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Top 25 (Non-Obvious) Ways RSS Can Make Your Life Easier

admin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:57:22 +0000

By Christina Laun

RSS feeds are a great way to stay on top of news and blogs, but that’s hardly all they’re good for these days. As the technology has evolved, it’s slowly worked its way into everyday applications that can help make your daily activities easier and faster. If you’re looking for ways to more fully incorporate RSS into your technology repertoire, here are 25 applications, sites and ideas that can help you make the most of RSS. There are tons of little ways you can use RSS feeds to help you make your daily tasks, errands and life in general a little easier.

Track packages. Whether you’re ordering things for work or just love to shop online SimpleTracking can make keeping track of packages easier than ever. Users can copy an RSS feed link for their packages into their reader and get notified any time there is new information about the location of their orders.
Filter news content. There’s a ton of news out there, and when you sign up for an RSS feed the amount of information you don’t care about can far exceed that which you do. RSS can eliminate all that useless information and letting you only see stories on certain topics. Sign up with a filter like FeedRinse to eliminate the information overload.
Keep track of your flight. Busy business travelers can keep up to date on the arrival and departure times of flights simply by adding an RSS feed. Sign up for a feed like FlightStats and you’ll get reports of delayed flights sent right to your desktop or browser.
Get reminders of important dates. Everyone has suffered through the awkwardness of forgetting an important date like a birthday or an anniversary before. Help reduce your chances of making such a mistake with an RSS reminder program like Beeplet. Simply enter the dates you want to remember and you’ll recieve reminders right in your RSS feed to give your memory a little extra nudge.
Make sure your software is up-to-date. For those who simply can’t be without the latest and greatest updates to their software, keeping up-to-date can be a whole lot easier with a software release tracker like VersionTracker. The latest programs with new features, bug fixes and upgrades will be sent by RSS to you so you can easily find and download them and keep your computer fast and secure.
Remember to bring an umbrella. RSS feeds are a great way to keep on top of what’s going on in the world around you, including the weather. You can get up to the minute reports on the conditions letting you know what to wear in the morning or how long your evening commute might take. Severe storm warnings and updates will also appear in your feed, letting you know when and how to prepare.

Work

RSS feeds are great time killers at work, collaborate and get things done faster.

Get your email. For those with several email accounts, or just those who want unobtrusive notices of new mail, RSS has a solution. Pop2RSS is a program that allows users to get their POP-based email converted into an RSS feed so users can read it without ever opening up their email management program. Or, if you’re a Gmail user, you can sign up to get your emails in RSS format as well.
Send out advertising campaigns. Forget about sending out bulk emails to readers of your site or blog, you can use RSS to send information to subscribers with this service. RSS Autoresponder allows users to set up information to send out, set the intervals for it to go out, and even set up automatic follow ups.
Take your feeds on the road. RSS isn’t just a technology that you can use when on your laptop or home computer. You can take your feeds with you anywhere you go on your phone or PDA. Just download a program like Bloglines or Egress and RSS will allow you to access information no matter where you are.
Find a job. Whether you’re looking for a career change or your fresh out of college and looking for a first job, you can get leads on promising jobs though RSS. On this site you can read about how to set up your RSS aggregator to bring jobs from sites like Indeed and Yahoo Hot Jobs right to you and get yourself on the way to a successful and fulfilling new career.
Work collaboratively. Working in a group on large projects can make it difficult to ensure that everyone is on the same page and to effectively coordinate work. With RSS, sharing documents that need to be edited or approved can be much less stressful. With programs like Approver users can get RSS notifications when new documents are uploaded or when changes have been made, making working together much more productive.
Manage a schedule. Keeping track of appointments at work or even with your family can be difficult at times, but adding a calendar to your RSS feed can make things a little easier. With RSSCalendar users can create and share their shedules with other users allowing coworkers and families to coordinate meetings, soccer practice or anything else that might come up.
Take notes. While sticky notes are useful, sometimes a computer-based solution can be more practical and harder to misplace. With Webnote, users can take notes in their browser and recall and share them later via RSS.

Entertainment

Keep yourself entertained with these fun and weekend friendly RSS uses that will make it easier to find things to do and keep up with the latest releases.

Track your favorite topics from anywhere. RSS is a highly mobile and customizable technology that can make those boring morning train commutes a little more interesting. With programs like ZapTXT you won’t need a newspaper to keep you busy. Users can track select topics on news sites, classifieds, blogs and even sports scores using their cell phone, instant messenger or email.
Listen to new music. With hundreds of thousands of music options out there, it can be hard to know where to start expanding your musical horizons. RSS can come to your rescue again and help you get suggestions on music you’d like based on your existing tastes with services like Earfeeder. Or, if you’re just looking for the newest music, you can sign up for RSS updates on the latest additions to iTunes.
Keep up on your favorite team. You don’t need to check the sports page or even a sports website to keep up with the performance of your favorite teams. Simply have the information come right to your RSS aggregator instead. Whether you love baseball, football, basketball or hockey each has customizable RSS feeds to send the latest scores, trades and play-by-plays right to you without the hassle of finding it.
Learn something new. Want to build your vocabulary? Learn about the great masters of art? You can do that and more, right in your RSS reader. You can sign up to receive a word of the day, quotes and even pages from the notebooks of Da Vinci himself, allowing you to learn more at just the click of a button.
Find out what’s on TV. Couch potatoes no longer need to be in front of the TV to see what’s on or even take the time to open an online guide when your RSS feed can bring you local listings. Sign up with an online feed like ktyp and get listings by time zone to let you know when your favorite shows will be on and if they’ll be reruns.
Golf for less. Golf may be your hobby of choice but it isn’t always a cheap hobby to have. Your RSS feed can save you money and time by giving you updates on the tee times and deals all over the nation. Try out the feed on Golf Now to see if it can make your next golfing expedition a little easier and more fun.

Finances

It doesn’t have to be a pain to save money or keep track of your debts with these easy-to-implment RSS solutions.

Avoid library late fees. If you’re one of those people who is constantly paying late fees on books and movies you check out from the library, then Library Elf could be the solution that you’re looking for. The system will send reminders to your email or RSS that your items are going to be due soon and if you manage to ignore those, it will continue to remind you of your overdue status. Users can also consolidate several library cards on one feed and even keep track of books on request and hold.
Find a bargain. Make shopping easier by avoiding lines and traveling from store to store for the best deal by using RSS to help you. You can knock out that holiday shopping in a flash or just pick up a little something for yourself by setting up your RSS feeds to include your favorite shopping sites. Not sure how to do this? Check out this article on Lifehacker to find out.
Win an eBay item. For many, part of the thrill of buying things on eBay is in the competition. You can use RSS to get a leg up in your bidding and increase your chances of a sucessful experience. Simply sign up on eBay to recieve notications about your online activity, and you’ll get all of your bargaining information at your fingertips.
Remember your debts. If you were short on cash at lunch and borrowed from a friend or just need to pay your share of the rent you can use an RSS feed to keep track of your debt and make sure it gets repaid. Enter your information into the iOWEYOU service and the debts will appear in your feed until you pay them.
Track your blog earnings. Many who have blogs don’t just use them as a means of expression but also a way to make a few extra bucks on the side as well. Those using AdSense can keep track of those earnings in their RSS feed. Enter your information into a script like this and you’ll get daily reports on how much you’re earning.
Get the best deal on airfare. Flying can be painful enough these days without breaking your wallet, so make sure you’re getting the best deals on your travel arrangements. Services like FareCast allow users to input their desired departure and arrival destinations and keep track of prices so they can buy at the optimal time. Big name sites Travelocity and Expedia offer similar services.

