Simplenote Brings Excellent Synchronized Plain Text Notes to the Mac

We've long been fans of Simplenote, the great syncing notetaker for iPhone, recently Android, and now OS X. It makes keeping track of little bits of text easy, providing a more minimalistic approach than the much-loved everything bucket Evernote. Now all the features you loved on your smartphone and tablet have come to the Mac. For a long time, Simplenote functioned just fine on the Mac through an application called Notational Velocity. The downside with Notational Velocity, however, is that it can't sync every detail of a note (e.g. bold and italic styling) or take advantage of some of Simplenote's nicer services like automatic versioning. If you've used Simplenote before, downloading the free app is a no-brainer. Otherwise, you should check it out if you're looking for something minimal yet highly functional for minimal note capture.

Get Yourself Going with These Motivational Wallpapers

Sometimes you need a good kick in the butt to get going. That said, we'd all be pretty sore if it happened every time we lacked motivation. Instead, just let a good motivational message stare you in the face. You can do that easily with these wallpapers.

Why You Don't Need an Outbound Firewall on Your PC

Outbound firewalls, or firewalls that only throw up alarms when a program on your machine tries to call out to the internet, are largely useless, according to our friends at How-To Geek. They don't offer real protection, ignore inbound threats, and give you a false sense of security. Here's why. The assertion is a bit controversial, especially for those of us who like knowing when something on our computers is connecting to the internet. However, Chris Hoffman over at How-To Geek explains that outbound firewalls give their users a false sense of security, and security companies eager to get you to spend money on their products prey on your fear that you need someone watching all the time, alerting you whenever a program checks for a software update: Outbound firewalls aren’t an effective defense against malware. You should focus on using an effective antivirus program, keeping your software up-to-date, and making sure you don’t have Java installed. That will keep your PC much more secure than using an antivirus program that won’t help much after the fact. If your computer is compromised, it’s compromised. Many geeks say that they like using an outbound firewall to block apps that aren’t malware but aren’t too trustworthy from “phoning home.” You’d only know if such an app was phoning home if you were running an outbound firewall, after all. Ultimately, you shouldn’t be running an application you don’t trust on your computer. If you’re using an application but you don’t trust it enough to let it access the Internet, you’re likely making a mistake — you’ve already trusted the application quite a bit by giving it full access to your system. In this day and age, almost every program will be connecting to the Internet for some reason, whether it’s to sync your personal data with an online service or just check for updates online. He notes that for an outbound firewall to sound the alarm, the offending software must already be installed and well rooted on your machine. If it is malware, you've already lost and the app has full access to your system and data. Additionally, your firewall is probably late to the game: The app has likely opened its own holes in your firewall software or bypassed your security tools by piggybacking on existing apps or using ports that no firewall would ever block (port 80, for example, which is standard http traffic) to communicate. Chris goes on to note that if you want an outbound firewall to alert you to outgoing connections or you just like customizing how each individual app on your system calls out to the internet, by all means install one. As long as you're aware that it's really more of an informative novelty than any real protection, it won't really hurt. However, your real security focus should be on keeping threats from getting onto your system in the first place, something I think most people can agree on.

Ask for an Equal or Better Item When What You Want Is Out of Stock

When a sale item you're looking for at a store is out of stock, you have two options: you can either walk away empty-handed, or you can ask the store to match the sale price on a comparable product. In many cases, they will, even if the other product is of equal or greater value than the one on sale. Here's how Consumer Reports explains it: For instance, during a recent visit to my local supermarket, I found that the 12-ounce can of store-brand honey roasted peanuts, on sale for $2.50, was sold out. So I asked a store employee if I could substitute the Planters 12-ounce can on sale at $3.49. No problem, he said, arranging for me to buy the brand-name product at the lower price. Okay, so I saved just 99 cents on the brand name item, which may have been no better than the store brand one. But I did get the sweet-salty snack I was craving, which was my main goal, and in the same size and at the discounted price I wanted to pay. And who knows? Next time, instead of a low-cost food item, it could be a television or some other product for which the savings is more than, well, peanuts. We're skeptical that this trick would work on something as high dollar-value as a television, especially since most stores will just issue you a raincheck if there's something specific on sale that they know they'll have to order more of. Even so, if you press ever so gently and let them know you're willing to spend your money right now (and that no one ever calls people back about rainchecks), you could score something even better than what you were looking for at a fantastic price. Hit the link below to read more.

