Lifehacker

From the Tips Box: Multiple Logins, Firefox Betas, and Electrical Tubes [From The Tips Box]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0800

Readers offer their best tips for logging into the same site with two accounts at once, running multiple versions of Firefox on the same Mac, and threading wires through long electrical tubes.

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.

Using Multiple Logins at Once

Marc lays out a workaround for logging into the same site more than once:

Just a tip I like to use when managing multiple gmail accounts, flight check-ins, etc. simultaneously.

Instead of logging out of one account and into the other, I open an incognito window in chrome (don't know if this works in ff / ie) and login from there. Not a game-changer, but saves a hassle every now and then...

I tested this in Firefox and it did not work; starting a private browsing session gets rid of all your open windows.

Running a Firefox Beta Alongside a Stable Mac Build

Brad shows us how to run multiple versions of Firefox on one Mac:

It seemed obvious to me, but apparently a lot of people don't know that you can run a release and beta versions of Firefox on the Mac without them overriding each other (a feature the Windows Firefox installer nicely provides).

On Windows, the Firefox installer (quite considerately) won't override existing non-beta versions of the browser with a beta version (like the recently released Firefox 3.6 betas). Though it doesn't explicitly say so, Mac OS X users can have a similar behavior, which by the surprised faces I see when I tell people this, many people don't know about.

It's simple:

1. Grab a Firefox beta download, then mount the disk image
2. Instead of dragging the Firefox app to your Applications folder, drag it to your desktop temporarily
3. Highlight the app on your desktop, hit the return key, and give it a new name (like "Firefox 3.6 Beta")
4. Drag the newly renamed app to your Applications folder

You can then run these two Firefox versions with little interaction between the two. I say ‘little' because they will share the same profile (where your bookmarks, extensions and the like are kept), and so cannot be run at the same time. This has the plus side of meaning you won't have to re-import bookmarks and such, but you will have to sit through a harmless extension compatibility check whenever you start a different version of Firefox than was last run.

Easily Thread Cables Through an Electrical Tube

Photo by Rick Heath.

Joost shows us how he gets cables through long electrical tubes:

If you can't get a cable through an empty electricity tube:

Find an audio tape, break it and put an end of the tape in the tube. Put a vacuum cleaner at he other end of the tube, it will drag the tape through the the tube in seconds. Tie the tape to the cable you want to pull through, and pull it through. I've done it several times.

The main idea is to use something lighter than the cable that will actually be pulled by the vacuum—I imagine a piece of string would work just as well, if you're not the type to ruin your music collection.

This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

Adam Pash — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

This week we taught you how to get started teaching yourself to code, rounded up five of the most popular antivirus apps on the block, and helped you out with some clever DIY fixes for your broken stuff.

Programmer 101: Teach Yourself How to Code
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.
Five Best Antivirus Applications
Computer viruses are increasingly sophisticated and pervasive. If you can't afford to run your computer without some sort of antivirus software installed, check out these five popular options to protect your PC.
Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough
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.
Top 10 Clever Fixes for Your Broken Stuff
Buying a replacement at Target isn't always the necessary solution when your stuff goes on the fritz. Fix common problems or altogether broken gear with these clever repair methods.
The Gaia Desktop
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.
Paint.NET Releases Big Update, Still a Killer Photoshop Alternative
Windows only: Paint.NET is a free, fast, and powerful image editor for Windows. It's a giant leap above Microsoft Paint, and a serious alternative to bigger, bloated (for most users, at least) image editors like Photoshop or GIMP.
Tom's Planner Is an Impressive, Intuitive Project Scheduling Tool
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.
Grab the MacHeist nanoBundle for Free
If you're a fan of the free OS X software offered at MacHeist, you'll want to scoot over there to grab some free software before their software giveaway expires.
Best Antivirus Application: AVG
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.
Happy Birthday: A Look Back at Five Years of Firefox
Five years ago, an open-source browser called Firefox—one that didn't ship with your computer—was available as a 1.0 download. To say it's changed the world's web experience is understatement.
Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony
Windows 7 and Ubuntu, despite their opposing missions, can get along like best pals on a single computer. Here's how to set up a dual boot system that lets you enjoy the best of both worlds in perfect harmony.

Eat Breakfast Like an Olympian with "Super" Oatmeal [Diet]

Sarah Rae Trover — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Dietitian Bob Seebohar has guided the diet of many a U.S. Olympic athlete; here he demonstrates how to prepare an oatmeal breakfast that aims to give you the energy of a gold medalist.

Although Seebohar uses a rice cooker in the video above, your stove top or microwave would work just fine for creating this energy and antioxidant packed oatmeal. The mixture is packed with enough essentials to fuel your body through workout sessions, an afternoon hike, or maybe some Black Friday power shopping (assuming it's not all done online). The ingredient list is as follows:

Rolled oats
Water
Whey protein powder
Dark cocoa powder
Ground flax
Blueberries
Raisins
Banana

Do you have a power packed breakfast routine? Ever tried something similar to this "super" oatmeal? Let us know in the comments.

DVD Knife Quickly Extracts Any Clip from DVDs [Downloads]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Trying to extract clips from a DVD is usually a roundabout process that involves a lot of waiting. Free utility DVD Knife makes it easy to extract clips from any part of your DVD.

Generally, in order to extract a small clip from a DVD, you've got to rip and convert the entire movie—or at least a specific chapter—before you can work with it. DVD Knife does away with this lengthy process with a quick, four-click solution. When you start it up, you just open the disc, navigate to and mark your start and endpoints, and click save. DVD Knife will extract the clip (without compressing or decompressing) into a small VOB file that you can then convert into whatever file type you need, giving you more time to actually concentrate on the goal at hand (or to finish up that project quickly and go do something else).

DVD Knife is a free download, Windows only.

The Gingerbread Announcer Desktop [Featured Desktop]

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

Reader andykashyap85's Mac desktop proves that sometimes simplicity is all you really need for an awesome desktop that helps keep you motivated.

