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| Travel Etiquette Site Explains How to Behave in Different Countries [Travel Tip]
July 21, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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|  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.
Photo by Ed Yourdon. So far the site has over 60 articles including tips on how to behave when in any place from Morocco and Japan to South Africa and Portugal; new locations (including U.S. destinations) are added regularly. To find tips, you can type in the country name using the search box or just scroll through the continents and countries listed in the sidebar. The site also lists featured articles on its homepage. Sample tips include how to dress appropriately, dine properly, and meet-and-greet people. For example, Travel Etiquette says not to be surprised by social situations in Argentina that involve swearing. ...Don't be alarmed or surprised to hear what you might consider to be name-calling or swearing amongst friends. In this instance, political correctness certainly does not rule supreme, and Argentines might readily use phrases such as 'fat' or 'big balls' when talking to friends. No harm is meant, it's simply the culture and friendly banter! The site also provides more general tips like how to behave in hotels and airports, and also offers tips for blending in with the locals. Have you traveled to a foreign country and learned some local customs in the process? Save your fellow readers from possible embarrassment by sharing below. And since odds are you'll be carrying a map, learn how to fold one like a pro before you go.
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| Best GPS Device: Garmin Nüvi [Hive Five Followup]
July 21, 2009 at 7:30 pm
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|  The votes have been tallied and we're back to showcase the top GPS device from last week's best GPS devices roundup. Sporting a widescreen, easy-to-read at-a-glance visual indicators, and a host of other perks (like the gas-saving EcoRoute mapping tool), Garmin's Nüvi line of in-car GPS devices takes home the prize for best GPS device.
The honors don't fall exclusively to dedicated GPS devices however. Second to the Nüvi was the iPhone. On top of the convenience of having your GPS device pocket sized and with you all the time, the iPhone also gets a popularity boost from the wide variety of applications available through the App Store which take advantage of the GPS functionality. For more information on the winners and other contenders, check out the full Hive Five.
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| Remains of the Day: The iPod touch with a Microphone Is Basically an iPhone Edition [For What It's Worth]
July 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm
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|  We ready to watch tonight's eclipse online, spot video and photo integration with Google Docs, and get excited about a VoIP iPhone known as the iPod touch with a built-in microphone and camera.
Photo by michaelll.
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| MyBoneYard Rewards You for Recycling Your Old Electronics [Recycle]
July 21, 2009 at 6:00 pm
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|  Need more incentive to recycle your old or unused electronics? Web site MyBoneYard recycles your electronics and, if you're lucky, will offer you a reward too.
Recycling your item through MyBoneYard is free via a printable shipping label. Depending on the model and condition of your item, you could get an additional little reward for recycling. Start the process by clicking on the "What Can I Recycle?" option. Choose your item, enter its information—brand, model, condition—and you'll find out what your reward for recycling is—whether it's money or just the knowledge that you're helping the environment. Fill out your personal information, print out your label, and ship off the package. Keeping tabs on it—and your reward—can be done via the status screen. The whole "reward" concept here is a little sketchy, since it seems obvious that they're offering the reward because they plan on reselling the item—so it's probably more accurate to say that the site buys or recycles your old or unused electronics. Still, it's nice to have a one-stop shop for doing both, especially if you just want to unload something rather than spending time trying to sell it. MyBoneYard is currently US only.
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| Google Wave Opens to Non-Developers in September [Beta Beat]
July 21, 2009 at 5:45 pm
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|  Eager to get your hands on Google Wave, the new idea from Google that's "what email would look like if it were invented today"? According to the Official Google Wave Developer Blog, they'll be extending 100,000 invites to regular old users on September 30th. In the meantime, take a closer look at Google Wave with our highlight reel and hands-on Wave Q&A. [Google Wave Developer Blog]
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| Internet Explorer Determines Which Add-ons Slow Down Browsing [Internet Explorer]
July 21, 2009 at 5:00 pm
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|  Internet Explorer 8 only: Internet Explorer may be the least popular browser among our readers, but weblog IEBlog demonstrates how to determine which add-ons are slowing down your IE page loads with a tool we wish other browsers would pick up on.
Internet Explorer 8 added a column for load time to the Manage Add-ons dialog; this shows you how long each add-on takes to load, on average, each time you open a new tab. To open the dialog, click Tools -> Manage Add-ons. You can sort the add-ons by load time by ungrouping them (right-click the column headers, then choose Group By -> None) and then clicking the Load time header. Once you find the culprit(s):
If you do not want to keep a slow loading add-on around, you can disable it, and it won't be loaded the next time you open a new window or tab. You can also open Add/Remove Programs and remove IE add-ons that you are not using. This removes the add-on for all users on the computer. The article mentions Skype 4.1 as a known offender, but sound off in the comments if you've found other Internet Explorer add-ons that make tabs load slower than molasses. As for the rest of you browsers—this feature would be invaluable for hunting down your own bloat-inducing extensions. (We're looking at you, Firefox.)
