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Kamis, 29 Desember 2011

Use the Valsalva Maneuver to Prevent Ear Pain When Flying [Flying]

Use the Valsalva Maneuver to Prevent Ear Pain When FlyingEar-popping pain is one of the hazards of flying. For some, especially kids or those with colds, Pain In The Ear or Airplane Ear can be quite severe. Mun Fitness Blog suggests several tips for preventing this condition, including the "Valsalva maneuver."

In the Valsalva manuever, you close your mouth and pinch your nose shut and exhale forcibly through your nostrils. You'll hear a "popping" sound and the pressure should be equalized in your ears. (Unequal pressure in your ears when the plane takes off or lands is the cause of Airplane Ear.)

Besides several other suggestions for preventing ear pain when flying, Mun Fitness Blog also offers a great tip for preventing ear pain that happens when driving:

Ear pain also happens while sitting in a car which come down from a steep mountain quickly with the window rolled up. Leave a crack in the window when descending or climbing a steep mountain will help.

I've always just chewed gum when flying. What's your strategy?

How to prevent pain in the ear when you are in the plane? | Mun Fitness Blog

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Hack a TV Remote to Control Your Computer's Audio [DIY]

Hack a TV Remote to Control Your Computer's AudioIf you use your computer for playing music, chances are at least once you've wished you had a remote control for it. Hacker Owen Trueblood wanted the same thing, so he hacked a TV remote to work with an infrared sensor attached to his computer.

Using an old TV remote, an ATtiny13 microcontroller, and an infrared receiver pulled out of an old VCR, he was able to set up the remote to control the computer's volume by hacking the IR sensor into a USB. Seeing as how most computers don't come with a remote, this is handy if you're using a computer specifically for music playing all day long. You can find the full guide, including the source code for the control app on the computer over on Hackniac.

A Tiny TV Remote Receiver | Hackniac via Hack A Day

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TweetDeck Releases New Native Client for Windows and OS X, Isn't Quite as Feature-Filled as the AIR Version [TweetDeck]

TweetDeck Releases New Native Client for Windows and OS X, Isn't Quite as Feature-Filled as the AIR VersionWindows/Mac: A brand new version of TweetDeck is out that ditches Adobe AIR and brings its customizable columns to native Windows and Mac apps—though it's a bit more basic than the old version.

Twitter is going through a major interface change, but TweetDeck users may not have realized that our favorite Twitter client is doing the same—likely to keep up with Twitter's overhaul, since Twitter now owns TweetDeck. TweetDeck released this update pretty silently—no word on their blog, and your current copy of TweetDeck won't notify you of the update because its an entirely new application. As such, we didn't even realize it happened for a few days—but you can head to TweetDeck.com right now to download the new client.

The new client fixes a lot of the weird behavior caused by AIR in the old client. Everything feels a bit smoother, especially the scrolling. However, it's also missing a lot of the features that made the AIR client great, like keyboard shortcuts, color palette customizations, and lots of the other little settings that let you customize how you view Twitter. Hopefully these will come back soon, but TweetDeck has stayed pretty quiet about the entire rollout. Luckily, a lot of the things that make TweetDeck great—like a customizable column interface—are still there, and you can download the new client and try it out without uninstalling the AIR version you already have—they're two completely separate programs. So hit the link below, give the new client a whirl, and let us know what you think in the comments.

TweetDeck is a free download for Windows and Mac OS X.

TweetDeck

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Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011 [Best Of Lifehacker 2011]

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011Linux may not be the world's most popular desktop OS, but that doesn't mean it has to take a back seat to its proprietary brethren. Here are our best Linux downloads and posts from 2011.