The simple OS X desktop consists of nothing more than:

Wallpaper: Announcement

Geektool Quote of the Day

Geektool Time: date +%D

VLC Icon

See Andy's full post for more details.

Want to create your own OS X desktop customization? Check out our guide to monitoring your Mac and more with GeekTool to add basic system stats and information, then learn how to add current weather and a desktop calendar with GeekTool.

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.

The Google Wave Invitation Donation Thread Is Open [Google Wave]

Adam Pash — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

In our continuing efforts to help as many of our readers get a chance to play around with Google Wave as possible, we're back again with our (now weekly) Google Wave invitation donation thread. Note: Read the entire post carefully before commenting.

If you've got Wave invitations you're willing to donate, post a comment below, saying something like: "I've got 10 Wave invites; who wants one?" In that case, the first ten people to reply to that comment providing that generous soul with a means to invite you get invitations.

Here's the important part:

Do not start a thread unless you have invitations to hand out. These threads get unwieldy very quickly if we don't follow some ground rules. Despite that, we really want to help give our readers a chance to try Wave, so we're giving it a go anyway. Please, please only start a thread if you've got invitations. Don't just post your email address thirty times hoping someone will grab it. If you want an invitation, reply to someone who's offering one. Finally, it takes our interns hours to admin comments every day, and these threads wreak havoc on their efforts, so if you don't already have an approved commenter account, please don't comment on this thread.

Make sense? Good luck, and thanks to everyone who's donating invitations. If you do happen to secure an invitation, be sure to check out The Complete Guide to Google Wave, Gina and Adam's comprehensive, freely available book on Wave.

Note: If you're posting comments but they aren't showing up on the post, that means you are not an approved commenter. How can you become an approved commenter? Read our comment FAQ. In the meantime, please don't post any more comments on this thread asking for invitations if you're not an approved commenter.

Temporarily Magnetize Your Screwdriver for Fumble-Free Repairs [MacGyver Tip]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

When you're tinkering, especially on a project with tiny screws, it can be intensely frustrating to have a screw disappear into the carpet or inside your project. Temporarily magnetize your screwdriver with this simple trick.

Instructables user Larry SDonald found that magnetized screw drivers were handy but they have the downside of being unsuitable for working around magnetically-sensitive equipment. His solution to the problem—rather than buying duplicates of all his tools in magnetic and non-magnetic models—was to simply attach a small neodymium magnet to the shaft of non-magnetic screw drivers to impart a temporary and powerful boost.

Once you remove the magnet the magnetism dissipates and the tool is rendered non-magnetic again. Have your own handy tool hack? Let's hear about it in the comments below.

Configuration Mania Tweaks Popular about:config Options in Plain English [Downloads]

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

Firefox only: If you love tweaking every aspect of Firefox with the browser's very useful about:config feature, but you get frustrated trying to decipher cryptic configuration strings (what's a 0 or 2 mean for layout.spellcheckDefault?), Firefox extension Configuration Mania is for you.

We've mentioned Configuration Mania a couple of times, but it's just released an update and is one of those extensions worth a reminder every now and then. It's improved significantly since the last time we dedicated a post to it, and it's a great way to tweak some of the finer features of Firefox without digging into the relatively obtuse about:config menu.

Configuration Mania is a free download, works wherever Firefox does. The menu loads a little wonky in OS X (should work fine everywhere else), but everything still seems to work as it should. If you give it a try, let's hear what you think in the comments.

EventSync Syncs Your Facebook Events to iCal [Downloads]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Mac only: A few weeks ago we detailed how to add Facebook events to your Google Calendar, but if you're an iCal user, free utility EventSync is a good alternative, especially if you want to filter which events are synced.

Upon first run, EventSync asks you for your Facebook login and password, after which it retrieves all your Facebook events. Under the preferences menu, however, you can help narrow down what it syncs by your RSVP (choosing from any combination of events you're attending, maybe attending, not attending, or haven't replied to) and how long ago the events were created.

The main difference between this app and the aforementioned Google Calendar method is that you can filter what events you sync. If you'd rather just sync all events, the Google Calendar sync is actually a better option, since you don't need to run a program every time you want to sync—and, if you are an iCal user who doesn't do the whole cloud computing thing, you could just import the Facebook Events feed into iCal and sync them that way. If you have a lot of Facebook events, though, and you don't want to clutter your calendar with all of them, this is a really nice way to get around that—even if you do have to run the app every once in a while.

EventSync is a free download, Mac only.

Repair or Replace Chart Helps You Determine What to Do with Broken Gear [Saving Money]

Sarah Rae Trover — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0800

When your electronics break, do you consider a repair, or do you immediately start scouting for a replacement? Consumer Reports' simple Repair or Replace chart is designed to help you in your decision making process.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Covering digital cameras, televisions, and computers, the chart is based on readers' experience with products that broke outside their warranty and how much repairs cost. Using that info, the chart indicates when it makes sense to repair, when it makes sense to replace, and when one option is probably just as good as the other. The dark grey areas in CR's chart above indicate when a repair might be worth your time and money, while the light green cells indicate that you'd be better off buying new. If your gear falls into the dark green area between the grey and light green, it's up to you to make a judgment call.

No one wants to spend hard earned money on repairing something that'll either be outdated in a year or can be replaced for roughly the same price. Newer, faster, and shinier products are always tempting—especially going into the holiday season, when there's always a plethora of sale prices to sway your decision. Do you agree with how Consumer Reports outlines the repair-or-replace process? Sound off in the comments.

Apostrophe.me Ends Your Apostrophe Ponderings [Writing]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

If you've ever paused mid-stroke and thought "Does this need an apostrophe?" you'll want to take a peek at the apostrophe-use flowchart at Apostrophe.me for a cartoon-driven refresher.

The flowchart asks simple questions like "Is it plural?" and "Are you indicating possession?" to drive the flow through all the potential situations in which you would use an apostrophe. The flowchart ends with a gigantic piece of parting advice: When in doubt don't use an apostrophe. Apparently a lot of us get ourselves into a bit of trouble throwing around extra apostrophes with a little too much abandon. Even if you're a master of the apostrophe (and we suspect many of our attention-to-detail readers are), it could be worth sending on to someone you know who needs a little help from time to time.

