IT News
Three-Course Meals from Four Cans
Great food doesn't require an afternoon in a crowded produce section. An industrious chef and clever blogger post three-course meal plans that can be fashioned from four relatively cheap canned foods and pantry staples.
Photo by JudeanPeoplesFront.
Yotam Ottolenghi takes cans of corn niblets, smoked oysters, plum tomatoes and pineapple to create a kind of tasting menu of corn fritters, conchiglie (fancy-speak for pasta) in smoked oyster sauce, and griddled pineapple for dessert. Claire Sellers at the Serious Eats blog takes on Ottolenghi's unofficial challenge and crafts a corn chowder, crab cakes, and a pear crisp that reads like it's a pretty delicious improvisation. Both menus are relatively easy to recreate in your own kitchen, require only a few extra items that most people have stocked, and might just inspire you to tackle your own Iron Chef: My Cupboard some night this week.
So, let's hear it then: What four cans could you pull from your pantry, or off your favorite grocer's shelves, and turn into a meal deserving of serving? Bonus points for creative anchovy use; demerits for mixed vegetables. Yotam Ottolenghi's three-course dinner in just four tins [The Guardian]
Five Star Meals in Just Four Cans [Serious Eats]Five Best Malware Removal Tools
On Thursday we asked you to share your favorite tool for purging malware from your computer. We've tallied the votes and we're back with the top five contenders for best malware removal tool.
Photo by Anonymous9000.
The internet—unfortunately—isn't a never-ending buffet of secure open-source software and Bollywood-style musicals starring LOLCats. There are people and organizations that delight in stealing your personal data, hijacking your computer, and making a general nuisance of themselves through malicious software. This week we're highlighting the top five tools for removing software with ill-intentions from you PC.
Spybot Search & Destroy (Windows, Freeware)Spybot Search & Destroy has made quite a name for itself over the years, earning accolades from both general and computer-focused publications. Spybot Search & Destroy is the highest ranked freeware tool at 2Spyware.com, a website that ranks malware removal tools. In addition to scanning for malware, Spybot Search & Destroy also has a variety of additional functionality, including a botnet scanner, hosts-file modification (to keep malware from calling home), a secure file shredder, and a dummy code feautre (it replaces malicious or questionable adware modules with inert code so the dependent program will keep functioning). As an added bonus Spybot Search & Destroy is compatible with every version of Windows dating back to Windows 95.
SUPERAntiSpyware is available as both a freeware and premium edition like Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (see below), but the level of restrictions on the freeware edition are considerably higher. The free version is limited to basic on-demand scanning and malware removal. The premium version includes real-time scanning, registry protection, a scheduling service, auto-scan on startup, and 50 startup diagnostics to stop malware infections before they spread. One of SUPERAntiSpyware's strongest selling points is its high level of compatibility with other protection tools like Avira, Kaspersky, Symantec, and McAfee. In most cases it can be run along side other tools without any conflict.
ComboFix is just as spartan as the screenshot here makes it look. You download ComboFix, run it, and it takes care of the rest. The basic ComboFix process looks like this: It backs up your registry, checks to see if you have Windows Recovery Console installed, and then it goes to town on your system scanning away through 40+ stages. When it's done, ComboFix spits out a log file and lists all the malware it found, which ones it was able to remove, and which ones you'll have to use your Google-fu to look up how to remove manually. It isn't fancy, but it gets the job done and gives you a detailed report at the end to take to security forums for help if you need it.
Malwarebytes' flagship application Anti-Malware is a shareware malware-removal tool. The principle difference between the free and premium version of the application is real-time monitoring. If you don't need active scanning against threats, the free version uses the same database and does an admirable job ferreting out infections. Anti-Malware was, for example, one of the few malware removal tools that could detect and remove the Antivirus XP 2008, a spyware application that masqueraded as an antivirus app. The Anti-Malware installation includes another application from Malwarebytes called FileASSASSIN—a helpful tool for deleting files locked by Windows.
HijackThis stands alone in this Hive Five as being the least automated yet most likely to completely wreck your system if used incorrectly. HijackThis does a comprehensive scan of the state of your computer and reports back an enormous log file. The tool makes no judgement on whether or not an application, browser modification, or registry entry is malicious or not. It simply generates a list of things that could have been potentially altered or tampered with by spyware, malware, or other malicious programs. Advanced users can look over the log themselves and determine what needs to be pruned. If you're not comfortable doing that, your best bet is to take the log file to a popular security forum like BleepingComputer or SpywareInfoForum and ask their armies of knowledgeable volunteer malware slayers to comb over it for you. Alternately, while not a replacement for receiving expert help from people in the forums, HijackThis.de is a web-based HijackThis log reader which is updated nightly. You upload your log file, it scans the file for relevant entries and gives you links to articles on how to remove the malware found in the log.
Now that you've had a chance to look over the contenders for top malware killer, it's time to cast your vote and see who goes home with the crown. A note about the poll: the option for "Other" is missing from this week's poll. We understand that the best way to get rid of malware is to hit it with multiple tools until the infestation is good and dead, but we'd like you to cast your vote based on the best possible (single) tool for the job, not on the scorched earth policy of using them all. If you have an Other vote for a completely different malware-removal tool, we're happy to hear it in the comments.
Which Malware Removal Tool is Best?(answers)
This week's honorable mention goes to "Reformat" (as in your hard drive) as a last-ditch, foolproof solution to your malware problems. Apparently sometimes when you find a mouse in the kitchen the only way to be sure there aren't any more of them in the walls is to burn the whole house down. Have a malware horror story, a favorite tool, or a prevention tip you want to share? Sound off in the comments below.
Beat Your MP3 Tags Into Shape with These MediaMonkey Scripts
Inconsistently tagged MP3s can be a real pain. Avoid hours spent digging through your music aligning bands and album tags with these hard-working MediaMonkey scripts.
Over at tips and tricks blog Tippopotramus, editors got annoyed with inconsistent tags in their MP3 collection. Depending on what database your tag data came from, which application you ripped your music with, and where those random downloads cam from, you could end up with a variety of naming conventions for bands and albums. They've assembled a list of MediaMonkey scripts that will comb through your music collection and make sure that everything from the band name to the track numbering is consistent and uniform.
For more tips on cleaning up your MP3s, including some MediaMonkey moves, check out LH alumnus Rick's epic series on whipping your MP3s into shape—Part I, II, and III. Thanks Daniel! Media Monkey Scripts to Make Your MP3 Tags Consistent
Top 10 Ubuntu Downloads
The reviews are in, and the just-released Ubuntu 9.04, i.e. "Jaunty Jackalope," rates as a slick, fully-formed Linux desktop. Looking to get started or upgrade your system? We're recommending 10 downloads for everyone to try.
Graphic by Andrew Mason.
A quick note about this compilation—it's a little different than a list of Windows or Mac utilities. We link to each application's home page, but most of them (with exceptions noted) can be installed from Ubuntu's repositories, the default collection of software any user can access by heading to their System menu, then Administration, then choosing Synaptic Package Manager. Search out the app's name there to install it (or, for terminal fans, type something like sudo apt-get install conky). Many of the applications also have Windows or Mac versions that work well for dual-booting users.
10. Ubuntu TweakIf you're fine with all the default settings on your shiny-fresh Ubuntu system, you have no need for Ubuntu Tweak. For newcomers, or anyone who feels confined by having their Computer icon stuck with the name "Computer," Ubuntu Tweak is an OCD multi-tool. Besides allowing you to change all the little bits and ends of Ubuntu in a manner far easier than editing a text file or using the gconf-editor tool, Ubuntu Tweak also turns installing (and keeping up-to-date) third-party upgrades like the Avant Window Navigator dock or the latest Firefox beta into a simple check-the-box job. Short version for Windows geeks: It's like TweakUI for Linux. (Head to the program site to download).
