Lifehacker

How to Properly Cut a Melon [Video]

David Galloway — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 16:00:00 PDT

Sometimes tips that may seem like common knowledge to many people turn out to be revolutionary for others. I have been cutting open cantaloupe and other melons for well over a decade but not optimally.

Cutting a melon in half and scooping out the seeds (if any) is standard procedure, but the video above from DIY weblog Instructables gives to less common hints. At the 0:25-0:30 mark the quarters of melon are turned into slices by cutting once on each side of the melon; that's a nice tip, better than how I always did it, but the revolutionary moment comes when the flesh of the melon is cut from the rind. By cutting the melon from the rind and then slicing it up using the ring as your cutting board you not only save yourself from having to wash a cutting board you also let the cut slices fall directly into your serving bowl.

Again, probably common knowledge for many, but it was new for me.

How to cut a melon | Instructables

DIY Pegboard Headboard Adds Storage to Tiny Bedrooms [DIY]

David Galloway — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 15:00:00 PDT

If your bedroom has little space for nightstands and you don't currently have a headboard consider making one out of a pegboard. This will add storage space and can be visually appealing if you invest some time.

Home remodeling weblog Our Fifth House came up with the pegboard headboard as the solution to storage and decoration needs for the author's eight-year-old son. It's a fairly simple project—measure and cut pegboard to fit your space and attach it to the wall. Nail your trim pieces to the wall and then paint the pegboard with a foam roller. If you'd like to replicate the Union Jack design used in the photo the source link contains complete instructions on how to replicate the look.

DIY Union Jack Pegboard headboard | via Apartment Therapy

"What are your favorite jailbreak tweaks, repositories, and themes?" [Ask The Commenters Roundup]

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 14:00:00 PDT

Build a PVC Pool Towel Rack [Pvc Projects]

David Galloway — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:00:00 PDT

Pool towel racks are great to dry out wet but perfectly clean towels so they can be used again later in the day or stored away with your supply of beach/pool towels. Make one yourself for a few bucks in PVC components using plans from eHow.

Basically you need two T-connections and two U-connections and various feet of PVC piping. Use PVC cement on most of the connections, but you'll want to leave a few strategically uncemented to easily put the rack away when you close down the pool.

Full instructions and a materials list can be found at the source link below. Photo by PVC Workshop

How to Make a PVC Pool Towel Rack | eHow

Avoid Blender Explosions By Slowly Adding Hot Liquids [Video]

David Galloway — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 12:00:00 PDT

Have you ever tried pureeing a boiling hot freshly-made soup in your blender to get the texture right only to have the blender erupt, forcing the lid off and spilling hot soup everywhere? Culinary weblog Chow recommends starting the blender while empty and slowly adding hot liquids to avoid explosions.

Using this technique you can even puree the soup without having to attach the lid. You could of course blend the soup normally if you held the lid down with your hand but if your soup is truly boiling hot you can end up with a burn on the hand holding down the lid.

How to Avoid Blender Explosions | CHOW Tips

Wrap Your Phone in Cling Wrap to Keep Sand Out When at the Beach [Phone Protection]

David Galloway — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 11:00:00 PDT

If you hate sand getting in your headphone and charging ports you can cover the phone with plastic cling wrap to make sure sand won't enter the ports.

This tip comes from Reddit's Pro Life Tips subreddit: cut a large piece of cling wrap, apply it first to the touch screen and then wrap it around to the back of your phone covering all ports. The touchscreen should still work and unless you keep it wrapped up like this all day you won't have overheating issues.

Keep in mind that this process does not make your phone waterproof, so if you plan on getting close enough that it could get splashed you may want to put your phone in a freezer bag instead. The disadvantage of using freezer bags is that many people will take their phone out of the freezer bag a few times for texting or whatnot and that is when sand gets in the device. You could always do both, but then you'd probably have to worry more about overheating. Photo by Alistair Jeffs

LTP: Wrap your touchscreen phone in saran wrap if you're going to the beach. You can still use it and sand won't get in the ports. | Reddit

Five Best Android ROMs [Hive Five]

Alan Henry — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 08:00:00 PDT

Whether you're looking to upgrade an Android device forsaken by its manufacturer or you just want more control over the phone or tablet you own, you've probably gone looking for a new ROM. Rooting your phone is the first step, but a new ROM will give you a completely new mobile OS, and this week we're going to look at five of the best Android ROMs, based on your nominations.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which Android ROMs you thought were the best. We took your nominations, tallied them up, and now we're back to highlight the top five. It's important to note that not every ROM is available for every device, and different ROMs are aimed at different audiences—some of them are designed to upgrade the OS and others are lean and mean installs to speed up your phone. Whichever you choose, you'll have to make sure your device is supported by the developers behind the ROM before installing.

CyanogenMod

CyanogenMod is arguably one of the (if not the) most installed Android ROM in the world, and for good reason. It offers a ton of great features, is available for more devices than most other ROMs of its type, and has the type of polish and support that makes it easy to fall in love with. There are builds of CyanogenMod for Android phones and tablets, and slowly but surely the developers behind CyanogenMod are rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich versions for devices whose manufacturers have given up on upgrading the device entirely. To boot, CyanogenMod includes features you won't find in stock Android, like support for OpenVPN, support for downloadable themes, more privacy tools, and more. You can find a list of supported devices here.

Android Open Kang Project (AOKP)

The Android Open Kang Project (AOKP) is a relative newcomer compared to many of the other popular ROMs already available, but it's rapidly growing in popularity. It offers many of the features that CyanogenMod has, and at first blush you may mistake one for the other, but as soon as you start looking at the options and add-ons, you'll see the differences. AOKP has earned high marks for add-ons and tools that you can't get in CM, centralized control over ROM options, and overall more customization options than CM. At the same time, its development community is smaller and it may not have the same polish and device support that CyanogenMod has. Still, it's super-fast, it's stable, and definitely worth a look. You can find a list of all supported devices here.

MIUI

MIUI struck us with how beautiful the user interface was and how elegant it made Android look and feel. It's not the most feature-packed or hackable ROM, but it's definitely one of the most customizable and elegant, and it's seriously fast. MIUI started life as a modded version of Android localized in China, but fans of the mod have since localized it for dozens of languages and countries. It offers strong theme support, beautiful stock apps, customizable lockscreens, support for GApps, and complete root access. You're not going to get a wealth of niche features here, but you will get a device that's much easier and more fun to use once you install MIUI. You can find a list of supported devices here.

Slim ICS

If you have a Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, Samsung Galaxy S or Galaxy S II, Slim ICS may be the ROM for you. Not only will Slim ICS bring your device up to Ice Cream Sandwich, it's also a super-thin, lightweight installation that's remarkably easy to install, even though it's clearly aimed at advanced users. Slim ICS already has GApps rolled in, so you don't need to install them later. Where other ROMs try to add tons of new features and tweaking options, Slim ICS is designed to trim the fat down to the bare essentials and give you a fast and clean ICS installation. It's only available for a handful of Samsung devices and there's pretty much one developer and a few beta testers behind the scenes, so don't expect a ton of feature additions or new devices, but it is updated weekly and sports a good number of third-party mods.

