This was Apple’s week.

Apple’s customers (like me) got a brand-new operating system, cool new MacBook Airs and maybe-not-quite-as-cool-but-whoa-no-optical-drive Mac Minis. Meanwhile, tech and business reporters (like me) got a quarterly earnings report that had some of us (okay, it was me) making jokes about Steve Jobs diving like Scrooge McDuck into a room full of gold Krugerrands.

Microsoft released their quarterly earnings results, too. And they’re almost as huge. Redmond made almost $6 billion in net income on more than $17 billion in revenue. That’s a record quarter — and remember, Micro...

On a hot summer day, a cool breeze blowing on your face can feel refreshing, rejuvenating. But heck, the office ceiling fan is on the other side of the room... as is the window. What to do?

If you (or the IT guy) have got an old computer case lying in a closet, you can salvage the case fan and turn it into a personal USB-powered desk fan. When it's not blowing air onto your face, you can use it to cool your mad-hot typing fingers.

And if you don't have any old PC cases, you can pick up a case fan for as cheap as $6. As for the other parts -- you've probably got them all lying around your...