January 16, 2006

Improve Your Life Using the Internet, Pt. 2

Note: This article is a continuation of Improve Your Life Using the Internet, Pt. 1.

Apparently when I ended the last article with a promise to continue last week, I really meant this week.

Now, on with the tips:

3. Obtain and use web-based e-mail for on-the-go access.

For many net-savvy people, this is a no-brainer. I also know many hardcore geeks that spurn web-based mail technology, and prefer to use the likes of mutt, pine, and the "newer" readers such as Mozilla Thunderbird. My suggestion is not that you abandon your traditional, familiar means of communcation. However, let's say you're in an unfamiliar location, without a laptop, and wish to check your mail? Unless you have a Treo, you can't remotely connect to your computer; sometimes all you have is Internet Explorer in an internet cafe. Enter webmail.

Gmail and Mail2Web are the two web-based e-mail servers I use. Gmail is a wonderful repository for Amazon receipts, random bits of web registrivia, and critical notes to self that need to be accessible on the road. Searching is incredibly efficient and fast—much more so than an IMAP client crawling through thousands of e-mails sitting in a folder. I'd recommend that everyone establish a Gmail account and use it as a remote information repository.

Mail2Web is perfect for those situations where you need information trapped in a traditional mail server but do not have access to a mail client (or your beloved terminal). Enter your e-mail address and your e-mail server's password and you're browsing your e-mail through a web gateway. Granted, you are disclosing sensitive information (your mail password). Mail2Web lets you do this over SSL (which prevents eavesdroppers from sniffing your password by initiating a secure, encrypted session), but you still have to trust Mail2Web. Their privacy policy explicitly states that they do not retain passwords or any password-related information unless you ask them to.

Ready access to e-mail in unfamiliar or remote locations can be a life-saver, especially when you're forced to play by someone else's technology rules.

4. Limit your time online.

Limiting time online is an odd tip coming from a blogger, Flickr-addict, and general geek who spends most of his waking time online. The Internet is vast. You could spend every waking minute reading or downloading something online and there would still be more. New content is being created every day. In order to maintain any productivity whatsoever, you must limit your browsing to focused, specific tasks. This is limiting one's "online time".

Always-on broadband does not mean you should spend your day refreshing Slashdot, or checking your inbox, web stats, etc. These are examples of information addiction. When you come across an interesting web site, bookmark it (see tip #8). Visit Google with a clear idea of what you want to find. Set mini-goals for your time online, and evaluate them when you've finished. It's hard, but all that information won't help you a bit unless you spend time using it.

Finally, just break away. I shouldn't need to say this. The Internet is wonderful, and I love technology—yet, I need to get away from time to time. Living entirely online can sometimes blind you to new and interesting possibilities on the 'net. The Internet is an enabler: use it to improve your life, rather than enslave it!

I will continue this series as soon as I have time. In the meantime—blog on, fellow evangelists!

Posted by Matt at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2006

HOWTO: Void the Warranty on Your 8GB iPod Nano

DIY/hardware hacking, as they say, "floats our boats." If it floats yours too, motor your boat over to this hack to turn a 4GB Nano into an 8GB Nano. Hardware hacks may be nothing new in net-land, but it's not often they get away with reworking SMDs (Surface Mount Devices) with a bazillion pins, thanks to Chipquick, an easy method for removing SMD components.

iPod board before modding

iPod board before modding

iPod board after adding the extra chip

After adding the extra chip

Note: images from MultiArcade.com.

Update: The hack-a-day write up and comments are very skeptical of this hack. Unfortunately the comments to this effect represent the internet at its finest. This hack is completely plausible. If I were a designer at Apple, I would build my PCB to automatically detect the configuration of the flash modules. It would be crazy not to, especially with the poplarity of the iPod. As the demand for 2GB and 4GB Nanos and supply of flash modules fluctuate, the only thing that need to be done to adjust your assembly line is the number and kind of flash modules soldered to pads. And what about when Apple chooses to release a 6GB Nano? Well the designer smiles and goes on vacation. Is this hack legit? Maybe we'll find out.

Posted by zach at 10:41 AM | Comments (1)

January 10, 2006

Improve Your Life Using the Internet, Pt. 1

The Internet is a wonderful tool, community, knowledge base, sounding board, diversion, and much more. Broadband Internet provides always-on access to the vast Web and instant communication tools (e-mail, instant messaging). Much of the online world is free and forgiving—one doesn't need to worry too much about exploring.

Despite the openness and exploratory nature of the Internet, it is an unfamiliar and frightening world for some. Others become addicted to a constant flow of information and diversion, an information stream that TV could only approximate before the Internet. The potential for fear and addiction is a major stumbling-block for effective Internet use.

The Internet can be used in a non-threatening way that complements daily life; indeed, the Internet can greatly increase productivity when used properly. There are some simple things you can do to improve your Internet usage:

  1. Use Google effectively.
  2. Check your e-mail less frequently.
  3. Obtain and use web-based e-mail for on-the-go access.
  4. Limit your time online.
  5. Eliminate repetitive online tasks.
  6. Filter the available information.
  7. Use the proper tools.
  8. Bookmark.
  9. Do not abuse IM.
  10. Write clear, concise electronic communications.

