HowTo Roundup
- Screenshot Tour: The keyboard shortcut goodness of Microsoft Office 2007
- Security Tip: Better passwords with a CueCat (Windows)
- HowTo Tell if a DVD or CD disc is blank
- HowTo fix a laptop power cable with Repair4laptop.org
- Make an Auto Accident Survival Kit
- How to conserve water with a milk jug
- Hack your AC adapter
- 10 ways to get comped by Casinos
- How to get charges lifted from your cellphone bill
- HowTo Oil a pan with a paper towel
Better browsing with Wiiminder for Wii’s Opera Browser
Wiiminder is a browser add-on (sort of) for the Wii’s internet channel Opera powered browser. Wiiminder allows you to have tagged bookmarks, tabbed browsing, and even choose which page the browser starts out on. To use Wiiminder it’s as simple as pointing the Wii browser to Wiiminder (just type it and go). We broke down and bought a Wii on Ebay a while back and while we are happy with the game play, some of the other features are not quite they way would like for them to be. The main thing I dislike is the internet channel featuring the Opera powered internet browser. I have had it crash on me I don’t know how many times and it is nothing like a real browser. It is great for watching YouTube.com videos or Google Videos while you lounge on the couch I will give it that. Wiiminder has made the experience a little less painful however I will not even attempt to compare it to a real browser and keyboard it’s just not the same.
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How to create Firefox extensions
I recommend a lot of FireFox extensions here on Tim Matheson, but what if you could make your own FireFox extension and never download one again? Roachfiend.com has a great article titled “How to create Firefox extensions” and thats just what it teaches you. Imagine that.
Link Via Roachfiend.com
GTD: Getting Things Done Explained
If you are new to David Allen’s Getting Things Done system or just wondering what the heck it is, then check out WikiPedia’s definition of Getting Things Done. The page explains (in detail) what the Getting Things Done system is all about. This should get you on the right track and on your way to GTD zen. If you are still interested in David Allen’s methods check out his book at Amazon.com.
How to Retrieve Keys Locked Inside a Car
OK for most people the solution to this is obvious but for some making a spare key hasn’t made their top priority list of things todo. If you find yourself locked out of your vehicle try these tips for retrieving your keys from a locked vehicle. The most common method and for me the most successful is the wire coat hanger. The trick to the coat hanger method is getting it in the door at the correct angle so you can maneuver it to either pull the door handle or push the unlock button.
Keeping your GMail Inbox size under control
Amit Agarwal has wrote a great tutorial on how to keep your Gmail Inbox size under control. I cant count how many times I have gone over my limit. Loosing email is no fun so if your a Gmailer this is a great read.
Doing things properly with Tracks
Tracks is a new Web 2.0 GTD application (Ruby on Rails required) that will get you on the right track. I personally use tracks as my GTD application and am quite fond of it. I find Tracks to be easy enough to use not to slow or even halt productivity like some GTD applications.
Tracks is a web-based application to help you implement David Allen’s Getting Things Done™ methodology.
Link Via Rousette.org.uk
Download of the day: GTDGmail (Firefox)
If you are using David Allen’s GTD system for organizing your life and have a Gmail account you will definately want to checkout GTDGmail for Firefox. GTDGmail lets you label projects, next actions, references, and more; it also enables you to do GTD searches, easily add new emails to projects, and compose actions and references. This is a must for all you GTD fans.
Clean like a maid!
Curbly blog has a great article on how to clean like a maid. The article walks you through the methods used by former housekeeper Ivy. Great read if your like me and love a clean house but hate to clean. Ivy mentions cleaning a 1200 square foot home in 45 mins. Now that my friend’s is cleaning GTD style.
The mantra of the company I worked for was top to bottom, left to right. This way you could easily walk into any room and know exactly where to get started.
Stuff I like: Laser Tripwire from WildPlanet.com
Need to secure an area of your home or office? Why not setup a lazer perimeter in the to be secured area? Lazer Tripwire is a gadget that sounds a 5 minute 48db alarm when the lazer perimeter is breached. For just $24.95 I think it’s a reasonable gadget to have in your geek tool arsenal. You can buy the Lazer Tripwire here.
