Video glasses. It was just a matter of time - I read some years ago that we would, in the future, be able to watch movies, or search the net by using a screen in our glasses. Ok. It's here. Video glasses - the gadget at the top of the list of baby boomer toys that no one in your circle has yet.

By Myvu they are Solo Plus Edition ( MA-0495) selling at about $149.74 to $199.95 msrp. I kid you not, this is for real and they are sexy as hell. If I wasn't racking up all kinds of moving expenses right now, going back to Illinois from Mississippi, I'd be sorely tempted.

Here's the ad hype: "The myvu® personal media viewer solo plus edition is lightweight, mobile and provides a crisp, sharp image. Simply connect the myvu personal media viewer to your Apple iPod® with video and watch your favorite music videos, TV, movies, podcasts or other downloaded entertainment on myvu's vivid virtual screen. Compatible with all video iPods namely; All 5th Generation video iPods, Nano with video (3rd Generation), iPod Classic, and iPod Touch."

Holiday gift giving is right around the corner - so they say (I know, it's August!) If you decide to buy into this - let me know how they work!

My primary care physician in Florida put all of his, and his associates, patient notes and files on laptop computers. I liked this system -it was quick and easy for them and for us, the patients. When I needed copies of my medical records, the doc could pull them up and print them while I waited.

There was never a delay, or even a charge to retrive info for me. It occurred to me that if all doctors, and even hospitals, went to a digital record keeping system, it would be easier to keep patient histories consistent and up-to-date between providers. In the short run, it would likely cost money to set up the system, train people to use it, and enter existing records. In the long run, it would save money on office space, paper costs, employee clerical hours and any number of other budget items.

I did some reading on the topic and found a pretty interesting article on Wikipedia that you might enjoy reading. Keep in mind, much of Wikipedia writings come from a single author and often have no citations. Take it for what it's worth.

I remember when Jiminy Cricket used to sing, on Mickey Mouse Club (the real one, not the clone club), "It's the en-cy-clo-pee-dee-ah, e-n-c-y-c-l-o-p-e-d-i-ayyyyyyy!"

The complete Encyclopedia Britannica online is the grandmother of all information sites. You can surf the 'Net and find info about nearly anything, but do you have time to do all that surfing? How about a site that gives you all of it in one click?

Impress your grandchildren when they desperately need help finding what the horns of a rhinoceros are made of. Dazzle them with up-to-date facts about who invented video games, or even the Web itself. The site has levels of membership from free to premium (a fee involved there). It's well-organized and attractive. Easy to use.

Unlike other compendium sites, this info is accurate and reliable. But don't anticipate a dry laundry list of blah blah here. It's lively and readable. This week learn about banning the bomb in the 60's.

Some tech notes for us baby boomers, from around the Web.

Though baby boomers aren’t invading MySpace and Facebook by the millions, there are enough of us hanging out there to warrant this warning: a USA Today blog talks about a worm, (one of those little hacker programs like a virus) that has invaded both sites. It causes users’ computers to make wild and random comments on other people’s accounts, evidently.

Also from USA Today, in another blog, a pretty good explanation of why the newest iteration of iPhone costs only about half what the original did. The new price is $199 – wonder why that is? Check it out.

If you use Internet Explorer and have encountered odd error messages lately, particularly this one: “Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site http://www.nameofsite.com Operation aborted.” You’re not imagining it or screwing up your browser somehow. Inquisitr.com will tell you what’s up with a place called Sitemeter causing the problem. It happened to me with one major bank and its online banking system.

The NY Times mourns the final passing of a cultural icon since the 60s – the cassette tape. Music disappeared in that format a while back, but audio books held on until now. What will go toes up next? CDs! It’s all about online music stores.

Take care till next time.

EVDO, Evolution-Data Optimized, is known as mobile broadband. That's a sort of cell phone for your laptop that receives data rather than voice. A year ago I looked at mobile broadband.

