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If you are like me and frequently use Google for your online searches, then you will like these tips from Laptop Magazine on how to expedite your Google searches…

“You can make your searches exponentially faster if you know the right search terms. Google prods you along with its Cheat Sheet of Advanced operators and search parameters. For instance, to do a search of all results that fall within two numbers you can insert “…” between your search terms (e.g. the search term “laptop $1000…$1500″ will search for laptops between $1000 and $1500). To search for one word, but not in relation to another word, insert a “-” before the word you want to exclude (e.g. the search term “virus -computer” will return results about non-computer-related viruses). To search for a word and its common synonyms use the “~” in front.  (e.g. the search term “~computer help” will return searches that also include “hardware”, “laptop”, and “PC”).”

Here is a good article from Real Simple Magazine by Laura Wallis providing Helpful tips for sending packages via the United States Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.

United States Postal Service

Where to Go: Drop packages lighter than one pound into one of those ubiquitous blue mailboxes, or leave them in your mailbox for your carrier to pick up; take heavier items to your local post office.

How Long It’ll Take: For domestic shipping, Priority Mail takes two to three days. Or try Express Mail (guaranteed overnight delivery), Parcel Post (ground delivery in two to nine days), or a range of international shipping options.

What It Costs: Priority Mail is just about the best deal in the business, starting at $4.60 for a flat-rate envelope and $8.95 for a flat-rate box. For other types of packages and services, rates are determined by size, weight, and distance. Boxes, envelopes, labels, and other supplies for Priority and Express Mail are available for free; snag them at your local post office or order them online or by calling 800-610-8734.

Extras Worth Knowing: USPS recommends sealing boxes with two-inch-wide brown or clear packaging tape. Masking or cellophane tape, twine, and cords are not allowed. For complete mailing regulations, to calculate postage, or to purchase postage online, visit www.usps.com. For general information, call 800-275-8777.

UPS

Where to Go: Send packages at UPS retail locations, leave them in a UPS drop box, or arrange to have one of those nice guys or gals in brown pick them up at your door.

How Long It’ll Take: UPS Express Critical is the fastest domestic service the company offers — for same-day delivery, your package will be on the next available flight. A more economical option is Ground Delivery, which takes one to five business days. International shipping services typically take one to five business days, too.

What It Costs: Factors such as the size of the package, the service, and how far the package has to travel determine the rates. Get a quote for your package at www.ups.com. For UPS account holders, Air and Worldwide Express packaging supplies are available for free.

Extras Worth Knowing: At the website, you can obtain complete shipping regulations and packaging guidelines (including a nifty chart that tells you if your corrugated-cardboard box is strong enough), schedule a pickup, and find the retail location nearest you. Call 800-742-5877 for domestic-package service information.

FedEx

Where to Go: Take the package to a FedEx Service Center, place it in a FedEx drop box, or schedule a pickup.

How Long It’ll Take: For domestic delivery, select FedEx SameDay for super-urgent stuff; or choose between a range of overnight and 2- or 3-day Express delivery options. You can also opt for FedEx Home Delivery, which typically takes one to five days. International delivery options are also available.

What It Costs: Rates and delivery times depend on the size of the package, the service, and the points of origin and destination. You can calculate how much it’ll cost to ship your package at www.fedex.com, in addition to ordering supplies (if you’re using FedEx Express, they’re free).

Things Worth Knowing: For packages more than 100 pounds, use yellow-and-black safety tape (available at service centers or online). FedEx guidelines recommend that you place shipping labels on the package’s largest surface — but not over a seam or tape. To schedule a pickup and more, visit www.fedex.com or call 800-463-3339.

DHL

Where to Go: Schedule a pickup or leave your package at a DHL drop-off facility, a service center, or in a DHL drop box.

How Long It’ll Take: Same Day service is available, along with a range of next-day and second-day options for domestic and international delivery. DHL Ground Delivery takes one to six days.

