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Lifehacker: Highlights (284 unread)

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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: August 13th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT

  #highlights This week we rounded up our favorite free and cheap iPhone apps, automated your media downloads, whipped your Android home screen into shape, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: August 6th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT

  #highlights This week we helped you block unwanted numbers on your cellphone, got up and running with Usenet, did our best to make iOS 4 usable on older devices, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: July 30th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT

  #highlights This week we geeked out on DIY food projects, rebooted our attention span, made our Android smartphones truly a helluva lot smarter, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: July 23rd, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped you survive the grind of office life, rounded our favorite Linux applications into a one-click installation, and more. Here's a look at this week's most popular posts. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: July 16th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT

  #highlights This week we took a look at what exactly caffeine is doing to your brain, rounded up ten of our favorite thumb drive tricks, tested out OS X in a Windows virtual machine, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: July 9th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT

  #highlights This week we took a look at some of your biggest email annoyances, helped iPhone owners jump ship to Android without skipping a beat, put together our geeky vacation checklist, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: July 2nd, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we tricked out your brand new Google Voice account, downgraded your overtaxed iPhone 3G, prepared you to safely take advantage of those free Starbucks Wi-Fi hotspots, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: June 25th, 2010, 5:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we wished some of our favorite Mac apps were on Windows (and vice versa), introduced you to the new features and shortcuts you'll want to know in iOS 4, kept you (and your computer) cool, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: June 18th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we de-vuvuzela'ed your World Cup broadcasts, rounded up our favorite free and must-have Mac applications, extended up your home's Wi-Fi reach with your old router, and a whole lot more.
  More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: June 11th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we showed you where to catch World Cup soccer games online, pitted the iPhone against Android in a feature comparison, made Gmail play nice with your desktop email client, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: June 4th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we hunted down your router's must-have tweaks, rounded up some great projects you can tackle in a free afternoon, released our 2010 Lifehacker Pack for Windows, and a whole lot more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: May 28th, 2010, 4:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we rebooted your sleep cycle, helped you understand Facebook's new privacy settings, took a tourist-free photo in crowded places, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: May 21st, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we showed you how to quit Facebook (without really quitting Facebook), shared a handful of cool Windows tricks every geek should know, helped you upgrade your morning routine, and more. Here's a quick look back. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: May 14th, 2010, 3:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped you work past your procrastination problems, slimmed down your bulky keychain, explained how to build the ultimate media center, start to finish, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: May 7th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Kevin Purdy

  #highlights This week we peered into the coolest corners of Google Maps, tortured our batteries for testing purposes, wrote a power user's guide for Windows 7's taskbar, learned the mental games that drive great liars, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: April 30th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped you upgrade your hard drive, debunked hangover myths (and offered a few helpful suggestions), dug up some from foreign language courses courtesy of the government's Foreign Service Institute, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: April 23rd, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped you find a workaround for accessing blocked content on the internet, highlighted the good, the bad, and the useless of Windows maintenance tips, determined whether that download really had a virus, and a whole lot more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: April 16th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we set out to determine which iPhone browser was fastest, set up our media centers so they're friendlier to non-geeks, highlighted an easy-to-remember password system for users a bit too lazy to go truly secure, and oh so much more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: April 9th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped you save money with DIY cellphone mods and accessories, tweaked Windows 7, and whipped your digital music library into shape. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we showed you how easily your weak passwords can be hacked, helped you steer clear of April Fools' pranks, saved you from wasting cash on HDMI cables, and more. Here's a look back at this week's most popular posts: More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 26th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped you decide between Firefox and Chrome, highlighted some of the best tools available for controlling your computer while you're away from it, and rounded up the best tools for backing up your computer offline. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 19th, 2010, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we showed you how to make potato chips in the microwave, demystified the legality of recording phone conversations, and helped you add Mac-like gestures to your Windows laptop. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 12th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we took a look at the best jobs in America, made the most from our point-and-shoot cameras, improvised an impressive laptop bag from a hoodie, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 5th, 2010, 6:00pm EST

  #highlights This week we showed you where you can listen to great music online, demystified the Windows Registry, helped you see what Big Brother knows about you, and more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: February 26th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights Rampant DIYing aside, this week we rounded up five of the best start pages for your browsing convenience, detailed how to set up a fully automated media center, and reminded you to always, always write it down. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 19th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we highlighted 10 Google settings you should know, helped you find a good place to catch the Olympics online, helped you share large files with your friends, and a whole lot more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 12th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we helped protect you from the big bad Buzz, showed you a few tools for finding cool stuff nearby, and rolled up our sleeves to clean up your PC. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 5th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we compared our favorite media centers to help you choose which fits you best, demystified browser cookies, and passed on our favorite Gmail ninjitsu. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 29th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we saw a fancy new tablet from Apple, took a look at the best email clients around, and put the most popular browsers on the market through the paces in a performance face off. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 22nd, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we took at look at how to tie your shoes more efficiently, put your computer to good use while you're asleep, and polished our sushi etiquette. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 16th, 2010, 10:30am EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we rounded up the best DVD ripping tools, explained why your passwords aren't as secure as you may think (and helped you fix that), and showed you what your email address says about you. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 8th, 2010, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we showed you the best times of the year to buy new gear, offered a few suggestions for keeping your PC in better shape in 2010, and highlighted a tool to help you off your online identity. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: December 18th, 2009, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we looked back at 2009 in software and DIY, demystified the Windows pagefile, and figured out a simple trick to keep food from sticking to our skillet. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: December 11th, 2009, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we dished up ten great downloads for laptop warriors, helped you find the fastest DNS for your internet connection, and pulled together some of our most popular guides of 2009. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: December 4th, 2009, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we explained how HTML5 will change the web as you know it, offered 10 alternatives to the recently-fallen BitTorrent tracker Mininova, and helped you decide whether or not you really need to upgrade your RAM. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 20th, 2009, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we rounded up the best online backup tools and explained how you're backing up wrong, detailed how to build an excellent Boxee-based media center, and cured your various aches and pains with some simple home remedies. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 13th, 2009, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we taught you how to get started teaching yourself to code, rounded up five of the most popular antivirus apps on the block, and helped you out with some clever DIY fixes for your broken stuff. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 6th, 2009, 6:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we showed you how to really browse without leaving a trace, rounded up a handful of media-center-boosting apps, uncorked a bottle of wine with nothing but a shoe, and oh so much more. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 30th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This week we highlighted the best Windows 7 booster apps, rounded up a master list of new Windows 7 shortcuts, and showed you how to set up a killer media center on the cheap. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 23rd, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  #highlights This weekend a lot of you will be upgrading to Windows 7, so it's no surprise that during the week you liked our upgrade prep guide and our complete Windows 7 guide. You still love a fancy burger guide, though. More »
  
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 16th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week you clicking fingers were most interested in how you might use Google Wave, alternative task managers, reminder tools for the forgetful set, and a handful of beautiful autumn-themed wallpapers.

  • Wallpaper Roundup: Color Splashes and Cooler Days
    Fall is a colorful time of year and the vibrant hues of fall foliage and holidays lend well to livening up your desktop. Take a stroll through our collection of fall-themed wallpaper to find a new look for your workstation.
  • Google Wave's Best Use Cases
    Last week we asked a simple question: How will you use Google Wave? Over 600 responses later, we're sending Wave nominations to the people who had the best use cases. Here are a few.
  • Five Best Windows Task Manager Alternatives
    The Windows Task Manager is a functional but basic tool for keeping an eye on what your computer's up to. If you want to go beyond the built-in tool and for more in depth information and control, check out these five alternatives.
  • Top 10 Reminder Tools for Forgetful Minds
    Tweak your workflow and inboxes all you want, but your mental memory might always be the weakest link in your day-to-day life. These 10 tools take some of the workload off your brain, and prevent a few forehead slaps.
  • First Glimpse at What the Chrome Browser May Look Like in Chrome OS
    Over the weekend someone stumbled onto a Chrome browser build for Chrome OS on Google's servers. We've seen several false-alarm looks at Chrome OS, and while it is only the browser, it provides a glimpse into the direction Google's going.
  • Make Unlimited Free Calls on Your Cellphone with Google Voice
    Most cellphone carriers provide a feature allowing you a certain number of contacts that you can call, on any network, for free, anytime. So what happens when you team up this feature with your Google Voice number?
  • Use Ping-Pong Balls to Create Diffused Party Lights
    If you need some cheap and novel ambient lighting for your next party, you're only a box of ping-pong balls and a string of lights away from solving your lighting worries.
  • CrimeReports Maps Out Local Crimes
    If you want to check out a neighborhood you're planning on moving to or just want to see how things are looking in your corner of Sunnyvale, CrimeReports mashes up local police reports with a map of the area.
  • Michael Pollan's 20 Food Rules to Live By
    Many Lifehacker readers turn to In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan's practical, no-nonsense advice when they're looking to eat better and healthier. Over at the New York Times, Pollan has pulled together 20 solid-sometimes silly-eating rules of thumb.
  • Blackra1n Jailbreaks iPhone 3.1.2 Firmware
    Windows: Blackra1n continues in the long tradition of jailbreak apps that never say die when faced with Apple updates. It won't unlock an iPhone for carrier switching, but Blackra1n does give you third-party, unofficial apps and features on your iPhone.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 9th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we showed you how to get the most bang for your battery-life buck, keep track of your weight-loss (or weight maintaining) goals, and pointed out that life without cable isn't all that bad.

  • An Exhaustive Guide to Saving Your Smartphone's Battery
    Modern phones come loaded with bright screens, fun games and apps, and connections for 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Not coincidentally, they're constantly out of juice.
  • Floating Monitors and Hidden Peripherals
    Today's featured workspace is full of surprises like monitors that seem to float in the air on a cloud of ambient lighting, cords hidden behind faux walls, and peripherals hidden in hollowed out shelves.
  • Five Best Weight-Management Tools
    Weight loss can be a challenging undertaking (even maintaining your weight can be tough when the holidays roll around). Make the most of your efforts with help from one of these five weight-management tools most valued by Lifehacker readers.
  • 10,000 Hotmail Passwords Leaked Online
    An anonymous user posted usernames and passwords for over 10,000 Windows Live Hotmail accounts to web site PasteBin, including accounts on email domains like @hotmail.com, @msn.com, and @live.com.
  • Google Experiments with a Single-Word, Fading Homepage
    Google is reportedly experimenting with a new fading homepage design in an effort to create a cleaner, simpler interface.The experimental design does away with every detail except for the Google logo and the search box, revealing the other navigation links only when a user mouses over the screen.
  • Crack a Master Combination Padlock Redux
    Two years ago we highlighted how to crack a Master combination padlock for those of you who may have lost the combination to your bulletproof lock; now designer Mark Campos has turned the tried-and-true instructions into an easier-to-follow visual guide.
  • Why Life Without Cable or Satellite May Be Easier than You Think
    If you're interested in dropping your overpriced monthly cable bill but aren't sure how you'd survive without your TV favorites, the gadget gurus at Gizmodo turn an eye toward their pocketbooks and discover life without cable isn't as hard as you'd think.
  • Google Wave 101
    So you've snagged an invitation to Google Wave—or a pal is sending one your way—and you've already taken a look at what to expect. Let's dive deeper into Wave features, etiquette, and extensions.
  • Use Google Voice Voicemail Without Changing Numbers
    If the part of Google Voice that most appeals to you is transcribed, web-accessible voicemail, you don't need to transition to a new number. A single phone call and settings tweak can send all your unanswered calls to Google Voice.
  • Have You Gotten Your Google Wave Invite?
    It's been almost a week since Google Wave went live; we've toured Wave inside and out, tried to help folks get invites, and even pointed you to the first Google Wave search you should know.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 2nd, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we took you on a sneak peek of Google Wave, showed you how to get more from your cameraphone, helped you pick the quickest line at your grocery store, and oh so much more.

  • Google Wave First Look
    If you're not one of the 100,000 lucky users who gets an invitation to Google Wave today, don't fret. You can check out Google Wave right here.
  • Give Out (and Receive) Your Google Wave Invitations Here
    Google just started handing out Wave invites, and they're planning to dish out more all day. The door is open to 100,000 new users; if you're one of the lucky ones, you can share the love (and your invites) here.
  • Top 10 Ways to Get More From a Cameraphone
    The best camera, the saying goes, is the one you have with you. Whether that's an impressive iPhone 3GS or a $20-with-2-year-plan flip model, you can pull off great shots and make life easier with these cameraphone tactics.
  • How to Choose the Fastest Line at the Market
    One of the more frustrating parts of grocery shopping is waiting in line, and determining which line will get you through the quickest somehow becomes a big deal.
  • Nine Workspaces Where Famous Folks Get Stuff Done
    Whether you prefer the clean minimalism of Steve Jobs and 37 Signals or the creative chaos of Tina Fey and Pixar, there's a lot to learn from the workspaces of the well-known.
  • The Triple-Monitor Haven
    Who doesn't want a few more pixels of screen real estate? Today's featured workspace sports triple 26" monitors and has more than enough space to go around.
  • Lifehacker Readers' Favorite Pens
    Last week we asked you to share your favorite writing utensil, and hundreds of votes by devoted pen-lovers later, we're back with some of the nicest pens you use to satisfy your pen-and-paper fetish.
  • Five Best Twitter Clients
    Twitter has risen to prominence as the most popular place to share your thoughts in short snippets. If you're underwhelmed with the Twitter web site and looking for more features, you'll definitely want to check out the five Twitter clients showcased here.
  • Dropbox Comes to the iPhone and iPod touch
    iPhone/iPod touch only: Dropbox, one of our favorite cross-platform file-syncing tools, has now made its way to the iPhone and iPod touch, complete with offline file viewing.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: September 25th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we introduced you to 10 underhyped webapps, helped your rejuvinate your workspace, and discussed some of the finer points of laptop battery best practices.

  • Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition
    As with rock music, video games, and other awesome pursuits, great web applications often don't get enough credit for what they do well. We're revisiting and updating our favorite underhyped webapps to give a new crop of contenders their due.
  • Rejuvenate Your Workspace with These Office Supply Favorites
    We normally leave all-things-gadgetry to our sibling blog, Gizmodo, but office supplies are one territory we can't resist. In the spirit of our Supercharge Your Workspace week, here's a look at 20 of our favorite workspace organizers, note-takers, and accessories.
  • Unplug Your Laptop Regularly (When In Doubt)
    A friend replaced her laptop's battery after only two years because it wouldn't hold a charge. I suggested she shouldn't keep her laptop always plugged in, but I wondered—was this outdated geek lore, rendered obsolete by modern batteries?
  • Building The Ultimate Dorm Desk
    When you're a DIYer with a desire to build an epic desk for your dorm room, it helps to have access to good tools and materials. One Lifehacker reader used great gear and forward-looking design to craft an ultimate dorm desk.
  • Five Best Time-Tracking Applications
    Where does the time go? Whether you need to know for billing purposes or just want a better idea of how your work day is split up, you can always answer that question with a good time-tracking application.
  • Three Great-but Cheap-Office Upgrades
    Sometimes the best way to give your workflow a boost is to give your workspace a makeover. Even if money's a bit tight, here's a look at a few cheap ways to spruce up the place where you're earning your keep.
  • Master the "Why Hire Me" Story to Land a Job
    So you've finally landed that job interview. Now it's time to seal the deal with a killer interview. How? For one, try mastering your "Why hire me" story.
  • RemainInPlay Offers 20 Years of Free Retro Games
    If you're hankering for some nostalgic video game action this weekend, you're in luck. Check out this selection, spanning the last 20 years or so, of commercial games released as freeware.
  • The Best Sounds for Getting Work Done
    The right kind of sound can relax your mind, hone your focus, drown out distractions, or get you pumped to kill your to-do list. We've assembled some research and free resources to help you create your own best workspace soundtrack.
  • Nine Workspaces Where Famous Folks Get Stuff Done
    Whether you prefer the clean minimalism of Steve Jobs and 37 Signals or the creative chaos of Tina Fey and Pixar, there's a lot to learn from the workspaces of the well-known. We present nine such spaces here for inspiration.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: September 18th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we showed you how to take the "hack" out of Hackintosh, rounded up the best virtual desktop managers on the block, demonstrated how Dropbox can do more than just sync files, and pointed you toward a great Windows 7 deal.

  • Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required
    Two weeks ago I detailed how to build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, start to finish, with a little Terminal work. If you're not comfortable with command-line hacking, you can now install Snow Leopard on your Hackintosh with just a few point-and-clicks.
  • Five Best Virtual-Desktop Managers
    Long before multiple monitors were popular (or financially feasible), there were virtual desktops—applications that allow you to swap your entire workspace with another for easy compartmentalization of your work.
  • Use Dropbox for More Than Just File Syncing
    Ever since Lifehacker turned me on to Dropbox, it's become one of the most essential pieces in my daily workflow. Sure it syncs files extremely well, but Dropbox is an excellent tool for so much more.
  • Get Windows 7 Home Premium for $30 With a College Email Address
    If you're a U.S. college student, or at least having a working .edu email address, you don't have to pay $120 to upgrade Vista to Windows 7. You can get the Home Premium upgrade for just $30.
  • Top 10 Tactics for Protecting Your Stuff
    We've offered up a wealth of tips on locking down your data, but old-school, straight-up stealing is another matter entirely. Try these 10 tips on securing, disguising, tracking down, and hiding your goods so they don't get nicked.
  • Paper Fix Binds Your Papers Without Staples
    Not a fan of paper clips? Wish your stapler had an infinite supply of staples? The Paper Fix is a stapler-substitute that binds paper together using just the paper itself.
  • Five Features We Want to See in iTunes
    Last week Apple released iTunes 9, and while the update brings a few nice feature improvements here and there, the popular desktop music player still has a lot of room for improvement.
  • "Should I Buy It?" Flowchart Helps You Make Smarter Purchases
    Advertisers would have us believe that we need a lot of things that we really only want, and that brand names are always better. This simple purchasing flowchart walks you through your purchasing decision-making process to help you make the smart choice.
  • Five Hard-to-Kill Houseplants for Your Home or Workspace
    Plants can transform your home or workspace into a more peaceful, tranquil, and beautiful place, but if you're not good with them, your improved space can quickly turn into a depressing chamber of death. The solution: Get some more resilient plants.
  • Remove Splinters Using a Banana Peel
    Bananas are a good source of potassium, but turns out the peels can do more than just store the fruit. Apartment Therapy outlines seven ways to put used peels to work, including removal of those inconvenient splinters.
    
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: September 11th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  A five-point Ubuntu wish list, a record-breaking paper airplane, razor-blade longevity tips, and a guide to accessing your email next time Gmail goes down round out this week's most popular posts.

  
  

  • Top 10 DIY Projects for an Extra Day Off
    It's the last day of an unusually long weekend, and there's absolutely nothing on the schedule. Break out the tools and pull up one of these nifty DIY projects to improve your living space and boost your can-do cred.
  • How to Build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, Start to Finish
    Two years ago, I detailed how to build a Hackintosh for under $800—then covered how to do the same with less hacking. Now that Snow Leopard's out, we're revisiting the Hackintosh, building a Hack Pro from scratch for roughly $900.
  • Five Features We Want to See in Ubuntu
    Ubuntu isn't the only Linux operating system, but it's where the dream of a usable, completely free desktop is closest to reality. If every Ubuntu developer were assembled at one place, here are five things we'd ask them to accomplish.
  • Fold a World-Record-Setting Paper Airplane
    A few years back we pointed you toward the world's "best" paper airplane, and while we couldn't entirely back up the "best" claim, this Sky King paper airplane is a legitimate world-record holder.
  • Buy Legit Copies of Popular Software for Less
    We try to primarily highlight freeware here on Lifehacker, but occasionally you need a piece of software that costs a pretty penny. Remember: Just because you can't get an app for free doesn't mean you can't still get it on the cheap.
  • Perfect Your Grilled Cheese with Protein and Heat
    Two slices of Wonder Bread and yellow cheese make for a stupid-easy and quick lunch, but they can be so much better. Professional chef Jennifer Iserloh offers ideas for balancing and making the ultimate comfort food a smidge healthier.
  • Turn a Radish into a Power-Up Mushroom in Seconds
    Why not amuse and charm your party guests by garnishing a few dishes with these easy-to-make Mario-style Power-Up Mushrooms made of radishes? You might not get any extra lives, but there's some serious geek cred in this food hack.
  • Helvetical Turns Google Calendar Into a Thing of Beauty
    Firefox/Chrome/Opera/IE: I've never found Google Calendar to be particularly unattractive—until I compared it to the sleek, clean look of Google Calendar with the Helvetical user script, that is.
  • Design Your Own Exercise Program Using Seven Key Moves
    Some people have the luxury of a personal trainer to create their exercise routines for them. For the rest of us, web site Dumb Little Man has outlined seven key movements worth considering when designing a fitness program.
  • How to Access Gmail When It's Down
    Last week's Gmail outage is just the latest in a long series of outages in our favorite webmail application, but you don't have to let that stop you from accessing your email and getting things done.
  • Extend Your Razor's Life with a Pair of Jeans
    If you use disposable razor blades, odds are they get dull more quickly than you'd like. Instructables points us to a video demonstration showing how to extend their utility with a pair of blue jeans.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: September 4th, 2009, 3:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week you took a shining to building a Hackintosh from start to finish, free phone calls with Google Voice, five of the best disk defragmenters, and some secret fast food items.

  • How to Build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, Start to Finish
    Two years ago, I detailed how to build a Hackintosh for under $800—then covered how to do the same with less hacking. Now that Snow Leopard's out, we're revisiting the Hackintosh, building a Hack Pro from scratch for roughly $900.
  • Five Best Disk Defragmenters
    Your computer's a busy beaver, rapidly accessing and utilizing files all in the name of bringing you what you want, when you want it. Sometimes it needs a little help tidying up, and that's where these five disk defragmenters come in.
  • Browser Speed Tests: Chrome 4.0 and Opera 10 Take On All Challengers
    Opera 10 final is out, Chrome just turned one year old, and Firefox 3.5 has settled into stability. It's time once again to break out the timers and speed test today's web browsers.
  • Order Secret Menu Items at Fast Food Chains
    Is Starbucks' "tall" is actually too large for you, and Chipotle's minimalist menu too constraining? These chains and many more have secret menus, or at least margins for creativity, that can awesomely expand your cheap-eats repertoire.
  • Use Firefox to Fix the Web's Biggest Annoyances
    If you've spent more than 5 minutes browsing around the web lately, you've no doubt dealt with greedy webmasters assaulting their readers with awful ads and more—but Firefox makes it easy to take back control.
  • Make Free VoIP Calls from Google Voice
    Google Voice is great, but it isn't an entirely free voice-over-internet service if you have to pay a phone bill to use it. With a few tweaks, though, you can talk to anyone on-the-cheap through Skype, or entirely for free with Gizmo.
  • Snow Leopard's Four Best Improvements (for Civilians)
    Most of Mac OS 10.6's changes are deep in its underpinnings for developers to put to good use. But what do the rest of us get out of Snow Leopard? Modest, but nice, improvements to the everyday Mac workflow.
  • $5 IKEA Coat Hanger Offers Solid Cable Management
    Weblog BitsOfMyMind shares a very simple idea that turns an inexpensive coat-hanger rack into a simple and streamlined cord management solution.Back when I detailed how to go cordless in your workspace, I championed a $10 cable management add-on from IKEA.
  • How to Fry a Perfect Egg
    Have you not yet mastered the art of the perfect fried egg? If you're impressed with the fried eggs you order in restaurants, but underwhelmed by the burnt-edged monsters you make at home, you'll want to read this guide.
  • Avoid These Potential Traffic Ticket Pitfalls
    Traffic tickets can be expensive and a hassle to deal with, which is why it's best to avoid getting them in the first place. Consumer Reports outlines some common ticket pitfalls to watch out for.
  • Top 10 Tactics for Productive Travel
    Being able to work just about anywhere is a mixed blessing. If you're tired of dying batteries, lost receipts, absent files, and laptop theft paranoia, pick up on our top 10 tactics for a better life on the road.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: August 28th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we helped readers prepare for the upgrade to Snow Leopard, dished out 10 tricks that would make MacGyver proud, and showed you how to speed up your bloated Firefox installation.

  • Top 10 Tricks MacGyver Would Be Proud Of
    When they draw up the Complete History of Lifehacking, Angus MacGyver will certainly merit a chapter. We pay tribute to the creative can-do secret agent this week with 10 tricks that make extraordinary use of truly common objects.
  • Prep Your Mac for Snow Leopard
    An operating system update like this Friday's release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard is a perfect time to clean up your computer and start fresh. Let's prepare your Mac for this weekend's 10.6 upgrade.
  • Make Firefox Faster by Vacuuming Your Database
    Firefox tip: Firefox 3.0's Awesome Bar added all kinds of features to the 'fox, but unfortunately it's also created some performance issues—for example, by upping the default history time, leading to larger, fragmented databases.
  • How Fast is Your Internet Connection?
    DSL and other high-speed internet services feel like dial-up more often than they should. According to a new study, the U.S. ranks 28th in terms of fastest broadband speeds behind Japan, Sweden, Holland, and other industrialized nations.
  • Lock a Deadbolt from Outside the Door (Without a Key)
    Ever needed to lock the deadbolt behind you but didn't have a key to the door? Admittedly, this isn't a problem you'll get into every day, but Instructables user Hextor has a clever solution should you ever find yourself in this situation.
  • Complete Guide to Making Outlook Faster (Than Molasses)
    If you are stuck using Microsoft Outlook to send those TPS reports at work, you've already experienced just how painfully slow it can get—but with a few quick tips you can make it usable again.
  • Grab Mac OS X Snow Leopard's Wallpaper for Your Desktop
    Classic art, serene natural landscapes, remixed Mac images, and actual snow leopards—the wallpapers from Mac OS X 10.6, a.k.a. Snow Leopard, are in the wild, and you can grab them at full resolution for your own desktop.
  • The Definitive Guide to Backing Up and Ditching Your Discs
    Whether you're moving, short on cash, or running out of storage space, you've got plenty of reasons to ditch your physical media. Hard drives are cheap; here are our recommended methods of saving, selling, and trading your CDs, DVDs, and video games.
  • Tech Support Cheat Sheet Reveals the Secrets of Troubleshooting
    If you read Lifehacker, chances are you've been designated as your family's de facto IT person, and you've probably spent more than your fair share of hours troubleshooting applications you know no better than the person asking.
  • The Floating Shelves and Hidden Cables Workspace
    Today's featured workspace is a great example of how, with some careful shopping and thoughtful layout, you can create an uncluttered and tidy workspace without a huge budget.Lifehacker reader msweston took some basic building blocks from IKEA and assembled them into a sleek workspace.
  • Five Features We Want to See in Firefox
    It's no secret that Firefox has long been our favorite browser, but much has changed recently. The browser landscape is increasingly competitive, so with that in mind, we'd like to suggest a few features and improvements we're desperate to see from Firefox.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: August 21st, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we helped readers creatively stash their stuff, find free Wi-Fi anywhere, and enjoy a little homemade butter with minimal effort.

  • Top 10 Tricks for Creatively Hiding Your Stuff
    Every kid has a creative stash for secret stuff, but that useful enthusiasm doesn't have to die off just because we've traded treehouses for desks. See how you can hide money, files, workspaces, and more in today's Top 10.
  • The Definitive Guide to Finding Free Wi-Fi
    You're out and about with your laptop and you're in need of some fast internet connectivity. Here are some tried and true ways to find and get free Wi-Fi.
  • And the Most Popular Email Service Is...
    On Monday we asked you to share what email service you use, and some 18,000 votes later, the result is overwhelming (if unsurprising): 80% of Lifehacker readers who participated in the poll use Gmail as their go-to email service.
  • Five Best Apartment Search Tools
    Gone are the days when the only place to find apartment listings was the back of a newspaper. Now you can conduct apartment searches of all sorts online, and its almost always packed with additional photos, video, and information.
  • The Attic Playground
    Most people think of attics as a place to stash boxes of Christmas ornaments and dusty boxes of mementos. Follow the example of today's featured workspace, and the attic becomes a place for 8-core workstations and Rock Band sessions.
  • Wallpaper Roundup: Getting Things Done with Workflows and Quadrants
    Whether you're gearing up for the start of the school year or you're plugging along at your 9 to 5 like usual, we've got a roundup of productivity-centric wallpaper to help you keep focused.
  • Enjoy Homemade Butter in Less Than Five Minutes
    Homemade butter is vastly superior to its store-bought equivalent, but nobody wants to pull out or buy a butter churn. This churn-free method makes it worthwhile, producing the kitchen staple (and some bonus buttermilk, too) in under five minutes.
  • Crack an Egg with One Hand
    Have a lot going on in your kitchen? Master the art of the one-handed egg crack to save time, avoid messes, and increase your culinary cred.
  • The Buzz vs The Bulge Chart Compares Caffeine to Calories
    Does a small Frappuccino give you enough caffeine to be worth the calories? How long would you have to run to work off an iced latte? David McCandless' beautiful chart puts all your caffeine concerns in perspective.
  • Stock Your Bar for $100
    Stocking a bar is a difficult task. Stocking a bar for $100 is even more difficult. Let's take a look at three different methods for gearing up your liquor cabinet for parties of various sizes on the cheap.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: August 14th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  This week we made your playlists rock, spiced up and customized your desktop with with the new Enigma, and got students ready to GTD at school.

  • Top 10 Tricks for Making Your Playlists Rock
    If music is part of your everyday work routine, workout, or commute, stuffing your player full of tunes and hitting shuffle just won't cut it. Scan these 10 tips for improving and expanding your music playlists.
  • Rainmeter 1.0 Brings the Enigma Desktop to Everyone
    Windows only: Rainmeter 1.0 not only includes the latest version of the very popular Enigma desktop, it has a theme manager and configuration tool-so you can set up a killer desktop without a line of code.
  • Five Best Video Players
    We've come a long way since animated GIFs and video-game-style MIDI files were considered cutting edge computer-provided A/V entertainment. Take advantage of today's high-quality video with one of these five most popular video players.
  • Why I Stopped Being Paranoid and Started Using Mint
    The idea of giving anyone my online banking usernames and passwords sends shivers up my spine, but after having examined different money management solutions, personal finance webapp Mint still makes the most sense for me, despite privacy concerns.
  • 10 Must-Dos for the First Week of College
    With the start of the academic year, it's time to switch out of vacation mode—pronto. What you do the first week of classes can majorly impact your grades four months from now, so don't skip these first week must-dos.
  • The Trap Door Desk
    At first glance, today's featured workspace might appear to be yet another so-hip-it-hurts, ultra-spartan Mac workspace. This space, however, has a secret.
  • Digsby Joins the Dark Side, Uses Your PC to Make Money
    The popular Digsby instant messenger client not only bundles half a dozen "optional" crapware applications, it's also using your computer to crawl the web, do stock market research, and more. It's time to uninstall.
  • Getting Things Done Explained for Students
    If you're into productivity, then you must have at least heard of David Allen's Getting Things Done productivity opus. Let's take a look at how to apply GTD to your school work.
  • How to Build a Web Site from Scratch with No Experience
    I took one (bad) computer science class in college, and I'm not a web developer. So in early 2008, when I decided I was finally going to build a web site I'd been fantasizing about for years, I was starting from scratch.
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: August 7th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  A groundbreaking desktop music player, advice from a burglar, Gmail tragedies, and smart hardware upgrades round out this week's most popular posts.

  • Spotify Is the Best Desktop Music Player We've Ever Used
    Imagine a music app with instant access to any song you wanted to hear. Imagine creating a playlist from those songs and quickly, easily sharing it with friends. Such an app does exist, it's called Spotify, and it could change music forever.
  • A Burglar's Advice on Hiding Money
    We've already shown you where and how to safely hide cash in your home, but if you really want to learn how, why not ask the expert? The following are some dos and don'ts of money storage courtesy of a former burglar.
  • Massacre Gmail Ads with These Two Sentences (and Some Tragic Words)
    Those "Sponsored Ads" in e-mails are an annoyance to both sender and recipient and they seem to escape blocking. Until now. These two (so far) fail-proof sentences at the end of an email will let you enjoy e-mailed rants, ad-free.
  • Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades
    If your desktop or laptop parts have died or seen better days, you've got a friend. All of your Lifehacker editors—and many helpful net denizens—have upgraded or repaired faulty systems, and we've rounded up some of their most helpful tutorials.
  • Office on the Forest's Edge
    The only thing today's featured office shares with your average office is the fact that it has a roof and a floor. Beyond that it's quite a different space than most of us spend our days in.
  • Five Best PDF Readers
    Adobe's free PDF reader has long been a standard for handling its extremely popular document format, but you aren't limited to using it to view your PDF files.
  • The Well-Planned Dorm Room
    Just because you're in college doesn't mean that your room has to be a cluttered mess of schoolwork, piled with unwashed clothes, and overseen by John Belushi posters.
  • The Complete Guide to Going Paperless
    You already pay your bills online and get electronic statements, but there are even more ways you can stop killing innocent trees and wasting time and money dealing with paper.
  • Reset Your Sleep Cycle with a 16-Hour Fast
    Your brain's natural tendencies don't easily accommodate international flights, all-nighters, or rotating shift work. Refusing to eat for about 16 hours before waking up, however, can help reboot your sleep cycle.
  • Avoid Inappropriate Email Signoffs
    Whether work-related or on personal time, most of us send multiple emails daily, which is why learning how to properly close the correspondence is essential because, as the Washington Post notes, you can pay the price for a "careless closing."
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  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: July 31st, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  We highlight the best instant messengers on the block, rant and rave over Apple's bad iPhone decisions, tip you off to liars, and enjoy some cool summertime wallpapers.

  Photo by Amecke.

  • Five Best Instant Messengers
    Instant messaging has become so ubiquitous, an entire generation of internet users is probably unaware there was ever life without it. Check out the following five most popular instant messengers to to help you communicate across networks and the world.
  • Bad Apple: An Argument Against Buying an iPhone
    Apple just rejected the Google Voice iPhone application from App Store distribution, the most recent in a long line of questionable moves, and the message is clear: If you want a device that won't lock you out of innovation, skip the iPhone.
  • Catch Phrases That May Tip You Off to a Lie
    Apart from more obvious signs, non-verbal gestures and other cues can also help to determine whether someone is telling the truth or not. Forbes outlines 11 ways to potentially sniff out a liar, including several phrases to watch out for.
  • How Bill Gates Uses Office and Three Monitors
    Bill Gates drops a lengthy blog post explaining how he gets things done, Microsoft style, using three monitors to watch an inbox, read or write documents, and browse the web.
  • Wallpaper Roundup: Ocean Views and Abstract Blues
    The temperature is rising across the country, and while you may not be able to get yourself to a cool and breezy locale, you can at least plaster your monitor with soothing reminders of one.
  • Make Reverse-Engineered KFC at Home
    An enjoyable bout of foodie one-upmanship has yielded not only one "reverse-engineered" home recipe of KFC's 11 herbs and spices, but an improved version of fried chicken that strips out the MSG.
  • The Hidden Risks of Cloud Computing
    Every day more users move their computing lives from the desktop to the cloud and rely on hosted web applications to store and access email, photos, and documents.
  • Avoid These Phrases to Keep Your Resume Relevant
    Resume writing is an infrequently used skill, and one with which most of us will take all the help we can get. Keep your resume from ending up in the bowels of a corporate shredder by avoiding these phrases.
  • First Look at Firefox 4.0 Design Mockups
    Last week we took a look at initial design mockups for Firefox 3.7, and now the busy designers at Mozilla are back with some theme mockups for the even-further-into-the-future Firefox 4.0.
  • Never Use Hotmail, Inactive Webmail As Your Secondary Email Account
    Registering for an account at any web site almost always requires an email address, and some people use a secondary address they don't care about instead of their real email address to avoid spam.
  • Brush Up on Getting Things Done with an Updated Flow Chart
    Since the release of his new book Making It All Work, David Allen has updated his original GTD workflow chart to include the new elements from the book.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: July 24th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Computer hardware posters, wet shaving, impulse buying, and sunshine DIY round out this week's most popular posts.

  • The Computer Hardware Chart Identifies Your PC's Parts
    Whether you're a first-time computer builder or a seasoned pro, deviantART user Sonic480's computer hardware poster, which helps you identify countless different types of hard drives, RAM, ports, CPU sockets, power connectors, and more, is a great reference.
  • Learn the Economical Art of Wet Shaving
    Shaving cartridges are expensive—the current crop of Gillette's razors, for example, cost over $2 a pop to refill. Refilling a traditional razor, on the other hand, can cost mere pennies and shave just as well.
  • Use the Stranger Test to Reduce Impulse Purchases
    When faced with a purchase, many people fall into the trap of only considering that they want it and can afford it—but that doesn't mean they should buy it.
  • Five Best GPS Devices
    GPS devices are quite the modern marvel, allowing even the most disoriented traveler to take advantage of guideposts in the sky and find their way. Step inside to see five great tools to guide you on your way.
  • Top 10 DIY Projects that Harness the Power of the Sun
    Cheap, powerful, and available almost everywhere—solar energy is a truly great thing. With these 10 sun-powered projects, you can turn a sunny day off into some brag-worthy, possibly money-saving backyard tech.
  • Create Your Own Sun Jar: Lifehacker Edition
    If dashboard cookies got you thinking about other ways to put the sun to work, here's a step-by-step guide to building sun-capturing jars that create outdoor lighting at a fraction of the retail cost.
  • IP Hider Accesses Hulu, Other US-Only Content from Outside the US
    Windows only: Previously mentioned proxy application Hotspot Shield used to be the go-to option for accessing US-only content from outside the US, but now that popular sites like Hulu are wise to Hotspot Shield, give proxy application IP Hider a try.
  • Position Your Tongue Properly to Look Good in Photos
    We live in a culture of oversharing, so odds are someone, somewhere will be snapping and posting photos taken of you at various events. To help ensure you look your best, heed where you position your tongue.
  • VLC 1.0 Records Video from DVDs
    Have you ever wanted to save a segment of video from your favorite DVD for watching later without fast-forwarding all the way through the movie? VLC 1.0 adds a new "Record" feature to help you.
  • Mozilla Releases Initial Design Mockups for Firefox 3.7
    Firefox 3.5 was only officially released late last month, but the Mozilla team has already introduced its initial Windows theme mockups for Firefox 3.7, featuring glossy, translucent buttons and a host of other potential new features.
  • Travel Etiquette Site Explains How to Behave in Different Countries
    Every culture has its distinct customs and traditions. Web site Travel Etiquette breaks them down by country to help teach you how to behave before you head off on your trip so that you can represent yourself and your home country well.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: July 17th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  We cooled down, made better coffee, and managed to get our finances under control in this week's most popular posts.

  • Mythbusting: Four Myths About Staying Hydrated Debunked
    Your mom wasn't completely wrong about the need to stay hydrated in hot weather, but your sweet old mum, and many others, have been needlessly worrying about the wrong things.
  • Use The "Egyptian Method" to Sleep Well on a Hot Night
    Tossing and turning all night because the scorching heat wouldn't let you get your much-needed sleep is most unenviable. Next time the temperature gets too hot to handle, incorporate these tricks to help you sleep comfortably through the night.
  • Create Your Own Sun Jar: Lifehacker Edition
    If dashboard cookies got you thinking about other ways to put the sun to work, here's a step-by-step guide to building sun-capturing jars that create outdoor lighting at a fraction of the retail cost.
  • Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Better Coffee
    Coffee doesn't always make work better, but you can definitely work to get better coffee. From four-cup hotel machines to French presses, from home-roasted beans to decorative foam—we've got a wealth of tips for enjoying a better cup.
  • Cool Down a Scorching Car as Quickly as Possible
    Decrease the amount of time it takes to cool your car off after it's been sitting in the summer sun by using this simple six-step process.
  • Build a DIY Portable Air Conditioner
    We've shown you how to make an air conditioner (even for as low as $30), but what if you wanted something you can put in your car and take with you?
  • Hang a Damp Towel to Cool a Hot House
    If the air in your house is hotter and more humid than it is outside, you don't have to crank up the air conditioning. A damp towel, as suggested by a Death Valley park ranger, can even things out.
  • Get Rid of Dark Under-Eye Circles and Puffiness
    Whether you had a late night out or just a late night, those dark circles under your eyes are casting you in a less than pretty light. Here are some quick tips to look better, with absolutely no cucumbers involved.
  • Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
    Every financial life has a rough patch here and there and sometimes temporarily stretching things from paycheck to paycheck is unavoidable. Avoid making living paycheck to paycheck your way of life with these tips.
  • Learn the Hidden Benefits of Credit Cards
    Extended care warranties, car rental insurance, trip cancellation protection—you know they're just margin boosters for companies, but you can't shake that vulnerable feeling.
  • Recharge Your Car's Air Conditioner
    If you have a car that isn't showroom fresh anymore, there's also a good chance it's lost a little of its air conditioning mojo. Get things icy cool again with this simple fix.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: July 10th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Clever and cheap fly repelling, secret passage bookcases, Wi-Fi cracking, and Google's Chrome OS piqued your interest this week.

  • Repel Flies with a Bag of Water
    We've featured many, many, many different ways to deal with mosquitoes using DIY solutions. But what about the even more common household fly? Turns out all you need to deal with that is a plastic bag or two.
  • Turn a Bookshelf into a Secret Passage
    Who hasn't dreamed of having a mystery-story-style secret passageway? While a trick bookshelf is pretty awesome in itself, this secret passage hides a home office with clever style.
  • Nine Must-Have Features We Want to See in a Google OS
    What's inside Google's just-announced Chrome Operating System? How does it work, exactly? Nobody outside Google knows. We can, however, build a dream operating system from the ground up, and that's what we're doing with some help from the hive mind.
  • Set Up "Push" Gmail on Your iPhone
    Despite iPhone 3.0's push notifications and previously mentioned Google Sync's contacts and calendars syncing chops, push Gmail still hasn't come to the iPhone. But with the Prowl iPhone application, you can now push Gmail notifications—and then some—to your iPhone.
  • Google Releasing Chrome Operating System
    In a sudden, if not unexpected, announcement this morning, Google said it would release an open-source operating system based on its Chrome browser. The OS will be free, geared (at first) toward netbooks, and focused on "speed, simplicity, and security.
  • VLC Hits 1.0 with Better Playback and File Support
    Windows/Mac/Linux: VLC Media Player, the open-source solution to media players that can't play your media files, reaches the 1.0 milestone today. What's new?
  • How to Send Back Restaurant Food
    It's never fun to be a squeaky wheel, but whether you've been served an overcooked, undercooked, or just plain wrong dish, there's a proper and improper way to let your waiter know that you're less than satisfied with what's on your plate.
  • WEP Cracking Redux: Beyond the Command Line
    Last week we showed you how to crack a Wi-Fi network's WEP key using a live CD and some command line fu. Today we've got other cracking options—but more importantly, clarification on the point of all this.
  • Five Best Online Image Editors
    Editing your images on a desktop image editor might be ideal, but sometimes you're away from your home workstation and need to do some impromptu editing.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: July 3rd, 2009, 3:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Fancy tie-tying, Wi-Fi password cracking, Google Voice, and Firefox 3.5 round out this week's most popular posts.

  • Dress Up Your Ties with the "Merovingian Knot"
    The realm of dress tie knots is dominated by a handful of traditional tie knots. Check out this rather unique tie knot and be the first on your block to sport it.
  • How to Crack a Wi-Fi Network's WEP Password with BackTrack
    You already know that if you want to lock down your Wi-Fi network, you should opt for WPA encryption because WEP is easy to crack. But did you know how easy?
  • Google Voice Is Cool, But Do You Need It?
    You've read about the features, you saw the invites going out, but you might be wondering what, exactly, Google Voice could do for you. Here's our guide for the curious and uninvited on whether your phones need some Google juice.
  • Firefox 3.5 Officially Available for Download
    Windows/Mac/Linux: The final version of the Firefox is starting to show up on Mozilla's web site, and some readers are reporting update notices. Here are a few links and how-tos you should check out before downloading that browser.
  • Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features
    Firefox 3.5 is a pretty substantial update to the popular open-source browser, and it's just around the corner. See what features, fixes, and clever new tools are worth getting excited about in the next big release.
  • Top 10 Productivity Basics Explained
    There's a core set of habits and techniques that filter and color a lot of what we write about at Lifehacker, but we rarely step back to explain them for newcomers.
  • Five Best Free System Restore Tools
    Backing up data is a great way to minimize losses after a computing catastrophe. But what about restoring your actual system right away? Here are the five most popular options for our readers.
  • Soaking is Key for Perfect Homemade French Fries
    You don't need to install a deep fat fryer in your kitchen or apprentice at a burger stand to get homemade French fries worthy of great praise. The key is soaking your sliced potatoes and using the right oil.
  • Best of the Best: Hive Five Winners, March through June 2009
    The year is flying by, and so are our readers' picks for software, hardware, and other tools. Come on in to see the winners of our Hive Five polls for the second quarter of 2009.
  • 3G Speeds Tested & Compared, City by City
    As wireless users know all too well, not all 3G networks are created equal. PC World recently put Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to a multi-city test to determine which best delivers speed and reliability.
  • Is The Desktop PC Dead?
    Desktop sales fell by 23 percent last year across the computer industry. In the U.S., 80 percent of sales went to notebooks. Gizmodo declares the desktop dead, but we're wondering if you see a future for non-mobile systems.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: June 26th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Kevin Purdy

  We gaze forward to the next Firefox's features, talk traffic ticket facts and myths, and suggest a few ways to use all those analog sets sidelined by DTV.

  • Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features
    Firefox 3.5 is a pretty substantial update to the popular open-source browser, and it's just around the corner. See what features, fixes, and clever new tools are worth getting excited about in the next big release.
  • Debunking Traffic Ticket Myths
    Virginia traffic attorney Andrew Flusche can't explain everything you need to do to get out of any traffic ticket, but he does want to shoot down some myths your lead-footed friends might try and convince you of.
  • The Halo 3 HUD Desktop
    Reader rykennedyan's desktop is an impressive recreation of a first-person view from the popular Halo FPS shooter-with system stats and information completely blended into the desktop.
  • Repurpose Your Analog Television
    You don't need to run out and buy a new TV because of the DTV switchover. If you did anyways, Make Magazine has put together quite a guide to giving old TVs new life.
  • DIY Inverted Bookshelf
    Instead of storing your books upright on top of the shelf, the inverted bookshelf holds all of your books in place using elastic webbing so you can hang them below the shelf-all the while allowing you to still take them out and put them back on as needed.
  • Tweak Your Way to a Better Finder
    It's disappointing that Snow Leopard doesn't promise many major new Finder features, but with the right tweaks and plug-ins, you can make browsing files on your Mac significantly better.
  • Rain Gutters as Cable Management Tools
    We're all about creative cable management here at Lifehacker, so we were instantly drawn to reader Seandavid010's rain-gutter cable management setup.
  • Build Your Own Pizza Oven
    Lots of people can say "Yeah I like pizza!" but Lifehacker reader Kevin Lester can say, "I like pizza enough to build an awesome pizza oven to make sure it'd be done just right."
  • iPhone 3.0 Jailbreak Available via PwnageTool, QuickPwn to Follow
    The iPhone Dev Team has already released the iPhone 3.0-jailbreaking Pwnage Tool for Mac OS X (just two days after the iPhone 3.0 release), with QuickPwn for Windows and OS X soon to follow. There are a few catches, though.
  • Microsoft's Browser Comparison Chart Offends Anyone Who's Ever Used Another Browser
    Internet Explorer 8 is by far the best browser Microsoft's ever released, but most of our readers are happily using a better alternative like Firefox or Chrome. Microsoft's not happy about this, so they've created an absurd piece of propaganda to win you back.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: June 19th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  We highlight our favorite free, everyday-use Mac apps, round up some killer Firefox add-on packs, optimize our HDTVs, and take a first-hand look at the best features in the new iPhone 3.0 software update.

  • Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Mac Downloads
    We've featured countless apps or all sorts over the years, but if you just want a quick look at the best free downloads for your Mac, this post's for you.
  • Lifehacker's Firefox Add-On Packs
    It used to be a pain to hunt down your favorite extensions every time you reinstall Firefox. Mozilla's recently launched Collections make it easy, so we've assembled a few easy-to-install collections of our favorite Firefox helpers.
  • Optimize Your New HDTV
    Whether you purchased your HDTV yesterday or last year, there's a big chance you just plugged it in and fired it up. Tweak your HDTV for better viewing quality.
  • Hands On with iPhone 3.0's Best New Features
    The iPhone 3.0 software update hit servers a few hours ago, and we spent our afternoon playing with every new feature we could find. Step inside for a look at our favorite new iPhone 3.0 features.
  • Turn Old CDs Into a DIY iPod Dock
    Got a pile of old, scratched-up coasters that you don't really need anymore? You can repurpose them into a dock for your iPod, iPhone, or other audio player.
  • Google Wave Questions and Answers
    After whinging loudly about not having access to the Google Wave preview, Santa GOOG dropped me an invite. Last night I held a Wave Q&A on Twitter; here are the results, complete with screenshots.
  • Mac4Lin Gives Linux Desktops the Complete Mac Look
    Linux: Mac4Lin, a package of skins, wallpapers, icons, and interface refinements that brings a completist Mac look to Linux with an automated installation, has reached the 1.0 stage with an impressive array of features.
  • Hands On with Mac OS X Snow Leopard (Developer Preview)
    The upgrade to Mac OS X Snow Leopard will cost $29 for current Leopard users and won't include many new features-so will it be worth the trouble?
  • The Starlight Desktop
    Reader rykennedyan's desktop combines a beautiful wallpaper with a full set of launchers and tools integrated into a taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
  • Top 10 How-to Cooking Videos
    Cooking isn't a skill you can pick up through reading alone. Watch chefs, enthusiastic home cooks, and even a surprise celebrity guest demonstrate cooking skills everyone can use in this roundup of 10 great instructional cooking videos.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: June 12th, 2009, 6:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  The future of technology blows our minds, we outfit our kitchens with the essentials, browsers battle it out for speed supremacy, and we highlight our favorite Google Wave features.

  • Upcoming Tech That Will Rock Your World
    Major announcements from Google, Microsoft, and Apple in the last few weeks have techies flipping out about the awesomeness coming to our browsers, pockets, and desktops in the very near future.
  • Best and Worst Fast Food: McDonald's Edition
    No matter how well you plan, every day can't be an ultra-healthy, bring-your-own-lunch-to-work day. But just because you're eating at a fast food place doesn't mean all bets are off.
  • Five Must-Have Tools for Any Kitchen
    From cookies to Parmesan cheese, a wealth of store-brand alternatives are available at your grocery store. How can you tell when reaching down one shelf might be worth it?
  • Lifehacker Speed Tests: Safari 4, Chrome 2, and More
    Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer all reached new final versions of recently, while Firefox and Opera pushed their own web browsers into almost-there betas.
  • The Google Wave Highlight Reel
    We haven't been invited to try out Google Wave (yet? pretty please Mister Google?), but based on the 80-minute demonstration video, we're jazzed about it.
  • Five Best Alternative File Copiers
    If you do any serious file copying on a Windows system, you'll quickly discover that there are substantial limitations to the default file copier. Ease your file copying frustrations with these five alternative copiers.
  • Top 10 Wallpaper Tools & Tweaks
    A good wallpaper provides a pleasant backdrop to productivity. A great wallpaper changes your whole computer experience. See some of the best image sources, software, and usability tweaks we've come across and rolled up for your downloading pleasure.
  • Ditch Crunches for Push Ups and Save Your Back
    A thousand crunches a day is the path to washboard abs right? More like the path to debilitating back pain.
  • Best and Worst Fast Food: Wendy's Edition
    Earlier this week we shared the healthiest and unhealthiest food at McDonald's with you. Our team of fast food testers has recovered, and now it's time to focus our lens on Wendy's-our readers' favorite place to hit the value menu.
  • Load Your Wii Games from a Hard Disk, Part II
    Last week we shared a great hack to let you back up and play your Wii games from an external hard drive. That hack has been made easier by eliminating the need for a Wii downgrade.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: June 5th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  We show off our favorite Windows must-haves, pit Windows 7 against Mac OS X Leopard, and take a look at five of the best netbooks on the market.

  • Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads
    We feature downloads of all kinds every day at Lifehacker. Today, however, we're bundling all the best free downloads for new computer owners, re-installers, would-be geeks, or anyone who wants to save time installing the best stuff out there.
  • Windows 7 Versus Mac OS X Leopard: The Feature-by-Feature Showdown
    Now that we know Windows 7 will go on sale October 22nd and the feature-complete release candidate is available as a free download, it's time to put it through its paces: as compared to the current state of the Mac.
  • Five Best Netbooks
    If you're thinking about picking up an ultra-portable laptop, this week's Hive Five is a great spot to start your comparison shopping. These are the netbooks are those most loved by Lifehacker readers.
  • Top 10 Magnet Hacks
    They were the coolest part of elementary school science, and they're still one of the neatest way to stick things together and stir up a little homespun magic.
  • Bing Goes Live-Here's What You Can Do With It
    Bing, Microsoft's newest take on web search, is open to everyone this morning. What makes it different from its really, really well-known competition, and what unique features does it offer?
  • Clean Your Laptop to Keep It Running Smooth and Cool
    Taking time out to evacuate your PC's dust bunnies is a must for keeping your computer running in tip-top shape. If you're not the desktop sort, DIY site Instructables details how to banish dust from your laptop.
  • Use Caps Lock for Hand-Friendly Text Navigation
    After we showed you how to disable the Caps Lock key, reader Philipp wrote in with his unbelievably geeky use for the otherwise pointless key-by using it to help navigate while editing text.
  • The Serene Workspace
    Today's featured workspace has quite a spread of features: triple monitors, a wall mounted HDTV, ample desk space, and soothing lighting to boot.
  • Build a $14 Video Camera Stabilizer
    Professional video stabilizers are prohibitively expensive. You won't get $10,000 worth of stabilization out of a $14 DIY model, but you will get radically smoother video for a tiny fraction of the price.
  • Google Squared Goes Live, Formats Your Searches Into a Spreadsheet
    Google Labs today released Google Squared, which, according to the search giant, "constructs a table of facts about any search category you specify"-though some searches produce distinctly better results than others.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: May 29th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  We looked back at some awesome DIY projects to tackle on your day off, took a gander at the 10 most affordable and job-rich cities in the U.S., enjoyed 70 impressive wallpapers for the dual-monitor crowd, and Google dropped their top-secret plan to revolutionize online communication that they think will supersede email.

  • 10 Killer DIY Projects for Your Extra Day Off
    The year's not quite half over, but already we've featured buckets of amazing DIY projects. Here's a quick look at a few of the best, most popular projects you may want to undertake on your extra day off.
  • The 10 Best U.S. Cities to Live and Work
    Personal finance site Kiplinger has released their annual list of the best cities in the United States to live and work. The key this year: It's all about where you can find-and keep-a good job.
  • Six Best MP3 Tagging Tools
    A well tagged MP3 collection makes everything from organization to playback easier. Keep reading for a closer look at your fellow readers' favorite tools for cleaning up their MP3 tags in this week's Hive Five.
  • Turn Your Spare Thumb Drives Into Feature-Packed Giveaway Drives
    Flash drives aren't quite a dime a dozen, but it's pretty easy to amass a bunch of them in your office drawer. This guide helps you turn them into software-packed giveaway drives.Many readers were curious about the giveaway flash drives in my laptop bag.
  • What Would You Do with a $40 Computer?
    A handful of companies are making tiny computers, complete with USB and Ethernet jacks not much bigger than a hefty electrical plug. We're dying to hear how you'd put such a tiny computer to use.
  • Back Up and Play Your Wii Games From an External Hard Drive
    A disc that never leaves the case can never be scratched. Save your Wii games to an external hard drive with this handy tutorial for speedier and scratch-free playback.Lifehacker reader Mike put together a tutorial on enabling hard-drive-based playback on your Wii.
  • All-Glass Firefox Enables Slick Transparency Effects
    Windows only: All-Glass Firefox v2 extends the super-slick Windows Vista Aero transparency effects to almost every piece of the Firefox interface.
  • Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill
    There's something about grilling food outdoors that's both exhilarating and terrifying. It's great to commune with your food in such a straight-up way, but what if it goes wrong?
  • 70 Wallpapers to Dress Up Your Dual Monitors
    Throw a little eye candy on your dual monitors with this roundup of stunning wallpapers courtesy of Smashing Magazine.
  • MovieStinger Reveals Which Movies Have Scenes After the Credits
    "Oh man! Did you see that extra scene after the credits? It was great!" Ever heard those words in the lobby after you'd walked out before the credits finished rolling?
  • The Gear and Tactics from Lifehacker's Laptop Bags
    We got crazy with the self-reflection last week, letting each Lifehacker editor show and tell what's in our laptop bags. If you didn't have the time to dig through all that navel-gazery, we've compiled the most unique items and travel tactics for your consideration.
  • Google Wave "Is What Email Would Look Like If It Were Invented Today"
    Google announced today a new, experimental idea aiming to reshape the future of communication on the web. It's called Wave, and if you believe its developer, it's "what email would look like if it were invented today." It's also going to be totally open source. Intrigued?
  • Hulu Launches Remote-Friendly Desktop Application
    Despite its difficulties playing nice, Hulu remains among the more popular TV streaming services. Today, the company introduced their own desktop application that enables remote-controlled viewing that works with Windows Media and Apple remotes.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: May 22nd, 2009, 4:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  We get in shape with the help of technology, you keep your camera safe from thieves with the power of ugly, and Google Chrome 2.0 is lightning fast.

  • Six Best Exercise Planning and Tracking Tools
    Technology and exercise make an excellent pair; you can now track, plan, and graph your workouts more easily than ever. We're here to take a look at six of the most popular tools for the job.
  • Break Google's Monopoly on Your Data: Switch to Yahoo Search
    I've switched my primary web search engine from Google to Yahoo-not because Yahoo's better, but because Google already has enough of my personal information.
  • What the New Credit Card Rules Mean for You
    You'll see a lot of news stories today about the credit card bill just passed by the U.S. Senate. Here are the changes you'll actually see in your statements, assuming it becomes law.
  • Projects You Shouldn't Try to DIY
    If saving money's the only reason you think you can install your own toilet, give it a second thought. In one case, it cost about $3,000, with a collapsed ceiling and dislodged bumper.
  • First Look at Wolfram Alpha's Impressive (and Fun) Knowledge Computation
    How many football fields would fit between the Earth and the sun? What's the likelihood of getting 2 heads in 10 coin flips? One search engine calculates all that on the fly and more.
  • Deter Thieves by Uglifying Your Camera
    A few years ago, blogger Jimmie Rodgers's camera was stolen while volunteering in an impoverished Brazilian community, so he did what any sane person would do: He bought an new camera and made it ugly.
  • Make Your Refrigerator Far More Efficient
    You've probably heard that keeping your refrigerator and freezer fully stocked is a simple way to keep them running efficiently. But what if you happen to lack for food, or want to optimize even further?
  • KeyRingThing Creates One Bonus Card to Rule Them All
    Thousands of businesses have loyalty cards that reward you with everything from coupons to free pet food if you display them at checkout. KeyRingThing creates one bonus card or keyring tag for all your stores.
  • The Upside Down Mac
    One of the benefits of having an all-in-one computer is how easily it can be tucked into spaces without an excess of cords and clutter. Today's kitchen workspace demonstrates that quite effectively.
  • Take Better Pictures by Treating Your Still Camera Like It's Video
    People often lament that they "just missed it!" upon seeing they failed to capture a pivotal moment in the action. You can avoid missing the action by treating your still camera like a video camera.
  • Use Your Old Coffee Grounds to Clean Dishes, Kill Fleas, and More
    Your coffee grounds are good for a lot more than a liquid pick-me up, so before you trash the next batch, read on for ways to reuse them instead. Hint: a flea rinse is involved.
  • Google Chrome 2 Brings New Features and Serious Speed
    Back in March Google released a faster beta version of Chrome that boasted a 25-35% speed boosts on benchmarking tests, and today those improvements-along with a few new features-are now officially available in the stable release of Chrome.

  Got a favorite from this week on or off the list? Let's hear about it in the comments.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: May 15th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Overhaul your Mac, built an attractive aluminum laptop stand for a mere $8, and take a sneak peek at Windows 7's most underhyped features.

  • Clean Up and Revive Your Bloated, Sluggish Mac
    A few years back you dropped significant cash to switch over from the virus-laden world of Windows to a shiny new Mac, but over time it's gotten slow and crufty.
  • $8 DIY Aluminum Laptop Stand
    We've always been keen on DIY laptop stands, but reader Aaron Kravitz-inspired by an attractive $50 stand-went above and beyond, creating one of the most attractive DIY laptop stands we've featured to date.
  • Five Best Journaling Tools
    Public declarations and diatribes have their place, but sometimes you need a private space for your thoughts, dreams, and ramblings. Whether you crave a digital or analog tool, you'll find it in this Hive Five.
  • Four Experimental Extensions Worth an Extra Click
    Firefox users no longer have to register with Mozilla to install an experimental Firefox extension; now it's just one click. So here's some low-hassle ways to get cleaner reading, new tab features, and other goodies.
  • VLC 1.0 Release Candidate Now Available
    Windows only: Our absolute favorite media player VLC is getting dangerously close to an official 1.0 release, meaning early adopters in the crowd can try out VLC 1.0 RC1 right now.
  • Top 10 Greasemonkey User Scripts, 2009 Edition
    Two years ago, we compiled our 10 favorite Greasemonkey scripts, the site-fixing wonders you can load into Firefox's Greasemonkey extension for a better browsing experience.
  • Lifehacker Laptop Bags: Kevin Purdy Edition
    Lifehacker's editors couldn't quite decide on what should be inside the Ultimate Laptop Bag. Instead, we're opening up our own road warrior satchels and examining what's inside that we can't live without.
  • Windows 7's Best Underhyped Features
    We've run down the top 10 Windows 7 features and the best new features in the RC, but after using Windows 7 exclusively for a week straight, the real goods are in the small stuff.
  • Build a Sturdy Cardboard Laptop Stand
    You already shelled out your hard earned cash for a swanky laptop, why drop more cash on an overpriced laptop stand? Cardboard alone can do the trick, as detailed in this step-by-step tutorial.
  • The Dharma Desktop
    Lost may be nearly over for the year, but you can keep the late-1970s, quasi-philanthropic/mystic vibe going all year with reader inaudiblewhisper's Dharma-themed desktop.
  • Lifehacker Laptop Bags: Adam Pash Edition
    Yesterday Kevin took you on a tour of his laptop bag, and now it's my turn. Step inside for a look at my laptop bag must-haves. Warning: Navel-gazing ahead!

  Got a favorite post from this week that wasn't necessarily all that popular? Let's hear about it in the comments.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: May 8th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Get more from your batteries, resurrect data when you've accidentally lost an important file, make a smooth upgrade to Windows 7 RC, and more.

  • Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks
    The gadgets you love don't always love you back-at least when it comes to battery life. But you can get more from your laptop, your iPod, your phone, and other devices with these 10 techniques.
  • Five Best Free Data Recovery Tools
    The best way to recover from unexpected data loss is to be properly prepared. With one of the following tools on hand, you'll always be ready to save your data from the Reaper.
  • Lifehacker's Guide to Upgrading to Windows 7 RC
    Whether you want to set up a dual-boot system, you're ready to migrate all the way to Windows 7 RC from XP, or something in between, here's what you need to know.
  • What's New in the Windows 7 Release Candidate
    Windows 7's Release Candidate is free and available for download, but what's all that different from the beta version? Quite a bit, it turns out, and we've got the screenshots to prove it.
  • Windows 7 RC Available for Download Now
    The official Windows 7 Release Candidate is now available for all users through Microsoft's Customer Preview program.
  • How to Dual Boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista
    If you're dying to try out Windows 7 but aren't ready to give up your installation of XP or Vista, let's take a look at how to dual boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista.
  • Six Easy Ways to Graph Your Life
    Your habits, behaviors, and the things you consume every day create patterns over time that say a whole lot about you as a person. It's time to graph your life.
  • Sit Up Straight; the Auto-Ban is Here
    Our commenters are some of the best on the 'net, and we love each and everyone of you, but sometimes you can be a real pain. Starting today, we're polishing our banhammer and getting strict.
  • Are You Planning to Download Windows 7 RC?
    The first (and potentially only) Windows 7 Release Candidate drops to the world at large tomorrow, and we're wondering: Are You Going to Download the Windows 7 Release Candidate?
  • Remains of the Day: In Like an XP, Out Like a Vista Edition
    Windows Vista gets an expiration date, a $9 Ikea shoe rack makes for an excellent zen laptop desk, and you install Windows 7 in a virtual machine in OS X.
  • Growl for Windows Adds Mac-Style Notifications
    Windows only: System notification tool Growl for Windows is a slick, customizable, universal alert system for your applications-so you don't have to be jealous of your Mac friends anymore.

