Friday, September 19, 2008

Triple Monitor Plus TV Synergy [Featured Workspace]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/395095284/triple-monitor-plus-tv-synergy


University student tobywuk's dorm room triples as his living room, office, and bedroom—so he uses two monitors, one laptop, and one wall-mounted widescreen television to get work and play done. Plus he uses keyboard and mouse-sharing application Synergy between computers to save desk space. Tobywuk writes:

The TV is connected to my Xbox 360 and my MacBook pro to play movies. When the Mac is not using the TV it uses the 19" TFT. The other 19" TFT is connected to my server running Windows XP. Both systems/screens share the same mouse and keyboard using Synergy Virtual KVM.

Whether he's gaming, watching movies, or working, tobywuk's got the screen real estate to get it done. Here's how you can control multiple computers with a single keyboard and mouse using Synergy. For more workspace fun, check out the Backyard Shed Turned Home Office and more. Show off your swanky work or play space setup by adding it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell pool.

Uni Setup [Flickr]

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Run Mac OS X on an Eee PC [How To]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/395168840/run-mac-os-x-on-an-eee-pc

We've shown you how to build your own "Hackintosh", a computer running Mac's OS X system with PC parts. Now The Wired How-To Wiki goes even cheaper, detailing a process for installing the Apple OS on the ultra-portable (and pretty cheap) Eee PC. The method explained requires finding a suitably tweaked OS X image, an external DVD drive, and the patience to run through all the system configuration and terminal tweaks. Once you're up and running, however, the author says it runs decently swift, even with just the stock 1GB of RAM. Hit the link for a complete walkthrough.

Run Mac OS X on an Eee PC [Wired How-To Wiki]


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Top 10 Right-Click Tools [Lifehacker Top 10]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/395321897/top-10-right+click-tools

The right mouse button—beloved by geeks for its power, theoretically unnecessary on a Mac, and generally under-utilized on the average desktop. Right-clicking can be a powerful tool for automating file actions and saving yourself time and arm effort, but only if you've put your own stamp on the offerings of that secondary button. Today we're rounding up some of the best tools for adding power and precision to your right-click menu on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, so check out what can be done from the other side of the scroll wheel. Photo by geobeo.

10. Add convenient actions to Nautilus (Linux)

The default file manager for GNOME-based Linux systems has a pretty sparse right-click menu when first installed. Install a few helper packages, however, and soon you're rotating and resizing images without an editor, popping open terminals for quick system work, and skipping the sudo command entirely with a "Run as administrator" link. Ubuntu users can install the nautilus-gksu, nautilus-image-converter, and nautilus-open-terminal packages for starters; users of other distributions should search their package manager for "nautilus" (or "konqueror" for KDE-based systems) to see what's available for quick right-click fix-ups.

9. Use two fingers for trackpad right-clicking

If you're new to Macs, or you just haven't dug deep into its configuration options, it's easy to miss this one. Mac laptops only have one button; instea! d of str etching your hands an octave-length to the Control key, put two fingers on the trackpad and click. To enable it, head to the Keyboard & Mouse section of System Preferences, under the Trackpad section, check this option: "For secondary clicks, place two fingers on the trackpad then click the button."

8. Get Google Map directions without a street address

You can know where "that restaurant with the good burgers" is (a few blocks over from the big intersection) without knowing an actual street address. Find the general spot in Google Maps, right-click, and click for directions to or from that area. You might find it helpful, or you might not truly appreciate it until you're on a scarcely-there Wi-Fi connection, trying to find a way across town and furiously Google-ing for possible addresses.

7. Make one-click FTP uploads with RightLoad

Anyone with access to their own web space, or with a need to do a lot of FTP transfer, should add RightLoad to their file-swapping arsenal. Set up your FTP servers in RightLoad's preferences, and sending files to the server is as easy as right-clicking and choosing a server. After you're done, RightLoad creates HTML-formatted links for quick web writing or friend-linking, and automatically renames duplicate files. Your overworked FTP client thanks you for the downtime.

6. Tweak Windows' Send To Menu

If you're not a fan of installing contextual applications or power toys on your system, Windows' built-in "Send to" menu on the right-click box can offer a lot of flexibility—you can create instant shortcuts, email ! or open a file, and much more. Lifehacker reader Howard Dickens explained the process for adding "Send To" actions and items in Windows 98 and XP; for the Vista method, check with the How-To Geek.

5. Customize the Mac Finder's actions with FinderPop

One of those apps that gives back the more that's put into it, FinderPop is a hugely customizable tool for cutting down the number of clicks needed to copy, move, or alias files between locations on your Mac. FinderPop can also launch applications or kill runaway processes, making the right-click (or Ctrl-click) menu a powerful launching pad.

4. Add or delete context items with ShellExView

Programs come and go from your computer, and even after they're thoroughly scrubbed, they can leave behind annoying traces in your context menu. ShellExView is where you get complete control over what shows up when you right-click a file, your desktop, or even Internet Explorer. You can add any program, delete useless links, and otherwise hook yourself up with time-saving shortcuts.

