DRM-Free iTunes Tracks Still Have User IDs Embedded [ITunes]
Just because Apple and Big Music dropped the DRM doesn't mean they want you trading your iTunes purchases. CNET notes that buyers' registered email addresses are embedded in every file, and so (somewhat) trace-able. [via]
Jott to Drop All Free Services, Launches Voicemail Transcription Today [Jott]
Bad news/Good news from Jott: The voice-to-text service (one of David Allen's favorites, we just learned) will drop all free services on Feb. 2. Today, however, they're launching a new voicemail transcription service.
Jott had already scaled back its free offerings when it jumped out of beta in August 2008. Jott's CEO John Pollard told TechCrunch's Michael Arrington that the downward spiral of advertising markets led to the decision to drop even limited free services. That means everyone, including users of Jott's free iPhone app, will require a minimum $4/month plan to continue using Jott's transcriptions to email, SMS, webapps and task management tools.
One thing Jott is offering free is a week's trial of its new voicemail transcription service, which is $9.95 per month for 40 transcribed messages after that. Like competitors YouMail, CallWave and MessageSling, Jott can text or email you when a message arrives you didn't pick up on, or let you visually manage them at its website. One unique feature seems to be a link in the email message to set a call-back reminder, so voicemail alerts don't end up lost in the shuffle of all your other messages.
Are you a paying Jott user who's happy with the service and offerings? Are you intrigued by any of the growing number of transcribed voicemail services? Tell us your take in the comments.
MultiPhotoQuotes Plasters Your Multi-Monitor Setup with Wit and Photos [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: MultiPhotoQuotes is a feature packed replacement for the basic My Pictures Slideshow screensaver included with Windows.
If you're running a multi-monitor setup, your favorite feature in MultiPhotoQuotes will definitely be the support for your extra screen space. The basic My Pictures screensaver will only put one picture on a single screen at any given time which even on a small multi-monitor setup leaves a lot of empty space. MultiPhotoQuotes fill the entire available screen space with a grid of photos. If it interests you, you can keep the quotes feature on which will sprinkle quotes from the included quote books randomly through the grid of images.
Several large quote books are included but the software has support for standard quote and fortune file formats and for polling online quote databases for new material. You can specify which directories images are pulled from and even use exclusion strings so that your pictures from Vegas aren't shuffled in with pictures from your niece's batmitsfah. Even minor aspects of the screensaver like the spacing between the pictures and whether or not the computer will pre-catch the entire next transition before loading it can be tweak from within the preferences panel. MultiPhotoQuotes is freeware, Windows only.
Remove the Send Feedback Link from Windows 7's Title Bar [How To]
Microsoft offers Windows 7 as a free beta to get feedback on what needs fixing. Still, if you're endlessly annoyed with the "Send Feedback" link in every single title bar, there's a way to remove it. Hit the Tech-Recipes blog for a simple registry tweak that should take less than two minutes to pull off, removing the "Send Feedback" link for good.
Fireclip Brings Mac-Like Web Clipping to Firefox [Featured Firefox Extension]
Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Fireclip, a free plug-in that monitors specific sections of web pages, puts the at-a-glance convenience of the OS X widget screen in a Firefox tab.
Using Fireclip is darned easy. Activate with a shortcut (Alt+Q) or from the Tools menu, and its sidebar pops out. Hit "Select Clip," and you can mouse around to see the pre-defined sections of the page. Click once, and you'll be asked to re-size your selection with the familiar two-directional arrows at the edges of your area. Double-click inside the area, and it's locked in:
You don't have to be precise at all with your selections, so leave any dead space or visual cues you want around the edges. Opening Fireclip's page with the same shortcut gives you a space you can re-arrange however you'd like with your clips:
So, okay, Fireclip actually works and all, but what use would it be to the average surfer? Amit Agarwal's screencast of Fireclip might explain it better than my words:
Fireclip is a free download, works wherever Firefox does. I encountered a recurring pop-up ad while launching the clips page, but wasn't sure whether it was Fireclip itself or one of my clips.
Use Best Buy's In-Store Pickup to Save Serious Cash [Deals]
Blogger Anastasia didn't want to pay $44.99 each for four seasons of Stargate Atlantis—she wanted the online price of $19.99. Using her phone's data connection, she managed to knock about $96 off her purchase.
Anyone who's done some serious price comparison might already know of Best Buy's strange differentiation between online and in-store prices. Anastasia found her way around that schism by buying the items online from her T-Mobile G1, while standing in the store she wanted to pick them up from. The only tax was about 20 minutes of waiting, most of it waiting for the email confirmations to return—and, let's be honest, most of us can find something to gawk over for a short while in an electronics store.
Read the full details of her use of post at the Long Live Geeks blog for complete details of her quest, and read up on Best Buy's In-Store Pickup policies at their site. How have you worked around the online/brick-and-mortar divide at Best Buy or any other retailer? Share your strategy in the comments.
Google Quick Search Like Quicksilver from Google [Featured Mac Download]
Mac OS X only: We've been crazy about Quicksilver—a free application launcher for Macs—for years now. Today Google is releasing a new search-and-launch application called Google Quick Search developed by Nicholas Jitkoff, the developer of Quicksilver.
