Webapp Orchestr8 creates widgets for your iGoogle, Netvibes, and Pageflakes start page—or to embed on a web site—from any web page with a simple point-and-click. Similar to the new web clip feature in Leopard (which does the same thing but puts the widget in Dashboard), just point Orchestr8 to the page containing the content you want to clip, find the content you want, click it, and the select Grab it. It's not perfect, but it does offer a simple way to create widgets for your start page for content that doesn't offer an easy-to-snag RSS feed.

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Mac OS X only: One very annoying aspect of status update applications—from Twitter to Facebook to IM—is that there are so many places to update your status, and if you're not diligent you'll end up "out to lunch" for weeks on end. Freeware application MoodBlast updates your status on chat apps, Facebook, Twitter, and more through one universal interface. That means you can enter "back from lunch" in one place and update the status on nearly every application capable of displaying status updates. MoodBlast is accessible through a universal hotkey, can display the music you're currently listening to in iTunes, your current weather, or whatever individual status you feel like setting. MoodBlast is freeware, Mac OS X only.

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width="463" height="194" class="postimg center">

Windows only: The free AnyTV streaming video player gives you
access to dozens of internet media streams (television, radio, and
other video) from one interface for easy viewing at your computer.
AnyTV isn't quite as slick as our favorite "http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tips/2007/10/02/watch_high_quality_television_.html">
Joost, but for TV junkies, it does offer an eclectic collection
of streams from around the world. I had trouble getting some
channels to play in AnyTV, but did wind up watching a bit of
Eyewitness News while testing. After the jump, see a full
screenshot of AnyTV in action.

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Avoid the waste of plastic grocery bags with the heavy-duty reusable ACME Workhorse Bags. The same size as your basic plastic grocery bag, the Workhorse Bag boasts a carrying capacity of up to 25 pounds but collapses into a very small pouch you can easily fit in your go-bag. A set of four bags will set you back $24 at ReusableBags.com, but hopefully in time the tear-proof Workhorse Bags will pay for themselves.

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With unemployment rates rising, the market going nuts, and big internet companies planning layoffs, it's hard not to worry about a recession here in the States, if not a full on tech bust. The Web Worker Daily blog and career coach Penelope Trunk both list ways you can bolster your career in the face of possible layoffs (and job search), like creating an impressive online persona and doing something great at your current job to add to your resume. You getting the recession jitters? What are you doing to protect your career? Tell us about it in the comments. Photo by texas_mustang.

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We love to see musicians and artists embracing the internet rather than trying to lock down and control their music, so it's cool to see Paul Kelly offering free downloads from his "A-Z" concert series from his website. Registration is required.
The "A-Z" concerts feature his favourite live versions of 100 of his songs in alphabetical order, and the site will offer one letter a month - so January will feature all the songs beginning with A.
So I'll only need to wait until next month to get my favourite track, Before Too Long. :)
You can find more Paul Kelly music on his MySpace page, or if you like live recordings his work is also available from LiveBand, a live-gig-to-CD service we told you about previously.
If you know of other places to source free music (Australian or other) please share in comments.

Paul Kelly's A-Z download page [via The Freebies Blog]

• What's the smallest, simplest backpack I can find to carry my laptop?
• What's a good program for memorising new words?
• After all this exercise, how soon can I expect results?
• How can I figure out why programs are crashing on my PC?
• How do you send the Windows key over VNC?

I fell in love with this side table that doubles as a display case for your favourite photos or momentos. Sunset magazine has a walkthrough for making it - which basically requires that you match up a side table with a picture frame that's a little bit smaller than the surface area of the table. Replace the glass in the picture frame with abrasion resistant plastic (if you buy it from a frame store I'm assuming they can cut the plastic to size for you if you require a non-standard size).
The frame is attached to the table top with velcro which is quite smart because it means you can pop the frame off and open it up - so you can change the keepsakes you have on display as often as you like.
Apart from the fact that it lets you display some of your favourite mementos and nicknacks, it has the bonus of keeping them out of the way and dustfree. Neat! I also think this would make an awesome gift for a loved one - just fill it with photos or momentos of moments you've shared with them.