  Got a favorite post from this week, whether it made the most popular list or not? Share it in the comments.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: May 1st, 2009, 8:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  The 10 best Ubuntu downloads, a sneak preview of Office 2010, and swine flu tracking round out this week's most popular posts.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Office 2010 Screenshots Preview What's to Come
    Microsoft just pushed out Office 2007 Service Pack 2 this morning, but that doesn't meant they're not already hard at work on Office 2010, the next version of the popular Office suite.
  • Google Maps Mashup Tracks Swine Flu
    News and concern over swine flu has spread faster than the actual illness, but if you want to keep a close eye on reports-confirmed and otherwise-this Google Maps mashup does the job nicely.
  • Smart Installer Pack Automatically Installs Your Favorite Software to a New PC
    Windows only: Hunting down application after application to fill a new computer with your favorite software can be a pain. Free application Smart Installer Pack makes it easy.
  • Push a Coin Through a Table
    What's that you say? Magic tricks are for kids? They're also for people looking to win free beer and fame, so watch the following video carefully and you'll be collecting a free pint or two.
  • Keep Your Grocery Bill Low by Avoiding These Marketing Tricks
    Selling eggs and milk isn't the most profitable venture in the world, so supermarkets employ crafty tactics to ensure you buy pricier goods to pad their bottom lines.
  • The Mac-tacular Lair
    What do you get when you combine tons of shiny tech toys and a consistent eye for design? Judging by the hundreds of comments and questions about it, the envy of quite a few folks.
  • Groceries That Are Actually Cheaper to Make at Home
    It's easy to find recipes for homemade yogurt, granola, and other common groceries, but far harder to know, cent for cent, if making them really saves money.
  • 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.
  • Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 Is Out, Boasts Serious Performance Boosts
    Windows only: Microsoft is pushing out Service Pack 2 for Office 2007, promising significant performance improvements and support for the OpenDocument format, among other things.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: April 24th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Willpower comes from marshmallows, Twitter is actually useful, and you save money on your major purchases in this week's most popular fare.

  • Learn Willpower Techniques from the Marshmallow Test
    Back in the 1960s, a researcher learned a lot about willpower from studying hundreds of four-year-olds left alone in a room with a marshmallow or cookie.
  • Six Ways You Should Be Using Twitter (that Don't Involve Breakfast)
    Twitter has become a nationwide phenomenon, and like any phenom, all the Twitter talk grows quickly tiresome. But despite what you may think, Twitter isn't just for narcissists; it's actually insanely useful.
  • Top 10 Money-Saving Guides for Common Purchases
    The marketplace is an expensive place to get confused. Get more for your money when you buy laptops, air travel, eyeglasses, or other purchases with our roundup of thrifty buyers' guides for common purchases.
  • 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.
  • Five Best Screen Capture Tools
    Capturing your computer screen is a terribly handy trick in all sorts of situations, ranging from creating tutorials to capturing web moments for posterity.
  • First Look at Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope
    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.
  • Create a Simple Standing Desk for $20
    Standing desks are a popular solution for alleviating the aches and pains caused by sitting hunched over all day. This creative solution creates a standing desk with little fuss and for a mere $20.
  • The LCARS for Mac Desktop
    Reader momoses' desktop is the answer to an often-requested customization-turning his Mac desktop into a lookalike for the computer display in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Know When You Should Unplug from the Internet
    Last week we gave you a few ideas for what to do when you're internet's out, but you shouldn't have to wait until your connection dies before taking advantage of the distraction-free time unplugged.
  • Get More From Cheap Vodka Than a Hangover
    The high alcohol content of vodka gives it all sorts of handy uses besides powering Jell-O shots. Find a use for your cheap swill with this handy list.

  Have a favorite post from this week? Tell us about it in the comments.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: April 17th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Must-have Firefox extensions, free music, and extra income bring the goods in this week's most popular posts.

  If you had trouble keeping up this week, you may want to consider slowing down the Lifehacker post hose by subscribing to our top stories feed. If you want more control over what does and doesn't make it into your feed, rolling your own custom Lifehacker feed may be the solution for you.

  • Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition
    Last time we compiled our must-have Firefox extensions, it was two years (and one browser version) ago. Our new list keeps some, tosses others, and remains our go-to, Grandmaster list of the best Firefox add-ons.
  • Six Best Portable Operating Systems
    Why restrict yourself to merely carrying around your data on a thumb drive? Take your entire operating system on your flash drive with the excellent portable operating systems you'll find inside this week's Hive Five.
  • Side Businesses You Can Start in Your Spare Time
    We've encouraged you to start a side business to turn something you love into extra income, but if you're not sure what might make for a good side gig, The Simple Dollar has 50 suggestions.
  • What You Should Do When Your Internet's Out
    A while back, we wrote about hypothetical internet outages. These days, with bandwidth caps and cable cutters kicking whole areas offline, we've got suggestions for the best uses of time when a disconnection really happens.
  • Download 773 Free MP3s from Amazon
    Love a little unquestionably legit, free music? Then head on over to Amazon's Free MP3 downloads section to choose from among 773 totally free songs.
  • AlternativeTo Suggests Software Alternatives
    Whether you're looking for an alternative to expensive commercial software or just trying to get a feel for what's out there, AlternativeTo is a handy service for finding software alternatives.
  • The Importance of Monitoring Your Online Reputation
    These days, if you want to know more about someone, the first thing most of us do is Google them. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that monitoring your online reputation is extraordinarily important.
  • Grow 100 lbs. of Potatoes in 4 Square Feet
    Potatoes seem like the kind of plant you'd need a substantial garden for-the kind your grandparents had, right? Actually, tubers aren't all that picky, and you can harvest a whole lot from almost any yard.
  • Turn an Old Web Cam into a Household Spy Camera
    If you have an old web cam laying around, you can turn it into a functional spy cam with only a bit of hardware handiwork.
  • One Dozen Super-Useful (and Free!) Android Apps
    Six months ago we pointed out the best Android apps to boost your mobile productivity, but since then more free applications have appeared in the Market that offer useful features you don't want to miss.
  • Avoid Unhealthy Junk with a Fast-Food Reality Check
    Everyone knows fast food is rarely the healthiest option when you're looking for a quick bite, but sometimes photos look mouthwatering enough that you're still convinced. It's time for a fast-food reality check.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: April 10th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT

  From Portable Ubuntu to your home office and kitchen, it's time for a quick look back at the most popular posts of the week.

  Remember, if mainlining the full Lifehacker feed is a little too much for you to handle, you can always slow to a more manageable drip by subscribing to either our top stories feed or by customizing a feed to your tastes. Without further ado, this week's most popular posts are:

  • Portable Ubuntu Runs Ubuntu Inside Windows
    Windows only: Free application Portable Ubuntu for Windows runs an entire Linux operating system as a Windows application. As if that weren't cool enough, it's portable, so you can carry it on your thumb drive.
  • Top 10 Home Office Hacks
    Whatever kind of work you do at home, your office is one place you want to spend the time to make comfortable and convenient. Take 10 of our tips on organizing, fixing, and streamlining that space.
  • Gordon Ramsay Demonstrates the Perfect Scrambled Egg Breakfast
    It's a two-for-one clip-proof that celebri-chef Gordon Ramsay isn't just a Fox-funded scream machine, and a four-minute demonstration of how to make rich, fluffy scrambled eggs on a non-rushed morning.
  • Five Best Image Editing Tools
    Long gone are the days where snapshots came back from the photo lab and disappeared into albums and shoe boxes. Now, digital photos are tweaked, adjusted, and remixed in ways their analog counterparts couldn't imagine.
  • Trillian Astra Handing Out Invites Willy Nilly
    We're not sure how permanent it is, but Trillian's apparently giving out invites for their Trillian Astra client-Windows version only-almost immediately after you apply.
  • Install iTunes Without the Extra Bloat
    iPod-love's got you stuck with iTunes, but you'd prefer to cut down on the extra bloat iTunes requires on your hard drive? Here's how to install iTunes without QuickTime, Bonjour, or that pesky iTunesHelper.
  • Customize XBMC with These Five Awesome Skins
    Windows/Mac/Linux/Xbox: What could make the already awesome Xbox Media Center even better? An infusion of eye candy, of course. Read on to see some awesome XBMC skins and learn how to install them.
  • Get Paragon Drive Backup Free Today, Normally $40
    Windows only: Paragon Drive Backup is a robust hard drive backup tool, offering both full disk imaging and user-defined file backups through an easy-to-use interface.
  • BumpTop 3D Desktop Manager Leaves Beta Testing
    Windows only: Long in beta, the 3D desktop application BumpTop has recently been released to the public.
  • Boost Your Willpower by Brushing Your Teeth Wrong-handed
    Four months in, your New Year's Resolutions can be tough to keep up with. It might be time you employ a simple mind hack to re-up your willpower.
  • Use the Snowflake Method to Whittle Down Debt
    If you're looking to shave down your debt, the "snowflake" method helps you relentlessly whittle your debt away with prioritized micro-payments.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: April 3rd, 2009, 7:00pm EDT

  We said goodbye to March, managed to make it through April Fools', and now it's time for a look back at the most popular posts of the week.

  Remember, if you felt buried under the weight of Lifehacker's breakneck output of productivity porn, you can always cut back by subscribing to our top stories feed or by building your own custom feed. This week's most popular posts are:

  • Protect Your Windows PC from the Conficker Worm
    The Conficker worm has infected millions of Windows computers; here's what you need to know to keep yourself safe.
  • Hive Five: Five Best Mind Mapping Applications
    Mind mapping is a great way to add structure to brainstorming sessions and visualize your ideas. Check out the applications your fellow readers use to do their best brainstorming.
  • Harmless Geek Pranks for a Little April Fooling
    Tomorrow's April Fools' Day, which means we should all brace ourselves for the inevitable, widespread prankage. If you haven't prepared your own pranks, we've already got ten ready-to-go geek pranks for your perusal.
  • Top 10 Tools for a Free Online Education
    It's easy to forget these days that the internet started out as a place for academics and researchers to trade data and knowledge. Recapture the web's brain-expanding potential with these free resources for educating yourself online.
  • MythBusters' Adam Savage Talks Tech, Obsessions, and Science
    When he's not blowing things up, making models, or otherwise holding the job you wish you had, Adam Savage is serious about personal projects. We chatted with him about MythBusters, managing time, and other geeky stuff.
  • Four Small and Fresh Experimental Firefox Extensions
    It hasn't been that long since we last rounded up the experimental Firefox extensions worth checking out. In the meantime, though, some very small helpers came along and added some clever functionality to the 'fox.
  • Create a Cat Haven from Ikea Shelves
    The climbing trees at pet stores are ridiculously expensive and take up tons of floor space. Help your kitty jump to a royal view, Super-Mario-style, without cluttering your floor or wasting money.
  • Beyond Life Hacks: Reusable Solutions to Common Productivity Problems
    Let's face it: when you've run into serious productivity roadblocks like procrastination, distraction, and overwhelmed paralysis, keyboard shortcuts and index cards aren't going to save you-only better patterns of behavior will.
  • What's Not Worth Paying for in a Recession?
    You already know what's worth paying for in a recession, but today the Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at the stuff you should most definitely not be wasting your hard-earned money on.
  • The SpiderMac Desktop
    Reader zackshackleton's desktop takes a comic book panel and blends system stats into text bubbles, adding a useful touch to a really fun desktop.
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: March 27th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Time for a look back at all the productivity goodies you loved this week on Lifehacker.

  If you missed too many posts over the course of the week, your Lifehacker eyes may be bigger than your productivity stomach. Consider giving our top stories feed a try, or get really specific with your own customized feed. Here are this week's best posts:

  • Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities
    It's the little things that make a Windows system great-like utilities that use less than 10MB of memory to make your life easier. Here are 10 apps that pack a lot of greatness into very little space.
  • Five Best Web Browsers
    It's probably the most important and debated piece of software on the modern computer. See how your fellow readers get around the net, and vote for your favorite web browser, in this week's Hive Five.
  • Turn an Old Laptop into a Wall-Mounted Computer
    Why settle for a digital picture frame when, in the same wall space, you could mount an entirely functional computer/slideshow player/TV tuner? Lifehacker reader Justin took an old Sony Vaio laptop he wasn't using and turned it into a wall-mounted computer.
  • First Look at Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope" Beta
    The name's ridiculous, but "Jaunty Jackalope," the next release of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, is seriously focused on the user experience.
  • Ramit Sethi on Getting Rich and Automating Your Money
    Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich and the same-named blog, answered a few questions recently about managing and automating money.
  • Academic Earth Aggregates Lectures from MIT, Harvard, Yale, and Others
    Web site Academic Earth is like Hulu for academic lectures, pulling free lectures from Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale into one attractive, easy to navigate site.
  • Killer Typography Tools and Free Font Downloads
    Whether you're putting together a resume, flyer, or web page, everyone needs to find and compare fonts some time. Here are some tools that can help you find the perfect font.
  • Switch to a Two-Week Grocery Cycle to Waste Less Food
    The Green Cheapskate Blog cites studies showing that the American grocery shopper wastes 25 percent of their purchased food-if not more. Switch to an every-other-week shopping regimen, and you might start throwing less money away.
  • 101 Recession-Busting Free Sites and Downloads
    PC World just published my (Adam's) big old compendium of great free web sites and downloads. They're calling it 101 Great Free Sites and Downloads You've Probably Never Heard Of, but you're Lifehacker readers, so you've seen most of them at some time or another here.
  • Create Edible Gummy Shot Glasses
    Trying to figure out what to serve your skittles-infused vodka in? Why, a flavored gummy shot glass, of course. ShesParticular at tinkering haven Instructables uploaded a ridiculously simple tutorial on making your own gummy shot glasses.
  • Make Your Home Dust-Proof
    Cut down on the time you spend dusting and make the air in your home healthier with a few simple tips.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: March 20th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  If your newsreader's buckling under the weight of your unread count, consider subscribing to our top-stories only feed—or customize your feed to get only the Lifehacker you want. This week's most popular posts are:

  • Five Best Linux Distributions
    There are many, many Linux distributions, and a lot of unique reasons to like them. Read on to see which open-source operating systems inspired our readers to provide our biggest Hive Five response to date.
  • The Five-Minute Prison Workout Keeps You Fit in Any Space
    Mike Rowe from Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs demonstrates how to get a great workout in any space by performing several sets of descending repetitions of the classic "burpee."
  • Android Versus iPhone 3.0: The Showdown
    Apple's releasing some hot new features in iPhone 3.0 this summer, but will it be better than Google's Android? Let's take a look.
  • The Windows 2019 Desktop
    Reader Painkilla05's stylish desktop was inspired from a Microsoft research video showing what computer interfaces might look like in the year 2019.
  • A First Look at Google Voice
    Last week Google launched Google Voice, a new service that creates a single phone number and inbox for managing all of your phones, transcribing voicemail, and more.
  • Make Your Own Sports Drink
    Sports drinks are an easy way to replace fluid and electrolytes lost exercise, but what if Brawndo isn't what you crave? Ditch the dyes and high fructose corn syrup by making your own.
  • Use Clever Questions to Ease Into Small Talk
    For most of us, making "small talk" while in an elevator, waiting in line, or made to "network" isn't fun, or easy. Thomas Farley, editor of Modern Manners, offers a few tips on getting by.
  • Death Switch Sends Out Emails Upon Your Demise
    Do you want to be sure that your final messages and missives are heard? Death Switch is a service which sends out emails upon your unfortunate demise.
  • The Media Mecca
    What do you do when you and your roommate are media-loving computer geeks? Why, turn your mutual living room into a mecca of computing and media magic, of course!
  • Top 10 Tips for Talking Your Way into a Better Deal
    Some people were born to haggle, negotiate, cajole, whatever you call it. The rest of us need some guidance. Here are 10 great negotiating tactics to use next time you want to get more for less.
  • iPhone 3.0 Adds Copy and Paste, MMS, Search, Notes Sync, and Tons More
    The iPhone event just ended, and the upcoming iPhone 3.0 software update adds a ton of new functionality to the iPhone-claiming over 100 new features, including long-awaited copy and paste, MMS messaging, and more.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: March 13th, 2009, 7:00pm EDT by Adam Pash

  Got an abundance of unread items in your Lifehacker feed? Try out our top stories feed, or customize your own feed, for a more manageable intake of your productivity porn. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Six Best Video Editing Applications
    You want to be the supreme ruler of your own virtual cutting room? Better break out the checkbook-your film-chopping powers aren't going to come cheaply.
  • Top 10 Happy Hour Hacks
    The work week's (finally) over-now's your chance to get really creative and industrious. Skim through our ten tips for enjoying a cheaper, tastier, and intriguingly fun night out or party at your pad.
  • Ten Must-Have Gmail Filters Available for Download
    Now that you can export and import email filters with Gmail, we've decided to compile some of our favorite filters for organizing your inbox into a single, handy download.
  • Four Experimental Firefox Extensions We're Into
    Every so often, Lifehacker rounds up Firefox add-ons that are too new for official approval, but seriously neat-looking. This batch can automate download management and image uploading, queue up MP3s, and manage Gmail tasks anywhere.
  • BackTrack is a Security-Focused Live CD Packed With System Tools
    BackTrack was the winner of our recent Hive Five for best Live CD, so we decided to take it for a test drive and show off a few of the features for everybody else
  • Simple User-Interface Trick Makes Your Remotes Idiot Proof
    Ever written out detailed schematics so visiting friends or family members could operate your home theater setup? It's annoying, right? Web site Designing Interactions highlights an incredibly simple but surprisingly workable solution.
  • Put Google Calendar and Notes on Your iPhone Wallpaper
    Two free apps for the iPhone and iPod touch give users the ability to add any text they'd like, or their upcoming Google Calendar appointments, to their home/unlock screens.
  • Avoid Mediocre Portraits with These Tricks
    You have a camera and a willing subject, but you're not sure how to break your portraits out of the flat blandness that plagues many snapshots. Avoid boring compositions with these tips.
  • The Student's Sanctuary
    When you're a busy law student renting a small room, your stuff needs to be tightly organized. See how one attorney in training elegantly fits an office into a tiny bedroom.
  • Build an IKEA NAS On the Cheap
    If last week's look at the five best home server software got you excited about setting up a home server but you're not keen on another unsightly PC in your home, check out this DIY IKEA NAS.
  • Google Voice Emerges from GrandCentral, Transcribes Voicemail
    Remember GrandCentral, the one-number-to-rule-them-all webapp that got everyone excited before Google bought it and closed its doors for almost two years? Well it's back, and now it's called Google Voice.

  Got a favorite post of your own from the week? Share it in the comments.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: March 6th, 2009, 7:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  Too much Lifehacker giving your newsreader a headache? You may prefer subscribing to our trimmed down top stories feed. Top stories not quite right? Take the custom feed route. Here are this week's most popular posts:

  • Best Home Server Software
    Media files, data synchronization, and remote backups, oh my! Home computing has advanced to a point where it's practical to run your own home server, and we're running down the five best tools for the job.
  • Top 10 Tools for Your Blog or Web Site
    Having your own hosted web domain has never been cheaper, or easier, with the vast array of free resources out there. Here are our ten favorite tools to help anyone launch and maintain their internet presence.
  • Turn a Sharpie into a Liquid Fueled Rocket
    We donned our mind-reading helmet here at Lifehacker and have divined the perfect thing for a little Friday Fun: a high altitude rocket made from office supplies.An inventive user at DIY site Instructables details how to turn a few common office supplies into an impressive rocket.
  • Custom Wire Management for Multi-Monitor Bliss
    Brian Connolly was tired of cramped desks and messy wiring, so he built his own desk and wire management system to have the spacious and tidy spread he desired.
  • The Notebook Desktop
    Reader Sawyer Hood's theme takes the popular Enigma customization and combines it with a personalized handwriting font-making the desktop look like it's constructed with pen & paper.
  • Gmail Dark Theme Makes Gmail Easy on the Eyes
    Lifehacker reader haute negro took advantage of Gmail's new user-defined custom themes to create an attractive, easy-on-the-eyes Gmail Dark theme.
  • Failure Is the Highway to Success
    A few weeks ago, I quietly disclosed that I was discontinuing full-time operations of a company I started. While I didn't say I was shutting Dandelife down, the Times and others said the project was a failure.
  • Prevent Firefox from Hogging Memory When Minimized
    In our latest browser speed tests, I half-heartedly complained that Firefox eats up memory over long periods of use. Our lovely, helpful commenters pointed out that there is, indeed, a tweak to help with that.
  • The Desktop Within a Desktop
    Reader LuckyRoller's Mac desktop blends system monitoring functions with a photograph wallpaper for a unique, three-dimensional look similar to the previously featured Sleek Wood Desktop.
  • Google Has a Semi-Secret Stand-Alone Task Manager
    Google Blogoscoped found a strangely unguarded task manager lurking on Google's servers, similar to Gmail's task widget but with a more keyboard-friendly, single-focus design.
  • IKEA Planner Visualizes Your Dream Rooms in 3D
    Windows only: IKEA has released its own 3D room design tool to help you plan the modernist, clean-lined kitchen, bedroom, or workspace of your dreams.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 27th, 2009, 7:00pm EST by Adam Pash

  February may be a short month, but that doesn't make the work week any shorter. If RSS overload left you with more Lifehacker than you could handle, it could be time to try our trimmed down top stories feed. On the other hand, if our top stories don't mesh with your tastes, try creating a custom feed. Here's a look back at this week's most popular posts:

  • Five Best Live CDs
    Live CDs (and DVDs) are versatile tools, allowing you to boot into an operating system without installing anything to your hard drives. Let's take a closer look at the five most popular live CDs.
  • Enigma Desktop 2.0 Released, Adds Installer, Widget Manager, and Templates
    Windows only: Reader Kaelri, well-known for his killer Enigma desktop, has released a new version complete with an installer-making this amazing desktop customization easy enough for anybody to install.
  • Before and After: Barren Attic to Programmer's Paradise
    Mitch was tired of traveling for work. After logging over 80,000 miles flying between Boston and San Jose, Calif., he hung up his frequent flyer wings and built an amazing home office.
  • A Hands On Look at Safari 4's (Crashy) Eye Candy
    If Apple knows how to do anything, it's take tech you've already seen and make it flashier and more fun to use. The new Safari 4 public beta is no exception.
  • Save Bundles of Cash by Buying Eyeglasses Online
    Anybody who wears eyeglasses knows how much you pay for two tiny pieces of glass. Take our advice on shopping for glasses online to save yourself a whole lot of cash.
  • Make Breakfast Burritos in Bulk for Cheap, Tasty Mornings
    The Simple Dollar blogger wanted fast, healthy, and cheap breakfasts that he doesn't have to shout for at a drive-thru speaker. His solution? Homemade breakfast burritos, made at home and frozen for later.
  • Tweak uTorrent's Settings for Faster Downloads
    Aside from having a really fast, non-filtered broadband connection, there are a few ways you can speed up your BitTorrent downloads through simple tweaks.
  • Create Your Own Minimalist Storage with Hungarian Shelves
    If you're looking for sturdy wall-hugging shelving that doesn't require fancy custom braces or brackets, check out the industrious design of these Hungarian shelves.
  • Safari 4 Beta Adds Cover Flow, Runs "3x Faster" than Firefox
    Windows/Mac only: Apple today released a new beta version of its Safari web browser, boasting several new features including Cover Flow, full history search, a faster JavaScript engine (dubbed Nitro), and a slew of other new features.
  • PDF-to-Word Converter Pulls Readable Text from Scanned Images
    Free web-based converter PDF-to-Word turns static PDF files into edit-friendly Word documents with surprising, reliable accuracy. It's in closed beta right now, but Lifehacker readers can get in early.
  • DIY TV or Monitor Stand from Door Stoppers
    Nothing adds space to a desk or home theater setup like a simple monitor or TV stand, and weblog IKEA Hacker details how to build your own stand on-the-cheap with a few inexpensive items from IKEA.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 20th, 2009, 7:00pm EST

  If an overstuffed newsreader kept you from getting to all the goods from Lifehacker this week, it may be time to downsize to our top stories feed. If that's not quite your fit, creating a custom feed might be more up your alley. It's Friday night, and the mood is right. Gonna have some fun, show you how it's done, TGIF. Here are this weeks' most popular posts:

  • Absolutely Amazing Video Game Remake Wallpapers
    Last week we highlighted a few retro gaming wallpapers for some Friday fun. That was nothing compared to DeviantArt member Orioto's high-resolution, you-won't-believe-your-eyes paintings of classic video games for your desktop-a must-see for any gaming enthusiast.
  • Properly Erase Your Physical Media
    A whopping 40% of the used hard drives on eBay contain easily recoverable personal data. Use the following guide to ensure your personal data never makes it out into the wild.
  • Computer Repair Kit Packs Dozens of Tools in One Portable Package
    Windows only: Portable system-fixing bundle Computer Repair Utility Kit puts 57 recovery tools into a single package. That gives you easy access to important system utilities without the fuss of building your own toolkit.
  • TrapCall Reveals Who's Behind Blocked Calls
    Free service TrapCall reveals caller ID information from blocked calls, unmasking numbers of blocked calls from telemarketers and prank callers with virtually no extra effort on your part.
  • Five Best Movie Cataloging Tools
    It's easy to lose track of DVDs and downloaded videos in a big collection. To keep better tabs on your visual stuff, check out our top five finalists for best movie cataloging tools.
  • Top 10 Outlook Boosters
    Outlook is such a fixture of office and computer life, its potential as a central life-organizing inbox is easily taken for granted. Empower your Outlook with these add-ons, link-ups, and data management techniques.
  • Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know
    Facebook's new terms of service caused quite a stir this weekend, prompting many to drop their Facebook accounts altogether. Too hooked on Facebook to cut it off completely?
  • Elisa is a Simple, Streamlined Media Center
    Windows/Linux: Elisa Media Center doesn't go in for swooshing sound effects or social networking. This open-source media center puts your music, pictures, and videos on your screen, period.
  • Jump to a New Career with a Killer Resume and Plan
    Whether you're suddenly unemployed or just looking to change up, starting out in a new career is daunting. Take our advice on how to write-and plan-your way into a new field.
  • Create Skittles-Flavored Vodka
    Certain combinations of things are practically fated to be together: peanut butter and jelly, nachos and cheese, Skittles and vodka. Skittles and vodka?
  • PropertyShark Dishes the Dirt on Your Future Home
    PropertyShark is an astoundingly detailed real estate search engine. By aggregating public records, it provides an in-depth look at individual homes, and the real deal on your potential new neighborhood.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 13th, 2009, 6:00pm EST

  Eyes too burnt out from staring at Excel to keep up with everything happening on Lifehacker? These things happen. Make it a little easier on yourself by subscribing to the top stories feed. Want a little more content than the Top tag provides? Try creating your own custom feed to get only the content you want. Here's a look at this week's most popular posts:

  • The First-Timer's Guide to Building a Computer from Scratch
    If you've never done it before, the idea of building a computer from the ground up can seem very intimidating-but it's one of the most satisfying projects a tech enthusiast can take on.
  • Three Plants that Give You Better Indoor Air
    Kamal Meattle used three just three indoor plant species to increase oxygen, filter air, and boost general health at a a New Delhi business park. You too can use them to freshen your indoor space.
  • Ten Gmail Labs Features You Should Enable
    Gmail has been slowly but surely rolling out cool new features ever since they started Gmail Labs. If you haven't taken advantage of the fruits of Labs, here's a look at 10 Labs features you should enable.
  • The Heavenly Desktop
    Reader chaebi69's heavenly desktop combines a well chosen wallpaper with a few common tweaking tools to create a beautiful, ethereal workspace.
  • Top 10 Cheap or Free Home Theater Upgrades
    You've got a mind-blowing picture, surround sound, and streaming content set up, but it wasn't cheap. Heal your wallet with ten upgrades, fixes, and setup tips that take your system to 11 on the cheap.
  • Five Best Lifehacker Code Apps and Extensions
    Over the last few years we've had the privilege of releasing exclusive applications, scripts, and extensions that have hopefully boosted your productivity.
  • Google Sync Keeps Contacts and Calendars in Sync on Your Mobile Phone
    Google has just release a new tool called Google Sync, a service that syncs your Google Contacts and Calendar wirelessly to your iPhone, BlackBerry, Symbian, or Windows Mobile phone.
  • Microsoft Offering Free Domain Name and Hosting for One Year
    Microsoft Office Live Small Business is a web hosting service that gives you a domain name (any available .com, .net, .org, or .info), email, business management tools, collaboration tools, and more, for a surprising price tag: $0.
  • Declutter an Entire Room in a Single Sweep
    Figuring out where to start decluttering a jam-packed room can be intimidating. Blast through a room from top to bottom with these simple steps.
  • Reduce Your Rent with This Simple Letter
    Property values are down, times are tough, and the Wall Street Journal details how to use the current economic situation to significantly reduce your rent with this simple fill-in-the-blank letter to your landlord.
  • Autofocus is a Single, Paper-Based List Organization System
    Autofocus, an organization system designed by personal organization author Mark Forster, is available for all. If you're looking for a linear, list-based system to help you get things done, Autofocus stresses simplicity and speed.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: February 6th, 2009, 7:00pm EST

  Can't keep your eyes on the monitor long enough to absorb all the productivity we're throwing at you? It's nothing to be ashamed of, but maybe it's time you slow things down a bit with our top stories feed. If our Top tag doesn't completely satisfy your life hacking needs, a customized feed might be more up your alley. Feeling better? Good. Let's take a look back at this week's most popular posts:

  • YourFonts Turns Your Handwriting Into a Personlized Font
    YourFonts is a web-based service that turns your handwriting into a TrueType font for free. If you have a printer and scanner, nothing can stand between you and the awesomeness of your own script.
  • Five Best System Tray Applications
    The Windows system tray can be so much more than a parking lot for programs you don't want cluttering up your task bar.
  • Brew the Best Possible Coffee Without Breaking the Bank
    Whether you're the kind of coffee drinker that slugs back the swill in the break-room coffee pot at work or savors exotic coffee on sleepy Sundays, there is always room for enhancing your java.
  • Happy Birthday, Lifehacker: Our Best Posts from 2005 to 2009
    The first Lifehacker post hit the tubes four years ago today. Since then, we've published thousands of tips, tricks, guides, and tools to streamline your life.
  • Avoid These 20 Worst Supermarket Foods
    Editor-in-chief of Men's Health and author of the bestselling book Eat This, Not That has just released a new supermarket survival guide. Here's a quick look at what it says you should avoid putting in your cart.
  • Dynastree Maps Your Last Name
    Web site Dynastree's surname map lays out how people with your last name are distributed across the US.
  • Get Acronis True Image 10 Free
    Acronis is giving away copies of Acronis True Image 10 Personal Edition because its got a new version out. That means you (or backup-needing friends) get whole disk image backups from a friendly interface.
  • Google Earth 5.0 Beta Released, Looks Incredible
    Windows/Mac/Linux: Google's 3D mapping application Google Earth has just released version 5.0, adding historical imagery, maps of the ocean's floor, and even better features for touring the world from your desktop.
  • Lifehacker's Weirdest and Most Controversial Posts
    Everybody gets a little ribbing at their birthday party, and we're no different. As part of Lifehacker's fourth birthday, let's take an awkward, yet light-hearted, stroll through the strangest and most controversial stuff we've posted.
  • GNOME Do's Smart Dock Takes App Launching to Another Level
    A new version of the quick-firing Linux keyboard launcher GNOME Do landed last week, bringing with it a "theme" that acts as a whole new desktop interface.
  • Windows 7 Gets Customized
    We've featured a desktop that makes XP look like Windows 7, but today we get a look at our first Windows 7 desktop customized to the hilt courtesy of reader SJRNWT.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 30th, 2009, 6:00pm EST

  If you're overwhelmed by the tips flowing down Lifehacker River on a daily basis, it may be time to slow things down with our top stories stream. If that still doesn't feel like the right fit, try customizing your Lifehacker feeds to deliver only what you want to your newsreader. Here's a look back at this week's most popular posts:

  • Five Best People-Search Engines
    Need to do a little online detective work? Track down anyone from long lost schoolmates to the new friend whose number you've lost with this assortment of powerful people-search engines.
  • Gmail Goes Offline with Google Gears
    Gmail Labs released a new feature that bridges the gap between desktop and web-based applications like never before: Offline Gmail. You can now access your Gmail from your browser any time, whether or not you're online.
  • The Most Ticketed Cars on the Road
    ISO Quality Planning, a company specializing in helping insurance companies identify risk, has compiled a list of the most heavily ticketed vehicles on the road, and lead feet everywhere can check it out.
  • Ubuntu Pocket Guide Available as a Free Download
    In the midst of the current financial crunch, the popular, free Linux distribution Ubuntu has never looked more attractive. If you've considered switching, a free copy of the Ubuntu Pocket Guide is the perfect place to start.
  • Avoid these Five Common Credit Card Company Tricks
    Even if you've tried reading the fine print from your credit card company, it's rarely obvious what it all means. Weblog Get Rich Slowly takes pity on us, breaking down five common tricks to watch for.
  • Four Experimental Extensions to Power Up Firefox
    You can find a lot of great stuff on the bleeding edge, and Firefox extensions are no exception. Here are four add-ons for the browser that aren't officially approved, but worth checking out.
  • Build Your Own DTV Antenna
    Increase the number of over-the-air (and soon to be digital) television channels you can receive with a simple-to-construct antenna.
  • The Five Best iPhone Apps for Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions
    Last weekend we suggested 10 tools for sticking to your New Year's Resolutions. Those with an iPhone or iPod touch, though, have a few additional, always-available tools for keeping up the good self-improvement fight.
  • An Expert's Guide to Napping
    There's nothing like the restorative power of a nap to bolster your energy, mood, and productivity, but if you want to get the most from your naps, there's plenty of room for improvement.
  • Do Widescreen Monitors Hamper Producitivity?
    The bigger-is-better attitude is rarely debated when discussing monitor sizes, but not everyone is in love with the trend towards widescreen monitors.
  • Avoid Getting Fleeced at Liquidation Sales
    They're going out of business! It's a liquidation sale! The prices will be crazy marked down, right? Not necessarily. Read on to avoid getting ripped off by liquidators.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 23rd, 2009, 7:00pm EST

  If Lifehacker's steady stream of productivity pr0n is leaving you with more unread items in your newsreader than you can justify, maybe it's time to scale back to our top stories feed. If your interests at Lifehacker extend beyond our top stories, you can still slim down our feed by customizing your Lifehacker feeds so you get only what you want. And now for a look at this week's most popular posts:

  • Five Best Portable Applications
    Whether you got a shiny new flash drive over the holidays or your old thumb drive is looking for a new lease on life, pack it full of goodness with these five killer portable applications.
  • Lifehacker's Guide to Catching the Inauguration from Anywhere
    If you didn't snag a ticket or the time off, the internet offered a multitude of video streams, pictures, and other ways to experience Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday.
  • Avoid the Worst Foods in America, 2009 Edition
    Men's Health updates its list of the worst foods to eat in the U.S., finding a wealth of new terrible-for-you menu options to avoid if you're anywhere near concerned with your health or waistline.
  • Six Words You Should Drop from Your Resume
    Whether you're polishing your resume because you've been laid off or you just like to be prepared, weblog Squawkfox suggests six words you should banish from your curriculum vitae.
  • Top 10 Ways to Save Money in a Recession
    Times are tough, money's tight, and nobody should be spending more than they need. If you think you've exhausted all avenues for saving a buck, check out our ten suggestions for saving money in a recession.
  • Use Your Playstation Portable as an Additional Windows Monitor
    Windows only: If you're on the look out for a new trick to teach your PSP, using it as supplemental monitor for your Windows rig is pretty sweet trick indeed.
  • Last Freeware Version Finds Free Copies of Popular Apps
    When finishing up a re-install or helping out a friend, it stinks to find out your favorite free app is now a paid-for affair. The Last Freeware Version website can help.
  • Homemade Windshield De-Icer Fends Off Frost
    Life in a snowy winter climate without a garage includes a yearly sentence of months wielding an ice scraper to clean off your car. Make winter less arduous with these handy DIY de-icer recipes.
  • Google Calendar Desktop Gadget Released
    Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): Google Desktop's gadgets are looking more helpful these days, with the addition of an official Google Calendar gadget that puts your appointments at your fingertips.
  • Rouxbe Has Seriously Impressive Cooking Videos
    Website Rouxbe breaks down high-quality instructional cooking videos into separate steps, teaching the basic skills you need to be a great cook.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 16th, 2009, 7:00pm EST

  If your newsreader's inbox is crumbling under the weight of the Lifehacker productivity turnover, go on a Lifehacker diet with the slimmer, trimmer top stories feed. Avoid the Windows 7 buzz or other topics that don't appeal to you by customizing the feed URLs you subscribe to. Here's a recap of this week's most popular posts:

  • How to Dual Boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista
    If you're dying to try out Windows 7 but aren't ready to give up your installation of XP or Vista, let's take a look at how to dual boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista.
  • Six Best DVR Applications
    It's 2009—no one should still be a slave to their TV Guide. With one of these six excellent digital video recording tools set up with your TV or computer, you won't be.
  • Windows 7 Beta's Many Free and Legit Themes
    Customizing the look and feel of Windows is a cinch with themes—problem is, Microsoft generally offers so few supported themes. That's changed in Windows 7 Beta.
  • Microsoft Extends Windows 7 Beta Availability Until January 24th
    Microsoftie Brandon LeBlanc admits that the Windows 7 beta release scramble "was not ideal" and says the company will extend its availability beyond the 2.5M cap until January 24th.
  • Wallpaper-Blended Desktop HUD
    Reader rprathap's impressive desktop integrates a seamless HUD with his desktop wallpaper, creating the illusion that the system information on his desktop actually belongs on the wallpaper.
  • Make Your XP Desktop Look Like Windows 7
    If you've considered dual booting Windows 7 with XP or Vista but all you really want is some Windows 7 eye candy, reader Dato' Fazly's Windows 7-like XP desktop might be right up your alley.
  • How to Get Your Windows 7 Beta Product Key
    Reader Digerati offers detailed instructions for getting your Windows 7 beta product key which worked for me (when another method did not).
  • Windows 7 Beta Product Keys Now Available (For Real!)
    After a daylong rollercoaster drama during which Windows 7 Beta gave us a false-alarm release followed by a server smackdown, Microsoft is finally handing out honest to goodness product keys for the beta.
  • Google Quick Search Like Quicksilver from Google
    Mac OS X only: We've been crazy about Quicksilver—a free application launcher for Macs—for years now. Today Google is releasing a new search-and-launch application called Google Quick Search developed by the developer of Quicksilver.
  • Windows 7 Beta Followup: Are You a (Windows 7) PC?
    Did you take the plunge on the Windows 7 Beta?
  • Use Best Buy's In-Store Pickup to Save Serious Cash
    Blogger Anastasia didn't want to pay $44.99 each for four seasons of Stargate Atlantis—she wanted the online price of $19.99. Using her phone's data connection, she managed to knock about $96 off her purchase.
  • Fix "Corked" Wine with a Bowl and Plastic Wrap
    Dinner's cooked, the guests are arriving, so you pop open that nice bottle of red and—ugh, what is that? If you're stuck with a "corked" bottle, here's how you can minimize the dankness.

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: January 9th, 2009, 7:00pm EST

  If the number of posts we put out per day is overwhelming your feed reader, cut out the extras and subscribe to our slimmed-down top stories feed. Skip the Mac downloads or iPhone posts or any other topic you don't care about by customizing our feed URLs. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Enigma Desktop Customization Update Now Available
    "Windows only: Reader Kaelri—famous for the beautiful and functional Enigma desktop—has packaged and released version 1.1 of the customization files."
  • Exhaustive List of Free Microsoft Downloads
    "Tech evangelist and Microsoft consultant Blake Handler hosts an impressively completist list of free Windows programs offered by Microsoft, dug from the trenches of Del.icio.us tags."
  • Coke Can Clean Your Toilet in a Pinch
    "When your toilet's got rings and lime scale stains and you've got no cleaning gear on hand, grab a can of Coke out of the fridge. "
  • Windows 7 Beta Boasts Sub-30 Second Boot Time
    "The Windows 7 beta offers a speedier startup than its predecessor: for me the beta boots to a fully functional desktop in under 30 seconds, faster than the preview or Vista."
  • Why Your Self-Handicapping Excuses Don't Work (And How to Fix Them)
    "The New York Times takes a revealing look at self-handicapping excuses—like 'I barely slept the night before the test'—and why we create them, as well as the extremely unlikely chance that anyone else buys them."
  • Hard Lessons in the Importance of Backups: JournalSpace Wiped Out
    "Blogging service JournalSpace has been completely wiped out after the drives that housed their entire database were overwritten. The problem was that their backups weren't actually backups at all."
  • Build a Hackintosh for under $240
    "Industrious tinkers at eclectic technology blog UselessNinjas have put together a guide to building a sub-$240 computer to run Mac OS X. "
  • MyOpenBar Finds You Free Drinks
    "MyOpenBar is a web site that catalogs where you can drink for free in major cities across the United States."
  • Most Popular Reliable and Affordable Web Hosts
    "Reader Stephanie wanted to know what Lifehacker readers thought were the most reliable and affordable web hosts out there. Here are the top vote-getters."
  • Download and Print the 2009 Compact Calendar
    "You're back at work after the holidays and planning out your big projects of the year—time to print out Dave Seah's excellent compact calendar for 2009."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: December 26th, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  • Best Places to Find Multi-Monitor Wallpaper
    "Last week we asked you where you found wallpaper to customize multiple monitor setups, you responded and we rounded up your favorite sites to help share the high resolution goodness!"
  • Top 10 Ways to Lock Down Your Data
    "This past week proved that you can't rely on something as simple as a web browser to keep your personal data and identity safe from harm. Critical flaws were found in the Internet Explorer and even Firefox web browsers, leaving users potentially vulnerable to spyware, viruses, and password-sniffing."
  • Help Clueless Relatives with Their Computer Problems
    "'Can you take a look at my computer?' is the dreaded question your clueless family member will ask when you're home for the holidays."
  • Lifehacker's Most-Discussed Posts of 2008
    "It's not our posts but reader comments that make Lifehacker the place to discuss new software and technology. Let's take a look back at the posts that got the most comments in 2008."
  • Five Best Online Job Search Sites
    "Looking for a new job in a struggling economy is hard work. Make it easier on yourself by getting to know the best tools for the task at hand."
  • How to Live Freegan and Die Old
    "Marko Manriquez is the founder of The Freegan Kitchen, a site that promotes cooking found food. He's been diving in dumpsters for food going on three years now."
  • FeedFlix Gets Your Money's Worth from Netflix
    "Netflix's subscription rental service makes it easy to get nearly any DVD delivered to your doorstep, but have you ever wondered how much you're actually paying per movie or whether you're getting your money's worth?"
  • Ditch Satellite TV for Online Alternatives and Save
    "The James family canceled their Dish satellite TV package and replaced it with a media center PC, faster broadband connection, and Netflix account—and now save $93 a month."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: December 19th, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  Too busy forcing holiday cheer this week to catch our best posts? Here, have a rundown.

  • Most Popular Free Windows Downloads of 2008
    "In the past year we've highlighted hundreds of Windows apps aimed at making your life easier, boosting your computer productivity, and powering up your PC.For those of you who weren't able to keep up, here's a look back at the most popular Windows downloads of 2008."
  • Most Popular Free Mac Downloads of 2008
    "We've featured gobs of great Mac freeware over the course of the year—now it's time to check out the best."
  • Five Best Sites for Finding Deals Online
    "Did your holiday gift budget shrink considerably this year? Your friends and family need never be the wiser: You just need to know where to find the best deals."
  • Top 10 DIY Photography Tools
    "Getting better at photography can be a long-haul test of willpower and humility. It doesn't have to be expensive, though."
  • Lessons Learned from a Hacked Gmail Account
    "Around my house, hacked email accounts were something that happened to other people—relatives with weak passwords, generally, or Dateline story subjects."
  • KickYouTubes Lets You Download Videos Without Extra Software or Hassle
    "KickYouTube is one of the simplest solutions for downloading YouTube videos we've reviewed at Lifehacker."
  • Killer Add-ons Make Songbird So Much Better
    "Like Firefox, the open source media player Songbird is a pretty neat alternative to a big-name competitor on its own, but the ability to extend it through add-ons is what really makes it boss."
  • How to Avoid Looking Like a Tourist
    "Blending in while visiting a new locale is a great way to increase your safety and improve your sightseeing experience."
  • Most Popular Linux Downloads of 2008
    "Along with Windows and Mac downloads, this year was chock-full of free software for Linux users. Read on to see what our readers were eager to grab and install on their free desktops."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: December 12th, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  In case you were too busy actually getting things done this week instead of reading Lifehacker, have a recap of our most popular posts of the week.

  • Most Popular Desktops of 2008
    "Over the past year, we've featured gobs of great desktops submitted by our readers to the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell group on Flickr."
  • Top 10 Things You Forgot Gmail Can Do
    "When friends push friends onto Gmail, it usually involves talking up the seemingly limitless storage space, the fast-moving interface, or its inter-connectedness with other Google applications, like Calendar."
  • Five Best Media Center Applications
    "The past ten years have completely changed the way we listen to music, watch movies and television, and take photos, and one thing is abundantly clear: The future of your media lies undeniably in the digital realm."
  • The Savvy Shopper's Guide to This Year's Online Deal Finders
    "With all the belt-tightening going on in this economy, it's no surprise that coupon codes and deal finders—especially for online shoppers—are the hottest tools on the web right now."
  • Google Reader Absolutely Compact Gets More On-Screen
    "Firefox with Greasemonkey or Stylish: Google Reader's recent redesign did streamline its interface, but ever-resourceful reader Dustin wants to maximize the feed reading area even more with his new "Absolutely Compact" user style."
  • Battle of the Hardware-Boosting Hacks
    "When like-minded hackers come together to unleash the true power of seemingly simple gear, it's truly a beautiful thing. We've featured a good number of how-tos and hacks over the years that make expensive upgrades unnecessary and unleash seriously cool features in your gear, and 2008 was no exception."
  • The Most Popular Linux Posts of 2008
    "Today we're looking back at the Linux-related posts that got the most attention in 2008, so read on to see what you might have missed, and what the open-source crowd is down with."
  • Gmail Labs' New Task Manager Can Add Email to Your To-Do List
    "For years now, the gaping hole in Google's online suite of applications has been a to-do list manager, but not anymore: today Gmail Labs adds a lightweight Tasks module to your email account."
  • How to Raise Your Rent One Glass at a Time
    "Back in the bust years I found that spreading goodwill and getting people together was the perfect emollient to era's hard times. I'm talking about throwing a "Rent Party.""

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: December 5th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  Need to spend less time on blogs during the holidays? Don't unsubscribe from all our daily posts—switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Windows-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Most Popular Top 10's of 2008
    "Almost two years later, our weekly listicle, the Lifehacker Top 10, still proves to be one of the most popular posts that publishes here. Since our top 10-making bot is off this weekend, take a gander at 20 of the most popular Top 10's that have published in 2008 so far."
  • Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools
    "The internet has made it easier than ever to share media and data with friends, family, and co-workers, but that doesn't mean burning your own CDs and DVDs is a thing of the past."
  • Best New and Improved Software of 2008
    "Mobile phone operating systems and a reheated web browser war: that's how we'll recall the year 2008 when it comes to software. From brand new to revamped browsers and mobile platforms and apps, 2008's been good to technophiles who like their data in the cloud and accessible wherever they are."
  • First Look at Opera 10
    "Opera 10 is looking to offer stiff competition with the blazing rendering engines in the upcoming Firefox release (Tracemonkey) and Google Chrome (V8) with an update to its rendering engine, Presto."
  • Songbird 1.0 Release Official, Fixes Bugs, Plays iTunes Purchases
    "The long-awaited cross-platform media player Songbird officially reaches its 1.0 release today."
  • SkyDrive Upgrade Goes Live with 25GB of Space
    "Windows Live, intended to be a landing page for social activity and Microsoft's cloud-connected apps, is rolling out a host of redesigns and upgrades today, but none so exciting (to our eyes, anyways) as the anticipated jump of the SkyDrive online storage service to 25GB capacity."
  • Engima-Inspired Desktop Roundup
    "Desktop customizer extraordinaire and Lifehacker reader Kaelri showed us how to customize your Windows desktop using a setup he called Enigma (pictured above), and since then the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Pool has been overflowing with killer Enigma-inspired desktops."
  • Cut Your Phone and Cable Bills by $100
    "PC Magazine columnist Sascha Segan got sick of paying for cable and phone services every month he knew were over-priced and under-utilized."
  • Featured Desktop: Festive but Productive December Desktop
    "Reader reb wanted something festive to dress up her Windows desktop this December, so she used a combination of visual tweaks and strategic customizations to add both holiday cheer and productivity tools to it."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 28th, 2008, 8:24pm EST

  Need to spend less time on blogs during the holidays? Don't unsubscribe from all our daily posts—switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Windows-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Get Windows 7's Best Features Right Now
    "If you're tired of hearing about Windows 7's upcoming features while you sit and stare at your aging XP or Vista desktop, take solace in a few free apps and themes that can give you a taste right now."
  • Five Best Desktop Customization Tools
    "It's crazy to think that an operating system can fit every user's needs out of the box, even if we are just talking about looks. Luckily, if you're not keen on the cookie-cutter appearance of your OS, we've covered a handful of great tools for tweaking every last pixel of your desktop."
  • Free Software We're Most Thankful For
    "Dear free software developers: Before we American nerds sit down to our turkey and mashed potatoes today, know that your creations are at the top of the list of things we're most thankful for."
  • Top 10 Things You Can Do with a DVD
    "The proliferation of thumb drives and external hard drives has made optical media like DVDs seem a little less handy—but there are still plenty of ways to put DVDs to good use."
  • Featured Desktop: The Giant Flip Clock
    "Reader projectvirus creates a smart, dynamic desktop HUD that prominently displays a desktop-sized flip clock."
  • FoxGLove Standalone Google Apps Portal
    "Crafty Firefox user Alex customized his own Firefox Portable installation to tightly integrate with Google Apps. He calls his creation "FoxGLove," and uses it as his own Google-powered productivity portal instead of Microsoft Outlook."
  • Lunascape Is Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer Rolled Into One
    "Windows only: Free application Lunascape is a web browser capable of running any of the three major web rendering engines—Gecko (Firefox), WebKit (Safari/Chrome), and Trident (Internet Explorer)."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 21st, 2008, 7:06pm EST

  When there's too much Lifehacker and too little time, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Windows-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Customize Your Own Killer "Enigma" Desktop
    "Windows desktop tweaker extraordinaire and Lifehacker reader Kaelri—who brought us the gorgeous Lightning at Sunset desktop and then showed us how to do it ourselves—is back, this time with a fresh new desktop he calls "Enigma.""
  • Gmail Updates Its Look, Adds Themes
    "Google's beloved web-based email client has always been ripe for third-party design customization (we've always been partial to the Gmail Redesigned skin in Better Gmail, for example), but now Gmail is officially riding the interface customization train by offering 30-some new themes to spice up your inbox."
  • Thirty Cliches You Should Avoid (Going Forward)
    "Using a data analysis tool that monitors new books, research papers, broadcast transcripts and news sources, Oxford University came up with a list of the top 10 most irritating phrases."
  • Top 10 Ways to Speed Up Your Web Browsing
    "Even in a world where high-speed internet is just a tall house blend away, anyone can get stuck with a slow or uncertain connection at home, in the office, or at the worst possible time while traveling."
  • Five Best Video Chat Applications
    "When you really want to stay in touch over a long distance, a simple phone call or voice chat pales in comparison to a face-to-face video chat."
  • Liberate Yourself from Old Email Addresses
    "If you've been on the internet for any substantial amount of time you've likely accumulated your fair share of email addresses..."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 21st, 2008, 7:06pm EST

  When there's too much Lifehacker and too little time, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Windows-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Customize Your Own Killer "Enigma" Desktop
    "Windows desktop tweaker extraordinaire and Lifehacker reader Kaelri—who brought us the gorgeous Lightning at Sunset desktop and then showed us how to do it ourselves—is back, this time with a fresh new desktop he calls "Enigma.""
  • Gmail Updates Its Look, Adds Themes
    "Google's beloved web-based email client has always been ripe for third-party design customization (we've always been partial to the Gmail Redesigned skin in Better Gmail, for example), but now Gmail is officially riding the interface customization train by offering 30-some new themes to spice up your inbox."
  • Thirty Cliches You Should Avoid (Going Forward)
    "Using a data analysis tool that monitors new books, research papers, broadcast transcripts and news sources, Oxford University came up with a list of the top 10 most irritating phrases."
  • Top 10 Ways to Speed Up Your Web Browsing
    "Even in a world where high-speed internet is just a tall house blend away, anyone can get stuck with a slow or uncertain connection at home, in the office, or at the worst possible time while traveling."
  • Five Best Video Chat Applications
    "When you really want to stay in touch over a long distance, a simple phone call or voice chat pales in comparison to a face-to-face video chat."
  • Liberate Yourself from Old Email Addresses
    "If you've been on the internet for any substantial amount of time you've likely accumulated your fair share of email addresses..."
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 14th, 2008, 9:00pm EST

  When there's too much Lifehacker and too little time, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Windows-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Five Best Remote Desktop Tools
    "Whether you want quick access to your home computer from anywhere in the world or you're the go-to IT person for your friends and family, remote desktop applications are a godsend."
  • How to Burn Any Video File to a Playable Video DVD
    "With your BitTorrent addiction in full swing, you've filled hard drives with media but can't seem to figure out how to burn any of the videos you downloaded to a DVD."
  • Top 10 Things to Look Forward to in Windows 7
    "While the next iteration of the ubiquitous Microsoft desktop operating system, Windows 7, isn't a dramatic overhaul of its predecessor Windows Vista, it does fix several sore spots and add a few welcome features."
  • Is Your Printer Wasting Your Ink and Money?
    "You just bought an expensive ink cartridge for your printer, you use it for a while, and then suddenly—much sooner than seems reasonable—your printer tells you that you're either low on or out of ink."
  • Sharepod Frees Your iPod From iTunes
    "You don't have administrative rights or iTunes at work, but you want to be sure you can beat box along to your favorite Kenny G album blasting from the Dell OEM speakers in your cubicle?"
  • Why TraceMonkey is Going to Blow Your Web Browsing Mind
    "Perhaps the greatest promise in Firefox 3.1 is the one most users won't see at all—a serious overhaul of the browser's JavaScript engine, newly christened as TraceMonkey."
  • Microwave an Instant Chocolate Cake in a Coffee Mug
    "Sate your afternoon sugar cravings with a dead-easy chocolate cake recipe that only requires hot chocolate mix, flour, an egg, cooking spray, and oil (all stuff you've got in your pantry anyway)."
  • Project Euler Exercises Your Mind with Mathematical Problems
    "Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve."
  • A Few Handy, Hidden OS X Shortcuts
    "It's easy to consider yourself a keyboard shortcut master until one morning you hit the wrong key combination and something exciting and new happens."
  • Featured Desktop: The Unobtrusive, 10-Foot Tall Heads-Up Display
    "Reader Espiox spent a little time with the popular desktop customization tool Rainmeter to create a great HUD on his desktop displaying the date and time in the upper left and weather on the bottom right."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 14th, 2008, 9:00pm EST

  When there's too much Lifehacker and too little time, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Windows-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Five Best Remote Desktop Tools
    "Whether you want quick access to your home computer from anywhere in the world or you're the go-to IT person for your friends and family, remote desktop applications are a godsend."
  • How to Burn Any Video File to a Playable Video DVD
    "With your BitTorrent addiction in full swing, you've filled hard drives with media but can't seem to figure out how to burn any of the videos you downloaded to a DVD."
  • Top 10 Things to Look Forward to in Windows 7
    "While the next iteration of the ubiquitous Microsoft desktop operating system, Windows 7, isn't a dramatic overhaul of its predecessor Windows Vista, it does fix several sore spots and add a few welcome features."
  • Is Your Printer Wasting Your Ink and Money?
    "You just bought an expensive ink cartridge for your printer, you use it for a while, and then suddenly—much sooner than seems reasonable—your printer tells you that you're either low on or out of ink."
  • Sharepod Frees Your iPod From iTunes
    "You don't have administrative rights or iTunes at work, but you want to be sure you can beat box along to your favorite Kenny G album blasting from the Dell OEM speakers in your cubicle?"
  • Why TraceMonkey is Going to Blow Your Web Browsing Mind
    "Perhaps the greatest promise in Firefox 3.1 is the one most users won't see at all—a serious overhaul of the browser's JavaScript engine, newly christened as TraceMonkey."
  • Microwave an Instant Chocolate Cake in a Coffee Mug
    "Sate your afternoon sugar cravings with a dead-easy chocolate cake recipe that only requires hot chocolate mix, flour, an egg, cooking spray, and oil (all stuff you've got in your pantry anyway)."
  • Project Euler Exercises Your Mind with Mathematical Problems
    "Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve."
  • A Few Handy, Hidden OS X Shortcuts
    "It's easy to consider yourself a keyboard shortcut master until one morning you hit the wrong key combination and something exciting and new happens."
  • Featured Desktop: The Unobtrusive, 10-Foot Tall Heads-Up Display
    "Reader Espiox spent a little time with the popular desktop customization tool Rainmeter to create a great HUD on his desktop displaying the date and time in the upper left and weather on the bottom right."
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 7th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  If Lifehacker's river of news is flooding your brain, there is a dam available. Switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 Online Freebies and Deals
    "Unless you're a financial Jedi Knight or economic Sith Lord, you probably don't have a ton of control over our turbulent economy. What you can reign over is your spending and saving—and when you know where they are, you can take advantage of deep discounts and general freebies across the web."
  • Five Best Travel Sites for Cheap Tickets
    "If you've got travel plans for the upcoming holiday season, the time to book your tickets is now. The question is, where can you find tickets cheap enough to offset the extra $40 you'll have to spend to check your bags and enjoy a snack on your six-hour flight."
  • Five Tweaks for Your New Ubuntu Desktop
    "With the recent release of the popular Linux distro Ubuntu's 8.10 version, code-named Intrepid Ibex, we've recently detailed some productive-minded Ubuntu Kung Fu, as well as a user-minded tour through 8.10."
  • Is Your Printer Wasting Your Ink and Money?
    "Everyone's been there: You just bought an expensive ink cartridge for your printer, you use it for a while, and then suddenly—much sooner than seems reasonable—your printer tells you that you're either low on or out of ink."
  • Dilate or Shrink Your Pupils on Command
    "If the eyes are the window to the soul, being able to manipulate how your eyes appear to others is a rather tricky life hack."
  • Five Memberships Worth Signing up for
    "Smart Money magazine crunches the numbers on the cost versus benefit of various paid memberships to find you five with a high value."
  • Brain-only Computer Interfaces Becoming Reality
    "In the clip below, see how a completely paralyzed man, who could otherwise only communicate by moving his eyes, uses his mind to type out thoughts on a computer."
  • New Windows 7 Taskbar, Peek Feature Look Awesome
    "Microsoft has already caught some flack for "copying" the OS X dock with the new Windows 7 taskbar; the video above from the Professional Developer's Conference both addresses that criticism and takes you on a guided tour of the new taskbar."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: November 7th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  If Lifehacker's river of news is flooding your brain, there is a dam available. Switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 Online Freebies and Deals
    "Unless you're a financial Jedi Knight or economic Sith Lord, you probably don't have a ton of control over our turbulent economy. What you can reign over is your spending and saving—and when you know where they are, you can take advantage of deep discounts and general freebies across the web."
  • Five Best Travel Sites for Cheap Tickets
    "If you've got travel plans for the upcoming holiday season, the time to book your tickets is now. The question is, where can you find tickets cheap enough to offset the extra $40 you'll have to spend to check your bags and enjoy a snack on your six-hour flight."
  • Five Tweaks for Your New Ubuntu Desktop
    "With the recent release of the popular Linux distro Ubuntu's 8.10 version, code-named Intrepid Ibex, we've recently detailed some productive-minded Ubuntu Kung Fu, as well as a user-minded tour through 8.10."
  • Is Your Printer Wasting Your Ink and Money?
    "Everyone's been there: You just bought an expensive ink cartridge for your printer, you use it for a while, and then suddenly—much sooner than seems reasonable—your printer tells you that you're either low on or out of ink."
  • Dilate or Shrink Your Pupils on Command
    "If the eyes are the window to the soul, being able to manipulate how your eyes appear to others is a rather tricky life hack."
  • Five Memberships Worth Signing up for
    "Smart Money magazine crunches the numbers on the cost versus benefit of various paid memberships to find you five with a high value."
  • Brain-only Computer Interfaces Becoming Reality
    "In the clip below, see how a completely paralyzed man, who could otherwise only communicate by moving his eyes, uses his mind to type out thoughts on a computer."
  • New Windows 7 Taskbar, Peek Feature Look Awesome
    "Microsoft has already caught some flack for "copying" the OS X dock with the new Windows 7 taskbar; the video above from the Professional Developer's Conference both addresses that criticism and takes you on a guided tour of the new taskbar."
• 

  This Week's Popular Posts

  Posted: October 31st, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's feeding your reader more posts than you can eat, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the election or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Buy $25 Restaurant Gift Cards for $2
    "From now until Halloween, entering TREATS at the checkout applies a second 80% discount to the sales price."
  • Battle of the Thumb Drive Linux Systems
    "These days, it only takes an increasingly-cheap USB thumb drive and a program like UNetbootin to create a portable Linux desktop you can run on any computer that can boot from a USB port."
  • Ten Firefox Themes as Dark as Your Soul
    "Ok, your soul isn't that dark, but with Halloween coming up, now's a fine time to dress up your copy of Firefox."
  • How to Look Like a World Leader on a Hockey Mom Salary
    "The Republican National Committee spending nearly $150,000 to dress and style Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her family in the wake of her nomination as the party's vice presidential candidate surprised me."
  • Pixolu Finds Images by Similarity
    "Web-based application Pixolu helps you find images by their similarity to each other. Enter a search term and Pixolu searches the image indexes of Google, Yahoo, and Flickr."
  • Can Windows 7 Recover from Vista?
    "Our gadget-obsessed siblings at Gizmodo got a chance to walk through Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference, highlighting a heaping serving of nice new features."
  • How to Present Yourself Powerfully, Part 1
    "You may have a great idea bouncing around in your head. It may be something that could revolutionize the company that you work for, or even change your own career..."
  • How Long Does Your Computer Take to Boot Up?
    "PC makers are setting their sights on reducing the amount of time it takes your PC to boot up, reports the New York Times, because users are increasingly impatient about waiting to go about their computing business after hitting that power button."
  • Save Money on MP3 Purchases (or Find Them for Free)
    "The Macworld blog offers a few tips on doing comparison shopping between the major MP3 music stores..."