This year, my eldest son, a field agent for a government agency, elected to make EVDO his sole broadband connection at home and on the road because his cellular provider was willing to discount the monthly fee to about $39. My son is a long-time mobile customer with them. He and his wife use the Internet mainly for research and communicating with family. They do little downloading and almost no uploading. They're happy with it.

I've been testing the service from Sprint for two months. I like it - since I do a lot of research, too, and not much in the way of graphics and uploading, I'm happy with the speed and consistently good signal. I love the portability. Not crazy about Internet surfing in the car - makes me nauseous. (No, I wasn't driving, I was a passenger.)

Posted by Maryan under Gadgets at 2:12:15 PM | Read/Post Comments (0) | Permalink

Isn't running backup software a huge pain in the fusteris? Of course it is, but backing up your data regularly is the smartest thing you can do to avoid massive headaches when your hard drive crashes, (and it will) or you lose something you need, or in any eventuality. Backups are necessary. Backing up is not optional. Back up software is, actually, easy and inexpensive. Backup is pretty much automatic, too.

Why Back Up Your Data?

What's Out There for Backups?

No matter which method appears to you, I advise you tp pick one. Today. Install it and use it. No, really. Hard drives fail. It isn't about if, it's about when.

Technology has created a new niche for some of us baby boomers. Northerners who followed the sun to Arizona, Florida or Tahiti and then moved back to Tennessee or Kentucky to be closer to family were dubbed "half backs." Those who go south in winter are "snow birds." Now, those of us with more than one residence, those who work and play in multiple locations, are being called "splitters."

It's not clever or catchy, but it tells the tale. Some boomers live part time in Chicago, for example and maybe part time in Gulfport, MS for Gulf breezes, warm winters and, I don't know...hurricanes? Those boomers take their work with them from home to home. They own two homes and don't declare one a "principal residence." They see them as equal.

A Newsweek article says:

"The splitter trend is driven by at least three forces. Technology is the most obvious one. The Internet, BlackBerrys and cell phones allow many professionals to work almost anywhere. The changing nature of jobs is also a factor. Compared with their parents, more boomers are self-employed (eliminating the need to ration vacation days) or work in jobs that require such frequent travel (like sales or consulting) that it hardly matters where they go home on weekends. The third factor is the decline in travel costs. Low-fare airlines like Southwest, along with cost-saving Web sites like Travelocity, are key reasons dual homeowners are going back and forth more often.

Take a look at the article...it has a lot of good info.

There are retirees everywhere who don't want to stop working. I'm actually one of those boomers who likes keeping my career viable. There are some pretty cool resources on the Web for mature people like us who can add a lot to the productivity of a company.

Give a look to a couple:

1. YourEncore.com says it's "a network of retired and veteran scientists and engineers providing our clients with proven experience to help accelerate their pace of innovation. We are uniquely positioned to help our clients recover lost knowledge and to enable them to make remarkable connections to solve challenging problems using expertise from a variety of industries.
2. SeniorJobBank.com - Pretty much what the name implies - a sort of Monster.com for boomers and older workers. This site has been around a long time and seems pretty savvy.
3. Workforce50.com - Sister site to Senior Job Bank. What's interesting here is they provide in-depth info on how to change careers - parachute, anyone? Learn about raining, education, employment statistics. Worth a look.
4. CareerBuilder.com - This is the place many newspapers have picked up for their help-wanteds. You'll find some junk jobs here, but you'll also find a lot of what's available in any given area. Start with their article, 25 Best Jobs for Boomers.

Want more? Google "jobs for boomers." Best of luck!

Almost all banks now offer bank online options for customers. This is a terrific time saver and truly helps keep better personal financial records. Pay your bills without stamps or envelopes, schedule them ahead of time, never worry about forgetting to mail a check. One big plus - if there's ever a question of a creditor not receiving a payment you generated, the bankhandles the whole prpoblem...you don't even make a phone call.