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| Take Screenshots of Your Android Phone [Android]
July 21, 2009 at 4:00 pm
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|  If you've ever wanted to share an image of what you are seeing on your Android phone's screen, the Simple Help blog runs down the process of taking a screenshot from your Windows PC.
To take a screenshot, you'll be required to enable USB Debugging under the settings, install the Android software development kit, and then connect to the phone with a debug tool. The process sounds long and painful, but it's actually just a few steps, and the Simple Help guide walks you through it easily—and the next time you want to share a screenshot with a friend, you'll be able to do so. Hit the link for the full walk-through, or check out how GetPDAScreen takes screenshots of your Windows Mobile device.
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| The Whiteboard Lover's Lair [Featured Workspace]
July 21, 2009 at 3:00 pm
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|  If you're a fan of sketching out your ideas on white boards, you'll find more than adequate space to do so in this home office. Need a break from all the work? You can step next door to the gaming lounge.
Last year we highlighted reader Chris Burke's creative use of whiteboard paint. Now we're showing off his entire home office and the accompanying lounge. The area is split by two folding doors. On one side of the doors is office with tons of shelving, desk space, and more than a few white boards to scribble ideas onto. On the other side of the door is a gaming lounge with a 100" screen, an Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii among others and ton of overstuffed comfy seating. When it's time to take a break from cranking out work at his dual-screen desktop—complete with a small white board in between the screens—a relaxing round in the gaming lounge is just a few feet away. Check out the photos below for more detail and his Flickr stream for additional notes.
  
 
If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.
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| Show Us Your Office Chair [Show And Tell]
July 21, 2009 at 2:30 pm
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|  The office chair: It's the piece of furniture that bolsters your butt all day long. If it's good, you never have to think about it. If it's bad, it can cause back pain, neck pain, RSI, and other nasties. Which is yours?
In hopes of stretching the legs of our new comment system's image upload abilities, we want to see what you spend your days sitting on in the comments. Snap a pic, upload it to our comments, and share your office chair below. Along with the pic, let us know what you love or hate about it, where you got it, and whether you'd recommend it. As a heads up, our image upload tool crops images to fit nicely in the comments, but you can click on the cropped image for a full-sized view if said crop is cutting off the full pic. Happy uploading!
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| Usbuntu Live Creator Makes Bootable Linux USB Drives [Downloads]
July 21, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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|  Windows only: Free application uSbuntu Live Creator installs a Live CD from an ISO image onto your USB flash drive—much more useful, portable, and easy to deal with than carrying around a CD.
Once you've downloaded and extracted the application, you can pick a USB drive, pick the source for the copy of Linux, and even format the drive all in one simple application. There are options for creating persistent storage, so you can save your settings between uses, and you can even boot from VirtualBox if you wanted to. uSbuntu Live Creator is a free download for Windows only. For more, check out the previously mentioned Unetbootin utility, which does the same thing in a similar way.
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| Watchitoo Combines Video Chat with Video Watching [Video]
July 21, 2009 at 1:30 pm
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|  Ever wish you could enjoy a video on the internet with friends rather than simply sharing a link with them? New web site Watchitoo wants to let you do just that, combining online video chat with streaming video from YouTube.
Your community video watching can be as exclusive or open as you like, as Watchitoo allows you to set permissions for any video room you create. You can then curate what videos you'd like to include in your room, and anyone who joins you can communicate while watching videos either via an IM-like chat or video chat. I can't imagine something like Watchitoo catching on in a very broad sense, but it makes a lot of sense for niche viewing. For example, something like Watchitoo could come in really handy if you're looking to spend some quality couch potato time with that special-but-currently-long-distance someone. Think you might know of a good time sharing a video at Watchitoo would be worthwhile? Let's hear it in the comments.
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| Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]
July 21, 2009 at 1:00 pm
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|  Cheap HDTVs, economical GPS units, deep discounts on laptops, all the necessary components to begin building your secret lair and more await inside.
Computer Gear! Not Computer Gear! Free Stuff! Thanks Slickdeals, Fatwallet, TechDealDigger, TechBargains, CheapStinkyBargains, and GamerHotline!
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| Gmail Now Automatically Displays Images in Messages from Contacts [Annoyances]
July 21, 2009 at 12:30 pm
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|  By default, Gmail tries to protect your email from spammers by blocking images in emails until you tell it to show them. That's nice and all, but it's a bit annoying when you want to see images from your contacts. Today Gmail changes that.
