Wired posts a simple method for finding south using nothing but an analog wristwatch and the sun:
Hold a watch with 12 o’clock at left. Move your arm so the hour hand points at the sun. The spot halfway between the hour hand and the 12 is north.
The comments of the Wired post offer a few important caveats. First, if you’re in the northern hemisphere, you would point 12 o’clock at the sun but still split the difference between 12 and the hour hand for south. Also, if you practice daylight saving time, you should subtract one hour from the hour hand.
Use a Wristwatch As a Compass [Wired How To's via MAKE]The former Boy Scouts and Girl Guides out there may say ‘well duh!’ but this one’s handy for the rest of us. More »
Windows/Mac/Linux: The $1000 price tag attached to Microsoft Project Professional got you down? Cross platform open source application OpenProj comes to the rescue. OpenProj markets itself as a complete replacement for Microsoft Project and boasts complete integration with existing Project files and Primavera. OpenProj shares the industry’s most advanced scheduling engine with Project-ON-Demand and has Gantt Charts, Network Diagrams (PERT Charts), WBS and RBS charts, Earned Value costing and more. There is literally no time or effort involved in switching to OpenProj and your teams can manage projects in Linux, Unix, Mac or Windows for free.
OpenProj is simple enough for students and small businesses and advanced enough for major corporations. It’s a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
OpenProj [Projity via The Open Source Advocate]Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): Freeware application ted (torrent episode downloader) is like Tivo for BitTorrent, providing an easy-to-use interface for setting up season pass downloads for your favorite television shows. Ted’s been around a little while, but has gone through some significant improvements, like its long list of built -in shows complete with show information. When you add a show, ted will download every new episode torrent of that show as it becomes available using your default BitTorrent client. Ted is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not up to speed on BitTorrent? Check out our beginner and intermediate guides to get you up to speed.
tedIf you love the clutter-free, cordless desktop look, but don’t want to make the trip to Ikea, the Efetividade.net blog shows how you can create the same look for under $10 with two clamps, cable ties, and a piece of grating. This method doesn’t require adhesives or need to be screwed into the desk, meaning you can use it on rented furniture (like the kind typically found in a residential college or in an office). Thanks, Augusto!
Declutter your desktop: an organizer for those cables and gadgets for less than $10 [Efetividade.net]You may already have a basic idea of how to contribute to Wikipedia, and you may even know how to identify anonymous edits, but how can you correct an inaccurate Wikipedia article that hits close to home without looking suspicious?
Suppose your company… discovers that their Wikipedia article is wrong, or has subtle inaccuracies that nonetheless paint them in an unfavorable light? Most people unfamiliar with how Wikipedia works consider only two solutions: edit the article or sit on their hands. Unfortunately, neither approach typically results in the optimal outcome: a factually accurate profile containing trustworthy information.
Weblog Search Engine Land offers tips for correcting an inaccurate article straight from a Wikipedia administrator, like contacting Wikipedia projects specific to your article and getting the page watchlisted.
The Right Way To Fix Inaccurate Wikipedia Articles [Search Engine Land]Webapp Preezo is a stripped-down version of PowerPoint right inside your web browser. Create, edit, collaborate on and permalink slideshows at Preezo, which isn’t as featureful as PowerPoint proper but has all the essential tools you need to create a full-on presentation minus desktop software. Rumor has it that Google Docs & Spreadsheets will get a presentation component in the coming weeks, so it’ll be interesting to see how it compares to Preezo. In the meantime, Preezo’s a great way to avoid carrying your slideshow around on a thumb drive to copy onto the conference room laptop—all you need is internet connectivity. Be warned though: you can’t import existing presentation files to Preezo.
PreezoLinux eye candy and productivity app Compiz Fusion pushes out its first release. Although still a development preview, a stable version is right around the corner. More »
Hanging pictures on a blank wall can be rough, especially with all of the hit-and-miss involved in aligning your frames and hammering in your nails. Better Homes and Gardens has a tip for getting your wall hangings right the first time so you don’t end up with three holes side by side while you attempt the perfect hang.
1. Trace pictures onto brown craft paper and cut out. Label each of the papers with a description of the picture or a corresponding number. 2. Using painter’s tape (which won’t pull up wall paint), tape the papers to the wall. Experiment with arrangements until you have one you like. 3. Install picture-hanging hardware directly through the paper. Pull paper away and hang pictures one by one.
The third step is the real kicker; by installing through the paper, you should have a much better idea of exactly where to put your nail than you do when hanging without the paper.
Easy Picture Hanging [Better Homes and Gardens via DIY Life]Designer David Seah uses Excel to draw up project Gantt charts and offers his spreadsheet template for download. David says:
I’m basically just using Excel like graph paper, and there is absolutely no automatic calculation at all. On the other hand, it’s probably a lot EASIER to keep up to date, through copying/pasting and inline annotation, than actual software like Microsoft Project.
A Gantt chart is a great way to see task dependencies in a big project—what delays will push out the completion date and which won’t. If you’ve got a huge deliverable on your hands and no expensive project management software, this spreadsheet template may be for you. The Gantt template is in .xls format, which works in most spreadsheet software, not just Excel, and it’s a free download from Dave. Manual Gantt Charting in Excel [David Seah]
Windows only: Freeware application WinOFF schedules Windows shut down, restart, log off, hibernate, and other shut down modes using a variety of scheduling criteria. For example, you can tell WinOFF to shut down Windows at a specific time, after a specific period, or when the CPU is idle or usage is low for a certain period of time. WinOFF even has several worthwhile shut down options, like capturing a screenshot of the desktop before shut down or executing a program before shut down. This app would come in especially handy when you need to keep your computer running into the night to finish a download or task, but you don’t want the computer running for hours after the task has completed.
WinOFF [via CyberNet]