Like Quicksilver, Google Quick Search not only searches for and launches files and applications—it also can drill down into content and perform context-specific actions. So, for example, Google Quick Search indexes my Address Book contacts; if I perform a quick search to pull up my contact card, I can hit Tab to drill down into possible actions to perform—like composing an email or starting an IM chat.
Google Quick Search integrates with Spotlight, so it's not reinventing the wheel, either. Where it really covers new ground, however, is its integration with Google search. Much like the previously mentioned Google Mobile iPhone App, Google Quick Search offers as-you-type search results from both your desktop and the web. It features quick and easy site-specific searches (also just like Google Mobile for iPhone), indexes items from your Google account (Google Docs and Picasa Web Albums, for now, but presumably more to come), and even offers handy keyboard shortcuts to quickly start a new site-search (for example, invoke Google Quick Search and hit Cmd-3 for Wikipedia).
The application is currently just a prototype, so expect to see some rough edges. That said, in my experience with it so far, it's been smooth and responsive for such an early release. It's feature set isn't up to the level you'd expect from Quicksilver, but it's a great start, and an exciting application to keep an eye on. Google Quick Search is a free download, Mac OS X only. Best of all: It's open source—just like Google Chrome. If you give it a try, let's hear what you think in the comments.
David Allen on Productivity, Software, and Making It Work [Exclusive Lifehacker Interview]
Lifehacker has been writing about David Allen's advice on getting more from your time since its earliest posts. We recently peppered Allen with questions about picking up where GTD left off; here's what he had to say.
If you're new 'round these parts, or only rarely delve into the time-management, Allen is the author of Getting Things Done, the much-referenced guide to breaking up the myriad tasks, messages, and projects of any kind of work into a schedule and system you can work from anywhere. When the terms "universal capture," "two-minute rule," or "next action" pop up, there's probably a GTD geek hovering nearby. Our editor practices a simplified kind of GTD, and uses its principles to empty her inbox with the "Trusted Trio."
Allen is also the founder of the David Allen Company, which coaches managers and consults on improving productivity in companies. His latest book, Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life, picks up, in a way, where Getting Things Done left off, as you'll read below.
Lifehacker: What will someone who has already read Getting Things Done learn from Making It All Work?
David Allen: Why, if they implemented some of the GTD techniques, they potentially experienced something more significant than just a workable technique.
Lifehacker: Can someone who hasn't read Getting Things Done start with Making It All Work? How linked are the ideas and systems in the two books?
DA: Yes, absolutely. MIAW takes the GTD principles a bit wider and deeper.
Lifehacker: How many GTD-focused, third-party software apps, calendars, pads, or other gear come to your attention every day/week/month?
DA: It varies from a couple each day to a couple each week. Some of these are brought to my attention, and many are brought to the attention of my presenters, coaches, and office staff.
Lifehacker: What functions or features of those third-party systems are most important for creating a realistic, task-oriented system? What aspects of third-party systems tend to fail, or misdirect?
DA: Simple list management features are a must. You need to be able to review your current projects as a list, and your tasks as lists categorized by appropriate contexts. For example, a good list management application will have the ability to create a list of phone calls, under a category such as Calls. That way when you have a phone, and the time to make some calls, they're easy to pull up without scrolling through all the other tasks that require other resources. The application should make it as easy as possible to do what you can in that context, without forcing you to look at tasks you can't do in that context. When I'm waiting to board a plane, I don't want to read through a list of items to purchase the next time I'm at a hardware store. When third-party systems tend to misdirect, it's generally because they over-complicate by adding features that most people don't need. They try to help by thinking for you. But the truth is that the executive thinking process is still yours to do, and software has not been able to take over that function. On the other hand, some try to add more features than you need, which actually cause you to have to think and sort more than you need. Lists must be quick to add to, and quick to review, without any more than the necessary thinking involved.
Lifehacker: In your one-on-one training sessions, and in feedback from customers, where do you believe most folks fall off the GTD wagon? Is it a behavioral and discipline concern, or just a failure of focus over distractions?
DA: Most folks don't take the GTD tools far enough to really get the benefits. They don't really do a thorough and consistent mind sweep, externalizing all of their commitments into a system they trust. Then they don't review their commitments (calendar, projects list, next actions for each project) often enough to build the trust that they're doing what's most important at any given time. They therefore still trust their psyche more than their system, which makes system maintenance more trouble than it pays off.
Lifehacker: What kinds of unique challenges do workers who almost exclusively use a computer for work face, apart from the standard challenges in any office environment?
DA: We have so many opportunities to distract ourselves with what's available on our computers. It can take more discipline to work productively on a computer, when it's designed to feed us interruptions and take us down fascinating rabbit trails, with notifications of new emails, animated instant messages, lots of interesting clickable links, all in a rich multimedia environment. And, there's an out-of-sight, out-of-reviewed, syndrome that tends to cause action management on the computer to become stale and secondary to latest and loudest self-management.
