The recession can be draining.  But, it doesn’t have to be if you are in control.  Take control of your expenses by signing up for Quicken Online which is absolutely free!  This free software automatically downloads the last 90 days of transactions along with totals from all of your banks.  It calculates all of your spending within categories and actually shows you where all of your money is going.

What else can Quicken Online do?  It provides trends of your accounts.  For instance, it will show your average spending, income, and savings per month or over the whole year.  Goals may be set and tracked.  Budgetary guidelines may be followed and it will even tell you if you’re spending beyond your means.

There is no tech support software like it as far as we’ve seen.  Yes, there is Quicken and Quickbooks that allows you to link into your accounts.  But, these types of software don’t allow all accounts to auto-update and typically force you to export and import data from some banking institutions which becomes cumbersome.  Quicken online auto-updates all accounts, period.  You set up the accounts once and you’re done!  And here’s the cool factor: You can set up your iPhone or Blackberry to receive alerts that you’ll soon be over-budget, or that a budget category, such as clothing, has gone over-budget.

As per computer expert skills, don’t worry - you don’t need them.  This easy-to-follow wizard guides you through the whole process.  We definitely recommend this website especially during the recession-cost cutting times.

Black Friday is getting very close.  Are you ready to shop?  You can go to your local New York computer store to find good deals, but you can also find some great deals on tech computer websites.

Here are the best Black Friday computer / gadget websites:

• NewEgg - a good low-cost tech supply place and good tech support also.
• eCost - a myriad of different supplies, including computers and parts.
• Overstock - just as the name implies - they’re looking to push their stock.
• CompUSA - no more available at stores as they’re still trying to get rid of their inventory.
• Dell - still a pc computer powerhouse and one of the last few onsite tech support warranty places.
•  B & H Photo - great video cameras, cameras, and computers

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  We’d like to genuinely thank all of our loyal customers since we would not be able to do what we love in providing top computer repair and tech support without your support.

Google, Yahoo, AOL, and other search engines store a wealth of information.  And it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.  But, what if you want to learn info by watching others.  Better yet, how about watching videos to find your answer?

Howcast, a high-quality video website shows all different types of instructional videos.  It shows how-to videos of removing viruses, making healthy fruit shakes, constructing cabinets, typing faster on iPhones, and the list goes on and on.  The difference between Howcast and YouTube is that Howcast produces high resolution videos from a team of programmers whereas YouTube contains a full range of videos, mostly grainy, from regular computer users.

Howcast has recently signed on the government as a vendor in providing how-to videos for filling out forms.  This is a great way to help users fill out forms and at the same time save on phone operators guiding folks through the steps.  You may view videos on your iPhone and videos will soon be able to be seen on Blackberries and other handheld phones.  The videos are crisp and to the point and are helpful in many genres, making this site a top one to put on your go-to list.

It is very time consuming to organize your Outlook e-mail contacts.  Every time you receive an e-mail, you have to decide if you’ve updated the contact info already, and then manually type the text into your Outlook contacts.  This may only take a few minutes to perform, but it takes your focus away from your task at hand, and adds up in tedious time lost with all of your data entry.

Gwabbit looks to solve this manual data entry boredom.  Gwabbit is an Outlook plug-in that instantly adds a new contact with associated info.  Here’s how it works.  Gwabbit is a software that is installed.  After the software installation, itresides at the top of your Outlook toolbar next to send/receive and other buttons.  When a new e-mail comes in, Gwabbit automatically adds the contact, e-mail, address, phone number, etc. to your Outlook contacts list.  If the contact is already in your list, it will look for any new info/updates and add accordingly.  You can also decide if you want to manually change or approve edits.

The cool factor is how Gwabbit works.  It uses algorithms to glean the information within the e-mail, producing efficient results.  For instance, it will check the e-mail signature and info within the text of the e-mail to uncover the contact info, and then associate the text within the correct fields of Outlook.

The drawback is that you can only use Gwabbit for new e-mails.  It won’t automatically grab all of your current / old e-mails.  You can go back to grab old contacts, but only on an e-mail by e-mail selection.  Further, if your anti-virus stamps every e-mail at the bottom of each incoming e-mail, this could fool Gwabbit into thinking this is your contact’s signature.

You may try a 14-day trial which allows up to 20 contacts, or splurge $20 for the full version.   It is an easy program to install and does not take a tech guru to operate it.

Where there’s a recession, computer users will find a way to save bucks.  In the past, folks were able to hook up a TV tuner to their desktop and play basic channels from their TV provider, for free.  Now, computer savvy folks are just downloading movies and shows and ditching their cable boxes.  There is so much free content out there that has good resolution to it that makes getting rid of the TV box easier that you think.

The big drawback is that most content on the Internet is in the past, not real-time.   So, if you’re looking to go to HBO, Cinemax, or STARZ, that’s not going to happen directly.  If you’re a bit lazy when watching TV, regular cable is great because it gives you the menu of options that lists the lastest movies that have just been released after DVD or theatre release.  On the computer, you have to search for a movie, or with some advanced websites, can look by genre.