3. Roll your own right-click Mac actions with OnMyCommand

Let's face it—some of the work you do is creative, and some of it is just resizing a bunch of images to 400 pixels wide and converting them to JPEG. Automate those mand! atory ta sks with OnMyCommand, an AppleScript/command-line app that adds your own scripts or already-compiled offerings to Finder's right-click menu. Check out SimpleHelp's concise and clear guide for help getting started with OnMyCommand.

2. Create file-aware right-click options

Many of the tools listed above make adding custom file-wrangling options to your right-click menu easy, but only for every file or folder you click. If you want to get specific with certain file types, adding custom for-this-file-type-only actions isn't as hard as it might seem. Adam has explained the custom context menu process (pulled from a MetaFilter thread) for Windows XP; Vista users should check out FileMenuTools, detailed elsewhere in this list.

1. Combine lots of right-click tools with FileMenuTools

If you're a Windows user and only have time to try out one of the right-click tools we've gathered here, FileMenuTools is a safe bet for maximum utility. It doesn't get as in-depth as some of the utilities it rolls together, but it lets you create contextual file actions, improve your Send To menu, add super-helpful tweaks like "Run Command Line from Here" and "Copy Path," and generally geek out your right-click menu without touching the registry or hunting down obscure command line options.

Right-click menus are definitely a to-each-their-own tool, as the most useful tools depend on what you'! re tryin g to get done. So we ask our dear readers: What right-click actions, links, and tweaks help you act quickly and shuttle files more efficiently? Share your own tips in the comments below.


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SpeedFan Monitors Your Hardware, Controls Fans [Featured Windows Download]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/395411943/speedfan-monitors-your-hardware-controls-fans

Windows only: Free application SpeedFan monitors the fan speed, temperature, voltage, and more of the components inside your computer. That's all fine and dandy, but the marquee feature of SpeedFan is that you can actually adjust the speed of your fans by tweaking the desired temperatures on supported systems. Keep in mind that SpeedFan is a power-users tool, and the temp inside your computer isn't to be taken lightly. However, if you're comfortable tweaking hardware settings, an app like SpeedFan can help keep your computer running quieter and give you a little more control over what's happening with your computer's innards. If you've used SpeedFan in the past, share your experience in the comments. Mac users, check out previously mentioned smcFanControl.


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SemantiFind Clarifies What You're Searching For [Featured Firefox Extension]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/395476596/semantifind-clarifies-what-youre-searching-for


Firefox only: Newly-launched search tool SemantiFind is out to deliver more meaningful results by helping you clarify your query, and putting user-assigned labels for pages across the web to good use. Download the SemantiFind Firefox extension, click the "Start Semantifying!" button, and go to google.com and type your search terms. Like Google Suggest, SemantiFind will drop down a list of possible searches that clarify your search (as pictured, in a search for "salsa," SemantiFind checks if you mean the sauce, the music, the dance or the film). On the results page, SemantiFind embeds its suggestions on top of your regular Google results, based on user labels on web pages. You can save or delete results to personalize what you get in future searches. When you're not on Google, you can use the SemantiFind Firefox toolbar to add and edit page labels. Lifehacker's current SemantiFind labels are "Web2" (huh?), "Lifehacking", and "Productivity." (Not terrible, but not perfect.) SemantiFind is currently a free download for Firefox and works with Google only, but other search engine support is in the works.


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Grow It

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheDieline/~3/394776023/grow-it.html

5boxes

I like these tube-style carton sleeves for Gift Republic's "Grow It" line. (I saw them last month at NYIGF.) The colorful, but economical packaging system for the so-called "garden-inspired starter kits" makes a good impact all together, on display.

box vox

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Southern Alps

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheDieline/~3/396608888/southern-alps.html

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I came across Southern Alps while at the Fancy Food Show in July, and was immediately drawn to the packaging. The brand showcases the (excellent) product beautifully, letting the food itself attract the eye. Contrasting the earthiness of the product with a simple and cost-effective packaging solution and compelling copywriting makes this brand particularly striking.

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Best Buy In Store Pickup 2, Would the Sequel Be Better than the Original (for Once)

insights about the importance of customer experience -- it's part of the product or service and it can lead to word of mouth -- both extremely negative (as for version 1) or extremely positive (as for version 2) of Best Buy's pick up in store program. 
By: Glenn Gabe, Director of Search Strategy, MRM Worldwide
  Best Buy In Store Pickup, The Second ChanceI'm a nice guy. Really, I'm not kidding… I don't want to complain about companies, products or services. Actually, I love coming across a product or service that I like and that I believe in. And, I'm the type of person to tell everyone I know. I'm definitely a word of mouth marketing machine for the products and companies I like. It's just in my blood. So, when I tried Best Buy In Store Pickup in 2006 (on a tight deadline), and the service bombed on me, you could imagine my frustration. It wasn't a pleasant experience, it wasted my time, and as a result, I let the world know about it on my blog. As I stated in 2006, great concept, poor execution. But again, I'm a nice guy. I believe in second chances, and this is a post about the second chance I gave Best Buy this past weekend. My hope was that Best Buy fixed the flawed In Store Pickup system that wasted my time in 2006 and pushed me to write about my negative experience. Let's start at the beginning with a brief description of what frustrated me in 2006.

