[Edward Taguba Blog]

Farrell’s Hawaii recently opens their new restaurant this weekend.  The Pearlridge Mall Uptown, my wife and I had to try out this new restaurant out.  I’m not sure if you know about Farrell’s, but here is some history.  

In 1963, Mr. Farrell opened the first Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in Portland, Oregon. It was immediately welcomed by guests and other parlors soon opened.  By 1970’s the company had grown to 58 restaurants. In 1971, Mr. Farrell was approached by the Marriott Corporation who subsequently brought the company.  He continued to work with Marriott as the company grew to 130 locations nationwide. 

The Hawaii Farrell’s franchise is owned and operated by E Noa Corporation, a Hawaii-based company specializing in providing sightseeing tours around the island. 

When Tina had told me about the doors were open for business, I wanted to check out the new Farrell’s were all about, after work I decided to meet Tina at Pearlridge mall and we walked in together.  We sat down next to the barstool next to the main entrance window, the waitress Kaleolan talked to us about there menu selection.  Talk about, wow they do have a large selection of food and deserts, from Soup, salads, appetizers, entrees, burgers, sandwiches, floats, sodas, hot fudge favorites, and many more….   

We decided to order the Melting Pot Platter appetizer which is a sampling of Hula Rings, Spicy Chicken Wings, Potato Skins, and Mozzarella Sticks, for our drinks we ordered the Root Beer float which was the super duper size.  Oh, my gosh talk about ono food… 

This restaurant is a great place to sit down and talk stories and enjoy.  When you have a chance take a drive down to Pearlridge Mall and enjoy.

Woha the new iconic messaging phone the Sidekick iD.  The Sidekick iD is the limited version of the Sidekick 3. 

Quick Specs:
Source: http://www.sidekick.com

• Network: T-Mobile
• Bands: GSM 850/1900 MHz
• Data: EDGE
• Bluetooth: None
• Memory: 64MB
• Display: 2.4 inches (240×160 pixels, 65,000 colors)
• Talk/Standby Time: 5.3 hours/6 days
• Size: 5.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 inches
• Weight: 6.2 ounces

Images by: http://www.laptopmag.com

Amp’ed Mobile and Motorola team up to create a smart phone.  Amp’d Edition experience live TV, music and videos. Sync with MS Office.

Quick Specs
Source: http://www.ampd.com

• Network: Amp’d Mobile
• Bands: CDMA 800/1900 MHz
• Data: EV-DO
• OS: Windows Mobile 5
• CPU: 312-MHz Intel XScale
• Memory: 64 MB
• Expansion: 256 miniSD Card
• Display: 2.4 inches (320 x240 pixels, 65,000 colors)
• Camera: 1.3 MP
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
• Talk/Standby Time: 4 hours/8.8 days
• Size: 4.3 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches
• Weight: 4.1 ounces

Images by: http://www.laptopmag.com

Wow, a new sleek smart phone with more then just e-mail, the Curve includes a 2-MP camera and some serious multimedia addtions.

The BlackBerry Curve smartphone is the smallest, lightest BlackBerry spartphone to ever model a full QWERTY keyboard.

Quick Specs:
Source: http://www.blackberry.com

• Network: GSM (Available for AT&T later this spring)
• Bands: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Data: GRPS/EDGE
• OS: BlackBerry (J2ME)
• Memory: 64MB
• Expansion: microSD Card
• Display: 2.5 inches (320 x 240 pixels, 65,000 colors)
• Camera: 2MP
• Bluetooth: 2.0
• Talk/Standby Time: 4 hours/17 days
• Weight: 3.9 ounces

Images by: http://www.laptopmag.com

McAfee SiteAdvisor is a browser add-on for Internet Explorer or Firefox. It adds ratings to search results whenever you use Google, Yahoo! Search or MSN Search. The ratings are based on actual testing.SiteAdvisor’s ratings can tell you if you’ll receive spam after registering on a Web site. It can also tell you if there are malicious downloads offered on a site. Some ratings are based on associations with poorly rated sites.

Untested sites are also labeled. SiteAdvisor offers the option to submit these sites for testing.

Cost: Free

Link: http://www.siteadvisor.com/

TrustWatch lets you search the Web in cooperation with Ask. Ratings are added to the search results to indicate which links lead to reputable sites. A reputable site is one that is trusted by other sites and is not reported to TrustWatch as fraudulent. Search results also indicate which sites use encryption.You can download a TrustWatch toolbar for Internet Explorer. It allows you to use a TrustWatch search without visiting its Web page. Even if you don’t use the TrustWatch search, the toolbar gives rating for each site that you visit.Firefox users can get the TrustWatch extension. It adds ratings whenever you search using Google. Both the Firefox and Internet Explorer add-ons allow you to report fraudulent sites that TrustWatch has not yet checked.

Cost:

Link: http://www.trustwatch.com

Scandoo is a mix of security and parental controls. When you search the Web using Scandoo, it simply passes your search words through your choice of Google or MSN Search. In doing so, Scandoo adds ratings to each of the search results.Scandoo offers a lot of parental control customization. You can choose from categories of sites such as dating, gambling and sex/nudity. The security settings, however, are apparently entirely up to Scandoo. Search results that may be serving up spyware or other malicious downloads are indicated with the image of a bug.

If you use Internet Explorer equipped with Google Toolbar, you can add Scandoo to the toolbar. It lets you use a Scandoo search without visiting the Scandoo Web site. If you use Firefox, you can add Scandoo to the browser’s built-in search bar.

Cost: Free

Link: http://www.scandoo.com/

Protect your computer from virusesGood antivirus software is a necessity. Without it, you run the risk of having your computer damaged by malicious software. Your data could be erased or Windows could be rendered inoperable.

There are many reputable companies that sell antivirus programs. But you don’t need to pay a dime for antivirus software.

PC Tools is one of my advertisers. It is offering a free edition of its AntiVirus program. You’ll also get free updates periodically with new virus definitions.

The only drawback to free antivirus programs is that they don’t include technical support. If you need technical support, you should bite the bullet and buy and antivirus program. PC Tools also offers a for-pay version of its software that includes technical support.

PC Tools AntiVirus works on Windows XP and Vista.

Cost: Free

Link: http://www.pctools.com

Free virus protectionThese days, you need to have anti-virus software on your computer. Otherwise, you can run into big problems with your machine.This is a good anti-virus program. I frequently recommend it to readers and listeners who can’t afford to (or simply don’t want to) pay for subscription anti-virus software.

Avast! 4 Home Edition is every bit as good as products you buy at the store. The only difference is the price. And oh, yeah, you won’t receive technical support. If you need the technical support, bite the bullet and pay for an antivirus program.

Also, this is intended for home use. So, do the right thing and don’t use it on your work network.

Cost: Free

Link: http://www.avast.com

Free Anti-Virus Program

In today’s world, anti-virus software is a must-have. But that doesn’t mean you need to pay subscription prices for to receive the virus definition updates. There are very good anti-virus software products available for the taking.One of the ones I frequently recommend is AVG AntiVirus software from Grisoft. Just remember that this is for home use, so don’t take advantage of the Grisoft’s kindness.

Also, you don’t get any technical support. If this is something you need, buy the software and pay the annual fee for the updates. You’ll be glad you did!

Cost: Free

Link: http://free.grisoft.com