Microsoft Australia is currently running one of those "visit our site and we'll give money to charity" promotions, promising to donate $1 to the Smith Family for every viewer (up to a $100,000 ceiling) of a site which promotes Office 2007 (and is also a sneaky way to get people to install Silverlight, Microsoft's Flash wannabe). I can't help thinking Microsoft would convince more people to use 2007 if the cursed Ribbon got dumped, but still, why not direct some more of Bill's money towards a worthy cause? (Handy tip: don't try this on a slow connection, on my Next G link it was beyond painful.)

Microsoft Smith Family Office Charity

Tomorrow's your last chance to donate to charity in 2007, and if you don't know where to find the charities that are doing the best job for the cause you care about, check out independent evaluator Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator rates organisations based on their efficiency and capacity, and categorises them by cause. If you're looking to be a smart donor this holiday season (and get a sweet tax write off), Charity Navigator's got quite a few resources of interest, like the Top 10 Practices of Savvy Donors and 6 Questions To Ask Charities Before Donating. How did you decide what charity to support this year? Let us know in the comments.

Well, the longsuffering loved ones need suffer no more - Movember is over for another year, and the Mo's have been shaved off. Team Allure, ably captained by Seamus - formerly of Gizmodo AU - managed to raise $355 for Movember. The proceeds go towards men's charities helping fight prostate cancer and depression. A worthy cause indeed. And now back to our regularly scheduled, stubble free programming. :)

A couple of weeks ago Wendy posted a number of ideas on how to save a life with your computer. It was a great idea and a great list of ways you can use your computer or the net to make a difference in someone's life. It inspired me to throw in my $0.02 worth on the topic, and mention some worthwhile Aussie ventures you can support online as well.

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