Liquid Smooth ROMS

Liquid Smooth ROMS are available for multiple devices, and while the project started off with the Motorola Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Droid Incredible, and HTC Thunderbolt, it's also available for the Galaxy Nexus and a few other devices, although you'll have to poke around the forums a bit to find them. The banner feature of Liquid is that it's probably one of the fastest ICS ROMs available, faster even than the stock install that comes on the Galaxy Nexus. You don't sacrifice features for the speed, but the overall size of the ROM is still nice and small, leaving more space for the apps and features you choose to use, as opposed to ones forced on you. GApps are baked right in, and the ROM offers theme support so you can customize it to your liking. All in all, if you have a supported device, it's probably the leanest, meanest ICS ROM you can download.

Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them all to a vote and decide the winner.

No honorable mentions this week, but you all nominated well over 60 different ROMs for consideration, so whatever ROM you settle on, make sure it's a good match for the features you're looking for, the device you own, and the version of Android you want to run. These may be your top five, but they may not be the best for your specific device, so do your homework!

Have something to say about the nominees that we missed? Did your favorite not get enough nominations to be included? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Photo by Peter Kirn.

DIY Tripod Outdoor Stool [Weekend Project]

David Galloway — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:00:00 PDT

You can make an attractive and functional tripod stool with a few dowels, a piece of leather or canvas, and a few hardware fittings—between $15-25 in total materials depending on the quality of the fittings and if you use leather.

DIY weblog Design Sponge gives complete instructions and step-by-step photos, but what you're basically doing is cutting the dowels to size, rounding the ends that come in contact with the floor, and drilling a hole to later add a screw to support the seat. Next you'll sand the dowels and apply a finish, stain, or paint. Fashion your seat out of cut leather or sewn canvas (a template for the exact size is at the source link below) and ensure the material is durable enough to hold your weight. Assemble the seat by threading two of the legs together with a bolt, leaving an eye-hole bolt in between. Attach washers to both ends and close off the bolt with an acorn nut. Feed the eye-hole bolt through the hole in the third dowel and attach a washer and an acorn nut to the end. Finally, attach the seat the the dowels by screwing a wood screw through a large finishing washer into the dowel.

You can optionally modify the seat to include a carry strap so you can sling it over your shoulder and/or a closure strap to keep the legs popping open while in transit.

DIY Project: Tripod Camping Stool | Design Sponge

Buy Your Own Cable Internet Gateway to Avoid Rental Fees [Saving Money]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 16:00:00 PDT

It seems fairly common sense, but cable internet providers such as Comcast and Charter do not openly advertise that you can use most any compatible DOCSIS 3.0 gateway and avoid paying up to seven dollars a month in rental fees.

Personal finance weblog 20-Something Finance shares that if you don't plan on moving for the next year and half you'll make back what you would pay on a moderately priced gateway such as the $125 Motorola Surfboard. Given that Comcast has raised their rental prices from $3 to $7 in the past five years (a 233% rate hike) you'll probably save even more once they decide to raise the rent again.

The downside is that if there are major speed or feature upgrades you'll have to buy another gateway, but planning for a modest three or five year life cycle will save you enough money to make it worth your while.

3 Ways to Get Rid of your Comcast (or Other ISP) Modem Rental Fee | 20 Something Finance

This Week's Top Downloads [Download Roundup]

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 16:00:00 PDT

Cortex Camera Takes Great Low Light iPhone Photos

iOS: If you've ever tried taking low light images taken with a phone or tablet, you know they usually feature tons of noise and grain. Cortex Camera solves this problem with a unique take on long-exposure photography.
Cortex Camera looks like any other photography app at first, but when you hit... More »

ProxMate Unblocks Region Specific YouTube, Grooveshark, and Hulu Content

Chrome/Firefox: Ever run into a video that's blocked because you aren't in a supported region? It's annoying, but ProxMate is a simple extension for Chrome and Firefox that unblocks region-specific content from YouTube, Hulu, and Grooveshark.
ProxMate will route your traffic through a supported... More »

Solid Explorer Beta is a Beautiful, Feature-Rich Android File Browser

Android: There's no shortage of file browsers available for Android, but Solid Explorer Beta has raised the bar with a gorgeous UI and pro level features.
Inside the app you'll find a convenient dual-panel view with drag and drop support, an FTP client for file sharing, and ZIP, TAR, and RAR... More »

MediaPlus Enables Total Control of Flash and HTML5 Video

Chrome/Firefox: There's no shortage of browser extensions that help you download Flash or HTML5 video, but few give you the myriad of options available from MediaPlus.
Once you enable the extension on a page containing a video element, rolling your mouse over the video will reveal a toolbar. More »

CleanMyDrive Automatically Wipes Out Junk on Your Hard Drives and Makes Them Easily Ejectable

OS X: Whether connected to a Mac or a Windows PC, your external drives can accumulate junk files created by the operating system. CleanMyDrive is an app that targets those files automatically and wipes them out to help you avoid wasting any space. More »

Vlingo Labs Brings Voice-Activated SMS, Dialing, and More Siri-Like Features to Ice Cream Sandwich Phones

Android: Vlingo is still our favorite virtual assistant for Android, but even it doesn't offer all of the features and tight integration that Apple's Siri does in iOS. More »

Binreader Streams Your Usenet Videos Before They're Even Finished Downloading

Windows/Mac/Linux: We've talked about how great Usenet is for sharing files, and you can do a lot of advanced stuff with it-but if all you want is to download videos and watch them as soon as possible, Binreader can stream them to your monitor or UPnP-capable TV before they're even finished. More »

Hotspot Shield VPN for Android Offers Secure Browsing On the Go for Free

Android: Previously mentioned Hotspot Shield VPN has been available for iOS for a while, but now Android users can take advantage of the service's free VPN service on their phones and tablets too. More »

Senti Wayk for Android Wakes You Gently, Quiets Down When You Say Snooze

Android: Senti Wayk may be the last alarm clock you ever download, assuming you're willing to pay $2 USD for it. The app wakes you gently with a tone that starts off quiet and gets louder, and lets you snooze the alarm by speaking to it or waving your hand over the proximity sensor. More »

Pig Toolbox Adds Gesture Controls, YouTube Tools, Mail Checking, and More to Chrome with One Extension

Chrome: Pig Toolbox is a Chrome extension that features a bunch of different functions all rolled into one simple extension. It includes mouse gestures, a collection of YouTube related tools, an automatic Google Mail checker, and more.
As the name implies, Pig Toolbox is a collection of tools that... More »

Make Garden Markers with Aluminum Duct Tape [Gardening]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:00:00 PDT

Garden markers are great for beginners as the plants don't always look like what you see on the seed packet. You can buy fancy designer markers or just write on a popsicle stick with a Sharpie, but if you want something visually appealing with a dirt cheap DIY price consider using aluminum duct tape.

Crafting weblog Aunt Peaches shares how to make inexpensive and attractive garden markers using a bit of aluminum duct tape and a box of plastic dinner knives. Cut out a piece of aluminum tape and sandwich it around the handle of the plastic knife. Then write the plant name in reverse on the tape with a ballpoint pen - this will press out the letters on the other side and you'll have an embossed metallic garden marker. You may want to practice writing the name backward on a piece of paper first.

Fun with Adhesive: Aluminum Duct Tape Garden Markers | Aunt Peaches

Open a Beer Bottle with a Newspaper [How To]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:00:00 PDT

We love strange methods of opening beer bottles. Lifehacker has covered methods using Mac power adapters, countertops, BIC lighters, your forearm, another beer bottle and now we add to that list a humble newspaper.