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

If you have two or more computers at one desk, you don't want two or more sets of keyboards and mice cluttering up your workspace, too. You can buy a hardware gadget that lets you share a single keyboard and mouse with several computers (which involves a mess of tangled wires), or you could use a free software solution called Synergy. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

The command line can be quite powerful, but typing in long commands and file paths gets tedious pretty quickly. Here are some shortcuts that will have you running long, tedious, or complex commands with just a few keystrokes. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

If you're out of the house a lot but still want access to files on your home computer, one of the best ways to solve that problem involves setting up your computer as a remotely accessible home media server. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

In its latest update, much-beloved media center application XBMC added one-click add-on installation, bringing browser-like extensions to your Media center. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

More and more, the fragments of your life exist as particles on a disk mounted inside your computer—disks susceptible to temperature changes, power surges, fire, theft, static, and just plain wear and tear. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Like most Ubuntu updates, version 11.10 isn't a huge overhaul; rather, it improves on the big changes made in 11.04, by cleaning up the Dash, overhauling the Ubuntu Software Center, and bringing in some new default software. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Your desktop is your virtual home, and much like you're real home, customizing it to fit your needs and style can make the difference between between a drab and depressing workspace and one you're excited to work on. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Want to secure your computer with the same techniques used by the National Security Agency? Turns out the NSA has published guides for securing Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris operating systems using methods that "are currently being used throughout the government and by numerous entities as a security baseline for their systems." More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Google recently released their own line of Chrome OS-clad netbooks, but with only a few choices and a somewhat high price tag, you might be more comfortable running Chrome OS on your own machine. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

If you've been meaning to try out Linux but felt too overwhelmed, we've got all the info you need to get started. Here are our five lessons on getting a working Linux partition up and running. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Linux may not be the most popular OS around, but we're not about to sit here and ignore it. Here are our favorite downloads for everyone's favorite open source operating system. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

The popular Linux distribution Ubuntu recently finalized its move to the new Unity interface, while other Linux distributions are moving to the new GNOME 3 shell. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

You can customize nearly every last inch of your Linux installation to fit your liking, and it starts with choosing the right desktop environment. Whether you're a Linux beginner or you're just looking for a new interface, here's an overview of how desktop environments work and how to pick the right one for you. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Netbooks aren't the fastest computers, but they can be useful-as long as they're usable. If you want your netbook to work and feel like a real computer rather than a toy, I can't recommend Lubuntu enough-it makes my netbook feel like a whole new machine. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Lightweight Portable Security (LPS-Public) is a bootable live CD designed by the Department of Defense so that government employees can access data from a public computer without worrying about security violations. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Whether your computer already boots pretty quickly or you're trying to eke some extra spee dout of your old computer, free command line tool E4rat will seriously decrease your boot time. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

The Unity-powered Ubuntu 11.04 is finally out, and with it comes a slew of new keyboard shortcuts for the Unity interface. They can seem a bit overwhelming at first, so spend a few days getting acclimated with this wallpaper-formatted shortcut list. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

If you're in love with Arch Linux but are tired of the painstaking installation process, ArchBang is the perfect distribution for you. It has everything you love about Arch, but installs in just a few minutes with everything you need. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

Kristóf Kovács put together a list of 20 hugely useful command-line tools, most of which are available for Linux. Many of them are somewhat obscure, improved versions of simpler (more ancient) tools, while others are staples for experienced command-line users the world over. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011

We've gone through Windows and Mac maintenance, but what about Linux users? Luckily, it's pretty simple. More »

There you have it. Despite its lower popularity, Linux is full of great tools and endless possibilities. Note that we left out a few of our more cross-platform posts to make room for the Linux-centric stuff we know you guys wanted to see—so you might want to take a quick gander at our most popular Windows and Mac posts of the year to check out some other Linux-compatible projects we covered this year. And, whether your favorite made the list or not, we'd love to hear about the Linux downloads and posts you loved this year in the comments.

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Rabu, 28 Desember 2011

Creative Thinking Is a Specific Process That Can Be Replicated [Creativity]

Creative Thinking Is a Specific Process That Can Be ReplicatedWe tend to look at creativity as a wild force that often eludes us but we can sometimes grasp and use to create amazing things. Tony Schwartz, president of The Energy Project, believes that when we're thinking creatively it's the result of a series of events, and when we know that series we can replicate it and think creatively whenever desired.

Schwartz outlines the following four steps as necessary in the creative thinking process, jumping from the left brain to the right and back again:

Saturation: Once you know the creative task at hand, immerse yourself in similar work created by the masters and study it.Incubation: Walk away from the task and let it sit in your head for awhile so the right hemisphere of the brain can process the thoughts creatively.Illumination: Do something to break up your day. If you're at your desk, step away and go somewhere else. You likely get your best ideas away from your usual surroundings so put yourself in a new situation to let that "aha!" moment surface.Verification: Test your inspiration and create.

