TechRadar rounds up some useful tricks for getting the most of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console, offering 17 suggestions across two posts on how to make the machine a more flexible and useful device. Many of the tricks rely on the Xbox being networked to a compliant PC, and a couple sound dubious (wrapping an Xbox that has suffered the “red rings on death” failure in a towel, anyone?), but for new Xbox owners, it’s a handy resource. Check out our own guide for more hands-on ideas on how to spruce up your Xbox 360. 10 Xbox 360 tricks Microsoft won’t tell you | Seven more Xbox 360 secrets Microsoft doesn’t tell you [TechRadar]
Cross-platform application Dropbox may be great at syncing regular old files and folders over the internet and to the web, but with a little ingenuity, you can use this free software to ensure important application data stays in sync no matter what computer you’re using. With the right setup, you can sync your passwords over the internet so you’ve always got access to the latest versions of your secure passwords no matter where you are. Keep reading to find out how.
Domestic weblog Divine Caroline puts together a handy chart to help you keep your fruits and vegetables fresh by knowing the proper storage procedure for each perishable. It’s a nice cheatsheet for those of us who don’t know which fruits are ethylene producers or which veggies should stay in a paper bag. Photo by phoosh.
Google Maps’ Street View now includes imagery for the streets of France —go ahead and hit the big tourist spots in Paris like the Champs-Élysées and Basilique du Sacré-Cœuror without leaving your desk.
Apple’s MacBook event has just come to an end, leaving Apple enthusiasts with a handful of—surprise!—new MacBooks. The updates hit all three models (the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air) and boast improved hardware across the board, a glass trackpad that’s gone buttonless, and built-in support for multi-touch gestures. Despite the updates to the standard MacBook (including a new aluminium case design), Apple’s keeping the old plastic MacBook around. The event also brought one hardware announcement unrelated to MacBooks in the form of a new 24″ Apple Cinema Display. Keep reading for a more pics and a rundown of the announcements we’re most interested in.
All platforms: Mozilla has just pushed out Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 to their servers, marking the first major step toward the official 3.1 release. They haven’t yet officially announced the beta release, so the What’s New page is a 404 as of this writing. Luckily we’ve already covered a lot of the features you can expect, so hit the jump for a closer look at what Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 brings to the table.
Once you get over the idea that people who walk around with a list of personal goals in their pocket are utter self-improvement dweebs, you should make writing your own list a number one priority. There are bookshelves full of annoying self-help hype around the notion of personal goal setting, which is why we’re skeptics just like you are. But the truth is, when you feel like you’re drifting aimlessly, unhappy with your job, finances, location, fitness level, whatever—it’s time to start writing down goals. A personal goals program is a training regimen for your mind: it makes you visualise a finish line in a better place than the one you’re in now, and it helps you get there. Let’s take a look at why you should shrug off all the cringe-worthy reasons not to think about goals, sit down with a piece of paper, and start writing.
Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): FfChrome, a free add-on for Firefox browsers, lets users who do a lot of link-grabbing, picture saving, and other right-click-type operations decide exactly what they should see when they right-click anything in their browser. Once the extension is installed, users can check or un-check particular context menu items, such as the “Email this” tools, to and create a trim right-click box with just the essentials. Hover over the “Show All” option, though, and everything rolls out. FfChrome doesn’t appear to support right-click items brought in by other extensions, though, so hopefully the developer will work the add-on into those options. FfChrome is a free add-on, works wherever Firefox does. For those whose right-clicks are mainly for text, also check out the Auto Context add-on.
FfChrome [Mozilla Add-Ons via Digital Inspiration]The Oblique Strategies deck of cards by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt offers advice to help you solve a dilemma or push through a creative block, and now the strategies are available on your iPhone for free. Download Oblique Strategies from the iTunes Store for your iPhone or iPod touch, and tap to choose a random card to get you through that deadlock situation today. [via]
