Optoma Pico PK102 Projector Bragging It's World's Smallest [Projectors]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2SRL6smpXrk/optoma-pico-pk102-projector-bragging-its-worlds-smallest

Lucky for projectors being the smallest is a good thing. Optoma says its newest 4x2 inch PK102 actually is. An upgrade to its Optoma PK101, it is now thinner but managed to squeeze in 4GB of storage.

Besides now being able to hold pictures and video, the Pico PK102 also now has a new universal port capable of receiving VGA and component video. This should make connecting it to a laptop easier and the component port will let you hook it up to your iPod or portable gaming device with the bundled cords. Other than that there aren't any substantial updates — it still got the same 480 x 320 native resolution and a DLP engine as the PK101.

The Pico PK102 is now available for $250 (which is significantly less than the $450 that the PK101 hit the market at and its 3M MPro120 competitor). The now slightly chunkier PK101 has been lowered to $230. [Optoma PR via Engadget]

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Dropbox Adds Search and Bulk Operations to Web Site [Syncing]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/lfG_Evn64Gw/dropbox-adds-search-and-bulk-operations-to-web-site

Grabbing Dropbox files from a web browser got a bit easier overnight, as the file synchronizing service added search, bulk operations for separate items, Gmail-style keyboard shortcuts, and a mobile interface for non-iPhone browsers to its web site.

The site as a whole got a visual overhaul, actually, but what established Dropbox users are going to most appreciate is the ability to create new ZIP-ed packages of different files—a few files, one or two folders, and maybe that picture, all at once—and grab them. The Dropbox team also added a search bar and "Gmail-style keyboard shortcuts," although we haven't seen a guide to those shortcuts as of yet.

Update: Reader Samuel points out that keyboard shortcuts are something you have to enable from the "Other Preferences" section of your Account settings on Dropbox's web site. Once you do, hitting "?" brings up the shortcut list you see here. Very Gmail-like indeed.

The non-iPhone mobile version, assuming I'm seeing it on my Android model, works fairly well, providing quick access to files and recent changes. We're still waiting on a dedicated iPhone app—submitted for Apple's approval about four weeks ago—but these changes, mobile and otherwise, are a nice step forward for grabbing files when you're at a non-synced computer or on your mobile device.

How It's Made: The Dropbox Web [The Dropbox Blog via TechCrunch]

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TxtNinja Stashes Your Text Inside Images [Security]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/cz11LOlhHXo/txtninja-stashes-your-text-inside-images

Have something you want other people to read but not spam bots and search-engine crawlers? TxtNinja will turn your plain text into an image to keep the bots at bay.

Why might you want to forgo plain text? One of the more popular reasons is to mask your email to keep spam bots from sucking it up as they scan web pages. Leaving your email@someprovider.com in the open makes it ripe for picking. TxtNinja allows you to turn that plain text into:

The result is an image file which is human friendly but not machine readable.

TxtNinja allows you to change the font, font size, color, background, and supports international character sets for a dozen non-English languages.

TxtNinja [via MakeUseOf]

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An Enlightening Look at Digital Distractions [Distractions]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/yMRqA2jCtLs/an-enlightening-look-at-digital-distractions

David McCandless, crafter of the buzz vs. bulge caffeine/calories axis we dug, examined his work days and found a kind of protocol for what was likely to pull him away from actual work. It's both smile inducing and thought provoking.

You'll chuckle once or twice reading through McCandless' examination of how certain things (hot strangers following on Twitter) are more likely to grab his attention than others (a Google AdSense summary). Then, possibly, you'll think about your own day and how certain things are absolutely irresistible, no matter how many times you tell your co-workers that you're in "crunch mode" or "keeping my head down." The idea that "device failure" is the ace attention-getter certainly holds true at Lifehacker East.

If you had to re-map the Hierarchy of Digital Distractions for your own life, what would take up the top few pyramid spots? Tell us your take in the comments, and seek therapy in our top 10 distraction stoppers.

The Hierarchy Of Digital Distractions [Information Is Beautiful via Digital Inspiration]

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Twistory Backs Up Your Tweets to a Calendar Feed [Backup Utilities]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/L8ZKwiRFQrE/twistory-backs-up-your-tweets-to-a-calendar-feed

Twistory is yet another free tool to back up online accounts, specifically Twitter posts. It goes beyond a simple data dump, though, by plotting your tweets in an easy-to-import iCal feed.

Twistory is really simple to use, and doesn't require authentication. Just feed it your Twitter username—or any Twitter name, really—and it kicks back an iCal feed link that you can push into iCal, Google Calendar, or any calendar app that accepts the .ics format. Start using it with Google Calendar before you reach Twitter's 3,200 tweet backup limit, and you'll have a search-ready, exportable database of your tweets.

Twistory is a free service, doesn't require a sign-up to use. Calendar geeks, feel free to share any neat hacks you can pull off with tweets in an iCal feed in the comments.

Twistory [via The Steve Rubel Lifestream]

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