Test your Website: A 57-Point Checklist for Maximum Usability

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:44:32 +0000

By Jessica Hupp

So you’ve got a website, but do you know whether it’s usable or not? The answer to this question can make the difference between a successful site and one that’s just ignored. Go through this checklist to make sure your site is up to snuff.

Do you answer your user’s questions?: Users visit a site because they want answers, so it’s vitally important that your site gives them what they are looking for.
Is your navigation clear and simple?: Make sure that your navigation lets the user know where they have been and where they can go in a clear, consistent manner.
Do you provide anchor text?: Ensure that your visitor always knows where links are headed by discussing the site before you ask them to "click here."
Does your design guide the eye?: Use color, position, size, and more to create a specific flow for your site.
Do you start link names with important keywords?: Use important keywords in your links so that users know when they’ve found the right information.
Is your wording straightforward?: Take a look at your language to make sure it’s simple enough for all users to understand.
Does your writing look like an inverted pyramid?: Give web users the instant gratification they want by offering the most important information early on.
Do you have "white space?": By placing too many elements too close together, you may overwhelm users. Spread things out a little.
Have you offered contact information?: If your site doesn’t answer all of a visitor’s questions, they will probably want to speak to you about it. Allow them an easy way to contact you.
Do you change URLs?: Don’t. This creates linkrot, in which links to your site are broken, and discourages other sites from linking to you in the future.
Do you have a site map?: A site map is very important for a large site, because it helps lost users find their way and also makes it easy for search engines to spider your site.
Does your information look like an ad?: Users will ignore information if it resembles a promotion, so avoid using large red text and other design elements found in advertisements.
Does your site require unnecessary plugins?: Be aware that not everyone’s browser is fully decked out. Use a plugin only if it adds value and is absolutely necessary.
Have you enabled graceful degradation?: Be sure that even if your site can’t display certain elements, the rest will still function properly.
Does your logo link home?: Users expect that your site’s main logo will always link to your homepage, so make sure you’ve done this.
Have you grouped information?: Make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for by arranging related information together, such as your corporate history alongside your career offerings.
Do you provide visual clues for links?: Make sure that you’ve made your links obvious with colored, underlined text.
Have you used color properly?: Avoid placing light-colored text on a light-colored background, or it will be hard for visitors to read your content. The same goes for dark-on-dark.
Do you support deep-link users?: Check all of your site’s pages to make sure a user could orient themselves if they arrived on that page before any other place on your site.
Is your site organized with a consistent structure?: Be sure to include headings, lists, and a unifying structure from page to page.
Do you show users where they’ve been?: Differentiate between visited and unvisited links so that visitors can navigate with ease.
Is your text annoying?: Use bold, italic, and upper-caps text sparingly.
Do your graphics mean anything?: If your graphics seem irrelevant or frivilous, users won’t be impressed, so make sure that any images you use are directly related to the content.
Do you date your content?: Don’t make users guess about which content is current and which is obsolete. Add dates to articles, press releases, and other content.
Is your site full of animation?: Cut down on unnecessary animations to avoid overwhelming the user.
Have you optimized your writing for the web?: Ensure that your text is short, scannable, and to the point, offering answers and common language.
Do your links work?: Always double check your site for broken links, as they’re one of the worst user annoyances out there.
Do you have a tagline?: Use a tagline to give visitors an extremely quick summary of what you do and what the site’s about.
Do you offer prices?: If you’re using your website as a sales tool, it is vitally important that you answer what is almost certainly your customer’s biggest question-how much is it?
Do your error messages help?: Take a look at your error messages, and consider whether they just tell the user they’re wrong, or if they actually provide suggestions for how to remedy the problem.
Have you tested alternative browsers?: Although the majority of the Internet is still on Internet Explorer, it’s vital that you make sure your page renders correctly in browsers like Firefox, Safari, Opera, and more.
Does your content require horizontal scrolling?: Cut down on user annoyance by ensuring that your page’s width does not exceed your visitor’s browser.
Have you added descriptions to images?: Let your users know what purpose an image serves by placing information in the ALT and TITLE attributes.
Do you link within a page?: If so, cut it out. Linking to a different position on the same page will confuse visitors and undermine their understanding of the browser.
Is your design consistent?: Don’t leave users guessing whether they’ve stumbled upon a different site. Use similar colors and typefaces throughout your entire site.
Is your name and logo on every page?: Don’t assume that just because a user is on your site, they know who you are. Place your name and logo prominently on your site.
Have you identified the next step?: Make it painstakingly easy for users to see where they’re supposed to go next.
Does your FAQ answer real questions?: If your FAQ is full of questions that you only wish your visitors would ask, you need to reassess. Make sure that you’re actually featuring frequently asked questions so that the FAQ is actually useful.
Can users find information quickly?: Follow the 3-click-rule, which states that users will stop using a site if they can’t find the information they want within 3 mouse clicks.
Is your information cluttered?: If so, you need to break pages down into different sections.
Are your forms too much trouble?: Cast a critical eye on your forms to make sure you’re allowing flexible inputs and not asking for unnecessary information.
Is your site accessible for users with disabilities?: Check to make sure your site is readable by those with disabilities, especially the blind.
Are your fonts readable?: Make your text readable by avoiding small font sizes and allowing font resizing.
Is your site broken down into digestable chunks?: Follow the 7, plus or minus 2 principle, which states that users can retain only about 5-9 things at one time.
Does your page load quickly?: Make sure your pages load quickly so that your website is friendly to those on slow Internet connections, or who have to pay per minute of Internet access.
Is your title descriptive?: Make sure that your page title makes sense for the content you offer.
Does your site render correctly in different screen resolutions?: If you’re only optimized for 1024×767, you’re rendering your site incorrectly to a lot of visitors.
Offer a search function: Make it incredibly easy for users to find information by providing a search box.
Have you outlined a privacy policy?: It drives users crazy to give away their contact information without knowing what will be done with it. Make it explicitly clear whether you’ll sell their email address, and how often they’ll get email from you.
Do you have a liquid layout?: Frozen layouts and fixed page widths make it difficult for large browsers to render your page, and this design poses problems with printing.
Does your content have spelling errors?: Check your content for errors in spelling or grammar, and don’t rely solely on a spell-check function.
Use tabs responsibly: Use tabs to change views while still in the same context, and make them incredibly readable and logically broken up.
Is your splash page absolutely necessary?: Most users prefer to get right to the content instead of watching and waiting for a splash page to complete.
Do you have a brandable URL?: Use a short URL so that it can be easily relayed from one user to the next, and you’ll make viral marketing easier to come by.
Have you filled out TITLE and META tags?: Make sure you’ve filled out this information to let users and search engines know what your site’s all about.
Do you emphasize high-priority tasks?: Make sure that your homepage highlights the important actions you’d like visitors to make.
Do users know when they’re clicking an email link?: Ensure that users know when to expect their email program to pop up.

Microformats University: 100+ Articles and Resources

admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:53:06 +0000

By Jessica Hupp

Microformats are small formatting pieces designed to make your data easier to read by both users and software. Although their use is not widespread, it’s important that every web developer becomes familiar with them, as they’re sure to be an integral part of the web’s future. Because of this, there are a number of articles and resources out there devoted to microformats. We’ve compiled more than 100 of the best here.

Introduction

If you’ve never heard of microformats before, this is the place to start.