Make your own memory box table top - no tools required [via Ikea Hacker]

Amazon power user Merlin Mann makes a convincing case for how Amazon's Gift Organizer helps you be lazy and thoughtful when it comes to giving the perfect gift:

As you surf Amazon and notice stuff that might be cool for Mom or Aunt Sue or that nice UPS man, just click "Add to Wish List" and select the person it's intended for. Into the hopper it goes. Ubiquitous capture. Swish.[...] So, if you start using the Gift Organizer today—even for stuff you have no intention of buying from Amazon—your life is going to be much easier the next time a gift-giving occasion rolls around; you've capitalized on several months of passive, half-assed attention to actually do something useful.

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iPhone only: Nagware iPhone application VoiceDial brings the power of voice activated phone dialing and application and bookmark launching to your iPhone. You can set VoiceDial to run on the home screen button double-tap for easy access and record voice tags up to three times to improve accuracy. I've been testing it out today and so far it's been successfully matching anything I throw at it. Aside from voice dialing, you can launch any application installed on your iPhone or any bookmark in Safari through the same voice command interface. VoiceDial is nagware, costing $28 for the full version. You can grab the fully working demo (as far as I've noticed the initial nag screen is the only lock) through Installer, which for the time being requires a jailbroken iPhone. Wanna learn more about making the most of your iPhone? My iPhone book might be for you.

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Firefox tip: If Firefox is too unresponsive for your tastes when it's loading a new web page, the How-To Geek weblog suggests a simple tweak to improve responsiveness. First, enter about:config into your address bar and then add the content.switch.threshold setting (which isn't there by default). Right-click the page and select New -> Integer, name it content.switch.threshold, and give it a value of 1000000. The catch is that Firefox will take slightly longer to load pages, but while it's loading you'll be able to scroll the already-loaded content more easily. If you like that, you may also want to tweak Firefox's rendering speed or check out some of the best Firefox config tweaks.

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Having just spent the long weekend moving into a new place, I learned the hard way that there are little things you can do and tools you should have plenty of on hand to make things go smoothly. Boxing up every single one of your possessions and transporting them to your new residence to set them all up again is a huge pain in the ass. Here are a few items beyond your standard boxes, tape, and blankets that can streamline your move:

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Windows only: Donationware Excel plug-in Excel Password Remover strips the password protection from Excel workbooks and spreadsheets so that next time you're working late and your co-worker locked you out of a spreadsheet you need access to, you won't be left in the dark. The plug-in adds Unprotect workbook and Unprotect sheet options to Excel's Tools menu, and using it is as simple as selecting an option when you're locked out. The add-in won't necessarily work in every instance, but as a last resort it's a great utility to have on hand. Excel Password Remover is donationware, Windows only. A pro, non-nagware version is available for $25.

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You need your BitTorrent fix on such a regular basis that it could be medically labeled an addiction, so why stop riding the BitTorrent wave just because you aren't sitting at your home computer? We've already detailed how to set up a web interface for the Windows-only uTorrent, so let's turn an eye to Transmission, the go-to BitTorrent client on the Mac. Today I'll show you how to remotely control your BitTorrent downloads from any browser with Clutch, the Transmission web interface.

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US-centric: Previously mentioned search engine Missing Money has a new web site address and is still finding unclaimed funds for people who didn't know about them. Just enter your name and state, and let Missing Money do its thing. While there are still no unclaimed safe deposit box contents, uncashed checks, trust funds, or escrow accounts in my name (dangit!), several readers over at the Get Rich Slowly personal finance site have had a lot more luck, as did Lifehacker readers the first time we pointed out the service. This site was covered by Dateline back in '06 and from all accounts seems legit. You find any missing money in your name? Tell us about your loot in the comments.