These steps are designed to immerse you in creative work and keep you from sitting at your desk, waiting for an idea to surface. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is this: creativity doesn't come from stagnation, so keep your mind moving and it'll yield better results.

How do you think creatively? Do you have a specific process that works for you? Let us know in the comments.

Title image by Mercedes.

How to Think Creatively | The Atlantic

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A Cup of Coffee Before Exercise May Make You More Motivated to Go the Distance [Health]

A Cup of Coffee Before Exercise May Make You More Motivated to Go the Distance Everyone knows a cup of coffee can make you more alert and feel energized, but researchers from Coventry University in the UK think they've uncovered a solid, scientific reason why a little caffeine before your workout may be beneficial. The scientists conducted a small study, and observed that participants who enjoyed a caffeinated drink hung in on their workout much longer than participants who drank the same drink, only caffeine-free.

The Coventry University study was very small—only about 13 athletes—and it only serves as a gateway to additional research. Even so, it does point to a conclusion that many of us have known for a while—that a little caffeine helps us stick out tough situations a little longer, and stay alert when we would have otherwise started to tire. The researchers point to the fact that since it was removed from the list of banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency, a study involving over 20,000 Olympic athletes shows that caffeine was their new drug of choice.

The mechanisms behind how caffeine motivates people to exercise longer and harder are still poorly understood, but researchers think that caffeine may reduce the buildup of adenosine in a person's muscles. Adenosine is the chemical responsible for making it more difficult for our muscles to exert force, and makes us feel fatigued when we keep pushing ourselves when we exercise. Whether the study results will pan out for lighter aerobic exercise remains to be seen, and researchers say they're not clear on how much caffeine is required to get the desired effect in an average person, but early results from this and other studies involving caffeine and athletes are all promising.

For the time being, it definitely can't hurt to have your morning cup of coffee before you hit the treadmill—you never know, you might stay on a bit longer. Just make sure to stay hydrated while you work out. Do you have your morning cup before you work out, or rely on a caffeinated drink to keep your energy up when you exercise? Share your workout tips in the comments below.

Photo by Jennie Faber.

How Coffee Can Galvanize Your Workout | The New York Times

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Why Studying Abroad Is Worth the Expense [Infographics]

Why Studying Abroad Is Worth the ExpenseStudying abroad is one of the ten most important things we learned about college, but it can be expensive depending on where you go. Studies, however, say that studying abroad can really pay off for your post-college career and employability.

This infographic from Course Hero breaks down the ROI of studying abroad, illustrating how it improves students' resumes, job interviews, and employee skills. An amazing 73% of employers, for example, said study abroad is important when evaluating job candidates for a junior-level position.

If you have the opportunity to study abroad, really consider it. It may be one of the best things you do in college and for your future career. If you have study abroad experience or tips to share with us, post 'em in the comments.

Why Studying Abroad Is Worth the Expense

The ROI of Studying Abroad | Course Hero

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Take Vacations When You're in the Middle of a Project, Not When You're Finished [Vacation]

Take Vacations When You're in the Middle of a Project, Not When You're FinishedConventional wisdom dictates that the best time to take a vacation is after you've finished a project, and you can relax with a clear head. Stepcase Lifehack explains that this isn't always best: in fact, you're better off taking vacations in the middle of that big project, when you're feeling discouraged.

Finishing a project, they say, gives you momentum. Having a "win" under your belt motivates you to keep going strong, and taking a vacation can kill all the benefits that success brought you. Instead, they say, you should take those vacations when you're mentally tired and really need it:

Entrepreneurs don't need vacations to stay motivated, but we do need to manage our energy level, and vacations are a big part of that; it's important for us to take breaks, breath some fresh air, and get some perspective on what we're doing. In other words, even though we don't need vacations as rewards, they're great for resting and recharging—just so long as we don't take one at a time that will take away our momentum, or kill an opportunity.

For an entrepreneur (or anyone who is in charge of their own income), vacations don't come when projects are complete. On the contrary – they should come when the projects are still in progress, but you're tired, and need to recharge to carry the ball the rest of the way.

