Macworld says that iWork ’08′s Numbers changes the spreadsheet paradigm. Mac guy Merlin Mann says Numbers is like the Excel librarian who ditches her hornrims, opens a button and shakes out her hair. We decided to give Numbers a test drive ourselves to see if it really deserves all the praise. In fact, while Numbers isn’t a revelation, it does for spreadsheets what the iPod did for MP3 players. Numbers adds polish, ease-of-use and some beautiful “duh, of COURSE it should work that way!” features to spreadsheets. Here’s our short list of the most impressive Numbers features that set it well apart from Excel, with screenshots: More »
Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Stop the office embarrassment caused by audio randomly screaming at you by using this Firefox extension: Stop Autoplay prevents audio from automatically playing when you enter a web site. Similar to the way Flashblock handles Flash, Stop Autoplay gives you a choice of playing the audio or keeping it blocked. If you have audio blocked, you will see a small play button where you can re-enable it. Stop Autoplay works on mp3, wma, wmv, avi and mpg and has earned itself a permanent home in my extension list. Windows users might also want to check out FlashMute, which lets you specifically lower the sounds emanating from your browser.
Stop Autoplay [Mozilla via etc.]Nobody likes a Negative Nancy—that is, the person that puts a negative spin on everything and makes sure you know about it. Well, what if Negative Nancy is you? Steve Pavlina has some excellent advice about how to change your behaviour and stop complaining. Perhaps the most important step in quitting the habit of complaining is to disconnect the undesirable behaviour from your identity. A common mistake chronic complainers make is to self-identify with the negative thoughts running through their minds.
How to Stop Complaining [Steve Pavlina]Windows only: Freeware application Absolute Uninstaller aims to replace the default Windows Add/Remove Programs dialog, similar to Revo Uninstaller and MyUninstaller. Like Revo, Absolute Uninstaller removes the files normally left behind even after you run the regular uninstall. Absolute Uninstaller sets itself apart by letting you bulk remove applications, meaning you can check off every application you want to uninstall and then uninstall them all at once (though you still have to click through confirmation screens). You can also sort applications by install date and see at a glance which applications are newly installed. Absolute Uninstaller is freeware, Windows only.
Absolute Uninstaller [via CyberNet]Mozilla preps Firefox Campus Edition, which is pre-bundled with student-centric extensions like Zotero, FoxyTunes and StumbleUpon. What extensions would you give to our young academics? More »
Website FabricLink’s Carpet Stain Index offers individual step-by-step instructions for removing stains from your carpet caused by everything from beer and chewing gum to coffee and rust. The detailed guides for each stain type use household products you’ve probably got on hand (we’re talking hand dish soap, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide), so you should be able to find what you need to fix any nasty spill without heading to the store while the stain sets in. Photo by xctmx.
Stain Guide for Carpets [FabricLink via Curbly]DIY site Instructables details how to create a toilet-top sink that conserves water by pumping the water headed to the reservoir for your next flush through the sink beforehand. Once again, that’s water heading to the reservoir, not water leaving the toilet. Apparently toilet-top sinks aren’t uncommon in Japan, and after you get over the idea that any water associated with your toilet is gross (which, let’s be honest, is an instinct that can’t have hurt), this is a brilliant idea for conserving water.
Hack a Toilet for free water. [Instructables]Yahoo Audio Search streams 30 second preview clips of songs in their audio search with links to download (read: buy) the song where available. The preview is a smart and natural addition to any audio search, but it’s the first we’ve seen from a popular search box. Beyond that, clicking the download locations link provides a great table detailing not only where you can buy the song, but also the price, format, supported platform and whether the song can be burned to CD or copied. Yahoo lyrics was already a great leap in song search, and it looks like they’re continuing to establish themselves as the only worthwhile audio/music search currently available.
Yahoo Audio Search [Yahoo via Download Squad]The once wildly popular BitTorrent site SuprNova is re-launching today, courtesy of another crazy popular BitTorrent site, The Pirate Bay. More »
