Thursday, October 21, 2010

5 Useful LifeHacker Tips for October

Like most techy people in the world, I have my usual stops that I need to make daily and LifeHacker is one of those 'must check out' daily places.  The only downside to LifeHacker is the volume of information that is available there.  I will be adding a monthly post of the five highlights I have actually either watched, followed the instructions, or learned from and put it out there for my loyal five readers.  Anyway, here is October's (yes, I know October isn't over yet but this gives me an excuse to have an easy post if something exciting or interesting happens in the next ten days on LifeHacker).

Stream Media using your 360, PSIII, or Wii
I have the sites I like to stream my media and usually just hook my laptop up to my TV but it is a rather pain in the ass to do.  I went ahead and followed the instructions and got my Wii set up so I can use that as well.  I know it isn't all HD-y but not a bad option when in a pinch (a pinch meaning I am being lazy).  Find out how here - http://gizmodo.com/5660605/how-to-stream-media-without-buying-any-more-gear

Opt out of getting the Yellow Pages
There is this invention called, "the Internet" that pretty much made the Yellow Pages obsolete.  Yet, they keep sending it to me and I keep putting it in recycling.  Using the Web site http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com, you can get the information needed to opt out of getting it.  I wish that they would make it a little bit more of a streamlined process but still better than nothing.  They are discussing a site upgrade coming soon so they may build that in.  Here is the full article - http://lifehacker.com/5663256/how-to-opt-out-of-yellow-book-delivery

Miso, the Foursquare of TV
I am a fan of Foursquare and I am a fan of TV.  It is like Reese's Peanut Butter cups…you got your Foursquare on my TV, you got your TV on my Foursquare - hey, that's pretty good.  On Miso, you choose the shows you are watching and follow others who watch similar shows so you can discuss, etc. that particular show.  Pretty fun.  You also get to earn badges just like Foursquare.  Check it out at http://gomiso.com/.  Read the full article at http://lifehacker.com/5658094/miso-is-a-social-network-for-tv-fans

Warm up your food the right way
Ok, this is one of those, 'it's so simple why didn't I think of it' things but using the two-bowl method to warm up food is the best way that I have found.  Take bowl A and put your food in it.  Take bowl B and turn it upside down and place over bowl A.  Put in microwave and warm.  Again, you are probably reading this and thinking, "really, you are kind of a dumbass."  Well, that is true.  However, yesterday I am a dumbass that ate some fabulous reheated lasagna that didn't dry out because the moisture stayed in the bowls and didn't splash all over my microwave.  Word of warning, the top bowl gets really freaking hot so use a potholder.  Here is the full article (with an image if you can't figure it out) - http://lifehacker.com/5661325/use-the-two+bowl-method-to-reheat-food-with-less-mess

Use presenter view in PowerPoint to make better presentations
I have spoken at conferences, I teach CIS every semester, I do training sessions and presenter view is a really useful tool.  There are some pretty good tips on making better PowerPoints in this as well.  I highly recommend giving the video a view if you know you will be making a presentation sometime in the future.  Really good stuff. Full article - http://lifehacker.com/5662563/take-advantage-of-presenter-view-to-create-powerful-powerpoint-slides

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