Take Vacations When You're in the Middle of a Project, Not When You're FinishedSee the diagram to the right for an example of what they say this would look like. It's obviously a bit more complicated than that, but it's a fairly interesting philosophy. Hit the link to read more, and if you've had any experience with this, let us know about your optimal vacation time in the comments.

Photo by Mandolin Davis.

The Absolute WORST Day to Take a Vacation (It's Not When You Think!) | Stepcase Lifehack

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The Snow-Covered Desktop [Featured Desktop]

The Snow-Covered Desktop Flickr user Sebastian Nielsen is feeling the cold temperatures, and wanted a desktop that was both informative but also reflects his hope for a white Christmas. He took this serene, snow-covered desktop and populated it with Rainmeter widgets to give him quick access to folders and his Google Calendar appointments.

If you want the same look for your Windows system, here's what you'll need:

If you need help getting all of the components to look just right, head over to tutorial on setting up Rainmeter to get started, or head over to Sebastian's flickr page and ask. If you have a Mac or are running Linux, you can approximate some of the same effects using GeekTool or Conky, respectively, but not everything.

Do you have a great, beautifully productive desktop of your own that you'd like to share? Go ahead and post it to the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Group with a description of how you made it and it may be the next featured desktop.

Dual Screen Desktop | Flickr

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Ask and Answer Questions About Gift Giving Outside of Your Immediate Family [Help Yourself]

Ask and Answer Questions About Gift Giving Outside of Your Immediate FamilyEvery day we're on the lookout for ways to make your work easier and your life better, but Lifehacker readers are smart, insightful folks with all kinds of expertise to share, and we want to give everyone regular access to that exceptional hive mind. Help Yourself is a daily thread where readers can ask and answer questions about tech, productivity, life hacks, and whatever else you need help with.

With the holiday season upon us, many of you are shopping furiously for gifts. However, with the economy the way it is, getting a gift for everyone you would like to may not be possible. We've discussed the idea of killing off participating in gift exchanges. We've also given an argument against giving your boss a holiday gift. But where do you draw the line? Do you give gifts to members of your immediate family, co-workers, etc.? Ask and answer questions about gift giving outside of your immediate family in the comments.

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Selasa, 27 Desember 2011

Learn How to Make Over 500 Finger Foods with the Holiday Finger-Food Combination Generator [Food]

Learn How to Make Over 500 Finger Foods with the Holiday Finger-Food Combination GeneratorFinger foods are great for holiday parties, and the varieties you can make are almost endless. All you need are 3 ingredients: a base, spread, and garnish. Mark Bittman's finger-food combination generator (like a flowchart for foodies) suggests hundreds of possibilities.

For the base, consider not just crunchy bread or pita chips, but also veggies that make great containers, like celery sticks. Add a spread (the "glue") for the main flavor, such as hummus or pesto. Then, finally a garnish for added flavor and texture: minced bacon, perhaps, or nuts. Voila! Hors d'oeuvres for entertaining.

Follow the link below for the flowchart or share your favorite party food ideas with us in the comments.

The Holiday Finger-Food Combination Generator | The New York Times

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How Can I Mass Delete Friends on Facebook? [Facebook]

How Can I Mass Delete Friends on Facebook?With Timeline rolling out, I want to take the chance to clean up my Facebook account. I could delete unwanted friends I added willy-nilly one by one, but that would take forever. Is there an easy way to do it?

Yes, there is, but you have to do it before you start using Timeline. FacebookDeletes is a Greasemonkey script for Firefox that will let you delete multiple Facebook friends with a simple checkbox. With the script installed, you need to head over to your friends page where you'll see a "Facebook Delete Friends" button. Now, you just need to check the boxes of the friends you DON'T want to delete.

If you already have Timeline installed, there doesn't seem to be a clear way to delete a large group of friends at once, so if you want to do some housekeeping, you should do it now.

FacebookDeletes

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Timeline is Now Available for All Facebook Users [Facebook]

Timeline is Now Available for All Facebook UsersFacebook's new Timeline feature, which offers a new way to present your Facebook profile to the world, has gone live today, but you'll have to opt in to get the new features right now.

To get Timeline on your profile, you need to first head over to Facebook's official Timeline page and click the "Get It Now" button at the bottom of the page. Once you enable it on your account, you need to set everything up. You have a seven day review period to tinker with the design before anyone else can see it, or you can hit the publish button and get it going immediately.

