Author Archives: Barbara Eastom Bates

About Barbara Eastom Bates

Barbara Eastom Bates is a freelance writer and self-professed computer geek living in southern California.

SansaConnect Takes on iPod

I love my iPod. It’s 40 GBs of shiny black gadget love. It supports my entire 4 K collection of music, videos, all my episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, and a big chunk of my digital photos. I must confess though, I have a bit of buyers regret after looking at the new SanDisk SansaConnect. The flash based Connect is a collaborative effort between SanDisk and Yahoo. While weighing in at only 4 GB at a price comparable to what I paid for a 40 GB iPod, the Connect has Wi-Fi. No, you can’t check your email on it–although it can … Continue reading →

CompUSA: Everything Must Go

Say it isn’t so! Under pressure from competitors like Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, and Circuit City and burdened by over $100 million in unsaleable inventory, CompUSA announced the upcoming closure of more than half their retail outlets yesterday. Of 229 stores, 126 will close across the U. S. and Puerto Rico in the next sixty to ninety days to allow the Dallas based consumer electronics retailer to focus on top performing locations. Chief Executive Officer Roman Ross said in a statement, “based on changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics markets, the company identified the need to close and sell … Continue reading →

Do You Have a MySite?

Not to knock on MySpace just because it’s old news, always broken, and has flashing text and graphics that really hurt my no longer teenage eyes … but do you have a MySite yet? One of the many great features here at Families.com, MySite is your own personal profile that aggregates your photos, journal entires and forum posts all in one. Unlike some profile sites, MySite has great privacy options, giving you total control over who you share your personal information with. When you upload an individual (or group) of photos, you always have the option of choosing to share … Continue reading →

Tech Q&A: Submit Your Question

Starting this week, I’d like to introduce a new feature to Computing Blog — Tech Q&A. Do you have questions about your computer? Need recommendations for hardware, software, or getting rid of spyware or viruses? Whatever problems you have, the Computing Blog is here to help! Send your questions to BarbaraEB@families.com, and I’ll do my best to assist you. By submitting your question, you will be giving permission to feature your inquiry in an upcoming blog. Your name and email address will not be published. ** Q. I’ve had my computer for about a year and now it seems to … Continue reading →

PlayStation 3 Soon Available

Good news for those of you who are still trying to get your hands on a Sony Play Station 3. A top executive for Sony Computer Entertainment America announced on Tuesday that Sony is on track to ship two million PS3 gaming consoles to North American stores by the end of March, expecting to completely ease retail shortages by May. The PS3, which costs between $500 and $600 depending on your choice of features, has been a red hot commodity since it’s release on November 17, 2006. Gamers stood in line across the country, some waiting for days, just to … Continue reading →

Parents Guilty, MySpace Not to Blame

I blogged last month ago about lawsuits filed against MySpace in the cases of four underage females who were sexually abused by individuals met on the site. In the case of 15 year old Texas female, “Julie Doe,” MySpace was sued for $30 million dollars by the girl’s parents who levied charges of negligence against News Corp, the parent company of MySpace, for failing to protect underage members from online predators. According to court documents, then 13-year-old Julie Doe lied about her age, claiming to be 18 when joining the site. She was contacted by college freshman Pete Solis, with … Continue reading →

Round Up: Fun and Educational Sites for Children

Arts & Crafts Kaboose Kids Crafts Fun stuff to make. Seasonal and Holiday Crafts, Wearable Crafts, Recycled Material Crafts, Crafts to Make as Gifts. IdeaBox Early childhood education and activity resources. Free kids crafts. Holiday, Seasonal, Activities, Crafts, Music, Recipes, and Games. Activity Idea Place 2,400 activity ideas for early childhood. Themes by month, self concept, ABC’s, colors, animals, seasonal and holiday. Creativity Portal Features imagination-inducing art, craft, and writing projects for kids, parents, teachers, home schoolers, and kids at heart. Coloring Book Fun Claims to be largest free coloring page site on the internet. Crayola Creativity Central Coloring, crafts, … Continue reading →

Six Free Online Storage Solutions

Like I’ve mentioned previously, I love online file storage. It’s something about that whole hoping-they’re-better-at-backing-up-data-than-I-am thing. Extreme Tech put together a list of six free online storage solutions offering a minimum of 1 GB of storage space. Box.net Provides secure online file storage and sharing functionality. Box’s unique platform allows content to be accessible, sharable, and storable in any format from anywhere. 1 GB storage accounts with 10 GB/mo. bandwidth are free. 5 GB is available for $4.99 a month with 20 GB transfer/mo. Offers a widget you can put on your website or blog to allow visitors to upload … Continue reading →

Are You Going to BlogHer ’07?

Have you been to BlogHer.org? Following the hugely successful first annual BlogHer Business Conference in 2005, BlogHer.org set up shop to address a question that had been hanging in the air until that time. Where are all the women bloggers? They’re at BlogHer, of course. More than sixty contributing editors give you their take on what’s hot across the blogosphere, tackling topics from business, career, personal finance, feminism, technology, politics and news. Oh yeah … and home and family too. BlogHer is a girls – only club filled with some of the freshest, most intelligent female voices the web has … Continue reading →

Speech is Coming to Second Life

Calling all Second Life addicts! Linden Labs is rolling out a beta test for in-game person-to-person speech as part of its continuing efforts towards creating a richer, more immersive virtual environment. In addition to current instant messaging capabilities, residents of Linden will soon be able to engage in private one-on-one voice communication and group discussions. Like conversation in your first life, the new system will utilize spatial awareness to mimic real speech, adjusting volume based on distance and direction of the speaker. Up to 100 people will be able to chat on one connection at the same time. Linden Lab … Continue reading →