Hak the Planet

PDF Unlocker

2009-03-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

If you work with a lot of PDFs, you've probably come across the dreaded "Protected" PDFs. You can't print these PDFs, or even copy the text in the PDF. Many a desk-jockey has been subjected to the menial task of re-typing the contents of these PDFs.

Enter PDF Unlocker...

Download and install PDF Unlocker.
Drag a protected PDF onto the PDF Unlocker icon on your desktop
Print, copy, and throw back your head as you laugh at their feeble attempts to thwart your productivity!

Seriously, it's that easy.

Now you know,

Garrett Woodroof

Legal issues:

I should point out that there are 2 different types of security that PDFs use. The first is the no-copy/no-print type, which is the type you can now get around. The second is the can't-open-the-file-without-a-password variety, which can't be helped using this software. There is software out there that claims to circumvent this second type of security, but be warned that circumventing this type of security on the wrong PDF may be illegal.

Okay, so that said, I can't speak to the legality of this software either, but I wouldn't think it would be illegal to print a document when you could take a screen shot, and I wouldn't think it would be illegal to copy text when you could just re-type it.

Toggling ALL CAPS in Word, Outlook, and Excel

2009-02-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

Have you ever received an email or come across a document that was in ALL CAPS? I'm not sure why some people choose ALL CAPS for anything other than a heading or for web shouting, but some do nonetheless. Even in a business setting, you occasionally come across over-zealous typists who just don't know better, but what do you do if you need to re-use the content?

Until recently, I've simply re-typed the content, but the other day I came across this little gem:

[Shift]+[F3].

While in MS Word or Outlook, select the text you wish to toggle, and try that key combo to see the text toggle between ALL CAPS, Proper Caps, and lower case type.

If what you have selected is formatted like a sentence, the "Proper Caps" option will only capitalizes the first letter of the first word of the sentence. If the text isn't formatted like a sentence, it capitalizes the first letter of each word selected.

In MS Excel, you can use the following formulas to to change you text to ALL CAPS, Proper Caps, or lower case:

UPPER()

PROPER()
LOWER()

Now, in Excel, the PROPER() formula always capitalizes the first letter of each word in the selection.

Now that should save some serious typing time!

Now you know,

Garrett Woodroof

Free Survey Tool ... Google Forms

2008-11-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Many businesses fail to employ their most valuable consultants ... their customers. Other businesses thrive because they strive for continual improvement by asking their customers how the products or services might be improved.

And there are some good tools out there to help facilitate that kind of feedback.

Enter Google Forms.

The Form option used to be buried in the Sharing menu in Google Spreadsheets, but recently, Google made it a lot easier to get started. Now Form is it's own object alongside Documents, Presentations, and Spreadsheets.Building the form is very intuitive. You can choose from Text, Paragraph text, Multiple choice, Checkboxes, Choose from a list, and Scale (1-n). See example:

You can create a link to the form, embed the form on a webpage, or even embed it in an email. (only works with certain email clients)

After you finish building the form and you have some submissions, you can see the responses in the spreadsheet-like view or in the graphical view:

Unlike Zoomerang and other non-free options, you cannot make the form change based on the customers previous answers, but most people don't need that option anyway.

Google Forms is free and easy to use (like the rest of the Google Office Suite), and can be used for a myriad of research applications as well as for customer feedback. All you need to get started is a Google account, which can be set up with or without a GMail account.

Now you know,

Garrett Woodroof

Google Mobile App for Blackberry

2008-09-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Google came out with "Google Mobile App", a conglomeration of GMail, Maps, Calendar, Reader, Documents, News, Photos, Notebook, Sync, and Search for Blackberry users.

Pros:

Google services are easily accessed and organized
Search suggestions
No waiting for search box to load
Icon strip is customizable
It makes phone books even more obsolete

Cons:

Uses your default browser (It's almost just a Google Bookmarks folder)
GMail froze up on me when I tried to open it
Doesn't replace GMail, Maps, Sync
Doesn't link up to Google Talk
Doesn't link up with Grand Central
Same ol' clunky spreadsheet interface

Ultimately, it could be a lot more polished and/or slick, but I'm glad to see Google put this together for the Blackberry. It's smart for Google largely beause it helps contribute to the feeling that any time I'm looking for data (email, maps, pics, rss, etc) I simply need to "go to Google" to get it. I hope that this service grouping is opened up to the iphone soon.

If you're a Blackberry user, try it out for yourself. Keep in mind that it doesn't replace GMail, Maps, or Sync; it merely links to them. Therefore, do not uninstall GMail, Sync, and Maps (like I did) because you'll just have to reinstall them later.

To install "Google Mobile App" go to http://m.google.com from your Blackberry Web Browser.

Now you know,

Garrett Woodroof

Google PhoneBook

2008-09-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of "organizing the worlds' information", Google has come out with the "Google PhoneBook". I don't know how long it's been around, but I just stumbled upon it this morning.

It seems to aggregate the information from other tools such as Anywho, Switchboard, and the rest in their list HERE.

It works pretty well, and the best part is, there are no ads inviting me to pay $30 for a background check!

What other little-known Google services are out there? Please share in the comments.

Google PhoneBook

Now you know,

Garrett Woodroof

BTW: That was my phone number up until I moved recently.

Google Web Browser: Chrome

2008-09-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Google seems to be developing its own web browser which it has named "Chrome". This news came via an unofficial Google blog, Blogoscoped. The article links to a 38 page, comic book style introduction to Google Chrome (here). Here's what I gleaned from the intro:

Open-source
Designed for web apps
Stronger JavaScript support (V8 virtual machine)
"Webkit" rendering engine (same as Safari)
Tabbed interface

Separate process per tab (think Task Manager)

Separate URL box per tab, called "Omnibox", is similar to Firefox's "Awesome Bar"

It "more stable" (according to Google)
Google Gears support built in
"Incognito" tab doesn't save any info once it's closed
Sandboxing prevents unauthorized hard drive reading and writing

I can hardly wait to start trying it out. More powerful browsers mean more useful web-based services.

