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Humidifiers can be the best way to keep the winter headaches, coughs and stuffy heads at bay. A humidifier also prevents furniture and wooden floors from drying out.

Most homes make use of portable humidifiers that are sized to accommodate a single room. The bedroom is the most common that requires extra moisture. Dry air causes a person’s sinuses to dry out which can cause stuffy heads as well as bloody noses.

Humidifiers come in many forms. Some utilize cool mist while others put out a warm mist. The difference is negligible since the humidified air is the same temperature by the time is gets breathed in.

If you have any concern about using a humidifier it needs to be the chance of mold and allergens growing inside the unit. A water additive that prevents mold and allergens are added before turning on the humidifier and will reduce the opportunity of further growth if water is left in the tank for a period of time.

Humidifier filters are also prone to scale and mineral buildup. This buildup can be removed and should be so that the effectiveness is lessened. The humidifier depends on water being wicked through the filter so that the fan can cause the moisture to evaporate into the air.

Holmes and Essick are large manufacturers of portable humidifiers. One of the latest models that Holmes introduced runs for up to 24 hours on a single tank of water and requires no filters. If the tank runs dry the unit automatically shuts off and dries it out preventing mold or allergen growth. Best of all, the price for such efficient humidifiers are often well under $100 – much less than doctor visits and furniture repair.

Organizing your home is a great way to save time and money. Square footage costs are wasted when taken up with useless items. Even if those items represent a beloved part of your past.

If you know what vinyl records are you also know that turntables are not as plentiful as they used to be. Until a few years ago turntables were in short supply. Why would you want to add an already obsolete piece of electronics to your already crowded space anyway?

If you haven’t taken those vinyl records to the flea market and if you can find a few spare inches there is a turntable that is not obsolete. You can have your cake and eat it too as they say.

Vinyl-to-digital turntables are the best of both worlds. Via a USB connection as a pathway to your computer those vinyl records can be converted to digital music files then transferred to your computer. Some models have an iPod dock which will receive the digital music files directly.

What could be better? The music will be improved as while being converted by built in clean-up features. Now your beloved memories can come through loud and clear.

Have you heard of Microsoft Live Search? It is worth your time to check it out.

You have to jump through a few hoops but if this program works as advertised you will be paid well for your time. Maybe I should not use the word paid exactly – rather you will be rewarded. I will walk you through my purchase of a Dell Mini 9 Netbook from Ebay.

First Step: I visited live.com
This is a simple yet very interesting web page. In the white box next to “Live Search” type in the item you plan to purchase (in my case – mini 9). Then click the green square or enter on your keyboard.

Second Step: I was directed to a “Live Search” search page. Again, I typed in what I wanted to purchase (in my case Dell Mini 9 Netbook).

Third Step: I was directed to a page that looks like the one I just left except that there was gray box at the top of the search results. Inside this box I saw an eBay option that had a “Live Search Cashback” link next to it.

Fourth Step: After clicking the “Live Search cashback” link I was directed to Ebay. Previously I had found the Dell Mini 9 netbook that I wanted and added it to my “watch item” list.

Fifth Step: At the top center of the page there should be a green Microsoft cashback box. Do not go any further unless you see it. I logged into “My eBay” and clicked the link saved in my “watch item” list.

Sixth Step: At this point I just followed the directions – which includes that I had to use the “Buy It Now” option and I had to pay through PayPal.

TIP: Your eBay email address has to be the same as your PayPal email address.

Immediately I was eligible for over $100 (not exact) reward from Microsoft Live Search. Since this was my first purchase using Live Search I had to fill in some new account information. In 60 days I am eligible to have that amount deposited into my PayPal account.

I admit that I do not totally understand this very cool offer but I am very glad that I found it. Give it a try on your next online purchase.

Negative Image Scanners are great gadgets to preserve photos trapped on negative photo strips and slides. These were popular ways to develop photos in the past but now they are very difficult to view.

Many of us have boxes of slides and negative filmstrips that have been handed down through our families. The trouble is those family members did not hand down the viewers needed to see these photos.

It is not expensive to turn these photo relics into high-resolution digital photos. Just a few clicks on your computer will bring you face to face with multiple scanners specially designed for this job. Some are called Negative Image Scanners and others are called 35mm-Image Scanners but whatever the name they do the same thing.

During your next family event you could surprise friends and families with a digital slideshow of times past. It could bring relatives to life that the younger kids had never seen before.

Storing stuff is such a waste of space. Storing precious memories is even worse.

Does your family run in and out of the house all through the day? Do messages get missed? Do you loose touch with each other over time?

If you usually use sticky notes to communicate there is a better way. It even tucks a pad of sticky notes into its side for those that just cannot break the habit.

A Digital Message Center incorporates a lot of communication features into a fairly small package. A digital picture frame, a video recorder, a digital camera, a dry erase board and a magnetic board are all features that work together to provide a single space for the entire family. Extra memory for digital pictures can be added with various memory cards.

What a great way for the kids to see and hear from mom each day when they get home from school. They can leave message of their own for dad before they leave for soccer practice.

Sure, a sticky note gets the job done but a digital message center can do the job in style.

