What Are The Hourly Rates For IT Contractors? 
What Do You Do With Your Gadgets When You Move Overseas? 
The Lifehacker Total Security Guide 
Spotify And Its Rivals: Subscription Music Services In Australia Compared 
The Stupid Things You Do On Facebook (And How To Fix Them) 
How To Kill Time Productively On Your Phone When your Excel formula results turn out to be that ugly divide by zero error #DIV/0!, customise the way they are displayed using the IF function. The Producitivity Portfolio blog explains how to test to see if your divisor is 0, and if so, display a blank value using something like =IF(D2=0,”,C2/D2). If you’re an Excel nerd who loves in-cell logical tests as much as I do, you’ll also like conditional cell formatting.
Excel Dividing by Zero [Productivity Portfolio]Time Warner is experimenting with a new pricing scheme for internet access that will charge customers based on the amount of data they download. Pricing is unclear, but the very idea inspires a hearty *gulp*.
Our brothers-in-tech at Gizmodo were stoked to rent movies from iTunes but less excited about the 24-hour expiration clock iTunes places on the rentals. After a bit of time in the think tank, they discovered you can trick iTunes into extending a movie’s rental period for years with a little Marty McFly finesse. In essence the method is very simple: Just set your system clock ahead a year or two before you download a rental, download it, start playing the video in order to start the expiration clock, and then set your system clock back to the present.
Newsgator’s recent announcement that their popular line of cross-platform newsreaders were now free had many of you asking why you would ever give up the web-based bliss of Google Reader for desktop-based readers; still others were wondering why anyone wouldn’t ride the desktop wave now that these best-in-class readers have hit the free market. Today we’re comparing the most popular web-based newsreader, Google Reader, with the freeware, desktop-based readers from Newsgator. If you think you’re running the perfect reader for your needs, take another look—you might be surprised at what you’re missing.
Gmail users with Firefox: Just uploaded a new release of our Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension for Gmail. This latest version includes four new user scripts: One Click Conversations, Hide Invites Box, Google Reader Integration, and Message Rollover Highlights. Plus, the Skins tab is back, with two nice-looking Gmail skins: Gmail Blue and Grays and Blues. Check out screenshots of the new features below, or just go grab the download at the extension’s homepage. Aus – we’re having some trouble getting the galleries to display, to see the screenshots click here. galleryPost('bettergmail2-0.3', 2, 'New Better Gmail 2 Features', 'grid');
Better Gmail 2 Firefox Extension [Lifehacker Code]The Tipnut blog offers a reader’s advice on organising one of the hardest kitchen items to keep pinned down—pot and pan lids. Instead of piling them in a cabinet and waiting for them to avalanche on her next reach, Sarah Ann Smith suggests using spring tension rods—the kind used to hang shower curtains and drapes—to create front-to-back dividers in a drawer or cabinet. Even if you just use one, you create a space to stack the lids and prevent them from falling under and over all your other cookware. Those handy with a drill can also try using dowling rods in deep cabinets. Photo by krossbow.
Tipnut Mailbag: Pot Lid Taming Options [Tipnut]Even with its latest slick update, Google Docs for the iPhone/iPod touch interface doesn’t allow you to create or edit documents while you’re on the go. Mobile Web Docs, a free web app, might fill that void nicely for you, especially if you don’t want to jailbreak your iPod or don’t particularly love the iPhone’s notebook. Mobile Web Docs lets you organise your text documents into folders, flip your device for landscape editing (an oft-requested feature), upload documents from elsewhere on the web, and, in a neat touch, save links to other handy web apps in a faux-Mac “Applications” folder. It’s only text documents at this point and has the occasional (unobtrusive) ad, but Mobile Web Docs is a nice way to write on the go and grab it later from your desktop.
Mobile Web Docs [via Office Tweaks]You may like having Vista’s pretty-fying Aero effects enabled while you’re working, but many modern games can make you want to devote every last bit of memory and power to their 3-D awesomeness. The How-To Geek shows how to easily disable desktop effects by editing (or creating) a shortcut for the game (or other program): Simply right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties, and then the Compatibility tab … Now on the Settings block check the box for “Disable desktop composition” in order to disable Aero the next time you use the shortcut.
I have to guess many people might have never found that tweak, based on its obscure label, but it sure comes in handy.
Easily Disable Vista’s Aero Before Running an Application (Such as a Video Game) [The How-To Geek]Has the winter season and its frigid air put a serious hamper on your exercise habit? The New York Times’ Personal Best column dispels a number of myths about the supposed “dangers” of running or other outdoor activities in the cold. Among the most common: Lungs are not damaged by cold, said Kenneth W. Rundell, the director of respiratory research and the human physiology laboratory at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa. No matter how cold the air is, by the time it reaches your lungs, it is body temperature, he explained.
The column also suggests that as long as you keep moving and don’t under-dress (or pile on too much garb), you’ll generally be fine on your average cold day. How do you keep your fitness routine going when the going gets cold? Trade your tales in the comments. Photo by Elsie esq..
Too Cold to Exercise? Try Another Excuse [New York Times]If you’ve ever delved into the realm of Windows/Linux dual-booting, you probably know that the Master Boot Record can unexpectedly stop working, leaving you locked out of your Windows system. If you don’t have (or just don’t want to dig up) your Windows installation CD to fix it, ArsGeek has a handy tutorial on un-wonking the MBR with an Ubuntu live CD. The guide seemingly requires a working internet connection from inside the live session, but all should be well once you download the ms-sys application and run the right command. Except for the installation line, this guide could work for other Linux live CDs as well. For other live CD options, check out Gina’s Top 10 free computer system recovery tools.
How to fix your Windows MBR with an Ubuntu liveCD [ArsGeek]
