Why Google Public DNS Sucks For Aussies

Google Public DNS is designed to speed up browsing, but depending on the kind of content you want to access, it can often have the reverse effect. Dan Warne at APC points out that while Google Public DNS (or other alternative DNS services such as OpenDNS) can speed up general browsing to sites by resolving domain names faster, it will often have a damaging effect on services like iTunes and Windows Update which use Akamai’s load balancing technology to spread server load. Using Google for lookups will convince Akamai that you’re actually located in the US. It will also (as several Lifehacker readers have noted in the past) play havoc with any unmetered content your ISP offers (such as iView access), since it won’t be routed through the appropriate servers.
Why Google Public DNS Sucks For Aussies

Have these Allusions Eluded You?

Have you ever wondered where the titles of novels, plays, films and the like come from? Some are obvious, at least after you’ve read the book or seen the movie, as with Star Wars and The English Patient, but many titles are not transparent and leave you wondering just why the author chose them.
Have these Allusions Eluded You?

Password Protect And Disguise Folders With PenyuLocker

Encryption is the only way to go if you are serious about protecting data from unauthorized access. Programs like True Crypt or Microsoft’s Bitlocker ensure that data is protected by a secure algorithm so that it can only be accessed by the user who knows the password to unlock the data.
Password Protect And Disguise Folders With PenyuLocker

Monitor File Changes With Disk Pulse

Windows freeware Disk Pulse monitors file changes on connected and configured hard drives. This can be interesting for several purposes including monitoring installations of software, server environments or security.
Monitor File Changes With Disk Pulse

Scan Your Facebook Settings for Privacy Loopholes

Facebook has run into multiple problems in recent times mainly due to their handling of privacy concerns of their users. The most popular social networking site constantly changes its privacy terms and their latest changes have resulted in people ending up sharing more than what they actually intended to the general public. This has happened because of changes in Facebook’s default privacy settings.
Scan Your Facebook Settings for Privacy Loopholes

Ask Lifehacker: How Do I Get Australia-Only Results On Google?

Dear Lifehacker,
Not sure if you have done a story on this, but with Google’s site redesign they have removed the “pages from Australia” button. How do you only search Aussie sites now?
Thanks, Peter
Ask Lifehacker: How Do I Get Australia-Only Results On Google?

Web Browsers Leave 'Fingerprints' Behind as You Surf the Net

New research by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has found that an overwhelming majority of web browsers have unique signatures -- creating identifiable "fingerprints" that could be used to track you as you surf the Internet.
Web Browsers Leave 'Fingerprints' Behind as You Surf the Net

Nachofoto Is Not Your Average Image Search Engine

Nachofoto is a real-time image search engine with a focus on trending topics and rising search terms.
Nachofoto Is Not Your Average Image Search Engine

Facebook News & Commentary

A Review of Facebook News & Commentary (And Lots of It)
Facebook News

How To Quit Facebook Without Actually Quitting Facebook

With all the recent privacy issues surrounding Facebook, a lot of people are considering quitting Facebook altogether. If you’re not ready to take it that far, here’s how to avoid the privacy breaches without completely deleting your account and losing touch with your friends.
How To Quit Facebook Without Actually Quitting Facebook

Facebook: Facts You Probably Didn't Know

Did you know that the second most popular Facebook Page is that of Homer Simpson, right behind Michael Jackson? Or that the overall amount of time spent on Facebook each month is 8.3 billion hours? (We shudder to think how much of that time is spent on FarmVille).
Facebook: Facts You Probably Didn't Know

Optical illusion: impossible anti-grav ramps

Koukichi Sugihara's "Impossible motion" -- a cunning arrangement of cardboard ramps carefully skewed to create the illusion that balls roll up them -- won top honors at the Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences' Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest 2010. It has a delightful 3D physicality, being a real object made out of atoms, that makes it especially wonderful.
Optical illusion: impossible anti-grav ramps

The Alphabets of Technology [Geeky Fun]

This post is dedicated for all the geeky readers (and their kids) of TechPP! I am sure you know about the English alphabet, but here is an easier and interesting way to remember them! Learn the ABC of Technology the right way.
The Alphabets of Technology [Geeky Fun]

Greens propose three-pronged alternative to mandatory filtering

In a lengthy speech in the Senate, Greens communications spokesman, senator Scott Ludlam, has roundly condemned the Government's mandatory filtering plan and set out a three-pronged alternative approach to protecting children online.
Greens propose three-pronged alternative to mandatory filtering

Banana Fail

Yellow curved fruit?
Banana Fail

169 Best Illusions--A Sampling

169 Best Illusions, contains a smorgasbord of static images that appear to be moving, “impossible” sculptures, freaky faces, ghostly afterimages and even some edible illusions.
169 Best Illusions--A Sampling

Lifehacker’s Australian Airport Public Transport Guide, 2010 Edition

Cheap airfares don’t look so cheap if you have to spend a fortune getting to the airport in the first place. Lifehacker rounds up the public transport options to get to and from Australia’s capital city airports.
Lifehacker’s Australian Airport Public Transport Guide, 2010 Edition

10 Free iPhone Apps To Learn A New Skill In 10 Minutes

As well as options for almost unimaginably varied entertainment, the powerful iPhone platform can be used as a learning tool. Thanks to kind-hearted developers, many of the phone’s best educational apps are available completely free.
10 Free iPhone Apps To Learn A New Skill In 10 Minutes

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 10/2010 - May 23, 2010

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 10/2010 - May 23, 2010

Use Windows 7 Libraries To Quickly Load And Save Files

Libraries are a new feature of the Windows 7 operating system. They are basically an advanced version of the documents and settings folder hierarchy as they allow the user to select multiple folders into a library. Each folder’s contents are then accessible in the library folder. But libraries have another useful use. They are displayed prominently in Windows Explorer. This means it is easier to access them than most other folders in Windows. Even better is the fact that they are also displayed in every standard save and load window making them ideal for quick save and load selections in Windows.
Use Windows 7 Libraries To Quickly Load And Save Files