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New flybuys Earns Discounts Faster (But They're Not Good Discounts) If you or your loved one suffers from the heartbreak of packrat-itis—an affliction presenting symptoms like large piles of paper and tchotchkes strewn about your home—the Think Simple Now weblog suggests several tips for curing what ails you. Give each item a home – If you don’t know where something belongs, it can easily become part of the clutter in your house. You have to think about where to put it, and it will always conveniently find its way to the top of the nearest surface or the first drawer in sight.
I find that tip especially true when you first move into a new place—the sooner you find a place for everything, the easier it is to put everything in its place and make your home streamlined and uncluttered. If you’ve ever dealt with a nasty case of packrat-itis, let’s hear how you dealt with it in the comments.
How to Cure PackRat-itis [Think Simple Now]Google is experimenting with Digg-style voting in search results, letting users vote up results they like, bury results they don’t, and suggest a better page. Still doesn’t beat my favourite Google Experiment, navigating results by keyword. [via]
It’s great that your iPhone has a data plan and a killer mobile browser, but when you’re sitting at the airport waiting to catch a plane with your laptop right next to you, wouldn’t it be nice to use your full-on desktop browser? Out of the box your iPhone won’t allow you to tether your EDGE data connection to another computer wirelessly, but with a little ingenuity on your part you’ll be browsing the net on your laptop through your iPhone’s data service in no time.
Near-sighted blogger Matt Haughey stopped paying $500 for new eyeglasses and started shopping online for specs at much lower prices—around $50 or so. Over at the 43 Folders weblog, he explains what measurements you need, how to choose from the wide variety of glasses sold online, and what to expect from the whole experience. Anyone else had success or failure with online eyeglasses purchases? Let us know in the comments.
Adventures in $40 eyeglasses [43 Folders]Weblog Lifehack.org goes beyond the whiteboard to point out the myriad ways dry-erase markers can be helpful reminder and planning tools. Bathroom mirrors, filing cabinets, and even shower doors can be notated to remind and train yourself, but this tip in particular caught my eye: Mark miles or date of next service inside your car’s windshield: A lot of service shops put a little plastic sticker with the date or mileage when you’ll need your next oil change or tune-up; if yours doesn’t, use a fine-tip dry-erase marker to write it yourself in an out-of-direct-sight corner of your windshield.
My “next change” stickers invariably fall off, and wiping off the mileage number just before an oil change could ward off the heavy-handed guilt trip (and sales pitch) at the station. For more dry-erase DIY, check out removing permanent marker with a dry-erase marker, and two home-built dry-erase boards. Photo by ojbyrne.
10+ Things to Do with Dry-Erase Markers [Lifehack.org]For new Linux users, places like the Ubuntu Forums can be a great way to track down problem fixes and get tips from experienced users. Recently, however, a few really evil jerks have been preying on inexperienced users by suggesting they run terminal commands that delete crucial files, crash systems, and fill hard drives. Luckily, a forum administrator has put together a handy list of commands to watch out for, and this list applies to any Linux system, as well as OS X terminal users. The best defense, of course, is to familiarize yourself with the command line.
Attention All Users: Malicious Commands [via Tombuntu]Food blog Diethack takes on a number of myths, old wives’ tales, and false claims about the health properties of certain foods and roots out where the healthy truth lies. Among a few oft-quoted properties of prunes, carrots, and other supposed miracle foods was one I’ve heard from a number of (usually newly started) vegetarians: Two bananas are the equivalent of a beefsteak
False: You need at least 12 to 14 bananas to equate the protein value of 100g of a beefsteak, but it is more nutritious to eat 12 bananas than a beefsteak.
What food myths are you tired of hearing, and which have you found to be the honest truth? Let’s hear them in the comments. Photo by *clairity*.
11 Widespread Food Statements Demystified [Diethack]Mac OS X only: The entirety of Google Gadgets is now available for Mac users as Dashboard widgets through Google Desktop for Mac. Altogether this isn’t groundbreaking, since you could use the new web clips feature in Leopard or the Widgetops Universal Google Gadget widget to add any Google Gadget to your Dashboard, but it’s a nice integration nonetheless. If you’re a Google Gadget lover, let’s hear your favourites in the comments.
Google Desktop for Mac [Google via Search Engine Land]Windows only: The next upgrade of Windows Live Messenger has been leaked from a “private” beta for 5,000 users (surprising?) and is available for downloading—at least until Microsoft decides too many people are hitting their servers. The beta of Live Messenger 9 shows off some decently cool features, including the ability to log on from multiple locations without annoying warning messages, setting up “signature sounds” that broadcast to those you’re chatting, spam reporting, and a generally less-cluttered interface. The full version isn’t due out until late 2008 or early 2009, so more additions are sure to come. Windows Live Messenger 9 beta is a free download (while it lasts) and works on Windows XP and Vista.
Windows Live Messenger 9 (beta) [via Ars Technica]