The review process is there so you can fiddle with your settings. As with the previous version of Facebook, you can hide or delete status updates, but you can now highlight the updates you want to feature on your Timeline by clicking on the star to the right of the update. You can also pick out a banner image for the top of your profile. A new tool called Activity Log also makes its debut and you can review every single thing you've ever done on Facebook since you opened your account.

As best as we can tell, your privacy setting seem to remain intact, but as with any Facebook update, you may want to check and make sure you're not accidentally sharing information you don't want to. Timeline comes with a few new settings of its own, including rules regarding who can post on your Timeline and who can't, so it's worth reviewing your settings before hitting the publish button.

Timeline: Now Available Worldwide | The Facebook Blog

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What's the Best Way to Use My Holiday Bonus? [Ask Lifehacker]

What's the Best Way to Use My Holiday Bonus?Dear Lifehacker,
I'm really lucky to be expecting a nice holiday bonus this year, but I'm not sure what to do with the extra money. Should I save all of it? Use it to pay off some credit card debt? Then again, I could think of a lot of things to do with the bonus, like get some new games. What do you think I should do?
Thanks,
Appreciative Worker

Dear Appreciative,
Congrats on the bonus. Yours is a good dilemma to have. How to best spend or invest your bonus might depend on how much you have to work with: If the bonus is only $25, for example, put it towards something that will enrich your life, like some good books or one of the cool items we like the most.

Since it's sort of like found money, you technically wouldn't notice not having that bonus money, which makes it great for making more headway on your financial goals like getting rid of debt or saving for emergencies. Here's the order of basic financial priorities, according to financial advisers quoted in the Wall Street Journal:

Debt: pay off high interest credit cards and loans firstEmergency savings: Then save enough for 3 to 6 month of expenses (in today's economy, 8 to 12 months may be wiser, however)Retirement savings: Contribute at least as much as needed to get a company match in your 401(k)College savingsMortgage prepaymentBuying insuranceEstate planning

Using this as a guideline, apply small bonuses like $100 or so first to debt. If you have no debt, add it to your emergency fund. If you have a decent cash reserve already, put it into your retirement account. And so on.

If you have more money, say a couple of hundred dollars or more, you could use some of it for savings, some for debt repayment, and some for fun. This way, you continue building your financial foundation, but also get to enjoy your windfall.

The actual percentage breakdown is up to you and would vary according to your personal situation, but a 50/30/20 rule is a good general guideline: Use 50% to pay off debt, 30% for savings, and 20% for fun.

So, for example, if you have a $1,000 bonus, apply $500 to reducing debt, $300 to savings, and $200 for fun.

When it comes to spending your fun money, you may be happiest spending on experiences rather than possessions: Things like a weekend getaway or concert tickets rather than toys. It also is smart to spend your money where you spend the most time: a good chair or mattress, for example. Buy radically improved everyday things like good shoes to improve the quality of your life.

The 50/30/20 rule is just a guideline and you should definitely adjust for your situation.

For example, if you have a lot of high-interest debt, you would probably be better off spending more towards debt reduction: 80%, for example, to paying off your credit cards, 10% to savings, and 10% for fun. (I believe it's important to keep some fun money in there.)

The exception might be if you have an insecure job and you think you might be laid off in the near future (it doesn't sound like it, though, with your bonus). Then it might be wiser to apply more to savings than to debt reduction: 50% for savings, 30% for debt, 20% for fun.

If you have no debt but an emergency fund that only covers a couple of months (or less) of expenses, apply the the 50% to savings. So, 80% for savings, 20% for fun.

With a solid financial foundation—a healthy emergency fund and no debt—apply the money to your long-term savings and retirement. Long-term savings would be things like a new car five years from now. So, say, 50% to long-term savings, 30% to retirement, and 20% for fun. Or you could increase the fun money percentage since you're doing well.

MSN Money has a calculator tool used for budgeting that can give you a breakout of where your money should go. (Replace "needs" with "debt repayment" and switch the wants and savings percentages around.)

Again, however, the actual percentages aren't as important as making sure you're building a solid foundation and put your money where it will benefit you most. There's no one right way to spend extra money, so do what's best for your financial situation.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lifehacker

P.S. How would you spend a bonus?

