Sean Weinberg is the COO and co-founder of RezScore, a free web application that reads, analyzes and grades resumes instantly. You can connect with Sean and the RezScore team on Facebook and Twitter.

Brangelina, TomKat…. Twesume?
 
Just like it sounds, “Twesume” unifies Twitter (your favorite micro-blogging platform) and your resume (yep, the one sitting on your hard drive).
 
In essence, a Twesume is a short bio or resume condensed into 140 characters or less. Sometimes paired with the #twesume hashtag, the Twesume can be tweeted, messaged or emailed to potential employers.
 
The great thing about the Twesume is that it’s a completely flexible, living document. Did you get promoted? No problem, just tweet the addition to your resume. Relocate? Totally fine.

What’s the Big Deal?

 
Like it or not, social media is only getting more influential. In 2011, 89% of companies used social networks for recruiting. As we venture into 2012, you’ll find that social recruiting will become more prominent, edging out job boards as a means to connect employers and job seekers.
 
Twesumes help job seekers get noticed by companies who use social recruiting. With the Twesume, a job seeker can introduce himself and engage with an employer in less time (and space) than a traditional resume and cover letter could ever manage.
 

How Can I Write My Own Twesume?

 
If you’re interested in jumping on the Twesume bandwagon, all you need is a Twitter account and something to say. Once you have your Twitter account squared away (be sure to have a picture, bio and some followers/followees), write your very own Twesume. While the Twesume can be anything you like, try to include this information: what you do, an accomplishment, a goal, skills and/or a link to a detailed profile or website.
Santa Claus: World traveler and toy expert. 300+ years management experience. Looking for position in entertainment industry. http://tinyurl.com/c9ursdp #twesume
 
Tweet this to your followers, DM to a specific employer or use as your Twitter bio. It really is as simple as that.
 
What does your Twesume say? Do you think Twesumes are here to stay? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, SchulteProductions

More About: contributor, features, job search, resume, Social Media, Twitter
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We recently featured a microwave that was hacked to play YouTube videos while it cooked food, but for those who want their kitchen hacks to  play a direct role in their food preparation, here are ten ideas to get your food-related geek-juices flowing.

Make A Sous Vide Cooker From A Beer Cooler

While “sous vide” has been one of the biggest buzzwords in the cooking world for the last few years, those of you who don’t work in kitchens or read cooking websites would be excused for not knowing the term. Sous vide literally means “under vacuum”  in French and that’s essentially how this food is prepared –vacuum sealed food is placed in a low heat water bath and cooked very slowly. The cooking method generally allows for foods to cook more evenly, retaining a better texture and its original appearance.

Unfortunately, a quick search on Amazon will show you that a sous vide cooker will run you a minimum of $200. Then you’ll need to buy a vacuum sealer, which will add on at least $30, and non-reusable plastic bags for the sealer that can quickly add up too. All of this is a pretty big investment –especially if you just want to check out the process before you commit.

To hack yourself a cheaper option, Serious Eats suggests using a beer cooler, a thermometer and a few Ziplock bags, which will cost less than $25 total. Just add hot water to your cooler until the temperature is a few degrees above your target cooking temperature, then add in your bagged food, close the lid and let the insulation do the work for you. As for how well the beer cooler holds up to the real deal: in tests, the beer cooler worked every bit as well as a quality $450 cooker.

Turn A Crock Pot Into A Yogurt Maker

Most electric yogurt makers only incubate the product, leaving out the critical heating and sterilization process. That’s why Chris Reilly of Make Magazine opted to hack his own yogurt maker out of a Crock Pot that automates the entire process. He call it the “Yobot.”

While the process is pretty involved, for those with the tech skills to pull it off, it seems like a great way to go through the yogurt making process. As a bonus, since you’re already programming a temperature gauge into the Crock Pot, you could easily tweak it just a bit more and make a combination Sous Vide cooker, yogurt maker and Crock Pot in one…now that’s a useful appliance.

Make Your Own Hotel Breakfast

(Video Link)

If you’re sick of leaving your hotel without a home-cooked breakfast, Natalie Tran has a solution. In this video, she shows you how to make oatmeal or soft boiled eggs with a coffee maker, and bacon and fried eggs with aluminum foil and an iron. It might not be the most delicious food in the world, but it’s better than nothing –which is what most hotels offer.

Concoct A Three-Course Meal With A Coffee Maker

Of course, oatmeal is far from the only food that can be made with a coffee maker. The John Hopkins Newsletter has a variety of recipes you can create with nothing more than a coffee maker. While the poached fish, pasta and cinnamon coffee all sound good, the chocolate fondue is certainly the highlight of this column.

Whip Up Fresh Chicken Pesto In The Office

For more advanced coffee-maker chefs, Food 2 suggests making your own chicken pesto pasta for lunch. Simply grill the chicken breasts on the base, boil the pasta in the coffee maker and then use a coffee grinder to create your own pesto sauce from scratch. If you’re really going to make this one though, you might want to buy a new coffee pot and grinder first or else everything is going to taste a little strange.

Brewing Beer With A Coffee Maker
Finally, for those with lots of time and no local bars (for example, someone stuck on an Oceanic Research Vessel), Southern Fried Science has some good tips to make your own beer with nothing more than a coffee pot and items you’d be likely to find on said Oceanic Research Vessel. While it might not be the most practical recipe for most people, it might just be the most useful for those people who do find themselves stuck out on the ocean for months at a time.

Build An Android Bartender

For those of you with some serious hacking skills, many of these tips and tricks will seem too easy or even downright boring. If that sounds like you, then here’s something more inspiring: an Android-powered bartender called “iZac.”

Using a battery-powered aquarium pump, a scale and a tablet with Android software, Nick Johnson devised this electronic bartender that can make any cocktail for you provided he has the ingredients on tap. He also offers an “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature that will provide you with any three liquids at random, providing for some disgustingly hilarious results.

Turn a Broken Wine Fridge Into a Fermentation Chamber

For most people, a broken wine fridge is little more than fodder for the closest landfill, but when Instructables user sklarm found out his neighbor was throwing away an old wine fridge, he jumped into action, hacking it into a top-notch fermentation chamber. By removing the cooling components and adding a lamp and temperature gauge, he was able to turn a piece of waste into an ideal chamber for fermenting bread, yogurt, kombucha and more. If you want to make your own, the process seems pretty straight forward even for the slightly-less tech savvy.

Use Liquid Nitrogen to Make Ice Cream In A Jiff
Homemade ice cream is so delicious, but making it can be so darn boring. What’s a geek to do?

Get an electric drill and liquid nitrogen involved in the process, that’s what. DocBug has all the directions you need to make your own delicious orange raspberry sorbet made with power tools and liquid nitrogen. While you can change up the flavors all you want, whatever you do, don’t forget your safety gear.

Make Some Stew While Taking A Drive
Going on a long road trip and don’t want to get stuck eating fast food? Why not take advantage of the heat generated by your engine? This great Manifold Stew recipe instructs you how to prepare a stew that can be cooked on your car’s engine by driving for about 4 or 5 hours. While it asks for squirrel, you city folk who find squirrel meat in short supply could try using rabbit or chicken in its place.

Personally, the only cooking trick like this that I ever used was making Top Ramen in a coffee pot. Have any of you ever hacked something to cook food it wasn’t intended to create? Are any of you planning to try some of the tricks here?

As a commuting or exercising must-have, earphones are an essential part of modern life. If you’re in the market for a new pair then look no further — we’ve found 10 excellent options for you.

Rather than go down the standard route though, we’ve searched long and hard to find earphones that look good as well as sound good. From dashing designer products to cheap and cheerful choices, there’s something here to suit all budgets.

Take a look through the photo gallery below for our eclectic mix of fun earphones. Let us know in the comments which pair you prefer — and why.


1. Altec Lansing Muzx MHP136



Boasting a warm sound from the natural wood chamber, these earphones are perfect for people who are looking for something more than cold metallics or impersonal plastic.

Cost: $15.95


2. AIAIAI Pipe Earphone


Designer Danish brand AIAIAI's unusual Pipe Earphones are available in a "sunset" (pictured) and "petroleum" gradient, offering a different angle on colorful headphones.

Cost: Approx $55


3. Sony PIIQ Clip-On Earbuds


We think Sony's design department have scored a big win with these rad Eighties-inspired earbuds..

Cost: $24.99


4. Monster Butterfly by Vivienne Tam


These high-end headphones get a subtle, pretty designer touch with Vivienne Tam's lovely butterflies.

Cost: $199.95


5. Frends The Clip


Designed for "the person who wants to be different" The Clip from snowboard brand Frends offers a rectangular splash of color and a funky fabric cable.

