Thursday, June 12, 2008
Organise
SafeManuals Online User Guide Library
11:30PM Lifehacker US Edition | You already know how to find replacement video game manuals, but what about user guides for everything else? If you’re stuck without a manual for that gadget you scored on Craiglist, search for the PDF at SafeManuals. With an archive covering 3,627 brands and housing 883,542 manuals, there’s a good chance you’ll find what you’re looking for. How do you find gadget and appliance manuals online—besides hitting up Google? Let us know in the comments. SafeManuals [via MakeUseOf] More »
Communicate
Edit Google’s Mobile Page from iGoogle
11:04PM Kevin Purdy | Google has made it a lot easier to re-order and change what gadgets show up on your personalised Google Mobile page. Head to your iGoogle page, hit “Settings,” and scroll down to Mobile. You can add mobile-compatible gadgets you already have on your iGoogle page, re-order and delete existing gadgets, and see what the page will look like on a phone screen. It’s a lot more helpful than tweaking around on a tiny screen over a slower connection. iGoogle Settings [via Google Operating System] More »
Work
Opera 9.5 Brings Speed and Syncing to the Browser
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | Windows/Mac/Linux: The final version of the Opera 9.5 web browser is in the open as of this morning. We’ve previously highlighted some of its features, including the browser-syncing, speed-dial- Opera Links, but there’s also an integrated BitTorrent download manager, mouse gesture control, and a claim by developers that JavaScript and HTML render more than twice as fast as Opera 9.2. Opera 9.5 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Opera Home page More »
Organise
De-duplicate Your Data with Free Tools
9:00PM Gina Trapani | When your hard drive’s cluttered with hundreds of files in folders scattered everywhere, chances are you’re using up disk space with multiple copies of the same data. Whether multiple memory card downloads have plagued your photo library, or swapping MP3s with friends who have similar tastes left you with double copies of the same songs, or you’ve saved and re-saved the same documents in different places, a good file de-duping can recover hard drive space and help you get organized. We’ve featured several free tools for de-duplicating your documents, music, pictures and more over the years here at Lifehacker. Have a quick rundown so you can declutter your hard drive today. More »
Communicate
8:07PM Angus Kidman | As the rumours continue to fly about what options will be available for Aussie iPhone purchasers, one thing’s becoming very clear: being the first kid on the block with a new iPhone will almost certainly mean getting shafted on price. More »
Early iPhone buyers will get less choice
8:07PM Angus Kidman | As the rumours continue to fly about what options will be available for Aussie iPhone purchasers, one thing’s becoming very clear: being the first kid on the block with a new iPhone will almost certainly mean getting shafted on price. More »
Organise
8:02PM Angus Kidman | A week after first launching the deal and then extending it, Catch Of The Day still seems to be offering the original Eee PC for $327 (plus $15 shipping). If you want a portable notebook, or just an easy chance to experiment with Linux, it’s not going to get any cheaper than this.
More »
Cheap Eee PCs still up for grabs
8:02PM Angus Kidman | A week after first launching the deal and then extending it, Catch Of The Day still seems to be offering the original Eee PC for $327 (plus $15 shipping). If you want a portable notebook, or just an easy chance to experiment with Linux, it’s not going to get any cheaper than this.
More »
Work
7:40PM Angus Kidman | As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s tempting to head into the boss’ office and ask for a pay rise. An article on strategies to do that at news.com.au offers a bunch of useful suggestions, including this one: don’t just think about asking for cash. Getting the option of flexible working hours, or additional time to work at home, may be just as valuable as cold hard cash — and much simpler for your immediate manager to approve. Would you accept better conditions in lieu of more cash, or does money really talk? Let us know in the comments.
How to ask for a pay rise … and get it
More »
Plan for a pay rise by not asking for cash
7:40PM Angus Kidman | As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s tempting to head into the boss’ office and ask for a pay rise. An article on strategies to do that at news.com.au offers a bunch of useful suggestions, including this one: don’t just think about asking for cash. Getting the option of flexible working hours, or additional time to work at home, may be just as valuable as cold hard cash — and much simpler for your immediate manager to approve. Would you accept better conditions in lieu of more cash, or does money really talk? Let us know in the comments.
