Thread: Links To Keep You Busy This Weekend - 10-23 edition

I haven't done one of these posts in a bit, but I have been saving up links to post as if I was. So I now have a couple hundred links sitting in folders and on my desktop. And I really need to clean it off:



I am going to try and start back with a weekly post to help keep everyone up to date on things in the tech world, so if you have any articles you think should be included, hit me up with a PM. Some of the ones below I may have posted before, but I don't think so.

Of course you don't need to read them all, just pick some that are of interest to you. Great way to kill some free time this weekend............

Edit: Well, 4 hours after I started the thread it is finished and much longer than expected. At least my desktop is much cleaner now


How To

Give Windows a Clean Start - How To Reinstall Your OS the Right Way I have posted this before, but with the release of Windows 7, it is a really important article to review! Also will want to read No apps left behind: A backup checklist before reinstalling so you don't forget anything!

Basic Troubleshooting Guide (Please read before seeking help)- This is one of the best threads I have come across about how to troubleshoot a PC problem. Really good ideas you should try and will probably help you fix a problem. It mentions the Ultimate Boot CD, and the related Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, which is an amazing collection of apps to help you solve pretty much any problem.

How To: Virtualize Any OS For Free If you ever wanted to run a separate OS, without messing with partitions and dual boots, this is how to do it. Another recently posted guide from Lifehacker covers the topic as well in this article: The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox On the same subject check out Create A Virtual Machine Clone of Your Existing Hard Drive [Windows]. At the bottom of that article are some links to related articles that are really good. Between those three, you should be up and running in no time.

How to Buy an HDTV Today (or Any Day) With Christmas sales coming up, a lot of folks need to read this. Then, you need to read How To Calibrate Your New HDTV (and Not Lose Your Mind) to get it looking perfect.

How to: DIY Solar and Wind Energy Tutorial -looking for a fun project to do this winter?

How to Build a Kick-Ass Windows Home Server This should help you build a home server so you can stream music, movies, and do backups for your whole house. Companies like HP sell small home servers, and they are around $500, but aren't as upgradeable and customizable as one you build yourself. Still, the HP may cover more then enough to be right for you.

How to Secure Your Wireless Home Network This site seems down at the moment, so here is the google cached version: http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a
Hopefully the site will be back up soon because it is a good site.



Make Your Rig Run Better This Weekend

Some of these may overlap a bit, but still all great and easy to read/do

29 Essential Windows Tips for XP, Vista, and Win7 Users You should read this now

25 Most Popular Windows Tips: The Best Explained and Worst Debunked --Great article

Freeware Files: Five Apps for Diagnosing PC Problems! --All good programs to check out if you don't already have them

Download of the Week: SIW (System Information for Windows)-- THIS SHOULD BE ON EVERYONE'S COMPUTER. Especially if you aren't sure what parts are in your computer and you need to ask for forum help.

The Best Windows Tweaks that Still Work in Windows 7 - This time from Lifehacker.com

Easily restore Windows services to default settings with a web app -- Cool web app that helps you fix problems with services. If you've haven't reformatted in a while, or you have tried to muck around with services in the past and are now having problems, this may be the easiest way to get you back to smooth running.


Cool PC apps in the news

Freeware Files: Monitor, Fix, and Steal with this Week's Freeware Roundup! -Some good free apps to check out this weekend

ArmorSurf Launches First Privacy-focused Browser - This looks pretty cool, and I have been meaning to give it a try.

Firefox Temporary Bookmarks - I should REALLY be using this Firefox add-on. Might help me keep my thousands of unnecessary bookmarks under better control

FlyCast mobile radio app comes to the PC -Works pretty good. I just keep forgetting to use it and have been using the Itunes radio instead. But if you are already using the phone app, you might like keeping things the same when you listen on your PC

Screenjelly Shares Short Screencasts in a Snap --I have been thinking of using something like this to make some how-to guides for here at TG. Looks super simple to use. If anyone gives it a try let me know how well it works!

Image Resizer “Power Toy” for Windows 7 - If you resize images a lot you will really like that app as well as this one :Image Resizer Powertoy Clone Resizes Pictures Easily. I used to love that powertoy in XP, and hated that it didn't work in Vista. It is so simple to just right click on a picture and click to re-size it, instead of opening up a program and messing with it.

Free Anonymous BitTorrent Becomes Reality With BitBlinder - Just in case you need this



Iphone/Cellphone Links

An Exhaustive Guide to Saving Your Smartphone's Battery This covers just about every kind of phone separately, with tons of good tips. Just about everyone with a smartphone knows what a pain battery life is, so every little bit helps

So long, iTunes: DoubleTwist now syncs with iPhone and iPod Touch I know a bunch of folks are unhappy with Itunes, so this might help. For those of you that do like Itunes, or maybe want to fix what you don't like about it, check out The BIG Book of iTunes. Really a great guide with tons of pic to help.

Rip DVDs for Playback on Your iPhone, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3, AppleTV, or Any H.264-Enabled Player Good guide to help you watch your DVD collection the way you want to

MotionX GPS Drive Review: Hands Down the Best Value In GPS Apps I would love to get the TomTom app and the holder that boosts the GPS, but I don't have $200 to blow, so MotionX might be a better option.