Lifehacker: When should someone devoted to Getting Things Done, or any combination of productivity systems, know that they've invested enough into their system and stop tinkering with it? In other words, how does one know if they're spending too much time fine-tuning the engine instead of just driving?
DA: You only need to fine tune the engine to the point where it's not on your mind. As long as your attention is not distracted by your system, you can stop tinkering. Unless you enjoy tinkering, and that's the best use of your attention.
Lifehacker: What's been your favorite productivity discovery of the last year (or recent years)?
DA: Eric Mack's eProductivity addition to Lotus Notes and Jott.
David Allen's book, Making It All Work, is available at Amazon.com and bookstores everywhere, and there's a free (and fairly long) live recording of Allen touring the book and general productivity concepts. For more information on David and the David Allen Company, check out DavidCo.com.
Windows 7 Beta Followup: Are You a (Windows 7) PC? [Reader Poll]
Last Friday Microsoft attempted to hand out free keysto Windows 7—eventually succeeding, and finally extending the beta availability to more users over a longer timeframe. So now we're wondering: Did you take the plunge?
If you have installed Windows 7 Beta and put it through the paces, let's hear more about how you've liked it in the comments.
HearPlanet is a Free Talking Tour Guide for Your iPhone [Featured IPhone Download]
iPhone/iPod touch only: Free application HearPlanet plays audio tracks of Wikipedia articles based on points of interest surrounding your current location, turning your iPhone or iPod touch into an audio tour guide.
HearPlanet uses your iPhone's location awareness to find places of interest near you. When you choose a topic, HearPlanet loads up a screen with both the text and audio of the Wikipedia article in question. If your iPhone or iPod touch can't find you, HearPlanet offers a search option in which you can enter a search topic and location. That means that even if you don't want the audio tour guide, you can still use HearPlanet to listen to Wikipedia articles on the go—if you don't mind a little robot voice, that is.
HearPlanet is a simple but smart app with a nice look and feel. As TUAW suggests, integration with maps and phone numbers would be a great addition in time. HearPlanet is a free download (for a limited time) from the iTunes App Store, works on both the iPhone and iPod touch.
Ask MetaFilter Roundup [Hive Mind]
- How can I tell if my Gmail account has been compromised?
- Should I quit a job I hate even though the job market is terrible right now?
- What's the best tool to convert hundreds of GBs of music to MP3 while maintaining ID3 metadata?
- How can I convert videos for my iPhone with subtitles included?
- Why won't my hard drive shrink correctly when I'm trying to create a new partition for Windows 7?
Check4Change Monitors Pages for Activity [Featured Firefox Extension]
Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Check4Change is a simple Firefox extension that monitors web-pages for changes at a user-determined interval.
Once installed, you can select and right-click text on any page, then simply choose a time interval for refresh. When a change occurs, the following notifications occur based on your preferences:
- The tab icon becomes a little dancing C4C emblem.
- A pop-up notification occurs.
- A sound plays.
Check4Change only works on open tabs. If you need to monitor a page for change over the long term, it isn't effective to keep the tabs open for every page you want to monitor. Check out Firefox extension Update Scanner to keep tabs on site changes over time. Check4Change is a free Firefox extension, works wherever Firefox does. Thanks Joshua!
VisualWikipedia Adds Interactive Context to Wikipedia [Wikipedia]
Web site VisualWikipedia adds new context to Wikipedia articles by integrating advanced interactive features, YouTube videos, and relational maps to the free online encyclopedia.
The first thing you'll probably notice when browsing VisualWikipedia (which basically grabs all of its text content from Wikipedia) is the link pop-ups, which provide inline previews of other articles without loading a new page. Granted, we often consider those sort of inline pop-ups to be somewhat of an annoyance under the wrong circumstances, but the way they're used in VisualWikipedia isn't quite as bothersome as you may be used to. In fact, it's downright useful. It's so easy to get off track clicking through related links when you're browsing a page on Wikipedia, but with VisualWikipedia, you can grab a quick summary without ever opening another page—meaning you get back to what you actually came for without starting an endless click-trail into curiousity.
The first thing you'll probably notice when browsing VisualWikipedia (which basically grabs all of its text content from Wikipedia) is the link pop-ups, which provide inline previews of other articles without loading a new page. Granted, we often consider those sort of inline pop-ups to be Apart from that, VisualWikipedia integrates with YouTube videos, provides relational maps of topics, and provides an all-around retooling of the way Wikipedia articles are presented. The biggest downside: It's not terribly attractive. VisualWikipedia may not be for everyone, but it is worth a look.
Geek.Menu Organizes Your USB Applications [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: Geek.Menu is a fork of the PortableApps.com menu that includes a host of extra features and customizations.
The over all appearance of Geek.Menu is very similar to the PortableApps.com menu it split from. You won't find yourself clicking in the wrong spot and opening your documents instead of your videos for instance. One of the most prominent features of Geek.Menu is integration with TrueCrypt. The installation comes with a TrueCrypt package included and accessible from the main menu. If you're not usually on a computer with administrative privileges—which would put a damper on the handiness of the TrueCrypt integration—there are other features that make Geek.Menu worth a try.