Look, we get it—not everyone's a fan of widgets/gadgets/whathaveyou, and we totally understand; turning off Vista's sidebar was one of the first things we did on a new install. But the Screenlets application gives you access to any of the hundreds upon hundreds of Google Gadgets and other open widgets, some of them hardnessing actual productivity tools like Google Calendar or Remember the Milk. With Ubuntu's now built-in Compiz powers, you can even set the Screenlets to be hidden away until you press a key (like, say, the Mac's F9 default). To do that, you'll need to install the compizconfig-settings-manager package, where you'll find all kinds of other goodies.
We've always liked Handbrake, our readers like it, too, and it works just fine in Linux (as it does on Windows and for Macs). With its latest version, Handbrake works hand-in-hand with our favorite media player, VLC, to make ripping any DVD into a video file for any device. (Head to the program site to grab a pre-compiled Ubuntu version; the 8.10 version should work fine in 9.04).
It's come a long way, but no Ubuntu user can get by without a little command line work now and then. Yakuake takes the drop-down terminal from gaming touchstone Quake, makes it seriously speedy and easy to tab, and customized coloring and transparency shading for a terminal that looks how you want it, pops up in the same place each time, and feels a lot more integrated into your overall experience. Technically, it's built for KDE-based systems (like Ubuntu's KDE version, Kubuntu), but GNOME-based systems like Ubuntu can run it with very few dependencies or problems. You'll want to make this one start up with your system.
Trying out new Linux distributions is fun, even if you're a long-term relationship with an Ubuntu desktop. Because, hey, maybe CrunchBang would make a good quick-boot alternative, right? And isn't the Fedora 11 beta looking mighty nice? UNetbootin makes it dead simple to turn pretty much any Linux distribution into one that boots from a USB stick. It can automatically download and install the majority of popular distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, etc.), or adapt any bootable ISO file you've got. You can even get crazy and custom-roll your own system from a chosen kernel, but UNetbootin doesn't require much more than one download and one click.
Songbird's available on all three platforms, but if you're one of the vast many iPod or iPhone owners out there on a Windows or Mac machine, there's a good chance you're okay with having iTunes run your music and manage your device (not that there aren't alternative iPod wranglers). Linux has its fair share of innovative music managers, but Songbird is the most adaptable, attractive, and streamlined music app around. It too can manage your iPod (except for the standard iPhone/iPod touch conundrum), grab album art from the web, play the streaming tracks from any web site with its built-in browser, and offers a whole host of neat add-ons that mash up web data, customize how Songbird looks and feels, and basically change up anything the way that extensions can for Firefox. It's not perfect, but it's very usable on almost any Linux desktop. (Head to the program site to download).
This one's an old-school app, controlled entirely by text files, but the results can be brilliant, as evidenced by one hacker's mutli-colored, iconic desktop, or a setup for fans of to-dos and Twitter replies. Best of all, you can mix and match the features and data you want displayed in any setup, as we showed you in our Conky guide. Basically, Conky can put any data you want, from your desktop or the web, on your desktop, and keep it updated, and that's a great thing.
VMWare is better if you're serious about running multiple, uber-efficient virtual machines in a development environment. For the average home user who just needs access to a Windows application now and then, it's hard to beat a trimmed-down XP running in VirtualBox. It's easy enough for a beginner to get into, but customizable enough to run as a seamless taskbar on your Linux desktop. In other words, it's a free semi-equivalent of what Mac users have been using (Boot Camp or Parallels) to run the necessary Windows app now and again. (Ubuntu's repositories carry the "Open Source Edition" of VirtualBox, which is much the same, but lacks certain features, including USB support; head to the program site to download standard packages for 9.04).
Most Linux desktop users are loathe to admit it, but any app that Just Works is worthy of praise. Whether you're installing from source or a pre-rolled package, Dropbox integrates itself smoothly into the Ubuntu desktop, creating a Dropbox folder in your home directory, keeping whatever's in it synchronized (up to 2GB with a free account), and offering quick access and notifications from the system tray. When you're away from your system, you can grab whatever you've got in the 'box from Dropbox's web interface. Simple, streamlined, helpful. (Head to the program site to download pre-compiled Ubuntu packages).
Adam never fails to remind me of GNOME Do's similarity to Quicksilver, the uber-essential application launcher and productivity tool for Macs. But that's a good thing. With Do installed, a quick keyboard smack could open up a super-quick way to open an application, fire off a one-shot terminal command, start a VirtualBox machine, add a Google Calendar or Remember the Milk obligation, update Twitter, restart your system, start an email to a Gmail contact ... this list goes on. As a two-for-one, GNOME Do now includes a smart and intuitive desktop dock for clocks, trash, and those moments when you've already go the mouse in hand.
What apps and add-ons make your Ubuntu desktop productive and comfortable? What alternatives do you prefer to our list items? Give us your open-source offerings in the comments.
GV Mobile Makes Google Voice the Default for Your iPhone
iPhone/iPod touch only: GV Mobile brings Google's one-number-to-rule-them all, voicemail-transcribing, call-recording, sms-sending service Google Voice to your iPhone.
We gave you a peek at GV Mobile already, and now all the features you see in the video are available to your iPhone. The app comes in both free and pay ($2.99) flavors; the free version does the basic dialing out from your iPhone, but it doesn't do SMS, call history, or visual voicemail, so it's not nearly as awesome, unfortunately, as the full price app. Still, whether you take the free or pay route, it's great to see Google's exciting new (and currently closed to new users) service make its way to the iPhone.
One can't help but wonder how long it'll be before Google releases its own Google Voice app for free, but then again, GV app for Android wasn't made by Google either (though you'd think that would be the first place they'd develop an app of that kind). It seems likely that they're taking their time releasing mobile apps for Google Voice, waiting until they open the service for all comers. In the meantime, GV Mobile is a free and pay-for download for the iPhone and iPod touch only.
GV Mobile (pay) [iTunes App Store]GV Mobile Free [iTunes App Store]
Hack Your Voicemail to Save Time
How many valuable seconds have you lost wading through your slow voicemail prompts just to delete a message you didn't really need to listen to in the first place?
Photo by maveric2003.
Reader Clinton writes in with his tricks to hack your voicemail and save yourself some precious time—since not all of us are lucky enough to have the iPhone's visual voicemail feature. His solution for saving time with his Sprint voicemail, in his own words:
- Turn off numeric paging: One of the options you can turn off is numeric paging, making it easier on the poor saps leaving you a voicemail in the first place (removes one hurdle before the beep.) In all my years of mobile phone use, I have never sent or had anyone send me a numeric page, and I don't imagine anyone ever will, really.
- Turn off caller information: Another, you can tell the system to not read you caller information, date, time, blood type, and moon phase before it relents and plays back the actual content of the message. The information is generally redundant anyway, since 95% of people who leave me a message leave me their phone number and the time in the message (and unless I'm out of range or being called by a private number, my missed call log gets it too.) They're nice enough to tell you that you can hear caller information at any time by pressing 1 during the message.
- Enable Expert Mode: The third valuable tip for Sprint voicemail users is a gem called "Expert Mode." This shortens the voice prompts prompts from something like "To delete this message, press 7" to "Delete, 7."
These tips are geared at Sprint customers (available through the Options menu of the voicemail system), but many of the same options are available with other wireless carriers.
