Wednesday, December 31, 2008

21 Settings, Techniques and Rules All New Camera Owners Should Know

A list of photography tips and techniques that new camera owners might like to work through in the coming weeks. Some are very basic while others go a little deeper - but all have been selected from our archives specifically for beginners and new camera owners. Enjoy.
21 Settings, Techniques and Rules All New Camera Owners Should Know

Can you cure a hangover?

If you've ever dragged yourself into work a little bleary-eyed after a festive night out, you'll have heard people saying "Now what you need is…" followed by some improbable and unpalatable home remedy.
Can you cure a hangover?

How to Clean a Toilet With Coke

Is your toilet full of limescale and other nasty stains and you don't have a chemical toilet cleaner on hand? Or are you looking for less expensive and/or non-toxic cleaning solutions? Don't worry, just reach for the fridge, and grab a Coke!
How to Clean a Toilet With Coke

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Pointless Pursuit of More: When is Enough Enough?

Wants are almost insatiable; that one want satisfied makes way for another. … economically we have a boundless field before us; that there are new wants which will make way endlessly for newer wants, as far as they are satisfied.
The Pointless Pursuit of More: When is Enough Enough?

Everything You Need to Know How to Do in Windows

A review of the most popular Lifehacker Windows tutorials ever published.
Everything You Need to Know How to Do in Windows

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all!

Thanks for stopping by in 2008 and we'll see you again in early 2009. Until then, have a Good One!

Pete

Happy Birthday Earthrise

Forty years ago, the biggest TV audience in history tuned in to watch humankind's first close encounter with another world, as the crew of Apollo 8 reached lunar orbit. Here, the Apollo historian and film-maker Dr Christopher Riley gives his perspective on the mission and how that Christmas Eve of 1968 changed the world.
Happy Birthday Earthrise

Help Clueless Relatives with Their Computer Problems

"Can you take a look at my computer?" is the dreaded question your clueless family member will ask when you're home for the holidays. Let's review some common computer complaints and the easiest solutions.
Help Clueless Relatives with Their Computer Problems

Top 100 Products of 2008

In this post we've done a megalist, the top 100 products of 2008.
Top 100 Products of 2008

News review 2008: The year in science

It was a year when everything seemed to fall apart. Fuel, food, finance - it all went wrong, and the consequences will dog the world next year and beyond. It wasn't all doom and gloom, however.
News review 2008: The year in science

The 12 Graphs of Christmas

It’s the time of year when people from many parts of the earth take time off to eat, drink and be merry, or something like it. But just how excited is the social media universe about the upcoming holidays? Here are some metrics to put the holiday mindshare into perspective.
The 12 Graphs of Christmas

8 Santa Trackers For Christmas Eve 2008, From NORAD Santa To Twitter

It’s Christmas Eve, and that means Santa Claus is out doing his run. But where is Santa right now? Thanks to the internet, there’s a huge number of ways to get Santa sightings. Below, a summary that covers online video sightings, Santa’s phone number (he has elves to talk for him while driving), email updates, tracking him via your mobile phone and yes, even getting Twitter updates.
8 Santa Trackers For Christmas Eve 2008, From NORAD Santa To Twitter

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

How to stick to your New Year’s resolutions – 12 tips.

It’s almost New Year’s Eve, and that means it’s the season for resolutions. I’ve always been part of the 44% of Americans who make (and also break) New Year’s resolutions; I’m a big believer in the power of small changes to make us happier.
How to stick to your New Year’s resolutions – 12 tips

Top 10 Places Already Affected by Climate Change

Cities deep underwater, frozen continents, the collapse of global agriculture: so far, much of the discussion about climate change has focused on these distant, catastrophic effects of a superheated world. What's less talked about is how global warming is making itself felt already. Even the modest temperature rise we've already experienced has set in motion fundamental shifts—and the further warming we can expect in the next few decades has the potential to set off dramatic changes.
Top 10 Places Already Affected by Climate Change

9 Strong Reasons To Eat Slowly

The most prominent benefit of eating slowly is reduced intake of food and, therefore, weight loss, which has its own health benefits like lowering blood pressure or arthritis prevention.
9 Strong Reasons To Eat Slowly

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

How to Get Rid of Fleas

Sometimes pets accidentally bring some friends home to play, and those friends happen to be tiny, blood-sucking, and persistent. Here's how to get rid of the unwelcomed guests.
How to Get Rid of Fleas

