Ubuntu blog Tombuntu shows Linux users rocking Compiz Fusion, the desktop effects package installed by default in Ubuntu 7.10, how to switch the effects on and off without having to mouse through two menus and flip a radio button. Using a little app named Compiz-Switch and another program to install it, anyone needing to flip off graphical effects for better memory or program compatibility can get there from a taskbar or system tray shortcut. The guide requires a little terminal cut-and-paste, but I had Compiz-Switch installed and working in less than five minutes. Compiz-Switch should also work on other GNOME-based distros running the latest version of Compiz Fusion.

Over at PC Magazine, columnist Sascha Segan argues that many of us are going to have a big ol' pity party down the line, when we realise that social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook make it difficult to look through sentimental memories and messages like you can with paper or email. MySpace is bad enough, he writes, but:

Facebook is even worse, because so much Facebook information is metadata, a stream of "pokes" and "virtual gifts" and other non-e-mail-related information that adds up to a history of human interaction.

Segan raises an interesting point: How do we archive our relationships and significant moments when they happen on a social network? If Facebook, MySpace, and the like aren't around in five or 10 years, will you miss the personal history you've stored up on them? If you did want to "back up" your social network information for later viewing, how would you go about it? Share your ideas in the comments.

Windows/Linux: Free beta program IM History offers a web-synced way to store instant message chats across multiple computers, and operating systems, from a variety of chat clients. Right now, the service supports AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Skyp, Trillian, and a few other clients, but my pet peeve is Pigin supported only in Linux, leaving dual-booters like me in the cold. That aside, once enabled, IM History lets you access your chat history and contacts from a web interface, and being able to search chats from across platforms—to find, for instance, a link sent long ago— is where many users will find this app convenient. IM History is a free download for Windows and Linux.

Windows only: Free open source conversion app MediaCoder Audio Edition is like the audio-geek cousin of its easy-to-use, all-purpose brethren, MediaCoder. The main difference is in the sheer breadth of audio file types supported (including the iTunes default M4A, FLAC, and really esoteric stuff like "Enhanced 3GGP" and "OptimFrog Encoder") and the many ways you can grab that audio—from DVDs, video files, or even web playlists. MediaCoder Audio Edition even supports the sound-tweaking DSP plugins made for Winamp, but offers a wealth of audio tweaks on its own. MediaCoder Audio Edition is a free download for Windows 98 and later systems, with 32- and 64-bit versions offered.

The Digital Photography School blog has a great beginner's guide to capturing an effect familiar to fans of middle-brow films and photo exhibits—light trails. Any camera with a full-featured "manual" mode that grants exposure control can capture light movement, and the guide helps you plan good trail shots. For instance:

Timing/Light - One might think that the middle of the night is the best time for light trail photography (and it can be) - however one very effective time to do it is just as the sun is going down (just before and after). If you shoot at this time you'll not only capture light from cars, but ambient light in the sky which can add atmosphere to your shots.

With a little practice (and a healthy dose of patience), your street and nightlife photos will stand out. Photo by Waka Jawaka.

Tired of having the Windows side of your dual-boot system eat up more battery power? Want to simply do the right thing and stop sucking power for unnecessary power cycles? Linux power-saving site LessWatts.org has a wealth of tips and tricks for reducing the power needs of desktop and laptop systems. Among the intuitive power-savers:

• Stepping Ethernet ports from gigabit to standard 100/10 speeds when not at the office
• Disabling unnecessary Bluetooth radios
• Turning off Wi-Fi "auto-associate" behaviors that draw power when wireless is shut off

Check out the site for more power-conscious tips, helpfully organised by device type. How do you conserve battery (or just outlet) power on your Linux system? Share some hacks in the comments.

The cat owners out there will probably be as impressed by this one as I was - it's an Ikea cabinet which has been converted into a cat litterbox cabinet. With a discreet 'side entrance' for the cat, when closed it just looks like a cabinet. This would be particularly great if you live in a small place and would like to have the litter tray out of sight.

The hack uses an Ikea Akrum base cabinet with two arlig doors, a pair of shelves and 4 Ikea Tryggve shelves.

The bottom third of the cabinet backboard has been cut off with a box cutter - this makes the back entry for the cat. One of the shelves sits on top of the cabinet and overhangs about 6 inches at the back - so when it's flush against the wall there's a gap for the cat to walk in at the side.

It's definitely worth looking at the article on Ikea Hacker as there are a few photos which show the nifty 'side entrance' the cat uses. 

A Kickass Litterbox Cabinet [Ikea Hacker]

Bulk cooking, also known as assembly cooking, means using mass production principles to save time and money in the kitchen. It also means that after putting in the effort to cook and prepare in bulk ahead of time, your freezer is stocked with lots of yummy meals or meal starters which can save you from having to cook every day.
The Wise Bread blog today gave a rundown on assembly cooking for newbies which includes a list of starter materials and some tips for cooking in bulk:

*Use flash freezing for multiple items which you'll cook in batches but don't want sticking together when frozen. Examples could be chicken drumsticks, breaded veal portions, mozzarella sticks, or frozen breaded eggplant slices.Space them out lying flat on an empty freezer shelf until frozen, then stack them up to save space.

