Hi Folks,

A little late this week - we spent most of the weekend, until the wee hours of the mornings, trying to get a 3 week old baby to sleep more than 20 minutes.  He has manages to wear out 6 adults already - but he sure is cute!  Check the web page for the birth announcement and a couple of pictures!

Just in case next weekend is a repeat, here's wishing you all a very merry and safe Holiday Season.

I actually did get a chance to read the Fry's ad, but it is probably too late now and I am not sure where the ad is anyway.  I do have a few clippings for you to ponder though.  The first one is from Worldstart and can save you some money.  The second is from lockergnome and the rest are from Kim's newsletters.  Enjoy.

RetailMeNot

I always love to introduce new and exciting Web sites to all you folks who read WorldStart's newsletter regularly and for this purpose, I continuously scan the Internet one Web site at a time for something useful. But this time, I found a real steal for you! This is especially useful if you shop around a lot on the Internet.

When you shop online, have you ever noticed that most big Web sites usually have a little box on the checkout page where you can enter a promotional code? This promotional code primarily gets you a bit of a discount on the total purchase you are making. Most people don’t know this, but it doesn’t take anything special to get ahold of these promotional codes. You don't even have to know the CEO of the company to get access to these special codes! It has been quite awhile since people have been Googling for promo codes and using them while shopping online, but there's no doubt it’s a bit of a time consuming job.

So, lucky for us, someone came along and consolidated all these promo codes into a single place so that they are easily accessible to anyone. The Web site is called RetailMeNot and the concept is rather simple. You simply visit the site, search for the online store in which you want the promotional code for and it will pull up the results for you.

For instance, I went to www.retailmenot.com and searched for any promotional codes within www.dell.com. Immediately, I was presented with a few promotional codes that I could use to get discounts from Dell. For easy access, they have also provided us all with a little bookmark that you can add to your browser.

When you use a promotional code that you found on this Web site, it’s always a good idea to vote whether it worked for you or not. As you can see on the search results page, it also tells you the success rate of the given promotional code. It’s useful for potential users to know how successful a particular coupon code was so that they don’t waste their time trying a code that was already found unsuccessful. Similarly, another way to give back to the community is to submit any promotional coupons that you might have access to. Remember what they told you as a kid? Sharing is good!

RetailMeNot has a pretty decent collection of promotional codes. I was easily able to find codes for prominent shopping destinations like Dell, Amazon, GAP, Go Daddy, NewEgg, eMusic, lee and more.

To start, I suggest browsing through the coupons by the keywords that are given at the bottom of the main page. Who knows what sweet deal you might find there!

Again, you can find RetailMeNot right here.

Folder Marker v1.4

by Lockergnome on December 4, 2006 at 5:53 am · Comments
Categorized by Download / Related Information

Folder Marker is a handy shell extension that enables you to quickly change folder icons to indicate a priority level or project status (high, low, done, half-done, planned etc.), or you can use it to mark a folder with a special icon or color of your choice. Simply right-click on any folder and select the icon or color to be used from the newly added menu option. Folder Marker supports single and multiple folder selections and is freeware.

Clearing up unused icons

Question:  When I start my computer, I get a message that I have unused icons. It asks if I want them removed. I don't. Can I make this message go away?

Answer:  This is one of many aggravating messages in Windows. I guess it is intended to help those who are utterly clueless. But I find it irritating.

It's easy to turn off. Right-click an empty area of the desktop. Click Properties and select the Desktop tab. Click Customize Desktop. Clear the box next to "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days." Click OK>>OK.

The Cleanup Wizard removes icons that aren't seeing much service. You'll be given a list of icons that are rarely or never used. You can deselect them if you want to keep them.

When you remove icons, the Cleanup Wizard creates a desktop folder. The old icons go there. So you remove a few icons from the desktop, then add a folder. Hmmmm.

Anyway, to restore an icon, double-click the folder. Drag the icon you want onto the desktop.

Personally, I'd just rather delete icons if I don't want them. I click the icon once, and press the Del key. But that's just me. Others may prefer the automated method.

Learn how to customize more other features in Windows on my site:

                               Control Programs that start with Windows

                               Start your screen saver quickly

                               Create shortcuts and map network drives

MP3 players are hot gifts this year. No doubt someone you know wants one. So which one should you buy? Tune in to tomorrow's Kim Komando Computer Minute for my top picks. To find out how to listen to my Minute, visit my site.

A digital camera on a tiny budget

Question:  My husband has an extraordinary gift for photography. But he is unemployed and our Christmas budget is tight. I hope to inspire his talent so he feels more confidence. We have a 35mm camera, but not enough money for film or developing. Besides, I know he would love to edit photos on the computer. So here is my question: What camera could I buy for $69, and where could I get it?

Answer:  Digital cameras steadily are becoming more affordable. However, the age of the $69 digital camera has yet to arrive. Low prices for new cameras still average over $100.

Nevertheless, there are a couple ways to get a camera on a budget. First, you could look for used cameras. One of the best known places for used merchandise is eBay.

On eBay, each listing includes a price (current bid) and shipping charge. The sum gives you the true cost of an item. Buying through auction can be tricky. You can't be sure of the camera's quality. And there may be no warranty.

Furthermore, if you bid on multiple cameras, you risk winning multiple auctions. Given the possible problems, I'm reluctant to recommend the auction route.  

Another strategy is to search local retailers for older inventory. Lesser-known brands or older models sometimes remain on store shelves with significant markdowns. For the same reason, check with online discount retailers like Newegg.com, Geeks.com and Walmart.com.

Frankly, I think local retailers are your best bet. I'd visit the stores and pick out several candidates. Then wait until the last minute. You may be able to get one on sale. But I doubt that they'll fall all the way to $69.

If you don't have editing software, there are good programs available free. Paint.net is OK for beginners. If your husband is more advanced and/or ambitious, GIMP is a good choice. You'll find links to both, along with other programs, on my site.

I also have an excellent book on this topic, The 50 Greatest Secrets of Digital Photography. I'm sending you a copy for Christmas, with my best wishes. I bet next year will be better for your husband!

                               Create a photo slide show screen saver

                               Make a collage of digital photos

Have you heard about the latest e-mail threat? No, it isn't spam or viruses. Tune in to The Kim Komando Show this weekend. I'll tell you how some crooks are ransoming users' e-mail messages. Visit my site to find out how you can listen to my three-hour radio show or my Computer Minute, which airs Monday through Friday.

Don't forget to enter the Kim Komando Great Giveaway! You don't want to miss out on great prizes like Xboxes, cameras, printers, $1,000 gift certificates, and much more! You can even win a Disney World four-day, three-night vacation! See all the prizes at the Annual Giveaway site.

Have a good week folks.

More Next Sunday,
Chuckstr
----My Web Site----

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