BotHack makes getting things done easy and fun. Delving deep into the technoweb, BotHack brings back simple and totally life-altering tips and tricks for managing your information and time. At this wild moment in the development of human-oriented technology, BotHack is your own personal early adopter, here to guide you through the onslaught of the new. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved: BotHack can help.
Windows users can save space on their Taskbar by downloading the nifty little program TrayIt. While viewing a maximized window, press CTRL as you minimize it on your taskbar. The program will no longer show up as a regular rectangle on the taskbar, rather, it will be a little icon in your tray. Just double click on the icon when you want to maximize the program again.
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:59 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 9:58 AM
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Did you prefer the older version of a program you are using? OldVersion.com is a collection of previous releases for many widely-used programs such as Acrobat Reader, America Online, AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Winamp, Winzip, Yahoo! Messenger and more.
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:56 AM
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It’s only Wednesday, but who couldn’t use a break already? Putting everything aside for five minutes can help refocus your attention. Five minutes are only 300 seconds, everybody can find that amount of time during even the busiest of days.
Put everything aside, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Concentrate on clearing your mind of everything. Undoubtedly a million thoughts will come rushing at you. Take each one and swing at it with an imaginary racket or bat and push it aside. Your breathing is the only action of interest for these fives minutes.
Set an alarm so you are not distracted by figuring out when five minutes are up.
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:50 AM
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Mark posted a fun puzzle from the April 1960 issue of Popular Science. Head on over to BoingBoing and solve it- it would be great to have a BOTHACKER solve it first! Link.
Cute project - Recently many kind of robot contests have being opened and some interesting reports of the challenge are found on the web. The Line Following is a kind of the robot contests to vie running speed on the line. I build a tiny line following robot which can run on the desk, moving the key board aside will do. It is for only a personal toy reduced its size less than one fifth compared to typical line following robots, not in formura. Link.
Rev Dan Catt is up to some neat stuff - In much the same way you can add audio (.mp3) and video (.mov) links. Geobloggers places audio and video in enclosure tags in its RSS and geoRSS feeds, making it possible to easily use geobloggers to create your own Podcasting feeds. Needless to say this turns PodCasting sideways. You don't need to subscribe to single users or site, you can subscribe to an area around your home, regardless of who the podcaster is. Same of course applies to Video, again a How To is coming up. All this throws out to Google Earth, CSV and normal RSS too. Link.
Yes, it is possible to broadcast music, MP3's, Podcasts, etc. from your itunes, computer cd or whatever. Don't limit yourself to a boring microphone... share your music! Link.
Wouter writes "...an excellent, 49-page step-by-step how-to with photos on how to make your own pancake generator. It shows how to make jigs, a winding tool etc. The site also contains PDF's on how to make your own generator blades. Mr. Piggot is an enthusiastic wind generator man who's not afraid to share his extensive knowledge. More power to him". Link (PDF).
Digital artists and animators using applications such as Maya, or even Flash, can test their animations by “scrubbing” the playhead backwards and forwards on the timeline. A podscrub takes the same mechanism and applies it to the functionality of an iPod. The playhead is your finger and the clickwheel is the timeline. Simple as that. Link.
...a web based TV show that showcases technology and other things of geek interest. Episode 4 covers automotive technology - Laptop stand for your car, Zach explains EFI, Bumper mounted video camera, Zach's Axiom Industrial Computer, ECU & the body computer, Retrieving trouble codes from your ECU - 3 key turn method, Zach rants about auto tech, Commodore - aka Holden Automotive, ECU modding tools, OBD Scan Tools - what are they?, Scantool.net OBDII scan tool and Digimoto software, DIY EFI - Mega Squirt, Remote Keyless Entry - how it works (KeeLOQ) Extending the range of your RKE. Link.
Nice HOW TO if you use Google Sidebar and Talk...After you install both Google Talk and Google Sidebar, you can select an option to integrate Talk into the Sidebar. (Then you can dock it to the side of your screen.) Do you think Windows is slowly becoming a bunch of device drivers to run Google apps on?... [via] Link.
