savings

One of the new features in OS X Lion is the application resume option, where the system will remember the documents, windows, and positioning of applications when they are quit, so when you open them again you will be right where you left off. This option is convenient for many purposes; however, there may be some situations where it may not be desired. For instance, if an opened document causes a program to crash, then having it reopen immediately when the application is launched might result in the program continuing to crash. Additionally, there might be some security or privacy … Read more

At some point, a friend may ask to borrow your superfast smartphone to look up something on the Web. It's times like these when you really don't want any of your private search queries popping up in the autocomplete area for your friend to choose. Perhaps you were looking up something medically related, or some other personal matter--you want to keep it as private as possible. Follow these steps to erase the search history on your Android phone.

1. Open your mobile browser on the phone and head to Google.com if it isn't your default search … Read more

Quick housekeeping note: I'm traveling tomorrow, so I won't have another deal for you until Monday. See you then!

Tired of burning through pricey ink and toner cartridges? PretonSaver Home promises to cut these consumable costs by up to 70 percent. Best of all, it's free. (Note: You can use the previous link to download the program, but click here to go to Preton's site and register for the activation code.)

This Windows-only utility works its ink-saving magic by removing overlapping pixels (of which there are many, apparently) from the printed page, thus reducing ink consumption. … Read more

Dropbox is a free and extremely easy-to-use tool for sharing files and syncing them between computers, and you can also use Dropbox to back up files and access them from other computers and devices (including from your iPad or iPhone, with dedicated apps for each of those devices).

Dropbox's interface is largely invisible, which is part of what makes this app so easy to use. When you install Dropbox on your Mac or Windows machine, you create a Dropbox folder. This is a local folder that lives on your desktop, but you can access the folder from other computers (… Read more

Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad yet again had difficulty adjusting to daylight saving time.

Frustrated U.S. iDevice users on Facebook, Twitter, and Apple forums griefed over the weekend that their gadgets fell back an hour instead of springing forward.

This means many alarms went off went off at incorrect times yesterday and today, making people late for appointments, church, and whatever else people do on Sunday mornings (as for me, just don't wake me up).

"Thanks iPod Touch and iPhone for making me late to work! DST is not working properly," Twitter user iSiC_XXIII wrote.

Wrote Twitter user meemnoonwowrah: "Wife's iPhone needed a reboot to fix DST time switch. My Android phone was automatic. Even MS has that fixed. Come on Apple. Step ya game up."

The fix is easy, according to PCMag.com. "Either power the phone off and turn it on again, or go into the device's settings and switch Airplane Mode on briefly, then flip it off." … Read more

If you are like me, you have terabytes' worth of photographs on many drives, taking up valuable space. Of course, even if you aren't a professional photographer you may still have a lot of photographs on your machine and wish you had more space for other media like videos or music.

One tip that could get much of your valuable space back is simple, but not entirely obvious. Most Mac programs will delete files fully from your machine when you delete them from the program (or at least ask you if you want to delete the program completely, as … Read more

WhatsApp Messenger has been around for quite a while, but it's still an app that's extremely useful to texting addicts. With this chat app installed on your iPhone, you'll save a considerable amount of money on text charges through your carrier. The only catch is that you'll have to persuade your most frequent texting partners to download the app, too, but once they see WhatsApp's advantages, they'll probably pony up a buck.

Much like the texting app that comes on the iPhone, WhatsApp Messenger shows your chats in little text bubbles, gives you a … Read more

Data Rescue can help you retrieve lost files, whether they were destroyed in a hard-drive crash or just accidentally deleted by some overzealous trash-emptying.

This app has an easy--and even kind of fun--interface, with 3D animations that show available drives and your options for diagnosis and recovery. Once you've chosen a drive to examine, Data Rescue prompts you for an additional drive to use as "workspace" and gives you six choices: a Quick Scan or Deep Scan to find recoverable files; a Deleted Files Scan (good for an accidental deletion on an otherwise healthy drive); Clone, which … Read more

The less you drive, the less likely you are to get into car accidents--at least that's how insurance companies look at it. To better align drivers' automobile insurance rates with risk, State Farm is offering its California customers discounts based on their odometer readings.

The insurance giant created Drive Safe & Save (DSS), a new voluntary program for California customers that adjusts future policy rates based on the previous six months of driving. Prior to the program, the insurance company rated drivers as either a low- or high-mileage driver, with the cutoff point at 7,500 miles per year. … Read more