Check out the flowchart for a full rundown on apostrophe use—and to take a gander at the kittens riding a goat and the singing dinosaur. Have a favorite site to get your grammar questions answered? Let's hear about it in the comments.

It's Always Biz Cazh in the Open Thread [Open Thread]

Adam Pash — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800

Loosen your tie, kick off your heels, or, you know, do whatever it is you do when it's time to relax at work. It's open thread time.

Photo by meddygarnet.

It's just like riding a bike: Here in our weekly open thread, you can talk shop with your fellow commenters about anything and everything that's got your interest, no matter how on- or off-topic it may be to our regularly scheduled programming. All you need to join in is a comment account, so if you don't already have one, this is a good place to get cracking. Happy Friday!

Web Site Theme Park Maps Lets You Plan Your Attack Before You Get There [Maps]

Adam Pash — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Web site Theme Park Maps rounds up and scans as many illustrated—you guessed it—theme park maps as it can find. Next time you step foot inside the theme park gates, you'll have worked out your entire plan of attack.

We've got a soft spot for unwinding like a kid at theme parks, so yeah, we kind of love Theme Park Maps. The site's got over 300 maps listed, dating back as far as 1931 (though most maps are current within the last ten or so years). Apart from the whole "plan your trip to the theme park" aspect, these maps are also big on the nostalgia fun. So either way, it's Friday; enjoy!

Make a Lost Screw Finder From a Blank Media Spindle [DIY]

Sarah Rae Trover — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

Even folks with steady hands can lose an important screw while assembling a project. To find your missing pieces, the DIY mavens at Make share how to turn a a CD spindle into a vacuum attachment to round up lost parts.

To create this quicker-picker-upper attachment you'll need a few pieces of PVC pipe, an empty CD/DVD spindle, and an aluminum washing machine lint trap. The assembly is a snap with a little bit of PVC glue and a zip tie to keep things in place. Your new attachment can fetch large and small parts alike, while allowing dust bunnies found under your workbench to pass on through.

You can find a full PDF of the process over at the Make weblog, although the project is pretty straight forward after you've watched the video. It's an easy fix, though if it's not quite your thing, your can also put your leftover spindles to good use as bagel totes or cable organizers.

Office 2010 Beta Hits BitTorrent One Week Before Debut [BitTorrent]

Kevin Purdy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Like the Office 2010 Technical Preview, the Office 2010 Beta build, dubbed a "Beta 2" in some circles, has been spotted in the BitTorrent wilds, among other places, one week ahead of its presumed official debut at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference. This time, though, it's not all that hard to guess how it happened, as certain bloggers and tech folks have received beta-loaded thumb drives from Microsoft. You still might want to wait for the official beta to drop, though, if you're concerned about viruses, or would rather get an official beta invite. Intrigued by the looks of Office 2010? See what it can do, motion-style, in the video previews. [Neowinand Craving Tech via CNET]

iTunes Preview Makes Direct Music Links Slightly Less Annoying [ITunes Store]

Kevin Purdy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:30:00 -0800

Click a direct iTunes link in a browser, and Apple has traditionally opened the music app automatically, or asked you to download it at a blank landing page. That landing is now more soft and helpful, though missing song previews.

iTunes Preview, as it's known, drops browsers at a page with artist, track, and album information, along with track pricing, length, ratings, and customer reviews. Better still, it now doesn't just hijack your iTunes copy and open it, but offers an "I Have iTunes" link, along with individual "View in iTunes" links for song previews.

It's mostly helpful to those looking to browse iTunes' music catalog and price out what's available, but it's also welcome relief to those without iTunes tired of seeing a "Don't have iTunes?" message. It's also a music-only feature, but the clever App Store at AppSpot can look at iPhone apps, music, and videos without iTunes installed.

OpenSUSE 11.2 Integrates a Slick KDE Desktop [Downloads]

Kevin Purdy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

OpenSUSE 11.2, the latest Linux offering from the Novell-backed project, updates the core components of its GNOME desktop and apps. What's really intriguing, though, is the integration of KDE 4.3, which looks snazzy and, seemingly, works better than previous versions.

We were initially impressed, and eager to tweak, KDE 4 when it first arrived as a Linux desktop option. Then initial enthusiasm gave way to, well, "How do I get my frakking wireless working?" and other productivity dead-ends.

Since then, though, KDE's matured a good bit, and continues to look a bit more graphically forward-looking than the relatively straight-forward GNOME that's the default for most Linux distributions. KDE 4.3 is, in fact, the default desktop for openSUSE 11.2, though GNOME, KDE, and the lighter Xfce are all available for installation and as live try-outs on CD and USB.

OpenSUSE 11.2 is a free download for nearly any system. Hit the link for a run-down of new features and plentiful screenshots, and tell us what you're liking, or looking for, in the comments.

URL Tooltip Moves Mouseover Info to the Cursor [URLs]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0800

Firefox: If you're looking to reclaim screen real estate, that not-so-tiny expanse of space the Firefox status bar takes up can look pretty tempting. Don't let concern over missing URL mouseover information hold you back; install URL Tooltips.

URL Tooltips is a simple Firefox add-on. Once you install it, whenever you place your mouse over a URL a tooltip bubble will pop up and show you the full URL. If your only reason for keeping the status bar around at the bottom of the screen is for checking URLs before clicking on them, you can disable the status bar and still enjoy that look-before-you-leap security.

URL Tooltip is free and works wherever Firefox does. Have a favorite URL-related add-on? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Google Chrome OS Available Next Week? [Rumors]

Kevin Purdy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Another week, another Google product launch rumor—but this one's a bit more notable than most. If TechCrunch's source is correct, the first iteration of the operating system may be available for download within a week from today—but it would be far from a plug-and-play download. Unless Google employees and/or hardware manufacturers have a little Manhattan-Project-type camp set up, hardware support is likely to be specific to a few netbook or laptop models at first, and expanding out from there. We'd previously seen suggestions that Chrome OS on netbooks would appear this month, and Google itself has pegged Chrome's release to this fall. Any which way, we'll be eager to see what it actually looks and feels like. Let's hear where you think Chrome OS will make its mark in the comments.

