Sunday, September 14, 2008

Access search in your browser with a question mark

12:43PM Angus Kidman | Internet Explorer 8 includes the familiar separate on-screen search box, but IEBlog points out another technique you can use to perform a search: from the IE address bar, just type a question mark and then your search term. Unsurprisingly, a similar technique also works in Firefox 3, though it will often send you straight to the top-ranked search result rather than offering choices. [IEBlog] More »

Why your boss doesn’t like you

12:30PM Angus Kidman | Workers love to grouse about their employers, but how would your boss grouse about you if they got the chance? Caitlin O’Toole at News.com.au outlines ten things bosses hate about employees, from big-picture errors like failing to meet deadlines to personal problems such as smelling bad (telling a staff member they reek is never a fun meeting). And there’s the inevitable “don’t abuse the net access” warning: Spend hours browsing eBay, updating your facebook profile or recounting last night’s drunken revelry at the top of your voice over the phone will get you noticed for all the wrong reasons. If nothing else, it’s a good checklist of things not to do when you start a new job. Ten things your boss hates about you [News.com.au] More »

Navigate Outlook panes with keyboard shortcuts

9:42AM Angus Kidman | Microsoft’s Outlook Team Blog runs a reminder on the keyboard shortcuts you can use to jump between mail, calendar, tasks and other panes in Outlook 2007. Even though you can see a cut-down version of these in Outlook’s main mail view, there’s always a point where you need the full calendar, and using the keyboard saves on wasted mouse-clicking time. While I’m a big fan of using keyboard shortcuts, and am in Outlook for a good chunk of the day, I’ve got to admit that I tend to avoid using these ‘official’ numbered shortcuts (who can remember that tasks is 4?) in favour of Alt-G then the relevant initial letter – C for calendar, T for tasks, N for notes and so on. (A for contacts is admittedly less obvious, but since I use the calendar more frequently, I can live with that.) [Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog] More »

Use Wikia Search as a No-Link Bookmarklet

8:00AM Kevin Purdy | Dan Lewis, developer for the user-edited search engine Wikia, was researching a recall on a car seat, and pasted what he found on the search for “marathon recall.” Later on, he had to look up more information on his car seat, and realised he’d created a kind of bookmarklet—one he could just tell his wife over the phone, or tell a friend at a party. The results will vary, of course, with how often your search term gets edited, but with Wikia still in its nascent popularity, you can share information on specific things without having to worry about emailing a link. Using Wikia Search as a Group Bookmarking Tool — An Accidental How-To [Wikia Search Blog] More »

Meatless Dishes that Satisfy Meaty Eaters

6:00AM Kevin Purdy | If you’re a veteran vegetarian, or just live with one, you’ve probably got a cache of great, hearty, no-meat-required dishes at hand. If you’re a meat eater hosting vegetarians, however, you might be a little hard up for entrees. The Wise Bread blog has a helping of eight dish ideas that are hearty and tasty to keep bookmarked for a rainy, meatless day. Some won’t make the cut for vegan, but a few, including spaghetti squash in red sauce, can be kept to a version with no animals involved whatsoever. What recipes do you pull out for vegetarian guests, or for your own household? Share the menu in the comments. Photo by Noonch. 8 Meatless Dishes for Meat-n-Taters Lovers [Wise Bread] More »

Banish Your Junk Drawer

5:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | Most homes and offices have a “junk drawer,” usually located in the kitchen, that serves as a catchall for objects that seem to have no other place to go. A junk drawer is simply part of a home, no questions asked. Right? In his book It’s All Too Much, clutter expert Peter Walsh begs to differ. Lots of kitchens have a “catch-all” drawer. What’s in here? It’s always a surprise. Soy sauce packets from carryout, rubber bands, pennies, matches, pushpins, a stray refrigerator magnet. I’m only going to say this once: No. Junk. Drawer. Do I make myself clear? More »

Why Tea Is Healthier Than Water

3:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | While nobody is running around extolling the virtues of cola as a replacement for water for daily hydration, researchers at Kings College London want to make sure you don’t think every non-water drink is a poor substitute for water. After reviewing numerous studies on the benefits of drinking tea, they’ve concluded that tea is a superior drink. Dr Ruxton said: “Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it’s got two things going for it.” More »

SeatExpert Finds the Best Seat on the Plane

2:00AM Adam Pash | Web site SeatExpert maps out the seating charts of airlines across the globe to help you find the best seats and—more importantly—avoid the worst. Of course this isn’t the first web site of this kind we’ve seen. Previously mentioned SeatGuru is a more attractive version of SeatExpert, and they do a lot of the same things. The one compelling feature of SeatExpert that we haven’t seen elsewhere is the addition of photos of various features. Sometimes it’s meal selections, other times it’s the look of the cabin. Whether or not you care about the additional features, either of these sites are worth a visit before you book your next flight. SeatExpert More »

Develop Your Sense of Time

1:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | Some people are extremely adept at telling when intervals of time have passed or what time of day it is, while others find themselves losing track of entire hours. But if you weren’t born with a finely honed sense of time, you can develop it. With the help of a handy tutorial at WikiHow and some free time you too can become a better judge of time. There are over half a dozen great tips in the tutorial, the following are tips that I inadvertently stumbled on while working the graveyard shift, a notorious time distorter: Every time you think of it, guess to yourself what time it is. Check a clock or watch. Make a point of correcting yourself. Think or say to yourself something like “I thought it was 10:20, but it’s actually 10:34. I was 14 minutes slow.” This is your time sense gap. More »