Making the most of two- and three-day weekends (and the days off I’ve accumulated in my eight-plus years at Dell), I’ve jaunted off this year to San Francisco, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, and I just got back from London and Barcelona. That’s by far the most personal travel I’ve ever done in seven short months!  And while I use vacation as an opportunity to detach from the tethers of technology (say *that* three times fast), I’m completely dependent on technology when coordinating my trips.

Kayak might be the best travel Web site EVER. Entering your search criteria one time, it searches tons of sites for the best possible prices. I especially love it for airfare - it saved me a ton versus what I could have spent on my round-trip flight to London.

I didn’t know much about Barcelona before I went there, so I counted on user ratings and reviews when figuring out where to stay. The people who posted reviews on Expedia certainly steered me right! By giving it a 5 out of 5 stars, they pointed me to the Gallery Hotel in Eixample, a quaint, sort of upscale area that’s steps away from several Gaudi buildings. My friend Amy and I loved the hotel - it was an escape from the more touristy parts of town.

(One note: ratings and reviews are fickle! The 5 out of 5 I saw a few weeks ago is now a 4.4 because many people didn’t appreciate the construction on the hotel’s street. I guess my point is this - check back often!).

And doing Google blog searches gave me some great insights for our visit to Barcelona. In particular, we visited La Boqueria because of the raves it got in several blogs.  (I got some great gelato and really fresh strawberries there).

Now…not all technology is bad on a vacation. When paying by credit card in both the UK and Spain, they bring a gadget to your table, swipe the card, have you enter your PIN when necessary, and that’s it. Why don’t we have this in the U.S?! No worries about handing your credit card to a perfect stranger and watching it disappear for several minutes. Genius.

And I do snap like the paparazzi when traveling; I wear out my digital camera’s battery in a matter of hours! That’s necessary vacation technology. Once home, I load the best of those photos to an online gallery so my friends can see them. And most recently, I shared the link to my vacation photos on Facebook. It’s been really fun having my friends comment on my trip and pictures like this one.

All vacations come to an end, and it’s nice to be home. I did miss my DVR.  But I can’t wait for my next trip … Germany in October!

While much of today’s technology might seem to be for the younger set, technology is also advancing for the fastest-growing segment of America’s population (people 65 and older).  Life for this age group can be enhanced by technology that enables independence.

Medication is often one of the first places that a senior may want some help.  E-Pill has pill reminders of all types.  There are watches with reminders that vibrate for the hearing impaired as well as a pill dispenser with a voice alarm.

For someone who uses a personal digital assistant (PDA), On Time Rx provides software downloads for PDAs, laptops and smart phones.  This allows you to not only get reminders to take medication, but also reminders to order refills and keep a self medical record.

Cell phones are coming with more bells and whistles than ever, but not everyone is interested, especially those who have not used a cell phone.  Jitterbug has made a simple cell phone with big buttons and a bright display screen that would be perfect for a first-time user.

For ease with the usual tasks around the house, an automatic jar opener or an iRobot Roomba Vacuum might be helpful.

In the coming weeks, we plan to share more ways that technology can help the lives of seniors as well as the lives of caregivers. Women who have not yet found themselves caring for an aging loved one will likely do so in their lifetime.  For those of you who have, please share your advice and tips.

A few years ago, I decided to buckle down and complete my degree.  I had not been to school in years and was a new mom to twins.  Between the babies and working full time, most people thought I was crazy to take college hours also.  Well, maybe I am a little crazy, but that has nothing to do with this.  The truth is, the convenience of online courses has helped do the impossible.

Here are a few things you may not know about taking online courses:

1.      You can take your classes at many state universities and colleges.  You do not have to go to a special online-only school.  This means you still get a mascot!

2.      Some schools offer complete degree programs online, so you never have to go to class.  I have to go to a testing center for my exams, but some programs do not even require that.

3.      Most classes do not require that you be on the computer at a specific time of the day.  You can do your coursework when you have the time (within deadlines of course).  I study when the kids go to sleep.

4.      Some schools will not charge parking and other facility usage fees because you are not on campus using those facilities.