Mix Your Own Liquid Tamiflu For Kids [Swine Flu]

Kevin Purdy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

If you've got a youngster in need of Tamiflu to ward off H1N1 or standard flu, but the store's out of child-friendly liquid stuff, you can mix your own fairly easily, according to the CDC and wise parents.

Anything related to swine flu or H1N1 is subject to regional shortages this winter, especially the specialty liquid Tamiflu given to children too young or adults unable to swallow capsules. If your pharmacy's out of the liquid, you can grab a sweet liquid, break open a capsule, and mix the two together in any proportion, as long as the entire liquid is consumed:

What liquids can I use?
A thick and sweet liquid, such as regular or sugar-free chocolate syrup, that masks the flavor of the medicine can be mixed with the contents of the Tamiflu® capsule. Sugar-free sweet liquids are available. The child should consume the liquid mixture entirely.

Not every medication can be broken open and mixed, so it's good to know that Tamiflu can survive a little bath in some Hershey's Syrup.

YouTube Rolling Out 1080p HD Video Next Week [Streaming Video]

Kevin Purdy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:30:00 -0800

If you've been uploading really high-resolution stuff to YouTube, you'll see a real payoff next week. That's when the video sharing service starts streaming videos in 1080p, wide-screen-TV-friendly, high-definition video.

Video fiends will dig the crispness and clarity now available on the de facto sharing site, but we're more excited about content being just the right size for HD televisions. Services like Boxee, XBMC, and others can make use of YouTube's really high-def stuff, and the line between television and web programming becomes even blurrier.

The switch allowing 1080p streams goes live sometime next week. YouTube says those that have already uploaded high-resolution vids will have their videos processed over to the new format soon.

Best Online Backup Tool? [Hive Five Call For Contenders]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0800

On-site data backup is better than no backup at all, but if your on-site backups go up in flames or otherwise end up inoperable, then you're out of luck—unless of course you've got a backup online, that is.

Photo by NeoSpire.

Your backup solution can be as simple as a small application that syncs the few files you consider critical with off-site storage or as comprehensive as full-service backups of your entire computer for full future restoration. Whether your solution for online file backup is big or small, we want to hear about it.

Hive Five nominations take place in the comments, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of comments, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Backup Tool. Please don't include your vote in a reply to another commenter. Instead, make your vote and reply separate comments. If you don't follow this format, we may not count your vote. To prevent tampering with the results, votes from first-time commenters may not be counted. After you've made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.

About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get: "Which tool is the best?" Once a week we'll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we'll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week's Hive Five Best Antivirus Applications.

Remains of the Day: Google Voice, Emphasis on the Voice Edition [For What It's Worth]

Adam Pash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

Google officially announces their acquisition of VoIP service Gizmo5, cheap, modded Xbox 360s flood Craigslist, and Black Friday is coming early to many big retailers this year.

Google welcomes Gizmo5
We heard the rumors earlier this week, and now it's official: Google bought VoIP service Gizmo5, and they're planning to integrate it with Google Voice. [Google Voice Blog]
A 2x Faster Web
Google's got a research project underway called SPDY (pronounced Speedy) with goals of boosting web performance by 55%. [Chromium Blog]
Kiosk mode added in Chromium nightly build
A nightly build of Chromium sports a fullscreen-like Kiosk mode that hides the address bar and status bar entirely. [Download Squad]
Banned Xbox 360s Flooding Craigslist, Ebay
Microsoft recently announced a banning crusade for users with modded Xbox 360s, meaning that Craigslist is now overflowing with cheap 360s for folks who don't need Xbox Live. [PC World]
Holiday tip: Friday's the deadline for parcel post to overseas military
If you've got friends or family serving overseas, Consumer Reports rounds up some deadlines. [Consumer Reports]
Free Streaming May Soon Be History: Spotify Delays U.S. Launch, MySpace May Move To Pay Model
Spotify has to delay their U.S. launch because labels are dragging their feet on bringing a free version of the service to the States. Nerts. [TechCrunch]
Black Friday comes early at big chains
Says Consumer Reports: "With analysts predicting aggressive holiday sales this season, many retailers have gotten a head start on Black Friday by dangling generous discounts well in advance of Nov. 27." Sounds good to us. [Consumer Reports]
Demonoid Rewrites Code, Comeback is Imminent
Popular BitTorrent tracker Demonoid was down, then up again, now down again. Looks like it'll be back soon enough, though. [TorrentFreak]
How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7
Yesterday some quotes floated from a Microsoft employee claiming Windows 7 was trying to look more like OS X. The Windows 7 Blog says otherwise. [Windows 7 Team Blog]
Google's movie showtimes, digitally remastered
Google's movie showtimes tool gets a little bit better. [Official Google Blog]

Clicker Is a One-Stop Shop for Streaming Television [Streaming Television]

Adam Pash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Web site Clicker aggregates streaming television from all corners of the internet into one clean, simple-to-search interface designed to help you find any show you want to watch online, no matter who's hosting it.

Between Hulu and the various network-specific streaming television sites, you've got plenty of destinations you could check when you want to see if a show you'd like to watch is available online. By pulling all of those various sources into one easy-to-search tool, Clicker's goal is to become your first destination when you want to watch streaming television online. And we like it.

Currently Clicker boasts "more than 450,000 episodes, from over 6,000 shows, from over 1,200 networks, tens of thousands of movies, and 50,000 music videos from 20,000 artists," so they're off to a great start. The site's been in an invite-only beta for a few weeks now, but today it's officially launched to the public. After just playing around with it for a few minutes, we'd say it's on the right track. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments.

