Sync Your Desktop Between Computers with Dropbox [Dropbox]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5890690/sync-your-desktop-between-computers-with-dropbox

If you use multiple machines, you may be frustrated by the fact that your desktop—where many of us keep our current projects—doesn't stay in sync between computers. While you could drag the files to your Dropbox manually, reader tpflanz has a simpler solution: just move your Desktop to your Dropbox.

I sync my documents through Dropbox, but my desktop contains a different mishmash of icons on each computer. The problem is, my desktop actually serves a purpose in my workflow—whether as a mini to-do list or a dump for works in progress, and forgetting to drag files over when I switch workspaces is a constant problem. Tpflanz' handy trick works on Windows, Mac, and Linux:

I don't always work from one physical location, so it is a bit of a chore to make sure I have transferred files to a location (such as USB drive or FTP site) so I can access them later. As well, should I really need to pull out my laptop to grab a single .php file or .psd? I don't think so.

Using Dropbox as my desktop allows everything I am working on to be available everywhere I work, without even thinking about it.

You can either symlink your Desktop as described in our Documents-organizing feature, or (if you're using Windows) literally move the Desktop's location. Just head to your User folder in Windows Explorer, right click on the Desktop folder, choose Properties, head to the Location tab, and then enter the path to your Dropbox folder. After doing the same on your other machines, everything will stay in perfect sync.

This trick should have been obvious to me, but I never thought about it. If you actually use your desktop to house items you'll need later, this is a really great way to make sure you don't forget about any of it. Do note, however, that if you have application shortcuts on your desktop, you'll want to make sure they're stored in the same place on each machine, or they won't work. Hit the link to read more.

My Favorite Use for Dropbox: Synced Windows Desktop | Travis Pflanz via #tips

Read More...

Summary only...

AppGarden for Android Rolls Together Dozens Of Useful Tools into One App [Android Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5890811/appgarden-for-android-rolls-together-dozens-of-useful-tools-into-one-app

Android: If you have a stand-alone dictionary app, calculator app, tipping app, unit conversion app, and a dozen other apps designed for very specific purposes, AppGarden is a new super-app that wants to replace them all without sacrificing their features. The app is a collection of mini-apps that can do everything from bandwidth monitoring to unit conversion to stock quotes and URL shortening, all under the umbrella of one installation.

AppGarden needs a lot of permissions, but that's not unexpected when you look at the list of mini-apps built into it. One tap gets you access to features that you may have needed dozens of other apps to do, including a three-source dictionary, thesaurus, urban dictionary lookup, local weather and local time-zone information, Wikipedia lookup, random number and password generators, a stopwatch, and much more. The best part of the tool is that because it does so much, you can clean up the other apps you may have installed that do the same things.

XDA-Developers forum member plbelanger built AppGarden. The app is completely free (but ad-supported) and available now in the Android App Market. You can get the "pro" version to remove the in-app ads for $1.99. Would you try a single app to replace the half-dozen apps you may have installed, or do you prefer individual apps for discrete purposes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

AppGarden | Android App Market via XDA-Developers

Read More...

Summary only...

Violin Strings Made by Spiders Sound Smooth as Silk [Science]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5890563/violin-strings-made-by-spiders-sound-smooth-as-silk

The world's best violins come with strings made from catgut—which isn't typically from cats, but does definitely come from the inside of an animal. If you want a more vegetarian alternative, though, how about a set made from spider silk?

In a world first, Japanese researcher Dr Shigeyoshi Osaki has used thousands of strands of spider silk to produce a set of violin strings, and he claims they have a "soft and profound timbre" compared to gut, reports the BBC.

But how do you make a violin string from spider silk? Firstly, you need a lot of spiders; Osaki used 300. Next, you need to collect 3,000 or so lengths of their dragline silk—that's the type of silk they dangle from—and twist them together to make make a bundle. Once you have three bundles, twist them together, in the opposite direction, to make a single string. You'll have to do that four times to string an entire violin. The process is to be outlined in a forthcoming issue of Physical Review Letters.

Speaking to the BBC, Osaki said:

"Several professional violinists reported that spider strings... generated a preferable timbre, being able to create a new music," he wrote... The violin strings are a novel practical use for spider silk as a kind of high value-added product, and offer a distinctive type of timbre for both violin players and music lovers worldwide."

Sadly, the silk isn't quite as strong as catgut, and tends to snap a little more easily, but maybe the tone's worth it. If you can find enough spiders. [Physical Review Letters via BBC; Image: land_camera_land_camer]

Read More...

