HowTo: Shutdown your Mac with a text message

Ever went on a trip and thought oh shit I forgot to turn of my Mac? Well you could turn around and go back, you could call a friend or you could just send a text message to your email address that Mail downloads and shut it down yourself. I’ve already showed you how to shutdown windows with a text message and a batch script. Now it’s time to do it Mac style. To complete this tutorial you will need the following.

1. A Mac (duh) Ive only tried this on Leopard, if you get it running on Tiger please let me know.
2. Mail which if you have a Mac you should have installed.
3. ScriptEditor also included with Mac
4. A cellular phone with sms text messaging capabilities and sms service.
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Use Hibernate and Standby to Conserve Batteries

Microsoft has a great article on how to conserve your laptops battery supply using hibernate features available in “most” windows installations. I really think this is an overlooked feature available to Microsoft customers. Read the full article

1. Open Power Options in Control Panel. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Power Options.)
2. Click the Hibernate tab, select the Enable hibernate support check box, and then click Apply.
3. If the Hibernate tab is unavailable, your computer does not support this feature.

Stream your files anywhere anytime for FREE

www.orb.com is a FREE piece of software that allows you to stream your desktop computers content to various web enabled devices such as cell phones, laptops, pdas and even other desktop computers remotely. I especially like the feature which allows you to stream video to your smartphone. While buffering can become excessive at times, the stream makes up for it in quality and the ability to encode virtually any media file you through at it avi, mpeg, mpeg4, mov, wmv etc. Orb is a must have for an on-the-go lifestyle. Get it FREE here

Time Savers from Getmoredone.com

We all have done it, some maybe more than others. Regardless I have dug up an online resource with some great tips on how to get more done. The includes articles on “How To Stop Procrastinating“, “How To Prepare For Meetings“, “How To Delegate” and more. I found this resource very useful and hope you will to. Check it out at http://www.getmoredone.com.

Link

Browsershots.org allows you to test your site in multiple browsers and operating systems

browser-shots.gifIn the past I have mentioned Browsercam a ‘pay’ for service that allows you to test a site in multiple browsers / operating systems. While this is a great tool for professional web developers who don’t mind paying for every test. There is an alternative for freelance web developers and the weekend warrior. Browsershots.org is a FREE service that allows you to specify settings such as screen resolution, Flash media player, and more. Once you have chosen your configurations and submitted your sites url Browsershots.org will take screenshots of your site using multiple machines with the hardware/software configurations you specified. Browsershots.org does have it’s short comings. The preview is not generated instantly and is instead added to a queue to be processed in the order it was received. This creates a delay and you have to check back with the page, but it beats the hell out of calling everyone you know with a different type of system, browser, etc. to ask them to check out your site and send you a screenshot.

Link: Browsershots.org

Listen to a movie online

Need a quick way to drown out distracting noise and get more work done? Then head on over to listen to a movie and select a movie from one of the various titles they have to offer. The service allows you to listen to the audio of any movie they provide for free. As an additional tip you could use some headphones to listen to movies and potentially drown out distracting co-workers, instant messages, and annoying telemarketers that can disrupt your productive day. I personally love this service and it some what takes me back to the days where books on tape were cool.

Listentoamovie.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.

Link Via WikiPedia

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.

View all videos

Nozbe.com

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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.

Ask Tim:Synchronize my Firefox bookmarks to another computer

Foxmarks is a Firefox extension that allows you to synchronize your Firefox bookmarks to another computer. If you are able to run Firefox at work and want an easy way to keep your bookmarks in order then this is for you. Foxmarks requires you have an account to use it. The account is free and allows you to use it virtually anywhere you have Firefox and Foxmarks running.

The Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer automatically synchronizes your bookmarks between two or more computers running Firefox. It also lets you access your bookmarks from any computer anytime via my.foxmarks.com.