Cost: $40


6. Altec Lansing Bliss Platinum Series


Specially sized for women's ears, Altec Lansing's Bliss Platinum Series manages that tricky balance between making something that will appeal to women and not being overtly girly.

Cost: $69.95


7. Philips Color Tune In-Ear Headphones


For anyone who'd like colorful earphones but doesn't have the budget to splash out, Philips' Color Tune product line is ideal. Available in a variety of color combinations, a pair will set you back less than $10.

Cost: Varies (typically less than $10)


8. Harajuku Lovers Super Kawaii In-Ear Headphones from Monster


These might tip the balance from "novel" to "novelty" but, as they're made by cable company Monster, the sound quality should be decent.

Cost: $59.95


9. Skullcandy INK'd Paul Frank Earbuds


Paul Frank's famous marsupial, Julius the Monkey, adds a cheeky touch of fun to these great earbuds.

Cost: $10.95


10. Sony PIIQ Bass Earbuds


With an affordable price tag, a bonkers "gas mask" design, range of bright colors and the promise of "big beat bluster" there's nothing not to like about these funky earbuds from Sony.

Cost: $14.99

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Writing and sending postcards is a traditional vacation ritual and, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, can cost you no more than a little time and energy.

Don’t be forced to choose among cheesy print postcards at your vacation destination — use your own iPhone photos with one of these fabulous, free apps that creates electronic postcards you can email.

While your dear old grandma may still prefer a card of the paper variety, next time you’re on a trip away from home, why not drop a line to your friends, family and colleagues using one of these apps?


1. SodaSnap



SodaSnap offers a simple app interface that matches the simplicity of the final product. To get started, choose an image. You can either select a photo from your iPhone's camera roll, snap a pic of your surroundings, or use your location.

Using your location brings up the maps app from which you can screengrab. This doesn't make the most compelling picture postcard, but it may be a useful tool for meetings and invitations.

Once you're happy with your image, you can add text and hit the "Share" button. The way the app is designed, it's pretty much what you see is what you get, so you'll have a good idea of what the recipient will see in the inbox. As well as email, there are options to share to Twitter and Facebook.


2. Photocards


The Photocards app allows you to snap a pic or grab one from your camera roll. When you've sized the photo to fit the frame, you can choose a background.

The available backgrounds display classic stock photography — the sky, greenery, sand, landscapes, etc. — but the pleasant surprise is that the images are actually decent quality. The not-so-pleasant surprise is that you have to pay for some of them.

With your background and picture in place, it's just a matter of penning a few lines before emailing your creation.


3. Montager


Montager is a little different because it acts as more of a photography tool. However, we really like that it lets you get creative with your pics.

It offers a number of templates that allow you juxtapose three images into a mini-montage. You simply double-tap the empty space you want to fill, and then create your triptych either on-the-fly with photos taken with the iPhone's camera, or from pics saved to the camera roll.

Although there's no built-in text options, you can email from within the app, so add your message there.


4. Current Postcards


Once you've snapped a photo or grabbed one from your camera roll, the Current Postcards app lets you select a font (a big bonus in our book) before opening the theme gallery.

Themes categories include Birthday, Special Events, Holidays, Everyday or Just For Fun. While we'd struggle to pick a theme from most of the clipart-esque options, the simple postcard in the "Everyday" category (as seen above) is quite classic.

You can send your Current Postcards creations via email or post to Facebook.


5. Postino


Creating a postcard with the Postino app is a four-step process. First upload a photo from your camera roll or capture one anew with your iPhone.

Next write the message, and then you're onto the really fun step — adding your signature.

You can scrawl your John Hancock on your iPhone screen with your finger. We think this would be a really nice touch if you're sending postcards with a child — although, if your finger writing skills are as rubbish as ours, your signature may end up looking like a child's anyway!

Once you've added that personal touch, email your postcard.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Steve Moses

More About: app store, apple, iphone, iphone apps, iphotography, List, photography
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Updating the look of a single room or your entire home can be an exciting and stressful affair. Exciting because taking the time and spending the coin to pick out new furniture, paint or otherwise tinker with your home can breathe new life into a stale living space. Stressful because, let’s face it, sometimes the vision of how a room should look that we see in our head just doesn’t work out the way we planned when we get down to putting it all together in the real world. Fortunately, Autodesk Homestyler is here to help you iron the kinks out of your home styling faux pas.

Autodesk Homestyler allows users to create, decorate and redefine their apartment, house, or any other space with drag and drop simplicity. Room sizes, wall lengths and angles can all be tweaked with nothing more than a few clicks of a mouse.  Once the size and shape of your space is up to snuff, Homestyler makes it easy to try out decorating options, furniture arrangements, and various floor and wall palettes. Once you have your space’s colors and layout down pat, the web app allows you to kick your design into 3D to give you a bit of perspective of how your creation will look should you ever decide to bring it into meatspace.

If you happen to create a design that you’d like to follow through on, it can be saved for later (saving requires you sign up for a free user account), printed, exported as an image file or sent to a number of social networks. Be sure to check back every Monday for another edition of Maximum PC’s Chrome Web App of the Week.

Writing a resume is such a nebulous activity these days. You have to figure out which type of online resume format is best for you, whether to include a cover letter, how to incorporate social media into your resume, if a video resume is a good idea and what you should include on your LinkedIn profile. Above all that, to get the job, you need to beat out all the other creative digital peeps who are producing dynamic digital resumes. Phew — that’s a lot of work!
We’re always finding new resources to help you on your journey to perfecting your digital resume, and we happened across this nifty infographic by the team at Colorado Technical University, which includes tips on creating a digital resume, as well as tips for sprucing up your traditional resume, for potential employers who still like the smell of top-linen paper. Enjoy.


[via: Colorado Technical University]
Social Media Job ListingsEvery week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
Interactive/Engagement Web Editor The World Bank in Washington, DC Social Media and Marketing Manager at UC Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, CAWeb Coordinator at National TV Talk Show in Burbank, CAMore Job Search Resources From Mashable: - 5 Clever Ways to Get a Job Using Social Media - HOW TO: Land a Job at LinkedIn - HOW TO: Set Up an Online Resume - 9 Dynamic Digital Resumes That Stand Out From the Crowd - Are Cover Letters Still Relevant For Social Media and Tech Jobs?
More About: careers, job search, job search series, jobs, resumes, trending, video resume
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OS X Lion isn't out yet, but it could be hitting the Mac App Store as soon as next week. For many Mac users, the decision on whether or not to upgrade to Lion is boiling down to one incompatible app -- Quicken for Mac. We've been hearing from our readers for several weeks that Quicken is the sticking point.

In this post, I'll discuss what your options are to control your personal finances with a Lion-compatible Mac app. You'll be glad to know that Intuit's flagship app isn't the only game in town.

Intuit sent out a note to "Valued Quicken Customers" over the last few days stating that Quicken for Mac 2005, 2006, and 2007 will not run on OS X Lion. Intuit offered some solutions that had TUAW readers steaming:

Move to Quicken Essentials for Mac

The slimmed-down, next-generation app will work on Lion, but it doesn't have all the features users of the standard Quicken are used to. Intuit is even offering a 50% discount, but points out that you need to make the move before you upgrade to Lion since the app won't import your old data under Lion...

Move to Mint.com

This is Intuit's replacement for the old Quicken Online, and it's a web-based personal finance site. However, there's no way to move your existing Quicken data to Mint.com. Great thinking there, Intuit.

Move to Quicken Deluxe... on Windows

Brilliant idea, Intuit, if you have a Windows machine handy. If you're in an all-Mac home, forget it. If you want to run Windows 7 under Boot Camp on your Mac just to run Quicken Deluxe, you have to get a license for Windows 7 ($188 for Windows 7 Home Premium Full Edition on Amazon) and Quicken Windows ($35 for Quicken Deluxe on Amazon). Running a virtual machine under Parallels or VMWare adds additional cost.

Why not take this time to move away from Quicken altogether? Here are my suggestions for other apps that will take your existing financial data into the world of Lion.

iBank 4

Probably the best solution for most Mac users moving to OS X Lion is iBank 4 (US$59.99). It's available on the Mac App Store, it imports files from Quicken for Mac or PC, and it even has a mobile companion (iBank Mobile, $4.99) for tracking expenses and monitoring account balances. Feeling anxious about moving your data from Quicken to iBank? Don't be -- they even have a set of online video tutorials to set your mind at ease.



