Hack the Day
Productivity, life and computer tips. Tricks for a better day.
Search
Sponsors
Use Dreamhost promo code discount BRIEPROMOCODE for 70$ off your bill
Firefox 3.6, Fullscreen and WebDeveloper
3 Mar2010
After updating to Firefox 3.6, I started having issues with WebDeveloper, the single favorite Firefox extension I’m using on an almost daily basis.
Namely, the keyboard shortcut I was using most frequently ⌘-⇧-F had been overwritten by the latest Firefox update; instead of calling the ‘Display Element Information’ function from WebDeveloper, it now called View in Full Screen mode.
Frustrating, to say the least.
Since I didn’t want to change my typing, a bit of Googling led me to KeyConfig, an amazing Firefox extension (more info here http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=72994) which allows you to change almost ALL keyboard shortcuts in Firefox and the installed extensions.
Hope this proves useful to someone else as well.
Automator tips
4 Feb2010
I promised a long time ago to tell you more about the most underrated yet one of the most powerful tools on your Mac OSX: the Automator.
I’ll be speaking here about the Automator version on Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6) which, although highly similar to the one in Leopard (OSX 10.5), has a number of extremely cool usability improvements. If you haven’t yet, you should upgrade to Snow Leopard, anyways – it’s highly worth it.
- In: osx| productivity| software
Have a Break – free OSX productivity app
11 Jan2010
Because sometimes you just need a reminder to have a break, relax your eyes or change your posture, Have a Break is a tiny free mac app that lets you do just that: set up a periodic reminder which you simply CAN’T ignore.
Freshly baked, hot from the oven, my first osx app with hideous graphics which can only get better.
- In: mac| osx| productivity| software
It’s been quite a long time since I last wrote over here; almost a year, actually. Please don’t be mad. I’ve been busy juggling with two almost full time jobs, my marriage and many more adventures. But I’m back now and will hopefully keep on blogging, teaching you more cool tips and tricks for boosting productivity and always having a productive day!
And first I’ll tell you about my latest iPhone project, Colossal Short Stories Collection: a unique, unprecedented ebook app which just got released today on the AppStore. [iTunes link]. Colossal Short Stories Collection is a unique library in a single ebook app – getting together over 2222 short stories from almost 200 of the greatest literary classics ever.
And if you buy it NOW, you’ll benefit from the unique SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY SALE and you can get it for $0.99 instead of the list price $4.99!
Read the rest of this entry »
- In: beautiful life
Self Help Classics
12 Jan2009
By teaching better ways to use your computer, recommending new software tools that make your life easier, or suggesting ways to improve your personal mindset or lifestyle, this blog was all about improvement: personal improvement and technological one alike. This is why, although self-promotional, I won’t shy away from recommending you my latest creation:
The Self Help Classics iPhone E-book collection
Created using my own personal iPhone ebook software (TouchBooksReader), this book collection follows the same basic idea of the famous Classics.app of Andrew Kaz and Phill Ryu : a hand-picked bookshelf of major classic masterpieces in the fields of Self Help, Personal Improvement or Productivity.
Read the rest of this entry »
- In: inspirational| productivity| psychology
- Tags: AppStore, iPhone, iPhone ebook, self help
It’s a common symptom among new Mac users to be really ecstatic about their new MacBook, praise the speed and functionality, then after a month or so start seeing some flaws; much like in any relationship, where your passionate blind love from the first weeks starts to fade, giving way to more realistic assessments.
Some hard-core Linux geeks will probably miss their configuration files, kernel hacking and source code install. Windows users might miss their favorite software(Picasa, Winamp or Total Commander). I didn’t miss my Windows machine one bit, partly because I got used to other essential Mac software, partly because I use my Windows software from within Windows virtual machines, and mostly because I realized the Mac offers me all the productivity tools I ever wished for, out of the box or for free.
This article lists several essential but frequently forgotten configuration tips that make the most of your Mac. A future article will cover some vitally important FREE (or really inexpensive) Mac OSX software for your daily chores.
Faithful readers might have already read these tips here, on HackTheDay, but I do hope they’ll learn a few new things as well.
Quick question: what is the One and only most essential tool for any productivity fan?
You guessed it – the calendar.
There are many reasons why you’d want to use Google Calendar for your time management: first of all, it’s free; second, it’s online(you can access it from everywhere). Third, it has SMS alerts, which is probably the single feature I use most. The one major downside of Google Calendar has is… being an online tool; a less than perfect user interface, less than instantaneous responsiveness. Luckily, this all is in the past as of today:
Google announced CalDAV support for Google Calendar in Apple’s iCal(version 3.x – on Mac OS X v10.5+ ). In layman’s terms, this means seamless bidirectional synchronization of calendar events. No more awkward emails, no more missed meetings(actually.. this isn’t such a good news, as we all know it – meetings are productivity killers).
Here’s a step by step walkthrough in setting up Google Calendar synchronization:
1. First, you download on your OSX 10.5 mac the setup tool, called Calaboration. It’s in zip format, so you’ll want to unarchive it. Go ahead and run it, entering your Google login credentials, then click Sign In.
If you don’t want to fumble around just to learn the current date, you can display it in Leopard’s Menu Bar, right by the clock, to always have under your eyes.
What I did was to follow TUAW’s tutorial, but here’s a quick summary, just in case you’re in a hurry:
1. in System Preferences, International, Formats submenu. Select Customize date, then chose the format you want, and COPY it (select all, Cmd+C).
2. Press Ok, then from the same window, Customize for the Times part. Move the cursor before the time format, press Cmd+V(Paste). Press OK.
Easy peasy.
I never really managed to get GTD working for me.
The basic concepts of the GTD (Getting Things Done) method are really easy to grasp and pretty useful:
Write stuff down instead of trying to remember it, do the easy tasks quickly to get them out of your way, divide projects into smaller tasks and review your tasks periodically.
However, just like so many things in my life, turning a nicely put “method” into a productive habit is… almost impossible for me – my attention span lasts at most a couple of weeks, as if I were related to the common goldfish.
The one method that’d work for me… generally, would be one where I could write down my projects and goals, somehow mark my progress (I’m in constant need for confirmation and gratification, just to keep me going), automatically have it under my eyes on a regular basis (I kept forgetting to open up the GTD software I’ve been trying for the last couple of years), help me prioritize between different tasks and, most importantly, be really easy to use(no complicated setup, hierarchies or folders).
There is a lot of software out there that meets this criteria, offline or online. The one I use for the time being is TaskFive. Gorgeous, really easy to use, pretty effective.
- In: productivity| software
- Tags: gtd, online tool, productivity, review, taskfive
From the email bin
5 Nov2008
During the last year I almost never reposted the links and resources readers of HackTheDay have send me. It took a simple comment(might be a spam, but I hope it’s not) to make me want to get back to blogging over here on HTD.
So, here’s a couple of productivity-related links received from my readers during the last year or so, togetger with a bit of link love 
:
- 45 mobile resources for the road warrior
- A simple GTD online tool – Task Writer
- Time management teleseminars from time experts
- GTD agenda – another nice looking GTD online tool
- Eluma – “It’s like iTunes, but for your web stuff instead of your music, a free desktop-downloadable personal productivity tool”
- GTDInbox, a Firefox addon for Gmail that “transforms Gmail into a powerhouse of productivity”
Enjoy your productive day, and keep in touch : I’m back, baby!
- In: gtd| hack the day| links| productivity| software
- Tags: free software, gtd, productivity
Recent Comments