Many schools have reported a sharp increase in enrollment for online courses.  Saving time is not the only reason.  This summer has seen students turning to online courses to avoid the gas bill.  Whatever it is that has kept you from finishing that degree, the Web might be a great route for you, too!  Of course, buying new school supplies is fun, so why not go ahead and get a backpack to carry your books or laptop.  Going back to school is a good excuse!

Baking has been a part of my life about as long as computers have. Technology helps me stay organized, write papers, communicate, research and keep up with what’s new. I’m rarely without my computer (or my Dash) because I believe that staying connected is how I stay sane. Baking, on the other hand, has always been my escape from all my various obligations and compulsive scheduling. I love consulting cookbooks, trying new recipes and sharing the sweet treats with friends and family.

At a recent family gathering, my cousin suggested I experiment with cake baking after having several slices of the Mocha Semifreddo I made from an online recipe. Cakes are not completely foreign territory (I mainly do cookies, brownies, bars, breads, crisps). I’ve just haven’t spent a lot of time trying them out. Since I had found success with a few different dessert and many dinner recipes on Foodnetwork.com, I decided to start there.

Well, needless to say, I was disappointed — twice. Where were the good cake recipes hiding? Instead of continuing my search online, I reluctantly turned to my trusty cookbooks.  I couldn’t believe that my computer might not have the answer I was looking for. But after four dozen disenchanting cupcakes, and reading hundreds of online cake recipes, I needed to do something different.

After returning to a printed and bound baking resource, I not only made a divine two-layer chocolate cake (with ganache) but had several questions about online recipes:

• You add everything in at once? Several of the recipes didn’t have detailed directions on how ingredients needed to be combined and arbitrary oven temperatures. Sure, a veteran cake baker would “just know” what needed to be done, but a cake novice would need a little more guidance.
• Are there any editorial standards for their online recipes? Even though the recipes came from The Food Network’s site (a channel I watch often and trust for good advice), they lacked authority to me. Are they copied from cookbooks or just an approximation?
• Four out of Five Stars? Ah, customer reviews. Love ‘em or leave ‘em? I wish I would have read the actual comments instead of just looking at the overall rating. We rely on our friends and family to give us honest feedback about what we cook, so why wouldn’t we do the same online?

Since the cupcake debacle I’ve found several other food communities that show a lot of promise. Opensourcefood.com and Delicious:Days provide background on the inspiration, recipe and community comments for the dish all in one place. Plus, you can have a conversation with the recipe maker if you have questions. So, I haven’t given up on online recipes, but I’m not letting go of any of my cookbooks any time soon.

How do you stay current with food trends? Do you use online recipes or stick to your books? Ever posted a recipe online?

For years I couldn’t figure out how anyone could spend hours, if not days, on a computer. Chat rooms, blog posts, YouTube — or whatever — could not peak my interest or hold my attention. E-mailing, keeping up with national news and the occasional shopping are the things I really want to do. But, when even those seemingly simple tasks required staring at a small screen and waiting on programs to load — it was not a good use of my time.

Well, things changed when my daughter arrived back in Austin after completing her degree. She couldn’t help but constantly point out how slow and ridiculous my “completely inadequate” computer was. I have to admit, it was depressing to sit in the dark in an uncomfortable chair and wait for my Outlook to to open or download.  Meanwhile — everyone else is out and about, anywhere in the house using their laptops while utilizing the wireless network (which we have had since they became available…but not for me!)

Unknowingly, I got left behind in the digital age. As the mom, and least tech-savvy of the bunch, I inherited all the old hardware.  My high-tech family cheerfully dumped all their old gear on me whenever they got the latest and greatest gadgets. So, for years I was stuck using an out-of-date desktop that lived in the closet of one of our guest rooms. How did I get out of this tech slump (and the closet)? I took charge of my technology situation.

Coming out of the closet and into functional furnishings centered around a new, space-saving Dell All-In-One PC

With a new computer and a new office set-up, the cyber-world is looking better!  My customized leather bucket style chair (new legs to accommodate rollers) allows me to lounge while I surf the ‘net, play with my digital camera, keep up with friends, and follow the news. Shelving for reference books and a few mementos make the space functional and fun.  Okay, and the large work table and matching file drawers from IKEA do really help me define my own personal work space.

