Wednesday, December 22, 2010
How Much Commuting Actually Costs in 90 Cities [Infographic]
How Much Commuting Actually Costs in 90 Cities [Infographic]
This map, along with a related bar-style chart, drew in part from the latest Census data release that included figures on how many people drive alone, carpool, and otherwise get to work. When taking into account both fuel and long-term maintenance inevitabilities, you arrive at a figure that isn't usually factored into the "affordability" analysis and rankings you'll see around this time.
How does your city fare? What do you do to curtail the cost of commuting?
America's best and worst commutes [Bundle]
Add Events to Google Calendar From Your Browser's Address Bar [Shortcuts]
Add Events to Google Calendar From Your Browser's Address Bar [Shortcuts]
This works in any browser that allows you to add search engines (like Firefox), but here's how to do it in Chrome. Right-click on the Omnibar and hit "Edit Search Engines". Hit the plus sign to create a new search engine, naming it "Add Event" (or whatever you want), making the keyword whatever you want (I've used cal) and making the link http://www.google.com/calendar/event?ctext=+%s+&action=TEMPLATE&pprop=HowCreated%3AQUICKADD.
When you're done, you should be able to type something like cal dinner at david's house from five to six pm tomorrow in the Omnibar and hit Enter. Google Calendar will open up a new page, creating an event with those qualities. Handy, huh?
This actually works with a myriad of sites, you just need to find the right link. For example, if you want to add a new task to Remember the Milk, just enter http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/ext/addtask.rtm?d=&t=%s as the link for a new search engine. Got any other ideas of how this could be used? Share them in the comments.
Dell Reconnect Finds Charitable Uses for Your Old (and Even Dead) Tech [Charity]
Dell Reconnect Finds Charitable Uses for Your Old (and Even Dead) Tech [Charity]
While you can repurpose an old computer into pretty much anything, there comes a time when we all just have too much tech in the house and it all just becomes clutter. Hopefully we've taught you that recycling that tech is much better than just letting it head to a landfill, but if you're going to recycle it, you might as well let someone else use it until it dies.
Even if it's already dead, it hasn't reached the end of its usefulness. There are a lot of great charities out there (and we've mentioned quite a few in the past), but a partnership between Dell and Goodwill called Reconnect has found a way to use nearly anything—even dead technology—to contribute to charity. If it's working, you can donate pretty much anything, from monitors to computers to scanners, hard drives, speakers, cables, Xboxes and Zunes, and they'll give it to those in need. If they can't put your tech back into service, though, they'll recycle it for you and Goodwill will put its value toward finding jobs for other people. You'll even get a receipt for tax purposes, which is always a nice plus.
So, while we here at Lifehacker are always looking for ways to repurpose stuff, if you don't have the time or the energy this year and need to give your tech a new home (or if it's broken beyond repair), Dell Reconnect can probably make something good happen with it—just make sure to properly erase everything before you donate. Hit the link to read more.
Dell Reconnect [via The Apple Blog]
Give the Gift of No-Fuss Backup and Synchronicity to Your Less Tech-Savvy Loved Ones [How To]
Give the Gift of No-Fuss Backup and Synchronicity to Your Less Tech-Savvy Loved Ones [How To]
The gift of synchronicity is free, low-hassle, and it's a gift to yourself in fewer tech support questions. It may not sound like not much of a gift—just installing some stuff, right? But what might seem like second nature to you is going to be astounding to those who are used to clicking "Yes" about four dozen times while setting up their computer, only to find all those "protection" and "safeguard" packages don't do much at all. When you give this gift, the recipient doesn't need to head home at lunch time to retrieve a file, doesn't forget the password to an online store they shopped at years ago, and can always find that spreadsheet with their holiday card addresses.
What You'll Need
Access to the giftee's computer
Not necessarily in-person, though. You can use an app like TeamViewer—an easy-to-use remote desktop app—to install a few apps on that person's system, configure what's needed, and give them occasional support if necessary. You might be able to have the person pre-install the apps themselves, leaving you to step in and do the configuration.