Blockbuster Kiosks to Rent Movies on Dissolving SD Cards [DVDs]

Sarah Rae Trover — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Blockbuster might have been put on the back burner with the advent of Netflix and Redbox, but it's attempting to make a come back with a new form of technology. 6 stores will begin a trial program in which customers may rent a movie via SD card from kiosks for $1.99. You're given 30 days to watch your flick (no late charges occur), and once you hit play, it will dissolve itself and vanish completely after 48 hours—James Bond style. The question is: How many people have SD-capable gear in their home theaters? [Fast Company via Engadget]

Thanksgiving Checklist Keeps Your Holiday Planning on Track [Thanksgiving]

Sarah Rae Trover — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Thanksgiving is still a couple weeks away, but Turkey day will be here before you know it. Start planning now to make the actual day as stress-free as possible with this easy-to-follow checklist—starting three weeks in advance.

Photo by tuchodi

Even if you've hosted many a Thanksgiving get-together before, it's always nice to have some written reminders of the things that need to get done before the big day arrives. Handy home weblog ShelterPop has you covered with a comprehensive checklist compiling all the things you could forget, detailing everything from budgeting to guest preparation. The checklist takes you week-by-week through planning until the last, which is outlined day-by-day. (We do realize you've only got two weeks to go at this point, so get cracking!)

The checklist also includes reminders for polishing your silverware, a good time to start thawing your turkey, and suggestions for the best days to purchase frozen goods versus perishable items. It's sure to make your Thanksgiving meal come together with as little stress and frustration as possible, so maybe you can enjoy the day instead of going into panic mode 72 hours in advance.

Have a time-saving attack plan of your own for holiday planning? Tell us about it in the comments.

Dedicated Boxee Box to Come Preloaded with the Popular Media Center [Media Centers]

Adam Pash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0800

Love the free media center application Boxee but don't want to put in the time to hack together your own dedicated Boxee machine? The folks at Boxee announced today that they've partnered with an electronics company to release a dedicated device designed specifically to get Boxee up and running with your home theater with minimal effort. No word on pricing yet, but they'll be sharing more details early next month. Think you'd shell out for a dedicated Boxee box? Prefer sticking to your silent, standalone XBMC machine? Let's hear it in the comments. [Boxee Blog]

Clean Drive Finds and Deletes Old Files [Downloads]

The How-To Geek — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Windows only: System cleaner application Clean Drive does only one thing, but handles it with ease—it searches for and deletes old files that you don't need anymore.

Once you've downloaded and launched the no-installation-required application, you can select a folder using the browse button—sadly you can't type in a path—and click the Scan Now button to search for old files, and the Delete Files button to get rid of them. You can't select individual files, so this tool would be best served as a quick way to clean out a folder on demand without deleting files that are too recent.

If you want more control over killing old files, you should check out how to use an advanced Explorer search to locate files older than a certain date, so you can easily move the files around if you need to. Clean Drive is a free download for Windows systems only.

Do You Use Twitter? [Reader Poll]

Adam Pash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

There's no question that Twitter has received all kinds of hype this past year, but Lifehacker readers have generally been a touch wary of the micro-blogging service. So we're wondering: How many of you actually use Twitter?

Even if you're not keen on using Twitter to keep your friends and family updated on your every move and thought during the day, we still think Twitter is incredibly useful for the right things. But that doesn't mean you're using it. So we want to know:

We tried to pick out what seem like the most obvious uses, so choose the option that seems closest to how you use (or don't use) Twitter, then give us more specifics on your feelings on the service in the comments.

The Compact Office-On-A-Wall Workspace [Featured Workspace]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

When you're short on square footage in a small apartment, it pays to take advantage of vertical space. Today's featured workspace packs a lot of storage into a very small footprint.

Lifehacker reader winnab had to make the most of the available space in her one bedroom apartment without over powering her living space with two work stations. She writes:

We moved in to a one bedroom in DC a few months ago. I didn't want our desks to take over the common room, so we got it all on one 12' wall by hanging these Elfa shelves from The Container Store. The shelves are amazing—everything you see is hanging from a single beam that is secured across the top of the wall, which we probably made 12 holes total to hang.

I was very nervous to put anything on the shelves at first, but it's been about four months without a mishap. There is a lot going on because I'm a designer (left), and he's a teacher. So we've got books, teaching materials and miscellany surrounding us.

I tried to figure out the best way to group and stack items so that it looked interesting but was also ordered according to usage. I probably change things around twice a month. All of the cords and cables below the computers and along the baseboard still need to be organized, but we're getting there. I'm Mac, he's Mac for work and Ubuntu for home. These pictures are a random collection I have of different parts of the shelves.

Check out additional photos of their workspaces below, you'll find additional notes on each photo in the workspace set in their Flickr pool.

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.

Google Wave Adds Follow/Unfollow Feature for a Cleaner Inbox [Google Wave]

Adam Pash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0800

When we taught you the first Google Wave search you should know (with:public), Wave automatically added public waves you read to your inbox, and an empty inbox quickly became hard to come by. Today, Wave fixes that with a handy Follow/Unfollow button.

Now, rather than automatically adding a public wave to your inbox as soon as you look at it, you have to explicitly choose to follow public waves.

Here's how following works: When someone adds you directly to a wave, or if you contribute to a wave, you will automatically be following that wave. When you see a public wave that you would like to get updates on, you can chose to follow it by hitting the follow button in the wave panel toolbar. You can remove these waves from your inbox by hitting the "archive" button, but when there is an update they will pop back in. You can switch between following and unfollowing a wave as much and as often as you like.

As old public waves you were automatically added to update, they'll start disappearing from your inbox unless you go back in and explicitly follow them. Keep in mind that Unfollow has replaced Mute, so you can also Unfollow waves you've started or been explicitly added to if you no longer want to receive updates in your Inbox.

We realize many of you are still waiting on invites (we'll continue to do our best to hand some out every week), but trust us when we say this is a nice update.

Hanging Lego Recharger Holds Your Keys, Charges Your Gadgets [DIY]

Adam Pash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

We're suckers for any project that involves Legos, and the DIY gurus at weblog Make play to our weaknesses with this saucy Lego recharger and key holder.