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Firefox with Greasmonkey: If you get carried away surfing the web by clicking every tangential link in sight, drawing you down yet another road away from the stuff you're supposed to be doing, check out the No Links Please! Greasemonkey script. This simple user script strips web pages of links, ensuring that you stay where you are, get the info you need, and get done. Its creator explains:

One of the things which makes the web great are its hyperlinks. However, they also make the web vast and most importantly, far too easy to roam. No Links Please! breaks the web by removing hyperlinks from all pages apart from Google. Without the knowledge or temptation of links you are free to devote all your time to real work and never roam the web again.

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Windows only: Ever since every sysadmin's favorite offline Windows patching program AutoPatcher had the plug pulled on it by Microsoft, those without constant Internet access or looking to keep multiple Windows boxes up to date have been looking for a valid replacement. Offline-Update, a free download for Windows 2000 and newer, may not have the same easy-to-grok interface, but it does give you the same basic functionality. Choose updates for the OS or Microsoft Office program to download and then create a burn-able ISO. Pop the Offline-Update CD into any computer and an auto-run program will ask you to create backups and install the updates. I haven't had time to do serious testing with the update program, but everything went smoothly in creating an update CD from Vista Home Premium. Offline-Update is a free download for Windows 2000 and newer systems only.

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Google's personalized start page iGoogle has opened up and offered a directory of user-created themes, but not everybody can dig through XML and JavaScript APIs and come up with a working, themed page. The igThemer web application makes it easy to change every detail of your iGoogle page and save the theme for your own use or listing on the directory. The big drawback is that you can't create a page that changes with the time of day, but it leaves you with a lot fewer nits to pick if you wanted to explore the API to find out how to do that, and it's an overall handy way to customize your start page experience.

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Windows only: You might say that we here at Lifehacker could compile a pretty long list of reasons why we prefer Firefox over Internet Explorer 7—and high up on that list would be the advanced tab functionality, such as being able to re-open closed tabs. IE7 Open Last Closed Tab, a free IE7 add-on that implements two new shortcuts into your browser, does just that. Hit Alt+X to quickly restore a tab, and Alt+Q to pop up a toolbar that lets you choose from a list of your tabs and change the add-on's settings. That it doesn't put a space-hogging permanent toolbar on your browser is a plus, and the Amazon ads shown at the bottom of the Alt+Q page can be disabled. IE7 Open Last Closed Tab is a free add-on available for Windows only. Check out seven IE7 add-ons that don't suck for more functionality and productivity helpers.

Linux.com has a great roundup of cross-platform applications and GIMP plug-ins that can help make your not-so-great digital pictures into keepers. Among them is a free Java-based tool called Unshake, which does exactly what you'd think, but with a high degree of customisation—you show it the blurriest parts of your photos, and it gets to work making them crisper. Other suggestions include using third-party GIMP plug-ins like Refocus and Iterative Refocus. For those great photo moments that just don't come out that great, these tools can be a memory-saver. Photo by psd.

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Windows only: The latest editions of Microsoft Office might have made some welcome interface and functionality improvements, but the newer .docx file formats can leave your co-workers (and your other computers) struggling to open its files. Free conversion utility Docx2Rtf can take whatever Office 2007 (or OpenOffice) files, and then display them for copying or save them as Rich Text Format, the standard nearly every text editor can understand, as well as PDF if you want. The conversion isn't always perfect, due to RTF's limited special characters and images, but Docx2Rtf can make it easy to send out documents to recipients across the computer spectrum. Docx2Rtf is a free download for Windows systems only. To convert older Word documents, try using Google Docs as a go-between.

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Pownce, a file sharing/social networking/micro-blogging web site that's been in a highly-noticed private beta for six months, has gone public. Why would productive readers and frequent Twitter-dissers like yourselves care to take notice, you might ask? For one, Pownce offers more than just "I had a great sandwich" updates to your friends—you can send up to 10MB files, invite fellow Pownce users to events (synced with Google Calendar), and get details on messages you've sent out, like how many have received it. It is, to be sure, still focused on sending quick messages in a friend/follower setup, but it lacks Twitter's mobile phone functionality—whether that's a benefit or disadvantage depends on your temperament. Pownce is still in beta, but you sign up for free at the site.

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