Microformat: This article from Wikipedia will give you a quick idea of how microformats work.
Microformats.org: On this site, you’ll get an overview and the latest information on microformats.
Introduction to Microformats: This introduction explains microformats in friendly, easy to understand language.
What are Microformats?: Get a quick look at microformats in this introduction.
Microformats: What They Are and How to Use Them: See how microformats have come about, and how you can take advantage of them.
What You Can Do With Microformats: Check out this article to see what’s possible.
Microformats: Check out this MozillaWiki article to find out more about microformats, and how they’re used with Firefox.
An Introduction to Microformats: Find out how you can put microformats to work with this introduction.
Microformats Primer: Find examples, standards, and more information about microformats in this primer.
Intro to Microformats: See why microformats are important, and get a walkthrough on tagging and more.

Implementations

See how a handful of sites have put microformats to work.

Blinksale: This invoicing platform makes use of the hCard standard.
Blogmarks: Blogmarks publishes user bookmarks with xfolk/rel-tag.
Cork’d: This wine review site uses hCard for user profiles and hReview for wine reviews, as well as rel-tag for tagging wines.
Digg: Digg supports hCards in profiles as well as rel-me for identities.
Eventful: Eventful uses hCalendar for event listings and hCard for venues.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn makes use of hCard and XFN, hResume, and hReview.
Ma.gnolia: This bookmark site uses loads of different microformats, specifically rel-tag, hReview, and hCard.
Technorati: Technorati is full of microformats usage, including hCards, hCalendar, and hReview.
Twitter: Twitter makes use of hAtom, hCard, and XFN.
Yahoo!: In a number of different uses, Yahoo! takes advantage of rel-license, hCard, hCalendar, hReview, and more.

Articles & Presentations

Here you can read about a number of different issues with microformats, and what you can expect from them in the future.

Where Microformats Might Take Us: Find out what microformats can make possible.
Microformats: The Fine Art of Markup: Check out this series to learn about how you can enhance your content with microformats.
The Big Picture on Microformats: Find out how microformats are currently used, and what we can expect to see in the future.
The Awesome Power of Microformats: In this presentation, you’ll see how awesomely microformats can harness data.
How YOU Can Make the Web More Structured: In this article ReadWriteWeb sells microformats as a way to structure the web.
The Progress and Promise of Microformats: Learn more about the microformats movement, and some of the issues we’ll see in the future.
Microformats for RDF Fans: This wiki article discusses what RDF users should know about microformats, and why they should switch.
hAccessibility: This article discusses why and how microformats can make the web a more accessible and usable tool.
Microformats: Tomorrow’s Web Today: This article takes a look at the practical applications of microformats.
Mozilla Does Microformats: Firefox 3 as Information Broker: This article discusses the possibilities that occur when Web browsers associate semantically marked up data with applications in your system and online.
WSG Microformats Talk: See how microformats mean the web will serve people first, and make it easy to only write once.
Microcontent Design, Part 1: Explore microcontent design in this article that discusses data sources and formats, structured blogging, and lots more.
Microcontent Design, Part 2: BBC Case Study: See how BBC is using microcontent on their BBC Backstage site.
Microcontent Design, Part 3: Mightv, a BBV TV listings app: Go beyond BBC Backstage, and see how the BBC Backstage environment is being used to create the application Mightyv.
Microformats and Web 2.0: See how microformats are being used in Web 2.0 applications, and how they’ll influence the growing web.
Microformats and the Decentralized Future of Online Marketing: Read this article to think about microformats in the browser, and what that means for the online experience, particularly marketing.
Microformats in Context: Take a look at microformats as a hot new Web 2.0 technology.
Microformats in Web Browsers: Check out this concept in browser-based microformats discovery.
Discussion of Microformats: Get an introduction, history, and overview of microformats here.
Microcontent Aggregators: 43Things: Get an introduction to microcontent aggregators in this post.
Microformats Are More than RSS: Get a look at some of the popular microformats online today, as well as ones we can expect in the future.
Microformats: Tomorrow’s Web Today: Understand the semantic web and microformats, as well as how you can get started with microformats in this article.
Compound Microformats: This presentation discusses combining blocks of HTML to create compound microformats.
W3C Looks to GRDDL For Semantic Web Sense: See how Semantic Web developers will use GRDDL to use microformats data.
Why Microformats: Learn why microformats are important, how they work, and more.

Tools

Use these developer tools to make using and creating microformats easier.

hCalendar creator: With this creator, you can preview and copy code for your very own calendar.
hAtom transcoder: Output hAtom to Atom 1.0 and RSS 2.0 with this tool.
best-guess: Use the best-guess algorithm on ambiguous name components.
Buttons: Support microformats by displaying one of these buttons.
Safari Microformats Plugin: Use this plugin, and you’ll be alerted any time you visit a site with published microformats.
Greasemonkey: Use this Firefox customization tool to make use of microformats.
hResume Creator: Fill out this form, and you’ll have a microformatted resume.
hKit parser: Create plain text, JavaScript, and PHP outputs of the hKit microformat with this tool.
Structured Blogging: Use this tool to create microformats in your blog.
Icons: Use these icons to indicate microformats information.
Dreamweaver Microformats Extension: This extension will add a few microformats Insert bar tools to Dreamweaver.
rel-lint: Use this lint tool to make use of the rel attribute of links.
Tails Export: This Firefox extension shows and exports microformats.
Spell checking: Add this list of words to your spell check dictionary to make coding microformats easier.
hCard creator: Use this tool to quickly and easily generate microformats code for an hCard.
Textpattern Microformats Plugin: This plugin adds a number of different microformats tags that can be used with Textpattern.
hReview creator: The hReview creator makes it easy to create review code.
Microformats Bookmarklet: Use this bookmarklet to select and save individual contacts or events.
Operator: This Firefox plugin detects microformat content and offers relevant options and tools.
Pingerati: This site connects publishers with microformat index services.

Tutorials

Get step-by-step walkthroughs for creating various microformats here.

Using Microformats in Your Blog Software: Learn how to add more structure to your blog content with this tutorial.
Tutorials on Microformats: Get help in microformats with these tutorials.
Highlight Microformats with CSS: In this tutorial, you’ll see how you can highlight microformats using CSS, with examples.
Pairing Wine and Microformats: Check out this tutorial to see how microformats can be put to work on a wine review site.
Creating microformat hCalendar events with PHP: Get a detailed look at how you can use the hCalendar microformat in PHP.
Add Microformats Magic to Your Site: Find out how to use microformats for your site, complete with code.
Microformats: Web of Data: See how to use different microformats on your site to facilitate movement of data online.
Understanding Elemental Microformats: In this guide, you’ll learn how to manage link spam, Creative Commons, and much more.
Using Microformats in WordPress: Get step by step instructions for using microformats such as hCalendar, hCard, and hResume in your WordPress blog.
Microformats: Managing Personal and Event Data: See how flexible microformats can be by checking out this guide.
Microformats and WordPress Themes: Find out how to make your WordPress pages more readable using microformats.
Tutorial: Using hCalendar Microformats: Get a real-world example of using hCalendar microformats in this tutorial.
Microformats: Converting XHTML to vCards and iCalendars: This tutorial will show you how to use microformats to embed data in XHTML.
Separate Data and Formatting with Microformats: Find out how to read and write microformats for the web with this article.
Microformats: More Meaning from Your Markup: This tutorial offers an in-depth look at microformats for people and events.
Unobtrustively Mapping Microformats with jQuery: This tutorial will show you how to create a microformat-enabled map with jQuery.
Using Microformats in WordPress: Check out this tutorial to learn how to implement microformats in your WordPress blog.

Cheat sheets

Use these cheat sheets for quick reference to all things microformat.

