Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Communicate
Palringo Adds Multi-Client IM to Non-Jailbroken iPhones
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | iPhone/iPod touch: Palringo, the multi-client instant messenger previously available for Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry, has launched for free in the iTunes App Store. While it’s multi-client interface is pretty slick—including a universal “You’ve got messages” in the lower-left corner and multiple screens you can slide through—there’s a few niggling issues. The major one is that Palringo won’t let you sign in, say, to IM while keeping out of Google Talk—it’s all or nothing. Aside from that, you have to be comfortable signing up for a Palringo account and letting it store your traded pictures. But for those not quite ready to jailbreak your iPhone 2.0, it’s a convenient app. Palringo is a free download for iPhones and iPod touch, but requires a free sign-up. Palringo Instant Messenger [via ReadWriteWeb] More »
Work
Learn to Use Cron from the Command Line
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | We’ve shown you graphical alternatives to the Unix-based Cron automation tool before (for Windows, Mac, and Linux), but IBM has put together a clear and straight-forward guide that makes the terminal-controlled version seem not so intimidating. The guide runs through setting up one-time or repeat jobs, such as having your system mail somebody at certain times, and listing and altering jobs already put in. Cron (and anacron) are built into Linux and OS X systems; Windows users are better off mastering Windows Task Scheduler. Linux tip: Job scheduling with cron and at [IBM developerWorks] More »
Fix
Objection Deletes Hard-to-Reach Flash Cookies
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Many sites that use Flash objects put Local Shared Objects, or “Flash Cookies,” on your computer in often out-of-the-way locations. Objection, a free Firefox add-on, automatically tracks down those cookies (most of the time) and provides an interface for learning more about what information they’re storing and deleting them. Why go through this effort? It’s a more complete way of covering your browsing tracks at work or home, for one thing, and Flash Cookies are not the most secure items to keep laying around. If Objection doesn’t find your LSO directory right off, hit the via link below for a list of common locations. Objection is a free download, works wherever Firefox does. Objection [via gHacks] More »
Fix
Better Gmail 2 Updated–Now with Fewer Bugs!
9:00PM Gina Trapani | All platforms with Firefox: Just posted an update to the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension which upgrades the gorgeous Redesigned skin to its latest version and the Filter Assistant. The add-on’s now meaner and leaner, with a whole new streamlined code base, and no more scripts you don’t need slowing down your Gmail. (For example, the HTML Signatures script—which has grown up into its very own extension, is no longer in Better Gmail, as is the Force Encrypted Connection script which Google’s built into Gmail natively.) Go download version version 0.5.3.2 (yes, we’re getting creative with version numbers here) at the extension’s homepage. Now available on Mozilla Add-ons! Better Gmail 2 Firefox Extension for New Gmail More »
Communicate
1:22PM Angus Kidman | Coffee chain Starbucks’ well-publicised woes, which include plans to shut down almost three quarters of its Australian stores, are also going to impact the Australian Wi-Fi scene. Liam Tung at ZDNet ran the numbers and worked out that Canberra won’t have any Starbucks’ Wi-Fi hotspots left, while the fate of stores in other states is uncertain. The Wi-Fi at Starbucks is provided by Telstra (and hence comes at a cost), but wireless access has always been a selling point of the Starbucks coffee/office experience. (Rival Gloria Jeans, a much bigger presence in the Australian market, partners with Optus for Wi-Fi.)While the disappearance of those stores won’t massively undermine the Telstra Wi-Fi footprint – McDonald’s and Telstra’s CBD systems in Sydney and Melbourne are much more important it’s potentially a major nuisance if you’ve come to rely on the option being around when you need to get some quick access on the road. It’s also bad news for anyone who bought an iPhone from Telstra and planned to make extensive use of the free Wi-Fi option to help offset Telstra’s painfully expensive plans. Aussie Wi-Fi lost with Starbucks’ stores [ZDNet Australia]
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Starbucks closures will limit Telstra Wi-Fi options
1:22PM Angus Kidman | Coffee chain Starbucks’ well-publicised woes, which include plans to shut down almost three quarters of its Australian stores, are also going to impact the Australian Wi-Fi scene. Liam Tung at ZDNet ran the numbers and worked out that Canberra won’t have any Starbucks’ Wi-Fi hotspots left, while the fate of stores in other states is uncertain. The Wi-Fi at Starbucks is provided by Telstra (and hence comes at a cost), but wireless access has always been a selling point of the Starbucks coffee/office experience. (Rival Gloria Jeans, a much bigger presence in the Australian market, partners with Optus for Wi-Fi.)While the disappearance of those stores won’t massively undermine the Telstra Wi-Fi footprint – McDonald’s and Telstra’s CBD systems in Sydney and Melbourne are much more important it’s potentially a major nuisance if you’ve come to rely on the option being around when you need to get some quick access on the road. It’s also bad news for anyone who bought an iPhone from Telstra and planned to make extensive use of the free Wi-Fi option to help offset Telstra’s painfully expensive plans. Aussie Wi-Fi lost with Starbucks’ stores [ZDNet Australia]
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Organise
11:32AM Angus Kidman | It’s hardly a new option, but I’ve got to give the thumbs up to Australia Post’s Express Post Platinum, which got me out of a document delivery jam yesterday when a rather more expensive courier company simply failed to show up to pick up some visa-related material. For just $12.20, I sent the document at the nearest post office in Adelaide, and the online tracker let me keep tabs on it until it got to its destination this morning in Sydney. While it’s almost a cliché to diss the PO for its poor service, in this instance it managed the rare combination of cheaper and better.