It's the little tweaks that make using the menu more enjoyable. The tray icon stays fixed to the edge of the tray, even as other icons appear and disappear. The menu includes support for multiple profiles for trusted and untrusted computer environments and for automatic application launches after activating the menu and scripts to be run on shut down. Additionally, there are quick launch icons for Google services and Wikipedia, and you can edit the quick icons under the advanced menu to change them to whatever you'd like. If the idea of launching your portable applications from a single menu sounds great but Geek.Menu sounds entirely too complicated, check out the radically more spartan launcher Porta'Menu.
Geek.Menu is a free download, Windows only. Thanks DeadPlayerWalking!
Make Your XP Desktop Look Like Windows 7 [Featured Desktop]
If you've considered dual booting Windows 7 with XP or Vista but all you really want is some Windows 7 eye candy, reader Dato' Fazly's Windows 7-like XP desktop might be right up your alley.
The desktop consists of the Vistart skin (from deviantART), then employs a tutorial from AskVG for installing a custom SevenVG Refresh Theme. At the time of this writing, the AskVG link was broken, so you may want to try the Google Cache version if you're not having any luck.
If you're living the Vista life, check out the previously mentioned Windows 7 theme for a Vista desktop.
Microsoft Office 14 Scheduled for 2010 Release [Microsoft Office]
According to a roadmap spotted at a recent Microsoft presentation, Office 14 will hit the street in 2010. The followup to Office 2007, the new version is said to debut with Office Web, which will bring Word, Excel, and the rest of the Office family to your browser. Looks like you've got one more year to get comfortable with Office 2007 before you step into an Office 14 world. [via]
Fatburgr Lists Fast Food Nutrition Info Simply (and on iPhones) [Nutrition]
There are lots of places online to find nutritional information from fast food chains. Free listing site Fatburgr, though, might just be the most straight-forward and helpful when you're traveling.
The site uses only information from the chains themselves in its listings, and offers them up by restaurant name or category (burger, taco, appetizer, etc.) It's only a basic four numbers after each listing—calories, fat, carbs, and Weight Watchers Points—and any list can be sorted by any heading. So those on detailed diets will likely look elsewhere, but for a quick read on what's reasonably not-bad for you during a chain stop, Fatburgr's low-clutter interface is great.
The site also offers an iPhone-formatted version, seen below:
Fatburgr certainly needs many more brand names in its listing to give it a universally helpful reach, but for the standards it has sorted at the moment, it's a good, quick read. Free to use, no sign-up required.
Researcher Claims Two Google Searches Produces Same CO2 as Boiling Tea Water [Energy Conservation]
That's according to a Harvard researcher measuring the CO2 output of several Google servers "competing against each other" to return search results super-quickly. Check out the Times of London article for a (really) detailed explanation.
UPDATE: As noted by commenters, Google has responded to the Times' article with a firm denial, claiming that, from their own math:
In terms of greenhouse gases, one Google search is equivalent to about 0.2 grams of CO2. The current EU standard for tailpipe emissions calls for 140 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven, but most cars don't reach that level yet. Thus, the average car driven for one kilometer (0.6 miles for those in the U.S.) produces as many greenhouse gases as a thousand Google searches.
So, if you regularly drink stove-boiled tea while searching online, you're now free to decide whose numbers seem truer, and if that results in true environmental impact.
(Apologies, of course, for the late-coming reply link).
Anki Teaches Text, Audio, or Images Through Repetition [Featured Download]
Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): ANki, a free "spaced repetition system" (i.e. flashcard-style memorization tool), offers a gentle learning curve, a pared-down software interface, and online access and synchronization.
Once you install and launch Anki, you can easily spend hours discovering all its neat capabilities and tricks—like an HTML editor for manually designing your "cards," audio embedding, tagging, and many more—but setting up a basic "deck" and "cards" is hardly rocket science. Hit the big "plus," choose a basic deck style (or use a pre-templated style you created), and write the front (question), back (answer), and tags of your cards one after another.
Once you've created your decks, you can hit File, "Save and Sync" to make them available on other Anki installations, or access them through a free Anki account.
Check out a video introduction of Anki's features and possibilities below.
Anki is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.
Track Replies to Digg Comments via RSS [Digg]
If you'd like to keep up on your comments and the replies you receive at Digg.com but find the default comment tracking to be unwieldy, you can get comment updates by RSS.
The admin over at technology blog I'm A Super has put together a comment tracking tool:
I created this tool because I was frustrated with having to continually go back to my user page to determine whether anyone had left a reply to one of my less popular comments.There is a limitation on the tool. To abide by Digg.com's "polite" API usage policy, RSS requests that come sooner than every 10 minutes may be denied. Repeated abusers could be rejected.
Usage is extremely straight forward. Visit the link below to access the tool, put your Digg username in the text box, hit the button, and add the generated RSS feed to your favorite feed reader. From there on out all your comments and the subsequent replies will be piped over to your feed reader, no need to dig—no pun intended—in the bowels of the control panel. Thanks Ryan!