Instructables user Frederoover shares that to open a beer bottle with a newspaper you must simply take a four-page newspaper sheet and fold it in half until it's around the size of a candy bar and then insert the folded end under the bottle cap and push up—the paper will catch the teeth of the bottlecap which lets you apply force and open the beer.

How to open a beer bottle with a newspaper | Instructables

Sew "Rock Pockets" Into Your Picnic Blankets [Weekend Project]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:00:00 PDT

Summer is nearly here and many of us enjoy basking in the sun at a picnic. To avoid your blanket from blowing away while you're not on it consider sewing triangular pockets on each corner to hold rocks or other weights to keep the blanket steady.

Fabric crafting weblog Sew, Mama, Sew! offers directions on how to sew a patchwork picnic blanket, but the intriguing part is their method of sewing rock pockets. You can visit the source link below if you need to learn how to cut and sew the pockets onto your blanket. I'd also recommend adding velcro closures to each pocket; that way if you're going to be in an area without small rocks to use you can store helpful picnic items such as salt and pepper shakers or corkscrews in the pockets to stabilize the blanket without adding unnecessary weight.

If you're sewing a picnic blanket you may also want to consider our previous tip on packing a shower curtain to keep your picnic blanket dry and sew a thick shower curtain as the underside of your blanket.

Summer Sewing ~ Picnic Blanket with Rock Pockets | via Apartment Therapy

Unsubscribe Deals Removes Daily Deals Emails from Gmail [Webapps]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 12:00:00 PDT

I'm sure the one or two deals you signed up for Groupon and LivingSocial were nice, but it's a year later, you haven't found a useful deal in months, and you still get a daily email from several different deal sites. If you're a Gmail user and tired of daily deal deluge you can opt out of 12 different deals sites in one go by using the straightforwardly-named webapp Unsubscribe Deals.

You'll need to allow the site to access your Gmail account. Once you've given the necessary permissions, the webapp will scan your account and unsubscribe you to the following 12 deals sites: LivingSocial, Groupon, Woot!, Daily Candy, LifeBooker, Google Offers, Amazon Local, Deal Yip It, Bloomspot, Gilt City, KGB Deals, and Save.

Once you've gone through the process you'll receive a message telling you that it can take 7-14 days for the deals to stop hitting your inbox as it takes that long for the deal site servers to adjust to the unsubscribe request. Curiously enough there is also a link titled "Sell Your Deals" that takes you to a coming soon page with no explanation to what this might mean.

I'm not generally one to allow any webapp access to my accounts, but if you've been putting off manually unsubscribing from multiple deals sites the webapp should work nicely.

Unsubscribe Deals

Grow Moss Anywhere [Outdoors]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 11:00:00 PDT

Moss requires little maintenance, is visually attractive, stays green throughout the winter, and is soft on your feet. You can propagate moss to trees, planters, and other surfaces by making a moss "milkshake".

Household weblog Apartment Therapy gives the following recipe for a moss growing "milkshake": Add two cups of water and two cups of buttermilk to a blender and top with a section of existing moss; this moss can be live or dead. Blend until you have a milkshake consistency, and use a paintbrush to spread the milkshake on whatever surface you wish to grow moss.

You'll need to use a mister to keep the moss moist for the first few weeks and keep in mind that moss generally thrives in shady areas. Using this method you can even get creative and draw pictures or write out short phrases in moss.

How to Grow Your Own Moss | Apartment Therapy

Top 10 Cellphone Accessories You Don't Need to Buy (Because You Can DIY Them for Cheap) [Lifehacker Top 10]

Whitson Gordon — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 08:00:00 PDT

From cables to speakers to stands that prop up your phone, there are more cool accessories out there than you can shake a stick at—and they all seem grossly overpriced. Don't feel like cashing in an arm and a leg to power up your phone? Here are 10 cellphone accessories that are cheap and easy to make yourself.

10. Car Docks

Most smartphones have pretty superb navigation options these days, but you don't want to just stick your phone in your cup holder and try to follow it from there. Car docks can often be pretty pricey, too, but it's pretty easy to throw one together with just a few office supplies. Our favorite is definitely the binder clip car dock, though if you have a car mount from a previous navigation unity lying around, you can mod that to fit whatever phone you have now, too.

9. Styluses

Who would have thought the Samsung Galaxy Note would be so popular 10 years after Palm Pilots and their styluses bit the dust? If you find it handy for jotting notes, drawing pictures on your iPad, or doing other things, you don't need to go out and buy a stylus for your phone. We've shown you tons of ways to make one, from candy bar wrappers to mechanical lead holders to cheap pens, sponges, and dry erase markers. Some are a bit easier than others, so be sure to check them all out and find out which project fits your needs.

8. Rubber Cases

There are a lot of great cases out there, and not a lot of ways to DIY one at home. But if all you want is a little extra protection for your phone, you can give it a little rubberized back with a product called Plasti Dip. It'll give you a better grip, keep it from attracting fingerprints, and add a little bit of extra protection to the back. If you absolutely have to have a full case, there's not a lot you can do unless you have a pretty well-stocked workshop, so you might have to sink a few dollars into it after all.

7. Touch Screen Gloves

Those of you in the cold white north know how annoying it is that you can't use your phone when you have gloves on—and how annoying it is to take your gloves off when it's 15 below zero outside. If you don't want to go buy a new pair of touch screen-friendly gloves, you can make your own at home with some conductive thread. Alternatively, this 6 Stitch Kit takes all the planning out of your project and will make any gloves touch screen friendly with minimal work.

6. Mini Charging Cables

We love these mini cables from Griffin, but it just feels weird paying so much money for a smaller version of something we already have. Instead of buying them, you can just shorten your existing USB cables with a wire stripper and a bit of soldering. You'll save tons of space in your backpack, not to mention never deal with tangled cables again.

5. Headphones with Built-In Remote Controls

All iPhones come with a pair of crappy headphones with an awesome remote control and microphone built-in. If you actually want a pair of quality headphones, though, you'll have to buy them yourself—and if you already have a quality pair, you'd probably have to buy yet another pair for phone compatibility. Instead of doing that, you can always splice your existing remote into your existing headphones for free, or better yet, turn your remote control headphones into an adapter so you don't ruin your favorite 'buds. And, if you've made the switch to Android, remember that a little hacking is all it takes to make those iPhone headphones work for you, too.

4. Portable USB Chargers

There are about a billion products on the market that will give your phone a little battery boost during the day, but if you don't feel like buying one, you can make one yourself at home out of an Altoids tin. It takes triple A batteries, fits in your pocket, and saves your battery from dying in an emergency. You can also make a solar powered version if you prefer, or just make a quick one out of a 9V battery.

3. Screen Protectors

Screen protectors aren't as necessary as they used to be, but if you still want one for your phone, there's no need to buy an expensive one from the store. Just buy a cheap piece of vinyl and cut it yourself with an Xacto knife. Not only is it much cheaper, but making it yourself ensures that it'll fit any device you could possibly need it to.

2. Portable Speakers

Crappy sounding iPod docks can cost a fair amount of money, and good sounding docks can cost a lot. Why waste your money when you can boost your volume just fine with a paper cup or a cereal bowl? We ran down the most popular free DIY volume boosters and found that some of them worked remarkably well—specifically, sticking your phone in a paper cup. If you want a more involved project though, you can always craft a "speaker" out of a block of wood or make a thin boombox with this cool, minimalist design.

