Evernote Software Free Today at GiveAwayoftheDay

Evernote, one of the most useful and productive pieces of software that I use, is a free giveaway today at GiveAwayOfTheDay.com. They are actually promoting the giveaway of the 3.0 Beta version; but if your not comfortable being a beta tester they are also giving away version 2.2 (I'm going to download both).

A couple months ago they gave away the portable version which installs on a USB drive (see my previous post). I first became aware of Evernote with this giveaway. I've been using it on my USB drive extensively.

With this software you can not only take notes, but you can clip items. Clip entire web pages, clip portions of a web page, clip parts from your email, clip excel spreadsheets, clip word documents, etc...get the picture! It has a very robust system of cataloging items. You can even set up a folder, let's say recipes, where every time you clip a recipe, it will automatically detect a keyword (in this case, maybe 'recipe') and file the clip in that folder.

Want to search for a particular clip, fine, do a key word search. It will not only search text for that key word, but images also. Let's say you clip a photo that had a street sign which reads "Niagara Falls" in the photo. Now, do a search of your Evernote database for "Niagara". This incredible program will include this photo in your search because it can recognize text within an image!

Unfortunately, the portable version isn't offered as part of this giveaway; but get the desktop version today while it's free (this offer expires today). If you add the portable version at some point, you will be able to synchronize between the desktop and the portable thus always having your information with you.

On-Line Student Resources - Great List by Lifehack.org

Check out the list which includes: applications, tools, research sources and other useful websites.

The Ultimate Student Resource List - Lifehack.org

Interesting Calendar at Lifehacker

Whether it's practical or not, you decide. The concept though is interesting. The creator reduced the 2008 calendar to a summary of only about 75 characters. This could easily be committed to memory and with only a little effort you can calculate what any given day falls on.

Thanks, Gina at Lifehacker for finding this tool.
Check it out...

2008 Postage Stamp-Sized Mini Calendar at Lifehacker.com

Black Friday - Avoid the Chaos - Shop On-line at Buy.com

Buy.com will be having many promotions and great deals on-line for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Much better use of your time to find the deals in the comfort of your own home.

Black Friday Chaos - 6AM, 5AM and Now 4AM Sale Starts

Okay...the 6AM store opening for Black Friday sales is earlier than I really need to shop. They've taken it one step further now. I saw an ad for Old Navy; their stores will be opening for their Black Friday sale at 5AM. Even worse...Kohl's is going to let you get a bright and early start at 4AM. Is there really anything we need so badly that we'd be willing to give up sleep and time with our families to get up at 3AM to make it to the store for 4AM (because you know by 4:05 the specials will be sold out).

Shop on-line! A lot of stores are doing on-line specials. It's time to put an end to this commercial madness!

Black Friday Chaos - Target TV Commercial

From my previous post, you know that I'm not a big fan of Black Friday shopping. When the stores put up ads encouraging the mayhem, it doesn't help me to warm up to the whole idea.

Last night I saw a television commercial for Target. The commercial involved an animated person pushing a shopping cart. Although it wasn't really pushing the shopping cart, it was running with it and grabbing various things (I think it's dog was one of them) and throwing them in the cart.

Is this what the holiday season is about? I'm very disappointed in Target for running such an ad. I've always liked shopping at Target because it's not as commercial (in your face, store aisles packed with product) as the other '-mart'.

Once again, I will keep my productivity level up and avoid this shopping mess on Friday.

Update...
Now the ad is on MSN...ya can't avoid the hype!

Get Organized In 2008: Brother PT-1280 Label Maker Only $15.39 at Buy.com

I use one of these Brother PT series label makers at the office. They work great and I recommend them to everyone for home or office use.
This model at Buy.com is only $15.39 (No Rebates!)and includes Free Shipping.

Brother P-Touch PT-1280 Label Maker

Black Friday Deals - Sorry Not My Thing

I know this blog is all about finding great deals and saving money. One exception for me, though, are the so called 'Black Friday' deals. If I find an outstanding deal that you can try to buy on-line that day...great, I'll share that. You won't catch me running from store to store at 6am trying to find that ultimate deal (which I'm sure the store only has limited stock of). Black Friday happens because the customer allows it to happen...maybe if we don't buy into the lure of Black Friday, Christmas shopping season may be a month long period of great deals instead of just one day.

Therefore, my one-man stand is to avoid the whole thing. I've gotten burned a couple times doing this, so I'm going to tag this post under 'productivity' because I think your time could be much better spent.

I just hope that after posting this I don't get lured into the mayhem;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Visit Edmunds.com Before Visiting the Car Dealer

There is a wealth of information on new and used cars at Edmunds.com. It is well worth the few minutes to research on this site before visiting the dealer.

Save 10% at Get Organized!

Just stumbled upon this site. Has a lot of 'as seen on TV' items'...not really interested in those. It does have a tab labelled 'Organizers' that has everything you can imagine to orgainze your house.

Check it out and save 10% with the link below:

Take 10% off any order at GetOrganized, no coupon necessary. Your discount will be reflected at Check Out.

The 60 Second Organizer (Free eBook)

Some fairly good ideas in this book for organizing all aspects of your life from your desk at work to the junk drawer at home.

The eBook is available as a free download at Wowio.com (see my previous post: Free eBooks at Wowio.com).

Clink the image below for more information on the eBook (and to add to your download queue):

Installing a Print Server Step By Step

It's well worth the time and money to set up your printer on your home network. Save money in the long run. You will only have one printer to purchase and maintain. Furthermore, you won't have those interruptions when another family member has to get on the PC with the 'good' printer. I have it set up at home so the kids can print remotely...all wireless. I did mine a little differently (didn't purchase a separate print server...my pc has to be on all the time).

Check out the article: Install a Print Server - Compter Shopper

Free CRM Package---SplendidCRM

In business for yourself? Do sales? SplendidCRM has a free trial of their web hosted customer resource management (CRM) software. It's not really a trial. You can use it as long as you wish; they just don't guarantee it. It has a very nice tabbed layout. Couldn't really find any documentation (it's an open source product based on SugarCRM).

Go to the SplendidCRM website and click the Free Trial button (don't make the mistake I did and download the software...you want the free web-hosted version). On the next screen, click "Create private hosted trial...". Enter your information into the form. They'll send you an activation email and you're on your way.

RapidTyping: Freeware Typing Tutor

Looks like a decent typing program (folks over at Lifehacker.com get credit for finding this one). This is a freeware typing tutor.
Probably one of the most useful classes I took back in high school was my typing class. This is a skill that is a necessity now-a-days. Every incoming college student should consider improving their typing skills to save time later. Of course all of us working in an office setting need the skill.

Here is the link: RapidTyping Tutor.