Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Flashback
11:30PM Tamar Weinberg | One year ago, Lifehacker alum Rick posted 11 killer freebies for your Pocket PC. More »
10 Useful Flickr Greasemonkey Scripts
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | Power up your Flickr account with the Digital Photography School weblog’s helpful roundup of 10 Greasemonkey extensions that take some of the irk out of Flickr. A few could be real time-savers, including a Flickr mail manager and a multi-group submission tool—but I’m particularly partial to the Auto Page script, which automatically loads new pages of a photostream Google Reader-style when you scroll to the bottom of the current page—meaning you don’t need to click the Next button. All the scripts require Firefox and the Greasemonkey extension. For even more Flickr streamlining through the power of Firefox, check out Gina’s Better Flickr extension. Screenshot by steeev. 10 Really Useful Flickr Greasemonkey Userscripts [Digital Photography School] More »
Archive All Your Cell Phone Calls with SmartJournal
10:30PM Adam Pash | Windows only: Freeware application SmartJournal archives your Windows Mobile cell phone’s call history—including incoming, outgoing, and missed calls—with Outlook’s Journal, a lesser-known feature of the popular email client. After you’ve installed SmartJournal (which is in German—though that shouldn’t affect any operation, since its actions are all behind the scenes), the program runs alongside ActiveSync and writes the phone number, the type of call (incoming, outgoing, missed), date, duration, and name of contact (when available) to the Outlook Journal. SmartJournal is freeware, Windows only, requires a Windows Mobile phone. My Windows Mobile device is on the fritz so I was unable to test this, but if you give it a try, let us know how it worked for you in the comments. SmartJournal [via Inspect My Gadget] More »Translator
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | Google has changed its translator to use its own in-house language-to-language converter. Time will tell how it rates against the many other translation tools on the web. [via] More »
Get Better Search Results with StumbleUpon
10:10PM Kevin Purdy | Collaborative web search tool StumbleUpon has always helped you avoid unnecessary trips to Google, but now the free browser plug-in can also improve your search results there—along with Wikipedia, Flickr, YouTube, and other sites as well. Starting today, StumbleUpon users should notice star ratings and speech balloons next to their results, indicating the number of thumbs up and overall popularity of the site, as well as the names of StumbleUpon friends who have voted the site up. Links to discussion pages are also provided on the search and results pages. The new search features come as part of an upgrade package to the StumbleUpon browser add-on that includes a familiar feature to find friends through your e-mail account, Facebook login, and Outlook contacts. Those who want to keep their search results clean can easily disable the new features in the StumbleUpon preferences. For tips on better using StumbleUpon, check out Wendy’s guide to getting the most out of your stumbles. StumbleUpon [via CNET News] More »
Monitor Food Expiration Dates with Best When Used By
9:30PM Tamar Weinberg | Track your perishable food’s expiration dates and receive reminders days before the food goes bad with web site Best When Used By. If you’re in a pinch to put those edible treats to good use while you still can, the site also features a recipe search to help you make the most of what’s left before the food spoils. On a related note, learn more about food expiration dates to determine which foods you really must toss once the date has passed. Best When Used By More »Comcast
9:00PM Adam Pash | US-centric: According to Comcast, they’re not blocking BitTorrent traffic—they’re just delaying it (one might say the difference is negligible)—not that there aren’t several ways to circumvent BitTorrent throttling. More »Dos and Don’ts for Self-Promotion on the Job
6:24PM Sarah Stokely | Whether you’re looking for a job, wanting to get a promotion or just want to get better at your job, self-promotion can help you get there. Australians are reknown for the ‘tall poppy syndrome’ which cuts down people who are seen as high flyers, but that doesn’t mean you should aim to be well thought of by your colleagues and peers. It’s knowing how and when to toot your own horn, and when to acknowledge your peers and boss that is the trick!
There are a number of factors which influence your ability to win jobs or promotions – and it’s not just about ability or experience. Elizabeth Freedman has written an article for employement website Engineering Crossing, which highlights how to showcase your abilities to their best advantage – because as she says, often the best jobs and promotions go to those who are great at networking or self promotion,
Her tips are about how to effectively network with colleagues and peers, and how to raise your profile in your chosen profession. I liked the fact that she emphasises taking responsibility for getting better at what you do:
“DON’T assume that opportunity isn’t always knocking. In other words, use any chance you get to demonstrate your talents. Don’t put the minimal effort into something because “nobody will read it anyway” or show up looking sloppy because you sit in your cubicle all day. Trust me, the one piece of work you decide to blow off will be the one assignment your boss decides to take a close look at. As far as you’re concerned, every day is game day, so keep your guard up and be ready for opportunities to shine.”
What steps have you taken to help you succeed in the workplace? Please share your tips in comments. :)
Great Careers Don’t Happen by Accident: Dos and Don’ts for Self-Promotion on the Job [Engineering Crossing]
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Suna live GPS updates available on Mio
11:37AM Sarah Stokely | Back in August we told you about a new live traffic updating service for GPS navigation systems – Suna Traffic Channel.
Now Mio has become the first manufacturer to bring Suna-compatible products to market. These are the Mio DigiWalker C320 ($449), the DigiWalker C520 ($499), and the DigiWalker C720t ($699). The C520 is available now while the other two are due out in early December. The devices all have a 4.3 inch split screen which shows road information such as directions and places of interest, next to the map.
You’ll need to buy a TMC (traffic message channel) cradle kit to get the Suna Traffic Channel on the lower model Mio models, while the top of the line C720t comes with the gear so you just need to buy the license. Prices on these have yet to be confirmed. The kits will be sold at Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi, while the licenses will be sold online by Mio from December.
Suna’s Traffic Channel service will be available in Melbourne from December, with Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide coming online over the course of next year.
More » How to create a bootable Win XP SP3 CD
11:26AM Sarah Stokely | The release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 is coming up, and APC magazine has published a guide on how to create a bootable XP SP3 CD. The tutorial uses Bart’s Boot Image Extractor and Nero Burning Rom, but emphasises that you should wait for the official release of SP3 – as the beta’s product activation code is bugged and won’t accept any key you type in. Oh, and – it’ll be a while – SP3 has no official release date yet, but is expected in the first half of 2008. Anyone out there using the beta of SP3? Let us know how you’re finding it in comments.
HOW TO: create a bootable XP SP3 CD [APC]
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