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Forget couriers, stick with the Post Office
11:32AM Angus Kidman | It’s hardly a new option, but I’ve got to give the thumbs up to Australia Post’s Express Post Platinum, which got me out of a document delivery jam yesterday when a rather more expensive courier company simply failed to show up to pick up some visa-related material. For just $12.20, I sent the document at the nearest post office in Adelaide, and the online tracker let me keep tabs on it until it got to its destination this morning in Sydney. While it’s almost a cliché to diss the PO for its poor service, in this instance it managed the rare combination of cheaper and better.
More »
Communicate
11:11AM Angus Kidman | The Aussie implementation of Tivo has only just gone on sale, but the developers of the PVR technology are already talking up forthcoming features. Nick Tabakoff at the Australian reports that Tivo should offer free viewing of YouTube clips from early next year, with earlier plans to charge for the feature now apparently dumped. We imagine it’ll only be a matter of time before someone comes up with a hack to allow saving YouTube downloads onto the Tivo. YouTube free on Seven’s Tivo [The Australian]
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Tivo promises free YouTube service
11:11AM Angus Kidman | The Aussie implementation of Tivo has only just gone on sale, but the developers of the PVR technology are already talking up forthcoming features. Nick Tabakoff at the Australian reports that Tivo should offer free viewing of YouTube clips from early next year, with earlier plans to charge for the feature now apparently dumped. We imagine it’ll only be a matter of time before someone comes up with a hack to allow saving YouTube downloads onto the Tivo. YouTube free on Seven’s Tivo [The Australian]
More »
Fix
11:03AM Angus Kidman | Image rendering in Outlook messages has always been something of a hit-and-miss affair, depending variously on your security settings, the message format and (it often seems) what Steve Ballmer had for breakfast yesterday. Blogger Omar Shahine offers a useful registry tweak to get rid of a common issue in Outlook 2003: images failing to render in a message but appearing when you create a reply. Hit the link for full details of the fix.[Fixing Outlook Red "X" Problem via Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog]
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Fixing dodgy image display in Outlook 2003
11:03AM Angus Kidman | Image rendering in Outlook messages has always been something of a hit-and-miss affair, depending variously on your security settings, the message format and (it often seems) what Steve Ballmer had for breakfast yesterday. Blogger Omar Shahine offers a useful registry tweak to get rid of a common issue in Outlook 2003: images failing to render in a message but appearing when you create a reply. Hit the link for full details of the fix.[Fixing Outlook Red "X" Problem via Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog]
More »
Work
Turn Your Nintendo DS into a Translation Dictionary
7:00AM Adam Pash | The Street Static weblog provides a detailed step-by-step tutorial for turning your Nintendo DS into a portable translation dictionary. The process requires a free DS application called NewDictS, then takes advantage of previously mentioned StarDict’s open-source dictionaries. When you’re done, your Nintendo DS can translate and define English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, and more. We don’t have a DS at Lifehacker HQ, so let’s hear how it works for you if you give NewDictS a run. Turn your Nintendo DS into a Dictionary [Street Static] More »
Fix