Geometry Fail

Triangular square?
Geometry Fail

How to Iron Clothes Without an Iron

If your iron just broke (or you just don't feel like pulling it out) try this little trick from essortment:
How to Iron Clothes Without an Iron

Monday, December 22, 2008

Cricket Australia Launches YouTube Channel

If wall-to-wall TV broadcasts of cricket over summer aren't enough for you, Cricket Australia has the solution: its own YouTube channel for even more leather-and-willow goodness. The channel's currently dominated by background information on current players and recent activities, but Cricket Australia is promising more archive footage in the future.
Cricket Australia Launches YouTube Channel

The World From Above: The Beauty Of Aerial Photography

Aerial photography offers a drastically different perspective than the one you get from shooting on the ground. It includes photographs taken from aircraft, helicopters, balloons, rockets, kites, skydives, etc. It can be a rewarding, challenging and enriching experience. It can produce unique shots that look different than any other ground shot you have ever taken. Scenic flights can give you some great, memorable photos.
The World From Above: The Beauty Of Aerial Photography

Over 238 000 people were killed by catastrophes in 2008

Preliminary Swiss Re sigma estimates that over 238 000 people were killed by catastrophes in 2008, insured losses soar to USD 50 billion.
Over 238 000 people were killed by catastrophes in 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

24 Most Underrated Websites of 2008

Over the past year we’ve reviewed sites from just about every cross-section of the web. And yet, so many ground breaking new services haven’t received the recognition they deserve: we aim to set that straight.
24 Most Underrated Websites of 2008

10 ways to achieve financial success

In scary times like these it’s all too easy to forget the financial basics. The other day, Patricia Q. Brennan, a certified financial planner and professor emerita at Rutgers University, who has been teaching women about personal finance for almost 40 years, gave a talk on the 10 essential things women need to do. We think her advice applies just as well to that other gender.
10 ways to achieve financial success, even now

Nine Creative Ways to Utilize Leftovers from Common Meals

One of the best ways to really extract the value from a meal is to utilize every bit of the leftover food instead of merely throwing it away. Not only does this reduce waste, it also drastically reduces the cost per meal in your household, and over the long term, that can add up to a lot of money.
Nine Creative Ways to Utilize Leftovers from Common Meals

The Best and Worst Places to Stash Cash in Your Home

The current economy has many people considering a simpler method of financial security – cold, hard cash. And while we all agree that a buck has value, it is also a bit vulnerable when not hidden properly. Forget the $3000 hi-tech safe, and stick with these affordable tricks.
The Best and Worst Places to Stash Cash in Your Home

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Living in the Future: The Dangers of Overplanning

Everywhere on and off the web, people talk about the benefits of planning. Plans help you define your goals, help you determine what tasks are needed and when you need to do them. And plans help you stay on track when distractions set in. So, what’s not to love about plans?
Living in the Future: The Dangers of Overplanning

A visit to the coldest town on Earth

Founded by Mongols in the time of Ghengis Kahn, the town of Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited place on earth.
A visit to the coldest town on Earth

David Pogue's Best Photography Tricks

Tech columnist David Pogue pulls out "The Best Photography Tricks of All Time" for anyone shooting digital, including the crafty use of a lampshade.
Digital Photography: David Pogue's Best Photography Tricks

Digital camera Ratings: Good choices for every budget

What could possibly make a compact worth considering for $500 or so? Three such cameras—the Canon PowerShot G10, $470, Panasonic DMC-LX3, $500, and Nikon Coolpix P6000, $450—are loaded with special features.
Digital camera Ratings: Good choices for every budget

The scientific guide to gift wrapping

Need to squash all your presents into the smallest parcel possible? Here's how...
The scientific guide to gift wrapping

Make your own Alka Seltzer for a fraction of the cost

Over on Instructables, Belsey shows how to make your own Alka Seltzer for a fraction of the cost.
Make your own Alka Seltzer for a fraction of the cost

30 Unforgettable Movie Opening Sequences

We all know that first impressions are important, right? Well, the same goes for film. The opening title sequence of a film is that film’s opportunity to make a good first impression on you, the viewer. A well-crafted title sequence introduces the audience to the tone and theme of the film as well as the cast and crew.
30 Unforgettable Movie Opening Sequences

Friday, December 19, 2008

Blackstump Australia Issue 47 - December 21, 2008

This weeks latest new family friendly sites from The Black Stump...the final issue for 2008 - see you in early January!!!
Blackstump Australia Issue 47 - December 21, 2008

