Hana\'s Freeware Metablog

Download and Print the 2009 Compact Calendar [Printables]

Gina Trapani — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:05:18 -0700

So you're back at work after the holidays and planning out your big projects of the year—time to print out Dave Seah's excellent compact calendar for 2009.

This good-looking and useful spreadsheet template lays out the year in a continuous block of time with U.S. holidays marked (international versions are available as well). Use it to block off spans of time for certain projects, or to check off days you've gotten to the gym, skipped a cigarette, or any other habit you're trying to form. The spreadsheet should work on any platform, and it's a free download. (We mentioned the 2009 edition back in September, but thought it would be most useful today).

"Downloading Is Wrong" Trojan Blocks Access to BitTorrent Sites [BitTorrent]

Adam Pash — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0700

BitTorrent weblog TorrentFreak reports on a new piece of malware with a strange bent: If it infects your computer, this trojan will prevent you from accessing popular BitTorrent sites The Pirate Bay and Mininova. It does so by modifying the hosts file on your computer. We've shown you how to use the power of the hosts file for good by banning time-wasting web sites or setting up universal ad blocking through your router, but this novel new trojan adds the unfriendly blocks to your hosts file. If by chance you've been affected, check out the TorrentFreak post for more details.

Changing of the Guard [Announcements]

Gina Trapani — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:46:24 -0700

It's a new year and we've got some new changes happening around here: Mr. Adam Pash will take over as lead editor of Lifehacker on January 16th.

After a wild and woolly four years at the helm, I'm stepping down from the site lead position to work on Some New Stuff on a day-to-day basis in 2009. To be clear, my decision has nothing to do with the big bad economy or any kind of scandalous company blow-up—it's just time for me to move onto new projects. It's tough letting go of something I love so dearly, but it's easier knowing it will be in very capable hands.

No one knows the ins and outs of this site and its community as well as Adam, who's been posting away at my side for over three years now. Adam has authored some of the most popular articles that have appeared on these pages, and he's always had a keen sense of what makes a cool and exciting project or time-saving trick. I can't wait to see where he takes things this year and beyond.

As for me, well, you haven't seen the last of me yet. I'll be contributing a weekly feature and some fun new coding projects to the site starting in February. Freed up from the grind of daily news editing, I'll be able to dedicate more time and research into these posts and projects, so I promise they'll be good.

I'll be around publishing posts, passing torches, dabbing tears, and tying up loose ends until January 15th. Get in touch if you need me on Lifehacker business till then (gina at lifehacker.com), and prepare yourself for an even mushier goodbye post in two weeks. Photo by Nenyaki.

Soonr Syncs Files from Desktops to iPhones [Featured IPhone Download]

Kevin Purdy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:15:00 -0700

iPhone/iPod touch only: Free online sharing service Soonr has launched an iPhone/desktop app combo that gives you 500MB of space to keep your Windows or Mac documents synced to your device.

After signing up at Soonr's site, installing the desktop software from an emailed link, and installing the free iPhone app, you're pretty much on your way. Soonr's "Desktop Agent" software lets you choose what folders or types of files get synchronized to your device and how much bandwidth gets used doing it. Soonr's app lets you preview Microsoft Office, PDF, text, and image files, and even lets you print to networked printers if your iPhone/touch is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Check out screenshots of Soonr's desktop application (on Windows XP) and iPhone capabilities below:

Soonr is a free download and sign-up, requires a PC or Mac computer and an iPhone or iPod touch. Looking for a less cloud-based, controllable solution? Try the previously mentioned (and previously free) Air Sharing.

AntennaWeb Finds the Best Outdoor Antenna for Your House [TV]

Kevin Purdy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:00:00 -0700

If the upcoming switch to HD digital broadcasting has you considering dropping cable for the free stuff, the AntennaWeb site can help find the receiver that will net the most channels at your address.

