Friday, September 21, 2007
Virtualising Windows
11:45PM Gina Trapani | Mac users virtualising Windows, if you’re considering the switch, Macworld details how to migrate an existing virtual machine from Parallels to VMWare Fusion. Sounds like this process is still hit or miss, so proceed with caution. More »
Open Mutiple Photos in Preview
11:30PM Gina Trapani | Mac users: Browse a group of photos full-size quickly and easily with trusty Preview.app. Avoid the load of iPhoto and the tiny thumbnails of Finder: highlight all the photos you’d like to see (hold down the Shift or Control key as you click the files in Finder) and Cmd+click. From the context menu, choose Open With > Preview, and the images will open in a single Preview.app window simultaneously, with thumbnails in the drawer for quick navigation between them. Quick Tip: Open Mutiple Files in Preview Simultaneously [hackaddict.net] More »
Shorten and Password-Protect URLs with HideLinks
11:00PM Lifehacker US Edition | URL shortening service HideLinks shortens web page addresses with an added optional bonus: password security. If the URL you want to share (or store on your office computer, say) contains sensitive information, you can password-protect access to the link to avoid prying eyes from seeing confidential web sites. If you create a HideLinks account, you can change the URL or password in the future. These features are similar to previously mentioned dwarfURL, but unlike dwarfURL, you cannot see how many times a link was clicked. Still, for those concerned about security, the password restriction on URLs should make this service good to try. HideLinks More »
Slice and Dice Your Data with AutoFilter
10:30PM Gina Trapani | Your spreadsheet contains a huge table of data you want to slice and dice on the fly? You need the AutoFilter feature, which works like a database query builder—or for the non-bitheads, iTunes Smart Playlists. Select the criteria of the data you want to see, and AutoFilter will show you only the rows that match without actually changing any of the data (like sorting it would). The Productivity Portfolio weblog explains in detail, with helpful screenshots. Excel AutoFilter | Filter Excel Spreadsheets [Productivity Portfolio] More »Comments
10:15PM Gina Trapani | Two years ago, a day before comments launched here on Lifehacker, we got up on our soapbox and posted our guide to being good at weblog comments. More »
Take a Walk That Will Reboot Your Brain
10:00PM Lifehacker US Edition | If you’re suffering from the dreaded Brainlock Syndrome, in which all attempts to think are met with failure, you need to get out of your chair and take a walk. But how to take a walk that will get those creative ideas bouncing? Urban design expert Geoff Manaugh, editor of BLDG BLOG, thinks a lot about how cityscapes inspire people. He offers Lifehacker three tips for taking a mind-expanding stroll: 1. Don’t weigh yourself down. Leave the briefcase and the backpack at home. If you need to write something down, bring one piece of paper and a pen. If you fill that piece of paper, then you’ve had a productive walk. More »Firefox 3 Alpha
9:45PM Gina Trapani | Looks like we’ve still got to wait for the beta; Mozilla released Firefox 3 “Gran Paradiso” Alpha version 8. This is the bleeding edge in browsers here folks, so only testers and insatiably curious need apply. More »
How to use your Wiimote as a Lightsaber
1:15PM Sarah Stokely | I’ve been saving this one for “unproductivity Friday” but I’ve been squeeing about it for a couple of days now…. We’re finally getting the game which will put Nintendo’s Wii to the use which all Star Wars nerds have been dreaming off since the console came out… Lightsaber duelling.
I dont’ buy a lot of games, and I certainly don’t buy games “sight unseen” but I’ll be making an exception for this one. :)
LucasArts unleashes the Force on the Wii [Kotaku] More » 
new – ABC election site
12:58PM Sarah Stokely | A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the ABC’s news website, and gave it a big thumbs up for incorporating lots of excellent online tools for personalising the ABC’s online news service.
So I was very keen to see what their election website is like. It was due to launch on Tuesday and has finally gone live today. I’ve already done a roundup of election websites and told you about Google’s election website. But the ABC’s site is worth checking out.
As well as the things you’d expect to see, such as ABC election analyst Antony Green’s election guide, and a drop down menu which takes you to a page profiling each electorate, there are also some nifty tools like the Election Calculator, which lets you drag the pointer to see the effect of electoral swings on a national or state-by-state basis:
You can also get election news and results pushed out to you via SMS – details are here.
Australia Votes 2007 More » Lifehacker website beseiged by gremlins
12:18PM Sarah Stokely | Reader Harold has kindly informed us that our site’s link to the US edition of Lifehacker isn’t working, and it seems the other tool for Aussies wishing to navigate to the US site (us.lifehacker.com) isn’t working either.
Please rest assured this isn’t a conspiracy to keep you from visiting Lifehacker US – it’s gremlins at work. We’re speaking to the Lifehacker US folk to work out the problem, and hopefully both those tools will be back and running soon. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Update: I should also point out that anyone reading Lifehacker AU is getting *all* of the US content, as well as the extra Aussie content, so you’re not missing out on any of the US posts. But if you want to jump back to the US site for any reason, you’ll be able to do so once we get the gremlins out of the system. :) More » 