Another time-saving trick we've used: Turn off the password requirement if you are calling from your cell phone. If you've got your own time-saving voicemail hacks, let's hear about them in the comments. Thanks, Clinton!
OAuth Security Exploit Tests Limits of Open Web Standards
Heads turned Wednesday when Twitter turned off its popular new authentication service, which uses the emerging OAuth web standard. The real story soon broke that someone exposed an OAuth security exploit that would let unauthorized users access a victim’s account using a phishing scheme.
The exploit was found on a bet during last week’s Foo Camp, a conference-like gathering for hackers put on by tech publisher O’Reilly at the company’s campus in California. One particular attendee decided he could find an exploit in OAuth.
“It’s just a new use case nobody thought of before,” said Eran Hammer-Lahav, OAuth’s designated community coordinator for this threat. “The initial response is: this is an authorization, not authentication. You shouldn’t use it for that, and I kept saying because I’m a big fan of the Twitter sign-in solution, ‘Well, show me an exploit.’”
Determined to find an exploit, the hacker (who prefers to remain unnamed due to the terms of his employment) targeted OAuth. The hacker found that if he started a request, then directed a victim to initiate the authorization form on his behalf from a bogus trap site, the victim would submit the login form and provide the hacker access to the victim’s data.
Hammer-Lahav wrote up a very detailed description of the exploit on his blog.
The exploit only affects new users of an application. If you’ve already authorized an application yourself, this exploit will not jeopardize your account.
OAuth’s official acknowledgement was released Thursday.
The good news is the exploit was found before it was used on any other use case than Twitter. The bad news is that once the exploit was discovered, OAuth experts realized other OAuth partners weren’t safe either. Because around 75% of OAuth adopters were gathered at Foo Camp by luck, the primary shareholders all agreed on a course of action to take to minimize damage.
Minimizing damage, in this instance, means making it as hard as possible for hackers to take token authentications and send them to users. This means turning OAuth off entirely (a la Twitter), limiting the time it takes to authenticate the session dramatically, or put up a warning on authentication questioning the source of the link (if the link did not come from the application itself).
In response to the exploit, Hammer-Lahav acknowledges the OAuth protocol will need to be revised. The new specification will not be backwards-compatible. Hammer-Lahav says this is the direction OAuth must take immediately.
When asked whether this security exploit will hurt OAuth’s future, Hammer-Lahav thinks it will actually do the opposite.
“This has been a solution that has been reviewed for a year and a half now, and it has been reviewed by most well-known security experts and they just missed it. Nobody ever thought of this particular security exploit. There’s nothing to suggest that if you create your own proprietary platform, you’re not going to make the same mistake or a different one.”
“I think the way the community behaves around it and the way it was addressed will really show that, you know what, this is a mature community that can respond to this situation in a mature and effective way.”
There aren’t very many security methods that have escaped exploits. The lessons learned from this exploit actually provide a good indication of how OAuth can adapt to inescapable flaws. According to Hammer-Lahav, OAuth has taken away a lot from this situation.
“We need to look at how we handle this and do a post-mortem on this entire process. — not now but in a few weeks — and come up with a process on how to deal with this. One of the things that we did not have was a list of providers that have OAuth so when there is an exploit you will be notified.”
There’s a lesson here for all open-community specifications. There is a fair amount of organization that is inherent to proprietary communities that aren’t available to organizations without a governing body.
“Next time it happens to OAuth or OpenID or any community-driven specification, we actually have resources [to address the problem]. For us it was really hard to find those resources,” Hammer-Lahav says.
He also claims the usual security resources or organizations were not equipped to help OAuth. “They don’t really help you unless you’re a vendor or a software provider. But if you have a spec that’s broken, there isn’t really an infrastructure to deal with it.”
See Also:
Essential Tools for Starting Up Your Side Business
Finally getting serious about turning your hobby into a side business? Dozens of free and cheap do-it-yourself tools make setting up a professional virtual storefront easy.
Photo by intenteffect.
Now that you've paid your income taxes, you want to turn your nights and weekends into an extra income stream (and business expenditures into tax deductions). With the recession in full swing and pink slips getting handed out at the job, now's a great time to take the leap and set up shop on your own. Whether you're selling t-shirts, building the next great webapp, or contracting your brilliance out to clients, several handy tools can offer small biz services you need for free or cheap. Let's take a look.
Get PhysicalYou may be running your side business out of your home, but you can still get yourself a separate business address without actually leasing an office. Rent a private mailbox somewhere near your home for your business correspondence. While a PMB won't be free, it's pretty cheap. Mine costs over $300 a year, just about a buck a day. This separate address gives you the ability to publish your business address without worrying that some nut is going to show up on your front lawn, or that you'll have to change your business AND personal address if you move across town. If you've got a day job and won't be home to answer the doorbell when FedEx shows up, or you have to ship packages often, your private mailbox will really come in handy. I've got one at a local Mailboxes, Etc, and "my guy" there helps me ship material, make copies, send faxes—and when I'm on vacation, I know he's there signing for incoming packages, and calling me when I've got a priority overnight envelope waiting.
Just like you'll publish your business address on your cards and web site, you'll also want a separate phone number for your side or small business. I was lucky enough to get in early on a free (but invite-only) Google Voice number that lets you set up custom greetings for customers and forward business calls to my cell phone during business hours. Many voice over IP services offer similar features that let you set up filters to separate business and personal calls so your customers don't get your personal voicemail greeting.
In the age of email, faxing is a pretty antiquated way to exchange documents. Still, if a customer wants to fax you something, use a free-to-cheap service like eFax to get faxes digitally to your email inbox. Photo by turtlemom4bacon.
Make Your One Essential Hire: An AccountantMost side businesses want to avoid hiring a lawyer unless absolutely necessary because, well, attorneys are expensive. However, out of the gate, you at least want to have a good accountant. Especially when you're first getting started, an accountant can answer questions like "Should I found an LLC or an S-Corp?" and help you figure out how your business will affect your taxes. In some areas (like here in San Diego), there's a yearly city tax for running a business and a local business registry (which I had no idea existed when I moved here). Your accountant will be able to answer finance-related questions and help you deal with all those annoying details of just getting set up.
Establish Your Business Presence Online (and Off)Now that you've got yourself a name, address, phone number, and accountant, it's time to get down to business. Consult with your accountant about what type of business you should found (or if you should just stick to a sole proprietorship) and get to filing the paperwork. Tools like previously mentioned MyCorporation can help you found your company; otherwise a good accountant can help you do the paperwork as well. Make sure you talk over what you need and how the business entity will affect your finances before you make your move.
These days no business is in business until it's got a web site. Register your company's domain name using a reliable registrar (and that business address you set up). After their awful Super Bowl ad I got tired of popular registrar GoDaddy's annoying upsells and low-class marketing and switched over to NameCheap; I've also had a good experience using Dotster. If you're going to spring for web hosting, your host may offer domain registration as well. (Adam and I both like DreamHost.) However, if your company's web site is a straight-up brochure or simple blog, there are many ways to host your business domain name with free apps.
You may also want to claim your business name on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and unlike domain registration, that's free. Twitter's a super-easy way to distribute short bits of news about your business, and on Facebook you can easily set up a business page for connecting with your customers and letting them know what you're offering.
Distribute Your GoodsWhile what you need to distribute goods and services depends on what you're selling, there are more specialist services to set up your storefront than eBay. If you've got t-shirts or mugs you want CafePress, self-publishing your book you want Lulu, selling your crafts you want Etsy. Even if your business involves recommending things like books and movies, you'll want to set up an Amazon Associate account to earn referral payments. (Got a storefront somewhere I didn't mention above? Post it in the comments.)