Microformats Cheat Sheet: Check out this cheat sheet for quick microformats references.
cheat-sheet: Check out this wiki directory to find lots of different microformats cheat sheets.
Microformats Cheat Sheet: This cheat sheet from ILoveJackDaniels has great information for a number of different cheat sheets.
pocket-cheat-sheet: Carry this handy little cheat sheet around in your pocket for quick reference.

Code

Here you’ll find lots of sample code that you can use when creating microformats.

pydataportability: This collection of tools includes support for microformats in Python.
django-microformats: Use this application to create microformats in the Django framework.
microformats.css: Use this CSS-based template with existing microformats.
Microformats from the Ground Up: Find loads of code and other resources in this presentation.
hatom-sparkle: Add hAtom support to Sparkle with this code.
filtered-column-hcard-macro: Use this macro to filter columns in Rails.
CSS: Check out this code to learn how to deal with objects, abbr, and more.
ufperl: ufperl will extract microformats in Perl.
python-microformats: Use this library to use and validate microformats in Python.

Information sources

For even more information about microformats, check out these books, forums and blogs

Microformatique: Get the latest information on microformats through this blog.
Using Microformats: Check out this PDF guide from O’Reilly to learn how to use microformats.
All in the Head: Drew McLellan’s blog has a lot to say about microformats.
reblg Yahoo! Group: Check out this group to discuss reblogging, microformats, portable content, and more.
Tantek: View the blog of Tantek Celik to see what an expert has to say about microformats.
Microformats Implementation Wiki: See how microformats are being used in applications and more.
Official Microformats.org Blog: Get the latest news, developments, and more from this blog.
Planet Microformats: This site offers a meta-feed of microformats information from all over the web.
Microformats Forums: Here you’ll find general discussion, announcements, developments, and lots more.
Microformats: Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0: Check out this book to learn the why and how of microformats.

The Privacy Toolbox: 100 Guides and Resources for Keeping Your Personal Information Safe

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:27:48 +0000

Today’s online culture of banking, blogging, social networking and shopping makes it easier than ever for those with nefarious intentions to steal your personal information. Social Security numbers, credit cards and online passwords are all at risk if you don’t keep your personal information secure both online and off. While there is no way to make identity theft a non-issue, there are a number of things that you can do to help ensure that your data is as secure as it possibly can be. Here are 100 places to start researching how to keep your information away from prying eyes.

Articles

Take a moment to read these articles to get some background on identity theft and loss of personal information and learn some ways to prevent it.

Shredding Can Save You From Identity Theft: This article from Yahoo takes you through why you should shred instead of just tossing out documents as well as a list of documents that should always be destroyed.
Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number: This goverment released article helps you to learn just why you should keep your Social Security number private.
Identity Theft Exposed: This article from the AARP talks about the effect identity theft can have on the lives of the victims and the uphill battle it is to get good credit back afterwards.
10 Things Everyone Should Know About Bank Errors: Whether money is accidentally put in your account or taken out, this article can help you know what to do so your finanances and those of others remain secure.
Major Banks, Telcos Top Identity Theft Chart: This article shows that your information may not be as safe as you think, even with a corporation you think you can trust.
Mitigating Identity Theft: Schneier on Security’s Bruce Schneier dicusses the issues surrounding the increasingly common phenomenon of indentity theft and gives his opinion on the politics and technology that will grow to protect consumers.
Credit Card Fraud Keeps Growing on the Net: While most sites are perfectly secure, there are many that aren’t and are out there to steal your information. This article dicusses the growth of credit card theft on the net and the processes by which theives get your information.
5 Disposable Web Accounts to Keep Your Identity Safe: One way you can help protect your identity is by not maintaining the same information to steal from transaction to transaction. This article gives disposable alternatives, from email to phone numbers.
Consumers Afraid of Identity Theft Have a New Weapon– A Credit Freeze: Read about a new way you can help protect your credit if you feel you might be at risk for identity theft with this article from The Business Shrink.
Your SS Number is Just a Click Away: Here you can read about just how easy it can be for identity theives to get access to your Social Security number and what you can do to fight it.
Debit Card Thieves Get Around PIN Obstacle: You might think your PIN makes your debit card safe even if it gets stolen, but that’s hardly the case, as this article points out.
10 Extremely Useful Websites to Stop Big Brother From Snooping on You: Whether it’s the government or someone out to get your information, most people don’t want anyone spying on what they’re doing, no matter how innocuous. This article gives you 10 different sites you can try out to help minimize this risk.
What to Do When They Ask for Your Social Security Number: From time to time there are going to be businesses and places that you work with that will ask for your Social Security number. This article can help you learn how to handle this so your personal information stays private and secure.

Blogs

These bloggers share their opinions and concerns about maintaining personal privacy and keeping identity theives at bay.

The Privacy Blog: This blog is dedicated to addressing current issues in privacy and security. Written by Lance Cottrell, it covers topics like free speech, online privacy, identity theft and email security to help educate readers on topics they should be aware of.
Protect Personal and Financial Privacy: The name says it all, this blog is all about the issues that surround keeping your identity safe, your data secure and your financial and medical information private.
The Politics of Privacy Blog: There are many issues that surround the protection of personal data as well as an individual’s right to keep this kind of data only to themselves. This blog written by political science professor Andreas Busch discusses these issues and how they are dealt with in public policy.
Privacy and Security Law Blog: Want to know what your legal rights are about personal privacy and what laws govern the security of your information? This blog addresses these issues and more, helping you protect your rights and your information.
Ephemeral Law: This blog also addresses some of the legal issues that surround privacy and data security. Read posts about the costs of data exposure and protecting consumer privacy as well as on many other topics.
The Dunning Letter: Written by former junk mailer Jack Dunning, in this blog you’ll find information and opinions on how you can protect your most precious possession: your personal information. Dunning is now an advocate for name and data protection and can provide useful tips on how to keep your name off of junk mail lists.
ID Theft Secrets Blog: This blog is dedicated to helping consumers find the resources and information they need to protect their credit card and personal data from becoming prey to identity fraudsters. Readers will get tips on simple things they can do to avoid becoming victims.
Fight Identity Theft Blog: Here readers will find ways they can actively work to stop identity theft and protect themselves from those with ill intentions. The blog also posts on the latest news, technology and scams to watch out for.
Privacy and Identity Theft Blog: Written by Dave Jevans, this blog posts the latest in information and identity theft. Stories of what happened to others can help you ensure that the same things don’t happen to you.
Anti-Phishing Blog: This blog acts as a resource for Internet users. It lists recent phishing scams so that if you’re presented with them you’ll know what to look out for and what not to fall for.
Mark Nestman: Preserving Your Privacy and More: As the name suggests, this blog focuses on ways that individuals can protect their privacy. Posts on keeping your encrypted data safe and and protecting yourself from identity theft are interspersed with the latest news in privacy politics and law.
Digital Soapbox: For those interested in learning more about keeping their computers and online transactions secure, this blog can help provide some insight. Posts give the blogger’s personal feeling and opinions on security, risk and data protection.

Resources

If you’ve been a victim of identity theft or just want to make sure you never are, these resources can be a big help.

