Windows Mobile only: The free PIM Backup utility makes backup copies of your appointments, call logs, contacts, messages, speed dials, tasks, and even folders and file types you specify. PIM Backup jobs run manually or on a schedule you set. While travelling and far away from my home computer, PIM Backup saved me from a big headache when I had to hard reset my Windows Mobile phone: with all my personal data backed up on the removable mini SD card in the phone, the time from hard reset to restored data was less than 10 minutes. We've covered how to back up your Windows Mobile device's content to the web with DashWire, but PIM Backup comes in handy for file backup without using your handheld's data connection. PIM Backup is a free download for Windows Mobile 6/5/2003SE.

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Windows/Mac/Linux: TrueCrypt 6.0, the latest and improved version of the powerful software encryption tool, has been released. New to this version are the additions of hidden volume tools—the ability to create virtual, encrypted drives only viewable by yourself—to the OS X and Linux versions, and to hide an entire operating system behind encryption in Windows. Systems with multi-core CPUs will see improved encrypt/decrypt performance boosted by 100% for each CPU (important when hibernating/suspending with encrypted drives), and "backup headers" which provide last-chance recovery for encrypted drives and files that get damaged. Want to put TrueCrypt to work on your rig? Check out Gina's guide to encrypting your data. TrueCrypt 6.0 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

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The go-to Vista fix-it guy, The How-To Geek, offers a much-needed tutorial and walk-through on installing print-to-PDF functionality in Windows Vista. To start saving paper and creating PDFs, you'll need to install a copy of previously mentioned PDFCreator, but with the trick of turning off User Account Control while you install to enable its direct PDF-creating capabilities. For a simpler but much more restricted and feature-lacking solution, you could also try installing doPDF. Hit the link for some how-to wisdom. (Original doPDF post).

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Windows only: Free Windows utility gAttach tightly integrates your web-based Gmail account into your operating system, fixing nearly every "Mail to" or "Send to" button and option to use a small Gmail window instead of Outlook or another desktop mail client. In other words, XP users can say goodbye to accidental Outlook Express pop-ups. The small app works with right-clicks on files, "Email this file" in Windows Explorer, email links in your default web browser, and tons of other spots where web-mailing normally wouldn't work. If you've got a Google Apps account for a domain, gAttach can work with that as well. The big fix needed is a better memory for your login details (and for switching between Gmail/Google Apps accounts), but it otherwise seems to work as advertised. Yahoo Mail users, the same author makes a yAttach program that covers the same ground. gAttach is a free download for Windows systems only.

It's easy to post something stupid to Twitter in the heat of the moment, but how can you get rid of it? In theory, you can delete any unwanted Twitter posts you've created by clicking on the delete icon next to them, but sometimes Twitter's notoriously picky API gets moody and doesn't want to help. If that happens, don't despair.

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A recent discussion at Whirlpool looks at an issue for auction sellers that's become more significant with eBay's prominent (albeit unsuccessful) attempts to push PayPal: what should you do if someone has paid you for postage but you work out that it's easier to deliver the item in person?
While the ethical answer is obvious (ask the buyer if they mind a personal delivery), the problem becomes more complicated if the buyer has already paid for the postage via PayPal (eBay's preferred approach) and then decides to ask for a refund, leaving you stuck with the fees. And is it worth risking personal delivery anyway, since in a dispute PayPal will invariably side with the buyer, not the seller, and you won't have much formal evidence of delivery? The best strategy would seem to be not having a fixed postage fee and waiting to get a delivery address before receiving any payment, but that makes the process of selling more time consuming. Tell us how you'd approach such a problem in the comments.

Firefox only: Spent the long weekend posting a rash of "Better" extension updates that add features, fix bugs, and offer full Firefox 3 compatibility. If you haven't already, download your favourite "Better" Firefox extensions now:

• Better Gmail 2
  Version 0.5.2: Updates and fixes the Redesigned skin; Adds Hide Gmail chat script.


• Better Flickr
  Version 0.3: Adds Firefox 3 support, Rich Edit, Photo Page Enhancer, and Thumbnail Page Enhancer.


• Better GCal
  Version 0.3: Adds the Redesigned skin beta by Globex Designs.


• Better GReader
  Version 0.3: Adds Colorful List View; Updates the Minimalistic skin; Adds international domain support including google.co.uk, google.es, google.de, and others.


• Better Lifehacker
  Version 0.2: Adds HTML Helper and Nested comment replies.


• Better YouTube
  Version 0.4.3: Adds Firefox 3 compatibility; Fixes FlowPlayer (alternate, non-autoplaying player) and YouTube Theatre view.

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If you get the feeling that the annual fee for your credit card has been rising in recent years, you're not wrong. An analysis by MWE Consulting reported by Lisa Macnamara in the Australian notes that fees have gone up by 170% in the past five years.
Of course, annual fees are only part of the story. If you're paying extra in order to have a longer interest-free period, then the savings might be worth it, and the report notes that the biggest shift has been to low-rate cards with fewer features and a higher up-front fee. Those cards have an annual average fee of $48; if you're paying more than that, it could well be time to migrate to a new provider.
Consumers hit by credit card fees [The Australian]

Even if you're tech-savvy enough to minimise their exposure to dodgy sites, defining reasonable limits on when your children use the PC can be difficult. Jeff Opdyke at the Wall Street Journal discusses an approach that's worked well with his 11-year-old son: a contract which controls computer usage in return for strict behavioural conditions. As Opdyke explains:

We're finding that a handful of written sentences can change his behaviour more powerfully than any of the dozens of threats we can conjure up at the spur of the moment.

Has setting a contract worked with your kids, or do you prefer another approach? Let us know in the comments. If you're more concerned with ensuring your young 'uns don't trash your existing machine, check out our recent guide to kid-proofing your PC with SteadyState.
Bad Behavior? What Does The Contract Say? [WSJ]

DIY web site Instructables has a clever step-by-step for turning your broken but snappy cabinet speakers into a DVD storage cabinet. Last week we posted a guide to clearing your DVD clutter, and if you've got a little time and a speaker you don't mind gutting, this little DIY is the perfect complement. Of course people may wonder why you've got two sets of speakers in your living room, but that only means you've done a nice job obscuring your media library. In practice, this media cabinet appears to be holding DVDs along with a few Nintendo cartridges, and since you're picking the shelf height yourself, you can make sure everything fits perfectly to maximize your storage space.

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Editor: Welcome guest writer Clay Collins, author of The Alternative Productivity Manifesto.
Let's face it: if you've spent much time in the productivity blogosphere, then 100 more motivation hacks, 50 more Firefox plug-ins, and additional GTD system tweaks probably aren't going to make you that much more productive. There's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to productivity advice. Photo by Andy Ciordia.

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Your friend just messaged you about the coolest new webapp, so you head over to sign up and ... "We're in private beta at the moment." If you strike out with invite-sharing services like Invite Share, the Lifehack.org blog has a few recommendations on getting in without an open invite. One is so straightforward, it's likely overlooked in most cases:

Try to contact someone in the PR department, but anyone with the power to grant invites is good. Then simply offer to review the service if you can get in on the beta now. Have a specific site in mind — if you want to post the review to your blog, be able to mention your readership numbers. Otherwise consider lining up the opportunity to guest post on a larger blog.

From my own and friends' experiences, just writing about a service and its possibilities in comments or forums can end up scoring you an invite. How have you gotten in on a webapp, software program, or other beta list? Share your story in the comments.

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