Lifehacker

From the Tips Box: More Milk Foam, Chrome History, and Deodorant Streaks [From The Tips Box]

Whitson Gordon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0800

Readers offer their best tips for making coffee-house milk foam at home, searching your history from Chrome's address bar, and easily wiping deodorant streaks off clothing.

Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.

About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

More Ways to Make Milk Foam at Home

Photo by Justin D. Henry.

Brenda lays out a nice way to fake froth if you don't have an empty jar:

Thanks for posting your tip on frothed milk! I have been making what we call "cappachinefaux" for a while with my Senseo coffee and frothed milk. People don't really know the difference (although there is a HUGE one between steamed and nuked milk - LOL!)

You can also pour cold milk into a pyrex measuring cup (or other glass container) and, holding the handle of the whisk between your two palms, roll them back and forth to spin the whisk in the cold milk. Then microwave.

You can also warm milk in a small french press carafe, insert the plunger and plunge up and down quickly several times.

Search History from Chrome's Address Bar

atomic1fire shows us a great use for Chrome's customized searches:

In Chrome, you can use history as a search engine. Right click the address bar, hit customize search engines, and create a new one. Enter the name History, enter any keyword that seems easy, I used h, and type in chrome://history/#q=%s for the url.

Use a Dryer Sheet to Remove Deodorant Streaks

offthewall712 shares a tip for removing accidental deodorant streaks on clothing:

Here's another dryer sheet tip to add to your arsenal: Have you ever accidentally gotten deodorant on your shirt? Rubbing it with a dryer sheet will take it right off and you won't have a wet spot or have to change your shirt!

Re-Use Disposable Items as Packing Material

lincolnlogs shows us a money-saving way to pack boxes:

Re-use empty egg cartons, tissue boxes and other small light cardboard containers by using them to help fill any empty space while shipping items in boxes a bit too large. It (a) saves on cost of pricey shipping materials such as bubble-wrap and (b) helps protect the item being shipped while having a "second life" to an item that would have normally been trashed (or hopefully recycled). Try it!

Remains of the Day: SafeSearch Update Makes Your Kids Hate You Edition [For What It's Worth]

Adam Pash — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

Users are brutally honest when they're searching Google, TweetDeck for iPhone updates, and Google's open-sourced a new programming language.

The Go Programming Language
Google launches their own open-source programming language. It's called Go, and it's aiming to be fast, safe, and fun. We'll see!
Locking SafeSearch
Google now let's users lock their adult-content filtering technology, SafeSearch. When SafeSearch is locked to Strict, search results show colored balls on top of search pages so parents and teachers can see that SafeSearch is still enabled from across the room. And an impatient kid whips up a Greasemonkey script that displays those balls when SafeSearch is disabled in 3.. 2.. 1.. [Official Google Blog]
Contrasts in How Google Suggests Searches
Google Suggest gives you an idea of just how jarringly honest people are with their searches. [Ben Casnocha via @kottke]
Urbanspoon on Blackberry
Urbanspoon's a great app for finding a nearby restaurant slot-machine style. It's good times on the iPhone, and now BlackBerry owners can enjoy it, too. [Urbanspoon]
Skip, skip, skip to my video
YouTube brings back the pre-roll ads, but they're entirely skippable if you don't want to sit through them. [YouTube Biz Blog]
Expect Caffeine after the holidays
We heard Google's improved search algorithm, Caffeine, was going primetime soon. Google's Matt Cutts announces it'll reach most after the holidays. [Matt Cutts]
Google Voice invitations for Blue Star Families
Google hands out more Voice invitations to our friends in the Armed Forces. [Google Voice Blog]
Tweetdeck back in the iPhone app store with new features, fewer bugs
iPhone Twitter client TweetDeck updates, gets Facebook integration, and squashes some bugs. [Download Squad]
Bringing the Best of Web Video to You at Bing Videos
MSN Video becomes Bing Videos, and you'll still probably go to YouTube and Hulu instead. [Bing Blog]
Wolfram Alpha Results Finally Show Up In Bing
If you like data, you'll love some Wolfram Alpha integration anywhere you can get it. [TechCrunch]
Vimeo's videos get iPhone, Android-friendly
YouTube isn't the only iPhone-friendly video site on the market. Popular video sharing site Vimeo now supports iPhone-friendly formats for some videos. [CNET]
Why Retweet works the way it does
Twitter's head honcho explains why Twitter's new support for retweets works how it does. [Evhead]

Norbt Sends Top Secret, Encrypted Messages [Security]

Sarah Rae Trover — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0800

Web application Norbt (short for "no robot") creates web pages with encrypted text; only people who can answer your challenge question can access the text. Got anything secret you want to share?

Norbt uses browser-based cryptography to secure your information and keep it safe until someone with the correct answer to your challenge question comes along. As a bonus, you can create whatever challenge question and answer you want. There's no sign of the typical "High School Your Maternal Grandparents Went To" type stuff, which is always frustrating to remember. You'll need a separate password to re-access the information yourself to make changes, so making one you can keep track of is a good thing.

Once your Norbt is created, you can share the link freely with anyone. Even if you don't have anything pressing to send to a friend or family member across the web, it could be fun to send your friends locked messages or love letters. Just don't get the two confused. If you're not sure you want to trust any secret missives to Norbt without a better idea of how they secure your text, check out their security page. And while we wouldn't put any of our most sensitive data in Norbt, it is, at the very least, a fun tool for sharing information.

Use Your Net Worth as a Psychological Carrot to Motivate Saving [Saving Money]

Adam Pash — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Saving for the future is important, but it's hard to stay motivated if you don't have something concrete to measure your progress. Personal finance weblog The Simple Dollar details how to keep score—and stay motivated—by tracking net worth.

Photo by pfala.

Keeping score is an easy way for me to know how well I'm doing. It lets me judge, in a very clear way, whether I'm improving and whether I'm making forward progress towards my goals.

The primary way I "keep my own score" is by calculating my net worth quite frequently. I use my net worth as a score to judge whether or not I'm making successful, smart moves towards improving my personal finance state. I "win" if my net worth goes up. I "win big" if my net worth goes up by some specific amount each month.

Head over to the full post for more details on how Trent from The Simple Dollar keeps score using his net worth. Then let us know how you stay motivated with your savings (do you regularly calculate your net worth?) in the comments.

Netflix May Delay New Release Movies by a Full Month [NetFlix]

Sarah Rae Trover — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Netflix has become the savior of home entertainment for many, but recently Netflix has been in talks with major studios about delaying new release movies by a month or more. Why? The major studios are willing to drop the price of the DVDs it sells to Netflix with the understanding that all new release movies wouldn't be accessible to its customers for up to a full month after release date—presumably in hopes that more people would buy their stupid DVDs. It would cut Netflix's costs by almost half, but there's no word yet on if that savings would be passed on to its loyal customers.

So we're wondering: Would you cancel your subscription if this was the direction your trusty red envelope movie service went? Let's here it in the comments. Photo by jc.westbrook.

Polish Your Shoes with a Banana [Clever Uses]

Whitson Gordon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

If you've got a few over-ripe bananas lying around (as most of us do), and you're not the banana bread type, it turns out they have a few household uses before you toss them in the garbage—like homespun shoe polish.

