Fourth of July Power Tips: Celebrate Your Independence Even More Efficiently [Holidays] - Lifehacker - Nisecomo.net GENERA TU TRAFICO WEB Directorio RSS - Directorio de Feeds RSS, Blogs y Podcasts
For those of you in the U.S. celebrating Independence Day tomorrow, don't forget to brush up on your Fourth of July skills. First, here's one way to make a yummy-looking holiday strawberry daiquiri (pictured middle)—look at those gorgeous blueberries and the clever starfruit garnish. If daiquiris aren't your thing, opt for red, white, and blue sangria instead. Then, make sure you're prepared to be the July Fourth grill master. Finally, before you take your camera out to the fireworks display, find out how to get better fireworks photos this year. And if you've got a few extra hours this long weekend? Why not try out one of our top 10 summer DIY projects. What are your Fourth of July power tips? Do share in the comments—so we can quit early this afternoon. Have a great long weekend everyone! Daiquiri photo by TowerGirl, steak photo by Another Pint Please....
Windows only: Freeware application CostOfSmoking helps you understand just how much money you've lost to smoking over the lifetime of your habit. The end goal of your improved understanding of the financial cost of smoking is to help motivate quitting. The application, to be honest, is about as ugly as any I've seen, but while there are tons of web-based calculators, none have the options that this app has. CostOfSmoking is freeware, Windows only.
CNN reports that a third of companies offering health insurance to employees also provide a wellness program, including fitness, weight-loss, and stop-smoking programs. The article focuses on employers' motivation for wellness programs—namely circumventing eventual health insurance costs—and the extent to which they're an invasion of employee privacy, but we're most curious as to whether or not your employer offers a wellness program and, if so, if you're taking advantage of it.
If your employer does offer a wellness program, let's hear what sort of programs are included and which you've taken advantage of in the comments.
The plastic card cable organizer manages cords under or behind your desk and keeps cords—like your iPod charging cord—from falling off your desk when unplugged. The idea behind the card cable organizer is exactly the same as previously mentioned Keep-a-Cable, but this DIY version transforms your unused club cards into cable holders with a hole punch and some scissors. Clever.
Mac OS X only: Donationware application Organized is a Dashboard widget that integrates with your system notes, events, and to-dos, providing you with quick access to all of your activities. Made by the folks who brought you previously mentioned iStat Menus, Organized boasts an attractive interface and impressive feature set. The widget integrates with iCal and Mail for managing your events, notes, and to-dos, which is great, but the biggest disappointment is that it only comes in Dashboard widget form (as opposed to iStat menus, which is either a widget or menu bar app). Organized is donationware, requires OS X 10.5. Thanks Jason!
You download, create, delete, and move around countless files and endless piles of data on your PC every day. While your PC would ideally handle all of this data for you, it doesn't take long before you end up with a disorganized, cluttered computer. On Tuesday we asked you to share your favorite Windows maintenance tools, and today we're back with the five most popular answers. Hit the jump for an overview of the five best Windows maintenance tools, then cast your vote for the best of the bunch.
CCleaner
Any application called CCleaner where the first 'C' stands for Crap has to be good, right? Okay, maybe not, but this one is, thoroughly cleaning out your web browser, Recycle Bin and temporary files, registry, unnecessary third-party application trash, and oh so much more. Running CCleaner on your system promises to free up space, keep your computer running smoothly, and protect your privacy. It's also very fast and very easy to use. (Read more)
Revo Uninstaller
Revo Uninstaller is a feature-rich replacement for the Windows default Add or Remove Programs feature (or Uninstall Programs in Vista). Why use Revo Uninstaller instead? Because not only does it just uninstall a program—it also removes all traces of the program from your system where the basic uninstaller may not. Revo also boasts a Hunter Mode for uninstalling apps by dragging a cross-hair onto the app you want to uninstall, whether it's the app's system tray icon or just a shortcut. It even helps manage your startup applications. (Read more)
Auslogics Disk Defrag
Auslogics Disk Defrag is a fast and effective disk defragmenter intended to replace the Windows default. It's quick and easy to use, and Auslogics DD provides a nicely formatted report of the latest defrag, including a motivating "Defragmentation has increased this computer performance by X%" message.