Money 4

Another personal finance application that is Lion-ready is Money 4 from Jumsoft ($18.99). It imports and exports Quicken QIF files, handles recurring payments, and does portfolio management. Reviews of the current version aren't exactly glowing, but many of the comments appear to be from people who don't understand even the basics of accounting, so your mileage may vary.

iFinance for Mac

Here's another finance app with a mobile companion. iFinance for Mac ($29.99) also imports Quicken QIF files, and the universal iFinance Mobile app ($1.99) is a good way to capture expenses on the go.

MoneyWell

One of the more higher-rated Mac personal finance apps is MoneyWell ($49.99). It supports importing financial transactions directly from many banks and other financial institutions, and imports a number of the Quicken formats that have been developed and then abandoned over the years. Anyone who purchases the current 1.6.8 version from the Mac App Store receives a free upgrade to the upcoming (Summer 2011) 2.0 release.



Koku

The Mac app that gets the award for the brightest page in the Mac App Store has to be Koku ($29.99). If you can make it past the purple background, there's some great information in the description. Like many of the other apps, Koku imports Quicken files and can directly pull transactions from many banks. Koku provides a "smart tagging technology" to label your spending and income with phrases that are familiar to you.

PocketMoney

To say that longtime developer Hardy Macia of Catamount Software is an Apple fan is putting it lightly -- he developed apps for the Newton platform for many years, including the first iterations of PocketMoney ($19.99). Now the app is available for Mac and PC, but the emphasis is on the iOS version of the app. Mac users may find the Mac flavor lacking in some features, and Macia admits that the current version is primarily for syncing the iOS app to the desktop. Still, the app has most of the features that users will want in a personal finance app, including one that I found fascinating -- the ability to affix photos of receipts and checks to transactions.

Budget

An interesting take on personal finance and budgeting is Budget ($39.99) from Snowmint Creative Solutions. This app does away with the traditional ledger format of most accounting applications and replaces it with envelopes. Envelopes represent different accounts, and you move money between envelopes to show where money is coming from and going to. It imports OFX and QIF files, but does not support direct bank connections.

iCompta

Yet another ledger-like Mac app for keeping those dollars, pounds, francs, or euros in line, iCompta ($18.99) also features a $4.99 iOS companion named iCompta 2. Import of existing Quicken data is a given with most of these apps, and iCompta is no exception. It'll also grab your transactions from many banks.

Squirrel

The winner in the cute logo competition has to go to Squirrel ($24.99), which features a squirrel stashing gold coins in a safe. The app imports existing transactions with ease, lets you define scheduled transactions and budgets, and even brings the Apple concept of Smart Folders to Mac finance for filtering transactions. Squirrel also has an iPhone companion that is highly rated and appears to be very easy to use.



iCash SE

At the end of the list is a powerful accounting app that has been localized for a number of different languages, including Catalan, Chinese, Dutch, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and English. Like many of the other apps listed here, iCash SE ($49.99) doesn't use double-entry bookkeeping so it's fairly easy to use. While it doesn't appear that iCash SE supports import of bank transactions, you can definitely get your Quicken data into the app.

Conclusion

Well, that's it for our roundup of Lion-compatible apps, all of which are available today in the Mac App Store. Don't let anyone tell you that there's no personal accounting solution except for Quicken. I'd love to hear from Mac users who are fans of these or other finance apps, as I'm sure you have good feedback on what the high and low points are for many of these applications.

One thing is for sure -- if you're considering making the move to Lion in the very near future, taking care of your personal accounting software needs should be foremost in your mind.
Quicken won't run on Lion: 10 Mac finance apps that will originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As the weather heats up for summer, we’ve taken a look at some laptop cooling solutions to help keep your portable PC nice and chilled.
Whether it’s a full-on fan stand or simply a pad to prevent your thighs from getting too toasty, there’s something for everyone. And with prices starting under $10, there are options for every budget as well.
If you’re looking to avoid the burn, take a look through the slides. Let us know in the comments your tricks to curb notebook overheating as the weather warms.
1. Targus Lap Chill Mat With an ergonomic tilt and rubber stops to keep your laptop in place, Targus' Lap Chill Mat boasts a built-in USB-powered fan and an open design to help keep things nicely ventilated.
Cost: $39.99

2. iLap The iLap, specifically designed for MacBooks, is made up of three components: aluminum stand, swivel base and detachable velvet cushion. It's a great solution for both lap and desktop working.
Cost: From $49.90

3. Logitech Cooling Pad N100 Logitech's sleek Cooling Pad comes with a bold stripe of green or pink for a contemporary solution. Its USB fan claims to distribute air "quietly and evenly" under your laptop.
Cost: $29.99

4. ThermaPAK HeatShift This simple solution is more concerned with protecting your lap from scorching than with keeping your computer cool. The fabric pad contains cooling crystals which absorb heat. You can just roll it up and stuff it in your bag when on the go. Now that's portable.
Cost: From $24.99

5. Antec Notebook Cooler to Go The travel-friendly Cooler to Go feeds cold air into your laptop while slightly raising it to expel the hot stuff. Two settings mean you can choose between maximum cooling or minimum noise.
Cost: $34.95

6. Xpad The Xpad is a power-free base for your laptop. It boasts thermal insulation for your lap with air pockets in the construction to help dissipate heat. Simple, but effective.
Cost: $24.95

7. Microsoft Notebook Cooling Base Microsoft's Cooling Base is a competent all-rounder. The flip-up stand has a comfortable typing angle for desk use. Turn it sideways to use on your lap.
Cost: $29.95

8. Bluelounge Cool Feet Bluelounge's "Cool Feet" are perfect for desktop laptop users. The removable feet attach with suction cups and raise your machine at just the right height to allow for better airflow.
Cost: $12.95

9. HandStands Cool Lift Pad Designed for desktop use, the HandStands Cool Lift is a budget way of increasing the airflow around your portable PC.
Cost: $8.99

10. Belkin Cooling Strip Belkin's fun Cooling Strip is another simple solution that will give your laptop the lift it needs to avoid overheating. The spiky design also allows for improved cable management.
Cost: $8.57

More About: accessories, gallery, laptop accessories, List, Lists, office
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Even with the recent news that sitting down will kill you, most of us are unable to make major changes to our workspace set-up. To help you stay healthy, we’ve taken a look at some alternatives to the traditional office chair.
Trying to stay healthy despite a sedentary desk-based career is all about better posture, circulation and most importantly moving more.
We would of course advise seeking expert opinion before you make any major changes to your sitting setup, especially if you’re not in the best of health, but if you do decide to make a change, here are five options to inspire you.
1. Saddle Seats A backless "saddle stool" stops you slumping back in your chair, lowers your thighs, opens up your hips and gently puts your spine into a "healthy lordotic curve." Plus, anything that makes you feel like you're in a Western (rather than the office) can only be a good thing.
2. Kneeling Chairs A kneeling chair is said to help promote an "open and dynamic" sitting position that keeps your spine in its natural curvature, your back and abdominal muscles working and improves breathing and circulation. This is called "active sitting" and fans of the system claim it helps concentration and creativity.
3. Stand Up Stools Stand-up stools have been around for years to help take the weight off workers' feet. The muvman is a modern version aimed at office workers. "The main point is that you keep moving," explains the company behind the stool. Ideal for those who want to alternate sitting and standing, the flexible stool is height-adjustable so you can perch high or low and tilted forward to put you at an optimum distance from your work station.
4. Balance Ball Chairs A bouncy balance ball chair is all about strengthening your core muscles, improving spinal alignment and reducing nerve compression. The balance ball can also be removed and used for in-office exercise, if that's appropriate in your workplace. Whether or not you can also play super-sized office soccer with the ball is for you to find out.
5. Active Dynamic Stools The Swooper promotes "active sitting" by moving in different dimensions -- backward, forward, sideways and up and down too. It's all about moving your muscles with ever-changing positions. Scientific studies suggest you move twice as much on an active seat as on a conventional one, which has got to be a good thing.
Interested in more Health & Tech resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics. Thumbnail image courtesy of Victor Bezrukov
More About: ergonomics, furniture, gadgets, List, Lists, office, sitting
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If you have multiple computers or have to provide support to a remote Mac or PC used by a family member or friend, or if you travel and need to contact your computer at home, you're a customer for some sort of remote access. There are lots of choices, both free and paid. I've tried many, like some of the varieties of VNC, and solutions like LogMeIn Ignition and RDM+. They have all worked, but I was looking for more.

After reading a review of TeamViewer by our Erica Sadun last fall, i decided to give it a try. For home/personal use, it's absolutely free. I was only using personally, so free sounded good. I installed it on my Mac, on a Windows laptop, and grabbed the iPhone and iPad clients. Each computer you want to contact needs to run a version of the TeamViewer app appropriate for the computer it's installed on. There are versions for Windows, Macs and Linux. With that done, you run the program and your shared machine is assigned an ID. A password will also be assigned, but you can choose your own.