Read on for a discussion of tips 1 and 2; I'll continue this series this week.

1. Use Google effectively.

Google is an amazing website—a wealth of information is only a few clicks away. This information is just waiting for you to find it—search technology is the only barrier. To use a search engine effectively, you must write good queries. This isn't obvious—if you were interested in golf and typed photography into Google, the results are overwhelming. So much photography! 211 million results; no person could ever go through that many.

Now, Google selected popular and respected websites to occupy the top slots, but perhaps you were interested in something more specific. The key to a good search query is to find the unique key words that relate to what you want to find. This is sometimes a chicken-and-egg scenario, but to continue with our photography example—let's try macro photography. Only 4.25 million results, two orders of magnitude less than our initial, naive query.

We've seen how to dramatically improve the relevance of your search results by introducing additional search terms related to what you're trying to find. These tips barely scratch the surface: Google can look up movie times, music albums, UPS / FedEx shipments, ISBNs, perform calculations, search news, show maps and satellite imagery, and find images.

Using Google in an effective manner will greatly reduce the time you spend wading through search results and following dead-end link trails. An hour or so spent learning Google will save countless hours when you need to find information quickly. Google's broad reach of information can provide insight into just about any aspect of your life—learn a new hobby, find a movie showing near you, or check the satellite imagery to determine if your hotel is really near the beach. Just Google it!

For more information, check out the following Google resources:

Other resources include the Google Guide and O'Reilly's Google Hacks book.

2. Check your e-mail less frequently.

E-mail is a wonderful communications tool. It is a nearly instant method of delivering information to someone electronically and can greatly increase your quality of life. However, just because you can check your e-mail every second doesn't mean that you should, and here's why:

E-mail, though instant, is not instantly actionable. People leave their desks during the day, attend meetings, answer telephone calls, and write other e-mails. It is simply not possible to answer incoming e-mails instantly. Nevertheless, constantly checking e-mail can become a habit, a means of distracting one's self from other tasks. This is not what e-mail is for.

In order to use e-mail properly, you need to determine the minimum unit of time it takes for you to accomplish something. How many minutes do you need before you can accomplish something that requires concentration? This varies by person and profession; the only way to discover this magic number is to track your time.

I recommend that you multiply this number by 1.5 and use that as your e-mail check interval. The extra time is added so that you may actually transition between tasks gracefully, and allow for the inevitable coffee breaks, etc. Checking e-mail any quicker can destroy your productivity, as new, distracting information can come in that is complex enough to destroy the careful thoughts you spent time forming. Remember: if it is very time-critical, someone will contact you through a more immediate means. E-mail is not designed for instant communication, only instant delivery of information.

Using e-mail carefully will decrease the amount of time spent reading, responding to, and getting distracted by e-mail. Grouping your time into uninterrupted chunks that work for you will help improve your productivity—you can even address incoming e-mail in one such block.

There are many more articles available on why you should reduce your e-mail checking frequency:

Posted by Matt at 12:03 PM | Comments (2)

April 04, 2005

Announcing GIMPshop

Last week's news for nerds included Scott Moschella's hacking of the Gimp. His intention, "to make the Gimp accessible to the many Adobe Photoshop users out there" (and, maybe along the way, converting a Photoshop pirate into a Gimp user). This is huge. Especially for those like myself, who are long-time Photoshop users (on Mac and/or Windows) but have long flirted with an all-out switch to Linux. It could give me the best of both worlds, a familiar interface to work with while using an open source application.

For any other takers, it is currently available for Mac OS X 10.3, and was recently ported to Linux too.

Posted by Sharyn at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2005

Crucial Windows Shortcuts

The computer mouse is indispensible. Without it, one would have to tediously move windows, select buttons, and "click" using the keyboard. It is very hard to imagine a modern computer that completely lacks a mouse. For certain tasks, a combination of keyboard shortcuts and the mouse can yield significant speed and convenience benefits.

A word on notation: when two keys are separated by a '-' character, they should be pressed down together. The first key in the sequence (usually ALT, SHIFT, or CTRL) should be pressed down and held first, and then the second key is depressed.

The Shortcuts

Shortcut Result
CTRL-C/X/V Copy, Cut, and Paste to and from the clipboard, respectively.
CTRL-Z Undo previous action.
ALT-TAB Switch between currently open windows. Hold ALT while tapping TAB to cycle through all windows.
"Windows Key" OR CTRL-ESC Open the Start menu.
CTRL-N Create a new file, browser window, etc. Performs the "New" action for the currently focused application.
CTRL-O Open an existing file.
CTRL-W Close the current window or tab, keeping the application open if possible.
ALT-F4 Terminate current application (equivalent to quit)
TAB Skip to the next field in a form or dialog box.
SHIFT-TAB Move to the previous field in a form or dialog box.

There are many more such shortcuts present in all of your favorite applications. The next time you find yourself performing a reptitive task, pay attention to the menus. Usually keyboard shortcuts are displayed next to the menu items. For more advanced tasks, some applications allow the recording of macros, or even the creation of custom programs (MS Office XP is an example).

For additional information, check out the Microsoft Support article on keyboard shortcuts.

Posted by Matt at 09:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack