Yatz

Every weekend, we comb our memories and archives to compile 10 useful items addressing a specific topic you may have forgotten about, or just happen to be excellent. Here are the 20 list(icle) posts that proved the most popular in 2009.

1. Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities

The best boxing doesn't always happen at the heavyweight level. Likewise, some of the best things you can load onto your Windows system are tiny little guys that just make day-to-day writing, working, and surfing better.

2. Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition

We didn't change everything from our original 2006 list, but we did mix up our favorite add-ons for our favorite browser with a few essentials that Lifehacker editors, and readers, have found indispensable.

3. Top 10 Windows 7 Boosters

Just before Windows 7 dropped, we put together the apps that developers had updated or released new to integrate with Windows 7. Some add in things missing from Microsoft's latest OS, while others improve on what's already there.

4. Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features

To think that Firefox 3.5 was almost labeled 3.1, a small iteration. The latest release included a lot to crow about, including much-needed performance improvements, but also many subtle refinements.

5. Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition

Gina had only compiled her list less than two years ago, but the web's become an even bigger playground for developers since then. The truly helpful and useful ones, without gigantic advertising budgets, were worth highlighting. Photo by thievingjoker.

6. Top 10 Tricks MacGyver Would Be Proud Of

This was Adam's favorite Top 10 of at least the year, if not possibly all time. Either he's really into short, goofy fan fiction, or just appreciates a number of 1980s pop-culture references sprinkled into his listicles. Either way, it's fun to make like everyone's favorite duct tape enthusiast with these clever hacks. Image by PoweredByLarios�.

7. Top 10 Ubuntu Downloads

Free software rocks, and free software running on a free platform is heavenly stuff. Check out the apps that make Ubuntu a better place to work, play, and explore. Image by Andrew Mason.

8. Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks

Modern batteries help us feel like we're living in the future, with cellphones that can do anything and laptops that can work anywhere—when they're fully charged. Otherwise, getting the most out of them requires some old-fashioned cleverness and energy frugality, detailed in these tips. Photo by conskeptical.

9. Top 10 Cheap or Free Home Theater Upgrades

Once everything's hooked up, it's easy to just point your HD TV in the right direction and call it a day on your home theater setup. Take on a few of these projects and pointers, though, and you'll get a nicer-looking, better-performing system. Photo by chunkysalsa.

10. Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill

Why was this so popular? Because almost everybody loves an excuse to be outside, and nearly everyone loves an excuse to obsess over tasty food. That's just our guess, anyways, and these 10 skills testify to how geeky this excuse can really get. Photo by adactio.

Those 10 may have been the most popular, but if you're still eager for some more listicle goodies, here's a quick overview of the next ten most popular.

• 11. Top 10 Tools for a Free Online Education
  "It's easy to forget these days that the internet started out as a place for academics and researchers to trade data and knowledge. Recapture the web's brain-expanding potential with these free resources for educating yourself online."
• 12. Top 10 Apps that Boost Your Media Center
  "Streaming video, digital DVD backups, DVR recording-it's all possible from your TV-connected media center, and you don't need a system administrator to pull it off. These 10 apps make filling and controlling your media center PC even easier."
• 13. Top 10 Home Office Hacks
  "Whatever kind of work you do at home, your office is one place you want to spend the time to make comfortable and convenient. Take 10 of our tips on organizing, fixing, and streamlining that space."
• 14. Top 10 Tricks for Creatively Hiding Your Stuff - Security - Lifehacker
  "Every kid has a creative stash for secret stuff, but that useful enthusiasm doesn't have to die off just because we've traded treehouses for desks. See how you can hide money, files, workspaces, and more in today's Top 10."
• 15. Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades - Hardware - Lifehacker
  "If your desktop or laptop parts have died or seen better days, you've got a friend. All of your Lifehacker editors-and many helpful net denizens-have upgraded or repaired faulty systems, and we've rounded up some of their most helpful tutorials."
• 16. Top 10 Productivity Basics Explained
  "There's a core set of habits and techniques that filter and color a lot of what we write about at Lifehacker, but we rarely step back to explain them for newcomers. Let's get back to basics with 10 productivity tactics."
• 17. Top 10 Tools for Your Blog or Web Site
  "Having your own hosted web domain has never been cheaper, or easier, with the vast array of free resources out there. Here are our ten favorite tools to help anyone launch and maintain their internet presence."
• 18. Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Better Coffee
  Coffee doesn't always make work better, but you can definitely work to get better coffee. From four-cup hotel machines to French presses, from home-roasted beans to decorative foam-we've got a wealth of tips for enjoying a better cup.
• 19. Top 10 Tricks for Making Your Playlists Rock
  "If music is part of your everyday work routine, workout, or commute, stuffing your player full of tunes and hitting shuffle just won't cut it. Scan these 10 tips for improving and expanding your music playlists."
• 20. Top 10 Outlook Boosters
  "Outlook is such a fixture of office and computer life, its potential as a central life-organizing inbox is easily taken for granted. Empower your Outlook with these add-ons, link-ups, and data management techniques."