Multi-Booting Windows 7 with Linux [Dual Boot]
Are you a Linux user who (secretly, maybe?) wants to try Windows 7 alongside your Linux desktop? The Loku's Domain blog details how to fit Win7 into your GRUB boot menu.
Your own installation might/hopefully be simpler than having to manually edit your boot menu from a live CD, as one commenter suggests, but Loku's post details the fail-safe method of getting everything back to normal once Windows decides to take over your system's boot-up process. And it should work for any copy of Windows 7, either the officially key-licensed (once it arrives) or the one you found lying on the sidewalk of the internet.
Use Blankets to Save Food During Blackouts [Emergency]
The wikiHow site points out that when the power goes out and you're wondering about your cold stash of food, having thick blankets handy can save you a lot of grocery bill heartache.
Along with taking other measures of common sense and thermal dynamic control—packing in ice or dry ice, keeping doors closed as much as possible—wikiHow notes that wrapping your refrigeration units will aid in insulating them from gaining in temperature.
Also recommended? Eating any room-temperature, perishable food within two hours, and—among the best phrases we've written lately—having an "instant barbecue" to save any meats that can't be kept safe. Of course, you should always toss anything you think had even a chance of spoiling, but protecting fully-stocked fridges and freezers can carry your goods up to 48 hours.
What's the longest blackout you've had to contend with, and how did you manage your food stocks during it? Tell us your tale in the comments. Photo by SMercury98.
Copy Shared Google Documents to Your Own Account [How To]
Tinkering with a shared Google Docs file in your own account normally requires downloading and re-uploading it—but not with this URL trick or user script.
The Google Operating System blog points out that you can automate the copy/upload process by replacing everything after docs.google.com/ with this code:
DocAction?action=copy&docid=AAAAA
"docid" is your document ID, the string of seemingly random numbers near the end of any Google Docs URL.
Alex at the GOS blog also wrote up a user script that works on Firefox with Greasemonkey, Google Chrome, Opera, and (with wonkier work-arounds) Safari and IE7. It adds a simple "Copy to my account" link next to the "Edit document (if you have permission)" line in the document's top (or bottom) margin. Get the script at the link below.
How Cory Doctorow Gets Writing Done [Productivity]
BoingBoing blogger and sci-fi author Cory Doctorow admits the internet can be an "attention black hole," but the prolific scribe learned how to actually write while staying open to the wealth of the web.
Along with tips in realms we've journeyed through before—limiting real-time email/IM/RSS interruptions, working in shorter bursts instead of long slogs—Doctorow suggests staking a hard boundary between the work of writing and the quest of research. He separates them with an old-time reporter's trick:
Researching isn't writing and vice-versa. When you come to a factual matter that you could google in a matter of seconds, don't. Don't give in and look up the length of the Brooklyn Bridge, the population of Rhode Island, or the distance to the Sun. That way lies distraction — an endless click-trance that will turn your 20 minutes of composing into a half-day's idyll through the web. Instead, do what journalists do: type "TK" where your fact should go, as in "The Brooklyn bridge, all TK feet of it, sailed into the air like a kite." "TK" appears in very few English words (the one I get tripped up on is "Atkins") so a quick search through your document for "TK" will tell you whether you have any fact-checking to do afterwards. And your editor and copyeditor will recognize it if you miss it and bring it to your attention.
Whether you're a fan of Doctorow's, or BoingBoing's, quirky style or not, it's hard to deny that anyone who writes about, to use recent examples, 19th-century postal tube systems, Princess Bride ambigrams, and one-man a Capella renditions of the Legend of Zelda theme, must have developed a pretty good filter against internet time sinks by now to keep a steady publishing schedule.
What's your own method of shielding against the endless temptation of available-right-now net searches? Share your strategies in the comments.
Disk Investigator Examines Raw Hard Drive Data [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: Disk Investigator takes a different approach than many data retrieval tools by examining the raw data on the disk.
Using the tool is enormously more intensive than a casual Windows search or even using an indexer like Google Desktop. Searching for a string like "password" will reveal every single instance of the word throughout the entire disk inside code, help files, documents, wherever it may be found. If you're at your wits end trying to recover a deleted file or mine the depths of your computer for something that is stubbornly resisting being found, if it exists there is a strong chance Disk Investigator will turn it up. During my testing of the application, I was rather impressed with just how much it found. Every search I came up with short of Purple Bearded Break Dancing Dragons found hundreds to thousands of instances. I'm sure had I ever actually typed that prior to this moment in time it would have found that too. Whether you need to find lost things or verify that the things you deleted will stay deleted, Disk Investigator is a powerful tool. Disk Investigator is freeware, Windows only.
Stash Emergency Bills in a Cash Can [Stuff We Like]
Keeping emergency cash on hand is useful, but if you keep the cash tucked in your wallet and you lose the wallet along with the rest of your cash you're out of luck.
The Cash Can is a small brass tube that attaches to your keyring. It can't be opened unless it is removed from the keyring, when it is attached to your keyring the ends of the tube are sealed tightly with o-rings to keep your cash nice and dry—because the tow truck driver doesn't want to be paid with a moldy Benjamin. The Cash Can is small and inconspicuous, looking like little more than a key fob of some sort. The Cash Can is $18. If you have a sneaky way of stashing your emergency cash and still keeping it accessible, share your tricks in the comments below.
