Thursday, May 1, 2008
Pastor Stores and Secures Your Passwords
11:30PM Gina Trapani | Mac OS X only: Store your passwords, serial numbers, and web site login information in Pastor, a personal encrypted database. Much like my beloved KeePass (available for Mac as KeePassX), Pastor stores a title, username, password, URL, and notes for each entry and locks the entire database with one master password. Pastor’s interface is a simple, no-nonsense single window. Unlike KeePassX, you can’t organise your entries in folders, but it does include a handy password generator that tailors suggestions to rules (like alphanumeric only, mixed case, must include symbols, etc). Juicy screengrabs await, after the jump. More »
Provider Extension Integrates Remember the Milk into Thunderbird
11:05PM Kevin Purdy | Windows/Mac/Linux (Thunderbird): Harness the to-do-managing power of Remember the Milk from inside your mail reader with an alpha extension for Thunderbird. Once installed and authenticated with your RTM account, the task manager provided by the Lightning extension will have bi-directional access to your tasks, which you can add, delete, modify, and prioritise from inside your mail manager. Hit the video above to see a few of the things you can do with the extension, and hit the via link below for step-by-step installation instructions. Remember the Milk Provider extension is a free download, but requires a free Mozilla Add-Ons account to download, needs the Lightning calendar extension, and works wherever Thunderbird does. Remember the Milk Provider [via Daily Gyan] More »
WildRename Does the Grunt Work of File Name Fixing
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: Rename large sets of files without batch scripting or endless clicking with WildRename, a free Windows utility. If you’ve been putting off organising and renaming a vast collection of MP3s, pictures, or videos, you can stop procrastinating, as WildRename makes it easy to strip characters off the end of files, add or remove dashes, spaces, and other naming quirks, and correct capitalisation universally. That’s actually just the feature set for beginners—if you’re into regular expressions and advanced rule sets, so is WildRename. Thankfully, you can mess around with simulation modes to see how accurate your results would be if you really pulled the trigger. For avid downloaders and those inheriting folders full of disorganised files, WildRename is a must. WildRename is a free download for Windows systems only. WildRename More »
Unlock USB Support for VirtualBox in Ubuntu Hardy Heron
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | VirtualBox makes virtual installations of Windows and other operating systems easier than you’d think in Linux (as mentioned in our second look at Ubuntu 8.04, “Hardy Heron”), but the key missing feature from its free, open-source edition is USB support. Your iPod need not feel shunned from Linux land any longer, however, as the Ubuntu Unleashed blog offers step-by-step instructions on installing and configuring VirtualBox with support for plug-in devices. It’s specific to the newest Ubuntu and a little bit more than the “five easy steps” promised, but it should only take a few minutes to unlock the bridge between your system-in-a-system and all your gadgets. Howto: Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu Hardy Heron with USB Support in 5 easy Steps [Ubuntu Unleashed] More »
Resurrect Images from My Web Browser Cache?
9:00PM Gina Trapani | Dear Lifehacker,While I was surfing the web the other day I saw this incredible photograph which I stupidly didn’t save to my computer. (No, it wasn’t that kind of photograph.) Still, now I’m regretting not saving my own copy, because the picture is no longer available online. But if I viewed it in my browser, that means I did actually download it, right? If it’s saved on my hard drive somewhere, how and where do I find it?Signed,Desperately Seeking Offline Photo More »iGoogle
11:43AM Sarah Stokely | Google’s launched a new gallery of iGoogle themes by 70 artists of various stripes, including the Beastie Boys, Anne Geddes (!), Reg “Mambo” Mombassa and Jackie Chan. I’ll stick with the gorgeous solar system theme for now. More »
Make your own softback leather book
11:19AM Sarah Stokely | Something about the simplicity of this make your own leather-bound notebook project really appeals to me. Firstly, it’s aimed at beginning level DIYers. Secondly, when you fill it up you can add more pages or remove the old pages and add new ones to start the book afresh. Note that it’s a soft leather cover, not a hardback. It can fit between 50 and 250 pages.The ArmorGeek tutorial includes a list of the leatherworking tools and materials you’ll need , and a downloadable pattern.Suitably customised, this looks like it could make a wonderful.gift as well. Nice!
Softback Leather Book [ArmorGeek via MAKE] More » Ways to let your laziness make you more productive
10:28AM Sarah Stokely | Automation is a great way to aid productivity and get things done more quickly. The Stepcase Lifehack blog (which seems to be what Lifehack.org has changed its name to) has a great twist on this in a post today suggesting ways to capitalise on our tendency to inaction or laziness by automating things we want to get done.
For example – setting up a direct debit of 10% of your salary which goes automatically into a high yield savings account. It’s much more likely you’ll just get used to saving that money, than if you had to manually move the money (oh wait, I spent it) each month. The other suggestions included setting your alarm clock to wake you earlier in the morning, and setting up a regular online grocery order.Have you found any ’set and forget’ ways to get things done? Please share in comments.
Fight Downhill Battles: Let Laziness and Inertia Make You More Productive [Stepcase Lifehack]
More » Exercise to Cure What Ails You
9:00AM Adam Pash | Exercise can protect against everything from heart attacks and cancer to depression and erectile dysfunction, but the New York Times focuses on how working out also helps with ailments you’re already suffering from—even those that make exercise difficult. Perhaps the most immediate benefits are reaped by people with joint and neuromuscular disorders. Without exercise, those at risk of osteoarthritis become crippled by stiff, deteriorated joints. But exercise that increases strength and aerobic capacity can reduce pain, depression and anxiety and improve function, balance and quality of life. The key, of course, is knowing what kind of workouts counter your ailment. If you’ve used exercise to address health issues in the past, let’s hear what worked best for you in the comments. You Name It, and Exercise Helps It [NYT] More »
