If you've ever mocked up a web page, print publication or set of presentation slides for a project but didn't have any copy text yet, visit Lorem 2. Graphic designers and typographers have long used a stock set of Latin gibberish commonly referred to as "Lorem ipsum" to mock up projects, evaluate layouts and preview typefaces before any text had been provided by a copywriter or client. What sets Lorem 2 apart is that it provides samples of text for short paragraphs, long paragraphs, short list items and long list items so that you get a better sense of where text will break in your layout and change the size of columns or fonts accordingly—and it's just one click away once bookmarked in a browser. Microsoft Word will also generate sample text for you. For you pixel-pushers out there, what's your favorite way to generate placeholder text?
Windows only: Looking for a way to create a mix of MP3 files to send to your crush but aren't sure what playlist format their media player supports or whether or not they'd know how to unzip a folder of individual tracks? Check out this tip using the Command Prompt interface in Windows:
Only one line of code is needed to join multiple mp3 files:
copy /b *.mp3 c:\new.mp3
The /b modifier is the trick, with the asterisk playing a wildcard to catch all files in a directory. To choose invidividual files, list the filenames separated by the + symbol. Yes, the conjoined files aren't easily separated and the recipient won't be able to skip from track to track. But it's super-fast to do, will play reliably in almost any environment and the listener is forced to think about the emotional arc the music describes—which, after all, is the whole art and science of music mix creation for those of us who remember the 80s. Any readers out there know a similar trick for Macintosh or Linux?
The search-by-voice iPhone app we heard about on Friday may not have shown up as planned, but it is now available from the iTunes App Store. The iTunes page itself doesn't show the app as updated, but download and sync it anyway, and you'll notice a shiny new Google Mobile on your iPhone complete with voice-recognition. I've just started playing with it, but my initial one-word review: Amazing!
iPhone/iPod touch only: Popular restaurant reservation web site OpenTable has just released an iPhone application that makes finding and making reservations nearby a snap. Find a restaurant by searching or using your location-aware iPhone, pick a time, and make that reservation. OpenTable is a free download from the iTunes App Store, works on iPhones and iPod touches running the latest software.
For the second time, you can order the XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child project to be sent to a child in the developing world, or you can order two, including one for yourself. The latter offer is $399 in the US, and is available to customers worldwide from Amazon's UK store as well. I've long admired the machines from afar for the innovative user interface, low power demands and small size. Any readers participate in the first program who'd like to share their experience with the machines — and the donation? [via]
With three real-world but anonymous examples of people who wanted identifiable and possibly perceived as negative information about themselves removed from web sites, ComputerWorld consulted experts but came up largely emptyhanded. In only one of the cases were the efforts successful, and the steps involved were complicated and time consuming. In the case of a journalist who shared a name with a reviewer on film review site Rotten Tomatoes who didn't want their name associated with the word "Rotten," more online activity and not less was recommended:
Apparently, the journalist's best course of action would be to do what reputation mavens recommended in the first place: Create enough positive, search-engine-friendly content to push the "rotten + journalist's name" search result to Google's second page of results.
Check out our guide to using web tools to manage your online reputation. Have you ever tried to chase down a negative personal reference online, and how did it work out? Photo by Joe Goldberg
The YouTube development team has released a geolocation webapp that integrates Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Gears' geolocation features to show you YouTube videos uploaded by users near you. The idea is great in theory, but unfortunately Google Gears came no where close to finding my actual location (especially compared to Geode's accuracy)—which meant I had to pretend I live in 70 miles to the west (and near Grammy-nominated singer Eric Benet). [via]
President-elect Barack Obama will have to give up the BlackBerry that he's had literally by his side (clipped to his belt, a surprising fashion faux pas by the normally quite fashionable candidate). Because of security concerns, the chief executive is not allowed to send emails. President George W. Bush has gone without email for eight years, and was reported to be looking forward to sending them again a few months ago. Obama does plan to bring a laptop to the Oval Office, and there's some talk of setting up a read-only email account. How would you cope with living without email? Photo by AP/Jae C. Hong
As though you needed yet another excuse to stay firmly planted on the couch, DVR service TiVo has integrated with international pizza-maker Domino's so that you can now order a pizza from directly inside your TiVo. My belt just loosened two notches in anticipation. It doesn't have the geek cred of, say, tracking your pizza's delivery status from the terminal, but it's still undeniably cool.
How much you actually make per year or per hour at your job is a bit more complicated than estimating working hours and multiplying by the hourly wage in your contract. Once you calculate external costs in time and expense, such as the time spent commuting and the expense of the necessary transportation, your actual compensation per hour goes down. But add the value of your benefits, matching contributions to retirement savings and equity or paid vacation, and the number goes back up. This mathematics exercise can help put your budget and spending in perspective—is it really worth three hours of your life for those three drinks at the club? It can also help you get a grip on expenses in an effort to reduce them. But the tips are also quite useful if you're evaluating two or more job offers, as well. What kinds of hidden costs have you found in your work day, and what have you done to minimize them and maximize your real earnings? Photo by Tammy Green
This weekend we showed you how to customize your own killer "Enigma" desktop using popular desktop customization apps and a few tools and scripts contributed by one very helpful reader. If you put together your own Enigma desktop using our guide, submit a screenshot of your results to the Lifehacker Show and Tell Flickr Group (be sure to note that you used Enigma) so we can see the different ways you're tweaking your desktop Enigma-style.
Windows only: The popular Windows firewall application ZoneAlarm Free has a big brother called ZoneAlarm Pro, which boasts a handful of features not available in the free version—including integrated antivirus. Normally $40, ZoneAlarm Pro will be available tomorrow (11/18) for the low, low price of free. ZoneAlarm Free was voted one of the five best Windows firewalls by Lifehacker readers, so if you like what you've seen from that, a free upgrade to the Pro version sounds like a winner. The promotion link below will likely offer an active link to the deal starting 6AM PST tomorrow morning, but we'll post the direct link as soon as it's available.
Windows only: exTray is a free system tray utility that monitors your iTunes playback and displays album art and other track information on your desktop. exTray can also control volume and playback through keyboard shortcuts and—strangely enough—even includes export functions to help you move metadata like track ratings and playcounts to another machine. exTray is far from the only app of its kind—for example, previously mentioned apps like CD Art Display and moreTunes offer similar features—but exTray has its own flair, is very customizable, and boasts a light footprint worth checking out. exTray is a free download, Windows only.
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