This is one of my new favorite google map hacks - Why not take A9 Local images and insert them into Google Maps search results? (A9 Local images are storefront snapshots - taken by Amazon's A9.com - of 15 major US Cities) How does it work? Greasemonkey lets me inject script into any page (viewed in Firefox), and the script I injected is set up to fetch an Address Search from A9.com, looking for a corresponding image. If an image is found, it's displayed in the "Info Balloon" on Google Maps Link.
Hydroman writes "You might say I am a shade-tree scientist. I am doing a research and development project of my own. I am making hydrogen from beer cans, water and sodium hydroxide. Visit my website to see the plans, watch the videos and leave comments in the forum. I had a lot of fun making the videos. This is an opensource project. Join in the fun!" Link.
Open up a copy of google talk on all computers with which you wish to conference. After one copy is opened make a new shortcut for google talk but at the end of it add /nomutex. If you installed it to the default folder then your shortcut should read "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex. Open 2 instances of the software on every user's computer. After this start a chain: User 1 should connect on one instance to user 2. User 2 will connect on his second instance to user 3. User 3 will connect using his second instance back to user 1. With this chain everyone is connected to everyone. [via] Link. Or install Skype.
Two parts water, one part coolant, and one part guts are all it takes to water-cool your PC. It may seem a little extreme for a garden-variety desktop, but if your CPU runs hot or you've overclocked parts of your system, nothing beats the cooling power of classic H2O. Water conducts heat far better than air, and you don't have to be a turbogeek to perform the conversion. Modern kits make installation little more challenging than swapping a fan or a heat sink. [via] Link.
Turn that old Win machine in to a gamer box - This article describes how to use a clean boot to start your Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), or Microsoft Windows 98-based computer. When you use a clean boot to start your computer, Microsoft Windows loads only basic devices and services when it starts. [via] Link.
posted by Nitterbog @ 10:35 AM
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Use free Snippy (Windows) to copy a part of your screen. Instead of grabbing the entire screen or window like the print-screen key does, Snippy just grabs the freeform section you specify with a marker. For a rectangular selection hold down the shift key while dragging the marker across a portion of the screen. Snippy resides in your tray, just click on it to activate or press the hotkey you specify. Then right click on the scissors icon and Save As without having to open the image. You can save the image in different formats.
posted by Nitterbog @ 10:07 AM
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Berkeley’s Office of Educational Development has a helpful guide for making your public speaking more effective. They list numerous points for consideration, here are some of them.
- Keep the audience in mind as you prepare.
- Stay away from predictable beginnings, rather, start with an intriguing question or set up a clear problem.
- You won’t be able to cover everything you’d like to so set some clear goals regarding the most important points and focus on those.
- Talk about your material instead of lecturing about it. This is easier to achieve if you are not reading your script, rather, use notes.
- Interact with the audience - ask questions, get people involved - since people learn better when they are actively participating.
- Leave time for Q&A and address everyone politely.
The site offers many more details.
posted by Nitterbog @ 10:04 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 9:56 AM
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Although there is no built-in feature to create group lists in GMail, there is an easy workaround. Click on Contacts (left-side menu) and choose Add Contact (top right corner). Enter a name for the group in the Name field. Then in the Primary Email field start inputting the addresses of group members. Here is the trick: leave out the first and last brackets. This is how you should do it (substituting the appropriate email addresses):
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:52 AM
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Academics Dean Foster, Choong Tze Chua and Lyle Ungar at the University of Pennsylvania created a mortality calculator. Answer some questions about your lifestyle and family health history, and the calculator gives you an estimate for how long you will live. This may sound dark, but it is an interesting exercise especially since the site then gives you suggestions for introducing changes to your lifestyle that may help increase your life expectancy.
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:43 AM
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If you are a regular reader of BotHack, you know I am into creativity researching - finding what are the tips and ways to improve my creativity. I believe creativity (and/or innovation) is one of the key factors to drive you to success on any front. This is something that I need to improve on as well.