*You can use masking tape and a permanent marker pen to label containers such as freezer bags

*Ice cube trays - for freezing 'single serve' portions of a variety of things such as soup stock, pizza sauce or curry paste.

*Do themed prep cooking sessions for example if you have an adundance of potatoes make a whole bunch of potato dishes

While the thought of devoting 1-3 days a month to cooking in bulk might sound like a lot, this article gives you a good rundown to how to get started with assembly cooking. It also stresses that you should take things at your own pace - there's nothing wrong with getting started by just saving leftovers as a base for other meals, or cooking larger meals with a view to freezing the leftovers. The article links to suggested recipes too.

Assembly Cooking for Newbies [Wise Bread]

Culling personal possessions and other 'distractions' from your workplace could actually be a productivity killer, according to Charlie Pabst at Freelance Switch. He says he went freelance to get away from the "sterile cubicle" environment, and says keeping 'distractions' like his guitar close to hand help him in his work. 

How does it work? He says keeping your favourite things around can actually be a motivator, rather than a distraction. First of all, he says keeping his favourite things around (like his guitar and his moleskine notebooks) make for a happy and inspiring environment.
Being able to down tools for 10 minutes, or take a long lunch break as a reward for getting work done is a great motivator, he says.

"You can set little targets for yourself. “As soon as this CSS validates, I’m playing guitar for ten minutes!” or “As soon as I write 1,000 words, I’m going rock climbing!”

This gives me a reason to work hard, a reason that’s often way more valid than, “I need the money.”

Another benefit of being able to pick up Guitar Hero for 10 minutes, is that it means you take breaks during your work day - giving you a chance to refresh and recharge.
Charlie's writing from a freelance perspective but I know there are workplaces out there who provide space and tools for staff to chill out and recharge at work. So what personal items do you keep around the workplace, and how do you keep them from distracting you?

Your workspace is killing your productivity  [Freelance Switch]

We've shown you how to stream DivX/XviD video to your Xbox 360, but here's a hack for dealing with a much simpler problem - the 360's noisy fan. ExtremeTech likens the sound of the Xbox 360 fan to that of a Cessna revving for takeoff, and gives a walkthrough for replacing the fan with a quieter one. The article does note that opening the console does void the warranty, and also that you'll still get noise from the DVD-ROM. However you should have a quieter time when playing Xbox Live Arcade games or watching downloaded or streamed movies or music, since they don't trigger the optical drive.
You can buy a fan which is customised for the Xbox 360's fan mount - for this exercise they use a green Whisper Fan. If you're DIY minded and have the proper tools, you can unlock and open the console case yourself, but Extreme Tech says they opted for a Team Xecuter 360 Unlock V2 kit which cost $12.
The article goes on to give a full walkthrough with pictures, and sums up by saying the new fan is "startlingly" quiet. It's up to you to decide if the risk of voiding the warranty is worth it for quieter performance.

Hacking your Xbox 360 fan [ExtremeTech]

Online computer hardware vendor Tekfix has come up with a novel way of attracting customers - it's offering a 5% discount to Firefox users. The discount is available when Firefox users enter "firefoxed" as the coupon code during  checkout. According to computing industry news site CRN, Tekfix says its offering the discount to encourage people to try out Firefox.
The discount offer excludes Apple products. As with any online retailer, check out the service and warranty details before buying, and check shipping costs too.

If you've taken control of your startup applications with the Windows stalwart, msconfig, you may have stumbled onto a new annoyance in Vista. When you block a program's startup with msconfig, Vista displays a "Windows has blocked some startup programs" message whenever you restart the computer. The How-To Geek weblog details how to disable the annoying pop-up with a simple tweaking of the System Configuration Utility. Just right-click the blocked programs system tray icon, choose Run blocked program -> System Configuration Utility, and then tick the "Don't show this message..." checkbox. Annoyance solved.

Weblog Serious Eats rolls up their sleeves and cleans out the post-holiday clutter from their overflowing refrigerator. While it's easy to let your fridge fill up with all those leftovers, there's actually no better time to declutter your fridge than during the winter, when you can normally find plenty of places to keep refrigerated leftovers cool if you're not ready to toss them yet. Then again, don't forget that the more you've got in your freezer, the more efficient it will be, so aim for a cleaning that gets rid of the clutter but doesn't leave you with an empty fridge. If you've got a favourite way to declutter your winter fridge (besides binging), let's hear it in the comments. Photo by Michael_L.

AU - well, it may be stinking hot here but our fridges are probably overflowing with Christmas party leftover, so it's probably still a good time for a fridge clean up.

Weblog Dumb Little Man offers tips for overcoming the stuff that sucks the energy right out of you: like lack of sleep and exercise, stress, sickness, dehydration, and toxic people. Just reading this list is draining, and it made me wonder what your productivity Kryptonite is.

