If you have a USB flash drive that you use to transport files easily, you might be interested in one of Microsoft’s latest free downloads, SyncToy 1.0.

This tool in another in Microsoft’s popular PowerToy line of small downloadable utilities for Microsoft Windows. SyncToy makes it easy to synchronize the contents of two folders, such as those on your flash drive and those on your desktop PC.

Now you can make sure that everything you were working on in those synced folders on your desktop will be immediately available on your portable thumb drive.

Upgrading my Netflix account today from five discs out at a time to six, I paused at the the thought of just how much of my entertainment is rented versus being outright purchased.

I get two discs of video game entertainment out at a time from GameFly and most of the music I listen to on an average day comes streaming through a monthly account through Rhapsody.

I used to be opposed to the idea of entertainment that you didn’t own, but the reality of the situation has started to change my way of thinking. I still buy games, movies and music, but only for products that I know I’ll watch or play quite often.

However, for games I’m unsure of or movies that I’ll only watch once or twice, it’s not only cheaper to rent as part of one of those services, but it also makes for less clutter as I don’t have unused boxes of discs sitting on a shelf taking up space.

The same is true for music through Rhapsody. I have several gigs of ripped audio tracks that often just sit on my harddrive doing nothing. While harddrive space is getting cheaper every day, I’m just as happy streaming something across my high-speed broadband connection. It’s one less thing to slow down disc defragmentation and something I don’t have to worry about backing up.

If you’re dreading the next few months of cold, snowy winter weather like I am, you might want to look into a hot chocolate machine like Mr. Coffee’s Cocomotion.

It’s a $20 pitcher-like device in which you pour your cocoa mix powder and milk for up to four cups and then press the start button. The device then mixes and heats your hot chocolate automatically, allowing you to pour it’s wonderfully frothy mix directly into awaiting mugs.

Fans of old-school video games will probably appreciate this well-crafted MK vs SF2 Flash video.

It starts out slow, but the fight scenes are wonderfully executed.

Evan Erwin has a “funny because it’s true” blog entry on his site entitled Top 10 System Administrator Truths.

There’s nothing there that anyone who’s ever been responsible for supporting computer end-user doesn’t already know, but sometimes it’s good for the soul to repeat these things and commiserate with others.

According to IT Observer, the widespread Sober email virus that infected millions of computers in 2005 has a variant scheduled to make another large-scale attack on January 5th 2006. This date also happens to be the 87th anniversary of the founding of the Nazi party, making this malicious software as much a political statement as an internet threat.

In other news, C|Net News.com is reporting on an instant messenger threat that’s labeled IM.Myspace04.AIM by the IM security vendor, IMLogic, that discovered the new threat.

This particular piece of malicious software is actually programmed to strike up random conversations with AOL Instant Messenger users using a pre-programmed script. The worm attempts to convince the potential victim into clicking on a web link to a supposed picture file, which is really a copy of itself in disguise.

As usual, computer owners are reminded to make sure that they are running both antivirus and antispyware programs on their computers and that they take the time to ensure that those protections, as well as Windows itself, have all the latest security updates from their developers.

I am now officially a Double Agent within the Geek Squad and my assigned badge number is 3012.

Double Agents are the individuals assigned to Geek Squad Precincts located in every Best Buy who are charged with policing technology and protecting citizens against malicious software both in the store as well as in their home. If you’ve seen any of the Geek Squad commercials, the Double Agents are the ones driving the Geekmobiles, black and white Volkswagen Beetles, to do in-home visits for clients with computer issues.

I’ve already been through the first two days of ride-along training with a highly experienced Double Agent, an experience that’s actually left me convinced that this position is a good match for my talents. I like the challenge of going to new houses or businesses every day to face some new problem that will keep my computer kung-fu skills sharp. And seeing the relief on a client’s face when you’ve come to them personally and fixed their problem is very rewarding.

Really the biggest downside of taking on the new position after having worked within the in-store Precinct is that I won’t have as much time around those Agents anymore. They’re a good bunch of guys and girls who always kept you on your toes. I intend to make regular visits back to the Precinct when I can, so they’re not completely rid of me yet.