Google just deployed a test version of their new search engine, known as Caffeine. You can play around with Caffeine in the Google sandbox, a popular test area on Google's website. Web moguls are saying this may be the end of keyword obsession in web development since the new search function is supposed to be smarter. If you have a website or blog, you might be interested in an article I did on one of my own sites about keywords and why they aren't as hot as one might think. Anyway, I worked with the new Google Caffeine and found differences between...

What are the worst electronic gadgets and concepts available today? I searched the web to see what venerable gadget gurus had to say and here's a list of sites for you to visit if you're interested in avoiding the crappiest gadgets on Earth. Save money. Wired's gadget lab disses AT&T, Asus and Apple, among others. Check out their list of trashy inventions. Audio gadgets to throw down a black hole - Sgt. Pepper??? Worst science cliches - are we done with silver bullet theory - please? Can we quit with the Holy Grail nonsense? Switched thumps Sega and Gizmondo among others Twenty worthless pieces of...

Can hackers on the Internet figure out your social security number from the data trail you leave behind as you surf the web? Short answer -- probably. Two egg heads at Carnegie Mellon discovered that social security numbers aren't random. Since I figured that out years ago, and I'm no digital scientist, that fact in itself is uninspiring. However, their newly found knowledge created an algorithm that can come up with thousands of people's socials in an hour - if those people happen to live in Rhode Island or West Virginia, for example. Here's the story. The government confirms that social...

Google has dominated the search engine competition for so many years that they set all the rules now, and if Google doesn't like you or you don't meet their criteria, you don't exist online. Will Microsoft's Bing search engine rip off a piece of their market share? Might smaller, less monetized webmaster's once again have a  chance of being found online? I don't find Bing a terribly impressive search engine so far - the returns seem identical to Google, in the same order. The Twitter search thing means it'll return Twitter hits on your search terms, but only if people like...

Google Docs is an online productivity suite that's FREE, uses none of your system's resources and requires no download. Google Docs is fun to explore and to play with. If you want to jump on the bandwagon and get some of the larger programs off your own hard drive, start with Google's tour of Docs . The idea is to upload your existing files and then crate new documents from scratch or from templates. You can share the stuff you write, store it online and set controls to keep it private and secure, they say. I'm not sure I trust online...

You need to take a few minutes today to visit an extremely cool website called 50 to Death. Designed and operated by three very recognizable Hollywood and Broadway celebrities, the site is loaded with deeply funny videos reflecting on the lives of us baby boomers. The website, itself, is one of the most original and appealing I've seen. It resembles the top of my desk (the wooden desk, not the Windows desktop). There's a bunch of worth-reading information on virtual post-it notes, little scraps of notebook paper and torn envelopes. Pictures and amusing sketches lay strewn about. You'll learn a...

In this economy, money is on everybody's mind. I dug up a couple of really interesting websites that address everything from how to invest your money to how to spend your money to managing your credit reports. Here we go. Online advice The Online Version of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine is a great source of free advice and information about a variety of money topics. The site's forums provide a way for readers to discuss issues such as paying for college with reporters who have written on those topics. Credit questions If you've got questions about credit reports, debt repayment,...

Is it myth or fact that MIT and other top school offer free tech classes and other college courses online? Can you round out your education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology or learn how to write effectively at Northwestern without paying tuition. Yes you can. College degrees for $100. Do you get those emails too? Well, I heard that some of the world's best real educational resources are free AND legitimate. A few weeks ago, after searching for training web sites and being disappointed at the quality and cost of what I was finding, I came across the OpenCourseWare consortium. OpenCourseWare...

Conficker, the worm, is in its third iteration this year and has been around in other guises since who-knows-when. Yes, it's of concern and really does inhabit a couple of million computers around the world. Is Conficker the end of computing as we know it? Nope. Here's what I know. If you maintain your computer properly, run auto update for Windows (if you have a MAC, you needn't keep worrying, but do keep reading, just for fun.) and have a good antivirus program, you're probably good. If you follow my advice and do the FREE self tune up every week, you're...

Oprah Winfrey, most famous baby boomer of all, says her puppy Sadie is doing well according to the veterinarian in charge of Sadie's care, Dr. Alexis Newman of Arboretum View Animal Hospital is Downers Grove, IL. Oprah chose a high tech clinic with an eye on patient survival and the future of veterinary medicine. The little guy pictured above is not Sadie, he's Ernie, my healthy Yorkie Poo. I talked with Dr. Newman's staff today and learned that there's little reason for beloved pets, even older pets, to be put down because of most illness, injuries or aging issues. for us baby boomers, pets...

Found a cool contest for the Hannah Montana fans in your life. Got a grandchild who adores Hannah Montana? Does your neighbors youngster swoon when Hannah hits the stage? Well, this week a new "secret website" was launched for Hannah Montana - you know her - Miley Cirus's altar ego? Anyway the site is Hannah Montana Web Pass. Created by Disney and Reader's Digest Books,  it's accessible only with a secret code that can only be gotten by purchasing a site kick-off book from Reader's Digest. There's a drawing based on today's comments to the WomenDaybyDay blog. Go take a look...