How to: iPhone as a Wireless Router for your Laptop If AT&T would just enable it, would need to do this to work around.

Save Money by Making Your Own Ringtones Reason I posted this is not just the article, but also the comments readers left with other options. For instance if you scroll down to Izzy9985's comment, I have read a lot of people doing it that way, and they say once you do it a couple times it is really easy.

Gizmodo's Essential iPhone Apps: Fall 2009 Lots of good apps you may have never heard of

How To: Download, Save and Convert Flash Video to Play on your iPod or DVD Player Kind of the same subject as the DVD link above, but now covering Flash video

http://appshopper.com/ A really great site that monitors apps constantly. I didn't realize how often prices on apps fluctuate, so if there is one you really want, or some ideas for new ones, it is a great site to check out.

Best App Ever Awards A little old, but tons of people voted for best apps, so you will probably find some new ones to play with this weekend.


Some New Toys You Are Probably Going To Want For Christmas

Second Gen EyeClops Night Vision Goggles Cheaper, Better, and Still Creepy - I posted a thread about the first gen version of these. This would go perfect with this topic:
Now is the time for TG to pool our money

Brondell Perfect Flush Helps You Save Water By Giving You Two Flushing Options - Hey, gadgets are gadgets, and even better if they save money on your water bill

Survival Bracelet Made of Paracord For Emergency Rappeling Anytime, Anywhere - Fun project for the kids this weekend to give at Christmas

GameGun Update -For those that didn't see this before, it is really amazing. Last I heard these were going to go into production. Here is the latest from his site:
http://www.blackhall.net/GameGun.htm I say forget the Wii. I can't wait for a bunch of us here at TG to be playing with these! Check out the other videos on the link. It is really amazing the work he is doing in his carport. Int he HMD VS GameGun video, was that ARMA around the 1:00 mark? That is all I want to know!!!!

Frolicat Bolt Takes The Effort Out Of Playing With Your Cat My cats would have a nervous meltdown

Philips Biotower Puts Farming in the Kitchen (With Style) --I don't eat fish or veggies, but that would be amazing in a living room. So much better than a normal fishtank. I wonder if they will ever make it a reality.

Meraki's Solar Powered Wi-Fi Repeater Finally Shipping in December and Free Solar-Powered WiFi Coming to a Town Near You - I could see a ton of uses for this. Really disappointed about the price though.


Finally:

Funny Cool Stuff To Keep You Entertained All Weekend

40 Ways to Watch Free TV & Movie Channels Online --That link alone will consume your entire weekend, and might convince you to drop your cable TV connection all together

50 Kick-Ass Websites You Need to Know About - This was just posted a couple days ago, and covers a huge range of topics with multiple sites everyone will find interesting. You'll probably find a bunch of new bookmarks...........

Avoid These 20 Worst Supermarket Foods - Admit it. How many of the things on this list do you love to eat? I raised my hand on a lot of them. Don't know how I'm still skinny.......

BeFunky Transforms Your Photos into Impressive Digital Artwork -Fun way to play with some of your photos. Can even use the ones from Facebook and other sites.

10/GUI interface looks to redefine the touch-enabled desktop -- I just read this article absent minded, and clicked on the video for no reason. Then I watched it, and was blown away at the outside the box thinking. It would take a LOT of getting used to, but really cool ideas proposed and I hope it goes somewhere in the future.

Removing Unwanted Objects from a Picture in Photoshop Could Become Child’s Play - If Photoshop really does put in this level of usability, it will be absolutely amazing. I watched that video twice and it really is a huge change from what you have to do to fix a picture now.

Documentary Deploys Spy Tech to Trump Japanese Dolphin Killers Don't know how many of you have heard about this documentary, but it is really a downer. If you watch the trailer I wouldn't let the kids see it. Pretty cool all the tech that was used to show what the bad guys didn't want you to see. What the hell is wrong with Japan to let this stuff happen?

Online Coloring Book TheColor Sports Web 2.0 Features This is really fun. Set your little kids up and it will keep them happy for hours. Is it wrong that I found coloring entertaining?

Custom Camera Rig Allows For a Stunning Vertical Panorama of a Giant Redwood -- For those that missed it, on the cover of this month's National Geographic is one of the most amazing pictures you will ever see. The link is to the article about how it was taken. Some of the pictures in this article, Biggest, Tallest Tree Photo Ever, will make your jaw hit the floor just as hard. And the whole article is here:http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...ds-interactive

Yes, those are people in the tree





And finally finally...............

Carl Sagan Auto-Tuned Part II (Featuring Feynman, Tyson and Nye) I won't directly embed the video here because this thread is already big enough, but that video is awesome. I was hating on Auto-Tune, and pop bands that use it to act like they have talent. But using it to do something like this has me rethinking. Carl Sagan, the always awesome Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye as a featured backup rapper just works out right. Anyone else kind of feeling weirdly moved after watching that? Be sure to check out the first Carl Sagan Auto-Tuned which features Stephen Hawking. Now go read the book Contact and spend the rest of the weekend contemplating the meaning of Pi

Have a good weekend everyone!