Here's the short version of how to switch to online banking:

1. Call your bank or go to their Web site to see how to sign up for an online banking account.
2. Follow the link and sign up for the online account - it's not a differentbank account, just an online look at your regular checking account.They'll ask you to create a user name and password. They'll also ask you to choose some secret questions, and the answers to them, that will help identify you. Like, what is your mother's maiden name.
3. You might have to wait for an email confirmation. Once it's received, go online and log in to your new account.
4. There is almost always an easy-to-follow step-by-step, or a video to get you up and running. There will also be a support phone number where you'll find a human to answer questions.

A word about identity theft. If you follow the instructions, especially about choosing your password, you should find this procedure safe. And boy-oh-boy, it's the last word in convenience.

Nintendo tells me "the game that launched a new generation of gamers is back. Based on the theories of neuroscientist Dr. Kawashima, Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day contains new activities to challenge a player’s gray matter."

It's a fun-to-play series of brain training activities designed to give the brain a workout. Some experts say it can help keep memory vibrant and energetic.

This new game for Nintendo systems had 15 activities and provides a quiz or test at the beginning to tell you how old your brain is. Then you get to watch brain age decrease as you proactice. It's pretty cool - My fmaily loved the first one. this version gives you rock, paper, scissors and a piano playing exercise as well as a word scramble. (It also has a boatload of Sudoku puzzles, som eof the best I've done).

Bored on the weekends or when your waiting in a doctor waiting room? Try this little past time.

• There's no place like http://www.home.com
• The Geek shall inherit the earth
• Windows will never cease
• Never bite off more than you can browse
• Give a child a fish and she will eat for a day, show her how to surf the net and she wont bother you for weeks.
• HR Manager to job candidate: "I see you've had no computer training. Although that qualifies you for upper management, it means you're under-qualified for our entry level positions."
• Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
• All computers wait at the same speed

Craigslist is an interesting concept, not without controversy. Craigslist premise is - you put things, anything from baseball cards to real estate or cars, from meet-up requests to job offers, into the classified list for any major metro area in the country, and you don't pay a fee. Any. Ever. It's free.

Craigslist is locally specific. You go to the site, Craigslist.org, select the location you're interested in, and then choose the ad classification you want. Posting an ad is easy, and, theoretically, there are rules and remedies that take care of spammers.

I've used Craisglist in Mississippi, Florida and Illinois. It's active and brings great response in IL and FL. Not so much in MS. I have found a great dining table, cheap. A fantastic tenant, a potential buyer for a house, buyers for my old TVs, computers, and books.

It isn't like the auction site which shall remain nameless. You don't bid. It's like the Sunday paper used to be. All local ads. Some dreck. Lots of good resources. You have to be careful to check out offers made on the site. Just be prudent.

Here's the least intuitive blog entry I ever saw. From PRWeb.com comes a piece about how worried the powers that be are in Canada about the future of hiring tech people.

Problem? Baby boomers will be retiring in large numbers. We all know that. But Canadian high tech companies are worried that the youngest boomers are starting to think about retirement. Who then, the companies ask, is going to be sitting at all those work benches figuring out how to get the technical stuff done? There aren't enough young people interested, or educated.

People under 35 tend to stay at a job for about 27 months. It costs a bundle to train them. And then train their replacement(s).

My solution? Make the jobs attractive to the baby boomers they don't want to lose. Offer flex hours, more vacation, some insurance coverage. Respect. Hire us back as consultants with no benefits, if that works better.

Make it tough for us to leave. We're worth it.

Lots of good workers out here.

The nattering back and forth between major electronics retailers (the guys that sell televisions...) and the Feds (the guys that are trying to sort out the transition from analog broadcast TV to digital broadcast television) rages on. You probably read about the digital conversion subsidy coupons in my recent column Digital Television Conversion.

In February, 2009, broadcast television signals will change, across the board, from analog (the kind older TV sets can receive) to digital television. Some television sets will not be able to receive programming after that date without a converter box.