Bananas, while delicious, are annoying because they release gases that cause fruits (including other bananas in the bunch) to ripen quicker, giving you a small window in which to eat them. However, bananas also contain potassium, which is useful even after the bananas are past the edible stage—in fact, it's a key ingredient in shoe polish. Thus, you can use the inside of the banana peel to polish your shoes—and still have the fruit left over if you decide you really do want that banana bread. Of course, the banana doesn't have to be over-ripe to do some shoe-shining, since the peel is the important part.

We hear they actually sell products specifically designed to polish shoes (who'd've thunk?), but the banana-peel polish is a tried and true trick if you're in a pinch.

Fix for Netbook Hackintoshes in the Works, Temporary Fix Already Available [Hackintosh]

Adam Pash — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0800

Lifehacker's Hackintosh build upgraded without problems to OS X 10.6.2, but the same wasn't true for hacked netbooks. According to Gizmodo, the main hacker behind hacked netbooks says the kernel will be fixed for the netbooks' Atom processors. "It'll just take a few weeks." Gizmodo also points out that if you did accidentally update your netbook to 10.6.2, you can still downgrade your kernel to get it working again. Good luck! [Gizmodo]

The Gaia Desktop [Featured Desktop]

The How-To Geek — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Reader Sweetshop Union's Windows 7 desktop has been completely transformed with the Gaia09 skin for Rainmeter, complete with widgets, wallpaper, and a visual style to match.

The desktop is a combination of:

Rainmeter with the Gaia09 theme.

Rocketdock

Gaia09 Visual style for Windows 7 (includes wallpaper)

Full instructions for installing Gaia09 Rainmeter skins can be found here.

This desktop not your style? Why waste time complaining? Instead, get started creating your own killer desktop with the easy-install Rainmeter 1.1 package and show the world what you can do. If you get stuck and need some help, join up with the Lifehacker Desktop Customization Google Group to collaborate on new ideas for desktop configurations.

Once you've created your own beautifully tweaked (and hopefully productive) desktop, post it over in the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Group complete with a description of the programs and tweaks you used (and preferably links as well!), and we just might feature it here.

Updating the Better Extensions for Firefox 3.6 [Updates]

Gina Trapani — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

Now that the Firefox 3.6 beta is available for download (portable version is here), it's time to start updating the Better Firefox extensions. The most popular ones, Better Gmail 2 and Better GReader, are already 3.6-compatible; the rest will come in the next few weeks. As always, join the Google Group to ask questions or make comments about the Better Firefox extensions.

Disciplanner Makes Tracking and Assessing Your Goals Simple [Habits]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

If you're interested in tracking your goals and habits in the long term, but messing around with tracking schemes and tools isn't your thing, Disciplanner is a simple and easy to grasp tracking tool.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Disciplanner allows you to make categories both for positive and negative habits. Want to exercise more and watch television less or spend more time reading and less time playing video games? You can create a category for the positive behavior you want to encourage and the negative behavior you want to extinguish.

Visit Disciplanner once a day to plug in the total time spent on all categories and after a few weeks you'll be able to see patterns emerge in the report tab—seen above.

Disciplanner is a free tool and requires basic registration to enable tracking. Have your own free tool for tracking your goals and extinguishing your bad habits? Let's hear about it in the comments.

How to Make a "Buddy Burner" Emergency Stove [Outdoors]

Whitson Gordon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0800

After we featured how to make an emergency fire starter out of a t-shirt, we've gotten a few other tips on other useful flammables. With a few common household items, though, you can also create a pretty handy stove.

The t-shirt and Vaseline ideas are both great in an emergency, but if you're, say, out camping and have a few more items with you (namely a can, cardboard, and some wax) or you've done a little preparation ahead of time, you can make a pretty handy emergency candle or even a nice little heater. The "Buddy Burner," as it's called, is especially nice because it is pretty immune to moisture and, unlike propane, will light at fairly low temperatures. Plus, they should burn for about 2-3 hours, which isn't bad considering its size and weight. Thanks, Bob!

Make Holiday Shopping Simple with Our Gift-Planning Checklist [Holidays]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

One of the best ways to cut down on holiday stress is proper planning. Our gift-planning template makes it simple to plan, track, and budget for your holiday purchases.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Why keep a meticulous holiday shopping list? Among the many reasons, I'll share the reason I started keeping one and archiving it every year:

Once upon a time, I bought my brother-in-law a book for Christmas. It was an excellent pick and well received. The next year, while looking for another book I made another great pick—but ended up sending him the exact same book I'd purchased the year prior. Oops!

From there on I kept a list of every person I gave a gift, the gift I gave them, and a small checklist that included information like whether or not the gift had been purchased, received, and wrapped. This year I took the best features of my previous lists and rolled them together into a spreadsheet with a few bells and whistles.

Sure you could scribble your shopping list on the back of an envelope, but the back of the envelope won't color code, cross-reference, and calculate your shopping budget like our handy gift-planning template will. With our holiday template you can record the recipients, the gift you bought them, its cost, and whether or not you have purchased, received, wrapped, and delivered the gift.

All the cells for purchase/received/wrapped/delivered status are color coded. Empty cells are light red. Cells can be filled with either "x" or "na" to turn them light green. The "na" flag was included both for visual continuity on the chart (you can't really gift wrap a subscription, for example) and for continuity on the Gift Info page.

The second sheet of the spreadsheet is the Gift Info page; it totals up information about your gift list. There you can enter in your total budget for your holiday spending, and it will total the amounts from your list to tell you how much money you have left and the average amount of money you've spent per person. It will also calculate the number of people on your list and the number you need to pick out a gift for as well as the remaining number of gifts to be purchased, wrapped, and so on:

The boxes indicating the remaining gift money as well as the present-related tasks will show up in red when something is amiss—negative balance in the budget or presents left unwrapped for example.

The template is available from Google Docs and is free for you to copy and alter. If you see any areas for improvement, by all means tinker with it and post a link to your new version in the comments below (and feel free to email it to us, too) so everyone can benefit from your spreadsheet-fu.

Find Nearby Flu Shots with Google Maps [Google Maps]

Adam Pash — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0800

In an effort to help battle flu season, Google has released a new Google Maps feature that helps you find nearby locations for both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations. Just point your browser to their flu shot finder, click the Change location link in the left sidebar, enter your address, and Google returns the seasonal (red syringe) and H1N1 (blue syringe) vaccination locations nearby, including the status of the shots at that location. Handy. [Google Maps Flu Shot Finder]

DIY Bike Trailer [Bicycle]

Sarah Rae Trover — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

Riding your bike is all well and good, until you have to carry home more than 2 bags of groceries at a time. Toby from the DIY cyclist website Bike Hacks has assembled a pretty keen towing package for your wheels.

Toby used parts easily found at your local hardware store. The trailer hooks to a wooden box that sits snug on the rear of the bike. Here's some of the materials used:

I made this trailer out of wood as I am a woodworker. I used metal electrical junction box covers cut in half to make my plates for the wheels. The fenders are made out of the middle of a piece of vinyl gutter that I bought at Lowe's. A 10′ piece of gutter was only about $7.00 and you score it with a utility knife and then just snap it off.