Photo by Florence McGinn.



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Lumia 800 Unlocked Online for $599.99

You can now get the Lumia 800 online for a penny under the magical $600 from two online retailers (SamStores & WorldWideVoltage)-first time I hear of them but according to senior google ‘SamStores’ has a pretty decent record. As far as I know 600 dollars is the cheapest price for a Lumia 800 so far (besides the Cyber-Monday on Amazon Denmark that downgraded it to 400 Euros = ~$520), either way that deals gone now (went out really quick too, I was watching it in hopes of it being actually 50% off- fat chance) so if you’re looking to save a couple 20s on the 800 hit the source links below.

SamStores

WorldWideVoltage

Category: Mango, Nokia, Windows Phone

About Aliqudsi: Heyyo, names Ali- Currently a third year Dental Student from Chicago; studying in Jordan. I love all sorts of gadgets (Current Phone = Green Nokia N8, Dream phone = Cyan Lumia 800 if I can ever afford it:/ ) oh and cookies.. don't forget the cookies. Contact me at aliqudsi@gmail.com or Follow my twitter handle '@AliQudsi' - no pressure. Thanks. View author profile.



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Daily App Deals: Get Camera ZOOM FX for Android for Only 10¢ in Today's App Deals [Deals]

Daily App Deals: Get Camera ZOOM FX for Android for Only 10¢ in Today's App DealsThe Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale.

Daily App Deals: Get Camera ZOOM FX for Android for Only 10¢ in Today's App DealsCamera ZOOM FX (Android Market) Previously $4.99, now 10¢. Camera ZOOM FX for Android is a powerful camera app with optical and digital zoom capability up to 6x. Features include the ability to take pictures through voice activation and post processing straight from your device with over 90 different effects. Get it for 10¢.

iOS

Android

Star Chart | Android Market | Previously $3.23, now 10¢

Windows

Mac

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Senin, 26 Desember 2011

Use Your Cell Phone's Camera to Help Find Your Glasses [Body Hacks]

Use Your Cell Phone's Camera to Help Find Your GlassesFor those of us with nearsightedness, there's usually at least one point in the day where we set down our glasses and can't find them. Reddit user Ziptyze solves this problem by using a cell phone's camera to get a temporary clear picture of the world.

It's a clever trick that works well in a pinch. If you have myopia, you can see close objects, so the cell phone camera operates like a tiny window into a world we can't normally see. You probably don't want to walk around with your cell phone planted three inches from your face all day long, but for those panic moments when you can't find your glasses it works great.

Waking up without glasses | Reddit

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Remains of the Day: The Holidays Can Get A Little Too Trashy [For What It's Worth]

Remains of the Day: The Holidays Can Get A Little Too Trashy American households produce millions of tons of extra trash during the holidays, the ACLU warns about drones encroaching on our freedoms, and Internet Explorer will get auto-updates in the new year.

Remains of the Day: The Holidays Can Get A Little Too Trashy

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The iRepel Chef’s Shirt Uses Science to Keep Stains and Spills at Bay [Stuff We Like]

The iRepel Chefâ??s Shirt Uses Science to Keep Stains and Spills at Bay If the kitchen is your domain and you'll be the mastermind behind the holiday meals this year, iRepel's chef's gear will keep you clean in even the messiest of kitchens. If a home cook who loves trying new dishes is on your shopping list this year, they'll appreciate a chef's shirt or apron that rinses off cleanly when the pasta sauce bubbles up a bit too much, or the blender lid isn't on tight enough. All of their shirts and aprons use advanced textiles coated with hydrophobic "nanospheres" to keep any liquids or spills out of the cloth fibers and on the surface, where they can be rinsed away.

iRepel sent over a chef's shirt to try out, and over the course of cooking all manner of meal wearing it, I managed to get everything from pasta sauce, bacon grease, red wine, mustard, and Sriracha on it, and I'm a pretty clean cook. Even if I purposefully waited until I was finished what I was doing to take care of the mess or stain, it rinsed right off with a little water—and when I say "rinsed right off," I mean the water was gone too and I wasn't left with a damp chef's shirt to put back on.

