Gina Trapani

Google Wave is one of the most hyped but least understood services Google has ever launched. Part of the problem is that--while it's about collaboration and real-time communication--it has no direct parallel to existing products. As such, it's hard to explain Wave to anyone who hasn't used it. But let me try.

What Wave Is

[Editor's note: We recently asked some of our Web-savviest contributors how they manage the daily deluge of online information. Wednesday, it was Senior Contributor Joe Kissell. Thursday, it was Senior Editor Christopher Breen. Today: Blogger Gina Trapani.]

For my job, I have to find, store, and share new stuff from the Web every day. To do that, I used to live and die by my feed reader. But these days, that's not enough; there's too much happening too quickly to keep up with it all even by RSS. And because I work from multiple computers as well as from my iPod touch and my smartphone, I also need to be able to sync all that information across devices.

It's easier to spend less than you earn when you can keep a close eye on what's going in and out of your bank accounts. Launching Intuit's $60 Quicken Mac 2007 ( Macworld rated 4 out of 5 mice ) once a month on your home Mac just isn't going to cut it. Instead, try a Web-based financial manager, which aggregates all your finances--from savings accounts to 401Ks--into a simple, auto-updating interface that makes saving easier. You can track your whole financial picture on your computer or iPhone, receive mobile alerts when you go over budget, and compare and discuss your money strategies with other users who are saving up for a rainy day.

Compared to their bloated desktop ancestors, Web-based money managers are stripped down and easier to use, but they're sometimes missing features that folks with complicated financial situations might need. However, if you just want to keep close track of what goes in and comes out of your bank account in your browser and on your phone, one of these Web-based options is for you.

Five years ago, using Web mail meant putting up with flashing banner ads, spam, minuscule inboxes, and embarrassing addresses like ninjapirate73@hotmail.com.

Gmail changed all that. Google's free Web-based e-mail service offers a so-good-you-forget-it's-there spam filter, multi-gigabytes of storage, custom addresses, and more, all for free. That's why two years ago I moved all my personal and business e-mail to Gmail. If you use multiple computers and handheld devices (as I do), it just makes sense to have all your messages, contacts, filters, and folders in one place, where they are available from any Internet-connected device.

OS X's Front Row interface is a fine choice for watching movies or TV episodes you've purchased at the iTunes Store. But if you want to play media from sources other than the iTunes Store, Front Row isn't much use. There's an alternative solution: a free, open-source media center application called Plex. Though still in beta as of this writing (and suffering from some prerelease instability), Plex is extremely flexible and customizable--a great media player for geeks.

Plex versus Front Row

Artwork: Chip TaylorTechnology is supposed to make life easier, but it doesn't seem that way when you're struggling to wrangle 289 new e-mail messages, dealing with a hard-drive crash, or suddenly realizing that you left an important file on the office computer. Thankfully, plenty of tools can help. We'll tell you which ones are worth trying, and we'll also suggest some practices that you can incorporate into your workday to use tech tools more effectively and efficiently.

1. Telecommute by Remotely Controlling Your Office Computer

You can work from home--but use the computer in your office--through remote control software such as LogMeIn (free version available) or TightVNC (free). You can view the remote computer full screen, launch and close programs, read e-mail, copy and paste text between PCs, and access any files you left behind. Save money on gas, claim home equipment on your taxes, and convince your boss that you'll be more productive without leaving your house. Even the iPhone has some VNC clients, such as Mocha VNC and Teleport.

The key to our placeless office: Web applications that let us chat, collaborate, and do all the other things that regular, in-the-same-place work teams do, and that let us do it from our home offices, hotel rooms, and Internet cafes.

Even if you go to an office every day, where the conference rooms have actual walls, at some point you might work from a placeless office, too. Maybe you telecommute one day a week, or head out on the road for a couple of weeks of business travel, or collaborate with an overseas consultant for a month. Here are a few tools--the ones we use every day--to help you set up shop.