Now that Steve Jobs is gone (I call him "Saint Jobs" now, half jokingly, half out of respect), what's going to be the next big tech invention that's going to change our lives? Smartphones were obvious mind blowers. I'm still smiling at how I watch YouTube music videos on my iPhone 5 will riding the exercise bike. And tablets are certainly going to replace laptops in time. The 4' tall stand I got for my iPad allows me to use that thing in every room of my house. It's my portable digital picture frame on my desk, my recipe holder in my kitchen, even my small TV in the bedroom. Just by attaching a small keyboard to it . . .

So my wife and I moved to a new home recently and I'm reminded once again why I hate Internet service in America. It's not enough that the government allows only one cable provider to operate in any particular area, but the other choice, DSL, is absolutely terrible. It pretty much forces the consumer to buy expensive cable bundles at whatever price the cable companies can get away which charging us. I checked for Internet service providers at Whitefence, Saveology, and other places, but the outcome was clear: pay the high cable price or do without.. At least in Britain, the government created competition . . .

Ah yes, a new school year. As my kids head off to their classes (Allison, 8 and Timothy, 11), I can't help but be reminded of the sad state of our public schools system. I know that teachers try their best. I also know that the administrators are doing everything they can to stretch their budgets. However, every time to topic of U.S. education comes up in conversation, it's always the same tune - our youth are falling behind in technology. A lot of this has to do with access to computers, and that's why I want to discuss the idea of donating cheap computers or other used equipment to your local . . .