How to Figure Out the Cost of a Medical Procedure Before it Happens

"How much will that cost?" It’s a question we aren’t used to asking in the healthcare marketplace. Many of us grew up with the $10 co-pay, but that’s rapidly becoming a thing of the past. With rising deductibles, more out-of-network providers, more uninsured people, and more out-of-pocket spending, it’s increasingly a question we need to ask—and before the medical procedure, not after, when the “gotcha” bill upsets us. This post originally appeared on Credit.com. So, how do you find out what things cost in the healthcare marketplace? First, let’s distinguish between two groups: routine care (preventive checkups, the garden-variety strep infection, etc.), and emergency care (or other big-ticket medical events like crisis appendectomies). The first group is fairly easy; the big-ticket stuff, less so, though you can do some things to help yourself. When you’re insured, you have to deal with factors like: Have you met your deductible? Does your plan require pre-approval? Are you in network or out? So indeed it can be complicated. But we’re hearing more people asking for cash or self-pay prices, negotiating surgical fees (a friend just negotiated a $40,000 fee down to $10,000), and being thoughtful about purchasing. If you’re insured, ask your provider or check the company’s website for pricing tools. Many insurers now offer them, though not all are extremely useful. Some states have terrific pricing tools, such as Minnesota and New Hampshire, but a lot of the state resources are not so great. In Ohio, for example, the prices are simply the list or “chargemaster” prices, which are the top-end rates, and thus not very useful. The National Conference of State Legislatures has a scorecard of those resources. Here are some easy steps to find out what things cost. Routine or Non-Emergency Care 1. Find out the exact name of the procedure, and how it’s referred to in the medical billing system, (the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) or CPT codes). These codes categorize the mind-numbingly huge number of medical procedures that go through the nation’s billing system. There’s often a five-digit code: for example, a simple MRI of the lower back is coded 72148. To find the procedure name and number, ask the provider, or try the search box on the clearhealthcosts.com site: type in “MRI” and pick from the choices offered. If there’s something you don’t understand, ask the provider: “Is that a 72148 MRI or a 72156?” 2. Find out the price paid for that procedure by Medicare in your locale. The Medicare price is the closest thing to a fixed or benchmark price, and there’s a byzantine formula for determining that price. For a 72148 MRI, for example, the Medicare price in Manhattan is $497. 3. Now it’s time for a little spadework. There may be several providers–say a colonoscopy, which might include the doctor, the anesthesiologist, the pathology charges, maybe even a “facility charge” for the building where it all takes place–so ask about each of them. We often hear of people encountering out-of-network anesthesiologists, emergency-room docs, and even pathologists—not to mention the ambush “facility fee.” 4. Are you uninsured, or is it not covered by your insurance? Then ask for a cash or self-pay price. Quite often, providers will offer a discount if you pay upfront, in advance—not just for discretionary procedures like Botox and Lasik eye surgery, but also for things like an MRI, a mammogram, or an ultrasound. We hear a lot from people who are asking to pay the Medicare price, or something close. The first price that is quoted, we often find, is a “chargemaster” or sticker price–like an MSRP in electronics. Depending on where you live, you might be entitled by law to a much lower price. In California, for example, discounts off the sticker price must be given to uninsured or underinsured patients below a certain income level. Ask if there are any price breaks. Then ask again. 5. Are you insured? Is it covered by your insurance? Ask “Is Dr. X in my network? Is it covered? What’s my co-pay? Am I required to pay a percentage?” Ask if the price being quoted to you is the chargemaster or sticker price—or if it is the “negotiated rate,” negotiated by the provider and the payer (in this case your insurance company). Know your plan: Have you met your deductible? Is this something your plan doesn’t cover at 100%? Ask, and keep asking. You may need to ask both provider and insurer; you may have to ask for “pre-authorization” to assure it will be covered. Know your policy. Take notes. Take names. 6. If you think the prices are high, you may be right. Hospitals generally charge more for things like an MRI than a self-standing radiology center does. If your provider is offering a $2,300 MRI, you might feel comfortable asking if you could go to the place up the street that charges $500. 