Jake Widman

When I reviewed Microsoft Office for Mac 2008, I said the then-new version of the suite was "kind of like getting a new Chevy." In other words, it was a solid upgrade, but nothing to really get excited about.

Not this time. I could call Office for Mac 2011 a hybrid because it's got a bunch of online options to complement its core desktop functions. However, this version also feels -- dare I say it -- sleek, with new features that actually make you think, "That's pretty cool." That's right: I really did just call Microsoft Office for Mac "pretty cool."

Hear that groaning? That's the sound of college students all over the country putting away their bathing suits and sunscreen and packing up their books and bags for another year of school.

As we do at this time every year, we've selected 10 highly useful gadgets -- along with some great Web apps and smartphone apps for iPhone and Android devices -- that will help get you through another year. Whether you're a student yourself or a relative looking for a going-away gift, you'll find something here to ease the transition to the vicissitudes of life on campus. Of course, these devices don't have to be used on a college campus -- gadget lovers might find something useful for the office or road as well.

It's that time of year again, when the days are hot and the Sunday supplements are full of ads for notebooks, pens and back-to-school outfits. But getting ready for another school year doesn't just mean stocking up on such "old school" supplies. Today's well-equipped college student will also be toting an assortment of digital gadgets, ranging from study aids to mobile gear and tools for protecting your data.

Here we bring you some back-to-school gadgets and gear that will prepare a student for the rigors (and joys) of the academic life. We looked for items with at least a nominally educational connection that would fit into a student budget. Most of them have list prices of $50 or less, and only a few top $150 (mostly for their higher-end models) -- and you can usually find them for less if you shop around. We did, however, include a couple of expensive items to ask your parents for at the end of the story.

Facebook users who are concerned about keeping control of their information should get themselves over to the social network's Privacy Settings page without delay.

While Facebook has recently revamped its interface and provided new ways for users to filter information, the new options make it easier to control what you see from others, not what you reveal to them. The ways you control outgoing information - the news you 'publish', in new Facebook-speak - haven't changed.

Facebook users -- and their managers -- who are concerned about keeping control of their information should get themselves over to the social network's Privacy Settings page without delay.

While Facebook has recently revamped its interface and provided new ways for users to filter information, the new options make it easier to control what you see from others, not what you reveal to them. The ways you control outgoing information -- the news you "publish," in new Facebook-speak -- haven't changed.

Do video games stimulate the intellect? Are gamers more social and better equipped to make decisions than nongamers?

Author Steven Johnson drew fire from cultural hand-wringers for presenting those assertions a couple of years ago in his book Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter.

When Lance Gibson talks about a storm knocking out his systems, he doesn't mean the infamous worm. He might be referring to the latest hurricane to sweep through the Gulf of Mexico or to the lightning accompanying a vicious thunderstorm.

Gibson is the offshore infrastructure communications supervisor for Chevron Corp.'s oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico, overseeing the IT needs of the company's offshore production facilities as well as its onshore support centers.

Every year, the Improbable Research organization hands out Ig Nobel prizes to research projects that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."

For example, this year's Ig Nobel winners, announced last week, include a prize in nutrition to researchers who electronically modified the sound of a potato chip to make it appear crisper and fresher than it really is and a biology prize to researchers who determined that fleas that live on a dog jump higher than fleas that live on a cat. Last year, a team won for studying how sheets become wrinkled.