• 

  This Week's Popular Posts

  Posted: October 31st, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's feeding your reader more posts than you can eat, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the election or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Buy $25 Restaurant Gift Cards for $2
    "From now until Halloween, entering TREATS at the checkout applies a second 80% discount to the sales price."
  • Battle of the Thumb Drive Linux Systems
    "These days, it only takes an increasingly-cheap USB thumb drive and a program like UNetbootin to create a portable Linux desktop you can run on any computer that can boot from a USB port."
  • Ten Firefox Themes as Dark as Your Soul
    "Ok, your soul isn't that dark, but with Halloween coming up, now's a fine time to dress up your copy of Firefox."
  • How to Look Like a World Leader on a Hockey Mom Salary
    "The Republican National Committee spending nearly $150,000 to dress and style Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her family in the wake of her nomination as the party's vice presidential candidate surprised me."
  • Pixolu Finds Images by Similarity
    "Web-based application Pixolu helps you find images by their similarity to each other. Enter a search term and Pixolu searches the image indexes of Google, Yahoo, and Flickr."
  • Can Windows 7 Recover from Vista?
    "Our gadget-obsessed siblings at Gizmodo got a chance to walk through Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference, highlighting a heaping serving of nice new features."
  • How to Present Yourself Powerfully, Part 1
    "You may have a great idea bouncing around in your head. It may be something that could revolutionize the company that you work for, or even change your own career..."
  • How Long Does Your Computer Take to Boot Up?
    "PC makers are setting their sights on reducing the amount of time it takes your PC to boot up, reports the New York Times, because users are increasingly impatient about waiting to go about their computing business after hitting that power button."
  • Save Money on MP3 Purchases (or Find Them for Free)
    "The Macworld blog offers a few tips on doing comparison shopping between the major MP3 music stores..."
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 24th, 2008, 7:36pm EDT

  When there's too much Lifehacker and too little time, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the election or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 IKEA Furniture Mods
    "There's something about the big-box, flat-pack furniture phenomenon known as IKEA that attracts the DIY type, and it's not the 99-cent breakfasts."
  • Five Best File Compression Tools
    "Whether you've been sent a simple ZIP archive, you need to create and share your own compressed files, or you're staring down the barrel of some obscure archive format you've never seen before, having the right file compression application in your corner is a must."
  • Punch Up a Photo in Under 60 Seconds
    "Using a couple of basic tools in Photoshop and other image editing programs, you can take a flat image and make it pop with just a little bit of effort and no experience in the finer arts of exposure and color correction."
  • Brew Better Coffee in Your Hotel and at Home
    "Newsweek's Budget Travel weblog discusses the limitations of most drip coffee makers, then highlights how to brew a better pot despite those limitations."
  • Online Storage Feature-by-Feature Comparison Chart
    "Seems like every day a new online data storage service opens its servers to the world, practically begging users to eat up their bandwidth and store their data, or at least back it up, to "the cloud.""
  • The Ultimate Windows Desktop/Mac Notebook Alliance
    "When it comes to computers, you want it all: the portability of a laptop, the extensibility of a desktop, as well as the sleekness of Mac OS X and the wide selection of software for Windows."
  • CarZen Finds the Perfect Car for Your Needs
    "Web site CarZen holds your hand through choosing the right new car based on a laundry list of needs, features, and more."
  • GIMP Tricks Everyone Should Know
    "Now that the free image editing classic GIMP version 2.6 offers a better-than-ever alternative to Photoshop (especially with a couple of key plug-ins), it's time to start getting familiar with what it can do."
  • Calibrize Gets Your Monitor Calibrated in Three Steps
    "Free application Calibrize holds your hand through a simple three-step monitor calibration to ensure on-screen colors look the same from computer to computer."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 24th, 2008, 7:36pm EDT

  When there's too much Lifehacker and too little time, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the election or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 IKEA Furniture Mods
    "There's something about the big-box, flat-pack furniture phenomenon known as IKEA that attracts the DIY type, and it's not the 99-cent breakfasts."
  • Five Best File Compression Tools
    "Whether you've been sent a simple ZIP archive, you need to create and share your own compressed files, or you're staring down the barrel of some obscure archive format you've never seen before, having the right file compression application in your corner is a must."
  • Punch Up a Photo in Under 60 Seconds
    "Using a couple of basic tools in Photoshop and other image editing programs, you can take a flat image and make it pop with just a little bit of effort and no experience in the finer arts of exposure and color correction."
  • Brew Better Coffee in Your Hotel and at Home
    "Newsweek's Budget Travel weblog discusses the limitations of most drip coffee makers, then highlights how to brew a better pot despite those limitations."
  • Online Storage Feature-by-Feature Comparison Chart
    "Seems like every day a new online data storage service opens its servers to the world, practically begging users to eat up their bandwidth and store their data, or at least back it up, to "the cloud.""
  • The Ultimate Windows Desktop/Mac Notebook Alliance
    "When it comes to computers, you want it all: the portability of a laptop, the extensibility of a desktop, as well as the sleekness of Mac OS X and the wide selection of software for Windows."
  • CarZen Finds the Perfect Car for Your Needs
    "Web site CarZen holds your hand through choosing the right new car based on a laundry list of needs, features, and more."
  • GIMP Tricks Everyone Should Know
    "Now that the free image editing classic GIMP version 2.6 offers a better-than-ever alternative to Photoshop (especially with a couple of key plug-ins), it's time to start getting familiar with what it can do."
  • Calibrize Gets Your Monitor Calibrated in Three Steps
    "Free application Calibrize holds your hand through a simple three-step monitor calibration to ensure on-screen colors look the same from computer to computer."
• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 17th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker feed's unread count got you down? Switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or politics or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 Now Available for Download, First Look
    "Mozilla has just pushed out Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 to their servers, marking the first major step toward the official 3.1 release."
  • Five Best Windows Firewalls
    "Connecting your laptop to the local coffee shop's Wi-Fi without a good firewall and thinking you're secure is like using a condom with thousands of holes in it and calling it safe sex."
  • What Kind of Server are You Running at Home?
    "Computers keep getting faster and more full-featured, leaving many of us with systems that work just fine, but can't quite satisfy our desktop needs."
  • Make a Steady Background Income from Selling Stock Work
    "Freelancer Collis Ta'eed makes about $200 each month from work he mostly did years ago and hasn't touched."
  • Form an Attack Plan for a Cluttered, Messy Home
    "Last week in our quest for de-junking the spaces around us, we walked through cleaning a workstation and keeping it that way. This week, we're taking on a more personal, and often intimidating, space: your home."
  • New MacBooks Stronger, Drop Mouse Buttons, Add Multi-Touch
    "Apple's MacBook event has just come to an end, leaving Apple enthusiasts with a handful of—surprise!—new MacBooks."
  • How to Use Dropbox as the Ultimate Password Syncer
    "Cross-platform application Dropbox may be great at syncing regular old files and folders over the internet and to the web, but with a little ingenuity, you can use this free software to ensure important application data stays in sync no matter what computer you're using."
  • Battle of the Mobile Phone Operating Systems
    "As smartphones get cheaper and more featureful than their stripped-down siblings, more folks are walking around with full-on operating systems in their pocket—but which is the best?"
  • Kitchen Essentials You Need (and Don't)
    "Food writers at the L.A. Times deflate the hype on popular kitchen items and recommend the stuff you really do need."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 17th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker feed's unread count got you down? Switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or politics or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 Now Available for Download, First Look
    "Mozilla has just pushed out Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 to their servers, marking the first major step toward the official 3.1 release."
  • Five Best Windows Firewalls
    "Connecting your laptop to the local coffee shop's Wi-Fi without a good firewall and thinking you're secure is like using a condom with thousands of holes in it and calling it safe sex."
  • What Kind of Server are You Running at Home?
    "Computers keep getting faster and more full-featured, leaving many of us with systems that work just fine, but can't quite satisfy our desktop needs."
  • Make a Steady Background Income from Selling Stock Work
    "Freelancer Collis Ta'eed makes about $200 each month from work he mostly did years ago and hasn't touched."
  • Form an Attack Plan for a Cluttered, Messy Home
    "Last week in our quest for de-junking the spaces around us, we walked through cleaning a workstation and keeping it that way. This week, we're taking on a more personal, and often intimidating, space: your home."
  • New MacBooks Stronger, Drop Mouse Buttons, Add Multi-Touch
    "Apple's MacBook event has just come to an end, leaving Apple enthusiasts with a handful of—surprise!—new MacBooks."
  • How to Use Dropbox as the Ultimate Password Syncer
    "Cross-platform application Dropbox may be great at syncing regular old files and folders over the internet and to the web, but with a little ingenuity, you can use this free software to ensure important application data stays in sync no matter what computer you're using."
  • Battle of the Mobile Phone Operating Systems
    "As smartphones get cheaper and more featureful than their stripped-down siblings, more folks are walking around with full-on operating systems in their pocket—but which is the best?"
  • Kitchen Essentials You Need (and Don't)
    "Food writers at the L.A. Times deflate the hype on popular kitchen items and recommend the stuff you really do need."
• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 10th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker loading down your RSS reader with more noise than signal? Switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or politics or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Five Best Media Converters
    "We've all been there: you've downloaded an episode of your favorite TV show to watch on your commute or stream to your living room, but the file you downloaded isn't supported on the device you want to use it with."
  • Top 10 Easy Ways to Look Sharp
    "Coming across as an unkempt schlub won't do anything good for your career, your social life, or your luck with that cute guy or gal from marketing."
  • The Mac Meets Windows Dual-Desktop
    "Reader Dylan Boom shows how to mix operating systems environments with style in his Mac Meets Windows Dual-Desktop."
  • The Best Keyboard You've Ever Typed On
    "Last week we asked you to tell us about the best keyboard you've ever used, and the testimonials came pouring in. Today we've compiled the most popular keyboards into a handy list for your perusal."
  • Turn Firefox into a Google Chrome Clone
    "Last month Adam showed you six Firefox extensions that enable Chrome's best features, but today reader Asian Angel takes it a few steps further and creates an almost identical-looking Chrome clone using 10 Firefox extensions and one theme."
  • One Hundred DIY Skills Everyone Should Have
    "Popular Mechanics magazine runs a list of 100 do-it-yourself skills that every "competent man" should know. Our annoyance about the gender specificity aside, the list is decent, if a bit stretched out to hit that 100 total."
  • Battle of the Tricked-Out Computer Desktops
    "Ever since we started the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell group on Flickr, readers have been contributing and explaining their computer desktop settings in droves."
  • Clean Your Workspace—and Keep it That Way
    "Whether your workspace is miles from your home or right there amongst your books and Battlestar Galactica figurines, it probably has something in common with at least a few other readers' (and my own)—the ability to attract clutter and make important documents and objects hard to find."
  • Set Up Universal Ad Blocking Through Your Router
    "If you've turned your $60 router into a user-friendly super-router with open-source firmware Tomato, you already know that Tomato can boost your Wi-Fi signal, track bandwidth usage, and set Quality of Service rules with ease."
  • First Look at Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" Beta
    "The next version of Ubuntu's free Linux operating system, dubbed "Intrepid Ibex," is due out Oct. 30, but the beta release is up for grabs."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts

  Posted: October 10th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker loading down your RSS reader with more noise than signal? Switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or politics or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Five Best Media Converters
    "We've all been there: you've downloaded an episode of your favorite TV show to watch on your commute or stream to your living room, but the file you downloaded isn't supported on the device you want to use it with."
  • Top 10 Easy Ways to Look Sharp
    "Coming across as an unkempt schlub won't do anything good for your career, your social life, or your luck with that cute guy or gal from marketing."
  • The Mac Meets Windows Dual-Desktop
    "Reader Dylan Boom shows how to mix operating systems environments with style in his Mac Meets Windows Dual-Desktop."
  • The Best Keyboard You've Ever Typed On
    "Last week we asked you to tell us about the best keyboard you've ever used, and the testimonials came pouring in. Today we've compiled the most popular keyboards into a handy list for your perusal."
  • Turn Firefox into a Google Chrome Clone
    "Last month Adam showed you six Firefox extensions that enable Chrome's best features, but today reader Asian Angel takes it a few steps further and creates an almost identical-looking Chrome clone using 10 Firefox extensions and one theme."
  • One Hundred DIY Skills Everyone Should Have
    "Popular Mechanics magazine runs a list of 100 do-it-yourself skills that every "competent man" should know. Our annoyance about the gender specificity aside, the list is decent, if a bit stretched out to hit that 100 total."
  • Battle of the Tricked-Out Computer Desktops
    "Ever since we started the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell group on Flickr, readers have been contributing and explaining their computer desktop settings in droves."
  • Clean Your Workspace—and Keep it That Way
    "Whether your workspace is miles from your home or right there amongst your books and Battlestar Galactica figurines, it probably has something in common with at least a few other readers' (and my own)—the ability to attract clutter and make important documents and objects hard to find."
  • Set Up Universal Ad Blocking Through Your Router
    "If you've turned your $60 router into a user-friendly super-router with open-source firmware Tomato, you already know that Tomato can boost your Wi-Fi signal, track bandwidth usage, and set Quality of Service rules with ease."
  • First Look at Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" Beta
    "The next version of Ubuntu's free Linux operating system, dubbed "Intrepid Ibex," is due out Oct. 30, but the beta release is up for grabs."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 3rd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  When Lifehacker's churning out posts faster than your brain can absorb them, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the iPhone or politics or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 Ways to Stay Energized
    "Even if you're a hyper-organized, task-oriented worker with an expansive mind and endless ambition, you won't get a lot done if your mind and body are demanding you curl up and doze off."
  • Five Best Sites to Stream TV
    "With or without the cooperation of television networks, your favorite TV shows have moved to the internet in a big way."
  • How to Use Custom Windows Visual Styles
    "Customizing the appearance of your Windows installation can be frustrating, because both Windows XP and Vista are limited to the Microsoft's default themes out of the box."
  • Breathe New Life into Your Aging MP3 Player with Rockbox
    "Since the birth of the iPod in 2001, Apple has released generation after generation of new iPods packed with exciting feature updates."
  • Top Draw Generates Eye-Catching Wallpaper
    "Today Google releases Top Draw, a nifty image generation application that rotates its creations on your desktop."
  • Why Renting Makes More Sense than Buying
    "SmartMoney contributor Jack Hough explains why he believes renting makes more financial sense than buying a home."
  • How to Customize Your iPod with iPodWizard
    "If you're happy enough with the features your iPod offers out of the box that you don't want to install a custom firmware like Rockbox, but you'd still like to add a little personal flair to Apple's cookie-cutter look, you're in luck."
  • Windows Desktop in Monochrome
    "Windows user skarhead187 demonstrates that you don't even need color to pull together an incredible custom desktop."
  • Browser Speed Tests: The Compiled, Up-to-Date Results
    "Back when Firefox 3's final release candidate dropped, we ran some tests to compare its page-loading, memory use, and technical timing to Internet Explorer 7, Opera, and Safari for Windows."
  • Persuade People with Subconscious Techniques
    "The power of persuasion can get you far in this world, even if you're not in sales, and a few simple communication techniques can go a long way to get someone to agree with you."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 3rd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  When Lifehacker's churning out posts faster than your brain can absorb them, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the iPhone or politics or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 Ways to Stay Energized
    "Even if you're a hyper-organized, task-oriented worker with an expansive mind and endless ambition, you won't get a lot done if your mind and body are demanding you curl up and doze off."
  • Five Best Sites to Stream TV
    "With or without the cooperation of television networks, your favorite TV shows have moved to the internet in a big way."
  • How to Use Custom Windows Visual Styles
    "Customizing the appearance of your Windows installation can be frustrating, because both Windows XP and Vista are limited to the Microsoft's default themes out of the box."
  • Breathe New Life into Your Aging MP3 Player with Rockbox
    "Since the birth of the iPod in 2001, Apple has released generation after generation of new iPods packed with exciting feature updates."
  • Top Draw Generates Eye-Catching Wallpaper
    "Today Google releases Top Draw, a nifty image generation application that rotates its creations on your desktop."
  • Why Renting Makes More Sense than Buying
    "SmartMoney contributor Jack Hough explains why he believes renting makes more financial sense than buying a home."
  • How to Customize Your iPod with iPodWizard
    "If you're happy enough with the features your iPod offers out of the box that you don't want to install a custom firmware like Rockbox, but you'd still like to add a little personal flair to Apple's cookie-cutter look, you're in luck."
  • Windows Desktop in Monochrome
    "Windows user skarhead187 demonstrates that you don't even need color to pull together an incredible custom desktop."
  • Browser Speed Tests: The Compiled, Up-to-Date Results
    "Back when Firefox 3's final release candidate dropped, we ran some tests to compare its page-loading, memory use, and technical timing to Internet Explorer 7, Opera, and Safari for Windows."
  • Persuade People with Subconscious Techniques
    "The power of persuasion can get you far in this world, even if you're not in sales, and a few simple communication techniques can go a long way to get someone to agree with you."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 26th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  When Lifehacker's cooking up posts faster than you can digest them, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the iPhone or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Best of the Best: The Hive Five Winners
    "Our Hive Five feature series answers the most frequently asked question we hear at Lifehacker: 'What's the best tool for the job?'"
  • Battle of the Linux Distros
    "Today we're taking a look at the real differences between three popular distributions of open-source software, and offering our readers their chance to weigh in on why they like their own particular open-source OS."
  • Windows 7 Screenshots
    "If these early screenshots of a test build of Windows 7 are to be believed, Microsoft's next operating system will implement Office 2007's "ribbon" toolbar in most of its system apps, scale back on the User Account Control nagging, and load a 'light' Windows Media Player on double-clicking videos."
  • Microsoft Gives Up, Strips Default Apps from Windows 7
    "No matter how hard Apple strives to make Microsoft look uncool, one fact remains: Microsoft owns the desktop."
  • What Android Could Bring to Your Phone
    "This morning marked the launch of the first phone that runs Android, an open-source, Google-designed operating system that runs web-savvy applications on a touchscreen-based phone."
  • Four-Faced Semi-Transparent "GeekTop"
    "Reader Elderbear shows off his four virtual desktops that he switches between using previously mentioned Yod'm."
  • The Best Mouse You've Ever Had
    "From high DPI gaming mice to ergonomic RSI-killers to graphics tablets to portable mice perfect for laptop use, we had a ton of power users extolling the virtues of their chosen input devices."
  • Rockbox 3.0 Supercharges Your MP3 Player
    "Windows/Mac/Linux: Open-source MP3 firmware Rockbox has released its first major update in three years, adding support and stability for more MP3 players and playback of more file types."
  • How to Stay Awake at Work
    "Funny how insomnia works—when it's time to go to bed, you're wide awake, but at work the next day, you can barely keep your eyes open."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 26th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  When Lifehacker's cooking up posts faster than you can digest them, switch to our trimmed-down top stories feed to skip the extras and get right to the good stuff. Don't care about Mac-only downloads or the iPhone or Google Chrome? Customize our URLs to see only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Best of the Best: The Hive Five Winners
    "Our Hive Five feature series answers the most frequently asked question we hear at Lifehacker: 'What's the best tool for the job?'"
  • Battle of the Linux Distros
    "Today we're taking a look at the real differences between three popular distributions of open-source software, and offering our readers their chance to weigh in on why they like their own particular open-source OS."
  • Windows 7 Screenshots
    "If these early screenshots of a test build of Windows 7 are to be believed, Microsoft's next operating system will implement Office 2007's "ribbon" toolbar in most of its system apps, scale back on the User Account Control nagging, and load a 'light' Windows Media Player on double-clicking videos."
  • Microsoft Gives Up, Strips Default Apps from Windows 7
    "No matter how hard Apple strives to make Microsoft look uncool, one fact remains: Microsoft owns the desktop."
  • What Android Could Bring to Your Phone
    "This morning marked the launch of the first phone that runs Android, an open-source, Google-designed operating system that runs web-savvy applications on a touchscreen-based phone."
  • Four-Faced Semi-Transparent "GeekTop"
    "Reader Elderbear shows off his four virtual desktops that he switches between using previously mentioned Yod'm."
  • The Best Mouse You've Ever Had
    "From high DPI gaming mice to ergonomic RSI-killers to graphics tablets to portable mice perfect for laptop use, we had a ton of power users extolling the virtues of their chosen input devices."
  • Rockbox 3.0 Supercharges Your MP3 Player
    "Windows/Mac/Linux: Open-source MP3 firmware Rockbox has released its first major update in three years, adding support and stability for more MP3 players and playback of more file types."
  • How to Stay Awake at Work
    "Funny how insomnia works—when it's time to go to bed, you're wide awake, but at work the next day, you can barely keep your eyes open."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 19th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's snowing you under with unread posts, switch to our trimmed-down, no-nonsense top stories feed. Sick of hearing about Google Chrome or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to get only the topics you care about, and nothing more. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Anti-Theft Lunch Bag Deters Sandwich Thieves
    "If office gremlins are making off with your daily meal, innovative designer Sherwood Forlee has a clever solution: the Anti-Theft Lunch Bag. Simply put, Anti-Theft Lunch Bags 'are regular sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides.'"
  • Carry Your PC on Your iPhone or iPod Touch
    "It'd be wonderfully convenient if you could take your important documents and applications with you wherever you go, but lugging a laptop with you every time you step out the door is far from convenient."
  • The Icon Tray Wallpaper
    "Windows user Love Underlined has an old laptop running Vista and can't afford to sacrifice system memory to desktop customizing programs with a lot of bells and whistles."
  • How to Kickstart a Low-Productivity Day
    "You just don’t want to do it anymore. No more task folders, no more email labeling, no more index cards in your back pocket."
  • Top 10 Right-Click Tools
    "Right-clicking can be a powerful tool for automating file actions and saving yourself time and arm effort."
  • Give Your Photos a Vintage Appearance
    "The millions of plastic bodied cheap lens bearing cameras that flooded the consumer photography market starting around the mid-20th century had flaws that have come to be a hallmark of their time."
  • Know How and When You Should Cancel a Credit Card
    "Canceling a credit card at the wrong time can really ding your credit score. On the other hand keeping it around can equal more debt, more hassle, and a less secure identity."
  • Battle of the Beta Browser Built-In Features
    "With betas and alphas of every flavor of web browser dropping like snowflakes during a cold winter these days, a whole host of advanced features are showing up built into the default browser of the future."
  • VLC Updates to 0.9.2 with New Interface and Features
    "The popular open-source VLC media player has released a significant update with an interface refresh for Windows, Linux, and Unix, improved playlist and media library tools, and a whole lot more."
  • Make Your Linux Desktop More Productive
    "Apple has convinced millions that they can make the switch from Windows to OS X, but those curious about Linux have to see for themselves if they can work or play on a free desktop."
  • "Flickr Bikes" Photo-Map Locales Across the Globe
    "For their new 'Purple Pedals' campaign, Yahoo has dispatched a handful of GPS-enabled bicycles equipped with cameraphones that automatically shoot and upload photos to Flickr to riders in cities all over the world, from San Francisco to New York and soon, to Singapore, Denmark and the U.K.."
  • Five Best BitTorrent Applications
    "The days of peer-to-peer file sharing tools ushered into popularity by the original Napster are over and done, and today, BitTorrent reigns supreme."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 19th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's snowing you under with unread posts, switch to our trimmed-down, no-nonsense top stories feed. Sick of hearing about Google Chrome or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to get only the topics you care about, and nothing more. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Anti-Theft Lunch Bag Deters Sandwich Thieves
    "If office gremlins are making off with your daily meal, innovative designer Sherwood Forlee has a clever solution: the Anti-Theft Lunch Bag. Simply put, Anti-Theft Lunch Bags 'are regular sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides.'"
  • Carry Your PC on Your iPhone or iPod Touch
    "It'd be wonderfully convenient if you could take your important documents and applications with you wherever you go, but lugging a laptop with you every time you step out the door is far from convenient."
  • The Icon Tray Wallpaper
    "Windows user Love Underlined has an old laptop running Vista and can't afford to sacrifice system memory to desktop customizing programs with a lot of bells and whistles."
  • How to Kickstart a Low-Productivity Day
    "You just don’t want to do it anymore. No more task folders, no more email labeling, no more index cards in your back pocket."
  • Top 10 Right-Click Tools
    "Right-clicking can be a powerful tool for automating file actions and saving yourself time and arm effort."
  • Give Your Photos a Vintage Appearance
    "The millions of plastic bodied cheap lens bearing cameras that flooded the consumer photography market starting around the mid-20th century had flaws that have come to be a hallmark of their time."
  • Know How and When You Should Cancel a Credit Card
    "Canceling a credit card at the wrong time can really ding your credit score. On the other hand keeping it around can equal more debt, more hassle, and a less secure identity."
  • Battle of the Beta Browser Built-In Features
    "With betas and alphas of every flavor of web browser dropping like snowflakes during a cold winter these days, a whole host of advanced features are showing up built into the default browser of the future."
  • VLC Updates to 0.9.2 with New Interface and Features
    "The popular open-source VLC media player has released a significant update with an interface refresh for Windows, Linux, and Unix, improved playlist and media library tools, and a whole lot more."
  • Make Your Linux Desktop More Productive
    "Apple has convinced millions that they can make the switch from Windows to OS X, but those curious about Linux have to see for themselves if they can work or play on a free desktop."
  • "Flickr Bikes" Photo-Map Locales Across the Globe
    "For their new 'Purple Pedals' campaign, Yahoo has dispatched a handful of GPS-enabled bicycles equipped with cameraphones that automatically shoot and upload photos to Flickr to riders in cities all over the world, from San Francisco to New York and soon, to Singapore, Denmark and the U.K.."
  • Five Best BitTorrent Applications
    "The days of peer-to-peer file sharing tools ushered into popularity by the original Napster are over and done, and today, BitTorrent reigns supreme."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 12th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's crowding your newsreader a little too much, switch to our trimmed-down, no-nonsense top stories feed. Sick of hearing about Google Chrome or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to exclude the topics you don't care about. This week's most popular posts include:

  • The Power User's Guide to Google Chrome
    "Now that you've been enjoying Google Chrome's headliner features and speed for almost a week now, it's time to dig into the less obvious functionality and options you don't already know about."
  • A First Look at OpenOffice.org 3.0
    "Free, alternative office suite OpenOffice.org's latest version 3.0 is now available for download by testers."
  • Lifehacker Readers' Free Replacements for Paid Tools
    "We highlighted a few of our favorite free replacements for paid tools about two weeks ago, and boy, did you respond. From Adobe replacments to Windows utilities, niche graphics apps to virtualization, our readers had a wealth of no-cost alternatives to recommend."
  • iTunes 8 First Look
    "iTunes 8 is not jam-packed with new functionality, but the new Genius feature—which boasts smart, automatic playlist creation—has us madly refreshing the iTunes download page."
  • Top 10 Up-and-Coming Products
    "More than 100 companies are strutting their stuff at the Demofall '08 and TechCrunch50 conferences out on the West coast this week."
  • Rip Full DVDs to your Hard Drive without the Nasty DRM
    "The obsolete dinosaur of proprietary media players, RealNetworks, introduces a new DVD-copying tool today called RealDVD..."
  • Make Sure the TSA Doesn't Confiscate Your Snacks
    "If you're concerned about eating healthy while traveling, airports can be a particularly nasty hiccup in your plans."
  • Eight Best KeePass Plug-Ins to Master Your Passwords
    "A good password management application makes your life easier and your identity monumentally more secure, and free application KeePass—the most popular password manager among Lifehacker readers—is the perfect place to start."
  • Top 10 Home Automation Projects
    "You've got a computer that backs up vital documents, launches applications at the tap of a key, and effortlessly pulls down the information you need from the web—and yet you spend precious weekend time doing menial tasks like watering the lawn and getting rice ready for dinner."
  • Five Best Calendar Applications
    "Nothing's more important to your productivity arsenal than a solid scheduling tool, and considering so much of what we do happens at the computer, a good calendar application is just the thing to bring order to your agenda."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 12th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's crowding your newsreader a little too much, switch to our trimmed-down, no-nonsense top stories feed. Sick of hearing about Google Chrome or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to exclude the topics you don't care about. This week's most popular posts include:

  • The Power User's Guide to Google Chrome
    "Now that you've been enjoying Google Chrome's headliner features and speed for almost a week now, it's time to dig into the less obvious functionality and options you don't already know about."
  • A First Look at OpenOffice.org 3.0
    "Free, alternative office suite OpenOffice.org's latest version 3.0 is now available for download by testers."
  • Lifehacker Readers' Free Replacements for Paid Tools
    "We highlighted a few of our favorite free replacements for paid tools about two weeks ago, and boy, did you respond. From Adobe replacments to Windows utilities, niche graphics apps to virtualization, our readers had a wealth of no-cost alternatives to recommend."
  • iTunes 8 First Look
    "iTunes 8 is not jam-packed with new functionality, but the new Genius feature—which boasts smart, automatic playlist creation—has us madly refreshing the iTunes download page."
  • Top 10 Up-and-Coming Products
    "More than 100 companies are strutting their stuff at the Demofall '08 and TechCrunch50 conferences out on the West coast this week."
  • Rip Full DVDs to your Hard Drive without the Nasty DRM
    "The obsolete dinosaur of proprietary media players, RealNetworks, introduces a new DVD-copying tool today called RealDVD..."
  • Make Sure the TSA Doesn't Confiscate Your Snacks
    "If you're concerned about eating healthy while traveling, airports can be a particularly nasty hiccup in your plans."
  • Eight Best KeePass Plug-Ins to Master Your Passwords
    "A good password management application makes your life easier and your identity monumentally more secure, and free application KeePass—the most popular password manager among Lifehacker readers—is the perfect place to start."
  • Top 10 Home Automation Projects
    "You've got a computer that backs up vital documents, launches applications at the tap of a key, and effortlessly pulls down the information you need from the web—and yet you spend precious weekend time doing menial tasks like watering the lawn and getting rice ready for dinner."
  • Five Best Calendar Applications
    "Nothing's more important to your productivity arsenal than a solid scheduling tool, and considering so much of what we do happens at the computer, a good calendar application is just the thing to bring order to your agenda."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 5th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's filling up your feedreader faster than you can empty it, switch to our trimmed-down, no-nonsense top stories feed. Sick of hearing about Google Chrome or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to exclude the topics you don't care about. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Beta Browser Speed Tests: Which Is Fastest?
    "We've previously put the major browser releases to the speed test, but today we're measuring Chrome against the second beta of Internet Explorer 8, as well as the beta of Firefox 3's next iteration, 3.1."
  • Enable Chrome's Best Features in Firefox
    "Apart from a few specific issues (namely process management), many of Chrome's best features are already available in Firefox 3, proving yet again the power of extensibility."
  • Google Chrome First Look
    "New beta web browser Google Chrome officially hit the streets just a few minutes ago, and we've rolled up our sleeves and taken a quick look at everything the newest browser on the block has to offer."
  • Google Chrome's Full List of Special about: Pages
    "You already saw Google Chrome's humorous about:internets Easter egg, but Chrome's got several special about: pages that reveal all sorts of interesting information about what's going on behind the scenes."
  • Roll Your Own Lightning at Sunset Desktop
    "reader Kaelri's customized Windows XP desktop, pictured above, it drew oohs and ahhs from everyone looking to spruce up their Windows installation."
  • How to Set Up a Laptop Security System
    "As students flock back to the library and the rest of us head back to the coffee shop for a warm drink and free Wi-Fi, the safety and security of our laptops—and all of the important and sensitive information they hold—are of the utmost importance."
  • Back to School Power Tools for the Savvy Student
    "Before you head back to campus this semester, arm yourself with the most powerful software and webapps to keep you organized and on top of your class (and social) schedule."
  • Featured Desktop: Vista Transblack Head Up Display
    "If bright colors tire your eyes and distract you from the task at hand, check out how Windows user j33f darkens Vista and subtly embeds system monitoring details, RSS feeds, and currently playing music information into the desktop."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 5th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's filling up your feedreader faster than you can empty it, switch to our trimmed-down, no-nonsense top stories feed. Sick of hearing about Google Chrome or the iPhone? Customize our URLs to exclude the topics you don't care about. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Beta Browser Speed Tests: Which Is Fastest?
    "We've previously put the major browser releases to the speed test, but today we're measuring Chrome against the second beta of Internet Explorer 8, as well as the beta of Firefox 3's next iteration, 3.1."
  • Enable Chrome's Best Features in Firefox
    "Apart from a few specific issues (namely process management), many of Chrome's best features are already available in Firefox 3, proving yet again the power of extensibility."
  • Google Chrome First Look
    "New beta web browser Google Chrome officially hit the streets just a few minutes ago, and we've rolled up our sleeves and taken a quick look at everything the newest browser on the block has to offer."
  • Google Chrome's Full List of Special about: Pages
    "You already saw Google Chrome's humorous about:internets Easter egg, but Chrome's got several special about: pages that reveal all sorts of interesting information about what's going on behind the scenes."
  • Roll Your Own Lightning at Sunset Desktop
    "reader Kaelri's customized Windows XP desktop, pictured above, it drew oohs and ahhs from everyone looking to spruce up their Windows installation."
  • How to Set Up a Laptop Security System
    "As students flock back to the library and the rest of us head back to the coffee shop for a warm drink and free Wi-Fi, the safety and security of our laptops—and all of the important and sensitive information they hold—are of the utmost importance."
  • Back to School Power Tools for the Savvy Student
    "Before you head back to campus this semester, arm yourself with the most powerful software and webapps to keep you organized and on top of your class (and social) schedule."
  • Featured Desktop: Vista Transblack Head Up Display
    "If bright colors tire your eyes and distract you from the task at hand, check out how Windows user j33f darkens Vista and subtly embeds system monitoring details, RSS feeds, and currently playing music information into the desktop."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 29th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT

  The Lifehacker staff is pushing off a bit early this afternoon to get a head start on the holiday weekend. But don't forget: if you find yourself buried under a pile of unread Lifehacker posts, switch to our top stories feed to get the good stuff without any extras. To filter out topics you don't care about, you can also customize our feed URLs. Before you head out to enjoy your Labor Day weekend, get a load of this week's most-trafficked posts:

  • Useful Firefox 3 Configuration Tweaks
    "Firefox 3 comes with several preferences baked into its options dialogs, but there are still a few you can only access by rolling up your sleeves and digging into its configuration manually."
  • Battle of the Must-Have Firefox Extensions
    "Mozilla Labs crowned their picks of best new and updated Firefox 3 extensions in a recent contest, but what about best extensions of all time?"
  • Nine Things You Should Never Pay Full Price For
    "Personal finance writer Mary Hunt believes there are some things you should simply never pay full price for. Among them? Pets, cars, software and games."
  • Know What Salary to Ask For in Your New Job
    "Salary requirements is one of the very few questions guaranteed to come up during a job interview or screening process, as well as almost always cause some severe awkwardness on both sides."
  • Free Replacements for Paid Tools
    "There might be no such thing as truly free beer, but in the world of computers and software, you can often brew your own substitutes to premium paid software and service with just a few double-clicks and some know-how."
  • Expand Your Brain with Evernote
    "A new school year is just around the corner, but this semester you're looking for a safer way to enhance your brainpower than getting all hopped up on caffeine pills Jessie Spano-style."
  • Control Your Computer with Shortcuts to Common Windows Tasks
    "Many people don't realize that rather than installing dozens of applications, you can control nearly any aspect of your computer with simple shortcuts that don't take up any resources."
  • The Best Free Apps for Your Windows Mobile Device
    "Despite the flurry of attention surrounding the iPhone and other new mobile phone platforms, Windows Mobile still has a widespread distribution and capacity for customization."
  • Free Starbucks Recipes for DIY Coffee Drinks
    "If you've got weak defenses against Starbucks' frillier fare like frappuccinos, chai lattes, or even the ubiquitous pound cake, the Coffee Fair blog has an appealing weekend recipe project for you."
  • Free Alternatives to Replace Jott's Functions
    "When formerly-free phone-to-text service Jott announced they would start charging for its smartest functions this week, it caught a lot of fans by surprise."
  • Soup Up Your Homebrew-Hacked Wii
    "You've hacked your Wii to run homebrew apps and play back DVDs without any difficult hardware hacking and now you want to dive into more of your homebrew options."
  • Top 10 Calendar Tricks
    "Software and webapps rock at being calendars: You can update them from any computer or your phone, they don't have to triple-check when Columbus Day is, and they never get coffee stains on them."
  • Five Best Password Managers
    "You've got enough to keep track of in your day-to-day life without filling your head with the countless logins and passwords you've racked up over the years, and the Post-It note on your monitor just isn't an option."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 29th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT

  The Lifehacker staff is pushing off a bit early this afternoon to get a head start on the holiday weekend. But don't forget: if you find yourself buried under a pile of unread Lifehacker posts, switch to our top stories feed to get the good stuff without any extras. To filter out topics you don't care about, you can also customize our feed URLs. Before you head out to enjoy your Labor Day weekend, get a load of this week's most-trafficked posts:

  • Useful Firefox 3 Configuration Tweaks
    "Firefox 3 comes with several preferences baked into its options dialogs, but there are still a few you can only access by rolling up your sleeves and digging into its configuration manually."
  • Battle of the Must-Have Firefox Extensions
    "Mozilla Labs crowned their picks of best new and updated Firefox 3 extensions in a recent contest, but what about best extensions of all time?"
  • Nine Things You Should Never Pay Full Price For
    "Personal finance writer Mary Hunt believes there are some things you should simply never pay full price for. Among them? Pets, cars, software and games."
  • Know What Salary to Ask For in Your New Job
    "Salary requirements is one of the very few questions guaranteed to come up during a job interview or screening process, as well as almost always cause some severe awkwardness on both sides."
  • Free Replacements for Paid Tools
    "There might be no such thing as truly free beer, but in the world of computers and software, you can often brew your own substitutes to premium paid software and service with just a few double-clicks and some know-how."
  • Expand Your Brain with Evernote
    "A new school year is just around the corner, but this semester you're looking for a safer way to enhance your brainpower than getting all hopped up on caffeine pills Jessie Spano-style."
  • Control Your Computer with Shortcuts to Common Windows Tasks
    "Many people don't realize that rather than installing dozens of applications, you can control nearly any aspect of your computer with simple shortcuts that don't take up any resources."
  • The Best Free Apps for Your Windows Mobile Device
    "Despite the flurry of attention surrounding the iPhone and other new mobile phone platforms, Windows Mobile still has a widespread distribution and capacity for customization."
  • Free Starbucks Recipes for DIY Coffee Drinks
    "If you've got weak defenses against Starbucks' frillier fare like frappuccinos, chai lattes, or even the ubiquitous pound cake, the Coffee Fair blog has an appealing weekend recipe project for you."
  • Free Alternatives to Replace Jott's Functions
    "When formerly-free phone-to-text service Jott announced they would start charging for its smartest functions this week, it caught a lot of fans by surprise."
  • Soup Up Your Homebrew-Hacked Wii
    "You've hacked your Wii to run homebrew apps and play back DVDs without any difficult hardware hacking and now you want to dive into more of your homebrew options."
  • Top 10 Calendar Tricks
    "Software and webapps rock at being calendars: You can update them from any computer or your phone, they don't have to triple-check when Columbus Day is, and they never get coffee stains on them."
  • Five Best Password Managers
    "You've got enough to keep track of in your day-to-day life without filling your head with the countless logins and passwords you've racked up over the years, and the Post-It note on your monitor just isn't an option."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 22nd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's adding to a case of information overload, skip the extras and get right to the good stuff with our top stories feed. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Hack Your Wii for Homebrew Apps and DVD Playback
    "Despite the fact that it ships with a DVD drive, for whatever godforsaken reason, the Nintendo Wii doesn't support DVD playback—until last week, that is, when a homebrew hacker released a tool that enables DVD playback on your Wii."
  • Top 10 YouTube Hacks
    "Summer's ending, and with it goes a certain sense of taking it easier, relaxing a bit at the office—you know, caching up on all that YouTube browsing you skip when there's real work to be done."
  • Five Best FTP Clients
    "Whether you do you work on the web, run a home FTP server, or you just prefer a quick download from time to time, a solid, full-featured FTP client can be lifesaver."
  • Email Innovations You Want in Your Inbox
    "The basics of how email works hasn't changed much since its invention, but even forty years later, there are still tiny features and enhancements that can make dealing with large volumes of email easier."
  • Back Up and Sync Your Cell Phone with BitPim
    "The multi-tool of phone data, BitPim, is a free, open-source, cross-platform solution that can back up all or most of your phone's data, put your home-baked ringtones on your phone for free, and sync calendars and contacts between your apps and your vanilla phone."
  • Gmail Superstars and Quick Links Make a Killer To-Do List
    "We've already shown you how to use Gmail Superstars and Gmail Quick Links—both exclusive features of previously mentioned Gmail Labs—and now reader Alex McRoberts details how he uses the two excellent features to turn his Gmail account into a killer to-do list manager."
  • Mygazines Offers Full Magazine Scans Online
    "Browse any of a number of popular magazines for free—from Macworld and PC World to Cosmopolitan and Men's Health—at web site Mygazines."
  • Executor Is Impressive, Full-Featured App Launcher
    "Windows only: Free application Executor is an application launcher very similar in look and feel to Lifehacker reader's favorite application launcher, Launchy. In fact, after a bit of testing Executor might have just snagged Launchy's place as the app launcher of choice on my Windows machine."
  • Drink Delicious Water with a Reverse Osmosis Filter
    "After years of tap water, I'd finally had enough of drinking water that tasted like it had been skimmed from the pool of the local YMCA."
  • CircleDock Surrounds Your Mouse with Files, Folders, and Shortcuts
    "Windows only: Free application CircleDock automatically puts files, folders, and shortcuts within a few pixels of your mouse when you invoke it for quick action. CircleDock is completely customizable, from the skin and hotkey to the items you place in the dock."
  • Rotate Desktop Backgrounds in Ubuntu
    "I get bored with my desktop wallpaper pretty easily, especially in Ubuntu Linux, where it's nearly the only thing on my desktop."
  • Mozilla Crowns Best Firefox 3 Extensions
    "Mozilla Labs announces the winners of their official Extend Firefox 3 Contest, and they're an impressive crop of new and updated extensions for your favorite browser."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 22nd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's adding to a case of information overload, skip the extras and get right to the good stuff with our top stories feed. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Hack Your Wii for Homebrew Apps and DVD Playback
    "Despite the fact that it ships with a DVD drive, for whatever godforsaken reason, the Nintendo Wii doesn't support DVD playback—until last week, that is, when a homebrew hacker released a tool that enables DVD playback on your Wii."
  • Top 10 YouTube Hacks
    "Summer's ending, and with it goes a certain sense of taking it easier, relaxing a bit at the office—you know, caching up on all that YouTube browsing you skip when there's real work to be done."
  • Five Best FTP Clients
    "Whether you do you work on the web, run a home FTP server, or you just prefer a quick download from time to time, a solid, full-featured FTP client can be lifesaver."
  • Email Innovations You Want in Your Inbox
    "The basics of how email works hasn't changed much since its invention, but even forty years later, there are still tiny features and enhancements that can make dealing with large volumes of email easier."
  • Back Up and Sync Your Cell Phone with BitPim
    "The multi-tool of phone data, BitPim, is a free, open-source, cross-platform solution that can back up all or most of your phone's data, put your home-baked ringtones on your phone for free, and sync calendars and contacts between your apps and your vanilla phone."
  • Gmail Superstars and Quick Links Make a Killer To-Do List
    "We've already shown you how to use Gmail Superstars and Gmail Quick Links—both exclusive features of previously mentioned Gmail Labs—and now reader Alex McRoberts details how he uses the two excellent features to turn his Gmail account into a killer to-do list manager."
  • Mygazines Offers Full Magazine Scans Online
    "Browse any of a number of popular magazines for free—from Macworld and PC World to Cosmopolitan and Men's Health—at web site Mygazines."
  • Executor Is Impressive, Full-Featured App Launcher
    "Windows only: Free application Executor is an application launcher very similar in look and feel to Lifehacker reader's favorite application launcher, Launchy. In fact, after a bit of testing Executor might have just snagged Launchy's place as the app launcher of choice on my Windows machine."
  • Drink Delicious Water with a Reverse Osmosis Filter
    "After years of tap water, I'd finally had enough of drinking water that tasted like it had been skimmed from the pool of the local YMCA."
  • CircleDock Surrounds Your Mouse with Files, Folders, and Shortcuts
    "Windows only: Free application CircleDock automatically puts files, folders, and shortcuts within a few pixels of your mouse when you invoke it for quick action. CircleDock is completely customizable, from the skin and hotkey to the items you place in the dock."
  • Rotate Desktop Backgrounds in Ubuntu
    "I get bored with my desktop wallpaper pretty easily, especially in Ubuntu Linux, where it's nearly the only thing on my desktop."
  • Mozilla Crowns Best Firefox 3 Extensions
    "Mozilla Labs announces the winners of their official Extend Firefox 3 Contest, and they're an impressive crop of new and updated extensions for your favorite browser."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 15th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker posts overwhelming your feed reader? Subscribe to our top stories feed for all the good stuff without the extras. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 How To Videos
    "Your crafty older relatives used to have to mail-order their video tutorials or wait for "This Old House" reruns to get their DIY on, but the age of streaming video has been good to those who like to tinker and try out neat tricks."
  • iPhone 2.0 Jailbreak Apps You Can't Find in the iTunes Store
    "The iTunes' App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users hundreds of applications to install on their devices, but power users who want functionality above and beyond what Apple's SDK allows still want to jailbreak their device."
  • Google Redesigned Facelifts Gmail and GCal
    "All platforms with Firefox: Globex Designs, makers of the popular Gmail Redesigned skin, have released a standalone Firefox extension which applies the style without Stylish (or Better Gmail and/or Better GCal)."
  • Turn Your iPhone or iPod Touch Into a Multi-Room Wireless Music Remote
    "For a cool $1000, you can buy the Sonos Bundle 150 and wirelessly play music from a single remote control in two separate rooms in your house. On the other hand, for about $100 or less if you've already got the right equipment, you can get the same functionality from your iPhone or iPod touch."
  • Battle of the Media Collection Managers
    "When you've accumulated shelves full of DVDs and you want to track what's what—and which one you've loaned out to your pals and how long ago—a media collection manager is just the ticket."
  • Miro is Your TiVo for Internet Video
    "In the dog days of summer when there's absolutely nothing new on television (except the Olympics), it's time to start watching the web—and you need the right tool to do just that."
  • IKEA Laptop Stand and Organizer
    "Reader moritzvd repurposed a $20 Mackis CD storage drawer from IKEA into a killer laptop stand, organizer, and desktop declutterer."
  • Linux Desktops Dressed Up as Macs
    "Several Linux users in the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr group are showing off their Ubuntu Hardy Heron desktops—dressed up as a Mac."
  • Pwnage Tool 2.0.2 Jailbreaks iPhone 2.0.1 Software
    "Mac only: The iPhone 2.0 jailbreak utility for Mac, PwnageTool, has just been updated to accommodate the latest iPhone software update from Apple."
  • Five Best Desktop Search Applications
    "As hard drives grow ever cheaper and capacious, keeping track of every file single file is a job suited to no one."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 15th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker posts overwhelming your feed reader? Subscribe to our top stories feed for all the good stuff without the extras. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Top 10 How To Videos
    "Your crafty older relatives used to have to mail-order their video tutorials or wait for "This Old House" reruns to get their DIY on, but the age of streaming video has been good to those who like to tinker and try out neat tricks."
  • iPhone 2.0 Jailbreak Apps You Can't Find in the iTunes Store
    "The iTunes' App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users hundreds of applications to install on their devices, but power users who want functionality above and beyond what Apple's SDK allows still want to jailbreak their device."
  • Google Redesigned Facelifts Gmail and GCal
    "All platforms with Firefox: Globex Designs, makers of the popular Gmail Redesigned skin, have released a standalone Firefox extension which applies the style without Stylish (or Better Gmail and/or Better GCal)."
  • Turn Your iPhone or iPod Touch Into a Multi-Room Wireless Music Remote
    "For a cool $1000, you can buy the Sonos Bundle 150 and wirelessly play music from a single remote control in two separate rooms in your house. On the other hand, for about $100 or less if you've already got the right equipment, you can get the same functionality from your iPhone or iPod touch."
  • Battle of the Media Collection Managers
    "When you've accumulated shelves full of DVDs and you want to track what's what—and which one you've loaned out to your pals and how long ago—a media collection manager is just the ticket."
  • Miro is Your TiVo for Internet Video
    "In the dog days of summer when there's absolutely nothing new on television (except the Olympics), it's time to start watching the web—and you need the right tool to do just that."
  • IKEA Laptop Stand and Organizer
    "Reader moritzvd repurposed a $20 Mackis CD storage drawer from IKEA into a killer laptop stand, organizer, and desktop declutterer."
  • Linux Desktops Dressed Up as Macs
    "Several Linux users in the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr group are showing off their Ubuntu Hardy Heron desktops—dressed up as a Mac."
  • Pwnage Tool 2.0.2 Jailbreaks iPhone 2.0.1 Software
    "Mac only: The iPhone 2.0 jailbreak utility for Mac, PwnageTool, has just been updated to accommodate the latest iPhone software update from Apple."
  • Five Best Desktop Search Applications
    "As hard drives grow ever cheaper and capacious, keeping track of every file single file is a job suited to no one."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 8th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's daily post count's got you scrambling to keep up, subscribe to our less-frequent, cream of the crop top stories feed. Don't want to see Windows downloads, or iPhone posts, or Olympics posts? Here's how to tweak our URLs to exclude topics you're not interested in. This week's most popular posts include:
  

  • Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths
    "As a tech writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is the plethora of bad advice littered across almost every web site dedicated to system tweaking."
  • Top 10 Conversation Hacks
    "A whole lot more than just words passes between people who are talking, so a few simple conversational skills can help you recognize what's really being said and help you lead the discussion your way."
  • Forget the iPhone—The iPod Touch is Good Enough
    "Back in June 2007, I couldn't convince my wife that checking my email in grocery lines was worth $1,320—the cost of an original iPhone and one year of the cheapest plan."
  • Aurora Concept Video Proposes the Future of the Web
    "What will browsing the web be like a decade from now? Leading design and UI company Adaptive Path offers one possible answer in a new concept video series called Aurora."
  • How Dr. Horrible's Felicia Day Gets Things Done
    "Whether she's appearing on a prime time TV show, gracing the silver screen, or writing, producing, and starring in her own hit web series, there's no shortage of things to keep actress and gamer Felicia Day busy."
  • Microsoft's Advice on How to Speed Up Vista
    "If your Vista PC isn't as speedy as you'd like, straight from the horse's mouth comes a 14-page PDF document on Vista Performance and Tuning."
  • Five Best To-Do List Managers
    "If all the methodology of the best GTD applications loses you in the productivity shuffle, there's nothing like a classic, simple to-do list to keep you on track."
  • Philipp Lenssen's Top Google Apps Tips
    "Author of the new O'Reilly book, Google Apps Hacks, Lenssen takes some time out of his busy schedule today to share some of his best tips for using Google Apps from Gmail to web search to Google Docs."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 8th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's daily post count's got you scrambling to keep up, subscribe to our less-frequent, cream of the crop top stories feed. Don't want to see Windows downloads, or iPhone posts, or Olympics posts? Here's how to tweak our URLs to exclude topics you're not interested in. This week's most popular posts include:
  

  • Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths
    "As a tech writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is the plethora of bad advice littered across almost every web site dedicated to system tweaking."
  • Top 10 Conversation Hacks
    "A whole lot more than just words passes between people who are talking, so a few simple conversational skills can help you recognize what's really being said and help you lead the discussion your way."
  • Forget the iPhone—The iPod Touch is Good Enough
    "Back in June 2007, I couldn't convince my wife that checking my email in grocery lines was worth $1,320—the cost of an original iPhone and one year of the cheapest plan."
  • Aurora Concept Video Proposes the Future of the Web
    "What will browsing the web be like a decade from now? Leading design and UI company Adaptive Path offers one possible answer in a new concept video series called Aurora."
  • How Dr. Horrible's Felicia Day Gets Things Done
    "Whether she's appearing on a prime time TV show, gracing the silver screen, or writing, producing, and starring in her own hit web series, there's no shortage of things to keep actress and gamer Felicia Day busy."
  • Microsoft's Advice on How to Speed Up Vista
    "If your Vista PC isn't as speedy as you'd like, straight from the horse's mouth comes a 14-page PDF document on Vista Performance and Tuning."
  • Five Best To-Do List Managers
    "If all the methodology of the best GTD applications loses you in the productivity shuffle, there's nothing like a classic, simple to-do list to keep you on track."
  • Philipp Lenssen's Top Google Apps Tips
    "Author of the new O'Reilly book, Google Apps Hacks, Lenssen takes some time out of his busy schedule today to share some of his best tips for using Google Apps from Gmail to web search to Google Docs."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 1st, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker spews out information faster than you can read it, consider switching to our trimmed-down Top stories feed for a handful of our best posts per day. To customize what topics you do and don't see on these pages, check out how to get only the posts you want. Before you head out to happy hour, get a load of this week's most popular posts:

  • The Lifehacker Editors' Favorite Software and Hardware
    "Lifehacker readers range from the complete newbie to the most seasoned techie, but where do the Lifehacker editors stand? We polled our own editors for the computer hardware and applications they swear by and we're breaking it down for you here."
  • Top 10 Command Line Tools
    "When you need something done quickly, efficiently, and without any software overhead, the command line is where it's at."
  • How to Sync Any Desktop Calendar with Google Calendar
    "As of yesterday's announcement of CalDAV support in Google Calendar, you can now sync your Google Calendar with virtually any popular desktop calendar for free."
  • Power Up Windows Explorer with Free Add-ons
    "When moving, copying, pasting, browsing, and getting information about your files feels like tedious work—and it can in the feature-sparse Windows Explorer—you need some power add-ons that can help."
  • Skip Business School and Get Your "Personal MBA"
    "Self-educator Josh Kaufman says you can bypass business school and earn a 'Personal MBA' by reading the best books in business—and he offers 77 of his picks."
  • Five Best Note-Taking Tools
    "Despite the wealth of information a Google search box puts at our fingertips, good old-fashioned note-taking is still one of the best ways to build a personal knowledge database."
  • Cuil Search Engine Out to Challenge Google
    "Ex-Google employees unveil a new search engine today out to challenge their former employer: Cuil, pronounced 'cool,' launches with 120 billion web pages in its index."
  • Gallery of Nature-Themed Desktop Wallpaper
    "The Using Mac blog posts a selection of 50 beautiful nature-themed desktop wallpaper images that will work on any system."
  • How Coverville's Brian Ibbott Gets Things Done
    "Podcaster Brian Ibbott has turned out Coverville, a 40-minute podcast of cover songs and commentary, three times a week since September 2004, with only a few misses here and there."
  • Give Tech Support or Grab Files Remotely on any System
    "Whether you're missing a crucial file at work or home, or you just need to tweak one little setting to get Mom's email working again, having remote control of another desktop can be seriously handy."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 1st, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker spews out information faster than you can read it, consider switching to our trimmed-down Top stories feed for a handful of our best posts per day. To customize what topics you do and don't see on these pages, check out how to get only the posts you want. Before you head out to happy hour, get a load of this week's most popular posts:

  • The Lifehacker Editors' Favorite Software and Hardware
    "Lifehacker readers range from the complete newbie to the most seasoned techie, but where do the Lifehacker editors stand? We polled our own editors for the computer hardware and applications they swear by and we're breaking it down for you here."
  • Top 10 Command Line Tools
    "When you need something done quickly, efficiently, and without any software overhead, the command line is where it's at."
  • How to Sync Any Desktop Calendar with Google Calendar
    "As of yesterday's announcement of CalDAV support in Google Calendar, you can now sync your Google Calendar with virtually any popular desktop calendar for free."
  • Power Up Windows Explorer with Free Add-ons
    "When moving, copying, pasting, browsing, and getting information about your files feels like tedious work—and it can in the feature-sparse Windows Explorer—you need some power add-ons that can help."
  • Skip Business School and Get Your "Personal MBA"
    "Self-educator Josh Kaufman says you can bypass business school and earn a 'Personal MBA' by reading the best books in business—and he offers 77 of his picks."
  • Five Best Note-Taking Tools
    "Despite the wealth of information a Google search box puts at our fingertips, good old-fashioned note-taking is still one of the best ways to build a personal knowledge database."
  • Cuil Search Engine Out to Challenge Google
    "Ex-Google employees unveil a new search engine today out to challenge their former employer: Cuil, pronounced 'cool,' launches with 120 billion web pages in its index."
  • Gallery of Nature-Themed Desktop Wallpaper
    "The Using Mac blog posts a selection of 50 beautiful nature-themed desktop wallpaper images that will work on any system."
  • How Coverville's Brian Ibbott Gets Things Done
    "Podcaster Brian Ibbott has turned out Coverville, a 40-minute podcast of cover songs and commentary, three times a week since September 2004, with only a few misses here and there."
  • Give Tech Support or Grab Files Remotely on any System
    "Whether you're missing a crucial file at work or home, or you just need to tweak one little setting to get Mom's email working again, having remote control of another desktop can be seriously handy."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: July 25th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If any of Lifehacker's best posts this week passed you by, catch up with a quick recap:

  • Jailbreak iPhone 2.0 with PwnageTool
    "When you don't want to depend solely on the official App Store to get your iPhone 2.0 applications, you want to jailbreak your iPhone or iPod touch—and less than two weeks after the iPhone 2.0 launch, it's easier than ever to do with your new device."
  • The Best Tech Tools and Fitness Plans to Get in Shape
    "If there's one thing geeks and non-geeks alike all share, it's an aversion to exercise. No matter how much you'd like to slim your waistline and lose the belly, it's difficult to find a workout routine that not only works, but one that fits your needs and is easy to stick to."
  • Get Your Computer Online Using Your iPhone's Data Connection
    "The best way to put your newly jailbroken iPhone 2.0 to good use is to turn it into a cellphone modem for your laptop."
  • Top 10 Printable Paper Productivity Tools
    "There's a reason there's still so much paper around in this hyper-connected, everything-online age: the stuff is cheap, portable, compatible with all your applications, and everyone masters the interface by the time they're out of the first grade."
  • Six "Junk" Foods That Aren't All That Bad
    "Men's Health magazine brings in diet doctor Jeff Volek to point out how six much-maligned snacks or drinks—sour cream, alcohol, and, seriously, pork rinds among them—can, in certain cases, be not quite such a bad snack idea."
  • Would a Prettier Linux Make You Switch?
    "Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth (who we interviewed last year) announced that he's out to make Linux a better-looking operating system than Mac OS X—within two years."
  • DVD Catalyst Rips DVDs to Friendly Formats in One Click
    "Windows only: Free application DVD Catalyst Free rips videos from DVDs to device-friendly formats for your iPod, iPhone, PSP, PS3, Xbox, smartphone, and more in one simple click."
  • Five Best Alternative File Managers
    "If you're any sort of power user, you've bumped up against the limitations of your operating system's default file manager on countless occasions."
  • Outlook vs. Gmail—The Definitive Comparison
    "Gmail launched in 2004 and has matured each year, but Microsoft Outlook (with Exchange) is still the most popular tool for accessing email. Comparing the two side by side, is it time to jump ship from either platform?"

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: July 25th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If any of Lifehacker's best posts this week passed you by, catch up with a quick recap:

  • Jailbreak iPhone 2.0 with PwnageTool
    "When you don't want to depend solely on the official App Store to get your iPhone 2.0 applications, you want to jailbreak your iPhone or iPod touch—and less than two weeks after the iPhone 2.0 launch, it's easier than ever to do with your new device."
  • The Best Tech Tools and Fitness Plans to Get in Shape
    "If there's one thing geeks and non-geeks alike all share, it's an aversion to exercise. No matter how much you'd like to slim your waistline and lose the belly, it's difficult to find a workout routine that not only works, but one that fits your needs and is easy to stick to."
  • Get Your Computer Online Using Your iPhone's Data Connection
    "The best way to put your newly jailbroken iPhone 2.0 to good use is to turn it into a cellphone modem for your laptop."
  • Top 10 Printable Paper Productivity Tools
    "There's a reason there's still so much paper around in this hyper-connected, everything-online age: the stuff is cheap, portable, compatible with all your applications, and everyone masters the interface by the time they're out of the first grade."
  • Six "Junk" Foods That Aren't All That Bad
    "Men's Health magazine brings in diet doctor Jeff Volek to point out how six much-maligned snacks or drinks—sour cream, alcohol, and, seriously, pork rinds among them—can, in certain cases, be not quite such a bad snack idea."
  • Would a Prettier Linux Make You Switch?
    "Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth (who we interviewed last year) announced that he's out to make Linux a better-looking operating system than Mac OS X—within two years."
  • DVD Catalyst Rips DVDs to Friendly Formats in One Click
    "Windows only: Free application DVD Catalyst Free rips videos from DVDs to device-friendly formats for your iPod, iPhone, PSP, PS3, Xbox, smartphone, and more in one simple click."
  • Five Best Alternative File Managers
    "If you're any sort of power user, you've bumped up against the limitations of your operating system's default file manager on countless occasions."
  • Outlook vs. Gmail—The Definitive Comparison
    "Gmail launched in 2004 and has matured each year, but Microsoft Outlook (with Exchange) is still the most popular tool for accessing email. Comparing the two side by side, is it time to jump ship from either platform?"