Software They Can Install
• Dropbox: It's 2 GB of free space, it keeps previous versions of files, and it's just quietly, constantly working in the background. By default, it works as a kind of "magic folder," into which you can consciously drop files for syncing between systems. But with a little configuration, it can also sync other folders, including the Desktop where so many users stash important stuff that's easily lost, or substitute as the My Documents folder.
• Mozy: Dropbox is great for the immediate stuff—the things people are working on at the moment. For backing up deeper files outside of the "magic folder," Mozy offers another 2 GB of free space that can selectively back up files across an entire computer—Microsoft Office documents, image files, whatever is needed. If 2 GB isn't enough, the unlimited Home plans are fairly cheap for the peace of mind they provide. What's more, Mozy can also work (for free) with an external USB drive to back up their entire hard drive.
• TeamViewer: A VNC client that makes it pretty easy for any computer user to let another person control their system—just share the access code.
If you're fixing up a Windows system, you can grab an all-in-one installer for these first three apps from Ninite—just download this all-in-one installer, which has all three apps ready to roll.
Software You Set Up
• LastPass: This is the any-browser password manager that we're huge fans of at Lifehacker. If you're not quite sure which browser someone uses on their system, you could download the Universal Windows Installer, which installs extensions for Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. There's a Safari extension for single-platform Mac users, and individual extensions for every browser—be sure to grab the "binary" version whenever possible, as this makes it easier to import passwords.
• Xmarks: This is the any-browser bookmark syncing tool. Versions of Xmarks are available for Internet Explorer on Windows, Safari on Mac, and Firefox and Chrome on both Windows and Mac.
• Optional—Mobile Apps for Dropbox, LastPass, Xmarks: LastPass and Xmarks each require a Premium subscription to use their Android or iOS apps for more than a trial period; you can bundle them together for $20. Dropbox has a free mobile app for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry.
The Setup
Note: To get the full benefit, you may be setting these apps up on both your gift recipient's laptop and desktop; after all, that's what' synchronicity is all about.
Dropbox
Install Dropbox as you normally would—let it create a My Dropbox folder in the Documents/My Documents folder. The tricky part comes in lowering the barrier in getting your user's documents into Dropbox on the regular. A few ways to do that, in ascending order of hack-iness:
- Sync Your iTunes Library: With a little help, Dropbox is extremely skilled at syncing your iTunes library across computers. Chances are your loved one will need a paid Dropbox account to enjoy this luxury.
- Add a Start Menu Link: Explained at The How-To Geek's emporium—basically, it's adding the "Recorded TV" to your Start Menu options, then renaming and re-targeting the link.
Use Dropbox as the My Documents folder: In Windows Vista or 7, right-click on the Documents folder (in a file window or the Start menu), select Properties, then select the Location tab. In that tab, you can add in the location of the Dropbox folder, then click the Move button. It's a similar process in XP.
- Taskbar Link: In Windows 7, you can't actually pin the Dropbox folder to the taskbar—try, and you just end up pinning the general file explorer there, with Dropbox listed in the right-click "jumplist." Use this trick for pinning individual folders, which, in short, involves creating an empty Dropbox.exe file using Notepad, then changing that fake executable file to point to something like
C:\Users\[username]\Documents\My Dropbox. - Automatic Desktop Syncing: It's not quite what we had in mind when we detailed syncing folders outside My Dropbox, but it's what I used with one relative's MacBook. It's a different command for Windows (and might require downloading a separate app, as explained here), but to sync up a MacBook's desktop with Dropbox, I created a folder in the Dropbox folder named, say, Desktop Backup, then ran this command:
ln -s ~/Desktop ~/Dropbox/Desktop BackupThat creates a "hard link" between the Deskop and a Dropbox folder, so that everything on the Desktop is instantaneously backed up to Dropbox. Add the Dropbox site to their bookmarks, and add their password to LastPass, and now they've got backup copies, un-delete, and multiple versions of everything they do on the most common file dump. Note: If there's a huge folder or two on the desktop that your giftee just can't seem to get rid of, you can prevent that folder from hogging all the Dropbox space with the new selective sync.
