Freebies

Remember CinemaNow? The company has been slinging digital movies since 1999. But although it got picked up by Blockbuster in 2009, it has never achieved what I'd call critical mass. Indeed, I kinda thought it had gone the way of so many Blockbuster stores.

Nope! In fact, CinemaNow (currently owned by Best Buy) appears to be working on a comeback, as evidenced by this new promotion: 10 free CinemaNow movies when you link to an UltraViolet account.

Don't have a CinemaNow account? No problem, it's free to sign up for one, though you can also use an … Read more

Greetings from 34,000 feet! Sometimes I still marvel at being able to get Internet access all the way up here.

So, funny story, yesterday I received a press release indicating that today, and only today, Laplink is giving away its Laplink Sync utility. It normally costs $39.99.

Update: Looks like Laplink's servers are on fire (figuratively), as many people are reporting problems claiming the offer -- not uncommon with a heavily promoted giveaway such as this. Hopefully the company will do the right thing and extend it so everyone can have a chance at it.

Or will … Read more

Savvy cloud-storage seekers know they can get 2GB free from Dropbox, 5GB from Google and SugarSync, 7GB from Microsoft, and so on.

Of course, there's no way to pool all that free storage into a single, unified cloud drive. That's precisely the idea behind Backup That, a new service that leverages the space available in your various e-mail accounts to give you potentially unlimited storage.

After registering for the beta, you choose one or more mail accounts to link to your Backup That account. The latter currently works with AOL, Gmail, GMX, Mobile Me, Yahoo, and other mail … Read more

It was barely two weeks ago that Lego Batman: DC Super Heroes made a wonderful iOS debut, and suddenly there's another Lego-themed game in the App Store: Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles. Woot!

The bad news: This isn't a port of any of the classic Lego Star Wars games that have appeared on consoles over the years. Instead, it's something new and original, a real-time strategy/action blend set in the "Clone Wars" universe and aimed at younger players. (Arguably, all the Lego games have a similar audience, but most of them are fun … Read more

Hang onto your wallets, cheeps, because I've got five -- count 'em, five -- deals lined up for your Friday.

Why the glut? Same as always: I found lots of really good items and couldn't decide which one to spotlight. Check 'em out:

1. One big TV. When it comes to bang for your TV buck, I think Vizio leads the pack. Especially when Vizio resellers serve up deals like this one: Dell Home has the Vizio E552VLE 55-inch smart LCD HDTV for $649.99 shipped (plus sales tax in some states). Although CNET had some nits to pick … Read more

Recently my media-center PC died (well, the hard drive -- when you start seeing boot-screen messages about "imminent hard drive failure," believe them!). All those episodes of "Community" and "Once Upon a Time" I'd DVR'd for later viewing -- gone.

Hulu Plus to the rescue! Yeah, you have to sit through commercial breaks (albeit way shorter ones than during regular broadcasts), but it's still the best (and cheapest) way to watch first-run TV shows.

A typical Hulu Plus trial lasts just seven days, but for a limited time, StackSocial is offering … Read more

For a while now I've been wanting to test-drive FreedomPop, the wireless Internet provider that offers, among other things, 500MB of free mobile data per month.

Alas, because it's a 4G-only service based on Clearwire's WiMAX network, there's no coverage in my area.

That changes today with the introduction of FreedomPop's new Overdrive Pro mobile hot spot, which offers both 4G and 3G coverage via Sprint.

In other words, now I can get in on the free-data action. The Overdrive Pro costs $39.99 and allows for up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect at … Read more

It was just over three years ago that I first encountered (and wrote about) Swag Bucks, a service that rewards you for completing various online activities.

I used it pretty hot and heavy for about a year, eventually accumulating some downright decent prizes, but then it dropped off my radar. Way, way off -- I kind of forgot it existed.

Come to find out, though, that Swag Bucks is alive and well -- and still a rather interesting way to score freebies just for doing stuff you might already be doing anyway.

For example, you can earn points ("swag … Read more

As a self-employed person who pays quarterly tax estimates and has lots of employers, April 15 is an especially rotten day of the year -- and not just because I once again waited until the last minute to file my annual return. It's because the whole tax system is insanely complicated, confusing, frustrating, and, duh, expensive. (Hey, government: I don't mind you skimming some off the top, but I do have some quibbles with how you're spending it. Call me, we'll talk.)

Thankfully, some companies are trying to make Tax Day a little less painful by … Read more