Now, according to a very informed tech news site, arstechnica.com, Best Buy, Sears, and other retailers are being threatened with Federal fines for not informing consumers that analog televisions those retailers sell may not work at all after the February 2009 transition date.

On arstechnia.com, you can read about the argument.

My advice, make sure, if you're buying a television from now on, that the set will absolutely receive a digital broadcast signal. Best Buy claims it may be tough to make that determination without carefully reading the manual from certain TVs. Personally, I don't buy that story - but who knows? It pays to ask questions and get all the facts.

The nattering back and forth between major electronics retailers (the guys that sell televisions...) and the Feds (the guys that are trying to sort out the transition from analog broadcast TV to digital broadcast television) rages on. You probably read about the digital conversion subsidy coupons in my recent column Digital Television Conversion.

In February, 2009, broadcast television signals will change, across the board, from analog (the kind older TV sets can receive) to digital television. Some television sets will not be able to receive programming after that date without a converter box.

Now, according to a very informed tech news site, arstechnica.com, Best Buy, Sears, and other retailers are being threatened with Federal fines for not informing consumers that analog televisions those retailers sell may not work at all after the February 2009 transition date.

On arstechnia, you can read about the argument. My advice, make sure, if you're buying a television from now on, that the set will absolutely receive a digital broadcast signal. Best Buy claims it may be tough to make that detemrination without carefully reading the manual from certain TVs. Personality, I don't buy that story - but who knows? It pays to ask questions and get all the facts.

Here's a really cool thing - cell phones designed for people experiencing changes in eyesight or hearing, or both. To see these, visit Jitterbug.

I haven't used this company's products, but I like what I've read. They offer service from $10 per month and users can buy as many or as few services as they want.

The company says this about themselves:

Simple. Bigger, backlit buttons. Bright, large text. Powerful speaker sounds loud and clear. Helpful. Live, friendly 24-hour Jitterbug operators can make calls for you, provide directory assistance and add names to your phone list. Affordable. Service starts at just $10 a month. No long distance or roaming fees. No contracts.

Might be interesting to study up.

Baby boomers love to travel and finding a travel deal is wesome, isn't it? The best bet for travel deals, great air fares and hotel bargains has been Travelocity or Orbitz. Now you have another choice - actually three.

My brother-in-law put me onto Mobissimo, Sidestep and Kayak. I tried them with my favorite flight, Gulfport to Chicago-O'Hare. Each claims to search between 140 and 200 other sites, to find travel deals for air flights or hotels.

Mobissimo and Kayak brought me almost the same list of 500 choices. But on each, the best fare was about $375, with one or more stops - and those stops were pretty far off the logical route. The highest fare on each was about $800.

I liked that Sidestep found what I knew existed. A non-stop, daily Gulfport to O'Hare. Sidestep returned three fares - $375, $363 and $361 - about $30 less than the fare quoted me by American Airlines itself (the carrier in question.) Not a huge discount, Gulfport airport is small and that flight is usually full. But Sidestep found the nonstop. I'm not sure why Kayak and Mobissimo didn't.

So, there you have it. Three new sites to make travel searching faster, and one of them really picks out the bargain.

Search engines, like Google, Dog Pile, Mamma and Alta Vista are something we take for granted.

We all use them, daily, if not hourly, but we tend to get complacent about how we use them, don't we? I mean, when you learn any skill, you occasionally want to go back to the basics to make sure you aren't overlooking the most effective ways to keep going.

Take a few minutes and visit Google's page of tips and tricks for searching. It'll remind you of how to refine your terms, specify your exact needs, and, therefore, spend less time searching and more time enjoying the fruits of your searches.