Connecting to a remote computer is as easy as typing in the ID of that computer, and logging in with your password. In a couple of seconds you'll see the remote screen and some extra buttons that allow you to do file transfers, remote reboot a computer, and tune the connection by adjusting the quality and scaling of the remote display. You can also bring up a chat window if you are working with someone on the remote computer. The is no reason to have to fool with firewalls or chase changing IP addresses. TeamViewer just works. Sound is not supported on the Mac side. PC to PC, there is a VoIP chat and video option. These features are coming to the Mac version, but no dates.

Gallery: Team Viewer screen shots

Continue reading In search of the perfect remote access app: TeamViewer
In search of the perfect remote access app: TeamViewer originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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There are three distinct advantages to making your own drinks from the comfort of your desk. First, it’s cheaper than buying out all the time. Second, there’s less waste and litter. And third, it saves time on fetching and carrying.
Whether you take tea, can’t live without coffee or are partial to pop, we’ve found 10 solutions that will help you provide your own liquid refreshments throughout the working day.
Have a look through the gallery to find your perfect desktop beverage maker and let us know which one it is in the comments below. Cheers!
1. Hamilton Beach Personal Cup One Cup Pod Brewer For the ultimate in desktop coffee convenience, this mini machine uses Senseo coffee pods, so you don't even have to fuss with measuring out the required amount.
Cost: $14.99

2. IngenuiTEA Teapot If tea is more your thing, then this clever 16oz teapot will let you enjoy the finest of fresh brews at your desk. You simply add loose leaves and hot water, wait for it to brew, put the pot over your mug and hit the spring-loaded valve to pour.
Cost: $18.99

3. LED Beverage Cooler This dinky-looking USB-powered fridge boasts cool retro styling. It will chill one can of drink and even has a blue LED light that turns on when you open the door!
Cost: $19.99

4. Aeropress Coffee Maker If plugging in a coffee machine at work isn't an option for you, then consider the Aeropress. It promises to make your coffee less bitter. You simply spoon in your preferred coffee, add hot water, wait a few minutes and then press the plunger for your java hit.
Cost: $25.99

5. Cola Coke Vending Machine Are fizzy drinks your beverage of choice? Then this retro vending fridge has you covered. It can chill and hold 10 12oz cans, ready to be dispensed at the press of a button.
Cost: $179.95

6. Brookstone Single Cup Coffee Maker With a reusable mesh filter and a coffee scoop that's just the right size for one cup of coffee, this machine is ideal for anyone who likes fresh, ground coffee. It comes complete with an insulated mug to keep your coffee warm.
Cost: $39.95

7. Water Cooler-Style Desktop Water Dispenser Save on trips to the water cooler with this mini desktop version that will help remind you to drink your daily water quota.
Cost: $17.45

8. CafeXpress Single Pod Brewer Using Wolfgang Puck coffee pods, this single cup machine will take up little space on your desk and ensure you have a piping hot supply of the good stuff just a few moments away.
Cost: $29.95

9. Sodastream This soda maker will save you money with one bottle of flavor mix making about 12 liters of soda, the equivalent of about 33 cans. It's also kinder to the planet than getting your cans from a vending machine. Plus, it's fun to use -- just remember to put the flavor in after you add the fizz.
Cost: $99.99

10. Margaritaville EXPLORER Cordless Frozen Concoction Maker Finally (and we're kind of having fun with this one), if your office is the kind of cool place that turns from workplace to social club when the clock hits six, then this portable cocktail maker could really liven things up.
Cost: From $269.95

More Tech Resources from Mashable - 10 Boredom-Busting USB Desk Toys - 5 Beautiful Keyboards to Spice Up Your Boring Desk - Top 10 Geekiest Decorations for Your Home or Office [PICS] - 6 Great Gloves for Touchscreen Gadget Lovers - 5 Stylish Computer Mice for the Design Aficionado
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More About: accessories, Food And Drink, gadgets, gallery, List, Lists, office gadgets, tech, trending
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The Cross-Platform Apps Series is supported by VMware Fusion, the best way to run Windows on your Mac. Click Here to learn more about VMware Fusion. To keep up with VMware Fusion updates, follow the “TeamFusion” blog or on Twitter or Facebook.
You may think you’ve reached the peak possible productivity on Windows, Mac and Linux, but if you haven’t tried this collection of timesavers, it’s time to think again.
We found software that will help you type less, enhance your efficiency, help you find a needle in a haystack, keep track of the world and probably even help you sleep better. Many of these apps are cross-platform for Windows, Mac or Linux — and best of all, most are free.
1. Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking

You talk and it types. Even if you’re the fastest typist in the world, you can probably talk faster, and Nuance likes to say Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets you “type at the speed of thought.” This latest version 11 doesn’t require lengthy training sessions, and its accuracy is astonishing. Pricing starts at $99 for the Home Edition, money well spent if you want to put your productivity in overdrive. The Premium Edition comes with a workable headset and is available for $154 on Amazon.
Platform: Mac, Windows Price: $99 and up
2. KeyText

Don’t waste your time typing phrases, addresses and boilerplate text over and over. Here’s the solution: KeyText 3, an extraordinary convenience that makes it easy to slam down routine phrases with just a few keystrokes. That’s just the beginning of this powerful utility’s prowess, giving you multiple clipboards, a built-in scheduler to run programs and reminders, and automatic password filling.
Platform: Windows Price: $30
3. f.lux

When you stare into a computer screen all day and night, you’re pretty much looking straight into a lightbulb. No wonder you’re having trouble sleeping at night — your body still thinks it’s the middle of the day. Enter f.lux — it knows what time of day it is where you’re located and starts shifting the color of your screen from the blue end of the spectrum toward a slightly reddish tinge at sundown, telling that lizard part of your brain that it’s no longer the middle of the day. Try it; you’ll probably sleep better.
Platform: Linux, Mac, Windows Price: Free
4. Dropbox

Haven’t used Dropbox yet? Grab it now. It gives you a folder on your desktop that’s backed up in the cloud, and you get 2GB of storage space for free. It’s especially useful if you’re collaborating with others, since you can invite colleagues to access the same files. Once you discover Dropbox’s wonders, you might want to spring for the $10-per-month plan to get 50GB of storage, or even $20 per month for 100GB.
Platform: Linux, Mac, Windows Price: Free
5. TextExpander

This text expansion tool is not only a steady mainstay on the Mac desktop, but now it’s available in iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch versions. Like KeyText 3 for Windows, TextExpander is adept at expanding text, letting you enter a few keystrokes and then pouring out boilerplate text for you. TextExpander makes creating those “snippets” a breeze with lots of easy keyboard shortcuts, and it even has a useful way of leaving open certain places within those snippets for user input.
Platform: Mac Price: $35
6. Omnifocus

Here’s an app that’s more than a personal task manager, it’s a way of life. Whether you’re using it as part of the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) system or on its own, Omnifocus takes to-do lists to a whole new level. Fire it up with a keyboard shortcut from anywhere on your Mac, and then you can add your to-do items, categorize actions and sync them all up with iCal, or on iPhone or iPod touch versions. We especially like the way it lets you add tasks directly from an e-mail account, and then all the info in that e-mail will show up in a task, all in one step.
Platform: Mac Price: $80
7. LastPass

This is the best password manager on the planet, and it works on browsers running on Linux, Mac and Windows machines, as well as on all mobile platforms. Type in one ultra secure password, and LastPass will remember all your other passwords, and even enter them automatically if you wish. It’s your loyal assistant, filling in forms and credit card numbers, and dreaming up impossible-to-crack passwords and automatically entering them, and best of all, it’s free. Access it from anywhere, get your password act together — this is the way to do it.
Platform: Linux, Mac, Windows Price: Free
8. Tomboy

Here’s a note-taking app for Linux, Mac and Windows that you Linux users might already have, because it’s built into most distros. Tomboy is well-suited for everything from tiny reminders to lengthy research, and once the notetaking’s done it gives you a muscular search capability to find anything you’ve stashed away inside. It’s also adept at synchronizing, so whatever you’ve typed on one machine, you can access it from another, and search it, too.
Platform: Linux, Mac, Windows Price: Free
9. Pidgin

Do a lot of instant messaging? Even if you use a dozen different platforms to chat with your friends and neighbors, the Pidgin multi-chat client has you covered. You only have to enter your credentials one time for AIM, Google Talk, IRC, and many others, and then Pidgin handles them all. Working equally well on Linux, Mac and Windows, this baby’s been around long enough to attract third parties to write plug-ins that make it even more convenient.
Mac OS X users should also take a look at the very similar free instant messaging application Adium, which is based on many of the same libraries as Pidgin.
Platform: Linux, Mac, Windows Price: Free
Series Supported by VMware Fusion