Now, instead of blocking all images by default until you click on the Display images below or Always display images from X links, Gmail will display images by default from your contacts (right now, contacts is defined by anyone who you've emailed at least twice, though that number is subject to change). It's a small but nice update, especially if you've grown tired of manually enabling images from contacts time and again. On the other hand, if you don't like seeing images from a particular person or as your default, you can disable image display for individual senders or everyone, too. Here's how: [C]lick "Don't display from now on" under the "Show details" link of an email from them with images. To disable images from everybody, select "Ask before displaying external content" under "External content" on the general Settings tab. Good to know.
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| MyDefrag Optimizes Files On Your Hard Drive [Downloads]
July 21, 2009 at 12:00 pm
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|  Windows only: Freeware defrag utility MyDefrag not only handles the basic drive defragmentation tasks, it also includes a powerful scripting engine, a screensaver, and a command-line version.
MyDefrag is based on the previously mentioned JkDefrag utility, but there's no regular options dialog for MyDefrag—instead, a set of included scripts handles a variety of defrag tasks immediately, but can be customized to perform much more advanced tasks. For instance, if you wanted to move all your music files to the fastest part of the disk, you can do so easily with a simple script—it's probably not the best choice for the less tech-savvy reader, but the powerful command-line scripting options are very welcome. MyDefrag is a free download for Windows only. For more, check out the five best Windows maintenance tools.
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| Make a Handlebar Phone Mount with Modeling Clay [DIY]
July 21, 2009 at 11:30 am
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|  Your smartphone can handle GPS, music, and just about anything you'd need on the go. With this shock-absorbing, fully customizable DIY phone mount, you can enjoy bike rides without leaving your phone behind.
Software developer Sebastian Dwornik shows how he made a handlebar mount for his HTC Touch using Crayola's Model Magic, a substance that goes from moldable to firm-yet-rubbery in 24 hours. Sebastian remarks that this DIY mount "makes for an excellent shock absorber as well as a perfect fit for any device you sculpt it for". (Not to mention that it's paintable!) It seems that you could take this project a step further by adding an attachment to wrap your headphone cord around when you mold the mount... or maybe some sparkles. Have you mounted your phone (or maybe a camera or DIY bike light) to your cycle? Tell us how you went about it in the comments, and don't forget to share embarrassing stories about falling off the bike while texting.
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| Leave Your Job without Burning Bridges [Work]
July 21, 2009 at 11:00 am
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|  It is inevitable that you'll be leaving your present job at some point, whether by your choice or your boss's, and it's important to leave with relationships and contacts intact. Photo by Conner395.
Given the recent economic climate and the wave of job cuts that has swept through the country, it isn't a surprise that some extremely frustrated employees are throwing out the traditional routines when it comes to quitting time. Burning bridges between your former company, managers, and fellow employees never benefits you, even if it feels good at the time to stomp out the door. At MSNBC they've written up an article highlighting ways to make sure you keep important connections with your old place of employment. From the article, excerpted from Sandra Naiman's book "The High Achiever's Secret Codebook: The Unwritten Rules for Success at Work": - Give two weeks' notice. Both your past and future employer will consider it a plus.
- Explain that you are leaving because of growth opportunities with the new company, not due to dissatisfaction, even if it's not true.
- On your last day, write your boss and colleagues a thank you note via e-mail about how much you enjoyed working with them.
- Offer to train your replacement, and if possible, be available after you leave to answer questions.
- Make sure your work is caught up before you leave and write notes, when relevant, to guide and inform your replacement.
- If you have external customers, collaborate with your boss on how to transition them to your replacement.
- When telling customers you are leaving, say only good things about the company and your experience there.
- Let them know you only want to leave the job, not the relationships you have built.
It can be tough to put on a chipper face when you've just been pink slipped, or to hold down the fort for those extra two weeks when you've found a better job, but if it means keeping professional contacts with your previous coworkers and employers it's worth it. If you've found yourself in a similar situation recently and have some tips and tricks to share, sound off in the comments below.
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| Do Your Research Before Asking for Help [Career]
July 21, 2009 at 10:00 am
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|  Whether owing to pride, embarrassment, or sheer inability, many people have a hard time asking for help. If you count yourself among them, career blogger Marci Alboher has developed some guidelines to help you help yourself.
Photo by Gruntzooki. One essential tip to bear in mind is to learn as much as you can on your own before engaging an outside source. In other words, simply because you are asking others for help doesn't mean you shouldn't put in some work on your own. This means familiarizing yourself as best you can with the subject-at-hand. Not only will this bit of effort relay to the expert that you are genuinely invested in knowing more, but you'll also be able to better gauge how much of an expert the person is. Without some knowledge of the subject matter, you might also miss out on asking the relevant follow-up questions. You should apply this rule whether you're soliciting free or paid advice. Browse the full post for the other ask-for-help tips, and let us know some other ways to ask for and get the help you want in the comments.
