Easy document assembly
We all need them. They are necessary to the operation of our businesses. Documents. Those seemingly insignificant yet necessary agreements that make the world go round. Our initial venture into this legal wasteland was fraught with online searches and attorney fees. What are you gonna do? You need them and they know it.

Enter stage left whichdraft.com. This is a free Web site that provides members with access to many of the contracts that a CIC would require to operate their business effectively. They also provide a portal for attorneys to post for fee projects. Most of these can be had for under 50.00.

The site has provided a video demo that outlines the services. This will take you 3 minutes to preview and will give you an idea of what is available which reduces the time that it takes to browse the site yourself for the same information.

You can search for your desired contract by keyword or by type. For this example we will search by type for "Consulting Agreements". A list of links is presented to the viewer which allows you to browse the offerings. Once a selection has been made then you are whisked off to an online wizard that assists you in completing the form based contract to include all relevant data. Viola!

After completing the HotDocs like form the document is ready for use. You can download or print your new creation for immediate use. There is even a "view source" option for those that need to add the file to a Web page.

The options don't stop there. You are able to share your document with another for collaboration. This provides an opportunity for one party to add notes and vice versa. If the contract that you seek is not available then it is simply a matter of an email to the site operators. they will dig into their vault and see if there is something that is in line with your particular needs.

Did I mention that it was free?

No cost remote support
Last month we looked at freeconferencecall.com for a no cost solution to conference calling. This month I have decided to keep with the free theme. There are quite a few options in the remote access genre including Webex, GoToMyPC and Log Me In to name a few. Each of these provide decent and secure remote access but the monthly fees can add up.

The folks over at Mikogo have developed a free remote software app that has many of the features of the pay for service offerings. You get the usual little sys tray app and can set a meeting up on the fly at any time. You then call your participant (up to 25 can join at once) and give them the access code. It is cross platform so it works on Windows and Mac.

Why free? Well, the parent company is banking on your satisfaction with their free utility which will drive you to purchase their other products. Quite the marketing campaign I say.

Their attention to detail is quite good considering the price. Mikogo includes a waiting room for participants who arrive prior to the beginning of the meeting. This is a nice addition as it provides your guests with an indication as to when the meeting is scheduled, who the leader is, content and conference call numbers. Their choice of interface is clean and very professional looking.

Other features include meeting recording capabilities, a whiteboard, file transfer and a meeting scheduler. We have used this service and were quite happy with the results. The only drawback is that it does require user intervention to establish a connection or to transfer files. This is a small price to pay considering their revenue model.

Wrangle that unruly power adaptor cord
Viewed by many as a necessary evil the ubiquitous power brick is a road warriors right hand. Without this fussy plastic sidekick we are dead in the water (well, at least we will be in the next 90 or so minutes). I have developed a pretty compulsive process for winding mine up in such a way that it fits perfectly in the back pocket of my bag. Bill has given up the Monk like winding and wrapping and simply drops his into whatever pocket will have it.

Dell throws another wrench into our machine by changing their adaptor tip (that's the little "pluggie" thing that goes into the laptop jack) from year to year and model to model. This would be understandable if the power ratings were different but in most cases they are identical. With each new laptop I am required to purchase two additional adaptors for my home as routing the bricks around my desk can become tiresome.

Emerge Technologies is out make wire fidgeting a thing of the past with their retractable universal power adaptor. This is not your fathers power brick. It comes with a plethora of different tips for use with all notebook manufacturers. You also get two USB charging ports for your iPod or Blackberry. I am a fan of this addition as it reduces the need for me to carry yet more charging junk. It provides 90 watts of power and the retractable cables extent to 9.5 feet. The retail on this unit is 99.00 (a new Dell power adaptor will run you 110.00 on Ebay) and comes with all of the goodies that you see here.