The Lance J. Technoweb

Visa gift cards can be a real risk because they can lose value.  First, they can be lost, and in that case the card has zero value to you.  Just as bad, I can forget about the card in a drawer or wallet, and soon enough it expires and loses all of its value. And even if I do manage to use a gift card, it can end up with some weird remaining balance like $3.31, and again I forget about it and its value decays to zero.  MY LOSS AGAIN.  SAD. The same problem applied to gift cards branded as MasterCard, Discover, or Amex. The other day I received a product rebate in the form of a $100 gift card, but I didn't want to lose that money. And so I figured out a way to immediately convert my physical gift card into something else of equal value. Here's how it works: Now when I receive a gift card I immediately log into Amazon and buy an Amazon gift card with 100% of the gift card's value.  This way I move all of the gift card money into an account that I will de...

I am now using a really bad Mac for everyday use!  It's bad because a lot of its parts are broken - but it still soldiers on. It's a late 2009 vintage A1342 white polycarbonate model. Full disclosure:  I have repaired many A1342 MacBooks, and so I have a bunch of mediocre spare parts laying around.  I would never put mediocre parts into a customers' machine, but I don't want to throw them into the recycle bin.  So I took the parts that somewhat work and assembled a "good-enough" Macbook out of them. Before jumping into the bad, here are the positive highlights: 1. 8 GB of RAM installed 2. 1 TB SSD drive installed 3. It all works for my use Saved from the Recycle Bin Yes, my MacBook is made from many bad parts saved from the recycle bin.  So I guess I am REUSING D-grade components instead of RECYCLING them - at least for the next few years. Here's what's been saved from the recycling mill: Battery The battery is a weak, cheap aftermar...

Dear Decision Maker: My shop eliminated Adobe Flash by 2009.  You are a decade behind.  It will cost you a lot of money if you don't heed my advice: Explicitly prohibit all employees and contractors from using or deploying Adobe Flash in any way.  Immediately assign someone the responsibility to fully eliminate Adobe Flash from all your systems and services. Yes, this costs money.  Suck it up.  If you want to be professional and responsible, you have no choice.  You're already looking like an irresponsible idiot if you still use Flash. Why: Adobe Flash is end-of-life.  Adobe, the makers of Flash, is shutting it down Flash development and support in 2020.  Any web site requiring Flash today will not be usable in 2020.  All of today's mobile platforms, smartphones, and tablets are incompatible with Flash. Modern web browsers are beginning to fully block Flash due to its extreme security risks and its pending retirement. Adobe F...