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Want a quick blast from the past? Our most popular top 10s of 2008 and 2007 are just a click away.
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Filed under: Downloads, Expansions, FPS, Multiplayer, Left 4 Dead Series

It's like The Justice Society and the Justice League teaming up. Valve has just announced plans for The Passing, the first downloadable mini-expansion for Left 4 Dead 2 as the new survivors of the zombie apocalypse meet up with the four characters in the first Left 4 Dead game.

Set after the events of the Left 4 Dead 2 campaign Dead Center, the new campaign storyline is set in Georgia and will not only have the two sets of teams meeting each other, but will also include new arenas for Survival, Scavenge and Versus Modes. There will also be a new (and so far unnamed) co-op challenge mode. The Passing will also add a new melee weapon, a new firearm, and a new "uncommon common" Infected. The Passing is due for release sometime this spring. There's no word yet if The Passing will be a free download for the PC version.

Offical Left 4 Dead-Left 4 Dead 2 crossover coming in The Passing DLC originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Top Lists, Man / Woman Who Has Everything, Holiday Gift Guide, Featured Stories

As far as computer ports go -- and technologies in general -- USB has got to be the friendliest. Not only does it lovingly accept almost any kind of gadget imaginable, it also generously parcels out power to those gadgets so that they don't need to be plugged into a wall. As a result, it's quickly become the de facto interface for our printers, scanners, digital cameras, iPods, thumb drives and every other techno-majig we've come to rely on. However, this ubiquity and good will has led to the misuse of the USB port, which is increasingly being used to juice products that have no business being connected to a computer. In the following pages, you'll find the 10 dumbest miscarriages of the USB port we could find. These doodads are either the hilarious joke gifts for the right person, or useless wastes of plastic and metal that will go right into your gift recipient's trash bin.


Thanko USB Ashtray
Do you smoke at your desk? Do you often mix up which Red Bull can you're drinking from and which one you're ashing into? Then, it's a lucky thing there's this $16.50 ashtray, which employs a USB-powered motor to suck up the smoke from your nicotine log. Once it hoovers in your smog, the ashtray passes the smoke through two built-in filters to keep your workspace from being damaged by the very same toxins and poisons you're brutalizing your insides with.

10 Dumbest And/Or Funniest USB Gadget Gifts originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mashable is proud to present the Zappos.com Sharing Happiness Giveaway Contest!

We’ve received so many great responses/entries to our big question, �How do you use the web to improve your life and/or make people happy?�

But you can still add more by #SharingHappiness in the comments section of our original post for a chance to win a $3,000 shopping spree at Zappos.com!

Entries are due by Tuesday, December 15th at 11:59 PM PT, and we’ll announce a winner on December 16th. Be sure to read the contest rules before posting and tweeting. Note that comments on this post will not be counted as contest entries. Go here for your chance to enter.

8 Ways to Share Happiness on the Web:

To keep the holiday cheer flowing, we’ve highlighted some of the most inspiring submissions so far. These are some great ideas for sharing happiness on the web:

Jon Strum:

I use the web to publish my blog about caregiving for my disabled wife. Being a caregiver for a loved one can be a very isolating experience. My blog helps other caregivers to remember that they aren’t alone.

