You'll need to be running Google Desktop to get the gadget (available for Windows and Linux only), which lists all your account's documents for quick access to your files. Along with the recently-launched Gmail gadget, this one's making Google Desktop gadgets worth another look.
The whole idea of apps like GMDesk is to get your web-based productivity tools onto your desktop, without the need for a browser, as with Mozilla's Prism, which we've explained in terms of distraction-free webapps. GMDesk does put all of the majorly helpful Google apps into a single window shell, lets you switch between them hotkeys (Ctrl+1 for Gmail, Ctrl+2 for Calendar, etc.), and switch to domain-hosted Google Apps versions of those webapps instead, which alone might make GMDesk worth it for anyone working both a personal and work-related Gmail account.
But GMDesk, last updated in June, lacks for customization options. You can't, as far as I can tell, change the hotkey switches. More frustrating, though, is the inability to change the font and text sizes on your apps. Google Calendar and Reader start off in decent sizes, but most serious users are going to get frustrated with Gmail and Docs pretty quickly, unless they're using their system's built-in magnification tools, and then that's kind of a pain. Maps has its own zooming capabilities, so that's pretty much a wash, and Picasa Web Albums kinds of sticks out for not being an everyday-use tool.
Still, if you're a Google app fiend and would like to keep them separated from your main browser window, GMDesk might be a step up. It's a free download, requires the Adobe AIR platform to run.
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/VPAp6sTanxg/bypass-network-blocks-with-remote-desktop
In a world of virtual communication, having personal email, Twitter, and access to blogs, etc is critical and necessary for many of us. Therefore, it becomes a nuisance when our employers block us from the sites that we love and hold so close to our virtual-loving-hearts. Many of my client's networks do not allow me to access my non-work related email (Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.), Twitter, and Blogger. Google Reader is also blocked at several.
For this reason, I have set up a Remote Desktop connection on my home computer which I use as a proxy-ish means to access my Gmail and other sites from these clients. I use my Vista sidebar Remote Desktop connection gadget to click and log in to my home computer from my work laptop and have access to all that I need in a little minimize-able window on my desktop. I recommend this for anyone who has that tight network administrator who has blocked all your favorite sites.
Check out a screenshot of Bryan's setup above. He gives us a few links on how to set this up on your own:
Congrats to Bryan for snagging a signed copy of Upgrade Your Life! Tell us your best time saver of 2008 to win your own.
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/CVEn0a9GsH0/sharetabs-opens-multiple-links-in-tabs
Here's an example:
If I wanted to share all of the non-Lifehacker Gawker Media sites with someone, I could simply send the following ShareTabs link: http://www.sharetabs.com/?gawker
When you follow that link, you'll see the page below.
Macworld details a simple keyboard shortcut that will launch iChat or Adium without logging into any accounts. The trick: Just hold down the shift key when you launch your respective IM app. Doing so will start the app offline. From there you can log into whichever individual account you want and control your status ahead of time. I tried this trick on Pidgin and Digsby to no avail and searched for similar shortcuts without luck. (If you know the proper shortcut, let's hear it!) It's such a smart and simple shortcut, and having been exposed to it, you can't help but wonder why all IM apps don't have this option.
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