All you'll need is the appropriate Lego bricks (naturally), some screws, your devices' chargers, and a few common tools. The guide actually takes the process a little further than we would, cutting the ends of each device charger and fastening them to a Lego brick that, when connected to the base brick, completes the circuit and starts charging. (The process requires some wire stripping and soldering.) If we were to tackle this one, we'd probably skip all the messy cutting and soldering and just drape the plugs through the bricks rather than make dedicated Lego charger dongles out of them. Still, whichever route you take, the geeky end result is pretty nice.

If you want to get really serious about your Lego design, check out previously mentioned Lego Digital Designer to prototype and then buy the necessary parts.

Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0800

Discounted HDTVs, laptops, and bluetooth peripherals are today's order of business. Tired of waiting for an Apple Tablet? You can save $500 off a Mac-based "ModBook" tablet.

Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony [Dual Boot]

Kevin Purdy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800

Windows 7 and Ubuntu, despite their opposing missions, can get along like best pals on a single computer. Here's how to set up a dual boot system that lets you enjoy the best of both worlds in perfect harmony.

By default, Windows 7 takes over your boot-up process and wants to be your only OS, and Linux treats Windows like a weekend hobby you keep in a shed somewhere on your hard drive. But I've been dual-booting Ubuntu and some version of Windows 7 for nearly a year, and I've learned a lot about inconveniences, annoyances, and file-sharing necessities, and now I'll walk you through how to set up your systems to achieve a peaceful union of your dual-boot OSes. (Both with Windows 7 already installed, and with a clean system ready for a new dual-OS existence.)

Follow through this guide, and I'll explain how to rebuild a system from the ground up with Windows 7 and Ubuntu, with either a backed-up and cleaned-out hard drive (recommended) or Windows 7 already installed. When we're done, you can work and play in either operating system, quickly and conveniently access your documents, music, pictures, and other files without worry or inconvenience, and boot into either system without having to worry about whether Windows is going to get mad at you. Plus, when Ubuntu 10.04 or Windows 8 come along, you'll find it much easier to install either one without having to start over entirely from scratch.

What you'll need

Windows 7 installation disc: For clean installations, either a full installation copy or an upgrade disc is needed. If you own an upgrade disc but want to start from scratch, there's a way to do a clean install with an upgrade disc, though that's a rather gray-area route. Then again, there's probably not a person on this earth that doesn't have a licensed copy of XP or Vista somewhere in their past.
Ubuntu 9.10 installation image: You can grab an ISO at Ubuntu.com, or hit "Alternative download options" to reveal a (usually very fast) BitTorrent link. You'll want to get the ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso download for 32-bit systems, or ubuntu-9.10-desktop-amd64.iso.torrent for 64-bit on AMD or Intel systems (despite the name).
Blank CD or empty USB drive: You'll need one of these for burning the Ubuntu ISO, or loading it for USB boot. If you're going the thumb drive route, grab UNetBootin for Windows or Linux, plug in your USB drive, and load it with the downloaded ISO image.
All your data backed up: Even if you're pulling this off with Windows 7 already installed and your media and documents present, you'll want to have a fallback in case things go awry. Which they shouldn't, but, naturally, you never know.
Free time: I'd reckon it takes about 2 hours to pull off two OS installs on a clean system; more if you've got a lot of data to move around.

Setting up your hard drive

If you've got nothing installed on your system, or you've got your data backed up and you're ready to start from scratch, you're in a great position--skip down to the "Partition your system" section. If you've got Windows already installed, you can still make a spot for Ubuntu, though.

(Only) If Windows is already installed: You're going to "shrink" the partition that Windows 7 installed itself on. Before we do that, clean out any really unnecessary applications and data from your system (we like Revo Uninstaller for doing this). Also, open up "Computer" and take note of how much space remains on your main hard drive, presumably labeled "C:". Head to the Start menu, type "disk management" into the search box, and hit Enter.

Windows 7 probably put two partitions on your hard drive: one, about 100 MB in size, holding system restoration data. We don't want to touch it. Right-click on the bigger partition to the right, and choose Shrink Partition.

After a little bit of hard drive activity and a "Please wait" window, you'll get back the size you can shrink your Windows partition by.

If the space Windows offers doesn't jibe with what your Computer view told you was "remaining," you might need to hit Cancel, then head back and defragment your hard drive, and take some of the steps laid out by the How-To Geek. Run the Disk Management tool again and try a Shrink Volume operation again, and free up as much space as you can.

Partition your system: You're aiming to set up a system with three partitions, or sections, to its hard drive: One lean partition for the Windows operating system and applications running from it, another just-big-enough partition for Ubuntu and its own applications, and then a much larger data partition that houses all the data you'll want access to from either one. Documents, music, pictures, application profiles—it all goes in another section I'll call "Storage" for this tutorial.

How do you get there? We're going to use GParted, the Linux-based uber-tool for all things hard drive. You could grab the Live CD if you felt like it, but since you've already downloaded an Ubuntu installer, you can simply boot a "live," no-risk session of Ubuntu from your CD or USB stick and run GParted from there. Once you're inside Ubuntu, head to the System menu in the upper left when you get to a desktop, then choose the Administration menu and GParted under it.

You'll see your system's hard drive and its partitions laid out. You're going to create partitions for Linux and your storage space, but not Windows—we'll let the Windows installation carve out its own recovery partition and operating space. On my own system, I give Windows 15 GB of unallocated space, and Ubuntu another 15 GB of space right after it, with whatever's left kept as storage space. Then again, I've only got a 100 GB hard drive and don't run huge games or applications, so you can probably give your two operating systems a bit more space to grow.

Click on the unallocated space and hit the "New" button at the far left. In the "Free space preceding" section, click and hold the up button, or enter a number of megabytes, to leave space for Windows at the front. When you've got the "space preceding" set, set the actual size of the Ubuntu partition in the "New Size" section, and leave "Free space following" alone. Choose "unformatted" under file system—we'll let Ubuntu do the format itself and hit "Add." Back at the main GParted window, click on the space to the right of your two OS spaces, hit "New" again, and set the file system as "ntfs." Give it a label like "Storage," hit "Add," and at the main GParted window, hit the checkmark button to apply your changes. Once it's done, exit out of GParted and shut down the system from the pull-down menu in the upper-right corner.