Herb Hernandez:

One example: helping dog rescue by acting as their webmaster, managing Twitter account and Facebook page. We’ve saved literally hundreds of dogs over the past few years.

Bonnie Jean Weinman:

My sister lost her job and is in danger of losing her house. I use the web and twitter to research ways for her to network and get another job and save her house.

GeekGirlCamp:

I use the web to promote education and computer literacy by creating a community of gifted online people to help get our message out about donating money to educational scholarships for women in dire need, free computer classes for disadvantaged women, laptop donation programs for young girls and women who have no money, and many more causes to get everyone more education for school and job skills. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Ning, and others have helped us so much gain a loyal community that is always ready to help anything we do. We would never be able to get technology into the hands of the people who need it most without the web! Thank you to everyone who helps us day after day get the message out!

Akilah S. Richards:

I use the Web to link Execumamas to each other at various stages in their journeys toward successfully integrating motherhood and business! What makes me most proud of what I do on the Web is my ability to inspire women who are apprehensive/nervous/afraid about pursuing their career goals for fear of compromising their roles as mothers. I still get emails that make me cry in appreciation of what I’m able to do!

porcheb:

I am a teacher and I use the web to develop videos in sign language so that my deaf kids would be able to have tutorial, language acquisitions, and social development at home or anywhere. Basically, it is not limited to only my deaf kids but to anyone. The web is a amazing tool to spread knowledge.

Laurie:

I use the web to fundraise for breast cancer research. It makes me happy to help others. #SharingHappiness

RENONFL:

I am always searching the web to find schrolarships for my three children to continue college. I want them to have a better life than I. To give them an education so they can become young adults that make a positive difference in the world sounds wonderful to me. I love my kids and want the most life can give them.

How do you use the social web to spread happiness and help others? Share your experience in the comments section of our original post for a chance to win a $3,000 shopping spree at Zappos.com!

To Enter

1. Leave your answer in the comments section on the original post and/or,

2. Tweet out your answer with the hashtag �#SharingHappiness� (Be sure to leave the URL of your Twitter comment in your comment on the original post.)

Contest Rules & Restrictions

You must be 18+ years of age and currently reside in one of the 50 US States. If you would like to participate but are not of valid age/residence, please note �not eligible� in your comment on the original post. By submitting, you are agreeing to the full rules and restrictions. Final entries are due on this post by Tuesday, December 15th at 11:59 PM PT.

A Big Thanks to Zappos!

�Visit Zappos.com and outfit your life with a new head-to-toe wardrobe for men, women, and kids! Step into all the clothes, bags, shoes and more from all your favorite brand names! Plus, enjoy our 365-day return policy, fast & free shipping, free return shipping & 24-hour customer service!�

Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter

Tags: contest, Contests, sharing happiness, sharinghappiness, Zappos

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, SMART, Tesla Motors

There has been considerable hope that electrifying the Smart ForTwo would dispense with the micro-car's poor driveability and allow people to use the urban runabout more comfortably. Unfortunately, it appears that even with new lithium ion energy storage, the second-generation electric city car is still not quite ready for prime time. Over at Automobile, they had a chance to sample a new Smart Ed with its Tesla-supplied battery pack and found the performance decidedly lacking.

While the peak power has been increased from the first-gen model's 27 hp to 40 hp, the Smart can only provide this output for short bursts when the accelerator is pushed to the floor. Most of the time, the car is limited to the original 27 hp. This seems to point to thermal issues with either the motor or power electronics. The result is leisurely acceleration barely better than neighborhood electric vehicles. The top speed of 62 mph is passable, as is the 84 mile range if the car can actually approach it. The other major problem seems to be the brakes. Poor blending of the regen and friction braking makes it difficult to stop smoothly and annoying to drive the car. Based on that first impression, Daimler engineers still have a lot of work to do.