What It Costs: Delivery rates depend on the size of the package, the trip distance, and whether it was a scheduled pickup. You can check your rates at www.dhl-usa.com. Air Express packaging supplies are free and can be ordered online as well.

Things Worth Knowing: You can visit the website to get a delivery time frame, schedule a pickup, find a drop-off location, and more. You’ll find handy tools, including an air-travel-distance calculator, which will give you the distance between two cities in miles or kilometers. For general information, call 800-225-5345.

Here is a good tip from Laptop Magazine on how to quickly find your spot in Microsoft Word.

“Want to to find exactly where you left a document the last time you saved it? Press Shift+F5 and you will. You can toggle this up to three times to see the last three places you made changes and saved.”

If you are looking for a quick way to put things on your to-do list when you are out and about, check out Kwiry.

According to the Associated Press story Kwiry service lets users text themselves reminders by Rachel Metz…

“August 15, 2008 - NEW YORK — It happens to everyone: A friend recommends a good book or movie, but by the time you get around to Googling it — assuming you get that far — you can’t remember what it’s called.

A San Francisco-based start-up called kwiry (pronounced “query”) aims to help you remember such snippets of information with a free service that lets you text these tidbits from your cellphone to its site.

“What we want to do is make the experience of remembering as simple as possible,” said kwiry Chief Executive and co-founder Ron Feldman.

After signing up on kwiry’s website, you can start sending text messages to “kwiry,” or “59479″ on a phone’s keypad. The messages can be about anything you want to follow up on. Feldman said he has seen users send reminders about books, products they want to buy and varieties of wine.

When you’re back at a computer, you can visit kwiry’s website to see items displayed as links that can be clicked for related search results. Kwiry can also automatically send that information to your e-mail address.

The site has several shortcuts intended to make remembering even simpler, including two added this week letting users more easily add items to their wish lists at retailer Amazon.com or DVD queues at Netflix.

Just type “Netflix” followed by the name of a movie you want to see, for instance, and watch that item get added to Netflix queue.

Kwiry didn’t work with Netflix or Amazon to come up with these shortcuts. With the Amazon shortcut, for example, kwiry is basically running a product search on Amazon.com based on a user’s kwiry post and adding the first result to that person’s wish list.

Kwiry is exploring other shortcuts. One possibility Feldman mentioned would let users bookmark restaurants on the review site Yelp from their cellphones.”

If you prefer the Blackberry over the iPhone, you will be happy to know RIM’s new Blackberry model “Bold” will likely be available in the US by mid-September.

According to the Associated Press story New BlackBerry expected within month in N. America by Rob Gillies…

“August 14, 2008 - TORONTO - The new BlackBerry model should be coming to North America within a month now that Research In Motion Ltd. has started selling it in Germany and Chile.

The first major new BlackBerry model in more than a year, the Bold is a high-end BlackBerry that has twice the screen resolution of current models made by RIM. The Bold, or 9000, matches the resolution, but not the size, of the screen on Apple Inc.’s iPhone, which has emerged as a potent competitor in the smart-phone category.

AT&T Inc. says it will be the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Bold, as it is for the iPhone. An AT&T spokesman declined to say Thursday when the company will release it.

But Peter Misek, an analyst with Canaccord Adams, said he expects AT&T to start selling it on Sept. 15 and Rogers Communications in Canada to release it on Aug. 18.

Misek said the Bold will cost about $200 in the United States depending on the contract.

After enjoying years of success in the corporate market, RIM has targeted the consumer market with the Curve and the Pearl. Like those consumer-oriented phones, the Bold has a full-size headset jack and a camera that can also capture video.

The Bold has a glossy metallic look and adds corporate-strength Wi-Fi capabilities to third-generation cellular and Bluetooth radios. Otherwise it stays close to the formula of the Curve, with a horizontal screen above a trackball and a keyboard with one letter per key.

Many people consider the BlackBerry easier to use for e-mail and text-messaging than the iPhone because they have traditional keypads instead of touchscreens.

