One of the most common questions that I get is about places that you can find affordable Powerbook parts and repairs.  Quite frankly, I had never really thought about it until I wrote on this blog, so I asked my friends that owned Macs.

And all I heard was silence – at least from everyone except for Bruce.

Bruce has been a hardcore Mac user since the day that I met him, and I have failed to woo him to the dark side (using a PC).  But that also means that he has been an invaluable expert when it comes to questions relating to computers that I know little about.

He suggested that the best place that has worked for him has been PowerbookMedic.com.  He had purchased a memory upgrade from them in the past, and was very happy with their service and prices.

I decided to look a little deeper, and all I found was countless praises for their prices and service.  Their site also offers free repair manuals which is perfect if you want to attempt to repair your gadgets yourself.

I was able to find a coupon where you can get 5% off $50 at PowerBookMedic.com which is a great way to try them out.

Feel free to leave feedback about their service below – I’d love to hear from you.

One of the things that can really help your laptop (or desktop computer) perform at its best is by having the most up to date drivers on your computer.  Manufacturers are working all the time to increase the speed, compatibility and efficiency of their driver software to make sure that the hardware in your machine works the best it possibly can for you.  Quite often, updating the drivers on your computer can create noticeable speed improvements.

But when you consider the number of devices that are in your computer, the thought of trying to upgrade the driver for each one becomes a tedious process.  There has never really been an easy way to do this, and even if you were a computer guru, updating the drivers on your computer could take hours.

But not anymore.

For the past few weeks, I have been trying a new piece of software called Driver Robot.  The software is designed to keep your drivers on your computer up to date automatically.  This means that you don’t have to waste hours of your time trying to do it yourself, or hire a computer technician to do it for you.  It is also smart enough to install drivers that work specifically with your machine so you don’t accidentally install the wrong ones (which if you have ever done that, you know what a disaster it can be).

I recommend Driver Robot as the software of choice for my computer consulting clients, and even though it has meant less work for me as a computer repair tech, I know that they appreciate having a machine that is working well all of the time.

Click here to find out more information about Driver Robot and how it can keep your PC running at peak performance.

After many years of paying an accountant a pile of money to do my taxes, I have taken it upon myself to do things myself.  Now, I don’t want to have to wade through a pile of books and write the thing out by hand, so I am trying my hand with tax preparation software.

It seems like there are plenty of offerings over at Amazon, and I picked up a copy of TurboTax for myself.  If you are in need of some tax software this year (or in the future if you are reading this next year), then feel free to pick from the offerings below – they are well worth the price.

	TurboTax Deluxe Federal + E-file + State 2011 for PC [Download] List Price: $59.95 Sale Price: $45.98
	TurboTax Deluxe: Guides you step-by-step to maximize your deductions

	H&R Block At Home 2011 Deluxe + State List Price: $44.99 Sale Price: $25.00
	H&R Block At Home: Deluxe--Homeowners/Investors, Federal + State H&R Block At Home Deluxe is the right choice for those with more complex tax situations to easily complete their federal and state returns...

	H&R Block At Home Deluxe + State 2011 Win [Download] List Price: $44.99 Sale Price: $27.62
	H&R Block At Home: Deluxe--Homeowners/Investors, Federal + State H&R Block At Home Deluxe is the right choice for those with more complex tax situations to easily complete their federal and state returns...

	TurboTax Premier Federal + E-file + State 2011 for PC [Download] List Price: $89.95 Sale Price: $65.54
	TurboTax Premier: Extra guidance for investments & rental property income

	H&R Block At Home Deluxe 2011 Win [Download] List Price: $34.99 Sale Price: $22.94
	H&R Block At Home: Deluxe--Homeowners/Investors, Federal H&R Block At Home Deluxe is the right choice for those with more complex tax situations to easily complete their federal returns. It includes the H&R Block tax expertise you trust--plus H&R Block's maximum refund guarantee...

	TurboTax Deluxe Federal + E-file 2011 for PC [Download] List Price: $49.95 Sale Price: $26.45
	TurboTax Deluxe: Guides you step-by-step to maximize your deductions

	H&R Block At Home 2011 Premium List Price: $64.99 Sale Price: $41.00
	H&R Block At Home: Premium--Self-Employed/Rental Property Owners, Federal + State H&R Block At Home Premium is the right choice for those with more complex tax situations to easily complete their federal and state returns...

	TurboTax Deluxe Federal + E-file + State 2011 for Mac [Download] List Price: $59.95 Sale Price: $45.98
	TurboTax Deluxe: Guides you step-by-step to maximize your deductions

	H&R Block At Home Premium + State 2011 Win [Download] List Price: $64.99 Sale Price: $44.95
	H&R Block At Home: Premium--Self-Employed/Rental Property Owners, Federal + State H&R Block At Home Premium is the right choice for those with more complex tax situations to easily complete their federal and state returns...

	H&R Block At Home Deluxe + State 2011 Mac [Download] List Price: $44.99 Sale Price: $27.62
	H&R Block At Home: Deluxe--Homeowners/Investors, Federal + State H&R Block At Home Deluxe is the right choice for those with more complex tax situations to easily complete their federal and state returns...