Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Work
Zapr Makes File Sharing Painless
11:30PM Lifehacker US Edition | Windows only: Zapr is a new file-sharing application that promises to make remote file sharing extremely simple. Users download the Zapr application, set up a free account, and can immediately begin sharing files with friends. Only the person doing the sharing needs to have the application installed, all others simply need the URL the file sharer gives them. The files are hosted locally, with the Zapr server only providing directions between the file sharer and the people seeking the file. Files can be shared unprotected or with passwords. There is no restriction on file type or file size. For another simply way to share files without FTP, check out GBridge. Zapr is freeware, Windows only. Zapr [via WebWorkerDaily] More »
Work
TouchTerm Puts A Terminal Client On Your iPhone
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | iPhone/iPod touch only: With Mocha VNC Lite, iPhone and iPod touch users already have a tool for connecting remotely to their desktops, but what about those who like to get things done over a command line? Free iPhone app TouchTerm provides SSH-encrypted terminal access to any Linux, OS X, or even Windows system running a server, making mobile rebooting or service starting over Wi-Fi or EDGE/3G connections possible. The app supports landscape mode, a must for serious two-thumb typing, can save connections for easy access. The $US11.99 pro version adds advanced gesture and copy/paste support, amongst
Work
Use Vista’s Task Manager As A Desktop Monitor
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | The Tech-Recipes blog points out a Windows Vista feature that’s great for anyone who wants to monitor how they’re computer’s running at a glance without installing a dedicated background app. Launch the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), choose a panel like Performance or Networking, and double-click anywhere inside the window’s blank space. You get a not-easily-closed, always-on-top widget you can keep anywhere on the desktop for a quick read on how your desktop is holding up, and it’s a good deal more informative than Task Manager’s system tray icon. Double-click inside the gadget to restore that standard task manager. Vista: Use the Task Manager as a Desktop Gadget [Tech-Recipes] More »
Work
4:30PM Angus Kidman | My Word 2007 installation is filled with macros and keyboard shortcuts, but I’d never realised that it was also possible to implement those within Outlook, which uses Word as its email editing interface. Microsoft’s Word Team Blog runs through the gory details (essentially, you have to store customisations in the NormalEmail template edited through Word, while for macros you need some object tagging so that Outlook doesn’t lose the plot when you try and run them). One point the post doesn’t note: you can’t edit the template while Outlook itself is running without serious file permission dramas. It’s a distinct nuisance that Microsoft’s design approach means you have to define keyboard customisations separately for Word and Outlook — integration is meant to be a selling point for Office — but at least it gives you a way of avoiding the painful Ribbon keyboard shortcuts.
Keyboard Customizations and Macros in WordMail [The Microsoft Office Word Team's Blog]
More »
How To Set Up Keyboard Shortcuts And Macros In Outlook
4:30PM Angus Kidman | My Word 2007 installation is filled with macros and keyboard shortcuts, but I’d never realised that it was also possible to implement those within Outlook, which uses Word as its email editing interface. Microsoft’s Word Team Blog runs through the gory details (essentially, you have to store customisations in the NormalEmail template edited through Word, while for macros you need some object tagging so that Outlook doesn’t lose the plot when you try and run them). One point the post doesn’t note: you can’t edit the template while Outlook itself is running without serious file permission dramas. It’s a distinct nuisance that Microsoft’s design approach means you have to define keyboard customisations separately for Word and Outlook — integration is meant to be a selling point for Office — but at least it gives you a way of avoiding the painful Ribbon keyboard shortcuts.
Keyboard Customizations and Macros in WordMail [The Microsoft Office Word Team's Blog]
More »
Organise
3:00PM Angus Kidman | Curious to see how Windows 7 runs on a Mac using Parallels? The configuration choice isn’t necessarily obvious, but PC Authority editor Zara Baxter advises setting the Parallels installation as ‘Windows 2008 experimental’ in order to play with the beta (which isn’t officially available to the public but is spreading over torrent sites nonetheless). Given that it’s an experimental build and that Parallels has recently upgraded, of course, your mileage may vary.
More »
Running Windows 7 In Parallels
3:00PM Angus Kidman | Curious to see how Windows 7 runs on a Mac using Parallels? The configuration choice isn’t necessarily obvious, but PC Authority editor Zara Baxter advises setting the Parallels installation as ‘Windows 2008 experimental’ in order to play with the beta (which isn’t officially available to the public but is spreading over torrent sites nonetheless). Given that it’s an experimental build and that Parallels has recently upgraded, of course, your mileage may vary.