This DIY home project cost Toby far less than purchasing a retail version of similar size and shape, it's built to last, and it should be able to carry home whatever the day may bring.

Are you so into your biking you'd consider a trailer? Already have one? Sound off in the comments.

Programmer 101: Teach Yourself How to Code [Programming]

Gina Trapani — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:00:12 -0800

You've always wanted to learn how to build software yourself—or just whip up an occasional script—but never knew where to start. Luckily, the web is full of free resources that can turn you into a programmer in no time.

Since the invention of the internet, programmers have been using it to discuss software development techniques, publish tutorials, and share code samples for others to learn from and use online. If you're curious about how to become a programmer, you can get off to a running start using tons of great free web-based tutorials and resources.

First Things First: Don't Get Hung Up on Choosing a Language

A common pitfall for beginners is getting stuck figuring out which programming language is best to learn first. There are a lot of opinions out there, but there's no one "best" language. Here's the thing: In the end, language doesn't matter THAT much. Understanding data and control structures and design patterns does matter very much. Every language—even a simple scripting language—will have elements that you'll use in other languages as well and will help you learn. In classes I took to get my degree in Computer Science, I programmed in Pascal, Assembly, and C—languages I never actually got paid to program in professionally. I taught myself every language I've used in my career, reusing concepts I already knew, and referring to documentation and books to learn its syntax. So, don't get hung up on what language to learn first. Pick the kind of development you want to do, and just get started using one that works.

There are several different kinds of software development you can do for various platforms, from the web to your desktop to your smartphone to a command line. In this article, we'll outline some of our favorite starter tutorials and resources for teaching yourself how to program for each major platform. We're going to assume you're a savvy user, but a newb when it comes to wrangling code snippets, so we'll keep things at the beginner level. Even just following through a beginner programming tutorial, you'll be happy to see how far you can get.

Desktop Scripting

The easiest way to try your hand at programming for your Windows or Mac desktop is to start with a scripting or macro program like AutoHotkey (for Windows) or Automator (for Mac). Right now hardcore coders throughout the Lifehacker readership are yelling at their monitors, saying that AHK or AppleScript are not "real" programming. That may be true—technically these types of tools just do high-level scripting. But for those new to programming who just want to get their feet wet, automating actions on their desktop, these free tools are a fantastic way to start—and you'd be surprised at how much you can do with them.

For example, Adam developed the standalone Windows application we all know and love, Texter, using AutoHotkey, so this scripting language is capable of far more than just small-scale automation projects. To get started with AutoHotkey, check out Adam's tutorial on how to turn any action into a keyboard shortcut using AutoHotkey. (Then, check out the source code for Texter to see the innards of a full-fledged AHK-based Windows application.)

Web Development

Instead of being bound to specific programming languages and the look and feel of a particular operating system, you can put your killer application in the browser and run it in the cloud, as a webapp. Welcome to the wonderful world of web development.

HTML and CSS: The first thing you need to know to build any web site is HTML (the page markup that makes up web pages) and CSS (the style information that makes that markup look pretty). HTML and CSS are not true programming languages—they're just page structure and style information. However, you should be able to author simple HTML and CSS by hand before you begin building web applications, because a web page is the frontend to every webapp. This HTML tutorial is a good place to start.

JavaScript: Now that you can lay out a static web page with HTML and CSS, things get fun—because it's time to learn JavaScript. JavaScript is the programming language of the web browser, the magic that makes dynamic in-page effects go. JavaScript is also the stuff of bookmarklets, Greasemonkey user scripts, and Ajax, so it's the key to making all sorts of web goodies. Start learning JavaScript here.

Server-side scripting: Once you're good at making things happen inside a web page, you're going to need to put some dynamic server action behind it—and for that, you'll need to move into a server-side scripting language, like PHP, Python, Perl, or Ruby. For example, to make a web-based contact form that sends an email somewhere based on what a user entered, a server-side script is required. Scripting languages like PHP can talk to a database on your web server as well, so if you want to make a site where users can log in and store information, that's the way to go. Excellent web development site Webmonkey is full of tutorials for various web programming languages. See their PHP Tutorial for Beginners. When you're ready, check out how to use PHP to talk to a database in WebMonkey's PHP and MySQL tutorial. PHP's online documentation and function reference is the best on the web. Each entry (like this one on the strlen function) includes user comments at the bottom which are often as helpful as the documentation itself. (I happen to be partial to PHP, but there are plenty of other server-side scripting languages you might decide to go with instead.)

Web frameworks: Over the years, web developers have had to solve and resolve the same problems and rewrite similar code to build dynamic web sites. To avoid making everyone reinvent the wheel for every new web development project, some programmers have come up with development frameworks that do some repetitive work for you. The popular Ruby on Rails framework, for example, takes the Ruby programming language and offers a web-specific structure for getting common web application tasks done. In fact, Adam used Rails to build his first serious (and impressive!) web application, MixTape.me. Here's his take on how to build a web site from scratch with no experience. Other popular web development frameworks include CakePHP (for PHP programmers), Django (for Python programmers), and jQuery (for JavaScript).

Web APIs: An API (Application programming interface) is a programmatic way for different pieces of software to talk to one another. For example, if you want to put a dynamic map on your web site, you want to use a Google Map instead of building your own custom map. The Google Maps API makes it easy to programmatically include a map in a page with JavaScript. Almost every modern web service you know and love has an API that lets you include data and widgets from it in your application, like Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, Google Maps, and the list goes on. Integrating other webapps into your web application via API's is the final frontier of rich web development. Every good, major web service API offers thorough documentation and some sort of quick start guide to try it out (here's Twitter's, for example). Go crazy.

Command Line Scripting

If you want to write a program that takes textual or file input and outputs something useful, the command line is the right place to do it. While the command line isn't as sexy or good-looking as a webapp or desktop app, for rapid development of quick scripts that automate processes, you can't beat it.

Several scripting languages that work on a Linux-based web server also work at the command line, like Perl, Python, and PHP—so learning one of those baddies makes you conversant in two contexts. My path never took me too far down the Perl road, but I taught myself Python using the excellent and free online book, Dive into Python.

If becoming a Unix ninja is one of your programmer goals, you absolutely must get good at shell scripting with bash. Bash is the command line scripting language of a *nix environment, and it can do everything from help you set up automated backups of your database and files to building out a full-fledged application with user interaction. Without any experience writing bash scripts beyond a dozen lines, I wound up developing a full-on personal to-do list manager in bash, Todo.txt CLI.

Add-ons

Nowadays, modern webapps and browsers are extensible with with bits of software that bolt onto them and add features. Add-on development is gaining in popularity as more developers look at existing software, like Firefox or WordPress, and think "But if only it could do THIS..."

You can do a whole lot in any web browser with just a mastery of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Bookmarklets, Greasemonkey user scripts, and Stylish user styles are created with the same bits of code that make regular web pages, so they're worth learning even if you just want to tweak an existing site with a small snippet of code.

More advanced browser add-ons, like Firefox extensions, let you do more. Developing Firefox extensions, for example, requires that you're conversant in JavaScript and XML (markup that's similar to HTML, but way more strict in format). Back in 2007 I ran down how to build a Firefox extension, a skill I picked up after I stumbled upon a free tutorial.

