Monday, February 16, 2009
Organise
WishList Manages And Ranks Your Future Purchases
11:30PM Jason Fitzpatrick | Windows only: If you’re looking for a better way to manage your wish lists than Notepad, but aren’t interested in the more frilly web-based solutions, WishList is a lightweight and portable solution. WishList has entry fields for the item name, notes or the URL, priority level, and price. You can quickly analyse and sort lists according to cost, priority, or which items have yet to be purchased. Wish lists can easily be exported and imported for safe keeping, and the ease of maintaining separate lists for different activities or purposes. If a simple portable application isn’t what you’re looking for, check out how to turn Amazon’s Universal Wish List into a gift and purchase organizer. WishList is freeware, Windows only. WishList [via Elite Freeware] More »
Communicate
Nokia, Microsoft To Open Their Own App Stores
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | Not to be left behind by Apple and Google, two of the biggest names in mobile phones are launching their own application stores. Nokia opens the Ovi Store in May to 50 million people, mainly those with S40 and S60 unites. The app store can show buyers which items their Nokia-using friends have downloaded, and will also be geo-aware, such that, according to Nokia reps: … If a user flies to London, when the user gets off the plane the application store will highlight content that might be useful and relevant, such as London restaurant guides or Lonely Planet city guides. And Microsoft will roll out Windows Marketplace with the release of Windows Mobile 6.5, slated for the “second half of 2009.” Fewer details are available for Windows Markeplace, other than being able to buy apps from a phone or PC with a Windows Live ID, and apps needing a “simple security and compatibility check” to be downloaded. WinMo or Nokia users, what apps, already existing or imagined, would you love to get first when your phone gets a markeplace? More »
Work
autofillPDF Labels Does The Grunt Work Of Label Printing For You
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | AutofillPDF Labels is a handy web tool for anyone who’s wanted to print their own labels of any kind, but loathes the idea of manually filling out the printing template over and over. Many print-your-own label packets come with links or CDs that get you a pre-formatted Word document to fill out. Unless you’re getting married or sending out other invitations, though, you’ll usually end up putting the same thing on each label, and Ctrl-C/V-ing your precious time away. This handy webapp pops open a scripted PDF file on any system, while letting you change the font, styling, size, and other text properties, and also add images. In short, you create one label, and the PDF fills out the rest of them for you. The templates include CD labels, address or mailing, file folder labels, and even non-sticky business cards. Free to use, no sign-up required, and it works best with Adobe Acrobat (the free reader). autofillPDF Labels [via MakeUseOf.com] More »
Fix
Build Your Own Plant-Boosting LED Light Spikes
9:00PM Kevin Purdy | For indoor plants, winter is a harsh time. Buying specialty grow lights can give your air-boosting indoor plants the right light and temperature, or you can build your own long-lasting, nifty-looking LED light spikes. Popular Science details the parts and simple wiring steps needed to create the light spikes, which can be made from any clear container and hooked up and controlled as single units or chained into a system. No soldering or other intense electrical work appears to be needed, and with an LED controller, you’ll get a great deal more control over how long, how bright, and what times your plants are getting their fake sunlight. It’s a good idea to team up the LED lights with actual sunlight, using your spikes (or other light shapes) to cover the night hours. Check out the parts list, arrange your plants for circuit lighting, and remember that your natural air cleaners will need some water, too. Thanks, Slater! DIY Grow Lights [via Source] More »
Travel
4:00PM Angus Kidman | Everyone (except the occasional US president) recognises that travelling has an environmental impact, and that it’s sensible to try and minimise that. But is it possible to do that systematically without spending more money? More »
Can You Develop A Personal Green Travel Policy At Minimal Cost?
4:00PM Angus Kidman | Everyone (except the occasional US president) recognises that travelling has an environmental impact, and that it’s sensible to try and minimise that. But is it possible to do that systematically without spending more money? More »
Fix
Properly Erase Your Physical Media
4:00PM Jason Fitzpatrick | A whopping 40% of the used hard drives on eBay contain easily recoverable personal data. Use the following guide to ensure your personal data never makes it out into the wild. Photo by AMagill. More »
Organise
2:00PM Angus Kidman | It’s a familiar call at the start of any conference: switch off your mobile or at least put it in silent. But does anyone ever bother? A survey by a UK conference centre suggests not: 75% of attendees left their phones on regardless of requests, and of that group, 40% check their email at least once every half an hour. I know I’m guilty of doing that. Is it now acceptable to check your email or phone during a conference, or do I need to get better manners? More »
Do You Switch Off Your Mobile Phone When Asked?