So here's my question ... what's going to happen to Mozilla? If Google Chrome is as good as its intro. Will it replace Firefox? And if it doesn't replace Firefox, will Google continue to pay Mozilla millions of dollars to be the default search provider in Firefox (85% of Mozilla's revenue comes from this agreement - source)?

Google Chrome (Intro)
Google Chrome (Blogoscoped post)

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

UPDATE: Only one day after the previous info leaked, Google released Chrome and it can be downloaded here.

Dear Sergey, (Android + Grand Central + Gmail + Google Talk = Game Changer)

2008-08-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Sergey,

Please, please, please integrate Grand Central (GC) with Android, Gmail, and Google Talk. But before you do that, please get SMS working with Grand Central. The possibilities are endless.

Here's what I want to see:

ONE BUCKET for voicemails, emails, SMS, and GTalk
Contacts in the GC/Gmail cloud manageable via mobile device and via web (syncs to SIM card)
Browser only VOIP integrated with GC and GTalk
Respond to any voicemail with an email, SMS, or GTalk
Respond to an email via SMS, GTalk, or phone call
Respond to an SMS message via email, GTalk, or phone call
Respond to a GTalk messagevia SMS, email, or phone call
Forward SMS messages to email or GTalk
Forward GTalk messages to SMS or email

Step 1: GET SMS WORKING in Grand Central! It's been over a year (announcement). This seems to be the most popular reason people have refused to adopt Grand Central. I use the service myself, but I can't stop telling people my mobile number until GC can forward the SMS messages.

Redundancy: Why do I have to add the same info into my cell phone, Gmail, and Grand Central individually? Any time a user is entering the same data more than once, you have failed to be as good as you can possibly be.

SIM card: SIM cards should be synced up to the cloud. Drop your cell phone in the lake? No big deal, all your data is in the cloud!

Sergey, you don't need to pay me anything, but please take this idea and RUN WITH IT. Take the engineers that are spending their time doing cutesy stuff and lock them in a room until they get this working. You can lock me in their too ... now that I know how communication should be, it's kind of hard to live without it.

Best regards,
Garrett Woodroof

Mashup Engine - Mozilla Ubiquity

2008-08-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ubiquity is a product that Mozilla is currently working on which is in its 0.1 alpha stage right now. One might call it a "Mashup Engine" in that it is supposed automatically combine different services and web offerings using a simple interface.

In the video below, for example, the user highlights 5 different craigslist entries and then uses Ubiquity to Google map all 5 addresses. You can also use Ubiquity to copy and paste the map into an email, instead of just inserting a link like you would otherwise.

This idea does have real potential, but Ryan Block (of Engadget fame) hit the nail on the head when he twittered:

Mozilla Ubiquity: amazing concept, but inconsistent micro-commands and a text driven interface means it's geek-set only. But it's a start!

I would love to be able to highlight a string of text that contains a date, and be able to right click it into my Google calendar, but I wouldn't want to have to type [Option]+[Space] "google-calendar-this".

We'll have to see where this goes. I'm thinking this is a cool concept for a Firefox plugin. Enjoy the movie below.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

"Hak the Planet" T-Shirts Anyone?

2008-08-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Good news friends ... now you can buy Hak the Planet gear! T-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, trucker hats, and more at the Hak the Planet Store. Here's a small sample of what's available:

Best bumper sticker ever!

Hak the Planet Store

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Good Bye Phone Book

2008-08-21T09:54:00.001-07:00

When was the last time you used the phone book?

I can't remember the last time I used one. It's probably been at least 1.5 years. So why do we let them take up valuable storage space? More importantly, why do we enable phone book companies to chop down countless trees?

Website "YellowPagesGoesGreen.Org" aims to save some of those trees by making it easy to "unsubscribe" from those unsolicited phone book deliveries you get every year. Although individual publishers often have a method to opt out of deliveries for their book, who wants to make 4 different phone calls and spend 20 minutes in voice-jail? YellowPagesGoesGreen.Org does all the leg work for you. You give them your name and address online, and they contact the phone book publishers to opt you out.

Check out the YellowPagesGoesGreen.Org website; it's free, informative, and provides a good service. From their stats, I learned that...

Each phone book represents roughly $25 worth of advertising ($13.58B / 540 M).
The production of each phone book consumes almost 1.5 gallons of oil.
One fully developed tree produces only 23 phone books.

Of course, if you'd rather make the phone calls yourself, I've verified the following phone numbers...

AT&T Yellow Pages: 800-479-2977
(This works for CA and 19 other states)
(press 0, then 0 again to speak to a real person)
(866-246-0993 should work for most other states)
Verizon Directories: 800-555-4833
(their publisher: Idearc)
Yellow Book: 800-929-3556

In closing, if you use the phone book on a regular basis, okay ... don't opt out of all of them, but do you really need 4 phone books in your drawer? And if you don't use the phone book regularly, what do you have to loose?

Thanks to lifehacker for keeping us informed.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Server-Based Software (by Paul Graham)

2008-08-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

It seems that over the last 3-4 years, more and more software is web-based instead of desktop based. We now have Quickbooks Online, Photoshop Express, Zoho, and the whole suite of Google apps (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Calendar, etc). You don't have to download much software anymore if you don't want to.