Identity Theft Awareness: This site, maintained by fraud and security expert Henry Bagdasarian, gives visitors loads of information on how they can keep their data safe and secure. The site contains articles on credit card fraud, laws, theft prevention, travel security and workplace security, making it an invaluable resource.
Identity Theft Resource Center: This nonprofit organization has set up this site to help consumers who have had their identity stolen get back on their feet and to help those who want to prevent theft to better do so. Visitors to the site will find consumer and victim resources as well as a variety of business solutions.
Call for Action: This international group provides consumers and individuals with a place where they can fight back against identity theft and stolen or sold personal information. The site provides resources on filing a complaint about identity theft as well as how to prevent phishing and other online scams.
Consumer Privacy Guide: Few people realize that the things they do every day may be putting their privacy at risk. This site provides consumers with the resources and information they need to make informed choices about shopping online and things they can do to ensure their privacy and protection.
Privacy Journal: Published by Robert Ellis, this site is one of the oldest publications around that has to do with privacy. Since the 1970s, the journal has been publishing articles on what individuals can to do help keep their personal information private.
Home Computer Security: For many who don’t know a ton about computers, keeping a desktop or laptop secure can be a confusing and sometimes overwhelming problem. This site can help address everything you need to help make sure your computer-based information stays visible only to your eyes.
National Do Not Call Registry: Many people have their identities stolen through phone solicitations that trick them into giving away their personal information. You can help prevent this by putting your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. It will block solicitors from calling you greatly reducing your chances of getting scammed.
OptOutPrescreen: Those pesky credit card offers you recieve in the mail are not only annoying and wasteful, but they’re also a potential goldmine for someone that wants to steal your identity. Sign up with this site to stop these kind of advertisements from coming to your home and putting your security at risk.
Annual Credit Report: By law, you are entitled to recieve one credit report each year. Doing so can not only be a good way to keep an eye on your credit but it can also alert you to any potential indentity theft issues as well. Suspicious activitiy will be easier to spot and take care of with the reports and you can immediately notify the credit bureaus to the fraud.
Federal Trade Commission: If your idenitity is stolen, you’ll not only have quite a mess on your hands, but you’ll also need to contact the Federal Trade Commission to help start rectifying the situtation and making sure that the thief is caught in the act.
How Identity Theft Works: Ever wonder how thieves actually make use of the information they steal? This article from Howstuffworks will take you through each type of theft to help you better understand and combat it.
Identity Theft is a Crime: Resources from the Government: The US government gives those who want to prevent theft of their personal information as well as those who already have been victimized a listing of resources to help them out.

Applications

Take charge of your personal security and privacy with these applications that keep nosy hackers and phishers at bay.

CenturionMail: CenturionMail is a powerful but easy-to-use security program. It works to encrpyt both emails and files on a system to ensure that they remain hidden from prying eyes.
Mail2Web: This program allows users to read their emails from any computer in the world or on their cellphone securely and privately, giving them remote access as well as the security of knowing their information is protected.
BrowserSpy: This program gives users detailed information about what their browser reveals about them, plus it lets users know just what programs and utlities are installed in their browsers so they can determine if they’re truly secure.
Tor: Tor helps stop traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance. The program prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit or from anyone knowing your physical location. It can help you surf and chat with others in a more private manner.
Camera/Shy: This program can make it easy to hide private information right in plain sight. It offers encryption and decryption of steganography, automatic cache and history clearing, and protection against malicious HTML.
SmasheR: Pop-ups can be an annoying feature of browsing the Web and can sometimes result in you clicking on things that might do harm to your computer. SmasheR helps to stop these pop-ups, plus it provides mointoring of 3rd party activity, PC cleaning, and cookie removal.
Skype: Chances are good that if you know much about technology you have heard about Skype. This popular VoIP service not only provides low cost calls to anywhere in the world, but the calls are also encrypted, helping add an additional layer of security to confidential discussions.
SpeakFreely: SpeakFreely is an entirely free VoIP phone that allows users to securely speak to one another over the web. The program is fully encrypted, making it difficult for prying outside ears to eavesdrop on private conversations.
Private Eye: With this program, you can spy on your own computer. It allows users to see the information stored by your browser incuding when you auto-complete forms in the Protected Storage area of your computer. If there is information that you’d rather not have stored on your computer or anywhere else, you can simply remove it.
Encryptionizer: This Windows based progam has been used in banks and hospitals all over the world and can help keep everything from a whole database to a simple DVD of information more secure through careful encryption.
Icon Lock-It: If you’re prone to forgetting to lock your computer before you leave it unattended or just want a little extra privacy on a shared computer you can try out this program. It allows users to create passwords for files, icons, and folders on your computer, keeping personal data extra secure.
SecuriChat: If you need to chat about personal or private topics or just want a little extra security when chatting with your friends and family, you can try out this online messenger. It’s triple layered and requires that both parties have access to an encrypted passcode before initating the chat.
AbsoluteShield File Shredder: Many people may not know, but when you add items to your recycle bin they may not really be getting erased from your computer. This program takes care of that and makes sure that any personal information you wanted taken off your computer gets destroyed completely.
VauletSuite: This multi-platform suite can provide a comprehensive way to secure all the information on your computer and what is going in and coming out. It comes with secure and spam-free email as well as password storage and file encryption.
Anti-Keylog: In these days of spyware, anyone can be watching your computer and you may not even be aware of it. You can help protect yourself, however, with a program like Anti-Keylog. It can help prevent spyware from stealing important personal information like credit card numbers and passwords from programs you might not even know are watching.

Organizations

There are many groups out there that specialize in helping consumers maintain their personal privacy and recover from identity theft. Here are a few you can check out.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: This nonprofit organization works to help educate citizens about their privacy rights and how they can protect sensitive information about their finances, medical history and personal identity when they’re online or off. Visitors to the site will find a large collection of helpful resources.
Electronic Privacy Information Center: The Internet leaves even the most conscientious privacy protectors at risk of having personal information stolen. After all, the best security can’t keep out hackers that truly want to get your information. This organization can help you learn how to keep your information safe while still protecting your right to free speech and speedy information exchange.
Electronic Frontier Foundation: The EFF is a civil liberties union that works to protect the rights of citizens in the digital world. These include issues of free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights, all of which can have a big impact on your day-to-day online activities.
Privacy International: Privacy International is a watchdog group that aims to protect the privacy and information of individuals from both the government and corporations who might infringe on personal privacy rights. Here you’ll find information on everything from data protection to financial surveillance.
Anti-Phishing Working Group: The Anti-Phishing Working Group is a global law enforcement association focused on eliminating fraud and identity theft that results from phishing, pharming and email spoofing. You will find information on what scams to watch out for as well as resources to report any suspicious email you might receive.
CCGuard: This organization is dedicated to educating consumers on how to protect their credit card information both in the online environment and off. It offers articles on dealing with identity theft, how you can protect your identity when online shopping and what to do if you give your credit card number to a scammer on accident.
Privacy Foundation: This organization deals with issues of consumer and citizen privacy as well as homeland security and medical and identity theft. Visitors to the site will be able to get helpful information and resources on these topics as well as many others.
ScamBusters: This organization can give you a heads up on what scams to look out for as well as useful articles on what you can do to help prevent getting scammed.
Identity Theft Awareness Group: Get facts and resources on identity theft from this prevention-oriented group.
Privacy.org: Get the latest information on privacy issues and news from this organization. Visitors to the site will also find a variety of resources and tools as well.
Identity Theft 911: This organization provides a leadership role for America’s businesses, but it can also provide news and resources on personal issues in identity theft.
Fraud Resource Group: Fight fraud with information and resources distributed by this group.
RipOffReport: Keep your personal information out of the hands of scammers and rip-off artists. This site lists known scams and frauds to help save you loads of time and money.

Tips

These sites give some simple tips for protecting your information.

