Archive: Business & Technology

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Everyone knows of the businesses that are on the streets or in the malls in Lansing, but there are quite a few hidden businesses in town as well. Some corporations outside of town allow Lansing residents to telecommute, working from home by telephone and modem. This takes a special kind of self-motivated person who can work in solitude, regulate his or her life and get the job done.

Jim Sullivan is just such a person. He writes and supports communications protocol software for Unisys, a large company specializing in computer consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology. Jim had been working from home in Buffalo, then moved here about three and a half years ago when his daughter Janine fixed him up with the Lansing woman who would become his wife. They claim that she married him for his chocolate chip cookies, and he married her for her tool collection.

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The first thing you notice when you walk into Lansing's newest furniture store is the sense of spaciousness. The large space, formerly Klein's All-Sports, is warm and inviting. And open. In many furniture stores it is easy to get lost in the maze of display rooms, panicking that you will never find your way out. This store has few dividers, and you always know exactly where you are.

Owner Bill Tucker is proud of the new store, which opened in May of this year in the Triphammer Mall. "Nice selection, good service, best price and middle range is where the majority of consumers are today," he says.

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Your 401(k) plan is unquestionably a great vehicle for building retirement savings. You typically fund your plan with pre-tax dollars, so your contributions can lower your annual taxable income. Plus, your earnings grow on a tax-deferred basis. So, you should always put in as much as you can afford to your 401(k), right? Not necessarily.

Why? Because you may be able to get more "mileage" out of your retirement plan dollars by putting some of them into a Roth IRA. As you may know, Roth IRA earnings have the potential to grow tax-free, provided you've held your account at least five years and you don't start taking withdrawals until your reach age 59 1/2. Furthermore, when you invest in a 401(k) or a similar plan (such as a 403(b) or 457 plan), you may be required to take minimum distributions when you reach 70 1/2, but you can let your Roth IRA keep growing until you decide when to take withdrawals.

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Over the past month I've immersed myself in satellite radio. I've been a fan of Internet radio, because you can choose the kind of music you like and listen to it without commercials. But Internet radio cuts out annoyingly and it is too distracting when this happens. After months of thinking about paying for yet another subscription service I finally decided to take the plunge.

So off I went to the mall. I chose XM because it is the one that didn't hire Howard Stern. I'm not fond of Mr. Stern, and don't want to encourage him. And I chose the $45 Roady 2 radio because 1) it's cheap 2) I had read good reviews of it and 3) I wanted a radio I could easily tote from my car to my home office.

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Dr. Digit 'Splains It All

For our first issue I thought the technology column should be about using the Star. It is easy for us to say that it is "easy to use" and "intuitive," because we have been experimenting with the technology since February. But acknowledging that most people aren't nearly as geeky as we are, this column will talk about technology in English that we hope everyone will be able to understand. And if you have computer or technology questions we are hoping you will send them in to be dealt with in a future column.

That said, let's look at the Star and how it works...

First we hope you will support our advertisers, who are supporting us so we can bring you "All the News From Home." When you see their ads in the Star click them. When you do this another browser window opens to display their web site or an informational page about them. It's a great way to find out about their products or services, or just to find out when they are open or where they are located.

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In the future you'll be able to walk into your house and say, "Lights on, dim" to set a romantic mood, or "Start Coffee tomorrow morning at eight AM" to make sure you start your day with that jolt of java.  This isn't just the stuff of science fiction.  Home control, to some extent, is here now.

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