Although this phenomena seems to me like a fairly recent development, Paul Graham has seen it coming for some time. He wrote an article in September of 2001 titled "The Other Road Ahead":

(This article explains why much of the next generation of software may be server-based, what that will mean for programmers, and why this new kind of software is a great opportunity for startups. It's derived from a talk at BBN Labs.)

Paul was a founder of the first web-based application, Viaweb. Viaweb was started in 1995 and was purchased in 1998 by Yahoo to become Yahoo Store. It is still used today.

In his essay "The Other Road Ahead", Paul speaks of the advantages of using and developing server-based or web-based applications. Now, a lot of what he says is now common knowledge and common practice, but remember, he wrote this essay in 2001, well before these ideals had been adopted.

Here are some quotes (individual excerpts):

When we started Viaweb, hardly anyone understood what we meant when we said that the software ran on the server. It was not until Hotmail was launched a year later that people started to get it.

When we look back on the desktop software era, I think we'll marvel at the inconveniences people put up with, just as we marvel now at what early car owners put up with. For the first twenty or thirty years, you had to be a car expert to own a car. But cars were such a big win that lots of people who weren't car experts wanted to have them as well.

There's something wrong when a sixty-five year old woman who wants to use a computer for email and accounts has to think about installing new operating sytems. Ordinary users shouldn't even know the words "operating system," much less "device driver" or "patch."

And so you won't ordinarily need a computer, per se, to use software. All you'll need will be something with a keyboard, a screen, and a Web browser. Maybe it will have wireless Internet access. Maybe it will also be your cell phone. Whatever it is, it will be consumer electronics: something that costs about $200, and that people choose mostly based on how the case looks. You'll pay more for Internet services than you do for the hardware, just as you do now with telephones.

The whole idea of "your computer" is going away, and being replaced with "your data." You should be able to get at your data from any computer. Or rather, any client, and a client doesn't have to be a computer.

When you use a Web-based application, your data will be safer. Disk crashes won't be a thing of the past, but users won't hear about them anymore. They'll happen within server farms. And companies offering Web-based applications will actually do backups-- not only because they'll have real system administrators worrying about such things, but because an ASP that does lose people's data will be in big, big trouble.

If this sort of thing interests you, I encourage you to read the whole article (pretty long, but really good).

"The Other Road Ahead" - Paul Graham

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Internet Explorer 8 Beta - Now Available

2008-08-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Microsoft recently came out with a beta for Internet Explorer 8. IE8 boasts new features such as...

Webslices (lets you monitor a section of a website)
Automatic Crash Recovery
Improved Phishing filter

One cool thing is that you can import your IE7 or Firefox settings (bookmarks, etc). Still missing is the synchronization with Firefox settings. They're hoping, of course, that you'll import your settings and then uninstall FF3 ... in your dreams Microsoft.

Download

Now you Know,
Garrett Woodroof

Remote Control Computing - Live Mesh

2008-08-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Want to access your work computer from home? Your home computer from work? Your desktop pc from your laptop? ... No problem.

Microsoft released this year a new software called Live Mesh. Similar to Remote Desktop, Live Mesh allows one computer to control another remotely. The advantage that Live Mesh has over Remote Desktop is that it doesn't require a terminal server, a static IP, a VPN, or anything: any 2 internet-connected PCs will do (Coming soon to Macs too - source). You can even link up mobile devices at m.mesh.com (and yes, it does work with my Blackberry).

Using your Microsoft Live Account (like your hotmail login for example), you can connect up to 100 different devices to make it easy to control any one device from any other. You also get 5GB of free storage on your "Live Desktop", which is basically your web desktop. You can then access that Live Desktop from any web browser, even if the computer you're using doesn't have Live Mesh installed (I tried both IE7 and Firefox 3). Imagine how handy that could be when you arrive at your meeting to find that you forgot to bring your presentation disk ... oh, wait, I uploaded a copy to my Live Desktop ... we're fine.

I'm still trying to figure out the syncronization options, it seems like there's a lot of potential here to do automatic backups of important files. Of course, if you're going to upload any sensitive data, make sure that you encrypt it first (Truecrypt or Blowfish). Also, you can now use Live Mesh to transfer files directly from one device to another, skipping your Live Desktop if you want. I could see this coming in handy if you're trying to transfer more than 5GB of data.

I've been using Live Mesh for a few weeks primarily to control my media-center pc via my laptop and it's worked pretty well. It doesn't do all that well with playing video, but it does great moving files, launching programs, and even playing music.

If you use multiple pcs, and want to access one from another, why not give Live Mesh a try?

Please share your experiences in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Foxit PDF Reader

2008-08-07T21:55:00.000-07:00

Foxit is a FREE PDF Reader that will view any PDF and doesn't insist on eating up your system resources by running processes in the background. I've been using Foxit for years and I've yet to find a PDF that it can't read. It has a pro version that will let you annotate a PDF with either typing or drawing (like signatures), but the free version works great if you just need to view and/or print PDFs. (versions for Windows, Windows Mobile, and Linux)

Sure, Adobe Reader is free, but it insists on running background processes, which eat up system resources. Why have a background process for a PDF Reader?

If you don't like Foxit for some reason, you might also try Sumatra. Sumatra is not only free, but open source as well. I've seen a few PDFs that don't work in it, but it seems to handle 99% of them flawlessly.

Both Foxit and Sumatra come in portable versions, so they won't even require an install if you'd rather not. (Foxit Portable - Sumatra Portable)

Finally, here's a picture of my inspiration for writing this tonight. I found Adobe Reader eating up ram like a pack of wolves on a sheep stud farm...

Yeah, that's 1.35 gigabytes of ram and I didn't even have a PDF open! Maybe I ought to download and install the latest version (9.0) before I abandon Adobe Reader altogether, but it's not like version 8.0 was a beta or something.

