Previously mentioned web-based note-taking tool UberNote has just released a Google Notebook Import tool to move your Google Notebook notes into an app with a future. It’s a good bet that every note-taking tool looking to grab new users will create a similar tool (we’re looking at you, Evernote) now that Google Notebook has stopped active development, but UberNote looks like the first. Not keen on UberNote? Check out our suggestions for where to go when Google Notebook goes down.
If you’ve got 45 minutes and a real hankering to know all you can about the nitty gritty of Windows 7, Microsoft Technical fellow, software engineer, and developer of a number of excellent free Windows utilities Mark Russinovich talks all about the intricacies of Windows 7. We’re talking high geek quotient here (kernel constructs, threading, CPUs, oh my!), so it may not be for everyong. Thanks Samir! [via]
Windows only: Ghoster darkens everything on the screen except the currently focused window, giving you a distraction-free environment to do your work. Ghoster is similar to Adam’s Dropcloth or Isolator for Mac, but it also dims the taskbar—arguably the biggest source of distraction with its blinking buttons and system tray notifications. The application’s settings are stored in a text file, which makes it a little less user friendly when you want to adjust the settings. There’s also no hotkey to turn it on or off, but I’ve still found it invaluable for my concentration while working. To use, simply launch the application and start working. You can access the configuration file through the tray icon (changing the transparency number to a larger value darkens the screen). Ghoster is free and open source, written in AutoHotkey.
GhosterWindows only: Why download a hefty ZIP file only to find out that the file you needed is only a tiny fraction of the bulky download? Grab only the files you want with LoadScout. Plug in the address of the archive—a web or FTP address will do—and LoadScout remotely displays the contents. From there, you can browse the directories and files just like would if the archive was open on your computer. The option to cherry pick what you want to download is extremely helpful if all you need, for example, is a single driver file out of a bulky driver pack. In addition to remote archive browsing, LoadScout previews media like MP3 and AVI files by jumping to any location in the remote file and starting playback from there. Even if you intend to download the entire file, LoadScout lets you verify the contents before you waste time and bandwidth downloading it. LoadScout is freeware, Windows only.
LoadScout [via gHacks]The New York Times suggests that the best way to a healthy heart isn’t the same rigid diet and exercise routine you’re used to hearing about. Instead, they recommend a Mediterranean diet in which “the food is tasty, easy to prepare and relatively inexpensive, and an exercise routine in which “you don’t have to sweat for an hour a day to reap the benefits.” The diet in question encourages more cold-water fish, red wine, olive oil, and plenty of fruits and vegetables to discourage CRP, a leading cause of heart attacks. Photo by VirtualErn.
Windows only: Simple count-down timer application Cook Timer alerts you after a user-specified length of time, perfect for preventing burnt food while you’re busy on the computer. The tiny open-source application requires no installation and is only resident in memory while the timer is active. You can choose from one of the presets or set a custom time, and then minimise the application to the system tray until you hear the alarm, at which point the window should pop back up. The only drawback is that you can only set a single timer, so readers looking for multiple timers should check out previously mentioned Multi-Timer. Cook Timer is a free download for Windows only. (Linux source code is available but it didn’t work for me). Cook Timer
Windows only: Is your Open With context menu overflowing with apps you never use? OpenWithView is a simple, portable utility for culling unneeded entries from the list of suggested programs in Windows’ Open With dialog box. OpenWithView lists every potential entry available as an Open With suggestion. From there you can enable and disable any item—although they can’t be permanently deleted. The lack of deletion has no impact on the final result, however, which is a much cleaner Open With dialog box. You’ll likely find entries for programs you’ve uninstalled and others that you’ll likely never use. For more menu-cleaning goodness, check out how to declutter your Windows context menu and how to get rid of unused startup entries. OpenWithView is freeware, Windows only.
OpenWithView [via The Portable Freeware Collection]Windows only: If you like the look of Windows 7′s great new keyboard shortcuts but aren’t planning to upgrade for a while, Windows 7 Shortcuts enables some of the best Win7 shortcuts for XP and Vista.
Today is my last day as site lead at Lifehacker, so I’m taking off my distanced reporter hat to get all mushy, personal, and behind-the-scenes on you. Come in and grab a seat.
Fans of GNOME Do, the previously mentioned application launcher rich with plug-ins and extensibility, can try out an alpha version that includes a strange little feature—a “Docky” theme that emulates, well, an application dock. Check out Peng Hardin’s post for details on getting into the Do-testers repositories.