If Windows is already installed: If you've shrunk down its partition for free space and booted into a live Ubuntu or GParted, click on the "Unallocated" piece next to the two "ntfs" partitions that represent your Windows 7 installation and system recovery tools. Create a 15(-ish) GB unformatted partition, and give it a label like Ubuntu. If you've got a good deal of space left, format it as "ntfs" and label it something like "Storage." If you can just barely fit the Ubuntu partition, you can just keep your media files in the Windows partition—until you can remedy this with a full wipe-and-install down the line.

Experienced Linux geeks might be wondering where the swap space is going—but don't worry, we'll create one, just not in its own partition.

Installing and configuring Windows

Grab your Windows 7 installation disc—either a full copy or modified upgrade disc, and insert it into your DVD drive. If your system isn't set up to boot from CD or DVD drive, look for the button to press at start-up for "Boot options" or something similar, or hit up your system maker's help guides to learn how to change your boot order in the BIOS settings.

Follow through the Windows 7 installation, being sure to choose "Custom" for the installation method and to point it at that unallocated space we created at the beginning of your hard disk, not the NTFS-formatted media/storage space we made earlier:

Work your way through the Windows 7 installation, all the way until you reach the Windows desktop. Feel free to set up whatever programs or apps you want, but what we really want to do is set up your Storage partition to house your pictures, music, video, and other files, and make your Libraries point to them.

Hit the Start menu, click Computer, and double-click on the hard drive named "Storage" (assuming you named it that earlier). In there, right-click and create new folders (or hit Ctrl+Shift+N) for the files you'll be using with both systems. I usually create folders labeled Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos—I could also see folders for saved games and data files from big software packages. Copy your media files into these folders now, if you'd like, but we've got a bit more tweaking to pull off.

In the left-hand sidebar, you'll see your "Libraries" for documents, music, pictures, and video. At the moment, they point to your Public shared folders and the My Pictures-type folders on your main Windows drive. Click once on any of the Libraries, and at the top of the main panel, you'll see text stating that this library "Includes: 2 locations ...". Click the blue text on "2 locations," then click on each of the folders below and hit "Remove" on the right-hand side. Now hit "Add" and select the corresponding folder on your Storage drive. Do the same for all your music, pictures, videos, and other media folders.

Want to add another library for quick access? Right-click somewhere on the desktop, choose New->Library, and follow the steps.

That's about it for Windows. Now get your Ubuntu CD or USB stick ready and insert it in your system. Ignore whatever auto-play prompts appear, and restart your system.

Installing and configuring Ubuntu

Restart your computer, this time booting from your Ubuntu Live CD or USB boot drive. When your system boots up, choose your language, select "Try Ubuntu without any changes to your computer," and you'll boot into a "live" desktop, run entirely off the CD or USB stick. Once you're booted up, try connecting to the internet from the network icon in the upper-right—it helps during the installation process, ensures your network is working, and gives you something to do (Firefox) while the system installs.

Click the "Install" link on the desktop, and fill out the necessary language/location/keyboard info (most U.S. users can skip through the first 3 screens). When you hit the "Prepare disk space" section, select the "Specify partitions manually" option, then hit Forward. Select the free space that's after your first two Windows partitions with ntfs formats, then hit the "Add" button at bottom. Your partition should already be sized correctly, and the only thing to change is set "/" as a mount point. Here's what your screen should look like:

Click OK, then finish through with the Ubuntu installation. If it catches your Windows 7 installation, it might ask if you want to import settings from inside it—you can, if you'd like, but I usually skip this. Wait for the installation to finish, remove the CD or thumb drive, and reboot your system.

When you start up again, you'll see a list of OS options. The only ones you need concern yourself with are Windows 7 and the top-most Ubuntu line. You can prettify and fix up this screen, change its settings, and modify its order later on. For now, let's head into Ubuntu.

We're going to make the same kind of folder access change we did in Windows. Click up on the "Places" menu, choose "Home Folder," and check out the left-hand sidebar. It's full of links to Documents, Pictures, and the like, but they all point to locations inside your home folder, on the Linux drive that Windows can't read. Click once on any of those folders, then right-click and hit Remove.

You should see your "Storage" partition in the left-hand sidebar, but without that name—more like "100GB filesystem." Double-click it, type in the administrator password you gave when installing, and you'll see your Documents, Music, etc. Click and drag those folders into the space where the other folders were, and now you'll have access to them from the "Places" menu, as well as any file explorer window you have open.

Ubuntu won't "mount," or make available, your Windows 7 and Storage drives on boot-up, however, and we at least want constant access to the Storage drive. To fix that, head to Software Sources in the System->Administration menu. From there go to Applications, then the Ubuntu Software Center at the bottom. Under the "Ubuntu Software" and "Updates" sections, add a check to the un-checked sources, like Restricted, Multiverse, Proposed, and Backports. Hit "Close," and agree to Reload your software sources.

Finally! Head to the Applications menu and pick the Ubuntu Software Center. In there, search for "ntfs-config," and double-click on the NTFS Configuration Tool that's the first result. Install it, then close the Software Center. If you've got the "Storage" or Windows 7 partitions mounted, head to any location in Places and then click the eject icon next to those drives in the left-hand sidebar. Now head to the System->Administration menu and pick the NTFS Configuration Tool.

You'll see a few partitions listed, likely as /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, and the like. If you only want your storage drive, it should be listed as /dev/sda3 or something similar--just not the first or second options. Check the box for "Add," click in the "Mount point" column to give it a name (Storage, perhaps?), and hit "Apply." Check both boxes on the next window to allow read/write access, and hit OK, and you're done. Now the drive with all your stuff is accessible to Windows and Linux at all times.

Adding swap to Ubuntu

"Swap" memory is a section of the hard drive that your system's memory spills over into when it gets full and busy. Until recently, I'd been creating a whole separate partition for it. Recently, though, I've found that swap isn't always necessary on systems with a large amount of memory, and that swap can simply be a file tucked away on your hard drive somewhere.

