All Posts by Paul

Wii-saber for budding Jedi Knights

Paul

Wii-saber for budding Jedi Knights

Since the Wii was released with waggle controls, everyone has been looking forward for a Star Wars title to appear on the horizon, where they will be able to wield the lightsaber just like how the Jedi Knights in the movies did. They are now able to relive those experiences with a Wii Light Sword – sure, it isn’t exactly a lightsaber per se, but at this point in time I think we fanboys would take anything we can get our hands on. All you need to do is have a Wii and a Wiimote in hand – something that might be a little hard to do considering the scarcity of Nintendo’s console. This add-on gaming peripheral will set you back by £15, or you could always save your money and use your imagination instead.

Wouldn’t that be fun to have around the house. I can just see people saying “I broke my HDTV with a Wii Light Sword!” Oh boy would that be funny!!

Why Everyone Should Use Google Calendar

Paul

If you’re not using Google Calendar, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’m not suggesting that you stop using whatever calendar software you’re currently using. I’m saying that Google is super powerful as a secondary calendar, or even as a non-calendar resource that does all kinds of useful jobs for you. Here’s how to use Google Calendar to make your own local “city guide”; never forget birthdays and anniversaries (with a neat trick); build a just-in-time information system; nag yourself; and provide information at your fingertips no matter where you are. Here’s how you can IMPROVE YOUR LIFE WITH GOOGLE CALENDAR.

I use Google Calendar and love it. I can schedule events with people and remind myself of to do list. Go try it out for yourself.

Create Global Folder Bookmarks with Dirkey

Paul

dirkey.jpgWindows only: Create custom folder bookmarks accessible from your keyboard in any Explorer window or save or open file dialog with freeware system tray application Dirkey. You can set any folder as a bookmark on-the-fly by pressing Ctrl-Alt-0..9, then quickly jump to any of your bookmarks by pressing Ctrl-0..9 for the corresponding bookmark (e.g., if you set a folder as a bookmark with Ctrl-Alt-1, you can access that folder any time by pressing Ctrl-1). Dirkey does the work of previously mentioned applications like FindeXer, PlacesBar Editor, and FinderStyle but offers the quickest access to both creating new bookmarks and jumping to your most frequently used folders. Dirkey is freeware, Windows only.

Dirkey [via gHacks]
Nice little way to bookmark all your folders and make them organized.

Access Any Web Site (Like Wikipedia) Offline with GearsMonkey

Paul

allow-gears.jpgFirefox with Greasemonkey and Google Gears: The Wikipedia Offline Greasemonkey script plugs Greasemonkey into Google Gears (the offline web access extension that works with Google Reader and other sites) to provide offline access and syncing with Wikipedia. Once you’ve installed the script, head to Wikipedia and enable Gears. Now, when browsing any page on Wikipedia, you’ll notice a small frame that contains links to cache the current page or access other pages you’ve already cached. Even better, the author of the script provides a howto guide for taking virtually any web site offline with Gears and Greasemonkey, so anyone with some javascript chops should be able to start building Gears access for their favorite sites (here’s hoping we see a lot more of these). The Wikipedia Offline script is free, requires Greasemonkey and Google Gears.

GearsMonkey: Google Gears + Greasemonkey to take Wikipedia offline [Google Code]
This is really nice for people who want to take there stuff offline. It darn usefull when you want to take google maps with you!! 😉

Free Nature-Based Wallpaper

Paul

swanson_wallpapers_scaled.jpg

Editor alumnus Kyle Pott pointed us toward a collection of striking, high-quality wallpaper images, all available free from Microsoft Technical Evangelist Mike Swanson’s blog. The images are mostly nature based and available in common desktop and laptop resolutions. Most are nature-based, and all of them shot with an eye for icon placement and light balance. For more free desktop dressing, including fonts and icons, check out Gina’s Top 10 roundup of free wallpaper, fonts and icon sources.

Wallpaper Images [Mike Swanson’s Blog]
If Your like me, always want to change your theme every so often to keep it new and refreshing. These wallpaper images are free and quite nice. Go check them out!!