Web site WebToMail sends full web pages to your email on demand. Why? Let’s say, for example, you’re sitting behind a nasty internet filter at work that won’t even let you access your friendly, productivity-enhancing Lifehacker. Just fire off an email to send@webtomail.co.cc with the URL of the web page you want in the subject (http://lifehacker.com.au). A few minutes later, you’ll receive an email back from WebToMail with the contents of the URL you requested conveniently embedded in the email. The results vary depending on the email client you’re using; in Gmail, you don’t get nicely styled CSS, but you do in desktop apps like Thunderbird. Seems like a worthwhile utility to add to your IT lockdown toolbox.
Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): If you’re sick of clicking through to subsequent pages of online articles, Firefox extension Repagination adds an option to your context menu to pull all of the pages onto one. After installing the extension, just right-click a page’s Next link (or the 2 link, for example) and select to view all pages or a limited number. Repagination will load the pages you tell it to inline at the end of the current page so you don’t have to reload at every turn. I tested it on Lifehacker, this barefoot walking article, and Google, and it worked flawlessly with all of them. The only downside is that it loads the entire subsequent page and not just the text, but it’s better than the annoyance of multi-page articles. Repagination is free, works wherever the ‘fox runs. Repaginzation [Firefox Add-ons via Firefox Facts]
Amit at the Digital Inspiration blog has written up a how-to on launching web sites directly from Windows Vista’s Start Search box (and therefore at the tap of a “Windows” key), using Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” function to quickly bring up the first result of a search using your entry. The hack involves using the Group Policy editor (gpedit.msc), which is unfortunately available only in the Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions—unless, of course, one of our intrepid readers can point us toward enabling or unlocking that feature in the Home and Basic versions. Hit the link below for yet another way to make your Windows key into a full-fledged quick-launcher. Open Your Favourite Website Directly from Windows Vista Start Menu [Digital Inspiration]
The subtitle of this post should have been “Tabs versus Home Pages: The Showdown”. :)Aka Mike posed the question ‘how many tabs do you have open for your main web browse of the day’. I always have too many tabs open, so I thought I’d check out his post and the comments to get some ideas for better tab management.Here’s my current morning browsing ritual – it basically boils down to 2 Firefox windows – one for writing and the other for reading.Each morning I open Firefox and hit the “Work Time” folder of links that I’ve set up on my bookmarks toolbar. That opens up my CMS, the Lifehacker AU website and our internal photo gallery – everything I need to start work with one click. Next I open up another Window in Firefox (because I like to keep my work page separate to my reading page) and hit the “Blogs” folder I’ve also got set up on my toolbar. That opens up my Bloglines page as well as IT Journo (a subscribers-only website for journalists) which gives me access to all the blogs I read. From there I’ll open individual stories as tabs if I want to put them aside to read later, or if I want to read the comments on them.There are a few other sites I visit on a daily basis, which include my iGoogle home page (which, if I’m honest, I’m just using to read Twitter via the BeTwittered gadget). I also have Google Talk and Google reader set up on my iGoogle page, as well as the Don’t Break the Chain motivational gadget and the Activity Tracker gadget. Apart from Twitter, I also check in on Livejournal and Facebook each day. I’m thinking I should look at centralising my social networking through Friendfeed or Netvibes.So, Lifehackers. How do you manage your daily browsing? Do you lean towards tabs or home pages? Have you centralised through a social networking aggregator or a home page? Tips appreciated in comments.
Daily Browsing Tab Count [aka Mike via Problogger]
Windows Mobile only: Windows Mobile and PDA devices may have a copy/paste function, but selecting and copying can be a serious click-click-click pain. ceSnipURL, a free link-shortening app for Windows Mobile-compatible devices, does the same kind of work as SnipURL, TinyURL and all the rest, but much more conveniently. Load the app and paste in a URL, and it’s automatically converted (using snipr.com) and copied to your clipboard for texting, emailing, or any other use. ceSnipURL is a free download for Windows Mobile 6 and compatible devices only. ceSnipURL [via Download Squad]
Most relatively new Linux users might have used the wget command a few times while installing packages or grabbing specific files, but the little command word can be a pretty powerful tool. The FOSSwire open source blog points out how you can use wget to mirror a website, either one page at a time or with all the internal links available for offline browsing. As noted, however, grabbing large, multi-page sites can be a serious drain on bandwith (both yours and the site’s), so adding a delay option is both considerate and wise. Hit the link for details on using wget for offline website access. Create a mirror of a website with Wget [FOSSwire]
Need pointers to further reading on a certain area you’ll be staying or working? Google Maps has added a “Mapped web pages” view to its advanced search options choices, displaying only pegs related to relevant web pages. Google Maps has always offered direct web links for businesses and places found in a search, but this view lets you see non-directly-related sites and a wider range of thoughts on certain places. Seems like a good vacation planning helper, or at least a nifty way to peek around your neighborhood’s web activity.
You’ve just read about a cool new web app or informative article on Digg, Slashdot, or some other link-heavy site, so you hit the link and … minutes later, you’re still hitting refresh and seeing 404 errors. Just before you give up, try loading the site in Coral Cache, a free service that uses a distributed server network to keep content from being overwhelmed—i.e. “Slashdotted” or, as is sometimes the case, suffering from the “Lifehacker effect.” No software or bookmarklet necessary, just add “.nyud.net” to the end of any URL. You may get a slower load and occasional formatting wonkiness, but it’s often more up-to-date than the Google Cache version, and a helpful work-around.
Web site Wirenode turns any web site with an RSS feed into a mobile-friendly version of that site, perfect for browsing sites on your mobile device when they don’t have a mobile-friendly interface. “Mobilizing” any site with an RSS feed is a breeze, and when you’re done you’ll end up with something like this mobilised version of Lifehacker. You can also use Wirenode to create your own mobile sites from scratch, though I’m not sure how much use most of us would get from that (maybe a start page with links to your favorite stuff?). Of course, you can also mobilize individual pages with RSS feeds with Google Reader style if you prefer the GReader layout but you’re not already using Google Reader mobile. Wirenode
Want to create an easy-to-navigate home page for the browser on your Wii or any other? Wii Browser, a free page creation tool, lets you create a page full of big, easy-to-click links to set as your homepage. You can also easily edit or rearrange your links from inside your Opera-powered Wii browser, as the site uses a number-based passkey system instead of requiring a login/password, which can get a bit tedious with a Wiimote-controlled keyboard. The main value here is in being able to edit your links from your computer browser rather than through slow screen typing, but it also gives you a Wii-friendly page you can browse to from any system. For another Wii homepage idea, check out Google’s Wii-formatted Reader. Wii Browser [via eHub]
