PimpYourWork.com
Out of the available keyboard layouts, the Qwerty layout is used most often in the western world. But there’s always been this rumor that one of the other alternatives, the Dvorak layout, is actually more efficient. Apparently, it can make you type faster with higher accuracy.
Before we address the truth of this rumor, let’s recall what the Dvorak layout actually looks like. I found a Dvorak keyboard layout comparison with Qwerty. But the first layout pictured on the page is actually just 1 of 3 available Dvorak layouts – the two-handed layout:

Image Credit: Wikimedia
The other available …read more

I picked up a 2 gig SanDisk U3 flash drive a while ago.  On the advice from the guy at the store I didn’t really bother to mess with U3 I just uninstalled it.
Was is U3?  Pretty much it’s a Windows-only application that lets you run modified versions of several apps from the flash drive itself.  At first I thought, you know this seems like a useless thing.  Well maybe not.
Marc Orchant told be about the MS Office alternative ThinkFree and I saw that in addition to their other offerings, they had a U3 version.  Hmm, interesting.  Knowing I had this U3-capable …read more

Now you’re saying, “Huh?”.  This is both simple and amazing–use a banana (the fruit and peel), a soft cloth, and some window cleaner to clean and repair CDs and DVDs:
Watch the video:
How To Remove CD Scratches With A Banana – video powered by Metacafe
 Source: MacGyver Tip: Clean a scratched CD or DVD with a banana – Lifehacker
Is that amazing or what?  Since I have kids I have several games and DVDs to try this out on.  Love to hear your DVD/CD rescue stories.
Technorati Tags: fix DVDs, fix CDs

Today is our channel theme day and while my fellow bloggers are working off the meaning of “august”, I’m taking a different tack.  August is one of the hottest months of the summer in North America and so I thought it might be a good time to talk about heat, sun, and computers.
First, heat is not a computer’s best friend.  One of its greatest foes, actually.  So for starters, don’t leave/put computers, cameras, etc in direct sun for long.  Not good.  LCD screens can get damaged quickly and the heat can start doing real damage quickly.  Of course cars are …read more

This is not a headline you want to read after unboxing your new home laser printer:Study: Laser printers may pose health risks | CNET News.com.  Here is something from the Grasshoppers blog (which I encourage readers to join):
The laser printer problem was found accidentally while doing tests on office ventilation systems, where they discovered five times as many particles indoors as was produced by traffic outdoors. Using an electronic sniffer they traced the emissions to office laser printers and found that emission levels continued to rise throughout the day even while the laser printers where idle.
With the cost of laser …read more

I talked about the Vista Battery Saver tool in May when it was first launched in beta.  I tried it for a little while, but I think something about my machine didn’t like it.  Doesn’t really matter though, because everyone else liked it so much so that it’s been release as an open-source app:
Project DescriptionThis tinny program will save up to 70% of your battery by disabling those nice, but greedy Vista features. Running in task bar with private workset of 5.5M and 0% CPU it will do all work for you, by enabling and disabling customizable features when power …read more

It’s summer, well in the Northern Hemisphere at least, and some of us might be tempted to use our laptops outside occasionally.  Web Worker Daily has a few tips for this and this one is my favourite:
Give up, have a beer, and decide that the summer sun is more important than work. You probably need to stop billing in this case, though. Source: Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive How to Use Your Laptop Outside «
In all seriousness, using a laptop outside is a bit of a pain.  Between power, dirt, and the sun … really I’d take a pass.  …read more

Folks always wonder why the monitors are off in my house (at least asleep).  I do keep CPUs running, but printers are all on power-save mode.  Why?  Because I try to save energy with my tech gadgets.  Lifehacker has easy energy saving tips for tech.
Frankly, not much else needs to be said…just do it.
Technorati Tags: save energy

Okay how many of you have had those “oops” moments when some electronic gadget has gone for a swim?  I haven’t had many, but all of them have ended in the same way…buying a new device.
The key to saving a device is:

Acting quickly
Not turning it on “just to see”
Taking the battery out pronto
Drying it out completely before you see if it’s toast

I usually get stuck on #4.  Yeah you can dry to let it air dry, but that isn’t really good enough.  It can take several days to dry out in the open air and still there is a good …read more

I saw a tweet from Chris Pirillo this morning about Zonbu a Linux-based PC that Chris was sent to review. I only caught the end of his session, but I did explore the site a bit.
Essentially, Zonbu has made a small, quiet (no fan) computer that could be a good opinion as a second (or third) machine for home, maybe even a computer for an admin or receptionist.
I’ve applied to receive a review copy as well and from the looks of it, it could be cool.
The only thing that I’m wondering about is the monthly charge to upload data. …read more