Mother's Day in a couple of weeks and digital picture frames promise to be a top selling Mother's Day gift choice. I have one, as I told you a while back, and I love it. So does my two-year old grandson who makes me turn it on as soon as he walks in my door. Of course, my digital photo fram is loaded with pictures of him! By the way - blatant brag - I just became a grandma for the sixth time. Chase Aren was born April 20 - I'm headed for the great Midwest to meet him this week.

On topic - there are a lot of digital picture frame choices in the marketplace. It's easy to find digital photo frames at online stores and at brick and mortar stores. It might be just a tad puzzling to choose between the many options. Which digital frame is the right one for your favorite mom? Here's a page of digital frame comparisons, all in one place. Maybe it'll help.

Here's where baby boomers, seniors, elders, crones, and a lot of us 45 and over people are hanging out on the Internet, the Web.

Elder Hostel - awesome place to find travel and education opportunities

Travel by barge - the newest rage has come to the U.S.

Dating sites for seniors, some for strictly affluent seniors (and you have to prove that!)I won't link this for fear of pointing you the wrong way, but do some research - you'll find plenty of sites.

The Savvy Boomer - a blog by a member of the generation that created tech. This one is cool.

Aging Hipsters - don't even pretend you don't know what this might refer to....

Social networking at BoomJ - a fairly new social networking place for us - seems to be going in the right direction.

Are you confused about all this media talk on converting analog television signals to digital telvision signals? Though the process of converting to digital televison will be fairly simple, and may require no action on your part, you might want to know what it's all about. Read the Demystifying Digital, Digital Grandparent article, Federal Digital Television Conversion Subsidy Coupons

Are you addicted to gadgets and gadgetry? If you're a digital grandparent, you certianly must have a penchant for the ditigal gadgets and geegaws and jimcracks being produced daily in our high tech world. We do our best here at Demystifying Digtial to, well, Demystify Digital for everyday people, but sometimes, you just wanna get out there and take a look at the newest and latest that might even be way over your head.

So, stop by one of my favorite sites, Gizmodo. It's a superblog that keeps up with stuff you'll not even believe.

Today, Gizmodo talked about renting your own HAL (remember him? 2001 Space...)Exoskeleton. Then they went off on a new microsoft wearable mouse they dubbed "surf and jerk."

Their motto is: "so much in love with shiny new toys it's unnatural." Check it out, Geeks.

Early in January, Warner Brothers latched onto BluRay as their choice in the BluRay - HD wars. As their tease for the Consumer Electronics Show, Warner announced their films will release only on that format as of June, this year.

Some pundits say HD can, and should, hang on since sales in both formats are pretty balanced. The war, they say, could continue for a long time and who knows who'd win in the end. So maybe, if you haven't gone one way or the other with a new player or a ton of new movies on DVD - all isn't lost.

Unfortunately, the bad news is likely this: Warner produced a large number of those HD DVDs that sold so well over the 2007 holidays. Does that mean when they pull out of that format in a couple of months, all is lost? Hard to say. But I've read that Apple's newest computers will go BluRay, too. It's not lookin' good for HD.

Some say the war is over, kind of like President Bush standing in front of his Iraq "Mission Accomplished" banner years ago. I wouldn't kick my HD equipment to the curb, yet. But if I were going to buy a new player - it'd be a BluRay.

The packaging? An impossible to crack plastic prison. Yep, the instructions shredded when I split it open, but the onboard pdf quick-start is great. DataTraveler Mini -- Migo is the smallest thumb drive I've seen, in fact, half the size of my thumb.

Once I sprung Migo from plastic prison, I popped it into my USB drive, and opened the program. It asked me to create a profile for my laptop by selecting parameters from lists. I chose to copy my desktop (all settings) email, and a slew of text files. Mini Migo holds 4 gig (smaller sizes available). My essential files fit. I loved the guage showing me how much space was left. If I went over, it would tell me how to pare down.

