Thursday, August 21, 2008
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UltraExplorer Manages Your Files On the Go
11:30PM Lifehacker US Edition | Windows only: Windows Explorer alternative UltraExplorer offers dual pane and tabbed browsing, plus a handy “Drop Stack” staging area where you can drag files to temporarily park them, for easy batch operations. Command line lovers will like the Command Line box at the bottom of the UltraExplorer window; you can even set the command prompt to stay synced to whatever folder you are browsing. You can make UltraExplorer portable after its initial installation, too—copy the files from the /APPS/ directory in the installation folder to your USB drive to do so. For other file management options check out our Five Best Alternative File Managers. UltraExplorer is a free download for Windows only. More »
Work
Iterasi Adds Automatic Page Grabs, Mac Support
11:11PM Kevin Purdy | Windows/Mac: Previously featured website snapshot saver Iterasi rolled out two great new features—namely, support for Firefox in OS X, and a new automatic scheduler. The scheduling tool lets you create an exact copy—CSS, JavaScript, and images included—of any site at regular intervals. So if you want to grab a copy of the Woot! deals page in the wee early hours, check a favourite online comic, or use it for work research, Iterasi is now a lot more convenient. The browser add-on is a free download for Windows (IE 7 and Firefox) and Mac OS X (Firefox). Iterasi [via Digital Inspiration] More »
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Make an iPhone Ringtone with iTunes in Windows
10:40PM Kevin Purdy | We’ve shown you how you can turn your (non-DRM-protected) music collection into custom iPhone ringtones using GarageBand and iTunes on a Mac, but the CyberNet tech site’s made it easy for those with just a copy of iTunes for Windows to hack together their own tones. The basic trick is to single out a short section of a song in iTunes, export it to a non-protected AAC/M4A format, then do a quick file extension switch and re-upload it to iTunes. CyberNet details the process in greater detail, of course, and it’s a nice fix for those who don’t want to edit waveform files just to rock out to 20 seconds of “London Calling.” Create Free iPhone Ringtones Using iTunes in Windows [CyberNet] More »
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Personal Identity Portal Secures One-Click Sign-Ins
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | Web security firm VeriSign has re-launched its Personal Identity Portal, an OpenID-backed portal that provides one-click sign-ins for many popular webapps and e-commerce sites. The biggest downside from using a software solution or another login handler is having to visit your personalised PIP page before moving ahead, but that can be a blessing if you can remember your password there but not at, say, Circuit City. The PIP page provides bookmarklets for quick access, but security-conscious users can also require that VeriSign authenticate another key or a browser certificate before granting access. The PIP service is free to use, and works wherever OpenID is supported. To learn more about OpenID, check out our review and walk-through. Personal Identity Portal [via TechCrunch] More »
Fix
Better Gmail 2 Gets Agenda Script, Redesigned Update
3:04PM Gina Trapani | Just published an update to the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension, which adds the excellent GmailAgenda user script (in the General options tab) and updates the Gmail Redesigned style. Download the latest version 0.6.1 here. More »
Fix
Slow Down in a World Built for Speed
9:00AM Adam Pash | Journalist Carl Honore—author of the best-selling book In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed—discusses how he believes our culture’s obsession with speed “erodes [our] health, productivity and quality of life” at the 2005 TED conference. (It watches like new!) Honore’s talk covers not only how out of proportion our need for speed has become (quoting Carrie Fisher: “Even instant gratification takes too long”), but also how to get in touch with your inner tortoise. The most appealing part: Honore says that many who embrace slowness find that they do everything—eating, working, and living—better. If your fast-paced lifestyle has got you down, Honore’s talk is a must-watch. Thanks auzigog! Carl Honore: Slowing down in a world built for speed [TED] More »
Communicate
8:18AM Angus Kidman | Although you may not have noticed if your main television viewing approach is YouTube or Channel BT, Australia is due to switch off its analogue TV network and move to an all-digital model in 2013. Mark Day at The Australian discusses one of the possible consequences of this changeover: rural areas in “signal blackspots” with no television signal at all:
Budget cuts at the Australian Communications and Media Authority have forced it to suspend a key program to test for digital television black spots. The field testing, which is vital to deliver on the promise that the end of analogue television in 2013 will not leave viewers worse off, was frozen amid fears that the tests may have been conducted incorrectly.
Compared to the UK (which is running a region by region changeover backed with a massive awareness campaign), Australia’s move to digital TV, which promises better picture quality and the ability to deliver multiple channels, has been fairly low-key. Have you benefitted from the switch to digital, or found that the experience is fraught? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Digital TV left in dark by cuts [The Australian]
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Is digital television a boon or a disaster?
8:18AM Angus Kidman | Although you may not have noticed if your main television viewing approach is YouTube or Channel BT, Australia is due to switch off its analogue TV network and move to an all-digital model in 2013. Mark Day at The Australian discusses one of the possible consequences of this changeover: rural areas in “signal blackspots” with no television signal at all:
Budget cuts at the Australian Communications and Media Authority have forced it to suspend a key program to test for digital television black spots. The field testing, which is vital to deliver on the promise that the end of analogue television in 2013 will not leave viewers worse off, was frozen amid fears that the tests may have been conducted incorrectly.
Compared to the UK (which is running a region by region changeover backed with a massive awareness campaign), Australia’s move to digital TV, which promises better picture quality and the ability to deliver multiple channels, has been fairly low-key. Have you benefitted from the switch to digital, or found that the experience is fraught? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Digital TV left in dark by cuts [The Australian]
More »
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Flickr’s New Slideshow Includes Video
8:15AM Adam Pash | Flickr has launched a new and improved version of their slideshow tool. Most notably, the new slideshow seamlessly transitions between photos and video in the same set of slides. Thanks Sonny! More »
Fix
Get a Handle on Your Health by Writing Down Everything You Eat
8:00AM Adam Pash | Healthy blogger Ali Hale suggests that an important key to maintaining or losing weight is knowing exactly what you’re eating, and the way to do that: Write down everything you eat for a week. Hale lists five reasons why writing down everything you eat will change your habits. For example: Within a day, you’ll realise just how much you snack. A bag of chips mid-morning, a cookie from a colleague’s stash, a few bits of candy… it all adds up. You might find you’re eating more in snacks than in proper meals. More »
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