CNET reports that we can expect some improvements to Flickr’s photo printing abilities. The “Organize” interface, which currently requires that you select and print photo individually, should get an upgrade to allow printing of multiple photos within the next week or so.
We all face productivity killers each day when we’re trying to get work done. The Lifehack.org blog lists seven common ones – including procrastinating instead of making decisions and moving on, web surfing disguised as ‘research’, disorganised meetings, and team members not meeting their commitments on time. Chatting with colleagues and IM are a couple more.
I’ve tackled a couple of these, particularly the distractions offered by the internet. I read a lot of blogs and news sites as part of my research each day, but I’ve put in a couple of mechanisms to keep my browsing on track. Keeping your work goal consciously in mind as you browse really helps. I have set up a few bookmark folders to help me. If I come across a story I’m tempted to read but know isn’t ‘on topic’ I add it to my bookmark folder called ‘read later’ and move on. I’ve also got a ‘work in progress’ bookmark folder for links which might develop into a story later – bingo, I’ve got a whole folder of story ideas.
So what are the productivity killers which conspire to keep you working late? And how do you deal with them? Leave your ideas in comments please!
Seven Things That Keep Us From Getting Home on Time [Lifehack.org]
Here’s one for the kids (or your inner child). New York’s Bronx Zoo has a flash game on their website which lets you create an avatar of yourself, then add different animal body parts to create your ‘wild self’. Each body part is labelled with the name of the animal it comes from, and there are even sound effects to let you hear what the animal sounds like. Educational and much more fun than creating a Mii on Nintendo’s Wii – after all, the Wii doesn’t let you try on a peacock tail or penguin’s feet. :)
Build Your Wild Self [via Geekdad]
Rely on AIM as your nerve centre of workplace communication? You can forward instant messages to your cell phone whenever you’re not signed on using the Mobile AIM Service. All it takes is an AIM username and password (that is, you don’t have to use the AOL Instant Messenger program as your chat client; you just need an account). After you register, your AIM profile will change to “On JiveTalk” whenever you log out of AIM on your computer and all new IMs will be forwarded to your phone via SMS (that means you’d better have a good SMS plan if you expect to receive a lot of mobile IMs). To unregister your phone, just send a dummy SMS message to 265021. For more details, check out their IM Forwarding Users Guide (PDF alert).
Forward IMs to your Cell Phone [AOL via TipMonkies]Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Keep an eye on the price of any item on Amazon and get alerts when prices fall with the PriceDrop Firefox extension. After it’s installed, PriceDrop automatically adds a link to any Amazon product listing that—when clicked—starts tracking the item for drops in price and alerts you via a pop-up notification window when it does. You can manage all of your tracked products in a simple in-browser interface, but it’s all local, so there’s no third party looking at what products you’re tracking. Not only is PriceDrop a handy extension for finding a great deal, but it’s also perfect for tracking Amazon’s 30-day refund guarantee.
PriceDropWe’ve heard plenty about Stacks in the upcoming Mac OS X Leopard, but what you may not know is that Windows Vista users have their own Stacks worth checking out. Weblog CyberNet takes a look at the new groups and stacks features in Vista, highlighting how the new Explorer features can improve your file organisation. If I were to stack files by name, they would appear almost like they would with a group, except none of the file names are actually shown [see screenshot] . Instead you’d double click on the stack that you want and it will open up all of the corresponding files. The more files that correspond with a particular stack, the larger the “stack icon” will be.
Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): Freeware Voice-over-IP (VoIP) application Gizmo Project makes phone calls from your PC similar to the popular Skype. Like when we first mentioned Gizmo Project, it still boasts several excellent features like voice integration with other Gizmo Project users as well as Google Talk, Windows Live and Yahoo Messenger users, support for AIM and MSN chat, and a free call-in number—making it sort of a kitchen sink version of Skype.
The latest version of Gizmo Project supports video chat (though it’s not as high quality as Skype), an improved interface, and several worthwhile fixes. If you’ve tried Skype but you’re looking for more functionality and integration with other communication standards, Gizmo Project is worth a go. If you’ve been using Gizmo Project since we first mentioned it, let us know how it’s working for you in the comments. The current beta is Windows only, but will presumably support Mac and Linux soon.
Gizmo Project 4 Beta [Gizmo Project Forums]As you type a web site address into Firefox’s location bar, by default a dropdown with suggestions based on your history expands, and you can use the down arrow key to select one. For more aggressive URL auto-completion, head on into Firefox’s about:config area and set the browser.urlbar.autoFill value to true. The result takes away the arrow key step for the first hit. Check out the How-To Geek’s full explanation if you’re new to about:config, and see also our top Firefox 2 config tweaks. Enable Inline Completion in the Firefox Address Bar [the How-To Geek]
Firefox 3 will see an interface refresh complete with tighter integration with the operating system that’s running it, meaning it’ll look more like IE7 on Windows and Safari on the Mac.
From foobar2000 and Media Monkey to Winamp and beyond, there are tonnes of killer media players available with an emphasis on customisation. For this Thursday’s screenshot show and tell, we want to get a closer look at your tweaked-out media players. Interested in sharing your jaw-dropping media player application—be it Windows, Mac, or Linux? Hit the jump for submission details.