Many free and well-loved web applications offer an extension framework as well, like WordPress and MediaWiki. Both of those apps are written in PHP, so comfort with PHP is a prerequisite for getting started. Here's how to write a plug-in for WordPress. Developers who want to ride the cutting edge of Google Wave can get started writing gadgets and bots in HTML, JavaScript, Java, and Python. I wrote my first Wave bot following this quick start tutorial in one afternoon.

Web Development for the Desktop

The best part about getting started programming in one context is when you can take those skills and apply them elsewhere. Learning web development first is a great way to start because now there are ways to put those skills to work on desktop applications, too. For example, Adobe AIR is a cross-platform run-time environment that lets you build your app once and release it to run on the desktop for every operating system AIR runs on. AIR apps are written in HTML, Flash, or Flex, so it lets you apply your web development skills in a desktop context. AIR is a great option for deploying desktop apps like one of our top 10 apps worth installing Adobe AIR for.

Mobile App Development

Mobile applications like the ones you run on your iPhone or Android smartphone are all the rage right now, so you may have dreams of striking it rich in the iTunes App Store with the next killer app. However, for the new coder, diving headfirst into mobile development can be a rough learning curve, since it requires comfort with advanced programming languages like Java and Objective C. However, it's worth checking out what iPhone and Android development looks like. Check out this simple iPhone application development example to get a taste of what iPhone developers do. Android apps are written in Java, and here's a friendly video tutorial of what building a "Hello Android" application workflow looks like.

Patience, Elbow Grease, Trial and Error

Good coders are a special breed of persistent problem-solvers who are addicted to the small victories that come along a long path of trial and error. Learning how to program is very rewarding, but it can also be a frustrating and solitary experience. If you can, get a buddy to work with you along the way. Getting really good at programming, like anything else, is a matter of sticking with it, trying things out, and getting experience as you go.

This article is just one self-taught programmer's top-of-mind recommendations for beginners. Experienced programmers: What did I miss? No matter your skill level, add your thoughts and recommendations for beginners to the comments.

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker's founding editor, thinks the best programmers are self-taught. Her weekly feature, Smarterware, appears every Wednesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Smarterware tag feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

[Sponsored]

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Google Latitude Adds Location History, Alerts You When Friends Are Nearby [Google Maps]

Adam Pash — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:35:00 -0800

If you use Google Latitude to find your nearby friends, you're in luck: Google updated Latitude with location history and alerts for when your friends are nearby. If you don't love your every step tracked—well, it's kind of creepy.

Clearly if you're someone concerned about your privacy, a service like Latitude (and its recent updates) may feel a bit strange. Just keep in mind that the extent to which Latitude tracks you is always in your hands. Moving on to the new features:

Location history is pretty straight forward. Enable it in Latitude and the app starts keeping track of where you've been as well as where you are. Location alerts, on the other hand, are a little more interesting.

After working on this for a while, we realized it wasn't as straightforward as sending a notification every time Latitude friends were near each other. Imagine that you're Latitude friends with your roommate or co-workers. It would get pretty annoying to get a text message every single time you walked in the door at home or pulled into work. To avoid this, we decided to make Location Alerts smarter by requiring that you also enable Location History. Using your past location history, Location Alerts can recognize your regular, routine locations and not create alerts when you're at places like home or work. Alerts will only be sent to you and any nearby friends when you're either at an unusual place or at a routine place at an unusual time.

Neat. Of course, the features are only as useful as their adoption, and considering iPhone users are stuck with a kind of lame webapp because Apple worried that Latitude would confuse users, so it probably hasn't been adopted as widely as might be necessary. Then again, if you've got an Android, BlackBerry, Symbian S60, or Windows Mobile phone, you can grab the proper app.

[Sponsored]

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Raindrop's Universal Inbox Looks Awesome in Concept Designs [Inboxes]

Kevin Purdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Mozilla's Raindrop project showed us its one-inbox-to-rule-them-all mission, but a Mozilla designer now shows us how Raindrop might actually pull that off on mobile phones. The designs are impressive, combining email, Twitter, Facebook, and other conversations into one organized stream.

Andy Chung has made his initial designs for RainDrop's mobile implementation available as a Flickr set, and they show a really, really simplified way of looking at what's coming in. Twitter replies, emails, Facebook comments—they're all just different-colored messages, and the reply button always does the same thing. Additional functions look like they're available when triggered, but we're just excited (plainly) about how universally simple Raindrop looks on any phone.

Check out the pics and pitch, and tell us what you think of Raindrop in the comments.

[Sponsored]

NEC

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Get Google Maps Navigation on Your G1 [Android]

Kevin Purdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:35:00 -0800

Google's awe-inducing, turn-by-turn Maps Navigation is exclusive to Verizon's Droid phone—unless you're willing to hack around with your G1. With either some command-line-fu or a two-part Windows application, you can put Google Maps Navigation on a rooted G1.

By "rooted," we mean a G1 running the latest Cyanogen custom ROM (and here's the wiki guide to installing it). Installing this hack, like rooting your phone, totally voids your support options from T-Mobile or other provider, and we can't recommend backing up your G1 highly enough before you launch on this endeavor.

Having said that, I've managed to get Navigation on my G1, following the step-by-step instructions at the second link, with the Android developer's SDK installed and using adb --help to figure out what I was doing. Gizmodo recommends a batch file that does the dirty-but-quasi-legal work for you, including installation of the Maps/Navigation app from Android 2.0 (which I grabbed from this thread, registration required).

Update: Some users in the xda-developers forums and elsewhere are seeing the Navigation option vanish upon reboot, or when trying to replace their build.props file to escape glitchiness. We'll update this post with any long-term fixes when we find them.

Here's a little video reminder of what Google Maps Navigation does—in short, web-attached, turn-by-turn, voice-recognizing driving directions:

Got Navigation working on your own G1 (or, even better, other Android phone)? Tell us what you like, or any quirks you encounter, in the comments.

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Train Your Mind to Keep Exercising in Winter [Winter]

Kevin Purdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

Gina Kolata writes an inspiring piece for the New York Times about the seemingly inevitable slow-down of exercise routines in winter—inevitable, really, only if your mind accepts that rainy, cold, and slushy runs are a bad thing.

Photo by auburnxc.

Kolata talks to folks who live in places with fairly harsh winters—including Ithaca, N.Y., which I can confirm as the snow pile at the end of Mother Nature's driveway—and asks how they get beyond the cold weather and mental blocks that keep some runners, cyclists, and other outdoor types chained to indoor equipment.

It's not having the right winter wear, although that's important. It's figuring out how to re-consider winter and what it means for your fitness.

My friend Jen Davis, a physical chemist, uses a term from chemistry: Running on dreary days requires high activation energy, she says. In chemistry, activation energy is what must be added to start a reaction.

But those of us who exercise in all sorts of weather will attest that there is a certain thrill that can come from terrible conditions. "It makes us tough," Ms. Davis said. She calls our runs in horrendous conditions "epic runs." And she's right. They are truly memorable, ones we actually recall fondly.

There's also a recommendation to come up with new music playlists and team up with friends to enforce a faltering winter exercise habit.