Bruce DeBoer at Synthesis has written a fantastic article on creativity. It surely answered many questions on what makes one creative, and it also answered my question - am I borned with creativity or developed by education and environment - I used to think it’s former but it is definitely the latter which has more weights than former:
"… Society teaches the creativity out of our students. If X, then Y is easy to teach. If X, then Y gets results. It generates tangible and immediate ROI. Do this and get that result. Take an alternative path and risk failure or – even worse – ridicule. Research creative history and learn what got rewarded and what was ignored. Teach high craft and call it high art. Creativity is too soft and round; there is nothing to grab onto. There are often no clean results to judge. Creativity is messy but we all crave the rewards.
When do we begin to fear our own creativity? I believe it is the point at which we began to market ourselves. True creativity is deeply personal because we have to create new streams – new run-off paths in our souls. Risking creative rejection is terrifying. It’s rejection that cuts so deep it’s worse than a High School crush laughing when you finally get the nerve to ask her to the movies (I digress, forgive me). Creativity takes courage. Being vulnerable takes guts. Needed is a willingness to be rejected for what is among the most personal of expressions. The stakes are high…
Usually I won’t quote two sections but here is what I like (as a geek):
"… For those of you in need of concrete illustration, this should keep you busy:
Creativity x Craft x Emotion = Art
Creativity x Craft x Function = Innovation[…]
However flawed you may find these equations; my point is that emotion and function are the human relational elements to art and innovation. Without emotion, art appears dry and mechanical. Without function, innovation is pure Rube Goldberg. Craft is the vehicle of creativity. Crafting the creativity allows the emotion and function to “sing” …"
I like these formulas - I am going to stick them on my door.
What makes me creative? - [Synthesis via Slacker Manager]
posted by Nitterbog @ 7:00 AM
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Try this! This is a new Greasemonkey script that can change your experience on Gmail. I always thought the normal conversation preview is not too useful as it shows one sentence only. Over Persistent.info has a Greasemonkey script that able to add a preview bubble which shows the first message and last message for preview. It is extremely useful:
"… One of the things touted by the upcoming Yahoo Mail and Hotmail releases is that they will have a preview/reading pane which will let you see message contents at a glance without having to navigate to an entirely new view. Gmail offers a lightweight version of this already, by showing the first hundred or so characters of each message as a snippet next to the subject. While this is handy for one-liner emails, a full-blown preview pane is often more appropriate.
Given my past experiences with Gmail and Greasemonkey, I figured that adding a preview area to Gmail may just be possible. Ignoring the technical aspects, the first issue was deciding what it should look like. My main issue with traditional preview panes is that they take up a lot of room, even when they aren’t needed. Eventually, I was inspired by Google Map’s bubbles and decided to try that approach…"
Make sure you have Greasemonkey 0.5 installed. It is needed to get this work.
Gmail Conversation Preview Bubbles - [Persistent.info]
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:56 AM
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Desperately Wandering has made a list of sites that you should visit if you want to increase your Photoshop skills. I especially liked these tutorials and sites:
Become a Photoshop Expert - [Desperately Wandering]
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:52 AM
3 Comments
Finding a cell phone that meets all of your needs can be a real pain. Make it easier with the Cell Phone Finder. Input your zip code and it will show you all of the providers in the area and the brands of phones that they carry. You can also select options like phone design, color, data access, Bluetooth, camera resolution and text messaging. Maximum height and weight as well as minimum talktime are options too.
Cell Phone Finder then displays the phones that meet your needs, making it simple to select one.
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:46 AM
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All of us have to sing at some point, even if it’s just a simple ‘Happy Birthday’. Use these simple tips and techniques to improve your voice and your confidence.
After the jump…1. Keep your arms slightly away from your body. Clasp your hands out in front of you or bring your arms to your sides and a bit forward, raising them about 6 inches in a flexible, relaxed fashion. This will allow your ribcage to fully expand and your lungs to fill to capacity. More air allows you to project your voice more strongly and clearly.
