Windows Mobile/CE/Smart phones: Wrangle files on your handheld with the portable version of popular Explorer replacement Total Commander. Bringing the increased functionality to Windows Mobile devices and smart phones that it brought to desktop users, Total Commander makes manipulating your files and directory structures on smaller devices a breeze. Zip and unzip files, edit the registry, view files in single pane, dual pane, or tree views, and even FTP and browse your LAN all from within Total Commander. Unlike its bigger desktop brother, Total Commander for mobile devices is a free download.

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Ira Glass, host of National Public Radio's This American Life, knows a thing or two about turning the creative process into a polished, finished product—but he also remembers turning out work he didn't necessarily want to put his stamp on. This video, part of an interview series on story telling, features some great advice about working through those first few attempts—or even years—where your product doesn't quite meet your standards, as well as Glass pulling out some honestly awkward examples from his own portfolio. You can find the rest of Glass' interview at YouTube user kentj1's channel.

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From the files of the Maybe New To You Dept.: While Firefox 3 should be a bit less crash-prone than its predecessor, it isn't bulletproof. Type about:crashes into Firefox's address bar, and you can see a list of your browser crashes, when they happened, and click on them to get details of what happened. Some of the reasons and reports might not be in plain English, but a little copy/paste-to-Google could help diagnose your problems. This will only list the crashes after which you clicked "Submit" on the resulting pop-up, so you might want to think twice before hitting "cancel" after your next sudden failure.

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Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox or IE7): PassPack, an online manager for both your computer and web site passwords we've previously mentioned, has created an offline version using Google's Gears add-on. That alone makes PassPack a more useful tool, but you can also download PassPack onto multiple computers, online or off, and sync your password management between them all (assuming the offline computers can make a one-time connection). As Adam noted, the site goes a long way to explain its encryption and privacy measures; if that sounds kosher to you, its offline version makes PassPack much more helpful. Fans of Adobe Air apps should check out PassPack's "Desktop" AIR app. PassPack's offline version requires Google Gears, which runs on Firefox and Internet Explorer; hit the link below for installation instructions.

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Editor: We asked self-described social media junkie Steve Rubel for his tips on how to participate in online social sites like Twitter and FriendFeed without losing your entire workday. Here's what he said.
Social media is the equivalent of digital food. It's nourishing, tasty and, for many of us, necessary. However, consume too much and you can get sidetracked and create larger consequences. The good news is you can participate in social media in a way that adds value to your life. You just need to know how to manage it so so that it does not devour your attention—the most valuable commodity of the digital age. Here are three simple steps I take.

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If you regularly have to reinstall Vista on machines, you'll appreciate that the arrival of Service Pack 1 is, despite its performance benefits, a nuisance in terms of how much time is needed to build a fresh system. James Bannan at APC offers a walk-through on how to simplify the process using freeware tool Vista Update Integrator to build an install DVD that integrates SP1 (and other routine drivers if you need to add them). This isn't a procedure for the faint of heart, and it's undoubtedly overkill for people who only rebuild their machine once a year, but if you're a regular reinstaller, it could be a real boon.
HOW TO: slipstream Vista SP1 into your Vista install DVD [APC]

Voracious book lover but find it difficult to get to the local library? Australian book rental site Slim Ink could solve your reading woes. Like previously mentioned US-only service BookSwim, Slim Ink takes the DVD rent-by-post concept popularised by NetFlix and applies it to books, sending out titles you select along with a post-paid envelope to swap when you're ready. Plans range from $14 a month for a single book to $60 a month for a dozen out at a time. While the range isn't gigantic (and there's no download option), this is a good solution for people who can't access existing libraries (because of location or work hours) and don't want to build a collection of their own. If you've tried it out, let us know your experiences in the comments. [Slim Ink]

Venerable URL shortening service TinyURL has caught up with its rivals by adding a feature allowing you to define your own short names (or as it calls them, custom aliases), rather than just accepting the supplied random stream of characters. Most of the obvious choices have already been grabbed, but it's worth a try if you have a particular abbreviation in mind and a long site address to deal with. Some points to bear in mind: you can't associate a given URL with more than one abbreviation, and for short site names the abbreviated version might not end up much shorter.

Lifehacker reader Shannon wrote in with this "obvious once you've thought of it but always worth remembering" tip for backing up your email service:

Instead of using other software to back up your emails, why not let your existing email provider and Gmail do it for you? Just set up a Gmail account and call it something useful (maybe [your family name]emailbackup@gmail.com). Then configure your existing email provider to automatically forward a copy of every email you receive to this address. Most ISPs allow this functionality now -- it is usually in the account control panel somewhere under the 'email setup' section. Send a couple of tests to make sure it is working and you are on your way! No software to worry about or schedules to follow. Gmail's storage is always on the increase, so you should never run out of room.

An added advantage of this approach is that you can use Gmail's excellent search facilities to locate older mails, and apply filters if there's routine mails from mailing lists you don't want to back up. Got any other preferred backup strategies, or tips for getting this working with particular ISPs? Let us know in the comments. [Thanks Shannon!]