The Cross-Platform Apps Series is supported by VMware Fusion. Built by Mac users for Mac users from day one, VMware Fusion 3 is the best way to run Windows on a Mac without rebooting. With a built-in PC Migration agent, it’s easier than ever to bring your entire PC to your Mac. With VMware Fusion 3.1, you can run you Windows apps like Mac apps using the most reliable Windows-on-Mac platform. Key features of VMware Fusion include:
Ultimate Windows 7 Experience. VMware Fusion is the first to enable the full Windows 7 experience, complete with Windows Aero and Flip 3D.Switching Made Easy. VMware Fusion is the fastest way for users to bring their entire PC to their Mac without the added cost of a one-time use cable.More Mac-Like than Ever. Run Windows applications like Mac applications with features like an “always-on” applications menu to find and launch Windows apps, even when VMware Fusion isn’t launched.Users of previous versions of VMware Fusion or any version of Parallels Desktop for Mac can take advantage of upgrading to VMware Fusion 3 for a limited time promotion of only $19.99! This offer expires on March 15, 2011, so act now!
More Productivity Resources From Mashable: - How 5 Companies Are Using the iPad to Increase Productivity - HOW TO: Beat Writer’s Block Online - 5 Fresh and Free To-Do List Apps for iPhone - 11 Essential Apps for Managing Your Real Life Social Networks - 5 Free Ways to Improve Your Typing Skills Online
More About: applications, Cross-Platform Apps Series, Linux, Lists, mac, productivity, Utilities, Windows
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This post is part of the Mashable 10, Mashable’s gift guide of the 10 hottest gadgets that our editors think should be on everyone’s wish lists this holiday season. If you were lucky enough to receive one of those gifts, our handy quick start guides should get you up and running. To view the entire gift guide, click here.

Lucky You. Someone was generous enough to give you a shiny new laptop, maybe even that swanky HP Envy 14 we were raving about a few weeks ago. So now what?
We’re here to help you welcome that new machine into your home in grand style. So go ahead, here’s the top gear and software you’ll need to make that lappie feel right at home.
Ninite App Installer

There are loads of small apps you have to install when you get a new PC, including your favorite browser, chat software, and various utilities. With Ninite, you can install them all in one click and save yourself hours of tedium.
Go to the Ninite website, choose your favorites by clicking checkboxes, and then download your own customized installer that places all those software picks on your new machine.
What to choose from this cornucopia of freebies? Might we suggest Dropbox, the easiest file synchronizer in the world? In addition to that, all the usual suspects are there, including Adobe Flash, Chrome, Firefox, Skype, Security Essentials and even iTunes. Out of 81 choices, there’s bound to be a few in there you’ll need. One click and you’re done.
By the way, Ninite’s install routine doesn’t surreptitiously add any of those pesky toolbars or any other junkware. Try it out — you’ll love it.
Belkin Easy Transfer Cable for Windows 7

Transfer all your precious pics, flicks, tunes and docs from your old computer to the new one with this $20 USB cable. This unusually high-priced length of wire also lets you transfer your applications from one PC to another (sorry, it’s not for Macs).
If you’re not a fan of fiddling with software peculiarities, you’ll be happy to learn that there’s no clunky driver installation required when you’re using the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable, according to Belkin. Aimed at novice users, the cable is ideal if you don’t have a fast network to transfer multiple gigabytes of data.
Call of Duty: Black Ops

If you followed our buying advice and picked up that sweet HP Envy 14 laptop, you’ve got enough horsepower to leap into the gaming maelstrom. Indeed, you’ve now got a 1GB Radeon HD 5650 video card inside with enough juice to run the hottest game on the planet, Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Go for it, soldier. Although that 14.5-inch screen is outstanding, cranking out sharp-looking video and wide viewing angles, do the game justice and get yourself an external monitor for a bigger view and extra immersion. Don’t go for resolution over 1920×1200, though — we tried running the Envy through a 2560×1600 display and it couldn’t handle that, instead stepping down to a lower rez.
Finally, the Envy rocks the Beats Audio, and the Call of Duty: Black Ops soundtrack will do it justice, with big-time Hollywood actors Ed Harris and Gary Oldman manning the big guns. Lock and load!
More Gadget Resources from Mashable: - So You Got an Amazon Kindle This Holiday Season: Now What? - 5 Stylish Computer Mice for the Design Aficionado - 5 Beautiful Keyboards to Spice Up Your Boring Desk - 10 Crazy Gadgets for Cats and Dogs - 10 Comfortable Lap Desks for Cozy Computing
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, bluestocking
Reviews: Chrome, Dropbox, Firefox, Ninite, Skype, iStockphotoMore About: gift guide, Gifts, HP, hp envy, laptop, mashable 10, mashable 10 quick start
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The Smarter Products Series is supported by IBM. Find out more about how IBM is working to create a Smarter Planet.
Few teachers are drawn to the profession for its administrative duties. But the reality of attendance taking, lesson planning, grading and parental communications is that they’re a big part of the job.
These tasks, however, need not take over. With help from the many online services and mobile apps designed for teachers, it can be easy to efficiently organize and complete classroom management responsibilities.
Here are five of our favorite virtual tools for tackling some of the most common classroom chores.
1. Digital Gradebook: SchoolCircuit

SchoolCircuit won us over by making its online gradebook easy to access for parents and students, and easy to manage for teachers. By assigning access codes to create accounts, teachers can give students and their parents the ability to check grades, attendance and assignments, as well as messages from the teacher and upcoming events. This feature alone goes a long way in saving time for teachers who are used to fielding inquiries about grades and due dates.
The interface makes it easy to create classes and notifies the teacher when students and parents create their accounts. The grading feature itself is equal parts flexible and easy to use; the teacher can choose his or her own grading scale; choose to make certain assignments weighted; and color code by late, missing or complete assignments.
Another similar free option is Engrade, which also includes options to build online quizzes and create class wikis.
2. Give Feedback Online: Backboard

As more students complete their work on computers, why not skip the paper drafts and give input online? Backboard enables groups to access a shared document and make notes and corrections. It saves time in group projects, draft assessments and even grading.
3. Create and Grade Quizes: ClassMarker

Instead of printing paper quizzes and grading them by hand, teachers can use ClassMaker to make online assessments that are graded instantly. Teachers can choose between five different formats including essay responses (obviously excluded from the “instant grading” feature). They can also randomize test questions and set time limits.
The free version allows unlimited use of the basic functionality. For $25 per year, teachers can remove advertising and also have access to e-mailed results, overall question percentages, overall quiz results percentages and learner score averages.
4. Manage Lesson Plans: PlanbookEdu

PlanbookEdu is a free, online lesson plan book that functions much like a paper book with a couple of important exceptions. First, since it is cloud-based, it’s impossible to forget at home or at school. It also makes customizing and editing easier, and each box functions much like its own tiny text pad. The capability to easily share plans with substitute teachers, colleagues and administrators — probably the biggest advantage — comes only with the $20 per year premium version.
Also worth checking out is TheLessonPlanBook and Apple’s Lesson Planner web app.
5. Take Attendance: Attendance for iPhone

It shows in the features that this $4.99 app was created by a teacher. Instead of typing each student’s name manually, users can upload from an address book or a CSV file. Teachers can snap headshots of the students with their phones or upload them from an address book to display with the names while taking attendance, and the attendance statuses are customizable. A “random student” feature helps teachers avoid calling on the same students to answer questions too often.
It’s also easy to e-mail attendance reports, or other announcements, to particular students or to the whole class. Using the same method, teachers can back up the data they’re inputting on the app during call.
Series Supported by IBM

The Smarter Products Series is supported by IBM. Find out more about how IBM is working to create a Smarter Planet.
More Education Resources from Mashable: - 8 Ways Technology Is Improving Education - The Case For Social Media in Schools - 7 Fantastic Free Social Media Tools for Teachers - 5 Fun and Safe Social Networks for Children - How Online Classrooms Are Helping Haiti Rebuild Its Education System
Image courtesy of Flickr, George Eastman House
Reviews: FlickrMore About: apps, attendance, classroom management, education, gradebook, List, Lists, Smarter Products Series, students, teachers, teaching, tools, web apps
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This post is part of the Mashable 10, Mashable’s gift guide of the 10 hottest gadgets that will be on everyone’s wish list this holiday season. We’ll be publishing one new post each weekday until November 26.
It’s the holiday season and you know what that means — gift guide time! At Mashable, we decided to streamline our guide this year and focus on 10 gizmos and gadgets we think will please you and yours well into the new year. We call it, the Mashable 10.
Undoubtedly one of the hottest consumer electronics this holiday season is still the Apple iPad. First announced amidst a flurry of rumors, speculation and skepticism back in January, the device has gone on to sell millions of units over the past seven and a half months.
The device — available in Wi-Fi only and 3G enabled varieties — weighs just 1.5 lbs, has a 9.6 inch backlit IPS multi-touch display and manages to last at least 10 hours per charge. With storage capacities of 16, 32 and 64GB available, you can spend as little as $499 on an iPad (for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model) or as much as $829 (for a 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G model).
Before its release, a lot of people focused on what the iPad isn’t. It doesn’t support Flash. It doesn’t have a built-in camera. It can’t do your laundry. This is all true; the iPad is not a replacement for your primary computer. However, the iPad is more than just an oversized iPhone (as many critics first pegged the device). Read on for our thoughts on the device.
Why We Love It