Mozy
Mozy will walk you through its initial setup, and its tabbed interface is fairly easy to get a handle on, but our guide to setting up a foolproof and fireproof automatic backup plan with Mozy can help you with the full setup. If you're using a free 2 GB account, the tricky part is trying to figure out exactly which files you want backed up. You'll need to do some Q&A with your recipient, or someone who knows them, to figure out which file types are the most important to always have backed up to the cloud. Once that's settled (or you convince them that $40/year is worth it), you can set up Mozy to keep tabs on the hard drive at all times, checking in and uploading matching files whenever it has a chance. The tax shouldn't be too much on most computers, as Mozy has made a lot of strides in reducing bandwidth and resource usage.
LastPass
Make sure you've got the "binary" version of LastPass installed on your browsers, if offered. While setting up LastPass for a new user, the software should ask you to import passwords from that browser's standard password pile. You'll want to install and import passwords from any and all browsers the user may have them stashed inside. If there's another password system in place, LastPass can likely grab from it—press the extension button, choose Tools, then select "Import from ..." You'll arrive at a secure web page with a big list of services to import from, along with detailed instructions.
Dig into LastPass a bit, and you'll find tools for auditing and updating weak passwords. You can also dig into our beginner and intermediate guides for tips on creating bookmarklets, one-time passwords, and other extra security features.
One thing you'll want to do is make LastPass less noisy. By default, it notifies the user about everything it does—filling forms, saving passwords, detecting password changes or new passwords being entered, etc. Head to the extension's preferences, choose the Notifications category, and set up notifications akin to what I've entered in the screenshot above: check only "Show notifications," "Show Save Site Notifications," "Show certain notifications only after click," and "Show Change Password Notification Bar." This keeps LastPass from popping up on every page where an empty box exists, and only spins its icon when a new password can be saved. You could keep the "Save Site Notification Bar" in place if you'd like, to make LastPass more apparent to a new user.
Xmarks
This one's fairly straightforward. Once Xmarks is installed and the browser is restarted, you should see a pop-out window asking you to set it up. Do so, and import the bookmarks from each browser that your giftee regularly uses. Don't bother asking Xmarks to sync passwords—that's what we've got LastPass for.
TeamViewer
During setup, you can run TeamViewer as just a one-time app for this setup, which is fairly convenient, but you can also set it up so the recipients' computer is accessible from anywhere, with the proper password. You'll have to decide whether you want to keep regular remote support as an option. If you're creating a permanent option to connect, you'll also have to create a TeamViewer account and confirm it in an email.
Generally, though, you can have your recipient simply launch TeamViewer and share their user ID and password with you—over phone, email, IM, SMS, what have you. It's then easy to connect and configure, fix, and update.
Add Helpful Bookmarks
All this setup is very handy, but only if the person being helped knows how to get at the files, bookmarks, and passwords when they're at their computer or anywhere else in the world. They all tie in together, luckily.
Set up these links on a browser's main bookmarks bar, or in a folder named something like "Handy Backup Links." Because you're syncing bookmarks with Xmarks, you only have to set up on one browser.
- My Bookmarks on Xmarks
- My Passwords on LastPass
- My Dropbox (you can also link directly to their Desktop/My Documents backup, if you've set that up)
That's how at least one Lifehacker editor has set up his friends, family, and others with vigilant, no-worry backups. There are, of course, alternatives to all these apps, but these are Lifehacker favorites that also happen to have versions available for the widest array of operating systems and browsers. Tell us what you think of this holiday tech support package in the comments.
Younger People Using Email Less (or Maybe Using Gmail More) [Email]
Younger People Using Email Less (or Maybe Using Gmail More) [Email]
Says the New York Times about Comscore's findings:
The numbers testify to the trend. The number of total unique visitors in the United States to major e-mail sites like Yahoo and Hotmail is now in steady decline, according to the research company comScore. Such visits peaked in November 2009 and have since slid 6 percent; visits among 12- to 17-year-olds fell around 18 percent. (The only big gainer in the category has been Gmail, up 10 percent from a year ago.)
