Bill Snyder
San Francisco journalist Bill Snyder writes frequently about business and technology. His work appears regularly in CIO.com and the publications of Stanford's Graduate School of Business and the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. He welcomes your comments and suggestions.
Quicken 2012: A Lot to Offer the Budget Weary
Despite a few blemishes and competition from free cloud-based services like Mint.com (also owned by Intuit), Quicken 2012 offers well-integrated "old school" software that's still the best at helping you budget and...
Cloud Computing for Consumers: The Downsides
If you read much about tech, you've undoubtedly been told by some snarky writer that if you're not headed for the cloud, you're hopelessly unhip, behind the times, and probably overweight. You know -- the cloud, that...
Email Clutter: Cleaning it Up on Your Own Terms
If you're a grownup, and not in the army or in prison, you don't have to put up with someone telling you to clean your room. But I'll bet you cringe when some self-righteous tech writer tells you to clean up your email box. Oh, you've...
Mobile Payments: Don't Buy into It
If you're anywhere close to my age, you might remember the late Orson Wells making a pitch for Paul Masson saying, "We will sell no wine before its time." That boast may have been true for the vintner, but sadly it's not true in the...
The Need for More than Speed: CPU Tips for PC Buyers
One the heels of Intel's new "Sandy Bridge" chips, here are six questions you should ask yourself about microprocessing power when shopping for a new computer.
iPhone Location Tracking Confusion: 7 Key Facts
Apple iPhone owners had to wade through rivers of confusing, even contradictory, information last week regarding location tracking data. CIO.com's Bill Snyder sets the record straight and offers some useful tips.
Cisco Kills the Flip Camera, Consumers Ask Why
There I was at the San Francisco Giants game the other evening, when my buddy decided to do something a bit silly -- but memorable -- and handed me his little Flip camera. I'm not going to share the YouTube link, but the video is...
Epsilon E-Mail Hack: How You Can Protect Yourself
Most of the time I only hear from my credit card companies when I owe them money or when they want to sell me a new service. That's changed; now I'm being bombarded with notes telling me that a company I never heard of has been...
Little-Known Alternative to Safari & Chrome for iPhone, iPad
I'm always partial to products that come out of small companies and independent developers. After all, Dell and Facebook started in dorm rooms, and giant companies like, Microsoft, HP and Apple launched as shoe-string operations It...
Smartphone Security Threats Overdramatized, Experts Say
I was sitting in the middle of one of the most security conscious crowds you'd ever come across--about 200 computer security professionals listening to a high-powered panel on mobile security threats at the RSA Conference in San...
Five Ways to Speed Up Your Home Network
Maybe you're tired of paying the cable company and want to get your movies and other entertainment from the Web. Naturally you'll want to watch those shows on your TV with the aid of a Roku box or similar device. More and more people...