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You probably have a business card, even if you aren’t part of a business. You probably have something that you hand to people so they know how to contact you. At Macworld, I ran into the people who make CardScan, so I thought I’d give it a try.

this solution features a desktop scanner and full-featured software that scans in color in about three seconds. More than a business card scanner, CardScan’s powerful, easy-to-use software is a complete contact management solution. CardScan keeps your contact data safe, securely backing up your data to our CardScan at Your service online service at no charge.

I’ve had a CardScan Scanner for awhile, and used it on Windows. When I used it years ago, I ran into a few headaches. The software was difficult to use, so I just stopped trying to use it. So at Macworld when I saw them demonstrating this for the Mac, I had to check it out. I told them about my old Windows experiences. Since they recognized me, they sent a review unit home with me to play with and review. How great is that?!

I installed it and connected the CardScan. For the most part, the software is much easier to use for the Mac, and a cleaner experience. You set the business card in the try and the machine will automatically pick up there’s a card there and scan it in. Once it’s in the software, you can crop it or rotate it if need me.

Even though the font is small, you can see that it picked up all of the information on the card! That’s excellent. It will hyperlink the address and take you to a Google Map if you click it. The email will link you to whatever your default email client is. Also, it will link off to the web address if there is one printed on the card.

The software for Mac OS X has Cover Flow! I love that! I can browse through the business cards much as I would browse through my music, looking at the cover art in iTunes. I’m a visual learner, so this particular feature is very welcomed.

It’s done a good job of taking information on the business cards, and putting it into the software. It didn’t do so well with business cards that have a darker background, but I’m sure that will get tweaked over time. Nothing is perfect… not even me.

My review on the CardScan is very, very positive, and I will be scanning the rest of the huge stack of business cards I have into the software. I will no longer have to dig through the stack in the drawer – I can just browse through them on my Mac.

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• Useful Things in my Home Office
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• Free Universal Contact Management with Plaxo

Even with a free account, the new Plaxo is amazing. However…

I never heard back from Plaxo VIP support on my two requests RE: iCal syncing problems. I’m a bit disappointed, because I even went through the VIP form and didn’t receive an answer within 24 hours (per their promise). I thought that was a part of my $49 registration fee?

No matter, here’s the problem: Plaxo was promoting an older Plaxo OS X app when I first downloaded it after logging in to the new beta the other day. The app told me that no new updates were available for it. Well, I went back to Plaxo.com and re-downloaded the DMG last night, and lo and behold – it was a COMPLETELY new version.

iCal now syncs perfectly with Plaxo, but I’m guessing the old app is incorrectly informing users that there is no update available. Not sure where the wires got crossed, but I’d bet I’m not the only person who has run into this problem.

Despite this self-corrected problem, Plaxo remains absolutely indispensible. It’s the true missing link for all of my data – the primary calendars in Google, Outlook, and iCal are seamlessly connected (although Plaxo isn’t lifting my iCal Birthdays calendar as of yet). Moreover, I don’t have to install iTunes on Windows to get my calendar and contacts from Outlook to the iPhone – this, more than any other reason, is a selling point for Plaxo.

The desktop software, on both Outlook and OS X, still leaves MUCH to be desired – but its core functionality is solid. I’ve been waiting for this kind of service for so many years.

• How to Keep Track of Business Cards and Contacts: CardScan