Sunday, January 4, 2009
Design
Create Custom Planner Templates With Dynamic Templates
10:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | If you’re a big fan of the templates at D*I*Y Planner, and we certainly are, you’ll be thrilled to know they have released a cross-platform program for generating your own templates. The application, at least the Windows version I tested, is stand alone and portable. It is currently limited to generating month/week/day appointment templates but will have other D*I*Y Planner templates like notes and such included in future releases. Automatic scaling to various US and international paper sizes is included, as well as the ability to tweak a host of smaller things like line weight. Completed templates are exported as a PDF file. Dynamic Templates is open source and cross-platform. Dynamic Templates [D*I*Y Planner] More »
Work
Hard Lessons In The Importance Of Backups: JournalSpace Wiped Out
9:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Blogging service JournalSpace has been completely wiped out after the drives that housed their entire database were overwritten. The problem was that their backups weren’t actually backups at all. The servers were set up with a mirrored RAID system so that if the primary drive should fail the secondary drive would be used to recover the primary. This alone is risky business, as it only protects you from the failure of one drive. In the case of JournalSpace, the drive didn’t fail but instead the data was overwritten/erased on one drive leading the other drive to follow suite and clear itself. A data recovery team was unable to retrieve the database. So where does that leave you, assuming you didn’t lose your blog in the data-meltdown? Hopefully taking a hard look at your backup plan and making sure that there aren’t the kind of holes in it that were in the JournalSpace backup plan. If you need some tips and tricks for securing your data check out: The Five Best Windows Backup Utilities, and How to Create Your Own Cross-Platform Backup Server. JournalSpace Is No More More »
Fix
Learn About Different Screw Types
8:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | There is an entire world beyond slotted and Phillips head screws. Learn your screw types and a whole lot more about the history of screws. For each screw drive type, from ancient Slot through to space-age Lox we present a quick view of the screw head, the drive name, a picture of the appropriate drive bit, followed by an explanation of the type. Also presented are the advantages and disadvantages of each drive type. Never find yourself peeling back the warranty sticker on an electronic device again and exclaiming “What the hell is that!” when confronted with an exotic screw type. When a Phillips is not a Phillips [via Make] More »
Work
Increase Productivity With The 3 Open Project Method
7:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Glen over at the self improvement blog LifeDev has an interesting way of dealing with distraction and remaining productive. He works through projects in parallel, so that when he’s distracted it’s by another project. Recently he found out that his father had been working the same way for years, by balancing projects to keep himself interested: Dad has a simple method for keeping himself busy and entertained with what he’s working on. He simply starts 3 projects at the same time. He can work on whichever he pleases throughout the day, and go back and forth as his mood permits. If he becomes bored with a task or needs to think about how to do something, he switches tasks. By the end of the day he’ll have completed, (or nearly completed), 3 different projects. This is much better than only making halfway through a single project and getting distracted. Both he and his father recognise that they are more prone to distraction than some people, so rather than fight it they set up their work so that when they do get distracted it’s by another relevant project and not a time sink. Photo by Flik. My Father’s Take On Getting Stuff Done: 3 “Opened” Projects [LifeDev] More »
Fix
DivFix++ Repairs Your AVI Files
6:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | DivFix++ is a cross-platform .AVI repair program that rebuilds the index file within the .AVI container to restore your movie to a functional state. DivFix++ can be downloaded pre-compiled for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. The interface and operation is straight forward. Tell it where you want the repaired file to be saved, drag and drop some files to be repaired into the Source Files pane of the program and let it loose. Repair time was fairly quick on my mid-level machine and the resource utilization was lower than I expected. The program required no installation, just a simple unzipping, but beyond that I can’t vouch for its portability. DivX++ is cross-platform and open source. DivFix++ [via gHacks] More »
Money
In Defence Of Buying Books
5:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | We’re big fans of public libraries here at Lifehacker and frequently share tips on how to get cheap books. Ann Zurkle logs the argument at financial blog Get Rich Slowly that buying books is OK. Ann goes on to detail the average cost of a variety of leisure activities people spend money on compared to her expenditures on books and the the uniqueness of the bookstore and reading experience. Ann uses books as an indulgence over other activities: Even if the previous logic isn’t convincing, consider that books are my reward. Instead of a big fancy meal or a special treat, I often get a book to celebrate things. A book is usually much cheaper than a meal at a fancy restaurant or a concert, is fewer calories than ice cream and lasts a lot longer than both! Do you prefer to get your books through free channels like the library or nearly free channels like book swapping websites, over buying them from a bookseller? Photo by Adan Garcia. In Defence of Buying Books [GetRichSlowly] More »
Fix
Build A Hackintosh For Under $240
4:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Industrious tinkers at eclectic technology blog UselessNinjas have put together a guide to building a sub-$US240 computer to run Mac OS X. Last year Adam showed you how to build your own Hackintosh, the build at UselessNinjas continues in that spirit of installing OS X on non-Apple hardware. They use an extremely small desktop computer from MSI, the same manufacturer that built the hackintosh friendly MSI Wind Netbook we looked at a few months ago. For the details on their build, check out the full article. Even if you aren’t in the market for a mac-clone, the specs and size on the mini-desktop unit they use for the project look promising for a Windows based XBMC project. Homemade Macintosh for under $240 [via HackADay] More »
Organise
