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[here]

There's a pretty large thread on this right here.   

I too like a clean desktop, but I do keep a couple of icons--Recycle Bin in the lower-left and a folder 'Other' in the lower-right.  ('Other' functions as a 'to sort' box.)

Also, for anybody missing My Computer, et al in Launchbar, you should be able to get access to them through simple Shortcuts.

Cheers.

[Stoned Prof]

Here's ~35 minutes, Stoned Prof [video.google.com].

Edit: Just finished watching--seems to be the whole thing.

[NPR Hourly Newscast]

I've found an easy source for world news in the NPR Hourly Newscast (direct link to stream).  It's a nice way to start the morning and takes less than five minutes.

And I haven't checked it out, but I bet the BBC Radio would be similarly nice.

Cheers.

[Workrave]

Just posted in the page for the InstantBoss review--probably should've gone here.

I started using a similar program (Workrave) last year, but gave it up--until today!

Basically, you get 30 seconds "micro-breaks" every 3 mins, 10 minute "rest breaks" every 45 mins, and there's a daily limit of 4hrs work time (you can change all these values).  They've also included animated stretching exercises (to relieve RSI).

My words wouldn't be able to do the program justice, so check out their screen shots.  They've put a lot of work into making this a nice-looking and very useful program.  I urge you all to check it out.

[Workrave]

I started using a similar program (Workrave) last year, but gave it up--until today!

Basically, you get 30 seconds "micro-breaks" every 3 mins, 10 minute "rest breaks" every 45 mins, and there's a daily limit of 4hrs work time (you can change all these values).  They've also included animated stretching exercises (to relieve RSI).

My words wouldn't be able to do the program justice, so check out their screen shots.  They've put a lot of work into making this a nice-looking and very useful program.  I urge you all to check it out.

[NoteWorthy Composer]

I recall playing with NoteWorthy Composer several years ago.  If you're willing to switch composers ($39US), it'll save your score to a .mid file.

[BugMeNot]

Thanks for the link, Carol.

If you'd like to avoid registration, visit BugMeNot or simply follow this direct link [sfcc.edu].

<oops>

[here]

I still prefer to just not carry money at all

You sound like every woman I've ever gone out with!

Linked on the Instructables page, I found a neat game along the same topic.  The idea is that you get 10 [US] coins (3Q, 2D, 1N, 4P) and a whole dollar to pay for an amount of $.XX.  It's pretty good, actually--there're a few levels of "difficulty" coded in.  If you're not bored to tears by my description, try it here [changecard.com].

edit: A better description would be: mental gymnastics.

[Directron]

Since my laptop came with only 30GB ("How would I ever use...."), an external hard drive became very important after on-campus broadband.

Finding the all-in-one types pretty expensive, I settled on sticking an older (but unused) 80GB WD inside one of the cheapest enclosures I could find on eBay.  The drive heated itself pretty well and, despite my immature attempts at cooling, died at ~6 months.

I sought a new enclosure/HDD combination for cool running (longevity!), and ordered an AMS Venus USB/FW enclosure (DS-2316CBK, $56 at Directron) with a 160GB Seagate (now $60 after rebate at the local CompUSA).  I haven't had any problems so far (it's been two years) and recommend it to everyone.

The paper here featured a similar article (syndicated from Paul Vitello, NYTimes).  According to him, the frequency of annoyance is 17 kHz. 

I used Audacity to create the tone on my laptop, but the speakers couldn't produce it.  The home stereo speakers, however, played a burned .wav wonderfully.  At least, so I am told.

I couldn't hear it myself (age 20), but my brother (age 19) reported immediate annoyance.  Turning the volume up to about 20%, I heard a tone pretty well, but I expect that the speakers just couldn't handle the high frequency at that amplitude and "dumbed it down."

Could perhaps a similar "dumbing" effect be in place when

• compressing to .mp3
• broadcasting over radio
• both

Perhaps this could rationalize my hearing loss!

[Lifehacker]

Lifehacker today mentioned Taskbar Shuffle:

Very similar to ... Taskbar++, but it looks to be a bit more simple to use.

edit: Just installed the program--works exactly as it should.  Check it out.

[this website]

Has anyone seen this website?

What is its purpose?

Cheers.

Is AHK code extensible to allow for the path name of processes?  (Some are uppity enough to take names like "setup.exe.")

This is probably not what you're looking for, but:
You could wire up a multimeter to your AUX input.  When the readout stops going crazy, you're not getting any signal.   

I put these bindings in my .ahk script:

[copy or print]
LAlt & WheelDown::AltTab
LAlt & WheelUp::ShiftAltTab

I've been using them so much, I'd forgotten that they weren't part of the Windows shell!   

+1 on m_s' comments.

I too run ZA and have had it render my internet useless on several occassions.  If turning it off fixes the problems (as it has for me in the past), you have a good place to look.

[~$150]

Just after the one minute mark, he says €123, which is ~$150.

I often go past the one I want and have to cycle through all over again.

Note Alt+Shift+Tab moves backward through the list.  (Even so, I too usually cycle through again )

So what does TA look like when it's running?

When you run the program, it'll look very similar to that above.

Actually sorting the entries, starting with something like

[attach=1]

Note that it is possible to rearrange what's inside each group

[attach=2]

and anything else on the taskbar

[attach=3]

AFAIK, though, it is not possible to insert a program into the middle of a group (e.g. Firefox between ~Newest and Apps).

[Active Phone Server]

I just spent a little bit of time searching for a solution to your problem.  A freeware app like you described at the start of this thread would seem ideal.  Unfortunately, I too found nothing online.

A couple of hopefuls (both shareware):
Active Phone Server
Phone Dialer Pro

I haven't tried either of them, but they seemed to be the best from my search.

I also found the Phone Dialer in WinXP, as per these instructions.  When you get it up and running, Microsoft tells how to place a call.

[OverDisk]

I just found this program OverDisk, and I urge you all to check it out.



It scans your hard-drive (~30s for the 85k files on my main HDD) and maps your files/folders into a sort of multi-leveled pie-chart, starting from the center at C: (or D:, etc. depending on which drive is selected) and shows the proportions of space taken.  Clicking on a subfolder "re-centers", showing the size distribution of its children.

   The best way to understand what I'm trying to say is to try it yourself!

I just used it to find 7GB of Protected Files left over after uninstalling Norton.  I could also see it as being very useful to determine which directories to back up or even better in the all-important spring cleaning!

[TaskArrange]

Having just tried the other three utilities listed here, I'm still liking Elias Fotinis' TaskArrange (TA) for this.  Here's a screenshot (stolen):

The thing that sets TA apart from the others (for me) is that it takes advantage of XP's taskbar grouping (note the trees in the screenshot).

For what it's worth, I also think it's prettier than both Taskbar Organizer and Taskbar Commander.  And, while Taskbar++ seems like a _neat_ idea, I couldn't get it to work on my machine (XPProSP2) and it requires that taskbar grouping is shut off  .

I don't use it very often, but I think it's great when I do.

[AutoHotkey]

This sounds like something you could _easily_ implement with AutoHotkey.

For your viewing pleasure,

Here's their tutorial to get you started.

To point you in the right direction, you'll probably need to open the Key History to capture the SC codes of the keys (e-mail, web browser, search) and use those to implement your hotkeys.

The people here should be pretty helpful with any questions that should come up.