Friday, March 14, 2008
Create a Shortcut to Windows’ “Safely Remove Hardware” Dialog
11:30PM Kevin Purdy | For whatever reason, the “Safely Remove Hardware” dialog always seems a bit less than convenient to get to for me—mine is usually hidden behind that expanding arrow, and clicking through all the right menus when I just want to yank the cord is a bit tiring. The How-To Geek has a salve for impatient folks like myself: A hot-key-assignable shortcut to the full menu, with a “Stop” button close at hand. For those handy with shortcuts, here’s where you should point one: More »
Convert Audio Files Inside Amarok with transKode Script
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | Linux only: Convert audio files from inside your favourite music/playlist manager with transKode, a free plug-in for Amarok. If you’ve never installed an Amarok script, it’s simple—grab the package ending in .tar.bz from the link below, head to the Tools->Script Manager menu, then hit the “Install” button and point to where you put that package. The plug-in is highly configurable, being based on the Mplayer multimedia tool, and accessible by right-clicking a file from the playlist. transKode is a free plug-in for Linux systems running Amarok only. More »Give your financial wellbeing a checkup with 20 questions
5:10PM Sarah Stokely | Rather than just crunching numbers and spitting out a budget, The Simple Dollar blog suggests taking a step further back to examine your relationship to money.The article offers up 20 thought-provoking questions and suggests using a journal to record your responses and thoughts:
“it’s almost like self-therapy – you’re digging through the relationship
you’ve built up with money throughout your life and exposing the areas
that really need work.”
The questions including asking about ways you’ve attempted to control your spending in the past, how money is involved with your relationship to those closest to you, and asks where you want to be in five years and how you want to get there financially. Some of those questions are pretty challenging, but if you take the time to work through the list it could provide a pretty solid roadmap for where you’re going financially.
Reflections on Money: 20 Valuable Questions to Ask Yourself [The Simple Dollar]
More » Naked DSL
4:48PM Sarah Stokely | If you’ve been considering canning your landline in favour of naked DSL and a VoIP phone – here’s a potential issue to think about – your ISP may shape your VoIP calls when you exceed your bandwidth allowance. This was flagged as a potential issue by Internode’s Jim Kellett, in an interview with PC Authority. Word to the wise – check the fine print! More » 
Make a slick notebook sleeve from an old wetsuit
4:23PM Sarah Stokely | The how to details are a little sketchy, but the results of this DIY speak for themselves – it’s a pretty slick looking laptop sleeve made from an old wetsuit.Creator Alex says you can use any old neoprene wetsuit, as long as the piece of fabric which covers your back is big enough to fold over the laptop.Because neoprene tends to be on the thick side, one thing you’d want to work out (which isn’t covered in his post) is how fat a needle you need to use in your sewing machine (or maybe Alex should have asked his mum, since she did the sewing). :)
Neoprene Macbook Sleeve [Tinkerlog via MAKE]
More » 
Why the Push-Up Belongs in Your Fitness Routine
3:00PM Adam Pash | The New York Times reports that the push-up, longtime signifier of fitness, really is an indicator that we should take seriously. The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs… Push-ups are important for older people, too. The ability to do them more than once and with proper form is an important indicator of the capacity to withstand the rigors of aging. While workout and diet fads come and go, looks like you can add the push-up to those list of exercises that never goes out of style. When you’re reading the article, be sure to check the included video for a few tips on proper form. More »
Hide Cords in Plain Sight with FlatWire
2:00PM Adam Pash | If you hate cord clutter but don’t have the DIY chops to run wiring through your walls or your crown molding, FlatWire is a paper-thin wire you install directly on your wall and then paint over. Aftering you’ve installed and painted over the FlatWire, it’s supposed to be virtually invisible. The catch: It’s not cheap, at $US37 for 25 feet of speaker wire, for example, plus the price of connectors, which run about $25. But then sometimes decluttering your mess of wires comes at a price. If you don’t feel like unfurling your big money wad for the FlatWire, check out our top 10 ways to get cables under control on the cheap. FlatWire [via DIY Life] More »
Create an Excel Gantt Chart with Conditional Formatting
1:00PM Gina Trapani | Software engineer Chandoo shares some Excel conditional formatting tricks that make for good-looking and useful spreadsheets, like a Gantt chart. Conditional formatting makes a cell look a certain way based on its contents. A Gantt chart maps out deadlines within a project. Chandoo’s Excel Gantt chart combines a calendar and to-do list to display what has to be completed when in a good-looking table layout. If you don’t want to set up the sheet yourself, download an Excel Gantt chart template here. Here’s more on using conditional formatting in your spreadsheets. More »
Disable your relationship status on Facebook without making the news
12:16PM Sarah Stokely | The dead tree version of Wired (March 2008 issue) has a handy hint for how to break up on Facebook without sending a news blast to your friends list about it. To change your relationship status without the press release, go to Facebook’s privacy options, deselect “Remove My Relationship Status” then, in your profile settings, change “In a Relationship” back to its default setting “Select Status”.Voila, now you won’t be broadcasting the news of your recent split to the world.The article points out that your ex’s Mini Feed will still display an update in *their* relationship status, so you can’t get away scot free. They’ll need to delete it themselves. Oh well. More » 