1. Stands and Docks

Ever since the invention of smartphones, people have been making DIY docks and stands out of anything they could find. We've featured more than we could ever list, but if you're still in the market for a dock to hold up your phone, check out these posts we've done on the subject:

There's more where that came from, but those are definitely our favorites, and the easiest to make (not to mention the best looking).

Got any of your own favorite DIY projects for your smartphone that we didn't mention? Tell us about them in the comments below.

Repurpose LifeSavers as Birthday Cake Candle Holders [Birthdays]

David Galloway — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 07:00:00 PDT

If you want to add candles to a cake without making holes in the frosting or getting wax on the cake you can use regular LifeSavers as candle holders as per a tip from Real Simple magazine's weblog.

Make sure you get the regular roll of LifeSavers, not the big bags as those are slightly larger and won't fit your birthday cake candles as well.

LifeSavers as Birthday-Candle Holders | Real Simple

Get Your Cables Under Control This Weekend [Weekendhacker]

Adam Dachis — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:00:00 PDT

Cables are wild, tangled messes if you let them do as they please. They can also be beautiful examples of organization, or even wall art, if you put in a little time and effort. If you've got a mess of cables that could use a little wrangling, here's how you can get them under control this weekend.

Hide Them in Plain Sight

One of the coolest ways to organize cables is to hide them in plain sight. In essence, you're displaying them outright but creating wall art so they're not looked upon as a bunch of cords. For example, you could turn them into a flowering vine, an addition to existing furniture, or create a circuit-like pattern. You could really use them to draw just about anything if you have the patience and take the time. If you'd rather hide them entirely, however, you can also pick up some flatwire, mount it to the wall, and just paint over it.

Use a Catch-All Method

Most cable clutter exists under your desk, and you need a way to keep them in order otherwise you end up with a tangled mess that is nothing but a pain to deal with. Cablox is a clever system that just adheres to the underside of your desktop and provides a grid with which you can attach cables to keep them easily organized. A rain gutter is also a clever DIY solution that can just catch everything. IKEA also has the SIGNUM series of cable management tools that are very inexpensive and easy to use—especially if you've got an IKEA desk. They're all great solutions, so whatever you prefer will get the job done nicely.

Shorten Cables to the Right Length and Keep Them in Place

Cables are often problematic because of their length. If they were only just as long as you needed and they'd stay put, they wouldn't be such a problem. If these are your issues, there are plenty of ways to keep your cables in place and make sure they're the length you want them.

If you want to go the product route, there are lots of options. Cordlets stick on to most surfaces to hold cables in place and shorten them at the same time. Apple Cores and cable drops are good options as well.

If you want to go the DIY route, there are lots of options. Binder clips can help keep cables in place and are super cheap. Add a magnet and you've got easy access to the cables that aren't always connected to something. This dead simple wrapping techinque is a great way to shorten your cables, too. Of course, if you can just use really short cables you can just buy some.

Keep Your Cables Labeled and Organized

No matter how organized you are, it's hard to tell which cables are which if they're not adequately marked. This doesn't have to be terrible complicated, though, as there are plenty of cheap ways to label them. One example is using pencil toppers. Another is simply tying different colored strings around them. ID Pilot Labels are a more traditional route. Bread tags, milk tags, and metallic sharpies also get the job done just fine. So long as you know what you're unplugging, you're good to go.

Avoid Tangles Altogether

While it's impossible to avoid a mess of cables without a little work, you can make cables much less likely to tangle with one little adjustment: wrap them like a friendship bracelet. This involves a bit of time and effort, but it can be a relaxing task you can accomplish while watching television or, say, listening to a podcast. It works because it makes the cables a bit more rigid. You'll still be able to wrap them, but they'll be more averse to twirling themselves into awkward, tangled positions. As a result, you won't have as much of a mess and you will have a colorful alternative to the otherwise boring look of most cables. Additionally, you can use this method to color-code them for easier identification.

Got any other great cable management tips or tricks that have worked well for you? Share 'em in the comments. And have a great weekend!

Remains of the Day: Google Hustling Out Maps Event Ahead of Apple [For What It's Worth]

Jeremy Hoag — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:00:00 PDT

Google positions its straw to drink Apple's milkshake, Windows 8 tablets are around the corner, and Facebook puts their privacy policy to a vote.

Google Holding 3D Maps Event in Advance of Apple's WWDC: Invitations arrived today for a June 6 Google Maps press conference where Google says they will demo new features and "share our vision." The event comes five days before Apple's yearly developers' conference and a promised demo of Apple's new in-house Maps app. [The Next Web]
Acer, Toshiba to Take on IPads with Windows 8 Tablets: Next week's Computex conference in Taipei is expected to introduce new Windows 8 machines from several prominent tablet makers, including Asus, producers of your favorite Android tablets. [Bloomberg]
Facebook to Let Users Vote on Privacy Changes: Privacy activists drummed up enough comments on Facebook's most recent privacy changes to trigger a clause in Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities requiring a service-wide vote. The clause has only come into play once before, in 2009. [The Washington Times]
Advancing Consumer Trust and Privacy: Internet Explorer in Windows 8: With yesterday's Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft also announced that the system's native browser, Internet Explorer, would enable the privacy protecting Do Not Track preference by default. [Microsoft on the Issues]

Turn an Exposed Sink Into a Vanity with Lots of Storage Using IKEA Parts [DIY]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:30:00 PDT

If you're trying to make the best of an apartment with little storage space, weblog IKEA Hackers has a good solution for the bathroom: turn your exposed sink into a storage-plentiful vanity.

Not everyone has a sink built-in to their bathroom storage, and it can be hard to find a place to put all your stuff. DIYer Jade cut up a few Molger frames to perfectly fit her exposed bathroom sinks to turn it into a full vanity. Not only does it look a ton better than before, but coupled with a few Molger shelves as seen in this hack, you could have some nice extra storage going. Check out the links below to see how both Molger bathroom hacks were done.

Molger Frame for Two | IKEA Hackers

Fitting a Molger Under the Sink | IKEA Hackers

The Best Things to Buy in June [Best Time To Buy]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:00:00 PDT

Feeling the summer heat yet? With wedding season and Father's Day coming up, June is a great month for deals. Here are the best things to buy this month.

Every month, we look back at the best times to buy anything during the year, and pull out items each month to remind you what's coming. Obviously, none of this is to say you should go on a shopping spree—but if you've been holding off for a lower price on something, these are the things that get the sale treatment in June.

All Spring

Televisions and Other Electronics: The Japanese fiscal year ends in March, so companies like Sony, Canon, Sharp, and other electronics manufacturers are trying to get rid of their old stock. So, go out and grab those new TVs and other gadgets now.
Houses: Lovely spring weather and the upcoming summer vacations means lots of people are selling houses, which means its a great time to buy. And, while prices won't hit rock bottom (that happens in the winter), you'll have a much better selection if you start house hunting now.
Boots and Winter Wear: Barring a catastrophic change in weather patterns, most of the country should be snow-free, so all the leftover winter wear should be heavily discounted right now. You may not need it for a few months, but if you want to get a good price, grab that new winter coat while you can.
Cookware & Kitchen Accessories: Graduation season is here, which means graduation-themed sales abound. Anything a college kid could need—like kitchen tools and cookware—are all discounted, so just pretend you've got a kit in college and stock up on your must-have kitchen tools now.
Vacuum Cleaners: If you haven't done your spring cleaning yet (seriously, hurry up!), you can still pick up vacuum cleaners for a lower price as the spring draws to a close. New vacuums usually don't come out until June, so you might be able to grab the last few off the shelf now.