Paperwork like contracts, invoices, taxes, business cards, and bills are an inevitable reality of running a business, but there are a few ways to reduce the occurrence of dead trees in your venture. In lieu of faxing or filing in manila envelopes, I'm still in love with my ScanSnap document scanner for turning receipts and contracts into PDFs instantly. For invoicing clients, the excellent Blinksale is an inexpensive and easy way to track what's gone out and what's coming in. (Plus their invoices look a lot better than that Microsoft Word template you've been using.) Freelancers tracking billable hours should check out Harvest for time-tracking and invoicing capabilities as well. Finally, for nifty custom business cards, check out Moo.com's offering.
Manage Your CustomersFinally, once your business is up and running you want easy ways to stay in touch with and help out your customers. At Lifehacker we use Get Satisfaction to manage reader troubles and bug reports; here's our support forum there. For a more tech-savvy audience, a regular mailing list at Google Groups can suffice; that's what I'm using to communicate with users of my Better Firefox extensions. To track client leads and manage your customer contact list, check out 37 Signals' Highrise.
As far as small business owners go, I'm pretty green, so this morning I asked my more experienced Twitter followers what must-have app or service helps run their side or small business. Here's a sampling of what I heard back:
- @daftviking: "Freshbooks is one of my must-have svcs (I'm just a nerd, not good with accounting)" (Editor: Several others mentioned Freshbooks for accounting as well)
- @mthology: "I know there's Skype and Google Voice, but I've been using Gizmo5 to provide a business phone # as well as VM sent to my email."
- @lesterg: "Lately Google Docs used as project status sites for clients. Clients can access from anywhere."
- @jlewsader: "must-have app or service help run your side/small biz? Google Voice and Zoho
- Adobe PDF Writer. I use it to sign contracts. Faxing offends my sensibilities"
- @erdoland: "Campfire, Pyro, Quickbooks, WordPress."
- @howtogeek: "Must have small biz app? Basecamp and Gmail Apps"
- @jojm: "Our small "virtual" software company relies on IRC , Email, Skype, and Google Docs - in that order - for communication."
- @sethclifford: "Couldn't function without Basecamp. Didn't have it until recently, and absolutely loving it for organizing, communication."
- @smartgoat: "We've started using Mechanical Turk for data entry on one of our sites. It's been a huge time saver."
- @stevenpaulr: "evernote and google calendar. That's pretty much my entire scheduling/billing system right there."
What apps run your small business depends a whole lot on what your need. What must-have apps run your side or small business? Share the love by posting them up in the comments.
Gina Trapani, Lifehacker's founding editor, loves running a small biz on great apps. Her weekly feature, Smarterware, appears every Wednesday (except today, because it's Friday) on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Smarterware tag feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
Run the OLPC OS From a Thumb Drive
All systems: If you're keen on trying out one of those clever devices from the One Laptop Per Child project, you can get halfway there by running the OLPC's operating system from a USB drive.
Sugar on a Stick, a thumb-drive-friendly re-build of the Linux-based Sugar OS found on the XO laptops, can be loaded onto a a portable drive from a Windows, Mac, or Linux system. It's basically creating a portable Fedora system with the OLPC interface layered on top (and, we'd presume, most of Fedora's own tools stripped out). It's great for OS voyeurs, or for letting your kids try out the education-focused software behind the OLPC project.
The Sugar Labs wiki has all the files and instructions you need to get started with your own portable Sugar setup. If you want to skip the thumb drive boot and try out Sugar in a virtual machine, there's a pre-made virtual disk image you can load into VMWare or VirtualBox (and here's our guide to getting started with virtual machines to help you out).
Sugar on a Stick is a free download for Windows, Mac, or Linux systems.
Sugar on a Stick - Sugar Labs [via Ars Technica]Bacon Sandwiches Speed Up Hangover Recovery
British researchers found that eating concentrated doses of carbohydrates and protein after some "over indulgence" can speed up your metabolism and provide the amino acids needed to start feeling better. BLT for breakfast, anyone?
Photo by amagill.
Any amateur college biologist will suggest "heavy" or "greasy" food the morning after a long night out, as it "soaks up" the remaining alcohol in your system—or something like that, it's hard to remember. Newcastle University researchers suggest that age-old remedy is rooted in how the protein provided by bacon and other meats is broken down into amino acids, which in turn replenish the nerotransmitters depleted by a long night of drinking.
Something to keep in mind, then, for the long-term planning of a big night on the town. Any vegetarians in the crowd want to suggest a protein-rich and tasty alternative to a crispy strips and toasted bread? Bacon sandwich really does cure a hangover [Telegraph via Daring Fireball]
30-Second DVR Tweak Speeds Up Commercial Skipping
DVRs have revolutionized the way people watch TV, but if you've always wished your DVR were a little better at skipping commercials, this classic 30-second skip hack is a must.
For what it's worth, we realize that these tricks aren't new by any means. Still, we've never featured them here, and the aim of this post is to collect as many of them as possible. Right now, we're aware of two hacks of this kind: one for the TiVo, the other for Comcast DVR.
First the TiVo trick, first pointed out to us by reader schulman:
While playing a recorded show, hit select-play-select-3-0-select. You'll hear 3 chimes if you did it right. You'll need to redo this whenever the Tivo reboots.
Reader robkonz81 writes in with how he enables the same 30-second commercial skipping on his Comcast DVR:
1) Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
2) Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
3) Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
4) Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
5) Type in the code 00173 (for 30 second Skip).
6) Press whatever button you want to map the skip. (I use the fav button—next to mute.)
Update: Commenter ThickSkinned points out this tip for DirecTV's DVRs:
1. Make sure you have the (latest) upgrade
2. Go to Menu > Search for Shows > Keyword
3. Enter in "30SKIP" in the search area and hit "Continue"
4. That's it. Now go to a recording, and hit play and try the old SLIP button out.
5. If you want to go back, do the same thing as above but put "30SLIP" instead.
If you've got your DVR service through a different cable or satellite company and you know of a similar trick, let's hear it in the comments. Thanks robkonz81!
Why Linux Will Crush Windows 7 on Netbooks
The explosion of low cost netbooks has inspired Microsoft to release a new, cheap, stripped down version of Windows 7. The Windows 7 Starter Edition, as it will be known when Windows 7 arrives later this year, is designed to compete with Linux on netbooks, but it has a potentially deal-breaking restriction: you can only run three applications at a time.
Microsoft is apparently gambling that mainstream customers will prefer a crippled version of Windows to any version of Linux.
But consider this question: do you like listening to music while you browse the web, chat with friends and download some torrents? Well, pick three because, you won’t be doing all those things at once in Windows 7 Starter Edition. Mind you, it’s not the the netbook can’t handle the workload, it’s because Microsoft thinks netbooks should be crippled.
Of course there are some exceptions to the three-app rule. For example, terminal sessions, Windows Explorer, background processes and apps like task manager or desktop gadgets don’t count. Still, even if you can run a couple extra apps, three main applications is limiting and it shows how much Microsoft misunderstands the netbook’s appeal — netbooks are not crippled laptops, they’re laptops that are “good enough.”
Which is why Microsoft’s Starter edition strategy seems horribly misguided. Netbooks already suffer two big limitations — screen size and cramped keyboards. Why add a crippled operating system to the list?
ZDNet’s Ed Bott took a beta version of Starter Edition for a spin and reports that “when I used this system as a netbook, it worked just fine.”