You can read more about the technology used in the textile coating here, but it definitely works as advertised. The iRepel Home Chef shirts come in men's and women's cuts for $89.99 and $79.99 respectively. They may not be cheap, but they're comfortable and breathable, come in different colors to match your style, and are all machine washable. iRepel also sells cooking aprons with the same technology, including a short, ruffled apron and a long, grilling-style apron, both for $49.99. If you're the chef in your household or you're looking for a great gift for the person who is, this is a fun, high-tech option that's also useful in the kitchen.

iRepel

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How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That Guy [Social Gps]

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyWhen you live in an apartment building with other people, you're bound to encounter at least one tenant who is a bit noisier than the rest. Whether it's excessively loud music, lovemaking, or whatever, here's how to approach the situation without being an equally obnoxious neighbor.

I've been on both sides of this equation, and the two times I have been the noisy neighbor I wasn't aware of it. It's hard to tell what level of noise makes it through the walls and what stays put, so you do have to rely on your neighbors to some extent to really know if there's a problem. That means summoning the courage to confront them about the noise issue directly. We're going to look at how to do that effectively, and your additional options should approaching the situation as a rational human being prove futile.

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyWhen noise is a problem that's keeping you awake at night, chances are you don't want to make yourself presentable and head over to your neighbor's apartment to complain. You want to be sleeping, not having an unpleasant conversation. While that conversation may be inevitable, sometimes you can solve the problem without going too far. Just knock on the wall where the noise is coming from to demonstrate that loud sound does travel and sometimes that will be enough to get people to keep the noise level down.

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyI posed this question to Twitter and Facebook to get a general idea of how people think this situation should be handled and how they'd prefer to be told if they were offending others. The overwhelming response, neglecting jokes like "just be a adult about it...throw a cup of piss at them" (that was my favorite), was to have a brief and honest conversation about the problem. I agree, but would like to add that I think it helps to suggest a reasonable plan.

I like to sing and play the piano in my apartment, and for whatever reason I tend to get the urge to do this during later hours of the night. When I was younger, I used to play almost ritualistically around midnight or 1:00 AM in the morning. In an older apartment with unusually thick walls (but a very thin door) I used to get visitors who'd want to come in and listen or play along. When I moved to a much smaller building with thinner walls where I wasn't among other restless kids, most people just wanted to sleep. My downstairs neighbor came up one night and knocked on my door to ask me to keep it quiet, but in addition to that he suggested a plan for the future. He said (and this isn't an exact quote because I don't remember fully), "We can hear you singing through the floor when we're trying to sleep. It's cool if you want to do that, but could you do it before midnight?" I agreed and that was that. No more noise problems from me.

What makes this effective is that the complaint isn't telling the noisy neighbor to "shut up and stop having fun so I can get my beauty sleep," but rather saying "I'm cool with what you're doing, just not right now. Let's figure out a better time." This worked for me, and I think will work for most people who are reasonable and/or just don't know they're being too loud.

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyBut what about loud…uh…sex?

Most people are uncomfortable with having a conversation regarding any kind of noise, so telling someone to quiet down when they're engaged in sexual activity is a more complex issue. You run the risk of embarrassing your neighbors, sometimes so much that they'll be in denial. It's also relevant that they do have a right to make noise so long as it's not causing a significant disturbance, and your discomfort with the type of noise doesn't really play into it. As with any noise complaint, the same tactics apply: ask politely for your neighbors to keep it down when it's late, or shift their activities to an earlier time. If you feel uncomfortable broaching the subject in person, you can always write a short and polite note. If the problem continues, however, you may need to handle the issue face-to-face.

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyWhen you can't manage the situation yourself, that's what your building's management is for. My dad used to be a residential landlord, so I called him up to ask him how these complaints are generally handled. He told me that most people don't bother dealing with the issue themselves, because they're afraid, and enlist the help of their landlord. The landlord then sends out a letter to the tenant notifying them of an anonymous complaint and to keep noise levels to a reasonable minimum. He said that most leases contain a clause referring to proper conduct in the apartment in regards to noise, and the letter will make reference to that. This means that if you're having trouble dealing with the situation on your own, talking to your landlord can be especially effective because the landlord can write a letter stating that the noisy tenant is in violation of the terms of their lease. That's usually enough to scare stubborn noisemakers into submission.