Here are some of the reasons we’ve come to love the iPad:
It’s a top-notch video player for streaming services (Netflix, Hulu Plus, ABC.com, YouTube, Vimeo, and an increasing number of HTML5 video sites), as well as downloaded or purchased content.It’s an e-reader, with support for third party apps from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, plus Apple’s own iBooks library.It’s a great way to play games.Reading magazines, children’s books and cookbooks is a joy.You can do real work too.You can create music.It’s a great way to surf the web.The iPad is about to get even better. Apple is about to release iOS 4.2, which will bring the iPad in parity with iOS on the iPhone. It will also bring in support for AirPlay and Apple’s new AirPrint feature. This is a free software update that will be available to all iPad owners.

While the iPad was hard to come by for its first few months, Apple appears to have opened the floodgates. In the United States, you can now pick up the iPad at Walmart, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Target, AT&T stores and even at Verizon stores (alongside a Verizon Mi-Fi card), in addition to Apple stores and Apple.com.
Although 2010 was poised to be the “year of the tablet,” the iPad is one of the only devices that has actually managed to make it to market. Not only that, the iPad is competitive — price wise — with its rivals, even though the rivals often feature smaller screens, shorter battery life and lack tablet-optimized applications.
The fact that you can grab an iPad today, it’s affordable and it’s just straight-up fun to use makes it one of our 10 big gadget picks for the 2010 holiday season.
Is the iPad on your wish list this year? Let us know in the comments why you can’t wait to own one.
Reviews: Apple Ipad, Mashable, Vimeo, YouTubeMore About: apple, Christmas, gadgets, gift guide, Gifts, Holidays, ipad, mashable 10, wish list
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Our favorite viral video expert and resident hipster, Brenna Ehrlich, is on the West Coast this week promoting her new book, Stuff Hipsters Hate.
In Brenna’s absence, I’ve stepped in to round up the best, funniest, and most appropriately-themed YouTube videos from the past week.
As a tribute to our erstwhile news editor, this week we decided to pull together our favorite, hipster-themed videos.
Read through and let us know which videos you liked best or send us your own links in the comments below.
1. Hipster Olympics

Lauren Rubin: “Back in 2007 the Hipster Olympics appeared like an updated, live-action, preppy handbook for insouciant slackers.”
2. The Accidental Hipster

Blake Robinson: “No question on this one.”
3. Hipsters in Space: SuperNews

Meghan Peters: “Gorgon can’t get his hair to flop over like a Shetland pony. Don’t give your number to Gorgon, ladies!”
4. How Much Hipster Can You Pack in a Jazz?

Evan Wexler: “Touché evil capitalist car manufacturer, touché.”
5. Confessions of a Hipster

Stephanie: “I used to post those on my Tumblr, only after I had finished re-blogging at least 400 blurry Polaroids that spoke to the deepest regions of my inner psyche of course.”
6. MC Lars – “Hipster Girl” Cideo

Erica Swallow: “Although the actors in this video are questionable hipsters, the message rings true: Hipsters live in Williamsburg, shop at thrift stores, wear ironic vintage shirts, name-drop indie artists and drink PBRs.”
7. Where the Dirty Hipsters Are (Wild Things Spoof)

Sarah Kessler: “Favorite line: [to boy in animal costume] ‘Is that vintage? Or is that faux designer chic?’”
8. American Express: Wes Anderson

Zachary Sniderman: “Sure, American Express is one of our sponsors but there’s no denying this send-up of Wes Anderson, the hipster king, is pretty brilliant. ‘You’ll never make it Francois.’ ‘Neither will you.’”
More About: favorite-youtube-videos, humor, pop culture, video, viral video, youtube
For more Web Video coverage:Follow Mashable Web Video on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Web Video channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad

With today’s obesity epidemic, scientists are working non-stop to better understand weight gain and how to lose the excess pounds. While losing a lot of weight can be a challenge, recent studies have come up with a number of simple tips and tricks that can help you slim down without putting too much of a cramp in your daily routine.

Drink Tons of Water

Image via gfrphoto [Flickr]

You probably already know that you’re supposed to drink a lot of water if you’re trying to lose weight, but you might not know just how important water intake is to the cause. Simply drinking two glasses of water (around half a liter) prior to meals can make you think you are fuller and reduce your meal portions. Water can also help you digest. In fact, the average woman eats around 2,000 calories a day, but when she consumes water first, that number drops to around 1,200 calories. Similar decreased calorie consumption was seen in men as well.

Drink More Tea

Image via Arun Katiyar [Flickr]

Water’s not the only thing you should be drinking. A Tufts University study has shown that drinking three cups of green tea a day can help you lose twice as much weight as you would otherwise. White tea is also beneficial and a German study found that it can help decrease the number of new fat cells you develop while helping you burn off the existing fat cells in your body.

Cut Out The Corn Syrup

Image via Gezellig-girl.com [Flickr]

Speaking of beverages, if you just have to drink soda, put down your regular Pepsi products and grab some Throwback, which is made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. While both add on calories, a Princeton University study has shown that corn syrup prompts far more weight gain than sugar does.

Of course, soda isn’t the only source of high fructose corn syrup. It seems to be in everything these days and it can even be hard to avoid. On a personal note, I can tell you that I cut almost all sources of corn syrup out of my diet and I’ve felt a lot healthier afterwards. Most noticeably, the shaking I get between meals if I wait to long to eat is mostly gone when I don’t have corn syrup for a whole week.

Enjoy a Fattening Breakfast

Image via alternakive [Flickr]

While eating a high-calorie, high-cholesterol breakfast can seem counter intuitive to the goal of weight loss, it can actually be incredibly good for you. According to an article in the International Journal of Obesity, eating a fattening breakfast, a lighter lunch and a very light dinner can lead to more weight loss than eating light meals all day. Researchers believe that eating a hearty meal early in the morning revs up your metabolism, helping you to burn off everything you eat throughout the day. If you only eat cereal, your body will only be able to metabolize carbs throughout the day, but if you eat eggs and bacon, you will be able to digest fat and carbs much more efficiently.

Eat Slower
Eating slower helps you feel fuller after eating less food, your body also has more time to digest each bite individually, leading to better metabolization of the meal.

Put Leftovers Away Before Eating

Image via Brenderous

[Flickr]

By now, you’re probably familiar with the importance of portion control, but sometimes it’s so hard when you have good food sitting right in front of you. A simple solution to reduce your number of second helpings is to put away leftovers before you start to eat your meal. If you do go back for seconds, you’ll also have to take the time to remove the food from the fridge and the Tupperware, which will often reduce the serving size of your second trip.

Overload On Veggies

Image via Craft*ology [Flickr]

If you can’t handle portion control and love copious amounts of food, then just fill your plate with steamed veggies or salad with light dressing. These yummy foods have limited calories and massive nutrient values, maximizing the healthy side your indulgences.

Don’t Eat and Multi-Task
One of my biggest problems is the fact that I will snack while working at my computer and before I know it, I’ll have gone through a whole box of crackers. While you can always try snack packs so you can limit the amount you intake, it’s generally better to just avoid eating while doing other things. This also allows you to take a break and relax for a while, making your food more of a treat and less of a habit.

Instead of Snacking, Brush Your Teeth

Image via justonlysteve [Flickr]

If you’re craving a snack, try brushing your teeth or using mouthwash. This will not only placate your mouth from wanting to nibble, it will also make you wait a while because most foods taste icky right after you brush. Your dentist will also like this plan.

Buy Food With Cash
Sometimes you’re going to end up having to eat fast food. It’s part of our modern world, but you can easily reduce the amount you order at the restaurant by paying with cash instead of a credit card. A study by Visa showed that customers spent 30% more at fast food restaurants when paying with plastic instead of cash.