2. Keep your feet about shoulders’ width apart. If you like, one foot can be further forward than the other. Make sure you’re solidly balanced, but still flexible. Slightly bend your knees. If you must sing while sitting, make sure both feet are flat on the floor and that you’re sitting up straight, but not stiffly.
3. Relax! Tension destroys vocal tone. Try not to let your shoulders hunch up and keep your neck from tensing. Don’t force your chest out and up when you breath in. This will actually constrict your air flow. Stay in motion, however slightly. This will relax your body and your tone will sound more natural. Try gently swaying from side to side with the rhythm. You’ll look better, too!
4. When you inhale, push your stomach out. This will allow you to more completely fill your lungs. As you exhale, bring your stomach slowly in, using the muscles of your diaphram (which is just under your ribcage) to control your notes.
5. If you have to hit a high note or you hear yourself singing flat (that is, your notes are a tiny bit too low), raise your arms a little higher and smile slightly. For very high notes, try closing your eyes and turning your face up slightly.
6. Conversely, if you start to sing sharp (a tiny bit too high), bring your arms down a little lower and open your mouth slightly wider by dropping your lower jaw. Don’t dip your chin towards your neck, however, as this will cause your air flow to become constricted, which will show up in your voice.
7. Enjoy yourself!
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:43 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 6:41 AM
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Photo-sharing site Flickr makes it easy to upload pictures directly from your cameraphone to your account. Your phone has to be capable of sending emails. Flickr generates a unique email address to which you are to send the photos. Note that if you don’t like the address the site displays, you can get another one by refreshing the page.
You can save tags that will be added to all of your photos uploaded by email. The subject line of the email specifies the photo’s title, the body of the message will be added as the description. No worries if you forget to specify these, you can always add/edit them later.
If you have never downloaded pictures from your cameraphone, I recommend giving this service a try since it makes the process very easy. I was surprised at how reasonably some of my phone photos turned out. Judging from what they looked like on the phone (Treo 600), I was expecting the results to be much worse.
Flickr Uploads by Email (you have to be logged on to your account for this to work)
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:40 AM
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Cleaning a refrigerator periodically can reduce food safety risks, help reduce energy costs and minimize food losses that can drive up overall food costs.
A clean refrigerator typically requires less energy to keep cool. Also, cross contamination of foods is less likely to occur if an appliance is free of spills and leftovers or other foods past their prime.
Die Dulci Fruere
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:36 AM
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Sure, summer’s almost over, but you still may need a new pair of sunglasses.
Die Dulci FruereChoose shades based on your face shape
Don’t try to match your shade colors with your outfit
Don’t Spend a Ton of Money on Shades
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:34 AM
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Listening to music while you’re working out is a great way to stay motivated. About.com’s Nino has a list of some great iPod gym accessories including cases and earphones.
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:33 AM
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This tutorial is not intended for wireless mice, which have more sensitive components. Do this when your computer is off. Turn your mouse over on its back. You should see a circular plastic piece surrounding a rubber ball in the bottom. Turn the plastic piece (usually clockwise) and take it out.
Remove the ball. Put it someplace where it won’t pick up extra dirt. The ball tends to stay clean even when everything else is dirty, but double-check. Remove hair, dust or lint by lightly pressing office tape to it and quickly pulling the tape off.
The challenge is inside your mouse. You’ll probably see dark marks on the center of each roller. Very gently scrape the dirt off with tweezers or a similar object. Take care not to damage the fine wires surrounding the rollers.
Angle the mouse so that dirt won’t fall deeper into it once it’s scraped off. You can tap the mouse right side up on a flat surface occasionally to knock out any dirt accumulated out of reach.
When done, simply replace the ball and slide the plastic piece back into place. Before testing your mouse, make sure that your mouse pad is clean and on a flat surface. Your pointer should now be good to go.
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:32 AM
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1. Avoid announcing “a joke.” Just tell it.
2. Keep it clean. It’s better to tell clean jokes rather than risk offending someone.
3. Tell “smart” jokes, not “dumb” ones. Smart jokes have a bigger payoff because listeners have to work a little to be rewarded.
