Almost everyone has them:  points that have accrued over time from airline travel.  However, using them isn’t always easy.  Infrequent travelers are sometimes stuck with a handful of points that cannot be redeemed for a full ticket.  Or perhaps the airline you use has limited availability of seats, so it’s difficult to use the points that you do have. 

Several sites are available that help users make the most of the points that they’ve earned.  Each, however, take a different approach and fill a specific type of need.  These sites include:

• ExpertFlyer.com – Intended for frequent flyers, this subscription service ($4.99 basic, $9.99 premium) allows users to search for awards and upgrades across multiple airlines from one site.  In addition, it can alert you when awards and upgrades become available.
• Points.com – Provides a single location where you can monitor your accrued points, as well as earn points through various promotions, swap points between programs, or even redeem points for gift certificates.  Probably their most interesting feature, however, is a new program called GPX that will enable users to trade points through an exchange.
• LoyaltyMatch – Still in beta, LoyaltyMatch enables users to trade points, or convert them to cash or merchandise.  Available merchandise includes everything from magazines all the way up to a luxury Porsche driving experience.
• Yapta – Currently beta-testing a service that allows users to plan potential trips; and then the service will alert them when award seats come available for fewer points.

The Internet has a lot to offer:  communication, news, investment research, and money saving opportunities but to name a few.  But sometimes, you just need to take a break and have a little fun.  So with that in mind, I’ve put together a list of 12 fun and free websites that are great for entertainment.

Gaming -

• Pogo.com – Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune, Yahtzee, and Trivial Pursuit are among the diversions you’ll find here.  In addition to classic games, they also feature puzzles, card games, and arcade games.
• Miniclip.com – Miniclip sports literally hundreds of games…Most of them are action oriented.  Their top game is called Club Penguin and is sponsored by Disney.  Great for the kids.
• FunBrain.com – This one is for the kids and features educational games targeted at the elementary and pre-teen crowd.  In addition to games focused around skills such as math, reading, and grammar, this site also includes arcade games and standard puzzle games like Soduku.
• FreeArcade.com – The most heavily trafficked free-gaming site, FreeArcade features 3 new games a day and offers a mix of online and downloadable games.
• PopCap Games – Like FreeArcade, PopCap offers both online and downloadable games.  In addition, they feature a competitive function, where you can compete head to head against others.

Video -

• Hulu – A video streaming site that features full content from NBC, Fox and Comedy Central.  If you missed a recent episode of The Office or want to catch up on The Daily Show, this is the place to go.
• NBC – Featuring clips full episodes of shows found on the NBC network, this site also includes their broadcast schedule, an online community, and games.
• Joost – Another streaming site the features content from MTV, CBS, the WB, Sony, Comedy Central, and other sources.

Music/Audio -

• Pandora – A site that I’ve discussed before, Pandora selects and plays music for you based upon your musical preferences.  Over time, you can fine tune it so it is more able to pick music that you may enjoy.
• Last.fm – A self described “social music” site that features, music, videos, song charts, and local events.  If you enjoy music, it’s definitely a site to check out.
• SHOUTcast Radio – From the makers of Winamp, SHOUTcast is a directory of online radio stations that you can listen to over the Internet.
• Live365 – Like SHOUTcast, Live365 is an online directory of Internet radio stations that stream audio from all over the world.

If you enjoyed this list, then you might also like my list of 12 Free and Fantastic Windows Applications or my list of 16 Free and Fantastic Apps for the Mac.

With little ones in the house, we’re quickly finding ourselves surrounded with all sorts of battery-operated toys and gizmos that seem to eat batteries like Robert Parker drinks wine.

An obvious choice to keep batteries from consuming your budget is to invest in rechargeables.  But the last time I did so, I ended up with a set of batteries that seemed to be discharged and dead every time I needed to use them.

It seems, however, that the demands of laptops, cellphones, cameras, and every other electronic gizmo we use on a daily basis have resulted in some strong advancements in battery technology over the past few years. Sanyo and Rayovac have each introduced rechargeable batteries using a 'hybrid nickel metal hydride’ technology, which enables batteries to better hold their charge when not in use while also being rechargeable.

So is it worth the money?  I did a cost analysis where I looked at buying standard Energizer alkaline D-Cells relative to a pack of Sanyo eneloops.  A four-pack of D-Cells runs about $5.50 locally, whereas a 4-pack of Sanyo eneloops with a charger will run about $18 when purchased through Amazon. 