Make A “Veggie Section” In Your Shopping Cart
A recent University of New Mexico study showed that shopping carts that have been modified with a “vegetable section” caused shoppers to buy over 100% more veggies than they normally would, while they did not spend any additional money. Although your local grocery carts may not have a veggies section, you can improvise by putting a basket in your cart and telling yourself to only put vegetables in the basket.

Listen to Music While You Work Out

Image via Earl What I Saw [Flickr]

Of course, dieting goes hand in hand with exercise when it comes to weight loss, and if you want to make the most of your gym time, rock out while you work out. This not only makes exercise less tedious and boring, but this decreased boredom can help you work out longer and harder, increasing your performance by up to 20%.

Watch Less TV
When you watch tv, your heart rate slows and you burn 20 to 30 fewer calories per hour than you would doing just about anything else. Instead, read a book, take a walk, play with your dog. Just do something that requires more energy.

Wear Comfy Clothes
If your work doesn’t require you to dress up, then don’t. People who wear comfortable clothes walk an average of 8% more every day than those in business attire. Besides, why be uncomfortable when you don’t have to be?

Weigh Yourself

Image by foshydog [Flickr]

You are 82% less likely to regain weight you’ve shed if you weigh yourself on a daily basis. It can also help motivate you to keep working out and stick with the diet.

Before you start on any weight loss regimen, I seriously recommend learning your body fat percentage so you know what you’re working with. While many people think that your body mass index (BMI) is a good indicator of your health, this measurement doesn’t take body shapes and muscle mass into account. You may be overweight according to the BMI and healthily muscular according to a body fat test. For a simple test you can use at home, try this one at Health Central.

Do any of you have any tips to add that help you keep your weight down?

Sources: Lifehacker #1, #2, #3, Health Assist #1, #2, BBC, KOB, About.com, Reader’s Digest, InventorSpot, MSN and Medical News Today

Here at Mashable, we’ve been putting the iPhone 4 through its paces, and have come up with some handy tips and tricks that can help you get more out of your Apple-flavored mobile.
We’ve covered all kinds of basics, like making search results more relevant, creating shortcuts for your favorite websites, better organizing your apps, and making the most of Maps.
And, as ever, if you’ve got suggestions for more iPhone magic not covered here or in our previous Keyboard Shortcuts post, you know we want to hear them in the comments below.
1. Change the Spotlight Search Result Order

The iPhone’s Spotlight Search functionality is a great improvement from early incarnations, but you can make it even more relevant to you just by tweaking the settings.
In the “Settings” menu, go to “General,” then select “Spotlight Search.” You are then presented with a list of categories. By touching the three bars icon next to each category, you can change the order of how the phone presents search results.

This feature can be an extremely useful time saver, as it prioritizes search results based on what you’re most likely to look for (e-mails, apps, contacts, etc.).
2. Lock the Screen Orientation

A great feature for anyone who reads iBooks in bed, you can now lock the screen on your iPhone to stay in the portrait orientation and avoid that annoying wobble between portrait and landscape you can get in certain situations.
To activate the lock, tap the home button twice, then scroll to the screen on the left, at which point you’ll see a square gray icon with a circular arrow on the far right. Tap this to lock the screen (you’ll see a locked icon in the top right of the display now) and unlock by tapping again.
3. Change the Display to White on Black

This one falls under the iPhone’s Accessibility features as it offers a high contrast, more easy-to-view display, but it can also be employed just to make your phone look a little different.
To make the change, head to “Settings,” then “General,” then “Accessibility” and then toggle “White on Black” to “On.”
The colors on your phone’s display are now inverted, however, the Apple magic that makes this happen must have something to do with the phone’s display, rather than a software change, as you can’t export screen grabs showing this setting. To see the effect in action, you’ll have to make do with our real-life photos.

4. Create a Homescreen Icon for Any Website

This is a really nice option for anyone who regularly visits websites that don’t offer their own app. You can easily add a one-touch shortcut for any webpage to your homescreen in the iPhone’s Safari browser.
Simply load up the site you’re interested in and then press the “+” on the bottom of the screen. Select the “Add to Home Screen” option.

You can then label it something appropriate. Now, as the screenshot below shows, there will be a shortcut icon to the site on your homescreen.

5. Use the Front-Facing Camera for More than FaceTime

The iPhone 4’s front-facing camera isn’t just about FaceTime. You can also use it to snap quick portrait pics (as above) and even record video of yourself.

To access the front-facing camera, go to the main camera and then hit the camera with an arrow icon on the top-right corner. This switches the view to whatever the front-facing camera sees, meaning you’ll be able to see yourself on the screen to press the shutter at the correct moment.
To toggle between capturing stills and video, it’s the same as the main camera — slide the toggle from either icon at the bottom of the phone’s screen.

6. Open and Save PDFs in iBooks

The iPhone offers handy “Quick Look” functionality for viewing PDFs, but what’s even cooler is that you can auto-save them into iBooks and then access and view them from there.
Simply press and hold on the PDF icon and you’ll see the option to “Open in iBooks.” Hit this, and the PDF will be ported over, and be available to view in the app from then on.

7. Turn iBooks Into Audio Books

Another one of the iPhone’s Accessibility options for the visually impaired, the “VoiceOver” feature is a gesture-based screen reader.
Using slightly different controls (double tap to select and three fingers to scroll), VoiceOver essentially reads aloud what is on the phone’s screen.
Aside from the obvious uses for the visually-impaired, this also means that iBooks can become audio books. To activate it, go to “Settings,” then “General,” then “Accessibility” and toggle VoiceOver to “On,” at which point you get options to tweak the settings (the speed of reading) and try out the new controls.
Once activated, if you head over to your iBooks app, VoiceOver will read your selected texts to you. It might not be something you want to employ that often, but tired eyes might appreciate having a book read to them at certain times.
8. Manually Add Pins to Maps to Mark Locations

In the iPhone’s Maps app, you can add pins which make navigating to a point or sharing your location super easy to do.
In Maps, you’ll see a blue Post-It-style note icon on the bottom-right corner. Tapping this will give you the option to drop a pin. Selecting this drops a purple pin in the map, which you can drag to exactly where you want it.

Now that you’ve placed your pin, you’ll see a label that hovers over it. This leads to even more functionality.

Clicking through on the label gives you the options to get directions to that point, from that point, and also share that location via e-mail or text message as well as bookmark it. We think this functionality could be super useful for navigating your way back to your car, or a camp site, for example.

And while we’re on the topic of Maps, here’s a bonus tip. Did you know that hitting the arrow-shaped icon on the bottom-left of your display will activate the phone’s compass and show you on the map exactly which direction you’re facing? Clever, huh?
9. Swipe to Delete

There are some handy features for deleting messages more quickly. The most common way to delete multiple messages in e-mail is to hit “Edit,” select the messages you want gone, and then hit the big, red delete button. Alternatively, you can simply swipe to bring up a delete option.
In your inbox, swipe your finger from right to left across a message and you’ll see a delete button appear. Press it and the message is toast.
Gmail users, however, may only get the option to “Archive,” so if you’re using Gmail you’ll have to tweak your settings first. To do this, go to “Settings,” “Mail, Contacts, Calendars,” “Google Mail” and then toggle the “Archive Messages” option to “Off.” This will now reveal that delete option.
This swiping trick can also be used for phone messages, Notes and more.

10. Add Folders to the Dock

The ability to create folders is one huge improvement brought with iOS4, and is a very popular feature when it comes to organizing and accessing apps. In using folders, there’s a neat trick that will let you have all your most-used apps on your phone’s homescreen.
To create a folder, just press and hold any app until it starts wiggling. Then, drag the app into another app that you’d like to include in the same folder. The iPhone will automatically generate a name for the folder based on its contents. You can edit this name by pressing and holding the folder icon.

Once you’ve got your folders made, if you clear something less useful out of the dock (you can only have four things in at a time) you can drag and drop your folder into the dock for super-fast access.
With clever folder creation (Work, Play, Phone, Tools, etc) you could pretty much have everything you need one tap away from the homescreen, rather than scrolling through endless screens of apps.