4. Tell jokes that inform. Humor is more rewarding when it informs. Try to tell jokes that are based on a true-life scenario.
5. Know when to quit. Learn two or three really good jokes and always tell the best one last.
Die Dulci Fruere
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:21 AM
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With Google Talk’s launch and Skype offering more features, the Guardian has written an internet phone Q&A.
Surely phone calls can’t be free?
Well, not entirely. Callers need to pay for a broadband internet connection. Beyond that, though, calls to other Skype or Google Talk users are free. Think of it like email: you can email as much as you like for nothing as long as you pay for the internet connection. VoIP is the same: you can chat as much as you like as long as you have broadband. And as with email it doesn’t matter where in the world the person you are contacting is based.
So what do I need to make calls over the internet?
You need a computer, a broadband connection and, if you don’t have speakers and a microphone, or want to avoid the feeling that you are talking to your computer, a specially adapted headset or telephone.
But what if the person I am calling is not on the system?
You can still call landlines or mobile phones, but you will pay for the calls as you do now.
Die Dulci Fruere
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:19 AM
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Are you confused about what you need to dial in order to call another country? Between country, area, city and local codes, it can get pretty complicated.
This resource is very helpful: first select where you are, then select where you want to call and then type in the number without any international prefixes and this site will tell you exactly how to make the call.
Die Dulci Fruere
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:18 AM
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Eating organic food and saving money are seemingly on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Pat of About.com begs to differ. “You may never be able to buy organic food as cheaply as other foods, but you certainly can lower the cost with a little sleuthing and determination.”
How?
- Raise your own meat, if you can.
- Buy in bulk.
- Cook from scratch to an extreme degree.
- Join a co-op.
- Find coupons on the web.
- Grow as much of your own food as possible.
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:15 AM
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Before a problem occurs, why not have a basic toolbox at your home that can get you out of just about any household dilemma?
Die Dulci Fruere
- Hammer - a 16 oz., curved claw hammer is best.
- Screwdrivers - It’s a good idea to have two screwdrivers: a standard slotted and a #2 Phillips.
- Handsaw - An 8 or 10 point handsaw makes a good all-purpose saw.
- Hacksaw
- Pliers - Any kind of pliers will do. Linemans pliers are especially good because they have the capability to cut wire.
- Vise Grips
- Tape measure - A 12 or 16 foot tape is long enough for most jobs. Get one that is at least 3/4 inch wide, so it won’t bend easily.
- Level - An 18 or 24 inch level is a good size to have around the house.
- Utility knife - a knife with a retractable blade is the safest and doesn’t get dull as quickly.
- Crescent wrench
- Apron - A canvas apron will hold your tools, leaving your hands free.
- An assortment of nails and screws of various size and type.
Choose a prepackaged assortment or pick out a selection of the most used sizes and types.- Tape - Both electrical and duct tape have numerous uses and are essential for minor fix-it jobs.
- Square
- Nail punch
- File
- Putty knife
- Pry bar
- Wood glue
- WD-40
- Flashlight
- Safety glasses
- Gloves
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:13 AM
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Are there searches that you do all of the time in Outlook 2003? I often search by size or by person, but occasionally I have unique searches that were so helpful that I want to make them one of the Advanced Find options.
1. Open the Advanced Find dialog box (Control+Shift+F)
2. Search for what you want (for example, all mail received yesterday)
3. Once the search is completed, go to the File menu, select Save Search and name the search something descriptive like “mailyesterdaysent”
4. Close out of Advanced Find
5. Open Advanced Find again
6. Go to the File Menu and select Open Search
7. Select your saved search
The Advanced Find dialogue box will automatically search for what you want.
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:12 AM
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From MSN: Experts say that many of today’s small businesses are a result of a person following their passion. So don’t waste another day doing something you don’t enjoy.
1. Explore the possibilities.
2. Get expert advice.
3. Conduct simple market research.
4. Draft a simple business plan.
5. Just do it.
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:11 AM
2 Comments
Google Talk, a Google IM client. Integrates with Gmail, XMPP (used by Jabber, Adium, iChat, etc.) and supports audio chat. Requires a GMail account and Windows (for now).