June

Champagne: It may not be New Year's Eve, but springtime is a popular season for champagne due to all the weddings happening around town. Even if you aren't going to be using it this month, it's a good time to take advantage of the competition between champagne makers and pick up a few bottles.
Dishware: Another benefit of wedding season, dishware is a popular gift for newly-hitched couples. Even if that doesn't mean you, grab some up while it's cheap. Coupled with the cookware still on sale for graduation season, you could really just take this opportunity to reboot your entire kitchen, geek-style.
Gym Memberships: No one remembers their new year's resolutions anymore, and everyone's exercising outside, so gyms are getting a bit desperate to retain members and gain new ones. If you're looking at getting a membership, you can probably haggle yourself a good price now. Of course, you could always stay at home and get a workout with nothing but your body, even if you only take 20 minutes a day.
Paint: Summer is house painting season, so prices are pretty low. Whether you're repainting your entire house or you just want to spice up a few boring rooms, now's the perfect time to grab your paint colors for cheap.
Tools: Father's day is on its way, which means all the stereotypical gifts are on sale—the top choice being power tools. I'd complain about gender stereotypes, but it's hard to care when prices are this good. If you don't have the perfectly stocked toolbox yet, take a few hundred bucks and ensure you never make a last-minute trip to the hardware store again.
Suits: The other big father's day gift, of course, is suits. Grab one for your dad, grab one for your grandfather, or just grab one for yourself while prices are low. After all, no one looks better than they do in a suit. And if you still don't know how to tie a tie to go with your suit, now's a great time to learn.

We'll be posting updates for you guys every month, so you're aware of the deals going on all year round. If you're curious to see what's coming up, you can always check out our full best time to buy guide to see the entire year at a glance. And, if you know of any deals we didn't mention, share them in the comments below.

Image remixed from Andrey Armyagov and Seregam (Shutterstock).

Daily App Deals: Get Ghostwriter Notes for iPad for Free in Today’s App Deals [App Deals]

Dusty Wright — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:30:00 PDT

The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale.

The Best

Ghostwriter Notes (iTunes) Previously $3.99, now Free. Ghostwriter Notes for iPad makes it easier than ever for you to take notes on your iPad. Sports smooth and legible digital ink, Ghostwriter Notes allows you to important and annotate your PDF documents, print your pages over the air, name each of your notepads and pages, and even share your notes with your friends via Dropbox. The absolute best way to take notes and share them with your classmates, Ghostwriter Notes will ensure that you never have to purchase another notebook again. Get it for Free. (via LogicBuy)

Free

iOS

eXPlayer | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $2.99
Fotolr Camera&Video Pro | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99
TargetWeight PRO - Multi-User Weight, BP & Step Tracker | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $4.99
PowerSketch | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously 99¢
Recording Pro | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99
Quick Record | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $2.99
Downloader Elite | iTunes via LogicBuy | Previously $1.99
GoodWallet Plus | iTunes via LogicBuy | Previously $1.99
Multi Edit - Contacts Manager | iTunes via LogicBuy | Previously $1.99

Windows

Daz3D Free Software Sale: Bryce 7 Pro, Studio 4 Pro, Hexagon 2.5, and more | Daz3D via LogicBuy | Previously $430 (for Daz Studio 4 Pro)

Mac

Daz3D Free Software Sale: Bryce 7 Pro, Studio 4 Pro, Hexagon 2.5, and more | Daz3D via LogicBuy | Previously $430 (for Daz Studio 4 Pro)

The Rest

iOS

Couch-to-5K | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99, now 99¢
PERFECT Web Browser - EXTRAORDINARY Browser | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $3.99, now $1.99
LanScan HD | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $6.99, now $1.99
Color Me True | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $9.99, now $4.99
iRig Recorder | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $4.99, now $2.99
Meritum Paint Pro | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99, now 99¢

Android

ProPanorama | Google Play via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99, now 99¢
Alpha Bravo Encoder | Amazon Appstore via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99, now 99¢
Personal Trainer Fitness | Amazon Appstore via Apps-aholic | Previously $4.99, now $3.99

Windows

Universal Shield | Everstrike Software via LogicBuy | Previously $34.95, now $13.98
McAfee Total Protection 2012 1-User | Dell via LogicBuy | Previously $49.99, now $9.99

Turn a Watermelon into a Keg [Food Hacks]

Melanie Pinola — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:00:00 PDT

The perfect drink dispenser for your summer cocktail parties may actually be a watermelon. Serve punch, juice, or a real fruit cocktail in that giant melon.

For your watermelon-to-keg transformation, simply cut a lid at the top and scoop out the watermelon, then attach a spigot (available at beer making supply companies) via a hole you either drill into the melon or make with an apple corer.

KegWorks offers a watermelon sour recipe along with the keg-making instructions from The Food Network, while the National Watermelon Promotion Board has somewhat more detailed instructions.

Cheers!

Watermelon Cocktail Keg - As Seen in Food Network Magazine! | The KegWorks Blog via Curbly

Watermelon Keg | National Watermelon Promotion Board via Gizmodo

This Week's Most Popular Posts: May 20 - June 1 [Highlights]

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:30:00 PDT

This week we kept cool on the cheap, found a better way to secure our iPhones, discovered our hidden asshole tendencies, and more. Here's a look back.

Top 10 Ways to Beat the Heat

The heat is back. Summer is coming. The sun is out to get you-but don't lose hope. Here are our top 10 ways to beat the heat. More »

I Want to Make Something on My Day Off

You're going to be productive today, but still have fun in the process. We've got a ton of projects for you to try, from gadgets to games to home improvement to food. More »

I Want to Relax and Recharge on My Day Off

You understand that it's important to take care of yourself and take a freakin' break. Doing absolutely nothing is one great way to relax, but there are many others. More »

There's No Speed Limit (The Lessons That Changed My Life)

Most of us learn and make things at a prescribed pace. We learn a language one semester at a time, finish college in four years, follow set project milestones, and so on. More »

How Can I Turn Small Talk Into a Conversation?