So, how do you find the good websites to watch TV.  We’ve listed our top 5 websites that are the best for watching TV on your computer:

1. Hulu: One of the clearest movie viewers out there.  Also shows legal-approved content.
2. FreeTVOnline.com: Easy interface and clear picture.  And real-time broadcasting too.
3.  Boxee: You can watch Hulu, ABC, and stream Netflix through it.
4. ww.itv.com: showcases live content around the world
5. Alluc.org: An easy way to find movies, shows, and content quickly

Windows Live is the latest of free online sharing sites.  You can save up to 25GB for free online.  The point of offering this free service to get you on the Windows Live site to network with other friends.  Ultimately, Windows Live is looking to compete with LinkedIn and Facebook as a serious networking website.

Here’s the scoop:  You can upload any file - pictures, music, and documents.  The cool aspect is that you can choose which friends can access your files or certain files.  So, you can have different groups of access for different people.  Or you can just keep the files private.  So, this site is really a networking site for sharing files.  Definitely a site to check out if you enjoy sharing pictures and music.  Or if you just want to have a good file backup to prevent data recovery issues.  Also, you can share an online calendar with those you invite.  I just shared out a calendar with my family for birthdays and events!

There is no indication of safety or security of your file storage.  However, this is a Windows service so it should be secure enough to guard your information and not allow intruders to access your files.

All of the social networking sites are getting a little out of control.  There is MySpace, Facebook, MerchantCircle, LinkedIn, Angie’s List, and more.  It is not easy keeping up with social networks on all of these sites so Power.com is now looking to make it easier for you to consolidating them all on one site.  Once you opt in, you can access all of your contacts and info through one dashboard. 

Further, e-mail support and instant messenging is also available.  Has anyone heard of Meebo?  Meebo provides instant messaging all in one site.  Some advertisers are crying foul since Power.com would get all the glory of unique visitors and page clicks which would add to their site popularity instead of the social networks.  Power.com feels if they don’t do it, somebody else will.

Power.com already has 5 million members on its site and hopefully more people will push it into enlisting more networks to merge.  We think it’s a great idea; however, the interface could use more work to make it more user-friendly.

Getting rid of your computer equipment is not an easy task.  You have to take into account how to recycle your computer or maybe give it away to those who could use it.  For heavy equipment, you’ll have to worry about what service will lug it away for you. 

Well, there’s now a direct way to take care of your aging desktops and laptops.  You can go to FreeCycle and find others who will take your equipment.  Essentially, you can post your stuff on the site and others will let you know if they’re interested.  It’s sort of like recycling for Craigslist.  This site is run by grassroots organizations and is purely non-profit.  Best of all, you can request for your new owner to pick up your computer or any other item you might have.  The intent of the site is to keep unwanted stuff out of landfills, and to thus recycle and reuse.

There are many ways to share pictures with friends and family.  You can share via Kodak, Picasa, or by e-mail.  However, how do you share videos?  Are you stumped?  Don’t worry, we were stumped before we found the magical website called Motionbox. 

Motionbox allows you to upload videos and then easily share them by e-mailing a link.  You get up to 30 minutes of video free.  You may upload multiple videos that add up to 30 minutes.  If you need more space, you can pay $29.99/year for unlimited video storage.  This is definitely a great deal especially since the video quality is very clear. 

How does it work?  Whether you have  videocamcorder or camera that takes videos, all you have to do is save your video to your computer.  Go to Motionbox, set up your account, and browse for your video.  Then, share your video by e-mailing a link that the site provides you.  That’s it!  Simple, cheap, and keeps your buddies in the loop.  And you don’t need a computer service provider to set it up for you.

Everybody is familiar with Facebook, the personal networking site that can help you find friends and possibly more.  Facebook has been quasi-used as a way to network business contacts, but it has been mostly thought of as a personals site.  Now, LinkedIn has created a solid business networking site where professionals can meet others to drum up business, jobs, contacts, and opportunities. 

A couple of our folks, including yours truly, has signed up for LinkedIn and are impressed.  First of all, it’s free to sign up.  And right away, you can invite other friends and colleagues, and it’s very easy to look up college alums, old company colleagues, or region-specific areas.  This site has an added feature for hiring candidates and looking for jobs.

How does it work?  You may invite someone as your contact, or as LinkedIn calls it, your connection.  Then, you’ll have access to your connections’ connections.  You’re allotted 5 introductions, meaning you can directly contact people through who you know, or through 2nd and 3rd degrees of separation.  If you want to contact a connection through a connection, your direct connection will need to decide if he approves such third-party connections.  I know you’re probably thinking of Kevin Bacon’s 6 degrees of separation right now, and yes maybe you will know somebody who knows him through this site.  But, it really is easy to work with after you set up your profile.

You may receive more introductions through upgrades and a paid subscription at the business level.  You may import your own contacts and be able to start chatting right away with these folks.

The added feature on this site is being able to join associations that are tailored towards your specialty: executives, consultants, female professionals, non-for-profit execs, and so on.  This allows for you to get right to it in terms of connecting to people right in your industry.  So, you can target folks in the IT industry who specialize in computer repairs within NYC. 

Another nice feature is being able to set up LinkedIn on your blackberry or iPhone.  Since your list of contacts might be too large to import/export into Outlook, having your LinkedIn contacts directly on your phone could come in handy with the LinkedIn mobile feature.  Overall, we like the site and give it a double thumbs up!