Windows only: If you need to use both Outlook and Google Calendar, free sync utility KiGoo makes the process completely painless. KiGoo displays your Outlook and Google calendar side by side or overlays them to see all your appointments on a single calendar. Changes you make in either Google Calendar or Outlook appear quickly in both. You can manage your Google Calendar entirely from within Outlook if you desire—creating, modifying, and deleting appointments. The same synchronisation you get with your calendars applies to contact lists, too—KiGoo can move contacts between Outlook and Gmail or create a master list of contacts from both.
We first took a look at Chandler, the open-source, cross-platform personal information manager back in December, when it was still in somewhat rough shape. Now the email-centric task manager and organiser has hit its official 1.0 release, and it’s looking a lot better, if still not intuitive when you first open it. The app can connect to, synchronise, and manage a lot of different data types—email, calendars, notes, and appointments—and puts it all in a very GTD-like list in the “Dashboard.” Chandler said it had synced up to my Gmail account through IMAP, but I’m still waiting to see the folders it’s supposed to create in there. There are lots and lots of menus and sub-menus to dig through, so for the time being, we’ll just say it’s worth checking out and exploring. Chandler is a free download for Windows, Mac (PPC and Intel), and Linux systems.
Chandler Project [via ComputerWorld UK]Windows XP/2000 only: Free Windows utility Service Profiles, crafted by helpful programmer Eóin at the Donation Coder site, lets you customise which background services are running or will fire up next time you boot your computer, saved into switchable setups. So if you need an ultra-light system for a high-intensity game, or just need to eliminate background distractions while working with a certain program, Service Profiles is a great alternative to manual tweaking or even re-installation. The coder even includes pre-built profiles derived from Black Viper’s well-known configurations. Service Profiles is a free download for Windows XP/2000 only. Service Profiles [Donation Coder Forums via gHacks]
iPhone/iPod touch only: Free iPhone application MiGhtyDocs performs a simple but handy task—namely, synchronising your Google documents and spreadsheets to your iPhone for read-anywhere access. The big obvious drawbacks are a lack of any editing or modifying access, and a lack of support for Google’s PowerPoint-cloning Presentations service, but if you do a good amount of work in Google’s online office environment, it’s the kind of low-wattage app you’ll be glad you have on your iPhone or iPod touch. If nothing else, think of it as an advanced, net-accessible note-taking interface that trumps the built-in Notes. MiGhtyDocs is a free download for 2.0 iPhones and iPod touch models only. MiGhtyDocs [via Webware]
The iTunes’ App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users hundreds of applications to install on their devices, but power users who want functionality above and beyond what Apple’s SDK allows still want to jailbreak their device. Now that jailbreak developers have had a full month to work on applications for jailbroken iPhone 2.0 users, there’s a bigger selection than ever of jailbreak 2.0 software that lets you do things App Store offerings don’t. Let’s look at a few of the good ones.
Mac OS X only: System preferences pane Dictionary Cleaner managers the words you add to your Mac’s built-in dictionary. Add and remove words using Dictionary Cleaner’s simple interface, shown. It’s especially handy for removing misspelled words you added to the dictionary mistakenly, and it supports languages other than English, including French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Portugese, Polish, and Finnish. Dictionary Cleaner is a free download for Mac only. Dictionary Cleaner [Two AM Software via Macworld]
All platforms with Firefox: Globex Designs, makers of the popular Gmail Redesigned skin, have released a standalone Firefox extension which applies the style without Stylish (or Better Gmail and/or Better GCal). Download the extension to completely redesign your Gmail and Google Calendar with the latest and greatest style from Globex. Here’s what the skin looks like.
Observant Lifehacker regulars have probably already noticed the link to babblebaby, our new sibling site. Like Lifehacker, babblebaby offers practical and modern advice, but as the name suggests, it’s targeted at the parents of newborns and young children. Regular features include Strollerderby (a parenting blog), FameCrawler (updates on celebrity babies) and Droolicious (the latest products). For a neat if nasty trick, check out the ways to get revenge on your kids when they’ve acted up. [babblebaby]
Facebook’s recent minimalist redesign has certainly had its critics, with one newly-established Facebook group labelling itself “SCRAP THE NEW FACEBOOK LAYOUT!” attracting more than 22,000 members. But if you don’t like the new look, it’s worth pointing out that you can easily revert back to the original design. Just click on the ‘Back to the old Facebook’ link at the top right corner of the screen. (That might seem obvious if you’ve done it, but several people I know have failed to notice the link.)
The Wanokoto Labs web site converts any image into a super old-timey pic in one quick and simple step. You can either upload an image to the site from your computer or point it to an image URL online, then just click Convert. A few seconds later, you’ve got an ancient looking version of that image. Applied to print, the results (as you can see) look like a weathered newspaper, but browsing through the gallery on the site’s front page shows impressive results with every image. Looks like you don’t need Photoshop to age images digitally, and it’s a lot quicker than tea and matches .
Wanokoto Labs [via Download Squad]