Top Ten Ways to Protect Your Privacy Online: These ten tips show how easy it is to both get suckered in by phishers and also to prevent indentity theft. By implementing tips like not using 3rd party information sharing, you can help keep your private information private.
What to Consider When Buying a Paper Shredder: Shredding documents is a must for keeping information safe, but how can you know what shredder will work best for your needs? This article discusses what you need to determine before making your shredder purchase.
6 Tips to Avoid Scams: Scam artists are everywhere these days. These tips can give you some simple help in avoiding these potential harmful people and keeping your money and information secure.
Tips for Tackling Check Fraud: Many people each year fall victim to check fraud schemes. Here you’ll find some tips that can help keep you from joining these ever-expanding ranks.
Consumer Fraud Prevention Tips: You can make purchases with a little more confidence if you know what to watch out for. These tips will help you to avoid getting scammed when you shop just about anywhere.
5 Identity Theft Tips for the Holiday Season: With so much going on around holiday time, identity theft can be the last thing on your mind, but you’re at just as much of a risk as any other time of the year. From watching your wallet on a shopping excursion to watching your credit card statements, these tips can help make a hassle free holiday.
Top 10 Indentity Theft Tips for 2008: This up-to-the-minute guide can help you to minimize your risk of identity theft.
Privacy: Tips for Protecting Your Personal Information: The FTC put out these tips to help consumers and citizens keep an eye on all their personal information so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
12 Tips to Protect Personal Information During Tax Season: Doing your taxes often involves sending large amounts of personal information on the Web or in the mail. You can help keep this information safe by following the advice in these 12 tips.
Tips for Protecting Yourself When Shopping Online: Online shopping can be a convenient way to get things cheaper and faster without the hassle of waiting in lines and driving to the store. These tips can give you some steps in the right direction for making these shopping options more secure.
Phishing Scams! Top 5 Tips to Protect Yourself: Phishing is a growing problem in email and all over the Web. You can avoid falling victim with these tips.
Tips for Securing Private Information: Keep your private information private with these computer security tips.

Guides

Everyone needs a little guidance now and then and you can get some from these helpful how tos and guides on privacy protection.

Your 5-Minute Guide to Protecting Your Identity: Don’t think you have time to implement increased security measures? This article explains how you can up your awareness of scams in just a few minutes and keep thieves from stealing your information.
Online Brokerage Accounts: What You Can Do to Safeguard Your Money and Your Personal Information: This article from the US Securities and Exchange Comission addresses how you can enjoy the ease and profitability of trading online without falling victim to identity theft.
Your Guide to Online Privacy: This lengthy article from PBS gives users some interesting background on the Internet security issue as well as information on what to do to help ensure their privacy stays protected online.
10-Minute Guide for Beginners to Getting Safe Online: Newbies to computer security or just those who don’t have a clue what they’re doing online can benefit from this quick and easy guide that gives tips on the most important aspects of safeguarding yourself and your data.
How to Keep Your Identity Safe Online: The Internet can be a great place to meet other and find a plethora of information, unfortunately, it’s also a great place for predators to access your personal information. This simple how-to guide will help you learn to protect yourself and keep information theives at bay.
Identity Theft Victims Guide: If you have fallen victim to identity theft, this guide from Privacy Rights Clearinghouse can give you a step by step guide as to what you need to do to get your information back and make sure it doesn’t get stolen again.
The Ultimate Guide to Identity Theft Prevention: There’s no better cure for identity theft than to prevent it from happening in the first place and you can get a head start on that with this guide from Your Credit Advisor. It gives advice on what to watch out for and what to do if you think your identity has be stolen.
How to Pick a Safe Password: A password won’t do much good if it’s so easy anyone can guess it. This how-to can help you learn how to pick a password that will keep your data safe and give you more peace of mind.
How to Know What Documents to Shred and When to Shred Them: Without a doubt you want to keep information theives at bay by shredding confidential documents, but knowing just what you need to shred and when it may be time to toss out old files can be a choice that leaves many unsure. This article can help make the decision process easier.
The College Student’s Guide to Identity Theft: College students often have to fill out loads of forms, many of which contain their Social Security Numbers. This guide can help students learn what they need to do to keep this and other sensitive information safe.
Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Businesses: The FTC has put together this simple guide to help businesses protect their private data as well as that of their customers.
The Beginner’s Guide to Phishing: Phishing is a common way that personal information is stolen. This guide can help protect you from becoming a victim of this sneaky email scam.
Gizmo’s Guide to Securing Your PC: Don’t let your PC be a buffet of free information to theives. Keep it secure by implementing the suggestions from this guide.

Books

Take a visit to your local library or bookstore to pick up these privacy protection titles.

How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life by J.J. Luna: This book addresses the issues of privacy both on and off the Web. The book is filled with real-life stories drawn from the author’s life and the lives of others to help ensure that readers will make more of a commitment to safeguarding their own personal information.
Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Name, Your Credit and Your Vital Information, and What to Do When Someone Hijacks Any of These: This book lays out all the ways your personal information can be stolen and even gets into the nitty gritty details. The author also offers advice on what to do if you find yourself a victim of any of these crimes.
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America by Terri Cullen: Cullen is the assistant managing editor and personal finance columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online. In this book, the major types of identity theft are discussed as well as tips to reduce your risk and on what to do if you do get your identity stolen.
Stealing Your Life: The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan by Frank W. Abagnale: If you’ve seen the movie Catch Me If You Can then you know at least part of the life story of Frank Abagnale. A former con artist and identity thief, Abagnale now gives advice on what to do to avoid getting scammed and how to deal with fraud when it arises.
Identity Theft, Inc.: A Wild Ride with the World’s #1 Identity Thief by Glenn Hastings and Richard Marcus: This book is written by a notorious indentity thief who, in an attempt to repent for his crimes, offers up advice on how you can keep indentity thieves at bay.
The Identity Theft Protection Guide by Amanda Welsh: Get advice on minimizing your risk, safeguard your family and recover a stolen identity in this concise guide.
100% Internet Credit Card Fraud Protected by Vesper and Vesper: If you’re not only worried about your personal sercurity but your business’ as well, this book can help give you advice on professional anti-fraud methods that can help you protect your business from credit card fraud.
Give Me Back My Credit! by Denise Richardson: A victim of identity theft herself, Denise Richardson puts a face on the all-to-common occurance of identity theft.
Your Evil Twin: Behind the Identity Theft Epidemic by Bob Sullivan: Do you have an evil identity lurking around and stealing your good credit? This book discusses this billion dollar crime and the people it affects from all income brackets and walks of life.
Phishing: Cutting the Identity Theft Line by Rachael Lininger and Russell Dean Vines: Written by a phishing security expert, this book takes you through the the technical aspects of phishing and explains how you can prevent these thieves from stealing your identity.

69 Techie Uses for Duct Tape

admin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:00:52 +0000

As one of the world’s most useful products, pretty much everyone loves duct tape, but techies seem to have a special place in their hearts for the versatile adhesive. From the practical to the slightly silly, here is a list of some of the best techie uses for duct tape.

Computer Techies

This section is for that special breed of techies: the computer techies. Read on to find cool ways to use duct tape for your computer and accessories.

