As I’m sure you know, hassles often extend beyond the PC.

For example, if you have young kids, it’s a sure bet they’re always clamoring to use your Android smartphone.

To borrow from Woody Allen, love is too weak a word to describe how I feel about my Roku box. I lurve it.

It's been almost a year to the day since I adopted an Acer desktop replacement (i.e. a big honking laptop) as my primary PC.

It's a powerhouse, stocked with a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, and loads of other goodies. For the most part, it's been great.

Are you a Facebook junkie? If so, you probably find yourself hopping back and forth between a Facebook tab and whatever else you happen to be doing in your browser. That's not terribly productive.

I'm a big fan of Chrome's Bookmarks Bar, which puts my most frequently visited sites across the top of the browser, just one click away.

The problem is that I have so many favorites, they don't all fit. Instead, they get squeezed out of view, requiring me to click the little double-arrow on the right end of the Bookmarks Bar. Then I'm stuck perusing a drop-down menu, which takes, like, all day.

Like many folks, I rely heavily on Google Search; I probably use it dozens of times per day. Of course, wonderful as it is, it doesn't always give me exactly the results I'm looking for.

For example, suppose I want to look up reviews of 24-inch LCD monitors, but only those models that have been released in the last six months. I can search Google, of course, but by default it will mix in everything that matches my search parameters -- old and new reviews alike.

For a service that has famously worked so hard to help you find movies you might like, Netflix is actually a little weak in the recommendations department.

Suppose, for example, you're trying to find something fun for the whole family to watch. By clicking your way into Netflix's Watch Instantly section, you can head to the Children & Family section, then filter the choices by one of a handful of categories: age, "animal tales," Disney, and so on.

Last week I offered up three things you should know about Google Voice, including its very cool option of sending and receiving text messages from within your browser.

As we reported earlier today, the "default configurations" of Windows 8 will not include Windows Media Center. Likewise, Windows 8 won't offer DVD playback capability.

Most Windows users have become conditioned over time to never unplug a USB flash drive or hard drive without first clicking Safely Remove Hardware in the System Tray.

Why is that necessary? In theory, it's to ensure that Windows isn't busy reading from or writing to the drive when you remove it, something that could result in corrupted data or even a damaged drive.

Have you tried Google Voice? If not, I think I can understand why. It’s one of those services that sounds a little confusing -- and perhaps not terribly useful.

But Google Voice is a pretty cool tool, and it can solve more than a few hassles. Let’s take a look at three GV perks you might not have known about.

(Note: I’m assuming that you’ve already signed up for a GV account. If not, just visit google.com/voice and follow the instructions. You’ll need to have some sort of Google account already, like, say, Gmail.)

1. You Can Use it to Send Text Messages
Why bother pulling out your cell phone and typing on its tiny keyboard every time you want to send a text message?

If you’re at your computer, you can simply open up Google Voice, click Text, enter the recipient’s phone number, and type your message. Click Send and you’re done. Best of all, replies will pop up right there, so you can hold an entire SMS conversation right in your Web browser.

Oh, and unlike with standard texting from your phone, GV texting is free (for you, anyway -- the recipient still has to pay regular rates).

2. You Can Use it to Make Free Calls (for Now)
Google Voice is, at its core, a voice-over-IP calling service. And a free one, at least until the end of 2012. That means you can make unlimited local and long-distance calls without spending an extra dime.

Looking for a way to integrate this GV goodness with your current phone system? Check out the Obihai OBi100 adapter, which plugs right into your router (much like a MagicJack, but with Google Voice as the service provider). Connect your phone’s base station and presto: You’ve got dial tone.

3. You Can Use it to Record Phone Calls
Are you conducting an interview? Talking to a customer-service representative? Planning some blackmail? Might be nice to have a recording of the call. Google Voice makes this a cinch: just press 4 during the call to initiate recording. When you’re done, you’ll be able to access the audio file from the GV dashboard.

Just one caveat: this works only for incoming calls. And depending on your state’s laws, you may need to get consent from the other party.

If you’ve found other cool things to do with Google Voice, tell me about them in the comments!

Dragging and dropping isn't always the fastest way to handle file operations. Either you have to open and arrange two windows, or you have to navigate Explorer's folder tree, which many users find confusing.