[Source: Automobile]

2nd-gen Smart Ed driven, still not ready for its close-up originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After 17 months of misery, luxury home prices in London are finally up on an annual basis. Banking and hedge fund industry professionals are spending money again, largely because they're being paid again. Homes with values of above $1.6 million appreciated 1.6 percent in November compared to the same month last year. This was the first annual increase since June 2008. Nonetheless, prices remain 15 percent lower than the March 2008 peak. From October to November, prices grew 1.2 percent.

Liam Baily, head of residential research at Knight Frank, told Bloomberg News, "Anecdotal evidence from across our offices suggests that City money is becoming more apparent as we get closer to the end-of-year bonus season," continuing, "Demand from senior management is driving the market." Bonuses could wind up growing by 50 percent this year to 6 billion pounds in London's largest financial districts, and professionals in this industry are responsible for half the city's demand for luxury homes.

For homes at prices of more than $16 million, the price increases are even better: 1.9 percent from October to November this year. Residences in Chelsea, Kensington and Knightsbridge got the biggest boosts.

This has led to a bit of optimism. Luxury real estate could reach May 2008 levels by 2012, up to two years earlier than expected.

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Bankers Buying in London: Luxury Home Prices on the Rise originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Heavy Rain attempts to welcome both serious and more casual players, it's clear that many will find the unique controls and the story's slow burn a bit too jarring, unconventional, and even boring. Sony has already released so much (arguably too much) footage of Quantic Dream's adventure, and chances are that you've already passed judgment on the title. Perhaps more than any other game before it, Heavy Rain hopes that you want to like the experience. Why? It is -- at its core -- a role-playing game.

When people find out I've been playing Heavy Rain, the first question that generally pops up is, "Is it anything but a series of Quick-Time Events?" The problem with that question is that it inherently assumes that a QTE necessitates a lack of player control. While it's true that the majority of player input is done via on-screen indicators, to simply call them quick-time events is a bit derogatory, ignoring the innovations that developer Quantic Dream has made. Not all actions require players to press buttons as quickly as they see them. In fact, most of the commands involve a very deliberate pace: you may need to move the analog stick slowly, or hold down two buttons while transitioning to a third. Some inputs use the PS3's built-in motion controls, while others will use a combination of various inputs. There are many ways of interfacing with the controller, with each QTE trying to simulate its corresponding, real-world action.

However, variety is not Heavy Rain's greatest innovation. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the game to explain is its integration of inaction. You are often given the opportunity to do nothing -- and counter to your intuition, that can be the most satisfying option to pursue.

Continue reading Preview: Heavy Rain's first full chapter

Preview: Heavy Rain's first full chapter originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Avatar keep its technological promises? We've seen a huge backlash against the film's CGI, and our sibling site suspects it will suck. But when it opens, Avatar will prove a remarkable advance in motion capture and computer animation.

Granted, I make this assertion not as one of those folks who saw the movie in the last day, just as someone who has seen the early footage from Comic Con and Avatar Day and the other clips released so far.

An interesting thing about seeing the footage at Comic Con: hours before the audience's first trip to Pandora, we got to see another 3D motion capture preview, scenes from Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol. You can almost see the gears turning in Zemeckis' head when he introduces a new movie, the tweaks he made to try to improve his particular brand of mo-cap aided animation. Casting Jim Carrey, a man famous for being able to act beneath five pounds of makeup, in multiple roles was an inspired attempt to remedy the notorious flatness of his animated characters. But it proved impossible to forget that these characters were simply sophisticated digital puppets, with Ebenezer Scrooge nearly as ethereal as the ghosts he's scheduled to encounter.

While watching the Avatar footage, by contrast, it was so easy I was watching an animated movie. Certainly it's jarring to see a giant blue person standing next to humans when Sully is first connected to his Avatar body. But when the Na'vi step into their animated native habitat, it's easy to suspend that disbelief that so stubbornly hangs over Zemeckis' animation. Pandora and the Na'vi may be shy of photorealistic (although there are some incredible moments, especially during the Thanator chase and when Jake engages with his Banshee for the first time), but they do feel alive, the way their facial muscles move, the sometimes distracting way their ears twitch to convey emotion, the play of light in their eyes. At times, it almost looks like we're seeing actors in blue makeup rather than the motion capture mask. Cameron has very nearly crossed the uncanny valley and that's an achievement in itself.

