Mac and Windows – If you use Google Analytics to track your website stats, then you may be interested in the Google Analytics AIR widget, which uses Adobe Air to let you view your stats at the desktop.The MakeUseOf blog has written up the software (which is in beta) and gives it a thumbs up – if you’re willing to hand over your Google Analytics password. Air grabs the data from Google Analystics for you (no need to visit the site directly) and shows you the data in graphical format. All the stats from GA are available for you, and the information can be exported to PDF, Excel or XML formats. Because the widget keeps your password in a website profile, you just have to click on the profile you want to view – no more visiting the Google Analytics site and entering your password each time.To use it, you’ll need to download the AIR runtime from Adobe. You can download the beta here (and there’s a demo Google Analytics account if you really don’t want to try it with your own account).I should note I haven’t tried this, but if you are a Google Analytics user and try out Google Analytics AIR, I’d be interested to hear what you thought of it.
View your Google Analytics Account using Adobe Air [MakeUseOf] More »
Security vendors like to turn up the dial on computer security threats, but the Bleeding Edge blog says if you don’t strike a balance you’ll waste time and end up overcleaning your computer.
The article argues that in security, it is always better not to get invaded than to get invaded and clean up what you think has got through, because ‘cleaning’ products can underclean (miss unwanted material) or overclean (change or harm your computer).
It suggests you should stick to a budget for maintenance time to free up your time for more productive activities.
Here’s Bleeding Edge’s tips for just-enough computer security:
Make routine backups of your system volume – if you have the now ubiquitous USB external hard disks, the presence of a Maxstor or Seagate hard disk allows you to use their cut down, free version of Acronis. Make even more regular System Restore Points. Also, Windows XP Pro’s native backup utility can back up system state and ConfigSafe will do the same for Vista (not fully exercised yet) With regards the Internet, think about doing things in a virtual machine (VirtualPC or VMWare) or put on some protection (ShadowStor ShadowProtect)Most of the advice we get says we don’t do enough to secure our computers – so it’s interesting to hear someone espouse the opposite view. Do you think it’s on the money?
Can you overclean your PC? [Bleeding Edge]
Linux.conf.au 2008 kicks off in Melbourne at the end of the month, and the event will be capped off by Open Day, a free event showcasing a bunch of cool homebrew tech inventions, gadgets and toys.
This year’s Open Day is being held on Saturday, February 2 at Union House at the University of Melbourne’s city campus. There will be over 40 exhibits about everything from movie making, 3D virtual gaming, robots and digital music exhibitions.
Previous Open Days have showcased some pretty impressive homebrew tech experiments and gadgets. Last year Australia got it’s first hands on look at the OLPC computer at Open Day, and I heard that Linus Torvalds was spotted puttering around on an open source Segway – I don’t think you can get any more nerdy if you tried. :)
The aim of Open Day is to offer a fun and educational day for families, kids, students or anyone with an interest in the latest cool geek projects. There will be demos, talks, competitions and opportunities to talk to the creators of all the tech on show. Best of all it’s all based on open source technology so anything you like you can get involved in yourself.
I will be there reporting for Lifehacker, but if you’re in Melbourne – and especially if you have kids – come along and check out Open Day. Further information is available at the Open Day website. More »
CNET’s news blog has written up a new site called WhatTheyPlay, a website which aims to help parents wanting to find out more about computer games to decide if they’re suitable for their kids.WhatTheyPlay publishes reviews of PC and console games written with a view to answering questions about content and themes (violence, language etc) as well as things like level of difficulty. It has a community aspect to it as well – users can add their own game reviews and comments, as well as voting on what age they think the game is appropriate for.Although on first glance this could be taken as an anti-gaming website which wants to deter parents from letting their kids play computer games, the site seems to offer two cool tools which would help the pro-gaming parent. One is that the reviews cover things like whether games have co-operative play so that you can play with your kid (and which games let you tweak the difficulty so you and your little one can be on an equal footing). The other is that users of the site can contribute their own reviews of the kid-friendliness of a game, as well as voting on what age they think the game is appropriate for.The review of World of Warcraft, for example, points out that while the combat has cartoonish rather than realistic violence and an optional profanity filter, that “like other online games, the community in WoW runs a wide gamut. Some players are helpful, others will be every bit as juvenile, immature and downright vulgar as one expects from the sometimes-wasteland world of the Internet.” Pretty much spot-on, and I thought their user-voted age recommendation for players of 14 and above was fair too.The site aims to cover games from early childhood (3 years and up) and as a beta which launched in November, its listings aren’t comprehensive yet – for example I couldn’t find Valve’s recent release Portal. But I suspect it could grow into a useful tool for parents which goes beyond the brief descriptions from the official game ratings to help them make more informed decisions on the games their kids play.
