Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Build your own roll up keyboard
6:45PM Sarah Stokely | Rollup keyboards can be a fantastic, portable solution to travel with your laptop. They’re often cheapy novelty products or they’re expensive. But the Hack a Day blog turned up an example of a DIY roll up keyboad which was made from a normal keyboard. Considering you can pick up a decent keyboard for around $20 this could be a good solution if you’re confident in your ability to take a apart a keyboard using a screwdriver – and gluing keys on the transparent membrane you find inside.
Make your own Roll-Up Keyboard [Instructables via Hack a Day]
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Calibrate Your Monitor with Screen Check
12:00PM Adam Pash | Calibrate your monitors for consistent tone and colour with web site Screen Check. The site displays two bars, one white-to-black for adjusting tone and the other covers the red/green/blue spectrum for adjusting colour. Just follow the Screen Check instructions and by the end you should have a reasonably well calibrated monitor. My Dell comes with a very similar built-in calibration tool, but if your monitor doesn’t, Screen Check is worth a look. Screen Check [via UneasySilence] More »
Skip Commercials in Windows Media Center with DVRMSToolbox
10:00AM Adam Pash | Windows only: Freeware application DVRMSToolbox analyses Media Center-recorded files and marks the start and end point of commercials so you can quickly skip over commercials and go straight to the content. Similar to previously mentioned Lifextender in its commercial skipping capabilities, DVRMSToolbox keeps your files in tact and marks the commercials instead of deleting them entirely (like Lifextender does) so there’s less chance of an inadvertant cut. In addition, DVRMSToolbox can convert DVR-MS files (the default recording type of Media Center) to MPEG or WMV files for portability to other devices and other useful features. For a simple guide to getting started with DVRMSToolbox’s commercial detection, check out CyberNet’s introduction. This Media Center favourite is freeware, Windows only. DVRMSToolbox [via CyberNet] More »
Disable Windows “Unused Icons” Balloon
9:00AM Gina Trapani | If you’re sick of Windows taskbar popup balloons prompting you about unused icons on your desktop, fear not—you can shut those down easily. The How To Geek explains that when you uncheck the “Run Desktop cleanup wizard every 60 days” box in your desktop items dialogue, you’re good to go with one less irritating popup stealing your attention. Remember, using the free TweakUI you can disable all taskbar balloon popups indefinitely. Stop the Annoying “There are unused icons on your desktop” Popup Balloon [The How-To Geek] More »Two years ago, you rediscovered the benefits …
8:45AM Tamar Weinberg | Two years ago, you rediscovered the benefits of paper for brainstorming, organisation, time management, and goal setting. More »
The Ultimate Guide to iPhone Car Integration
8:00AM Adam Pash | Everything-iPod web site iLounge walks through several setups for integrating your iPhone with your car, from the barebones budget setup to the pricier “optimal” solution. Each setup comes with its own assortment of pros and cons, and the solution that works best for you will likely depend on a combination of your budget and your car stereo. In the end, though, you should end up with a very workable solution for integrating your iPhone’s music and phone capabilities with your car. Got a tighter integration? Let’s hear about it in the comments. The Complete Guide to iPhone Car Integration [iLounge via TUAW] More »
Stay on Top of Personal Development with To-Learn Lists
8:00AM Adam Pash | Blogger Scott Young suggests getting your personal education organised with a to-learn list. Young differentiates his to-learn list from a to-do list, claiming that to-learn lists can help you better organise your personal development by, for example, splitting up your interests. If your self-education isn’t organised, it is easy to pick your favourite subjects even if 90% of the book’s material is old. Keeping a to-learn list allows you to explore subjects that are on the fringe of your current understanding. Do you keep a to-learn list separate from your general to-dos? Let’s hear how you keep track of and organize your personal education (and what’s on your to-learn list) in the comments. Keeping To-Learn Lists [Scott H Young] More »
Gmail Multiple HTML Signatures Updated
7:00AM Gina Trapani | Firefox with Greasemonkey only: Last week we introduced you to the Gmail Multiple HTML Signatures user script, which associates above-the-reply rich signatures to all your addresses in Gmail. Back then the script required hand-editing to get it working, but the author just updated it to make setting up your signatures a snap. Once the script is installed, go to a Compose or Reply page to choose your From: address, and create or edit your signature for it. You’ve still got to manually enter the HTML, but not in the source of the user script itself. (Nice work, Jerome.) The Gmail Multiple HTML Signatures user script is a free download and may make its way into the next revision of Better Gmail. Gmail HTML Signatures More »
Always Check for Recalls on Your Broken Gear
6:00AM Adam Pash | Before you start looking for a replacement or shell out for repairs next time a gadget stops working, check the item for a recall like weblog Wise Bread did with its recently busted DVD player. I Googled the maker (Toshiba) and the model number (SD-3980SU2), and immediately came up with an information page about a recall. One 5-minute phone call later, and I am expecting a new, 2008 model of the DVD player to arrive within a couple of weeks. Sounds like an obvious winner. I’ve never ridden the recall train, but if you’ve had similar experiences, let’s hear about them in the comments. It Broke? Check for a Recall [Wise Bread] More »
