For YouTube videos, presentations, or even just system sounds, having the right sound effect file can make all the difference. FindSounds, a search engine focused on audio files, is a heck of a lot more convenient than typing ".wav" into Google and wading through inconsistent results. Type in what you're looking for and specify parameters, and the results are offered in playable previews and waveform diagrams. I almost always found relevant results in the 10 or so test searches I performed, and being able to see how long the sound helps winnow down results when you're hunting just the right sound to fit into a project. Got your own sound clip search methods? Share 'em in the comments.

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Want to share a presentation with friends, co-workers, or the web at large without worrying about who does or doesn't have PowerPoint installed? authorStream, a free presentation sharing site, offers the same kind of embed-anywhere utility as previously-posted SlideShare, but also provides options to download presentations as MP4 video files, putting slideshows with or without audio one step away from YouTube, iPods, DVDs, or whatever format comes in handy. To work as video, presentations must have either recorded narration or rehearsed timings added in PowerPoint, which the Digital Inspiration blog explains in detail at the via link below.

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There was once a time when ripping and backing up DVDs was limited to those with hours to spend weeding through convoluted tutorials and difficult-to-use software. Today, a handful of full-featured, easy-to-use DVD ripping tools can back up virtually any DVD in a snap. We've highlighted several of them before, but for this week's Hive Five, we want you to tell us about your favourite DVD ripping tools. Hit the jump for details and to nominate your favourite DVD ripper.

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Windows/Mac/Linux: Google Earth has updated and integrated Google Maps Street View, meaning that not only can you soar over the globe with Google Earth—you can also hit the streets and look around when you get tired of flying. In addition to Street View, Google Earth 4.3 promises time-lapse videos of sunrises and sunsets, improved speed, and better 3D graphics. It's also added new first-person controls so using the software feels closer to what it feels like to play a video game. Google Earth is freeware for all platforms.

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This will be welcome news to anyone who hates doubling up on online accounts and identities - you can now use your Google account as an OpenID login. This means you can log in to any site which uses OpenID using your Google credentials. Digital Inspiration explains how to do it:

"To create a custom OpenID URL with your Google Account username, go to appspot.com and login using your Google credentials. You will be assigned an OpenID sign-on that looks something like this:

http://openid-provider.appspot.com/abc@xyz.com where abc@xyz.com is the email address associated with your Google Account."

If you use Twitter in Australia, you know that you need to SMS a UK-based number to update (or tweet). That could work out to be expensive! I'm going to go through a few options which might work out cheaper for you. Today let's look at using Google Talk.
To update Twitter via IM from your Gtalk account, you'll need to add Twitter as a contact.

Here's how - just add twitter@twitter.com as your contact in GTalk and then go to the Twitter home page to add IM as a method of updating. On the left hand side of the page you'll see a link to "add device" - hit that, then put in your IM account details. It will give you a password to send to twitter via IM to confirm. You can also send an IM saying "Help" if you want further information.

Now whenever you IM this new friend called Twitter, the message will automatically publish on your Twitter account. It seems to appear pretty quickly too.

Blogger Jonathan Mead lists 11 "odd but simple" ways to improve your health, like using a Neti pot, brushing your skin, fasting, and using colon hydrotherapy. In fact, our own guest editor Brad Isaac swears by a Neti pot's ability to kill his allergies. Along the same lines, just this morning a friend was telling me all about the health benefits of Bikram hot yoga, which detoxifies your system. So we're wondering: what unconventional ways do you improve your health? Do you fast, get special foot massages, practice Tai Chi walking? Let us know in the comments.

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Ionut Alex Chitu a the Google Operating System blog points out that Google is migrating users over to using Google Updater by redirecting them if they want to download new Google software. Google Updater is part of Google Pack. He points out that mostly the Updater lets Google promote new software to you, and they are making it difficult to find the direct links if you prefer to download that way. He helpfully found a few direct links:

Google Desktop for Windows

Google Earth for Windows

Google Toolbar 4 for IE

Got any other tips for streamlining or minimising the Google footprint on your puter? Share in comments please.

Google Updater, the new Installer for Google Software [Google Operating System]

Facebook has added a feature which lets you populate your Facebook page with your data from Flickr, Delicious, Picasa and Yelp - without needing an extra application to do it.

To import activity from other sites into your Mini-Feed (and into your friends' News Feeds), hit the  Import button on the top left of your Mini-Feed. You'll get the option to chose which service to import from (see photo above).

The tool also lets you get information from Yelp - and Digg integration is on the way too.

A new way to share with friends [Facebook blog via CNET]

Windows only (for now): Freeware application Syncplicity instantaneously syncs and backs up files in monitored folders on your Windows computer. Currently in a free beta period (they aren't specific about pricing post-beta), Syncplicity offers unlimited storage, web access, and a real-time sync between your computers. Several tools like Syncplicity are on the horizon, like the subscription-based SugarSync and the still closed-beta Dropbox (both of which are Windows and Mac), but if you're looking for a similar solution that you can use for free right now, this might be a winner. Syncplicity is freeware, Windows only (until Q3 of '08). Thanks Karl!