Windows only: Freeware application HeavyLoad tests your computer's performance under pressure by maxing out your CPU usage and eating up memory. If neither your computer nor HeavyLoad crash, the idea is that your computer fared well. There is no report after you run the test, and you can keep it running for as long as you want. HeavyLoad is not much of a diagnostic tool by any means, but if you're looking for a quick and easy way to test your computer's chops under stress, it's worth a look. If you've got a method you prefer for testing your PC's performance, let's hear about it in the comments.

Linux.conf.au, Australia's annual get-together for Linux hackers, coders and enthusiasts, is shifting to Hobart in January 2009 (I'll definitely be attending). The call for papers has just opened, so if you've got a nifty Linux project you're keen to publicise or some technical knowledge to share, get over to the official site, register and get your suggestions in.

Mac OS X only: Free, open-source tool Precipitate indexes your Google Docs and Google Bookmarks, making them searchable from either Spotlight or Google Desktop for Mac. Precipitate provides full search on the entire content of your Google Docs documents, while on Google Bookmarks Precipitate only indexes your bookmark title and any other metadata you added when you created the bookmark (though bookmark content search could be awesome). Precipitate may also support indexing of other Google cloud apps in the future, like Picasa web albums, but the initial Docs and Bookmarks support is a great start. Precipitate is free, Mac OS X only. Thanks Nicholas!

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If you're signed into your Gmail account from several computers at once, a note at the bottom of your inbox will tell you that, Google announces. Gmail's new Remote Signout and Info feature is getting rolled out to Gmail accounts slowly, and will display the IP addresses of all the computers where you're currently signed into Gmail below your inbox (shown above). You can also sign out of Gmail from a remote computer using the new feature—check out a screenshot of that, after the jump.

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Last week we introduced you to Dropbox, a freeware application that instantaneously syncs files between computers and backs them up online through the Dropbox web interface. The Dropbox iGoogle gadget provides quick access to any of your Dropbox files through the comfort and convenience of your iGoogle dashboard. Off the bat the Dropbox gadget is a little funky, but if you install the Fix Dropbox Width Greasemonkey script in addition to the iGoogle gadget, it fits perfectly among your other iGoogle gadgets.

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Windows only: Freeware application 360desktop turns your Windows desktop into a 360-degree virtual desktop. Using the application's unobtrusive slider, 360desktop scrolls around a cylindrical, widget-enabled desktop until it returns back to the start. As you can see in the video, some of the application's features are a touch frivolous, and unfortunately you can't yet use your own panoramic photos as your 360desktop wallpaper. That said, if you've always been interested in organizing your workspaces with virtual desktops or extending the size of your desktop but haven't found an application that fits your likes, 360desktop might be worth a look. 360desktop is freeware, Windows only.

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Firefox only: Save time shopping at Amazon.com with the new Better Amazon Firefox extension, which adds helpful tweaks and features to Amazon's pages. Better Amazon highlights which products the big A offers Super Saver free shipping for in search results, automatically enlarges product images, shortens Amazon URLs for easy emailing, and collapses superfluous junk on the page when you just need to get simple tasks done. After the jump, download Better Amazon and get your (stateside) online shopping done more efficiently.

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Everyone hates the dreaded "Where do you see yourself in five years?" question, but it's a lot easier to answer when you've got written goals and a plan to achieve them. CEO Michael Hyatt blogs about how he put together his life plan, which he reviews with a coach every three months.

This process of creating and regularly reviewing my plan has been transformational. As my family, friends, career, and other interests have grown, this document has kept me on track, ensuring that I keep everything in balance (more or less). When things get chaotic, it serves as a map, telling me where I am and how to get back on the path to my intended destination.

Hyatt runs down the three key components in his plan: outcomes, priorities, and action plans. While it sounds like a lot of expensive executive coach-speak for people who wear suits to work, have a personal secretary, and a corner office, if you can get past the stiff terminology, there's something here for anyone wondering how the heck to plot out their career and life path.

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Windows only: There's never been an elegant or efficient way to create new folders in Windows without getting the mouse involved. Alt+F+W+F? Definitely not quick. But lightweight application mdAxel can assign a keyboard shortcut to the act of creating a new folder. The shortcut triggers a folder creation dialog box which includes a pull-down menu of previous names you've used for easy reuse or editing. After mdAxel made making new folders easier from the keyboard, my weekend task of organising a mountain of media into a neat folder structure became much more bearable. MdAxel is a free download for Windows only.

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Windows only: Free Windows utility DesktopOnTop adds an icon to your system tray that provides quick access to the files and shortcuts on your desktop, in either a pop-up list or a mini-desktop view. The right-click list isn't all that much more convenient than the "Desktop" toolbar that Windows itself provides, but the ordered desktop view is a boon for those who stack and filter their files on their background. The major drawback to DesktopOnTop is that its mini-desktop's wallpaper won't match yours (unless you cede your wallpaper to one of its designs), but color-picking and transparency settings can make it unobtrusive. DesktopOnTop is a free download for Windows systems only.

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