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Results for: Tech Tuesday

Tech Tuesday: Manpacks

Posted by Hal Thomas on March 26, 2013

WSAV: News, Weather, and Sports for Savannah, GA

Manpacks is like Netflix for men's underwear, except that you don't have to return anything once you've used it. Because that would be awkward.​

The logic behind Manpacks is simple. Take items that men need to replace regularly—personal care, razors, socks, underwear—and create a service that results in one less thing guys have to remember. It also helps that guys tend to be somewhat brand loyal to most of the items that Manpacks offers, things the average guy doesn't want to spend a lot of time thinking about.

Manpacks also has the best return policy of all time.

​Manpacks, because you're too old for your mom to still be buying your underwear.

 
 
 
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Planning and Managing Your Finances with LearnVest

Posted by Hal Thomas on March 12, 2013

WSAV: News, Weather, and Sports for Savannah, GA

Tax time is right around the corner. It can often be a jarring time of year as we're forced to examine how we've used our money over the past year. Most of us wouldn't mind a few pointers managing our money, but for some of us the thought of consulting a financial advisor is about as appealing as a trip to the doctor or dentist. Enter LearnVest.

What is LearnVest?

LearnVest is a financial tool that can help you with everything from basic monthly budgeting to debt reduction to financial planning. It helps you analyze both where you are now and where you need to be. In short, it can help you develop and achieve both short-term and long-term financial goals.

How does LearnVest work?

LearnVest.com is where you get started by inputing your financial information and syncing your financial accounts: checking, savings, home equity, school loans, credit cards, etc. LearnVest provides you with a real-time snapshot of your finances.

How does LearnVest differ from Mint and similar financial services?

There are a number of great personal finance apps out there but most of them require you to know what your financial goals are. LearnVest goes beyond just showing you where you are; it helps you figure out what your financial goals should be and what you need to to do achieve them.

How much does LearnVest cost?

LearnVest has several plans to choose from starting at free and ranging up to about $400.

 
 
 
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Tech Tuesday: Nike FuelBand

Posted by Hal Thomas on January 08, 2013

With the start of the new year, I'm sure there are lots of folks with resolutions to take better care of themselves in 2013. Today for WSAV Tech Tuesday, we discuss the Nike FuelBand, a gadget that monitors your activity level throughout the day.

How does the Nike FuelBand work?

The FuelBand goes around your wrist and looks very similar to many of the popular rubber bracelets people wear to support various causes. It contains an accelerometer that measures your movements and attempts to map them to various physical activities. The device awards you "Nike Fuel" points based on your level activity. In addition to your Fuel points, it will also tell you how many calories you've burned, how many steps you've taken, and the current time.

How accurate is the FuelBand?

Reviews vary wildly across the Internet. Some people report that the FuelBand consistently overestimates the number of steps you take, and others accuse the FuelBand of being a little too generous with the number of calories burned.

Would you recommend the Nike FuelBand?

If you are a hardcore calorie counter and are looking for the precise number of steps you take in a day, then you might want to do a little more research on the FuelBand before you commit. But, if you're like me and just want a way to keep yourself honest about your general level of activity from day to day, then I think the FuelBand is great. Over the last two weeks it has shown me that...

 
 
 
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Tech Tuesday: Tips for Safer Cyber Shopping

Posted by Hal Thomas on November 27, 2012

Online sales this year on Black Friday surpassed $1 billion for the first time ever. With all that online shopping going on, we have a few tips to try to make online shopping a little safer. That's our subject today on WSAV's Tech Tuesday segment.

Tips for safer online shopping this holiday season:
  • Whenever possible stick with names you know and trust. Larger retailers stand to lose a lot from being hacked than smaller retailers, so they usually have more resources invested in making sure online transactions are secure. 
  • Give some thought to how you pay. I'm a big fan of PayPal—data security is essentially their business—so I highly recommend paying with PayPal when you can. If PayPal isn't a payment option, use a credit card instead of a debit card. If you are a victim of fraud, most credit card companies offer some form of limited liability as well as more leverage with disputing transactions than you have with a debit card. Plus, with a credit card you aren't giving someone a direct line to your checking account the way you are with a debit card.

  • Change your passwords often. We hear this all the time but most of us, myself included, don't change our passwords often enough. You might also try using different passwords for different purposes to limit your ability to be hacked: one password for retail sites, another for work stuff, another for personal email and social networks, and still another for banking and other sensitive personal information.<...

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    Tech Tuesday: One Instant Messenger To Rule Them All

    Posted by Hal Thomas on October 23, 2012

    When it comes to technology, it's nearly impossible to get everyone you know on the same page, and this is certainly the case with instant messaging. Some people love Skype, others like Facebook chat, and still others prefer AOL Instant Messenger.

    Today on WSAV Tech Tuesday, we talk about Imo, one-service to rule them all. Imo takes chats happening across multiple IM networks and brings them all into one place.

    What networks does imo support?

    Imo offers support for 11 major networks including Skype, Facebook Chat, AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, MSN chat, Jabber, Yahoo and more. Imo will let you place Skype calls using your computer or smartphone's data plan. It also uses your data plan for sending messages to your contacts, so you won't accrue text message fees using imo.

    What else can imo do?

    Imo allows you to share photos and video files with your chat groups the same way you would with any other instant message service. You can also send short voice IM's to your friends and continue your chats seamlessly whether you are on your computer or your phone. So it doesn't matter if you start a chat on your computer at work; you can continue that chat on your phone after you leave work and pick it up again later that night on your iPad.

    How much does imo cost and where can people get it?

    Imo is free for Androids, BlackBerries, iPhones and iPads. Go to  

     
     
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