Sanyo claims that you can get up to 1,000 charges from each battery.  But a D-Cell has a much higher mAh rating (roughly 12,000) versus the 2,000 mAh rating of the AA eneloop; so each eneloop is equivalent to approximately 165 D-Cell batteries.  Assuming that Sanyo’s claim is accurate, then each $18 pack of eneloops is equivalent to about $740 worth of D-Cells. 

Even if Sanyo’s claim of 1,000 charges is wildly optimistic and you only end up getting only half of that, you’re still looking at saving several hundred dollars over the lifetime of the batteries.

There are a couple of downsides, however.  The first is that the lower mAh rating means that you’ll end up charging batteries more frequently in applications that require a C or D-Cell.  The other downside is that in order to actually use an eneloop in a device that uses a C or D-Cell, you will have to purchase a kit that has adaptors that allow you to fit the AA battery into a C or D-Cell slot.  Still, it seems that the potential savings is well worth the hassle.

eneloops are available at Sears, as well as Costco, Ritz Camera, hhgregg, JR.com, and Amazon.

I’ve been using a Mac quite a bit over the past year; so after receiving such a solid response to my article on 12 Free and Fantastic Windows Applications, I decided to compile a similar list of my favorite applications for the Mac.  Like the list of applications I compiled for Windows, these applications are all solid replacements for commercial applications, or offer a lot of value.  They include:

• VirtualBox – With virtualization software, you can run Windows or Linux along-side Mac OS X on your Intel-based Mac.  The most popular apps for this include Parallels and VMware Fusion.  However, they both cost money.  VirtualBox, on the other hand, is freely available virtualization software that’s developed and distributed by Sun Microsystems.
• NeoOffice – The Mac OS X equivalent of OpenOffice.  NeoOffice can be thought of as a replacement for Microsoft Office; and includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, database and drawing application that are compatible with MS Office and other common productivity applications.
• GIMP.app – Sometimes described as a “poor man’s Photoshop”, GIMP is a graphics tool that can be used for common tasks such as retouching photos, and creating and manipulating graphic files in various formats.
• Burn – Open source utility that allows you to burn audio, data, and video disks.
• HandBrake – Open source tool that can “rip” DVDs so you can watch them on other devices, such as iPods or your iPhone.
• iGTD – A full-featured task management application that can be used to help implement the “Getting Things Done” method for time management.
• Adium – Free instant messaging client that supports popular IM protocols including: Yahoo! Messenger, AOL IM, ICQ, MobileMe, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, and more. 
• QuickSilver – An application launcher that can be used to quickly launch applications without having to lift your hands off the keyboard.  This cool little tool is extensible and customizable, so you can tailor it to match your needs.
• Skype – Solid audio quality for voice chats, support for video chats, and completely free when you chat with other Skype users.  What more can I say?
• SuperDuper! – A solid little tool for performing backups on your Mac.  The free version performs a full image dump, whereas the paid version scans and copies over only items that have changed.  While it’s free, I found enough value in it that I eventually bought the full version for about $30.
• smcFanControl – This app is practically a necessity of you have a laptop.  It allows you to tweak the fan speeds on your Mac so it runs cooler. 
• Colloquy -  A very nice IRC client for the Mac.  In fact, it’s the best I’ve found.  ‘Nuf said.
• Firefox – A solid compliment to the Safari browser that is shipped with the Mac.  I usually keep Firefox and Safari running and switch between the two, as certain websites tend to run better with one browser over the other.
• Evernote – Okay, I admit it:  I’m just a fan of Evernote.  It’s a nice little note-taking tool that just happens to have a client available for the Mac.  Do note, however, that your Mac has to have Leopard (10.5) installed in order to use it.  If you don’t, then you’re stuck with the web-based version of the tool.
• iStat – A neat little widget that allows you to keep an eye on system resources, such as RAM and hard drive space.  It allows you to better understand which applications are consuming resources and when you might want to consider a hardware upgrade.
• Pastor – A utility that allows you to store and manage passwords and logins.  Stored data is encrypted and the tool also includes a handy password generator.

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With great fanfare, Apple announced new laptops at a conference earlier today.  The new laptops feature cases cut from a single block of aluminum, faster graphic chips from NVIDIA, and a new multi-touch trackpad.