Do you have a favorite PDF reader? Please share your vote in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Google Maps Custom Labels

2008-07-27T19:08:00.001-07:00

Google Maps allows custom labels on addresses.

How to get from:
to:

you ask?

Just type "(your text here)" after the address, like this:
Voila!

I stumbled upon a this feature just the other day. It really comes in handy when you're trying to display apartment numbers (Google doesn't do well with apartment #'s otherwise), or even the phone number of the place you're going to. I used to type these details into the "Notes" section, but have found this new method to be more appropriate for certain things.

Also, for the resourceful software developer, you can add your "(custom text)" via the Google Maps URL (example). If you develop software for businesses that use driving directions, I recommend Google Maps. Sure, Rand McNally may be a little better for routing and sometimes has addresses that Google doesn't have, but it's so much clunkier and more difficult to use.

It's all about Google Maps.

Have any other Google Maps tips? Please share in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Google Reader + Contra for NES

2008-07-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

What do Google Reader and Contra for NES (yes, 8 bit Nintendo) have in common you ask? Do you remember Contra? (play it online here, or see video below) Do you remember the cheat code to start the game with 30 lives? (up - up - down - down - left - right - left - right - b - a - start)

While you're on your Google Reader starting page, use that same code (minus the start), and enjoy your pet ninja!

Before the code:

After the code:

The ninja doesn't actually do anything, but it does look pretty cool. Of course, it would be even cooler if you could actually play Contra inside Google Reader, but then there's already websites and emulators for that. Maybe another game like "Old Snakey" found in Gmail? (Gmail Labs - pic - pic)

You know, on second thought, the new background color and ninja make it difficult to read the blog titles. Hmm ... I'm going to switch back, but I'm still feeling nostalgic, thanks Google. What I really love is that I was able to recycle that cheat code that's been lodged in my brain since 1988.

Thanks for the tip Tekzilla Daily!

Side note: I just played Contra on the website linked above ... let's just say I didn't do as well as the guy in the video below.

Have fun,
Garrett Woodroof

Lively by Google

2008-07-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like Google's got a finger in yet another proverbial pie: virtual worlds. They're calling it "Lively". You sign in with your Google Account, create an avatar, and then can visit virtual spaces that can be embedded into any web page. That seems like the direction Google is going: Create functionality and social apps, then allow them to be used by anyone on their own web site.

Here's a sample room below to check it out. I'm having a hard time joining ... maybe they're being inundated by first time users or something?

lively.com

Evidently it currently only works on Firefox and IE.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Elevator Hack

2008-06-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

A tip from the "Real Tech News" blog has me eager to ride an elevator to test this out.

When you're in the elevator, push the "Close Doors" AND the "[Floor]" buttons at the same time to enter "Express Mode", which will skip all the other floors and go right where you want. A pretty selfish thing to do unless you have a semi-emergency that requires you to commandeer the elevator, but good to know nonetheless.

Thanks for the tip Alice! (realtechnews.com)

"Elevators that have been tested and worked on:
–Otis Elevators (All But The Ones Made In 1992),
–Dover (Model Numbers: EL546 And ELOD862),
–And Most Desert Elevators(All, But Model Numbers ELD5433 And ELF3655)"

If anyone is able to try this out, please let us know how it goes in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

California: Driving and Talking

2008-06-07T14:20:00.001-07:00

As of July 1st, 2008, those of us that call California home will no longer be able to use a mobile phone while driving unless we employ a hands-free device (CHP - FAQs). And, for those of you under 18, you won't be able to use a mobile phone at all while you drive (yep, no texting either). See this informative video on the CalTrans website. (You need to download the .asx video from Internet Explorer and then watch it in Windows Media Player ... lame, I know)

For more information about driving and cell phones, see:

Harvard School of Public Health (press release, pdf)
CBS (article)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (article)

Some people say that this new law goes too far ... some say it doesn't go far enough. What do you say? Please let me know in the comments.

Although there seems to be a lack of research to indicate that using hands-free devices is more safe than not using them, it seems that common sense would tell us that 2 hands are better than 1.

And with that, maybe it's time to do some shopping...
Newegg.com (iqua solar powered)
TigerDirect.com

Drive safe,
Garrett Woodroof

Miro - Better Than TV

2008-06-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

In short, Miro is a free, open-source, RSS driven, bit-torrent using, video downloading and organization software that just might have you canceling your cable service soon.

Miro lets you subscribe to RSS feeds that contain video content and will either let you know when there is new content, or will download the new content automatically. It plays almost every video format you can throw at it, and does it all in an interface that's intuitive and fairly smooth (as long as you have about 200 Mb of RAM to spare).

Got content? You bet. Not only have many of the mainstream media giants embraced RSS technology for some of their content, but the hobbyists and the semi-pro players are coming out of the woodwork! And although they may not have "connections" in the industry, in this youtube/digg/facebook reality, only content really matters. And a lot of the content out there is really good, and some of it in HD!

Why not give it a shot? There's a version for Windows, OS X, and even Linux. Check it out at @getmiro.com. There's a download link on the home page. Or, you can watch the intro video below.

If you decide to try it out, here are 3 good RSS channels to subscribe to:

Loaded (Done by CNET - Tech news)
Experiment of the Week (Robert Krampf - Practical Science)
Harvard Business Video IdeaCast (Enterprise and Management Strategy)

(Top 10 coming soon ... give recommendations in the comments)

Who wants to be tied down by a tv schedule anyway? And who wants to pay $13/month for a Tivo?

Happy viewing,
Garrett Woodroof

Question: What's the real difference between DVRing your favorite TV show, and downloading it via bit-torrent? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

WinFlip brings Vista's Window Flip to XP

2008-05-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

One of the most famous pieces of eye candy found in Microsoft Vista is the Window Flip feature, which is a welcome alternative to the traditional alt-tab interface.