However, Bott’s definition of a netbook seems to the same as Microsoft’s: it’s a crippled notebook.
“If I tried to use this system as a conventional notebook, running multiple Microsoft Office or OpenOffice apps, playing music in iTunes or Windows Media Player, and using third-party IM programs,” Bott writes, “I would probably be incredibly frustrated with the limitations of Starter Edition.”
Clearly Bott (and Microsoft) view the netbook as a substandard way to work, but that doesn’t fit with my experiences on an EeePC where I am currently typing this post, listening to iTunes, downloading the latest version of Ubuntu via BitTorrent and both Photoshop and Lightroom are running in the background. It’s not the speediest laptop around, but it gets the job done.
Would I like my EeePC as much if it had a crippled version of Win 7? Of course not, I’d think of it as a crippled laptop.
While it remains to be seen how Windows 7 Starter Edition will fare with consumers, there is a potential winner here — Linux.
Linux versions of netbooks are already doing quite well and if Microsoft shoots itself in the foot by crippling its OS, the question becomes less about choosing between Windows and Linux and more about choosing between crippled and “just works.”
See Also:
First Look at Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope
Editor's note: The final release of Ubuntu 9.04 just hit servers, and award-winning Ubuntu author Keir Thomas takes a first look at what you can expect as a regular user.
See the closing paragraph for some exclusive offers on Keir's books.
In these times of a lame-duck release of Windows (Vista), Ubuntu has been earning a reputation as a reliable and simple operating system that allows its users to get things done. Amongst the internet intelligentsia, Ubuntu has become a realistic operating system choice, alongside Windows and OS X. Dell recently embraced Ubuntu as an option on its desktops and notebooks, placing the operating system on the same commercial footing as Windows, too.
Releases of Ubuntu come out every six months, usually in April and October. The last release (8.10) brought modest and worthwhile improvements, and this new release is similar—although perhaps slightly less ambitious. There's nothing startlingly new in Ubuntu 9.04. It's more about useful tweaks here and there.
In this review I look at the user-side improvements that come with 9.04. As with my previous review of Ubuntu 8.10, the goal is to look at Ubuntu from a productivity angle, rather than fixating on technological improvements. If you have been away from Ubuntu for a while you might want to read the previous review to catch up on recent developments, all of which are carried through in this release.
InstallationOther than the fact the program window now maximizes to full-screen, there isn't a lot to report about the installation routine. It works as well as it ever did, which is to say it makes getting Ubuntu onto your PC astonishingly fuss-free. I encountered a slight bug on my test system in that installer created too small a partition for Ubuntu, causing installation to crash later on. Keep an eye out for this—Ubuntu really needs at least a 4GB partition to run properly. However, you shouldn't encounter this issue unless you have a very small disk, or a very full Windows partition.
The new ext4 file system is featured within Ubuntu 9.04, but isn't utilized by default. Instead, it's an option in the manual partitioning dialog box. Ext4 brings a raft of technological improvements to the Linux file system, including support for mind-boggligly-large file systems, but perhaps the most significant improvement is faster performance. This was borne out in my tests. Expect one or two seconds here and there, and some substantial time-savings when shifting large files (i.e. over 500MB).
Additionally, ext4 brings the possibility of defragging the file system, a feature possibly added just to make Windows users feel at home. However, the tool to do this — e4defrag — doesn't appear to be included in Ubuntu 9.04, and I can't find it in the repositories either. (No doubt somebody will point out in the comments below what the situation is, so take a look.)
Note that ext4 is a young technology, with some significant bugs in the process of being ironed out, so you use it at your own risk.
One nice feature with the installation routine is that the time-zone selection map now works properly, rather than scrolling wildly as with previous releases, and is far more logically organized. It splits the world map into time-zone segments, which can be an education in itself (did you know Iceland is in the same timezone as northern Europe?).
Ubuntu will also now warn you if you type a weak password (i.e. one that's too short). This is a nice touch, although you're also allowed to continue with the weak password if you wish.
Boot TimesPerhaps the biggest gift that arrives with 9.04 is a vastly improved boot time. On the cheap Celeron-based notebook I used for testing (using a real install, not a virtual machine), Ubuntu booted from cold to the login screen in about 25 seconds. That's about the same as a restore from hibernate on the same machine. Of course, this is on a fresh installation, and I've no idea how a well worn-in system might respond. However, in my experience, Linux is immune to the cruft issues that bog-down Windows over time.
There's a different design of progress bar during booting, but this ain't much to write home about.
DesktopJaunty Jackalope boasts some new desktop wallpaper, but it too isn't much to write home about either, taking the same swirly lines approach that's defined computer wallpaper since 1995. The only difference here is that it's all orange/brown, to fit in with Ubuntu's overall color scheme (which, sadly, hasn't changed, and has been bolstered by additional darker colors in this release). This release also rolld out a slightly better font rendering, adding a nice sheen to the interface.
The shutdown/restart/suspend options have been taken off the System main menu, and moved to the Fast User Switcher applet at the top right of the desktop. The title of this applet is a little out-of-date nowadays, bearing in mind this small desktop applet now displays the IM status too. I'm not sure I like the moving of the shutdown options, and I'm not sure who it benefits, or why it was done. It was annoying to keep clicking the System menu only to remember the options have been moved. But I guess I'll get used to it.
There's no longer an update notification icon in the System Tray area. Instead, the Update Manager program pops-up automatically whenever any security updates are available. Rather strangely, it starts-up minimized, meaning the first thing you see is a panel button suddenly appearing. Clicking on this then maximizes the window, in the usual way.
I guess this approach is taken to force users not to postpone applying updates, which is very easy to do if you're busy, or don't want to tie-up your internet connection dragging down multimegabyte packages.
For updates not related directly to security, Update Manager stores up all the updates and pops-up once a week. I'm not sure this is a great idea. It means that, at least once a week, you're probably going to be intrusively nagged about updates (especially for the first few months after release, when many updates tend to be released). You can turn off this new feature, however, and revert to the old-fashioned update notification icon - see the release notes (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/904).
Look and FeelIn addition to the new wallpaper (which is joined by another new background image seemingly themed around lens flare), there are several new optional themes installed by default. These were part of the community-themes package in the previous release (Intrepid). To be honest, I think they're so-so. To my eyes they're a little gimmicky and lack the reserved elegance of a decent-quality business-like theme. But you may disagree.
Incidentally, if you select a new wallpaper, it now cross-fades with the old wallpaper, making for a more pleasant transition. This is a small but nice touch, and is typical of this release of Ubuntu as a whole.
The login screen has been redesigned. It's little more than an image of a 3D-rendered Ubuntu logo against a dark background, but it looks pretty nice. I mistakenly understood from various planning documents that the login screen was to include a "face browser", whereby users can be selected by clicking on their icons, or their user-selected snapshots (as with Windows XP). Flashy visual effects were promised too, if I recall. However, none of this appears to have materialized. There are, of course, many face-browser login themes you can choose from, however, both built-in, and in the repositories (to switch login themes, click System --> Administration --> Login Window).
A new notification system features smoked-glass pop-up alerts (similar to Growl in OS X). Every kind of alert is now consolidated here, including notifications about unplugging a laptop, joining a wifi network, getting a new mail message, and so on. If more than one alert appears at the same time, they stack up beneath each other. Unfortunately, the notification system differs from just about every other example, irrespective of operating system, in that you can't click a pop-up to close it. Instead, hovering the mouse over the notification causes it to go almost translucent, so you can click beneath it. The pop-up will only go away when it's good and ready, after five seconds. This is no great shakes, but I found it a bit annoying.
