Saturday, September 6, 2008
Communicate
5:13PM Angus Kidman | It turns out that our suspicions were correct — Facebook is about to remove the choice of whether to use its new design, or, as a note on the site proclaims: “New Facebook will soon be the only Facebook”.
In the spirit of facing up to the inevitable, I spent some time this afternoon playing with the new design, and I’ve got to say there’s still a lot about it I dislike. When I made the switch, it actually lost the front page link to my most frequently used application (Wordscraper), and while that game shows up on the new menu of ‘Recently used’ applications, it’s become completely invisible on my main app list. As well, the wider first column makes the whole thing harder to read on my Eee PC — and now, once you’ve made the switch, there’s no way to revert your account back to the old design.
Since this is about to become compulsory, it needs to improve drastically. But maybe I’ve missed something. Are there are any features on the new design that have made the switch worthwhile for you? Share your experience in the comments.
[Facebook]
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Facebook about to kill off old design
5:13PM Angus Kidman | It turns out that our suspicions were correct — Facebook is about to remove the choice of whether to use its new design, or, as a note on the site proclaims: “New Facebook will soon be the only Facebook”.
In the spirit of facing up to the inevitable, I spent some time this afternoon playing with the new design, and I’ve got to say there’s still a lot about it I dislike. When I made the switch, it actually lost the front page link to my most frequently used application (Wordscraper), and while that game shows up on the new menu of ‘Recently used’ applications, it’s become completely invisible on my main app list. As well, the wider first column makes the whole thing harder to read on my Eee PC — and now, once you’ve made the switch, there’s no way to revert your account back to the old design.
Since this is about to become compulsory, it needs to improve drastically. But maybe I’ve missed something. Are there are any features on the new design that have made the switch worthwhile for you? Share your experience in the comments.
[Facebook]
More » 
Organise
This Week’s Best Posts
10:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | This week’s most popular posts include: What to do when Windows XP Service Pack 3 won’t install“Windows XP Service Pack 3 has been out since April, but it’s only now being widely pushed out onto Australian desktops via Windows Update. But what if the service pack doesn’t install?” Beta Browser Speed Tests: Which Is Fastest?“We’ve previously put the major browser releases to the speed test, but today we’re measuring Chrome against the second beta of Internet Explorer 8, as well as the beta of Firefox 3’s next iteration, 3.1.” Why aren’t we excited by Blu-ray?“The disappearance of HD DVD from the market was expected to give a boost to Blu-ray, but so far it seems we’re are quite happy to stick with DVD and skip any hi-def alternative.” How to shake hands properly“You might not think shaking hands is a vital business skill, but communications consultant Mark Jeffries used it as the basis for an entire book” Enable Chrome’s Best Features in Firefox“Apart from a few specific issues (namely process management), many of Chrome’s best features are already available in Firefox 3, proving yet again the power of extensibility.” Google Chrome First Look“New beta web browser Google Chrome officially hit the streets just a few minutes ago, and we’ve rolled up our sleeves and taken a quick look at everything the newest browser on the block has to offer.” Google Chrome’s Full List of Special about: Pages“You already saw Google Chrome’s humorous about:internets Easter egg, but Chrome’s got several special about: pages that reveal all sorts of interesting information about what’s going on behind the scenes.” How to Set Up a Laptop Security System“The safety and security of our laptops–and all of the important and sensitive information they hold–are of the utmost importance.” More »
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LabelLinks4Gmail Nests Labels in Gmail and Then Some