But it's Pandora itself that's truly thrilling, thanks to a combination of multilayered 3D technology and Cameron's obsessive nature. Cameron has talked a great deal about how he and his army of concept artists and biologists designed every plant and creature on Pandora. It's an impressive feat (and I can't wait to see that bioluminescence again), but it's only a small component of what makes the planet seem real. Early viewers are describing Avatar as akin to a nature documentary on an alien world, and it goes far beyond glowing flora. When a Banshee lands on a tree or a Thanator runs through the forest, leaves fall. If a creature pounces on a stalk or branch, it splinters. These aren't small details Cameron and his team have inserted for the sake of realism; they're present throughout the early clips. More than that, in 3D, these components exist on different planes, each obeying the laws of physics independent of the others. When Sully first encounters Neytiri, the air is simply stuffed with bugs, embers, and bits of dust, and their depth is such that you imagine you could stick your hand in it and swirl it around. I've been fairly 3D-agnostic until this point; I enjoy the novelty of movies where the 3D reaches out and grabs you, but I've never found it adds much to the experience. Avatar's 3D, which pulls you in instead of reaching out, does create a special experience, that sense that you are actually present, looking inside an entirely invented world.

However, the technology, as amazing as it is, leaves us with a lot of questions. Is there a point to all this spectacle? Is this good filmmaking? Avatar is antithetical to the Hitchcockian mode of filmmaking, where the director carefully controls the audience's gaze. In Avatar, Cameron gleefully surrenders that kind of control, inviting us instead to look all over the screen and try to drink in as much as humanly possible as we go along. In fact, I imagine that a good deal of Avatar's repeat business will come from a sense that viewers missed a lot the first time around. I haven't seen the film in its entirety yet, but I can't help but wonder if all that spectacle distracts from other aspects of the movie. And, if it works well with Cameron's particular brand of filmmaking, will it work equally well with others'?

As for its purpose, Cameron has set it to worldbuilding — and the idea that you can create a global, digital set that you can return to any time. And you can extrapolate big things from that — incredibly detailed video games, franchises set and filmed on many worlds by many filmmakers. But it's important to remember that Cameron and his team built this technology as they went along. Early reviews indicate that Avatar stands up as a movie on its own, but it's also a proof of concept. I can't imagine that Cameron has found the exhaustive — or even the best — uses for his remarkable motion capture and animation technologies. I would love to see what happens when this technology lands in the hands of someone whose craft is animation. Avatar itself might not change all movies forever, but I'll wager that the technology that birthed it will give rise to something wonderful — and stranger than we could have imagined before.

Read More... [Source: io9: top]

Filed under: Cell Phones, Advice, Editor's Picks, Top Lists, BlackBerry, Featured Stories, BlackBerry 101

While few of us have actually received a cell phone bill as large as this poor fellow, we've all been privy to the occasional shockingly huge cell phone bill. It's no surprise, considering the ways in which carriers can hit us with hidden fees, exorbitant rates for going over our monthly minutes, or extra charges for seemingly innocuous extra feature such as call waiting. Fool us once, shame on us; fool us twice, and we find a way to cut those costs. So, take a look at our five top tips for lowering your phone bill.


1. Choose The Right Plan

The easiest solution to high cell phone bills is as simple as switching your plan. If you're not using all your monthly minutes, then downgrade to a cheaper plan with less talk time. If you're going over your minutes, then it's upgrade time. But there are other options: Whether or not you have a family, you should still consider a Family Plan, which lets you get extra cell phones and bulk minutes at reduced rates, and the best thing is that any calls to other phones on the plan don't use up any of your minutes. If you're a heavy caller, texter, and e-mailer, then consider one of the new unlimited plans, which let you do all of the above for around $99-$150 per month (again, it' s a savings if you're a power user). There are also alternatives to being stuck with a plan. Most carriers now offer a pay-as-you-go alternatives that allow you to pay for the calls you make, which is useful for those who rarely use their cell phones at all.

Top Five Ways to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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