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: July 18th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Subscribe to our top stories feed to get only our best posts without the extras on a daily basis. This week's most popular posts include:

  • One Hundred Push Ups Takes You from Zero to a Hundred in Six Weeks
    "Web site One Hundred Push Ups details a training plan for going from 0 to 100 push-ups in a matter of six weeks."
  • Top 10 Computer Annoyances and How to Fix Them
    "Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, but too much of the time they can be frustrating, time-wasting, stubborn machines."
  • Set Up Push Email, Contacts, and Calendar on Your iPhone for Free
    "One of the coolest features available in the new iPhone 2.0 software update is the ability to get new email messages, contacts, and calendar events pushed to your device automatically."
  • Why You're Better Off Avoiding the iPhone
    "If you're a free software lover who's concerned about your privacy and the limitations of DRM, you don't want an iPhone."
  • Are You Living Beyond Your Means?
    "Claiming personal savings rates are the lowest they've been since the Great Depression, Yahoo Finance sets out to identify five signs that you're living beyond your means."
  • Twenty Healthy Foods that Cost $1 or Less
    "Grocery shopping hasn't been getting any cheaper lately, and the rising costs of fresh food in particular might lead some frugal buyers to be tempted by processed foods and supposedly "cheap" snacks."
  • Boost Your Brainstorming Session with MindMeister
    "Jotting a simple list is a great way to brainstorm, but when you want to visualize, organize, and untangle a deep set of ideas, you want a mind map. Web-based mind mapping tool MindMeister offers a simple interface to create mind maps collaboratively or on the go."
  • Five Best Windows Backup Tools
    "Your data is your life, and if you're not backing it up regularly, you're flirting with disaster."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: July 18th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Subscribe to our top stories feed to get only our best posts without the extras on a daily basis. This week's most popular posts include:

  • One Hundred Push Ups Takes You from Zero to a Hundred in Six Weeks
    "Web site One Hundred Push Ups details a training plan for going from 0 to 100 push-ups in a matter of six weeks."
  • Top 10 Computer Annoyances and How to Fix Them
    "Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, but too much of the time they can be frustrating, time-wasting, stubborn machines."
  • Set Up Push Email, Contacts, and Calendar on Your iPhone for Free
    "One of the coolest features available in the new iPhone 2.0 software update is the ability to get new email messages, contacts, and calendar events pushed to your device automatically."
  • Why You're Better Off Avoiding the iPhone
    "If you're a free software lover who's concerned about your privacy and the limitations of DRM, you don't want an iPhone."
  • Are You Living Beyond Your Means?
    "Claiming personal savings rates are the lowest they've been since the Great Depression, Yahoo Finance sets out to identify five signs that you're living beyond your means."
  • Twenty Healthy Foods that Cost $1 or Less
    "Grocery shopping hasn't been getting any cheaper lately, and the rising costs of fresh food in particular might lead some frugal buyers to be tempted by processed foods and supposedly "cheap" snacks."
  • Boost Your Brainstorming Session with MindMeister
    "Jotting a simple list is a great way to brainstorm, but when you want to visualize, organize, and untangle a deep set of ideas, you want a mind map. Web-based mind mapping tool MindMeister offers a simple interface to create mind maps collaboratively or on the go."
  • Five Best Windows Backup Tools
    "Your data is your life, and if you're not backing it up regularly, you're flirting with disaster."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: July 11th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Happy Friday y'all! Before you head out into your weekend, make sure you didn't miss any of the good stuff published here this week:

  • Do More Than Just Game on Your Xbox 360
    "With some free tools and a little elbow grease, that compact, networked PC sitting under your television can offer a whole lot of useful media functionality."
  • Top 10 Modern Life Survival Skills
    "Avoid everyday problems and modern mini-calamities by arming yourself with the right know-how before you head out into the world."
  • What's Good (and Free!) in the iTunes App Store
    "More than 550 new applications arrived for the iPhone and iPod touch this morning in iTunes' brand new App Store and more than 130 of them are available for free."
  • "Better" Firefox Extension Updates Now Available
    "Spent the long weekend posting a rash of 'Better' extension updates that add features, fix bugs, and offer full Firefox 3 compatibility."
  • iTunes 7.7 Now Available For Download
    "Apple just made the latest version of iTunes 7.7 available for download and it includes the newly-opened iTunes App Store, which is available for iPhone users who have the iPhone 2.0 Software Update."
  • iPhone 2.0 Update to Add Polish (and Apps)
    "If you've already got an iPhone or an iPod touch and you aren't planning to buy the new iPhone 3G, you've still got goodies coming your way from Apple this week."
  • Kid-Proof Your PC with SteadyState
    "When you've got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don't want to lose all your painstaking customizations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue system-lousing program."
  • Are You a Productivity Hobbyist?
    "Let's face it: if you've spent much time in the productivity blogosphere, then 100 more motivation hacks, 50 more Firefox plug-ins, and additional GTD system tweaks probably aren't going to make you that much more productive."
  • Better Amazon Firefox Extension Upgrades Amazon.com
    "Save time shopping at Amazon.com with the new Better Amazon Firefox extension, which adds helpful tweaks and features to Amazon's pages."
  • How Priorities Make Things Happen
    "Prioritization is always more emotional than intellectual, despite what people say."
  • Get Productive with Social Media (and Stay Sane)
    "Social media is the equivalent of digital food. It's nourishing, tasty and, for many of us, necessary. However, consume too much and you can get sidetracked and create larger consequences."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: July 11th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Happy Friday y'all! Before you head out into your weekend, make sure you didn't miss any of the good stuff published here this week:

  • Do More Than Just Game on Your Xbox 360
    "With some free tools and a little elbow grease, that compact, networked PC sitting under your television can offer a whole lot of useful media functionality."
  • Top 10 Modern Life Survival Skills
    "Avoid everyday problems and modern mini-calamities by arming yourself with the right know-how before you head out into the world."
  • What's Good (and Free!) in the iTunes App Store
    "More than 550 new applications arrived for the iPhone and iPod touch this morning in iTunes' brand new App Store and more than 130 of them are available for free."
  • "Better" Firefox Extension Updates Now Available
    "Spent the long weekend posting a rash of 'Better' extension updates that add features, fix bugs, and offer full Firefox 3 compatibility."
  • iTunes 7.7 Now Available For Download
    "Apple just made the latest version of iTunes 7.7 available for download and it includes the newly-opened iTunes App Store, which is available for iPhone users who have the iPhone 2.0 Software Update."
  • iPhone 2.0 Update to Add Polish (and Apps)
    "If you've already got an iPhone or an iPod touch and you aren't planning to buy the new iPhone 3G, you've still got goodies coming your way from Apple this week."
  • Kid-Proof Your PC with SteadyState
    "When you've got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don't want to lose all your painstaking customizations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue system-lousing program."
  • Are You a Productivity Hobbyist?
    "Let's face it: if you've spent much time in the productivity blogosphere, then 100 more motivation hacks, 50 more Firefox plug-ins, and additional GTD system tweaks probably aren't going to make you that much more productive."
  • Better Amazon Firefox Extension Upgrades Amazon.com
    "Save time shopping at Amazon.com with the new Better Amazon Firefox extension, which adds helpful tweaks and features to Amazon's pages."
  • How Priorities Make Things Happen
    "Prioritization is always more emotional than intellectual, despite what people say."
  • Get Productive with Social Media (and Stay Sane)
    "Social media is the equivalent of digital food. It's nourishing, tasty and, for many of us, necessary. However, consume too much and you can get sidetracked and create larger consequences."

• 

  Most Popular Posts of 2008 (So Far)

  Posted: July 4th, 2008, 8:00am EDT

  The Lifehacker editorial staff is taking a break from posting today to celebrate Independence Day here in the U.S. While we're off amusing ourselves with sparklers, check out the most popular posts that have been published in the first half of 2008. Back tomorrow.

  • Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required
    "Now you can install Leopard on your computer about as easily as installing Leopard on a Mac—no command line hacking required."
  • The 20 Best iPhone and iPod touch Applications
    "Today I'm taking a look at my 20 favorite (that's right, 20) third-party iPhone and iPod touch apps."
  • Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks
    "Dozens of Google search guides detail the tips you already know, but today we're skipping the obvious and highlighting our favorite obscure Google web search tricks."
  • Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks
    "Since the dawn of time, geeks have been playing harmless pranks on their beloved (but unsuspecting) associates, and it's up to all of us to carry the torch forward."
  • Turn Your $60 Router into a User-Friendly Super-Router with Tomato
    "Tomato does almost everything DD-WRT does—from Wi-Fi signal boosting to Quality of Service bandwidth allocation—in addition to offering a simplified interface chock-full of fancy charts and graphs."
  • Turn Your Point-and-Shoot into a Super-Camera
    "If you're using a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you've got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box."
  • Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone
    "Today I'm going to show you how to make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch or iPhone using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP."
  • Five Best Instant Messengers
    "From web-based chat to desktop clients to tools that combine IM, email, and social networking, your nominations spanned a wide range of instant messaging applications."
  • Top 10 BitTorrent Tools and Tricks
    "BitTorrent is the go-to resource for downloading everything from music and movies to software and operating systems, but as its popularity continues to grow, so do the number of tools available for making the most of it."
  • Top 10 Software Easter Eggs
    "Sure we like our chocolate bunny ears, but around these parts the best easter eggs aren't painted pink and stuffed with jelly beans—they're the undocumented and unexpected fun features hidden deep inside various software apps."
  • Power User's Guide to Firefox 3
    "You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new features, but now it's time to dig deep and unearth the shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter eggs that Mozilla marketing doesn't mention."

• 

  Most Popular Posts of 2008 (So Far)

  Posted: July 4th, 2008, 8:00am EDT

  The Lifehacker editorial staff is taking a break from posting today to celebrate Independence Day here in the U.S. While we're off amusing ourselves with sparklers, check out the most popular posts that have been published in the first half of 2008. Back tomorrow.

  • Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required
    "Now you can install Leopard on your computer about as easily as installing Leopard on a Mac—no command line hacking required."
  • The 20 Best iPhone and iPod touch Applications
    "Today I'm taking a look at my 20 favorite (that's right, 20) third-party iPhone and iPod touch apps."
  • Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks
    "Dozens of Google search guides detail the tips you already know, but today we're skipping the obvious and highlighting our favorite obscure Google web search tricks."
  • Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks
    "Since the dawn of time, geeks have been playing harmless pranks on their beloved (but unsuspecting) associates, and it's up to all of us to carry the torch forward."
  • Turn Your $60 Router into a User-Friendly Super-Router with Tomato
    "Tomato does almost everything DD-WRT does—from Wi-Fi signal boosting to Quality of Service bandwidth allocation—in addition to offering a simplified interface chock-full of fancy charts and graphs."
  • Turn Your Point-and-Shoot into a Super-Camera
    "If you're using a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you've got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box."
  • Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone
    "Today I'm going to show you how to make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch or iPhone using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP."
  • Five Best Instant Messengers
    "From web-based chat to desktop clients to tools that combine IM, email, and social networking, your nominations spanned a wide range of instant messaging applications."
  • Top 10 BitTorrent Tools and Tricks
    "BitTorrent is the go-to resource for downloading everything from music and movies to software and operating systems, but as its popularity continues to grow, so do the number of tools available for making the most of it."
  • Top 10 Software Easter Eggs
    "Sure we like our chocolate bunny ears, but around these parts the best easter eggs aren't painted pink and stuffed with jelly beans—they're the undocumented and unexpected fun features hidden deep inside various software apps."
  • Power User's Guide to Firefox 3
    "You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new features, but now it's time to dig deep and unearth the shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter eggs that Mozilla marketing doesn't mention."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 27th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Remember kids, if Lifehacker's hitting your newsreader a little too hard, you can trim the fat and see only a handful of our best posts using the Top stories feed. This week's most popular posts include:
  

  • Turn Your Xbox 360 into a Streaming Netflix Player
    "Netflix subscribers, if you've got an Xbox 360 and a Windows Vista PC, you don't have to shell out $99 for Roku's Netflix Player box to get your Watch Instantly library on your TV screen—you already have everything you need."
  • Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money
    "Good money management is a mental exercise in self-regulation and focusing on the long-term goal, even when you're sure you just can't go on another day without buying that Kindle or MacBook."
  • Functional Firefox User Styles
    "Now that you've been running Firefox 3 for almost a week, it's time customize its interface to your liking with a few great user styles."
  • Extreme Lifehacker Home Office Makeover
    "When my messy home office got so cluttered I couldn't get anything done in it, it was time to take action—and I turned to Lifehacker for advice."
  • Tweak Firefox to Display Richer Colors
    "If the digital photo you just uploaded looks washed out on Flickr compared to in your desktop image editor, that's because Firefox 3's advanced color profile support isn't turned on."
  • Multi-Monitor Home-built Desk for Two
    "Reader Jeremy shares his gorgeous and functional workspace in our Workspace Show and Tell Flickr photo group. He's rocking three monitors and two operating systems, and instead of buying a desk he opted to build one that seats himself and his wife."
  • Five Best Desktop Media Players
    "You've collected hundreds of thousands of megabytes (and maybe even gigabytes) of digital music and video in the past 10 years, and as your media library has grown, so has the necessity for finding the perfect desktop media player."
  • Find Album Art at AllCDCovers
    "Web-based album art library and search engine AllCDCovers just may have the missing art you've been looking to fill in your digital music collection."
  • Five Ways To Keep Your Car Running At Peak Fuel Efficiency
    "We've put together a quick list of five basics from Jalopnik's How To series, ranked from easiest to most difficult, that can help any vehicle owner squeeze a few extra MPG (Miles Per Gallon) out of their daily driver."
  • Run Windows Apps in Linux with Wine 1.0
    "No matter how easy Linux distributions make it for newcomers to install and use a free, open-source operating system, nearly everyone has at least one program that only works in Windows."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 27th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Remember kids, if Lifehacker's hitting your newsreader a little too hard, you can trim the fat and see only a handful of our best posts using the Top stories feed. This week's most popular posts include:
  

  • Turn Your Xbox 360 into a Streaming Netflix Player
    "Netflix subscribers, if you've got an Xbox 360 and a Windows Vista PC, you don't have to shell out $99 for Roku's Netflix Player box to get your Watch Instantly library on your TV screen—you already have everything you need."
  • Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money
    "Good money management is a mental exercise in self-regulation and focusing on the long-term goal, even when you're sure you just can't go on another day without buying that Kindle or MacBook."
  • Functional Firefox User Styles
    "Now that you've been running Firefox 3 for almost a week, it's time customize its interface to your liking with a few great user styles."
  • Extreme Lifehacker Home Office Makeover
    "When my messy home office got so cluttered I couldn't get anything done in it, it was time to take action—and I turned to Lifehacker for advice."
  • Tweak Firefox to Display Richer Colors
    "If the digital photo you just uploaded looks washed out on Flickr compared to in your desktop image editor, that's because Firefox 3's advanced color profile support isn't turned on."
  • Multi-Monitor Home-built Desk for Two
    "Reader Jeremy shares his gorgeous and functional workspace in our Workspace Show and Tell Flickr photo group. He's rocking three monitors and two operating systems, and instead of buying a desk he opted to build one that seats himself and his wife."
  • Five Best Desktop Media Players
    "You've collected hundreds of thousands of megabytes (and maybe even gigabytes) of digital music and video in the past 10 years, and as your media library has grown, so has the necessity for finding the perfect desktop media player."
  • Find Album Art at AllCDCovers
    "Web-based album art library and search engine AllCDCovers just may have the missing art you've been looking to fill in your digital music collection."
  • Five Ways To Keep Your Car Running At Peak Fuel Efficiency
    "We've put together a quick list of five basics from Jalopnik's How To series, ranked from easiest to most difficult, that can help any vehicle owner squeeze a few extra MPG (Miles Per Gallon) out of their daily driver."
  • Run Windows Apps in Linux with Wine 1.0
    "No matter how easy Linux distributions make it for newcomers to install and use a free, open-source operating system, nearly everyone has at least one program that only works in Windows."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 20th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's post count has your info overload-o-meter pegged at 100%, try out our top stories feed for only a handful of our best posts on a daily basis. You can also avoid certain types of posts—like Windows downloads—by tweaking our URLs. Here are this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Power User's Guide to Firefox 3
    "You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new features, but now it's time to dig deep and unearth the shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter eggs that Mozilla marketing doesn't mention."
  • The History of Firefox 1.0 to 3.0 in Screenshots
    "Mozilla released Firefox version 1.0 to relative obscurity in November of 2004, and four short years later, the much-anticipated Firefox 3.0 will hit the streets with ambitions of setting a new world record tomorrow."
  • Top 10 Apps Worth Installing Adobe AIR For
    "Adobe AIR, a downloadable platform for running web-friendly apps on any operating system, is still pretty fresh on the market, but it already has a healthy number of applications in development or near completion."
  • Speed Testing the Latest Web Browsers
    "We ran the latest editions of Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera 9.5, and Safari for Windows through some unscientific but highly geeky tests ourselves on a plain old Windows computer. Take a look at the full (and somewhat unexpected) results."
  • How to Make Windows Vista Less Annoying
    "Whether it's the nagging prompts or the irritating notifications, Windows Vista's default settings can grate on your nerves... which doesn't help you be the productive person you want to be."
  • Google Browser Sync Discontinued, No Firefox 3 Support
    "It was a tough call, but we decided to phase out support for Browser Sync."
  • Five Best Personal Finance Tools
    "Whether you've got an investment portfolio the size of Texas or you're just trying to keep a balanced checkbook, nothing's more useful than a well made personal finance application."
  • The Browser Stopwatch Speed-Tests Page Load
    "The Webmonkey site offers a snippet of JavaScript that lets you speed-test your browser yourself, and we've modified it and created a bookmarklet from it so you can do your own tests."
  • Four Extensions That Tweak Firefox 3's "AwesomeBar"
    "There aren't a whole lot of ways to configure the Smart Location bar in Firefox 3's default options dialog—but there are a few new Firefox extensions that can do it for you."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 20th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's post count has your info overload-o-meter pegged at 100%, try out our top stories feed for only a handful of our best posts on a daily basis. You can also avoid certain types of posts—like Windows downloads—by tweaking our URLs. Here are this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Power User's Guide to Firefox 3
    "You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new features, but now it's time to dig deep and unearth the shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter eggs that Mozilla marketing doesn't mention."
  • The History of Firefox 1.0 to 3.0 in Screenshots
    "Mozilla released Firefox version 1.0 to relative obscurity in November of 2004, and four short years later, the much-anticipated Firefox 3.0 will hit the streets with ambitions of setting a new world record tomorrow."
  • Top 10 Apps Worth Installing Adobe AIR For
    "Adobe AIR, a downloadable platform for running web-friendly apps on any operating system, is still pretty fresh on the market, but it already has a healthy number of applications in development or near completion."
  • Speed Testing the Latest Web Browsers
    "We ran the latest editions of Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera 9.5, and Safari for Windows through some unscientific but highly geeky tests ourselves on a plain old Windows computer. Take a look at the full (and somewhat unexpected) results."
  • How to Make Windows Vista Less Annoying
    "Whether it's the nagging prompts or the irritating notifications, Windows Vista's default settings can grate on your nerves... which doesn't help you be the productive person you want to be."
  • Google Browser Sync Discontinued, No Firefox 3 Support
    "It was a tough call, but we decided to phase out support for Browser Sync."
  • Five Best Personal Finance Tools
    "Whether you've got an investment portfolio the size of Texas or you're just trying to keep a balanced checkbook, nothing's more useful than a well made personal finance application."
  • The Browser Stopwatch Speed-Tests Page Load
    "The Webmonkey site offers a snippet of JavaScript that lets you speed-test your browser yourself, and we've modified it and created a bookmarklet from it so you can do your own tests."
  • Four Extensions That Tweak Firefox 3's "AwesomeBar"
    "There aren't a whole lot of ways to configure the Smart Location bar in Firefox 3's default options dialog—but there are a few new Firefox extensions that can do it for you."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 13th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If we're putting out content faster than you can mark it as read in your feedreader, consider grabbing the top stories feed instead—for just the good tips without any fluff. This week's most popular posts include:

  • How to Recover Deleted Files with Free Software
    "Ack! The computer ate my term paper! We've all been there at some point. You delete an important file, somehow it skips your Recycle Bin altogether, and for all practical purposes, it's disappeared into the ether."
  • Three Awesome Experimental Firefox Extensions
    "While scouring the far corners of the internet, we often run across tools that look great but come up just short of making the cut for a post..."
  • FireNes Brings 2000 NES Games to Your Browser
    "Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): The FireNes Firefox extension integrates over 2000 old-school NES games with your favorite browser."
  • iPhone 3G and MobileMe: Our Thoughts and Yours
    "Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced several new Apple products and developments today—most notably, what we can expect from the iPhone 2.0 firmware, the new .Mac replacement MobileMe, and, of course, the new 3G iPhone."
  • Easy Ways to Save Money on Gas
    "The U.S. national average gas price is now up to $4 a gallon, so unless you live in one of the few metropolitan areas that have a robust public transit system, you've likely already spent a whole lot of coin on fuel this year."
  • Top 10 Useful Bookmarklets
    "Having a good set of bookmarklets on your browser's toolbar is like having a web-savvy Leatherman handy—you can take them anywhere, use them in many situations, and they just simply work."
  • Best Online Language Tools for Word Nerds
    "When you need a word's definition, translation, pronunciation, synonym, or antonym, you don't have to haul an enormous tome from the bookshelf, dust it off, and ruffle through its delicate pages like your grandparents used to do—you can just hop on the internet."
  • Eat Better with the 125 Healthiest Supermarket Foods
    "Men's Health has rounded up 125 of the healthiest supermarket foods in America by category."
  • Five Best Photo Sharing Web Sites
    "The first consumer-priced, one-megapixel digital cameras hit the streets just over 10 years ago, and today digital cameras are everywhere—hell, one megapixel is tiny for even our cell phone cameras."
  • Build Your Own Wire Photo Wall
    "For under 20 bucks, using some wire, black card stock, and mini binder clips, it's easy to create your own wire photo hanger."
  • Run Xbox Media Center from a USB Drive
    "LiveXBMC, a blend of the XBMC and Ubuntu Linux, lets you do all the same big-screen media playing, file sharing, DVD ripping, and other media center goodness without installing a thing, but with saved settings."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 13th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If we're putting out content faster than you can mark it as read in your feedreader, consider grabbing the top stories feed instead—for just the good tips without any fluff. This week's most popular posts include:

  • How to Recover Deleted Files with Free Software
    "Ack! The computer ate my term paper! We've all been there at some point. You delete an important file, somehow it skips your Recycle Bin altogether, and for all practical purposes, it's disappeared into the ether."
  • Three Awesome Experimental Firefox Extensions
    "While scouring the far corners of the internet, we often run across tools that look great but come up just short of making the cut for a post..."
  • FireNes Brings 2000 NES Games to Your Browser
    "Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): The FireNes Firefox extension integrates over 2000 old-school NES games with your favorite browser."
  • iPhone 3G and MobileMe: Our Thoughts and Yours
    "Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced several new Apple products and developments today—most notably, what we can expect from the iPhone 2.0 firmware, the new .Mac replacement MobileMe, and, of course, the new 3G iPhone."
  • Easy Ways to Save Money on Gas
    "The U.S. national average gas price is now up to $4 a gallon, so unless you live in one of the few metropolitan areas that have a robust public transit system, you've likely already spent a whole lot of coin on fuel this year."
  • Top 10 Useful Bookmarklets
    "Having a good set of bookmarklets on your browser's toolbar is like having a web-savvy Leatherman handy—you can take them anywhere, use them in many situations, and they just simply work."
  • Best Online Language Tools for Word Nerds
    "When you need a word's definition, translation, pronunciation, synonym, or antonym, you don't have to haul an enormous tome from the bookshelf, dust it off, and ruffle through its delicate pages like your grandparents used to do—you can just hop on the internet."
  • Eat Better with the 125 Healthiest Supermarket Foods
    "Men's Health has rounded up 125 of the healthiest supermarket foods in America by category."
  • Five Best Photo Sharing Web Sites
    "The first consumer-priced, one-megapixel digital cameras hit the streets just over 10 years ago, and today digital cameras are everywhere—hell, one megapixel is tiny for even our cell phone cameras."
  • Build Your Own Wire Photo Wall
    "For under 20 bucks, using some wire, black card stock, and mini binder clips, it's easy to create your own wire photo hanger."
  • Run Xbox Media Center from a USB Drive
    "LiveXBMC, a blend of the XBMC and Ubuntu Linux, lets you do all the same big-screen media playing, file sharing, DVD ripping, and other media center goodness without installing a thing, but with saved settings."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 6th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's post volume has you decluttering your feedreader's productivity folder more than actually getting things done, try subscribing to our no-frills top stories feed for the best posts without any extras. This week's most popular posts are:
  

  • Top 10 Office Supply Hacks
    "Given some spare time and a few neglected items in the office supply closet, anyone can make their workspace more functional, create a cool tools for their home and office, and even rescue seemingly ruined stuff."
  • Five Secret Japanese Tricks to Make Life Better
    "When it comes to life and getting things done, we like to do things a little differently in Japan."
  • iPhone Apps Worth Jailbreaking For
    "By this time next week, major iPhone announcements will probably make jailbreaking your iPhone or iPod touch unnecessary to run third-party applications—but right now you can get some killer features on your device by unlocking it the unofficial way."
  • Five Best Antivirus Applications
    "The internet is a glorious and exciting world, but unless you're properly protected with a good antivirus application, it can also be a dangerous one."
  • Recover Lost Passwords with Free Tools
    "ACCESS DENIED. Those two bone-chilling words are the last thing you want to see when you're trying to log into a system or open a file, but they're not necessarily a dead end. Several free tools can help you find lost passwords you can't remember or that your computer has saved but obscured."
  • Defrag Your Office for Increased Efficiency
    "One of the side effects of having so much stuff to help us get work done is dealing with the clutter it creates in our workspace."
  • Build Your Own $150 PC
    "Wired's How-To Wiki runs down how to put together your own PC on the cheap with Linux for $150 (mouse, keyboard, and monitor not included)."
  • Gmail Gets 13 Experimental New Features
    "Once your Gmail account is Labs-enabled, you'll get a Labs tab in the Settings area of your account where you can enable 13 new experimental Gmail features, including signature tweaks, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and even a game."
  • How Your Location-Aware iPhone Will Change Your Life
    "There's a lot of speculation as to what we can expect from next week's iPhone announcements, but there's one thing you can be sure of: The iPhone's location-aware features will change your life."
  • Copy Music from Your iPhone or iPod to Your Computer for Free
    "Whether you're a Windows user looking to yank tunes from an iPhone, a Mac fan backing up an iPod classic, or a Linux enthusiast trying to get into your new nano, we've got you covered."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: June 6th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's post volume has you decluttering your feedreader's productivity folder more than actually getting things done, try subscribing to our no-frills top stories feed for the best posts without any extras. This week's most popular posts are:
  

  • Top 10 Office Supply Hacks
    "Given some spare time and a few neglected items in the office supply closet, anyone can make their workspace more functional, create a cool tools for their home and office, and even rescue seemingly ruined stuff."
  • Five Secret Japanese Tricks to Make Life Better
    "When it comes to life and getting things done, we like to do things a little differently in Japan."
  • iPhone Apps Worth Jailbreaking For
    "By this time next week, major iPhone announcements will probably make jailbreaking your iPhone or iPod touch unnecessary to run third-party applications—but right now you can get some killer features on your device by unlocking it the unofficial way."
  • Five Best Antivirus Applications
    "The internet is a glorious and exciting world, but unless you're properly protected with a good antivirus application, it can also be a dangerous one."
  • Recover Lost Passwords with Free Tools
    "ACCESS DENIED. Those two bone-chilling words are the last thing you want to see when you're trying to log into a system or open a file, but they're not necessarily a dead end. Several free tools can help you find lost passwords you can't remember or that your computer has saved but obscured."
  • Defrag Your Office for Increased Efficiency
    "One of the side effects of having so much stuff to help us get work done is dealing with the clutter it creates in our workspace."
  • Build Your Own $150 PC
    "Wired's How-To Wiki runs down how to put together your own PC on the cheap with Linux for $150 (mouse, keyboard, and monitor not included)."
  • Gmail Gets 13 Experimental New Features
    "Once your Gmail account is Labs-enabled, you'll get a Labs tab in the Settings area of your account where you can enable 13 new experimental Gmail features, including signature tweaks, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and even a game."
  • How Your Location-Aware iPhone Will Change Your Life
    "There's a lot of speculation as to what we can expect from next week's iPhone announcements, but there's one thing you can be sure of: The iPhone's location-aware features will change your life."
  • Copy Music from Your iPhone or iPod to Your Computer for Free
    "Whether you're a Windows user looking to yank tunes from an iPhone, a Mac fan backing up an iPod classic, or a Linux enthusiast trying to get into your new nano, we've got you covered."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 30th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  TGIF, people! Before you head out to happy hour, get a load of this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Read Full Magazines for Free, With or Without an iPhone
    "Digital magazine provider Zinio offers up the current issues of 20 magazines—including Popular Mechanics, PC Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report—for free full-page browsing by iPhone users."
  • Do More with Your Webcam with Free Tools
    "The webcam that came packaged with your computer system can do a whole lot more than just let you video chat. With the right tools, you can turn your webcam into a watchful surveillance tool, a face recognition-enabled computer login utility, a time-lapse movie-maker, and more."
  • Top 10 Additions to Your Phone's Contact List
    "Nearly every new webapp on the block offers some kind of text message integration, but not all of them are the kind you'll want to keep on every phone you own."
  • Five Best Start Pages
    "Whether you use it to keep up to date on the latest news or as a launching point for the rest of your browsing, you want to find a solid start page to fit your surfing habits."
  • Protect Your Stolen Mobile Phone
    "You've synced your email, address book, and calendar to your fancy smartphone, which has internet access, photos, and videos on it, too—but how do you keep a thief from ringing up your bill, or worse, stealing your identity using your phone?"
  • Dual Boot or Run Windows in a Virtual Machine?
    "I know I can either dual boot Windows with Boot Camp, or run Windows on my Mac with virtualization software like VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Which is better?"
  • Enable Google Contact Sync Without an iPhone or iPod Touch
    "If you don't have an iPhone or iPod touch, unlocking Google contact sync isn't worth paying hundreds of dollars for the device. A simple system tweak can turn it on for you."
  • Track Your Fitness Progress with Free Tools
    "You don't need to plunk down $90 for a Wii Fit to track your progress toward a healthier body—even if that downhill skiing game looks mighty fun. If you're trying to curb unnecessary calories and stick to an exercise plan, there are tons of free applications that want to see you succeed."
  • Become the Memorial Day Grill Master
    "Memorial Day marks the start of the serious grilling season, and there's no better weekend to try your hand at outdoor cooking, or bolster your established grill master game."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 30th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  TGIF, people! Before you head out to happy hour, get a load of this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Read Full Magazines for Free, With or Without an iPhone
    "Digital magazine provider Zinio offers up the current issues of 20 magazines—including Popular Mechanics, PC Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report—for free full-page browsing by iPhone users."
  • Do More with Your Webcam with Free Tools
    "The webcam that came packaged with your computer system can do a whole lot more than just let you video chat. With the right tools, you can turn your webcam into a watchful surveillance tool, a face recognition-enabled computer login utility, a time-lapse movie-maker, and more."
  • Top 10 Additions to Your Phone's Contact List
    "Nearly every new webapp on the block offers some kind of text message integration, but not all of them are the kind you'll want to keep on every phone you own."
  • Five Best Start Pages
    "Whether you use it to keep up to date on the latest news or as a launching point for the rest of your browsing, you want to find a solid start page to fit your surfing habits."
  • Protect Your Stolen Mobile Phone
    "You've synced your email, address book, and calendar to your fancy smartphone, which has internet access, photos, and videos on it, too—but how do you keep a thief from ringing up your bill, or worse, stealing your identity using your phone?"
  • Dual Boot or Run Windows in a Virtual Machine?
    "I know I can either dual boot Windows with Boot Camp, or run Windows on my Mac with virtualization software like VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Which is better?"
  • Enable Google Contact Sync Without an iPhone or iPod Touch
    "If you don't have an iPhone or iPod touch, unlocking Google contact sync isn't worth paying hundreds of dollars for the device. A simple system tweak can turn it on for you."
  • Track Your Fitness Progress with Free Tools
    "You don't need to plunk down $90 for a Wii Fit to track your progress toward a healthier body—even if that downhill skiing game looks mighty fun. If you're trying to curb unnecessary calories and stick to an exercise plan, there are tons of free applications that want to see you succeed."
  • Become the Memorial Day Grill Master
    "Memorial Day marks the start of the serious grilling season, and there's no better weekend to try your hand at outdoor cooking, or bolster your established grill master game."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 23rd, 2008, 2:00pm EDT

  We're quitting early this pre-Memorial Day Friday to preheat the grill and stock up on hamburger buns, but before we go, get a load of this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Top 10 Firefox 3 Features
    "The newest version of our favorite open source web browser, Mozilla Firefox 3, offers dozens of new features and fixes, but only a handful will make the most dramatic difference in your everyday browsing."
  • Learn to Play an Instrument Online
    "Chances are at one point or another, you've either purchased an instrument or considered doing so with the intention of learning to play it; most of us, however, never get around the learning part."
  • Five Extensions You Won't Need with Firefox 3
    "Now that Mozilla's locked down Firefox 3's feature set, it's clear the new browser iteration will render some extensions obsolete. Firefox 3 will include functionality out-of-the-box that you could only get with add-ons before."
  • Firefox 3 On Track To Be Speediest Browser
    "It's official: while Firefox 3 boasts some great new features like a smart address bar and better bookmarks manager, the best reason to upgrade will be for the performance improvements."
  • Best Free Ways to Protect Your Private Files
    "When you're saving sensitive files on your computer meant for your eyes only, make sure you've got the right tools on hand to keep them private."
  • How to Turn $450 a Month into $1 Million
    "If you started investing $448 a month at 30 years old, Yahoo Finance says that a reasonable 8% return would put your savings over the million dollar mark in 35 years. The problem, of course, is finding that extra $450."
  • Control Your PC with Your Voice
    "You've been talking to (or screaming at) your Windows PC for years, but unless you were willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on pricey software, chances are it wasn't listening to a word you were saying."
  • Set Firefox 3 to Launch Gmail for mailto Links
    "In Firefox 3, you won't need any special toolbars, third-party apps, Greasemonkey scripts, or extensions to get Firefox to use webapps to open certain types of links."
  • Best Application Launchers
    "Your Start menu and Applications folder are growing larger and harder to navigate every day, but with a solid application launcher at your side, you'll never notice."
  • Fedora 9 Puts Your Desktop on a USB Drive
    "This week's release of the Fedora 9 Linux distribution makes putting a full-fledged desktop on a portable USB thumb drive a three-click affair."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 23rd, 2008, 2:00pm EDT

  We're quitting early this pre-Memorial Day Friday to preheat the grill and stock up on hamburger buns, but before we go, get a load of this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Top 10 Firefox 3 Features
    "The newest version of our favorite open source web browser, Mozilla Firefox 3, offers dozens of new features and fixes, but only a handful will make the most dramatic difference in your everyday browsing."
  • Learn to Play an Instrument Online
    "Chances are at one point or another, you've either purchased an instrument or considered doing so with the intention of learning to play it; most of us, however, never get around the learning part."
  • Five Extensions You Won't Need with Firefox 3
    "Now that Mozilla's locked down Firefox 3's feature set, it's clear the new browser iteration will render some extensions obsolete. Firefox 3 will include functionality out-of-the-box that you could only get with add-ons before."
  • Firefox 3 On Track To Be Speediest Browser
    "It's official: while Firefox 3 boasts some great new features like a smart address bar and better bookmarks manager, the best reason to upgrade will be for the performance improvements."
  • Best Free Ways to Protect Your Private Files
    "When you're saving sensitive files on your computer meant for your eyes only, make sure you've got the right tools on hand to keep them private."
  • How to Turn $450 a Month into $1 Million
    "If you started investing $448 a month at 30 years old, Yahoo Finance says that a reasonable 8% return would put your savings over the million dollar mark in 35 years. The problem, of course, is finding that extra $450."
  • Control Your PC with Your Voice
    "You've been talking to (or screaming at) your Windows PC for years, but unless you were willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on pricey software, chances are it wasn't listening to a word you were saying."
  • Set Firefox 3 to Launch Gmail for mailto Links
    "In Firefox 3, you won't need any special toolbars, third-party apps, Greasemonkey scripts, or extensions to get Firefox to use webapps to open certain types of links."
  • Best Application Launchers
    "Your Start menu and Applications folder are growing larger and harder to navigate every day, but with a solid application launcher at your side, you'll never notice."
  • Fedora 9 Puts Your Desktop on a USB Drive
    "This week's release of the Fedora 9 Linux distribution makes putting a full-fledged desktop on a portable USB thumb drive a three-click affair."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 16th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Wrap your Friday with a quick recap of our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Get Vista's Best Features in XP
    "Despite the fact that most of you prefer XP to Vista and would rather Microsoft extended XP's shelf-life, several new and improved features available in Vista would be great to have in XP."
  • Top 10 Things You Forgot Your Mac Can Do
    "Macs may be more expensive, and Mac users more elitist (ahem), but blind Apple loyalty aside, there are a number of neat features bundled into your Mac that make it super useful and fun."
  • XBMC Turns Your Mac into the Ultimate Media Center
    "You don't have to mod your classic Xbox to run the best free media center application around anymore: Dedicated developers have ported the Xbox Media Center (XBMC) software to the Mac, and its killer features will convince you to abandon Front Row forever."
  • Slim Down Your Wallet with Your Phone
    "Blogger Albert Alberts loves a slim wallet, and after reading over some of our wallet-slimming tips, he realized he had a powerful wallet-slimming tool in his pocket all the time: his iPhone."
  • Handle a Traffic Stop and Avoid Your Ticket
    "Car and Driver magazine knows a thing or two about getting pulled over, so they asked seven state troopers from across the country what they want and don't want from you, the driver, during a routine traffic stop."
  • DExposE2 Like Mac Expose but Better
    "Windows only: Freeware application DExposE2 is a clone of Mac OS X's Expose feature for Windows XP and Vista."
  • How to Cram All Your Travel Gear in One Bag
    "Now that most of the major airlines have begun charging an extra fee for checking a second bag, National Public Radio's All Things Considered tackles the art of one-bag packing, interviewing Doug Dyment, owner of previously mentioned OneBag.com."
  • Do You Still Use Browser Bookmarks?
    "In the age of social bookmarking and blogs, old fashioned browser bookmarks (or 'Favorites,' as Internet Explorer refers to them) are teetering on the edge of obsolete."
  • Hive Five: Best RSS Newsreaders
    "On Tuesday you nominated your favorite RSS newsreaders, and over 400 comments later, we're back with your top five choices."
  • Sync Your iPhone Wirelessly in Linux
    "Apple may open up its iPhone and iPod touch devices to third-party apps next month, but the chances that Linux users will get invited to the party are slim at best."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 16th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Wrap your Friday with a quick recap of our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Get Vista's Best Features in XP
    "Despite the fact that most of you prefer XP to Vista and would rather Microsoft extended XP's shelf-life, several new and improved features available in Vista would be great to have in XP."
  • Top 10 Things You Forgot Your Mac Can Do
    "Macs may be more expensive, and Mac users more elitist (ahem), but blind Apple loyalty aside, there are a number of neat features bundled into your Mac that make it super useful and fun."
  • XBMC Turns Your Mac into the Ultimate Media Center
    "You don't have to mod your classic Xbox to run the best free media center application around anymore: Dedicated developers have ported the Xbox Media Center (XBMC) software to the Mac, and its killer features will convince you to abandon Front Row forever."
  • Slim Down Your Wallet with Your Phone
    "Blogger Albert Alberts loves a slim wallet, and after reading over some of our wallet-slimming tips, he realized he had a powerful wallet-slimming tool in his pocket all the time: his iPhone."
  • Handle a Traffic Stop and Avoid Your Ticket
    "Car and Driver magazine knows a thing or two about getting pulled over, so they asked seven state troopers from across the country what they want and don't want from you, the driver, during a routine traffic stop."
  • DExposE2 Like Mac Expose but Better
    "Windows only: Freeware application DExposE2 is a clone of Mac OS X's Expose feature for Windows XP and Vista."
  • How to Cram All Your Travel Gear in One Bag
    "Now that most of the major airlines have begun charging an extra fee for checking a second bag, National Public Radio's All Things Considered tackles the art of one-bag packing, interviewing Doug Dyment, owner of previously mentioned OneBag.com."
  • Do You Still Use Browser Bookmarks?
    "In the age of social bookmarking and blogs, old fashioned browser bookmarks (or 'Favorites,' as Internet Explorer refers to them) are teetering on the edge of obsolete."
  • Hive Five: Best RSS Newsreaders
    "On Tuesday you nominated your favorite RSS newsreaders, and over 400 comments later, we're back with your top five choices."
  • Sync Your iPhone Wirelessly in Linux
    "Apple may open up its iPhone and iPod touch devices to third-party apps next month, but the chances that Linux users will get invited to the party are slim at best."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 9th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Too busy for Lifehacker this week? We forgive you. Have a recap of this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Turn Your Point-and-Shoot into a Super-Camera
    "If you're using a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you've got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box."
  • Make Windows More Productive Without Installing a Thing
    "The most common complaint we get from Lifehacker readers in Windows IT lockdown is that the majority of our tips require installing third-party applications—which you can't do if you don't have the right permissions on your PC."
  • Best Online File Sharing Services
    "Whether you're trying to share megabytes worth of music with a friend or send an important document to a coworker, nothing outshines a fast, easy-to-use file-sharing service."
  • Determine If Your ISP is Throttling Your BitTorrent Traffic
    "Web application Glasnost simulates BitTorrent downloads on your computer to determine whether or not your internet service provider (ISP) is throttling your BitTorrent transfers."
  • Top 10 Tools to Get Blogging Done
    "Writing your blog should be a fun way to stretch your mind and stay connected to trends, friends, and the greater world, not another computer task that takes far too long to get done."
  • How Wil Wheaton Gets Things Done
    "In 1988, if you'd told my Star Trek-loving 12-year-old self that someday I'd get to meet Wil Wheaton—and that he'd know my name—my preteen head would have exploded."
  • How to Buy a Digital Camera and Ignore Expensive Hype
    "Wired's How-To Wiki takes a group-edited look at the digital camera market and how a newcomer (or, more likely at this point, a buyer replacing their first, outdated model) can parse all the features and statistics to come out with a reasonable bargain."
  • Creative Ways to Reuse "Disposable" Items
    "We asked earlier this week what disposable items you had found clever re-uses for, and the answers are in. Not surprisingly, some of you have some pretty crafty uses for household goods that usually end up at the curb."
  • Get 91% Off Microsoft Office Ultimate
    "A Microsoft student promotion that slashes 91% off a copy of Office Ultimate applies to anyone with a .edu email address—and most universities offer .edu addresses to their alumni for free."
  • Slipstream Service Pack 3 into Your Windows XP Installation CD
    "Next time you wipe your PC's hard drive clean and reinstall Windows with that old installation disc, you don't want to connect your fresh, unpatched and vulnerable system to the internet only to download 176 new updates from Microsoft."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 9th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Too busy for Lifehacker this week? We forgive you. Have a recap of this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Turn Your Point-and-Shoot into a Super-Camera
    "If you're using a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you've got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box."
  • Make Windows More Productive Without Installing a Thing
    "The most common complaint we get from Lifehacker readers in Windows IT lockdown is that the majority of our tips require installing third-party applications—which you can't do if you don't have the right permissions on your PC."
  • Best Online File Sharing Services
    "Whether you're trying to share megabytes worth of music with a friend or send an important document to a coworker, nothing outshines a fast, easy-to-use file-sharing service."
  • Determine If Your ISP is Throttling Your BitTorrent Traffic
    "Web application Glasnost simulates BitTorrent downloads on your computer to determine whether or not your internet service provider (ISP) is throttling your BitTorrent transfers."
  • Top 10 Tools to Get Blogging Done
    "Writing your blog should be a fun way to stretch your mind and stay connected to trends, friends, and the greater world, not another computer task that takes far too long to get done."
  • How Wil Wheaton Gets Things Done
    "In 1988, if you'd told my Star Trek-loving 12-year-old self that someday I'd get to meet Wil Wheaton—and that he'd know my name—my preteen head would have exploded."
  • How to Buy a Digital Camera and Ignore Expensive Hype
    "Wired's How-To Wiki takes a group-edited look at the digital camera market and how a newcomer (or, more likely at this point, a buyer replacing their first, outdated model) can parse all the features and statistics to come out with a reasonable bargain."
  • Creative Ways to Reuse "Disposable" Items
    "We asked earlier this week what disposable items you had found clever re-uses for, and the answers are in. Not surprisingly, some of you have some pretty crafty uses for household goods that usually end up at the curb."
  • Get 91% Off Microsoft Office Ultimate
    "A Microsoft student promotion that slashes 91% off a copy of Office Ultimate applies to anyone with a .edu email address—and most universities offer .edu addresses to their alumni for free."
  • Slipstream Service Pack 3 into Your Windows XP Installation CD
    "Next time you wipe your PC's hard drive clean and reinstall Windows with that old installation disc, you don't want to connect your fresh, unpatched and vulnerable system to the internet only to download 176 new updates from Microsoft."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 2nd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Before you finish your weekly review, clear off your desk, and pack up the old briefcase for the weekend, get a load of this week's most popular posts.
  

  • Superior Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software
    "It may be the year 2008, but a whole lot of sucktacular software still rears its ugly head on PC's everywhere, even when better-behaved options are freely available."
  • Top 10 Memory Hacks
    "Writing things down, on paper or on-screen, is the best way to make sure you remember important info and tasks, but sometimes you've got to rely on your plain old brain to keep essential data sorted and handy."
  • Do You Run Antivirus Software?
    "From the looks of our recent thread on software you should never install, several Lifehacker readers have given up on running antivirus software."
  • CCleaner 2.0 Decrapifies Your PC
    "Windows only: One of our favorite PC cleansers CCleaner (which stands for "Crap Cleaner") saw an upgrade this week."
  • Field Guide to Windows XP SP3
    "Windows XP Service Pack 3 officially hit Microsoft servers this morning, and although it won't be available through Windows Update today, it should be sometime soon."
  • Get Firefox's Best Features in Internet Explorer
    "You already know that Firefox is a superior web browser, but you still have to use Internet Explorer on a daily basis."
  • Best Text Editors
    "From managing our to-do lists and writing code to jotting ideas and keeping a grocery list, nothing beats a solid plain text editor."
  • Hardy Heron Makes Linux Worth Another Look
    "If you've flirted with the idea of switching your desktop operating system to Linux but never took the leap, the time is now. This week's release of Hardy Heron, an Ubuntu release that will be supported until 2011, offers a freer, more productive space for work and play than ever before."
  • Have Your Mac and Windows Too with Boot Camp
    "You can have both a Mac and a PC on a single computer, using Apple's new Boot Camp software."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: May 2nd, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  Before you finish your weekly review, clear off your desk, and pack up the old briefcase for the weekend, get a load of this week's most popular posts.
  

  • Superior Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software
    "It may be the year 2008, but a whole lot of sucktacular software still rears its ugly head on PC's everywhere, even when better-behaved options are freely available."
  • Top 10 Memory Hacks
    "Writing things down, on paper or on-screen, is the best way to make sure you remember important info and tasks, but sometimes you've got to rely on your plain old brain to keep essential data sorted and handy."
  • Do You Run Antivirus Software?
    "From the looks of our recent thread on software you should never install, several Lifehacker readers have given up on running antivirus software."
  • CCleaner 2.0 Decrapifies Your PC
    "Windows only: One of our favorite PC cleansers CCleaner (which stands for "Crap Cleaner") saw an upgrade this week."
  • Field Guide to Windows XP SP3
    "Windows XP Service Pack 3 officially hit Microsoft servers this morning, and although it won't be available through Windows Update today, it should be sometime soon."
  • Get Firefox's Best Features in Internet Explorer
    "You already know that Firefox is a superior web browser, but you still have to use Internet Explorer on a daily basis."
  • Best Text Editors
    "From managing our to-do lists and writing code to jotting ideas and keeping a grocery list, nothing beats a solid plain text editor."
  • Hardy Heron Makes Linux Worth Another Look
    "If you've flirted with the idea of switching your desktop operating system to Linux but never took the leap, the time is now. This week's release of Hardy Heron, an Ubuntu release that will be supported until 2011, offers a freer, more productive space for work and play than ever before."
  • Have Your Mac and Windows Too with Boot Camp
    "You can have both a Mac and a PC on a single computer, using Apple's new Boot Camp software."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 25th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT

  It's Friday and we're in love—with stopping this productivity madness and enjoying the weekend! Before you do, get a load of our most popular posts this week. (Remember, if Lifehacker's post volume is flooding your feedreader with unread items, subscribe to our trimmed-down, high-quality top stories feed.)
  

  • Easy Ways to Go Green with Your Computer
    "Not everyone can afford to install solar panels or get a new Prius this Earth Day, but there is one place you can go green without spending an arm and a leg or radically changing your lifestyle: your computer."
  • Top 10 Amazon Power Shopper Tools
    "You already love the one-stop convenience of shopping online at Amazon.com, but chances are you're not getting everything you can out of this feature-packed shopping engine."
  • Tweak Microsoft Outlook to Empty Your Inbox Faster
    "Microsoft Outlook is the company-issued email client at your place of employment, so like it or not, it's up to you to figure out how to manage your inbox, calendar, and task list every day using it."
  • Slim Down, Back Up, and Organize Your Wallet
    "If that big ol' bump on your butt is giving you back problems, it's time to reorganize your wallet."
  • Do You Delete or Archive More Gmail Messages?
    "Ever since they launched it without a Delete button, the folks at Google have been trying to convince Gmail users to archive their mail instead of trash it."
  • RegToy Tweaks Your PC Every Which Way
    "Free PC tweaking utility RegToy exposes all sorts of Windows settings that you'd normally have to dig into the registry to get to."
  • SuperMemo Helps You Remember Everything Before You Forget
    "Windows only: Remember everything you've learned using spaced repetition with SuperMemo."
  • Best Contact Management Applications
    "Your contact list is growing larger every day, and so are the number of email addresses, instant messaging handles, and phone numbers your contacts use."
  • Control and Grab Your Torrents From Anywhere with TorrentFlux
    "If you've got a Windows or Linux computer you keep on most of the time, a home server, or even hosted space, you can take control of your downloads remotely with TorrentFlux."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 25th, 2008, 9:00pm EDT

  It's Friday and we're in love—with stopping this productivity madness and enjoying the weekend! Before you do, get a load of our most popular posts this week. (Remember, if Lifehacker's post volume is flooding your feedreader with unread items, subscribe to our trimmed-down, high-quality top stories feed.)
  

  • Easy Ways to Go Green with Your Computer
    "Not everyone can afford to install solar panels or get a new Prius this Earth Day, but there is one place you can go green without spending an arm and a leg or radically changing your lifestyle: your computer."
  • Top 10 Amazon Power Shopper Tools
    "You already love the one-stop convenience of shopping online at Amazon.com, but chances are you're not getting everything you can out of this feature-packed shopping engine."
  • Tweak Microsoft Outlook to Empty Your Inbox Faster
    "Microsoft Outlook is the company-issued email client at your place of employment, so like it or not, it's up to you to figure out how to manage your inbox, calendar, and task list every day using it."
  • Slim Down, Back Up, and Organize Your Wallet
    "If that big ol' bump on your butt is giving you back problems, it's time to reorganize your wallet."
  • Do You Delete or Archive More Gmail Messages?
    "Ever since they launched it without a Delete button, the folks at Google have been trying to convince Gmail users to archive their mail instead of trash it."
  • RegToy Tweaks Your PC Every Which Way
    "Free PC tweaking utility RegToy exposes all sorts of Windows settings that you'd normally have to dig into the registry to get to."
  • SuperMemo Helps You Remember Everything Before You Forget
    "Windows only: Remember everything you've learned using spaced repetition with SuperMemo."
  • Best Contact Management Applications
    "Your contact list is growing larger every day, and so are the number of email addresses, instant messaging handles, and phone numbers your contacts use."
  • Control and Grab Your Torrents From Anywhere with TorrentFlux
    "If you've got a Windows or Linux computer you keep on most of the time, a home server, or even hosted space, you can take control of your downloads remotely with TorrentFlux."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 18th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

  It's Friday, people! Take your tax refund check and go have some fun this weekend. But first, treat yourself to some of our most popular posts of the week:

  • Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone
    "Today I'm going to show you how to make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch or iPhone using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP."
  • Five Best DVD Ripping Tools
    "Even those in-the-know find it difficult to keep up with the best tools to rip DVDs, especially in the face of increased copy protection."
  • Battle of the Notepad Alternatives
    "If you've done any more than cursory text editing using Windows' built-in Notepad application, you know that Notepad is at best sorely lacking in the features department and at worst downright buggy."
  • Top 10 Email Productivity Boosters
    "The first message one could consider email was sent more than 30 years ago, and that's probably when people began associating angst and uncertainty with the words 'Inbox' and 'unread messages.'"
  • Free Alternatives to the MacHeist Bundle
    "I'm rounding up no-cost alternatives to the current MacHeist bundle (minus the three games) that will give you most if not all of the functionality of their shareware counterparts for a grand total of $0."
  • DIY Two Dollar Laptop Stand
    "Build a lightweight, sturdy laptop stand for a measly two bucks using a couple of twisted wire easels he picked up from the local dollar store and a few common household items."
  • Analyze Your Email Usage with Mail Trends
    "When a flurry of new email snows you in within an hour of every inbox sweep, it's time to dig in and get to the source of your email traffic."
  • Stitch Photos Into Panoramas with Free Software
    "You can get decent photos out of a standard, consumer-grade digital camera, but a little post-processing can turn them into fantastic wide-angle landscapes."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 18th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

  It's Friday, people! Take your tax refund check and go have some fun this weekend. But first, treat yourself to some of our most popular posts of the week:

  • Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone
    "Today I'm going to show you how to make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch or iPhone using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP."
  • Five Best DVD Ripping Tools
    "Even those in-the-know find it difficult to keep up with the best tools to rip DVDs, especially in the face of increased copy protection."
  • Battle of the Notepad Alternatives
    "If you've done any more than cursory text editing using Windows' built-in Notepad application, you know that Notepad is at best sorely lacking in the features department and at worst downright buggy."
  • Top 10 Email Productivity Boosters
    "The first message one could consider email was sent more than 30 years ago, and that's probably when people began associating angst and uncertainty with the words 'Inbox' and 'unread messages.'"
  • Free Alternatives to the MacHeist Bundle
    "I'm rounding up no-cost alternatives to the current MacHeist bundle (minus the three games) that will give you most if not all of the functionality of their shareware counterparts for a grand total of $0."
  • DIY Two Dollar Laptop Stand
    "Build a lightweight, sturdy laptop stand for a measly two bucks using a couple of twisted wire easels he picked up from the local dollar store and a few common household items."
  • Analyze Your Email Usage with Mail Trends
    "When a flurry of new email snows you in within an hour of every inbox sweep, it's time to dig in and get to the source of your email traffic."
  • Stitch Photos Into Panoramas with Free Software
    "You can get decent photos out of a standard, consumer-grade digital camera, but a little post-processing can turn them into fantastic wide-angle landscapes."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 11th, 2008, 7:05pm EDT

  While you were off actually being productive this week, we were only writing about it. Have a recap of this week's most popular posts:

  • Top 10 Ways to Trick Out Your Desktop
    "For something that you look at every day of your working life, your computer desktop doesn't get as much attention as it deserves."
  • The Complete Field Guide to Testing Firefox 3
    "If you're sick of Firefox 2 eating up over a gigabyte of memory only to freeze up and crash, it may be time to move onto Firefox 3."
  • Consolidate Multiple Email Addresses with Gmail
    "Gmail is not only an email host, it's an email client, which can fetch mail from any number of external services and consolidate it all right there in your Gmail inbox."
  • Features Specific to the Mac (or PC)?
    "What can you do in Windows by default you can't do on the Mac?" (Editor: THE most civilized Mac vs PC debate on the web is right here, folks.)
  • Battle of the Designer Notebooks
    "Productivity enthusiasts love their overpriced designer notebooks, and being office supply fetishists ourselves, we've featured quite a few here."
  • Five Best GTD Applications
    "We put out our call for the best applications that help you practice the Getting Things Done productivity system, and from a mighty list of viable contenders, we've taken your votes and determined the five most popular of the bunch."
  • Create Distraction-Free, Customized Webapps with Prism
    "With the help of a few utilities, web applications in Prism can be just as convenient to launch and use as your standard-installation desktop programs."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 11th, 2008, 7:05pm EDT

  While you were off actually being productive this week, we were only writing about it. Have a recap of this week's most popular posts:

  • Top 10 Ways to Trick Out Your Desktop
    "For something that you look at every day of your working life, your computer desktop doesn't get as much attention as it deserves."
  • The Complete Field Guide to Testing Firefox 3
    "If you're sick of Firefox 2 eating up over a gigabyte of memory only to freeze up and crash, it may be time to move onto Firefox 3."
  • Consolidate Multiple Email Addresses with Gmail
    "Gmail is not only an email host, it's an email client, which can fetch mail from any number of external services and consolidate it all right there in your Gmail inbox."
  • Features Specific to the Mac (or PC)?
    "What can you do in Windows by default you can't do on the Mac?" (Editor: THE most civilized Mac vs PC debate on the web is right here, folks.)
  • Battle of the Designer Notebooks
    "Productivity enthusiasts love their overpriced designer notebooks, and being office supply fetishists ourselves, we've featured quite a few here."
  • Five Best GTD Applications
    "We put out our call for the best applications that help you practice the Getting Things Done productivity system, and from a mighty list of viable contenders, we've taken your votes and determined the five most popular of the bunch."
  • Create Distraction-Free, Customized Webapps with Prism
    "With the help of a few utilities, web applications in Prism can be just as convenient to launch and use as your standard-installation desktop programs."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 4th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  It's Friday and this week flew by so fast you're afraid you missed something good. Fear not, friend! We've got this week's best posts right here:

  • Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks
    "Since the dawn of time, geeks have been playing harmless pranks on their beloved (but unsuspecting) associates, and it's up to all of us to carry the torch forward."
  • Trim Down Windows to the Bare Essentials
    "When you're installing Windows in a virtual machine or on old, slow hardware, you want the leanest, meanest and fastest-running configuration possible."
  • Five Best Instant Messengers
    "On Tuesday we asked for your favorite instant messaging applications, and over 550 comments later, we've culled it down to the most popular five."
  • Seven Body Signs and Pains You Shouldn't Ignore
    "There are those who fear impending death at the slightest change in nasal congestion, and then there are those who constantly push abnormal aches and pains aside, hoping they'll just go away."
  • Darken Windows to Reduce Eye Strain
    "Reader David says that staring at the glowing box all day long is hard on his peepers, so he takes matters into his own hands."
  • Battle of the Human Accountant Versus TurboTax.com
    "It's that dreaded time of the year again, when that teetering pile of W-2 and 1099 forms haunt your dreams, and the perennial question gnaws at you: 'Should I do my taxes myself, or hire an accountant?'"
  • Darken Gmail with Gmail Redesigned
    "Firefox with Stylish: The Gmail Redesigned user style—which requires the Stylish extension to use—skins Gmail with an attractive, well laid-out, and completely overhauled look."
  • Impress Acquaintances, Get Free Drinks with These Bar Tricks
    "The Wired How-To Wiki takes on the age-old art of bar tricks, detailing several impressive and death-defying techniques for impressing and making good when you're out on the town this weekend."
  • Five Best Digital Photo Organizers
    "On Wednesday we asked you to tell us your favorite digital photo organizing software, and hundreds of you answered with passionate testimonies extolling the virtues of your application of choice."

  Don't forget that you can get Lifehacker's best stuff on a daily basis using our trimmed-down top stories feed.

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: April 4th, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  It's Friday and this week flew by so fast you're afraid you missed something good. Fear not, friend! We've got this week's best posts right here:

  • Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks
    "Since the dawn of time, geeks have been playing harmless pranks on their beloved (but unsuspecting) associates, and it's up to all of us to carry the torch forward."
  • Trim Down Windows to the Bare Essentials
    "When you're installing Windows in a virtual machine or on old, slow hardware, you want the leanest, meanest and fastest-running configuration possible."
  • Five Best Instant Messengers
    "On Tuesday we asked for your favorite instant messaging applications, and over 550 comments later, we've culled it down to the most popular five."
  • Seven Body Signs and Pains You Shouldn't Ignore
    "There are those who fear impending death at the slightest change in nasal congestion, and then there are those who constantly push abnormal aches and pains aside, hoping they'll just go away."
  • Darken Windows to Reduce Eye Strain
    "Reader David says that staring at the glowing box all day long is hard on his peepers, so he takes matters into his own hands."
  • Battle of the Human Accountant Versus TurboTax.com
    "It's that dreaded time of the year again, when that teetering pile of W-2 and 1099 forms haunt your dreams, and the perennial question gnaws at you: 'Should I do my taxes myself, or hire an accountant?'"
  • Darken Gmail with Gmail Redesigned
    "Firefox with Stylish: The Gmail Redesigned user style—which requires the Stylish extension to use—skins Gmail with an attractive, well laid-out, and completely overhauled look."
  • Impress Acquaintances, Get Free Drinks with These Bar Tricks
    "The Wired How-To Wiki takes on the age-old art of bar tricks, detailing several impressive and death-defying techniques for impressing and making good when you're out on the town this weekend."
  • Five Best Digital Photo Organizers
    "On Wednesday we asked you to tell us your favorite digital photo organizing software, and hundreds of you answered with passionate testimonies extolling the virtues of your application of choice."

  Don't forget that you can get Lifehacker's best stuff on a daily basis using our trimmed-down top stories feed.