FilePhile: Free Unlimited File Transfer

Secure Unlimited File Transfers. Any Computer, Any File, Any Size, Anywhere With Professional Grade Encryption.
FilePhile: Free Unlimited File Transfer

Most Popular DIY Projects of 2008

When it comes to saving time and money, sometimes the best approach means rolling up your sleeves and doing it yourself. Check out the best DIY projects featured here in 2008 and beyond.
Most Popular DIY Projects of 2008

Baby Blogging: 8 Trendy Tools Compared

When baby needs to blog, and in this day and age it seem almost a life necessity with babies twittering from the cradle, where does mommy turn for a child and parent-friendly site for micro and macro baby publishing?
Baby Blogging: 8 Trendy Tools Compared

21 Sites To Find Out What’s Hot Online

Is it important for you to stay informed of daily news? Do you try to always be up-to-date with what people are talking about throughout the world? If “yes” is the answer to both of the questions, then today’s post on how to spot internet hot trends is right for you!
21 Sites To Find Out What’s Hot Online

Thursday, December 18, 2008

What is Gibberish to One is an Etymology to Another

Gibberish is an undignified word, and this is the reason we have difficulties in discovering its origin.
What is Gibberish to One is an Etymology to Another

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Internet Explorer Exploit Temporary Fix Now Available

Microsoft will be pushing out an unscheduled security patch for Internet Explorer's recently-discovered vulnerability tomorrow, but you can get a temporary patch from British software security firm Prevx today.
Internet Explorer Exploit Temporary Fix Now Available

Preservation for Home Movies

Home movies all too often get relegated to basements where they sit with recordings of made-for-TV movies or other equally-neglected videos. Of course, there are always the semi-annual walks down memory lane where people pull out the documentation of times past, but as a general rule, our home movies are going the way of dinosaurs. Please add to the growing collection at Internet Archive. Keep your footage safe while sharing in a collective vision to archive our heritage. If you have uploaded a home movie on the archive and would like it added to this collection, please contact skip@avgeeks.com.
Preservation for Home Movies

Disk Wipe Utility

Disk wiping describes the process of deleting data of a partition or entire hard drive so that the data cannot be recovered by data recovery software. Copy Wipe is a disk wipe utility for DOS or Windows that can be used to delete the contents of a partition or hard drive permanently. It can also be used to copy data from one partition or hard drive to another as well hence the name Copy Wipe.
Disk Wipe Utility

OPEN WEB AWARDS: People’s Choice Winners

Today we’re pleased to announce the winners of The 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, a multilingual, international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements of websites and services in 26 categories.
OPEN WEB AWARDS: People’s Choice Winners

How To Polish Shoes With A Banana

No need for shoe polish when you have a banana around. You can eat the banana itself, just remember to keep the banana skin.
How To Polish Shoes With A Banana

Effective Communication

We’ve all seen spam emails and hyped-up sales pages that look so sleazy. We see large fonts, boldface, red text, and sometimes even blinking text. Everyone claims to be able to change your life with this one secret you absolutely need. Effortless abundance is there for the taking, but you must ACT NOW because they only have one product left.
Effective Communication

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

How to Convert Vinyl to MP3

These two videos show you how to convert your records to MP3 format using a free program called audacity.
How to Convert Vinyl to MP3

6 Ways to Convert a PDF to a JPG

PDF files can be a pain. You need a special program to view them which could mean long loading times.
6 Ways to Convert a PDF to a JPG

Most Popular Free Windows Downloads of 2008

Here's the full run-down of the 12 most popular Windows downloads of 2008.
Most Popular Free Windows Downloads of 2008

Cool Tools: Gift Guides 2008

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. By now, you're either finished (congrats) or catching up. Here's a few gift guides we recommend, because unlike a lot of year-end round-ups, they don't simply list what's new or flashy, but in most cases make a compelling case for why the stuff's interesting, fun and worth considering.
Cool Tools: Gift Guides 2008

Australian court rules that Facebook "Wall" scribbles are legal notice

An Australian court has ruled that a posting on someone's Facebook page can serve as legal notice.
Australian court rules that Facebook "Wall" scribbles are legal notice

The 10 Most Popular Slide Shows of 2008: Scientific American

Here we present Scientific American.com's most-viewed slide shows of 2008.
The 10 Most Popular Slide Shows of 2008