Follow the Ubuntu help wiki's instructions for adding more swap, but consider changing the location they suggest putting the swap file—/mnt/swap/ for the place your Storage is held—/media/Storage, in my case.

Share Firefox profiles and more

That's about it for this guide to setting up a harmonious Windows and Ubuntu existence, but I recommend you also check out our previous guide to using a single data store when dual-booting. It explains the nitty-gritty of sharing Firefox, Thunderbird, and Pidgin profiles between Linux and Windows for a consistent experience, as well as a few other dual-boot tricks.

You might also want to consider creating virtual machines with VirtualBox for those moments when you're in one OS and need to get at the other. Ubuntu is free to create as many instances as you want, of course, and Windows 7 (Professional and Ultimate) are very friendly with non-activated copies—not that either can't be otherwise activated in cases where it's just a double-use issue.

What'd I miss that makes Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.10 get along even better? What needs clarifying or fixing? Tell us your questions and solutions in the comments.

Apple Adds Some Transparency to App Store Approvals [App Store]

Whitson Gordon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

There's been a lot of controversy surrounding Apple and their practice regarding the iPhone App Store, like multiple app bannings (including the Google Voice fiasco), inconsistent rules, and a lack of communication with developers. A few days ago, Apple decided to take a step in the right direction concerning the latter point (albeit a small step), giving developers the ability to see the status of their submitted apps. When they log into the Dev Center, they can see if their app is "in review," "waiting for review," or "ready for sale," complete with a timestamp for when that status was updated. It's very simple, and, like I said, a small step—but hopefully a step in the right direction, nonetheless. Now let's just get Google Voice approved already.

Lower Your Out-of-Pocket Medical Costs by Asking [Health]

Sarah Rae Trover — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

Even if you've got medical insurance, a bill with your name on it can still end up in your mailbox after a visit to the doctor. Stacy Johnson, author of the book Life or Debt, shares how to lessen your out-of-pocket cost.

Photo by Brittany G

Doctors, like many businesses around the country, depend on your patronage to keep their practices alive, and quite often they're willing to work with you on the cost of procedures, tests, and services they offer. Johnson has this to say on the matter:

If your health insurance provider agrees to pay 80% of covered procedures, that generally means they'll pay 80% of what they think is reasonable for that procedure, not 80% of whatever it costs. So find out what your insurance company is willing to pay and if your doctor can do it for that amount.

Asking a doctor to meet or lower the price to closer to what your insurance will cover, although bold, is a good way to cut corners on your medical bill. Chances are you can't haggle your way into a free set of X-rays, but you still have some freedom to ask for a lower price. Even if they turn you down on the discount, it's still worth your time to ask next time you find yourself in the ever-dashing backless gown.

Make Yourself Eligible for an Office 2010 Starter Beta [Office 2010]

Kevin Purdy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Microsoft Office 2010 will offer a free, ad-supported "Starter" edition, in addition to its regular, rather pricey offerings. Beta invites are already going out, and you can increase your chances at a spot by filling out a quick online survey.

By quick, we mean three minutes or less. The survey asks what type of computers you use at home, what kind of internet connection you have, and whether you've used Office in the past six months. Intriguingly, it also asks if you've used Google Docs or OpenOffice in the same time period.

Filling out the survey won't guarantee a place in the 2010 Starter beta program, but it certainly won't hurt, if you're itching for a chance to give it a go.

JetPack Gallery Opens with No-Restart-Needed Firefox Extensions [Firefox]

Kevin Purdy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

JetPack, the Firefox add-on system that uses only HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, has opened up its own gallery of apps. The pickings aren't exactly plush, but there's some neat stuff that doesn't require a restart to try out.

JetPack, as we've previously summed it up, falls somewhere between the site-specific scripts of GreaseMonkey and full-blown Firefox add-ons. They can add to Firefox's chrome and bring up dialogs if you've got JetPack installed, but they don't require a total browser restart or compatibility check to install—just a site refresh.

At the gallery, you can install JetPack and try out some neat stuff, like the GTranslatifier, which can translate entire pages or selected text with a status bar click. There's also a JetWave notifier for Google Wave messages, and a sidebar tweak, Thumbtabs, that offers Opera-like visual browser tab thumbnails in a pop-out sidebar.

Found a favorite JetPack to share? We'd love to see the link in the comments.

EasyBCD Makes Tweaking Your Windows Bootloader a Snap [Downloads]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0800

Windows Vista/Windows 7: If you're running multiple operating systems—and if you weren't before the release of Windows 7 you most likely are now—EasyBCD is a simple application for tweaking your bootloader through a clean GUI and well-detailed prompts.

With EasyBCD you can edit the names of entries, add and remove entries onto the bootloader menu, change the timeout on the bootloader selection menu, and tweak boot-related items like enabling PAE mode or run with the debug process enabled. EasyBCD includes support for adding Windows, Linux, Mac, NeoGrub, and WinPE loaders.

If this is your first time tinkering with a bootloader, EasyBCD makes the process fairly simple. By default the application is in basic mode instead of expert mode—in expert mode it won't prompt you if you're doing something that could be difficult to undo. For additional information you can visit the EasyBCD wiki.

Note: Although we didn't have any problems doing some minor tweaks on our test machine with the current public release of EasyBCD, if you're doing any heavy overhauling you'll want to play it safe and download the beta release. The beta officially supports Windows 7 and is available here.

Have a boot-related trick or tweak? Let's hear about it in the comments. EasyBCD is freeware and works with Windows Vista and up.

SaveEveryWay Sends Daily Reminders to Save Money [Saving]

Kevin Purdy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

A recent study showed that daily SMS reminders have real impact on saving. The folks behind SaveEveryWay were inspired, and now offer free daily quotes and reminders to save, delivered by SMS, RSS, email, or Twitter feed.

It's only been up and running for a few days, but SaveEveryWay intends to continue delivering inspirational quotes, reminders, and other thoughts about savings for free. The updates are delivered at 8:11 Pacific every day, and they're just a way to keep a regular reminder about the value of putting aside cash in your pocket. Thanks Greg!