JkDefrag
JkDefrag is an open-source disk defragmenting tool. Unlike Auslogics DD, JkDefrag boasts command line support to allow you to set up your disk defrags on a schedule. Perhaps even better, JkDefrag has an installable screensaver that will automatically start defragging your hard drive whenever the screensaver is launched—it even displays the defrag process. Out of the box JkDefrag isn't the most attractive application you'll ever use, but when teamed with the previously mentioned JkDefrag GUI, it's just as attractive and easy to use as any defragger you'll find.
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Even if you're using one of the best antivirus applications available, you may still end up with some form of malware on your computer. Spybot-S&D will ensure that it isn't there for long. Apart from removing spyware, adware, dialers, keyloggers, and trojans, Spyware-S&D can also cover your usage tracks—like browsing or file history—to give you enhanced privacy on your computer.
Now that you've seen the most popular five Windows maintenance tools as chosen by your fellow readers, it's time to vote for the best.
This week's honorable mentions pool is a big one, including start-up manager AutoRuns, system cleaner nCleaner, hard drive analyzer WinDirStat, and the FileHippo Update Checker. Whether or not your favorite made the big list, let's hear more about why you love it in the comments.
Adam Pash is a senior editor for Lifehacker whose computer maintenance is so intense that he considers it the PC equivalent of a Brazilian wax. His Hive Five feature appears every Thursday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Hive Five RSS feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
One of the lesser-known useful things about Gmail's filters is that they work on email you send as well as email you receive. So you can do things like label all messages you send with the word "Request" in the subject as "Waiting for," or label any email that has the word "Invoice" in it that you send to your client or boss with the "Invoice" label, or label any email that goes to certain addresses "Family" or "Softball team." There are some limitations with outgoing Gmail filters, however—you can't search on special characters (like [w], as suggested here) and you can't do certain actions, like forward the messages to another email address. Do you filter outgoing Gmail? What are your most useful filters? Share in the comments.
Postica's a latecomer to the free online sticky notes arena, but it carries with it a few neat features that set it apart. First and foremost is the ability to attach any kind of file (up to 5 MB) to a sticky note, and then send that note to a friend, whether or not they have an account. Secondly, Twitter users can share notes and create new notes on their board, even designating the color, by direct-message postica. For organizing a multi-file project by yourself or in a group, Postica's a simple but attractive option. Postica is free to use, requires a sign-up.
Designer Vijayakrishnan gives us a tour of his gorgeous Windows multi-desktop, which makes you look at it three times to figure out what operating system he's using. With a Mac style and a few free programs like RocketDock, Deskspace, and Findexer, he's really tricked out Windows XP. Get closeups of each of his two main desktops—shown here in a rotating cube—after the jump.
Margaret Garcia at the Wise Bread blog shares her stories of consumer product woe and notes that in three separate cases, phone calls and emails led to half-hearted apologies, but ink-on-paper letters got her and her family free replacements:
(My husband has) bought the same model of New Balance running shoes four times and they've all worn and cracked in the exact same place. He called and complained a few times, but his last letter earned him a pair of new New Balance shoes free.
What companies have shown you true remorse with free gear when you wrote them? How do you phrase a letter to make sure it gets heard? Let's hear your tips and strategies in the comments. Photo by ivanatm.
Windows Mobile/Windows CE/Palm OS: Although development has halted on the project, The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) remains a robust option for media playback on Windows and Palm-based mobile devices. TCPMP supports video streaming and a wide variety of video formats including AVI, MP4, ASF, MPEG 1 and 4, WMV, DivX and XviD, to name a few. TCPMP also plays back several digital audio file formats, including MP3, OGG, and WAV. TCPMP's interface is simple and clean with emphasis on ease of playback and a light memory footprint. TCPMP is a free download for Windows Mobile/CE and Palm OS.
Windows only: Freeware application CostOfSmoking helps you understand just how much money you've lost to smoking over the lifetime of your habit. The end goal of your improved understanding of the financial cost of smoking is to help motivate quitting. The application, to be honest, is about as ugly as any I've seen, but while there are tons of web-based calculators, none have the options that this app has. CostOfSmoking is freeware, Windows only.
CNN reports that a third of companies offering health insurance to employees also provide a wellness program, including fitness, weight-loss, and stop-smoking programs. The article focuses on employers' motivation for wellness programs—namely circumventing eventual health insurance costs—and the extent to which they're an invasion of employee privacy, but we're most curious as to whether or not your employer offers a wellness program and, if so, if you're taking advantage of it.