But with this announcement is another untold story:  Much like the car industry, the prior generation is no longer as desirable; and as such, Apple is now selling refurbished versions of the older MacBook Pros for as much as 41% off list price.  With these cuts, you can now purchase the old MacBook Pro for as low as $1349 – or about $650 less than the new model, and for less money than a well-spec’d MacBook.

What are the differences?  Well, there are a few:  no machined case, somewhat slower graphics, and a slightly smaller hard drive.  But these are items that most people won’t miss on a day to day basis.

So…looking for a deal on a Mac?  Check them out before they’re gone.

Just a day after Quicken made their online product available for free, Mint.com has dropped their Beta designation and has announced several new features, including:

• Investment Tracking – Mint now has the ability to track Brokerage, IRA, 401k, and 529 accounts; and users can drill down to see how their investments are performing.
• 401k Management – It’s now possible to have Mint track present and past 401k accounts.  Because prior accounts may incur fees, Mint can help users by recommending when to rollover 401k accounts to IRAs.
• More Flexible Budget Sheets – Users can now create and use their own transaction categories.

Visit:  Mint.com

In another attempt to buy their way into the search space (their first is their cashback program), Microsoft is running a promotion where individuals can earn ‘tickets’ redeemable for prizes when you use Live Search.

It works like this:  The first 1,000,000 people who sign up can earn up to 25 ‘tickets’ per day for conducting searches through Live Search.  Merely signing up will net you 500 tickets.  Prizes start at 525 tickets and range from free music downloads to t-shirts to Xbox controllers.  Participants must sign-up by December 31st and the promotion runs through April 15th, 2009.  And oh yeah, you have to use Internet Explorer.

As of today, Quicken has ceased charging a monthly fee for their online financial management product.  Instead, they’ve joined the ranks of Mint, Yodlee, and Geezeo by offering the service at no charge.

The reports I’ve seen about the service have been mixed.  However, with it being free, there’s no cost involved to try it out.

Link:  Quicken Online

I’m a big fan of backups.  After being a PC user for almost 20 years and having lost countless files over time due to careless deletion and hard-drive crashes, I’ve learned the hard way that backups are a tedious but necessary evil.

If you need to find a good backup application, Download Squad just published an article that covers 13 Free Backup programs for Windows, Mac, and Linux.  Personally, for the Mac I use SuperDuper!, which is free for the basic version.  Although I found enough value in it that I eventually purchased the full-version.  On the PC, I keep all of my critical files under one directory and then use a simple script to back it up to an external drive. 

Read:  13 Great Free Backup Programs for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Thanks to Speedmaster for the suggestion!

As frequent laptop users will attest, there’s nothing more frustrating than a laptop that quickly drains its battery.  Assuming that the battery isn’t old and in need of replacement, there are a few things you can do help your notebook run more efficiently so it lasts longer on a charge.  These include:

• Clean Out Unused Programs – Over time, computers tend to collect installed applications like waitresses collect tips:  A little here and a little there.  If you take a look the installed applications on your laptop, I bet there’s a few that you no longer use.  Some of those installed applications may automatically start when you turn on your computer, causing batteries to be drained more quickly and other system resources (like RAM) to be used.  Spend some time uninstalling applications that you no longer use or need.
• Slow Down Your Processor – Many laptops include system-tray or control panel options to use less electricity by slowing down the processor.  Check your computer and ensure that you have the processor set to run at the slowest speed possible when on battery power.
• Dim Your Screen – Likewise, the light that illuminates your laptop screen consumes a lot of energy.  When possible, turn the brightness down – preferably to the lowest possible setting that’s still comfortable for your eyes.
• Turn Off Unused Devices  - Devices that are either built-in or plugged in to your computer consume energy when not in use.  Examples include WiFi, bluetooth, and USB drives.  If you’re not using a given device, turn it off when possible.
• Trim Your DVD/CD Usage  - DVD and CD drives tend to use a lot of energy.  So when on battery power, curb your temptation to watch a movie or install software.
• Kill Unwanted Background Services – System processes that run in the background aren’t always needed; and can consume system resources and run down your battery.  Examples of background services that are typically configured to run automatically include:  Automatic Updates, Consolidator, and Windows Indexing.  If they’re set to run automatically, then disable them, but remember to run them on a periodic basis as part of standard house-keeping.