But you need to remember a few things. People are allowed to make noise during the day, and even during the evening. Some people draw the line at midnight and others a bit earlier. It will depends on where you live, who you live with, and who's managing the property. When you move into an apartment it's good to ask about the noise policies and when quiet hours are expected.

When I moved into my most recent apartment, on the third day someone called the police to issue an anonymous noise complaint around 10:00 PM. I'd been playing a mellow song on a loop while I cleaned the apartment, and I thought it was at a reasonable volume. When the police knocked on my door they apologized for coming by because when they heard the volume of the music they thought it was at a reasonable volume. I offered to turn it off but they said it was fine and left. This situation was essentially left unresolved because 1) the person who filed the complaint was asking for what the police deemed an unreasonably low noise level, and 2) I would've been happy to work out a compromise with the complainant if they'd simply bothered to come talk to me. The takeaway is this: if you're having issues with a potentially noisy neighbor, be sure to consider what's reasonable and try talking to them first. If your first reaction is to resort to more drastic measures, they might just backfire.

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyIf you can't get your point across with a note, simple conversation, or with help from the authorities, sometimes a little technology can make the difference. One of our favorite tips of all time is communicating with your Wi-FI network's SSID. That means giving your Wi-Fi network a name like "BeQuietApartment1121" or "TurnDownYourMusic" so that neighbors will see your message when they're looking to get online. Although this method is very clever, its success rate is limited severely by the fact that your neighbors have to actually view their Wi-Fi options prior to connecting. If they have their own Wi-Fi and aren't stealing someone else's, their computer is connecting them automatically. Chances are they won't see a thing if they've got a router of their own.

In the even the problem is really bad and the result of excessively loud music, you can hijack your neighbor's speakers to force them to be quiet. With a few cheap tools you can transmit your voice into their speakers to ask them to quiet down, play some really annoying music to get your revenge, or probably even blow out their speakers if you're feeling particularly evil (although chances are that will end in some unfortunate repercussions for you, so don't do it). This isn't a tactic you should employ unless you're truly out of options, but it doesn't hurt to have it available when you are.

How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That GuyHopefully this post has provided some useful advice for dealing with the unfortunately too common problem of dealing with noisy neighbors. Before we call it a day, however, I just wanted to highlight a few suggestions from Twitter and Facebook to provide a few other opinions on the matter.

Anne Earney:

I'd hope our neighbors would come by and let us know if we were bothering them. However, we did have a problem with some renters in a four-family behind our house where we ended up calling the police. The renters often their dog out on the second floor balcony, where it barked all night. At 3am, I'm just not going to politely knock on someone's door and ask them to let their dog in.

Jesse Miller-Riley:

A note or a polite conversation is wise...being petulant or obnoxiously retaliatory will only make the situation worse. And if they don't listen to reason, then get the management involved. Fighting fire with fire is for school-aged children.

An Anonymous Friend:

Write an anonymous note and put it up in the building. It's amazing how powerful shame can be.

Shawn Wayne:

Tell them you would like to take matters into your own hands to deal with this like adults, and tell them to keep it down, and if the situation doesn't improve, tell them you will contact apartment management if it keeps happening. If that doesn't help, get all your neighbors together to file complaints against them.

José:

Just say that you have a friend over with a baby that is sleeping.

Chandra Batra:

It sucks because I live in a really crappy apartment with paper thin walls. I would try to tolerate it because if you can hear them chances are they can hear you!

And since our own Whitson Gordon is a noisy neighbor, let's give him the last word:

I am a noisy ass neighbor. If my neighbors don't like my loud music, I really, really would like them to knock on my door and politely say something—that's all they need to do.

The problem is it's very difficult to know how loud you're being from someone else's house/apartment. I try not to go crazy, but I don't know what level of volume my neighbors can hear or not hear—if they just said "hey dude, you were pretty loud today, but yesterday I didn't hear anything", then I have a much better idea of the cap I need to stay below.

Good luck! We hope this helps you find a quiet night's rest.

This post was illustrated by Dana Zemack. Check out more of her stick figure comics and follow her on Twitter.

Title image remixed from an original by Tomasz Trojanowski (Shutterstock).



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