[via Make]The creator of this hack says you can use it to 3g-enable an iPod Touch or an iPhone. Given that we don’t yet have the option of an iPhone in Australia, it looks particularly appealing – if you have a Windows Mobile phone to act as a “bridge” for the Touch to use.
He recommends using a phone or PDA with Windows Mobile 5 or 6 to act as the mobile access point. You also need a SIM card and the (free) PHM Registry Editor program.
Cute hack which requires no hacking of the iPhone and just a registry edit of the Windows Mobile device. Without a microphone, of course, the Touch can’t be used for voice calls. But then, you have the spare Windows Mobile phone for that anyway. :)
Turn your iPod Touch into a 3G iPhone [Pyrofer's Projects]
The BBC reports that the UK telecommunications regulator is asking the UK’s six top internet providers to explain why consumers don’t get the broadband speeds which are advertised. Maybe the ACCC or TIO can take a leaf out of their book?
We got all up in your personal space a few weeks back in our Go Bag Show and Tell Parts one, two, and three, but in case you missed any of the submissions or wanted to take a second look at what your fellow Lifehacker readers carry around with them when they need to get things done on the go, we’re rounding up every submission into one master gallery for your browsing pleasure. Hit the jump to take a look.
Weblog Pick the Brain suggests that you overcome your bashful obstacles by focusing on your assets as a contributing member of society. The author reminds the shy set that most people, after all, are not very different than you are.
By and large, people are friendly and interested in connecting with others. They’ll respond favourably to your attempts at communicating. In most cases, people will be thrilled that you took the initiative to break the ice.
What’s more, the post emphasises that you should not let negative criticism get you down and let go of bad experiences that may have contributed to your shyness to begin with. Share how you’ve overcome your shyness in the comments.
Overcoming Shyness [Pick the Brain]Lifehacker’s $10k DonorsChoose challenge is already 42% funded! Throw in a few tax-deductible dollars and help us push that number over 50%, won’t you? Here’s some background on the effort.
Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Organise your tabs by domain or origin, manage their layout, and more with the powerful Tab Kit Firefox extension. As you can see in the video from CyberNet, Tab Kit’s most notable features incorporate advanced tab bar positioning (including a widescreen-optimised left or right-aligned tab bar) and tab grouping and collapsing based on either the domain (e.g., all lifehacker.com tabs will be grouped together) or by origin (e.g., all tabs you open from Lifehacker, whether on or off-site, will be grouped together). This extension is currently available in the Mozilla Sandbox, which means you have to log into the site to download it (ahem, *BugMeNot*), and the developer seems unclear as to how well it works with Macs.
Tab Kit [Firefox Add-ons via CyberNet]With just a couple yards of cloth, a staple gun, a wrench, and a screwdriver, you can give your bland office chairs a fast makeover. The decor nerds over at Design*Sponge have a quick tutorial on how to make a typical computer desk chair into something pretty snazzy. They say: With no need for new foam or batting (we upholstered right over the old stuff), this turned out to be a super simple, super cheap way to dramatically improve our office decor.
Plus, the stripy chair looks great. Image via Design*Sponge.
Office Chair Upgrade [via Design*Sponge]
Wired details how to set up, share, and sync your schedule with Google Calendar, including a few shareware options for syncing with Outlook and iCal. For a free solution, check out GcalDaemon.
Track your spending via SMS, email, IM, or voice (via Jott) with web application Xpenser. After you sign up, you’ll need to set up your account with your IM and SMS information and set up Jott to use with Xpenser (if you want to do voice tracking). After you’re all set up, adding expenses to a report (you can create any number of reports and set a default for new additions) is as simple as, for example, texting something like “exp lunch 35.4 with Jack, Jill” to Xpenser. If you’ve ever had trouble keeping up with your expenses for the month, especially if you need to track your business expenses, Xpenser aims to be a simple, universally accessible solution for getting your expenses recorded as soon as they happen (it’s like a super-charged version of my BudgetBot).
XpenserJoost will start offering live television streaming beginning in the first quarter of 2008, according to paidContent:UK. There’s still the matter of securing good live content, but this makes Joost an even better source for catching your favourite TV shows.
