Tuesday, August 31, 2010

How Strong is your Password? Check your Password Strength Online

This is common knowledge; you should use a combination of alphabets, numerical digits, and special characters (!, @) to create strong passwords. Yet, the most commonly used password on the Internet is 123456 followed by 12345 – see full list.
How Strong is your Password? Check your Password Strength Online

Add Quick Brown Fox Text in Microsoft Word

If you want to insert some dummy text in a Word document, start a new paragraph, type =lorem() and hit Enter.
Add Quick Brown Fox Text in Microsoft Word

NASA Puts Historic Image Collections on Flickr

Three compilations of historic NASA images have been released on The Commons on Flickr, the fruit of a collaborative effort between Flickr, NASA and the Internet Archive.
NASA Puts Historic Image Collections on Flickr

Monday, August 30, 2010

How to Transfer Your iTunes Collection from One Computer to Another

If you’re an iTunes user, when you get a new machine you probably want to transfer all of your content to it. Here we show you a few different ways to everything from one computer to another.
How to Transfer Your iTunes Collection from One Computer to Another

HOW TO: Watch the 2010 Emmy Awards Online [VIDEO]

As per usual, there’s no legal way to stream video of the whole 2010 Emmy Awards ceremony live online, but there are a few ways you can use the web to supplement your TV viewing experience.
HOW TO: Watch the 2010 Emmy Awards Online [VIDEO]

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Repurposing an Old Computer for Any Room in the House

Most of us have our computers on our desks or our laps, but there are so many other places in and out of our homes that can make a great spot for an old PC. The smaller your PC the more places you can put it, so laptops are obvious choices for moving around to different parts of your home. We've posted before with suggestions for repurposing an old laptop so be sure to check those out as well.
Repurposing an Old Computer for Any Room in the House

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 18/2010

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 18/2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

Katrina: 5 years later - Then and Now

In the five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, some areas have rebuilt while others remain unchanged. CNN photographers and iReporters collaborated in a powerful past-meets-present photography project to show what the region looks like today.
Katrina: 5 years later - Then and Now:

Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions Of All Time

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits,” Thomas Edison once said. But is hustling all it takes? Is progress always deliberate? Sometimes genius arrives not by choice – but by chance. Below are Gizmodo's 10 favourite serendipitous innovations.
Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions Of All Time

Microsoft Australia makes Meter Maids ‘apology’

Microsoft Australia has been forced to apologise for choosing to use the Australian Gold Coast’s “Meter Maids” during its Tuesday-night welcome party, with Microsoft Australia MD Tracey Fellows declaring it “just wrong” and “unacceptable”.
Microsoft Australia makes Meter Maids ‘apology’

The Ballad of Cat Bin Lady: The Internet's Latest Viral Villain

It’s a thin line between Internet Hero and Internet Horror, and it seems that for one woman in Coventry, England, that line has been clearly crossed — over to the “horror” side, that is. Mary Bale, 45, found herself caught in the crosshairs of the reputation executor that is the web this week after a surveillance video of her placing a cat in a garbage bin went viral. Now, the Internet is replete with parodies, groups and spin-offs dedicated to bringing Bale down. Ah, what we can achieve when we really apply ourselves…
The Ballad of Cat Bin Lady: The Internet's Latest Viral Villain

Revenge of the Cat

Cat, unaware of video camera, drops middle-aged woman into trash can.
Revenge of the Cat

Snapshot: bike lane indicators get straight to the point

Photograph was taken by Carlton Reid, and the stencil street art it documents is the work of Peter Drew of Adelaide, Australia.
Snapshot: bike lane indicators get straight to the point

Thursday, August 26, 2010

List of Free and Fast Public DNS Servers

DNS (or Domain Name Servers) is basically a system to convert domain names into IP addresses. Domain names are easier to understand, memorize and write for humans while computers only use IP addresses to communicate. Normally, the ISPs provide their users with their own default DNS server IPs which are often unreliable and slow. There are many better, faster, safer and more reliable public DNS servers for your everyday use. Here is a list of all such fast & free public DNS servers along with their IPs.
List of Free and Fast Public DNS Servers

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Are you safer in the rear or front seat of cars?

An Australian study using U.S. data has shown that 50-year-old passengers in the back seat of cars are at more risk of injury or death than those in the front seat because safety features are lacking. What about younger adults and children?
Are you safer in the rear or front seat of cars?

Lose weight with 2 glasses of water before meals

A U.S. study has shown that drinking two eight-ounce glasses of water before meals helps people to consume fewer calories during meals. And, fewer calories consumed means a way to lose weight!
Lose weight with 2 glasses of water before meals

Use Cotton Strips for No-Fuss Houseplant Watering

If you'd like to keep your houseplants well-watered despite vacation plans or forgetfulness, you'd be hard pressed to find a simpler solution than this DIY, no fuss, no electricity needed, watering system.
Use Cotton Strips for No-Fuss Houseplant Watering

Top 5 Free Tools to Speed up Copying Files in Windows

When you try to copy or move large number of files on Windows 7 (or Vista), it can get on your nerves specially if the destination directory is on a different partition or a different folder under the same partition. This is when you would need a File copying tool which can act as an alternative for Windows Copy command. There are several such file copying tools available, some of which are paid and others free. Since most of the free ones are good enough, we have reviewed and listed down five of the best file copying tools to speed up your Windows experience.
Top 5 Free Tools to Speed up Copying Files in Windows

2 Great Ways to Disable iPhone’s Auto Rotation Feature

iPhone’s built-in accelerometer offers a simple way to switch between portrait and landscape mode. As all know, you can simply rotate iPhone sideway and it responds automatically to display content in landscape. I love this slick feature. At the same time, I find it quite irritating for a simple reason: I hate it turn sideway when I lay in bed to browse web and check my email.
2 Great Ways to Disable iPhone’s Auto Rotation Feature

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

What Can I Do With A Dead Hard Drive?

Before we delve into gutting your hard drive and repurposing its guts, let’s talk data security. While you didn’t specify what “dead hard drive” means, we’ll assume this means the disk is inoperable and any means of recovering the disk for use using software have failed. If the disk has truly sensitive data on it—data worth enough that someone would invest significant time and energy in recovering it—the only safe thing to do is to reference the Symphony of Destruction portion of our guide to properly erasing your physical media. If, on the other hand, the disk was mostly populated with your bootleg Bon Jovi concert rips, it’s ripe for all manner of DIY projects.
What Can I Do With A Dead Hard Drive?