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Molly's out of the office with the swine flu. In her honor, we cover the tech that allows you to keep yourself germ free. Don't worry. Even if you end up with the flu, we also cover the tech that will keep you entertained while you recover.

Want to steer clear of N1H1? Stay off the couch

Self Sanitizing Keyboard (thanks David!)

Keep your arms dry while you wash dishes (or while you wash everything in your house.)

Designer hand sanitizer

Ericsson’s Spider PC projects the keyboard, screen

or baseball

or even basketball… Read more

I'm always in need of just a few more feet of countertop. Whether I need to put down a cutting board or just have somewhere to put a mixing bowl, even another foot would make my life a bit easier. The Instant Counter provides a way to turn your stovetop or sink into a little more counter space. The tempered glass makes for an ideal cutting surface, which can eliminate the need to devote part of your counter to a cutting board. Its legs will hold it two inches over burners or a sink. If you choose to use … Read more

First, let's be clear on what Mahjong Epic isn't: it isn't Mahjong. Rather, it's Mahjong solitaire, which is something else entirely. If you're looking for Mahjong, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for a Mahjong you can play alone, however, we think you'll be pleased with this program.

The program's interface is quite sleek and attractive, with all of the features and options arranged neatly with rounded buttons. The program offers 100 different tile arrangements, as well as the capability for users to create their own arrangements with as … Read more

FanDraft - Fantasy Basketball Draft Board provides all the tools for holding your own fantasy draft, but it falls short of the competition on several different levels.

We were initially very excited about this program, thanks to its professional-looking interface. We needed to visit the Help file's dictionary to understand all the various terms and elements, but we got on track after a few minutes. We got a good feeling from this program during setup, as it let us organize our teams, draft order, and even draft sounds via a helpful setup Wizard that eliminated any guesswork. Unfortunately, this … Read more

DreamQuest's 100% Free Rummy Board Game for Windows is a simple way to play and learn Rummy, the classic card game. With a fantastic tutorial and excellent gameplay, this is a great choice for card players of any skill level.

The program's interface immediately made us comfortable, even though we'd never played Rummy before. It has a professional layout, albeit slightly cartoonish, yet the effect was fun and not distracting. The onscreen tutorial was great. This extension of the Help file taught us the rules and strategy of the game, such as melding a hand, runs, and … Read more

JawDropper 2007 is a basic puzzle game that involves matching groups of similar objects in order to clear the game board. Although we have seen similar games before, JawDropper's attractive interface and many options make it one of the best.

The program's graphics are quite attractive and sleek. The default version features credibly 3D-looking balls, but users can choose from many different backgrounds and JawDropper objects. There are seasonal themes, such as jewels, flowers, billiards balls, and many others. All of these were high quality, and we had fun playing with different combinations of backgrounds and objects. The … Read more

Two years after selling his software company to Hewlett-Packard, Marc Andreessen has joined the PC giant's board of directors.

HP announced the appointment, effective immediately, on Thursday. In a statement, HP's chairman and CEO Mark Hurd described Andreessen as "a software pioneer whose leadership has helped shape the Internet...Marc's entrepreneurial background and industry expertise will be a welcome addition to the HP board of directors."

Andreessen and HP's relationship goes back several years, culminating with HP's purchase of Opsware for $1.6 billion in 2007. Since then, Andreessen, best known as the … Read more

BrainsBreaker provides a set of digital jigsaw puzzles to challenge puzzle beginners and experts alike. With excellent customization and easy play, this program will create die-hard puzzle nuts.

The program's interface was a pleasure, with big buttons and intuitive flow. Users should not have to consult the Help file to work their way through and to begin solving. First, users select the puzzle they want to solve. A screen showcasing the pictures of each puzzle (ranging from nature landscapes, animals, architecture, and more) allows users to quickly pick. Next, users are given full control of customization, allowing the picture … Read more

Cutting boards are the low-tech workhorses of the kitchen. As well they should be--if you are repeatedly taking a knife to other kitchen gear, chances are it won't be lasting long in your kitchen (and you should probably seek help). In the case of the cutting board, it's a kitchen essential designed to take it. While they come in different types of materials, they all pretty much do the same thing; offer a consistent surface for cutting meats and vegetables. If a cutting board can do this simple task, it usually will suffice. However, it's nice when … Read more