Ask the Commenters Roundup [Hive Mind]
- What is a good method for sharing task lists with another person?
- What are some tips and tricks for decreasing my Firefox 3 startup time?
- I need help blowing $1,000 on a nice TV! What should I buy?
- How can I repurpose an empty Maxtor aluminum case?
- Is there a free program better than FreeCommander for dual-pane file management?
- Do I have to partition my hard drive to run Parallels on my Mac?
Recycle Sturdy Linen Bags for Cheap Storage [Reuse]
The heavy vinyl bags that sheets, comforters, and other linens come in can double as a rather sturdy storage bag. Over at Parent Hacks, they found them to be quite handy for kid's toys.
I bought new sheets the other day, and I really didn't want to throw away that sturdy square plastic bag with the zipper that they came in but it couldn't be recycled. Then I realized it was a great storage bag for the playroom — it can hold lots of small pieces like Legos or Lincoln Logs, my kids can open it themselves, and you can stack another bag on top of it.
In one of those strange cosmic-organization-moments that so many of readers at Lifehacker often comment about—the "Oh my god, Lifehacker, I was just thinking about that!" moments— I just purchased a bunch of new linens this weekend and was eye balling the bags they came in thinking that they looked awfully similar to the bags many of my daughter's toys are already stored in. If you have other great re-use hacks to share, sound off in the comments below to help your fellow readers! Photo by Warren Noronha.
Check Airlines for Bike Tariffs Before Booking Your Flight [Air Travel Tip]
If you're a bicycling enthusiast, you'll of course want to take the bike you've lovingly tweaked on your next travel excursion. The International Bicycle Fund has an excellent guide on flying with your bike.
Airline baggage regulations for bicycles are a moving target and the airlines can be very inconsistent. One traveler going from Asia to Europe on Malaysia airline paid nothing extra for his bike going, but was charged €483 on the return. And then, in a one week period we received an email saying American Airline had raised their charge from $80 to $100, and other email say two people had just flown from the U.S. to Spain on American, weren't charged and were told there was no charge for taking a bicycle trans-Atlantic if it was one of two pieces of checked baggage.
Because of the extremely inconsistent information regarding air travel with your bike, the IBF maintains an extensive and frequently updated list of the rules and tariffs regarding each airline's bike policy. If you're planning on doing any flying with your bike, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars by shopping carefully. As always, make sure to contact the airline directly to confirm. Photo by Marco Gomes.
Plan Your Vegetable Garden Now for a Successful Harvest [Gardening]
In my locale we're currently knee deep in powdery snow and spring seems mighty far away. Over at the financial blog Get Rich Slowly they are furiously planning out a bountiful urban vegetable garden.
It might seem crazy to start thinking about a vegetable garden in January. It's cold outside! But believe it or not, now is the perfect time to begin preparing for a successful autumn harvest. Over the next month, we'll plan our seed order. By the end of February, our seeds will be started indoors. All of this leads to those exciting days at the end of April when we can move our plants to the vegetable garden!
J.D. has carefully tracked how much time and money they have invested in their garden, against the yield they get each year. By comparing the cost of produce from their local markets to the amount of their harvests, it appears that J.D. doubled his money in 2008—around $600 worth of fruit and vegetables for $300 worth of supplies and 60 hours of labor. He shares several great tips on getting started with urban and suburban gardening, such as:
When planning your garden, it's better to start too small than to start too large. Please read that sentence again. In order to enjoy your garden, you must be able to control it. Don't get too ambitious. In 1993, our first year of gardening, Kris planted too many tomatoes (25?) and I planted an insane number of chili peppers (100?). By mid-summer we were overwhelmed. We gave up. It's better to start small and to expand a little every year.
He goes on to cover the benefits of quality tools and tracking your efforts to find the best producing plants for your garden. His results and bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables is enough to motivate me to reconsider turning the small-garden'esque-plot behind my garage into a productive member of society. Do you keep a garden? Share your tips and tricks with your fellow readers! Photo by John Morgan.
MP3DirectCut Edits Your MP3 Files Without Decompression [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: MP3DirectCut is a non-destructive MP3 editor. Quickly slice and dice your MP3 files without having to decompress them for editing.
If you need to quickly alter an MP3 without compromising quality MP3DirectCut allows you to cut, copy, and paste as well as change the volume, fade and normalize MP3 audio all without having to decompress the file. In addition to the basics functions it has a built in ID3 editor, cue sheet support, loop play, and command line support. Save yourself the hassle of decompressing and re-encoding your files over simple edits. Although the download is an installer, all application settings are written to the local folder. The application is fully portable—simply delete the desktop shortcut it creates after you install it to your flash drive. If you're looking for a straight forward way to quickly merge your MP3s together, check out MP3 Merge. MP3DirectCut is freeware, Windows only.
How to Win a Flip Video Cam [Advertisement]
The holidays left us with tons of gadgets, so take this survey and we'll give one winner a new FLIP Digicam. Email surveys@gawker.com with the last question of the survey to enter. Standard Rules.
