I don’t want anyone to accuse me of providing just iPhone or Google tips so I am continuing my random tips theme.  In other words, don’t try to find the thread that binds these tips together.

Boxee Box, HTPC, Xbox, Apple TV, Roku, OH MY! Trying to figure out which Set-Top On-Demand box might be best for you to get your entertainment on your terms? Head over to Lifehacker where they put together a quick review of what they believe is the 5 best Set-Top boxes for On-Demand video.

Now that you read that Lifehacker Set-Top review you might be saying: Hey Mike, didn’t Roku just announce new devices?  Good catch but don’t worry I didn’t forget.  Our friends over at Zats Not Funny have all the information in their Roku 2 Review.

Wondering what the next version of Windows might look like?  Have you been paying attention to Windows Phone 7?  Hello? Check out this first look at Windows 8 new user interface.  Looks like Microsoft may finally have a tablet appropriate OS.

Speaking of Windows Phone 7, Nokia let it slip that their upcoming N9 MeeGo phone will soon be running Windows Phone 7.  The N9 is a stunning looking single piece designed phone. Paul Thurrot has all the technical details at his site and I tracked down the “secret” video presentation of the N9 running Windows Phone 7.

Copy and paste images from the clipboard into Gmail is finally here. I repeat copy and paste images from the clipboard is finally here.  There is of course one teeny tiny little requirement to make this work. You need to be running the Google Chrome browser.  The Gmail blog has all the information regarding this new feature.

Thinking about getting a new flat screen television (or maybe 2)? Did you head over to your local electronics superstore and have a meltdown trying to figure out which type might be best?  PCMag.com has a great article for you called Plasma vs. LCD vs. LED: Which HDTV Type is Best?  Go read it now but if you end up buying a rear-projection TV, please don’t tell anybody.

I leave you with this out of the world tech tip. UFOs exist and you can see them clearly using Google Earth.  Nuff said.

I’m too busy trying to keep up on Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter/MySpace/BeKnown/BranchOut to find time to write up my thoughts on Google+. Fortunately many of my Blogger buddies did find time to write about Google+ so I thought I would share some of these posts with you.

Rather than saving the best for last, I’m going to put it right up front with the fantabulous post from Kelly Dingee on how she is TOTALLY geeking out over Google+:

But Google+…it makes me smile. I’m like a moth to the flame with this one, I just can’t stay away. I’ve seen a lot of blogs on how great it is for recruiting because of the core features like hangouts and sparks and circles. Sure, there’s huge potential there, but I think that’s just looking at Google+ in a very surface sort of manner.

Pay attention to Kelly’s post and read EVERY word.  This is one of the best examples of thinking outside of the box for using Google+. She also provides some tips on searching profiles and a link to pimping out your Google+ profile design.  Seriously, you don’t want to miss this post.

On the other end of the spectrum our intrepid HR Technology blogger, Steve Boese, is not sure what to do with Google+.

I kind of like Google Plus, but I also really don’t know what if anything I’ll ever do with it, and that any time I spend there is time I’m not doing something else.

And yet Steve does write near the beginning of his post some of the reasons people will use Google+.

Plus seems to fit nicely into a gap that many users of more established social networks feel exists, making it easier and simpler to share status updates, contents, images, etc. with discrete ‘circles’ of friends and contacts, positioning Plus less of a broadcast medium like Twitter, while offering better (at least ostensibly), control over data privacy, and possessing more potential for meaningful engagement than on Facebook.

It will be interesting to see how long Steve will be able to hold out on Google+. It’s a shiny new object and I know deep down inside that Google+ is calling to him.

Not surprisingly Laurie Ruettimann has chimed in with her take on Google+ and verdict is…wait for it…wait for it…”It’s okay”.  Umm, okay thanks.  Actually Laurie continues on to talk about social media and technology in our lives.  I love her final thoughts.

So what do I really think of Google+? I don’t care. The platform doesn’t matter because I’m pretty sure Google+ can do anything we want it to do.

We should dream bigger.

Rounding out the reviews is Chris Ferdinandi with his I want to love Google Plus (but I don’t) post.

Why not? It’s my least favorite things about Twitter and Facebook rolled into one site. It’s a beautifully designed network that I hate to use.

Ouch. Chris goes on the say the Google+ is too much like Twitter and Facebook and doesn’t solve a problem he has with Twitter and Facebook.  However Chris does give major props to Google on Privacy and data:

I will hand it to Google on this one – it’s a LOT easier to control your privacy and download your data on Google+ than on Facebook, and with more nuance than on Twitter.

