Many parents of college kids have experienced the dread of having their child message, call or write to say that they need money. Technology now allows us many options to send our cash-strapped kids a little loot.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post encouraging everyone to make backing up their data their New Years’ resolution. As I was reviewing the different ways to create data backups, it struck me how many devices we use on a daily basis now create and store digital files.

It’s that time of the year again – time to take a good hard look at yourself and resolve to be better next year. And yes, time for magazines, TV news shows and blogs to suggest a New Year’s resolution for you. Yeah, irritating, we know. But this is one you should pay attention too. It’s not that hard and could save you a lot of grief when the inevitable happens.

Getting a new phone is fun. Whether you bought it for yourself or it was given to you by a loved one, firing up a new handset is one of the true joys of our wireless world. At some point, all phones seem restrictive after you use them for a while. A brand new phone frees you to get some new wallpapers, better ringtones and those cool apps your old device couldn’t handle. Then, of course, there is the wonderful new phone smell…

Like people all over the world, we Agents often find ourselves travelling to get together with our friends and family over the holidays. And, being more tech-dependent than the average citizen, one of our main concerns is what combination of devices and accessories will we be able to take with us. Sure, Agents travelling over-land can error on the side of caution and fill up the backseat with extra batteries and cables. But those of us who need to grab our boarding passes and stand in the airport security line have decisions to make. Considering that we generally think tech belongs in carry on luggage, weight also becomes an issue.

As the holiday shopping season ramps up, a lot of us are on the lookout for good deals on gifts for family and friends. With all the shopping available online these days, maximizing your gift budget is as easy as firing up your smartphone and hitting your favorite shopping site.

Each time I return from getting my teeth cleaned, I swear it will be different this time: I’ll develop better dental health habits – brush after every meal, floss at least once a day – in order to avoid the uncomfortable gum scraping (and guilt-inducing “tsk-tsk”) from my hygienist.

Touchscreens are the input device of today. They’re everywhere – ATMs, gas pumps, desktops and (of course) our pockets.  The touchscreen is an intuitive, elegant and effective interface whose usefulness in the modern information society is shown by its prevalence in the world around us.

Mobile computing devices are letting us access the Web (and take care of business) from just about anywhere. Wireless technology now lets us pay our bills at the coffee shop, check our email while waiting for the kids after soccer practice, or take a conference call while getting our oil changed. Tablets and smartphones make it easy to manage our lives and stay in touch with the office while we are out and about.

According to a recent study, more than 8,000 mobile devices were left behind at just seven of the country’s largest airports in the last year. The most common places mobile devices were left behind? Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints and restrooms.

The digital age has revolutionized everything around us — including cooking dinner. Whether you’re a novice in the kitchen or a skilled chef, there are a number of smartphone apps, online resources and gadgets that can make your time in the kitchen much less frantic, and much more productive and fun.

There have been a number of articles in the tech press lately about vulnerabilities with smartphone passcodes. Phones using both Android and iOS systems have been plagued by hacks that allow unauthorized users to get around the passcode lockscreen. Apple recently released an update to their operating system intended to address this problem. A similar issue was also discovered in Galaxy Note 2 phones.

Saving digital files used to be so easy — just hit “Control-S”, and “Bam!” — your spreadsheet was saved. If you wanted to take the file with you, you just burned it onto a CD, and you were off.

Ah… portable electronics — the joy of modern technology. The most appealing thing about touchscreen phones, notebooks, netbooks and tablets is their portability. We take them just about everywhere we go. We toss them in our backpacks, our purses, and our pockets. And sometimes… they pay the price.

With international athletes converging on the UK this summer in their quest to be best, we’ve reached out “across the pond” to our fellow Geek Squad Agents in Great Britain to help us with a tech tip series for Americans attending the festivities in the UK. Read on!

With international athletes converging on the UK this summer in their quest to be best, we’ve reached out “across the pond” to our fellow Geek Squad Agents in Great Britain to help us with a tech tip series for Americans attending the festivities in the UK. Read on!

With international athletes converging on the UK this summer in their quest to be best, we’ve reached out “across the pond” to our fellow Geek Squad Agents in Great Britain to help us with a tech tip series for Americans attending the festivities in the UK. Read on!

With international athletes converging on the UK this summer in their quest to be best, we’ve reached out “across the pond” to our fellow Geek Squad Agents in Great Britain to help us with a tech tip series for Americans attending the festivities in the UK. Read on!

It’s that time of year again – St. Patrick’s Day! You dress up in green, wear a “kiss me I’m Irish” button, and hit the pubs for some fun with friends new and old. It’s a day when, regardless of your ethnic background, everyone is Irish.

iPods are awesome. Really, they are. Cutting-edge technology, bringing our favorite music and video to us at the touch of a button, any time we like. Which is why it sucks when they occasionally decide not to work.

In part 2 of this week’s series we will be discussing how you can empower your smartphone or tablet and make your holidays easier, by learning about all of their most futuristic features.

Steve Jobs is gone. The founder and father figure of Apple has died, leaving us all wondering what will happen in the wake of his passing.

2 Minute Miracle: Geek Squad iPhone Email Set-Up

If you have an iPhone, we suggest that you install patch as soon as possible.

Star Trek is set to release today and I couldn’t be more excited! Sure, I’m thrilled that the new movie is coming out soon, but what’s even more exciting is all the fancy merchandise that gets released to help promote the movie itself. You’ll see tons of blogs about the movie itself, but I think I’ll change things up a bit by focusing on all the nifty gizmos that would make any Trekkie jump for joy.