Cool Tools and Hope for the Future!

Good afternoon from T-Town. Steve Schneiderman here with a
weekend update about some cool tools I think you should know
about, but before I tell you about them, I wanted to share a
strange but funny story that took place around 1981 ...

I was hanging out in my apartment with two college buddies, Tony
and Caroline. This was back when I still lived in New York and
was teaching English as a Second Language at Queens College. The
three of us were horsing around with a Yahama keyboard my Mom had
recently purchased for my birthday, and suddenly Tony starts
breaking into a rhythm and blues tune only he starts singing
about "Going to Tulsa, Oklahome". None of us had ever been there
before, and this was more than 10 years before I would even
contemplate relocating to Tulsa. Really strange the way life
works, eh? Now I am coming up on my 51st birthday on October 3rd,
and almost 16 years since that fateful day when I moved from NY
to OK.

OK, on to the cool tools of the week:

Xara Extreme is an amazing fast and powerful graphics design
tool that is relatively low-cost compared to other tools of its
caliber. If you are an illustrator or designer you will love the
speed at which it renders 3D graphics on the least powerful of
computers. You don't need to spend a lot of money on high-end
software or lots of extra memory for your existing PC. Xara
Extreme is a very cool tool as is everything Xara makes. To see
samples and learn how to download a demo, please use this link:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/xaraextreme.htm

My Invoices & Estimates, Version 10.0 was recently released
and it is one of the best solutions for a consultant or small
business that wants to track their consulting hours or product
sales, track payments against those hours, generate
professional-looking invoices and estimates, and run revenue
reports of all types. I've been using this tool for close to a
decade and recommend the newest version. It's also dirt cheap.
Read more about it here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/business/myinvoicesandestimates10.htm

Lastly, if you run a small store, especially a game store or
liquor store, then Wolf Track Point of Sale Software may be just
what you need to streamline your business. It has an incredible
list of powerful features, but remains one of the easiest and
well-supported POS systems available on the Net. Starting at only
$20.00/month, you can also use Wolf Track at flea markets and
kiosks to accept credit card payments. It runs on Windows PCs and
will work with low-end keyboard/credit card scanners. Just add a
receipt printer and you are in business. Learn more about it
here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/business/wolftrack.htm

My thanks to those of you who took the time on Wednesday to
write to me about what keeps you up at night. I received several
well-thought out and very honest emails. Essentially, we are all
facing similar concerns during these troubled economic times.
Feelings range from regrets about decision or lack of decisions
made in the past to trying to figure out how to make it online.
I'll delve into these fears and concerns deeper beginning next
week.

Until then, remember that more now than ever before, we need to
be looking out for each other and be kind to each other. We need
to be supportive of each other and also remember that we're all
going through THIS together. Most of all, have hope. Without
that, we have nothing at all, my friends.

All my best,

Steven