I was in Target yesterday and saw a rack of the infamous Dummies books only a smaller version being sold for $1.

Why does this matter or what does it have to do with tech. Well, they have some books on ipods and itunes, digital photography, and much more. Would have been cool to know this before Christmas but still a cool gift to give to someone just learning how to use an ipod or taking digital pictures.

There is a huge flaw in the iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, I love the iPhone but I wish I could sync it with my computer. I run a 64 bit Windows operating system for various reasons and my iPhone is not recognized. Apparently Apple only wrote drivers for a 32 bit Windows OS.

I cannot believe they forgot this and what really makes me mad is the fact that the ipods do work on my computer. What is Apple thinking? Most of their ipod owners have Windows machines and not OSX. Windows 64 is a small crowd but I see I am not alone after a Google search.

Anyone reading this and not understanding what the heck I am talking about… Don’t worry! You have a 32 bit Windows operating system which is fully compatible with the iphone. You would know if you have 64 bit.

TrueCrypt has to be one of the best pieces of software for encrypting files I have ever come across because it does so many cool things. Truecrypt uses many of the open source ecnryption algorithms as well as being open source itself.

Esentually Truecrypt creates an encrypted virtual disc or container that is mounted with a password. I really like the mobile version included with the software that will allow you to install truecrypt on a USB flashdrive and mount or dismount files on the fly on other computers. I use truecrypt daily and it is amazing. For instructions on how to do these things see bigpcgeek.com (which may be outdated because of software updates) or Truecrypte.org.

Most, if not all digital photographers know about flickr.com. Flickr.com is a place where you can host tons of images online for free. It is really cool and I recommend it. Go check it out.

At first, I refused to pay $200 for the iPod Nano but after going into the store and playing around with it I fell in love. The user interface is really intuitive and the screen is really nice.

Most people would rather pay more money for the bigger regular iPod because of more storage but most don’t realize it has moving parts and can break really easily, especially in the hands of kids. All of the iPod Nano’s have flash memory, which means no moving parts, and that means they will last better in a bumpy environment.

Just go to Apple.com to see the latest iPod Nano.

What the heck is a PC guy getting a Mac for? Truly they are just about the same. I cant wait to get my new Mac, planning on getting one after the Macworld announcements. Will report on something in the future.

Are you wanting to do the ebay thing but have heard about all the ways you can get hacked? Well, get the Paypal security key…

It works with ebay and Paypal and basically after you log in with your username and password you also put in an extra set of 6 digits that changes every 30 seconds. Obviously you have to keep the key on you to log in but this is a great step in the fight against online criminal identity theft.

Dont waste your money with all the monthly subscription services that allow remote access on your PC. I have been using LogMeIn.com’s free remote desktop application for a few years now and love it. I just recently upgraded to their paid version just to support the company because I appreciate how awesome their free service is. I suggest if you like it, pay for it. It is way cheaper than just about any other remote desktop application.

This is my recommendation for the best online backup I have ever seen. Carbonite.com offers unlimited backup for $50 a year. I really like Carbonite because everything runs in the background so you can forget about doing backups.

Some downsides are the slow data transfer. I have had the service for a few months and have only uploaded half my files. I would recommend this as a secondary backup. You should keep your files backup and available at home so they are all ready if you need them but keep the carbonite.com account if there is a fire. If you click my link I wont make any money, these guys are not paying me to say this; I will however, get a few extra days before I have to renew my contract.

Check out this sweet BluRay/HD DVD player for your PC. This is the cheapest drive I have seen so far. I don’t think it comes with any software so you will have to buy software to play a BluRay or HD DVD per Microsoft’s DRM as I understand. You will also have to have a compliant video card. I found it at Outpost.com my favorite electronic store’s web site.