Let me just say to all of you who have put off getting a new computer (for almost 10 years like me): “Do it now!”  Many of my friends complain about their ancient and slow computers and how nothing seems to work right. A lot of these women have much better computers at work, but nothing at home to use for fun.  And, spending time on your computer can be fun when it’s up to speed. I used to think I was a technology hostage — sitting around waiting or trying to figure out why things were not working.  I must say, it made it worse to do all this while stuck in a closet!

Whether you want to save some information quickly, get an idea of what a remote user is viewing on their computer or need to record an image for a presentation, there are a number of ways to record a snapshot of exactly what you see on a PC.

To Capture Exactly What Is on Your Screen

Hold the ALT button, and then press the Print Screen button.  This places the image of your screen on your clipboard to be pasted into a new file or e-mail.

To Capture Only the Active Application

Hold the CTRL button, and then press the Print Screen button.  This places the image of your active application only on your clipboard to be pasted into a new file or e-mail.

To Capture a More Selective Area

The Snipping Tool in Windows Vista will allow you to select exactly what you want to record off the screen.  It makes it easier to save to a file and e-mail as well.   The easiest way to find it is to enter “snip” in the Start Menu’s search bar.

To Do Even More

TechSmith’s SnagIt has been the leading screen capture tool for some time.   However, who likes paying for software?  Not me!   Fortunately, they have a relatively new and free product called Jing.  It makes it easy to take a screenshot (or movie) of your work on your PC.

Not only does it save images and video (in the flash format), it can record any audio from your microphone.  Afterward, it saves the file to your PC or automatically uploads it to TechSmith’s screencast.com Web site.   You simply e-mail the link it provides to your video or use the built-in blogging features.  This is perfect for demonstrating how to do something on your computer or recording PC gaming exploits.

Simple image screenshots can be automatically tied to your flickr account as well.   You can view my first movie here.   It is a video of me finishing this blog post.

Egg timers have come a long way since being used to create the perfect egg.  They are digital, portable, waterproof, have lights and sounds and, as always, super useful.  Here are six ways that today’s busy moms can use an egg timer (or other timers), without ever cooking an egg!

1.      Potty Training -A friend of mine potty trained her son over a long weekend by taking her son to the potty in 30 minute intervals on the first day.  By the third day they had moved to every four hours and he was ready to go to school.  Note: Results not typical.

2.      It’s a Challenge - For my kids, cleaning up toys was more of a long-term goal until I introduced the timer.  I offer different incentives to beat the timer.  There are timers just for this purpose with sounds and warning lights that help kids to learn time tracking.  This is much cooler than the one I use.

3.      Playing and Cooking? - I am usually cooking dinner at the same time that the kids want to go outside and play.  I do not want to miss out on all the fun, so once the casserole is in the oven, I and my timer head out.  This triple timer allows you to time up three events and has a clip.

4.      Brushing Teeth - Learning how long to wash hands and brush teeth is a long journey.  The “Wash & Brush” Timer is simple - you choose the tooth or the hand button depending on your activity and it will flash until time is up (20 seconds for hands and two minutes for teeth).

5.      Daily Max - Whether it is the TV or video games, there is something our kids like that we try to limit.  The Time Machine not only helps to manage the time, but is also an awards system where tokens can be given as awards and then deposited for time in the timer.  Perhaps an early lesson on saving and budgeting also?

6.      Skin Safety - My mom kept a timer attached to the beach bag at all times.  She would set it for a couple hours at each application and when we heard the beeping… we would all make our way back to camp for a fresh layer of protection.  A waterproof timer might be best for this purpose.

There is no need to burn the casserole or your skin.  A timer can help with safety, cleanliness, learning and even provide a little fun!

To follow up on Natalie’s post yesterday, I literally wrote this while on set at Chelsea Studios as HGTV’s Color Splash host David Bromstad chatted with TV and radio news teams across the country about getting ready for back to school and creating “work space” for students that is personalized and conducive to studying and learning.

As David’s specialty is “color,” he had a great time sharing details about Dell’s colorful Studio Hybrid and Studio Laptops, paired with some cool furniture and accessories from PBTeen. From 7 a.m.- 1 p.m. David chatted with 28 TV and radio stations answering questions about color, how to show your personality, define your space, and finally how Dell and PBTeen have teamed up for a great Back to School giveaway, the grand prize being a $5,000 make-over from PBTeen, plus a $1,500 gift card from Dell.