How do you get beyond the imposing winter weather and fight on toward fitness? Share the secret in the comments.

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X3Studios Makes Abstract Wallpaper Creation Easy [Wallpaper]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0800

If you're a fan of the abstract and grungy vector-based wallpapers floating around, X3Studios is a free tool for creating abstract wallpaper without needing a copy of Illustrator and a pile of stock images.

X3Studio sets up a palette, element selection guide, and workspace right in your browser. You can select from background textures, dozens of abstract and grunge elements, and text you want to add to your background. The sliders on the right hand side of the screen help you adjust the color, saturation, and brightness of the elements you have selected and all elements are easily rotated and transformed in size.

Many of the navigation techniques like shifting elements forward and backward and navigating around the image using the navigator pane will be familiar to users of more formal image editing software like Photoshop and GIMP—the interface is just radically simplified. You can download your wallpaper in sizes ranging from 1024x768 up to 1600x1200.

If you're not inclined to make your own, but like the style, you can browse the gallery of work saved by other visitors. You'll find over 800 wallpapers in the visitor gallery all available for download. The wallpaper creation tool at X3Studios is free and requires no registration for use. Have another favorite online tool for generating cool wallpaper? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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Get Extra Gmail and Picasa Storage Real Cheap [Online Storage]

Kevin Purdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Need some extra space for your gigantic Gmail habit, or to stash more pics in Picasa Web Albums? Google took a knife to its extra storage prices, offering, for example, 80 GB for $20 per year.

At the bottom end, 20 GB goes for $5 per year, or a bit over 41 cents per month. Want to get crazy with it? A terabyte runs $256 per year, and 16 terabytes tops the list at $4,096. The extra space is officially shared between Gmail and Picasa Web albums, but, as Google Operating System suggests, it might be a preemptive step toward making the expected, anticipated "GDrive" storage space a real thing.

If you've already bought extra Google apps space, your account should see an automatic space boost for the remainder of your year's purchase to match the new prices. Does this kind of cheap space make you consider moving your pictures to Picasa, or investing a bit more in Google as a storage platform?

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Emulate Windows 7's Aero Snap Sizing in Linux [Linux]

Kevin Purdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

Windows 7's Aero Snap is a pretty neat feature, allowing for easy side-by-side window sizing of any application. You can get a similar effect in Linux by tweaking your Compiz configuration settings.

Getting a half-size, Aero-Snap-like window when dragged to the edge of a window is easier than it might seem—assuming you've got the right commands to enter into the CompizConfig-Settings-Manager app, like the OMG! UBUNTU! blog has. Make a quick installation of Compiz's settings manager, if you haven't already, and enter the commands and variables recommended at the link. Now when you drag a window to the screen edge, you'll get a half-size window to stack up.

Two caveats apply to this trick, though. One is that you seem to lose the ability to drag windows horizontally into your next workspace. The other is that, depending on how you set it up, a dual monitor setup might not give properly sized windows. I can live with the first issue, as I only use one workspace, but my TwinView setup doesn't quite fly with this trick. That said, it's a great option for laptops or single-monitor setups—and if you know of a fix for those with extended desktops, by all means, tell us about it.

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Protect Your Wi-Fi Connection at Airport Hotspots [Air Travel Tip]

Kevin Purdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:30:00 -0800

Enticed by Google's free airport Wi-Fi to lug along a laptop this holiday season? PC World reminds us that taking a few precautions in how you connect is a very wise move.

Photo by Mr.Thomas.

Google's Wi-Fi hotspots will probably be fairly well-marked, or at least under a partner name like Boingo. Those might not have tight WPA2-level security, however, and other hotspots might be even less secure. PC World suggests ensuring that your system has automatic Wi-Fi connections turned off, device or media sharing disabled, and, unless you're just reading articles and surfing around, using a VPN connection for anything involving accounts and passwords.

How to create a VPN in a public space? Web Worker Daily and eHow both have fairly good tutorials. If you've got your own tips on safe public browsing, share them in the comments.

Firefox 3.6 Beta 2 Available for Download [Downloads]

Adam Pash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0800

Windows/Mac/Linux: Less than two weeks after they released the first beta, Mozilla is back with Firefox 3.6 beta 2. This release includes over 190 bug fixes from beta 1, in addition to the already existing performance boosts and support for one-click themes.

You can grab the latest straight from the Firefox beta page; if you're already using 3.6 beta 1, those 190+ bug fixes seem like they'd be well worth the update.

Again, this is a beta release, so only upgrade if you're an early adopter willing to deal with some potential bugs. That said, if you've been using 3.6 over the last week or so, let's hear how you've liked it so far in the comments.

Remains of the Day: AT&T Still Stalls on iPhone Tethering Edition [For What It's Worth]

Adam Pash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

Google Maps Street View makes its way to Hawaii, Firefox for Mobile beta is ready for a limited set of phones, and tips for living longer by avoiding death traps.

Escape to Paradise on Your Phone
Google Maps adds Street View for Hawaii for the full 50 state Street View experience. Aloha! [Google Mobile Blog]
AT&T: iPhone tethering still coming, but no date set
More news of nothing on the tethering front for iPhone users. "It's still coming. No idea when." It's why we went ahead and set up tethering ourselves. [Macworld]
Apple Adds A Ton Of HD Content. Including Movies I Would Actually Buy.
Apple finally adds some HD movies to their store that people could be interested in buying. [TechCrunch]
Firefox for Mobile Beta now available... if you own a Nokia N810 or N900
It's a pretty small market for a beta browser, but lucky you if you've got one of those phones. [Download Squad]
W.O.W. 8/16/09 and my "Dirty Dozen for Black Swan Avoidance".
True-enough but also hilarious tips for staying alive—like: "If anyone tries to force you into your car or car trunk at gun point, don't cooperate. Fight and scream all you can even if you risk getting shot in the parking lot. If you get in the car, you will most likely die (or worse)." [Body by Science via kottke]

Magnetiser Downloads Torrents When No Torrent File Is Available [Downloads]

Adam Pash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Firefox: If you've used a BitTorrent search engine that lists lots of torrents but doesn't actually host any torrent files (like Torrentz), most of the time you still have to go to other third-party sites for the download. Not so with Magnetiser.

When you search a torrent aggregation site like Torrentz, all you see are links to external sites hosting the torrent file. Most of the time that means you'll need to click through to other sites to hunt for the download link to the torrent you're looking for. However, BitTorrent clients like uTorrent support magnet links, which, for the purpose of BitTorrent, allow users to start downloads without an actual torrent file.

Once installed, Firefox extension Magnetiser monitors your searches on Torrentz (the largest BitTorrent search engine that doesn't host torrent files) or isoHunt. If it detects that you're on a torrent's detail page, you'll see "Magnetise" in the Firefox status bar. Click on Magnetise to open the torrent in your default BitTorrent client.

If you're not sure when this could come in useful, all-things-BitTorrent weblog TorrentFreak makes a good case: "Not only does it save time, it also comes in handy when a torrent is no longer available on the external site." It's also useful for people with ISPs or IT people who block .torrent file downloads.