Die Dulci Fruere
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:09 AM
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Knowing more about wine is certainly a skill on my long-term to-do list, but in the meantime, I use a pocket vintage chart. There are PDA versions, but I like the ability to refer to a small laminated card in my wallet. These charts lists regions and years in a grid. You can quickly let your fingers do the walking to find a higher quality wine. For example, in 2001 California and Oregon had a great year.
Do a Google Image search for “vintage chart” and you’ll see a number of different options in different languages and sizes. A more specific search of “vintage chart” 2004 will take you to the most current lists but only by region.
I like this 2004 chart.
Die Dulci Fruere
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:09 AM
0 Comments
Leadership for Dummies has an excellent idea for a team building exercise that can spread knowledge between members of a team.
"Have each person on your team teach a “master class” in some methodology that has varied nuances. This exercise will force the person doing the teaching to think more about the “how” of their job, and less about the “what.” It will also give people an opportunity to ask all sorts of questions, many of which may appear superficial, but all of which are useful."
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:06 AM
1 Comments
posted by Nitterbog @ 10:19 AM
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Free Neighborhood Wi-Fi
How to Make a "Live" Transparent Desktop
Google Desktop 2 Beta - Sidebar!
Play a game only for people - computers can't do it...
Instant Labeling Tape
DIY solar bike light
Unlock the PSP to full resolution with the PMF Player
HOW TO - ROM hacking...
Flying insect highspeed photography
Circuit Bending Games
Easy mount speakers
posted by Nitterbog @ 6:18 AM
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Going on a roadtrip and want to “listen” to a movie? With our favorite, VLC and iTunes, you can turn a DVD into an audiobook! MacSIG details the steps to take to make any DVD into an audiobook to listen to on your iPod.
posted by Nitterbog @ 5:55 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 5:53 AM
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From time to time we all have to comfront people. We often try to avoid this type of interaction. Hagop at Healthy Escape has some strategies for making confrontations more constructive, calm and an opportunity for frank communication.
"Positive confrontation can be a learning experience for both parties, because it involves openly and bravely facing an issue. When most effective, both parties will come away from a confrontation feeling satisfied that they can move forward, changed for the better."
posted by Nitterbog @ 5:51 AM
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MacWorld has published Part 1 of 3 of its list of 50 Mac Gems of the month.
Highlights include:
posted by Nitterbog @ 5:37 AM
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If you’re like me, you have a number of different computers, drives, and folders to store information. Sometimes I download images on my work laptop, sometimes on my home computer or perhaps the documents that I want are on an external harddrive. I try to keep everything as organized as possible, but it sure is a hassle. Microsoft has released a new PowerToy called SyncToy that manages multiple sets of directories at the same time. It can combine files from two folders and keeps track of file renames and rewrites.
SyncToy is relatively easy to use and in just a few minutes I backed up all of my digital photos from 3 different computers to an external hard drive.
SyncToy v1 Beta for Windows XP
posted by Nitterbog @ 5:32 AM
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Ten Tips for Selecting a Digital Video Camera From Small Dog’s Pro Area 1. Consider a digital video camera over an analog video camera. Specifically, choose a camcorder that records to the MiniDV format. MiniDV camcorders offer the best combination of price, performance, and flexibility. MiniDV cameras use CCDs (charged coupling devices) to capture light. In general, a camera with larger CCDs will have better color quality, resolution and ability to selectively focus.
2. Current MiniDV camera offer the ability to capture still photos. Some create a still frame on the video tape, while others can capture a photo to a removable memory card. You will get better, higher resolution results by using the memory card. If snapping still images is important to you, look for models that can take a memory card. However, at this time, no video camera can rival the quality of a dedicated still digital camera. Currently, a $200 3.2 megapixel still camera will take better photos than a $5000 video camera.
3. Look for at least a 10x optical zoom. Digital zoom can be useful, but it does degrade the quality of the image. Many MiniDV cameras are offering 18x optical zoom and higher.