Make sure you read all the comments on his post to catch the debate on the post contents.

So what have learned?  As usual if you ask for the opinion of four bloggers you will get four different answers.  What do YOU think about Google+? Leave a comment and let me know.

Is the HR Technology Conference co-chair Bill Kutik the Most Interesting Man in the World?  Here are some quotes that describe the Dos Equis man:

• He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.
• He co-chairs the HR Technology Conference just because he can.
• You can see his charisma from space.
• His charisma compels people to write blog posts about the HR Technology Conference.
• His business card just says, “I’ll call you.”
• His tacos refuse to fall from the shell.
• His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards.
• Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number.
• He is so generous that by using Promotion Code INFOBOX11 you get $500 off the conference rack rate.
• He once engaged in a staring contest with a fish and won:

This sure sounds like Bill Kutik to me but let’s talk about more pressing matters.

This year is the 14th annual conference and Bill tells me it’s going to be the largest and most exciting yet with an incredible, educational and entertaining speaker line-up. Speaking of speaker line-up, I will be participating again on the Second Annual Social Media Panel where my cohorts will be tackling all your sticky social media deployment questions (in an incredible, educational and entertaining way of course). So for goodness sakes don’t miss our session. But wait, there’s more. Don’t miss the Great Technology Debate between Naomi Bloom and Jason Averbook, the Expert Discussions, the public debut of the 14th annual CedarCrestone HR Systems Survey by Lexy Martin and the always popular Awesome New Technologies for HR. Oh and don’t forget to bring comfortable shoes to walk the expo floor where you can get hands-on demonstrations and one-on-one Q&A from tons and tons of vendors. All this can be yours for $500 off the conference rack rate by using promo code INFOBOX11 (all caps).

Got an HR Technology question or a problem? Everyone you need to know to answer your question or solve your problem will be there. Did I mention that all your favorite HR Technology Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BeKnown,  BranchOut and Google+ peeps will be at the conference? Frankly you can’t afford not to be there.  As I said in my post-conference blog post from last year:

“I met CEOs, HR Bloggers, Industry Titans, Consultants, HR Professionals and Techies. I can’t think of any other conference where you have such easy access to such a diverse group of people.”

If you still need more information, you can download the PDF of the full conference brochure, read the post-conference blog posts from last year’s conference or forget all that and just take my word. I’m trustworthy. Right? Don’t forget my promo code of INFOBOX11 (all caps) to get $500 off the rack rate of $1,795. But don’t wait as this promo code expires on September 19th. If I still have not convinced you that you must register this very instant, here are 10 more reasons to attend the conference presented by Bill Kutik:

Go register now while I open a nice cold bottle of Dos Equis and ponder The Most Interesting Man In The World …  Bill Kutik … the HR Technology Conference.

Are you a big fan of Google Maps and feel like the Maps application on your iPhone is falling behind in functionality?  Maybe you would like to access your starred locations and My Maps data stored in your Google Account. Whatever your reason, Google has enhanced Google Maps for mobile browsers on Android and iOS.  Just visit maps.google.com on your phone or tablet browser and stare in awe of what Google has accomplished in HTML instead of a dedicated app.

So my dear iPhone owners and frequent flyers…would you like a highly interactive app where “you can track your flight, recalculate your remaining flight time and flight position, and learn more about key landmarks and geographic areas you’re flying over”?  (I love it when a vendor provides tech tips copy for me).  If so, you might want to check out all the details on the iPhone WindowsSeat app and see if this one is for you. Looks like they have a paid app for $2.99 and free app that covers a limited number of cities.

Are you one of those people who have a need to print from your mobile device but don’t want to have to install software for printing?  I’m a little late notifying you about this but Google has a service called Google Cloud Print that will do just that.  Head over to the Google Mobile Blog to read all the details.

As our social network continues expanding, the ability to keep up with all the noise can become overwhelming.  Twitter already has the ability to create lists but surprisingly many people are not aware that Facebook has a similar list capability.  Lifehacker has a quick write up on creating and using Facebook lists.  It’s only a couple of paragraphs so go read it now. Scoot.

I have had terrible luck this last year with hard drives failing on me.  I wish I had come across this website on hard drive sounds earlier.  Most hard drives start to make specific sounds when they are failing and Data Cert has created a database of sounds for each brand of drive to help you understand what might be happening with your drive when you think you hear sounds that just don’t quite sound right to you.