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: March 28th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

  Need to tighten the valve on the Lifehacker post flow? Subscribe to our mean and lean top stories feed for only a handful of our bests posts each day. This week's most popular posts include:
  

  • Top 10 Software Easter Eggs
    "Sure we like our chocolate bunny ears, but around these parts the best easter eggs aren't painted pink and stuffed with jelly beans—they're the undocumented and unexpected fun features hidden deep inside various software apps."
  • Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster
    "Commercial DVDs are far too expensive to let scratches turn your video into a glorified coaster, but most people still don't back up their DVD collection. Once upon a time, the four to eight gigabyte footprint of a DVD on your hard drive was prohibitively large."
  • Caught Downloading Copyrighted Material—Now What?
    "Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from Cablevision (my ISP) saying that Paramount/Dreamworks had filed a complaint with them regarding my illegal download of one of their films."
  • Protect Your Privacy When Downloading
    "Whether you're downloading copyrighted material or not, no one likes to have their activities online monitored."
  • First Look at Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" Beta
    "Every six months when a new version of Ubuntu Linux gets released, long-time users and curious toe-dippers ask the same questions: 'What's new?'; 'Is it worth upgrading?'; and, 'Will my wireless card finally work with this version?'"
  • Free Ways to Synchronize Folders Between Computers
    "Nothing sucks worse than getting to the office in the morning and realizing you left the most recent copy of an important file—whether it's your to-do list or a PowerPoint presentation—on your home computer."
  • Reuse Another Computer's Windows XP Disc?
    "I have a Dell-branded Windows XP installation disc that came with one PC, and I was wondering—can I use it to format and install XP on another PC?"
  • Include Images in Craigslist Search Results
    "Firefox extension Craigslist Image Preview adds a thumbnail of the image(s) within a listing on Craigslist without requiring you to click through to the actual page."
  • Jailbreak Any iPhone or iPod Touch in 45 Seconds
    "By downloading and running one simple application, you could be up and running with a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch in just under a minute."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: March 28th, 2008, 8:00pm EDT

  Need to tighten the valve on the Lifehacker post flow? Subscribe to our mean and lean top stories feed for only a handful of our bests posts each day. This week's most popular posts include:
  

  • Top 10 Software Easter Eggs
    "Sure we like our chocolate bunny ears, but around these parts the best easter eggs aren't painted pink and stuffed with jelly beans—they're the undocumented and unexpected fun features hidden deep inside various software apps."
  • Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster
    "Commercial DVDs are far too expensive to let scratches turn your video into a glorified coaster, but most people still don't back up their DVD collection. Once upon a time, the four to eight gigabyte footprint of a DVD on your hard drive was prohibitively large."
  • Caught Downloading Copyrighted Material—Now What?
    "Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from Cablevision (my ISP) saying that Paramount/Dreamworks had filed a complaint with them regarding my illegal download of one of their films."
  • Protect Your Privacy When Downloading
    "Whether you're downloading copyrighted material or not, no one likes to have their activities online monitored."
  • First Look at Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" Beta
    "Every six months when a new version of Ubuntu Linux gets released, long-time users and curious toe-dippers ask the same questions: 'What's new?'; 'Is it worth upgrading?'; and, 'Will my wireless card finally work with this version?'"
  • Free Ways to Synchronize Folders Between Computers
    "Nothing sucks worse than getting to the office in the morning and realizing you left the most recent copy of an important file—whether it's your to-do list or a PowerPoint presentation—on your home computer."
  • Reuse Another Computer's Windows XP Disc?
    "I have a Dell-branded Windows XP installation disc that came with one PC, and I was wondering—can I use it to format and install XP on another PC?"
  • Include Images in Craigslist Search Results
    "Firefox extension Craigslist Image Preview adds a thumbnail of the image(s) within a listing on Craigslist without requiring you to click through to the actual page."
  • Jailbreak Any iPhone or iPod Touch in 45 Seconds
    "By downloading and running one simple application, you could be up and running with a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch in just under a minute."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 21st, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's post volume is overwhelming you more than helping you, ditch the full feed for our slimmed-down top stories feed, for a handful of our best posts every day. Here's a digest of our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Download Music from Your Friends' iTunes Libraries Over the Internet with Mojo
    "Windows/Mac only: Share any song in your iTunes library and download any song from your friends' iTunes libraries over the internet with freeware application Mojo."
  • FairUse DVD Ripper Free for a Limited Time
    "Windows only: Grab a free copy of the normally-$20 DVD ripper FairUse Wizard 2, which converts DVDs to video files playable by a slew of devices."
  • Avoid These 8 Worst Foods in America
    "The New York Times reviews a book called Eat This, Not That!, a nutrition guide full of images of foods you shouldn't eat and their healthier substitutes."
  • Top 10 DIY Laptop Stands
    "When your hot laptop needs ventilation and your wrists need a break from a flat keyboard, you can drop 50 bucks on a fancy commercial laptop stand—or you can build one of your own."
  • Battle of the Free Windows Software Firewalls
    "Yesterday when we asked you what your favorite Windows firewall software is, we got back tons of responses, from ZoneAlarm to Sygate from free to commercial. Now we want to narrow down the choices to the best."
  • Wire Your Living Room Over Wi-Fi with a Bridge
    "More devices in your living room have Ethernet ports than ever before, but you can't plug them into the network if your router's in the other room."
  • Run Windows Apps Seamlessly Inside Linux
    "You love working inside your Linux desktop, but at the most inconvenient times you've got to reboot into Windows—whether to open a tricky Office file, try out a Windows application, or even just play a quick game."
  • The Coolest Cubicle Contest Final Showdown and Monster Roundup
    "You've been with us for parts one, two, and three of this year's Coolest Cubicle Contest, and now the time has arrived—time for the final vote-off to determine which creative cubicle jockey will hit their commute tomorrow $500 richer (in Amazon bucks)."
  • Windows Vista Service Pack 1
    "Windows Vista only: As we mentioned earlier today, Microsoft is releasing/has released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to Windows Update today."
  • Aggregate Your Online Social Life with FriendFeed
    "A recently launched, much-hyped webapp called FriendFeed aims to simplify your online life by pulling all of the content you create into one centralized service."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: March 21st, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's post volume is overwhelming you more than helping you, ditch the full feed for our slimmed-down top stories feed, for a handful of our best posts every day. Here's a digest of our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Download Music from Your Friends' iTunes Libraries Over the Internet with Mojo
    "Windows/Mac only: Share any song in your iTunes library and download any song from your friends' iTunes libraries over the internet with freeware application Mojo."
  • FairUse DVD Ripper Free for a Limited Time
    "Windows only: Grab a free copy of the normally-$20 DVD ripper FairUse Wizard 2, which converts DVDs to video files playable by a slew of devices."
  • Avoid These 8 Worst Foods in America
    "The New York Times reviews a book called Eat This, Not That!, a nutrition guide full of images of foods you shouldn't eat and their healthier substitutes."
  • Top 10 DIY Laptop Stands
    "When your hot laptop needs ventilation and your wrists need a break from a flat keyboard, you can drop 50 bucks on a fancy commercial laptop stand—or you can build one of your own."
  • Battle of the Free Windows Software Firewalls
    "Yesterday when we asked you what your favorite Windows firewall software is, we got back tons of responses, from ZoneAlarm to Sygate from free to commercial. Now we want to narrow down the choices to the best."
  • Wire Your Living Room Over Wi-Fi with a Bridge
    "More devices in your living room have Ethernet ports than ever before, but you can't plug them into the network if your router's in the other room."
  • Run Windows Apps Seamlessly Inside Linux
    "You love working inside your Linux desktop, but at the most inconvenient times you've got to reboot into Windows—whether to open a tricky Office file, try out a Windows application, or even just play a quick game."
  • The Coolest Cubicle Contest Final Showdown and Monster Roundup
    "You've been with us for parts one, two, and three of this year's Coolest Cubicle Contest, and now the time has arrived—time for the final vote-off to determine which creative cubicle jockey will hit their commute tomorrow $500 richer (in Amazon bucks)."
  • Windows Vista Service Pack 1
    "Windows Vista only: As we mentioned earlier today, Microsoft is releasing/has released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to Windows Update today."
  • Aggregate Your Online Social Life with FriendFeed
    "A recently launched, much-hyped webapp called FriendFeed aims to simplify your online life by pulling all of the content you create into one centralized service."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 14th, 2008, 10:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's daily onslaught of posts fills your feed reader faster than you can empty it, check out our top stories feed to get fewer posts of higher quality each day. Need to hit "Mark all as read"? Here's a quick list of the most popular posts of the week:
  

  • Get Back to Your Mac Without Paying for It
    "When Leopard was released, one of the most enticing new features was Back to My Mac, a tool that made it possible to access your home computer remotely—including remote control of your desktop and access to your files—no matter where you are."
  • Increase Your Net Worth $300k in Five Years
    "Finance blogger FrugalTrader started strategically saving money back in 2003, and went from being $40,000 in debt to being $285,000 in the black."
  • The Best of Lifehacker in Upgrade Your Life
    "The second edition of the Lifehacker book, Upgrade Your Life, is a compilation of the best 116 hacks and downloads from Lifehacker's archives. This dead tree version of the web site transforms dozens of blog posts into comprehensive, edited tutorials, which will be familiar to longtime readers."
  • Firefox 3 Beta 4 Now Available
    "All platforms: Mozilla's pushed out the latest release of the Firefox 3 beta for testers and impatient upgraders."
  • Scan Paperwork to PDF in One Step
    "Even if you do all your banking online, there's still one ugly time of year when you've got to deal with a pile of financial paperwork, and that's tax time. If your accountant accepts forms via email, or you just want to save tax documents on your computer, you want a quick and easy way to do it."
  • Coolest Cubicle Contest, Part Three
    "We were impressed with part one, part two blew us away, and today we're back for an incredible third and final installment of the 2008 Coolest Cubicle Contest, with $500 at Amazon up for grabs."
  • Save Time and Avoid Stress at Airport Security
    "Wired's How To Wiki takes on one of the ultimate stress-creators and time-wasters—airport security, naturally—and offers up a few reasonable suggestions to save time and avoid hassle that you probably haven't thought of."
  • What To Do When You Lose Your Cell Phone
    "You just stepped out of that cab, watched it drive away, and 10 minutes later, reached into your pocket and realized your cell phone is gone—forever."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: March 14th, 2008, 10:00pm EDT

  If Lifehacker's daily onslaught of posts fills your feed reader faster than you can empty it, check out our top stories feed to get fewer posts of higher quality each day. Need to hit "Mark all as read"? Here's a quick list of the most popular posts of the week:
  

  • Get Back to Your Mac Without Paying for It
    "When Leopard was released, one of the most enticing new features was Back to My Mac, a tool that made it possible to access your home computer remotely—including remote control of your desktop and access to your files—no matter where you are."
  • Increase Your Net Worth $300k in Five Years
    "Finance blogger FrugalTrader started strategically saving money back in 2003, and went from being $40,000 in debt to being $285,000 in the black."
  • The Best of Lifehacker in Upgrade Your Life
    "The second edition of the Lifehacker book, Upgrade Your Life, is a compilation of the best 116 hacks and downloads from Lifehacker's archives. This dead tree version of the web site transforms dozens of blog posts into comprehensive, edited tutorials, which will be familiar to longtime readers."
  • Firefox 3 Beta 4 Now Available
    "All platforms: Mozilla's pushed out the latest release of the Firefox 3 beta for testers and impatient upgraders."
  • Scan Paperwork to PDF in One Step
    "Even if you do all your banking online, there's still one ugly time of year when you've got to deal with a pile of financial paperwork, and that's tax time. If your accountant accepts forms via email, or you just want to save tax documents on your computer, you want a quick and easy way to do it."
  • Coolest Cubicle Contest, Part Three
    "We were impressed with part one, part two blew us away, and today we're back for an incredible third and final installment of the 2008 Coolest Cubicle Contest, with $500 at Amazon up for grabs."
  • Save Time and Avoid Stress at Airport Security
    "Wired's How To Wiki takes on one of the ultimate stress-creators and time-wasters—airport security, naturally—and offers up a few reasonable suggestions to save time and avoid hassle that you probably haven't thought of."
  • What To Do When You Lose Your Cell Phone
    "You just stepped out of that cab, watched it drive away, and 10 minutes later, reached into your pocket and realized your cell phone is gone—forever."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: March 7th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  It's that beautiful time of the week again when we shut down our computers and go home to enjoy the weekend—and the best Lifehacker posts of the past week.
  

  • Top 10 Ways to Get Cables Under Control
    "When you finally decide it's time to do something about that rat's nest of cables that's spreading like kudzu, you don't have to spend a lot of time and money to get it under control."
  • Your Most Essential Firefox Keyboard Shortcut?
    "When it comes to Firefox—which is loaded with key combos—we want to know."
  • How Many Hours Do You Sleep at Night?
    "Wired News reports on a recent survey of 1,000 people in which the participants reported getting an average of six hours and 40 minutes of sleep on weeknights."
  • Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Available for Download
    "Windows only: Microsoft has released the first public beta of Internet Explorer 8 for download by willing testers, which debuted this week at the Mix conference in Las Vegas."
  • Effortlessly Document Your Party with Simple Photo Projects
    "Everybody loves looking back at pictures from a party, but unless you're lucky enough to have one of those friends who brings a camera to every party and does the work for you, documenting the event can be a pain in the ass."
  • Get Higher-Resolution YouTube Videos with a URL Hack
    "To get a noticeable bump in resolution, add &fmt=6 to the end of the address line for a YouTube video."
  • Fly for Free by Choosing Overbooked Flights
    "The Dumb Little Man blog posts up a healthy portion of tips for those with flexible schedules and a desire to fly for free by booking themselves on overbooked flights."
  • Create Your Own Cross-Platform Backup Server
    "Backing up your data on a regular basis is important, and turning a spare computer into a backup server is often the best way to make sure it gets done."

  
  Remember, if Lifehacker's flow of daily posts is too flowy for you, filter down to our best stuff every day using the Top stories tag page (here's the top feed).

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: March 7th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  It's that beautiful time of the week again when we shut down our computers and go home to enjoy the weekend—and the best Lifehacker posts of the past week.
  

  • Top 10 Ways to Get Cables Under Control
    "When you finally decide it's time to do something about that rat's nest of cables that's spreading like kudzu, you don't have to spend a lot of time and money to get it under control."
  • Your Most Essential Firefox Keyboard Shortcut?
    "When it comes to Firefox—which is loaded with key combos—we want to know."
  • How Many Hours Do You Sleep at Night?
    "Wired News reports on a recent survey of 1,000 people in which the participants reported getting an average of six hours and 40 minutes of sleep on weeknights."
  • Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Available for Download
    "Windows only: Microsoft has released the first public beta of Internet Explorer 8 for download by willing testers, which debuted this week at the Mix conference in Las Vegas."
  • Effortlessly Document Your Party with Simple Photo Projects
    "Everybody loves looking back at pictures from a party, but unless you're lucky enough to have one of those friends who brings a camera to every party and does the work for you, documenting the event can be a pain in the ass."
  • Get Higher-Resolution YouTube Videos with a URL Hack
    "To get a noticeable bump in resolution, add &fmt=6 to the end of the address line for a YouTube video."
  • Fly for Free by Choosing Overbooked Flights
    "The Dumb Little Man blog posts up a healthy portion of tips for those with flexible schedules and a desire to fly for free by booking themselves on overbooked flights."
  • Create Your Own Cross-Platform Backup Server
    "Backing up your data on a regular basis is important, and turning a spare computer into a backup server is often the best way to make sure it gets done."

  
  Remember, if Lifehacker's flow of daily posts is too flowy for you, filter down to our best stuff every day using the Top stories tag page (here's the top feed).

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: February 29th, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  It's Friday, people! Let's celebrate with a look back at this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Top 10 DIY Car Hacks
    "Today we've rounded up 10 of our favorite car-related tips and tricks that work whether you're at one with your engine or regard your ride as a mysterious four-wheel transporter."
  • Give an Old Laptop New Life with Cheap (or Free) Projects
    "Like a famed race horse or a classic book, you don't just throw away a laptop because it's banged up a little."
  • Coolest Cubicle Contest, Part the First
    "...today we're kicking off our first Coolest Cubicle Contest, with $500 to Amazon at stake."
  • Dock Your Old Drives with the Hard Drive USB Dock
    "Dock any internal SATA hard drive in this USB dock to turn any internal drive into an external drive on-the-quick."
  • Manage Your Online Reputation
    "Are you happy with the results people get back when they Google your name?"
  • Browse and Play Your Ripped DVDs with DVD Play
    "Browse and play the DVDs you've ripped to your hard drive with freeware application DVD Play."
  • Increase Your Morning Productivity with the 10 O'Clock Rule
    "...weblog LifeClever suggests de-stressing your mornings and getting more done by setting your watch to beep every night at 10 o'clock (or whatever time works for you), then getting started preparing for tomorrow."
  • Get Mac-Like Window Tabs in Windows with Nubs
    "...free Windows utility Nubs allows you to hide your inactive windows to the sides of your desktop using stylish, theme-able tabs."

  
  

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: February 29th, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  It's Friday, people! Let's celebrate with a look back at this week's most popular posts:
  

  • Top 10 DIY Car Hacks
    "Today we've rounded up 10 of our favorite car-related tips and tricks that work whether you're at one with your engine or regard your ride as a mysterious four-wheel transporter."
  • Give an Old Laptop New Life with Cheap (or Free) Projects
    "Like a famed race horse or a classic book, you don't just throw away a laptop because it's banged up a little."
  • Coolest Cubicle Contest, Part the First
    "...today we're kicking off our first Coolest Cubicle Contest, with $500 to Amazon at stake."
  • Dock Your Old Drives with the Hard Drive USB Dock
    "Dock any internal SATA hard drive in this USB dock to turn any internal drive into an external drive on-the-quick."
  • Manage Your Online Reputation
    "Are you happy with the results people get back when they Google your name?"
  • Browse and Play Your Ripped DVDs with DVD Play
    "Browse and play the DVDs you've ripped to your hard drive with freeware application DVD Play."
  • Increase Your Morning Productivity with the 10 O'Clock Rule
    "...weblog LifeClever suggests de-stressing your mornings and getting more done by setting your watch to beep every night at 10 o'clock (or whatever time works for you), then getting started preparing for tomorrow."
  • Get Mac-Like Window Tabs in Windows with Nubs
    "...free Windows utility Nubs allows you to hide your inactive windows to the sides of your desktop using stylish, theme-able tabs."

  
  

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: February 22nd, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  Happy Friday! Here's a look back at our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Use Your Wii as a Media Center
    "These days, every gaming system in your living room better be able to do more than just play video games if it's going to earn its place next to your TV."
  • Top 10 Smart and Lazy Ways to Save Your Workday
    "If you leave the office most nights feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and behind on everything you've got to get done at work—even though you just spent 10 hours there&mash;you're letting your workday get away from you."
  • Seamlessly Run Linux Apps on Your Windows Desktop
    "...for about a million reasons, you're stuck running Windows as your main operating system. We understand, these things happen. But what about all those killer Linux apps you've left behind?"
  • How to Stop Checking Email on the Evenings and Weekends
    "Best-selling author Tim Ferriss offers digital minimalism tips to reduce the amount of time you spend in your email inbox."
  • Handling More Than 12 Hours on a Plane?
    "...what's the best way to deal on extended flights without going crazy?"
  • Eat Healthier Using Twelve "Instead Of" Steps
    "The Zen Habits blog posts a technique for making gradual progress toward eating healthier and, as a result, dropping a lot of fat."
  • Highlight an Image in HTML Code
    "Entice and excite your friends with a strangely addictive trick that utilizes some interesting CSS techniques to allow you to see a highlighted image within text."
  • Reader Poll: How Do You Do Your Taxes?
    "Between online tax forms, software apps like Turbo Tax, chop shops like H&R Block, and your accountant, there are tons of ways you can go about tackling your taxes.

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: February 22nd, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  Happy Friday! Here's a look back at our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Use Your Wii as a Media Center
    "These days, every gaming system in your living room better be able to do more than just play video games if it's going to earn its place next to your TV."
  • Top 10 Smart and Lazy Ways to Save Your Workday
    "If you leave the office most nights feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and behind on everything you've got to get done at work—even though you just spent 10 hours there&mash;you're letting your workday get away from you."
  • Seamlessly Run Linux Apps on Your Windows Desktop
    "...for about a million reasons, you're stuck running Windows as your main operating system. We understand, these things happen. But what about all those killer Linux apps you've left behind?"
  • How to Stop Checking Email on the Evenings and Weekends
    "Best-selling author Tim Ferriss offers digital minimalism tips to reduce the amount of time you spend in your email inbox."
  • Handling More Than 12 Hours on a Plane?
    "...what's the best way to deal on extended flights without going crazy?"
  • Eat Healthier Using Twelve "Instead Of" Steps
    "The Zen Habits blog posts a technique for making gradual progress toward eating healthier and, as a result, dropping a lot of fat."
  • Highlight an Image in HTML Code
    "Entice and excite your friends with a strangely addictive trick that utilizes some interesting CSS techniques to allow you to see a highlighted image within text."
  • Reader Poll: How Do You Do Your Taxes?
    "Between online tax forms, software apps like Turbo Tax, chop shops like H&R Block, and your accountant, there are tons of ways you can go about tackling your taxes.

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: February 15th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  Happy Friday, lifehackers! Here's a recap of our most popular posts this week:
  

  • Exclusive Lifehacker Download: DVD Rip Automates One-Click DVD Ripping
    "Windows only: Rip and back up any DVD to your hard drive with DVD Rip, a freeware Windows application that automates the entire DVD-to-hard-drive backup process. All you need to do is insert your DVD, run DVD Rip, and let it take care of the rest."
  • Firefox 3 Beta 3 Now Available
    "All platforms: Mozilla has just published the latest iteration of Firefox 3, Beta 3, intended for testers and early adopters who are willing to live on the edge."
  • Top 10 iTunes Smart Playlists
    "If you listen to music while you work, but don't want to waste time manually creating playlists in iTunes, today we've got our top 10 favorite Smart Playlists that will keep your tunes fresh and focused automatically."
  • Dress Up Your Desktop at Social Wallpapering
    "There are a few great desktop wallpaper sites out there, and many crappy ones—but a new one (to us) called Social Wallpapering goes into the good pile."
  • Reader Poll: Ever Paid for Commercial Data Recovery?
    "CNET News takes a behind-the-scenes look at data recovery service Drive Savers, and the frantic customers who come to them with fried hard drives and lost data."
  • Pay Off Your Mortgage in Half the Time
    "Personal finance blogger J.D. Roth is pre-paying down the principal on his mortgage to speed up his journey toward owning his home outright."
  • Reader Poll: Your Favorite Firefox 3 Improvement?
    "If you've opted to be a canary in the Firefox 3 beta coal mine, report back to your more cautious cohorts what it's like in there."
  • Ten Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin
    "Like many great software projects from Firefox to foobar2000, the looks and extra functionality in Pidgin are there—you just have to know where to find them."
  • Run Your Personal Wikipedia from a USB Stick
    "A slim web server package called XAMPP fits on a USB stick and can run database-driven webapps like the software that powers Wikipedia, MediaWiki."
  • Low-Hassle Ways to Secure Your Computer System
    "Anybody can feel more secure about their systems with the help of some free software and easy tweaks and add-ons."

• 

  This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: February 8th, 2008, 9:00pm EST

  Happy Friday! In case you missed any of the good stuff at Lifehacker this week, here's a recap:
  

  • Top 10 DIY Home Projects
    "Your home is your castle, and what better way to outfit the palace than with some do-it-yourself ingenuity."
  • Hack Your Metabolism
    "Personal trainer and blogger Lauren proposes that you can bolster your metabolism by eating enough (not too little, like most people who diet), eating more frequently (5-6 small meals a day), and adding more protein and fiber to your diet."
  • Save Money by Learning Target's Sale Secrets
    "Turns out there's a number of ways to get huge discounts on items nobody may know are on sale at Target."
  • Build Yourself an Affordable Media Server
    "Computer manufacturers may offer several new 'media servers' for sale, Popular Mechanics claims that it's not necessary to buy a brand new machine. Instead, use cheap (or salvaged) parts to build your own box, as media server hardware doesn't have to be top-notch."
  • Set Up Real-Time, Bulletproof Backup Drive Redundancy with RAID
    "Hard drives fail, and they do it much more often than we'd like to think. Even if you've set up automated hard drive backups, you're not necessarily getting the best backup bang for your buck—especially if your operating system's main hard drive fails."
  • Reader Poll: Most Overrated Productivity Strategy?
    "Here's your chance to knock us productivity hucksters off our pedestals and tell us which of these tips is more hyped than they should be."
  • Automate Repetitive Typing with Snippits
    "Say goodbye to unrequited speedy-text love with Snippits, a free, open source utility that can insert text, activate program shortcuts, correct spelling, and even run bits of code, all at the touch of one button."
  • Watch Video Downloads on Your TiVo for Free
    "Your TiVo can play more than just television it's recorded —it can also play video that you've downloaded to your computer from the internets, and it can do it without the pay-for TiVo Desktop Plus upgrade."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: February 1st, 2008, 9:00pm EST

  If it feels like Lifehacker posts are taking over your feedreader, don't hit that unsubscribe button—instead, give our lower-volume, higher-quality top stories feed a spin. Otherwise you can do some URL hacking to filter your Lifehacker posts down to just the stuff you care about. This week's highlight reel includes:

  • Top 10 BitTorrent Tools and Tricks
    "As BitTorrent's popularity continues to grow, so do the number of tools available for making the most of it. Some are must-haves, while others are a waste of time."
  • Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required
    "Now you can install Leopard on your computer about as easily as installing Leopard on a Mac—no command line hacking required."
  • The Laptop Lover's Guide to Productivity On-the-Go
    "You're pretty good at getting things done away from your desk, but you still haven't reached laptop zen—that point at which your laptop does gymnastics for you and is a seamless extension of your productivity."
  • Tips to Keep Your Car in Excellent Condition
    "Prolong the life of your car and keep it in tip-top shape by following advice from automobile experts."
  • Build a Home Theater PC for Less than $200
    "If you're in the market for a new computer (or even just a home theater system), blogger Paul Stamatiou suggests hardware that can comprise of one of the cheapest and smallest DIY computers I've seen to date."
  • The Quicksilver-for-Windows Showdown
    "Recently the Quicksilver-for-Windows battle has exploded with tons of new applications. The question is: Which one deserves a place on your system?"
  • Applying Unix Philosophy to Personal Productivity
    "Reprogramming your personal workflow with a productivity system is a lot like programming computer software: given a stream of incoming information and tasks, you set up holding spaces and logical rules for turning it all into action."
  • Use a Single Data Store When Dual Booting
    "With cross-platform, open-source applications like Firefox, Thunderbird and Pidgin, you can use the same apps with the same configuration automatically no matter what OS you've booted."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: January 25th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  Happy Friday, lifehackers! Busy week? In case you missed anything, here's a digest of this week's most popular posts:

  • Lifehacker's Exclusive Line of Productivity Software
    "Not only do the editors here at Lifehacker feed your head with a feast of posts every day, every once in a while we put our programming chops to good use and build custom software for our readers."
  • How to Suck Less at Photoshop
    "Screencaster Donnie Hoyle says you suck at Photoshop, and offers a few hilarious NSFW tutorials that contain some naughty words (so don't watch 'em in front of the children)."
  • Top 10 Free Download Managers
    "Whether you do your downloading via BitTorrent, FTP, or plain old HTTP, efficiently sucking files down from the cloud onto your hard drive takes the right tools."
  • Reasons (and Ways) to Avoid Buying Just-Released Gadgetry
    "Productivity blog Put Things Off lists five reasons why buying new tech the minute it's released (*cough* MacBook Air *cough*) is a bad idea."
  • Learn to Profile People
    "Machiavellian psychology suggests that if you profile people around you, you'll be less inclined to be involved in personal conflicts."
  • Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required
    "Now you can install Leopard on your non Apple hardware about as easily as installing Leopard on a Mac—no command line hacking required."
  • Jailbreak the iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware for Third Party Apps
    "Third party iPhone app lovers who also want the latest and greatest Apple firmware rejoice, as iPhone hacker extraordinaire Nate True has released a new jailbreaking application for the recently released iPhone 1.1.3 firmware."
  • Design Your Own Desktop with KDE 4
    "One of the best things about KDE 4, the newest release of the mainstream Linux desktop manager, is something it doesn't do—force you to adapt to its way of running a computer desktop."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: January 18th, 2008, 10:00pm EST

  Lifehacker posts taking over your feedreader? Subscribe to our lower-volume top stories feed, or do a little URL hacking to pick and choose to subscribe to only the posts you want. This week's most popular posts include:

  • Turn Your $60 Router into a User-Friendly Super-Router with Tomato
    "There's been a lot of development of open source firmwares, and today we're taking a look at my new favorite, a firmware called Tomato."
  • Top 10 Telephone Tricks
    "When getting things done involves making phone calls, you want to spend the least amount of time and money on the horn as possible—and several tricks and services can help you do just that."
  • Customize Your Mac with Leopard Power Tweaks
    "Now that Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard's been out almost three months, several apps, tweaks, and plug-ins have emerged that can customize (and sometimes re-Tigerize) your Mac."
  • Download Netflix Watch Now Movies Easy-Like with Netflix Download Links
    "Download Netflix 'Watch Now' videos straight to your hard drive with the Netflix Download Links Greasemonkey script."
  • How to Afford Anything
    "Photography aficionado Ken Rockwell recently shared some insightful information about how he's able to afford thousands of dollars in camera equipment."
  • Get Things Done Over the Phone with Jott
    "With Jott's built-in links and tools that capitalize on its email-sending abilities, it can give nearly any personal organization system a go-anywhere, add-anything boost."
  • Better Gmail 2 Gets Four New Features Plus Skins
    "Just uploaded a new release of our Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension for Gmail with four new user scripts and two skins."
  • Turn a Camera Lens into a Close-Up Lens with Binoculars
    "Do-it-yourselfer Chris Knight explains that the innards of cheap binoculars can double as a macro lens for digital SLR cameras and camcorders."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Highlights]

  Posted: January 11th, 2008, 8:00pm EST

  If Lifehacker's filling up your newsreader faster than you can empty it, turn down the volume with our less frequent Top stories feed, all the good stuff without the fluff. If you're super time-strapped, get a single-post-a-week digest of our most popular stories in the Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Kitchen Timesavers That Speed Up Dinner
    "Planning ahead, breaking big tasks down into small actions and achieving a relaxed state of readiness are just as important to productivity in the kitchen as in the workspace."
  • Build a Home FTP Server with FileZilla
    "Upload and download files on your home PC from anywhere by turning it into a personal FTP server."
  • Top 10 Underhyped Webapps
    "Even in this golden age of Big Internet Companies Acquiring Everything In Sight, there are still a few independent, small webapps out there that don't get the attention they should for their useful functionality."
  • Download and Listen to Free Music on the Web
    "In the past year the number of web sites linking to free downloads and streaming music has exploded, meaning there are more ways than ever to get your music fix."
  • Watch Full-Length TV Online with Fancast
    "Watch full episodes of anything from Battlestar Galactica to Buffy (that's just the B's, people) with web site Fancast."
  • Customize Your Notes with the Circa Modular Notebook
    "One of the best holiday gifts I received this year was a Levenger Circa modular notebook, a fancy pants folio you can customize for your own note-taking needs."
  • Belvedere Automates Your Self-Cleaning PC
    "Keep your desktop or any other folder on your hard drive organized and under control with Belvedere, an automated Windows file management tool."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: January 4th, 2008, 7:00pm EST

  Lifehacker post unread count too high? Subscribe to only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks
    "Dozens of Google search guides detail the tips you already know, but today we're skipping the obvious and highlighting our favorite obscure Google web search tricks."
  • The 20 Best iPhone and iPod touch Applications
    "Today I'm taking a look at my 20 favorite (that's right, 20) third-party iPhone and iPod touch apps."
  • Free Tools to Manage New Year's Resolutions
    "Lots of you are kicking off 2008 with New Year's resolutions, but they won't keep themselves."
  • Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps
    "Throughout Lifehacker's archive of over 14,000 posts, we've mentioned hundreds of free web and desktop apps that help you get things done—but which are the best?"
  • Use Your Laptop as a free Xbox Wi-Fi Adapter
    "So your router and Xbox 360 are on completely opposite sides of your home, running a long, ugly wire along the floor is out of the question, and you don't feel like dropping $100 on an Xbox Wi-Fi adapter?"
  • Practice and Improve Touch Typing at Keybr.com
    "Free web app Keybr.com is a simple touch type practice tool that shows you how fast and error-free your typing is through an escalating series of exercises."
  • Grab Music from Your Browser with Freemusiczilla
    "Windows only: Free music downloading software Freemusiczilla listens to what's playing in your web browser and makes it available for downloading as distinct MP3 files."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: December 28th, 2007, 5:00pm EST

  If the hectic holidays have left you with an overdose of Lifehacker, fear not! You can always subscribe to our Top Stories feed to receive each day's best posts, our Feature stories feed if you only want our feature content, or our Highlights feed for an index of each weeks' best posts every Friday. This week's best posts include:
  

  • How to Set Up Your New Computer
    "If you're spending the holiday setting up a new Mac or PC, it's time to get filled with free software cheer."
  • How to Install Third-Party Apps on Your New iPhone or iPod Touch
    "Today we're jailbreaking that brand new iPhone or iTouch of yours to open it up to the wonderful world of third-party software."
  • Take Your Best Driver's License Photo Ever
    "There's a trick to a good driver's license photo, and today I will detail the steps I take to get a good pic every time."
  • Automatically Load and Update Your Windows Systems
    "One of the best parts of getting a new computer for the holidays—other than that new computer smell—is setting up a fresh, clean system exactly how you want it."
  • Free Bundle of GTD Articles Written By David Allen
    "David Allen has a zipped archive of 17 articles available to download for free at the David Allen Company online store."
  • The Rules of Photography Composition
    "If you've just scored a brand-new camera for the holidays and want to take some brilliant shots, Videojug has an excellent five-step walk-through of the important elements of photography composition."
  • Use a Disposable Razor to Remove Sweater Pills
    "Lifehacker Reader Michael K. tried rollers, tape, and all the usual methods to de-pill a fleece, but it wasn't until a friend recommended buying cheap, disposable safety razors that he found his solution."
  • Set Up Instant Working Environments with Batch Files
    "Create a quick working environment—launching every document and application you need to get straight to work—using a Windows stalwart, the batch script."
  • Make Windows Look Like a Mac with FlyakiteOSX
    "Freeware application FlyakiteOSX transforms the look of Windows so even though you're still running Windows, it looks convincingly like OS X."
  • Speed Up the Firefox Download Process
    "Instead of right-clicking on a download link, choosing save to target and pressing enter, just drag the download link to the downloads icon..."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: December 21st, 2007, 5:00pm EST

  'Tis the season to be jolly, and to spend more time with family and friends than in your feedreader. If Lifehacker's unread post count threatens to take up too much holiday time, turn down the volume by subscribing to our Top Stories feed, a handful of our best posts each day. Alternately, grab our one hit 'o Lifehacker a day Feature stories feed, or get a digest of the week's best posts once on Fridays with the Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:
  

  • Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps
    "Throughout Lifehacker's archive of over 14,000 posts, we've mentioned hundreds of free web and desktop apps that help you get things done—but which are the best? Find out here."
  • The 23 Best iTunes Add-ons
    "It's time you take iTunes to the next level."
  • Find Secret Amazon Discounts with DealLocker
    "Search for and locate incredible Amazon discounts with DealLocker's secret Amazon Discount service."
  • Practicing Simplified GTD
    "Whenever I talk to someone who knows anything about Lifehacker, whether it's a reader or a journalist, this question is inevitable: 'Do you follow Getting Things Done?' My answer is always a whole-hearted 'Sorta.'"
  • Slim Down and Speed Up Linux
    "While Linux is pretty efficient with a computer's resources out of the box, there are still ways you can make it run leaner and meaner on your desktop."
  • Firefox 3.0 Beta Take Two Even Better
    "We already walked you through the first beta of Firefox's next major version 3.0, and today Mozilla released beta 2 for download by willing testers and impatient 'fox users."
  • Launchy 2.0 Adds Polish, Easier Configuration
    "Windows only: Open source keyword launcher Launchy grows up a little with a 2.0 release."
  • Lifehacker Zeitgeist 2007
    "2007's been another fantastic year here at Lifehacker, and in case you've missed any of it, today we've got the highlights reel in the spirit of the Google Zeitgeist."
  • Organize Your Money in 2008 with Wesabe
    "With Wesabe's plethora of features, open source mindset, and strong community backing, it's the perfect money management app for my needs."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: December 14th, 2007, 10:00pm EST

  Unread Lifehacker posts flooding your feed reader? Tighten the valve on the information firehose with our trimmed-down top stories feed (which serves up only a handful of our best posts each day), or grab our once-a-week highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Top 10 New and Improved Apps of 2007
    "When it comes to new technology, 2007's destined to be remembered as "The Year of the iPhone"—but a whole lot more went on in the past 12 months besides Apple's much-hyped gadget launch."
  • Lifehacker Gift Guide 2007
    "Today we're taking a look at gifts small and large—from under $10 to the over $50 set—perfect for the life-hacking loved one on your list (even if that's you)."
  • Host Your Domain with Free Apps
    "You can buy a domain name for around 10 bucks a year (or less) and map it to a variety of free web-based apps for no-mess and no-cost hosting."
  • Breathe New Life into Your Old Gadgets
    "Instead of forking over more cash to the likes of Jobs and Gates for their newest toys, we're taking a look at several ways to make your old gadgets new again."
  • Fifteen Foods that Burn More Calories than They Contain
    "We need to scarf down plenty of calories in a day, but if you've got a nasty snack habit that's tipping the scales to heavy, weblog Bootstrapper's list of 15 foods that burn more calories than they contain might be the perfect addition to your grocery list."
  • Lifehacker's 2007 Software Superlatives
    "Who had the Most Obnoxious Icon, Best Splash Screen, and Best Easter Egg of the Year?"
  • Rip DVDs in Linux the (Semi-)Easy Way
    "I've tried out a good number of DVD ripping and conversion programs, and I've made peace with one method, and one program, that gets the job done more often than not."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: December 7th, 2007, 8:00pm EST

  Lifehacker post unread count too high? Subscribe to only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Master Your DSLR Camera, Part 2: Manual Mode and More
    "In part one of this series you kicked your digital SLR camera's auto mode to the curb...now in part two we're going straight to manual mode to learn about aperture sizes and shutter speeds."
  • How to Track Down Anyone Online
    "While there's still no killer, one-stop people search, there are more ways than ever to track down a long-lost friend, stalk an ex, or screen a potential date or employee."
  • The 20 Best iPod Utilities
    "But with the help of third party applications and utilities, you can unlock tons of useful functionality you never knew was there and revive that aging iPod so it doesn't look quite so bad next to its successors."
  • Top 10 Free Windows File Wranglers
    "You spend a whole lot of time each day moving, copying, trashing, browsing, and otherwise fiddling with all the files stored on your PC, and you should have the most efficient power tools to get those jobs done."
  • Quicksilver's Creator on the Future of QS
    "I'm inclined to encourage users to move over to the more stable and well supported alternatives like LaunchBar."
  • Score Rock Band or a Wii this Christmas
    "It's been a year since the Wii was first released in the U.S. and you're still trying to secure the elusive game console for your living room? Wired's got the inside scoop on how to score a Wii for under your tree this Christmas."
  • How to Climb Out of $35,000 in Debt
    "Personal finance writer J.D. Roth is walkin' the walk over at his site Get Rich Slowly, where he just celebrated eliminating $35,000 worth of debt. That's 35 THOUSAND DOLLARS."
  • Roll Your Own Professionally Designed Web Site
    "Open Source Web Design (OSWD) collects web site templates from amateurs and professionals and makes them available to download free of charge."
  • Open Clamshell Packaging with a Can Opener
    "The gift-giving season is upon us, and that means the battle between you and the stubborn plastic clamshell packaging standing between you and your new gadget is in full swing."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: November 30th, 2007, 7:00pm EST

  So many Lifehacker posts, so little time. Subscribe to only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Ensure a Fast Internet Connection When You Need It
    "Your internet connection is an indispensable part of your life, but between BitTorrent, Xbox Live, web browsing, and VoIP, sometimes there's not enough bandwidth to go around."
  • Hot Image Your PC's Hard Drive with DriveImage XML
    "You don't need a complicated boot CD or expensive software to create a restorable system disk image for your PC: free utility DriveImage XML can save a full, working snapshot of your Windows hard drive while you work on it."
  • Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks
    "You may not be able to power an iPod with an onion, but there are plenty of neat tricks and techniques that actually do work with everyday foods."
  • Use Your iPhone's Internet Connection On Your Laptop
    "It's great that your iPhone has a data plan and a killer mobile browser, but when you're sitting at the airport waiting to catch a plane with your laptop right next to you, wouldn't it be nice to use your full-on desktop browser?"
  • Get to Sleep Faster by Tensing Up and Repeating "The"
    "It's not news that many of us aren't getting enough sleep, but BBC News offers several tips from a director of Clinical Sleep Research for getting to sleep when your head hits the pillow that you may not have heard before."
  • Start Meaningful Conversations
    "Learning how to initiate that first conversation can be tough, but it doesn't have to be."
  • Find Critically-Acclaimed Torrents at PickyPirate
    "BitTorrent search sites like The Pirate Bay can help you find recently-released tunes, flicks and video games, but deciding which are worth the hefty downloads usually involves digging in more mainstream channels."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: November 23rd, 2007, 12:00pm EST

  Got more Lifehacker leftovers at the end of the week than you know what to do with? Get only the best fixings with our top stories feed or our once-a-week highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Gmail Product Manager on IMAP and Greasemonkey
    Hear what Gmail's Product Manager has to say about IMAP, LDAP, Greasemonkey, the iPhone, and other third party Gmail clients, apps, and development.
  • Set Custom "Ringtones" for Your Email Inbox
    Custom ringtones on our phones have been making it easy to tell who's calling without looking at our phones for years now, so why aren't we doing the same thing with our incoming email?
  • 12 Healthy Foods That Aren't
    Just because a product heralds itself as fat-free doesn't mean it's good for you, and Men's Health tackles 12 unhealthy foods consumers often mistake for nutritious.
  • Master Your DSLR Camera, Part 1: Program Mode
    You ponied up for a digital SLR camera because you hated the shutter lag on your little point-and-shoot. The good news: Your photos have improved! The bad news? You know they could be even better.
  • Ditch Your Taskbar for Minimized Thumbnails with miniMize
    Freeware application miniMize creates thumbnail images of your minimized application on your desktop.
  • Boost Your Wi-Fi Antenna for Less than a Dollar
    After taking apart a $30 "extender" Wi-Fi router antenna, one intrepid video blogger posted a guide to making the same thing with remarkably cheap stuff.
  • Carve Your Thanksgiving Turkey Like a Butcher
    If the crown of family turkey-carver is weighing heavy on your head this Thanksgiving, the New York Times gets advice on how to carve the perfect turkey.
  • The Hearty Thanksgiving Roundup
    If you're looking for that one special Thanksgiving tip to ease your holiday, we've got you covered.

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: November 16th, 2007, 6:00pm EST

  Your feedreader's soaring unread item count got you down? Subscribe to only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Build a Hackintosh Mac for Under $800
    "If the high price tag for Apple hardware has kept you from buying a Mac but you're willing to roll up your sleeves and get adventurous, you can build your own "Hackintosh"—a PC that runs a patched version of OS X Leopard."
  • Hackintosh vs. Mac Pro vs. MacBook Pro Benchmarks
    "How does my Hackintosh stack up to the Apple-built competition? To find out, I put my Hackintosh, a Mac Pro, and a MacBook Pro through the paces."
  • Top 10 Quicksilver Plug-ins
    "Launching applications and documents is just Quicksilver's gateway drug: The more you get used to doing things with Quicksilver, the more things you want to do with it."
  • Extend the Life of Your Razor Blades
    "Sick of dropping cash on new, pricey razor blades every few weeks because you can only get a couple weeks of use from a new blade before it shaves about as well as sandpaper?"
  • De-Pixelize Your Images with VectorMagic
    "Web site VectorMagic turns virtually any image into vector art that can be resized as much as you want without any nasty pixelation—perfect for creating your scanned signature, for example."
  • Double Your Productivity with a Serial Workflow
    "While there's something to be said for multitasking, a serial workflow—completing one task after another in order of priority—can be much more conducive to getting your work done."
  • Set Up a Self-Cleaning Mac with Hazel
    "Let's take a closer look at how Hazel can keep your Mac's hard drive free of files you don't need anymore."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: November 9th, 2007, 6:00pm EST

  Your feedreader's soaring unread item count got you down? Subscribe to only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Make the Most of Your Dual Monitors
    "Now that you've added another monitor to your computer setup, you've got double the screen real estate to get things done—but are you putting all that space to good use?"
  • Turn Your Old PC into a Webapp Monster with gOS
    "As more and more full-featured web applications look to replace traditional desktop apps, the concept of a web-based operating system has gained a lot of momentum."
  • Stream Digital Music to Your Stereo with Squeezebox
    "If you've got gigabytes of music you want to play from a central server in your living room—without keeping a big ugly PC there—the Squeezebox network music player's for you."
  • Better YouTube Firefox Extension
    "Watch YouTube videos more efficiently with Better YouTube, a brand new Firefox extension that compiles our favorite YouTube Greasemonkey scripts into a single convenient package."
  • First Look at Firefox 3.0
    "With the release of the much anticipated Firefox 3 looming just around the corner, we got our hands on the latest beta build of your favorite browser to get a closer look."
  • Find Full Episodes Online with Find Internet TV
    "Search for and find episodes of your favorite missed television shows or web-based video content with web site Find Internet TV. In essence, the site is a search portal that knows where to look for current shows and can quickly tell you where to find what you're looking for."
  • Where to Search for Low Airfares Online
    "If you haven't booked your ticket home for the holidays yet, the Productivity Portfolio weblog test-drove some top travel search engines you may want to hit up."
  • Ten Ways to Defeat Brain Drain
    "Those of us who are busy all the time can experience burnout, exhaustion, and fatigue from spending long periods of time in focused concentration. I call this syndrome 'Brain Drain.'"

• 

  This Week's Best Posts [Tgif]

  Posted: November 2nd, 2007, 6:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker posts taking over your feed reader? Get only the cream of the crop with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Rebuild Your Mac with 20 Useful Downloads
    "You erased your hard drive to install Leopard, and now you've got to load your Mac up with all your essential software..."
  • Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters
    "To have your favorite clips how you want them—whether that's on your DVR, iPod, PSP or desktop—you need the right utility to convert 'em into the format that works for you."
  • Homemade Halloween Costume Photo Gallery
    "Last week we put out a call for the best do-it-yourself Halloween costumes lifehackers could come up with, complete with instructions and images. As usual, you did not disappoint."
  • Turn Thunderbird into the Ultimate Gmail IMAP Client
    "If IMAP's got you curious but you're not sure what desktop application to use with Gmail, consider the extensible, fast, cross-platform and free Mozilla Thunderbird, our beloved Firefox's little sibling."
  • Gmail Speeds Up, Improves Contacts
    "First IMAP support, and now a new version's rolling out which includes message pre-fetching for speedier performance, a new contacts manager, and more keyboard shortcuts."
  • Get A First Class Ticket For Coach Class Prices
    "First class airplane tickets might be less expensive than you think."
  • Auto-Hide Your Firefox Bookmarks Toolbar
    "Love the bookmarks toolbar but only want it there when you need it? Reader Andy writes in with a tweak that makes the toolbar hide automatically, unless you mouse over it (like auto-hiding your Windows taskbar or Mac Dock.)"
  • The Simplicity of Time Machine Compels You
    "If you're running Leopard and you've got an external hard drive, you WILL back up your data, even if that wasn't your intention when you bought the drive or plugged it into your Mac."
  • Turn Any Action into a Keyboard Shortcut
    "The free, open source scripting language AutoHotkey may not be one of the most powerful or popular programming languages on the planet, but that's okay—it's not just made for programmers."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 26th, 2007, 7:30pm EDT

  Unread Lifehacker posts flooding your feed reader? Get only the best and leave behind the rest with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • The Complete Guide to Mac/Windows Interoperability
    "Today Mac OS and Windows can work together in harmony on the same home network, sharing files and printers, mounting one another's drives and using the same equipment, like wireless routers and USB drives."
  • Get Lost in Translation Sites
    "There are plenty of online translation services that can give you anything from just a good idea to a complete translation of what you're looking at."
  • The Power-Traveler's Checklist, Part Two: Travel Day
    "Here's our suggested rundown of to-dos to make sure your travel day goes smoothly, you catch your flight on time and you get there in comfort and style."
  • Top 10 Google Products You Forgot All About
    "Living in the shadow of Gmail, Reader and Calendar's got to be tough, but that's what a slew of useful Google products do every day."
  • Media Player Show and Tell
    "Rather than living life in the vanilla world of iTunes and Windows Media Player, these music lovers prefer media players they can tweak, customize, and personalize to their heart's content."
  • What Gmail IMAP Means for You (and Your iPhone)
    "As reported late last night, some Gmail users are seeing IMAP support appear in the settings area of their account. This morning Google confirmed: IMAP just launched."
  • A Better Way to Set Up Gmail IMAP
    "If you've set up Gmail IMAP using Google's instructions, you may have noticed a couple of snags—namely that your Sent Mail, Drafts, and Deleted Mail aren't necessarily matching up as you'd expect between your email client and Gmail."
  • Instantbird 0.1 is Like Firefox for Chat
    "There are tons of great instant messaging applications available, but one nagging problem in the IM world is that there's no great, fully cross-platform chat app (unless you count Meebo)."
  • Use colr.org to Plan a Color Scheme
    "Whether you're looking for some help designing the color scheme of a web site, a blog, or a house, you can't do much better than colr.org, a site that loads random Flickr images and intuitively parses the colors out of the photos to give you the best combinations possible."
  • Five Best Foods for Going Organic
    "Making the switch to organic can be difficult, especially when organic foods are often more costly than their non-organic counterparts."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 19th, 2007, 6:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker information overload making you want to just hit "Mark all as read"? Turn down the volume with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Get Organized with Remember the Milk
    "Remember the Milk's got all the best features modern webapps have to offer: email/SMS/IM integration, tagging, advanced search, keyboard shortcuts and even offline access with Google Gears."
  • Easy Ways to Live Greener
    "Last Monday, we put out a call for your best ways to live greener, and as usual, Lifehacker readers did not disappoint."
  • A Look at Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon" RC1
    "Gutsy Gibbon's not a major Long Term Support release, it's not a radical re-thinking of the system, but it is another step toward a Linux system that just works."
  • The Power Traveler's Checklist, Part One: Pre-Flight
    "If you're planning to fly the friendly skies this Thanksgiving or Chrismukkah, you've either already bought your tickets or you're about to."
  • Top 10 Distraction Stoppers
    "Most desktop software and web sites are built to grab your attention in one way or another, and the constant temptations are tough to resist."
  • Is Mint Ready for Your Money?
    "After just four weeks of their public beta, financial management web site Mint is already boasting over 50,000 members and managing over $2 billion of their money."
  • Windows Tip: Hibernate vs. Standby
    "Quick: What's the difference between putting your PC in Hibernate or Standby mode? Yeah, we weren't sure either."
  • Google Releases Gmail Mobile 1.5
    "Version 1.5 adds the ability to search your mail, easy access to your contacts list, more efficient data usage that reduces bandwidth consumption (and load time), and more configurable settings."
  • What's New in the Other 'Buntus
    "A new version release for Ubuntu can feel like a Linux version of a dysfunctional family reunion for some users—they watch the oldest, most popular sibling get all the attention, wondering when their own unique qualities will get noticed."
  • First Look at Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
    "Mac users have been waiting since 2004 for an update to Microsoft's ubiquitous office suite, and especially eagerly since Apple switched to Intel processors."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 12th, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  Suffering from Lifehacker information overload? Turn down the volume with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Taking Puppy Linux for a Walk
    "Booting Linux from an external drive with the applications and settings of your choice has never been easier after this week's release of Puppy Linux 3.0."
  • Discover the .EDU Underground
    "Little appreciated outside the world of academia, there are literally thousands of .edu sites bursting with incredibly useful and interesting information and resources."
  • Six Ways to Catch Your Favorite TV Shows
    "This viewing season there are more ways than ever to catch the latest episodes of your best-loved shows without becoming a slave to the prime-time television schedule."
  • Top 10 Ways to Sleep Smarter and Better
    "Nothing kills your ability to get things done faster than a bad night's sleep."
  • Show Us What's in Your Pockets
    "It's time to pare things down and see exactly what the pockets-only crowd deem worthy of their coveted lint-space."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Wait for Leopard Before Buying a Mac?
    "I'm going to finally take the leap from PC to Mac. But the next version of the Mac OS is due out soon, right? Should I wait?"
  • Break the Snack Habit
    "Real Simple magazine has an intriguing article on how to break bad eating habits, including snacking between meals—which can lead to overeating pretty quickly."
  • Battle of the Multi-Protocol IM Clients, Trillian vs. Adium
    "Macworld reports that the makers of Trillian are putting together an OS X version of Trillian's upcoming version 4 release. Cross-platform users, which multi-protocol IM client do you think is better?"
  • A First Look at eBay Desktop
    "With eBay Desktop, you can interact with the auction site normally with the added benefit of having powerful tools on hand in a very lightweight application."
  • Customize Windows XP with TweakUI
    "TweakUI digs deep into Windows' settings and can customize its behavior dozens of ways."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: October 5th, 2007, 6:15pm EDT

  Buried under too many Lifehacker posts? Turn down the volume with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Rock Your Presentation with the Right Tools and Apps
    "At some point in your career as a student or professional, you're going to have to give a presentation—and when you do, you want to be prepared with the right content and applications."
  • Cover Your Butt At Work with Thorough Notes
    "There's an easy way to protect yourself from accusations, blame and disrespect at the office: by keeping great notes."
  • Save a Life With Your Computer
    "What if you could use your computer for more than writing up the latest TPS report or surfing the webernets for last night's Family Guy episodes?"
  • A Seller's Guide to Craigslist
    "If you live in a city with a thriving Craigslist community, the free, popular online classified ads site is more than just a great place to find excellent deals in your community."
  • Top 10 Wi-Fi Boosts, Tweaks and Apps
    "No doubt you've got a home wireless network or you've connected to hotspots at the local coffee shop or airport—but are you getting the most out of your Wi-Fi? "
  • Menu Bar Show and Tell
    "The Mac Menu Bar—the small strip of applications on the top right of your Mac—houses some of the coolest apps you can run on your system."
  • MacBook Pro 1GB, 2GB, and 3GB Memory Speed Tests
    "You already know you can upgrade your Mac's RAM yourself and save big money, but how much extra memory do you want?"
  • Reboot Your Brain with a Caffeine Nap
    "Didn't get enough sleep last night? Grab a quick midday nap just after a cup of coffee."
  • Build a Wi-Fi Adapter for Your Xbox 360 On the Cheap
    "Got an Xbox 360 but don't want to weave 100 feet of Ethernet cable through your living room or drop $100 bucks for the official Xbox Wi-Fi adapter—and you've got a nasty DIY streak?"
  • Do You Sign The Back Of Your Credit Cards?
    "One of the most common ways to guard yourself against credit card misuse is to sign the back of your card, so that merchants can check the signature on your card with that on your ID. Right?"
  • Ask the Readers: Best Online To-do List Manager?
    " every week, there's a new web application that helps you keep your to-do list. But which ones are you using to, you know, actually do things?"

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 28th, 2007, 6:00pm EDT

  Buried under too many Lifehacker posts? Turn down the volume with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Useful Command Line Tricks for Mac Users
    "If you've never launched the Terminal, you're missing out on a plethora of Unix tools that offer more control and options than any dialog box possibly could."
  • Soup Up Your Xbox Media Center
    "The Xbox Media Center software has a bunch of configurable options, scripts and hooks into online services that can complete your XBMC experience."
  • One OpenID to Rule Them All...or Not?
    "Decentralized online identification system OpenID can log you into thousands of social networking sites (and counting) using a single username and password."

  • Become an Online Power-Shopper
    "In the past 10 years, the internet has completely revolutionized the way we shop—so much so that there's rarely a compelling reason to make purchases offline anymore."
  • Top 10 Ways to Put Your Remote Server to Good Use
    "An always-on server can come in all kinds of handy for running automated tasks, syncing your data, remote controlling downloads and acting as a proxy."
  • System Tray Show and Tell
    "Ah the system tray. It's that little corner of screen real estate that holds all of your must-have, always-on utilities."
  • Find Out If Your Computer Is Secretly Connecting to the Web
    "If you are trying to track down why your computer is running so slooowwwly, try using this simple DOS command from Digital Inspiration to uncover a possible problem..."
  • Clear Your Cable Clutter with a Towel Rack
    "The Unclutterer weblog cleans up their home theater's mess of cords with a cheap multi-hook rack."
  • Desktop Show and Tell Roundup
    "We love looking at your killer desktops, and after three weeks of saucy submissions we're convinced that Lifehacker readers definitely know how to put together an excellent desktop environment."
  • Build an IKEA Charging Station with Switches
    "Howto web site Instructables details how to add individual switches to each unit on your DIY charging station."
• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 21st, 2007, 7:17pm EDT

  Buried under too many Lifehacker posts? Turn down the volume with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Transform Your Classic Xbox into a Killer Media Center
    "Don't ditch your classic Xbox just because you can't play Halo 3 on it: nowadays it's easier than ever to transform that old neglected console into a Unix-based media command center."
  • Five Tools to Capture Your Thoughts
    "One of the best productivity tips I've found—courtesy of David Allen's book, Getting Things Done—is keeping 'buckets' for your ideas. "
  • Mirror Your Mac on a Bootable External Drive
    "If and when that terrible day your Mac dies finally catches up to you, you can be back up and running with all your applications, settings and data in under 5 seconds with a bootable system clone."
  • Remote Control Your Computer with Your iPhone
    "You could spend hundreds of dollars on a multimedia remote with a touchscreen interface, glorious album art, and all of the fixings, but if you've already got an iPhone, you really don't need to."
  • Yahoo Mail Innovates, Gmail Stagnates
    "Google makes a great beta, but with Gmail they've been much too slow to actually take the application to the next level."
  • Top 10 Firefox Extension-free Tabbed Browsing Techniques
    "Sure we love our Tab Mix Plus, but there's a ton of tabbed browsing features baked right into Firefox that don't necessitate the extra baggage of an extension."
  • Desktop Show and Tell, Linux Edition
    "From the wholly minimal to the completely ornate, the Linux desktop has never been sexier."
  • Best Free Software to Unlock Your Favorite Hardware
    "It sucks that your favorite gadgets have more functionality than their default software exposes, but it rules that several software applications are built to unlock that potential for free."
  • Follow Your Favorite Lifehacker Commenters
    "The wisdom of this crowd surpasses that of any other community on the 'net, and now we're making it easier than ever to stalk follow your favorite commenters."
  • Google Docs Adds Presentations
    "Google finally rounds out their web-based office suite with the addition of Presentations to Google Docs."
  • Hack Your Home Telephone with Asterisk
    "..the free, open source Asterisk software does some crazy stuff, like IM's whenever the phone rings, sets custom MP3 hold music, and—my favorite—forwards annoying telemarketing calls to the very loud sound of monkeys screaming."
  • Ask the Readers: Best Firefox userchrome.css Tweaks?
    "Just as extensions add functionality and about:config tweaks change behavior, you can style Firefox's "chrome" using the userchrome.css file."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 14th, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  Too much Lifehacker here for you? Don't give up on us; turn down the volume of with our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Add a Web Interface to Your Homemade DVR
    "Put other DVRs to shame by adding a web interface to SageTV."
  • Fifteen Last.fm Power Tweaks
    "One of the best ways to discover new music online is with Last.fm, a music recommendation community..."
  • Turn Your Windows PC into a Media Center Powerhouse On the Cheap
    "If you've purchased a new Windows computer in the past few years that's running Windows Media Center Edition or Vista Home Premium or Ultimate and you aren't taking advantage of its baked-in DVR Media Center software, it's time we change that."
  • Top 10 Wikipedia Tricks
    "Without a doubt, Wikipedia is one of the most useful and amazing sources of information on the internet—but chances are you aren't using it to its full potential."
  • Desktop Show and Tell, Mac Edition
    "Last week we took a look at the Windows desktops of our readers, and now we're back for week two of our Desktop Show and Tell."
  • Display Current Track and Artwork with CD Art Display
    "Windows only: Freeware application CD Art Display shows your currently playing track's name, artist and album art in attractive floating skins."
  • FTP File Transfer Across Platforms with Filezilla 3.0
    "Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): Formerly Windows-only free, open source FTP client FileZilla upgrades to version 3.0, adding cross-platform support and a few small feature updates."
  • Time Your Work Sessions with Instant Boss
    "Windows only: The Instant Boss timer application sets up a number of work dashes with breaks."
  • Customize Your Dual Monitor Wallpaper with DisplayFusion
    "Windows XP and Vista only: Dual monitor utility DisplayFusion can set different wallpaper images for each of your desktops or stretch an image across desktops."
  • Filter By File Type in Windows Explorer with QT ToolBar
    "With QT ToolBar you can enter a specific file extension and select all similar files in bulk..."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: September 7th, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  Too much Lifehacker got you down? Subscribe to our daily digest of our best posts with the top stories feed or the once-a-week highlights feed. This week's best posts include:
  

  • Install Third-Party Applications on Your iPhone
    "I'll show you how to download, install, and manage third-party software on your iPhone, and I'll highlight a few of the best available right now."
  • Top 10 Back to School Tools for the Organized Student
    "Whether you're looking for deals on textbooks, the most productive Facebook apps, research utilities or the best ways to share and organize your class notes, there are more downloads and web services available for the tech-savvy student than ever."
  • Desktop Show and Tell, Windows Edition
    "We've got tons of tweaked-out, streamlined and gorgeous Windows desktops to show off, so check out this week's gallery for a look at some of the best submissions..."
  • Ten Ways to Access Banned Sites
    "...tech site WebStuffScan has posted a list of 10 different strategies you can use to access the forbidden."
  • Flight Simulator in Google Earth 4.2
    "...the latest version of Google Earth... quietly got a fabulous new flight simulator which flies a virtual airplane... from an airport and runway of your choice."
  • Getting Up Early Made Easy
    "Self-improvement site LifeRemix has come up with 24 strategies for getting up earlier..."
  • Boost Your Wireless Signal With a Homemade Wifi Extender
    "It's amazing what a few sheets of tinfoil can do for the strength of your wireless signal."
  • Google Reader Adds Search Box, Users Rejoice
    "Now you can search across all of your subscribed feeds as a whole, or more granularly across tags or even individual subscriptions."
  • Learn More and Study Less
    "While there's no magic solution to instantly improve your grades and improve your brain overnight, you can learn more and study less by improving the way you work and the way you study..."
  • Stop Your ISP from Throttling BitTorrent Speeds
    "If your BitTorrent download speeds are less than stellar, there's a chance your ISP may be throttling your BitTorrent traffic."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 31st, 2007, 5:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker posts flooding your newsreader? Turn down the volume using either our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Partition and Image Your Hard Drive with the System Rescue CD
    "You've just reinstalled Windows from scratch—again—but this time you want to preserve your sparkling clean setup for instant restoration down the road."
  • Where the Web Archives Are
    "Some of the most intriguing resources on the web are located in archives—compilations of data that in the past, could only be found by making appointments in dusty libraries."
  • Maintain a Consistent Workspace Across Multiple Computers
    "Most likely you use more than one computer in the course of a day—a work computer and a home computer, maybe even a laptop and a desktop."
  • Top 10 Ways to Clean Up Your PC
    "Whether it's remnants of that bag of Fritos you ate three years ago lodged in your keyboard or a registry full of broken entries, that old PC of yours could use a little cleaning up."
  • Show Us Your Go Bag, Part III
    "You've shown us your satchels, we've seen our fair share of urban assault bags, and this week we're back for the third and final installment of our Show Us Your Go Bag series."
  • Ubuntu Founder Mark Shuttleworth on Productivity and Linux
    "Founder of Ubuntu Linux Mark Shuttleworth took time out of his busy schedule to talk with us about email, productivity, travel, web applications, Ubuntu, free software and much more."
  • Confident Body Language
    "You can make yourself seem more confident (even if you're not) with a few body language tricks."
  • Unsubscribe from Catalogs
    "While most reputable companies make it easy to unsubscribe from their email list, those same companies make it as much of a pain as possible to unsubscribe from their paper catalog."
  • Get Reverse Phone Lookups with Sullr
    "Web site Sullr provides reverse phone number lookups with an attractive AJAX interface and Google Maps mashup."
  • Make an iPhone/iPod Stand from a Business Card
    "Sick of holding your iPod, iPhone, or other portable video player in your lap like a chump while all the other cool cats in the plane/train/automobile sit their portable devices in a trendy yet elegant stand?"
  • Tweak Vista and XP with Xdn Tweaker
    "Windows only: Tweak system settings in both Windows XP and Vista with lightweight freeware application Xdn Tweaker."

• 

  This Week's Best Posts

  Posted: August 24th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker posts flooding your newsreader? Turn down the volume using either our daily, trimmed-down top stories feed or once-weekly Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Compare and merge files and folders with WinMerge
    "When several people are updating and making copies of the same files, multiple versions easily blossom out of control."
  • Power Up Your Linux Desktop With Compiz Fusion
    "Linux users: Not only can desktop decorator Compiz Fusion add eye candy to your system that leaves Windows and Mac users drooling on their keyboards, it can seriously boost your productivity."
  • Nine Time-Saving Quicksilver Triggers
    "Although you can cut down on a lot of keystrokes and work using Quicksilver through its main interface, you can cut down repetitive Quicksilver actions even further by assigning triggers to common tasks."
  • Top 10 Gnome Desktop Tweaks
    "The desktop environment for many Linux users, Gnome, is fast, organized and very easy to learn."
  • Show Us Your Go Bag, Part 2
    "You're on your way out the door for yet another day of unbridled productivity, but before you head out, you grab your go bag—the lifeline satchel that holds everything you need to operate on-the-go."
  • Google Earth Adds Sky
    "Now you can stargaze using Google's popular desktop mapping application Google Earth."
  • Make an emergency light source from a pencil
    "A pencil lead and a connection source is all you need, and voila! Emergency light source."
  • Deal With Post-Lunch Sleepiness
    "The New York Times tackles that daily productivity killer called the post-lunch dip — you know, the pull of the yawn toward an afternoon power nap after lunch."
  • Save Energy With An Always-Available Computer
    "Reader Aaron keeps his computer on for easy remote access and for nightly scheduled tasks (like backups and defrags), but didn't want to waste the energy an always-on computer would."
  • Consolidate Your Data With the Easy Duplicate Finder
    "Windows only: System utility Easy Duplicate Finder scans drives and folders for identical files and lets you delete or move them off your PC."

• 

  This week's best posts

  Posted: August 17th, 2007, 10:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker snowing you under with too many daily posts? Turn down the volume and get only the good stuff using either our once-weekly Highlights feed or daily, trimmed-down top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Power replacements for built-in Windows utilities
    "Power users need power utilities, and Windows' default system programs barely get the job done."
  • A Beginner's Guide to Mind Mapping Meetings
    "Do you have trouble keeping up with meetings because you can't take notes as fast as the speaker talks?"
  • Get boring but necessary tasks done online
    "We are all busy, busy people. However, we've all got necessary grown-up tasks that usually end up on the bottom of our to do list because they have something to do with bureaucratic red tape..."
  • Chat with AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and other contacts over Google Talk
    "Today I'll show you how to chat with all of your instant messaging buddies—with all the benefits of Gmail and web integration—using Google Talk as a universal chat application."
  • Top 10 PDF Tricks
    "Chances are you've already got a free PDF reader installed on your computer, but you can do a lot more with your PDF files than you might think."
  • Show Us Your Go Bag
    "...today we're taking a look at the bag full of gadgets and productivity tools you throw over your shoulder as you head out the door, confident that you've got everything you need to get things done."
  • Clean out old files with the Windows Janitor script
    "Recover hard drive space and keep your "junk drawer" from getting too cluttered with an automated task that sweeps through that temporary folder and deletes the old stuff you don't need."
  • Use your wristwatch as a compass
    "Hold a watch with 12 o'clock at left. Move your arm so the hour hand points at the sun. The spot halfway between the hour hand and the 12 is south."
  • Automatically download new TV shows over BitTorrent with ted
    "Freeware application ted (torrent episode downloader) is like Tivo for BitTorrent, providing an easy-to-use interface for setting up season pass downloads for your favorite television shows."
  • Find people with Pipl
    "Pipl returned an impressive number of results for my own name, including my personal homepage, press mentions, SEC documents, MySpace page, Amazon wishlist and profile—stuff I didn't realize or forgot was online."
  • Copy music from your iPod to your Mac or PC
    "Your computer hard drive crashed and now all your precious music is trapped on that little white iPod of yours. Fear not: you can copy music from an iPod back to a computer, even if Apple won't tell you how."
  • Batch process images with FastStone Photo Resizer
    "Image processor FastStone Photo Resizer can edit, correct, crop, rename, and watermark your digital images in batch mode—that is, in big bunches all at once."
  • Add a folder to the sidebar with Cmd-T
    "Got a file you need to remember later today? Cmd-T."

