Monday, April 7, 2008
Troubleshoot and Monitor Registry Changes with RegShot
11:16PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: Find your system running a bit different after installing that last program? Want to see if you can change how a program functions by tweaking one or two of its registry settings? RegShot, a free Windows utility, makes monitoring your registry as simple as using a Polaroid camera. Take a snapshot of your registry before installing, then take another after you’ve put the new app in place. RegShot tells you what’s changed in your registry, and can also monitor folders you specify for new and changed files. For getting to the root of a problem with Windows software, RegShot is a good tool to keep handy. RegShot is a free download for Windows systems only. regshot [via Digital Inspiration] More »
Best Reader Life Hack Final Faceoff
12:00PM Gina Trapani | For the past two weeks, we’ve given out over a dozen autographed copies of our new book, Upgrade Your Life, to readers who submitted their best life hacks to us and saw them featured here on Lifehacker. Now we want to know which one of the winning hacks you thought was the coolest and most useful. Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you’re viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with their ideas, projects, tricks, tips, photos and screenshots. More »
Features Specific to the Mac (or PC)?
6:30AM Gina Trapani | Reader Tim is thinking about the great Mac versus Windows debate. He writes in: Without starting a holy war, I was wondering: What features does the Mac operating system have out of the box that Windows doesn’t? What can you do in Windows by default you can’t do on the Mac? It seems that feature convergence is happening across modern platforms (even Linux!), so it’s harder to say what (if any) OS offerings are truly unique. Can we make a list? We sure can make a list! Here are a few operating system-specific features off the top of my head: More »
Consolidate Multiple Email Addresses with Gmail
3:30AM Gina Trapani | The following post was originally published in Chapter 1 of our new book, Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better. You’ve finally decided to move all your email online to Google’s web-based service, Gmail. Great! But what about messages still going to your old email address(es)? You don’t have to notify all your contacts that your email address has changed—again. Gmail is not only an email host, it’s an email client, which can fetch mail from any number of external services and consolidate it all right there in your Gmail inbox. Here’s how to move your email to Gmail without missing a single message from an existing account. More »
Create Animated GIFs from Video Files
2:00AM Kevin Purdy | Animated GIF images get a bad rap as throwbacks of the web of yesteryear, but they can also be a neat way to show a quick existing video sequence without having to worry about formatting and compatibility. A Ubuntu enthusiast offers a simple guide to creating slick-looking animations using two free, cross-platform software tools, MPlayer and the GIMP. While the first installation command is for Ubuntu Linux systems only, the other steps should be easy to follow along with in Windows, Mac, or Linux. Grab a favourite DVD, pick a scene that works without sound, and share a moment with friends—or the whole world. Making Animated GIFs With Free Software in Four Steps [via Ubuntu Forums] More »