Magnetise hasn't yet been approved at Mozilla's Add-on site, but you can download the magnetiser.zip, change the file extension from ZIP to XPI, then drag and drop the XPI into Firefox. (A bit of a hassle, we know. When it is approved, it should be available with a click-to-install here.)

Have you ever used magnet links for your BitTorrent downloads? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Best Antivirus Application: AVG [Hive Five Followup]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Last week we asked you to share your favorite antivirus application and then we rounded up the five most popular candidates for your review and a final vote. We're back with the results, and this was one very close race.

In the end AVG came out on top as the most popular antivirus app with 23 percent of the vote, barely beating out Microsoft Security Essentials (22 percent), which in turn beat out ESET NOD32 (19 percent).

If you're unfamiliar with Microsoft Security Essentials, the newest kid on the antivirus block, check out our feature on Microsoft's security tools for a little more on why we think most users should stop paying for their Windows security applications. For more information on the winner and runners up, check out the full Hive Five.

DIY Interactive Multitouch Display [DIY]

Sarah Rae Trover — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Touch screens are all the rage right now, so it's no surprise that there's a large DIY movement to accompany their popularity. Instructables user Turkey Tek details how to construct your own DIY multitouch display.

Turkey Tek has used a LCD projector and a few inexpensive components (readily available at your local hardware store) to create a 30+ inch multitouch display. Here's the basic principle behind the creation:

An acrylic panel is edge lit with infrared leds. When your finger comes in contact with the acrylic, it scatters infrared light out the back where it is visible via infrared camera. As long as nothing is touching the acrylic, very little of the light escapes, instead just reflecting around inside. Image processing takes care of detecting tips of fingers and relaying their location to application software. Since the camera "reads" the whole display in parallel, it is easy to detect multiple fingertips at once, even those belonging to multiple users.

It looks like construction time for this piece is somewhere around the 20-hour mark, barring any major mishaps—though most of it looks to be time spent sanding and soldering. Hit up Instructables for the list of materials and full step-by-step tutorial. When you're done, the device can mostly be used with some cool open-source demos (you can see some in the video above), so it's not the most practical undertaking just yet, but if you're in the mood for some seriously cool tinkering, it's a great project.

App Tabs Creates Permanent, Icon-Only Tabs, Firefox 4.0-Style [Downloads]

Adam Pash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Firefox only: Firefox extension App Tabs creates permanent, space-saving webapp tabs in Firefox with the click of a mouse. We've detailed how to set up permanent webapp tabs before, but this extension greatly simplifies the process—already slated for Firefox 4.0.

In our previous guide, you had to install the FaviconizeTab extension along with PermaTabs to shrink tabs, keep them around between sessions, and prevent them from being inadvertently closed. With this extension installed, just Ctrl+Click the tab, select App Tab, and any tab will shrink down to an icon only on the left of your Firefox window. You can set it to retain your App Tabs between sessions and protect them from closing.

As we mentioned above, the App Tabs feature is on the roadmap for Firefox 4.0; this extension just gives you the option to use it now. If you give it a try, don't forget to install Better Gmail 2 or Better GReader if you want the unread counts in your tab icons.

App Tabs is a free download, works with Firefox. It's currently experimental, so you may encounter some bugs. It worked without a hitch for me on Windows, but rendered kind of wonky in OS X, so your mileage may vary.

Speccy Gives You Detailed Information About Your Hardware [Downloads]

Whitson Gordon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

Windows only: Planning an upgrade soon? Save yourself the web searches for your specs and download Speccy. Speccy does a quick scan of your machine and gives you a complete rundown of every piece of gear that's in your computer.

Upon first glance, Speccy seems like something that's only attractive to power users, but it can be useful for anyone. When the Device Manager doesn't give you enough information about what kind of RAM you have (say, if you're looking to upgrade), Speccy will give you all the information you could possibly need, including the RAM type, how much you currently have, and even the number of slots used so you can buy with confidence.

You can view your computer's information in a brief summary (as shown), or click on any of the categories for a very, very detailed report. Speccy gives you detailed information for CPU, motherboard, graphics, hard drives, optical drives, and audio, all so you don't have to go searching somewhere else to find out what you have. In addition, it also gives you real-time information on things like bus speed, DRAM Frequency, and temperature, to name a few.

We've featured one or two different tools like this in the past, but thus far, this is the cleanest and most detailed one we've used yet. Speccy is a free download, Windows only.

Before and After: The Tiny Study [Featured Workspace]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

When you move from one place to another and try to fit the furniture and gear from your old office into your new one, sometimes you run into problems. Today's featured workspace highlights an excellent before and after makeover.

Lifehacker reader Dave Bach made over his small study with some fresh paint, new window treatment, and an awesome custom built desk. He writes:

My study was a poorly laid out place - I'd simply transplanted the same design from my previous house into the new room - it didn't feel spacious, and although it had plenty of storage, it was always full and felt cluttered. The radiator was under the desk so I was always kicking it or getting hot feet. I got back pain from sitting at the low desk all day, and the PC sounded like a jet engine whenever you opened an app. As the monitor backed on to the window, I was always battling to see the screen as it would be silhouetted by any outside light coming in. So I bought a new PC and decided I needed a new desk to go along with it. After plenty of searching, but not finding anything that would fit the bill (good height, ability to conceal all wires and unused gadgets, etc), I decided to build my own.

It needed to make the room feel more spacious, while holding all the useful files, gadgets, wires, etc, that I need. I wanted to move my old PS3 to the study too, so that the quieter slim could takeover iPlayer and streaming duties in the lounge. Any extra space gained would be used to put a nice chair so I can play my guitar and PS3 in peace.

I've been itching to start a wood working course, but it's always cancelled at the last minute - so my wood working skills are pretty much what you see is what you get - no funky dove tails here - it's basic butt joints, pine, and MDF all the way!

The new setup looks fantastic and with enough design flair to belong in a magazine. Excellent work, Dave, and a great example of how a little DIY magic gets you exactly what you want and how you want it. Check out the before, in progress, and after pictures below:

If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.

Tom's Planner Is an Impressive, Intuitive Project Scheduling Tool [Project Scheduling]

Adam Pash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0800

If your work life's all laid out in Gantt charts but you're not happy with the tool you're using, check out Tom's Planner, a web-based project scheduling and collaboration tool.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

If you use Microsoft Project or various other project scheduling tools, Tom's Planner covers the same basic territory: You can use it to schedule out how your team will tackle a project over any given period using Gantt charts. Tom's Planner is an easy-to-use, intuitive tool for handling your project scheduling, sharing your schedule with your team, and more. The app's been built to look and feel just like a desktop application, so you can right-click, Shift+Click, drag and drop, and do pretty much everything you'd expect to get from a desktop application. You can also export it to Microsoft Project, export to an image, or publish the schedule online for your team.

Tom's Planner is free during its beta period; after the beta, the application may go premium, but according to their signup page, anyone who joined during the app's beta will get at least a full year of free service, so it seems worth a try.

DIY Southern Comfort Cold and Flu Elixir [Home Remedies]

Sarah Rae Trover — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

The standard for cold relief is "liquid green death"—or, rather, NyQuil. If you don't feel like sitting in a coma for the better half of the day (or just hate NyQuil), try food weblog Hot Knives' at-home flu remedy elixir.

