Monday, March 30, 2009
Work
MailBrowserBackup Backs Up Browser And Email Profiles
11:30PM Jason Fitzpatrick | Windows only: If you use multiple web browsers and email clients, MailBrowserBackup allows you to backup your profiles for each in one swoop. Currently MailBrowserBackup supports Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and SRWare Iron in the browser arena, and Mozilla Thunderbird in the email arena. According to the author’s release schedule the next release will increase support to include Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer. Backing up Firefox and Chrome took only a few seconds on my system and the results were stored neatly in the directory I specified. Restoring was just as quick. The application is portable, but does require Microsoft .NET 2.0+ or above. MailBrowserBackup is open-source, Windows only. MailBrowserBackup [via gHacks] More »
Money
HostMonk Prices And Sorts Web Hosts
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | If you’re running your own web site, or planning to, you probably know exactly what kind of space, bandwidth, and features you’ll need, along with a price point. HostMonk finds web hosts based on those preferences. The site boasts of pricing and listing more than 2,500 hosting packages from a wide variety of companies, and it does offer up the nitty-gritty details on each one, including their server and headquarters locations, managed or unmanaged status, processor types, Linux or Windows, and all the basic numbers and prices. It seems to tend away from the big names in hosting, but could also net you a pretty sweet deal on data pricing, if you’re willing to shop around. It doesn’t offer point-by-point comparison selection or comparison, unfortunately, but otherwise delivers the numerical goods without your having to endlessly Google around. Free to use, though many links are connected to affiliate systems. HostMonk [via MakeUseOf.com] More »
Communicate
Skype For iPhone Arrives This Week
9:00PM Kevin Purdy | First a rumor, now a confirmed launch—Skype is bringing its VoIP client to the iPhone (and iPod touch) App Store tomorrow, with BlackBerrys following in May. Big drawbacks—only works with Wi-Fi, and no text messages. [Gizmodo] More »
Organise
4:00PM Angus Kidman | Google’s indexing often seems to stretch into the most obscure corners of the net, but there are plenty of sites it deliberately doesn’t index, even within its own domains. Google Operating System runs down some of the more interesting areas of Google that don’t get indexed. It’s no surprise that search results pages, mobile replicas of pages and Google Documents are kept private, but some of the other exceptions (like image pages only being available via image search, video captions being ignored, or Google Moderator not being indexed) seem more questionable.
Hosted by Google, but Not Open to Search Engines [Google Operating System]
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What Google Doesn’t Index On Its Own Site
4:00PM Angus Kidman | Google’s indexing often seems to stretch into the most obscure corners of the net, but there are plenty of sites it deliberately doesn’t index, even within its own domains. Google Operating System runs down some of the more interesting areas of Google that don’t get indexed. It’s no surprise that search results pages, mobile replicas of pages and Google Documents are kept private, but some of the other exceptions (like image pages only being available via image search, video captions being ignored, or Google Moderator not being indexed) seem more questionable.
Hosted by Google, but Not Open to Search Engines [Google Operating System]
More »
Travel
2:00PM Angus Kidman | Australians might be more likely than anyone else in the Asia-Pacific region, but we’re still making a few costly mistakes when it comes to booking online travel, recent research suggests. More »
Mistakes Australian Travellers Make When Booking Online
2:00PM Angus Kidman | Australians might be more likely than anyone else in the Asia-Pacific region, but we’re still making a few costly mistakes when it comes to booking online travel, recent research suggests. More »
Communicate
12:00PM Angus Kidman | A new survey confirms two obvious facts about mobile Internet in Australia: people are using it more, but still think it costs too much. According to the 2008 Worldwide Mobile Data Service Study (which included 2000 Australians in its panel), 61% of Australians have used information services in their phone over the last month, while 49% have visited a web site on their phone. One weird stat from the release: “Sixty-four per cent of Australian respondents were willing to pay more than $10 per month for unlimited mobile data access, up from zero per cent the previous year.” The question itself is wishful thinking, since there’s absolutely no-one in Australia offering unlimited (mobile phone Internet access at anywhere near that price, unlike the US where it’s the market norm). Any telco feel like stepping up? Thought not. More »
Australians Like Mobile Internet, Still Don’t Want To Pay For It
12:00PM Angus Kidman | A new survey confirms two obvious facts about mobile Internet in Australia: people are using it more, but still think it costs too much. According to the 2008 Worldwide Mobile Data Service Study (which included 2000 Australians in its panel), 61% of Australians have used information services in their phone over the last month, while 49% have visited a web site on their phone. One weird stat from the release: “Sixty-four per cent of Australian respondents were willing to pay more than $10 per month for unlimited mobile data access, up from zero per cent the previous year.” The question itself is wishful thinking, since there’s absolutely no-one in Australia offering unlimited (mobile phone Internet access at anywhere near that price, unlike the US where it’s the market norm). Any telco feel like stepping up? Thought not. More »