There are a few different applications that add this same eye candy to XP, but having checked out a few of them, I recommend WinFlip. WinFlip is running on my machine right now and taking up less than 500K of memory (that's nothing).

The flipping is pretty snappy (This machine: 1GB Ram, 1.4Ghz Intel Celeron), and it lets you choose whether to use [Alt]+[Tab] or [Win]+[Tab] in the options.

And did I mention it's free? Why not check it out?

Want to see other tips to make XP look like Vista? Check out this post on lifehacker.com.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

PowerToy Calc for Vista

2008-05-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

Many XP users fell in love with the PowerToy Calculator. Its greatest strength is the "History" feature, which details the last 8 or 9 entries like an accounting calculator tape. Those that have switched to Vista have complained that the native calculator that comes with Vista isn't nearly as functional, and that their beloved PowerToy Calc is "incompatible" with Vista. Many have essentially resolved to wait until the Vista PowerToy pack comes out.

Wait no more...

Download the PowerCalc.exe file from the Microsoft website and move it wherever you want (Program files, Start Menu Programs, etc).

Right click on it , select “Properties”, then select the “Compatibility” tab…

Select the “Run this program in compatibility mode for: XP (SP2)” and click OK.

Then, I recommend creating a shortcut to the .exe file and keeping the shortcut in “Start Menu Programs”. That way, your Vista start search will find it easily.

The first time you run it, you’ll get a window that says something about “Known compatibility problems”.

Check the “Don’t show me this message again” checkbox.

Click the “Run it anyway” button … Enjoy.

PowerToy Calc + Compatibility Mode = Awesome,

Garrett Woodroof

Laptop Battery Analyzer - Mobile Meter

2008-05-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Does it seem like your laptop battery isn't lasting as long as it used to? Is it time to buy a new battery? Laptop batteries don't last forever. They wear out after so many charges and after so much time. But, in order to determine whether or not your battery needs replacing, it would be nice to be able to quantify just how worn out your battery is.

Enter Mobile Meter (download), which analyzes your battery, tells you the current capacity of your battery, and tells you the design capacity of your battery. (PC only. XP works, haven't tested Vista yet)

Ouch. 70% wear lever? Looks like this battery is pretty worn out. Time for a new battery I guess (or maybe a new laptop?).

You access the panel above by right-clicking on the main window that comes up when you run mobmeter.exe, and selection "options".

As you can see, Mobile Meter also tells you at what rate your battery is charging (or discharging), the temperature of your hard drive, and a few other things.

Another cool thing about Mobile Meter is that it's a mobile application, which means you can run it from your flash drive and it works just as well. It's also very lightweight (41K).

Mobile Meter 0.3.1.0 is found on a website that's in Japanese, but here is the english translation page. Download it, enjoy it, and let me know how worn out your batteries are.

Know of other cool utilities like this? Please share in the comments!

I say the glass is 30% full,
Garrett Woodroof

Top 10 Morning Routine Hacks - For Men

2008-05-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

If you spend 5 days a week and 50 weeks per year at work, then you spend about 250 mornings per year getting ready for work. If you could shave 10 minutes off your morning routine, that means you could save over 40 hours of get-ready time per year!

What follows is a list of recommendations to help you shave those precious minutes. You're probably already doing some of these things, but hopefully everyone can get at least 1 new idea from this.

In a daily chronological order of sorts:

1. Alarm clock:
I know, it's probably your cell phone. Why not spice it up a bit and wake up to something that'll actually make you look forward to the day. Santana? Led Zeppelin? They Might Be Giants? Classical music? Magnum PI theme song? Make it something that gives you that extra energy to get up when your alarm clock goes off the first time. Lately, I've been waking up to Dave Brubeck.

2. Shower:
One soap to rule them all. You don't need 10 different bottles of hygiene products in your shower, and you probably rarely use more than 2 or 3. By using a hair+body soap, you'll cut down on time and storage (Old Spice, Neutrogena, Gojo).

3. Drying off:
When you're done with your shower, dry off from the top down. Any other way and gravity works against you, doubling your efforts.

4. Breakfast:
Hopefully, we're all in agreement that breakfast is important. Don't skip it; it'll make the rest of your day less productive. That said, why spend 10 minutes making pancakes, waffles, and/or toast? They don't really have much in the way of nutritional value anyway. And nowadays, our cereal is fortified with vitamins and minerals. If you pick the right cereal, it's practically like taking a multi-vitamin (substitute smoothies, oatmeal, and whatever else is quick and healthy). It's called breakfast for a reason.

5. Short hair:
Style aside, it takes a lot less time to shampoo and then style short hair than it does long hair.

6. Wrinkle-free shirts
Clothing is supposed to be functional. Why do we buy things that promise to commandeer our time? When you're looking for your next dress-shirt, look for one that's wrinkle-free. They're awesome; you just take them out of the dryer, hang them up, and then slip them on when the time comes.

For the wrinkle-prone shirts that you already have, I recommend some home made wrinkle-release spray (DIY). I've also read that steaming them is a good way to go (hardly objective). Another thing you can do is hang up your clothes in the bathroom while you take a hot shower, so the steam goes to work for you.

7. Mix-n-match clothing
Try to make your work clothing selection as simple as possible. If you have 7 shirts and 7 pairs of pants that all go together, you don't have to think daily about what goes together and what doesn't. If you wear a tie, buy ties that are solid or striped with neutral colors like black, gray, silver, etc. If your neon green tie only goes with 1 shirt, is it really worth having?

The more your clothes are mix-n-match, the less you have to worry about your clothing strategy. "Let's see, I could wear Tie A with Shirt B, but then tomorrow I'd be left with Tie B with Shirt A and that won't work." No good.