4. Image stabilization is essential in these cameras. Optical stabilization is preferable to digital stabilization, but both work well.
5. On larger cameras, look for at least a 2.5” LCD viewfinder. This can make shooting more fun and flexible, though it does use up the battery faster.
6. On-board camera microphones can be decent, but for best audio quality seek a camera with an external microphone jack and purchase an external mic. Audio is 50% of your video presentation!
7. Look for a camera with analog-to-digital pass-through capability. This feature allows you to transfer your old VHS tapes to your computer for editing and burning to DVD.
8. Consider a camera with accessible manual controls, such as large buttons, knobs and dials. As your skills and experience grow, you will appreciate the extra control over your images. You will also appreciate not having to hunt around for a tiny button as you set up a shot!
9. Find out what expansion options exist for the camcorders you are interested in. These include specialized lights, filters, and extended batteries. Accessories can make awkward shooting situations much more enjoyable.
10. Finally, if at all possible, pick up the camera and try it out. The feel of the camera can make a big difference in your selection, especially if you plan on using the camera frequently.
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:54 AM
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MapYourAncestors.com will turn your family tree into a free Google Map if you email them a completed Excel spreadsheet. The site gives you an example of what the finished map would look like by showing the family tree of George Bush.
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:51 AM
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The folks over at MacSIG explain how you can use your iPod as an alarm clock and awake to your favorite music.
You could probably do this with your earbuds as well, but making it through the entire night with the buds in your ears is likely difficult."Step 1: Select Extras > Clock from the main menu. Then choose Date & Time, and use the Click Wheel to set the Time Zone, current time, and date.
Step 2: Go back to the Clock menu and choose Alarm Clock. Toggle the alarm “On”. Select Time and set the time you’d like iPod to wake you up. Then use the Sound menu to pick the playlist you’d like to wake up to.
Step 3: Connect iPod to any of the scores of available speakers or to your stereo system and settle in to a comfy night’s sleep."
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:51 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 8:45 AM
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From The Big Sister’s Guide to the World of Work: The Inside Rules Every Working Girl Must Know, a guide to keeping track of of the favors that you do for others around the office and if they are really paying off. Be more conscious of all the favors you do in the workplace, not only to become more aware of all you do in a single day and pat yourself on the back for being such a swell person, but also because consciousness will lead to a personal strategy and great efficiency.
"1. Turn a notebook into a Scratch Pad. For one week, write down every single time you do someone a little favor and how long it took. That means every time you make the coffee run, help someone get a dinner reservation, answer a question that has nothing to do with your own job, or have a conversation that is totally irrelevant as your workday tick-tocks away, you jot it on your Scratch Pad.
2. After a week, circle all the favors that you think could somehow elevate you in the esteem of your boss. Chances are that those circles are pretty few and far between.
3. Put a check mark next to all the items that were done for people who are in a position to potentially help you in return. That is to say, people who could either advance your career someday or make your current job significantly easier. How did you do on that score?"
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:43 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 8:41 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 8:34 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 8:25 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 8:14 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 7:45 AM
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Fuji Xerox plans to start selling these E-Paper Visual Index Cards sometime next year. The e-paper is ultra-thin and does not need electricity for its display, according to CNet. The article—a photo caption, really—goes on to talk about “photoconductivity seats that contain an LCD layer.” I’m hoping that someone reading this can decipher what that means. All I know is, I want a stack of them.
posted by Nitterbog @ 12:18 AM
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PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, non-profit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of noncommercial television, the Internet and other media to enrich the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services that inform, inspire and delight. Available to 99 percent of American homes with televisions and to an increasing number of digital multimedia households, PBS serves nearly 100 million people each week.
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:46 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 9:42 AM
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The video is in Japanese but you really don't need to understand any of the commentary. See it to believe.
If only there is a faster to get the ironing done...
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:38 AM
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A list of Firefox extensions: useful but still could live day to day without.
