David lives in San Francisco and is an editor at Gelf Magazine. He also freelances for several magazines including Wired and Business 2.0. He's always on the lookout for new ideas about how to make life at work more efficient, more productive, and more fun. Please feel free to send...
Rick has mentioned it before, but here's another reminder that if you're looking for an online collaboration tool, Basecamp is the way to go. I use Basecamp wikis to collaborate on story ideas for the magazine I run, collect tips for Business Hacks, and manage several different small software projects....
As someone who flies frequently but whose only loyalty is to the airliner that can get me the cheapest seat to where I'm going, I almost always find myself with a bunch of miles spread out over a bunch of frequent flier programs. Which is why I have subscriptions to...
Okay, so I probably don't need this gadget, as I spend almost all of my days within a few feet of a power outlet. But maybe the fact that I don't own this gadget is the reason I'm so sedentary. If I owned the Powermonkey eXplorer with solar charger, I'd...
Every year, a new study seems to come out claiming that either IMing is a productivity timesuck or that it's actually a useful, relatively non-intrusive tool. Recently, the scientific pendulum has swung to the "useful" side, as a recent study found that "workers who used instant messaging on the job...
When I want to get a bunch of people together for a party or business gathering, I often find myself reluctantly turning to Evite. I hate it. Besides for the late-'90s styling, it's got a clunky interface, is packed with ads, and forces guests to go to the website to...
Just in case you thought big brother had gone on sabbatical, a shocking new report came out this week that highlights how unprivate your corporate email account is. According to an article in CNET about a new report by Proofpoint, more than 40% of large companies have hired folks to...
While I'm not quite as excited about the new online scheduler Presdo as the folks over at TechCrunch, I will say that it's pretty darn simple, and it seems to integrate seamlessly with Google Calendar. It also has Google's intuitive understanding of what you mean when you use natural...
A few days ago, the folks over at Gizmodo pointed out a new way to reach your international contacts. Using Jaxtr, which is primarily a free phone-to-web-to-phone international calling service, you can now send free text messages to cellphones all over the world. While Giz rightly points out some limitations—no...
Not looking forward to the Ides of April? A new startup called Sexat ("Taxes" backwards, get it?) has worked out a deal to let you SMS your 1099s and W2s directly to the IRS—no H&R Block schmoe needed. All you have to do is follow the simple guidelines on the...
As someone who routinely sends out newsletters to large subscriber bases, I've moved beyond the BCC-ed bulk email as a way to communicate with my customers. Instead, I use Campaign Monitor, which is well worth the $10 or so it charges me to send out an email newsletter. Here's why:...
As Wired editor Chris Anderson points out in a pretty cool article in this month's magazine, online businesses are starting to realize that Freeconomics is the new order of the day. It's why this post you're reading is available to everyone, and why Google has become one of the biggest...
Despite the fact that I pound two to three cups of coffee every day, I've never really thought about caffeine as a performance enhancing drug beyond the fact the fact that it makes me less tired. But there's evidence that, like steroids and other drugs, caffeine works better when it's...
Or at least make sure you pay close attention to who you're emailing before you hit send. That message, which has always been pretty close to Business Hacks' heart, was nailed home today when it appears that the New York Times scoop about a one billion dollar Eli Lilly settlement...
On Thursday, a fun new instructional site called HowCast is launching. I was able to take a peek around the beta version of the site and came across a bunch of useful videos as well as lists and wikis. While the videos can be a little bit silly (for example,...
In Slate a few days ago, Jeffrey MacIntyre wrote about a few small applications he likes to call ZenWare for their supposed ability to cull distractions from your desktop. He tested a few of them out, and came away particularly impressed with Spirited Away for Macs—the PC version is Swept...
A typical office worker gets 126 non-spam messages per day and spends over a quarter of a day managing his inbox, according to a recent (free!) Wall Street Journal article. If you out of necessity or compulsion have to check your email box on demand, there...
Both Rick and I have pointed out the great newish Google products for cellphones: 1-800-GOOG-411 and Google SMS. Deciding which one to use is more than a matter of preferring to talk or use your thumbs, though. I use GOOG-411 when I'm driving or walking and need...
Fuser is a recently launched email and social network message aggregator. You plug in your logins and passwords and—presto!—all of your emails, wall posts, etc. show up in the same inbox. Sounds easy, but maybe a little discombobulating to deal with all of this information in one place. So should...
Next time you're up for a performance review, Slacker Manager reminds you to bring along a folder chock-full of praise for you and your work. Sure, you have to fill the folder up yourself, but it's a great way to remind bosses, clients, and even yourself that you're a good...
Ever wanted to check out an online publication, website or application without first forking over your email address? You can register using the awesome new OtherInbox that Rick scored beta invites to, or you can channel 2004 and see if someone's already signed up using a generic username and password...
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