8. Slip-on shoes:
Find some stylish slip-ons that are comfortable and fit your budget (Born, Other). I don't think it counts as extreme laziness if you're doing it to save time and thereby get more done.

9. Ties
I realize that I'll probably face some ridicule here, but I'm going to go ahead and say that tying ties takes time that you shouldn't need to spend. Maybe it's a Zen thing for you, but not for me. I'm thinking of finding some nice zip-up ties or something to eliminate the 1-2 minutes it takes to get my tie "just right". I know it sounds juvenile, but who's gonna know? (rep stripe, other) ... note: Clip-ons are still out of the question.

10. Multi-task:
Some say that multi-tasking is a myth. I would say that certain circumstances are very conducive to multi-tasking. For example, do you enjoy watching the news in the morning? Why not do that while you're eating cereal? Why not slip on your shoes while you're buttoning up your shirt? Shave in the shower? The list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: It's not supposed to be a race. You don't need to sprint from the shower to the bedroom (unless your in-laws are staying with you and you didn't plan ahead : ). But, if by changing things up a bit, you can get ready in less time without stressing out ... why not give it a try?

Have some tips of your own? Please share in the comments!

Know you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Managing Email to GTD

2008-05-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

The book “Getting Things Done”, by David Allen (Book – CD), has been a cornerstone for the “GTD” movement that’s sweeping the web and the workplace. One of his practical suggestions is to create a system for processing email (free PDF). Although email was never meant to become a “to do” list … it has for most people. Most people would do well to accept this fact and engineer a work flow that makes sense for them. One thing that will probably work well for just about anybody is the idea of not letting emails sit in your inbox. You don't store snail mail in your mailbox after you check it, why should you keep email in your inbox? Recommendations to come, but first ...

Signs that your system needs improving:

You consistently have more than about 15 emails in your inbox.
You consistently keep emails in your inbox for more than 1 week.
It takes you more than 30 seconds to find an important email you still need to respond to.
You are getting behind on your email to do list and experience guilt because of it.

If any of these qualifiers apply to you, you would probably benefit from re-thinking your approach to email, but there’s no 1 process to rule them all. The content and nature of your inbox is, to some degree, as unique as you are. That said, here are some best practices and philosophies that will probably help most users whose email system needs improving.

Best practices:

Use folders (or labels for Gmail users) to organize emails.

Archive: Everyone needs this one. Use it. You don’t need your 3 month old order confirmation in your inbox.
To Do: Call it what you will, but most people seem to like having an actionable cue.
Etc: Come up with your own folders and structure, but remember that your email is search-able and sort-able, so try to keep it as simple as possible. You don’t need separate archive folders for Amazon.com and Ebay.

Check the appropriate folders regularly so as not to forget to respond as you should. (especially your actionable cue)
If the task associated with an email can be completed in 2 minutes or less … just do it.

Get it out of the way unless you have an important deadline that’s breathing down your neck.
If you can’t “just do it”, or if it’ll take more than 2 minutes to do, place it in your “To Do” folder.

Process your inbox to zero (or almost zero) when you check your email. Your inbox should be the gathering place for incoming messages that haven’t been processed. Once you read an email, process it, and get it out of your inbox.
Use other tools (such as calendar apps) to set reminders and to schedule appointments or deadlines.
Delete emails that you don’t need.

My personal folder structure:

“Actionable”: Things that I choose to do later.
“Archive”: Things that I might need someday.
“Archive 90”: Emails that I’m sure will have no value to me after 90 days.

Once in a while I just go through and delete all the emails older than 90 days. (Don’t read them again!)

“Awaiting Response”: I can’t really move forward until I hear back on this email.

I’ll sometimes Bcc myself and place the email here so I know to follow up later if I don’t get a response.
Order confirmations go here too.

The challenge:

Come up with your own system and try it for at least a 2 weeks. You can always switch back to your old system (or complete lack thereof).

BTW, if you downloaded the PDF and are still not convinced, Merlin Mann did a great Google Tech Talk on the subject (Inbox Zero - Video - 1 hour).

Come on, all the cool kids are doing it,

Garrett Woodroof

Application Launcher - Launchy

2008-05-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

Launchy is to Windows as Quicksilver is to Mac ... awesome.

A quote from launchy.net:
"Launchy is a free windows utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!"

Aside from a snappy interface and looking good, Launchy's greatness comes from the ability to tweak it and customize it to your heart's content. Not only can you use it to launch a regular application, like Mozilla Firefox, you can use it to:

1. Google web search
2. Google map search
3. Control itunes
4. Wikipedia search
5. Dictionary Lookup
6. Start composing an email
7. Run terminal commands

...and countless others, given the fact that you can easily add your own plugins with no programming knowledge required. I created a plugin to search for TV shows on msn.com.

You can read more at launchy.net, or head to sourceforge for the download.

Thanks to lifehacker.com for turning me on to this great app.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

The 300 MPG Aptera

2008-05-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I normally wouldn't blog about a car, but 300 miles per gallon? Wow. Have you seen this thing?

It may look a little funny, but this car is as aerodynamic as it gets. It's the Aptera Typ-1 and it's getting a lot of attention. If you're interested in buying one, $500 (they say refundable) will get you on their waiting list. After you buy it, you actually register it as a motorcycle. It has comfortable seating for 2, and comes with everything you'd want in a standard commuter vehicle ... and then some.

Features:
- Fantastic aerodynamics
- Plenty of safety features
- GPS
- Solar powered climate control
- 3 rear cameras
- Reasonable price tag ( < $30,000 US)
- A lot more... (aptera.com/details)

Typ-1e is the fully electric model with a 120 mile range. Type-1h is the plug-in hybrid model. Production for both is scheduled for later this year (California only). Watch the video or check out the Aptera website for some more details.