7. Keep a record of who you talked to and when, what they said, and how to reach them again. We have heard many times that people asking these questions get several different answers from different people at the same provider or insurance company. 8. Check online resources. Clearhealthcosts.com is part of a growing ecosystem of transparency tools. Some of the others: healthcarebluebook.com (gives a “fair price” based on your location); fairhealth.org (price information for consumers and businesses); newchoicehealth (offers generally high prices, then invites users to connect with featured providers or request a bid); faircaremd.com (offers a range of provider-supplied prices and an opportunity to negotiate). Emergency Care: Walk-In Center Before Emergency Room You’re not likely to be shopping around if you’re in an ambulance with a broken leg, or unconscious on a gurney. But there are things you can do to make smart choices about emergency care. First, if you’re insured, know the hospitals close to you that are on your plan that will be your ER of choice in case you or a family member needs crisis care. But also–and this is new for many of us–a walk-in center could be a better choice. Walk-in centers tend to be much less expensive than full-blown hospital emergency rooms. Many of us routinely took croupy kids to emergency rooms in the middle of the night, but that’s changed in a big way. Walk-in centers of all kinds are the fastest-growing part of the medical marketplace. They range from pharmacy and big-box clinics (Dr. Walk-In at Duane Reade, The Clinic at Walmart) to Concentra, a big chain with more than 300 clinics in 39 states, to mini-chains like CityMD in New York. If your problem is a sore throat, a urinary tract infection, or a croupy kid, your first choice is likely to be your doctor—if you’re insured and you have one. But if you’re uninsured or can’t get to your doctor quickly or easily, this is another option. It’s not a bad idea to call around just to know providers near you. Walk-in centers may not feel comfortable quoting a price in advance, because the price can depend on treatment: Do you need lab tests, X-rays, a cast? So you might inquire: Do you take my insurance? What kind of cases do you treat? What is the charge for a basic office visit? What are your hours? What’s the charge for a cash visit for a sore throat if you’re uninsured? Not all walk-in centers are created equal. Some are staffed by nurse practitioners, by emergency room doctors, by owner-operator doctors, or by a pharmacist. Some may not take people with gynecological issues, or gaping chest wounds, or broken bones. It’s worth knowing the territory to save yourself time, trouble, and money. Ask friends and neighbors for their experiences. Social media can help: in my village, we’ve got a “Moms” Facebook page where people share recommendations for gynecologists, primary-care providers, and the best place to take a croupy kid on the weekend. Use those resources. Also, beware of the rising trend toward free-standing emergency rooms, which are separate from hospitals. They present what appears to be an attractive alternative, but the word on the street is that they can be expensive. And if you’re in an emergency situation and still able to ask, do yourself a favor: Make sure that all the providers you see are participating providers. We hear a lot about people who receive bills telling them that they were at an in-network hospital with an in-network doctor and in-network pathology, but the anesthesiologist was out of network and therefore the bill blows back on them. Insist that you want an in-network provider. How much will that cost? Always ask.

iFixIt Ranks the Hardest Gadgets to Repair, Apple and Nikon Dominate

If you read Lifehacker, chances are you like to be able to fix your own stuff. According to iFixit, Apple and Nikon are among your worst enemies on this front. The top ten list of least repairable gadgets include some obvious and well-known examples like the iPad or some of Nikon's DSLRs, but also covers such unintuitive oddities as soldered in RAM and glued in batteries on the Macbook Pro line. Microsoft and HTC didn't get out without black marks, either. The two companies earned exceedingly low scores for the Surface Pro and HTC One respectively. Check out the full list for details on all the things you can't fix with these devices.

Macrorit Scans All or Part of Your Hard Drive For Errors

Windows: Microsoft includes its own hard drive scanner in Windows, but if you're looking for a bit more flexibility in diagnosing a problem, Macrorit can help you narrow down your search. Often, after you perform an initial broad scan, you can find that many of your bad sectors are in a small area of your hard drive. Macrorit allows you to rescan just that portion of a drive. It also runs a bit faster than Check Disk, and allows you to save your scan report as a log file. Unfortunately, it can't fix any bad sectors, but as a diagnostic tool, it's quite handy.