Many of us love to travel, but who has the money to stay in a hotel these days with budgets being what they are (I am not talking to you, Congressmen)? The smart travelers who utilize the site Cheaphotels.org do.

The geniuses at Cheaphotels study the pricing trends of 2 and 2.5 star hotels, so that you, the consumer, can benefit from a decent night’s stay in an actual hotel (flee-bag motels and bed-buggy alleyways are left out of this site’s database). And remember people, vacations or hotel gift certificates make excellent gifts!

With the Summer 2011 Budget Hotel Report, the ridiculously easy-to-use Cheaphotels system has compiled a guide to pricing the thirty top August destinations in the US.

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The word “Cloud” keeps popping up everywhere in the computing world, and out of it, and it is not in reference to the weather, people!

As a rumored disc-drive-less MacBook Pro (Techland) from Apple has just surfaced, I felt it about time to sort out the infamous “Cloud” that Apple, Google, and Amazon seem to be forcing upon us, the consumer.

The “Cloud” is actually not that hard to wrap your head around; simply put, it is a virtual hard drive for data on the Internet.

What does that mean? Well, using the “Amazon Cloud Drive” as an example, users can upload any files (for example: documents, pictures, mp3 music, e-books, and videos) from the computer hard drive to the “Cloud” virtual drive online.

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The geniuses over at ThermaCELL have come up with an amazing device that lights the way (pun intended here, people) toward a fun outdoor experience:  the Mosquito Repelling Outdoor Lantern scares away the bugs!

This incredibly small and light lantern’s base fits in the palm of the hand, yet provides enormously bright LED-powered light while it deters insects for a 15 x 15 foot radius.

Does it work?  Well, yes it does!

This lantern is small, gives off a good amount of light on my deck but is not overbearing and is the best thing that I have ever witnessed for getting rid of the vampire-sickly mosquitoes and their friends.

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There are no programs that find useful things around you like this!  “Google Places” is INCREDIBLE!

Many Apps, for many quote-unquote smart phones, offer up the locations of various (let’s call them) places around the user’s location.  Thumb up the App and watch as cheap Gas Stations, even cheaper Restaurants and enticing Attractions form on the screen and supposedly guide the user accurately toward their limitless potential offerings.

They do not do it anywhere near as well as the powerhouse Google and the new “Google Places” App.

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Finding affordable local parking can be like boxing with a bear (it is really hard and you do not win).  So the geniuses over at BestParking.com took all of the work, blood and money out of the task for you!

Who would not want to avoid roaches the size of tomcats and pricing minimums that require a Rolex just to leave your car parked (not even sure if I am even exaggerating here)?

The BestParking web site is a specific parking search engine that accommodates 18 cities and 79 airports.  Select Daily or Monthly groupings and then search by Neighborhood, Address, Cross Street or Attraction.

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So a party forms in one of the scintillating restaurants or bars of New York City, and proceeds are then sent to a charity in need, like the Red Cross’ relief efforts in Japan?!  Sign me up.

LivingLofty allows for social butterflies to become social acolytes and philanthropists, while, simultaneously, food and drink and good cheer is consumed in abundance.  Where does one go wrong here?

LivingLofty’s motto:  RSVP for a cause.  This company’s function is to allow their online users access to exclusive events, and all of these send charitable donations to worthy causes while discounting the fare for those who sign up to attend the swinging shindigs.

Group purchasing discounts highly desired social gatherings, and at the same time promotes networking from like-minded individuals that have the same taste in the gathering itself or the cause that the events donate to.

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The cure to the Internet’s shameless advertising bombardments is here:  AdBlock Plus!

Even in a tank built on pop-up blockers, anti-virus software (for you Windows folks out there) and spam-a-lot eaters, surfing the Net can still be a volatile journey similar to trench warfare.  The computed hay fields may appear lush and flowery, but the unseen dike ahead can ambush users with painful ads.

What do advertisements do, if nothing else?  They gouge out the scenic views with horribly distracting muck that sears one’s field of vision.  Then came the ultimate weapon for heavy and light Internet traversers alike:  AdBlock Plus.

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That’s it, time is up, the malls are closed and you just realized you forgot to grab that sort-of-special someone a gift (I say sort-of-special because, if they were really special you wouldn’t have forgotten them to begin with). No need to worry, all you need is five minutes and you can give anyone the gift of joyous entertainment with Netflix.

Why is this the ultimate Christmas gift, aside from the obvious fact that Netflix is awesome? It is because all you have to do is head over to the Netflix website, print out a gift card, and stick it in an envelope. Not to mention they offer varying subscription levels of 3, 6, and 12 months for various levels of caring.

I have given Netflix subscriptions as presents every year for the past 3 years and have had everyone call to thank me over and over because its the gift that truly keeps on giving. Unlike a gift certificate that gets used once, Netflix is a constant reminder of just how thoughtful you were this year. I personally can’t think of anything that brings me as much entertainment for so little cash every month and neither can the people I gave it to. All of them are still happy Netflix users.

If I’m wrong, you can call me out after Christmas in the comment section below and I will write a full article about just how wrong I was… or you can just thank me for the great idea.

Yeah — it’s hard to believe that someone would want another monthly fee, paying 10 bucks for streaming music that they can’t even keep. However, people have actually been shelling out $15 for the privilege of Rhapsody. At least those thousands of fans should be happy to hear that the service has sliced its price.

In a move to keep on rocking, the service just announced plans to cut $5 off subscription prices, which will make unlimited streaming $9.99 per month.

That’s great for existing subscribers and anyone else thinking of making the leap. Still, it’s hard to believe that in a world where millions of music fans are still pirating up a storm (yes, they are), this music service is managing to stay afloat. Good for them.

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Ready to take your Entourage on the road? Of course, I’m not taking about a group of adoring hangers-on. HBO has just launched HBO Go, a new service allowing HBO shows, movies, miniseries and other content to be viewed from almost any web browser.

Sadly, HBOGo.com actually isn’t offering Entourage, but there are 600 hours of HBO’s other finest, including Band of Brothers, Big Love, True Blood, and even “oldies” like The Sopranos and Sex and the City. It also offers a lot of theatrical titles. At last peek, I saw Watchmen, Frost/Nixon, Tropic Thunder, and A Knight’s Tale were just a few of the many selections.

Here comes the bad news: You need to be an HBO subscriber to get the goods. Even worse, you need to be a subscriber with FiOS TV or Comcast. That means if you’re shelling out for HBO and have satellite, FiOS and Comcast subs are laughing at you. Maybe not; they could be too busy watching The Wire. Apparently, other providers will be added at some point, so keep checking the site for updates.

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