Working with David has been very educational - for example I’ve learned that while blues and greens are typically seen as calming colors, they also have some specific student-friendly attributes: blue is actually a motivational color, while green will help the brain retain the new knowledge (seriously - put a green acetate sheet over those World History pages and see if you remember more dates).

On the flip side, warmer tones like red, orange and yellow are stimulating — so those young people who have a harder time getting out of bed in the morning (hint, hint to the 15-year-old in MY house) react to those colors like a visual cup of coffee.

The set was loaded with great visuals - like cool furniture from PBTeen: a Style-It-Desk and Style-Tile message board, and the Cushy Lounge with a great Storage Base.  One of David’s favorite ways to personalize a space is with a rug, and he actually suggests mixing and matching rugs to define specific areas - like the “Lounge/Relax” area versus the “Desk/Study area.” David also talked about the cool design of the Studio Hybrid PC (often referring to it as “art” for the desktop) and the range of color options on the Studio laptops. He encouraged folks “go wireless” to help cut the clutter - like a wireless keyboard, mouse and printer.

One of the more fun aspects of the day was when an interviewer turned out to be a fan of David’s - you see  David was the first winner of HGTV’s reality show, Design Star, and is getting ready to kick off his fifth season of Color Splash.  Despite his “celebrity” status, he is as gracious and sincere as anyone I’ve had the pleasure to work with. And while this was his first satellite media tour, he did a GREAT job merging his knowledge about color and personalization with great solutions from PBTeen and Dell. Thanks David - it was a pleasure - and I’ll be checking out the new season of Color Splash on HGTV this fall.

Is this the line for Space Mountain at Disney World or could it be holiday shoppers crazed for the Tickle Me Elmo?

Neither. It’s a line for airport security. Ugh! With the world taking security much more seriously, you’ve probably experienced the line, the frustration and maybe a missed flight or two. But what’s most frustrating is all of the bins you have to put your stuff into for scanning.

One bin for your coat. One bin for your shoes. One bin for your laptop, and yet another for your laptop bag. Everyone’s eyes seem focused on you while you take out your laptop, fumble to get it into the bin — all the while knowing that people are wishing you’d move just a little faster. I won’t even go into the limited places available to put the laptop back into the bag, after you make it through security. Same people, same eyes glaring upon you to move just a little faster.

Seeing this frustration and the need for a solution, two laptop bag retailers will be selling TSA-approved laptop bags. This means no more taking the laptop out of the bag at the airport! You will be able to put your whole bag, laptop inside, through the scanner. Woo hoo! What a win for travelers everywhere.

First announced was Skooba’s Checkthrough, shared by Engadget’s Nilay Patel.  Here’s a pre-production photo:

Shortly after, Darren Murph of Engadget shared that Mobile Edge announced its line of TSA-approved laptop bags, “ScanFast,” with three choices to fit your style and carrying preference:

Neither Skooba nor Mobile Edge has announced a price for their bags, but my guess is that they will both charge a premium and will sell out quick. The convenience will be worth a high price to the frequent traveler. Will be interesting to see just how widely these bags will be recognized. Frequent travelers have shared with me that recognition of the TSA-approved locks seems to be limited to airport screeners in the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe.

TSA-approved laptop bags make me happy and want to jump for joy. The good news is that this seems to be a quickly developing trend in laptop bag designs. I just hope they start to come out with some more stylish looks to choose from.

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments.

My wife, a former journalist and wannabe travel writer, recently forwarded an interesting online newsletter called The Right Way to Travel. It’s from a company that trains people to be travel writers and photographers.

For all you Your Blog photographers, the e-letter and its free archives offer some great tips, including this from what I call the how-in-the-heck-did-they-know-that category:

Just about every camera (even point-and-shoot cameras) has a little hole on the bottom so you can screw the camera onto a tripod.

Did you know, though, that the screw coming out of the top of a tripod is the same size as the screw that comes out of the top of many living room lampshades?

That means, if you’re ever caught indoors without a tripod, you can just unscrew the top of a nearby lamp and screw your camera on instead.  Instant tripod.

For what it’s worth that’s something of which most photographers, if not 99.99% of the world’s population, have no clue. 

Now please excuse me while I gin up some “Have Laptop, Will Travel for Pay” business cards ….