More »
Fix
1:30PM Angus Kidman | I often watch video on my iPod Touch to wind down before sleeping, but there’s always a big downside: having to hold onto the device while you’re viewing. Reader Raphael wrote in with a nifty solution to the problem:
Take one desk lamp (around $25), one automotive phone holder ($10) and maybe a spare iPhone cable, in case you want to keep it charged. Remove the lamp head assembly and join together the remaining ingredients as you see fit — I chose the ever-useful “many little cable-ties” method.
As well as being good for pre-bed videos, this is also a nifty technique for hands-free viewing while at your desk — and you could use it with any portable video device. Thanks Raphael!
More »
Make A Bedside Stand For Your iPhone Or iPod Touch
1:30PM Angus Kidman | I often watch video on my iPod Touch to wind down before sleeping, but there’s always a big downside: having to hold onto the device while you’re viewing. Reader Raphael wrote in with a nifty solution to the problem:
Take one desk lamp (around $25), one automotive phone holder ($10) and maybe a spare iPhone cable, in case you want to keep it charged. Remove the lamp head assembly and join together the remaining ingredients as you see fit — I chose the ever-useful “many little cable-ties” method.
As well as being good for pre-bed videos, this is also a nifty technique for hands-free viewing while at your desk — and you could use it with any portable video device. Thanks Raphael!
More »
Organise
12:00PM Angus Kidman | Windows only: Sticky notes applications are fairly common, but StickySorter, a new offering from Microsoft’s Office Labs division, is designed to deal with a particular challenge: organising large groups of notes from multiple sources into relevant groups. Microsoft originally built it to help with the process of affinity diagramming, and it includes options for importing notes data from CSV files, tagging notes, and allowing structured data within the free-form sticky environment. Like most Labs products, there’s no clear indication of what will ultimately happen to this, but it’s an interesting new take on working with unstructured information. StickySort is a free download for Windows only, requires .NET Framework 2.0.
StickySorter
More »
StickySorter Groups Sticky Notes For Large Projects
12:00PM Angus Kidman | Windows only: Sticky notes applications are fairly common, but StickySorter, a new offering from Microsoft’s Office Labs division, is designed to deal with a particular challenge: organising large groups of notes from multiple sources into relevant groups. Microsoft originally built it to help with the process of affinity diagramming, and it includes options for importing notes data from CSV files, tagging notes, and allowing structured data within the free-form sticky environment. Like most Labs products, there’s no clear indication of what will ultimately happen to this, but it’s an interesting new take on working with unstructured information. StickySort is a free download for Windows only, requires .NET Framework 2.0.
StickySorter
More »
Fix
Microsoft To Offer Free Anti-Malware Software With Windows
11:30AM Lifehacker US Edition | In an effort to improve user experience and secure more machines from becoming zombies on botnets, Microsoft’s anti-malware project codenamed “Morro” will be free with every copy of the operating system. It’s specifically designed to require few computing and connection resources to work with older machines and limited bandwidth in an effort to protect new users on inexpensive computers around the world. The company has also announced plans to end the Windows Live OneCare paid subscription security service. Want to protect yourself now? Check out downloads like Hitman Pro and our top five antivirus applications. More »
Communicate
10:30AM Angus Kidman | Tivo next week will begin a trial of offering a downloadable movie of the week to subscribers (first title up: The Waterhorse, pictured), but it’s not quite as generous as it seems. The service, being offered in conjunction with Blockbuster and due to hit all Australian Tivo boxes by December 1, is essentially designed to make sure that people don’t get a rude shock on their ISP bill when Tivo’s full downloads service launches in March 2009. Or as the company PR puts it: “The aim is to provide TiVo customers with the ability to road test downloading video content over the internet straight to the lounge room and understand the critical role both internet speed and download quotas play in ensuring the service is a pleasurable one.” We’ve noted before that movie downloads are always risky if you have to pay for the bandwidth, and despite Tivo’s promise to use effective compression, we suspect this is going to prove too costly for a lot of people’s download caps. More »
Tivo Offers Movies, Anticipates Broadband Shock
10:30AM Angus Kidman | Tivo next week will begin a trial of offering a downloadable movie of the week to subscribers (first title up: The Waterhorse, pictured), but it’s not quite as generous as it seems. The service, being offered in conjunction with Blockbuster and due to hit all Australian Tivo boxes by December 1, is essentially designed to make sure that people don’t get a rude shock on their ISP bill when Tivo’s full downloads service launches in March 2009. Or as the company PR puts it: “The aim is to provide TiVo customers with the ability to road test downloading video content over the internet straight to the lounge room and understand the critical role both internet speed and download quotas play in ensuring the service is a pleasurable one.” We’ve noted before that movie downloads are always risky if you have to pay for the bandwidth, and despite Tivo’s promise to use effective compression, we suspect this is going to prove too costly for a lot of people’s download caps. More »
Organise