Foxmarks

DIY Tips for a Spam-Free Inbox

Whether we like it or not, spam is a part of our digital lives. Personally I hate spam in my inbox. Guy Roberts, anti-spam research manager, McAfee, Inc. has some tips to help you avoid getting more spam with his DIY Tips for a Spam-Free Inbox. Some of the tips include …

1. Never respond to spam. If you reply, even to request removing your e-mail address from the mailing list, you are confirming that your e-mail address is valid and that the spam has been successfully delivered to your inbox. Lists of confirmed e-mail addresses are more valuable to spammers than unconfirmed lists, and are frequently bought and sold by spammers.
2. When filling out Web forms, check the site’s privacy policy to ensure it will not be sold or passed on to other companies. There may be a checkbox to opt out of third party mailings.

via [ Enterpriseitplanet.com ]

Security Tip: Better passwords with a CueCat (Windows)

CueCats are barcode scanners that were given away by Digital Convergence in the late 1990s. They were designed as a way for consumers to scan barcodes from magazines and other media and be directed to a website with more information on the product or service they scanned. The scans were encrypted to prevent law suits based on the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) of 1998. However they are still useful today as a low cost barcode scanning solution with a little hardware modification and or some free software known as CatNip which bypasses the encryption. The nice thing about these devices is that they type any scan into any field and press enter which makes them perfect for passwords. In this article I am going to show you how to take your modified or unmodified CueCat and use it to login to your computer via passwords encoded into barcode format.

What you will need.

1. A CueCat USB or PS2 will work.
2. A barcode (You can use one from an existing rewards card or make your own here)
3. An account to test it on before using this as your form of authentication.

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HowTo Tell if a DVD or CD disc is blank

I made a quick video to demonstrate how you can tell if a CD or DVD is blank. If you look on a disc that is not blank you will notice a ring indicating the disc’s contents. The further the ring is to the “outer” edge the more data the disc contains. Pretty simple but useful.

Search by file type using Google Desktop

If you have not already downloaded Google Desktop I highly recommend it. Google desktop makes finding your files easy not to mention adding tons of other functionality to your desktop. What if you want to search for only files with a specific extension? Well the answer is simple you just type filetype:jpg or whatever extension you are looking for. This is a great way to sort, categorize, and delete your files and become more organized. Here are some of the different types of files you might want to search for and how to do it.

• search string + filetype:jpg Jpg/Jpeg (Jpeg images)
• search string + filetype:gif (Gif images)
• search string + filetype:doc (Word Documents)
• search string + filetype:xls (Excel Spreadsheets)
• search string + filetype:exe (Executable applications)
• search string + filetype:msi (Search for installation files that use the msi installer)
• search string + filetype:bat (Search for DOS batch files)
• search string + filetype:txt (Search for text documents)
• search string + filetype:png (Portable Network Graphics)

As you can see the filetype: tells Google desktop only to find files with the extension after filetype:. Replace the search string with any other related text you might have to narrow the results.

Make an Auto Accident Survival Kit

If you own a car you should also own an auto accident kit. An auto accident kit can mean the difference between getting you much deserved settlement and getting screwed by an insurance company. For the most part accident kits are easy to put together and you may already have some of the items around your home or office. I have put together a list of items you should have on hand in the invent of an accident.

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Keep your debit card pin private

Entering your debit card pin number is a great security feature to prevent fraud. However it is not even required by most stores. This is useful and troubling at the same time. I have been in situations where someone is right behind me and I don’t want to enter it in front of them. The solution is simple choose the “credit” option when prompted by the magstripe terminal. When you’re using credit no pin is required and this will work at any self serve or swipe it yourself payment terminal. For other places where the merchant swipes the card simply answer credit when they ask “debit or credit?” and you wont need your pin number. This method also comes in handy when sending the kids out for some milk or any situation where they ask for a pin just say “run it as credit”.

Hack your AC adapter

I made a quick video tutorial on how to use any AC adapter to power low voltage electronics. NOTE: I am not responsible for any damage to your electronics. This video is for informational purposes only.

MSN Offline messages on your cellphone

First off I would just like to appologize to my readers for my lack of fresh posts. I have been working on multiple projects. With that said here is a new tip for all you MSN messenger fans.

I have yet to try this method. It just sort of came to me the other day so i decided to write it down.

My cellphone has an email address and no I will not post it. But it looks something like this XXXXXXXXXX@email.uscc.net where the X represents the number. Now there are several different email domains for different providers and I have drummed up a list of them and provide it at the bottom of this post.

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Use Skype to check your cell phone voice mail messages

Skype has turned out to be a pretty useful tool. With more and more uses becoming evident with each day. A friend of mine Nick Saramandich recently showed me how to easily check your cellular voice mail using skype. The advantage to this method as opposed to traditional methods is the comfort factor. Listening to your messages with skype allows you to relax in your favorite chair, sofa etc. and thoroughly absorb the real content contained within the messages. The latter method just leaves your ear ringing and sweaty and leaves much to be desired on the comfort side of things.