WhatTheyPlay.com gives parents the scoop on video games [CNET news blog] More »
Make it a goal this year to improve your posture by making changes to your approach towards ergonomics. If you feel any back pain, don’t ignore it; address it. Every so often, stretch your tired muscles. When standing, distribute your weight evenly. Wear supportive footwear. Increase your awareness of your posture, even if you’re not seated, so that you can instill good posture techniques. Regular exercise will also keep your body conditioned. Ensure that your office is equipped with chairs and desks that are posture friendly (since one desk doesn’t necessarily fit all), and personalise your workspace by positioning your keyboard and monitor to fit your body type. If you want to build an ergonomic workstation from scratch, it’s time to whip out the measuring tape to see if any adjustments need to be made.
10 Tips for Improving Posture and Ergonomics [Spine Health]Running takes endurance and dedication, but if the weather is lousy, you don’t have to go outside to strengthen your running muscles. Health magazine suggests moves that build up your muscles without physically jogging or sprinting. Achieve balance: lift one leg up and hold it there for thirty seconds. Build up “running arms” by holding five-pound hand weights and swinging your arms back and forth while standing with one foot in front of the other. The next step is to build up those legs:
I wrap a resistance band around my ankle and anchor the other end of the band to a couch leg. Facing away from the couch, I raise my leg up till the knee is bent to a 90-degree angle, 12 times per leg. Then I switch positions to face the couch and kick back, 12 times per leg.
Machiavellian psychology suggests that if you profile people around you, you’ll be less inclined to be involved in personal conflicts. How do you achieve this? First, you need to be receptive to the act of reading people and focus your energy on the task. Once you’ve reached this awareness, understand what you are looking for and master the act of listening. Keep the conversation flowing by asking questions. Make sure to be cognisant of any slang, exaggerations, sarcasm, self-criticism, or gossip, as these characteristics can define the person you are profiling. Pay attention to body language and whether acts are consistent with what is being said. Watch out for mistakes, because if repeated often, the excuses are no longer valid.
Your first time in front of the podium is usually a tough one. If you’ve ever had to speak in front of hundreds of people, it’s terrifying. Weblog Mother Tongue Annoyances has a few words of advice on how to overcome the hurdle of your first speech. The goal is to conquer your emotions by keeping your physical self in check. To do so, loosen your body. If you’re sitting, sit erect. Avoid folding your arms across your chest as it conveys defensiveness and nervousness. You should also wiggle your toes as it drives the anxiety away. Finally, breathe deeply to maintain a sense of serenity before you get up on stage. If you’re still nervous on stage, conquer your public-speaking jitters by interacting with your audience.
Public speaking is a hurdle at first, but there are many ways to overcome it and you’ll grow stronger and more confident as each presentation passes. I speak from experience.
How to Attain Serenity Before Giving a Speech [Mother Tongue Annoyances]Looking for a job you love? For many of us, it won’t happen right out of school and it may take several years until you find a job you’re truly happy with. Blogger Jon Morrow recognizes that most people spend the majority of their waking hours working, so he proposes the question: “why not spend that time on you’re passionate about?” He suggests that you start looking for the right job by defining what you love. Then move onto defining who you are and knowing what you want. Only when you know what you love and you can identify with who you are can you take the next step to define what work is to you.
If you want work that you love, then you’ll have to change your conception of work. You might even want to remove the word from your vocabulary entirely.