Six Best DVR Applications [Hive Five]
It's 2009—no one should still be a slave to their TV Guide. With one of these six excellent digital video recording tools set up with your TV or computer, you won't be. Photo by Aaron Escobar.
Earlier this week we asked you to share you favorite DVR applications, and now we're back with the six most popular answers. This week's Hive Five Call for Contenders was one of our tightest races yet, which is why we're featuring six popular DVR apps instead of the standard five.
NOTE: If you'd like to roll your own DVR using your computer, you'll need a TV capture card. If your computer doesn't already have one installed, don't worry—they're not that expensive (I've always had good luck with Hauppauge cards), and you can install them on your PC just like you would install any other PCI card (i.e., easily).
Windows Media Center (Windows)
For many, Windows Media Center is the product Microsoft got just right. It's easy to set up, has a fantastic, user-friendly interface, and comes packaged for free with several versions of Windows—specifically Windows MCE 2005, Vista Home Premium and Ultimate, and, when it's all ready for public consumption, Windows 7. Windows Media Center's biggest downside is its sometimes less-than-portable DVR-MS format, but some of it's more impressive features—like using the Xbox 360 as an extender or streaming Netflix Watch Instantly videos—can make up for its downsides. If you really want to make your Windows Media Center sing, check out how to turn your Windows PC into a media center powerhouse on the cheap.
SageTV (Windows/Mac/Linux)
SageTV is the only DVR application of the bunch that runs on all platforms. Like most of the others, SageTV is a champ at pausing, recording, and playing back live TV. It also integrates with online video, supports commercial skipping, and is about as customizable as you could hope for. SageTV is a commercial application; a license can be yours to the tune of $80.
BeyondTV (Windows)
BeyondTV is a shareware DVR application for Windows. It handles all the duties you'd expect from a DVR with a few extra features you won't get from all the others, like automatic commercial marking and skipping, placeshifting (i.e., viewing your recordings over the internet), automatic transcoding, iTunes integration, and a simple tool for burning shows to DVD. BeyondTV will set you back $99 for a license.
GB-PVR (Windows)
GB-PVR is a free DVR application and media center for Windows. GB-PVR boasts a great set of features, including everything from basic time shifting and media center duties to automatic video transcoding (to popular DivX or Xvid codecs, for example). The application has an active and loving community of users and a boatlad of great plug-ins, including a plug-in that integrates with Netflix Watch Instantly and others that add support for DVD burning, BitTorrent, and more. Best of all, GB-PVR can be yours for the low, low price of $0.
TiVo
TiVo is the the device that introduced most of us to the concept of time shifting TV. Without a doubt TiVo offers an excellent service, but perhaps the largest benefit of owning a TiVo is its no-nonsense setup and operation. Unlike the rest of the options in this Hive Five, TiVo is the only one you don't need a computer to use. The set-top box integrates easily with your cable or satellite provider and connects to broadband services like Netflix Watch Instantly or your Picasa Web Albums. TiVo is a subscription service starting at $12/month (unless you go for an annual plan); you can also buy a lifetime plan for $400.
MythTV (Linux)
MythTV is a free, open source DVR application. First released way back in 2002, MythTV is one of the first homebrew DVR apps. Once only a viable option for veteran Linux users and hackers, MythTV has evolved into an excellent DVR app for those of us lacking much Linux experience, although it still remains a system tweaker's dream. MythTV is available in several flavors, including KnoppMyth, a Linux live CD with MythTV preloaded, and Mythbuntu, a MythTV-focused distribution of Ubuntu.
Now that you've seen the short list, it's time to vote for your favorite:
Whether or not your favorite made the short list this week, let's hear more about the DVR that freed you from the shackles of your regularly scheduled programming in the comments.
Use Lunchn to Select a Location for Your Lunch Meetings [Food]
Lunchn is a web-based application geared towards groups trying to select a location for lunch. If you regularly meet with a group of people for lunch and want to vary the grub, check out Lunchn.
While Lunchn can server as a basic Google Maps mashup to help you find a place to eat with no additional effort, the real benefit of the site comes when you get your lunch buddies to plug in their favorite places. Once you and your friends have told Lunchn where you like to eat, when it comes time to pick where you to to lunch you can all vote by logging in or using your mobile phones on where to go. You can organize your friends into groups for easy management—Coworkers, Softball Teammates, Guys-You-Get-Schwasted-With-At-Duffy's— and add your favorite establishments selectively to each group. 
If your favorite pizza place is so far from your work you know you'd never get your coworkers to all drive there for lunch, save that one for your softball team group. Additionally there are some small but handy features like the ability to flag your profile with a car, indicating you're willing to grab people on the way to the restaurant in an informal car pool. If that all seems far far too complicated, give the Wheel of Food a try and spin your way to a random lunch experience. Alternately, start a trend of frugality at work and show your co-workers how much they would save—nearly $1000 a year!—by bringing their own lunches.