How to ask for a pay rise … and get it
More »
Communicate
7:33PM Angus Kidman | It took the company a couple of days, but Vodafone is now offering people the chance to pre-register to order a 3G iPhone for use in Australia via its Web site, an option Optus has sported ever since the 3G model was announced.On the upside, Vodafone isn’t asking for any money (Optus is charging new customers $100 and existing customers $50 for the privilege). On the downside, pre-registering doesn’t mean much more than a consultant calling you to continue the registration process “shortly”; Optus guarantees you a place in a pre-launch queue, though not an actual phone. Either we, we’d really like to know what the plans are before we sign up for anything.
More »
Vodafone joins the iPhone pre-registration fray
7:33PM Angus Kidman | It took the company a couple of days, but Vodafone is now offering people the chance to pre-register to order a 3G iPhone for use in Australia via its Web site, an option Optus has sported ever since the 3G model was announced.On the upside, Vodafone isn’t asking for any money (Optus is charging new customers $100 and existing customers $50 for the privilege). On the downside, pre-registering doesn’t mean much more than a consultant calling you to continue the registration process “shortly”; Optus guarantees you a place in a pre-launch queue, though not an actual phone. Either we, we’d really like to know what the plans are before we sign up for anything.
More »
Fix
7:07PM Angus Kidman | OK, it was a tad cheeky, but I couldn’t help myself. At a press briefing with McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt in Sydney today, I had to ask what the company made of the apparent shift towards simply not using antivirus products at all and instead adopting a more proactive approach to security. Predictably, DeWalt wasn’t having a bar of it:
You have to do content filtering and there’s just no substitute for that; there’s so much in and out of your computer all the time.
That’s not an unsurprising answer for a security software spruiker, but there’s still undeniably a grain of truth there, especially given the apparent gullibility of many Aussie PC users. Still, you don’t have to spend a fortune for that kind of security, as our recent list of the five best antivirus solutions demonstrates.
More »
McAfee boss contemplates a world without antivirus
7:07PM Angus Kidman | OK, it was a tad cheeky, but I couldn’t help myself. At a press briefing with McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt in Sydney today, I had to ask what the company made of the apparent shift towards simply not using antivirus products at all and instead adopting a more proactive approach to security. Predictably, DeWalt wasn’t having a bar of it:
You have to do content filtering and there’s just no substitute for that; there’s so much in and out of your computer all the time.
That’s not an unsurprising answer for a security software spruiker, but there’s still undeniably a grain of truth there, especially given the apparent gullibility of many Aussie PC users. Still, you don’t have to spend a fortune for that kind of security, as our recent list of the five best antivirus solutions demonstrates.
More »
Work
6:49PM Angus Kidman | Good news for eBay sellers who favour choice: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has rejected eBay’s proposal to make PayPal the only accepted remote payment method, arguing that eBay’s claims of increased security don’t outweigh the disadvantages of reduced competition. As ACCC head Graeme Samuel put it:
The ACCC believes that consumers are in the best position to decide which payment method is most suitable for them. The notified conduct denies them that choice. Accordingly, the ACCC considers that these benefits do not outweigh the anti-competitive effects of the conduct.
eBay is allowed to appeal the decision, so we’re not quite at the end of the process, but the original plan to make PayPal compulsory from June 17 now looks like a no-go. List as you like!
More »
Compulsory PayPal gets short shrift from ACCC
6:49PM Angus Kidman | Good news for eBay sellers who favour choice: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has rejected eBay’s proposal to make PayPal the only accepted remote payment method, arguing that eBay’s claims of increased security don’t outweigh the disadvantages of reduced competition. As ACCC head Graeme Samuel put it:
The ACCC believes that consumers are in the best position to decide which payment method is most suitable for them. The notified conduct denies them that choice. Accordingly, the ACCC considers that these benefits do not outweigh the anti-competitive effects of the conduct.
eBay is allowed to appeal the decision, so we’re not quite at the end of the process, but the original plan to make PayPal compulsory from June 17 now looks like a no-go. List as you like!
More » 
