advice

Three ways your smartphone can lighten up a heavy wallet

Despite the fact that I conduct a biweekly wallet cleaning session, my leathery companion still overflows with stuff.

The phenomenon is so frustrating, actually, that it inadvertently causes me to lock up when a sales associate offers me a rewards card, a colleague excitedly gives me his business card, or a cashier hands over a 10-foot-long receipt, complete with coupons and offers. Ugh.

Even though many analog items like address books are now obsolete, these other paper and plastic things have yet to join the transition into digital.

To be fair, some retailers are ditching physical rewards cards … Read more

Five clever ways to keep your New Year's resolutions

Think back to last year's resolutions--can you even remember what you resolved to achieve?

Me neither.

Change isn't easy, and when it comes to New Year's resolutions, most people spend more time planning their goals than pursuing them. It's the exact reason why fitness centers seem so packed in January and desolate by March.

But this year, if you're resolving to lose weight, eat healthier, read more books, or improve your life in any other way, consider doing it differently with the help of technology.

1. Tell your social network Make yourself accountable for your … Read more

TripAdvisor, now in your pocket

TripAdvisor is the comprehensive companion app to the popular travel Web site of the same name. It's a great resource for discovering hotels, restaurants, and things to do in destinations all around the world. It even lets you read reviews, talk in forums, and look through tons of photos shot by other travelers.

From the main Dashboard, you can jump directly into a section, and conduct a search for Hotels, Restaurants, or Things to do. But the better way to use the app is through the global search tool at the top of the screen, which pulls up all … Read more

Four steps to the perfect camera purchase

Let's be clear about one thing: there is no "perfect" camera. What you're looking for is a camera that will do most of what you need, do it well, and make shooting enjoyable. Anything beyond that is a big bonus.

Why do I stress that? Because if you really go searching for the perfect camera, you'll end up with purchase paralysis, and miss lots of great photo opportunities along the way. My corollary to Chase Jarvis' maxim "The best camera is the one that's with you": The best camera is the one … Read more

Holiday Help Desk on CNET Live

It's that time of year again, time for CNET's Holiday Help Desk.

Hosts Molly Wood and Brian Tong will take live viewer calls, talk to the chat room, and answer e-mails. And dish out the best tech gift-buying advice on the planet. Special guests will include CNET resident cheapskate Rick Broida, a parade of CNET editors, and guests from the retail world pitching their deals directly to you, such as representatives from Amazon, Woot, eBay, and Best Buy.

We'll keep you posted with the best deals, and also help you find the perfect gadget that's right … Read more

The 404 913: Where Jill and the Amazon Kindle are on Fire (podcast)

The Rev. Justin Yu is out for the rest of the week, but in his place we have the always informative financial guru Jill Schlesinger. Today we talk about the new Amazon Kindle Fire, and how it changes everything in the tablet market (especially for Google). But we also quiz Aunt Jill about the ongoing crisis in Europe, and she tells us about the sugary grab bag at the News & Documentary Emmys.

The 404 Digest for Episode 913

Amazon's new Kindle Fire Amazon Kindle Touch Amazon Kindle Amazon Silk browser iPhone announcement Bathroom Break: 'Jedi Kittens Strike Back' Episode 913 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

CNET to the Rescue: The last Rescue, and the end of Quicken for Mac

This week, the sharp editor of CNET How To, Sharon Vaknin, joins us again as we answer questions about Quicken, Google+, mousing on a Mac, and Facebook security.

This is the last CNET to the Rescue show for a while. The show is going into the shop and we're going to tune it up a bit, and will re-launch it shortly. I am leaving this show to launch another one here at CNET, hopefully also shortly.

If you have a tech question for CNET, e-mail how-to@cnet.com.

Thanks everyone for listening, watching, complaining, whatever...It's been a lot of fun. --Rafe

CNET to the Rescue: To fix a bad Windows PC, send it back

The face and voice of the new CNET how-to section, Sharon Vaknin, joins us today as we road-test the Nook and Greplin, gripe at sloppy PC vendors, and advise on the best setup for graphic design student.

If you have a tech question for CNET to the Rescue, e-mail rescue@cnet.com. No question is too basic, so if you've got a tech problem that's been getting under your skin, please drop us a line and we'll try our best to help you out.

The 404 850: Where Jill will do anything for love (podcast)

Aunt Jill's been busy with her own podcast Jill On Money, but today she joins us on The 404 to answer your financial questions. Listen to this episode to find out what each of us did as teenagers to make money, how kids today can make the most of their time, and the best way to handle your monthly credit card debt. Plus, Jill helps us out with another Tang That Tune, now with a video and audio intro thanks to Patrick and Jamey!

The 404 Digest for Episode 850

Listen and subscribe to Aunt Jill's podcast, Jill on Money! Check out #AuntJill's Twitter, and send her your questions!

Episode 850 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

CNET to the Rescue: Gadget clothes, breaking RAID, and more

CNET editor-in-chief Scott Ard joins us today to talk about a bunch of cool new products he's actually using. Then we get into some interesting tech questions, like which DSLR to get for video, how to protect a 3-year-old from the Web, and what Dell says about backing up their own RAID arrays.

And be sure to check out CNET's new library of how-to articles, live now at howto.cnet.com.