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Stores have long used sales and demographic information to better aim their goods at customers. But retailers now have access to a vast trove of digital data — and better tools to make sense of it.

If you've got a hankering to build a snow shelter but a lack of igloo-perfect snow conditions, you can use this trick to make a pseudo-igloo very easily. Outside of the frozen north—and we're talking Artic Circle, not North Dakota—the perfect snow for making igloos is rare. Don't let that stop you from building a sweet pseudo-igloo in your backyard. As long as you've got a decent amount of snow that's damp enough to pack, you can follow in the footsteps of the snow fort builders at The Toy Report. After a huge snowstorm, they took some of those snow-block makers you can find in the toy aisle for a trial run in their backyard. They found them completely useless and ineffective and turned to bigger and better tools. They settled on using Trofast storage containers from IKEA (although you could use any large plastic bin, as I used RubberMaid containers to build snow forts when I was a kid) and used them to pack snow into blocks. Laying them like bricks and on a slight incline they built...

Don't look now guys, but only 16 months after it was officially released, Google Chrome is now the world's no. 3 browser, based on Net Applications' web browser usage data for December. What makes this more interesting is that Chrome has edged out Apple Safari which has been occupaying the third spot next to Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer. Google Chrome… Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal. Google Chrome is Now the No. 3 Browser

If you’ve ever tried to find your favorite movie scenes on YouTube or other video networks, you’ve probably noticed it’s not always the easiest thing to find the direct quotes you’re looking for. Not only are these classic scenes hard to hunt down, but more often than not, when you do finally come across them [...]

After traveling far and wide, and studying at rabbinical school, Cary Rosenzweig became chief executive of IMVU, a virtual community.

There might be audio treasures stashed in a relative's record collection, but only if you can restore the discs to less topographic conditions. Wired's How-To Wiki offers a guide to restoring that warped vinyl with careful heat application. Image from Positive Feedback. There's no one guaranteed method to getting records back into shape, because different records have been molded from different vinyl mixtures and been exposed to a wide range of storage conditions. That said, the "LP sandwich" described by Wired requires only two sheets of flat glass and the patience to watch a record in an oven set at 200 degrees. If that sounds a bit too risky for your really good discs, there's also a method that uses gradual warming from direct sunlight: Use the same method as above, and put the LP sandwich in direct sunlight. The glass will slowly heat up and the vinyl will begin to soften. If the glass doesn't seem heavy enough to press the LP flat, find a weight (a can of soup or some such) to...

If you love the rich, creamy taste of Bailey's Irish Cream, why not set aside some time this week to whip up a homemade batch in your kitchen? It's easy, and you only need a few common ingredients. Sure, it's easier to just grab a bottle of the pre-made stuff off the grocery shelf, but the cool thing about this recipe is that you can dress it up to suit your taste. Go easy on the cream, add some almond extract, boost the instant coffee quotient—go wild. Run to the store and grab: * Light cream or whipping cream, depending on how rich you want your drink * Sweetened condensed milk * A good bottle of Irish whiskey * Instant coffee * Hershey's chocolate syrup * Vanilla Check out the post over at Cupcake Project for exact measurements. The instructions are, basically, to process everything in a blender, then grab a glass and sip away. How would you dress up your homemade Bailey's Irish Cream? Kick around some ideas in the comments. Homemade Bailey's Irish Cream[Cupcake Project]

In 2009, when Ray Ozzie stepped into the ring with the news that Microsoft was launching a full-on social lab, it was clear that the Enterprise 2.0 movement was moving into a new phase. Now comes the question of what effect Microsoft will have on the way Enterprise 2.0 evolves and what roles the players that are early to the game will play in its future. Sponsor Editor's note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we'll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year - and ahead to what next year holds - we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It's not just a best-of list, it's also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb! Ozzie is Microsoft's chief architect and one of the most respected people in tech circles. Lillian...

This week we had 6 new APIs added to our API directory including a new API for finding song lyrics, an API for integrating Apple Push Notification Service messages into any service, an API for domain registration and web hosting, an API for social messaging, an API for the Sourcemap project (which we covered earlier this week), and an interesting new API for people search.

Windows/Mac/Linux: Feed reader RSSOwl has long been a favorite of open-source advocates, despite being a bit less powerful than its competition. Version 2, however, brings OPML import/export, sharing, and smart searching, finally giving it powers to rival its desktop counterparts. If you were tempted by RSSOwl in the past, you may have been turned off by its inability to import feeds from other readers. Now, however, you can be set up and reading feeds exported from other readers within minutes. It also features a tabbed interface, so you don't have to constantly close feeds, and a built-in browser for you to view the full content of any article. In addition, you can do away with the usual 3-pane view and combine the rightmost two, viewing the entire feed's content in one pane, Google Reader style. Possibly the coolest feature of RSSOwl, though, is searching. The app's got so many ways to search that it's a little overwhelming at first, but it's extremely powerful down the line. You...

Did you miss out on the fantasy season yet again this year? With football’s regular season nearing its end and basketball and hockey in midseason right now, there is probably a lot that you have missed. Fear not! There is always a new season looming and you still have time to get in on the college [...]

Welcome to the first ReadWriteWeb Event Guide of 2010. There's a new seminar in London later this month that we've added to this week's list. As always, you can download the entire event calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us. Sponsor 11 January 2010: Nashville, Tennessee Social Fresh Nashville This is the social media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one-day, case-study-rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Nashville will have 30-plus speakers, including Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer, Gavin Baker of Ruby Tuesday and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart). ReadWriteWeb readers get a 15% discount...

Another calendar gets consigned to the trashcan. 365 days of memories and events from here on will gather dust either in minds or in our journals. But history is enriched by what that passes. And sometimes in our present, we too are tempted to look back at what has passed and relive the moments. It [...]

Windows: Windows 7 install discs are edition-specific—if you've got a valid license key, you still need the right disc for installation. The ei.cfg Removal Utility, however, lets you create a new, universal installation ISO for Windows 7. Although your Windows installation disc may say "Home Premium Edition," it still contains the other versions (such as Pro or Ultimate) on the disc—it just has a very small file called ei.cfg that tells the disc what version to install. The ei.cfg Removal Utility creates a new ISO of your install disc that ignores this file, thus letting you choose what edition you want when you start the installer. While this tool is especially useful for computer technicians who have to install Windows a lot, it's also nice to have for those of us that tend to lose discs often—especially in this day and age of emailed product keys. Now, if you need to reinstall Windows but can't find your disc, you can just borrow a friend's—even if it's an edition that's different...

Nothing but the strength of your convictions can keep a self-improvement promise going for at least 365 days. You can, however, boost your chance at success and outwit your worst habits with some motivational devices and clever thinking. Image from Monina Velarde's New Year's Resolution Generator. 10. Roll 12 habits into one resolution Blogger John Richardson believes in the power of habits, the kind that your mind can subconsciously stick to after 21 days of reinforcement. Rather than make some over-reaching resolution like "Be better about spending," he crafted 12 different specific micro-habits to act upon in 2006, one for each month. The original link is lost to a Wordpress re-design and site migration, it appears, but as Gina noted, by making those resolutions specific and measurable—drinking two quarts of water per day instead of "drink more water"—you can also track them, as covered below, and combine them into one big life-improving resolution. 9. Distract yourself at the...