Create your own Post-It: The Duct Tape Guys urge you to eliminate flaky Post-Its altogether by duct taping your notes to your computer monitor. Another tip? You can scribble away forumulas and codes on the actual duct tape with a Sharpie.
Organize wires: Lots of computer techies keep several different computers and computer accessories around the house, just in case. Wrap a few layers of duct tape around all the unruly wires to keep them from getting tangled up.
Repair your worn out computer chair: If you’ve been sitting in the same computer chair year after year, you probably need to make a few repairs. Cover up any holes with a few strips of duct tape, and wrap some of the sticky adhesive around any arms or legs that need extra support.
Re-bind your manuals.: Your software and programming manuals have probably also received a lot of wear and tear over the years. If the binding is starting to come undone, use duct tape to keep the pages in place.
Create promotional items to jumpstart your business: If you’re looking to beef up your clientele, start creating easy-to-make promotional items, like these duct tape hats to get the word out. Once you make the hat, you can use Sharpies and stickers to design a logo or advertise your services.
Laptop security: To keep would-be intruders from peeking at your important files, duct tape your laptop shut all the way around when you’re not using it. No one will be able to break in without you finding out.
Dust off your computer: Use the sticky side of duct tape to catch the dust bunnies that hibernate inside in and around the backside of your keyboard, monitor, mouse, and computer fan.
Make your own mousepad: Completely cover a magazine with neatly applied strips of duct tape. You can design the mousepad however you want: write messages to yourself, make a collage of your favorite techie idols, or work out new programming ideas and formulas.
Organize your files: Keep your product warranties, client information, and other files organized by creating a duct tape filing system. Attach duct tape pockets to regular file folders, and keep them separated with study duct tape dividers.
Fix your printer: Printers are always falling apart. Use duct tape to reattach loose covers or trays.
Make the most of your speakers: Hang or attach your speakers anywhere in the room! Duct tape them to the wall, ceiling or anywhere else you can find room.
Prevent carpal tunnel syndrome: Wrap your wrists in splints to keep them supported. You might look funny, but your body will thank you years later.
Make a computer case: A sleek duct tape computer case will keep you connected wherever you are. Don’t forget to make the shoulder strap!
Create a shelving system near your desk so you never have to move: Use the makeshift shelves and pockets — constructed out of duct tape of course — to stash snacks, water, and a hand towel so that you never have to leave your beloved machine.

Video, Camera, and Theater Techies

Sometimes you might feel a bit left out of the techie world, but we’ve come up with a whole list just for those artsy guys and girls who work in the theater or with camera equipment.

Label everything: From lights to prop tables to marking the stage, slapping down some duct tape is the easiest way to label things around the theater.
Transform sandals into closed-toe shoes: What’s the number one rule when working on set? No sandals! If you can’t bear to part ways with your sandals, simply wrap duct tape around all the openings…and voila! You’ve got temporary closed-toe shoes.
Make a shoulder bag: If you have a lot of equipment to haul around each day, create a shoulder bag totally out of duct tape. You can buy one at DuctTapeFashion.com, or just click on the photos for ideas.
Use glow-in-the dark tape backstage: Glow-in-the-dark duct tape can be used as little lights to guide you to the wings from the green room or dressing rooms. Just make sure the audience won’t be able to notice it!
Reattach camera equipment: If your video camera or regular camera starts falling apart, simply reattach the faulty piece with a piece of duct tape!
Use as a Band-Aid: Check out number 15 on this list for a clever way of covering up the unsightly wounds you get during strike.
Build sets: If there aren’t enough drills to go around, whip out your roll of duct tape to keep working on sets. Hold together platforms, props, and more!
Keep the batteries in your camera: Remembering to charge the batteries is only half the battle. If the little plastic flap that’s supposed to hold your batteries in place suddenly breaks, don’t go out and buy a brand new camera. A small strip of duct tape will keep your batteries from slipping out.
Make cue cards: Create cue cards for those actors who can’t seem to remember their lines. How hard can it be anyway?
Duct tape the mic in place: Sometimes the microphone just won’t stay upright no matter what you do. Tape it to the stand or wrap two microphones together to maximize sound.
Tape off “Crew Only” rooms and stairways: Those silly actors can get hurt making out in the shop or up on the platforms and tech stairways. Attach a large strip of duct tape across the doorways to deny them access.
Tape down parts of the lightboard: To keep yourself from getting confused, cover up the switches and controls you’re NOT using for the show with pieces of duct tape. Only reveal the ones you need to use.
Repair costumes: If one of the actors rips his or her costume just before an entrance, use duct tape to hold their outfit together until the wardrobe department can get their hands on the tears.
Keep lights secure: Whether you’re concerned with a loose light up above or shaky floodlights, entomb lights with duct tape to keep them secure.

General Geeky Uses

Following is a general list of geeky things you can make with duct tape. Have fun!

Use instead of a pocket protector: Hold pens, mini notepads, and a small screwdriver in your pocket without a pocket protector. Duct tape the items to the inside of your pocket to hold them in place.
Organize your DVDs and CDs: Make a binder with pockets to store all your DVDs and CDs. The best part? You can write on the duct tape to label each movie or album.
Make a wallet: Follow the instructions from wikiHow to make your very own duct tape wallet. It’s a techie favorite!
Dress up as a computer for Halloween: Cover yourself in gray and black duct tape, and use a Sharpie to draw on the specifics.
Make a tool belt: Keep screwdrivers and other techie tools handy with your very own duct tape tool belt.
Design duct tape curtains: If you’re a techie, you’re probably locked in your lab, darkroom, or backstage area most of the day. Keep out “unnatural” sunlight with heavy duty duct tape curtains.
Fix your TV antennae: Give your TV’s antennae a little more structure and support with duct tape.
Make your own cell phone case: Follow this simple guide from the Duck Tape Club to make your own snazzy cell phone case.
Personalize your shoelaces: If you’re hunkered down at your computer all day, you probably don’t have time for a lot of tedious, everyday chores like say, going out and buying new shoelaces. This tutorial will show you how to make your own out of duct tape!
Fix your backpack: Carrying around tons of books, a laptop, and other gadgets might result in a torn shoulder strap or busted zipper. Repair your backpack with duct tape, and it’s as good as new.
Create a glasses case: Designing a simple glasses case won’t take you much time. Click here to find out how.
Fix or create a guitar strap: A guitar strap like this one will save you an extra trip to the store.
Tape your DVD player shut: If your disc drive on your DVD player won’t stay shut, duct tape it closed so that you can enjoy your movie.
Use for Bookcovers: Use different colors of duct tape to make bookcovers for your school books.

Alternative Uses

From getting rid of nasty warts to making your own sandals, this list includes a bunch of bizarre ideas for duct tape-inspired remedies and crafts.

Lock yourself in your room: Doesn’t everyone know that you have important work to get done? Secure duct tape along the door frame to keep pesky family members and roommates from entering.
Tape someone’s mouth shut: Only if they won’t shut up, of course.
Give your girlfriend roses: Real roses die within a week. Give your girlfriend a bouquet of duct tape roses, and she’ll love you and your geeky skills forever.
Lint Remover: Use strips of duct tape to remove pesky cat or dog hair from your clothes, furniture, and carpet.
Wart Remover: This article is just one of many we found that suggests an alternative, but effective, treatment for warts.
Lunch Box: Start with a basic design, then finish off with a funky picture, logo, or decoration. Everyone at school or work will be jealous of your custom-made lunch box.
Make a message board: Cover a large wall surface with gray or black duct tape for the background. Stick on squares of multi-colored duct tape for your messages and reminders. You can keep layering new squares on top of the old ones each time an important date passes..
Design a your own purse: Hey, just because you’re a techie doesn’t mean you can’t be fashionable! Follow the instructions on this guide to make a sassy handbag.
iPod Shuffle Case: Read the entry on this blog to make a case for your iPod Shuffle.
Flip Flops: Duct tape isn’t just for repairing sandals…now you can actually make a pair! Use this guide to find out how.
Face Mask: Okay, so you’ve been feeling a little antisocial lately. Make a duct tape mask to lurk around incognito. No one will bother you, because no one will recognize you!
Duct Tape Dummy: Make a life size duct tape dummy to have as your constant companion. Make a duct tape ball for the head, cover a pillow for the body, and attach duct tape arms and legs.
Fix your glasses: Whether they’ve broken completely in two or you’re missing an earpiece, use duct tape to fix your glasses.
Repair headphones: Sometimes even the best pair of headphones can start to fall apart. Duct tape them back together instead of going shopping for new ones.