2:00PM Angus Kidman | It’s a familiar call at the start of any conference: switch off your mobile or at least put it in silent. But does anyone ever bother? A survey by a UK conference centre suggests not: 75% of attendees left their phones on regardless of requests, and of that group, 40% check their email at least once every half an hour. I know I’m guilty of doing that. Is it now acceptable to check your email or phone during a conference, or do I need to get better manners? More »
Communicate
12:00PM Angus Kidman | If you’re a user of Ice TV and want to keep track of changes like channel reprogramming< \/a>, you can now do so via the service’s new Twitter account (@icetv). For my money, following the company’s RSS feed would be more efficient, but it’s good to have the option. More »
Ice TV Adds Twitter Option
12:00PM Angus Kidman | If you’re a user of Ice TV and want to keep track of changes like channel reprogramming< \/a>, you can now do so via the service’s new Twitter account (@icetv). For my money, following the company’s RSS feed would be more efficient, but it’s good to have the option. More »
Travel
10:00AM Angus Kidman | Options for in-seat entertainment on planes have improved dramatically in recent years, but for the most part still restricts you to whatever the airline chooses to program. While planes like the A380 have upped the ante, it’s still relatively rare to be able to view your own content on a screen bigger than your portable media device. However, the situation should get better. As I report for APC, Airbus expects options for plugging in iPods and other forms of content should increase in the next few years, as airlines seek to differentiate themselves and attract the fickle traveller dollar. What would you ideally like on in-seat tech menu? Share your dream configuration in the comments.
Airbus: why in-seat tech is so tricky
More »
Airbus Promises More In-Seat Entertainment
10:00AM Angus Kidman | Options for in-seat entertainment on planes have improved dramatically in recent years, but for the most part still restricts you to whatever the airline chooses to program. While planes like the A380 have upped the ante, it’s still relatively rare to be able to view your own content on a screen bigger than your portable media device. However, the situation should get better. As I report for APC, Airbus expects options for plugging in iPods and other forms of content should increase in the next few years, as airlines seek to differentiate themselves and attract the fickle traveller dollar. What would you ideally like on in-seat tech menu? Share your dream configuration in the comments.
Airbus: why in-seat tech is so tricky
More »
Organise
8:30AM Angus Kidman | Kick off your Lifehacker Monday by making sure you didn’t miss any of the biggest posts from last week:
Why Packing Bags Inside Your Bags Makes Sense“RussianDolls.jpg Throughout my time as an airline traveller, I’ve always been a great believer in the “Russian doll” principle of packing – keeping the contents of your suitcase organised and separated in bags of their own, nested to near infinity if necessary.”
Three Plants That Give You Better Indoor AirKamal Meattle used three just three indoor plant species to increase oxygen, filter air, and boost general health at a a New Delhi business park. You too can use them to freshen your indoor space.
Absolutely Amazing Video Game Remake Wallpapers (Images)Last week we highlighted a few retro gaming wallpapers for some Friday fun. That was nothing compared to DeviantArt member Orioto’s high-resolution, you-won’t-believe-your-eyes paintings of classic video games for your desktop-a must-see for any gaming enthusiast.
TPG Case Shows Importance Of Checking Mobile Contract Details“When you’re faced with a shiny new mobile phone or great sounding deal, the last thing you want to do is spend time checking over the details — but doing your research is still the best way to ensure you don’t get ripped off.”
Five Best Lifehacker Code Apps And ExtensionsOver the last few years we’ve had the privilege of releasing exclusive applications, scripts, and extensions that have hopefully boosted your productivity.
DVDSmith Movie Backup Copies Whole Discs Or Just The Main Movie (Windows)DVDSmith Movie Backup is terrible for our headline style, since it does exactly what its name implies. It’s great, though, for anyone who simply wants to watch a DVD without the disc.
Underbelly Episodes Freely Available Online“Freed from the legal problems that beset series one, the Underbelly prequel has already become the highest-rating drama in people-meter-ranking TV history — but Nine is apparently keen to get even more people watching the show, and is offering free downloads of the episodes the same evening they air.”
Autofocus Is A Single, Paper-Based List Organisation SystemAutofocus, an organisation system designed by personal organisation author Mark Forster, is available for all. If you’re looking for a linear, list-based system to help you get things done, Autofocus stresses simplicity and speed.
Ultimate Windows Tweaker Updates, Adds 20 New Tweaks (Windows)Similar-to-TweakUI application Ultimate Windows Tweaker adds more tweaks, bugfixes, and better 64-bit support to an already ridiculously useful tool for making configuration changes the easy way.
Pod To PC Transfers Music From Any iPod, iPhone Onto Your PC (Windows)Pod to PC can grab the music and movies off nearly any Windows-formatted iPod for transferring to your PC, and avoids duplicates while doing so.