Misek said the Bold is the first of a series of new models that RIM plans on releasing, including a touchscreen BlackBerry called the Thunder. Misek said RIM has 5 million to 7 million people who have older versions than the Curve, Pearl and Worldphone and could be targets of an upgrade.”

If you are still considering purchasing a new iPhone 3G, you will be happy to know Best Buy will be carrying it starting September 7th.

According to the Assosciated Press story Best Buy becomes first independent iPhone retailer by Peter Svensson…

“August 13, 2008 - New York - Best Buy Co.  will start selling the iPhone on Sept. 7, becoming first U.S. chain to do so outside of Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc.’s own stores.

Wednesday’s announcement by Best Buy expands the availability of Apple’s vaunted phone to 970 full-size stores and 16 smaller Best Buy Mobile stores. It’s also a coup for the Minneapolis-based chain, which has been upgrading its cell-phone departments.

“We had a lot of work to do, obviously, to get in a position where Apple and AT&T would feel good about Best Buy Mobile carrying it, and that’s what we’ve done in the last 18 months,” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile.

Best Buy also resells Apple’s Mac computers and iPod media players. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said the long-standing relationship between the companies was the reason Best Buy would now be able to sell the iPhone.

Last week, Best Buy announced it had completed a two-year conversion of its stores to include upgraded cell-phone departments under the Best Buy Mobile brand. It has upgraded its computer systems to handle cell-phone activation and spent 250,000 hours training its employees.

“Smart” phones like the iPhone, which does e-mail, Web surfing, and accept third-party software, are a big focus for Best Buy Mobile. Sales are up tenfold in two years, Score said. It is the only authorized third-party reseller of Sprint Nextel Corp. (S)’s iPhone-like Samsung Instinct.

“The smart phones are what people are heading for,” Score said.

Apple launched the second generation of the iPhone on July 11. The two models cost $199 and $299 with two-year contracts.”

If you are finding that you are being overwhelmed by your books and magazines, here are some good tips from Real Simple Magazine on how to give your bookshelf a makeover…

Remove
“First decide what books you really want to keep,” says Donna Smallin, author of Cleaning Plain & Simple (Storey Publishing, $17, www.amazon.com). To make the process easier, Cincinnati-area professional organizer Stephanie Denton suggests thinking about what categories of books you’d like to hang on to—whether it’s biographies or mysteries or self-help books. “Decisions like that made ahead of time can make it easier when you go through your shelf,” she says.

Toss the books you decide to get rid of right into boxes. That way, they’re all together and easy to bring to a used-book store, where you might be able to get cash or credit for them. Then remove the rest of the books and, while the shelves are bare, use the opportunity to wipe down the unit or paint the back wall a contrasting color from the shelves. This will liven up your display and add depth to it.

Regroup
Your next job is to organize that cluttered combination of books and magazines. “One of the main principles we have in displaying books on the shelves is categorization,” says Mark Schneyer, associate director of the international division for Borders. “In the context of your house, that could mean cookbooks, fiction, books you read for pleasure, or books you need for your professional life.”

Smallin agrees. “I like, at the very least, to separate fiction from nonfiction,” she says. “It’s not critical (how you categorize them) — it’s just important there’s some way of knowing that a book is either in this section or that section.” The idea, she says, is to group the books in a way that makes sense for your purpose. That could mean by genre, by author, or even by size. “If it’s a bookshelf in a home office, you want to organize by use,” Denton says. “But if it’s a personal library or a decorative shelving area, you can organize according to a decorative purpose, such as all the leather-bound books together, or maybe you want to group them by color.”

Another way to organize books is by what you’ve read and what you haven’t. “I find myself in the living room sometimes just wanting something to read,” Schneyer says. In those instances, if all his unread books are in one place, he can simply go there and pick one out.