Fix
Create a Cat Haven From Ikea Shelves
10:30AM Jason Fitzpatrick | The climbing trees at pet stores are ridiculously expensive and take up tons of floor space. Help your kitty jump to a royal view, Super-Mario-style, without cluttering your floor or wasting money. ModernCat showcased a pretty nifty climbing wall designed by one of the blog’s readers. The kitty roost is made from a combination of Ikea products: shelving brackets, small shelves, and wool carpet swaths. With some smart shopping, though, you could buy similar materials just about anywhere. By using the wall itself as the primary support for the cat’s climbing space, you avoid the big footprint of a commercial climbing tree. Inexpensive construction aside, the best part about using the wall for support is you can create a roost as high as your ceilings allow. I know a certain cat at my house that would be thrilled to have a 15 foot tall perch in my office, well above children’s poking fingers. For more pictures and links to the various parts, take a peek at the link below. If you have your own creative pet-related project, we’d love to hear about it! Ikea Climbing Wall [ModernCat] More »
Communicate
10:00AM Angus Kidman | Good news for sporting types planning on hitting a few events at the Melbourne Cricket Ground: the MCG is now offering free Wi-Fi throughout the venue, courtesy of a deal with Internode. I wouldn’t necessarily advise taking a notebook PC to a match, but it’s a handy way to tweet for free if you’ve got a suitably-equipped phone. If you’ve tested out the coverage on the ground, let us know what it’s like in the comments. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Internode
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Get Free Wi-Fi At The MCG
10:00AM Angus Kidman | Good news for sporting types planning on hitting a few events at the Melbourne Cricket Ground: the MCG is now offering free Wi-Fi throughout the venue, courtesy of a deal with Internode. I wouldn’t necessarily advise taking a notebook PC to a match, but it’s a handy way to tweet for free if you’ve got a suitably-equipped phone. If you’ve tested out the coverage on the ground, let us know what it’s like in the comments. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Internode
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Fix
Make Your Own Etched Glass Storage Jars
9:15AM Jason Fitzpatrick | A little etching cream and some stickers is all it takes to create customised storage jars. At MarthaStewart.com, they have a simple guide to using glass etching cream for creating labels on glass storage jars. You’ll likely need to make a trip to the craft store, but the materials they use are inexpensive. A bottle of glass etching cream will run you around $10, along with some stick-on vinyl letters to create the actual text on the label. Other than that, some masking tape and a very small paint brush get this project done, and leave you with some solid de-cluttering weapons. For detailed instructions and a caution or two—don’t use etching cream near a porcelain sink!—check out the full tutorial below. Etched Glass Storage Jars [via TheKitchn] 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:
What Are The Essentials For International Carry-On Luggage?It’s a key question if you’ve got an international trip coming up: how much stuff should you cram in your hand luggage? Learn how to strike the right balance without crippling yourself or being forced to repack at the check-in desk.
Five Best Web BrowsersIt’s probably the most important and debated piece of software on the modern computer. See how your fellow readers get around the net in this week’s Hive Five.
Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities (Windows)It’s the little things that make a Windows system great-like utilities that use less than 10MB of memory to make your life easier. Here are 10 apps that pack a lot of greatness into very little space.
Fumzup Helps Choose Credit Cards And Bank Accountsetting minimal interest rates on credit cards and maximum rates on savings accounts makes good financial sense, but ploughing through bank sites is a tedious task. Fumzup automates the process of finding credit cards, savings accounts and term deposits.
First Look at Ubuntu 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” BetaThe name’s ridiculous, but “Jaunty Jackalope,” the next release of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, is seriously focused on the user experience.
Killer Typography Tools And Free Font DownloadsWhether you’re putting together a resume, flyer, or web page, everyone needs to find and compare fonts some time. Here are some tools that can help you find the perfect font.
Microsoft Extends DreamSpark Free Software Program To Aussie High SchoolsGood news for code-cutting teenagers — Microsoft has extended its DreamSpark program, which offers free copies of its main development tools for education use, to Australian high schools.
Academic Earth Aggregates Lectures from MIT, Harvard, Yale And OthersWeb site Academic Earth is like Hulu for academic lectures, pulling free lectures from Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale into one attractive, easy to navigate site.
Magnifique Customises Your OS X Theme (Mac)Not keen on Leopard’s default theme, or just prefer to ditch the status quo for something more your style? Free application Ma.gifique quickly and easily swaps custom themes in OS X.
Switch To A Two-Week Grocery Cycle To Waste Less FoodThe Green Cheapskate Blog cites studies showing that the American grocery shopper wastes 25 percent of their purchased food-if not more. Switch to an every-other-week shopping regimen, and you might start throwing less money away.
Better Gmail For Google Chrome (Windows)Better Gmail for Google Chrome is a compilation of user scripts designed to enhance your Gmail experience-and to make it easy, we’ve tested and bundled them together in one easy download.
