Cool browser add-in that comes in really really handy, particularly in keeping bookmarks sync’d between multiple computers, like your desktop and laptop.

Xmarks is free and works with IE, Safari, and Firefox. No reason not to give it a try, you’ll like it.

Discovered Evernote and love it!

It is basically a service that allows you to collect information, links, files, etc in one place, all synchronized to the various devices that Evernote supports;

• Windows/Mac OSX
• iPod, iPad
• Blackberry
• Palm Pre
• Web Clipper

The windows client is a dream. Uses SQLite under the hood to maintain a local database of your stuff that is sync’d to Evernote’s servers.  The real beauty here is that all this stuff is available to you anywhere, from your Blackberry, your laptop, even any place you can get to a web browser. And because there’s a copy on Evernote’s servers, you have built-in painless backup you can get to easily to recover your data from a local crash.

Getting stuff into Evernote is easy;

• The web clipper let’s you send entire pages or parts of pages direct to Evernote.
• The Blackberry client let’s you send pictures and sound recordings, as well as locally produced notes direct to Evernote.
• The Windows client supports drag and drop direct into Evernote.
• You get a special Evernote email address that you can use to email anything you want added to your Evernote database.

Once the stuff is there, you can easily organize it with tags and search it with Evernote’s powerful search capabilities. I love this app,  I’m not all that organized, so having a place to just dump things and later be able to easily search and locate what I am looking for is a delight.

Highly recommended.

OK, rant time. What is with Vizio and their remote controls?

I’ve had a 32″ Vizio for about a year. Until recently I’ve been very happy with it but my recent experience with the remote has me wondering about the company and quality. My remote suddenly stopped working. None of the buttons would get a response from the TV. Put in new batteries, no change. Tried using my wife’s remote, no change.

So, naturally I turned to Google and started some heavy googling of the problem. Turns out there are plenty of posts out there about Vizio remote controls mysteriously not working. A common problem seems to be the control working intermittently, some days it works, some days it doesn’t.

Suggestions for fixing the problem include;

• Remove the batteries for 24 hours, then try again (supposedly this ‘resets’ the control)
• Remove the batteries from the control and unplug the TV for 30 minutes (again, supposedly resets both)
• Replace the batteries (duh!)
• Clear obstructions from in front of the screen (another duh!)
• Place a strip of blue painter’s tape over the IR sensor on the front of the receiver. The painter’s tape filters the stray IR from the TV and allows the remote signal to get through. (Way above my head, I don’t get it but some say this works).
• Remove sources of IR interference. There’s a good article here that goes into detail about possible sources of interference. (None of which applied to me).

I’ve tried the suggestions and still the remote seems to work only when it decides it wants to, which makes me think the real problem is a defective receiver in the TV.

Anyways, finding so many of these complaints around the internet with no solution offered by Vizio doesn’t leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling about the Vizio brand…. if you are considering buying one, buyer beware!