If you’ve got a drawer full of photographs you’d love to preserve digitally but don’t feel like going through the work of scanning every one yourself, send them to web site ScanCafe for cheap and professional scanning. The service charges $0.19 for each negative and $0.24 for each slide you accept (you can reject up to 50% for whatever reason, whether you don’t like the quality or you just don’t want the image). The door-to-door round trip will take approximately seven to eight weeks, but the quality is excellent and price is very competitive. If you’ve ever used ScanCafe, let us know how it worked out for you in the comments. If you’ve got another preferred digitising method, we’d love to hear about that, too.
ScanCafe [via Cool Tools]The MacApper weblog details how to clean out Finder’s Open With menu so that uninstalled and duplicate applications don’t bog down the list of apps you want to use.Go to your Home/Library/Preferences folder Find “com.apple.LaunchServices” file and trash it (you can back it up if you want) Test it out!
The list is generated by your Mac based on programs you install, but it doesn’t update that regularly, so if you try out a lot of applications on you Mac, this list can get pretty bloated with apps you no longer need. If that describes you, MacApper’s simple steps should do the trick. If you want to get even more granular with your Open With Menu, check out the Mac OS X Hints post below.
Tutorial: Clear the Finder’s “Open With” Menu [MacApper] Remove excess ‘Open with…’ contextual menu entries [Mac OS X Hints]Windows only: Selectively enable or disable the automatic system restart that’s applied after certain Windows Updates with freeware application Auto Reboot Remover. While I’m sure Microsoft had good intentions when they pushed out the automatic update reboot, good intentions don’t make you feel any better when you return to your computer after grabbing a bite to find out Windows decided to reboot and—naturally—did not happen to save the important files you were working on before it did so. We’ve covered this idea in more roundabout ways in the past, but Auto Reboot Remover is the quickest, easiest way to disable the auto reboot process. Auto Reboot Remover is freeware, Windows only. The download page is kind of a pain, but you’ll find the right link about halfway down the freeware section.
Auto Reboot Remover [IntelliAdmin via PC World]If you wanted to take Puppy Linux for a walk but our instructions didn’t cover your Mac needs, Hackszine details how to run Puppy Linux under OS X.
Get frequent, accurate status updates for your next flight via email or SMS—from gate changes and delays to takeoff and landing alerts—with web site FlightStats. FlightStats is a perfect tool for both the traveler and the picker-upper, and according to the Wall Street Journal it’s the best status tracker available (even when compared with status tools provided by specific airlines). FlightStats does require you to create a free account to take advantage of its alerts, but it’s a simple process in exchange for accurate information. It even does real-time flight tracking (though you can quickly track flights in 3D with Google Earth, which is decidedly cooler). Thanks Jason!
FlightStats [via WSJ via Consumerist]Google has acquired microblogging service Jaiku, though one might wonder why they didn’t jump for the more popular Twitter.
Windows only: Windows Media Center can play back virtually any video file you’ve installed a codec for, but if you’re rocking a Windows Media Center extender—like your Xbox 360, for example—you can only play back a few supported Windows Media video types by default. Freeware application Transcode 360 runs on your Media Center computer and transcodes and streams movies encoded in the popular DivX and XviD formats to your Media Center extender so can still watch your BitTorrent videos on your extender just like you can on your regular Media Center. If you’ve turned your Windows PC into a Media Center powerhouse, the freeware, Windows-only Transcode 360 is a must-have.
Transcode 360With the fall television schedule in full swing, many of us are back in the habit of plopping down in front of the tube at night to catch the latest installment of our favourite show when it’s scheduled to air. That means clearing your schedule to watch the show and then sitting in front of the TV for a whole hour just for 43 minutes’ worth of programming. That doesn’t seem very productive, does it? Luckily, this viewing season there are more ways than ever to catch the latest episodes of your best-loved shows without becoming a slave to the prime-time television schedule. So forget the fall lineup as you know it, because this year you’re going to watch TV on your terms.