The release notes mention that a program on the System --> Preferences menu allows control over the notifications, such as where they appear on-screen. This was present in early betas of 9.04 I've seen, but not in the final release. Strange.
Those who complain about Ubuntu's "wiry" fonts will be pleased to see from the screenshots that the default settings in 9.04 make for more solid glyphs compared to previous releases (at least on LCD screens). In fact, they have the same solid appearance as OS X's fonts. This is simply down to a different font hinting setting and, indeed, you can easily switch back to wiry fonts if that's your bag. However, I wanted to mention this issue here because people often complain about it, and assume that Ubuntu's font display settings are somehow set in stone. They aren't. You just need to tweak a little.
New ProgramsPerhaps the biggest software update in this release is the inclusion of OpenOffice 3.0. This was released in October last year but, for various reasons, didn't make it into the release of Ubuntu made that same month. You can read about the new features of OO.org 3 by visiting http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.0/. There's a great number of improvements to make life easier for the office worker.
Those using Ubuntu in an office might be interested to learn that the Evolution PIM and mail client now features even better Microsoft compatibility. New to the 2.26.1 release used in Ubuntu is MAPI support, which should allow the connection to Exchange servers (although not, from what I read, Exchange 2007 servers; YMMV and it might be wise to test using the Live CD mode of Ubuntu before upgrading if this is critical for you).
The new version of Evolution should also allow the direct importation of Outlook PST files (Outlook's central message database file). However, in my tests involving a PST file from Outlook 2003, this just didn't work - when I selected the PST file, the Forward button remained greyed out and inoperative. I noticed, however, that Outlook CSV and Tab files are an option on the file type dropdown list.
Brasero now handles all CD/DVD buring needs, including providing the back-end of Nautilus' CD/DVD Creator mode (which has, for some reason, moved from the Places menu to the Applications --> Accessories). CD/DVD Creator still presents a Nautilus window into which you must drag the files to be burned, but when you click the Write to Disc button, Brasero steps in to do the hard work.
Brasero is maturing very nicely, and really will do just about any of the more simple CD/DVD burning tasks you might want to do, including burning video to CD/DVD. It reminds me a lot of Nero in the good old days, before it became bloated.
Synaptic now features a "Get Screenshot" button in the description of each package. Some packages don't have screenshots, of course, such as system libraries. But for those that do, clicking the button downloads and shows a thumbnail of the application. This can be surprisingly useful in determining if an application offers the features you need. Clicking the thumbnail will then grab the full high-resolution version of the screenshot. Nice!
A Computer Janitor program has been added to the System menu. This is to help clear-up cruft, such as old packages that are no longer needed. Beware that it will also mark for removal any software packages you're manually downloaded and installed, however. To be honest, I'd avoid this program, at least until it matures a little. To remove old packages, simply type sudo apt-get clean and sudo apt-get autoremove at the command-line.
Closing ThoughtsThere just aren't that many new features in 9.04, making it perhaps the least ground-breaking release of Ubuntu so far. There are a couple of significant server platform developments, but they're outside the scope of this particular review.
Worth mentioning, however, is the fact that the Kubuntu 9.04 release updates to the all-new 4.2 version. This offers significant improvements over earlier Kubuntu releases based on KDE4, and is shaping up very nicely. Indeed, I can envision a day in a few years' time when the Kubuntu release may well have more user share than Ubuntu itself, especially considering the 9.10 release in October will be based on the even more promising KDE 4.3.
The netbook remix of Ubuntu 9.04 also offers significant improvements over previous releases, and is well worth investigating if you use a netbook or other small computing device.
Although the 9.04 release is a smaller step forward than most of us anticipated, it's still a solid Ubuntu release, and it's still light years ahead of any other desktop version of Linux. Put simply, Linux simply doesn't get any better than this right now for ordinary users, and Ubuntu is the only serious choice if you're tired of Windows or OS X. (If you do decide to make the leap to Ubuntu, consider getting my free-of-charge pocket guide book - see below for a special offer on the print edition.)
However, the Ubuntu guys are going to have to think long and hard about the direction they want to head in from the point onwards. Rather than playing catch-up with Windows and OS X, Ubuntu is now on a par with them. In fact, it's been on a par since 8.04, this time last year.
Keir Thomas is an award-winning author of several books on Ubuntu, including Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference, and Ubuntu Kung Fu. Until 30 April, Lifehacker readers can get an exclusive 25% discount on both titles. For Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference, simply visit the MacFreda online store and enter the following discount code: 7NQBMVZA. For Ubuntu Kung Fu, visit the Pragmatic Bookshelf online store and enter the following discount code at the checkout: LifehackerUbuntu25.
Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope" Released
The Jaunty Jackalope is on the loose, bringing a Linux desktop with streamlined notifications, a speedier file system, and other upgrades to the free desktop. Grab a live CD and try it out for yourself.
As happens every six months or so, the official Ubuntu servers are swamped with upgraders and downloaders this morning, so you'd be quite the polite person if you upgraded from a mirror server or grabbed any of the Ubuntu 9.04 ISO images from an official BitTorrent stream. Thinking about adding Ubuntu to your boot options, but don't want to mess up XP and/or Vista? Check out Adam's guide to triple-booting all three of those. You can get even more risk-free by running Ubuntu 9.04 in a virtual machine.
Ubuntu is, as always, completely free, runs on most any x86-based system.
Download UbuntuSlick New Ubuntu ‘Jaunty Jackalope’ Springs Onto Netbooks
The latest version of Ubuntu Linux is hot off the press and available for download. The new release, known as “Jaunty Jackalope,” continues Ubuntu’s slow but steady progression with a handful of slick new features, some welcome speed and stability improvements and a new “Netbook Remix” package optimized for the latest tiny laptops.
You can grab your copy of the free operating system from the Ubuntu downloads page. There are versions for desktop and server environments, the Netbook Remix, and versions for 32-bit and 64-bit hardware.
The Netbook Remix is a new addition to the Ubuntu family and offers a stripped down, user-friendly Linux that’s specially optimized for the small screens and limited hardware capabilities of netbooks. Ubuntu’s release notes claim the Netbook Remix will work with Asus’ EeePC 900, Acer’s Aspire One and Dell’s Mini 9 netbooks. However, while it took a little extra tinkering, I was able to get Ubuntu working on my EeePC 1000H as well. The result is a powerful, but simple interface that’s far snappier than competing options like Windows XP.
Overall, I’ve been pleased with Jaunty. To see what’s in store for users, we took the release candidate for a spin earlier this week. We found that none of the changes in Ubuntu 9.04 are earth-shattering, but the subtle changes add up to nicer Linux experience that could go a long way toward winning the much-maligned OS some new fans.
Jaunty Jackalope’s most noticeable change to the user interface is its new notification system. It informs you when new e-mails arrive or friends want to chat, and it informs you of system changes like volume level and battery status. The alerts appear as translucent message windows that pop up, stay for a moment, then fade away — a bit like Growl on Mac OS X.
This represents a break from the traditional way of doing things under GNOME, the graphical desktop environment upon which Ubuntu Linux was designed. It shows an attempt by Canonical, the corporation that oversees the development and distribution of Ubuntu, to provide more useful notices and to do so within a slicker interface than what’s available. GNOME purists may not like Canonical’s decision to create its own system, but the results are quite nice. (Flash demo).
GNOME 2.26, Ubuntu’s default desktop, ships with some improved applications that are installed by default. There’s an improved version of the Evolution e-mail client, which now works much better in Microsoft Exchange environments, and an update to the Brasero app for burning CDs and DVDs.