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| Yahoo Tweaks Its Homepage, Allows Content from All Over the Web [Updates]
July 21, 2009 at 10:00 am
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|  Popular web portal Yahoo has been testing a new look and feature set for a while now, and today they're pushing these changes out into the wild as a beta, opt-in feature.
Photos via AllThingsD Most notable to the update: Yahoo now lets users integrate widgets from any web site they want (like the Facebook widget you see above—click the screenshot for a closer look), with the intention, we suppose, of making Yahoo even more of a useful start page. In fact, Yahoo is already one of the most popular pages on the internet (second most visited, according to Wikipedia), so this new change seems to be aiming at keeping you there even longer.  According to CNET, this new rollout is by opt-in only; they say you can join in the fun by visiting http://yahoo.com/try new or by clicking Yahoo promotions. Unfortunately that hasn't worked for us yet, but we'll keep trying. In the meantime, if you've been able to try out the new Yahoo, let's hear what you think in the comments.
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| Download HD Movie Trailers at HD-Trailers [Movies]
July 21, 2009 at 9:30 am
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|  If you're a movie buff that just can't get enough of the trailers, teasers, and clips from upcoming movies, HD-Trailers makes it easy to get your fill.
At HD-Trailers you can search and browse hundreds of movie trailers. You can download the videos in 480p/720p/1080p and even encoded for iPod and PS3. Each movie listed has at minimum a summary of the movie, cover art, and a trailer. The more popular movies have multiple trailers, teasers, and bonus clips for you to watch. There is no registration required, you can jump in, browse, and download away. For more HD movie trailer action, check out previously reviewed Trailer Freaks which has an RSS feed to keep you up to date on the most current trailers.
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| Mozilla Releases Initial Design Mockups for Firefox 3.7 [Firefox]
July 21, 2009 at 9:00 am
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|  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.
Images via MozillaWiki. Click on any of the images for a closer look. Though the MozillaWiki weblog stresses that these changes are "only for brainstorming/exploration," the updated Firefox theme for Windows Vista may include the following tweaks: Embracing Glass: Toolbar and Tabs using Glass. Buttons translucent and slightly glossy to meld with the toolbar. Raised 3D lookachieve tactile "feel".  Page Button: Connect the Page button to the left side of the tab area. Directly connected to the Page.
Tools/Bookmark Bar: Connecting the Tools button to the side of the Window to emphasize the fact that it is used for customizing and changing the UI. Adding a button next to that to toggle the Bookmarks Bar which is turned off by default.  Let us know what you think about the design mockups in the comments.
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| Improve Your Posture with Duct Tape [Confidence]
July 21, 2009 at 8:30 am
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|  At the financial blog The Simple Dollar they've assembled a list of ten unusual ways to improve your confidence. Among them? Improving your posture with that old DIY standby, duct tape. Photo by Foxtongue.
They note that other kinds of tape can work too, but why use a tape of lesser renown when you can use duct tape for the project? Here are their instructions for the duct tape posture trick: Stand up as straight as you can, with your back vertical and your arms at your sides, relaxed. Then, have a friend take a strip of duct tape and run a three inch strip down your back. The top of it should be on the center of one of your shoulder blades and end three inches below it. Then, that person should put a second strip, starting at the center of your other shoulder blade and going straight down for three inches. Take a third strip and apply it horizontally, connecting the tops of the strips, then a fourth strip connecting the bottoms of the vertical strips. You should have a rectangle on your back, nearly square in shape. Here's the thing. As you go through your day, every time you attempt to slouch, that tape will tug at your skin, resisting a poor change in posture. It's not painful (unless you have excessive hair back there), but it is enough of a physical reminder to cause you to naturally keep a good posture. Not sure if duct taping your back is the unusual solution you're looking for? Check out the full article for other tricks like picking an eye level spot on the wall to tame a wandering gaze and why you should always keep a flask with you. If you have your own unusual way to improve your posture, confidence, or both, sound off in the comments below.
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| Score a Free Pastry at Starbucks [Dealhacker]
July 21, 2009 at 7:00 am
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|  Today only: Score a free pastry at Starbucks coffee. Use this coupon and purchase a non-bottled beverage to choose from over a dozen different pastries. Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov.
You'll find the coupon at the link below. Print it off or show it to the barista on your hand-held device before 10:30AM today, purchase a handcrafted beverage (which from the fine print appears to be anything that an employee has to make and put into a cup for you) and you've scored a free muffin, bagel, bread, cake, or other pastry delight. Thanks Trish!
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