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Top 10 Pervasive Tech Myths That Are Only Wasting Your Time Lifehacker reader Jenny writes in with a fix to an audio equipment problem that sounds like it came from the “Hit It Really Hard” repair theory, but comes endorsed by at least a few other audiophiles I found in a bit of Google-ing. Both her old record-player and a newer CD player were causing a loud crackling noise whenever she adjusted the volume knob. One solution she found—take the device apart and clean the knob contacts—wasn’t all that appealing, so she tried another Turn the stereo off, then quickly turn the volume knob back and forth for about a minute to get rid of most of the grime that is causing the static. Then turn it back on.
You wouldn’t want to do this too quickly, of course, but it’s not a bad idea for older equipment you want to hold onto. Another sage suggestion I found was using a low-powered, hand-held vacuum cleaner to suck out any particles that could be causing the same problems.
Mac OS X Leopard only: If you keep lots of apps and folders in Finder’s sidebar, organize your Places with Finder Sidebar Separators. Finder’s sidebar doesn’t support actual separators, but the Mac user over at Typoet.com devised a little workaround to make it look that way. Unzip the separators archive and drag and drop the separators (which are actually fake applications) between your Places on the Sidebar. Nice! Reminds me of my other favorite Leopard tweak, adding drawer overlay icons to Stacks. The Finder Sidebar Separators are a free download for Mac only.
Finder Sidebar Separators [Typoet.com via Mac Tips]BitTorrent applet WeStream plays individual songs from a BitTorrent stream in your Java-enabled browser. Brought to you by BitLet, the in-browser BitTorrent client, just give WeStream the URL of the torrent file to get started. WeStream is a really interesting idea, but it’s currently got a couple of restrictions. First, it only works with OGG- and MP3-encoded music. Second, it can really only work on well-seeded torrents, meaning if you want to listen to something with just one or two seeds, you’re probably out of luck. But if you can get a good speed (like this), WeStream is a perfect tool for previewing music before you download it.
WeStream [BitLet via TorrentFreak]US-centric: A brand name in personal finance management you’ve actually heard of, Quicken, is finally available as a hosted web application at Quicken Online. Unlike new players Mint and Wesabe, Quicken Online puts an assuring, familiar face on the web page that asks you for your online banking sites’ passwords. If you’ve ever used TurboTax Online, you’ve already entrusted Intuit with your financial data online—so the leap to Quicken Online will be a short one. After the jump, get some screenshots and features of Quicken Online, and the reason why I decided not to sign up for their “free” 30-day trial.
Tech blog Of Zen and Computing describes how to use the free command line program ImageMagick to convert a set of images from one file format to another (like JPGs to PNGs). You can do this same sort of thing with IrfanView or Picasa, but command line-lovers will prefer ImageMagick’s no-nonsense approach (and the ability to schedule the action to happen on its own). Once ImageMagick’s installed and you’re in the directory of JPGs you want to convert to PNGs, simply type:
mogrify -format png *.jpgWhat’s your favourite way to batch image processing actions? Let us know in the comments.
Batch Convert Images Between Formats with Image Magick [Of Zen and Computing]Windows/Mac OS X only: Free, open source applications WinLibre and MacLibre install and update a handful of some of the best open source applications available for Windows and Mac OS X, respectively. These are the kind of apps that make setting up a fresh system a breeze—just download, choose the apps you want, install, and you’ve got most of the software you’d need to get things done. You can re-run the app periodically to check for updates and install newer versions if the apps you’re running don’t update themselves. Expect most of the obvious favourites, like Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, Gimp, and Handbrake, along with a few others you may not have known about. Both applications are free. For another Windows alternative, check out previously mentioned InstallPad. Thanks Stephen!
WinLibreMacLibreWindows only: Keep your desktop or any other folder on your hard drive organised and under control with Belvedere, an automated Windows file management tool. Use Belvedere’s friendly interface to create advanced rules to move, copy, delete, rename, or open files based on their name, extension, size, creation date, and more.
One of the best holiday gifts I received this year was a Levenger Circa modular notebook, a fancy pants folio you can customise for your own note-taking needs. The Circa is a combination binder and notebook, with removable pages but without ugly and annoying binder rings to snap open and shut. Instead a set of black plastic rings holds your book together, and specially-punched paper, dividers, and covers snap onto them. Like the Moleskine, the Circa is pricey, but notebook fetishists will love it. After the jump, some photos of my Circa assembly.