The overall interface design has been improved, too. Especially enjoyable is the new Ubuntu theme, “New Wave,” which is a nice mash-up between the default Human theme and the dark theme that arrived in Ubuntu 8.10. The Ubuntu team has also made some nice interface tweaks to dialog boxes, loading bars and other UI gadgets that give Jaunty Jackalope a slicker look than earlier Ubuntu releases.
Under the hood, Jaunty brings an updated version of the Linux kernel as well as the latest version of the GNOME desktop. Work on these are ongoing, and each release sees reduced boot times and better overall performance.
Thanks to the new Linux kernel (version 2.6.28) Ubuntu now offers support for the Ext4 filesystem and includes a new wireless package that should help those using newer wi-fi cards. The new Ext4 support isn’t the default choice for Ubuntu yet, but Ext4 does offers a number of advantages over its predecessor including support for larger disks, better defragging tools and a speed boost. However, there are some reports of lost data with Ext4, so proceed with caution.
Also new to this version is experimental support for Eucalyptus, a set of technologies that can be used to deploy a web app server with an elastic block storage (EBS) system, much like Amazon’s EC2 service. Using Eucalyptus, developers can create their own private clouds for storing data and running web apps. The Eucalyptus code is only included in Ubuntu Server, but it’s open-source, so it can be downloaded by anyone.
See Also:
Food.com Searches Pretty Much Every Recipe Site at Once
Food.com's recipe search is worth getting excited about. It comes from Food Network founder Scripps Networks, but can pull recipes from Epicurious, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, Gourmet, Chow.com—basically, any food site you've heard of.
Not only does it pull basic recipe links and descriptions from all those third-party sites, but it grabs the full ingredient lists, pictures, user ratings, and preparation/serving instructions, then categorizes them for search refining. So if you're looking for a Vietnamese dish to whip up tonight, but you don't want anything deep-fried, and you'd like the main ingredient to be chicken, Food.com can help you get there.
You can save recipes you find to your "Recipe Box" by grabbing them whole and dragging them into a little AJAX box at the bottom of your page view, and also add recipes to your box from sites not covered by Food.com's rather extensively searchy fingers, or upload your own entirely new text recipe. There's a toolbar to help with collecting and searching recipes (as if you didn't have enough already—where's our bookmarklet?), and the front page provides a history of your searches for quickly getting back to what you just found.
It's hard to believe it took so long for someone to offer a recipe search with this kind of breadth and functionality. The service is still in beta, so you'll need to sign up and log in to use it. From a first look, though, it's definitely worth it.
Food.com [via The Food Section]Belvedere Updates, Adds Folder Recursion, Fixes Bugs, and More
Lifehacker's very own automated file manager, Belvedere, has seen its first update in over a year, bringing folder recursion, action confirmations, simple rule enabling and disabling, and a handful of bug fixes.
You can see the whole changelog here. All of the changes come courtesy of generous Lifehacker reader Matt Shorts, who's been plugging away at Belvedere since we moved the source code to GitHub. Apart from the changes, Matt rolled Belvedere into a proper installer (complete with an uninstaller). If you're updating, be sure to quit Belvedere before running the installer.
Huge thanks to Matt for his contributions, and let's hear any feedback in the comments.
Belvedere [Lifehacker Code]Remove Stubborn Batteries and Other Cool Magnet Tricks
As if the sheer magnetism aspect of magnets wasn't magical enough, weblog Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories points out 17 very cool tricks that put your magnets to great use.
For starters, a strong magnet can be the perfect tool to remove batteries from the grips of a stuborn spring.
Likewise, the post suggests using a magnet to find and mark studs in your wall, make a simple compass, and—as you can see in the screenshot to the right—make a fridge pen. We love a good magnet trick (did you know they're also great for cleaning the aquarium?), so if you've got a tip of your own for making good with magnets, let's hear it in the comments. Otherwise, hit up the post to get a closer look at all 17 cool magnet tricks.
17 cool magnet tricks [Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories via Make]Reduce Your Footprint this Earth Day
Today is Earth Day, and to celebrate we're highlighting a handful of ways you can go green with your computer, your home, and your life.
We've covered tons of ways to conserve energy and help the environment here at Lifehacker, so this is just a very quick look at a few of our favorites. For more, take a gander at our Environment and Conservation tag pages.
The Green ComputerLast year I highlighted several ways to go green with your computer, but we've covered several new tools since then. Our favorite: previously mentioned Edison, a free system tray app that tweaks your PC's power settings on a user-defined schedule—giving you more control over you power use than your default control panel settings.
Your PC itself isn't the only culprit in the fight against waste. Think of the peripherals! To that end, check out our smart and easy tips for reducing printing costs, and remember that your printer may be wasting a lot of ink if you believe everything it tells you.
Whether you're installing some DIY, no-electricity lighting (see video), saying no to the giant wastes of paper that are the Yellow Pages, or simply reducing your water use all around the house, there's so many small changes you can make around your home to save energy and improve the environment.
If you're willing to make a few changes to your home on the outside, your roof has all kinds of potential for both saving and creating a little clean energy. For example, painting your roof white could save the planet, according to UC Berkeley. If you're willing to go a step further, web site RoofRay helps you determine the solar potential of your roof (see video) so you've got a clear idea of what kind of benefits you could reap by installing solar panels on your home.
Nothing says "green" like a little gardening, and there are a ton of ways you can go above and beyond in your garden to save some energy and reap the benefits of fresh veggies. To begin with, you can save serious cash by converting a portion of your lawn into a garden. (Though if you're not up for a garden, you can still water your lawn more efficiently.) If you're a set-it-and-forget it type—and as a result have never been great at remembering to water your garden—you can create your own self-watering tomato planters from storage containers. If you're feeling especially adventurous, building a self-watering garden with recycled water is a great DIY.
Last, improve your home environment with three plants that give you better indoor air.
Got your own methods of greening up your life? Let's hear them in the comments.How Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Gets Things Done
He travels the world, dances on TV, tinkers with hardware—oh, and designed the Apple I & II personal computers. Steve Wozniak answers our questions and shares his hacker-ish means of getting things done.
In computer-loving circles, he's one of those figures you say needs no introduction—and then go ahead and introduce anyways. He and Steve Jobs started the Apple Computer Company from a bedroom, and then a garage, and Wozniak himself put together first the Apple I, then the widely successful and iconic Apple II, the computer most of today's programmers grew up tinkering with as students. He left Apple in 1987 to indulge his mind in high-tech startups, technology programs for schools, and other projects. Most recently, he's been seen earnestly, if not successfully, Dancing with the Stars, and functions as a sort of homebrew/Hackintosh hero at sites like our sibling Gizmodo.
Wozniak spoke with Lifehacker on the phone yesterday, and was nice enough to indulge our prodding into his productivity habits, thoughts on hardware and hacking, and advice for young entrepreneurs.
Lifehacker: What gadgets and software applications do you use on a day-to-day basis?
Steve Wozniak: I have such a crowded life and crowded schedule. When people send me a link with a gadget, I'll look at it and buy it if it looks interesting, but I don't have time to check out everything I'd like to.
I do have a Nixie Tube watch, which I get a lot of benefit from. The biggest benefit in my life comes from my Segway, which I use everywhere I am. If I'm going to San Antonio, for example, I'll load it in the car and just go everywhere with it. The other crucial thing is my Verizon wireless card, which I have to have because hotel Wi-Fi is just so unreliable.
