Flash 10 Available for All Systems [Flash]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/421583511/flash-10-available-for-all-systems
Friday, October 17, 2008
Two Great Charities at Work to Beat Poverty [Blog Action Day 2008]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/421741829/two-great-charities-at-work-to-beat-poverty
The midst of an economic meltdown isn't the most obvious time to start thinking about how you can donate money and time to those in need, but if you're reading this blog you might be in a position to do so. Today's Blog Action Day, so along with thousands of other blogs, we're shining the spotlight on the issue of poverty. Earlier Kevin told you about Computers for Children, and now I wanted to tell you about two of my favorite charities working towards beating poverty locally and abroad: DonorsChoose.org, and Women for Women International.
DonorsChoose.org
Women for Women
After seeing a gut-wrenching 60 Minutes segment on rape in the Congo back in January, I immediately signed up to sponsor two women through Women for Women International, an organization that helps war survivors in the DR Congo. My Women for Women donation is a monthly, recurring payment of about $25 per sponsored woman that comes directly out of my checking account, so it's a set-it-and-forget-it scenario. Like DonorsChoose.org, you also get letters from your sponsored woman, which is the best part of the experience. Here's a translated excerpt of a letter from one of the women I sponsor, who has four children aged 4 through 12 years old, but doesn't have electricity or running water in her home.
How are you doing? I am doing a bit well so far, but only God knows about tomorrow.... I live in a thatched house and we fetch water from a public standpipe. It is near our house. Thank you for the financial assistance I am receiving from you. May God bless you.
Here's a scan of one of her handwritten letters, and here's the translated version.
If you can do it and you're not already, take time today to sign up with a charity that works for a cause you care about, and send them what you can. Not only are your donations tax-deductible, but they're a worthwhile deposit in your karma account, too. What are your favorite charities working to beat poverty? Tell us about it in the comments.
Virtual CloneDrive Mounts ISOs and Other Disk Images Without Burning a Disc [Featured Windows Download]
Virtual CloneDrive [via gHacks]
Skip Gmail's Body-less Message Prompt Using (EOM) [Gmail Tip]
The Official Gmail Blog serves up a useful tip for laconic folks who like to send subject-only messages: add (EOM) to the end of your subject line to skip Gmail's prompt confirming if you want to send the message without any text in the body. Update: <EOM> works as well, and it doesn't appear to be case-sensitive. EOM, of course, stands for "End of Message" and it tells both Gmail and your recipient that's all she (or he) wrote. Here's more on how EOM makes your email more efficient.
Tip: Sending empty messages [Official Gmail Blog]
Roll Your Own Nike+ iPhone for Free [IPhone]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/422065509/roll-your-own-nike%252B-iphone-for-free
I tested two different iPhone apps: Fitnio and RunKeeper. Both of them are free from the iTunes App Store, and both automatically upload your running stats to a web site à la Nike+. (There are actually tons of similar apps in the App Store, but these are the two that caught my eye.) I took each on run side-by-side with my girlfriend, who was wearing her Nike+ kit with an iPod nano, for comparison. Here's how each worked:
RunKeeper
To add to the fun, RunKeeper automatically uploads each run to the RunKeeper web site, where you can browse your run history on a Google Map and view a great speed and elevation vs. distance graph.
The downside: For whatever reason, RunKeeper was terrible at mapping my run to Google Maps correctly. The actual distance measurements were on the money, but the route was way off. I'd give the folks at RunKeeper the benefit of the doubt that they'll get this one worked out, but right now it's a bit off the mark.
Fitnio
Another point at which Fitnio bests RunKeeper is with its pseudo-lock mode. Since your iPhone's GPS won't work when your iPhone is locked, you have to keep both of these apps running and your iPhone unlocked during the entirety of your run. Fitnio is smart, though, and displays its own slide-to-unlock screen after a few seconds of inactivity so you don't accidentally bump a button and stop tracking mid-run. It also has a cool-down mode for tracking your cool-down work separate from the run.
How Do They Compare to Nike+?
Granted, it may still be just a matter of time before the Nike+ iPhone GPS app hits the App Store, but by the time it does, you may already be hooked on one of these alternatives. The one thing these apps can't have that an official Nike+ app would is tighter integra! tion wit h your iPod. You need to play your iPod before you start your run, and you can play, pause, or advance tracks using either your headphone button or by double-clicking the home button, so you can still get most of the functionality from your iPod. But you don't get the motivational soundbites of encouragement that Nike+ offers from the likes of Lance Armstrong (Congratulations, that was your best run yet!), and you can't set a super-motivation-song or whatever it's called to kick in when you need an extra boost.
But hey, these apps are here right now, they're free, and as long as you have a decent GPS signal, they work. Since Apple doesn't seem to be moving anywhere on GPS-enabled Nike+, I'll gladly accept these free and promising alternatives.
If you've tried these or any other fitness tracking iPhone app from the App Store, let's hear how they worked for you in the comments.
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