Or, you can read about it on websites not quite as popular as hackingtheplanet...
- wired.com
- popularmechanics.com
- usatoday.com

It will be interesting to see how the Aptera Typ-1 does up against the Tesla Roadster.

I guess the electric car was just napping,
Garrett Woodroof

One Space After a Period. Period.

2008-05-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Some people resist change only because it's change. For those of you that grew up and took a typing class with "real" typewriters, you can always remember (with fond memories) the days when fixed-width font was your only option and you always put 2 spaces after your periods.

Today, however, most fonts are variable-width, and only require 1 space after a period, semi-colon, or colon.

Who says: Bill Hill, former Director of Typography at Microsoft and founder of ClearType.

Check out his impressive bio at microsoft.com...billhill.

Also @ microsoft.com, a video in which Bill Hill tells us how it is... (only bother with the first 30 seconds or so)

Any Questions? Let 'er rip in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Jott and Remember

2008-05-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

"I need to remember to do that as soon as I get into the office" ... you say ... knowing full well you will probably forget. But what are you supposed to do? You're driving to work, you can't write yourself a note, much less email yourself (at least not safely).

The answer: Jott!

Jott is basically a free, high-tech dictation service. After you set up your free account online (jott.com), you simply speed dial the number (866-JOTT-123), choose a message recipient, leave your message, and hang up. Jott then dictates the message and emails the message to the address you entered when you setup your account.

Two things make this service great:
1. It's free
2. It's amazingly accurate

The catch:
Not bad, but pretty weird ... they use REAL PEOPLE to do the dictation! I read somewhere that they have a bunch of employees in India listening to the messages and typing them out so they're email-ready. But really, as long as you're not jotting something too embarrassing or criminal ... what's the big deal?

The "prestige": Jott has "links" to services like Google Calendar, Twitter, Blogger, Amazon.com, and a bunch of other on-line services. You can literally call Jott to add an appointment to your calendar, or even to post to a blog! (30 second message limit)

I for one have learned to not rely on my own memory. And why waste your mental capacity on remembering something when you could be using it to solve the world's problems?

Hot for Jott,
Garrett Woodroof

Focus Your Google Search on One Website

2008-05-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

In addition to handy search operators like "+, -, and or" Google also supports several search filters. The one that I use most frequently is the "site:" filter.

For example, if you are searching for anti-virus software, but want to limit your results to those found at lifehacker.com; simply google ... "site:lifehacker.com anti-virus software".

It's that easy. Make sure there's no space between the colon and the web address, then feel free to type out the rest of your search like normal.

It's all about saving time,
Garrett Woodroof

Panoramic Photos with Autostitch (Free)

2008-05-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

If you want to create truly emersive photographs without spending big bucks on a fancy camera, you might think about using photo-stitching software like Autostitch. This software takes multiple photos and stitches them together where they match.

Turning:

Into:

Not only is the software easy to use, but there are lots of different settings for quality, output size, blending, and a slew of other features.

Consider too, that if you have a lowly 3mp camera, for example, and you stitch together 15 photos, you've effectively created an up to 45mp photo (okay, probably 35mp with overlap). And that's exactly what I did for this photo I took of El Capitan in Yosemite, CA. (For perspective this photo spans 180 degrees left-to-right)
(click for larger)

You can visit autostitch.net for a free download, or visit these sites for more pics:
- Official Autostitch gallery
- Google images
- Flickr

Go nuts!
Garrett Woodroof

New AVG Free edition

2008-05-03T08:17:00.001-07:00

Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 is now available for download. For those of you that are familiar, 8.0 has a fresh new look and feel. (much better update interface)

For PC users that don't have anti-virus software, I recommend it. It's simple, free, and well respected in the tech community. I've been using it for years, and have yet to have any problems with viruses.

More info @free.grisoft.com and free download @download.com.

By the way, did you know that the word "virus" is a Latin word that means "toxic" or "poison"? (wikipedia)

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Time Saver: [CTRL]+[Arrow] Around Your Docs

2008-05-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Want to be a keyboard ninja? Next time you're editing text on your computer, use [CTRL]+[Arrow Left/Right] to get to where you're going.

For Mac users: [Alt]+[Arrow] or [Option]+[Arrow]

A lot of people are very familiar with using the [Home] and [End] keys to get to the beginning and end of the line they are editing, but it seems not nearly as many are aware of the [CTRL]+[Arrow] trick. Instead of moving the cursor one character at a time, it will move it one word at a time. If the average word in your document is five letters long, using this tip could help you go back and fix that typo five times faster than not using it.

Some people out there measure your computer prowess by how much you avoid the mouse. Some people get all into mouse gestures. I, for one, am a big fan of doing what works best for you. And that should naturally change with what you're working on.

See the ninja, be the ninja,
Garrett Woodroof

Predictably Irrational

2008-05-01T00:33:00.001-07:00

Dan Ariely is a professor of Behavioral Economics @ MIT. His book, "Predictably Irrational", is a must-read. I finished it last week and was really impressed. He shares the findings of dozens of experiments and studies.

In brief, he points out that the standard economics model assumes that humans are completely rational, logical, and sensible creatures. He goes on to give several examples on how we are not rational, logical, and sensible.

Topics:
-Price relativity
-The effect "zero" and "free"
-Arbitrary coherence
-Self herding
-Social Norms vs Market Norms (fascinating)
-The influence of arousal on behavior
-Fear of loss
-The effect of expectations
-The placebo effect
-Dishonesty and cheating (see video below)
-Why people are more honest with cash
-Ordering food at restaurants

He tackles issues such as:
-If your friend orders the tri-tip at a restaurant, are you more or less likely to order the same?
-Why do people cheat on some things but not others?
-Why are people more likely to volunteer than to work for $1/hour?