... I have one MacBook Pro, with a 17-inch screen. I got into that and consciously separated myself from having 3, 4, 5 computers in my life, which just became too much. As far as the mobile devices, I've gone through all the different smartphones, all the different gadgets. For a while I was using a Razr for voice and messing with mobile devices, but now I'm traveling with an iPhone and a BlackBerry. I don't use them very much for email, though, unless I'm detained for a long, unexpected stretch. I save answering my email for when I'm going to be in front of my nice, comfortable keyboard.
Lifehacker: What are you using to manage your email?
Steve Wozniak: The most important thing I use is Eudora, and that's discontinued.
Lifehacker: Seriously? Eudora?
Steve Wozniak: The reason I do is, it has an incredible feature that every single mail client should have.
Any feature in the menu list, any action there, can be added as a button. I changed it so I have a vertical menu bar, so I can have tons and tons of pre-made buttons saved right where I want them up top, and I learn where those place are. You can script actions to the buttons, too, so I can quickly copy messages to my assistants. There are scripts I wrote for joke lists so I can forward a message, remove the brackets and formatting, and make sure all the original attachments are included, to a pre-defined "joke" group. Apple's Mail app just isn't scriptable enough to really handle my mail buttons.
Some of the buttons will re-direct mail with quote marks, or not. I've got another script that will actually customize a mail forward, like my own version of mail merge. So even if something's going out to 400 people, I can set it to single out certain people and take away all the forwarding markings, so it looks like I singled out someone to send them mail. Which is, I hope, a nice little moment for them. (Laughs)
Lifehacker: So it's more important for you to have software that fits your specific email style than having the latest and greatest.
Steve Wozniak: I think that's fair to say, although I'm also a fan with sticking with the most standard software that millions of other users also use, because you get the benefit of all those other users' problems and solutions. I'm a fan both ways. I think you get a great set of programs with Apple's systems, but from day one, I've wondered why they didn't just have a standard API that lets you script anything from the menu bar into a button. Why isn't it just built into the operating system?
You've said that email and RSS feeds are a big part of your day, but you also get overwhelmed by email, according to your site. How do you try and handle all your input?
Steve Wozniak: I don't ever have time to just browse, to see what's new on my favorite sites. When I get a chance to sit down, I start by checking the average news, on Google News or another site. Once I'm up to date on that, and (I've) read about one full article, I'll go through my RSS news feeds. Depending on how long I've been away, it could be up to three hours, but I'll go as long as my brain doesn't get mushed up, on my topics I'm into and the world. I save the email for last, and if I've been flying all day, I just sometimes can't get to it.
I think that's one of the reasons Twitter, and somewhat blogs, too, have become so appealing. I have a Twitter feed, but I rarely use it ... a bit more, obviously, during Dancing with the Stars. But I don't like to write little things. I like to write and explain things out ...
... A long, long time ago, I made a long road trip to Yellowstone, and I'd write to my friends and post updates, manually coding the HTML. I taught it to the kids in my classes, the HTML, then DreamWeaver, when that was coming out ... Now that it's so easy for the masses to do those kind of things, I'm moving away from it. That's how it is for me.
Lifehacker: What's your browser of choice?
Steve Wozniak: A few years ago, the people that I respected the most, the truest geeks, were using Firefox. Some sites that didn't work for me in Safari did work for me in Firefox, so I started moving over, and I liked it. Then Safari started getting standardized, and working on more and more sites ... I still keep Firefox around for when I need it, but I like to reduce, when I can, to the simplest tools that get me where I want to go, and that's Safari right now.
Lifehacker: A lot of our readers want to know if you use Linux at all, and what you think about where it is today.
Steve Wozniak: I never got into Linux. I swear to God, it's only lack of time. I'm past the years of my life where I can really dig into something like running a Linux system. I'm very sympathetic to the whole idea; Linux people always think the way I want to think.
Lifehacker: What can you tell us about your work with Fusion-io?
Steve Wozniak: I absolutely do not need a salary or a job, that's the last thing I need. But smart people, I love to be around ... It took (Fusion-io) a long time to have a meeting with me. They showed me how far they have come in visualzing a new type of server architecture, and it's two to 20 times better than any competing thing we could come up with. They've developed a streamlined way to incorporate all the little tricks you have to do, NAND, flash ram, ... they had solved one after another of server's technical problems, freed up space and made them run cooler. The technical people at MySpace were asking one question after another to us, and we had answers that were a lot better than they were expecting ... they've just done some amazing things in making things run faster and better.
Lifehacker: You've said, or at least been attributed with the quote, "Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window."
Steve Wozniak: I'm not sure I said exactly that but, hey, I'll take the attribution (laughs). I probably said something about a computer's size, someone added that bit, and I said, "Yeah, that's right."
Lifehacker: Does that relate to how you see the future of server-based computer, "cloud computing"? Richard Stallman is certainly concerned about the privacy and security issues there.
Steve Wozniak: Well, I tend to agree with Stallman, but ... I do think that it really is the end of the line. I don't know if that's good or bad for us, but it seems like the future direction.
Lifehacker: Is the future focus on servers part of why you're working with Fusion-io?
Steve Wozniak: No, I'm with fusion-io because I'm more of a hardware guy. It's a company that lets me have a close connection from hardware to firmware to drivers. What they're doing is cutting out the "middle man" that gets in the ways of performance, and I'm very intrigued by that.
Lifehacker: We know you're a fan of hacking in general, and Hackintoshes—or at least will sign a Dell Mini with OS X installed on it. A lot of our readers are, too. But I'm wondering if you think all the work that's being done will eventually push companies to offer more open access to hardware and software, or if that kind of hacking will always be a 5 percent type of niche?
Steve Wozniak: I hate to say it, and Apple never likes it, but I love anything that's hacker oriented. I don't like passing it onto others, or getting things for free. I don't like stealing music one bit, at all ...
I think it will always be a 5 percent niche, and I think it's always been. When we first started with Apple computers, it was my dream that everyone would learn to program, and that was how they'd use their computer. But, obviously, that's not the way it turned out. That's where I think we see the advantages of open-source software. I think it's a great thing, and a lot of companies are using mySQL, open-source software, and, well, Linux, too, to make the software work exactly the way they need it to.
That kind of hacking is the center of my heart, that's who I am.
Lifehacker: Do you still have a jailbroken iPhone? What kind of apps, unofficial and official, are you using on it? (Asked by gmerin).
Steve Wozniak: I was into jailbreaking earlier on, but then it came time with the firmware revisions to undo it, redo it, redo it again, I got so tired of worrying about losing everything on my unofficial setup. I've probably got 100 apps I've looked at, but the one I use the most tells me what to tip in every country I'm in (iTip). I did make a Skype call the other day from my iPhone, but then I found out AT&T might not let that onto their network, so we'll see.
Lifehacker: If you were to give advice to someone starting their own technology-focused business right now, as opposed to when you built Apple as a young man, what advice would you give them? What would be different than from your own experience? (Inspired by ephdel)
Steve Wozniak: You'd better have the technology knowledge to do it. I really urge you not to think you can start a whole company and business with just ideas on paper, because you'll end up owning so few of those ideas. You have to create a working model, something that you can show people and demonstrate that it works, and then you can start building a future for it.
Lifehacker: Is that spoken from experience?
Steve Wozniak: It comes through, partly, experience. Whatever develops your skills—you did certain things in your life that prepared you well, that gave you an open mind, and you should stay closely connected to the technology when you start your company. People can say, "Well, I'm the business man, I'm out trying to make deal," you might get your company going. But you'd better make sure you're around some good technologists that you can trust, or your business doesn't have direction. A lot of things seem to be worth almost no money. but if you do them very well, and they help people fill a need, there's a great business you can build around that.
