From The Tips Box: Facebook Overload, Collar Stays, Earbuds

Readers offer their best tips for quieting certain notifications on Facebook, putting together makeshift collar stays, and hanging onto your headphones.

Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons — maybe they’re a bit too niche, maybe we couldn’t find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn’t fit it in — the tip didn’t make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favourites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments or use the contact tab on the right.

Unfollow Overflowing Facebook Posts, Even If You’ve Been Tagged

Angela shows us a Facebook feature that many have glossed right over:

I may just be an idiot, but i noticed yesterday that Facebook has an “Unfollow Post” button under posts you get notifications for, whether they’re photos, posts you’ve commented on, or anything else So, if you commented on something but then a million other people commented after you and you’re sick of getting notifications, you can just hit “Unfollow Post” — even if you’ve been tagged in it. It’s a really nice feature, and I have no idea how long it’s been there, but I’m in love with it now that I’ve found it.

Use Jumbo Size Paperclips as Makeshift Collar Stays

Myagi gives us a clever use for a common office supply:

Got out the door this morning looking a little scruffy, and forgot to put in collar stays for my work shirt. Realised that paperclips can make good collar stays in a pinch. They’re rigid, yet malleable, and the weight helps to keep the collar points down.

Notes:

• Jumbo size clips are roughly the same width and length as a plastic collar stay.
• Clip the wide curve of the paperclip inside the collar, and have the narrower curve underneath the collar. If you jam the whole thing in then they are harder to get out and you can see the paperclip shape on thinner shirts.
• Definitely remove these before washing. Don’t want to have rust stains around your neck!

Use Glasses Chains to Keep Earbuds in Place

Java-Princess lets us know an alternative use for glasses chains:

I’ve just bought one of those chains you put round your neck and hang your glasses on but instead of attaching glasses I attached them to my music player earbuds. The clasps allow the cables to slide easily so the weight of the chain doesn’t drag them out of your ears. Now I can take out the earbuds when I have to listen to someone without having to hold them or put them down.

BTW You will look like a dork.

Sure, many of you may knock this in an office environment, but I could see this being useful if you’re doing something athletic — snowboarding, hiking, whatever — and don’t want to lose your headphones.

Change Windows Themes Quickly with Any App Launcher

Keithb1 shares another trick for changing Windows themes:

If you know the path of your favourite theme(s), such as:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\mytheme.theme

…then you could throw something like that into your favourite app launcher (e.g. SlickRun, FARR, Launchy, Run box, cmd line, etc) as a command.

And if your app launcher is worth anything, it will keep that command as part of your history, preferably your recent history, so you can switch themes faster. Or, if not faster, at least geekier.

I also found this theme changer at SevenForums. It’s done in VBScript. Some might prefer it.