Dear Lifehacker,
I hate small talk. I never know how in-depth I should go into a conversation and I'm just not that into talking about the weather. More »

This Is How You Should Secure Your iPhone

You probably know that your iPhone features a simple passcode functionality that secures the device by requiring, by default, a 4-digit PIN to unlock your phone. More »

The Accidental Asshole: Pinpoint How You're Annoying People and Do Something About It

We all have our pet peeves. But have you ever wondered about the annoying things you do that your friends, family, and strangers are too polite to tell you about? More »

Six Awesome, Lesser-Known Features in Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"

The new, highly polished version of Android is finally reaching the masses, and it's got some pretty great new features in tow. More »

How to Get Out Of Your Cell Phone Contract Without Paying Termination Fees

When you sign a two year contract with your wireless carrier, you probably know there's a termination fee if you want to get out early. More »

DIY Hidden Storage Cooler Sneaks Booze Into Your Event

You enjoy going to outdoor concerts, sporting events, and other festivals but the no outside alcohol policy mixed with $8 drinks quickly dries up your enthusiasm. More »

Five Best Tablet Drawing Apps

If you have a tablet and want to express your creativity, there are plenty of great apps you can use to pass the time doodling or to create beautiful digital art. More »

Words to Avoid Online If You Don't Want to Join the Government's Watch List

The US Department of Homeland Security has released a list of the keywords and phrases the agency monitors online to find potential threats. More »

How to Put Your Money to Work for You, Beyond the Basics

Some people have serious financial problems, but that's not you. You've got a savings account, have cleaned up your interest-bearing debt, are contributing to a 401(k), and all-around are in pretty good financial shape. More »

Work Less and Do More by Applying the Pareto Principle to Your Task List [Productivity]

Melanie Pinola — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:00:00 PDT

The Pareto Principle says that in most situations roughly 80% of effects come from only 20% of the causes. We can use the Pareto Principle to better manage our time and focus on the things on our task list that really make a difference.

Harvard Business Review notes that practically everything is unimportant. The Pareto Principle has been applied to almost every human endeavor, from software development to investing. (Two examples: 90% of Warren Buffet's wealth is from just ten investments and, in sales, typically 80% of revenue comes from 20% of the sales team.)

Looking at our own productivity from the lens of this "law of the vital few," we can cut the 80% of our tasks or projects that are unimportant or don't contribute to our end goals.

You can use the 80/20 rule to cut out or delegate categories of tasks or focus on individual to-dos:

HBR suggests writing down your top six priorities of the day—and then crossing out the bottom five. Work on the top one for 90-minutes first thing in the morning. Every time you're about to waste time on things like Twitter or checking email, write down what you are about to do (to stop you in your tracks).

If you have trouble prioritizing your tasks, the Inc. business blog suggests another strategy:

When you make a "to do" list, prioritize each item by the amount of effort required (1 to 10, with 1 being the least amount of effort) and the potential positive results (1 to 10, with 10 being the highest impact.)

Now divide the potential results by the amount of effort to get a "priority" ranking. Do the items with the lowest resulting priority number first. Here's a simple example:

Task 1: Write report on trip meeting.
Effort=10, Result=2, Priority=5

Task 2: Prepare presentation for marketing.
Effort=4, Result=4, Priority=1

Task 3: Call current customer about referral.
Effort=1, Result=10, Priority=0.1

See your new priority-based order? You do Task 3 first, Task 2 second, and Task 1 last–if at all.

This way, you ensure you do those important low-effort tasks that make up 80% of your success.

The Unimportance of Practically Everything | Harvard Business Review

Surprising Secret to Time Management | Inc.

Photo by Kalyan Chakravarthy

CleanMyDrive Automatically Wipes Out Junk on Your Hard Drives and Makes Them Easily Ejectable [Mac Downloads]

Adam Dachis — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:30:00 PDT

CleanMyDrive lives up in the menubar and can work automatically or manually—it's your choice. It's almost unfortunate that the interface is so nice because you will rarely need to interact with it. For the most part you can just let it run in the background and keep your drives from accumulating junk files. If you need to eject a bunch of drives, however, it's conveniently available. It can even eject them all at once with a single click, or just eject all disk images you've mounted. This is a nice little upgrade to OS X's eject menu. CleanMyDrive is a free download on the Mac App Store, so give it a try.

CleanMyDrive (Free) | Mac App Store

Learn the Simple Photography Mistakes You're Making in Under 15 Minutes [Video]

Adam Dachis — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:00:00 PDT

Photography is a lot of fun, but there are plenty of mistakes to be made—some of which can even cost you a bit of money. The folks over at DigitalRev, a photo-loving community and camera shop, have put together a short video that quickly points out several errors you're probably making and teaches you a few tips as well.

For starters, you've probably wasted money on UV filters and lens hoods that you don't really need. Inexpensive lens caps, on the other hand, are a better investment because they're easily lost and are vital for protection (unlike a UV filter). There are also several mistakes our brain helps us make, such as trying to act like a more professional photographer rather than just worrying about getting the best shot. We may shoot on manual mode to feel like we're great, but that can mean missing a great picture because it takes more time. Automatic modes aren't perfect, but a great photo has a lot less to do with technical aptitude and a lot more to do with your ability to create an artful composition. Many of the tips are common sense, and also a reminder that we focus too much on specifications and technical aspects rather than just making something awesome. Nonetheless, if you want to improve your photography this video will, at the very least, serve as a helpful reminder about what's actually important and what isn't.

50 Quick Photography Tips | DigitalRev via Reddit via Apartment Therapy Tech

Photo by Keith Gentry (Shutterstock).

These Are the Companies that Protect Your Data from the Government (And the Ones That Don't) [Privacy]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:00:00 PDT

The Electronic Frontier Foundation took a look at 18 different web companies to see which ones are serious about user privacy—and which ones are likely to hand your data over to the government at a moment's notice.

Last month, Twitter was subpoenaed for information about a particular user being investigated for Occupy Wall Street protests. Twitter asked for the case to be thrown out, but not all internet companies would be so kind—in fact, many would hand over your information, often without even telling you. Check out the infographic at the right to see where your favorite companies lie on the issue—you might be surprised at what you find (you can click on the image for a closer look). For more information on how the chart was put together, check out the EFF's full report by clicking the link below.

When the Government Comes Knocking, Who Has Your Back? | Electronic Frontier Foundation via Gizmodo

Facebook Auto-Sharing Apps Get a Little Less Creepy, But You Should Still Avoid Them [Facebook]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:30:00 PDT

Most of you have probably seen Facebook's new "frictionless sharing" apps—like Socialcam or even the Washington Post's Social Reader—pop up in your news feed, automatically sharing videos your friends have watched (probably without them realizing it). Facebook has implemented some new rules to avoid accidental auto-sharing, but it doesn't make these apps any less of a plague on Facebook. Here's what you need to know.

For those of you that haven't seen these yet, "frictionless sharing" apps are simple: one of your friends posts a video via Socialcam, or reads an article via the Washington Post, and anyone who clicks on it in their news feed is prompted to install the Socialcam or Washington Post app. In doing so, they give that app permission to publish the fact that they watched that video to their news feed, and every time they watch a Socialcam video thereafter. And thus the app begins to spread amongst all your friends, at best creating more spam, and at worst embarrassing those who don't realized it's all being published to their profile.

Facebook's new rule states that apps like this can no longer publish material until someone has been watching or reading that link for more than 10 seconds. It also requires those apps to be perfectly clear about the fact that, every time you visit a link using that app, that material will be published on Facebook. In addition, they say developers should all allow opt-out mechanisms in their app, so users don't have to publish this material to Facebook.

Our advice? You should still probably avoid these apps, and encourage your friends to do the same. They cause more angst than they solve, and if you think an article or video really looks interesting, you're probably better off just googling the title rather than reading it through an app that's going to spam all your friends. Or, better yet, hide those apps from your news feed altogether and call it a day. Hit the link to read more, and if you haven't vetted your Facebook apps in a while, check out our always up-to-date Facebook privacy guide for more information on how to do so.