And finally, I leave you with one of the most interesting toilets I have seen in a long time. It’s called the Kohler Numi and this illuminated, electrified, spritzing, heated and wireless remote control device will only set you back a cool $6300. I’ll take 2.

Pay attention my fellow readers.  I know many of you travel or spend time in coffee shops and access free Wi-Fi hotspots but there is a danger lurking out there.   Developer Eric Butler has created a Firefox extension called Firesheep. This free Firefox extension collects cookies that have been broadcast over an unprotected Wi-Fi network without using SSL. Say what?  This means that Firesheep essentially eavesdrops on an unprotected (open) Wi-Fi connection and will capture cookies for sites such as Facebook and Twitter and allow the Firesheep user to sidejack the session. Yes I know this is old news from last October but it is still an important problem.

Let developer Eric Butler explain from his blog post:

“As soon as anyone on the network visits an insecure website known to Firesheep, their name and photo will be displayed.”

All you have to do is double click on their name in the Firesheep window and open sesame, you will be able to log into that user’s site with their credentials.

Open sesame.  Yikes.

Fortunately there are limitations to the extension.  It only works on an open/unsecured Wi-Fi connection. So let’s say you are sitting at Starbucks and checking your Facebook account.  Someone else at that same Starbucks starts up Firesheep and scans the network.  Firesheep sees your unprotected session, grabs the cookies that Facebook uses to store identifying information about you and lets the Firesheep user masquerade as you.  Did I mention that you will have no idea that someone else just accessed your Facebook account?

Which sites are vulnerable? Amazon.com, Basecamp, bit.ly, Cisco, CNET, Dropbox, Enom, Evernote, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Github, Google, Gowalla, HackerNews, Harvest, Windows Live, NY Times, Pivotal Tracker, Slicehost, tumblr, Twitter, WordPress, Yahoo, Yelp and probably many many other sites.

How do you deal with this?  Don’t use any unprotected Wi-Fi connection.  Find another coffee shop that uses a password for their WPA connection or convince your existing shop to start using a password.

I have noticed a high number of tweets, blog posts and news stories about people returning their iPhone’s and jumping ship to Verizon or Sprint.  People are unhappy with the AT&T cell phone network and with the new iPhone 4.

I have been on the AT&T cell phone network forever. My association with AT&T started with Pacific Bell Wireless which became Cingular which become AT&T Wireless.   AT&T uses a cellular technology called GSM.   Since I have been using GSM based cell phones for a very long time, it didn’t occur to me that non-GSM phones have limitations and was shocked to discover that the CDMA network technology (Verizon and Sprint use CDMA) can’t handle simultaneous voice and data.

The Verizon iPhone may be capable of supporting both voice and data like its AT&T cousin, a tip today says. Verizon is reportedly planning to add Voice over Revision A (VoRA) to its network that would use its EVDO Rev A 3G network to handle voice calls as well as data. Unlike usual CDMA networks, which cuts off 3G when a call comes in, VoRA would behave more like HSPA on phone networks and allow both to run at the same time.

Are you on AT&T and thinking of moving to Verizon or Sprint?  Hold on then, step back for a moment and think about how you are currently using your smart phone on AT&T.  If you currently browse the web, check email or use any apps that require the internet while you are on a voice call you might want to rethink this.  Food for thought.

It’s been a busy week in the technology tips world.  In fact I might have to hold a few back for next weeks blog post.  So let’s get on with it, shall we?

I know that the majority of the people who read this blog travel to conferences on a pretty regular basis and many of you also carry an iPhone in your purse/pocket/briefcase/holster (but not in your left hand). Read on for Five apps for the conference -goer.

Unfortunately I think we all have some email habits that probably should be avoided.  Our pals over at Lifehacker have rounded up The Worst Email Habits and Annoyances You Should Avoid (or At Least Be Aware Of). Go on. I dare you to read it. Maybe one of your habits is on their list.

Don’t have Adobe Flash on you mobile device or can’t get Flash?  Addicted to YouTube?  Thank goodness I found this information over at the Boy Genius site: YouTube launches HTML5-enabled mobile website, native YouTube apps soon to be obsolete.

For you Apple Time Capsule lovers, I have some good news and some bad news.  That bad news is that Apple manufactured a whole batch of flawed Time Capsules in 2008. The good news is that TUAW found out that Apple will repair or replace these Time Capsules should they die on you.