- Block ads with Adblock Plus 0.5.9
- Grab images with Allow Right-Click 0.1.1
- Check the weather with Forecastfox 0.8.1.3
- Zoom your images with Image Zoom 0.1.7.1
- Add tab extensions with Tab X 0.9.1
- Refresh your webpage properly with ReloadEvery 0.6.1
- Fake out IE-only sites with IE View 1.2.4
- Round the edges of your input fields with WellRounded 0.41
- Choose what Firefox stores with Form History Manager 0.3.0
posted by Nitterbog @ 9:33 AM
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I’m a big fan of the Gutenberg eText project. Their online royalty-free texts preserve a great literary heritage. Unfortunately, their standard 80-character wide ASCII format makes the files hard to read, particularly on PDAs. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to convert the text into a PDA-friendly format with a simple text editor and a little know-how.
Follow the jump for the steps to convert a Gutenberg Text into a normal textwrapped file.
To follow these steps, you’ll need to know how your favorite text editor searches and replaces text that includes carriage returns. I like to do my conversions on a Mac, using TextEdit; you can cut and paste carriage returns right into the Find box. Other text editors use the escape sequence \r. You may want to google for the name of your editor and “carriage return” to determine the replacement details for your program.
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:51 AM
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posted by Nitterbog @ 8:31 AM
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Have you ever wanted to download a whole bunch of links from a single webpage? Did you get annoyed by the pain of having to right-click each one and then Save to Disk? You’ll be pleased to learn about WackGet. With a simple copy/paste WackGet will download it all for you. It even figures out what parts of the page are links and what parts are text. All you have to do is select the part of the Webpage you want, copy it and paste it into the WackGet window. Choose File —> Open Download Folder to see all your newly downloaded files. The program is tiny, light on system resource usage, ad-free and open source. And best of all, thanks to the good folk at Millweed, it’s free. [Windows, Free]
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:22 AM
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Big is in. Video, audio, pictures—they all take up lots of space, particularly as quality increases. Up until now, it’s been a huge problem sharing these resources with friends, family and business associates. But now, there’s a solution. Any number of file sharing sites have sprung up over the last year. These sites allow you to upload and share files in the tens and hundreds of megabytes. Most of these sites are funded by ad revenue (although some better-quality fee-based websites are making inroads). Unlike providers that offer for-fee online disk-space, services like ShareBigFile.com and YouSendit.com provide strictly temporary solutions. Links (and the online files they point to) expire after a few days. You send the link, your recipient must download the file within the given time limit. Other limits include file size (250 megabytes is a common upper limit) and concurrent downloads (many sites allow only one download at a time to save bandwidth).
Be aware that your files will not be “secure”. Anyone who finds a copy of the download link can grab a copy of your uploaded data. If you need to transfer information securely, consider sending a CD or data DVD by express mail or courier. Also, make sure to follow copyright law. Most of the terms of service expressly forbid illegal transfer of copyright material.
posted by Nitterbog @ 7:51 AM
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The Ansearch search engine was initially designed to offer Australians relevant and truly localised search results. Results are ranked according to usage popularity and demographic significance, ensuring the most relevant answers to common searches. Gave it a shot and initial results were quite relevant...keep an eye on this one.
posted by Sylvester Rozario @ 11:45 AM
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HOW TO Build A Computer
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:49 AM
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Podcaster Phil Torrone posts instructions on how to record a podcast (internet audio show) that includes images and URLs. Set up bookmarks to easily navigate to certain chapters of your podcast; make images to appear at particular points in time in iTunes’ artwork panel or on your iPod’s screen and include clickable URLs. Phil’s also got some great ideas for applications of an enhanced podcast - like a choose your own adventure audio story or American Idol-style song voting.
posted by Nitterbog @ 8:40 AM
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BotHack makes getting things done easy and fun. Delving deep into the technoweb, BotHack brings back simple and totally life-altering tips and tricks for managing your information and time. At this wild moment in the development of human-oriented technology, BotHack is your own personal early adopter, here to guide you through the onslaught of the new. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved: BotHack can help.
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