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The Unclutterer blog has advice for parents whose adult kids moved across the country but left stuff behind: do a virtual clutter-clearing using a photo-sharing service like Flickr.

Photograph all of your child's items as you place them into boxes. Then, upload all of the images to a Flickr account and send your child the URL. Your child can go through the pictures online and decide the fate of the stuff. I suggest that there only be two options for the stuff: "Send to me" and "Don't send to me." Let your child know that you will make the decision to donate, sell, or trash the things in the "don't send to me" pile.

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Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Avoid inadvertently stumbling onto a Not-Safe-for-Work (NSFW) web site on-the-job with the No-NSFW Firefox extension. The extension works by checking all outbound links from a web page against a user-submitted database of NSFW links and web sites. If someone has flagged a page as NSFW, you'll see a NSFW icon in the bottom right of your browser. Safe-for-Work sites display SFW, and sites that have have not been rated by users appear as Unrated. In my tests the extension is still looking for some users to do the legwork, but it's a smart and simple idea that could help you avoid drawing the wrong kind of attention at work. Thanks Pratham!

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If you liked the idea of making VoIP calls on your iPod touch or iPhone, but all you've got in your go-bag is a Sony PSP, DIY web site Instructables steps through how to run the popular VoIP application Skype on your PSP. This PSP hack feature isn't new by any means, but the Instructable is detailed and easy to follow along with. We don't have a PSP to test this at Lifehacker HQ, so if you've setup Skype calling on your PSP, share your experience in the comments.

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Previously mentioned job search engine Indeed adds new search criteria for all listings: salary. Enter the position you're interested in with a yearly salary requirement—like web developer $70,000—and Indeed returns listings that match. Most job listings don't mention salary, so Indeed estimates the pay for each by using similar postings that do. Not a perfect system, but still a nice way to avoid wasting time on jobs that are completely out of your payscale. See also how you can compare salaries for a position in a given zip code with Indeed.

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Windows only: Freeware application Unhider re-displays invisible applications in the wake of a system error—like a Windows Explorer crash—after which some of your application windows remain hidden. If you've been using Windows for any amount of time, you've probably experienced a situation similar to this. Rather than begrudgingly quitting the application you're unable to access and losing the work you've done, fire up Unhider and it'll make your window visible again. It's not an app you're likely to use everyday, but you'll be glad you have it when the time comes. Unhider is freeware, Windows only.

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The iPhone and iPod touch are almost indistinguishable devices except for one major difference—you can make calls from your iPhone, and you can't from your iPod touch. For the privilege of making phone calls with your iPhone, you have to pay $100 more upfront to Apple for the device itself, plus a minimum of $60/month to AT&T for the next two years (and that's only if you're in the US - AU editor) Let's say you didn't need that kind of firepower from your iPod touch, but that you would like to use it make a phone call every now and then. You can, and today I'm going to show you how to make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch or iPhone using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP.

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Webapp ItsOurTree.com builds your family tree in a dynamic, drag and drop, zoom in and out interface. In what feels a little like Google Maps for your family, enter your name and email address, then add your parents, your kids, their parents, etc. Each person node expands to a full profile with fields for the birth date, a photo, maiden name, place of birth, current location, and an area to free-type notes and stories, too. The result is a good-looking visualisation of your ancestry—in fact, filling in the blanks becomes addictive quickly. Looks like a great place to sit down with your grandparents online and save the stories, places, and names that you don't want to forget. Thanks, Luke!

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Windows/Mac/Linux (All Systems): One fine day in the future, Google will release a Picasa client for Mac OS X, making it possible for anyone to upload or download a Picasa Web Album from any system. Until then, tools like Bradley Beach's PicasaWebalbumsAssistant will help a great deal. Beach's Java-based tool lets ou grab either public albums by entering a username, or private albums from an emailed invitation link. Better still, it offers thumbnail previews of the album you're about to download, and you can skip shots you don't need. Combined with the previously-posted, OS X-only Picasa Web Albums Uploader and Exporter (original post), Mac users can easily use Picasa's web features without a long series of file choosing and uploads. PicasaWebalbumsAssistant is a free download that works with any system running Java 5.5 or higher.

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When logging into Ubuntu or most any GNOME-based Linux system, users see a blank one-colour screen until the actual desktop is loaded—which can make you feel like something's broken, or at least make your boot experience less fluid. One intrepid Ubuntu hacker, however, shows how to banish the blank screen and have GNOME display your chosen background image or colour right away. The tutorial requires installing an "xloadimage" package in Ubuntu, but the open-source package is available in many distributions.

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The New York Times suggests that even on a grey and cloudy day, getting outside can help your skin create the mood-boosting, health-supplementing Vitamin D. A complete cloud cover only halves the energy of ultraviolet rays, which trigger Vitamin D production, so you can still beat the wintertime blues with a little time in the "sun." If you do catch some rays, though, remember not to over-do it:

To strike a balance between useful exposure and protection, the N.I.H. recommends an initial exposure of 10 to 15 minutes, followed by application of a sunscreen with an S.P.F. of at least 15. The institutes say this much exposure, at least two times a week, is usually sufficient to provide adequate vitamin D, though some researchers suggest it may not be enough.

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