A power meter that takes the power factor into account & computes usage in dollars.
Kill-A-Watt EZ model from p3international.com $40

Vista service pack 1. Get it only from Microsoft to avoid earlier pre-release versions.
kb936330
kb935791

Some drivers for Hewlett Packard multi-function machines won't install on a Vista PC.

XP service pack 3 is also available. Those with an HP computer and an AMD processor check with HP before installing. Original article here. And there may be even more porblems .

How to get a telephone number without a landline when all you have is wireless internet.
Use cordless VOIP telephone. Looks like a cell phone but connects to the wireless router you have "permission" to use. Skype phone is one type but requires computer, Vonage doesn't. Search with Google using "cordless viop sets".

Refurbished Toshiba with AMD Athlon 64×2 dual core processor tk55; 1gig RAM; 120gig hard drive; DVD burner; 15" wide screen; 802.11b & g wireless, 4 usb, 1 firewire, ethernet; S-video. From Fry's in Roseville.

$10 DSL from AT&T for new customers. Includes a rebate on the modem, but be alert for a coupon which comes later in the mail.

At google.com click on igoogle (upper right). Create a personalized page to customize your experience, using only cookies.

Norton Ghost from Symantic; does drive cloning; track-by-track duplication of your hard drive.
G4L does similar stuff but is free.
also, Drive Image Pro

Be careful when entering the URL of a website. www.xxx.com may take you to a different place than xxx.com, possibly a site designed to steal your personal information. Misspellings pose the same threat.

Someone's found a way around Verisign high security certificates for Paypal. Be sure to enter the correct URL in the address bar.

A caller asked about an alternative to dial-up internet connections where there's no DSL:
Satellite services, are expensive, and secure connections over a satellite link may be slow.
In the foothills there's terrestrial wireless like Smarter Broadband.
Accelerators for dial-up connections. May not help much with secure connections. They generally only work with loading web pages at a 10%-20% increase (personally, I got 100% or more increase). But be sure the accelerator software you download comes from a trusted source.
Broadband over cell phone networks. More from a previous show's notes here
If you have cable TV, that provider may also offer internet.

On a Mac you can usually copy a backed up version of an application to a different Mac. Just drop it into the Application folder. You may be asked to reenter the key to verify ownership. Things aren't that simple in Windows.

Caller wants to choose a hardware interface that will be supported the longest. Of the two choices PCI may be around longer than PCMCIA.