Anyway, check it out at Amazon ( Book - Audio CD ). It's well worth the time and money. For some previews, check out predictablyirrational.com.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Free Screen Capture Software

2008-04-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

If you contribute to training manuals or other content that requires images of software or websites, then you know how awkward it can be to capture screen shots and prepare them for insertion into your content. As for me, I was excited to hear about a free software that helps on the front end to speed up that process.

FastStone Capture is exactly that. I've been using it for a few days now and have been really pleased so far.

My favorite features:
1. Capture Rectangular Region
2. Capture Freehand Region
3. Straight to clipboard
4. Multiple image file formats
5. Capture Delay

Thanks to lifehacker.com for turning me on to this software. And thanks to portablefreeware.com for hosting the portable version.

You can check out the latest version of FastStone (v.6.1) @faststone.org, but I've heard complaints about registration nags and trial version woes, so I just went with version 5.3 (on portable freeware) instead.

Does anyone know of any other cool screen capture software out there? Please share in the comments.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Excel Formula Formatting Hack

2008-04-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

I learned a while ago that when you're typing in a cell in Excel, you can hit [Alt][Enter] to insert a line break without exiting the cell.

The other day I was working with a really long formula that used several different functions. It was really difficult to conceptualize what I was writing until I discovered that both 'line breaks' and 'spaces' didn't ruin or even alter my formula results. That allowed me to format the Excel formula in a way that almost resembled lines of code from MS Visual Studio.

(This example is a simple binary conversion formula.)

Because the spaces and line breaks don't alter the formula result, you can format it however you like it, it only takes a minute to accomplish, and the results make it a lot easier to come back later and decifer what it is you were trying to do.

Unless you'd rather look at something like this:

Formulas can get a lot more complicated than this at times, but I think you get the point.

Enjoy,

Garrett Woodroof

BTW: There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those that understand binary and those that do not. : )

Free SMS for everyone

2008-04-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Want to send text messages as easily and as freely as you send emails? Done. All you need is the mobile number of the person you're trying to reach and knowledge of their cellular service provider.

Let's say, for example, you're friend's mobile number is 444-555-6666 and he/she uses Verizon Wireless. Simply send an email to 4445556666@vtext.com and that email gets sent to his/her cell phone as an SMS text message. How awesome is that?

As you can see in the example, don't use dashes or parenthesis, and follow it up with the appropriate email domain and viola ... free SMS!

The domains:
Verizon-- @vtext.com
T-Mobile-- @tmomail.net
Nextel-- @messaging.nextel.com
Sprint-- @messaging.sprintpcs.com
ATT-- @txt.att.net
Alltel-- @message.alltel.com
U.S. Cellular-- @email.uscc.net
Bell Mobility-- @txt.bellmobility.com
Telus-- @msg.telus.com
Rogers-- @pcs.rogers.com

Another cool feature: Some users can reply to the SMS from their phone, and the reply ends up as an email back in the original senders email inbox. (I use AT&T and it works for me)

Don't know their cellular service provider? Teleflip will probably work as long as they haven't switched carriers too recently. That's right, 4445556666@teleflip.com will probably do the trick.

Disclaimer: I was only able to test AT&T and Verizon. Please let me know in the comments if the others still work. And if your provider isn't in the list, check http://www.notepage.net/smtp.htm.

Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

! Hello World !

2008-04-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

This blog is about improving your life by:

Using appropriate, practical technology
Using advanced common sense
Understanding the way things work (including the world)

This blog is not about:

The benefits of a positive mental attitude
The election
Comic books
Paris Hilton

Things you should know about me:

I am platform agnostic

I currently dual-boot Vista/Ubuntu

I use XP SP2 @ my day job

I grew up on an Apple

I value your time

I'm not going to waste your time ranting

I'll try to be descriptive in my titles

You don't need to read every post

I like outlines!!!

The rules for posting:

No drama queens
No foul language
No flame wars (see #1)
No Stairway

Yes, I'm aware of the fact that comments are disabled for this post. (What is there to comment on?)

Well, that's it for today. I hope you find this blog helpful. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticisms please email them to gwoodroof (at) hotpop.com . Thank you for your time.
Now you know,
Garrett Woodroof

Hak the Planet

PDF Unlocker

Toggling ALL CAPS in Word, Outlook, and Excel

Free Survey Tool ... Google Forms

Google Mobile App for Blackberry

Google PhoneBook

Google Web Browser: Chrome

Dear Sergey, (Android + Grand Central + Gmail + Google Talk = Game Changer)

Mashup Engine - Mozilla Ubiquity

"Hak the Planet" T-Shirts Anyone?

Good Bye Phone Book

Server-Based Software (by Paul Graham)

Internet Explorer 8 Beta - Now Available

Remote Control Computing - Live Mesh

Foxit PDF Reader

Google Maps Custom Labels

Google Reader + Contra for NES

Lively by Google

Elevator Hack

Top 10 Video Blogs

California: Driving and Talking

Miro - Better Than TV

WinFlip brings Vista's Window Flip to XP

PowerToy Calc for Vista

Laptop Battery Analyzer - Mobile Meter

Top 10 Morning Routine Hacks - For Men

Managing Email to GTD

Application Launcher - Launchy

The 300 MPG Aptera

One Space After a Period. Period.

Jott and Remember

Focus Your Google Search on One Website

Panoramic Photos with Autostitch (Free)

New AVG Free edition

Time Saver: [CTRL]+[Arrow] Around Your Docs

Predictably Irrational

Free Screen Capture Software

Excel Formula Formatting Hack

Free SMS for everyone

! Hello World !