Magazines should be collected in holders, which are available in a wide variety of materials and colors. “Most of those will hold about a year’s subscription,” Denton says. “And I like to suggest that people store their magazines not with one year per holder, but instead with all the December issues together, then, in another, all the November issues.” That way, she says, when you’re trying to find a holiday cookie recipe or a Halloween decorating idea, you’ll be able to locate it quickly. Still, it’s best to ask yourself whether you really need to keep all those magazines and whether a bookshelf is the best place for them. If you decide to throw out magazines, “pull out articles you think might be useful to you and put them in a binder,” Smallin says. “Then you can have a binder full of home-decorating ideas or one of recipes you want to try.”

Reorganize
OK, you’ve weeded out the expendables, and you’ve regrouped the remaining books in a way that makes sense for you. Now you have to arrange the shelves so that they look good, too. And the way you arrange the books, knickknacks, and photos on each shelf can add an appealing visual element to the room. In addition to grouping books by color, as suggested above, consider stacking some horizontally and others vertically. “Alternating like that can make the arrangement more interesting to look at,” says Denton.

To keep the display neat and clean looking, Schneyer recommends taking a cue from the Borders store displays: Arrange books, no matter their size or width, so that all the spines run along the same line at the front of the bookshelf (in other words, don’t push them back). “Otherwise,” he warns, “little books get lost at the back of the shelf.”

Keep in mind, too, that pairing books with photos or artistic bowls can create a dramatic effect. “I’ll mix books that fill three-quarters of a shelf, then use a vase or a picture frame for the rest,” Smallin says. A vase can also double as a place to contain small items that would otherwise junk up a display. “Instead of tossing keys on the shelf in front of a book, consider a more decorative container that will not only corral the keys but also make the display look a little more artistic,” says Denton. Smallin agrees: “A little secret — if you have a basket or bowl that’s just above eye level, it can be full of stuff, but nobody will see it. It will just look like a bowl.”

If you are looking for a quick way to launch your computer programs, here is a good tip from Laptop Magazine on how to quick launch your applications from your keyboard…

“You can customize keyboard shortcuts to launch any of your apps on your desktop,  Quick Launch Bar, or from the Start menu. Simply Right click on the app’s icon and choose Properties. In the Shortcut key box enter the key you wan to assign. The default combo will be Ctrl+Alt plus the chosen key, but you can change that to any combination using Ctrl, Shift, and Alt or F1 or F12.  When finished click ok.”

Here are some Tips on Making a Good First Impression from EmilyPost.com…

Make sure your first impression is a good one. Whether you are a teen applying for an after school job or a college grad applying for your first “full-time” job, the following tips can help you make the best first impression.

Pre-Interview Checklist

* Your shoes are clean and/or polished.
* Your clothes are pressed and stain-free.
* Your nails are clean and neat.
* Your hair is neat.
* You have removed all extra jewelry.
* You have clean copies of your resume.
* You have the address and phone number of the meeting place.
* You know how to get there and how long it will take. (BEING ON TIME IS CRITICAL)
* You know the names of everyone you are meeting and how to pronounce them.
* You have a notebook and pen (that works!)
* Your bag has essentials only—nothing bulky or extra.
* You are prepared for rain, sleet or snow, and your coat is in good condition.
* Ladies—you have a lipstick, powder compact and an extra pair of pantyhose.

Do the next five things with everyone you meet and you are well on your way to success!

* Look them in the eye.
* Give a firm handshake.
* Greet them - “How do you do?” or “How do you do, Mrs. ________”
* When saying your name, say it slowly and clearly.
* Smile!

If you frequently need to capture and enter new contact info into Microsoft Outlook, do it with one click via Anagram’s software program.

According to Laptop Magazine, “Now you can stop relying on email searches to dig up contact info. Anagram is a nifty, memory-resident program that lets you capture information such as contacts, meeting dates, or address changes found in emails, any PC application, or on Websites. Just highlight what you want to move to Outlook and, with the click of a hot key you set up, the information is moved to the appropriate fields in Outlook (or your Palm device). There is a 45 day trial to test it out or $29.95 to purchase.”

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