Free Audio Editor Does Powerful Music Editing With Ease (Windows)Advanced audio editing tool Free Audio Editor handles your music and sound editing with an attractive, streamlined, and easy-to-use interface.
Wallpaper Juggler Downloads, Rotates High-Quality Wallpaper (Windows)Desktop wallpaper switching application Wallpaper Juggler not only chooses between random images-it also downloads beautiful desktop wallpaper for you.
Add-Art Replaces Advertisements With Artwork (Firefox)Add-Art is a unique advertisement-blocking solution for Firefox. Instead of simply deleting ads from the page, it replaces them with art by featured artists.
JPEG & PNG Stripper Removes the Metadata from Your Images (Windows)JPEG & PNG Stripper an extremely small portable application that strips the metadata out of JPEG and PNG image files.
DoubleDesktop is a Tiny Virtual Desktop Manager (Windows)Virtual desktop utility DoubleDesktop does exactly what its name implies-it creates two virtual desktops in a tiny package that uses less than 1 MB of RAM.
More »
Last Week’s Best Posts
8:30AM Angus Kidman | Kick off your Lifehacker Monday by making sure you didn’t miss any of the biggest posts from last week:
Why Packing Bags Inside Your Bags Makes Sense“RussianDolls.jpg Throughout my time as an airline traveller, I’ve always been a great believer in the “Russian doll” principle of packing – keeping the contents of your suitcase organised and separated in bags of their own, nested to near infinity if necessary.”
Three Plants That Give You Better Indoor AirKamal Meattle used three just three indoor plant species to increase oxygen, filter air, and boost general health at a a New Delhi business park. You too can use them to freshen your indoor space.
Absolutely Amazing Video Game Remake Wallpapers (Images)Last week we highlighted a few retro gaming wallpapers for some Friday fun. That was nothing compared to DeviantArt member Orioto’s high-resolution, you-won’t-believe-your-eyes paintings of classic video games for your desktop-a must-see for any gaming enthusiast.
TPG Case Shows Importance Of Checking Mobile Contract Details“When you’re faced with a shiny new mobile phone or great sounding deal, the last thing you want to do is spend time checking over the details — but doing your research is still the best way to ensure you don’t get ripped off.”
Five Best Lifehacker Code Apps And ExtensionsOver the last few years we’ve had the privilege of releasing exclusive applications, scripts, and extensions that have hopefully boosted your productivity.
DVDSmith Movie Backup Copies Whole Discs Or Just The Main Movie (Windows)DVDSmith Movie Backup is terrible for our headline style, since it does exactly what its name implies. It’s great, though, for anyone who simply wants to watch a DVD without the disc.
Underbelly Episodes Freely Available Online“Freed from the legal problems that beset series one, the Underbelly prequel has already become the highest-rating drama in people-meter-ranking TV history — but Nine is apparently keen to get even more people watching the show, and is offering free downloads of the episodes the same evening they air.”
Autofocus Is A Single, Paper-Based List Organisation SystemAutofocus, an organisation system designed by personal organisation author Mark Forster, is available for all. If you’re looking for a linear, list-based system to help you get things done, Autofocus stresses simplicity and speed.
Ultimate Windows Tweaker Updates, Adds 20 New Tweaks (Windows)Similar-to-TweakUI application Ultimate Windows Tweaker adds more tweaks, bugfixes, and better 64-bit support to an already ridiculously useful tool for making configuration changes the easy way.
Pod To PC Transfers Music From Any iPod, iPhone Onto Your PC (Windows)Pod to PC can grab the music and movies off nearly any Windows-formatted iPod for transferring to your PC, and avoids duplicates while doing so.
Free Audio Editor Does Powerful Music Editing With Ease (Windows)Advanced audio editing tool Free Audio Editor handles your music and sound editing with an attractive, streamlined, and easy-to-use interface.
Wallpaper Juggler Downloads, Rotates High-Quality Wallpaper (Windows)Desktop wallpaper switching application Wallpaper Juggler not only chooses between random images-it also downloads beautiful desktop wallpaper for you.
Add-Art Replaces Advertisements With Artwork (Firefox)Add-Art is a unique advertisement-blocking solution for Firefox. Instead of simply deleting ads from the page, it replaces them with art by featured artists.
JPEG & PNG Stripper Removes the Metadata from Your Images (Windows)JPEG & PNG Stripper an extremely small portable application that strips the metadata out of JPEG and PNG image files.
DoubleDesktop is a Tiny Virtual Desktop Manager (Windows)Virtual desktop utility DoubleDesktop does exactly what its name implies-it creates two virtual desktops in a tiny package that uses less than 1 MB of RAM.
More » 