!) The folks at a new site called Gadget Advisor have no fear though! Instead of blogging about every new tool that crosses their desk, they only blog about the best of the best, handpicking from whatever floats their collective boat that day....

Taking care of your computer is a lot like taking care of yourself. Human Version: Do you exercise regularly, avoiding unhealthy activities? Computer Version: Do you surf regularly, avoiding naughty websites? Human Version: Do you have a healthy diet to give your body fuel and energy? Computer Version: Do you have enough RAM for your operating system and all of the programs you run everyday? Human Version: Do you visit the doctor on a regular basis for a physical? Computer Version: Do you check your system for spyware and use an anti virus program? Human...

I’m sitting in my second day of sessions at IzeaFest, listening to Merlin Mann speak. I hadn’t heard of him prior to coming to the conference, but…wow. He’s amazing. Not only has he completely captivated the audience, but he’s got great advice, including: Have an obsession. Share it daily with one person. Don’t be a dick. Don’t sweat SEO, traffic, or ads. (I think he’s channeling Jim Rome - “Have a take, and don’t suck.”) Merlin also won my heart when he used the word “testicles”...

A few months ago, I replaced my aging IBM laptop with a brand new Toshiba model. Having done a fair share of complaining about Vista after using it on another PC, I actually attempted to buy a laptop without Vista - I thought it was THAT bad! After realizing that a custom build laptop would cost me twice as many clams, I gave it up and gave into Vista. I have to admit, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I haven’t had any of the compatibility issues that I’ve heard others reporting, and if anything, Vista and the way it works to organize...

I’m sitting in a room with Jeremy Shoemaker (”Shoemoney”) and John Chow right now. Thank you, IzeaFest, for giving us the opportunity to learn from bloggers of this money making caliber! I’m happy to report that John doesn’t come across as pompous and full of himself as he does online. Jeremy has shorts on, which is a bit weird since I expect a business casual dress in a conference like this. Stephanie Agresta is sitting next to him and she has the most amazing shoes on - I want them.

Tell me about your web host… If you asked 100 people about web hosting, would your host’s name be mentioned? If they were rated on a scale of 1 to 100, where would your host fall in that web hosting rating? Does your host offer you extra services for free, like shopping cards, message boards, and fun PHP installs? Are they available for support 24/7, or does it take days to get help? Has the company that you’re hosting your blogs and websites with won any web hosting awards? Years ago, when I first got online and bought a domain, I hosted...

Remember my mini-rant about my Adobe Professional 9 not playing nice with my Word doc forms? The folks over at Adobe must be using Google alerts to keep tabs on their customers, because I got 2 comments from Adobe employees on that post and several emails. The team took the time to investigate my issue and even fixed one of the forms I couldn’t get to work. It turns out, the issue was unrelated to Adobe and probably caused by a hidden field in the Word doc I was converting. Two observations: Blogging can get you attention, good and bad. In this...