Starting with iTunes 7, the popular digital media app began separating content into different categories based on type—Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks, etc. It’s a nice feature, but what if you liked the consolidated view better? Macworld suggests a simple solution: Create an all-inclusive Smart Playlist. For example: The method I use is to create a new smart playlist (Command-Option-N) and then set the condition to Size – is greater than – 0MB, and check the Live Updating box. That’s it; you’ve now got a smart playlist that will show you everything in iTunes, and update each time you add new content.
The author is quick to point out that while this method does the trick (on both Windows and Mac, mind you), it isn’t quite the same as the old consolidated library, namely because a smart playlist is still buried in your playlists rather than sitting atop your sidebar. If you’re on a Mac, the post describes how you can go one step further by making a couple of Terminal tweaks that will add the consolidated library back to the top of your Library. Of course, if you’ve been using previously mentioned Secrets—the preference pane that unlocks Leopard’s hidden features—you can apply this tweak from the iTunes section of the handy app with the tick of a checkbox.
Add a consolidated library view to iTunes [Macworld]Over at Maximum PC, I (Adam) have written up a guide to customising your Windows desktop, complete with my favourite tools for tweaking and streamlining Windows. Lifehacker readers are no strangers to desktop customisation, so let’s hear more about your favourite customisation tools in the comments.
Mac OS X only: Screen locker utility LockTight adds a shortcut key combination for OS X users to quickly lock your workstation from the keyboard. Windows users switching to using a Mac might be surprised to find no equivalent to the Winkey+L shortcut combination that locks the screen, especially helpful in work environments or at home to keep little fingers from opening things they shouldn’t. LockTight plugs into OS X as a simple system preference pane with a configurable hotkey, but for full effect you might want to configure your Mac to require a password when coming back from the screensaver and disable automatic login. Hit the link for the download, or take a look at the Switching to Mac guide for all the steps.
LockTight [via Switching to Mac]You dread filing. You don’t even own a file cabinet. You’re allergic to labelling. Whatever the reason, maintaining a meticulously organised file system has eluded you. Throw it all in a box. Over at the productivity blog SimpleProductivity, they offer a suggestion that—by their own admission—is heresy to devotees of organisation: Many people, otherwise competent and some even brilliant, cannot maintain a filing system. It has nothing to do with intelligence or organisation or even self-discipline. I’m convinced it’s just the way they are wired.
Their suggestion? Throw everything in a box. Keep a box under your desk, near your work area, or where you sort your mail, and put everything in the box. Everything you would normally file or save for potential future use goes into the box: pay stubs, paid bills, receipts and such all piled into the box as they appear. At the end of the year, you sit down and shred everything that you won’t need in future years and then simply write the year on the box in bold print and throw it on a shelf somewhere. While this system is completely antithetical to the systems that many of us use, ot’s a by-the-year filing system could easily meet the simple filing needs of many people. It’s also an approach that—despite its potential shortcomings—is still Better than Nothing™, which is what most of us attracted to this method are likely to do. Whether you’re horrified or not, sound off in the comments. Photo by Jonbro.
Filing Heresy: One Box Filing [SimpleProductivity]Previously mentioned people search engine Pipl has updated once again, this time offering three new reverse lookups based on emai or username. Finally you can find out more about your online love, superdelegate420. There’s not really all that much more to it. The email and username search scours online profiles, photo albums, YouTube accounts, and more based on the username or email address you’re searching with. There’s a reverse phone lookup, but it’s US-only. Email and username searches both found several of my online accounts. Let’s hear how well Pipl finds you in the comments.
PiplWindows only: Tiny open-source application Lightscreen takes screenshots with a configurable hotkey and automatically saves them into a folder of your choice. Lightscreen is a simple application designed to do nothing more than take screenshots, which are saved with a choice of JPG, BMP or PNG format to auto-numbered filenames and copied to the clipboard. Lightscreen has no built-in editing or annotation tools, leaving any editing tasks to separate applications like Paint.NET. If all you want is screen capture directly to a file, this utility might be worth a look. Windows Vista users will need to right-click on the setup application and choose “Run as Administrator” if installing to the Program Files folder. Lightscreen is a free download for Windows users. Thanks Paul!
LightscreenPopular malware-detection app Ad-Aware is celebrating its 10th year of computer crimefighting by releasing a new and improved Anniversary Edition. Here’s what you can expect from the new release.
We’ve shown you how to make 3D photo panoramas with Microsoft Photosynth, but CNN put the very cool app to excellent use yesterday with The Moment, a Photosynth-powered look at the moment Obama took his oath. Be warned, though—you could stare at this Photosynth slideshow for hours if you let yourself get pulled in.
