We’ve all been there before. You’re calling your TV provider, bank, airline retail giant or government and you’re stuck in “voicemail hell.” You know, that never-ending phone system menu with touchtone or voice-activated prompts that could drive you crazy. Toronto-based start-up Fonolo has a free “deep dialling” solution, and now an iPhone app, too.

Dollar Daze, a regular feature on Sympatico’s Sync blog, profiles a recommended gadget from your local dollar store. If you want to prevent the “Are we there yet?” from the backseat, consider this $1 gadget.

You don’t even have to buy food to use the WiFi. Brilliant.

It’s been one of those years, so in this round-up of recommended games and tech toys, I tried to focus on value gifts that deliver a lot of bang for not a lot of buck. This includes a free online PC game, inexpensive dSLR, iPod nano, Blu-ray Discs, and more.

If you’re looking for a rewarding IT job — nay, an IT career — a new Canadian technology might be able to help. MatchGuide is an online matchmaking service designed to hook up employees with potential employers. We chat with Derek Bullen, entrepreneur and inventor of the MatchGuide technology.

It’s a cross between a netbook and a desktop, and this Acer Aspire Revo — designed to connect to your HDTV — works like a charm as a family room PC. This short video explains why.

Rogers upcoming on-demand service will allow any Rogers/Fido customer to watch streaming television from any connected device.

Location-aware devices are changing the way we interact with the world around us.

Have an iPhone or iPod touch? Love creating music? A new app from the folks at Makayama lets you write songs on your smartphone.

New networking features in Windows 7 allows a program to turn your computer into a handy WiFi hotspot.