Summary only...

Your Doctor's Chicken Scratch Handwriting Could Kill You [Drugs]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5890623/your-doctors-chicken-scratch-handwriting-could-kill-you

Fifty families with unsuspecting kids in Chatham, New Jersey recently received a breast cancer drug from their local CVS instead of the fluoride pills they asked for. The kids took tamoxifen for months before anyone noticed. Outrageous, right?

Actually, it's all too common. Pharmacies across the country mix up names and prescriptions, or misread doctors famously illegible scrawl shockingly often. Just this past year, a pregnant woman with a prescription for antibiotics instead received an abortion drug. Luckily the baby wasn't aborted but now has an increased risk of health problems. A teenage boy received a leukemia drug instead of pain medication for his extracted wisdom teeth. Ouch, and also the drug could have made him sterile but luckily only shot up his blood pressure. Walgreen's paid one family $33 million for a mix up that led to a 46-year-old woman's death. Another woman was apparently psyched to accidentally receive Oxycontin and tried to keep it (she was arrested). The list goes on.

But no one knows just how long the list is because there is no list. One estimate says 7,000 people die every year due to medication errors. But no agency is specifically tasked with keeping track of these mistakes. And when pharmacies settle with victims of mix ups, they usually demand silence in exchange for cash. The FDA and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices "accept" reports about problems, but pharmacies aren't required to send reports. The U.S. Pharmacopeia also tries to keep track of mistakes but the error program is voluntary.

So since no one's looking out for you, you'd best make sure you know what kinds of pills you're swallowing. Eric Pavlack of Pavlack Law in Indianapolis writes that he's represented his fair share of mix-ups that have ended in injury and health problems. And of course personal injury lawyers are all over these cases and stand to (are) making bank. But he has some good advice for next time you pick up a prescription:

1. When your doctor gives you a prescription, be sure you can read what it says.

2. When you pick up your prescription, take the bottle out, review it, and specifically ask the pharmacist if this is the medicine and dosage that your doctor prescribed. If the pharmacist is annoyed or dismissive, it's time to find another pharmacy.

3. When you look at the bottle, verify that the medicine matches your prescription and your name is on the container. If there are any discrepancies, insist on an explanation.

4. If you experience side-effects after taking a drug that seem inconsistent with the warnings, immediately contact your doctor or pharmacist.

The FDA does try to make sure drug names aren't too similar, and they've begun rolling out bar-code systems that increase accuracy. "E-prescriptions" are also becoming more common but not nearly enough. Why on earth are doctors still writing out prescriptions by hand? Hey docs and hospitals, welcome to the 21st century, please get on board with doing it electronically.

Read More...

Summary only...

Scientists Create 230-Percent Efficient LED Bulbs [Lighting]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5890719/scientists-create-230+percent-efficient-led-bulbs

Light bulbs have always required more electricity than they need to produce light because the energy conversion process—changing electricity to light—was inefficient. But an MIT research team has just shown that an LED can actually give off more light than what it consumes in electricity.

Incandescent bulbs are the poster child of inefficient energy conversion. The devices heated a filament with an electrical current which not only produced light, but a lot of waste heat as well. Fluorescent bulbs, CFL's, and even conventional LED's all generate the same waste heat to varying (albeit much smaller) degrees but none has ever reached 100-percent efficiency—a mark known as "unity efficiency."

The team from MIT posited that while the bulbs energy requirements decrease at an exponential rate (halving the voltage reduces the input power by a factor of four), the lumen output would decrease linearly (halve the voltage and the lumens drop by half as well). This means that at some point, the amount of lumens the bulb is emitting would be more than the amount of energy spent—essentially "free" light.

Granted, this point occurs only when using minuscule amounts of electricity to power incredibly dim bulbs. In their experiments, the team was able to generate 69 picowatts of light from just 30 picowatts of energy. They did so by harnessing waste heat, which is caused by vibrations in the bulb's atomic lattice, to compensate for the losses in electrical power. The device also reacts to ambient heat in the room to increase its efficiency and power the bulb.

This process cools the bulb slightly and could eventually be employed to manufacture "cold" bulbs that don't generate any heat, only light. And, since the same physical mechanism from these tiny bulbs can be applied to any LED, they likely will be. [Physics via Physorg]

Image: Kristina Postnikova / Shutterstock

Read More...

Summary only...