Gizmodo announced the most useful tool shaped like a pair of boobs. No Oscar for them, but the article is certainly worth a grin. I won't tell you what the bosom-shaped utensil is, but do go take a look. I nearly spit my coffee into my keyboard - which has happened to me more than once. Green MP3 player - low carbon footprint - this one is fun. Believe it or not, a wind-up MP3 player that uses no electricity. I haven't tried it, but I used to have a wind-up radio. It's the thought... The How to Geek says try this one...

Baby boomer women use the web as much as, or more than, most other demographic groups. We shop, surf, read, socialize and do research. Since many of us work at home, work via computers, are retired, or work part time, we have a bit of spare time to go online and use web resources. I like this site - National Association of Baby Boomer Women. There seem to be some good networking opportunites for baby boomer women - those of us in our 40s, 50s and 60s. There are some powerful members - women of the boomer generation who have...

Here are some ways the digital and electronic world has meshed with tradition and impacted Valentine's Day. Maybe you'll get some ideas for your sweetheart. Or yourself even. Yahoo! Valentine's Day shopping. A bit far-fetched, if you ask me - I think a nice box of chocolates suits today's budget more than a nice Wii console. Blue Mountain electronic Valentine's Day cards - aka "ecards." Gotta be careful of the e-card thing - it's a way to pick up spyware, but this company has been around for a while and seems legit. Zen Mosaic MP3 players - start at $59 for 2g. The...

Need to cure a virus? Would you rather prevent getting one? Want to avoid spyware or learn what spyware is? What about making your PC typr computer run faster and better without spending a fortune? I have exactly the site for you - it's called SaveMyButt and it can really save your butt. The site, including a robust forum for questions and ideas, is run by an enthusiastic and energetic PC guru entrepreneur out of Chicago, Mike DiMichele (pronounced Mike De Michael). He has been featured for years on a radio program called "Website Wednesday Night" on WGN radio, which can be...

CES, the Consumer Electronics Show is one of the largest trade shows and takes place in Las Vegas each year. The public isn't relaly invited - you have to have a connection to the consumer electronics industry to get tickets, but surfing the Web in early January each year will get you some cool stories about what's up for the current year. I was fascinated by a blog called The New Old Age, that talked about the first ever exhibit aimed at the elderly, their adult children and caregivers. Not exactly a baby-boomer topice, per se, the exhibit is about folks a bit...

We may all spend a lot of winter time indoors - so check out Internet Movie Data Base, a long-established information portal for movie information of any sort. This fast loading film resource has no bells and gimmicks, just real info about movie stars, film title, plots, tehcnical data - anything you want to know about movies. You can sign up and reigster for a free account to give you access to conversations and forums where you can actually post a review or comment. You can just visit, plug in the name of an actor, director or title and find out anything...

                                                 Still trying to put the holidays together, find that last-minute Christmas thingy, reach into your past and relive the delights of the Lone Ranger, Flash Gordon, or Tom Terrific? Here's a list of things to do and things to buy online that might make you burst out laughing. I want to hear from you if you remember this stuff. I sat with my grandma and watched Perry Mason every week. How about an actual magazine on Hula Hoops? Or a hula hooping video from You Tube? ...

Lynda Weinman has written dozens of books on how to design Web sites and work with Web graphics. Weinman's books have been around for ages and she parlayed her writing career into a fantastic Web presence. If you are interested in learning how to do anything associated with the Web, site design, graphics, software, operating systems, search engine optimization - go visit her learning lab. Known simply as lynda.com, it's unlike most other commercial training sites. For one, there is no long-term commitment, no subscription required. You can sign up for one class or several. It costs about $1 a day...

Holiday shopping - the Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday rushes are over. A frightening thing this year - more than one human being was actually killed in the firestorm of lunatic shoppers. All the more reason to consider online shopping. Fear of identity theft might keep some people hesitant, but fear of bodily injury makes me think online holiday shopping is the way to go. Here, then, some secrets from me to you: BizRate is a cool resource for product reviews, trends, price comparisons and gift ideas. Go check out Pricegrabber.com - I...

  Here's a neat Web site for those of us who want to make the best holiday photos possible this year. If you have a digital camera you haven't used much, you just want to expand your photo techniques or you plan to give someone the gift of a digital camera this year, check into the comprehensive list of digital photo info sites provided by Judy Howle's Digital Photography page. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Some of the links are classes and some are free information sources. Another suggestion from me to you - Photoshop.com, the online destination that provides users...

Check this out. Here’s a group of tech-savvy baby boomers who literally got their act together. What they’ve created is a humorous web series called www.50todeath.com. It’s one of those new Web shows, and the story revolves around three boomers jousting with everything the 21st Century throws their way. A Web series is like a television program – sitcom, drama, whatever – except that it’s written and produce specifically for Web-based video. For a review of “50 to Death,” visit Tubefilter. The production company plans to air monthly webisodes for the next year. The company consists of Norm Golden, recently of televisions’...