From The Tips Box: Command Prompt Folders, Adium Tabs

Readers offer their best tips for starting a new Windows Command Prompt, switching between tabs in Adium, and putting together a DIY smartphone mount for your car.

Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favourites. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments or send it using the contact tab on the right.

Open a Command Prompt in the Current Explorer Folder

The Troll shares a lesser-known feature of Windows Explorer:

Typing cmd in the address bar in an Explorer window opens Command Prompt in the folder open in the wWindow. Note that by folder I mean a folder as distinct from a Library. If it’s a Library, then Command Prompt opens in the System32 folder.

This works in Windows 7, doesn’t work in Windows XP, and whoever uses Windows Vista (anymore) anyway?

In fact, it looks like that box acts the same as Windows 7’s Run box, according to KBS:

looks like this address bar works the same way as typing in the Run box. Firefox.exe, explorer.exe, %temp%…. all of them work.

Preview Tabs in Adium’s Chat Window with the Option Key

Thisisme finds a cool shortcut in Adium for OS X:

In Adium, if you hold Option while moving your mouse over the open chat tabs, it selects each chat as you’re above it.

Use a Hair Tie for Stronger Smartphone Car Docks

Sean shares an upgrade to our binder clip smartphone dock:

I’m in love with the binder clip smartphone dock you guys featured awhile back, but I had a problem: my rubber bands kept snapping, no doubt due to the monstrosity that is the Droid X. One day, my sister was in the car and seeing the broken rubber band, threw her hair tie around it. Not only is it a lot stronger, but the black colour looks a bit better too.

Really, this can apply anywhere you need a super strong rubber band.

Consider January a “Beta” Month for New Year’s Resolutions

Photo by Sarah Rose.

Undecim reminds us that tweaking your New Year’s resolutions a month later isn’t a bad thing:

About a week late for this one, but I’ve always found it useful to use the entire month of January as a sort of “beta” stage for my New Year’s resolutions. By that I mean you spend the entire month implementing any routines or practices associated with your resolution (e.g. spend 30 minutes per day exercising), and tweaking them to be more specific or more efficient. By the end of January, you should have everything finalised, and be ready for the other 11 months.