Yesterday the big news for Gmail users was that Google is rolling out IMAP support for its email program. We told you what Gmail IMAP means for you (and your iPhone) and today there are even more tips for optimising your new improved Gmail.
While Google brought in folder support as part of its GMail IMAP implementation, the Google Operating System blog had a tip for a better visual representation of nested folders in Gmail by using the Folders4Gmail Greasemonkey extension:
“Many people want folders or hierarchical labels in Gmail, but this is as close as you can get. Those who really want support for folders will feel more comfortable using an email client instead of Gmail’s web interface: you can easily create new folders and use drag&drop to move messages to a folder, even if the folder is actually a label in Gmail’s internal representation.”
I’m still waiting for IMAP to be rolled out to my Gmail account. If you’ve gotten it, let us know how you’re finding it in comments.
A couple of weeks ago Wendy posted a number of ideas on how to save a life with your computer. It was a great idea and a great list of ways you can use your computer or the net to make a difference in someone’s life. It inspired me to throw in my $0.02 worth on the topic, and mention some worthwhile Aussie ventures you can support online as well.
The Pelican Micro Case holds your cell phone, MP3 player, or whatever else you need to protect in an indestructible, water-tight container. Perfect for the active traveler (be you a camper or beach-goer), the case isn’t actually indestructible, but it does supposedly withstand the weight of a 5,000-pound truck (that’s over 2,700 kilos!), so chances are you aren’t likely to break it. The Pelican Micro Cases can be purchased at Amazon starting at around $US9.
Pelican Micro Case [Amazon via Vagabondish]Multitasking is a tempting way to get more things done in less time, but web site WebMD says that multitasking often comes at the detriment of some tasks, especially learning: “Results are always worse when you multitask, but in some areas they’re especially compromised,” says Russell Poldrack, PhD, associate professor of psychology at UCLA. Learning takes a big hit, for instance. “Our research shows that if you try to master something while splitting your attention, brain activity switches regions; from memory building to short-term habit making,” he says.
A good rule of thumb is to multitask what you want to execute, rather than absorb, and choose jobs where mistakes won’t matter.
The article suggests that you can also more successfully multitask if your tasks are of different types. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the less two activities have in common, the better multitask partners they are. Then again, everyone’s talking about how multitasking makes you less productive, so if you do decide to multitask, choose your tasks wisely.
How to Multitask Without Losing Your Mind [WebMD]Calling all crafty DIYers with just a naughty twist of scary! Next Wednesday is Halloween, and we want to spotlight your best DIY Halloween costumes so we can rip them off for our own party. Anything from cute to somewhat disturbing is fair game, as long as it’s homemade. The more clever, easy and cool it is, the better. Impress us! Email your high res costume digital photo to tips@lifehacker.com with the subject line DIY Halloween Costume. Ideally, your photo will be 600 pixels wide so we can admire the details of your handiwork, and you’ll include information on how you made it, with a materials list and construction details. We’ll publish the best submissions this weekend in preparation for the big day. Have fun and get to digging up those great costume pics!
Mac OS X only: Freeware flash card application Genius helps you memorise information by testing your knowledge using what it calls a “spaced repetition” method, which adjusts how often a card is repeated based on your performance over time. The application has a strong following, meaning you can download tonnes of user-submitted flash card sets covering everything from language to marine biology. Genius is freeware, Mac OS X only. If you plan on making your own flash cards for Genius, be sure you read about how to make effective flash cards first.
GeniusIf your foray into the world of traditional wetshaving left you with a little razor burn, weblog Gomestic says applying a tea bag to the inflamed skin can reduce the pain. In fact, the post offers 15 unusual uses for tea bags, the majority of which involve pain relief in one form or another. I’ve only been a tea drinker for health reasons (oh, and for “aging” paper for middle school projects), but if you’re hip to alternate uses for tea, let’s hear how it worked out for you in the comments.
15 Wonderful Uses for Tea [Gomestic]Outlook users: Instantly turn your Outlook 2007 tasks into appointments by dragging and dropping tasks to your To-Do Bar calendar. Doing so creates a new appointment with most of the important information—including date—already filled out. You’ve been able to generate new appointments by dragging and dropping emails or tasks to the Outlook calendar for quite some time (an extremely handy shortcut if you weren’t already aware of it), but the new To-Do Bar streamlines the process even more by allowing users to drag the appointment straight to a day. It’s not much of a change from the norm, but we’ve never highlighted drag and drop appointment creation in Outlook, and for those of you hooked (or chained, as it may be) to Outlook, it’s one of the program’s most convenient features.
Quickly Create Appointments from Tasks with Outlook 2007′s To-Do Bar [the How-To Geek]Windows only: The recently released Winamp 5.5 brings a new interface, album art, remote music sharing, and more to the classic media player—meaning it’s come a long way since the heyday of Napster. New Winamp features you may be unaware of and impressed by include:Winamp Remote: Stream your music over the internet through your browser and to game consoles, including the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. Syncing with iPods and other portable media devices: Winamp can (and has been able to for a while) sync your music to iPods and almost any portable media device you can throw at it, and the new version syncs album art, as well. Winamp Toolbar: Control your music playback from the comfort of your browser, similar to previously mentioned FoxyTunes. Auto-Tag files: Winamps Auto-Tagger automatically updates your music metadata.
It’s no surprise that Winamp had such a presence in today’s Media Player Show and Tell. Since, admittedly, I’ve been out of the Winamp game for a while, I’d love to hear what features keep the die-hard Winamp fans coming back for more, so let’s hear your Winamp raves in the comments.
Winamp