Making this soothing concoction—with ingredients including mint, agave nectar, ginger, lemon, olive oil, chile, and yes, Southern Comfort—is a simple process of tossing ingredients in a blender and pouring yourself a dose. So what's the thought process behind the blend?

In place of Acetaminophen (pain and fever reliever), Dextromethorphan HBr (cough suppressant), and Doxylamine succinate (sleep aid) we used green chile, ginger, citric acid and booze — all herbal, if subtler, forms of the chemical stuff. A couple shots, errr, doses, of the stuff is perfect for sitting on the couch in a sweatshirt and sweating out your germs.

Finding something that tastes even remotely better than your over-the-counter cough and flu medication is worth a go in our book, although we'll take this time to note: We're not doctors, so take the magical flu-healing powers with a grain of salt.

Are you comfortable relying on home-brew remedies like this one? Do you have your own? Sound off in the comments.

Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough [Opinion]

The How-To Geek — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

When it comes to keeping your Windows PC secure, all of the scare tactics and overblown virus stories out there make it hard to feel safe online. The fact of the matter is that you don't need to pay for Windows security.

From time to time we like to go on long, opinionated rants about subjects that bug us. This is one of those times. So let's have a frank and honest discussion about Windows security, and leave the scare tactics and FUD for money-grubbing corporate marketers.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a Great Antivirus Application

The release of Microsoft Security Essentials has changed the landscape of antivirus software. We've finally got a completely free application that protects against viruses, spyware, and other malware—without killing system performance like some of the "suites" tend to do. In my personal experience, it barely slows down the machine and rarely affects my work—and during a deliberate attempt to download some viruses (for testing purposes), it immediately found and blocked them from doing anything.

You don't have to take my word for it, however. Not only did AV-Test.org find that it detects 98% of their enormous malware database, but AV-Comparatives (a widely known anti-malware testing group) found that MSE was one of only three products that did well at both finding and removing malware, including the leftovers. It was also the only free product to grab their "Advanced+" rating—the top honor for an anti-malware solution.

The more tech-oriented readers will probably note that MSE does not do any fancy heuristics to detect viruses that aren't in the database already, which is a feature offered by some paid solutions. In my opinion, this feature is usually unnecessary and a massive system drag if combined with a healthy dose of not installing questionable nonsense.

Stop Whining About "Outbound" Firewalls

Every time I read an article about the built-in Windows Firewall, I see comments complaining that they use Zone Alarm or some other software because they handle "Outbound" connections. Let's put it on the table—the Windows Firewall has plenty of capability for handling outbound connections if you really need that level of paranoia. In fact, if you just look through your start menu you'll find a link for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. You can head into there and pretty much configure any setting that you can possibly imagine, getting right down to the port level if you want.

The fact of the matter, however, is that outbound firewalls on a desktop PC are Completely Pointless. If the malware has made its way onto your computer, you have already lost the war. Your PC now belongs to whoever is running the botnet, and your outbound firewall isn't going to stop it—after all, the malware can simply add a rule to the firewall to allow access. It's better to focus on keeping malware off your PC in the first place.

Let's not forget that most of us are using a router with a firewall built right into it, and as long as you aren't using easily-cracked WEP encryption, you should be perfectly safe behind your firewall.

User Account Control (UAC) is Not a Security Tool

The single most irritating feature introduced in Windows Vista was those annoying UAC prompts, asking you for permission to do nearly anything on your computer—and the fact is, even if it makes you feel more secure, it's a false sense of security. Malware researchers at SophosLabs found that 8 of 10 malware samples can actually bypass UAC on a system with the default Windows 7 settings.

The fact of the matter is that unless you've pushed the UAC slider all the way to the top, it's not meant to be a security feature. The original intent was to change the way Windows works so that you can more easily run software as a standard user account, instead of running as administrator all the time. So there you have it—if you aren't going to run as a standard user or turn the slider all the way to the top, you may as well disable UAC.

Keep Windows Updated

When it comes to protecting yourself, it's laughable how many people install multiple antivirus applications but don't keep their system updated with the latest operating system patches. Last April, the Conficker worm was exploiting and spreading on millions of PCs through a critical security hole in Windows—one that had been patched the previous October.

If everybody would simply keep their systems patched, we wouldn't have to worry so much about these problems. If the constant rebooting action of Windows Update has you frustrated, you can always temporarily delay Windows Update's forced reboot, or just make it not restart your PC automatically—but you should always have Windows Update running at all times.

Keep Applications Like Acrobat and Flash Updated, or Uninstall Them

Even though we're complaining about people not keeping Windows updated, the fact of the matter is that the most likely cause of drive-by malware infection these days is through your browser plugins. Adobe Flash is notoriously full of security holes, and the latest attacks have been using vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat to infect your PC without installing a thing—just go to the wrong site that redirects you in a hidden frame to a PDF file containing the exploit, and your system can be exploited.

Keeping your applications updated is critically important to protecting your security. Your firewall won't protect you, and an antivirus software is unlikely to help if you're using an old, vulnerable version of Flash in your browser—what you need is a piece of software that scans your PC and makes sure that you are using the latest, patched versions. We've got you covered with the five best software update tools for any OS, but my personal recommendation for Windows is for Secunia PSI.

Stop Downloading Questionable Files

There's a little-known fact that I don't usually tell anybody, but I'm going to share with you today: I haven't used real-time antivirus software on my PC in 10 years, and I've never been infected with a virus. About once a year, I run through an online virus scanner to make sure that my claim still holds true, and it's never happened.

How have I managed that, while being a geek and testing software all the time? There's a couple of simple rules that will protect you:

Use an online scanner like VirusTotal to scan questionable files before installing them.
Don't download and install those questionable files in the first place.
Use some common sense. That pre-release copy of the latest video game you got from a torrent? Yeah, it probably has a virus in it.

So what do you say? Are the built-in tools, combined with Microsoft Security Essentials, good enough for you, or are you going to stick with the full paranoia route? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.

The How-To Geek thinks a little common sense and system patches goes a long, long way towards a secure system. His geeky articles can be found daily here on Lifehacker, How-To Geek, and Twitter.

Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800

Laptops, HDTVs, and some free patriotic music for Veteran's day are but a few of the things you'll find in today's deal roundup.

Comodo EasyVPN Creates a Virtual Private Network in a Few Clicks [Downloads]

Adam Pash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Windows only: Free application Comodo EasyVPN creates a virtual private network between your computers for a hassle-free, secure private network. That means you can access, for example, anything on your home computer from work as though you're on the same local network.

Comodo EasyVPN, like previously mentioned VPN app Hamachi, is simple to set up. Just install the application, register for an account, and then log in. Once you've got the app running on a couple of computers, you can easily (and securely) access one computer from the other as though you're on the same local network.

As we mentioned in our guide to Hamachi, a VPN comes in handy when:

You're on the road with your laptop and want secure access to your PC's files.

Your office or dorm room computer is behind a restrictive firewall that doesn't let you reach it from the internet.

You want to add encryption to insecure network protocols like VNC.

You want to set up a shared folder of files for friends and family to access.

