There are many enhancements made to the Firefox 3 browsers. Besides the increase in speed, there is easier navigation, super simple bookmarking, an awesome address location bar, download manager, improved full page zoom capabilities, text enhancements, instant website identification, and many more. Actually, according to Mozilla, there has been 15,000 enhancements.

The download of the new version of Firefox has been incredible. For the first 24 hours, the download was at 4%. Quite impressive.

So, if you are a huge Firefox fan as I am, you can download the new version here

During the so called “landrush”, domain names are open to the public and anyone can apply to purchase one. After the landrush ends on June 26, 2008, the domain names will be auctioned off.

I wonder if help.me, love.me, bite.me, or byte.me is taken?

If you want one, it will cost you $49.99 for a year from GoDaddy. That’s with a minimum of a 2 year registration.

As telecommuters, we can oftentimes take tax deductions for home office expenses. (Of course, check with your accountant first).Things like computers, ink, printer, fax, paper, postage, computer supplies, and others. Well, there is a neat little device and program, aptly called Neat Receipts, that will help you maintain and analyze your receipts virtually without having to keep all that PAPER!

The device was demonstrated on The View and it seemed really simple. One thing I liked about it was that it was very small and seemed portable. It seemed like it would be useful for the business traveler that has to fill out those dredged expense reports.

The feature I really liked about it was that it comes with software that allows you to organize and analyze your receipts. You can export statements to Excel, Turbo Tax, Quicken, and QuickBooks. You can also scan business cards.

I really like what this product claims to do. In honor of their segment on ABC’s The View, they are offering a $20 discount using the coupon code found on their site. How cool is that?

The price listed today on NeatReceipts.com was $199.95 but you can also purchase Neat Receipts at Staples, Amazon, Costco, Target, Buy.com, Office Max, Best Buy, Sky Mall, Office Depot and a couple of other places.

You can read more about it here.

Stories were presented on employees being hit hard by these rising fuel costs – some saying that they are using up to one week’s pay out of the month’s pay for gasoline! Unbelievable isn’t it?

Because of these soaring costs, some businesses are taking notice and offering employees telecommuting and yes, some are offering a four-day work week. One company mentioned in the segment in particular, Lathem Corp is offering offers telecommuting, van pools, and four-day work weeks.

Benefits of telecommuting mentioned are increases in morale, loyalty, productivity. Some studies suggest that some companies are experiencing 10%-20% increases in productivity from telecommuting.

Matt Lauer interviewed John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the nations leading employment and consulting firm.

You can catch the full video here

The program actually installs itself as printer and works with any program that has a “print” menu option.

So what is the program called and where can I get it? The free program is called Cute PDF writer. It’s the free version of the popular commercial Adobe PDF.

It’s an easy download, easy to install, and easy to use. Once you have created your document, simply click PRINT. You will be prompted to choose the printer you want to use. Choose Cute PDF Writer. Make sure you save the document with the PDF File option.

You can download the program at cutepdf.com or at cnet.com.

You can choose website themes and can edit the website just like a document. Attachments can be uploaded as well, links can be added, images can be inserted, and documents can be embedded. Pages can be added through the create pages feature. There are different pages with different features. Pages such as announcements, lists, dashboards, and others. It’s single simple click creation with no HTML needed.

There is site sharing and you can decide who and how many people can view or edit the site. In other words, the website can be public, semi-private, or private. You can allow access to view or edit the website by email addresses. In other words, you can allow multiple people such as students of a classroom or members of a club to submit and edit content.

Check out Google Sites today!

The goal is that by the year of 2011, they will give about 14 million people, about half the working population, the ability to have smarter working practices.

This is not supposed to be a day off to play hooky, if you will, but a day to prove that an employee can be more productive without the stresses of a long commute or just plain workplace.

Here in the US we have the “Take your Daughter to Work Day”. I wonder if the US will ever have a National Work from Home Day? Let’s hope so!

You can find the full story on UK’s National Work from Home Day here:

Source: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/03/12/3323536.htm

Right now, all students will be professionals, college or high school students from China. You will be working with these students that want to learn English. From what I understand, you speak to the students through a headset via your computer.

Additionally, from what I understand, mornings and evenings are needed the most - hours between 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 9:30-10:30 p.m. everyday. You can commit to as many hours as you can in half hour intervals. The only minimum is that you have to take one call every 30 days.

There are lessen plans and you correct students when they make a mistake. The work sessions are in 15 minute intervals.

You need a headset to speak to students of all ages via the computer in China who want to learn English.

So if this sounds like a fun and interesting job, check out the Become a Trainer link on the Idapted.com website.

With the cost of fuel nearing $4.00 a gallon, fees for checked luggage and baggage, and the price of food increasing, are you looking for ways to save money on your vacation? Perhaps you are an overscheduled family and just need the downtime. Whatever the reason, many families are opting for a “staycation” this summer.

Staycation is the new buzzword that has been getting a lot of press recently. – a stay-at-home vacation, if you will. Basically, it means staying at or near home for vacation. Many families are opting to stay local for their vacation this year. More time spent at bbq’s, family gatherings, local swimming pools, or nearby attractions. Many retailers are banking on more families taking staycations too with the increased promotions of tents, grills, inflatable pools, patio and deck furniture.

According to a recent Newsweek article, almost 60 percent of Americans are skimping on their vacation expenditures due to soaring gas prices.

So, if you are planning a staycation this year, perhaps there are some local attractions that you haven’t visited ever (think Museum, local theater, nearby lake) or perhaps there are some that you haven’t visited in 5-10 years (think Zoo, Amusement Park). These can offer fun and relaxation. Sitting around a back yard fire pit making Hobo Pizza Pies and roasting marshmallows can offer almost as much fun as driving 3-4 hours to the closest campground doing the same thing - right?

One thing that won’t be missed is the repetitive “Are we there yet?”. Or will it?

I like to think of vacations as not only offering relaxation and fun, but also creating memories. Perhaps with the surge of these staycations, more emphasis will be placed on creating memories - realizing that it is who you are with that matters most, not where you’ve been?!

Source: Newsweek.com