Linux only: Previously-posted Linux widget engine Screenlets can convert and run Google Gadgets and other web-based widgets on the desktop in its latest version, adding thousands of mini-apps to its menu. You'll need to add Screenlets' Launchpad repository to your sources and install the latest version, which the Screenlets home page (and the Tombuntu blog) helpfully walks you through. Once you're up and running with Screenlets, simply hit "Install," choose "Web Widget," and you'll get a link to each supported database's catalogue page, as well as basic instructions on installing. With more than 45,000 to choose from in Google's database alone, there's likely a great and useful widget waiting to find your Linux desktop.

In the past few years, David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology has boosted the productivity of many a convert. The more popular GTD got—especially with the tech crowd—the more desktop and web applications sprung up with the express purpose of managing the GTD process. We've highlighted most of these GTD apps at one time or another, but for this week's Hive Five, we want to know what your favourite is. Hit the jump for details on how to nominate your pick of the GTD litter.

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Photo-sharing site Flickr throws its hat into the ring with YouTube and Google Video and becomes a photo and video sharing site today. Flickr Pro members (only) can now upload up to 90-second video clips to the site, and everyone, pro member or not, can view and comment on the clips. The reason for the 90-second limit? The Flickr Video Help pages explain:

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According to his doctors, computer science professor Randy Pausch has three to six months to live due to cancer, and in this video lecture he shares his tips for making the most of your time, "the most precious commodity you have." This is a lengthy talk but it's chock full of lifehackeresque tips, like emptying your inbox, creating a manageable filing system, using the 80/20 rule to focus your efforts on the stuff that matters most, and planning your day, week, and year. Skip the long-winded introductions and start at about 12:00 to get right to the good stuff. Follow along with the talk slides here. Thanks, Erik!

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Windows only: Windows utility TweakNow puts a friendly interface on the most common registry settings on your PC, complete with an Undo button. Tweak your Start menu, Control Panel, Desktop, user acounts, and other settings using TweakNow, which shields you from the decidedly not-fun and risky undertaking that is editing the registry by hand. This looks particularly useful for locking down a PC for the kids—for instance, you can use it to disable access to the Control Panel and desktop context menus. TweakNow is a free download for non-commercial use, Windows only.

One way to save up for large purchases is to buy yourself gift cards in small increments in advance, says a reader at personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly. So if you're saving up for an iPhone, for instance, buy yourself a $20 gift card to the Apple store every few weeks. Editor J.D. Roth writes:

You can use "reverse credit" to save for more than just large items. You might use it to budget for your morning coffee, for example. If you want to limit your spending at Starbucks, put a fixed amount ($20 maybe) on a card at the beginning of the month. When that card is drained, you know you've spent your coffee budget. At the start of next month, put another $20 on the card.

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Reader Tom saw our previously posted Excel Gantt chart template and said he had a better one to offer. Why a spreadsheet? Tom says:

I do most of my project planning in MS Project which is great, especially for adjusting for defined working hours and dependencies, but printing directly out of MS Project is really confusing for a lot of stakeholders to read at meetings. There are way too many details and the actual Gantt bar usually gets cut off or on another page, making it not very clear or informative.

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iPhone only: Camera application Snapture adds advanced features to your iPhone's default picture-taking capabilities, like digital zoom, grey scale, auto-rotation and burst mode. You'll need a jailbroken iPhone to install Snapture (if you haven't already here's the easiest method), and from there you can use Installer.app as usual to load it up. Snapture also adds a handy visual leveller, and makes taking self-portraits easier by making the entire screen tappable (instead of just the shutter button.) Snapture is a free download.

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All platforms with Firefox: Just posted a quick fix to the Better GReader Firefox extension which restores the in-reader Preview feature again. You can now load the source web page on any RSS post right inside Google Reader by hitting the small Preview button at the bottom of the post with this user script enabled (again.) Thanks to John Doppke over at UserScripts.org for the fix. Grab the updated version 0.2.3 over at the Better GReader Firefox extension homepage.

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Even though that report is due by the end of the day, you just spend the last two hours watching Family Guy YouTube clips because you just can't help yourself. If you regularly find yourself clicking around Facebook, keyboard covered in drool, when you're supposed to be getting stuff done&mdashh;or better, going outside—it's time to break out the big guns. Restrained web surfing feels like an impossible feat for rabid infovores, but a Firefox extension called LeechBlock can help. Here's how you can save yourself from quicksand web destinations at certain times of the day with LeechBlock.

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Windows Vista only: Windows XP users with a serious Mac crush have FlyakiteOSX to make their desktop resemble, if not work like, a Mac, but Vista users—even those upgraded to Service Pack 1—now have Vista OS X for a similar OS paint job. The installer (unfortunately) requires that you disable User Account Control to move forward, but you'll get screensavers, wallpapers, a "Dock," and more goodies, all accessible from the basic "Themes" menu. The gHacks blog states that the theme completely uninstalls itself when you're ready to move back to Windows; I haven't tried it myself, so let us know your experiences in the comments. Vista OS X is a free download for Windows Vista systems only.

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Portfolio magazine has a great guide to the realm of higher-end teas, with an introduction to different varieties and age-old wisdom (along with some new-age connoisseur-style advice) on how to best prepare and enjoy the lower-caffeine pick-me-up. I was surprised to see this tip amongst the offerings:

Experts say that you should use boiling water for black tea. For more delicate green or white tea, Sebastian Beckwith, co-founder of the Connecticut-based specialty-tea seller In Pursuit of Tea, suggests letting the water cool for a few minutes. "You lose a lot of flavour if you put boiling water on white or green tea," he says.

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The New York Times' Shifting Careers column interviews Peggy Klaus, author of The Hard Truth About Soft Skills and noted proponent of the power of blogging, about the "soft skills" that everyone—especially the productivity-obsessed among us—can use occasional coaching on. Among the questions is one that any freelancer or over-scheduled office worker has probably pondered: How do you tell a boss or an important client that you can't tackle a project, whether due to deadlines, preferences, or nearly any other reason. Klaus' response:

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Windows with Outlook 2007 only: Send text messages in a dedicated Outlook interface with SMSOfficer, a free add-on for Outlook 2007. Once you finish the free sign-up and verification at SMSOfficer's site, you'll get a new menu item in Outlook, New->Text Message, where you can type in a phone number or contact and send a message of less than 160 characters (write more and it's split into multiple texts), with replies heading to your phone. You get 10 free texts, and additional credits can be purchased via PayPal—$US20 will get you 250 texts, with bulk discounts at higher volumes. Anyone with email access can send a text message by knowing the right carrier email addresses, but SMSOfficer strips out header text and is obviously convenient for Outlook acolytes. SMSOfficer is a free sign-up and download for Windows and Outlook 2007.