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Antec's open air Skeleton PC case is so breezy

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396230272/

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While the Acrylic Cowboy family of cases still has our hearts (okay, so maybe it's just the mascot that does it for us), Antec's latest offering is certainly worthy of praise. The aptly-dubbed Skeleton is wrongfully hailed as the "world's first open air case," but in reality, it is one of only a handful. Even with all that openness, there's still a 250mm fan up top along with a 92mm one up front, but we suppose there's no harm in being too careful. It also provides four drive bays, a layered tray design, seven expansion slots and a meager assortment of ports. You will have to provide your own power supply when the time comes, however, and you'll also have to wait a tick to find out a price and release date.

[Via BoingBoing, thanks Matt]
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HTC's Touch HD makes its video debut

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396238412/

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We've already heard the good word about the HTC Touch HD's performance and general excellence, but if you're like us you want something more. Specifically, something on YouTube narrated in French. That's just how we roll. Nothing in this video (embedded after the break) we haven't heard before, but make sure to tap that "high quality" button to really taste the magic.

[Thanks, Ghengis]

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MSI teases with details on new U91 and U120

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396266512/

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MSI breaks silence on new Wind models
While some manufacturers are just now getting in on the netbook craze, others are rolling in the cash from their first generation and are already prepping for the launches of their second and third. Such is the case for MSI, and in an interview with Impress, Notebook Product Manager Neo Lin dropped a few interesting nuggets about the U91, an 8.9-inch successor to the U90; and the U120, a wholly new 10-inch model. Both will offer HSDPA and could receive new keyboard warmers: VIA's Nano was considered but discarded, while Intel's dual-core Atom 330 might just make the cut -- if engineers can figure out how to feed it twice the power of its predecessor without killing battery life. 2GB of memory seems to be the plan on the U120 at least, which might break it out of Microsoft's "ULPC" category, meaning Vista instead of XP Home. Yeah, Lin didn't sound too happy about that prospect either.
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Toshiba's NB100 netbook coming to the UK

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396294426/

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That Toshiba netbook we've seen in grainy video and semi-official fashion has gone and gotten all really-official today -- at least in the UK. The minuscule laptop -- dubbed the NB100 -- will feature an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 600 display, a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, WiFi, and will be available in either Ubuntu or Windows XP flavors (you're surprised, right?). The NB100 will be offered in three colors, Cosmic Black, Champagne Gold, and Bright Silver, thus making its casing the only difference between this and every other middling, mediocre netbook on the market. Prices are set to start at £260 (or about $472), and the laptops will be on shelves this October.

[Via Engadget Spanish; Thanks, Joe]
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iPhone 3G has a hidden data matrix code

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396347040/

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fsjk85 at the Australian Whirlpool forums was playing around with his camcorder's NightShot function when he found something interesting -- a hidden data matrix code on the left side of the iPhone 3G. We're guessing that's where Apple imprints the serial and IMEI numbers of each handset since it can't exactly hide them under a removable battery (cough), but we'll leave it to the rest of you to decode this sneaky tag and solve the mystery once and for all.

Update:
We just got a much higher-res image of the code -- check it after the break. [Thanks Ben]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iPhone 3G has a hidden data matrix code

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Archos Generation 5 players cracked

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396389291/

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Archos' Generation 5 players may have been left in the dust by the shiny new Generation 6 players, but they still have quite the fan following, some of whom have been busily doing their best to get around Archos' stock software offerings. Now it seems that one of them, a member of the ArchosFans forums, has finally managed to crack things open by hacking the bootloader, which opens up a number of possibilities including the ability to remove the hard drive volume limitation. It also seems to have had the "side effect" of revealing a few plug-ins that had been previously hidden, including "Screen," and "C" (for Core) above, although they don't appear to be of much use. The workaround apparently won't work on players with a firmware version higher than 1.7.13 though, and there aren't exactly any clear instructions for modding your own just yet, but those that really know what they're doing can try to follow along by hitting up the read link below.

[Via Archos Lounge]
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Ion Audio SLIDES 2 PC does what it promises

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396466868/

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Ion Audio has already provided some means for transferring your tapes and records to your PC, and it's now doing the same for the stacks of 35mm slides collecting dust in your closet. Not exactly the most unique device, to be sure, but at just $100 its new SLIDES 2 PC unit is a good deal cheaper than your average slide scanner, and its 5-megapixel resolution should be more than adequate for the average user that'll likely burn through their entire slide collection and never lay eyes on the thing again. It also promises to get the job done fairly quickly, with it scanning each slide in one or two seconds at the push of a button, and employing some automatic exposure and color balance measures to cut down on the tweaking required afterwards.

[Via Everything USB]
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