9:00AM Adam Pash | Firefox with Greasemonkey: The LabelLinks4Gmail Greasemonkey scripts creates nested labels in your Gmail sidebar. If the idea sounds familiar, that’s probably because the previously mentioned Folders4Gmail script has been included with Better Gmail for quite some time. The main difference is that LabelLinks4Gmail soups up the sidebar so that clicking on a top level folder will reveal the contents of every label inside that folder—a feature missing from Folders4Gmail. Unfortunately the script doesn’t use the same label naming structure as Folders4Gmail, so making the change isn’t as smooth as it could be (in fact, it’s more confusing all-around). However, if you’ve been dying for fuller features from the Folders4Gmail script, the LabelLinks4Gmail script is worth a look. Thanks Benjamin! LabelLinks4Gmail [Userscripts] More »
Fix
Mazzick Puts Mouse Gestures on Your Thumb Drive
8:00AM Adam Pash | Windows only: Free application Mazzick is a simple mouse gesture utility that you can carry on your USB thumb drive. Using Mazzick is simple: just invoke it using one of the default shortcuts (like holding Shift, for example), then draw the gesture you want. Creating your own custom gestures—like my ‘l’ for Lifehacker gesture in the screenshot—is a breeze. If you’re a fan of saving time and keystrokes with global mouse gesture tools like prevously mentioned StrokeIt but feel lost at a computer without your favourite gestures, the portable Mazzick could be just the ticket for you. Mazzick [via Shell Extension City] More »
Fix
Latest Version of Gmail Rolling Out for IE6
7:47AM Gina Trapani | The Gmail folks teamed up with Microsoft to make the latest and greatest version of Gmail compatible with Internet Explorer 6, so you people in IT lockdown can get label colours and Gmail Labs features using IE6. More »
Fix
TabsLock Puts Your Browser One Keystroke Away
6:00AM Adam Pash | Windows only: Free system tray utility TabsLock launches and focuses a new tab in Google Chrome (and Firefox… keep reading) at the press of your Caps Lock key to give you, as the download page aptly puts it, “low-thought, global keyboard access to web search and navigation.” Considering how much time we spend on the web these days, a quick, easy shortcut for going straight to your browser (that’s also just off the home row) makes a lot of sense. Still want to use Caps Lock from time to time? Shift+Caps Lock toggles regular Caps Lock behaviour. Like the idea behind TabsLock but wish it worked for Firefox? Keep reading to download my own homespun solution for Firefox users. More »
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Shelf Web Pages Instantly (and Get Back to Work) with ReadItLater
5:00AM Gina Trapani | Surely you come across web pages during the workday that are completely unrelated to actual work, but that you’d love to save for later—and the previously mentioned (and award winning) Firefox extension ReadItLater does just that really well. Once ReadItLater is part of your everyday workflow, it’s super-easy to park long articles or interesting tidbits you want to look at over lunch or at home in a “staging area” that’s available as an RSS feed, in your regular bookmarks, and even on other computers. ReadItLater may appear unnecessary to power bookmarkers who keep a “later” folder or tag, but on closer inspection it does offer features that make hitting the snooze button on a link much easier. More »
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Docstoc Sync Automatically Syncs Documents to the Web
4:00AM Adam Pash | Windows/Mac: Free application Docstoc Sync automatically synchronises files between your desktop computer and previously mentioned document sharing web site Docstoc. Once installed, the application monitors your documents folders and automatically syncs any changes you make. Documents can be uploaded as either public or private (any file in your My Documents folder defaults to private), which means you can use the app to either share docs on the web or back them up privately. Docstop Sync is freeware, Windows and Mac only. Docstoc Sync [via TechCrunch] More »
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iRinger Turns Music and Video Files into iPhone Ringtones
1:30AM Gina Trapani | Windows only: Desktop app iRinger converts any video or music file into an iPhone ringtone, including YouTube videos. You already saw how to make a ringtone using only iTunes, but iRinger brings audio effects (like fade in and out, flanger, and delay) and video support to its single, simple interface. You can download any YouTube clip, for example, and import it into iRinger to create a tone. iRinger does nag you with a pop-up sponsor window that you can’t close unless you donate to the project; otherwise it’s a handy all-in-one iPhone ringtone utility. iRinger is a free download for Windows only. Thanks, nyifan! iRinger [via Life Rocks 2.0] More »
Communicate