This Week's Top Downloads [Download Roundup]
- Tabhunter Adds Faster Tab Switching to Firefox (Firefox)
"The Tabhunter Firefox extension adds quick keyboard-based tab switching to Firefox—sort of like Launchy for Firefox tabs." - Picasa for Mac Beta Released, First Look (Mac)
"Google has officially released their popular photo management application Picasa for Macs, after years of offering Picasa as a free Windows download." - Enigma Desktop Customization Update Now Available (Windows)
"Reader Kaelri—famous for the beautiful and functional Enigma desktop—has packaged and released version 1.1 of the customization files." - Skype 2.8 Beta Adds Screen Sharing, Wi-Fi Access Tool (Mac)
"The popular VoIP application Skype has released a killer new beta for Macs, adding new features like screen sharing and Skype Access, a great new Wi-Fi access tool." - MLB Supercharges Mouseless Browsing (Firefox)
"Firefox extension Mouseless Browsing (MLB) adds numbers next to clickable elements on any page, allowing you to quickly navigate to any portion of the page from the comfort of your home row." - Download Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan Free This Week Only (All, PDF file)
"Financial planning guru Suze Orman's latest book—Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan—is available as a free download from Oprah through January 15th."
Are My Sites Up? Tracks Multiple Web Sites' Availability [Troubleshooting]
Are My Sites Up? is a web-based application for tracking the up time of web sites and sending notifications when they are down.
If you need to know immediately if a site is down completely or just unavailable to you, a service like Down For Everyone Or Just Me? is a great tool. 
If you'd like to monitor a site more consistently and get notifications when there is an interruption in service you'll need a more advanced tool. Set up a list of up to 50 sites to monitor at the Are My Sites Up? web site. In addition to being able to check the status of the sites on the Are My Sites Up? control panel as seen in the screenshot above, you can also set it to email you and send you an SMS update when one of your monitored sites is down. The service requires no ownership of or modification to the web sites you are monitoring, you can use it on your own site or any site you want to keep an eye on.
Microsoft Extends Windows 7 Beta Availability Until January 24th [Windows 7]
Microsoftie Brandon LeBlanc admits that the Windows 7 beta release scramble "was not ideal" and says the company will extend its availability beyond the 2.5M cap until January 24th.
We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.
Though their initial underestimation of demand did smack of cluelessness, it's nice to see Microsoft making amends for a rocky couple of days. As of now you can get the download and the free product key to unlock it by visiting the Windows 7 Beta site straight on (no secret direct download links required).
Sublight Helps You Find and Download Subtitles [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: Sublight is a subtitle organizer with a built in search function. Users can search for movie and television show subtitles in multiple languages. Sublight pulls from several popular subtitle databases to save you the hassle of individual searches on each site. The interface is easy to use, although with television shows especially, it's best to abandon the automatic search and manually search. For another great subtitle finder, check out Subdownloader. Sublight requires Microsoft .Net 2.0 or greater and is freeware, Windows only.
Score Half-Price Meals Courtesy of Your Local TV Station [Deals]
In the strange-but-true category of thriftiness: it's quite possible your local TV station is sitting on a pile of restaurant gift-certificates that could be yours for a steal
You can buy heavily discounted restaurant gift-certificates from your local TV station to restaurants in your area.. Cheap meals courtesy of Channel 5 News? What? Paul Michael from the financial blog Wise Bread did some investigating after his wife was tipped off to the gift certificate/TV station relationship and found it was entirely legitimate. As explained by Stephanie Riegal of BusinessReport.com:
The company that came up with the concept is the Cleveland-based IncentRev, and it's a coupon broker that facilitates the on-air promotions. Essentially, it works like this: A retailer—say, a new restaurant—"buys" exclusive air time with the station in exchange for 100 gift certificates, which the station then promotes on air for half-price. Viewers can buy the gift certificates on a first-come, first-serve basis by accessing the station's Web site. All parties involved say it's a win-win arrangement. Viewers get a bargain. A small retailer essentially receives free advertising. And IncentRev, which does all the paperwork, and the station split the money.
The only catch seems to be that as the deals become better known, the certificates are harder to come by. You can search for certificates by plugging in the call letters for the local station into the URL for IncentRev, like so: http://XXXX.incentrev.com where XXXX is the call letters. You can also search for deals in your city or state by flexing a little google-fu and using search terms like site:incentrev.com new york. Photo by Wolfgang Staudt.
Photograph the Biggest Moon of 2009 Tonight [Weekend Project]
If you missed the enormous moon rise in December of 2008, take heart. Getting off to a roaring start in 2009, the moon will be at it's flashiest this year tonight.
One of the best times to photograph the moon is when the moon-rise occurs on the horizon.
Another magic moment happens when the perigee Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. This weekend, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you catch yourself reaching out to touch it.
Check the sunset and moonrise times at the United States Naval Observatory to find the best time to enjoy the spectacular view, the observatory provides times for locations in all states and territories in the US but don't despair if you're not in the United States. If you know the Latitude and Longitude of your location within a reasonable degree of accuracy you'll be able to find the times for your locale too. Check out our coverage of the previously mentioned moonrise of December 2008 for great tips on photographing the moon. Photo from NASA archive.
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