The chart above shows the wider range of findings, with those over 55 actually spending more time at web-based email sites, and a wide divide between those 17 and under and slightly older young adults. There are some notable question marks in the survey, including the lack of accounting for email through mobile devices like BlackBerry phones, and the perhaps limited scope of looking at just Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail usage. And if younger users are actually adopting Facebook's messaging system in any number, that muddies the waters when it comes to defining "email."
Still, the numbers are intriguing. Do you see yourself moving away from email more and more? Will email always be available for you, or could you see another messaging platform replacing it?
E-Mail Use Falls as Young Chat and Text [NYTimes.com]
App of the Day: Camera+ for iPhone [Video]
App of the Day: Camera+ for iPhone [Video]
After getting a bit overzealous with the iPhone 4's volume buttons, Camera+, my favorite iPhone photography app, was booted from the App Store. Thankfully it's back Apple's good graces, and it's just been updated with more photo-fancifying features than ever.
What is it?
Camera+, iPhone, $2. Even during its brief hiatus from the world of sanctioned App Store apps, Camera+ remained my favorite all-around photography app for the iPhone. Of course, it has all the photo effects you'd expect—HDR, miniaturize, polarize, color dodge, '70s, toy camera, sepia, and one or two dozen more—as well as a variety of presets for various scenes—cloudy, fluorescent, portrait, concert, etc. But it's also got some less obvious stuff for both before and after you shoot: touch focus and exposure, white balance lock, timer mode, burst mode, and plenty of borders and cropping options. It pretty much does it all. And it's on sale for a buck. OH, and, with its reintroduction into the realm of the living, the beloved volume button-shutter button feature is gone. So don't update if you wanna keep that around.
Who's it good for?
People who don't want to switch between a bunch of different apps to get their photos looking just right; people who find MMS and email adequate for sharing those photos; people who are fed up with Hipstamatic's authentic-to-a-fault UI.
Why's it better than alternatives?
Well, it does just about everything you could want it to, it's only $2, and, in my estimation, it's got some of nicest looking effects of any iOS photo app. The update also does some nice things under the hood, like maintaing meta data and geographic info when you export shots to the camera roll.
How could it be even better?
This new and improved version of Camera+ is noticeably slower than the previous version, which I wouldn't have described as snappy to begin with. Hopefully that'll be addressed in the next update. And with so many features and options, it'd be nice to be able to save a custom workflow that you could quickly apply to photos on the run without doing all that tapping.
You can grab Camera+ in the App Store for $2. Scratch that! Currently on sale for $1
We're always looking for cool apps—for iOS, Android, Windows Phone or whatever else—to feature as App of the Day (yes, apps for other platforms will start popping up soon!) If you come across one you think we should take a look at, please let us know.
For more apps, check out our weekly app roundups for iPhone, iPad, and Android
Video music: Kevin MacLeod
Digital Storm's xm15 gaming laptop rolls with NVIDIA's Optimus
Digital Storm's xm15 gaming laptop rolls with NVIDIA's Optimus
Continue reading Digital Storm's xm15 gaming laptop rolls with NVIDIA's Optimus
Digital Storm's xm15 gaming laptop rolls with NVIDIA's Optimus originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Digital Storm | Email this | Comments
Acer Aspire 5742G laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics reviewed, es ist schnell
Acer Aspire 5742G laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics reviewed, es ist schnell
[Thanks, Markus]
Acer Aspire 5742G laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics reviewed, es ist schnell originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |NotebookJournal.de | Email this | Comments
Viliv to debut Android-based X7, X10, Windows 7-based X70 tablets at CES
Viliv to debut Android-based X7, X10, Windows 7-based X70 tablets at CES
We can't say for sure just yet, but we're starting to get the feeling that we're going to see lots of tablets at CES. The latest to join the party is Viliv, which has just announced that it will be showing off its new Android-based X7 and X10 tablets, along with the Windows 7-based X70 "slate" -- the latter of which is touted to be the "most slim and light Windows 7 based tablet in the world," and is presumably a successor to the company's existing X70 tablet. As you might expect, however, Viliv is still saving most of the key details for the official unveiling at CES, but you know we'll be there to check them all out first hand.