I took the profiled drive to my other laptop to check it's talents. Upon opening, Migo said it had no profile for that computer, and asked if I cared to select another. I did - it opened laptop #1's desktop - an exact replica. I altered a few files, closed Migo and took it back to laptop 1. In less than one minute, every document change I had made was synchronized to that computer. I've tried a number of thumbs - some good some not - but this one took no thought on my part. It did all the work and solved a real headache for me. My laptop weighs 8.5 pounds, folks. without the case, power pack, and other stuff. It's traveling days may be over.

Now that you have the digital camera you wanted, you can think in terms of setting up a "lightroom" instead of a darkroom. Accessorize, just like mom told you. The choices are plentiful when you're out to buy digital camera go-togethers. I stop by my favorite camera store from time time-to-time just to see what's new.

A 2007 survey of digital camera owners (NPD Group did the survey) said the most sought-after items new point-and-shoot camera owners seek out are:

• Memory cards, sticks and chips
• Camera bags and cases
• More batteries (rechargable or disposable)
• Extended warrantee
• Photo paper

Lots of camera bundle stuff with your purchase - everything from software to additional hardware - saving you an additional purchase or two. But for me - essentials include a program to lightly edit and to organize photos. There's Elements by Adobe, Picasa from Google and a variety of them that come packed with cameras. Edit online these days, too at Shutterfly, Photobucket and other sites. Since I take lots of digital photographs, I have a printer, though you can live without one if you upload images to online kiosks or visit local retailers with do-it-yourself photo stations. Ink jet photo printers are affordable and home printers, even those under $100, make gorgeous prints.

Finish my accessory list with a battery charger, maybe some lens filters and an extra lens for cameras that accept them (some point-and-shoots do) and you're off and shooting. Pretty soon, you'll be looking for digital frames, and albums.

Lots of us baby boomers got digital cameras for the holidays - the numbers of digital gifts increases annually. How many people do you know still buying film? Well, me. But besides that?

In January, I'll look at digital photography with you, including a discussion in my Digital Grandparent column of the newest rave, digital photo frames. Let's think about putting photos up online for free and tagging them.

Jog over to PhotoBucket, where they say almost 60 million people manage their images. Big number! You can fairly easily create albums and subalbums at PhotoBucket - share them on places like MySpace and Eons (look for member mkp) or in your blog. You do have a blog, don't you?

Once you organize photos, you tag them - give them keywords to help others find them. That's fun if you enjoy social networking. It's good, though, to use caution in how much personal info you share. When you tag an image, the keyword is embedded in the photo and travels with it, so if you post to another Flash enabled site, viewers can hover to see the tags or click to follow a link you added.

Then there's LifePics, a site marketing to hundreds of photo retailers so you can search for one in your neighborhood, by zipcode. Then upload your pics to that retailer's web and order prints online. Pick them up same day. Some LifePics member stores have photo organizers, albums and sharing solutions online. Click the Lifepics link and enter your zip code in the field in the left panel about halfway down the page.

As winter sets in and keeps us closer to home, it's easier to find time for hobbies - explore your photo options and share them with family!

I just stopped by today to give you all a little eye-candy for Christmas. Whether or not you're into digital photographing (and who isn't these days?) take a moment to check out two well-known Web sites.

First - go on over to Adobe.com home of the makers of Photoshop and all the other really powerful (and sometimes expensive) tools for working with images and graphics. Even if you never buy one of their products, or even care about imaging that much - the site is incredible. I love watching it move through its paces. I sit and wonder if I could do that, too. I make everyone I know sit down and watch it go.

Wanna know more about image editing and Adobe? Try my article on Premier software.

When you're done over there, take a jaunt over to Wacom.com, These folks make computer tablets and pens that do the job mice (mouses?) do, only way cooler. Again - set aside their product lines for a bit - I'm not hawking what they make (though I own a couple and love them) I'm all excited about their site. This Web work is deserving of multiple awards - if there were Grammies for eye-candy, I'd give them one. I just can't stop going back for more. Watch it all the way through - click the little arrows at the bottom. And, um, Merry Holidays!