We showed you how to set up secure VNC with Hamachi, and the same basic steps would apply with Comodo EasyVPN. So is EasyVPN better than Hamachi? Not necessarily, but since LogMeIn bought Hamachi, it's only free for non-commercial use. ~~If you want or need to use a VPN for work purposes and don't have the extra budget, Comodo EasyVPN will do the job nicely.~~ Update: Apparently EasyVPN is also only available for non-commercial use. This information was not on the main page, but I missed it on their download page. Apologies for the confusion. Apart from the basics, EasyVPN also comes with a built-in, secure chat tool.

Comodo EasyVPN is a free download, works with Windows XP and above with support for 32- and 64-bit systems.

Make Milk Foam in Your Microwave for Gourmet Froth at Home [Coffee]

Sarah Rae Trover — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

Wish you could get a good froth on your coffee but don't want to shell out for a frother? Cooking weblog The Kitchn details how to make your own gourmet froth at home with your microwave and a mason jar.

You can save a ton and still make amazing coffee at home, but if you miss the finer elements of your coffee shop brew—like, say, a good, frothy foam—you're not out of luck.

The Kitchn walks us through the process of heating and shaking your filled mason jar, to create maximum foam.

Find a jar with a lid and fill it with as much milk as you normally like in your coffee (or other hot beverage!). The milk should fill the jar no more than half way to allow room for the foam.

Shake the jar with the lid on as hard as you can until the milk has become frothy and doubled in size. This takes us about 30 seconds.

Take the lid off and microwave for another 30 seconds. The foam will rise to the top of the milk and the heat from the microwave will help stabilize it.

Pour the milk into your coffee using a spoon to hold back the foam. Then scoop the foam on top!

Although the milk will add that soft, creamy texture you've come to expect from your favorite local coffee shop, it won't have the sweet tang that's usually a bi-product of the more traditional steaming method. While you're making the most of your at-home coffee shop, read up on making other coffee shop addictions at home to maximize your out of pocket spending.

Write a Reconsideration Letter to Overcome Credit Card Denial [Credit]

Kevin Purdy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:05:00 -0800

It sounds impossible, but some credit card issuers will actually reject customers. If you applied for a card with just the right perks and got rejected, the Frugal Travel Guy blog suggests writing a "reconsideration letter" that worked for him.

Actually, the letter worked for Frugal Travel Guy's son-in-law, who was applying for a particular card and denied due to a "lack of credit" and whatever hoodoo the issuer uses to determine credit risk. The letter that got the issuer to change its mind is posted in full at the link, but here's the nut of it:

My wife and I are both employed full time as professionals and have an annual income in excess of $___________.

Although our past credit is limited, you can see from our credit report, we have never missed a payment or been late. I know, as I checked my credit score just before applying for your card to insure [its] accuracy. I note the current credit score is 745 which is better than over 55% of the public and is considered good credit by the credit reporting agency.

We are not heavy users of credit and never plan to be, but have heard from many sources that your card is the best rewards card on the market today, and we believe we are responsible credit risks and deserve a chance with your card.

Hit the link for a full read on why a letter might work, and other things to consider writing about. If you've turned around your own card rejection, share your own tips in the comments.

Google's Better Search, Caffeine, Going Primetime [Search Engines]

Kevin Purdy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

Reader Brian came across a new notice from Google this morning, in place of the Caffeine search architecture upgrade that Google's been letting users test out. It indicates that Google is starting to take its improved search database fully online.

Here's the text of Google's "error" page for Caffeine, as of this morning:

Based on the success we've seen, we believe Caffeine is ready for a larger audience. Soon we will activate Caffeine more widely, beginning with one data center. This sandbox is no longer necessary and has been retired, but we appreciate the testing and positive input that webmasters and publishers have given.

There's nothing new to Google's looks or functionality with Caffeine, but, generally, our editors and readers have found improved search results. Having Caffeine start to propagate around Google's servers seems like a general win.

Lifehacker

From the Tips Box: More Milk Foam, Chrome History, and Deodorant Streaks [From The Tips Box]

More Ways to Make Milk Foam at Home

Search History from Chrome's Address Bar

Use a Dryer Sheet to Remove Deodorant Streaks

Re-Use Disposable Items as Packing Material

Remains of the Day: SafeSearch Update Makes Your Kids Hate You Edition [For What It's Worth]

Norbt Sends Top Secret, Encrypted Messages [Security]

Use Your Net Worth as a Psychological Carrot to Motivate Saving [Saving Money]

Netflix May Delay New Release Movies by a Full Month [NetFlix]

Polish Your Shoes with a Banana [Clever Uses]

Fix for Netbook Hackintoshes in the Works, Temporary Fix Already Available [Hackintosh]

The Gaia Desktop [Featured Desktop]

Updating the Better Extensions for Firefox 3.6 [Updates]

Disciplanner Makes Tracking and Assessing Your Goals Simple [Habits]

How to Make a "Buddy Burner" Emergency Stove [Outdoors]

Make Holiday Shopping Simple with Our Gift-Planning Checklist [Holidays]

Find Nearby Flu Shots with Google Maps [Google Maps]

DIY Bike Trailer [Bicycle]

Programmer 101: Teach Yourself How to Code [Programming]

First Things First: Don't Get Hung Up on Choosing a Language

Desktop Scripting

Web Development

Command Line Scripting

Add-ons

Web Development for the Desktop

Mobile App Development

Patience, Elbow Grease, Trial and Error

Google Latitude Adds Location History, Alerts You When Friends Are Nearby [Google Maps]

Raindrop's Universal Inbox Looks Awesome in Concept Designs [Inboxes]

Get Google Maps Navigation on Your G1 [Android]

Train Your Mind to Keep Exercising in Winter [Winter]

X3Studios Makes Abstract Wallpaper Creation Easy [Wallpaper]

Get Extra Gmail and Picasa Storage Real Cheap [Online Storage]

Emulate Windows 7's Aero Snap Sizing in Linux [Linux]

Protect Your Wi-Fi Connection at Airport Hotspots [Air Travel Tip]

Firefox 3.6 Beta 2 Available for Download [Downloads]

Remains of the Day: AT&T Still Stalls on iPhone Tethering Edition [For What It's Worth]

Magnetiser Downloads Torrents When No Torrent File Is Available [Downloads]

Best Antivirus Application: AVG [Hive Five Followup]

DIY Interactive Multitouch Display [DIY]

App Tabs Creates Permanent, Icon-Only Tabs, Firefox 4.0-Style [Downloads]

Speccy Gives You Detailed Information About Your Hardware [Downloads]

Before and After: The Tiny Study [Featured Workspace]

Tom's Planner Is an Impressive, Intuitive Project Scheduling Tool [Project Scheduling]

DIY Southern Comfort Cold and Flu Elixir [Home Remedies]

Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough [Opinion]

Microsoft Security Essentials is a Great Antivirus Application

Stop Whining About "Outbound" Firewalls

User Account Control (UAC) is Not a Security Tool

Keep Windows Updated

Keep Applications Like Acrobat and Flash Updated, or Uninstall Them

Stop Downloading Questionable Files

Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

Computer Gear!

Not Computer Gear!

Free Stuff!

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Make Milk Foam in Your Microwave for Gourmet Froth at Home [Coffee]

Write a Reconsideration Letter to Overcome Credit Card Denial [Credit]

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