• 

  This week's best posts

  Posted: August 10th, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Don't let Lifehacker overload get you down. Get a digest of our best posts once a week using our Highlights feed. For a handful of our best posts per day, grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:
  

  • A beginner's guide to BitTorrent
    "This is the guide you can send to your friend next time he gets that glassy look in his eyes when you mention BitTorrent."
  • StumbleUpon the best pages on the web
    "Using StumbleUpon, you can cut down on your Googling and get straight to what you're looking for - whatever the subject - using the StumbleUpon community hive mind."
  • Intermediate guide to BitTorrent
    "Today I'll show your how to set advanced bandwidth allocation, ensure a good share ratio, and guard your computer against anti-BitTorrent nasties that want to spy on your downloads."
  • Top 10 Free Wallpaper, Fonts and Icon Sources
    "Googling free wallpaper or fonts turns up a gaggle of random sites with flashy ads and mediocre art..."
  • Show Us Your Non-Firefox Browser, Part 2
    "Lest we allow our loyal readers to turn into hateful browser elitists, we're back for part 2 of the Show Us Your Non-Firefox Browser series."
  • Rip Netflix "Watch Now" movies to your hard drive
    "...step-by-step guide for saving Netflix 'Watch Now' movies to your hard drive so you can watch it sans-DRM and browser restrictions."
  • Rip full DVDs (with menus) to your hard drive with Drive-in
    "Insert your disc, open it with Drive-in, enter the barcode on the back of your DVD case, and watch as it retrieves your DVD info from Amazon."
  • How to lucid dream
    "Lucid dreaming is being aware you're dreaming while you're doing it, and there are a few techniques you can use to practice it."
  • Turn a flashlight into a handheld burning laser
    "...extract the laser from a DVD burner and mount it in a small flashlight to create a handheld laser burner that can light matches and burst balloons."
  • Apple releases new iWork, iLife, updates .Mac
    "iWork has added a spreadsheet app called Numbers, iLife has a whole new iDVD, improved iPhoto..."
  • Free, high res wallpaper at InterfaceLIFT
    "Download sizes include widescreen 16:10 aspect ratios to fullscreen to mobile for the iPod or PSP. "

• 

  This week's best posts

  Posted: August 3rd, 2007, 5:00pm EDT

  Having a tough time getting through your weekly Lifehacker? Get a digest of our best posts once a week using our Highlights feed. For a handful of posts per day, grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:
  

  • Manage your life via SMS
    "More and more modern webapps let you interact with your data via SMS, updating and retrieving your information in the cloud on the go."
  • 10 ways to entertain young children for $1 or less (without the TV)
    "Sick of paying hundreds of dollars for toys your kids don't play with?"
  • Get productive with the best Facebook Apps
    "With Facebook apps - third-party plugins - you can make Facebook into your own personal Mr. Belvedere."
  • Take Launchy beyond application launching
    "Using Launchy, you can append text to files, schedule appointments, add to your to-do list, set reminders, and more—it just takes a little setting up."
  • Top 10 Firefox features that don't require extensions
    "Today, rather than pointing you toward a handful of extensions designed to boost your productivity, we're highlighting the top 10 productivity-boosting Firefox features that don't require an extension."
  • Show Us Your Non-Firefox Browser
    "This week we're taking a look at user-submitted screenshots of their non-Firefox browsers, and I can tell you ahead of time that you're bound to be impressed."
  • How to exit a conversation
    "You stopped off for a two minute small-talk session with the boss/buddy/neighbor, they've yammered on for a 20 minute chat explosion, and you need to get out!"
  • Get rid of clutter with the penicillin method
    " The Penicillin method... uses a Petri dish metaphor to get a grip on clutter."
  • 10 things your IT department won't tell you
    "The Wall Street Journal... asks 3 productivity mavens (including our very own Gina Trapani) how to get around [IT] blocks."
  • Career advice from Dilbert's Scott Adams
    "Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, ...gives his thoughts on what it takes to develop a successful career."

• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 27th, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker's post volume clogging up your feedreader? Get a digest of our best posts once a week using our Highlights feed. For a handful of posts per day, grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Free your music from iTunes with iTunes Export
    "Whether you're abandoning iTunes entirely or just wanting to copy the contents of your meticulously-created iTunes library to another computer, drive or device, iTunes Export is for you."
  • Where to find public records online
    "While our most private information can (usually) not be found online, you can track down items like birth certificates, marriage and divorce information, obituaries and licenses on the web."
  • Back up your Google Apps data
    "Unless you back up your stuff locally, Google holds the keys to your digital life and you're out of luck if and when Google loses or denies you access to that data."
  • Top 10 Clipboard Tricks
    "Several utilities can turbocharge your clipboard and track, transfer and reformat the clipboard to your heart's content."
  • Show Us Your Firefox, Part 4
    "We've got a smorgasbord of tasty Firefox treats for you..."
  • Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret
    "One night I was in the club where Seinfeld was working, and before he went on stage, I saw my chance..."
  • Completely remove programs with Revo Uninstaller
    "Freeware application Revo Uninstaller makes removing programs from your computer—not just uninstalling, but removing all traces—a quick and painless process."
  • Improve your battery life with Vista Battery Saver
    "Vista Battery Saver extends how long you can use your Vista laptop between charges by killing a couple of Vista's unnecessary energy hogs when you unplug your laptop, namely Aero (Vista's fancy new interface) and the Windows Sidebar."
  • Create an in-cell bar graph with Excel
    "Reader Adam screencasts one of our best Microsoft Excel tips ever - how to make an instant, in-cell bar graph."
  • Speed up and protect your logins with Secure Login
    "After it's installed, saved login info won't autofill when the page loads..."

• 

  Featured Mac Download: Callout anything on your screen with Highlight

  Posted: July 24th, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  Mac OS X only: You can draw anywhere on your monitor with simple freeware utility Highlight; just run the app and start drawing. There's really not much more to Highlight other than it does exactly what it's supposed to. If you do a lot of live demos, or just want to call out something on your monitor before you take a screenshot for tech support, this is a handy app to have in your toolbox. You can clear your highlighting at any time by quitting the app or hitting Cmd-K. Highlight is freeware, Mac OS X only.
  
  Highlight [krugazor via Cool OSX Apps]
  

• 

  Call out anything on your screen with Highlight

  Posted: July 24th, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  Mac OS X only: You can draw anywhere on your monitor with simple freeware utility Highlight; just run the app and start drawing. There's really not much more to Highlight other than it does exactly what it's supposed to. If you do a lot of live demos, or just want to call out something on your monitor before you take a screenshot for tech support, this is a handy app to have in your toolbox. You can clear your highlighting at any time by quitting the app or hitting Cmd-K. Highlight is freeware, Mac OS X only.
  

  
  Highlight [krugazor via Cool OSX Apps]
  
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 20th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker's stream of daily posts overloading your feedreader? Get a digest of our best posts once a week using our Highlights feed. For a handful of posts per day, grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:
  

  • Top 10 Computing Energy Savers
    "Reducing the amount of energy your hungry computers eat up every day won't only save you money on electricity bills, it will reduce your carbon footprint."
  • U.S. government web sites you didn't know you could use
    "Overlooked and difficult to find, there are hundreds of thousands of U.S. government web sites that can help you accomplish a variety of tasks."
  • Set Windows programs as defaults for your Mac (and vice versa)
    "Some applications are better on the Mac, others are better on Windows."
  • Top 10 Unofficial Gmail Apps and Add-ons
    "Gmail's huge success owes itself in large part to the wide range of applications, browser add-ons, styles, scripts and bookmarklets that work with it."
  • Show Us Your Firefox, Part 3
    "And God also said, Let there be Firefox. And it was so."
  • Better Gmail Firefox extension 1.0 now available
    "Better Gmail's first major number release adds features, fixes bugs, includes major performance improvements and lots of spit and polish."

  • Use AIM over SMS
    "Got unlimited text messaging but no IM on your phone?"
  • Reorder your taskbar and system tray with Taskbar Shuffle
    "In addition to reordering your Windows taskbar items, Taskbar Shuffle can now reorder your system tray icons as well."
  • Dash throws another hat in the Quicksilver-for-Windows ring
    "New Quicksilver-inspired application Dash packs application launching, web search, quick email, Google Calendar, file and folder browsing, and more into a lightweight package (uses around 3MB of memory when idle)."
  • Getting into the Weekly Review habit
    "The last five Fridays I've scheduled and followed through on the Weekly Review, and it turns out it makes an enormous mental difference."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 13th, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker's stream of daily posts overloading your feedreader? Get a digest of our best posts once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:
  

  • Top 10 Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life
    "Virtual clutter can drag you down and create as much stress and anxiety as physical junk can."
  • YubNub web search command line
    "YubNub provides a powerful CLI to the entire web."
  • Build advanced Gmail filters and persistent searches
    "Gmail makes the megabytes of messages that get pumped into your inbox every day manageable through laser-specific search."
  • Windows Home Server connects your household PCs
    "Most people who keep a headless file server in their bedroom closet are also active members of the Uber Geek Club, but Microsoft is out to change all that with their upcoming Windows Home Server release."
  • Show Us Your Firefox, Part 2
    "The submissions keep pouring in, and we're still surprised and impressed at the cool things you're doing with your 'foxes."

  • Move your organization to Google Apps for Your Domain
    "Resident geek and family tech support guy Scott Hanselman moved his entire family (in-laws included!) from their old email systems onto Google Apps for your Domain Gmail."
  • Better GCal Firefox extension adds more features and skins to Google Calendar
    "Version 0.2 of Better GCal colors Saturday and Sunday, wraps the text of long event titles, and displays week numbers in month view, plus it offers two new skins: Air Skin and Slate."
  • Flock social web browser
    "The browser that integrates with modern social networking webapps has come a long way..."
  • Create nested labels in Gmail with Folders4Gmail
    "The Folders4Gmail user script turns Gmail labels into a pseudo-foldering system by giving labels a nested look and feel."
  • Set headphone-specific volume level
    "Set two different volume levels on your Mac: one for when the headphones are plugged in, and one not..."
  • Take advantage of your widescreen monitor with Sizer
    "Freeware application Sizer resizes windows to pixel-specific sizes through the right-click menu."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 6th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  The abundance of Lifehacker posts cloggin' up the ol' feedreader? Get a digest of our best posts delivered to your newsreader once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Top 10 iPhone applications
    "...the best iPhone applications that should be ready for your iPhone as soon as you pull the shiny monolith from its coveted black box."
  • Turbocharge your terminal
    "The holy grail of the terminal lies in a configuration file located in home/username/.bashrc. Let's transform .bashrc from a couch potato into a productivity monster."
  • Advanced file and attachment management with Gmail
    "With Gmail, handling file attachments en masse is practically impossible. Wouldn't it be nice if you could manage your attachments in a regular filesystem or a system of smart folders? You can, and today I'll show you how."
  • Bundles and bundles of Texter
    "...you can now export, import, add, and remove bundles from/to Texter."

  • Better Gmail now in 20 languages with 3 new features
    "Just uploaded the latest version of the Better Gmail Firefox extension, which adds 3 features, SeaMonkey support and translations for 19 languages and locales (in addition to U.S. English.)"
  • New Quicksilver for Windows app Skylight looks very promising
    "...though it's still very young—Skylight looks like the most promising Quicksilver-for-Windows app I've seen yet."
  • The 10 commandments of good credit
    "Thou Shalt Pay Off Your Balance In Full Every Month."
  • See real-world cell phone signals by location with SignalMap
    "Google Maps mashup SignalMap tracks user-submitted cell signals based on carriers and locations, giving you a better insight into real world signal expectations for coverage."
  • Organize and search your feeds with Fastladder
    "New web-based RSS reader Fastladder picks up the slack where Google Reader has been slow to develop."
  • Mark previewed messages as read
    "Microsoft Outlook 2007's default setting is to leave the naggy little "new mail" notification envelope in the taskbar, even if you've viewed your last unread email in the reading pane."
  • Organize your Outlook inbox with color-coding
    "Paul's demo shows color-coding can be used much more extensively."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 29th, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  The abundance of Lifehacker posts cloggin' up the ol' feedreader? Get a digest of our best posts delivered to your newsreader once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  
  
  • Top 10 DIY office projects
    "Anyone can drop cash on spendy office gear, but it takes a little ingenuity to rig up your workspace just right with stuff you've already got around the house."
  
  
  • Publish and map your photos with Picasa
    "Besides using Picasa to organize and edit the digital photos on your computer, you can also use this versatile photo editor to create web albums, send and resize bulk photos to Flickr, and geotag photos using Google Earth."
  
  
  • Sync your Firefox extensions and profiles across computers
    "Since the dawn of time, humanity has longed for a simple way to sync Firefox extensions, themes, bookmarks, and saved passwords between computers so that no matter where you're working, your browser is customized in the exact same way—the way you always intended it."
  
  
  • Separate your email from your to-do's
    "Everyone gets task requests via email all day long, and it's so easy to let these messages slip through the cracks."
  
  
  • Show Us Your Firefox, Part 1
    "Firefox's strong point is its extensibility, and after taking a look at the way Lifehacker readers extend Firefox to do their bidding, it's hard to understand why anyone would choose any other browser."
  
  
  • Build your own underwater camcorder housing
    "DIY'er Kipkay puts together a waterproof casing for his video recorder to capture underwater action in the pool."
  
  
  • Turn a C battery into a D with quarters
    "Build a makeshift D to C "adaptor" with a few regular, conductive, George Washington quarters."
  
  
  • Watch internet video like TV at Chime.tv
    "New video aggregator Chime.tv offers internet video from all the big providers in a slick, television-like interface."
  
  
  • Find the closest place to go on the go with MizPee
    "Web site MizPee finds the closest and cleanest bathroom by location from the ease of your mobile phone."
  
  
  • CallWave replaces your voicemail, transcribes what's important
    "Transcriptions are not verbatim. Instead, the feature (called Vtxt) trims out the fat to give you the gist of the message. The text is then sent as a text message or an email so you can get to the point quickly."
  
  
  • Screencast your favorite shortcut for a signed copy of Lifehacker
    "You've got a few great shortcuts and timesavers up your sleeve that help you get stuff done faster on your computer. Now we want to see 'em in action!"
  
  
  • Drag and drop to tweak your driving route
    "Change the driving directions by grabbing the blue route line and dragging it to create a new destination point, which will in turn create a new route."
  
  

• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 22nd, 2007, 8:00pm EDT

  Suffering from Lifehacker information overload? Get a digest of our best posts delivered to your newsreader once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Turn your Windows Mobile phone into an iPhone
    "If your clunky old Windows Mobile phone is just sitting around collecting iPhone jealousy dust, you can either scrounge together 500 leafy Sacagaweas, or you can customize your Windows Mobile phone to emulate several of the iPhone's more interesting features."
  • Edit your digital photos with Picasa
    "If you don't have the cash or patience to get a copy of Photoshop and learn what to do with it, the free Windows photo manager software, Picasa, may have everything you need to adjust your photos to your liking."
  • 13 book hacks for the library crowd
    "Today, in the interest of lifehacking your bookshelf, I'm rounding up my favorite 13 'book hacks' for getting the most from your bound literature."
  • The art of the doable to-do list
    "Your to-do list can be a tool that guides you through your work, or it can be a big fat pillar of undone time bombs taunting you and your unproductive inadequacy."
  • Show Us Your iGoogle
    "Last week we asked readers to send us screenshots of their iGoogles, and you didn't disappoint."
  • Stephen Colbert, email assassin
    "Stephen Colbert sits down with email etiquette author Will Schwalbe and dives face first into email."
  • Monitor your Mac with iStat menus
    "iStat menus integrates system statistics like CPU, RAM, HD, and Network usage into your Mac's menubar."
  • Keep track of your browsing habits with MeeTimer
    "The MeeTimer Firefox extension tracks how much time you spend on different web sites and helps categorize the time spent to give you an idea of where your browsing time has gone."
  • Insert prompts and delays with Texter 0.4
    "Just released the latest version of our text snippet application, Texter, with bug fixes and a few cool new features."
  • Get the fullscreen (read: iPhone) browsing experience with Opera Mini 4 beta
    "The new Opera Mini beta 4 offers the fullscreen browsing experience on the comfort of your mobile device."
  • Use a silent ringtone for low priority contacts
    "I just created a 1 second long recording of "nothing" using my computer, transferred it to my phone, and I can now select it as a custom ringtone for numbers that, while I don't want to block, I just don't want to hear."
  • Reformat your Gmail address with dots
    "Because Gmail doesn't recognize dots as characters within usernames, adding or removing dots from a Gmail address won't change the actual destination address."
  • Better Gmail version 0.8 now available
    "This version adds 3 new user scripts: a Mac Mail-like skin, bottom posting when replying to email, and split screen Google Reader integration, as well as fixes for a few niggly annoyances in the current version."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 15th, 2007, 10:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker posts snowing you under every day? Get a digest of our best posts delivered to your newsreader once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Top 10 Network Utilities
    "Forget arcane command line tools. Today we've picked out 10 of our favorite, free, point and click software applications and webapps that help you make the most of the giant web of connected computers that is your network."
  • Organize your digital photos with Picasa
    "What's a girl with literally thousands of pics to organize on her 'puter to do? Enter Google's free desktop software, Picasa, which is basically the Walker Texas Ranger of photo organization packages."
  • Top 10 Apps That Should've Been in Leopard
    "Now that Apple's locked down the feature-complete version of the newest iteration of OS X, it's hard not to think about what could have been."
  • Virtualize AND dual-boot the same Windows on your Mac
    "The problem with dual-booting Windows is the inconvenience of having to restart your Mac entirely. The problem with virtualizing Windows is that it can be unreasonably slow for a prolonged session. Now that Boot Camp and Parallels work together, you can choose."
  • Get Safari's best features in Firefox
    "Here's a list of Safari's best features and the Firefox extensions that bring them to our favorite browser."
  • Add scrolling iPhone-like contacts to your Windows Mobile phone
    "Get a good idea of how it works from the video, and after installing it on my phone I can say it works surprisingly well."
  • Under-desk pegboard gadget mount redux
    "A while ago you mentioned using peg board to organize all your gadgets under your desk, so I went and bought some for my office."
  • Expand Windows desktop with ShellEnhancer
    "ShellEnhancer offers several of visual enhancements like rolling up windows, making windows transparent, forcing windows to always stay on top, and forcing windows to keep focus."
  • Keep tabs on where your money goes with Expensr
    "...a promising, stripped-down online alternative to wrestling with Quicken or Microsoft Money on your desktop."
  • Give Windows an OS X-like dock with ObjectDock
    "With all the buzz surrounding Apple yesterday, this little application was too good to pass up."
  • What's new in Leopard and how it will affect your life
    "Steve Jobs' 10-point Apple WWDC keynote highlighted the new and improved Finder, the desktop manager Spaces, the automatic back up utility Time Machine, some great collaboration tools built into iChat, among several other updates."
  • Leopard Desktop heavy on eye candy, light on useful
    "Apple takes a page from Microsoft's playbook and touts Desktop as the lead feature in the new version of OS X, Leopard - and all told it amounts to a bunch of pretty graphics and some animation."
  • Leopard to usher in much-needed Finder improvements
    "We've long been complaining about Finder's general stuck-in-the-mud suckiness as compared to the rest of OS X, and wishing it would act more like iTunes. Well, the Apple gods today are granting our wish."
  • Safari 3 beta now available for Windows too
    "Steve Jobs said today that Safari is faster than Internet Explorer and Firefox..."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 8th, 2007, 6:00pm EDT

  Happy Friday, 'hackers! If you're drowning in LH information overload, grab our stripped-down daily top stories feed, or just get a once-weekly digest of the cream of the post crop. Speaking of, here - have some of this week's top posts:

  • Texter version 0.3 now available
    "The text-substitution application Texter has seen an upgrade, adding Texter stats, a printable list of your replacements, a new icon, and lots of other improvements."
  • Top 10 Ubuntu applications
    "While Ubuntu comes jacked with useful applications out of the box, there's a big selection of free, thriving Linux desktop software which matches or betters their Windows and Mac counterparts in terms of features."
  • Organize your family's essential information in case of an emergency
    "My mom had a minor stroke last week and was unable to speak. When it happened, we had no idea where her 'stuff' was - her insurance info, her bank accounts, even her house keys."
  • Automate proximity and location-based computer actions
    "Using network and Bluetooth detection software, you can do things like mount networked drives, set default printers, enable/disable your screensaver, and launch applications based on what networks are available, what network you're connected to, and what Bluetooth devices are in range."
  • Paste multiple lines to input boxes
    "If you've ever tried copying and pasting a multi-line address into Google Maps just to realize that an input box will only take one line at a time--meaning that you have to copy and paste each line individually--there's a simple Firefox tweak that will solve this problem."
  • Remember the Milk gets Gears
    "The popular online todo list Remember the Milk has paired up with the spanking new Google Gears to offer a seamless online/offline experience for RTM."
  • The cubicle warrior's guide to office jargon
    "Let's touch base next week means "I don't want to talk to you now.""
  • Turn your staircase into a set of drawers
    "...the idea comes from yachts and other boats where space is at a premium and under-stair storage is pretty common."
  • Turn your wifi router into a repeater
    "An update to the popular DD-WRT firmware for wireless routers can turn the device into a signal repeater that extends your current network's range."
  • Better Flickr version 0.2 now available
    "This update adds 4 more fabulous scripts that offer HTML controls on comment boxes, handy user and photos size links and rollover access to photo metadata. "
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 8th, 2007, 6:00pm EDT

  Happy Friday, 'hackers! If you're drowning in LH information overload, grab our stripped-down daily top stories feed, or just get a once-weekly digest of the cream of the post crop. Speaking of, here - have some of this week's top posts:

  • Texter version 0.3 now available
    "The text-substitution application Texter has seen an upgrade, adding Texter stats, a printable list of your replacements, a new icon, and lots of other improvements."
  • Top 10 Ubuntu applications
    "While Ubuntu comes jacked with useful applications out of the box, there's a big selection of free, thriving Linux desktop software which matches or betters their Windows and Mac counterparts in terms of features."
  • Organize your family's essential information in case of an emergency
    "My mom had a minor stroke last week and was unable to speak. When it happened, we had no idea where her 'stuff' was - her insurance info, her bank accounts, even her house keys."
  • Automate proximity and location-based computer actions
    "Using network and Bluetooth detection software, you can do things like mount networked drives, set default printers, enable/disable your screensaver, and launch applications based on what networks are available, what network you're connected to, and what Bluetooth devices are in range."
  • Paste multiple lines to input boxes
    "If you've ever tried copying and pasting a multi-line address into Google Maps just to realize that an input box will only take one line at a time--meaning that you have to copy and paste each line individually--there's a simple Firefox tweak that will solve this problem."
  • Remember the Milk gets Gears
    "The popular online todo list Remember the Milk has paired up with the spanking new Google Gears to offer a seamless online/offline experience for RTM."
  • The cubicle warrior's guide to office jargon
    "Let's touch base next week means "I don't want to talk to you now.""
  • Turn your staircase into a set of drawers
    "...the idea comes from yachts and other boats where space is at a premium and under-stair storage is pretty common."
  • Turn your wifi router into a repeater
    "An update to the popular DD-WRT firmware for wireless routers can turn the device into a signal repeater that extends your current network's range."
  • Better Flickr version 0.2 now available
    "This update adds 4 more fabulous scripts that offer HTML controls on comment boxes, handy user and photos size links and rollover access to photo metadata. "
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 1st, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Get Lifehacker's best posts delivered straight to your RSS reader once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough LH for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Upgrade Flickr with the Better Flickr Firefox extension
    "In the spirit of Better Gmail I've rolled a few of my favorites into a new Firefox extension called Better Flickr."
  • How to build a Firefox extension
    "How difficult is it to build a Firefox extension? For someone with a bit of programming experience, the answer is not that difficult."
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: Let the voting begin
    "After five glorious weeks of highlighting user-submitted workspaces, the time has come to narrow down our favorites."
  • Google Maps adds Street View
    "Street View lets you navigate down the streets of big cities like New York, Denver, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco."
  • Close chip bags without the clip
    "Instructables demonstrates a useful chip-clip-no-more bag fold."
  • Google enables face recognition in Image Search?
    "A regular Google Image Search for 'paris' returns lots of photos of the city. The modified search returns lots of photos of Paris Hilton."
  • iTunes 7.2 supports DRM-free iTunes Store purchases
    "iTunes Plus files cost a bit more -- $1.29 per track, versus the $0.99 per track for protected files -- but have been encoded at a higher bit rate, 256Kbps AAC, instead of 128Kbps AAC, which should yield better audio fidelity."
  • Use Firefox as a Windows file manager
    "Reader Mark says he actually uses Firefox - with the IETab extension - to browser web pages and local folders all in one Firefox window."
  • Access your Google Reader feeds offline with Google Gears
    "Read your feeds on the plane! Word on the street is that Gmail and Google Docs is to come."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 1st, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Get Lifehacker's best posts delivered straight to your RSS reader once a week using our Highlights feed. If that's not enough LH for you, instead grab our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Upgrade Flickr with the Better Flickr Firefox extension
    "In the spirit of Better Gmail I've rolled a few of my favorites into a new Firefox extension called Better Flickr."
  • How to build a Firefox extension
    "How difficult is it to build a Firefox extension? For someone with a bit of programming experience, the answer is not that difficult."
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: Let the voting begin
    "After five glorious weeks of highlighting user-submitted workspaces, the time has come to narrow down our favorites."
  • Google Maps adds Street View
    "Street View lets you navigate down the streets of big cities like New York, Denver, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco."
  • Close chip bags without the clip
    "Instructables demonstrates a useful chip-clip-no-more bag fold."
  • Google enables face recognition in Image Search?
    "A regular Google Image Search for 'paris' returns lots of photos of the city. The modified search returns lots of photos of Paris Hilton."
  • iTunes 7.2 supports DRM-free iTunes Store purchases
    "iTunes Plus files cost a bit more -- $1.29 per track, versus the $0.99 per track for protected files -- but have been encoded at a higher bit rate, 256Kbps AAC, instead of 128Kbps AAC, which should yield better audio fidelity."
  • Use Firefox as a Windows file manager
    "Reader Mark says he actually uses Firefox - with the IETab extension - to browser web pages and local folders all in one Firefox window."
  • Access your Google Reader feeds offline with Google Gears
    "Read your feeds on the plane! Word on the street is that Gmail and Google Docs is to come."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 25th, 2007, 4:00pm EDT

  Ok kids, we're skipping out early today to get started on 3-day weekend fun early. To all of you in the U.S., enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget: you can get once-weekly notification of Lifehacker's best posts using our Highlights feed. If that's not quite enough, instead grab our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Exclusive Lifehacker Download: Trick out Google Reader with Better GReader
    "...welcome GReader tweaks like maximizing the viewing area, skipping Google's default subscribe mechanism, and adding keyboard shortcuts all rolled up into a single Firefox extension, called Better GReader."
  • Top 10 Mac OS X tweaks
    "OS X ships with some odd and sometimes inconvenient default settings, and it's got a few nifty little perks for power users who enable them, no third-party software required."
  • Automatically upload a folder's photos to Flickr
    "...a cross-platform script called uploadr.py can watch a folder of your choice for new pictures, then automatically upload them to your Flickr account."
  • Useful search plugins for Firefox and IE7
    "One of the most convenient features of modern browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 is the built-in search box in the upper-right hand corner. But besides the standard Google, Yahoo and Amazon options, do you have the search plugins you need?"
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: Music and miscellany
    "Today's workspaces have a common musical thread, but overall they represent a mix of the best workspaces that didn't quite fit in with our other categories."
  • Amplify your car remote signal with your head
    "This video shows you how to extend your car alarm remote's range by holding it to your head."
  • Mount remote file systems with MacFusion
    "...a friendly user interface for mounting remote file systems over FTP or SSH using MacFUSE."
  • Free your Mac of Microsoft Office with NeoOffice
    "...a free, full-featured office suite for your Mac based on OpenOffice.org."
  • Al Gore rocks multiple monitors, could stand an inbox
    "Al Gore's got a sweet multi-monitor setup, but wouldn't win any coolest workspace contests."
  • Allocate your money in envelopes with Budget
    "Your grandparents may have used the envelope method by distributing their money into real paper envelopes marked with the name of the expense; i.e., electricity, food, rent, etc."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 25th, 2007, 4:00pm EDT

  Ok kids, we're skipping out early today to get started on 3-day weekend fun early. To all of you in the U.S., enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget: you can get once-weekly notification of Lifehacker's best posts using our Highlights feed. If that's not quite enough, instead grab our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Exclusive Lifehacker Download: Trick out Google Reader with Better GReader
    "...welcome GReader tweaks like maximizing the viewing area, skipping Google's default subscribe mechanism, and adding keyboard shortcuts all rolled up into a single Firefox extension, called Better GReader."
  • Top 10 Mac OS X tweaks
    "OS X ships with some odd and sometimes inconvenient default settings, and it's got a few nifty little perks for power users who enable them, no third-party software required."
  • Automatically upload a folder's photos to Flickr
    "...a cross-platform script called uploadr.py can watch a folder of your choice for new pictures, then automatically upload them to your Flickr account."
  • Useful search plugins for Firefox and IE7
    "One of the most convenient features of modern browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 is the built-in search box in the upper-right hand corner. But besides the standard Google, Yahoo and Amazon options, do you have the search plugins you need?"
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: Music and miscellany
    "Today's workspaces have a common musical thread, but overall they represent a mix of the best workspaces that didn't quite fit in with our other categories."
  • Amplify your car remote signal with your head
    "This video shows you how to extend your car alarm remote's range by holding it to your head."
  • Mount remote file systems with MacFusion
    "...a friendly user interface for mounting remote file systems over FTP or SSH using MacFUSE."
  • Free your Mac of Microsoft Office with NeoOffice
    "...a free, full-featured office suite for your Mac based on OpenOffice.org."
  • Al Gore rocks multiple monitors, could stand an inbox
    "Al Gore's got a sweet multi-monitor setup, but wouldn't win any coolest workspace contests."
  • Allocate your money in envelopes with Budget
    "Your grandparents may have used the envelope method by distributing their money into real paper envelopes marked with the name of the expense; i.e., electricity, food, rent, etc."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 18th, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Get Lifehacker's best posts of the week delivered straight to your newsreader Friday night by subscribing to our Highlights feed. Or, get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Lifehacker Code: Enhance Google Calendar with the Better GCal Firefox extension
    "Javascript hackers have come up with some great Greasemonkey user scripts that make GCal easier to use, so I've compiled a few of my favorites into a single Firefox extension."
  • Lifehacker Code: Automate timed mouse clicks with ClickWhen
    "...with ClickWhen you can, for example, set up your mouse to pause your iTunes music 30 minutes from now by telling it to click the iTunes pause button."
  • Top 10 Mac utilities
    "...often it's the small do-one-thing-well utilities that enhance our computing experience that much more."
  • Remote control your torrents with uTorrent's WebUI
    "..add, remove, and manage the downloads you've got running at home no matter where you are."

  • Feed your ego with RSS
    "Using a simple tool called MonitorThis, you can get ego search results from over 22 engines into your newsreader in one shot."
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: Battle of the organizers
    "Each entry has a little something special to offer in the organization department, from clever cord management to smart tricks for hiding all those messy electronics meant to be used, not seen."
  • Boot up your Mac from your iPod
    "...set your iPod to run in disk mode, and then install OS X on it using the original installation disks."
  • Make your own laptop stand
    "I've always liked the iLap laptop stands, but I've never been able to justify the price."
  • Instantly shrink links with Gmail TinyURL
    "Instead of switching tabs to convert a long URL in Gmail to a TinyURL, do it in 2 keystrokes with the Gmail TinyURL Greasemonkey script."
  • Navigate Google search results via keyboard shortcuts
    "...Gmail-like keyboard shortcuts for navigating results."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 18th, 2007, 7:00pm EDT

  Get Lifehacker's best posts of the week delivered straight to your newsreader Friday night by subscribing to our Highlights feed. Or, get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Lifehacker Code: Enhance Google Calendar with the Better GCal Firefox extension
    "Javascript hackers have come up with some great Greasemonkey user scripts that make GCal easier to use, so I've compiled a few of my favorites into a single Firefox extension."
  • Lifehacker Code: Automate timed mouse clicks with ClickWhen
    "...with ClickWhen you can, for example, set up your mouse to pause your iTunes music 30 minutes from now by telling it to click the iTunes pause button."
  • Top 10 Mac utilities
    "...often it's the small do-one-thing-well utilities that enhance our computing experience that much more."
  • Remote control your torrents with uTorrent's WebUI
    "..add, remove, and manage the downloads you've got running at home no matter where you are."

  • Feed your ego with RSS
    "Using a simple tool called MonitorThis, you can get ego search results from over 22 engines into your newsreader in one shot."
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: Battle of the organizers
    "Each entry has a little something special to offer in the organization department, from clever cord management to smart tricks for hiding all those messy electronics meant to be used, not seen."
  • Boot up your Mac from your iPod
    "...set your iPod to run in disk mode, and then install OS X on it using the original installation disks."
  • Make your own laptop stand
    "I've always liked the iLap laptop stands, but I've never been able to justify the price."
  • Instantly shrink links with Gmail TinyURL
    "Instead of switching tabs to convert a long URL in Gmail to a TinyURL, do it in 2 keystrokes with the Gmail TinyURL Greasemonkey script."
  • Navigate Google search results via keyboard shortcuts
    "...Gmail-like keyboard shortcuts for navigating results."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 11th, 2007, 8:30pm EDT

  Get a list of Lifehacker's weekly best posts on Friday evening by subscribing to our Highlights feed. Or, get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Top 10 Body Hacks
    "We geeks spend a lot of time tinkering with our PCs, but the greatest computer you'll ever use is your body."
  • Stream your music with Orb
    "You don't need to spend a dime to stream your music library to another PC. All you need is Orb, a free service that turns your system into a killer MP3 server."
  • Secure your laptop with the LaptopLock
    "Don't let the creep who stole your computer paw through your private files, passwords and personal information."
  • Replace Windows Explorer with Xplorer2
    "Like Firefox is a must-have replacement for Internet Explorer, a file manager called Xplorer2 blows Windows Explorer out of the water for anyone who browses multiple folders, copies, pastes, moves and searches the PC filesystem frequently."
  • It's what's on the walls that matters
    "Each of our entries for the day have a little something special going on with their walls, whether it's a well-chosen paint job or some snazzy artwork."
  • Lifehacker Code: Invert web page colors with the Darken bookmarklet
    "A little Javascript can darken the background of any web page to heighten readability, reduce brightness and monitor energy consumption."
  • Find an apartment with Google Maps/Craigslist mashup
    "MapsKrieg helps you find apartments, houses for rent, sublets and more by mashing Craigslist listings with Google Maps."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 11th, 2007, 8:30pm EDT

  Get a list of Lifehacker's weekly best posts on Friday evening by subscribing to our Highlights feed. Or, get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Top 10 Body Hacks
    "We geeks spend a lot of time tinkering with our PCs, but the greatest computer you'll ever use is your body."
  • Stream your music with Orb
    "You don't need to spend a dime to stream your music library to another PC. All you need is Orb, a free service that turns your system into a killer MP3 server."
  • Secure your laptop with the LaptopLock
    "Don't let the creep who stole your computer paw through your private files, passwords and personal information."
  • Replace Windows Explorer with Xplorer2
    "Like Firefox is a must-have replacement for Internet Explorer, a file manager called Xplorer2 blows Windows Explorer out of the water for anyone who browses multiple folders, copies, pastes, moves and searches the PC filesystem frequently."
  • It's what's on the walls that matters
    "Each of our entries for the day have a little something special going on with their walls, whether it's a well-chosen paint job or some snazzy artwork."
  • Lifehacker Code: Invert web page colors with the Darken bookmarklet
    "A little Javascript can darken the background of any web page to heighten readability, reduce brightness and monitor energy consumption."
  • Find an apartment with Google Maps/Craigslist mashup
    "MapsKrieg helps you find apartments, houses for rent, sublets and more by mashing Craigslist listings with Google Maps."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 4th, 2007, 8:30pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Lifehacker Code: Swept Away (Windows)
    "...a simple system tray utility that automatically minimizes applications that you aren't using."
  • LH Top 10: USB thumb drive tricks
    "Is that a gigabyte in your pocket? And are you putting it to good use?"
  • How to stream your music to any PC
    "Thanks to broadband, the internet's pipes are now fat enough to ferry your music just about anywhere."
  • Set up a healthy, usable workspace
    "...a few important pointers for setting up a healthy and usable workspace to keep you effortlessly and painlessly cranking out work."
  • Getting Things Done with Google Notebook
    "...one of Google Labs' less-hyped applications, Notebook, is very well-suited to instant capture and easy processing of your GTD lists."
  • The multi-monitor havens
    "A surprising number of readers have displayed a surprising amount of screen real estate on their desks, so this week we're featuring the coolest multi-monitor/multi-computer setups that readers have submitted so far."
  • Download of the Day: Madotate (Windows)
    "...manage open windows by way of a nifty 3D barn-door effect."
  • How to install a RAID on your MacBook Pro
    "This machine is really much faster now."
  • Download of the Day: Vibe Streamer MP3 server (Windows)
    "...a slick little MP3 server, one that supports multiple users and even groups."
  • Ask Lifehacker: How do I store my data on a separate partition in Windows Vista?
    "There are some computer gurus out there (especially the Linux variety) who recommend you put your data on a separate partition from your OS..."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 4th, 2007, 8:30pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Lifehacker Code: Swept Away (Windows)
    "...a simple system tray utility that automatically minimizes applications that you aren't using."
  • LH Top 10: USB thumb drive tricks
    "Is that a gigabyte in your pocket? And are you putting it to good use?"
  • How to stream your music to any PC
    "Thanks to broadband, the internet's pipes are now fat enough to ferry your music just about anywhere."
  • Set up a healthy, usable workspace
    "...a few important pointers for setting up a healthy and usable workspace to keep you effortlessly and painlessly cranking out work."
  • Getting Things Done with Google Notebook
    "...one of Google Labs' less-hyped applications, Notebook, is very well-suited to instant capture and easy processing of your GTD lists."
  • The multi-monitor havens
    "A surprising number of readers have displayed a surprising amount of screen real estate on their desks, so this week we're featuring the coolest multi-monitor/multi-computer setups that readers have submitted so far."
  • Download of the Day: Madotate (Windows)
    "...manage open windows by way of a nifty 3D barn-door effect."
  • How to install a RAID on your MacBook Pro
    "This machine is really much faster now."
  • Download of the Day: Vibe Streamer MP3 server (Windows)
    "...a slick little MP3 server, one that supports multiple users and even groups."
  • Ask Lifehacker: How do I store my data on a separate partition in Windows Vista?
    "There are some computer gurus out there (especially the Linux variety) who recommend you put your data on a separate partition from your OS..."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 27th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Home networking tricks
    "By now you've probably got several connected computers at home, sharing an internet connection, maybe a printer and files between them. But are you getting the most out of your home network?"
  • Alpha Geek: Turn an old hard drive into an external drive
    "The best possible fate for an old internal drive is to become a super-handy external drive, which it can do with a small investment of time and money."
  • Hack Attack: Control multiple computers with a single keyboard and mouse
    "You don't need a hardware switch to share one keyboard and mouse amongst several different computers. All you need is the free, cross-platform application, Synergy."
  • Geek to Live: Build an internet jukebox with Jinzora
    "With Jinzora installed on your home server, you can browse your music library, create playlists on the fly and stream your music from home over the internet to another computer or handheld anywhere."
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: The home-integrated office
    "Check out three reader submissions: the sunny cacti office; the Mac-based living room-cum-office; and the pink persuasion office."
  • Lifehacker Code: Swept Away (Windows)
    "Swept Away is a simple system tray utility that automatically minimizes applications that you aren't using."

  • IM Survival Tips: Productivity and instant messenger
    "...a few tips that can help balance chatty-McChatting with worky-McWorking."
  • Download of the Day: Protect Textarea (Greasemonkey)
    "...monitors the textareas on a web page and alerts you if you try navigating away from the page before submitting the changes in the textarea."
  • Download of the Day: Launchy 1.2.5 (Windows)
    "...the new Runny plugin supports customizable commands with multiple arguments."
  • Browse the web with keyword shortcuts
    "OpenDNS, a free domain name service, lets you visit web sites just by typing keyword shortcuts into your browser's address bar."
• 

  Tgif: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 27th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get a handful of daily best posts with our top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Home networking tricks
    "By now you've probably got several connected computers at home, sharing an internet connection, maybe a printer and files between them. But are you getting the most out of your home network?"
  • Alpha Geek: Turn an old hard drive into an external drive
    "The best possible fate for an old internal drive is to become a super-handy external drive, which it can do with a small investment of time and money."
  • Hack Attack: Control multiple computers with a single keyboard and mouse
    "You don't need a hardware switch to share one keyboard and mouse amongst several different computers. All you need is the free, cross-platform application, Synergy."
  • Geek to Live: Build an internet jukebox with Jinzora
    "With Jinzora installed on your home server, you can browse your music library, create playlists on the fly and stream your music from home over the internet to another computer or handheld anywhere."
  • Coolest Workspace Contest: The home-integrated office
    "Check out three reader submissions: the sunny cacti office; the Mac-based living room-cum-office; and the pink persuasion office."
  • Lifehacker Code: Swept Away (Windows)
    "Swept Away is a simple system tray utility that automatically minimizes applications that you aren't using."

  • IM Survival Tips: Productivity and instant messenger
    "...a few tips that can help balance chatty-McChatting with worky-McWorking."
  • Download of the Day: Protect Textarea (Greasemonkey)
    "...monitors the textareas on a web page and alerts you if you try navigating away from the page before submitting the changes in the textarea."
  • Download of the Day: Launchy 1.2.5 (Windows)
    "...the new Runny plugin supports customizable commands with multiple arguments."
  • Browse the web with keyword shortcuts
    "OpenDNS, a free domain name service, lets you visit web sites just by typing keyword shortcuts into your browser's address bar."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 20th, 2007, 9:30pm EDT

  Overwhelmed by the daily onslaught of Lifehacker posts? Don't give up on us. Subscribe to the top stories feed for a handful of our best posts every day. The features feed is one long-form original post per weekday, and for the super-time-strapped, the Highlights feed is a once-weekly digest of the best posts on Friday evening.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Lifehacker Code: Better Gmail (Firefox extension)
    "I've compiled the best Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail into one handy Firefox extension, called Better Gmail."
  • Hack Attack: Supercharge your Gmail
    "Today I'll show you how to use Better Gmail along with a few other Gmail add-ons to turn Gmail into the best email application you've ever used."
  • LH Top 10: Free Computer System Recovery Tools
    "Don't pay the extortionists at the computer repair shop 800 bucks to get your data back or start up your dead computer. Plenty of free tools can help you and are available for download right now."
  • Geek to Live: Sync Google Calendar and Gmail contacts to your desktop
    "The big question hesitant users have about web-based applications like Gmail is: 'How do I get my data if I'm offline?' A beta, open source project called GCalDaemon attempts to answer to this question."
  • Screenshot Tour: Watch TV over the internet with Joost
    "One of the loudest buzzing apps of late is Joost, a TV-over-the-internet program (Windows and Mac) promising to bring a full-fledged, high quality television experience to your computer without the need for a capture card or any other hardware."
  • Download of the Day: Thunderbird 2.0 (All platforms)
    "The good folks at Mozilla dropped the latest version 2.0 of the Thunderbird email client today, which supports Gmail-like tagging, Windows Vista and better search capabilities."
  • Google Spreadsheets adds charts
    "Google Spreadsheets, which brings Excel-like number crunching to your browser, has added chart capabilities."
  • LH Code: Gmail Date Search (Greasemonkey user script)
    "When it comes to date searches, putting together the syntax for a specific date search is a pain in the ass."
  • Google Earth adds hiking trails
    "...the Trimble Outdoors Trips layer features GPS-marked trails for activities including hiking, biking, backpacking and running."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 20th, 2007, 9:30pm EDT

  Overwhelmed by the daily onslaught of Lifehacker posts? Don't give up on us. Subscribe to the top stories feed for a handful of our best posts every day. The features feed is one long-form original post per weekday, and for the super-time-strapped, the Highlights feed is a once-weekly digest of the best posts on Friday evening.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Lifehacker Code: Better Gmail (Firefox extension)
    "I've compiled the best Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail into one handy Firefox extension, called Better Gmail."
  • Hack Attack: Supercharge your Gmail
    "Today I'll show you how to use Better Gmail along with a few other Gmail add-ons to turn Gmail into the best email application you've ever used."
  • LH Top 10: Free Computer System Recovery Tools
    "Don't pay the extortionists at the computer repair shop 800 bucks to get your data back or start up your dead computer. Plenty of free tools can help you and are available for download right now."
  • Geek to Live: Sync Google Calendar and Gmail contacts to your desktop
    "The big question hesitant users have about web-based applications like Gmail is: 'How do I get my data if I'm offline?' A beta, open source project called GCalDaemon attempts to answer to this question."
  • Screenshot Tour: Watch TV over the internet with Joost
    "One of the loudest buzzing apps of late is Joost, a TV-over-the-internet program (Windows and Mac) promising to bring a full-fledged, high quality television experience to your computer without the need for a capture card or any other hardware."
  • Download of the Day: Thunderbird 2.0 (All platforms)
    "The good folks at Mozilla dropped the latest version 2.0 of the Thunderbird email client today, which supports Gmail-like tagging, Windows Vista and better search capabilities."
  • Google Spreadsheets adds charts
    "Google Spreadsheets, which brings Excel-like number crunching to your browser, has added chart capabilities."
  • LH Code: Gmail Date Search (Greasemonkey user script)
    "When it comes to date searches, putting together the syntax for a specific date search is a pain in the ass."
  • Google Earth adds hiking trails
    "...the Trimble Outdoors Trips layer features GPS-marked trails for activities including hiking, biking, backpacking and running."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 13th, 2007, 9:30pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get our daily, cream of the crop with the top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Greasemonkey user scripts
    "Sometimes web sites don't work or look the way you want them to - but if you're using the Firefox web browser with the Greasemonkey extension, you can do something about it."
  • Alpha Geek: Useful Windows Vista Sidebar gadgets
    "Windows Vista's Sidebar gets no respect - and that's a shame. With the right gadgets, the Sidebar can help you get things done."
  • Hack Attack: The Quicksilver video extravaganza
    "If you still just don't get how you might put Quicksilver to practical, everyday use, here's how I do it."
  • Geek to Live: Black belt scheduling with Google Calendar
    "Web-based calendars have been around for ages, but one year ago Google Calendar came onto the scene and changed the game."
  • Screenshot Tour: Build an online scrapbook with Scrapblog
    "Today I'm going to walk you through this robust application to give you an idea of how you might use Scrapblog for your own online scrapbooking."
  • Vista Tip: Repair "BOOTMGR is missing" error
    "One day you turn on your Windows Vista PC, and it gives you the dreaded 'BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart' message..."

  • 5 foods to prevent bad breath
    "...herbs like coriander and spearmint, yogurt, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, sugarless gum, and foods rich in vitamin C."
  • How to make your Google Calendar your PC's desktop wallpaper
    "Reader Molly turned her Google Calendar into her desktop wallpaper, using that old Windows chestnut, Active Desktop."
  • Download of the Day: TVShows (Mac)
    "...monitor and subscribe to your favorite TV shows, automatically downloading new shows via your default bittorrent client as they become available."
  • How to re-download recent Gmail messages
    "...replace 'username@gmail.com' in your POP client settings with 'recent:username@gmail.com'"
  • Download of the Day: Mozilla Thunderbird 2 RC1 (All platforms)
    "RC1 offers a wealth of new features: Gmail-style message tags, browser-style back/forward buttons for navigating message histories, folder summary pop-ups, find-as-you-type searches, an improved user interface and easy access to Gmail and .Mac accounts."
  • The top 500 fonts on the Web
    "There are five pages of really good fonts here, I don't think I saw any that I didn't like."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 13th, 2007, 9:30pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get our daily, cream of the crop with the top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Greasemonkey user scripts
    "Sometimes web sites don't work or look the way you want them to - but if you're using the Firefox web browser with the Greasemonkey extension, you can do something about it."
  • Alpha Geek: Useful Windows Vista Sidebar gadgets
    "Windows Vista's Sidebar gets no respect - and that's a shame. With the right gadgets, the Sidebar can help you get things done."
  • Hack Attack: The Quicksilver video extravaganza
    "If you still just don't get how you might put Quicksilver to practical, everyday use, here's how I do it."
  • Geek to Live: Black belt scheduling with Google Calendar
    "Web-based calendars have been around for ages, but one year ago Google Calendar came onto the scene and changed the game."
  • Screenshot Tour: Build an online scrapbook with Scrapblog
    "Today I'm going to walk you through this robust application to give you an idea of how you might use Scrapblog for your own online scrapbooking."
  • Vista Tip: Repair "BOOTMGR is missing" error
    "One day you turn on your Windows Vista PC, and it gives you the dreaded 'BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart' message..."

  • 5 foods to prevent bad breath
    "...herbs like coriander and spearmint, yogurt, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, sugarless gum, and foods rich in vitamin C."
  • How to make your Google Calendar your PC's desktop wallpaper
    "Reader Molly turned her Google Calendar into her desktop wallpaper, using that old Windows chestnut, Active Desktop."
  • Download of the Day: TVShows (Mac)
    "...monitor and subscribe to your favorite TV shows, automatically downloading new shows via your default bittorrent client as they become available."
  • How to re-download recent Gmail messages
    "...replace 'username@gmail.com' in your POP client settings with 'recent:username@gmail.com'"
  • Download of the Day: Mozilla Thunderbird 2 RC1 (All platforms)
    "RC1 offers a wealth of new features: Gmail-style message tags, browser-style back/forward buttons for navigating message histories, folder summary pop-ups, find-as-you-type searches, an improved user interface and easy access to Gmail and .Mac accounts."
  • The top 500 fonts on the Web
    "There are five pages of really good fonts here, I don't think I saw any that I didn't like."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 6th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get our daily, cream of the crop with the top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Free Windows Downloads
    "We've got our top picks of free Windows software downloads that will make your PC faster, stronger, more functional and productive."
  • Alpha Geek: Trick out your Netvibes
    "By corralling frequently used information and services under Netvibes' roof, I save myself having to open browser tabs for countless individual sites."
  • Hack Attack: Advanced Quicksilver guide - slashes, appends, and proxies, oh my!
    "With just a few keystrokes, you can use Quicksilver to forgo Finder, control iTunes, append text, and grab objects by proxy."
  • Geek to Live: Complete, free Mac backup
    "Today we're going to cover three important approaches to Mac backup using completely free tools: versioned data backup, system cloning and off-site backup."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage your money for free with Buddi
    "If your budget for budgeting software is zilch, there's a great, completely free solution out there..."
  • Google launches My Maps
    "Create, annotate and share personalized maps with My Maps, a new addition to Google Maps."
  • GOOG-411 offers free directory assistance
    "To use the local business search tool, pick up your phone and dial 1-800-GOOG-411."
  • MacGyver Tip: CD spindle bagel tote
    "Flickr user rodrigo piwonka made the brilliant leap from CD spindle to bagel holder, and as you can see, it looks like the perfect coupling."
  • Simulate Windows' "My Computer" on the Mac
    "Windows to Mac switchers who long for their old PC's "My Computer" icon and browser can still have it, right on their Mac desktop."
  • Download of the Day: File Hippo Update Checker (Windows)
    "Software download web site File Hippo has released a handy piece of software called Update Checker, which scans your computer's installed apps and then reports which ones could use an update."
  • Google Desktop beta now available for Mac
    "Google releases Google Desktop search for the Mac, an alternative to the built-in Spotlight for digging up files on OS X."
  • Download of the Day: Free Hide Folders (Windows)
    "Freeware application Free Hide Folders does what its name implies: hide folders on your computer."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: April 6th, 2007, 9:00pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get our daily, cream of the crop with the top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Free Windows Downloads
    "We've got our top picks of free Windows software downloads that will make your PC faster, stronger, more functional and productive."
  • Alpha Geek: Trick out your Netvibes
    "By corralling frequently used information and services under Netvibes' roof, I save myself having to open browser tabs for countless individual sites."
  • Hack Attack: Advanced Quicksilver guide - slashes, appends, and proxies, oh my!
    "With just a few keystrokes, you can use Quicksilver to forgo Finder, control iTunes, append text, and grab objects by proxy."
  • Geek to Live: Complete, free Mac backup
    "Today we're going to cover three important approaches to Mac backup using completely free tools: versioned data backup, system cloning and off-site backup."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage your money for free with Buddi
    "If your budget for budgeting software is zilch, there's a great, completely free solution out there..."
  • Google launches My Maps
    "Create, annotate and share personalized maps with My Maps, a new addition to Google Maps."
  • GOOG-411 offers free directory assistance
    "To use the local business search tool, pick up your phone and dial 1-800-GOOG-411."
  • MacGyver Tip: CD spindle bagel tote
    "Flickr user rodrigo piwonka made the brilliant leap from CD spindle to bagel holder, and as you can see, it looks like the perfect coupling."
  • Simulate Windows' "My Computer" on the Mac
    "Windows to Mac switchers who long for their old PC's "My Computer" icon and browser can still have it, right on their Mac desktop."
  • Download of the Day: File Hippo Update Checker (Windows)
    "Software download web site File Hippo has released a handy piece of software called Update Checker, which scans your computer's installed apps and then reports which ones could use an update."
  • Google Desktop beta now available for Mac
    "Google releases Google Desktop search for the Mac, an alternative to the built-in Spotlight for digging up files on OS X."
  • Download of the Day: Free Hide Folders (Windows)
    "Freeware application Free Hide Folders does what its name implies: hide folders on your computer."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 30th, 2007, 10:00pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get our daily, cream of the crop with the top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Must-have Firefox extensions
    "Over the past 2 years we've tried, loved and posted dozens of feature-adding extensions for our favorite web browser. But today we have the master, grand daddy list of 10 must-haves."
  • Alpha Geek: Start-page showdown
    "I put five "home" heavyweights to the test: Google, Netvibes, Pageflakes, Windows Live and Yahoo. Which one rocks hardest? You may be surprised."
  • Hack Attack: A beginner's guide to Quicksilver
    "Whether we're talking Mac, Windows, or Linux, freeware or shareware, this Mac-only, freeware application launcher-and-then-some is the best productivity booster I have on my computer."
  • Geek to Live: Mount a file system on your Mac over SSH
    "MacFUSE has progressed to the point where it's dead simple to set up. Here's how."
  • Screenshot Tour: A look under the hood of Quicksilver
    "Understanding this bit will go a long ways toward increasing your Quicksilver power."
  • Stop web sites from resizing Firefox windows
    "Tired of sites that forcibly resize your Firefox window?"
  • How to mount a Windows shared folder on your Mac
    "Turns out that Mac OS X can connect to Windows shared folders very easily. Read on to find out how."
  • Add Vista-like taskbar window previews to Windows XP
    "Free software Visual Tooltip can give you Vista's pretty taskbar window previews in XP."
  • How passwords get cracked
    "One Man's Blog explains how alarmingly easy it is to crack passwords and offers tips on choosing safer ones."
  • Office Supplies Fetish: Power plug ID labels
    "There are 12 outlets on that power strip under your desk, and you hate playing the "pull the plug and see what gadget cuts off" game to identify what's what."
  • Google Notebook gets a facelift
    "Web-clipping service Google Notebook has a new interface and a couple new features..."
  • iTunes adds Complete My Album feature, charges only once for a song
    "iTunes [now] lets you purchase the rest of the songs from an album you've already bought single tracks from for a reduced price."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 30th, 2007, 10:00pm EDT

  For a once-weekly update on Lifehacker's best posts, subscribe to our Highlights feed - or get our daily, cream of the crop with the top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • LH Top 10: Must-have Firefox extensions
    "Over the past 2 years we've tried, loved and posted dozens of feature-adding extensions for our favorite web browser. But today we have the master, grand daddy list of 10 must-haves."
  • Alpha Geek: Start-page showdown
    "I put five "home" heavyweights to the test: Google, Netvibes, Pageflakes, Windows Live and Yahoo. Which one rocks hardest? You may be surprised."
  • Hack Attack: A beginner's guide to Quicksilver
    "Whether we're talking Mac, Windows, or Linux, freeware or shareware, this Mac-only, freeware application launcher-and-then-some is the best productivity booster I have on my computer."
  • Geek to Live: Mount a file system on your Mac over SSH
    "MacFUSE has progressed to the point where it's dead simple to set up. Here's how."
  • Screenshot Tour: A look under the hood of Quicksilver
    "Understanding this bit will go a long ways toward increasing your Quicksilver power."
  • Stop web sites from resizing Firefox windows
    "Tired of sites that forcibly resize your Firefox window?"
  • How to mount a Windows shared folder on your Mac
    "Turns out that Mac OS X can connect to Windows shared folders very easily. Read on to find out how."
  • Add Vista-like taskbar window previews to Windows XP
    "Free software Visual Tooltip can give you Vista's pretty taskbar window previews in XP."
  • How passwords get cracked
    "One Man's Blog explains how alarmingly easy it is to crack passwords and offers tips on choosing safer ones."
  • Office Supplies Fetish: Power plug ID labels
    "There are 12 outlets on that power strip under your desk, and you hate playing the "pull the plug and see what gadget cuts off" game to identify what's what."
  • Google Notebook gets a facelift
    "Web-clipping service Google Notebook has a new interface and a couple new features..."
  • iTunes adds Complete My Album feature, charges only once for a song
    "iTunes [now] lets you purchase the rest of the songs from an album you've already bought single tracks from for a reduced price."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 23rd, 2007, 10:00pm EDT

  • LH Top 10: Free Mac Downloads
    "Sure there's tons of fantastic Mac software out there, but most of it isn't free - unless you know where to look, that is."
  • Alpha Geek: Make Microsoft Word less annoying
    "It's time to take back the word processor, to put Word in its place and make it your ally instead of your adversary."
  • Hack Attack: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000
    "Let's dive into foobar2000 and take a look at some of the best plug-ins and methods for customizing this player to fit your needs."
  • Geek to Live: Instant, no-overhead blog with Tumblr
    "A new blog format, called a "tumblelog," is a no-hassle, no-writing-required way to share those bits and maintain a personal site with the least possible commitment."
  • Screenshot Tour: The beautiful and varied world of foobar2000
    "When I highlighted the wildly customizable foobar2000 on Tuesday, I asked readers to send in screenshots of their latest and greatest foobar2000 configurations, and dear readers, you did not disappoint."
  • Download TaxCut for free
    "Travelocity's got a deal going on with H&R Block and offering the TaxCut software as a free download for Mac or Windows."
  • OS Encryption Showdown: Vista's BitLocker vs. Mac's FileVault
    "If BitLocker and FileVault went head to head in a cage match, who would emerge victorious?"
  • Calculate your caffeine intake
    "Ever wonder just how much caffeine you're ingesting every day?"
  • Download of the Day: ThinkingRock (All platforms)
    "Free personal organizer ThinkingRock helps you work David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology to the letter right on your desktop."
  • Make your computer react when you leave and arrive
    "Wouldn't it be nice if your screensaver automatically unlocked when you sat down at your computer, and locked up again once you got up and left?"
  • How to double your reading rate
    "Despite the incredible importance of reading, most people are wildly inefficient at it."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Download a whole web page full of music?
    "...your next step is to get a good download manager that can help you suck down files without all those extraneous clicks."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 23rd, 2007, 10:00pm EDT

  • LH Top 10: Free Mac Downloads
    "Sure there's tons of fantastic Mac software out there, but most of it isn't free - unless you know where to look, that is."
  • Alpha Geek: Make Microsoft Word less annoying
    "It's time to take back the word processor, to put Word in its place and make it your ally instead of your adversary."
  • Hack Attack: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000
    "Let's dive into foobar2000 and take a look at some of the best plug-ins and methods for customizing this player to fit your needs."
  • Geek to Live: Instant, no-overhead blog with Tumblr
    "A new blog format, called a "tumblelog," is a no-hassle, no-writing-required way to share those bits and maintain a personal site with the least possible commitment."
  • Screenshot Tour: The beautiful and varied world of foobar2000
    "When I highlighted the wildly customizable foobar2000 on Tuesday, I asked readers to send in screenshots of their latest and greatest foobar2000 configurations, and dear readers, you did not disappoint."
  • Download TaxCut for free
    "Travelocity's got a deal going on with H&R Block and offering the TaxCut software as a free download for Mac or Windows."
  • OS Encryption Showdown: Vista's BitLocker vs. Mac's FileVault
    "If BitLocker and FileVault went head to head in a cage match, who would emerge victorious?"
  • Calculate your caffeine intake
    "Ever wonder just how much caffeine you're ingesting every day?"
  • Download of the Day: ThinkingRock (All platforms)
    "Free personal organizer ThinkingRock helps you work David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology to the letter right on your desktop."
  • Make your computer react when you leave and arrive
    "Wouldn't it be nice if your screensaver automatically unlocked when you sat down at your computer, and locked up again once you got up and left?"
  • How to double your reading rate
    "Despite the incredible importance of reading, most people are wildly inefficient at it."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Download a whole web page full of music?
    "...your next step is to get a good download manager that can help you suck down files without all those extraneous clicks."
• 

  Download of the Day: HighlightAll (Firefox)

  Posted: March 22nd, 2007, 5:30pm EDT

  

  Windows/Mac/Unix (Firefox): The HighlightAll Firefox extension highlights any text on a web page matching the text you've selected with your mouse.

  Like most good Firefox extensions, Highlight all does one simple thing well. This performs the same function as the "Highlight all" button when you're searching a page with Ctrl/Cmd-F, without the need for typing or watching your screen jump around to matches as you search. After all, you've already found the text you want highlighted, so just select it and you can see all other instances. You can toggle HighlightAll with a configurable keyboard shortcut (F8 by default), so matches to your highlighted text doesn't always need to show up in yellow. This seems like a great research tool for quickly digesting web pages by keyword. — Adam Pash

  HighlightAll [Mozilla Add-ons]
• 

  Firefox Extensions: Download of the Day: HighlightAll (Firefox)

  Posted: March 22nd, 2007, 5:30pm EDT

  

  Windows/Mac/Unix (Firefox): The HighlightAll Firefox extension highlights any text on a web page matching the text you've selected with your mouse.