The plastic card cable organizer manages cords under or behind your desk and keeps cords—like your iPod charging cord—from falling off your desk when unplugged. The idea behind the card cable organizer is exactly the same as previously mentioned Keep-a-Cable, but this DIY version transforms your unused club cards into cable holders with a hole punch and some scissors. Clever.
Mac OS X only: Donationware application Organized is a Dashboard widget that integrates with your system notes, events, and to-dos, providing you with quick access to all of your activities. Made by the folks who brought you previously mentioned iStat Menus, Organized boasts an attractive interface and impressive feature set. The widget integrates with iCal and Mail for managing your events, notes, and to-dos, which is great, but the biggest disappointment is that it only comes in Dashboard widget form (as opposed to iStat menus, which is either a widget or menu bar app). Organized is donationware, requires OS X 10.5. Thanks Jason!
Any application called CCleaner where the first 'C' stands for Crap has to be good, right? Okay, maybe not, but this one is, thoroughly cleaning out your web browser, Recycle Bin and temporary files, registry, unnecessary third-party application trash, and oh so much more. Running CCleaner on your system promises to free up space, keep your computer running smoothly, and protect your privacy. It's also very fast and very easy to use. (Read more) 
Revo Uninstaller is a feature-rich replacement for the Windows default Add or Remove Programs feature (or Uninstall Programs in Vista). Why use Revo Uninstaller instead? Because not only does it just uninstall a program—it also removes all traces of the program from your system where the basic uninstaller may not. Revo also boasts a Hunter Mode for uninstalling apps by dragging a cross-hair onto the app you want to uninstall, whether it's the app's system tray icon or just a shortcut. It even helps manage your startup applications. (Read more) 
Auslogics Disk Defrag is a fast and effective disk defragmenter intended to replace the Windows default. It's quick and easy to use, and Auslogics DD provides a nicely formatted report of the latest defrag, including a motivating "Defragmentation has increased this computer performance by X%" message. 
JkDefrag is an open-source disk defragmenting tool. Unlike Auslogics DD, JkDefrag boasts command line support to allow you to set up your disk defrags on a schedule. Perhaps even better, JkDefrag has an installable screensaver that will automatically start defragging your hard drive whenever the screensaver is launched—it even displays the defrag process. Out of the box JkDefrag isn't the most attractive application you'll ever use, but when teamed with the previously mentioned JkDefrag GUI, it's just as attractive and easy to use as any defragger you'll find. 
Even if you're using one of the best antivirus applications available, you may still end up with some form of malware on your computer. Spybot-S&D will ensure that it isn't there for long. Apart from removing spyware, adware, dialers, keyloggers, and trojans, Spyware-S&D can also cover your usage tracks—like browsing or file history—to give you enhanced privacy on your computer. 
One of the lesser-known useful things about Gmail's filters is that they work on email you send as well as email you receive. So you can do things like label all messages you send with the word "Request" in the subject as "Waiting for," or label any email that has the word "Invoice" in it that you send to your client or boss with the "Invoice" label, or label any email that goes to certain addresses "Family" or "Softball team." There are some limitations with outgoing Gmail filters, however—you can't search on special characters (like [w], as suggested here) and you can't do certain actions, like forward the messages to another email address. Do you filter outgoing Gmail? What are your most useful filters? Share in the comments.
Postica's a latecomer to the free online sticky notes arena, but it carries with it a few neat features that set it apart. First and foremost is the ability to attach any kind of file (up to 5 MB) to a sticky note, and then send that note to a friend, whether or not they have an account. Secondly, Twitter users can share notes and create new notes on their board, even designating the color, by direct-message 
Windows Mobile/Windows CE/Palm OS: Although development has halted on the project, The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) remains a robust option for media playback on Windows and Palm-based mobile devices. TCPMP supports video streaming and a wide variety of video formats including AVI, MP4, ASF, MPEG 1 and 4, WMV, DivX and XviD, to name a few. TCPMP also plays back several digital audio file formats, including MP3, OGG, and WAV. TCPMP's interface is simple and clean with emphasis on ease of playback and a light memory footprint. TCPMP is a free download for Windows Mobile/CE and Palm OS.
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