Have you ever wished that you could drop breadcrumbs when leaving your car in a mall or event parking lot? It is best to write down the section before walking out of the parking lot but often that is not too helpful.

Entering a large building such as a mall can cause you to loose all sense of direction. You enter on the ground level and you may exit to the parking level. You may even be on the opposite side of the building. The sun may have gone down while you were inside and everything looks different.

Some GPS units such as the Garmin 700 and 800 series are battery operated and can lead you back to your vehicle. The feature is called “Garmin Locate”. While looking through a favorite catalog I found an alternative to spending the several hundred dollars that a typical GPS costs.

The “GPS Personal Location Finder” by Bushnell sells for less than one hundred dollars. I found it on Amazon.com and in the latest Frontgate catalog. There were four different retailers on BizRate.com listing it for just over fifty dollars. For the ladies – there is a pink version.

Personally I like this idea. I can think of several people that should get one of these little gadgets so they are not tempted to report their car stolen just because they can’t find it.

A 32GB SSD drive is finally available on the Dell Mini 9. Why is it only available on the Ubuntu Linux version though? There will be plenty of us unhappy even though we have awaited this option. Thing is we want Windows XP with a 32GB SSD. Is Dell sending some kind of message?

New colors such as pretty pink and cherry red have been added to the lineup (at an extra $25) in addition to the alpine white and obsidian black that was introduced early on. I am assuming that the new “stickers” option is actually specially designed skins. If so, the extra $50 is a bit steep since numerous skins can be purchased elsewhere for $25.

While checking through the options offered across the board for the Mini 9 by Dell there does not look to be much change beyond color. The 1GB memory is the most you can choose and the largest capacity SSD continues to be 16GB.

Models other than the Ubuntu Linux version have reduced pricing in effect. In my opinion it may be more profitable to eliminate the sale prices on the Mini 9 XP Home version and actually increase them in return for the new 32GB SSD.

Personal preferences will determine which digital e-reader will be best for you. Do you like to read books? Do you like to read magazines? Or are newspapers your forte? Will you want to add your own PDF files to the e-reader? Will you want to download your favorite reading material on the go?

These are just a handful of the options that the typical digital reading enthusiast is asking about. The Amazon Kindle and the Sony e-reader are not the only two on the market but they are probably the most talked about in forums and on blogs.

The issue that seems to be rising to the top most often is whether there will be a new version of the Amazon Kindle – often dubbed the Kindle 2. We all know that if history is reliable at all there will be. So do you spring for the Kindle (1) or do you wait? Sony has already introduced their PRS-700, which is an upgrade from the PRS-505.

There are similarities and there are differences that appeal to both sides. One of the most obvious is the way you get the books and other reading materials into the device. The Kindle downloads books, magazines, newspapers, etc. all over the EVDO high-speed data network. The Sony does not utilize a data network – not even Wi-Fi. Instead you download content to your computer and transfer the content through a USB connection from your computer.

Other features that are important to users are the accepted file formats, the displays that are backlit, front-lit or no lit, Touchscreens or not, the library availability, the size and the buttons (or not) that turn the pages.

If you are in the market for a new e-reader you have plenty of research to do. If you are planning to buy an e-reader for someone else – good luck.

Have you ever wondered just how hot the inside of your car gets on a hot summer day? Or how about how cold the windows in your home get during a cold winter day.

It would difficult to hold an ordinary thermometer in these areas and the reading would probably not be too accurate. The answer you are looking for is an infrared thermometer. It could not be any simpler. Point and shoot then read the temperature on the digital monitor.

· Measure the baby’s bath water
· Measure soil temperature before planting
· Measure your vehicle’s engine temperature or the radiator cap before removing it.

Laser pointers are fun but they can be dangerous. An infrared thermometer is a laser pointer and should not be aimed at a face – human or otherwise. Eye damage can occur.

If you are looking for a gadget that is both fun and functional an infrared thermometer could fit the bill. Speaking of bill – be ready to shell out $50 to $100.

Three desktop computers are part of my small business. My laptop is the mobile side of the business. I dread the day when one of the computers has a serious hard drive problem. The POS (point of sale) software is important to the success of the business and has to be up and running every minute.

The POS that I use for my business is very good and I like it a lot. However, there is a glitch or two that makes the initial setup a nightmare. (It is a long story)

I am looking at devices called Hard Drive Duplicators or Hard Drive Clones. The idea of having the ability to make an exact copy of my hard drives is comforting. I do not have the time or patience to set up a new computer when I have customers coming through the door expecting immediate service with a smile.

Hard drive duplicators range in price from not too much ($500 or less) all the way up to thousands of dollars. In my case the under $500 model would be the most reasonable. Manufacturers to look for include but are not limited to:

· Kanguru
· Arco
· Teac
· Norazza
· Lacie
· Addonics

I read an article that said you can copy a hard drive onto a spare hard drive and store the copy away. This sounds like a good idea. Even with the data backed up you would have to set up all of the software. The duplicator devices copy the entire hard drive. If the unthinkable happens just remove the damaged hard drive and install the copy. It is important to keep an updated data backup also so that you can have updated data.

Hard drive duplicators are a great idea for anyone with a lot of software and data to keep secure and safe.