  Like most good Firefox extensions, Highlight all does one simple thing well. This performs the same function as the "Highlight all" button when you're searching a page with Ctrl/Cmd-F, without the need for typing or watching your screen jump around to matches as you search. After all, you've already found the text you want highlighted, so just select it and you can see all other instances. You can toggle HighlightAll with a configurable keyboard shortcut (F8 by default), so matches to your highlighted text doesn't always need to show up in yellow. This seems like a great research tool for quickly digesting web pages by keyword. — Adam Pash

  HighlightAll [Mozilla Add-ons]
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 16th, 2007, 10:30pm EDT

  Happy friday, lifehackers! Here's your weekly roundup of the best of the big LH, vacuum-packed into a dense list 'o links. Subscribe to the Highlights feed to get this weekly post to pop up in your newsreader. If once a week just ain't enough, grab our daily top stories feed for a daily handful of the good stuff.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)
    "Sadly, transferring your iTunes library along with your playlists and ratings isn't just a matter of moving the music files..."
  • Alpha Geek: 10 cool cell phone tricks
    "With the right software and services, your phone can perform a startling array of fun and practical functions."
  • Geek to Live: Monitor your Mac and more with GeekTool
    "One of the best ways to keep up with information about the state of your computer is to embed it in your desktop as simple, plain text."
  • Screenshot Tour: Roll your own DVR and media center with MediaPortal
    "I was thrilled when I finally got around to trying out previously mentioned MediaPortal, an open source media center application for Windows."
  • Download of the Day: Do Something When (Mac)
    "Autoplay application Do Something When will launch documents or applications you specify when certain external drives are mounted."
  • Video Demonstration: Open a beer bottle with a piece of paper
    "What to do when you're in a hotel room with a cold beer and no bottle opener in sight: take any strong, small object - like the bottom of a lighter - and push it up against the cap using your finger for leverage."
  • Money Hack: The Rule of 72
    "...a back-of-the-napkin way to figure out how long it will take for you to double your money on an investment..."
  • Download of the Day: Textarea Backup (Greasemonkey)
    "...automatically saves text you've entered into a web page's textarea so that you don't need to worry about losing your latest online opus."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Nostalgia (Windows)
    "...this is an app that will make Mac users jealous, with its lush interface and snazzy animations."
  • MacGyver Tip: De-logo your cell phone with a sugar cube
    "This video demonstrates how to remove company logos from the case with a sugar cube."
  • Remove misspelled words from your Firefox dictionary
    "We ain't none of us perfect, so if you've ever accidentally added a misspelled word to your Firefox dictionary, here's how to remove the misspelling to avoid looking like a fool in front of your friends, family, and coworkers..."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 16th, 2007, 10:30pm EDT

  Happy friday, lifehackers! Here's your weekly roundup of the best of the big LH, vacuum-packed into a dense list 'o links. Subscribe to the Highlights feed to get this weekly post to pop up in your newsreader. If once a week just ain't enough, grab our daily top stories feed for a daily handful of the good stuff.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)
    "Sadly, transferring your iTunes library along with your playlists and ratings isn't just a matter of moving the music files..."
  • Alpha Geek: 10 cool cell phone tricks
    "With the right software and services, your phone can perform a startling array of fun and practical functions."
  • Geek to Live: Monitor your Mac and more with GeekTool
    "One of the best ways to keep up with information about the state of your computer is to embed it in your desktop as simple, plain text."
  • Screenshot Tour: Roll your own DVR and media center with MediaPortal
    "I was thrilled when I finally got around to trying out previously mentioned MediaPortal, an open source media center application for Windows."
  • Download of the Day: Do Something When (Mac)
    "Autoplay application Do Something When will launch documents or applications you specify when certain external drives are mounted."
  • Video Demonstration: Open a beer bottle with a piece of paper
    "What to do when you're in a hotel room with a cold beer and no bottle opener in sight: take any strong, small object - like the bottom of a lighter - and push it up against the cap using your finger for leverage."
  • Money Hack: The Rule of 72
    "...a back-of-the-napkin way to figure out how long it will take for you to double your money on an investment..."
  • Download of the Day: Textarea Backup (Greasemonkey)
    "...automatically saves text you've entered into a web page's textarea so that you don't need to worry about losing your latest online opus."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Nostalgia (Windows)
    "...this is an app that will make Mac users jealous, with its lush interface and snazzy animations."
  • MacGyver Tip: De-logo your cell phone with a sugar cube
    "This video demonstrates how to remove company logos from the case with a sugar cube."
  • Remove misspelled words from your Firefox dictionary
    "We ain't none of us perfect, so if you've ever accidentally added a misspelled word to your Firefox dictionary, here's how to remove the misspelling to avoid looking like a fool in front of your friends, family, and coworkers..."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 9th, 2007, 9:30pm EST

  • Alpha Geek: Copy TV shows to your iPod
    "So Apple wants you to pony up $1.99 per episode of Heroes when you're already paying the cable company for it? Nuh-uh. Don't think so. Seems like you should be able to copy that show--or any other--from your media center PC or TiVo right to your iPod."
  • Hack Attack: Sync your Greasemonkey scripts across computers
    "Today I'll detail how to use the cross platform program FolderShare to keep your Greasemonkey scripts in perfect sync across your Firefox browsers and computers (Windows and/or Mac)."
  • Geek to Live: Organize your PDF library with iTunes
    "Yes, I know iTunes isn't a document organizer, but it does a surprisingly good job at it anyway. Using iTunes' Smart Playlists and its PDF support, you can build a document library where PDF's are automatically sorted into keyword-based lists."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage your virtual desktop with Virtue Desktops
    "For a detailed rundown of and look at VirtueDesktop's impressive feature set, check out the gallery."
  • Print your own lens hood
    "The site carries custom hoods for upwards of a hundred different lenses, including models from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sigma."
  • Download of the Day: Videora iPod Converter (Windows)
    "Convert nearly any video file to an iPod-friendly format with Videora iPod Converter."
  • Lifehacker Code: Clipboard2Phone (Windows)
    "Zap that phone number, grocery list or set of driving directions directly from your PC desktop to your cell phone with Clipboard2Phone."
  • Save time reading on your Mac with Summarize
    "Summarize, a handy but relatively unknown entry in your Mac's services menu creates a precise summary of the highlighted text in your current application."
  • Firefox Tweak: Stop resizing large images
    "If you don't mind the scrollbars and want all your pixels unresized, in about:config, set browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing to false."
  • Enable Netflix Watch Now movie streaming on any account
    "If you've been eagerly awaiting the day that you can try streaming Netflix videos straight to your computer, but their new "Watch Now" feature still isn't enabled on your account, your wait is over."
  • Hack Google Maps URLs to zoom way in
    "...manipulate Google Maps URLs to zoom in close enough to see an individual camel in the middle of Africa."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 9th, 2007, 9:30pm EST

  • Alpha Geek: Copy TV shows to your iPod
    "So Apple wants you to pony up $1.99 per episode of Heroes when you're already paying the cable company for it? Nuh-uh. Don't think so. Seems like you should be able to copy that show--or any other--from your media center PC or TiVo right to your iPod."
  • Hack Attack: Sync your Greasemonkey scripts across computers
    "Today I'll detail how to use the cross platform program FolderShare to keep your Greasemonkey scripts in perfect sync across your Firefox browsers and computers (Windows and/or Mac)."
  • Geek to Live: Organize your PDF library with iTunes
    "Yes, I know iTunes isn't a document organizer, but it does a surprisingly good job at it anyway. Using iTunes' Smart Playlists and its PDF support, you can build a document library where PDF's are automatically sorted into keyword-based lists."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage your virtual desktop with Virtue Desktops
    "For a detailed rundown of and look at VirtueDesktop's impressive feature set, check out the gallery."
  • Print your own lens hood
    "The site carries custom hoods for upwards of a hundred different lenses, including models from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sigma."
  • Download of the Day: Videora iPod Converter (Windows)
    "Convert nearly any video file to an iPod-friendly format with Videora iPod Converter."
  • Lifehacker Code: Clipboard2Phone (Windows)
    "Zap that phone number, grocery list or set of driving directions directly from your PC desktop to your cell phone with Clipboard2Phone."
  • Save time reading on your Mac with Summarize
    "Summarize, a handy but relatively unknown entry in your Mac's services menu creates a precise summary of the highlighted text in your current application."
  • Firefox Tweak: Stop resizing large images
    "If you don't mind the scrollbars and want all your pixels unresized, in about:config, set browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing to false."
  • Enable Netflix Watch Now movie streaming on any account
    "If you've been eagerly awaiting the day that you can try streaming Netflix videos straight to your computer, but their new "Watch Now" feature still isn't enabled on your account, your wait is over."
  • Hack Google Maps URLs to zoom way in
    "...manipulate Google Maps URLs to zoom in close enough to see an individual camel in the middle of Africa."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 9th, 2007, 9:30pm EST

  • Alpha Geek: Copy TV shows to your iPod
    "So Apple wants you to pony up $1.99 per episode of Heroes when you're already paying the cable company for it? Nuh-uh. Don't think so. Seems like you should be able to copy that show--or any other--from your media center PC or TiVo right to your iPod."
  • Hack Attack: Sync your Greasemonkey scripts across computers
    "Today I'll detail how to use the cross platform program FolderShare to keep your Greasemonkey scripts in perfect sync across your Firefox browsers and computers (Windows and/or Mac)."
  • Geek to Live: Organize your PDF library with iTunes
    "Yes, I know iTunes isn't a document organizer, but it does a surprisingly good job at it anyway. Using iTunes' Smart Playlists and its PDF support, you can build a document library where PDF's are automatically sorted into keyword-based lists."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage your virtual desktop with Virtue Desktops
    "For a detailed rundown of and look at VirtueDesktop's impressive feature set, check out the gallery."
  • Print your own lens hood
    "The site carries custom hoods for upwards of a hundred different lenses, including models from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sigma."
  • Download of the Day: Videora iPod Converter (Windows)
    "Convert nearly any video file to an iPod-friendly format with Videora iPod Converter."
  • Lifehacker Code: Clipboard2Phone (Windows)
    "Zap that phone number, grocery list or set of driving directions directly from your PC desktop to your cell phone with Clipboard2Phone."
  • Save time reading on your Mac with Summarize
    "Summarize, a handy but relatively unknown entry in your Mac's services menu creates a precise summary of the highlighted text in your current application."
  • Firefox Tweak: Stop resizing large images
    "If you don't mind the scrollbars and want all your pixels unresized, in about:config, set browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing to false."
  • Enable Netflix Watch Now movie streaming on any account
    "If you've been eagerly awaiting the day that you can try streaming Netflix videos straight to your computer, but their new "Watch Now" feature still isn't enabled on your account, your wait is over."
  • Hack Google Maps URLs to zoom way in
    "...manipulate Google Maps URLs to zoom in close enough to see an individual camel in the middle of Africa."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 2nd, 2007, 9:30pm EST

  Busy week? Catch up on the best o' Lifehacker from the last 5 days, or subscribe to the Highlights feed for once-a-week updates straight to your newsreader. This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Sync your address book via IMAP
    "...a Thunderbird extension called SyncKolab can save your address book to your email server over IMAP, so your contacts are available from any computer running Thunderbird."
  • Alpha Geek: Copy DVDs to your portable media player
    "If you have a Creative Zen Vision, Microsoft Zune, Pocket PC or any other Windows-centric portable player that can handle video, get ready for some movie love."
  • Hack Attack: Top 13 iTunes AppleScripts
    "Doug's AppleScripts not only plug obvious holes in iTunes' feature set; they also add functionality to iTunes you never knew you wanted."
  • Geek to Live: Supercharge your Firefox downloads with DownThemAll
    "When it comes to heavy duty download jobs, Firefox's default Downloads manager just doesn't cut the mustard."
  • Screenshot Tour: Share files with Firefox and AllPeers
    "The AllPeers Firefox extension adds drag-and-drop peer-to-peer file sharing to the comfort of everyone's favorite browser."
  • Lifehacker Code: The Ly Detector (Greasemonkey user script)
    "If you're at all familiar with Strunk and White, you know that excessive use of adverbs - words that end in -ly - isn't a sign of strong writing..."
  • Ning relaunches instant web community tool
    "In under 2 minutes I had a dynamic, user-based web site with registration, member profiles, a forum, video and photo sharing, and a blog, with a custom template."
  • Firefox Tip: How to set up multi-parameter keyword searches
    "Find out how to compare 3 stock symbols or pit 4 words against one another with Firefox keyword searches."
  • Google Maps traffic information
    "...if Google Maps is your go-to internet map, it's great to see traffic info baked-in."
  • Cordless workspace redux, the Gina edition
    "...check out some photos of my new, cordless setup."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 2nd, 2007, 9:30pm EST

  Busy week? Catch up on the best o' Lifehacker from the last 5 days, or subscribe to the Highlights feed for once-a-week updates straight to your newsreader. This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Sync your address book via IMAP
    "...a Thunderbird extension called SyncKolab can save your address book to your email server over IMAP, so your contacts are available from any computer running Thunderbird."
  • Alpha Geek: Copy DVDs to your portable media player
    "If you have a Creative Zen Vision, Microsoft Zune, Pocket PC or any other Windows-centric portable player that can handle video, get ready for some movie love."
  • Hack Attack: Top 13 iTunes AppleScripts
    "Doug's AppleScripts not only plug obvious holes in iTunes' feature set; they also add functionality to iTunes you never knew you wanted."
  • Geek to Live: Supercharge your Firefox downloads with DownThemAll
    "When it comes to heavy duty download jobs, Firefox's default Downloads manager just doesn't cut the mustard."
  • Screenshot Tour: Share files with Firefox and AllPeers
    "The AllPeers Firefox extension adds drag-and-drop peer-to-peer file sharing to the comfort of everyone's favorite browser."
  • Lifehacker Code: The Ly Detector (Greasemonkey user script)
    "If you're at all familiar with Strunk and White, you know that excessive use of adverbs - words that end in -ly - isn't a sign of strong writing..."
  • Ning relaunches instant web community tool
    "In under 2 minutes I had a dynamic, user-based web site with registration, member profiles, a forum, video and photo sharing, and a blog, with a custom template."
  • Firefox Tip: How to set up multi-parameter keyword searches
    "Find out how to compare 3 stock symbols or pit 4 words against one another with Firefox keyword searches."
  • Google Maps traffic information
    "...if Google Maps is your go-to internet map, it's great to see traffic info baked-in."
  • Cordless workspace redux, the Gina edition
    "...check out some photos of my new, cordless setup."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: March 2nd, 2007, 9:30pm EST

  Busy week? Catch up on the best o' Lifehacker from the last 5 days, or subscribe to the Highlights feed for once-a-week updates straight to your newsreader. This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Sync your address book via IMAP
    "...a Thunderbird extension called SyncKolab can save your address book to your email server over IMAP, so your contacts are available from any computer running Thunderbird."
  • Alpha Geek: Copy DVDs to your portable media player
    "If you have a Creative Zen Vision, Microsoft Zune, Pocket PC or any other Windows-centric portable player that can handle video, get ready for some movie love."
  • Hack Attack: Top 13 iTunes AppleScripts
    "Doug's AppleScripts not only plug obvious holes in iTunes' feature set; they also add functionality to iTunes you never knew you wanted."
  • Geek to Live: Supercharge your Firefox downloads with DownThemAll
    "When it comes to heavy duty download jobs, Firefox's default Downloads manager just doesn't cut the mustard."
  • Screenshot Tour: Share files with Firefox and AllPeers
    "The AllPeers Firefox extension adds drag-and-drop peer-to-peer file sharing to the comfort of everyone's favorite browser."
  • Lifehacker Code: The Ly Detector (Greasemonkey user script)
    "If you're at all familiar with Strunk and White, you know that excessive use of adverbs - words that end in -ly - isn't a sign of strong writing..."
  • Ning relaunches instant web community tool
    "In under 2 minutes I had a dynamic, user-based web site with registration, member profiles, a forum, video and photo sharing, and a blog, with a custom template."
  • Firefox Tip: How to set up multi-parameter keyword searches
    "Find out how to compare 3 stock symbols or pit 4 words against one another with Firefox keyword searches."
  • Google Maps traffic information
    "...if Google Maps is your go-to internet map, it's great to see traffic info baked-in."
  • Cordless workspace redux, the Gina edition
    "...check out some photos of my new, cordless setup."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 23rd, 2007, 7:30pm EST

  Once a week, we round up the cream of the Lifehacker crop in the Highlights feed. If you want to snack of the best we've got on a daily basis, try our top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Encrypt your web browsing session (with an SSH SOCKS proxy)
    "Using a simple SSH command, you can encrypt all your web browsing traffic and redirect it through a trusted computer when you're on someone else's network."
  • Hack Attack: Add music and movies to your iPod from any computer without iTunes
    "When you're done here, you'll be able to add music and movies to your iPod from any computer - and retain almost every other useful feature iTunes brings to your iPod."
  • DIY under-desk gadget mount
    "Organized gadget owner Van Mardian cleared his desktop by mounting all his peripherals... under his desk with pegboard and wire."
  • Ask the Readers: How do you organize your Gmail?
    "Gmail's labels let you slice and dice your email messages and "file" them under as many keywords as you'd like. But how many labels do you actually use?"
  • Todoist online task manager
    "...task management webapps have become as common and similar as geeks at a Star Trek convention; but I was pleasantly surprised by [Todoist's] usability and features."
  • UltraNewb: How to move your iTunes library to an external drive
    "iTunes 7 makes relocating an existing media library pretty painless - that is, with a little know-how. Here's how to get it done."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage and organize your virtual desktop with Dexpot
    "Today I'm going to walk through... Dexpot and highlight the features that make it the best, most feature-rich virtual desktop manager for Windows I've seen."
  • 10 great web tools for college students
    "Education-finance site NextPath serves up 10 sites designed to help college students work smarter and cheaper."
  • The most annoying aspects of Windows Vista
    "PC World publishes a laundry list of irritants in Windows Vista..."
  • Download of the Day: Woot Watcher (Firefox)
    "The Woot Watcher Firefox extension keeps you up-to-date with the latest item for sale on the popular electronics liquidator, Woot."
  • Update your PC for the new Daylight Saving Time
    "Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. begins earlier and ends later starting this year - which means your PC might not set its clock correctly when the time comes."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 23rd, 2007, 7:30pm EST

  Once a week, we round up the cream of the Lifehacker crop in the Highlights feed. If you want to snack of the best we've got on a daily basis, try our top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Encrypt your web browsing session (with an SSH SOCKS proxy)
    "Using a simple SSH command, you can encrypt all your web browsing traffic and redirect it through a trusted computer when you're on someone else's network."
  • Hack Attack: Add music and movies to your iPod from any computer without iTunes
    "When you're done here, you'll be able to add music and movies to your iPod from any computer - and retain almost every other useful feature iTunes brings to your iPod."
  • DIY under-desk gadget mount
    "Organized gadget owner Van Mardian cleared his desktop by mounting all his peripherals... under his desk with pegboard and wire."
  • Ask the Readers: How do you organize your Gmail?
    "Gmail's labels let you slice and dice your email messages and "file" them under as many keywords as you'd like. But how many labels do you actually use?"
  • Todoist online task manager
    "...task management webapps have become as common and similar as geeks at a Star Trek convention; but I was pleasantly surprised by [Todoist's] usability and features."
  • UltraNewb: How to move your iTunes library to an external drive
    "iTunes 7 makes relocating an existing media library pretty painless - that is, with a little know-how. Here's how to get it done."
  • Screenshot Tour: Manage and organize your virtual desktop with Dexpot
    "Today I'm going to walk through... Dexpot and highlight the features that make it the best, most feature-rich virtual desktop manager for Windows I've seen."
  • 10 great web tools for college students
    "Education-finance site NextPath serves up 10 sites designed to help college students work smarter and cheaper."
  • The most annoying aspects of Windows Vista
    "PC World publishes a laundry list of irritants in Windows Vista..."
  • Download of the Day: Woot Watcher (Firefox)
    "The Woot Watcher Firefox extension keeps you up-to-date with the latest item for sale on the popular electronics liquidator, Woot."
  • Update your PC for the new Daylight Saving Time
    "Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. begins earlier and ends later starting this year - which means your PC might not set its clock correctly when the time comes."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 16th, 2007, 7:30pm EST

  Get a once-weekly hit of Lifehacker's bests posts in the Highlights feed. For the good stuff on a daily basis, subscribe to our top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Back up Gmail with fetchmail
    "...today we'll set up a nightly automated Gmail backup using the command line program fetchmail, which will go out, grab your newest messages, save 'em to your hard drive and exit, all while you sleep soundly in the knowledge that you've got an offline copy of your important email."
  • Copy DVDs to your iPod
    "So Apple wants you to pony up $14.99 for Pixar's Cars when you already own the DVD? Nuh-uh. Don't think so. Seems like you should be able to copy that DVD right to your iPod."
  • Back up and sync your Firefox bookmarks with your personal server
    "Today I'll detail how to use the Foxmarks extension to back up and sync your bookmarks to your own personal FTP server, whether it's with a hosted account or your own home server."
  • Create your master feed with Yahoo! Pipes
    "Instead of going here, there and everywhere to see all the content you create on the web, combine it all into one master feed using with the newly-launched Yahoo! Pipes."
  • Screenshot Tour: Learn everything about your PC with SIW
    "If you've ever lost a web password or software license; needed to troubleshoot a hardware problem on your computer but have no idea what model of motherboard you have or what BIOS you're running; or wanted to take a closer look at what kind of activity your network is open to, there's a catchall application for you, and it's called System Information for Windows."
  • Download of the Day: WatchMyCell (Windows)
    "Freeware system tray app WatchMyCell logs into your cell phone account and keeps a watchful eye on how many minutes you've used for the month."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Peel Beta (Mac)
    "Pop your favorite music blogs into Peel's very iTunes-like interface and click on a song to give a listen, or right-click to download a track."
  • Pick a restaurant with the Wheel of Food
    "Don't know where to go to lunch today? Pop your zip code into the Wheel of Food and give it a spin."
  • Office Supplies Fetish: Slingshot monthly planner
    "...a nifty activist alternative to the boring Day Runner or At-A-Glance."
  • Download of the Day: My Exposé (Vista)
    "...a Mac OS X Exposé clone for Windows Vista."
  • Screenshot Tour: Windows Vista's Task Scheduler
    "One Windows administration tool that got totally tricked out in the upgrade from XP to Vista is the Scheduled Tasks manager."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 16th, 2007, 7:30pm EST

  Get a once-weekly hit of Lifehacker's bests posts in the Highlights feed. For the good stuff on a daily basis, subscribe to our top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • Back up Gmail with fetchmail
    "...today we'll set up a nightly automated Gmail backup using the command line program fetchmail, which will go out, grab your newest messages, save 'em to your hard drive and exit, all while you sleep soundly in the knowledge that you've got an offline copy of your important email."
  • Copy DVDs to your iPod
    "So Apple wants you to pony up $14.99 for Pixar's Cars when you already own the DVD? Nuh-uh. Don't think so. Seems like you should be able to copy that DVD right to your iPod."
  • Back up and sync your Firefox bookmarks with your personal server
    "Today I'll detail how to use the Foxmarks extension to back up and sync your bookmarks to your own personal FTP server, whether it's with a hosted account or your own home server."
  • Create your master feed with Yahoo! Pipes
    "Instead of going here, there and everywhere to see all the content you create on the web, combine it all into one master feed using with the newly-launched Yahoo! Pipes."
  • Screenshot Tour: Learn everything about your PC with SIW
    "If you've ever lost a web password or software license; needed to troubleshoot a hardware problem on your computer but have no idea what model of motherboard you have or what BIOS you're running; or wanted to take a closer look at what kind of activity your network is open to, there's a catchall application for you, and it's called System Information for Windows."
  • Download of the Day: WatchMyCell (Windows)
    "Freeware system tray app WatchMyCell logs into your cell phone account and keeps a watchful eye on how many minutes you've used for the month."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Peel Beta (Mac)
    "Pop your favorite music blogs into Peel's very iTunes-like interface and click on a song to give a listen, or right-click to download a track."
  • Pick a restaurant with the Wheel of Food
    "Don't know where to go to lunch today? Pop your zip code into the Wheel of Food and give it a spin."
  • Office Supplies Fetish: Slingshot monthly planner
    "...a nifty activist alternative to the boring Day Runner or At-A-Glance."
  • Download of the Day: My Exposé (Vista)
    "...a Mac OS X Exposé clone for Windows Vista."
  • Screenshot Tour: Windows Vista's Task Scheduler
    "One Windows administration tool that got totally tricked out in the upgrade from XP to Vista is the Scheduled Tasks manager."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 9th, 2007, 8:00pm EST

  Love frosting but don't have time to eat the whole cake? Subscribe to the Lifehacker Highlights feed, which gives you a weekly dose of our best posts--the frosting, as it were. This week's highlights:

  • Geek to Live: Tag files and save searches in Windows Vista
    "Tagging has taken off on the web, but what about on your hard drive? On the heels of Mac OS X's file tagging and Smart Folders features, Windows Vista users can now tag their files and use those keywords to organize and search documents on their desktop."
  • Alpha Geek: Whip your MP3 library into shape, Part III: Metadata
    "By now all the songs in your MP3 library should have level volumes and embedded, accurate album art. The last step? Fixing your collection's metadata, also known as ID3 tags."
  • Hack Attack: Getting good with Google Reader
    "Google Reader is one helluva feed reader, but unless you've spent a little time digging into the documentation, you probably aren't taking full advantage of what it has to offer."
  • Geek to Live: Eight killer Thunderbird extensions
    "Like its sibling Firefox, the beauty of the open source Thunderbird email client is its extensibility. Sure we love our web-based email like Gmail, but Thunderbird is the ultimate open source desktop email app."
  • Screenshot Tour: Tweaking Launchy
    "Last week I highlighted Launchy, my favorite Windows keyboard application launcher and more. Although Launchy is a fairly intuitive app to use, I know there are more than a few users who haven't taken full advantage of what it has to offer under the hood."
  • Find restaurant secrets at Top Secret Recipes
    "Want to make a cherry Slurpee in your own kitchen? How about California Pizza Kitchen's famous BBQ Chicken Pizza? And homemade Cinnabon for dessert? You can find these recipes and hundreds more at Top Secret Recipes."
  • Get 25GB of free online storage at Streamload MediaMax
    "MediaMax provides not only raw file storage that's accessible from any PC, but also file sharing and hosting, MP3 streaming and backup/sync software."
  • Thirteen useful terminal commands
    "Command line lovers still developing their CLI chops should check out 13 useful commands at web site SEOmoz."
  • Want to get more done? Start earlier in the day
    "Productivity blogger Bert Webb has written up a simple yet powerful article on how to get more out of your day."

  Don't forget the Highlights feed serves up a once-weekly helping of Lifehacker's best posts; our daily top stories feed is a handy reader's digest too. Tailor your Lifehacker feed to your heart's content with our new not: exclusion operator.

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 9th, 2007, 8:00pm EST

  Love frosting but don't have time to eat the whole cake? Subscribe to the Lifehacker Highlights feed, which gives you a weekly dose of our best posts—the frosting, as it were. This week's highlights:

  • Geek to Live: Tag files and save searches in Windows Vista
    "Tagging has taken off on the web, but what about on your hard drive? On the heels of Mac OS X's file tagging and Smart Folders features, Windows Vista users can now tag their files and use those keywords to organize and search documents on their desktop."
  • Alpha Geek: Whip your MP3 library into shape, Part III: Metadata
    "By now all the songs in your MP3 library should have level volumes and embedded, accurate album art. The last step? Fixing your collection's metadata, also known as ID3 tags."
  • Hack Attack: Getting good with Google Reader
    "Google Reader is one helluva feed reader, but unless you've spent a little time digging into the documentation, you probably aren't taking full advantage of what it has to offer."
  • Geek to Live: Eight killer Thunderbird extensions
    "Like its sibling Firefox, the beauty of the open source Thunderbird email client is its extensibility. Sure we love our web-based email like Gmail, but Thunderbird is the ultimate open source desktop email app."
  • Screenshot Tour: Tweaking Launchy
    "Last week I highlighted Launchy, my favorite Windows keyboard application launcher and more. Although Launchy is a fairly intuitive app to use, I know there are more than a few users who haven't taken full advantage of what it has to offer under the hood."
  • Find restaurant secrets at Top Secret Recipes
    "Want to make a cherry Slurpee in your own kitchen? How about California Pizza Kitchen's famous BBQ Chicken Pizza? And homemade Cinnabon for dessert? You can find these recipes and hundreds more at Top Secret Recipes."
  • Get 25GB of free online storage at Streamload MediaMax
    "MediaMax provides not only raw file storage that's accessible from any PC, but also file sharing and hosting, MP3 streaming and backup/sync software."
  • Thirteen useful terminal commands
    "Command line lovers still developing their CLI chops should check out 13 useful commands at web site SEOmoz."
  • Want to get more done? Start earlier in the day
    "Productivity blogger Bert Webb has written up a simple yet powerful article on how to get more out of your day."

  Don't forget the Highlights feed serves up a once-weekly helping of Lifehacker's best posts; our daily top stories feed is a handy reader's digest too. Tailor your Lifehacker feed to your heart's content with our new not: exclusion operator.

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 2nd, 2007, 8:00pm EST

  The week of both Lifehacker's birthday and the (not-so) big Vista launch has come to a close. For a quickie recap, this week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Manage multiple Firefox profiles
    "If you share a computer with family members or roommates, or if you simply browse for different reasons - like work, blogging, school research, or play - you may want to use different Firefox settings each time you sit down to surf."
  • Alpha Geek: Whip your MP3 library into shape, Part II - Album art
    "It's time to focus on album art, which is less of a practical improvement and more of a fun one."
  • Hack Attack: Burn almost any video file to a playable DVD
    "Putting any old video file - like the DivX/Xvid-encoded videos you've downloaded with BitTorrent - onto a DVD to play on your TV can be a daunting task."
  • Lifehacker Code: About This Site add-on (Firefox)
    "When you happen upon a new web site - or you're just interested in finding more about one you frequent all the time - it's difficult to get a sense of how popular it is, how long it's been around, what people are saying about it and how much it's been bookmarked."
  • Screenshot Tour: How to crack a Windows password with Ophcrack Live CD
    "Whether you need to recover the lost password to a Windows account, you're looking to ensure that your passwords are secure, or you're a super l33t h4x0r, the Ophcrack Live CD is a pretty useful tool."
  • Download of the Day: Launchy 1.0 (Windows)
    "Open source application Launchy is a quick, lightweight application launcher (and then some)."
  • Stream your MP3s with Netvibes-SlimServer mashup
    "...you'll need a free Netvibes account, the free SlimServer software and about 15 minutes."
  • Download of the Day: Pandora Downloader (Windows)
    "...save MP3s from the popular internet radio site, Pandora."
  • Download web video with the All-In-One Video Bookmarklet
    "Save that YouTube or Google Video file with one click o' the toolbar."
  • Geek to Live: Windows Vista upgrade power tips
    "After using Windows Vista for awhile, even the most begrudging upgrader will find that it's got a lot more features and options for the power user compared to Windows XP."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Should I upgrade to Vista now or wait?
    "If you want a truly seamless transition to Vista - especially if you're upgrading your existing PC versus buying a new one with it pre-installed - I'd say wait."
  • Automatically log in with Firefox keyword bookmarks
    "Bypass a username and password authentication web page and automatically log in with a keyword and your password in the Firefox address bar."

  Don't forget the Highlights feed serves up a once-weekly helping of Lifehacker's best posts; our daily top stories feed is a handy reader's digest too. Tailor your Lifehacker feed to your heart's content with our new not: exclusion operator.

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: February 2nd, 2007, 8:00pm EST

  The week of both Lifehacker's birthday and the (not-so) big Vista launch has come to a close. For a quickie recap, this week's best posts include:

  • Geek to Live: Manage multiple Firefox profiles
    "If you share a computer with family members or roommates, or if you simply browse for different reasons - like work, blogging, school research, or play - you may want to use different Firefox settings each time you sit down to surf."
  • Alpha Geek: Whip your MP3 library into shape, Part II - Album art
    "It's time to focus on album art, which is less of a practical improvement and more of a fun one."
  • Hack Attack: Burn almost any video file to a playable DVD
    "Putting any old video file - like the DivX/Xvid-encoded videos you've downloaded with BitTorrent - onto a DVD to play on your TV can be a daunting task."
  • Lifehacker Code: About This Site add-on (Firefox)
    "When you happen upon a new web site - or you're just interested in finding more about one you frequent all the time - it's difficult to get a sense of how popular it is, how long it's been around, what people are saying about it and how much it's been bookmarked."
  • Screenshot Tour: How to crack a Windows password with Ophcrack Live CD
    "Whether you need to recover the lost password to a Windows account, you're looking to ensure that your passwords are secure, or you're a super l33t h4x0r, the Ophcrack Live CD is a pretty useful tool."
  • Download of the Day: Launchy 1.0 (Windows)
    "Open source application Launchy is a quick, lightweight application launcher (and then some)."
  • Stream your MP3s with Netvibes-SlimServer mashup
    "...you'll need a free Netvibes account, the free SlimServer software and about 15 minutes."
  • Download of the Day: Pandora Downloader (Windows)
    "...save MP3s from the popular internet radio site, Pandora."
  • Download web video with the All-In-One Video Bookmarklet
    "Save that YouTube or Google Video file with one click o' the toolbar."
  • Geek to Live: Windows Vista upgrade power tips
    "After using Windows Vista for awhile, even the most begrudging upgrader will find that it's got a lot more features and options for the power user compared to Windows XP."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Should I upgrade to Vista now or wait?
    "If you want a truly seamless transition to Vista - especially if you're upgrading your existing PC versus buying a new one with it pre-installed - I'd say wait."
  • Automatically log in with Firefox keyword bookmarks
    "Bypass a username and password authentication web page and automatically log in with a keyword and your password in the Firefox address bar."

  Don't forget the Highlights feed serves up a once-weekly helping of Lifehacker's best posts; our daily top stories feed is a handy reader's digest too. Tailor your Lifehacker feed to your heart's content with our new not: exclusion operator.

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 26th, 2007, 6:30pm EST

  Hey you, with the stuffed up newsreader: get once-weekly recaps of Lifehacker's best posts on Friday evening using the Highlights feed. That make you miss us too much? Subscribe to the trimmed-down daily top stories feed instead.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Encrypt your instant messages with Gaim
    "You're instant messaging your wife from the office and you'd rather the IT guys weren't privy to the conversation."
  • Whip your MP3 library into shape, Part I - Level the volume
    "...discover the first secret of a perfect MP3 library."
  • Share your iTunes music library over your home network
    "The problem with iTunes built-in shared libraries is it's very limited."
  • Hide data in files with easy steganography tools
    "The digital equivalent of invisible ink is steganography software, apps that embed files and data inside other files, hidden from everyone who doesn't know any better."
  • Screenshot Tour: The keyboard shortcut goodness of Microsoft Office 2007
    "...what I was instantly in love with is Office 2007's attention to mouseless navigation."
  • Windows Vista Tip: Disable annoying "Need your permission to continue-" prompts
    "Windows Vista's User Account Control security feature is bound to drive any power user batty."
  • Download of the Day: URL Fixer (Firefox)
    "...automatically correct common URL typos in the address bar."
  • Bring back old-school Google Image Search
    "...undo Google Image Search's recent 'improvements.'"
  • Ask Lifehacker: Sync my PDA/smartphone to the web?
    "There's a web-sync tool that supports not only the Treo, but a whole bunch of PDAs and smartphones."
  • Screencast: Windows Vista Flip 3D
    "If you're wondering whether it's worth upgrading your PC's video card for Vista's new graphics system Aero, check out Flip 3D."
  • Download of the Day: Recuva (Windows)
    "Recover deleted files with Recuva, a new utility from the developers who brought you the venerable system-scouring tool CCleaner."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 26th, 2007, 6:30pm EST

  Hey you, with the stuffed up newsreader: get once-weekly recaps of Lifehacker's best posts on Friday evening using the Highlights feed. That make you miss us too much? Subscribe to the trimmed-down daily top stories feed instead.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Encrypt your instant messages with Gaim
    "You're instant messaging your wife from the office and you'd rather the IT guys weren't privy to the conversation."
  • Whip your MP3 library into shape, Part I - Level the volume
    "...discover the first secret of a perfect MP3 library."
  • Share your iTunes music library over your home network
    "The problem with iTunes built-in shared libraries is it's very limited."
  • Hide data in files with easy steganography tools
    "The digital equivalent of invisible ink is steganography software, apps that embed files and data inside other files, hidden from everyone who doesn't know any better."
  • Screenshot Tour: The keyboard shortcut goodness of Microsoft Office 2007
    "...what I was instantly in love with is Office 2007's attention to mouseless navigation."
  • Windows Vista Tip: Disable annoying "Need your permission to continue-" prompts
    "Windows Vista's User Account Control security feature is bound to drive any power user batty."
  • Download of the Day: URL Fixer (Firefox)
    "...automatically correct common URL typos in the address bar."
  • Bring back old-school Google Image Search
    "...undo Google Image Search's recent 'improvements.'"
  • Ask Lifehacker: Sync my PDA/smartphone to the web?
    "There's a web-sync tool that supports not only the Treo, but a whole bunch of PDAs and smartphones."
  • Screencast: Windows Vista Flip 3D
    "If you're wondering whether it's worth upgrading your PC's video card for Vista's new graphics system Aero, check out Flip 3D."
  • Download of the Day: Recuva (Windows)
    "Recover deleted files with Recuva, a new utility from the developers who brought you the venerable system-scouring tool CCleaner."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 19th, 2007, 7:00pm EST

  Too much Lifehacker crowding up your newsreader? Here, have our no-nonsense top stories feed for a daily hit of our best stuff. For just a weekly shot of LH, subscribe to the highlights feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • How to replace a dead power supply
    "At least hard drives have the courtesy to make that wrenching death-rattle when the end is near. But not power supplies: They just give up the ghost. Poof."
  • Turn your blog into a book, part II
    "How do you organize and rewrite over 5,000 blog posts into book format?"
  • Bolster your browsing privacy at work
    "As a firm believer that you can do your job well while getting in a little personal time with Sweet Lady Internet, this week I'm going to highlight a few methods for adding a layer of privacy and freedom to your work browsing."
  • Secure VNC with Hamachi
    "Today we'll cover how to drive a computer over the internet with the free, secure and cross-platform VNC and Hamachi, the chocolate and peanut butter of remote computing."
  • Screenshot Tour: Jajuk Music Player
    "Jajuk's full of interesting ways to slice and dice your music."
  • Download of the Day: Xecutor (Windows)
    "Xecutor manages scripts and programs set to start automatically when you boot up, during the day or when you shut down on your PC."
  • Windows Vista Tip: Take screenshots with the Snipping Tool
    "One of the nicer utilities built into Windows Vista is the Snipping Tool, a screengrab application that blows the doors off Windows XP's measly Alt-PrintScreen and Mac OS X's Grab."
  • Search Wikipedia with WikiSeek
    "The new search tool, accessible from a web page or within Firefox, promises faster, more accurate results than you get from Wikipedia proper."
  • Install and run Ubuntu without disturbing Windows
    "Forget partitions, dual-boot setups and live CDs: The new Ubuntu Windows installer lets you run the Linux distro while keeping the rest of your system intact."
  • Get refunds with Price Protectr
    "Web site Price Protectr monitors popular online stores for price drops on items you've purchased, then notifies you if the price drops at any time during that store's price protection period (e.g., Amazon's 30-day price guarantee)."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 19th, 2007, 7:00pm EST

  Too much Lifehacker crowding up your newsreader? Here, have our no-nonsense top stories feed for a daily hit of our best stuff. For just a weekly shot of LH, subscribe to the highlights feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • How to replace a dead power supply
    "At least hard drives have the courtesy to make that wrenching death-rattle when the end is near. But not power supplies: They just give up the ghost. Poof."
  • Turn your blog into a book, part II
    "How do you organize and rewrite over 5,000 blog posts into book format?"
  • Bolster your browsing privacy at work
    "As a firm believer that you can do your job well while getting in a little personal time with Sweet Lady Internet, this week I'm going to highlight a few methods for adding a layer of privacy and freedom to your work browsing."
  • Secure VNC with Hamachi
    "Today we'll cover how to drive a computer over the internet with the free, secure and cross-platform VNC and Hamachi, the chocolate and peanut butter of remote computing."
  • Screenshot Tour: Jajuk Music Player
    "Jajuk's full of interesting ways to slice and dice your music."
  • Download of the Day: Xecutor (Windows)
    "Xecutor manages scripts and programs set to start automatically when you boot up, during the day or when you shut down on your PC."
  • Windows Vista Tip: Take screenshots with the Snipping Tool
    "One of the nicer utilities built into Windows Vista is the Snipping Tool, a screengrab application that blows the doors off Windows XP's measly Alt-PrintScreen and Mac OS X's Grab."
  • Search Wikipedia with WikiSeek
    "The new search tool, accessible from a web page or within Firefox, promises faster, more accurate results than you get from Wikipedia proper."
  • Install and run Ubuntu without disturbing Windows
    "Forget partitions, dual-boot setups and live CDs: The new Ubuntu Windows installer lets you run the Linux distro while keeping the rest of your system intact."
  • Get refunds with Price Protectr
    "Web site Price Protectr monitors popular online stores for price drops on items you've purchased, then notifies you if the price drops at any time during that store's price protection period (e.g., Amazon's 30-day price guarantee)."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 12th, 2007, 7:00pm EST

  Get a weekly dose of the best of Lifehacker using our Highlights feed. Or get our daily best stories using the Top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • The command line comeback
    "Let's take a closer look at this surprising "circle of life" right back to the trusty old command line with some examples of CLI in modern personal computing."
  • Alpha Geek: CDs vs. Downloads
    "The novelty of the 99-cent song has worn off. The ugly reality of Digital Rights Management (DRM) has settled in. The music-download revolution is over. It's time to go back to buying CDs."
  • Seven New Year's Resolutions for your PC
    "At the start of every new year, people the world over make resolutions to better themselves, with fitness, health, money, and career goals at the forefront of our minds. But what about your poor, neglected PC?"
  • Turn your blog into a book, part I
    "It's not surprising that pro writers are becoming bloggers, but "amateur" bloggers getting book deals are turning heads online and off."
  • Five ways to clean up your snail mail
    "Sorting through the mail each day and keeping track of what came in became an annoying task and a recipe for misplaced or discarded bills or important letters."
  • Download of the Day: USB PC Repair System (Windows)
    "...a USB-drive based collection of software that'll help you resuscitate any ailing PC."
  • The fastest method for posting bookmarks to Del.icio.us
    "With a little tweak, I set up the bookmarklet to tag the page you're currently visiting by typing something as simple as tag tech productivity todo in your address bar and hitting enter."
  • Download of the Day: CrossLoop (Windows)
    "Connect to and take control of another PC with CrossLoop, quite possibly the easiest remote-access tool on the planet."
  • Download of the Day: Ophcrack Live CD
    "Ophcrack is creepy. It cracked my (somewhat mediocre) 13-character alphanumeric password in about 5 minutes."
  • Create smart sets in Flickr with SmartSetr
    "SmartSetr works a lot like iTunes Smart playlists - but for your Flickr account."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Gmail or Thunderbird?
    "...there are some areas where T-bird simply doesn't stand up to Gmail: search, for one, and message tagging, for another."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 12th, 2007, 7:00pm EST

  Get a weekly dose of the best of Lifehacker using our Highlights feed. Or get our daily best stories using the Top stories feed. This week's best posts include:

  • The command line comeback
    "Let's take a closer look at this surprising "circle of life" right back to the trusty old command line with some examples of CLI in modern personal computing."
  • Alpha Geek: CDs vs. Downloads
    "The novelty of the 99-cent song has worn off. The ugly reality of Digital Rights Management (DRM) has settled in. The music-download revolution is over. It's time to go back to buying CDs."
  • Seven New Year's Resolutions for your PC
    "At the start of every new year, people the world over make resolutions to better themselves, with fitness, health, money, and career goals at the forefront of our minds. But what about your poor, neglected PC?"
  • Turn your blog into a book, part I
    "It's not surprising that pro writers are becoming bloggers, but "amateur" bloggers getting book deals are turning heads online and off."
  • Five ways to clean up your snail mail
    "Sorting through the mail each day and keeping track of what came in became an annoying task and a recipe for misplaced or discarded bills or important letters."
  • Download of the Day: USB PC Repair System (Windows)
    "...a USB-drive based collection of software that'll help you resuscitate any ailing PC."
  • The fastest method for posting bookmarks to Del.icio.us
    "With a little tweak, I set up the bookmarklet to tag the page you're currently visiting by typing something as simple as tag tech productivity todo in your address bar and hitting enter."
  • Download of the Day: CrossLoop (Windows)
    "Connect to and take control of another PC with CrossLoop, quite possibly the easiest remote-access tool on the planet."
  • Download of the Day: Ophcrack Live CD
    "Ophcrack is creepy. It cracked my (somewhat mediocre) 13-character alphanumeric password in about 5 minutes."
  • Create smart sets in Flickr with SmartSetr
    "SmartSetr works a lot like iTunes Smart playlists - but for your Flickr account."
  • Ask Lifehacker: Gmail or Thunderbird?
    "...there are some areas where T-bird simply doesn't stand up to Gmail: search, for one, and message tagging, for another."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 5th, 2007, 7:30pm EST

  Get your weekly dose of our best posts delivered to your newsreader: subscribe to the Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • A guide for switching to a Mac
    "To ease this transition for all of the new Mac owners out there, I've put together a quick guide for Mac newbies making the big switch."
  • Six webapps to help keep your New Year's resolutions
    "Follow me for a rundown of the best online tools for making, tracking and sticking to new resolutions..."
  • How to wrap a headphone cord
    "Tired of constantly having to de-tangle your headphone cord every time you pull your iPod out of your bag?"
  • Software for Starving Students (Win/Mac)
    "Th[is] collection includes well-known gems like 7-Zip, Audacity, Blender, and OpenOffice.org..."
  • New Year's weight loss hacks
    "The results from our New Year's resolution poll are in: almost one third of you are looking to lose weight and get more fit in '07."
  • Download of the Day: Dexpot (Windows)
    "Aside from providing an Exposé-like feature for individual desktops, Dexpot also lets you preview all desktops in a similar fashion to Leopard's Spaces."
  • Learn a language with podcasts
    "If you're interested in learning a language in '07, iTunes has a whole section of podcasts devoted to language."
  • Unlimited online file storage
    "...divShare definitely comes in handy when you need to move or share large files."
  • Fix your LCD's stuck pixels
    "JScreenFix is designed to fix your LCD's stuck pixels by quickly switching red, green, and blue colors on your monitor."
  • Use a 9-volt battery as emergency AAAs
    "This could come in really handy if you're in a pinch for AAAs."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: January 5th, 2007, 7:30pm EST

  Get your weekly dose of our best posts delivered to your newsreader: subscribe to the Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • A guide for switching to a Mac
    "To ease this transition for all of the new Mac owners out there, I've put together a quick guide for Mac newbies making the big switch."
  • Six webapps to help keep your New Year's resolutions
    "Follow me for a rundown of the best online tools for making, tracking and sticking to new resolutions..."
  • How to wrap a headphone cord
    "Tired of constantly having to de-tangle your headphone cord every time you pull your iPod out of your bag?"
  • Software for Starving Students (Win/Mac)
    "Th[is] collection includes well-known gems like 7-Zip, Audacity, Blender, and OpenOffice.org..."
  • New Year's weight loss hacks
    "The results from our New Year's resolution poll are in: almost one third of you are looking to lose weight and get more fit in '07."
  • Download of the Day: Dexpot (Windows)
    "Aside from providing an Exposé-like feature for individual desktops, Dexpot also lets you preview all desktops in a similar fashion to Leopard's Spaces."
  • Learn a language with podcasts
    "If you're interested in learning a language in '07, iTunes has a whole section of podcasts devoted to language."
  • Unlimited online file storage
    "...divShare definitely comes in handy when you need to move or share large files."
  • Fix your LCD's stuck pixels
    "JScreenFix is designed to fix your LCD's stuck pixels by quickly switching red, green, and blue colors on your monitor."
  • Use a 9-volt battery as emergency AAAs
    "This could come in really handy if you're in a pinch for AAAs."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 29th, 2006, 4:00pm EST

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a once-weekly listing of Lifehacker's best posts. This (slow holiday) week's highlights include:

  • Ask the Readers: E-mail for kids?
    "What do you think about children having their own e-mail accounts? How can I monitor them?"
  • Download of the Day: Dexpot (Windows)
    "Aside from providing an Exposé-like feature for individual desktops, Dexpot also lets you preview all desktops in a similar fashion to Leopard's Spaces."
  • How to run 50 marathons in 50 days
    "Super-runner Dean Karnazes - who recently ran 50 marathons in 50 days - gives Wired magazine a list of strategies he's used to train and push himself on his long distance running feats."
  • Download of the Day: Hazel (Mac)
    "...automatically delete any files more than a week old in your Downloads folder, clear documents you haven't touched in a month off your Desktop or automatically add MP3's to an iTunes playlist."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 29th, 2006, 4:00pm EST

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a once-weekly listing of Lifehacker's best posts. This (slow holiday) week's highlights include:

  • Ask the Readers: E-mail for kids?
    "What do you think about children having their own e-mail accounts? How can I monitor them?"
  • Download of the Day: Dexpot (Windows)
    "Aside from providing an Exposé-like feature for individual desktops, Dexpot also lets you preview all desktops in a similar fashion to Leopard's Spaces."
  • How to run 50 marathons in 50 days
    "Super-runner Dean Karnazes - who recently ran 50 marathons in 50 days - gives Wired magazine a list of strategies he's used to train and push himself on his long distance running feats."
  • Download of the Day: Hazel (Mac)
    "...automatically delete any files more than a week old in your Downloads folder, clear documents you haven't touched in a month off your Desktop or automatically add MP3's to an iTunes playlist."
• 

  A Very Merry Friday: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 22nd, 2006, 3:00pm EST

  Get a weekly update of the best of Lifehacker straight to your newsreader by subscribing to our Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • The best apps of 2006
    "...my picks for best new software and web applications that rocked our world in 2006."
  • How to digitize cassette tapes
    "It's time to resurrect your collection of Phil Collins albums, Stephen King audiobooks, and other treasures of the 80s. With a few simple tools and your PC, you can turn these forgotten jewels into digital audio files that will live forever."
  • Photo projects for the New Year
    "Here's a roundup of easy ways you can do your own year-in-photos with minimal effort - including a simple script that will help you automate photo projects on your Mac."
  • Lifehacker Zeitgeist
    "Lifehacker's top dozen most popular posts of 2006, according to our traffic logs."
  • DIY gift wrap with Microsoft Word
    "It's the office holiday gift exchange and you need wrapping paper, quick!"
  • Download of the Day: Flickr Wallpaper Rotator (Windows)
    "...automatically downloads images from Flickr and sets them as your PC's desktop wallpaper."
  • The Hipster PDA in Wordplay
    "Syndicated crossword puzzlemaker Merl Reagle uses index cards and pocket-sized notebooks to capture ideas about new puzzles while he's out and about."
  • Download of the Day: VLC 0.8.6 (All platforms)
    "...now supports playback of Windows Media Video 9 (WMV9) and Flash video."
  • Schedule meetings with TimeToMeet
    "TimeToMeet aims to help two or more people arrange a meeting with a minimum of fuss."
  • Search Google Earth for giant toys
    "Santa has hidden a treasure trove of presents somewhere in Google Earth."
• 

  Highlights: A Very Merry Friday: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 22nd, 2006, 3:00pm EST

  Get a weekly update of the best of Lifehacker straight to your newsreader by subscribing to our Highlights feed. This week's best posts include:

  • The best apps of 2006
    "...my picks for best new software and web applications that rocked our world in 2006."
  • How to digitize cassette tapes
    "It's time to resurrect your collection of Phil Collins albums, Stephen King audiobooks, and other treasures of the 80s. With a few simple tools and your PC, you can turn these forgotten jewels into digital audio files that will live forever."
  • Photo projects for the New Year
    "Here's a roundup of easy ways you can do your own year-in-photos with minimal effort - including a simple script that will help you automate photo projects on your Mac."
  • Lifehacker Zeitgeist
    "Lifehacker's top dozen most popular posts of 2006, according to our traffic logs."
  • DIY gift wrap with Microsoft Word
    "It's the office holiday gift exchange and you need wrapping paper, quick!"
  • Download of the Day: Flickr Wallpaper Rotator (Windows)
    "...automatically downloads images from Flickr and sets them as your PC's desktop wallpaper."
  • The Hipster PDA in Wordplay
    "Syndicated crossword puzzlemaker Merl Reagle uses index cards and pocket-sized notebooks to capture ideas about new puzzles while he's out and about."
  • Download of the Day: VLC 0.8.6 (All platforms)
    "...now supports playback of Windows Media Video 9 (WMV9) and Flash video."
  • Schedule meetings with TimeToMeet
    "TimeToMeet aims to help two or more people arrange a meeting with a minimum of fuss."
  • Search Google Earth for giant toys
    "Santa has hidden a treasure trove of presents somewhere in Google Earth."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 15th, 2006, 8:00pm EST

  Get the best posts on Lifehacker delivered to your newsreader once a week: subscribe to the Highlights feed. Once a week not enough? Subscribe to our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Alpha Geek: Video Editing 101
    "'Tis the season for sharing home movies--but don't try your friends' and relatives' patience waiting for something good to happen in the hours of tape you shot on vacation."
  • Q&A with Microsoft about Windows Vista
    "Just got back from a weekend visit to the Microsoft campus up in Redmond, Washington where I got the chance to hear about Windows Vista and other new MS creations..."
  • Hack Attack: How to run Windows and Mac apps side-by-side with Parallels
    "You can intermingle all your Mac and Windows apps on the same desktop. I know what you're thinking: Disgusting! Unnatural!"
  • Geek to Live: iTunes power tips
    "Today I'd like to highlight some of the lesser-known but super-useful iTunes features available in the latest version."
  • Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 7: Organize Your Stuff
    "The more findable your data is, the more effective you can be."
  • 15 unusual ways to use Google
    "...including tracking packages, converting units of measure and providing encyclopedic information."
  • How NOT to be a Blackberry parent
    "In perhaps the most depressing article about information addiction ever published - or yet another eye-grabbing attempt by the mainstream media to demonize technology - the Wall Street Journal reports on 'Blackberry orphans,' kids who feel neglected by thumb-crazy parents."
  • Download of the Day: Google Toolbar 3 Beta (Firefox)
    "Access your bookmarks or your Google Docs & Spreadsheets files from anywhere..."
  • Make your own gift wrap
    "Do-it-yourself alternatives to store-bought gift wrap include comics, magazine pages, paper bags and even aluminum foil."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 15th, 2006, 8:00pm EST

  Get the best posts on Lifehacker delivered to your newsreader once a week: subscribe to the Highlights feed. Once a week not enough? Subscribe to our daily top stories feed.

  This week's best posts include:

  • Alpha Geek: Video Editing 101
    "'Tis the season for sharing home movies--but don't try your friends' and relatives' patience waiting for something good to happen in the hours of tape you shot on vacation."
  • Q&A with Microsoft about Windows Vista
    "Just got back from a weekend visit to the Microsoft campus up in Redmond, Washington where I got the chance to hear about Windows Vista and other new MS creations..."
  • Hack Attack: How to run Windows and Mac apps side-by-side with Parallels
    "You can intermingle all your Mac and Windows apps on the same desktop. I know what you're thinking: Disgusting! Unnatural!"
  • Geek to Live: iTunes power tips
    "Today I'd like to highlight some of the lesser-known but super-useful iTunes features available in the latest version."
  • Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 7: Organize Your Stuff
    "The more findable your data is, the more effective you can be."
  • 15 unusual ways to use Google
    "...including tracking packages, converting units of measure and providing encyclopedic information."
  • How NOT to be a Blackberry parent
    "In perhaps the most depressing article about information addiction ever published - or yet another eye-grabbing attempt by the mainstream media to demonize technology - the Wall Street Journal reports on 'Blackberry orphans,' kids who feel neglected by thumb-crazy parents."
  • Download of the Day: Google Toolbar 3 Beta (Firefox)
    "Access your bookmarks or your Google Docs & Spreadsheets files from anywhere..."
  • Make your own gift wrap
    "Do-it-yourself alternatives to store-bought gift wrap include comics, magazine pages, paper bags and even aluminum foil."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 8th, 2006, 8:00pm EST

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a weekly hit of the best posts. This week's highlights:

  • Your last 2006 to-do's
    Time's running out on your end-of-the-year financial maneuvers.
  • Geocaching 101
    Treasure hunting for the modern age.
  • Host your own photo gallery with Gallery2
    Who needs Flickr, anyway?
  • Visualize your hard drive usage
    Quickly and easily track down your largest hard drive hogs.
  • Getting things done with rule-based list processing
    Script-based GTD for the uber-geek.
  • Ask the Readers: Get your dream job?
    Check out how readers found their road to success.
  • Download of the Day: Google Reader Notifier (Firefox)
    Keep an eye on your feeds from your Firefox status bar.
  • Download of the Day: Pandora's Jar (Windows)
    Save your Pandora tunes quickly and easily.
  • Ask the Readers: Freeware volume-management app?
    Application-based volume management.
  • Lower your credit card interest rate with a phone call
    Because we could all use a little more money.
  • How to erase tourists from photos
    Clear all the fanny-packs and foam baseball caps from your vacation photos.
  • Ultimate DIY gamer's cabinet
    The story of how one man fit three modern gaming consoles, a DVD player, a cable box, and more, in one tight little cabinet.
  • Ask Lifehacker: The gift of a pre-loaded iPod
    The perfect gift for the music-lover who has no music to love.
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 8th, 2006, 8:00pm EST

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a weekly hit of the best posts. This week's highlights:

  • Your last 2006 to-do's
    Time's running out on your end-of-the-year financial maneuvers.
  • Geocaching 101
    Treasure hunting for the modern age.
  • Host your own photo gallery with Gallery2
    Who needs Flickr, anyway?
  • Visualize your hard drive usage
    Quickly and easily track down your largest hard drive hogs.
  • Getting things done with rule-based list processing
    Script-based GTD for the uber-geek.
  • Ask the Readers: Get your dream job?
    Check out how readers found their road to success.
  • Download of the Day: Google Reader Notifier (Firefox)
    Keep an eye on your feeds from your Firefox status bar.
  • Download of the Day: Pandora's Jar (Windows)
    Save your Pandora tunes quickly and easily.
  • Ask the Readers: Freeware volume-management app?
    Application-based volume management.
  • Lower your credit card interest rate with a phone call
    Because we could all use a little more money.
  • How to erase tourists from photos
    Clear all the fanny-packs and foam baseball caps from your vacation photos.
  • Ultimate DIY gamer's cabinet
    The story of how one man fit three modern gaming consoles, a DVD player, a cable box, and more, in one tight little cabinet.
  • Ask Lifehacker: The gift of a pre-loaded iPod
    The perfect gift for the music-lover who has no music to love.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 1st, 2006, 8:00pm EST

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a weekly hit of the best posts. This week's highlights:

  • Organize your holiday card list with Google Spreadsheets
    "Your spouse has contacts stored in Outlook at the office, and you've got some in Gmail and in your computer's address book at home. How do you coordinate your holiday card list? With Google Spreadsheets, that's how."
  • More on mouseless navigation
    "...a program that allows you to navigate your Windows mouse cursor from the comfort of your keyboard."
  • DIY gifts for the holidays
    "Target gift card? Bah. TMX Elmo? Humbug. PlayStation 3? Well, sure, if you can get one. Gifts like those may satisfy your spouse, siblings and offspring, but what about all those friends, neighbors, co-workers and mail carriers in your life?"
  • Turn CD jewel cases into photo frames
    "You'll need cardboard, double-sided tape and, of course, some jewel cases."
  • Lifehacker t-shirts now on sale
    "T-shirt-loving nerds unite! We are very excited to announce two new Lifehacker t-shirts are now for sale."
  • Store files in an online "DropBoks"
    "XDrive, 1 Click Share, Localhostr and countless others have blazed this trail already, but DropBoks scores points for simplicity."
  • Weekend Project: Make your own shower spa
    "...with just your trusty drill and some PVC pipe."
  • Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 1: Free up mental RAM
    "...you've got to get nagging tasks, thoughts, and worries off your mind before you can get anything done."
  • Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 2: Firewall Your Attention
    "You know what? You've got a set number of minutes to spend during your adventurous trip from cradle to grave, so you might as well spend 'em paying attention to the stuff that counts."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: December 1st, 2006, 8:00pm EST

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a weekly hit of the best posts. This week's highlights:

  • Organize your holiday card list with Google Spreadsheets
    "Your spouse has contacts stored in Outlook at the office, and you've got some in Gmail and in your computer's address book at home. How do you coordinate your holiday card list? With Google Spreadsheets, that's how."
  • More on mouseless navigation
    "...a program that allows you to navigate your Windows mouse cursor from the comfort of your keyboard."
  • DIY gifts for the holidays
    "Target gift card? Bah. TMX Elmo? Humbug. PlayStation 3? Well, sure, if you can get one. Gifts like those may satisfy your spouse, siblings and offspring, but what about all those friends, neighbors, co-workers and mail carriers in your life?"
  • Turn CD jewel cases into photo frames
    "You'll need cardboard, double-sided tape and, of course, some jewel cases."
  • Lifehacker t-shirts now on sale
    "T-shirt-loving nerds unite! We are very excited to announce two new Lifehacker t-shirts are now for sale."
  • Store files in an online "DropBoks"
    "XDrive, 1 Click Share, Localhostr and countless others have blazed this trail already, but DropBoks scores points for simplicity."
  • Weekend Project: Make your own shower spa
    "...with just your trusty drill and some PVC pipe."
  • Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 1: Free up mental RAM
    "...you've got to get nagging tasks, thoughts, and worries off your mind before you can get anything done."
  • Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 2: Firewall Your Attention
    "You know what? You've got a set number of minutes to spend during your adventurous trip from cradle to grave, so you might as well spend 'em paying attention to the stuff that counts."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 24th, 2006, 4:00pm EST

  This week's best posts include:

  • Keep spam off your cell phone
    "Cell phones and smartphones alike lack spam filters, so it's not uncommon to end up with 50 pieces of junk for every legitimate message..."
  • Make your Mac's Speech Recognition work for you
    "Although your Mac's built-in Speech Recognition doesn't do all that much out-of-the-box, it's really easy to create your own speakable actions for virtually any application."
  • Sneak Preview: Lifehacker the book's table of contents
    "....in less than one month, Lifehacker the book ships from Amazon!"
  • The Flickr camera guide
    "Popular photo sharing site Flickr has published lists and graphs of the most popular cameras used on the site."
  • Add a second Gmail inbox with Greasemonkey
    "Gmail user Tyler Hall started forwarding all his work email to his personal Gmail account and wanted an easy way to view his work inbox and sent mail."
  • Run Linux and get money back on your new PC
    "UK freelancer Dave Mitchell bought a new Dell laptop, replaced its copy of Windows with Linux - and got money back from Dell for never using the Microsoft OS."
  • Find it for less online -- while in a store
    "The next time you're standing in the local Best Buy about to impulse-buy something, call Frucall to see if there's a better deal available online."

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a once-a-week hit of the best of the site, or grab our Top stories feed for the cream of the crop each day. Have a great holiday weekend!

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 24th, 2006, 4:00pm EST

  This week's best posts include:

  • Keep spam off your cell phone
    "Cell phones and smartphones alike lack spam filters, so it's not uncommon to end up with 50 pieces of junk for every legitimate message..."
  • Make your Mac's Speech Recognition work for you
    "Although your Mac's built-in Speech Recognition doesn't do all that much out-of-the-box, it's really easy to create your own speakable actions for virtually any application."
  • Sneak Preview: Lifehacker the book's table of contents
    "....in less than one month, Lifehacker the book ships from Amazon!"
  • The Flickr camera guide
    "Popular photo sharing site Flickr has published lists and graphs of the most popular cameras used on the site."
  • Add a second Gmail inbox with Greasemonkey
    "Gmail user Tyler Hall started forwarding all his work email to his personal Gmail account and wanted an easy way to view his work inbox and sent mail."
  • Run Linux and get money back on your new PC
    "UK freelancer Dave Mitchell bought a new Dell laptop, replaced its copy of Windows with Linux - and got money back from Dell for never using the Microsoft OS."
  • Find it for less online -- while in a store
    "The next time you're standing in the local Best Buy about to impulse-buy something, call Frucall to see if there's a better deal available online."

  Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a once-a-week hit of the best of the site, or grab our Top stories feed for the cream of the crop each day. Have a great holiday weekend!

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 17th, 2006, 9:00pm EST

  This week's bests posts include:

  • A meaty Thanksgiving download
    "After a large dose of turkey and tryptophan, the last thing you want to do is cruise around the interwebs downloading this, that and the other to get the folks' PC in order."
  • How to kill ideas
    "We will actively work against you" and "Looks like ass."
  • 5 rules for an empty inbox
    "If you don't need to read it now, it shouldn't be in your inbox."
  • How to free up space in Gmail
    "...I took my Gmail account from 98% of quota down to 67% of quota without losing one important message."
  • Take better cameraphone photos
    "Serious photographers might scoff at the cameraphone as a viable device for taking great photos, but for civilians, it's a perfect tool for documenting your life."
  • Spell words with buildings
    "At one time or another, most of us have wondered how our name would look if it was spelled out with buildings that look like letters when viewed from above."
  • Triple-boot XP, Vista, and Ubuntu
    "Among other things, when all's said and done, you can boot any of the 3 OSes from a single boot screen (something I was unable to do with Vista's new bootloader)."
  • Set up and host a blog on your home computer
    "The cool thing about blogs (and many other web apps, like wikis) is that they don't actually have to live online."
  • Why you shouldn't get a job
    "...if you're reasonably intelligent, getting a job is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself."
  • 8 ways to shoot video like a pro
    "...You suck at making home movies."

  Too much Lifehacker getting you down? Never fear, dear reader! Get a weekly, LH-lite slurp of the best of the best in your newsreader with our Highlights feed. If that makes you miss us too much, grab a handful of posts each day using our Top stories feed instead.

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 17th, 2006, 9:00pm EST

  This week's bests posts include:

  • A meaty Thanksgiving download
    "After a large dose of turkey and tryptophan, the last thing you want to do is cruise around the interwebs downloading this, that and the other to get the folks' PC in order."
  • How to kill ideas
    "We will actively work against you" and "Looks like ass."
  • 5 rules for an empty inbox
    "If you don't need to read it now, it shouldn't be in your inbox."
  • How to free up space in Gmail
    "...I took my Gmail account from 98% of quota down to 67% of quota without losing one important message."
  • Take better cameraphone photos
    "Serious photographers might scoff at the cameraphone as a viable device for taking great photos, but for civilians, it's a perfect tool for documenting your life."
  • Spell words with buildings
    "At one time or another, most of us have wondered how our name would look if it was spelled out with buildings that look like letters when viewed from above."
  • Triple-boot XP, Vista, and Ubuntu
    "Among other things, when all's said and done, you can boot any of the 3 OSes from a single boot screen (something I was unable to do with Vista's new bootloader)."
  • Set up and host a blog on your home computer
    "The cool thing about blogs (and many other web apps, like wikis) is that they don't actually have to live online."
  • Why you shouldn't get a job
    "...if you're reasonably intelligent, getting a job is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself."
  • 8 ways to shoot video like a pro
    "...You suck at making home movies."

  Too much Lifehacker getting you down? Never fear, dear reader! Get a weekly, LH-lite slurp of the best of the best in your newsreader with our Highlights feed. If that makes you miss us too much, grab a handful of posts each day using our Top stories feed instead.

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 10th, 2006, 9:00pm EST

  This week's bests posts include:

  • Make a ringtone from any MP3
    "With some free software and a few minutes, you can make as many custom ringtones as your heart desires out of any MP3 in your music collection without paying a dime."
  • 8 killer Windows Media Center plug-ins
    "Just as extensions make Firefox better, so do plug-ins add extra goodness to the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system (MCE). "
  • Operate your mouse with your keyboard
    "In my mission to abandon the mouse forever, this week I've put together a small freeware application called Mouser that operates your mouse from the comfort of your keyboard."
  • Incorporate text files onto your desktop
    "Display a constantly-updated text file right on your computer desktop, no text editor or command shell required, for quick and easy visual reference."
  • Make the most of your movie theater experience
    "Here are the sites I use before (and after) I go to the movies in order to make my dollar stretch just a little further."
  • Rating the diet green teas
    "Studies, scientists, and everyday people increasingly tout green tea as a miracle drug. It burns calories. It fights HIV. It cuts the risk of certain diseases. It's good for your teeth."
  • Quick-save drafts in Gmail
    "In Gmail, Ctrl-S actually saves the current email as a draft."
  • Weekend Project: Air seal your home
    "...you may be leaking dollars and cents out of those little gaps in your window sills and walls."
  • Screenshot Tour: Windows Live Mail Desktop beta
    "Windows Live Mail Desktop offers access to all your email accounts and web site subscriptions in one place with powerful built-in search."
  • Abraham Lincoln on email
    "The first U.S. president with access to the telegraph developed a personal code of electronic communications that modern-day netizens would do well to adopt in their email habits."
  • At the beep, record your message...to yourself
    "Leave a message for yourself with BrainCast, a new service that embraces the concept of the voice-mail reminder."
  • Manipulate Firefox 2's built-in dictionary
    "Edit, merge, transfer and otherwise manipulate Firefox 2's built-in spell-check dictionary."

  Can't deal with the daily onslaught of Lifehacker? Don't leave us! Get a weekly, quick-skim hit of the best of the best in your newsreader with our Highlights feed. If that makes you miss us too much, grab a handful of posts each day using our Top stories feed instead.

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 10th, 2006, 9:00pm EST

  This week's bests posts include:

  • Make a ringtone from any MP3
    "With some free software and a few minutes, you can make as many custom ringtones as your heart desires out of any MP3 in your music collection without paying a dime."
  • 8 killer Windows Media Center plug-ins
    "Just as extensions make Firefox better, so do plug-ins add extra goodness to the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system (MCE). "
  • Operate your mouse with your keyboard
    "In my mission to abandon the mouse forever, this week I've put together a small freeware application called Mouser that operates your mouse from the comfort of your keyboard."
  • Incorporate text files onto your desktop
    "Display a constantly-updated text file right on your computer desktop, no text editor or command shell required, for quick and easy visual reference."
  • Make the most of your movie theater experience
    "Here are the sites I use before (and after) I go to the movies in order to make my dollar stretch just a little further."
  • Rating the diet green teas
    "Studies, scientists, and everyday people increasingly tout green tea as a miracle drug. It burns calories. It fights HIV. It cuts the risk of certain diseases. It's good for your teeth."
  • Quick-save drafts in Gmail
    "In Gmail, Ctrl-S actually saves the current email as a draft."
  • Weekend Project: Air seal your home
    "...you may be leaking dollars and cents out of those little gaps in your window sills and walls."
  • Screenshot Tour: Windows Live Mail Desktop beta
    "Windows Live Mail Desktop offers access to all your email accounts and web site subscriptions in one place with powerful built-in search."
  • Abraham Lincoln on email
    "The first U.S. president with access to the telegraph developed a personal code of electronic communications that modern-day netizens would do well to adopt in their email habits."
  • At the beep, record your message...to yourself
    "Leave a message for yourself with BrainCast, a new service that embraces the concept of the voice-mail reminder."
  • Manipulate Firefox 2's built-in dictionary
    "Edit, merge, transfer and otherwise manipulate Firefox 2's built-in spell-check dictionary."

  Can't deal with the daily onslaught of Lifehacker? Don't leave us! Get a weekly, quick-skim hit of the best of the best in your newsreader with our Highlights feed. If that makes you miss us too much, grab a handful of posts each day using our Top stories feed instead.

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 3rd, 2006, 9:00pm EST

  Get the best o' Lifehacker, once a week, delivered straight to your newsreader every Friday night: subscribe to the Highlights feed.

  This week:

  • Consolidate Firefox's chrome
    "There are bunch of unnecessary buttons, menus and doodads in the Firefox control area (the "chrome") that you don't need, taking up space you could be using to see and do more with your web pages and tabs."
  • 12 Killer Apps for Palm PDAs
    "Stock your Palm PDA with the right software and it can play music, stream RSS feeds, keep you entertained on the road, and even get you where you're going."
  • One-click DVD rips
    "I've got no time to sit around clicking through dialogs to rip my DVDs, I've put together my very own one-click DVD ripping solution."
  • Automatically download and install your favorite software
    "Simply provide InstallPad with your favorite apps' URLs and it does all the footwork for you - while you spend your time doing something much more interesting."
  • Top ten (non-Google) map innovations
    "There's a lot more mapping fun in the world than just Google's (really!)."
  • Two money-saving cellphone keystrokes
    "Pogue offers two keystrokes that can save you call time - and hence money on your cell phone bill."
  • Screenshot Tour: Windows Vista Mail
    "Mac OS X's built-in Mail.app kicks all kinds of ass, so I thought that Redmond had come to their senses and released an email client that could compete with Mail.app and maybe even my beloved Thunderbird."
  • Contest: Write the Lifehacker t-shirt slogan!
    "We want the official Lifehacker tee's to say something clever. Something witty. Something original. Something... written by you."
  • Download of the Day: Gmail Mobile for cell phones
    "he Gmail Mobile app, which runs on your Java-enabled phone, is a nice improvement on the previous Gmail Mobile, which just provided a stripped-down version of Gmail."
  • Napster launches 'free download of the day'
    "Starting yesterday, music fans can download a free (and legal) MP3 every day."

  Happy Friday!

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: November 3rd, 2006, 9:00pm EST

  Get the best o' Lifehacker, once a week, delivered straight to your newsreader every Friday night: subscribe to the Highlights feed.

  This week:

  • Consolidate Firefox's chrome
    "There are bunch of unnecessary buttons, menus and doodads in the Firefox control area (the "chrome") that you don't need, taking up space you could be using to see and do more with your web pages and tabs."
  • 12 Killer Apps for Palm PDAs
    "Stock your Palm PDA with the right software and it can play music, stream RSS feeds, keep you entertained on the road, and even get you where you're going."
  • One-click DVD rips
    "I've got no time to sit around clicking through dialogs to rip my DVDs, I've put together my very own one-click DVD ripping solution."
  • Automatically download and install your favorite software
    "Simply provide InstallPad with your favorite apps' URLs and it does all the footwork for you - while you spend your time doing something much more interesting."
  • Top ten (non-Google) map innovations
    "There's a lot more mapping fun in the world than just Google's (really!)."
  • Two money-saving cellphone keystrokes
    "Pogue offers two keystrokes that can save you call time - and hence money on your cell phone bill."
  • Screenshot Tour: Windows Vista Mail
    "Mac OS X's built-in Mail.app kicks all kinds of ass, so I thought that Redmond had come to their senses and released an email client that could compete with Mail.app and maybe even my beloved Thunderbird."
  • Contest: Write the Lifehacker t-shirt slogan!
    "We want the official Lifehacker tee's to say something clever. Something witty. Something original. Something... written by you."
  • Download of the Day: Gmail Mobile for cell phones
    "he Gmail Mobile app, which runs on your Java-enabled phone, is a nice improvement on the previous Gmail Mobile, which just provided a stripped-down version of Gmail."
  • Napster launches 'free download of the day'
    "Starting yesterday, music fans can download a free (and legal) MP3 every day."

  Happy Friday!

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 27th, 2006, 10:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker's unread post count got you down? Don't give up on us! Lighten the post load with our once-weekly Highlights feed, a digest version of the good stuff once each Friday evening. If that makes you miss us too much, grab our daily Top stories feed for a handful of our best items every day.

  • Top 10 open source Windows apps
    "...instead of pimping yet another Google product, I'd like to tip my hat to the open source developers who release innovative, useful products that make our lives that much easier every day - because it's our right, not privilege, to control our own data."
  • 11 Killer Freebies for Your Pocket PC
    "The Pocket PC can do more than you ever imagined, from reading e-books to making VoIP phone calls to streaming TV shows from your PC, all without spending a dime on extra software."
  • How to hack a marathon
    "Before I completed the 26.2 miles, I knew marathons can be a grueling test of will and a ridiculous punishment for your body. What I didn't know is that it's an experience well worth the punishment."
  • Top Firefox 2 config tweaks
    "In honor of the Firefox 2.0 release yesterday, today we'll dive deep into the bowels of the fox's config with a handful of my favorite Firefox 2 (and older) tweaks."
  • Get organized with GTDTiddlyWiki
    "Don't let GTDTiddlyWiki's unusual name put you off. It's one of the best organization apps available, and in fact it beats the pants off all the commercial organizational software I've tried."
  • Build your own secret bookshelf door
    "The neatest part is the Sherlock Holmes book door handle: you tilt it back off the shelf to release the latch."
  • Briefli file search
    "Pop in a search term - like "death cab" - and a file type - like "audio" - and Briefli searches open directories all over the web as well as Amazon for links to download or buy music, all Ajaxy-like."
  • Share any size file with MediaFire
    "...a free file hosting service that allows unlimited file sizes and uploads, as well as unlimited downloads of files."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 27th, 2006, 10:00pm EDT

  Lifehacker's unread post count got you down? Don't give up on us! Lighten the post load with our once-weekly Highlights feed, a digest version of the good stuff once each Friday evening. If that makes you miss us too much, grab our daily Top stories feed for a handful of our best items every day.

  • Top 10 open source Windows apps
    "...instead of pimping yet another Google product, I'd like to tip my hat to the open source developers who release innovative, useful products that make our lives that much easier every day - because it's our right, not privilege, to control our own data."
  • 11 Killer Freebies for Your Pocket PC
    "The Pocket PC can do more than you ever imagined, from reading e-books to making VoIP phone calls to streaming TV shows from your PC, all without spending a dime on extra software."
  • How to hack a marathon
    "Before I completed the 26.2 miles, I knew marathons can be a grueling test of will and a ridiculous punishment for your body. What I didn't know is that it's an experience well worth the punishment."
  • Top Firefox 2 config tweaks
    "In honor of the Firefox 2.0 release yesterday, today we'll dive deep into the bowels of the fox's config with a handful of my favorite Firefox 2 (and older) tweaks."
  • Get organized with GTDTiddlyWiki
    "Don't let GTDTiddlyWiki's unusual name put you off. It's one of the best organization apps available, and in fact it beats the pants off all the commercial organizational software I've tried."
  • Build your own secret bookshelf door
    "The neatest part is the Sherlock Holmes book door handle: you tilt it back off the shelf to release the latch."
  • Briefli file search
    "Pop in a search term - like "death cab" - and a file type - like "audio" - and Briefli searches open directories all over the web as well as Amazon for links to download or buy music, all Ajaxy-like."
  • Share any size file with MediaFire
    "...a free file hosting service that allows unlimited file sizes and uploads, as well as unlimited downloads of files."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 20th, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Too many LH posts clogging up the works in your feedreader? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for once-weekly wrap-ups or our Top stories feed for a few hits a day of our best stuff.

  • Roll your own timeline
    "...today I'll go over how to visualize a series of events using the open source dynamic widget called Timeline."
  • Turn your MacBook's iSight into a security camera
    "You just shelled out a bucketful of clams for your new MacBook and you want to protect your investment. "
  • Build your "PC on a stick" with MojoPac
    "You're headed to your buddy's house and you want to play some World of Warcraft or watch a downloaded movie while you're there. You don't have to drag along your entire laptop to do so."
  • How to beat a speeding ticket (or at least better your chances)
    "I've gotten about thirty speeding tickets in my short life, but I have zero tickets on my record."
  • Download of the Day: ErrorZilla Firefox extension
    "...ErrorZilla turns Firefox's less-than-useful default 'Server not found' page into a much more practical and useful tool."
  • Remove affiliate links from your Google search results
    "Using Google advanced operators (like, -site:bizrate -site:ebay -site:shopping.com), Give Me Back My Google removes known resellers from your search results"
  • Early(ish) Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2.0 RC 3 (All platforms)
    "If you've been waiting for the final 2.0 but just can't wait any longer, chances are pretty good that RC3 is good to go."
  • Mix custom relaxation tracks
    "Web site Sound Sleeping lets you mix together relaxing loops of rain, thunder, ocean waves, and other relaxation-inducers with a simple flash app to create the perfect wash of relaxation."
  • Download of the Day: TVUplayer (Windows)
    "TVUplayer was less than 1 minute behind my live TV, which is pretty impressive."
  • Download of the Day: Internet Explorer 7 (Windows)
    "Has Microsoft spent all this time polishing a turd, or do they have something good to offer?"
  • Avoid your email recipients' spam filter
    "8 ways to keep your legit email from getting marked as spam."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 20th, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Too many LH posts clogging up the works in your feedreader? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for once-weekly wrap-ups or our Top stories feed for a few hits a day of our best stuff.

  • Roll your own timeline
    "...today I'll go over how to visualize a series of events using the open source dynamic widget called Timeline."
  • Turn your MacBook's iSight into a security camera
    "You just shelled out a bucketful of clams for your new MacBook and you want to protect your investment. "
  • Build your "PC on a stick" with MojoPac
    "You're headed to your buddy's house and you want to play some World of Warcraft or watch a downloaded movie while you're there. You don't have to drag along your entire laptop to do so."
  • How to beat a speeding ticket (or at least better your chances)
    "I've gotten about thirty speeding tickets in my short life, but I have zero tickets on my record."
  • Download of the Day: ErrorZilla Firefox extension
    "...ErrorZilla turns Firefox's less-than-useful default 'Server not found' page into a much more practical and useful tool."
  • Remove affiliate links from your Google search results
    "Using Google advanced operators (like, -site:bizrate -site:ebay -site:shopping.com), Give Me Back My Google removes known resellers from your search results"
  • Early(ish) Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2.0 RC 3 (All platforms)
    "If you've been waiting for the final 2.0 but just can't wait any longer, chances are pretty good that RC3 is good to go."
  • Mix custom relaxation tracks
    "Web site Sound Sleeping lets you mix together relaxing loops of rain, thunder, ocean waves, and other relaxation-inducers with a simple flash app to create the perfect wash of relaxation."
  • Download of the Day: TVUplayer (Windows)
    "TVUplayer was less than 1 minute behind my live TV, which is pretty impressive."
  • Download of the Day: Internet Explorer 7 (Windows)
    "Has Microsoft spent all this time polishing a turd, or do they have something good to offer?"
  • Avoid your email recipients' spam filter
    "8 ways to keep your legit email from getting marked as spam."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 13th, 2006, 9:30pm EDT

  Your feed reader overflowing with Lifehacker again? Subscribe to our once-weekly highlights feed, or get to the best stuff on a daily basis with our top stories feed.

  • From Bloglines to Google Reader
    "The just-rolled-out Reader upgrades turned the app into an even better product than the much older and more-established Bloglines, and so I've made the switch."
  • Real estate on the web
    "With the help of a little thing I like to call the Internet, we were able to figure out what we needed to do as first-time homebuyers, browse and tour virtual open houses, and map out our dream neighborhood: all from the comfort of our own home office."
  • Take the web offline
    "Grabbing your favorite, must-have content for your offline viewing pleasure is a really simple process."
  • Make your own font
    "Knowing absolutely ZERO about fonts and typography, I was able to hand-draw, correct and create my own installable system font for use in digital images and documents in an afternoon with Fontifier."
  • Practice your personal Kaizen
    "Kaizen emphasizes the well-being of the employee, working smarter, not harder and developing best practices so that workers don't have to think. As such, Kaizen is an ideal approach to improve one's personal workflow."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Windows Vista RC2
    "Microsoft's made the Vista Release Candidate 2 available as a free download for testers."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2.0 RC 2 (All platforms)
    "Just a week and a half after releasing RC1, Mozilla's made the second release candidate of Firefox version 2 available for download."
  • Free international phonecalls (via Iowa) with Futurephone
    "Make free international phone calls sans Skype with Futurephone, a company that's just got to be bleeding money."
  • How to install Photoshop on Ubuntu
    "...a 7-step tutorial for installing industry-standard graphics editor Adobe Photoshop CS2 on Ubuntu using Wine."
  • Open Petition: Google Data Privacy manager
    "If Google is as serious about data privacy as they are about us all living 'the Google lifestyle,' they'd give their users more control - and GDP sounds like a great way to do that."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 13th, 2006, 9:30pm EDT

  Your feed reader overflowing with Lifehacker again? Subscribe to our once-weekly highlights feed, or get to the best stuff on a daily basis with our top stories feed.

  • From Bloglines to Google Reader
    "The just-rolled-out Reader upgrades turned the app into an even better product than the much older and more-established Bloglines, and so I've made the switch."
  • Real estate on the web
    "With the help of a little thing I like to call the Internet, we were able to figure out what we needed to do as first-time homebuyers, browse and tour virtual open houses, and map out our dream neighborhood: all from the comfort of our own home office."
  • Take the web offline
    "Grabbing your favorite, must-have content for your offline viewing pleasure is a really simple process."
  • Make your own font
    "Knowing absolutely ZERO about fonts and typography, I was able to hand-draw, correct and create my own installable system font for use in digital images and documents in an afternoon with Fontifier."
  • Practice your personal Kaizen
    "Kaizen emphasizes the well-being of the employee, working smarter, not harder and developing best practices so that workers don't have to think. As such, Kaizen is an ideal approach to improve one's personal workflow."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Windows Vista RC2
    "Microsoft's made the Vista Release Candidate 2 available as a free download for testers."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2.0 RC 2 (All platforms)
    "Just a week and a half after releasing RC1, Mozilla's made the second release candidate of Firefox version 2 available for download."
  • Free international phonecalls (via Iowa) with Futurephone
    "Make free international phone calls sans Skype with Futurephone, a company that's just got to be bleeding money."
  • How to install Photoshop on Ubuntu
    "...a 7-step tutorial for installing industry-standard graphics editor Adobe Photoshop CS2 on Ubuntu using Wine."
  • Open Petition: Google Data Privacy manager
    "If Google is as serious about data privacy as they are about us all living 'the Google lifestyle,' they'd give their users more control - and GDP sounds like a great way to do that."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 6th, 2006, 10:00pm EDT

  • Craigslist for power users
    "That blue and white page with links is about as vanilla as you can get - but there's a lot going on behind the scenes that makes it one of the most incredible resources on the planet."
  • Get your TV season pass with Democracy
    "...what a lot of people don't know about Democracy is that it has built-in support for BitTorrent downloads."
  • Set up a personal, home SSH server
    "...you don't have to be a Unix whiz with a beard, ponytail and penguin tee-shirt to reap the benefits of the secure, remote computing that SSH offers."
  • MacGyver Tip: Check your tire tread with a penny
    "Turn the penny head down and stick it between your tire tread. If you can see Lincoln's head fully, your tires legally need to be replaced."
  • Volunteer your computer's idle time to good causes
    "If you keep your computer on all the time, volunteer its spare cycles to science with the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing project."
  • Make your own recycled paper - a photo tutorial
    "The result is a beautifully natural-looking piece of handmade paper..."
  • Find your Halloween getup at Costumzee
    "Search engine Costumzee helps users tag, discuss and purchase Halloween costumes before the big night." Ed: don't miss the great costume ideas comment thread with this post.
  • Ten best movies in the public domain
    "Wired magazine chooses the 10 best movies in the public domain that you can download legally, for free, sans DRM, no strings attached." Ed: Yet another fabulous comment thread!
  • Recycle your Dell, get free home pickup
    "Enter the serial number of your Dell PC or product, printer or toner at the web site to schedule a no-charge home pickup and environmentally-friendly disposal of your compie bits."
  • Roll your own servers with Netcat
    "If you're a command line geek who's never used netcat but often works across networked machines, this quick netcat primer's for you."

  Suffering from Lifehacker information overload? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a once-weekly hit of the best posts on the site. For a handful of daily top posts, grab our top stories feed.

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 6th, 2006, 10:00pm EDT

  • Craigslist for power users
    "That blue and white page with links is about as vanilla as you can get - but there's a lot going on behind the scenes that makes it one of the most incredible resources on the planet."
  • Get your TV season pass with Democracy
    "...what a lot of people don't know about Democracy is that it has built-in support for BitTorrent downloads."
  • Set up a personal, home SSH server
    "...you don't have to be a Unix whiz with a beard, ponytail and penguin tee-shirt to reap the benefits of the secure, remote computing that SSH offers."
  • MacGyver Tip: Check your tire tread with a penny
    "Turn the penny head down and stick it between your tire tread. If you can see Lincoln's head fully, your tires legally need to be replaced."
  • Volunteer your computer's idle time to good causes
    "If you keep your computer on all the time, volunteer its spare cycles to science with the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing project."
  • Make your own recycled paper - a photo tutorial
    "The result is a beautifully natural-looking piece of handmade paper..."
  • Find your Halloween getup at Costumzee
    "Search engine Costumzee helps users tag, discuss and purchase Halloween costumes before the big night." Ed: don't miss the great costume ideas comment thread with this post.
  • Ten best movies in the public domain
    "Wired magazine chooses the 10 best movies in the public domain that you can download legally, for free, sans DRM, no strings attached." Ed: Yet another fabulous comment thread!
  • Recycle your Dell, get free home pickup
    "Enter the serial number of your Dell PC or product, printer or toner at the web site to schedule a no-charge home pickup and environmentally-friendly disposal of your compie bits."
  • Roll your own servers with Netcat
    "If you're a command line geek who's never used netcat but often works across networked machines, this quick netcat primer's for you."

  Suffering from Lifehacker information overload? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a once-weekly hit of the best posts on the site. For a handful of daily top posts, grab our top stories feed.

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 29th, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  • Take study-worthy lecture notes
    "This semester I'm going to perfect a strategy that gets my notes right the first time: the Cornell Note-taking method."
  • Get a free college education online
    "Not headed back to school this fall? You could be, minus the exorbitant tuition and without even leaving your chair."
  • Play games on your iPod for FREE
    "Play video games like Texas Hold 'Em, Tetris, and Bejeweled (all of which are for sale at the iTunes Store) on pretty much any iPod with a little bit of virtual elbow grease for free."
  • Geek to Live: The 100th installment
    "This is the 100th installment of Geek to Live, which has spanned every one of my personal nerdy obsessions over the past year: from home networking, Firefox, and data security to personal finance, netiquette and web publishing."
  • How to choose achievable goals
    "The most important attribute of a list of goals is that it constantly shift, move around, evolve, and feel alive."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2.0 RC 1 (All platforms)
    "Since the Beta 1 release back in July, the good folks at Mozilla have been hard at work polishing and preening our favorite web browser."
  • Download of the Day: Lifehacker search plugin (Firefox)
    "Why get Google involved? To be frank, our current site search sucks sideways, that's why."
  • One phone number to rule them all
    "GrandCentral's features are a little mind-blowing, in that 'I'd never thought of that, but how am I now living without it?' sort of way."
  • Download of the Day: Pathway (Mac)
    "As you browse Wikipedia with Pathway, it creates a graphical network of nodes based on your visited articles."
  • IE7 still handles feeds better than Firefox 2.0
    "While Firefox 2 RC1 handles RSS feeds very nicely (and has since the beta), IE7 still has advanced feed handling features that Firefox lacks."

  Lifehacker posts flooding your feed reader? Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a once-weekly hit of the good stuff. Need a little more? The Top stories feed has a mere handful of posts per day. Have a great weekend!

• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 29th, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  • Take study-worthy lecture notes
    "This semester I'm going to perfect a strategy that gets my notes right the first time: the Cornell Note-taking method."
  • Get a free college education online
    "Not headed back to school this fall? You could be, minus the exorbitant tuition and without even leaving your chair."
  • Play games on your iPod for FREE
    "Play video games like Texas Hold 'Em, Tetris, and Bejeweled (all of which are for sale at the iTunes Store) on pretty much any iPod with a little bit of virtual elbow grease for free."
  • Geek to Live: The 100th installment
    "This is the 100th installment of Geek to Live, which has spanned every one of my personal nerdy obsessions over the past year: from home networking, Firefox, and data security to personal finance, netiquette and web publishing."
  • How to choose achievable goals
    "The most important attribute of a list of goals is that it constantly shift, move around, evolve, and feel alive."
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2.0 RC 1 (All platforms)
    "Since the Beta 1 release back in July, the good folks at Mozilla have been hard at work polishing and preening our favorite web browser."
  • Download of the Day: Lifehacker search plugin (Firefox)
    "Why get Google involved? To be frank, our current site search sucks sideways, that's why."
  • One phone number to rule them all
    "GrandCentral's features are a little mind-blowing, in that 'I'd never thought of that, but how am I now living without it?' sort of way."
  • Download of the Day: Pathway (Mac)
    "As you browse Wikipedia with Pathway, it creates a graphical network of nodes based on your visited articles."
  • IE7 still handles feeds better than Firefox 2.0
    "While Firefox 2 RC1 handles RSS feeds very nicely (and has since the beta), IE7 still has advanced feed handling features that Firefox lacks."

  Lifehacker posts flooding your feed reader? Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a once-weekly hit of the good stuff. Need a little more? The Top stories feed has a mere handful of posts per day. Have a great weekend!

• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 22nd, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Lack of time leading to lack of Lifehacker? Subscribe to the Highlights feed to get the best of the best delivered to your newsreader every Friday.

  • Improve your web site with Google Analytics
    "In my ten years of building web sites, I've tried practically every free web site stats analyzer under the sun - and none has come close to the utility, richness and depth of Google Analytics."
  • 15 ways to get more out of Pandora
    "There's just so much you can do with music discovery engine Pandora..."
  • Side-by-side Windows and Mac OS with Parallels
    "Since I'm nuts about my Parallels setup, and since half the fun is seeing Windows and Mac running side-by-side in action, check out this short video demonstration..."
  • Create your own virtual private network with Hamachi
    "...we'll use Hamachi to create a virtual private network between a PC and Mac and listen to a shared iTunes library over the internet."
  • DIY iPod dock for poor people
    "...you can make your own iPod dock for pretty cheap if you're dying to have a dock but aren't pleased with the hefty price tag."
  • Download of the Day: Free ABC TV episodes (iTunes, limited number available)
    "Once the 1 mill is gone, the offer's done, so get clicking!"
  • Spell your phone number
    "PhoneSpell takes the numbers of any phone number and suggests words they spell for easier memorization."
  • MySpace custom style remover Greasemonkey script
    "...when you start worrying that a MySpace page might trigger a seizure, you know something has to be done."
  • Forecast Advisor shows how accurate your weatherperson is
    "Pop in your zip code or city to get your forecast - and the most accurate sources for it."
  • How to get invited to be a Lifehacker commenter
    "If you've got something to say about a Lifehacker post but don't have a commenter login, earn yourself one..."
  • Call for Help: Best free DVD authoring software?
    "I'm looking for a good, preferably freeware software solution for my DVD burner..."
  • Gmail Tip: Automatically add a contact name to your address book
    "...this method seems to work in most email clients (Thunderbird, at least) that auto-add recipients to your address book."
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 22nd, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Lack of time leading to lack of Lifehacker? Subscribe to the Highlights feed to get the best of the best delivered to your newsreader every Friday.

  • Improve your web site with Google Analytics
    "In my ten years of building web sites, I've tried practically every free web site stats analyzer under the sun - and none has come close to the utility, richness and depth of Google Analytics."
  • 15 ways to get more out of Pandora
    "There's just so much you can do with music discovery engine Pandora..."
  • Side-by-side Windows and Mac OS with Parallels
    "Since I'm nuts about my Parallels setup, and since half the fun is seeing Windows and Mac running side-by-side in action, check out this short video demonstration..."
  • Create your own virtual private network with Hamachi
    "...we'll use Hamachi to create a virtual private network between a PC and Mac and listen to a shared iTunes library over the internet."
  • DIY iPod dock for poor people
    "...you can make your own iPod dock for pretty cheap if you're dying to have a dock but aren't pleased with the hefty price tag."
  • Download of the Day: Free ABC TV episodes (iTunes, limited number available)
    "Once the 1 mill is gone, the offer's done, so get clicking!"
  • Spell your phone number
    "PhoneSpell takes the numbers of any phone number and suggests words they spell for easier memorization."
  • MySpace custom style remover Greasemonkey script
    "...when you start worrying that a MySpace page might trigger a seizure, you know something has to be done."
  • Forecast Advisor shows how accurate your weatherperson is
    "Pop in your zip code or city to get your forecast - and the most accurate sources for it."
  • How to get invited to be a Lifehacker commenter
    "If you've got something to say about a Lifehacker post but don't have a commenter login, earn yourself one..."
  • Call for Help: Best free DVD authoring software?
    "I'm looking for a good, preferably freeware software solution for my DVD burner..."
  • Gmail Tip: Automatically add a contact name to your address book
    "...this method seems to work in most email clients (Thunderbird, at least) that auto-add recipients to your address book."
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 15th, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Short on time? Get the cream of the crop delivered to your newsreader every Friday: subscribe to the Highlights feed.

  • Forget the TV and watch the web
    "There are plenty of places you can find television episodes and buzz-worthy clips online..."
  • Get more from Google Desktop
    "Out of the box Google Desktop isn't well-configured as an app launcher, and overall there are a few missing features that could really improve the program."
  • Wget local copies of your online research (del.icio.us, digg or Google Notebook)
    "Sure, storing your data on the web is great for from-any-online-computer access, but in an age of cheap, enormous hard drives and powerful desktop search, why not replicate the data you keep on the web to your computer?"
  • Don't trash broken stuff; send it back
    "...there is a completely honest way to still get something for your damaged stuff: send it back."
  • Windows Vista RC 1, in screenshots
    "Release candidate software is a final product with most bugs resolved, so when Microsoft offered the Windows Vista RC 1 for download yesterday, I hopped right on it like a kid on a bus to Disneyland."
  • Free Windows Vista Product Keys now available
    "If you didn't get yours back in June when the beta download was released, now's your chance!"
  • Download of the Day: VirtueDesktops (Mac)
    "VirtueDesktops does everything Desktop Manager does but adds several more features."
  • Price guide to US airport wireless
    "TravelPost has rounded up a comprehensive list of US airports offering wifi connections, along with prices and hotspot locations"
  • Google alternatives - not all up to snuff
    "I've been seeing the Ask.com commercials, um, asking people to give them a try over Google. So I ran a handful of test queries to compare the results."
  • Download of the Day: iTunes 7 (Mac, Windows)
    "Some mentionable iTunes 7 features...." (Ed: Don't miss the comment thread on this post.)
• 

  Highlights: TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 15th, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Short on time? Get the cream of the crop delivered to your newsreader every Friday: subscribe to the Highlights feed.

  • Forget the TV and watch the web
    "There are plenty of places you can find television episodes and buzz-worthy clips online..."
  • Get more from Google Desktop
    "Out of the box Google Desktop isn't well-configured as an app launcher, and overall there are a few missing features that could really improve the program."
  • Wget local copies of your online research (del.icio.us, digg or Google Notebook)
    "Sure, storing your data on the web is great for from-any-online-computer access, but in an age of cheap, enormous hard drives and powerful desktop search, why not replicate the data you keep on the web to your computer?"
  • Don't trash broken stuff; send it back
    "...there is a completely honest way to still get something for your damaged stuff: send it back."
  • Windows Vista RC 1, in screenshots
    "Release candidate software is a final product with most bugs resolved, so when Microsoft offered the Windows Vista RC 1 for download yesterday, I hopped right on it like a kid on a bus to Disneyland."
  • Free Windows Vista Product Keys now available
    "If you didn't get yours back in June when the beta download was released, now's your chance!"
  • Download of the Day: VirtueDesktops (Mac)
    "VirtueDesktops does everything Desktop Manager does but adds several more features."
  • Price guide to US airport wireless
    "TravelPost has rounded up a comprehensive list of US airports offering wifi connections, along with prices and hotspot locations"
  • Google alternatives - not all up to snuff
    "I've been seeing the Ask.com commercials, um, asking people to give them a try over Google. So I ran a handful of test queries to compare the results."
  • Download of the Day: iTunes 7 (Mac, Windows)
    "Some mentionable iTunes 7 features...." (Ed: Don't miss the comment thread on this post.)
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 8th, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  Lots of Lifehacker got you feeling overwhelmed? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly summary of the best of Lifehacker every Friday evening.

  • Hack Attack: How to install RAM in your Mac (and save big $$$)
    Macs ain't cheap. Soupin' them up yourself is.
  • Geek to Live: Tech support with UltraVNC SingleClick
    Because nothing's worse than hearing someone ask, "So should I click the box and put it away?"
  • How to portscan your computer for security holes
    Make sure your computer is locked up tight.
  • Back to School: Avoid the Freshman 15
    Here's how to avoid packing on extra pounds this fall.
  • Download of the Day: myFairTunes6 (Windows)
    Strip the DRM from iTunes-purchased music and use it freely on any device you desire.
  • Ask the Readers: Best music for studying?
    Got a long work/cram session ahead of you? Here are the right tunes to set the mood.
  • Download of the Day: Dine-O-Matic Dashboard widget (Mac)
    No more arguing over where to go for lunch.
  • Windows Vista prices and RC screenshots
    Yet another glimpse of the not-so-distant Vista.
  • Gmail Tips and Tricks Monster Roundup
    A must read for any current or potential Gmail-user.
  • How to use Apple OS X's built-in dictionary
    Define words on-the-fly on-your-Mac.
  • Back up your phone contacts online with Zyb
    Online syncing and backup for all your mobile phone contacts and calendars.
  • How to save $$ without a 9 to 5
    Make the money pile up even when its flow isn't steady.
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Windows Vista Release Candidate 1
    Microsoft's latest release puts Vista at almost-ready-for-primetime.
  • New Lifehacker Features: Stalk your favorite commenter and apply to be one yourself!
    Pimp your profile page, stalk other Lifehackers, and get a comment account the easy way.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: September 1st, 2006, 7:00pm EDT

  You've got the life, we've got the hacks. Let's dance. Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly best-of update every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: Put your idle computer to work for you
    Don't let your idle CPU cycles go to waste. Crack the whip even when you're away from your computer.
  • Technophilia: Protect your web searches
    Keep your search history private.
  • Hack Attack: Firefox and the art of keyword bookmarking
    It'll save you lots of time browsing - trust me.
  • Geek to Live: 6 ways to find reusable media
    When you don't want to shell out cash to pay royalties to the MAN, reusable media is the only way to fly.
  • Introduction to traditional wetshaving
    Take advantage of the long weekend - learn to shave all over again.
  • Flickr maps photos
    Share the location of your Flickr pics.
  • Best gas price comparison: MSN Autos
    Finding cheap gas gets easier every day.
  • Download of the Day: TB QuickMove extension (Thunderbird)
    Move and file your email messages on the fly.
  • Laser etching a Powerbook
    Gina's Powerbook gets pretty with space-age lasers.
  • Porn Private browsing roundup
    Rid yourself of those incriminating, embarrassing searches left behind.
  • Ask the Readers: Cheap textbooks?
    School is back in session - now where to buy your books?
  • How to filter Gmail image spam
    Take care of the latest spam craze to breaking through Gmail's filters.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: August 25th, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  So much Lifehacker, so little time. Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly best-of update every Friday evening.

  • Technophilia: From cubicle to couch
    How to put an end to working for the MAN.
  • Hack Attack: Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tweaks
    If you've moved to Ubuntu, you need these apps.
  • Geek to Live: Mirror files across systems with rsync
    Simple, speedy, incremental file mirroring.
  • Your new favorite bittorrent site
    Aggregating your favorite torrent trackers into one hot toddy.
  • Know which aisle it's in with the Grocery Shopping Helper
    Save some time - hack your grocery store.
  • DIY budget bias monitor lighting
    Ease your eye strain with a cheap lighting trick.
  • Top 10 Flickr cameras
    Check out the top cameras from the hottest Flickr pros.
  • Download of the Day: Google Notifier
    Get notifications of your Gmail messages and Google Calendar events on your Mac.
  • Download of the Day: DM2 Windows enhancer
    Add virtual desktops, custom open/save paths, and advanced docking with this simple Windows add-on.
  • What you can and can't carry on to your flight
    Make sure you don't end up on the wrong side of the bottled water.
  • MacGyver Tip: Relieve arthritis with WD-40
    The mystifying magic of lube.
  • Kill that sales call with the telemarketer counter script
    Put the irritating shoe on the other foot.
  • Why you shouldn't depend entirely on webapps
    Got all your eggs in an online basket?
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: August 18th, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  Overwhelmed by all the Lifehacker goodness? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly best-of update every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: Roll back Windows with System Restore
    It's been taking up gigabytes of data for all these years - isn't it about time you learned to use it?
  • Technophilia: Ten (more) ways to search with Technorati
    Get more oomph! out of the blogosphere.
  • Hack Attack: How to triple-boot Windows XP, Vista, and Ubuntu
    Because dual-boot just isn't enough!
  • Learn the "best card trick in the world"
    Mystify your friends, family, coworkers...
  • Lifehacker makes the cut at Time magazine
    TIME gives Lifehacker an ebullient reacharound two years running.
  • Improve your iPod navigation
    Add by-letter navigation to your iPod.
  • Ask the Readers: Favorite software ever?
    Readers share their top software picks since Oregon Trail.
  • Ask the Readers: Websites that changed your world?
    Get to know the best websites you're missing out on.
  • Improve your reading speed with ZAP Reader
    Increase your reading speed by two-fold (or less (or MORE!)).
  • Download of the Day: FlashMute
    Mute the irritating, autoplaying embedded Flash videos from your browser while your computer's volume stays normal.
  • Free educational resources roundup
    Find the best places to learn on the cheap.
  • Get a free upgrade to Windows Vista
    Microsoft appeases PC vendors by dangling the much-delayed Vista carrot in front of consumers.
  • Make your digital photos last forever
    Just because they're digital doesn't mean they'll last forever.
  • Minimize iTunes to your taskbar
    Quick and easy space-saving tip for the iTunes lover.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: August 11th, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Too many goods on Lifehacker to keep track of them all? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly best-of update every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: QuickLogger redux
    Readers show how they capture all their goods in a Quicklogger.
  • Technophilia: Ten ways to search with Technorati
    Because Google isn't the best place to go when you want to know what's happening right now.
  • Hack Attack: Using Subversion with TortoiseSVN
    Subversion made easy.
  • Mac OS X Leopard and Windows Vista side by side
    Time for Vista and the newly-previewed Leopard to duke it out.
  • Geek to Live: Rescue files with a boot CD
    When Windows refuses to boot and it seems that all is lost, Knoppix to the rescue!
  • Ask the Law Geek: Is publishing screenshots Fair Use?
    Get to know what you can get away with on the net.
  • Download of the Day: Universal AutoCorrect
    Cross-application AutoCorrect of commonly misspelled words.
  • Apple unveils Leopard feature set
    Time Machines and Spaces and BootCamp - Oh MY!
  • Get rid of ants with baby powder
    Put the smack down on summers unwelcome soldiers.
  • Call for Help: Share and protect files on a home network?
    Readers share their most devilish tricks for home networking.
  • Video Demonstration: Mac OS X Leopard notes and to-do's
    Mail and iCal to add sexy notes and to-do's.
  • Auto inline MP3 player Greasemonkey script
    Automatically embed a streaming flash player beside any MP3 link.
  • Ask the Readers: Switching to a Mac?
    What's stopping you from switching to a Mac?
  • (Kinda) new Lifehacker features - digg it and comment feeds
    Lifehacker makes it easier for you to tell the world how much you love us! Got any more feature suggestions? Let us hear 'em!
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: August 5th, 2006, 11:01pm EDT

  Lifehacker overload giving you that not-so-fresh feeling? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly best-of update every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: Essential email filters
    Only the must-haves should find their way to your inbox. Filter out the rest.
  • Technophilia: Share files (or not) with Google Desktop
    Will sharing your files with Google Desktop expose your info?
  • Hack Attack: How to set up a personal home Subversion server
    Serious version control for the serious text lover.
  • Geek to Live: The art of asking
    Everybody's got questions, but the key to getting yours answered is knowing how to ask.
  • Never forget your lock combination again
    A simple mnemonic means you'll never forget another password.
  • How to lace shoes for your foot type
    Cure your foot pains with some creative shoe-tying.
  • Have Amazon customer service call you
    If elevator music ain't your thing, Amazon's got your number.
  • Download of the Day: Doodim
    Block out focus theives with this snappy little productivity app.
  • Stealth internet browsing with workFRIENDLY
    Surf the 'net at work while the boss thinks you're working in Word.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 28th, 2006, 9:00pm EDT

  Can't dig out of the daily pile of unread Lifehacker posts? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly best-of update every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: Map your time
    Determine your ideal schedule first - then see if you're living the dream.
  • Technophilia: Google Desktop Sidebar and Gadgets
    Give up some of that widescreen to Google Desktop's mini apps.
  • Hack Attack: Desktop-integrated internet office
    Double-click to open files on your desktop in web-based office apps.
  • Geek to Live: Quick-log your work day
    Keep a running text log of a day's work in a keystroke.
  • Beat Insomnia with Blue Energy
    Get yourself to sleep with this clever brain exercise.
  • Book Review: Mind Performance Hacks
    Take a martial arts course for the brain.
  • Download of the Day: The Emergent Task Timer
    Track your day in this beautifully designed work log.
  • Ask Lifehacker: Life hack for Lifehacker?
    Customize your Lifehacker experience to get just the best items or stories you're interested in.
  • MacGyver Tip: Shoe holder gadget organizer
    Repurpose a grid of clear plastic pouches for all your stuff.
  • Cell phone speed dial wallpaper
    Never forget your buddy Tom's number 2 again!
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 21st, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  Too much Lifehacker every day got you down? Subscribe to the Highlights feed for a weekly best of Lifehacker every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: Control your workday
    Get it done and get out the door with a few simple workday hacks.
  • Technophilia: Master Google Desktop search
    Down with complicated folder systems! Find anything and everything you need on your computer desktop.
  • Hack Attack: The AIM BudgetBot
    IM yourself every penny you spend on the go from your phone with your very own geek chic AIM bot.
  • Geek to Live: Top 10 free and cheap productivity tools
    Your productivity arsenal should be equipped with these must-have freebies and cheapies.
  • Ask the Readers: Climb out of debt?
    Get yourself out of the red with the help of our financially-savvy readers.
  • Why you shouldn't email Microsoft Word documents
    A lot of reasons.
  • Download of the Day: Adobe Lightroom Beta
    Better than Picasa, not as good as Photoshop - but free!
  • Make your own fabric tie clip
    Get that tie to stay with a little DIY action.
  • Download of the Day: Gcal.app
    Get Google Cal on your Mac desktop; see also the Windows version.
  • Couch to 5k in 6 weeks
    From a pack a day to 5k.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 14th, 2006, 8:30pm EDT

  Overwhelmed by the onslaught of daily Lifehacker posts? Subscribe to our Highlights feed for a weekly summary of the best of Lifehacker every Friday evening.

  • Geek to Live: Securely track your passwords
    Organize all your many passwords with KeePass.
  • Technophilia: Find great podcasts
    The web is full of great, free audio content. The trick is finding it.
  • Hack Attack: Time to budget
    Tighten up your bootstraps - it's time to budget.
  • Geek to Live: Keep your calendar in plain text with Remind
    Let the joy of plain text wash over your calendar.
  • Ask the Law Geek: How the government (doesn't) read your email
    Conspiracy theorists or privacy advocates?
  • Stay happy with Windows XP
    If you're looking to avoid the expensive upgrade to Vista, there are ways to stay happy with XP.
  • Relieve mosquito bites
    Find relief from the scourge of the summer season.
  • Download of the Day: RipIt4Me
    Easily break through even the sturdiest DVD copy protection with RipIt4Me.
  • Early Adopter Download of the Day: Firefox 2 Beta
    Get it while it's hot!
  • Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 screenshots
    Fine, if you don't want to get it while it's hot - at least look at some pretty pictures of it.
  • Vistaprint free business cards
    If you don't have a business card to your name, Vistaprint will get them to you on the cheap.
  • RSS for newbies
    Yes, RSS is still confusing for people. This will help.
  • Download of the Day: Password Exporter Firefox extension
    Archive all of your Firefox passwords to a safe place.
  • Google Maps adds scroll wheel zoom
    The scroll wheel zoom take Google Maps to a whole new level of usability.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: July 7th, 2006, 8:30pm EDT

  • Geek to Live: Choose (and remember) great passwords
    Choosing secure passwords is important; learn how to correctly pick AND remember a good password.
  • MetaFilter Music launches
    Find free music from up-and-comers on MetaFilter.
  • Turn off every TV in the room (without getting caught)
    Build your own super TV-B-Gone.
  • How to solve sudoku puzzles
    Conquer your soduko demons this weekend.
  • Train your spouse like Shamu
    Whales are actually VERY smart!
  • Download of the Day: Searchbar Autosizer
    Simplified searching from the Firefox searchbar.
  • Measure how fast you type
    How quick are you?
  • Four steps to a user-friendly MySpace
    Because god knows most MySpacers need it.
  • MacGyver Tip: Amplify your cell phone with a wine glass
    Low-tech, old-timey amplifiers are WAY in.
  • Download of the Day: Console
    Tabbed, fully-featured command line client.
  • Download of the Day: GetMail
    Automatically forward your unforwardable email.
  • How to cut a mango
    Avoid the stone in 4 quick cuts.
  • Download of the Day: Darkroom
    Distraction-free writing in a simple, full-screen text editor.
  • Do you have an emergency fund?
    Three to six months worth of emergency savings and you're good to go.
  • Contest: Win a Vista Beta DVD with your best Windows tip!
    A free Vista Beta DVD offer means a plethora of Windows tips from readers.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 30th, 2006, 8:30pm EDT

  • Geek to Live: The Todo.txt AIM bot
    Who knew instant messaging could actually be useful?
  • Technophilia: How to get things done working inside and outside the home
    It ain't always easy getting things done when you work from home - unless you've got a plan.
  • Hack Attack: Quicklaunch your USB workspace
    Create an instant workspace on any computer with an autoplaying thumb drive.
  • Windows Vista Beta: A tour in screenshots
    Get a sneak peak at what's in store for us in Vista.
  • Living with web-based software
    Going web-based was never so easy.
  • Todo.txt in action
    If you haven't gotten your Todo.txt up and running because you don't get the point, this should help.
  • Ask the Readers: Cheap airline tickets?
    Let your fellow readers direct you to the cheapest airline tickets.
  • Call for Help: Record telephone calls?
    You could be the next AOL-exposing guy - CNN, here you come!
  • Verify that your virus scanner is working
    Make your own harmless virus file to verify that you scanner is scanning.
  • Welcome to Lifehacker 2.0
    Lifehacker gets a new look, and everybody LOVES it!!!
  • Get rid of Windows Update restart nag
    Because you really don't need yet another nagging presence in your life.
  • Ask the Readers: Unix resources for newbies?
    If you're starting out with Unix/Cygwin, here are a few excellent places to start.
  • Track weblog comments with Co.mments
    Keep track of weblog conversations (Lifehacker included!) by individual posts.
  • Open a beer bottle with another bottle
    You've got to have something to impress your friends with this weekend.
  • Ask the Readers: Reduce Windows stress?
    Windows doesn't *have* to be the most stressful place you've worked.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 23rd, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  • Geek to Live: Introduction to Cygwin, Part III - Scripts, packages and more
    Take control over the command line with part 3 in the Cygwin series.
  • Technophilia: Five things you didn't know you could do with Yahoo!
    The big Y! has a few tricks up its sleeve that you may not know about.
  • Hack Attack: The ultimate napping pillow
    If this pillow doesn't ease you to dreamland, you weren't meant to sleep.
  • Geek to Live: Empty your inbox with the Trusted Trio
    Keep your inbox clean and productive with a simple three-folder management system.
  • How to build your own backyard deck
    DIY for the great outdoors isn't as hard as you might think.
  • How to clean your garbage disposal
    Quick, simple way to clean your disposal any time.
  • Download of the Day: Opera 9
    Bittorrent and widgets, all built-in to your browser.
  • Download of the Day: Ejector
    Eject your external disks with one click of the mouse.
  • Vox blogging service: LiveJournal for grownups
    What, you say you use LiveJournal and you ARE a grownup?
  • Windows Vista Beta Rant: Media Center makes me dizzy
    Windows Media Center comes bundled with Vista, makes bloggers head spin.
  • Ask the Readers: Keeping cool without the A/C
    Just because it's warming up outside doesn't mean that you can't keep cool.
  • The Microsoft Outlook Attachment Reminder
    Never forget to send an attachment again.
  • BumpTop desktop emulates physical documents
    3D desktop that'll make your jaw drop... though you may never want to use it.
  • Get help from an expert at Qunu
    Personal support chat from experts... for free.
  • Stream any World Cup soccer game from ESPN360
    Catch World Cup soccer any time, from any computer.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 16th, 2006, 8:00pm EDT

  • Geek to Live: Introduction to Cygwin, part I
    Cygwhat? Get to know the command line tool that actually wants to help you get things done.
  • Windows Vista Beta: A lot like Mac OS X
    If you're a die-hard Windows user who's always been jealous of those pretty Macs, Vista may be just the ticket.
  • Hack Attack: The Cordless Workspace (sort of)
    Pretty up your workspace by getting rid of the cords.
  • Geek to Live: Introduction to Cygwin, part II - More useful commands
    You've got an idea of the basics - now it's time to get a bit more advanced.
  • How to encrypt your email
    In an age when prying eyes are everywhere, encrypted email is your first line of defense.
  • Windows Vista Beta: How to dual-boot Windows XP and Windows Vista
    Get an early start on your next operating system without the risk of a full move.
  • A detailed guide to Mac backup
    Backing up your Mac, from start to finish.
  • Windows Vista Beta: The startup showdown
    Who's starting up faster, Vista or XP?
  • Download of the Day: Edit subject lines in Thunderbird
    Make sorting and searching your emails easier.
  • Download of the Day: FEBE and CLEO
    Backup and package your Firefox extensions in one, easy to install archive.
  • Encrypt your Google Calendar access
    Gcal access for the security-minded.
  • Download of the Day: Gmail Attachment Reminder script
    Never again forget to attach the file you said you were attaching.
  • Get your groceries from Amazon
    Will you consider getting your groceries from the big A?
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 9th, 2006, 8:30pm EDT

  • Geek to Live: Encrypt your data
    Keep prying eyes off your sensitive data with encryption.
  • Getting To Done: De-stress yourself, Part 2 - Relax
    Still stressed? Part 2 of the De-stress series should take care of you.
  • Hack Attack: Turn your $60 router into a $600 router
    Because you need to boost your wireless signal enough to get reception in the very back corner of your basement.
  • Geek to Live: Carry your life on a thumb drive (or iPod)
    Portable apps make it easier than ever to take all the software you need in your pocket.
  • Ask the Law Geek: Install Kazaa... Get Fined $750 - The RIAA's Newest Plan of Attack?
    Keeping our Lifehacking eyes on your digital behinds.
  • Google spreadsheets
    Google continues to tread on Microsoft's toes with a new spreadsheet app.
  • Feed your family of 4 for $45 a week
    If you can believe it, the ingredients aren't, "dirt."
  • Calculate your life expectancy with the Death Forecast
    Now that you know when you're going to die, all the more reason to start hacking life!
  • Getting the best shave
    Lifehacker readers know all about getting baby smooth.
  • Download of the Day: Letterbox for Mail.app
    Widescreen layout for widescreen times.
  • Sync your Firefox settings via Google
    Google gets intimate with Firefox.
  • Make Firefox remember any password
    For those stubborn websites that love to watch you type.
  • Skip straight to the operator with your dirty mouth
    Those f*#@ing voice recognition operators can kiss your a*$!
  • Yahoo!'s proud to be gay
    Yahoo!'s here, and Yahoo!'s queer. Get used to it!
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: June 2nd, 2006, 7:00pm EDT

  • Hack Attack: Apartment hunting 101
    Finding a great place has never been easier.
  • Geek to Live: Automate your finances
    Let your money move itself around.
  • Living with Windows
    Making Windows work for you even though you may not want to work in Windows.
  • Anticipate the length of yellow lights
    Get an idea of whether you can make the yellow or you'd better hit the breaks.
  • MacGyver Tip: Repair shoes with dental floss
    Dental floss is the duct tape of string.
  • Add weather to Gcal
    Integrate your local weather forecast in your weekly calendar.
  • Travel Tip: Pack without wrinkling your duds
    Plastic helps your clothes stay wrinkle-free.
  • Download of the Day: AutoCopy Firefox extension
    Automatically copy any text you select in Firefox.
  • Voicemail hack: Skip right to the beep
    Avoid the drawn out computer lady's explanation of how to do something you've done a hundred times.
  • Ask the Readers: What web applications have you paid for?
    See what apps Lifehacker readers think are worth the dough.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: May 26th, 2006, 7:00pm EDT

  • Geek to Live: Use your cell phone as a modem
    Next time you start getting the internet-withdrawal shakes, reach for your cell phone.
  • Getting To Done: De-stress yourself
    Nobody likes being stressed - why not do something about it?
  • Hack Attack: Automatically sync iTunes to any folder(s)
    If you manage any of your music outside iTunes, it used to be a pain keeping iTunes synced. Not anymore.
  • Geek to Live: Send and receive money with your cell phone
    Splitting the check 21st century style.
  • How to mouse goofy
    Save your aching wrists; switch your mousing hand.
  • The downloadable camera
    Get your next camera from your printer, for free.
  • Download of the Day: SlickRun keyboard launcher
    Keyboard launching, plain text-wrangling Windows app.
  • Download of the Day: Opera Mini 2.0
    Fast, slick web browsing from your mobile phone.
  • Erase permanent marker from your dry erase board
    The trick that made 6 months at an unfulfilling consulting job worth every minute.
  • HyperStrike online health trainer
    Let the internet be your personal trainer.
  • "Smackbook Pro" switch desktops by touch
    Video of a very cool desktop switching program in action.
  • Download of the Day: PearBudget spreadsheet
    Complex budgeting template for the heavy budgeteer.
  • Download of the Day: Simple budget spreadsheet
    Simple, no nonsense budgeting spreadsheet.
  • Amazon introduces new Online Reader
    Will you start reading all of your Amazon-purchased books online?
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 28th, 2005, 8:00pm EDT by Erica Sadun

  • Geek to Live: Hard Drive Janitor
    Automatically clean out your junk drawer and recover much-needed disk space.
  • Getting to Done: Roll Your Own Business
    On bootstrapping your startup.
  • Geek to Live: Four Ways to Make a Big Decision
    Methods for making an informed, considered choice.
  • Stream Indy Music with Indieum
    Free music streaming from the independent music scene.
  • Contest: Win a Free Nokia 6682 1.3MP Cameraphone
    One free phone for some lucky Lifehacker reader.
  • Clean HTML from Word Documents
    Filter that mess right out of your page...
  • Sync your HipsterPDA to your Mac
    It's all about iCal, task items and AppleScript.
  • Ask Lifehacker: Dollars and Cents
    Overwhelmed and scared by money management? Start here.
  • Do a Time Audit
    Track and evaluate your time use.
  • Google School: Currency Conversion
    Google Units automatically calculate rates of exchange.
  • Search inside podcasts with BlinkX
    It works on automated voice recognition.
  • Frappr Maps People
    Visualize far-flung groups who might not otherwise get to meet.
  • DIY Divorce
    Amicable divorce? Do the paperwork and save thousands.
  • Eliminate Whiteboard "Ghosts"
    Mr. Clean to the rescue.
  • Starter Homes
    Don't head to foreclosure. Start with a home you can afford.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 21st, 2005, 8:00pm EDT by Erica Sadun

  As we get ready to head off for a weekend of fun, friends and hedonistic self indulgence, we leave you with this: our favorite recent posts. So follow a link or two and discover the best Lifehacker posts of the week.

  • Contest: Win a free Nokia 6682 1.3MP cameraphone
    Text 4INFO lifehacker to enter.
  • The Usable Home
    Turn your house into a launchpad for daily tasks as well as life goals.
  • Save your personal Web with Slogger
    Create your own local, searchable Web knowledge base quickly and easily.
  • Seek and Ye Shall Find: Top 20 Search Engine Helpers
    Make search engines bend to your will with advanced operators that will return exactly what you're looking for.
  • Black out your Powerpoint slides
    Keep the focus of your talk on yourself.
  • Free Nanny/Granny Cards
    Deal with new "no lending membership cards" Zoo and Museum policies.
  • Google Map Real Estate Trends
    Determine your home's market value.
  • Can you saving too much for retirement?
    In a word? No. Here's why.
  • Annotate Your Powerpoint Presentations
    "Write" directly on your slides.
  • Got things to do? Remember the Milk.
    New service sends reminders via E-Mail, IM and SMS.
  • Creating Centers
    Get organized by setting up task-based areas in your home.
  • Google Privacy Policy Highlights
    They know where you are. They know who you are. What's that knock at your door?
  • Don't Make Late Payments
    How your credit company can mess with you.
  • Watch Video on Pocket PCs
    You don't need no steekin' Video iPod to watch great TV.
  • Free Podcast Hosting
    A new service from the Internet Archive people.
  • The Usable Home
    Design your home for Getting Things Done.
  • Famiily Cooking Night
    Teach junior math, responsibility, family values and how to have fun with knives.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 14th, 2005, 8:00pm EDT by Erica Sadun

  Our choices for the best posts of the week. Tickle some links and see if you like 'em too:

  • Yahoo Podcasts
    Search, review and rate podcasts.
  • Keep Your Resume Specific
    Avoid trite generalities when submitting your CV.
  • Settle Arguments with PocketRef
    Nothing beats a know-it-all, except a know-it-all with a reference to back it up.
  • World of Warcraft Private Servers
    Unofficial, buggy but free. Sweet.
  • Create a Palette with Color Blender
    Specify a base color, automatically create an entire palette.
  • The Tao of Less
    How to practice reverse snobbery.
  • Asian Earthquake Relief
    You can help.
  • Secure Your Sliding Door
    Our "MacGyver" tip of the week.
  • Cell Phone Flashlight Hack
    Let your Nokia light your way.
  • Download of the Day: iTunes 6
    5 weeks after iTunes 5 and already an update.
  • Show 'em you love 'em. Buy 'em an iTune.
    New iTunes Music Store gifting service.
  • Speed up Windows XP
    Lose-the-fonts and 22 more great tips.
  • How to Set Up a Home FTP Server
    A home FTP server can save your ass.
  • Power Texting Tips
    Mobile phone text messages can help you get things done.
  • Fifteen Firefox Quick Searches
    Turn your Firefox address bar into a command line to the web with these downloadable, preconfigured keyword searches.
• 

  TGIF: This week's best posts

  Posted: October 7th, 2005, 8:00pm EDT by Erica Sadun

  We pick 'em, you click 'em. Here's the posts we liked the best this week.

  • Seek and Ye Shall Find
    Find the data that Google doesn't want to deliver.
  • Build a Customized Sportscast
    Choose the sports video you want to see.
  • Import Bookmarks into Firefox
    Bring your browser's favorites with you when you switch to Firefox.
  • Managing the Pointy-Headed Boss
    How to deal with clueless supervisors.
  • Multiple Firefox Homepages
    Why settle for just one?
  • Mod your Xbox
    You know you want to. Power, baby!
  • Record Cartoons with a TV Tuner
    Your PC, a TV tuner, a DVD burner and cartoons galore.
  • MyBestBetsTV
    All the shows you don't want to miss.
  • Duct Tape Your Remote
    Who needs to be fashionable when you've got a beer at your side and a warm remote in your hand?
  • Disposable Scrabble Game
    Print it and bring it for whenever you need an emergency game.
  • Domain Name Hacks
    Learn how to find really irritating domain names like del.icio.us.
  • Web 2.0 Conference Report
    The down & dirty from our man on-the-spot.
  • Top Tagging Tips
    Terrific tagging tips taught technically.
  • Make Money from your Credit Card
    Turn the tables and earn some cash.
  • Link iPods to Car Radios
    The 6 top ways to get the job done.
  • Setting Up Azureus
    It's the best bittorrent client out there. Here's how to set it up.
  • Ten Must-Have Bookmarklets
    Dress up your bookmarks toolbar with these useful 'lets that help you get stuff done.