More iPhone Resources from Mashable: - HOW TO: Make Free iPhone Ringtones - 10 Useful iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts, Tips and Tricks - 10 Incredible iPhone Portrait Photographs - 10 Incredible iPhone Photographs - 10 Ridiculous iPhone Accessories [PICS]
Reviews: Gmail, SafariMore About: apple, how to, how tos, iBooks, iOS, iOS4, iphone, iphone 4, iphone apps, List, Lists, tips and tricks
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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Creating and maintaining a corporate blog, or a blog of any sort for that matter, isn’t always the easiest of tasks and doesn’t come naturally to most people. There are a lot of considerations to take into account — theme, topics, audience, content, design, writers, multimedia, promotion, writing style, comment policies, and so on. Above and beyond all of that, you also need to consider the blog’s name and URL.
Although the act of creating blog posts can be quite simple, forethought and planning must first go into the creation of a corporate blog in order to keep the processes running smoothly, especially if multiple bloggers are involved.
We recently outlined 10 tips for corporate blogging for businesses hoping to focus on key elements of creating a blog in the corporate world. Now, we’re taking it a step further, presenting 15 excellent corporate blogs that you and your fellow employees can learn from.
Let us know if you follow any other particularly noteworthy corporate blogs in the comments below, and please include some details on what makes them stand out.
1. Squarespace: Choose a Fitting Blog Design
Web design is one of the most important factors in creating a blog that is user-friendly and visually appealing. Corporate blogs are notorious for lacking in design. Whether they are über-branded, overwhelming or uninspiring, business blogs often fall short in the design department.
Squarespace, a web publishing platform, is “one of the best designed corporate blogs around,” according to Grace Smith, a freelance web and graphic designer and contributing writer to Mashable. Smith elaborates:
“Squarespace is a fine example of a creative, yet brand aware corporate blog design. The subtle details of the ruler marks and slight transparency are small but beautiful details. It perfectly sits within the Squarespace brand, with attention to great typography and a simple yet engaging layout. The blog is beautiful, uncomplicated, subtle and successfully engages the reader with a strong company voice.”
Designed by Creative Director Tyler Thompson, Squarespace’s blog is simple and readable, including only the most important details. The minimalist interface includes a feed of posts, icons for each Squarespace team member (which link to author pages), a widget for the most recent company tweet, columns for archived posts and categories, as well as a directory at the bottom of the page, linking off to related product, company and community web pages. And, of course, the blog is published on Squarespace’s platform.
Thompson explained the inspiration and objectives behind his design:
“My main goal was to make the content the focus. By putting only the blog posts in a defined column, I think it helped put them front and center and show their importance … From strictly a design standpoint, I wanted to have lots of subtle details and showcase the author and post date in a unique way. I think a neutral color pallet and a small hint of color, in this case yellow, is [a] fairly timeless and safe design. I wanted to avoid lots of bright colors and patterns that might get old fast, become trendy, or visually fight too much with the information.
“It is all too easy to have information overload on a corporate blog — you always want to make sure your readers know everything that is going on. But with our blog, we wanted to take a quality over quantity approach, and really just showcase the blog posts and make it easy to dig through archives. For me anyway, after I visit a site once and experience the design, the next time I visit I really just want the design to go away so you can read the information. I tried really hard to strike that balance with this design.”
Thompson makes a really great point that web design should enhance the content, not battle with it. When designing your corporate blog, focus on the most useful information and make it the center of your design idea. Your blog will be easier to navigate and the most instrumental content will be highlighted.
2. Dell: Use a Landing Page to Organize Multiple Blogs
Some corporations have more than one blog — this could be a solution that’s useful for you, especially if you have a large business with multiple arms. One of the difficulties of managing multiple blogs is finding a place to house them all. This is where a landing page can come in handy.
Dell has a number of corporate blogs, focusing on many specific topics, including technology, investor relations, products, education, and health information technology. Dell organizes all of its blogs under one landing page, which is used to curate featured content from across the blogs, while also including a feed of the latest blog posts, a directory of blogs, and a search bar that scours content from all the blogs.
With 750 videos and over 5 million video views, Dell has a very active and successful YouTube presence which they call the Dell Vlog. While Dell bloggers often embed these YouTube videos into blog posts, an on-site video player on Dell’s blog could be a great improvement.
3. 37signals Product Blog: Showcase Your Products and Services
Posting updates about your products and services on your corporate blog can sometimes seem too promotional, especially if the information isn’t essential to the audience. 37signals has a great solution; they have two blogs — one called Signal vs. Noise about “design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture and more,” and another called The Product Blog, about their products, including Basecamp, Highrise, Campfire, Backpack, Writeboard, and Ta-da List.
If you’d like to keep your main corporate blog focused on industry news and insights, but would also like the flexibility to announce product updates, creating a products blog is a great option.
4. Zillow: Provide Valuable Insights on Your Area of Expertise
When creating any property on the Internet, you must always consider your audience. Think about their needs and put forth content that they would consider valuable. If you stick to your core competency, you should do just fine.
Zillow, a free real estate valuation website, maintains a blog that publishes information on real estate, mortgages, and celebrity real estate. By focusing on their core strength, Zillow creates high quality posts that act as resources for the blog’s audience. For example, they recently posted on top-tweeting real estate pros, questions to ask mortgage lenders, and Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s oceanfront Malibu home rumored to be up for rent for $40,000 per month. They cover the difficult real estate and mortgage questions, but also keep it light with interesting stories about the high-end real estate market.
5. PlayStation.Blog: Get Ideas From Your Fans
Take note of Playstation.Blog Share, a section on PlayStation.Blog, PlayStation’s blog, where users can submit and vote on ideas for improving PlayStation’s products. Upon writing this, the most popular idea on the site proposes the ability to talk to friends via the PS3 Bluetooth Headset even if they are playing other games; the idea has received over 25,000 votes. Feedback like that is of serious value to PlayStation and its fans.
Does your corporate blog provide ample space for readers to submit ideas and suggestions?
6. Disney Parks: Take Your Fans Behind the Scenes
The Disney Parks Blog is an example of how to take readers behind the scenes. The archives are split into a variety of categories, but one of the largest is marked “Behind the Scenes.” Scrolling through the category, you’ll see posts about dance rehearsals, sneak peeks at new construction sites, interviews with employees, and more.
One of my favorite posts is an interview with Don “Ducky” Williams, a Disney artist known around the company for his brilliant Donald Duck drawings. While he draws all of the characters, he has a fondness for old Donald. Videos like this one humanize a company and make devoted followers out of fans and admirers.

Disney Parks’ Social Media Director Thomas Smith explained why behind-the-scenes blogging was so important for the company:
“On the Disney Parks Blog, we like to go behind the scenes to show the dedication and inspiration that make our park experiences so magical for our guests. People often talk about the “Disney Magic” and ask “how do they do that?” This wonderment applies not only to our attractions and shows, but also the many everyday events that happen at all our destinations. We know it’s our cast members that go the extra mile to make those experiences so special for our guests, and we love to share those stories on the blog.”
7. BBC’s The Editors Blog: Bring Readers Into the Process
Just as behind-the-scenes exclusives give readers a new perspective on your company, posts that allow readers to be a part of the process provide unique value for dedicated supporters.
BBC maintains a blog called The Editors that “aims to explain the editorial decisions and dilemmas faced by the teams running the BBC’s news service — radio, TV, and interactive.”
The blog allows readers to voice their opinions on the way news is being covered, while also weighing in on issues that the BBC News editors are facing. This is something that readers can’t get anywhere else. When planning your content strategy, strive for unique information that others are unable to create.
8. GM FastLane Blog: Keep a Focus
Don’t try to be something that you’re not. If your business is selling cars, talk about cars. It sounds obvious, but without strict content guidelines, a blog can quickly derail into the great abyss. GM’s FastLane blog is a great example of a blog that keeps a niche focus. Some recent posts included a webchat on how to build a Corvette engine and […]

We all know that the current BlackBerry Browser leaves much to be desired. Until the release of the new Webkit browser we’re stuck with this lackluster one. One gripe that BlackBerry users have with respect to the browser is its speed. Fortunately with a few setting tweaks in browser options you’ll notice a significant increase in your browsing speed.

Launch BlackBerry Browser and select Options from the BlackBerry menu.
Select Browser Configuration from the Browser Options screen.

Deselect Support JavaScript and Save Options from the BlackBerry menu and click Save Options on the BlackBerry menu.

On  the Browser Options page select General Properties.

On the General Properties page scroll down to Image Quality and change that option to Low (faster).

Select Animations and change that value down to either 10 times or Once, then, click  Save Options from the BlackBerry Menu.

It may not seem like much, but these alterations will make a dramatic difference in your browsing experience even while browsing on EDGE (at least it did for me). Now, the caveats to making these changes are that images will be of poor quality. I’d rather take a shorter loading time than pretty pictures. Also, since we disabled JavaScript, certain pages won’t load properly. Usually there’ll be a popup messages asking if you’d like to reload with Java enabled (just for that page), if not, simply click the ‘J’ key and the page will refresh with Java enabled.

Make these changes and report back on the differences you notice, if any, in your BlackBerry Browser speed?

Quick Tip: Increase Your BlackBerry Browser Speed! is a post from: RIMarkable

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