Ideas from Mark Stout

Our family has bought online for years, so it was a surprise to me to realize there are many still leery of shopping online.   This week's Family Tech column hopes to put some of their fears to rest.

Instead of just being a columnist, I participated in covering some breaking news last night.

We need to get our kids excited about science and engineering, or we are headed towards another Sputnik like panic.   This week's Family Tech column.

Google announced today you can edit your Google Docs on your iPad.  This is very exciting.  We bought Documents 2 Go to be able to do that, but being able to do it natively is appealing. It hasn't apparently rolled out to my account yet.  I just tried it on my iPod Touch and didn't see it.  The family iPad is at work now (it has a job, I'm still looking), so I'll have to wait until at least tonight to try it out on the iPad. The video shows them editing on an Android phone and the iPad.  If you edit on the Android you can add text with your voice. So far it looks like only documents, not spreadsheets or presentations.

Too often we consider passwords a pain and a hindrance to our online life.  in reality, they are the keys and locks protecting our lives in the twenty-first century.  This is the topic of this week's Family Tech column .

I actually feel bad this and the last two posts are all about Evernote .  But they are on a roll.  First they release  version 2.0 of their Android client , and they hit 5 million users . Now today, I awoke to find a new version of Evernote for my iPod and my iPad  in the Apple App Store. And the next issue of their podcast is out. The best tool keeps getting better. I plan another major post about Evernote once Due Dates are added, akin to recently updated " Your First Day with Evernote ".

Awesome .  And Fast, just 83 days from 4 million.  I predict 60 days until 6 million.  Maybe 50 considering Christmas when a bunch of new SmartPhones and computers will be in users hands.

As if I didn't want an Android phone bad enough, Evernote goes and releases the 2.0 version of their Android client .

When I first was offered Family Tech, a column on Net Neutrality was one of my first ideas.  I've pondered it for over a year how to distill the concept to 600 words.  I just wish more people understand how important this is to them as consumers.  A mighty battle is raging in the halls of power that will effect us, and many do not even know. Family Tech: Net Neutrality .

Boy, if I had the budget and time, I'd love to do a high tech haunted house.  I explored some tech tools for frightening people in this week's Family Tech column .