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Wine guy Dr. Vino demonstrates how to carry a pair of wine bottles using furoshiki, a traditional, Japanese decorative cloth. He says the Japanese use furoshiki to wrap and carry items in lieu of plastic bags. If you don't have any authentic furoshiki around the house, any square cloth will do; Dr. Vino says his is 24x24 inches. This looks like something you want to arrive at the dinner party with in hand.

Searching public BitTorrent sites for that special torrent can be challenging, particularly if you're looking for something more obscure. Web site YouTorrent simplifies the process by searching for torrents across the most popular BitTorrent sites in real-time, then dynamically returning and sorting the results by number of seeds. YouTorrent's results are fast and its pages are ad-free (for now). YouTorrent is reminiscent of previously mentioned Scrape Torrent, which does the same thing but has since turned into a pop-up blocker's nightmare. For the time being, YouTorrent is an excellent place to start your BitTorrent searches.

If you're traveling with stuff you don't want to lug onto the airplane, box it up and ship it ahead of time your destination's local post office and mark it general delivery or "post restante." Then pick it up there when you arrive. Travel site Upgrade explains:

Poste restante is an old fashioned mail-pickup service that most countries' postal services still provide. Mail is addressed to a person, but in lieu of an address for delivery, the mail is sent to a post office branch, where you pick it up. You'll usually address mail to Name, Poste Restante, the specific name of the post office (usually the main, central office), that branch's street location, city, postal code, and country. Of course, you need to KNOW the location you'll be picking it up from beforehand.

You can also ship ahead to the hotel where you're staying, or, if you're an American Express customer, to the local AmEx Travel Service office.

Weblog NoHeat details how they use previously mentioned Stick, a Windows-only app that sticks any application into a desktop tab, to easily access Gmail amidst their desktop clutter. In fact, since Stick provides hotkeys for accessing tabs without your mouse, you can even set up a shortcut to get to your inbox any time with just a simple keystroke (I'm using Win-G). The author also explains how to embed web widgets, like any of the popular Google Gadgets, into a "Stick". If you like the idea of desktop widgets but have never found an app that was customizable enough, using Sticks as described at NoHeat is a good alternative. Unfortunately Stick uses IE instead of Firefox for the browser tab.

Mac OS X Leopard only: Back up your Mac with Time Machine not to a local hard drive but to a shared network disk with iTimeMachine. This simple two-button desktop utility makes your shared network drives show up in Time Machine's possible backup destination list. But it isn't as user friendly as it could be.

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Mac OS X only: Free, open source multi-client chat application Adium has released a new version rife with new and improved features. The most notable change is the Adium menu bar item, which now provides access to all of your contacts (Option-click for a contacts-only drop-down), accounts, status, and current chats. Another feature that apparently is not new but has never previously showed up in Adium for me is a grammar check, which underlines your sad chat-ified grammar missteps. Aside from all of that, the latest version includes gobs of bug fixes, so if you're on a Mac, go grab the latest of this free piece of instant messaging genius.

Setting up a custom Google search engine for selected sites by hand is tedious, but now you can make one in a instant based on all the links on a page. Enter the URL of a page with lots of related links you'd like to search (like lifehacker.com) and a search term into the Custom Search Engine On-the-fly page. You'll get results from both the linking page, and the pages it links. Here's a search for Tina Fey on all the sites Lifehacker links, which includes results from our celeb-obsessed sibling sites.

Mac OS X/Linux only: Free, open source BitTorrent application Transmission has updated to its 1.0 release, complete with tonnes of new polish and an improved Leopard look and feel (for Mac users). Transmission has gone through a lot of improvements since we last featured it, supporting selective file downloading from inside a torrent, per-file priorities, and seeding limits, among others, to give the user more control over how their torrents are downloaded. While it'll be nice to see uTorrent on Macs sometime this year, it's no wonder why Transmission is the de facto favorite BitTorrent app for Macs.

Upload and download files on your home PC from anywhere by turning it into a personal FTP server. With a home FTP server, you can upload and download files on your home hard drive from the office, your friend's house or to your laptop while you're on the road using any FTP client. Setting up an FTP server may sound like a complicated undertaking only system administrators can handle, but it's actually quite easy and free with open source software FileZilla. You've already heard of FileZilla's FTP client application, but the FileZilla project also offers a server application for Windows. Today we'll build an FTP server on your Windows PC with FileZilla for easy file transfers from any computer.

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Let's just get it out of the way—Office Live is, at the moment, only worth your time if you prefer to edit words, spreadsheets and other documents in Microsoft's Office products. Google Docs, Zoho and most any other online office suite gives you more freedom and functionality on the web, but Office Live's value proposition is its semi-seamless integration with desktop Office apps. But if you're one of the many, many people who spend a lot of time inside Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, Office Live can be a set-and-forget way to back up, share, and (kind of) collaborate on documents. I spent some time looking around the beta version and brought back a few screenshots to share, after the jump.

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