Viliv to debut Android-based X7, X10, Windows 7-based X70 tablets at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |jkkmobile | Email this | Comments
HTC EVO Shift 4G spotted in the wild, said to have 800MHz CPU
HTC EVO Shift 4G spotted in the wild, said to have 800MHz CPU
HTC EVO Shift 4G spotted in the wild, said to have 800MHz CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Phon eArena | Email this | Comments
Google Translate gets Doug E. Fresh-approved Beatbox button
Google Translate gets Doug E. Fresh-approved Beatbox button
We still don't believe that machines (or machine translation, for that matter) will ever replace the artistry that beatbox pioneers like Doug E. Fresh, Darren Robinson (RIP), or that guy from the Police Academy movies brought to the table, but it is nice to see Google acknowledging the wonderfully percussive nature of the German language phrase "pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch".
[Thanks, benhc911]
[Thanks, benhc911]
Google Translate gets Doug E. Fresh-approved Beatbox button originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Google Translate | Email this | Comments
Kinect paired with Vuzix VR920 shades, creates zany virtual reality game (video)
Kinect paired with Vuzix VR920 shades, creates zany virtual reality game (video)
Continue reading Kinect paired with Vuzix VR920 shades, creates zany virtual reality game (video)
Kinect paired with Vuzix VR920 shades, creates zany virtual reality game (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Adafruit | Nao_u Diary | Email this | Comments
Microsoft to announce ARM-based Windows at CES?
Microsoft to announce ARM-based Windows at CES?
We know Windows CE jibes with ARM-based architecture, but full-blown Windows? Looks like everyone and their respective mothers today -- to be specific, Bloomberg, AllThingsD, and the Wall Street Journal -- are reporting "sources" that claim Microsoft is set to announce Windows compatibility with ARM chips, which currently rule the roost in the mobile and embedded scenes, and more importantly dominate the tablet market. So yeah, we get the need for such a merge, and it'd really put Microsoft in a smart position for lower-power devices, but here's the catch: the products aren't expected for some time -- two years according to WSJ -- as drivers need to be written for the hardware. Then again, this may all be for nothing. Cue another well-connected Microsoft reporter, ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, who has a decidedly tamer prediction: a new Windows CE / Embedded Contact -- you'll remember we saw it running on a Tegra 2 tablet back at Computex -- and maybe ARM support for Windows 8 (or Windows 8 "Lite"). In other words, no one has a clear, 100 percent idea of what to expect in January, so as we say, just stay tuned.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Microsoft to announce ARM-based Windows at CES? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |WSJ, AllThingsD, Bloomberg, ZDNet | Email this | Comments
AirFlick allows streaming of arbitrary media, DVDs, even screencasting to the Apple TV (video)
AirFlick allows streaming of arbitrary media, DVDs, even screencasting to the Apple TV (video)
If you've run out of things to do with your Apple TV and have been using it as a hockey puck now that the lakes are getting solid, you'd better go dig it out of the snowbank. Following up on her iOS AirPlay hacks, Erica Sadun has released an alpha version of a tool called AirFlick which enables the playback of any 'ol media files on an Apple TV. That's demonstrated in a video below. Things aren't perfect yet but already others are having a field day with the tool, the folks at TUAW figuring out how to not only stream whole DVDs to an Apple TV but their entire desktop image too by simply providing a VLC screen:// URL into the player. The quality looks a little iffy and, as you can see in the video below, it's not entirely error-free. But, if you have the smallest little bit of patience, it's sure worth a shot, eh?AirFlick allows streaming of arbitrary media, DVDs, even scre! encastin g to the Apple TV (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 07:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkMacRumors | TUAW (Airflick), (DVD Playback), (Screencasting) | Email this | Comments
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