The iPod Touch (or iPhone if you must) is a great way of catching up on TV and movies while travelling, but if you fancy a little pre-sleep viewing it’s a nuisance to hold while you sit up in bed. We’ve featured the DIY iPod Touch lamp stand before, but that’s not a suitable option for taking on the road. You can try resting it against a book or alarm clock, but any movement — such as laughter — tends to make it fall over. My current simple-but-effective solution is to use a plate stand (available in craft or homewares shops for a couple of bucks) to rest the iPod on, which keeps it stable and takes up no room in my travel bag. How do you handle on-road video viewing in miniature? Useful tips are welcome in the comments.
A post on Microsoft’s Windows 7 blog offers some interesting insight into how power consumption works on a current notebook. As the graph shows, your display consumes almost half of the total power, with the combined efforts of the chipset and processor running a close second. Improving those numbers is one of the targets for Windows 7, though I’m deeply sceptical of the claim that “most systems resume from sleep in less than 2 seconds”, improved boot times for the platform notwithstanding. Even with a relatively speedy resume, sleep functionality has also been mixed with some recent Windows notebooks I’ve owned — many have done a singularly awful job of dealing with attached devices or even reconnecting to networks. But there’s always hope, isn’t there?
Windows 7 Energy Efficiency [Engineering Windows 7]So you survived your company layoffs but now you’re shouldering more responsibility for no more pay. If work is a giant stressfest these days, Fortune magazine’s advice columnist Anne Fisher has some tips.The sad truth is that things are difficult right now, so most of her advice boils down to “buck up and make yourself useful.” For example: Set 30-day and 60-day goals. Share them with your boss and then, as you get closer to your targets, update him or her on that, too. “Not only will measurable progress keep you upbeat and creative,” [executive coach Deb]Bright notes, but in practical terms, “your boss needs to know what his department is accomplishing, so he has ammunition if someone wants to chop it in half.” Gulp.
How are you dealing with what’s a pretty depressing time at most companies? Are you facing survivor’s guilt PLUS double the job description for the same pay? Tell us your story in the comments. A 10-point survival guide to keep your job [Fortune via steverubel]
Web site Wipee List is a new to-do list application with an emphasis on simplicity and attractive design. Let’s be honest, there’s no shortage on great to-do list apps on the internet, and if our five best to-do list managers vote is accurate, most of the web-based to-do crowd is gaga for Remember the Milk, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find anything worthwhile from Wipee List. It features priorities, tags, notes, and a great Quick Reminders sticky where you can drag and drop any task so that it’s visible everywhere you go on Wipee list. The site is still very young, so while it’s not as full-featured as Remember the Milk, for example, it is quick, very easy to understand and use, and it’s free. If you give it a try, let’s hear what you think in the comments.
Wipee ListAuthor of new book The Power of Less Leo Babauta advises readers to simplify and focus only on the essential. Today he stopped by to tell us more about his timely message.
It’s a new year, and sitting squarely at the top of your list of resolutions: Get in shape in ’09. Sounds like a good time to print out weblog Squawkfox’s free workout log.The workout log is a once-a-week printout, helping you plan or track your workouts, weight, results, and more as you progress in your exercise. It’s a simple, cheap, but excellent motivator to keep you honest with your workouts. Thanks Kerry!
Free Printable Workout Log [Squawkfox]Popular media centre application and XBMC-spinoff Boxee has opened its alpha to all Mac and Linux users and is ramping up invites for the Windows private alpha, meaning that if you’ve been dying to try Boxee, you should be able to do so sooner than later. Apart from that, Boxee has also released an update supporting MTV Music, Joost and BBC iPlayer (UK only), along with more bug fixes and improvements.
If you’re excited that Windows 7 Beta will be available as a free download soon, Microsoft also detailed the minimum system requirements for Windows 7. According to PC World, the requirements are:1GHz processor (32- or 64-bit) 1GB of main memory 16GB of available disk space Support for DX9 graphics with 128MB of memory (for the Aero interface) A DVD-R/W drive
Those requirements are basically identical to the system requirements for Vista, which—considering the nearly three-year span between Vista and Windows 7—should make Windows 7 a much more viable upgrade to those of use who don’t want to buy a new PC just to upgrade their OS.