Create Edible Gummy Shot GlassesTrying to figure out what to serve your skittles-infused vodka in? Why, a flavoured gummy shot glass, of course. ShesParticular at tinkering haven Instructables uploaded a ridiculously simple tutorial on making your own gummy shot glasses.
Synergy-Plus Controls Multiple Systems From A Single Keyboard & Mouse (Windows)We always had a strong liking for controlling multiple computers with a single keyboard and mouse, and the concept’s still cool, but the software hasn’t updated. Synergy-Plus keeps the multi-control party going.
Make Your Home Dust-ProofCut down on the time you spend dusting and make the air in your home healthier with a few simple tips.
Display Your Desktop Icons In List View (Windows)DesktopListView is an really tiny application that activates a list view of small icons on your destop, giving you more room for an intriguing desktop or custom-sized windows.
Vuze Converts BitTorrent Downloads To Device-Friendly Formats (Windows/Mac/Linux)Vuze-one of the most popular BitTorrent clients around-has just added a killer feature that allows you to easily transcode any download so its playable on your iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Close’n Forget Removes Browser Tracks Of The Site You’re On (Firefox)Close’n Forget, one of the runners-up for Mozilla’s Best Firefox 3 Extensions, has updated to, well, actually work more often, erasing any site’s cookie/history/AwesomeBar evidence from Firefox with one button click.
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:
What Are The Essentials For International Carry-On Luggage?It’s a key question if you’ve got an international trip coming up: how much stuff should you cram in your hand luggage? Learn how to strike the right balance without crippling yourself or being forced to repack at the check-in desk.
Five Best Web BrowsersIt’s probably the most important and debated piece of software on the modern computer. See how your fellow readers get around the net in this week’s Hive Five.
Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities (Windows)It’s the little things that make a Windows system great-like utilities that use less than 10MB of memory to make your life easier. Here are 10 apps that pack a lot of greatness into very little space.
Fumzup Helps Choose Credit Cards And Bank Accountsetting minimal interest rates on credit cards and maximum rates on savings accounts makes good financial sense, but ploughing through bank sites is a tedious task. Fumzup automates the process of finding credit cards, savings accounts and term deposits.
First Look at Ubuntu 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” BetaThe name’s ridiculous, but “Jaunty Jackalope,” the next release of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, is seriously focused on the user experience.
Killer Typography Tools And Free Font DownloadsWhether you’re putting together a resume, flyer, or web page, everyone needs to find and compare fonts some time. Here are some tools that can help you find the perfect font.
Microsoft Extends DreamSpark Free Software Program To Aussie High SchoolsGood news for code-cutting teenagers — Microsoft has extended its DreamSpark program, which offers free copies of its main development tools for education use, to Australian high schools.
Academic Earth Aggregates Lectures from MIT, Harvard, Yale And OthersWeb site Academic Earth is like Hulu for academic lectures, pulling free lectures from Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale into one attractive, easy to navigate site.
Magnifique Customises Your OS X Theme (Mac)Not keen on Leopard’s default theme, or just prefer to ditch the status quo for something more your style? Free application Ma.gifique quickly and easily swaps custom themes in OS X.
Switch To A Two-Week Grocery Cycle To Waste Less FoodThe Green Cheapskate Blog cites studies showing that the American grocery shopper wastes 25 percent of their purchased food-if not more. Switch to an every-other-week shopping regimen, and you might start throwing less money away.
Better Gmail For Google Chrome (Windows)Better Gmail for Google Chrome is a compilation of user scripts designed to enhance your Gmail experience-and to make it easy, we’ve tested and bundled them together in one easy download.
Create Edible Gummy Shot GlassesTrying to figure out what to serve your skittles-infused vodka in? Why, a flavoured gummy shot glass, of course. ShesParticular at tinkering haven Instructables uploaded a ridiculously simple tutorial on making your own gummy shot glasses.
Synergy-Plus Controls Multiple Systems From A Single Keyboard & Mouse (Windows)We always had a strong liking for controlling multiple computers with a single keyboard and mouse, and the concept’s still cool, but the software hasn’t updated. Synergy-Plus keeps the multi-control party going.
Make Your Home Dust-ProofCut down on the time you spend dusting and make the air in your home healthier with a few simple tips.
Display Your Desktop Icons In List View (Windows)DesktopListView is an really tiny application that activates a list view of small icons on your destop, giving you more room for an intriguing desktop or custom-sized windows.
Vuze Converts BitTorrent Downloads To Device-Friendly Formats (Windows/Mac/Linux)Vuze-one of the most popular BitTorrent clients around-has just added a killer feature that allows you to easily transcode any download so its playable on your iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Close’n Forget Removes Browser Tracks Of The Site You’re On (Firefox)Close’n Forget, one of the runners-up for Mozilla’s Best Firefox 3 Extensions, has updated to, well, actually work more often, erasing any site’s cookie/history/AwesomeBar evidence from Firefox with one button click.
More » 