Platform Updates: Operation Developer Love | Facebook Developer's Blog

Windows 8 Will Now Offer Desktop Apps In the Windows Store...Sort Of [In Brief]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:20:00 PDT

We've seen what the Windows Store looks like, and it's a good way to get new metro apps for Windows 8 PCs and tablets. However, it doesn't offer desktop apps, and that irked us from the very start. Starting today, the Windows Store will list desktop apps for easier discovery, but those entried will merely be links to the developer's web site where you can buy it from them directly. We have mixed feelings about this—on one hand, it's annoying that you still can't get desktop apps as easily as you can mobile apps, but it's also nice to see the developers getting more focus (unlike on the Mac platform, where Apple uses the Mac App Store to take a cut from all app sales). Either way, there's now one more way to discover desktop apps for Windows. You can check out the new store in the Windows 8 Release Preview. [MSDN Blogs]

How Do I Figure Out What's Slowing Down My Jailbroken iPhone? [Ask Lifehacker]

Thorin Klosowski — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:00:00 PDT

Dear Lifehacker,
I recently jailbroke my iPhone and installed a boatload of jailbreak apps, and at first everything was going great. After a few days, though, my phone slowed down and now it occasionally even crashes. Is there a way to hunt down the culprits and figure out what's going on?

Sincerely,
Slow Jailbreaker

Dear SJ,
It has long been rumored that jailbreaking your iPhone automatically causes it run slowly, but your jailbreak isn't the culprit. It's some—not all—of the apps you install from Cydia, the App Store for jailbreak apps and tweaks. With that in mind, let's take a look at the ways you can track down the offending tweaks and apps and get your iPhone back into good running shape.

Reboot Your iPhone, Check Your Available Storage, and Check for Updates

Before we get into digging for apps that are slowing down your iPhone let's start by making sure you're in good shape to begin with. The first thing to do is just reboot your phone and see if that helps (hold down the home and power button until it reboots). If a reboot doesn't work check your memory usage. Jailbreaking doesn't take up much disk space on its own, but the apps you install do. Tap Settings > General > Usage and look at how much storage space you have left. If it's below 1 GB, you probably want to start clearing out apps you don't use or media you don't need.

You might also want to check in Cydia for updates to your apps. Around the time of a new jailbreak, for example, an app or tweak might suck up memory until it's updated to support the new operating system. In Cydia, tap Changes, and if any new versions of your jailbreak apps are available, tap Upgrade.

If you're still experiencing problems, it's time to track down the culprit.

Track Your Available RAM When Using Apps

If your apps are updated and all is well on the the storage front, then it's time to hunt for the culprit. The best way to do this involves watching your phone's available RAM (RAM is sort of like your phone's short-term memory). We'll do this with a jailbreak app called SBSettings.

Open Cydia, search for, and install SBSettings. SBSettings stands for Springboard Settings and allows you to see what's going on under the hood of your iPhone. In our case we're looking at the RAM usage. Once installed, open up SBSettings and tap SB Settings Options > Statusbar Free Mem. You'll now see how much RAM your iPhone has available next to the clock on the status bar.

When you're on the home screen and not doing anything it should show around 250-300 MB of RAM free. When you perform any action or open any app, your RAM will decrease. Play around with a bunch of your newly installed jailbreak apps and see if you see a huge drop in the amount of memory used. If you do, that app is probably the cause of the sluggish behavior. Uninstall it and see if your performance is improved. The same goes for any tweaks or anything else you have installed. For instance, if you're idling and not using any apps and your available memory is still really low, the problem might be in one of the tweaks you have running in the background. These might include Notification Center widgets or home screen tweaks. If nothing is clearly causing a problem, it's time to disable your downloads one by one.

Disable Themes, Custom Animations, and Interface Tweaks One-By-One

If none of the above tips work and your iPhone is still sluggish you have to go through your tweaks one at a time. Fortunately for those who have a lot of apps installed the process isn't totally random.

First off, if you're using a custom skin with the reskinning utility Winterboard you should disable it and see if that clears up the problem. In a lot of cases, especially with older model iPhones, Winterboard can slow down iOS a lot. If that doesn't work, it's time to pop into SBSettings again.

In SBSettings tap Mobile Substrate Addons. Here you'll find a list of tweaks and apps that fundamentally change how your iPhone's operating system works. These might include tweaks that push mail, Activator functions, or anything that changes the look of the operating system. In most cases it's one of these downloads that causes slowdown. Go through each tweak and disable them one at a time to see if your iPhone's performance increases.

If your iPhone is still sluggish then you're remaining option is to uninstall apps one at a time. Open up Cydia, tap Manage > Packages and start going through your list of installed apps. Delete apps you've installed that you suspect might be the problem, reboot, and see if it fixes your phone. Continue this process until you find the culprit.

Unfortunately, tracking down a resource hogging app isn't as easy as popping up an activity monitor and removing anything not working properly. However, the above tips should help you pinpoint the app causing slowdown so you can get rid of it.

Sincerely,
Lifehacker

P.S. Have your own system for tracking down loose cannon jailbreak apps bent on slowing down your iPhone? Share them in the comments.

Have a question or suggestion for Ask Lifehacker? Send it to tips+asklh@lifehacker.com.

Put a Duvet Cover on with Minimum Effort by Rolling It Like a Burrito [Video]

Melanie Pinola — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:30:00 PDT

If you've ever tried to put a duvet cover onto a comforter (or duvet), you probably know a unique kind of bed-making frustration. This video shows what's probably the simplest, easiest way to get that unwieldy comforter encased—no shaking required.

Sure, there are other inside-out methods that are easier than trying to tug the comforter into the cover, but why shake the giant thing when you can just roll everything together, magic burrito-style?

Master bed maker Scott Culley demonstrates this method in all of two minutes in the YouTube video above. Just roll, pull through, and unroll. Magical.

(P.S. Keep the comforter from bunching up in the middle with trusty binder clips on the corners.)

Duvet Burrito | YouTube

How to Make Coffee with Minimal Equipment and Maintenance [Crowdhacker]

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:00:00 PDT

Drip machines and percolators take up too much space, French presses are a hassle to clean, and instant machines make coffee that tastes like crap. How to quickly make a cup of Joe that tastes great and leaves little mess? There are a number of options. The kitcheneers at Stack Exchange give you a few of them.

Question:

My household doesn't regularly drink coffee, but we occasionally want to provide coffee for our guests.

We have a coffee maker, but it's been sitting in the garage for ages. It's now dusty, and requires too much cleaning and counter space to drip back into our good graces.

What is the most simple, easy-to-maintain means of producing plain old coffee?

— KatieK (originally asked here)

Lifehacker Answer: AeroPress

Normally we leave all these answers to the users from Stack Overflow, but since I've got a strong opinion on this one, I'll add my two cents. You'll see this mentioned below as well, but for $25 on Amazon, the AeroPress makes some of the best coffee you'll ever taste, and it's incredibly easy to clean up. You can brew coffee with an AeroPress in many different ways, but I've had my best cups using Ben's method from the World AeroPress Championships recipe page.

As a final note, freshly roasted, whole beans make a huge difference, and a burr grinder will serve you better than a blade grinder. Since you're not looking at spending much, a crank burr grinder is probably your best bet.

For more details from the Lifehacker perspective, see our guide to dropping the drip and making better coffee.

— Adam Pash

Answer: Cone Filter

I'd pick up a simple pour-over coffee maker and cone filter at the local coffee shop (Melitta makes a few good products).

