Free web desktop AirSet probably fits into your working habits better than most other desktops, because it runs like a multi-tasking computer and hooks into your existing data pretty tightly.
Our ingenious (and Firefox-obsessed) intern AsianAngel loves AirSet, and let us know that it recently rolled out new features and updates to the "cloud computer," so we signed up, took some screenshots, and shared them below.
While you're signing up for AirSet, you'll be encouraged to not only make one for yourself, but create multiple "web computers" for sharing. AirSet lets you fling open the doors to other AirSet users, or the whole web, on almost all of your documents and published items. So if you want to create a landing page for your corporate softball team, complete with music, pictures, a calendar, and links to league rules, it's totally possible with AirSet. You can also collaborate on documents and share notes with friends by adding their email addresses into the group—all your own AirSet correspondence goes to whatever email you signed up with.
Once you get through signing up, you'll arrive at a (mostly) blank desktop. You launch apps by clicking any icons/"favorites" you might have placed there already, or from the Start-Menu-like launcher in the lower left. Here's what your desktop looks like with the "Albums" tool running to view and share photos (click for full-size image):
Take a look at the bottom-left corner, where the AirSet menu (pictured as open at left) and a taskbar-like switcher are located. AirSet moves surprisingly quickly between the windows you keep open, so if you want to swing over to editing your calendar while waiting for some photos to upload, you can do it. The whole thing seems to load in as a Java applet, or at least a heavily designed JavaScript/Java combination, so your mileage will vary with your available memory. Hitting the button in the bottom left-most corner switches you between your "computers," so you can keep your private work data and shared materials separate.
One of the really neat features, familiar to any fan of Firefox 3, is that almost anything around your "web" computer can be bookmarked for your "Favorites" menu (the star icon next to your AirSet button), or placed on your desktop and re-arranged however you'd like. In its interface alone, in face, AirSet is fairly advanced on its competitors—each window gets its own Windows-like minimize/close buttons.
AirSet can also be set up to send alerts, timers, and notifications for calendar events, document changes, or other events to your email or mobile phone. Speaking of calendars, I had no problem importing three of my four Google Calendar subscriptions into AirSet (the failure was a group-shared calendar I don't own, so somewhat understandable). Here's a typical calendar layout:
Finally, the "lists" function adds a little GTD-ish task management into AirSet. The Quick Add box works fine for creating new lists and items, and each can get their own alert, notes, or be bookmarked to your star menu.
As I'm getting ready to spend a holiday week working away from my home office, AirSet seems like a pretty neat solution for getting productive without having to hijack a relative's computer. But tell us what you think of this free "cloud computer" in the comments.
According to the New York Times' Dining and Wine section, butter holds the secret to great cookies this holiday season. The upshot:
The most common mistakes made by home bakers, professionals say, have to do with the care and handling of one ingredient: butter. Creaming butter correctly, keeping butter doughs cold, and starting with fresh, good-tasting butter are vital details that professionals take for granted, and home bakers often miss.
Lucky for us, the article goes into great detail on the finer points of butter. If you're planning to spend hours in the kitchen cooking up holiday treats in the next couple of weeks, this article is a must-read. Photo by booleansplit.
Weblog FreewareGenius walks through three different methods for burning your PowerPoint presentation to a DVD using free software. Photo by garethjmsaunders.
The three methods discussed involve converting the presentation to an intermediate format like video, Flash, or JPEG, and then burning that more DVD-friendly file format to a DVD. If you've ever needed present somewhere where all you had was a DVD player and monitor, this post has you covered inside and out. Unfortunately there are no free one-step options, but the post is detailed and easy to follow along with.
Yahoo announces that it will start anonymizing its search logs after 90 days, a shorter retention period than Google (nine months) and Microsoft (18 months).
In short, this means queries on Yahoo won't be personally identifiable (that is, tied to a user name or ID) after only 90 days, a fact that's sure to please privacy advocates concerned about search companies gleaning insane amounts of user-specific search data. Here's more on how to protect your web searches.
Download Squad reports that internet video service Joost will discontinue its desktop player effective December 19th. Joost introduced its web version in October to compete with the popularity of sites like Hulu, and now the online portal will be all that's left. We first covered Joost way back in April of 2007 when the desktop client held a lot of promise, but it looks like the majority of users are perfectly happy to stream video from their browsers rather than download an entirely separate app.
Popular note-taking application Evernote has added a new feature that syncs files you attach to notes to any desktop you've installed it. The files are limited to 25MB in size, and users with a free account can only sync images, audio files, and PDFs, but that's not bad for free. Check out CNET's post for a more complete rundown, then head to the download page for the update.
Before you reach for the sleeping pills when you're having trouble grabbing some shut-eye, Yahoo's Healthy Living weblog suggests six effective all-natural herbal sleep inducers you may want to try. Photo by Joi.
A couple of the suggestions probably won't surprise you (namely chamomile and lavender, which are always among the first recommendations of this kind), but there are several you may not have seen before. They are:
- Valerian root
- Chamomile Tea
- Celery
- Lemon balm
- Lavender
- Hops
Before you get too excited about hops, keep in mind that a pre-bedtime beer can actually disturb your sleep according to the FDA. Instead, the post suggests a bag of hops under the pillow can be a great sleep inducer, particularly for women. Be sure to check the Yahoo post for details on how to use each. (Hint: Apparently valerian root is the most potent of all.)
On a similar sleepy food note, we've also heard that a lettuce-filled sandwich can help you sleep like a log.
Reader Richard found a way to keep his toddler from banging on his keyboard and de-clutter his desk at the same time with three adhesive wall hooks. Richard explains:
My daughter loves to bang on my keyboard and I needed a way to keep it from her reach while I am at work (at least until she learns to climb on my desk). I came up with the following solution: hide my wireless keyboard behind my LCD. Using three 3M wall hooks, I can simply slide my keyboard behind my LCD. This not only keeps it from my daughter's reach, but also frees up a LOT of desk space for other projects I may be working on.
He didn't stop there.
Additionally, even though I have a desktop, I decided I didn't need mega sound and opted for USB speakers (i.e. notebook speakers). Since I was freeing up space on my desk, I used 3M wall velcro to mount my speakers to the wall.
Here's the keyboard-out photo:
And a closeup on the keyboard wall mount:
Without the keyboard, you can see simple adhesive wall hooks are holding it there:
For more DIY office ingeniousness, check out our top 10 DIY office projects.
And congratulations to Richard, who earned himself a signed copy of our latest book, Upgrade Your Life. Submit your best timesaver of 2008 to win yourself a copy.
Photo-sharing site Flickr revives their Santa Easter egg for the holidays, which adds a beard or hat to any photo with the right note text.
Add a note to your own (or someone else's) photo with the text "ho ho ho beard" or "ho ho ho hat" (no quotes) to superimpose a re-sizable Santa hat or beard on any photo, as pictured. If you Santa-out any photos on Flickr, post the link in the comments here. For more like this, see our top 10 software Easter eggs.
Update: You can also add snowfall to any Flickr photo page by appending ?snow=1 at the end of any URL, like this.
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