Miscellaneous

The following uses couldn’t really be categorized in any particular sections. Read on for more techie ideas.

Keep the batteries in your flashlight: If your flashlight’s broken, wrap duct tape around the base to keep the batteries from falling out.
Duct Tape Server: Check out this blog for the story of how Duct Tape Server was built.
Wallpaper: Wallpaper your entire room with duct tape. You can write on it and patch it up with more duct tape if it starts to tear!
Duct tape your hand to your mouse to keep you from taking too many breaks!
Patch holes in your clothes: If you can’t be bothered to run to the store for a new pair of jeans, patch up any holes and tears with a handy strip of duct tape! Who knows, you might even like it better that way.
Decorate your computer monitor: Wrap duct tape around the edges of your computer monitor for an edgy, techie feel.
Label cables with colored duct tape: Place a thin strip of colored duct tape on a cable or wire to differentiate it from all the others around it.
Keep children away from outlets: Place a patch of duct tape over any open outlets to child-proof your home.
Re-enforce the phone cord: Number 75 on this list suggests wrapping duct tape around a phone cord for extra durability.
Make your own bumper sticker: Write your favorite techie phrase on a large strip of duct tape to let everyone know what you stand for.
Make a reflective vest: Use glow-in-the-dark tape for when you go out at night. Those little lights on your bicycle just don’t cut it.
Design a cubby hole system for all your materials: To help you keep track of all the cables, manuals, and other techie materials, make a duct tape cubby system, just like you had in preschool.
Seat cushion: Cover a small pillow or cushion with duct tape to create a comfy seat cushion that you can take everywhere. Its sleek surface means it’s waterproof and easy to clean.

How to: Create a Linux Box for Your Mom (50+ Resources)

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:26:15 +0000

By Jessica Hupp

For most computer literate children, a request from mom to get her set up on “this web thing” is met with panic and a feeling of drudgery. Are you about to expose your sweet mother to spam, phishing, viruses, or worse? Or perhaps more frightening, sign your life away as a 24/7 tech support center? Perhaps, but there’s a better way. By setting your mom up on a Linux machine, you can give her a safe, lean computing experience that will let her do all of the things she wants to do without giving you a nervous breakdown. Here, we’ve compiled over 50 of the best resources to help you get your mom on Linux without a whole lot of trouble.

Systems & Environments

With these systems and environments, you can get your mom set up with low maintenance and friendly interfaces.

SimplyMEPIS: SimplyMEPIS is low-maintenance and great for Linux beginners.
Linspire: Linspire is the “World’s Easiest Desktop Linux,” with a familiar look and feel for Windows users.
Mandriva: Mandriva Linux was specifically designed to offer ease of use for new users.
Ubuntu: One of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu is stable and easy to use.
KDE: The K Desktop Environment is easy to use, and offers basic desktop functions.
Ximian Desktop: Ximian offers a simple layout, with large icons that are great for elderly users.
Lycoris: This distribution looks a lot like windows, and offers great ease of use.
SuSE: With SuSE, you’ll got lots of popular open source software like OpenOffice, Kaffeine, and more.
GNOME: In this desktop environment, you’ll find an extremely usable GUI.

Tools & Applications

Put these tools to work to give your mom the functionality she wants while still keeping things safe and simple.

Fluxbox: This X window manager makes it easy to customize the view of your mom’s machine.
Rfbdrake: Set up rfbdrake to create a pathway for remote support.
IEs4Linux: With this handy tool, you can make MSN groups and other Internet Explorer applications play properly for your game-addicted mom.
IceWM: This window manager’s goal is to stay out of the user’s way while offering speed and simplicity.
OpenAntiVirus: Although a Linux machine isn’t likely to run into virus problems, this antivirus program is better safe than sorry.
Wine: Wine makes it easy to run Windows software and applications on your Linux box.
Firestarter: For an easy, simple firewall, consider Firestarter.
phpGACL: Keep your mom safe by implementing this access control list for applications.
CrossOver Office: With CrossOver, you can run lots of Windows-based applications.
CNR: This tool makes it easy for your mom to install applications, even if she’s clueless about putting things on her computer.
KDE Crystal: KDE Crystal offers an icon set with recognizable images, which is great for remote support so you can tell your mom exactly what to press.
Guarddog: Guarddog is an ideal firewall for novices because it offers a goal-oriented, non-technical GUI.
Blackbox: Blackbox offers a clean, light environment for a Linux system.
IPCop: Create a more secure home network with this simple firewall designed for novice users.
vncserver: Utilize vncserver to run remote support on your mom’s Linux machine.
OpenOffice: With OpenOffice, your mom will be able to do all of the word processing she wants.
Evolution: This personal information manager offers email, addresses, tasks, and more in an interface much like Microsoft Outlook.
KMail: Set your mom up on KMail for email with excellent spam filtering, cryptographic support, and more.
Kate: With this lightweight editor, your mom can do simple word processing with automatic backup.
Ekiga With Ekiga, formerly Gnomemeeting, your mom can video chat with you.
MailWasher Pro: With this program, you can make sure that spam email will never hit your mom’s inbox.
Abiword: Give your mom simple word processing with AbiWord.
Kopete: Use Kopete to get your mom set up on chat programs like AIM, ICQ, and IRC.
Adobe Reader: Put Adobe Reader for Linux on your mom’s computer so she can enjoy PDFs.
Pidgin: Pidgin, formerly known as Gaim, makes it easy for your mom to log into a number of different messaging systems at once.
Konqueror: With Konqueror, your mom can browse the web safely.
Thunderbird: Use Thunderbird to offer your mom a clean email interface.
Firefox: Get your mom set up on the wildly popular Firefox for safe and easy web browsing.
GIMP: Give your mom GIMP for Photoshop functionality.
No-Script: Use No-Script to make your mom’s Firefox browsing safe from harmful Javascript and Flash.

Guides & Articles

For even more help, check out these guides and articles that will walk you through creating a Linux box for your mom.

Ubuntu for your grandmother: One helpful grandchild walks his grandmother through creating a Ubuntu laptop in this article.
Post Installation Configuration Basic Help: Get help with basic hardware and network configuration here.
Is Linux ready for mom?: This article discusses some of the trials and advantages of Linux for novice users.
Windows to Linux: A Beginner’s Guide: Let your mom check out this article to get familiarized with Linux when coming from a Windows environment.
Top 10 Ways to Protect Your Linux Home System: Follow this guide to keep your mom’s computer safe.
Setting up Linux for Mom and Dad: See how one person set up a parent version of Mandrake Linux in this article.
Desktop Adapted for Dad (DAD): This writer gave his father a computer with carefully installed and configured software.
Moving a Beginner to Linux: Learn how to make the switch with this article.
The Top 50 Proprietary Programs that Drive You Crazy-and Their Open Source Alternatives: In this resource, you’re sure to find lots of programs that will help your mom convert.
Linux distro for mom?: In this thread, you’ll find lots of excellent advice for creating a Linux setup for a computer illiterate mom.
Beginner’s Introduction to the KDE Desktop: This guide offers a look at KDE for non-techies.
A Senior Citizen’s Introduction to Linux: See how one person set up a simple Linux system for an elderly woman in this article.
7 Reasons you should switch Grandma to Linux: This article touts security, stability, and more for Linux.