With the go-green phase upon us, everyone is looking to do their part. These 5 little changes will give your business an eco-friendly outlook and help decrease your carbon footprint.  While most small companies are environmentally aware, the following tips will surprise even the biggest of tree-huggers!

1. Nitro PDF: An alternative to Adobe PDF, Nitro PDF is about one-third of the cost. This program can easily create and send individual PDF files for clients, limiting the amount of paper used for traditional reports.

2. PDF995 Printer Driver: While the name might sound a little scary, the software is surprisingly simple. The PDF Printer Driver is an excellent way to digitally render invoices, graphic mock-ups, and long text documents, without touching a piece of paper or a scanner.

3. Fax to E-mail Services: While fax machines are becoming a thing of the past, this is a way you can jump ahead. Join a service such as “eFax“, “UnityFax“, or “jConnect” which allows you to set your incoming phone number to an e-mail address, so new faxes will go straight to your inbox.

4. EchoSign Online Contracts: The idea behind EchoSign is to elimminate the amount of paper used for contracts signed with clients, businesses, employees, etc. EchoSign has the same binding powers as a conventional contract while maintaining an ecological position. As with most internet-based programs, EchoSign speeds up the execution process up; an added perk for being nice and saving all those trees!

5. Online Backup and Record Keeping: Archiving your records and files can be a total pain in the bum, and even e-mail can get a little confusing at times. Online record keeping can be an extremely helpful option for businesses looking to save time and money. Here are a few services we recommend: Box.net, DropBox, Mozy, and Backblaze.

What else can you do to decrease your company’s carbon footprint? Have you made any successful ecological changes in your business?

See how one small business implemented some great workplace policies that are all about being green!

When planning an event, last-minute purchases come up all the time. Well, Paypal and iPhone have teamed up the create a bump app that allows users to make purchases quickly and easily.  Over the past few years Paypal has made financial transactions via the internet a simple process. The recent bump iPhone app is just another way the company is creating a worry free shopping environment. The new bump app lets users literally bump their phones together and send money to each other.

Another cool feature of this app is that you can donate money to great causes and charitable organizations. Currently, PayPal has partnered with various organizations, including Save the Children and Autism Speaks, to make donating to charities an  easy process. The iPhone app will also allow users to deposit checks straight from their phone. Instead of going to an ATM or bank, just take a picture of both sides of the check and PayPal will deposit the money into your online account.

How do you think you will use this app? Can you see any potential problems with the technology?

We’ve seen the success of its practical applications and digital reader abilities, but the Apple iPad has also been used in some pretty crazy ways. There are some owners out there who believe in making the most of their iPad experience, using the device for dolphin communication, for cats and dogs, as a skateboard, and in zero gravity. Just for fun we thought we’d share some of the extraordinary, albeit unconventional, uses of the Apple iPad for you to enjoy.

What is the craziest thing you’ve used your iPad for?

Take a look as Pianist Lang Lang plays the iPad for a concert encore.

Last week Yahoo! Movies released the first full-length trailer for The Social Network, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher.

The film is an adaptation of the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich. The Social Network is about the early days of Facebook, and addresses some of the issues facing the company today. The film also draws parallels from the fictionalized account of its start in The Accidental Billionaires.

Mezrich recreates the foundation and rise of the Facebook phenomenon, although loosely connected to real events, which tells the story of two Harvard undergrads who revolutionized how we connect to others. The road to the initial Facebook concept was paved with betrayal, vast amounts of cash and two friends who wanted nothing more than to be cool. It’s juicy, fast-paced and if the book is any indication, the film is going to be a must see!

What do you think of the trailer? Are you going to see the film in theaters this October?

The Amazon Kindle has been around for a few years, and its amazing quality has made it a success, but with the recent release of the Apple iPad, will the Kindle survive or be forced to change in order to compete?

An increasing number of readers have turned to e-book readers, and for the past three years the Kindle has been the device of choice. The Kindle offers readers an easy to read and adjust electronic display, a built-in dictionary, and access to the internet and Amazon store where users can download books, magazines and newspapers in a matter of minutes.

However, in April 2010 Apple released the iPad which allows users to do more than simply store digital books. The battle between these e-book readers sparks from the iPad’s ability to provide reading, Web browsing, movies, and games; although, most consumers agree that the Kindle is the better reading device. The iPad also offers a popular Kindle app with a limited library collection.

For now it seems the Kindle is safe, but as Apple continues to push the boundaries of technological advances, how do you think Amazon will respond to ensure a future for the Kindle?

In this video, five simple rules are exampled on how to build trust, use the tools you already have to build and grow, as well as communicating and using feedback in a positive light.  There are many tips explained in this video, some are literally spelt out for you, while others are more “read between the lines.” It’s a short clip, but the abilities to help you are endless!

The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize is given to entities that exemplify peace and aid in the promotion of a more cooperative society: recipients include Princess Diana, Former Vice President Al Gore, and President Obama. This year, an unusual nominee has arisen, the Internet. The campaign video, shown below, explains the Internet’s role in bringing people together and creating an open environment for people to communicate. This allows for uncensored information to reach the masses in order to promote awareness and stop hatred. In that sense, we are all part of its peace effort and deserving of a Nobel too. Let us know what you think about this campaign and the Internet being a means to peace.

[via Wired]

Today’s TV on Tuesday is a TED Talk by James Surowiecki, finance writer for the New Yorker and author of The Wisdom of the Crowds. He pinpoints the moments that social media became as relevant and informational as traditional news (such as the 2005 tsunami or the Haitian and Chilean earthquakes) and how it may even trump traditional media in its ability to preserve personal stories in their most direct form.  How do you get your news these days? Is it from social media (tweets, Facebook updates, and the like) or more traditional sources (such as the New York Times)?

We’re going casual with this TV on Tuesday, with a brief comedy clip about technology now, and technology in the future. It’s funny, but listen closely – it’s also thought probing (probing – that’s a scary word when thinking of tech of the future). Take a look, laugh, and let us know where you think tech is going. Will you be getting a chip implanted into your head in your lifetime?

Love watching reruns of Sex and the City, Entourage, Big Love, or Weeds–just to name a few? HBO is joining Comcast’s OnDemand Online Trial this summer enabling one to watch the channel’s epic movies and current TV shows online.  Comcast has agreed to take on this new website under its name because they want the company’s high-profile consumers, on the other hand, HBO wants the availability of Comcast’s consumers list to test out their new creation.

750 hours of content will be available provided by both networks, on Comcast.com and Fancast.com.  The website is said to include full-length episodes of current and classic television shows, movies, theatrical movies, and HBO Family programs.  Sounds like a steal? Well, don’t get too ahead of yourself, you have to already be a subscriber of HBO  or Cinemax through Comcast in order to gain access online.  But on the other hand, if you already are a paying customer of either of these three companies, there will be no additional fee for having onilne access. Will you still watch these shows unlimited on your computer when the website is up and running?  Or will you continue to relay on Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, or Epix? Do you think you will subscribe to HBO just for this access, or should it be more available to general public?