By coincidence I happened to find this beauty of an Apple Support document: Time Capsule: Using AirPort Utility 5.3.1 or later to make a copy of the Time Capsule disk.  Since it looks like Time Capsules might be a ticking time bomb, I highly suggest you follow these instructions to make sure you have a copy of your Time Capsule backups.

Not really a tech tip but for the ultimate gadget lover I just had to share this totally amazing bathroom faucet with touch panel controls.  I want one…bad.

Wow, iPhones, Email, YouTube, Time Capsules and High Tech Bathroom Faucets all on one blog post.  What will I think of next?

Hey!  It’s that day of the week again.  I’m sure you all checked your email or RSS feed this morning for your Tuesday Tech Tips, saw a big blank hole of information and wondered how you would make it through the day.  Don’t worry my little pets, I am a bit distracted this week due to a training class for our new Business Intelligence tool but I did manage to find some great tips for you for the week:

Somehow I missed this one last week but my good buddy Jason had my back.  Google Voice is now available for everyone. By the way, Jason has adorable greyhounds.

I’m sure all of you iPhone owners out there have upgraded to iOS4 by now but maybe you have been hankering for all the little tiny details about iOS4.  TUAW has the details on the iPhone user guide for iOS4.

Are you using any of the Windows Live tools such as Windows Live Writer, Windows Live Photo Gallery or Windows Live Movie Maker?  Pay attention then because Microsoft has released the Wave 4 beta (everyone do the Wave now) of Windows Live Essentials and Engadget has the details.

Let’s get back to talking about iPhones.  Not everyone ordered a brand new iPhone 4 so for those of you with an iPhone 3GS that just absolutely must have new (for iPhone 4 only) iMovie, let me present: iMovie for iPhone 3GS – there’s a hack for that.

Hot, and I do mean HOT off the presses, TUAW brings us the news of Hulu Plus announced for iPhone and iPad.

See you next week.

Holy cow, it’s Tuesday again!  Last week I decided to share some general technology tips with you and with any luck I hope to do this every Tuesday. So without further adieu here are today’s tech tips:

Thinking about using Google Apps for your business email?  Those lovely people at the Googleplex have put together 10 Tips for using Gmail at work just in case you needed a kick in the pants to get yourself moved over to Gmail.

OMG! For all you iPhone owners out there, iOS4 has arrived.  Before you jump the gun and start the upgrade you might want to read this excellent article from the good folks over at TIPB called: iOS 4 checklist – what to do before, during, and after updating

Are you one of those people who are constantly slathering Purell on your hands?  Do you have an iPad?  Well then, head over to The Unofficial Apple Weblog for iSkin announces An iPad case for the germ-phobic

Calling all Google nerds! Pining for command line access to Google applications? Fear not, Gina Trapani has your back over at her Smarterware website: Interact with Google Apps at the Command Line

If you are like me and get lost all the time (but still like to multitask on your iPhone while driving) then you might want to catch this cool video: NAVIGON shows off iOS 4 multitasking for iPhone turn-by-turn navigation

See you next Tuesday!

While talking to a few people recently and comparing our Google Reader subscriptions and trends, I discovered that I read a lot more technology sites than the average reader of my blog.  So I figured I should put all that reading time to good use and share some of my technology goodies with you all.

It’s iPhone 4 pre-order day and I am sure you all are running around the house/backyard/office/parking lot/mall like crazy person trying to figure out how best to pre-order an iPhone for your spouse/significant other/son/daughter/dog/cat.  Fear not. Engadget has you covered with their post on: How to: pre-order the iPhone 4 (update: third-party retailers best avoided)

As if we didn’t have enough reasons to stop by Starbucks for our daily quad shot Latte, the Boy Genius Report says: Starbucks offering free Wi-Fi access at all U.S. locations starting July 1st

A couple of my tweeps/peeps/yahoos have been bugging me to do Skype video calling. So for all you Skype people and video bloggers pay attention as Engadget has the goods on New Logitech HD Webcams

I don’t know about you but sometime my spelling engine goes on hiatus. It can be a problem when trying to search for something on Google.  Its Google to the rescue with: Spelling corrections in Google search suggest

I know many of you use Google Reader and have been saying why, why, WHY can’t I easily rename my folders.  Stop your crying and read all about:  Renaming folders and tags in Google Reader

Last but not least for all you hardcore Gmail, Buzz and Google Maps users (you know who you are). I give you the holy grail of Google Maps previews in Gmail and Google Buzz

Did you like these tech tips?  Found them useful?  Want me to continue serving up these tips on a regular schedule?  Hated it and wish I would not waste precious blog space doing this?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.