Hack Attack: automate installation of software with Install Pad
I recently tried using install pad on a computer repair project. I did the mundane routine of re-installing Windows only this time I did something a little different. I used Install Pad to install most every piece of software while I did more important things. Install pad is packed with loads of automation goodies like silent install mode, path to install options, and more. If you haven’t already checked it out you can download it here. This software is free and fits in perfectly with my Automation section.
Get out of a social nightmare with The Popularity Dialer
If you need to get out of a potentially painstaking conversation with someone or just need an excuse to get out of the house The Popularity Dialer might have the solution you need. The Popularity Dialer allows you to select one of five prerecorded calls to have sent to your phone at a specified time. The recording will play and you could place it on speaker phone to make your excuse more believable. The system allows one call per hour to be placed to a single telephone number to avoid pranksters from running a denial of service attack on your phone. You can also add your number to the do not call list to opt out from any calls from the service. The service includes a popularity call,female popularity call, affirmation call, return to the office call and a cousin in need call.
Sprint website reveals personal customer information
Sprint’s website features a “Check Upgrade Eligibility” link that might reveal your personal information to anyone with your phone number and billing zip code. Simply enter your information here and see if your information has been compromised. This is just one more reason you should not use Sprint as a wireless provider.
Encrypt your web browsing session (with an SSH SOCKS proxy)
Lifehacker editor Gina Trapani has an interesting method of securing your web traffic via a SSH SOCKS proxy. This is a great way to keep co-workers and employers from snooping on your traffic. This method is ideal for public wi-fi networks where you don’t want to share your entire browsing session with everyone on the network (including the provider).
You’re at an open wireless hotspot, but you don’t want to send your web browsing data over it in plain text. Or you want to visit a non-work-approved web page from the office computer without the IT team finding out.
David Allen getting things done video
Watch and learn from David Allen in this brief video on Google as he explains the methods to his madness. David Allen 61 is a time management coach who has developed a system for getting things done on time and without felling overwhelmed. The meat and potatoes of the whole system is to get everything off your mind and into a trusted system for managing each task. David explains “While most people have in the past made some sort of to-do list. Conventional methods of task management are not adequate in todays work environment. By analyzing each specific action required to accomplish a task and mark it as done combined with a system for filing projects, tasks, and next actions you to can feel the zen that is GTD.
Getting things done with Nozbe
If you are following David Allen’s Getting Things Done program and are looking for a one stop solution to get things done. Then you might want to try Nozbe.
Manage your GTD actions with Stikkit
If you’re following David Allen’s Getting Things Done system then you may find Stikkit useful. Stikkit allows you to organize snippets of information into easy to manage post its.
Planning a meeting with Stikkit is easy. Set a date, list agenda items, and invite people to the meeting by sharing a stikkit with them. During the meeting, use the same stikkit to store notes and action items — no need to pass around a separate set of meeting minutes.
Quick Tip:Navigate back and forth in Firefox or IE your mouse wheel
If you use Firefox you are probably familiar with the tab feature. Tabs allow you to organize open windows in a tabbed based environment from within Firefox. There is a hidden shortcut not known by most users using the scrollable wheel of the mouse and the SHIFT key. If you hold down SHIFT and Scroll your mouse wheel up or down you will navigate back and forth through the history of the current active browser tab. For example if you want to quickly go back a page or two simply press and hold the SHIFT key and scroll your mouse wheel down. This method of navigation also works in Internet Explorer. The shortcut is the same and I tested it in IE6 and IE7
59 useful Windows command line functions (Windows Only)
Attention keyboard ninjas. If your like me, then you love the Windows command line and all of it’s useful functions. Blogger Rakesh Kumar has 59 excellent Windows dos commands that should get you swinging your keyboard like a true Windows samurai (or at least make you more efficient with it). Whatever the case you will want to check this article out if your a total newbie to the CLI or just a little rusty. I touched a little on the power of the command line tools back in May 2006 with “How to remote shutdown windows with a txt message“.
One of the most efficient and faster way of doing things in Windows XP is to use DOS Commands. Here is a list of most useful DOS Commands used in Windows XP operating System.
Job Hacks: Create a clean resume with Emurse
So your job hunting and you realize your resume is ancient and desperately needs an update. No worries head on over to Emurse.com and create up to two free resumes. Emurse is a web application that let’s you quickly create professional resumes online and download them in several file formats including pdf, doc, plain text, html, and open office. If your looking to touch up that resume of your’s or want to create one this is the tool for you.