For some odd reason, the calculator widget disappeared from my Win XP system a while ago. I've never made time to dig around and find the freakin' thing because I don't do a lot of math. As a writer, that isn't a big need, but every now and again I have to calculate stuff like how many dollars we techies spend online for the holidays or something.

Always more interested in new than in "oh yeah, that..." I went looking for a quick way to do the math. And boy, did I find it

I went to Google.

Those people just never get it wrong. You can calculate almost anything, quickly and simply, by typing it in to the Google search bar. Not a special section of their site - jut use the search bar in your browser, if it's set to Google, or hop over to their home page and use that bar. You know, the place where you type what you're surfing for.

It goes like this:

Suppose you need to know how much people will spend online this month if they spent $7,700,000.00 in one day.

Type this into the search bar and hit enter:

"7,700,00*30=" (I just did that, and here's a cut and paste of the reply--7 700 000 * 30 = 231 000 000).

Google took me to a page like the one it returns when you search on a term. The page displayed my solution in less time that it takes to say "Shazammmm!"

Here's a link where you can learn more about the calculator function - it even converts currency. To paraphrase Rachael Ray, "Now, how cool is that?".

With the bottom falling out of the real estate market in some locales, notably parts of Florida where I happen to own a property, there are a lot of us worrying about what to do with homes our jobs maybe transfered us out of, second homes, vacation cabins -- whatever. I don't have the answer, but I do have a pretty cool idea of where to find a lot of information about any neighborhood, house, city or town. It's called Zillo.

A beta site, that is one that isn't completely tested and perfected, it's becoming very popular. Zillo calls itself "your edge in real estate." Here's what it can give you, free:

• Zestimates - values on 70,000,000 homes from a secret proprietary formula.
• For sale listings -- post your home or buy one
• Most talked about homes - those with lots of inquiries
• blogs
• services for buyers, sellers, and professionals.

From what I saw, the prices are pretty accurate in a lot of case - there's an occasional anomaly, but mostly good info. You can see maps or lists of the properties you're interested in. Just put in an address with zip code and wait for a response. I was able to look at street configurations, aerial maps and surface maps. I could zoom in or out,much like, say Mapquest. There are price ranges calculated for specific neighborhoods. It's possible to calculate a fairly accurate price estimate of your own place based on entering some non-identifying info into the site. You'll need Flash installed to play here.

Zillo is interesting. It might not solve all your problems, but it'll give you something to do while the market improves.

A dozen cool places on the Web to take your favorite kids. Free amusements, games, online stories and fun for children and adults to share.

Every (old) Video Game - Here you'll find not every, but tons of old video games, playable online, free. With or without grandkids, you'll revisit this more than once!

Free ebooks. Tom Sawyer, Wind in the Willows - thousands of downloadable classic audiobooks. Sit back, feet up, snuggle with your favorite kid and listen to a great read.

Google Earth - If you haven't hooked up here yet, you are missing something special. A very easy download gets you started. See how the birds see your planet - including your own back yard. When a special girl of mine joined the Navy and was ordered to Spain, she said, "Wow! I always wanted to see South America!" Help a kid learn geography. Spend time on this site, learning all it can do - hours of amazement.

Frenchtoast Girl - Got a little girl in your family? Here's virtual paper dolls to play with. Click the icon in the left margin. More paper dolls at Zwinky.

Atomic clock - my favotie timepiece on the Internet.

Lego online requires an activeX control and Shockwave, but you can build virtual Lego toys by following patterns.

Etch-a-sketch online. Lose yourself in creativity.

Backyardigans coloring pages. Preschoolers to about first grade.

Word puzzles - more for grandma and grandpa, but fun for advanced kids, too.

M&M Morph - Transform yourself into an M&M - who could resist? An impressive array of body parts (sort of like Mr. Potato head). When you've created your perfect personality you can make movies, post cards, letterhead and whatever.