Insert a paper filter, add grounds, pour hot water through. Presto.

— Answered by Chris Cudmore

Answer: La Macchinetta & La Macchinetta Napoletana

If your guests like Italian coffee you can buy a Moka.

These are ubiquitous in Italy, where it is called la macchinetta - the little machine. Every household has one, or often more then one, with different sizes. The classical one is sold by Bialetti.

Use is simple: fill with water, fill with coffee, throw on the stove, wait, and pour. Maintenance is easy. With a Moka, soaping and overwashing are discouraged.

Also used in Italy: the macchinetta napoletana, known in the States as the flip-over coffee pot. See Eduardo de Filippo, one of the best Italian actors of all time, speak of the macchinetta napoletana's virtues (in Italian) in this scene from Questi fantasmi.

As Eduardo says, coffee making is "the poetry of life." Maximizing caffeine content in your coffee is, well, something else.

— Answered by nico

Answer: The Cezve (AKA the Ibrik)

A cezve is an easily cleanable pot that allows you to make Turkish coffee. In my opinion, the cezve is the way to go when it comes to making coffee quick and easy and with minimal clean up. Check out these instructions on how to use a cezve (sometimes called an ibrik).

Also, a French press is tolerable (see some tips on grinding for a French press and just how much coffee:water you should use), but you knew that already. Right?

— Answered by Mischa Arefiev

Answer: AeroPress

I use an AeroPress. Its cheap, quick (if your water's hot, it can take less than a minute), super easy to keep clean and it makes high-quality (and versatile) coffee.

It requires a small filter (I bought a pack of 250 or so when I first got it 18 months ago and I'm only just running out now). The finished grounds are pressed into a "puck" which makes for convenient and dry trashing. See this video tutorial to learn how to use an AeroPress.

— Answered by NBenatar

Do you have a quicker, cleaner and altogether better way to make coffee? Submit your answer at Stack Exchange or leave it in the comments. Stack Exchange is a place to trade expert knowledge on diverse topics from software programming to cycling to scientific skepticism.

Title image by Sean Gallagher.

Take a Sneak Preview at Your Weekend in This Week's Open Thread [Open Thread]

Adam Pash — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:22:00 PDT

Pour one more cup of coffee, grab that last donut, and step inside. Lifehacker's weekly open thread starts now.

Same drill as always, open-threaders: You can chat and ask questions with your fellow readers all week long at the #openthread hashtag page, but our weekly open thread post is your opportunity to reach the most people. Ask questions, offer advice, discuss productivity tips, or just chat about whatever's on your mind. You'll need a commenter account to participate, then you're ready to roll.

An extra reminder: If you're not quite satisfied with the interaction in the weekly open thread or in #tips, remember that you can also share your expertise every day on our Expert Pages.

Photo by Toby Charlton-Taylor.

Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead: A Three Step Process [Inspiration]

Melanie Pinola — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:00:00 PDT

Nobody wants to suck, but the truth is, before you can be great at anything, you're going to suck. Coding Horror blogger and co-founder of Stack Overflow Jeff Atwood has three simple rules for going from the sucking to awesome.

He writes on Coding Horror that "the only thing that prevents us from being awesome is our own fear of sucking." What he's found works for him and others to push past that:

1. Embrace the Suck
2. Do It in Public
3. Pick Stuff That Matters

These are his slides expanding on the above: (As presentation slides, they're brief but most of the points are pretty clear. For ones that are cryptic, you can download the full presentation with his notes on Slideshare):

How to stop sucking and be awesome instead

View more PowerPoint from codinghorror

So many great points here, including acknowledging that sucking will always be there in some form, "maximizing the value of your keystrokes," and doing something useful or cool for someone else. Let's all go be awesome!

How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead | Coding Horror

Hide Your Ugly Wi-Fi Router in a Book Cover [DIY]

Whitson Gordon — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:30:00 PDT

If you're sick of looking at your router's ugly design and blinking lights all day, you can camouflage it with the rest of your home by hiding it in a book cover.

Of course, sometimes you need to see those blinking lights, but if you've solved all your router's usual problems, you probably don't—and you can hide it anywhere you want, as long as you aren't blocking its signal. It's easy to do: just take the binding off an old book you aren't going to read, stick you router inside, and put the book back on the shelf with the others. Apart from a little antenna sticking out, you'll never have to look at that ugly thing again. Of course, you can always hide it in an old school radio, too. Hit the link for more pictures and instructions.

Update: Many of you bring up a good point, and that is heat. If your router's a bit more prone to overheating, you may want to make sure you use a book significantly larger than your router so you can get a little room for airflow around it. As always, your mileage may vary.

Re-Style Your Wireless Internet Router | Anumu via Apartment Therapy

ManualsLib Is a Free, No-Sign Up Required Library of Product Manuals [Webapps]

Thorin Klosowski — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:00:00 PDT

It's easy to lose track of manuals, especially when it's something you don't need to reference very often like a large appliance. ManualsLib is a free collection of a ton of different product manuals that doesn't require an account to access.

We've talked about using Google and Amazon to find manuals before, but ManualsLib is another resource you can add to your manual hunting toolkit. The database has around 450,000 manuals currently and an easy-to-use search engine for finding them. Unlike other libraries of PDF manuals ManualsLib doesn't require an account or payment for files. You can also view the files directly in your browser. However, if you do want to download the manual so you can reduce clutter and store it on an ereader you can with a single click.

ManualsLib | via Addictive Tips

Stop Using Your Email Inbox Like a Filing Cabinet [Email]

Thorin Klosowski — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:30:00 PDT

It's easy to let old emails pile up over time and disappear into a large, unorganized mass in your inbox. You might think to yourself that someday, perhaps, you'll need old messages so you should store them forever. Unclutterer recommends you stop thinking of your inbox as a filing cabinet and get rid of old emails completely.

Unclutterer suggestss a simple four step process for clearing out your inbox:

Decide what each message is.

Decide what must be done.

Do what must be done.

Delete the message (or archive it in a separate folder, if that is what your employer directs).

The point is that you delete old messages that you don't need to reference at some point instead of letting them pile up and distract you when you're looking for something important. If you're always searching around for that one important email in a sea of junk, spam, and useless notes, this method might be a good approach to take.

Your email inbox is not a filing cabinet | Unclutterer

Photo remixed from Alexander Staubo.

Improve Your Memory by Combining Information with Bizarre Images [Memory]

Thorin Klosowski — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:00:00 PDT

We all want to improve our memory a little and while you won't find a shortage of complicated tricks to drastically improve your memory sometimes we forget about the easier methods. Illustrator Yumi Sakugawa offers up a few suggestions to improve your memory, including the two easiest methods: combine information with a gesture (or bizarre image) and speak it out loud.

One of the easiest ways to remember something is to say it out loud or write it down so it cements the fact in your mind. If that doesn't work, you can pair a piece of information with a gesture or a bizarre image. When you make that gesture again you're more likely to recall the information and the bizarre image is simply more likely to stick in your head.

Other tips include coming up with a memorable acronym, chunking information into smaller bits, and one of our favorites, the memory palace. If you're looking for a few more ways to boost your memory, check out our guide to training like a USA Memory Champion.

Boost Your Brain Power: 7 Tips for Improving Your Memory | Secret Tips from the Yumiverse