The free-to-use site only requires your street address or ZIP code and asks whether you've got any tall buildings or trees nearby. Based on your location (which it sometimes details down to the street level), it lays out how far each local broadcaster is from your house, what channel and signal type they're offering, and what kind of antenna will net you the best reception for the most digital channels. You can even get a map showing which direction each station will come to your house from, for those who need to point a directional unit (or plan to stick with a strategically-placed indoor antenna).

AntennaWeb leaves the purchasing of your outdoor model to your own preference and Google abilities, but the site does explain the whys and hows of antennas pretty decently for those who haven't worked at a RadioShack. Confused in a more general sense about the Feb. 17 transition and what it means? Try the official DTV 2009 site.

Porta'Menu Launches Programs from your USB Drive [Featured Windows Download]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Windows only: Porta'Menu is a tiny (175k!) application launcher for your portable drives. It is extremely spartan, but effective.

Add your applications, it remember the relative path and from there on you only have to launch the application launcher when you insert your flash drive instead of digging through the application directories. The interface is very reminiscent of earlier lower resolution versions of windows, and if you read the readme.txt you'll find out why. The author found that an ancient program he'd written to launch applications back in the days before start menus worked perfectly as a relative-path application manager for portable drives. For another application launder that is a little less spartan and has a scratch pad for notes, check out PStart—the first piece of software I recommended to Lifehacker when I was a new reader! Porta'menu is freeware, Windows only.

Open Office Documents from Gmail Without Google Docs [Gmail Tip]

Kevin Purdy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:00:00 -0700

A simple URL edit can open attached Office docs from Gmail in a sleek viewer, rather than the sometimes funky HTML option.

The Google Operating System blog points out that Google's viewer—powered by Google Docs, but not requiring a sign-up at that service or a cluttered dashboard for existing users—works with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files just as easily as the PDF files Gmail already tells you it can handle. Simply replace the segment view=att with view=gvatt in the URL after you hit "View as HTML," and you'll launch a scalable, zoom-able, easier-to-manage viewer for your attachment.

Super Ubuntu Rolls Multimedia and Helpful Extras into Ubuntu [Featured Download]

Kevin Purdy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:30:00 -0700

Most anyone using Ubuntu Linux has to install Adobe Flash, Java, DVD playback, and other plug-ins to actually enjoy it. Super Ubuntu packs all that essential in from the get-go.

It's basically just a re-compiled version of the official Ubuntu distribution, but with a whole bunch of features included that save you the time of grabbing them yourself. File-sharing apps, multimedia codecs, Windows compatibility tools (including WINE and support for PortableApps installations), and lots updates that haven't hit the official repositories are included, but you'll still get official security and application updates through Ubuntu. The creators seem pretty intent on keeping Super Ubuntu up to date, and offer a constantly-seeded ISO torrent and live USB creation tools for anyone looking to try it out.

Super Ubuntu is a free download for most any computer running on x86-based processors. It appears to be a 32-bit-only affair at this point.

AeroPeek Puts Windows 7's Desktop Showing into XP/Vista [Featured Windows Download]

Kevin Purdy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Windows only: A small background app can give XP and Vista users part of the functionality of "Aero Peek," a smart way of previewing windows and showing the desktop in Windows 7.

Unfortunately, that part is just the desktop showing aspect, available from a tray icon installed by the Aero Peek app—though it likely won't be long before we see the windows previews, whether from this developer or elsewhere. In the meantime, it's an intriguingly different way for users of desktop gadgets, or those who have to head back to their desktop often for files, to minimize their active windows. Unlike hitting the Windows Key+D combo, restoring your windows from Aero Peek always keeps whatever windows you had active in the front, and shows what windows you have open in shaded outlines.

Not for everyone, especially those inclined toward keyboard shortcuts, but an intriguing attempt at getting yet another one of Windows 7's features into your Windows desktop. Aero Peek is a free download for Windows systems only.

Check if Your Carrier Will Support an Unlocked iPhone 3G [IPhone]

Kevin Purdy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 -0700

Wondering if your cell carrier can support your jailbroken iPhone 3G after unlocking it? PC World rounds up a great collection of unlocking tips, and points to a extensive list of carrier results.