Sites that let you book cheap local hotel rooms online are hardly a new commodity -- in the local market, there's Wotif, Hotelclub, Quickbeds and Check-In (and they're just the ones I can think off without prompting). Apparently that hasn't dissuaded eBay and Webjet from entering the fray with a new and similar offering, lotsofhotels.com.au. On an initial test, there's not much to differentiate the site (other than a scandalously slow search feature), and it doesn't take advantage of two obvious options for this partnership -- signing in via your eBay details or making payments via PayPal. As well, the inventory seems much smaller than most of the aforementioned competitors, but for budget-minded travellers, it never hurts to have another comparison option in your bookmarks. [lotsofhotels.com.au]

One of the best features of the built-in browser on the BlackBerry is its support for keyboard shortcuts, making it easy to navigate pages (space for Page Down), find information (F), open new pages (G) and access bookmarks (K) without needing to use the scroller. You can find a full list of the supported keyboard shortcuts on the new (and droolworthy) BlackBerry Bold by selecting 'Browser shortcuts' on the Help menu. One option that isn't mentioned on that list remains very useful: press the D key to send your browser into the background. Since I've equipped one of the BlackBerry's quick access keys to launch the browser, I regularly use this to allow easy copy-and-paste between browsers and the BlackBerry notepad. Hitting D returns me to the notepad; hitting the shortcut takes me back to the browser.

Most of the furniture hacks we feature at Lifehacker (like this one) are designed to make your use of technology easier, but here's a neat example of the reverse scenario: a $29 Flarke computer desk from IKEA that's been converted into a dressing table. You could apply the same principle to any computer-specific desk (and we suspect there's more of those lying around disused these days given the preponderance of notebook computers). [IKEA Hacker]

Windows only: Free Explorer add-on QTAddressBar clones the functionality of Vista's new address bar in Windows XP. For folks unfamiliar with the new Vista address bar, it provides a clickable breadcrumb trail of every folder leading to your current location. Clicking one of your folders will take you directly to it, and clicking the down arrow provides a drop-down for moving to any folder within that one. Brought to you by the same folks who made previously mentioned QTTabBar, this freeware Explorer add-on looks like another nice stopgap between Vista and XP. While you're at it, check out more ways you can power up Windows Explorer with free add-ons.

We've already shown you how to use Gmail Superstars and Gmail Quick Links—both exclusive features of previously mentioned Gmail Labs—and now reader Alex McRoberts details how he uses the two excellent features to turn his Gmail account into a killer to-do list manager. Here's how he did it:

Read More »

Windows only: Alpha file manager Explorer++ is a promising free alternative to Windows Explorer that offers features it sorely lacks, like tabbed browsing, secure file deletion, file merging and splitting, instant command line access, and keyboard shortcuts. Explorer++ is still in alpha and may not be ready for full-time use the way Xplorer 2 is, but it's still a simple, functional, and free app worth keeping an eye on. If you're sick of Windows Explorer's paucity of features, shareware TotalCommander is our readers' pick for best alternative file manager; you can also power up Windows Explorer itself with free add-ons. Explorer++ is a free download for Windows only.

Blogger Leo Babauta found more free time in his days by decluttering his schedule and "designing" his life to include important stuff and exclude the rest. Lots of good, familiar advice here on managing distractions, your to-do list, and streamlining work to make more time for leisure.

Read More »

Windows only All platforms: Free boot CD EASEUS Disk Copy copies any disk or partition sector-by-sector for an exact copy of the original. Disk Copy is a perfect tool for upgrading your operating system to a new, larger hard drive, or just making a quick clone of a drive full of files. With support for virtually any drive type or file system and an easy-to-use interface, this app is a fast, effective tool for quick drive copying. I haven't cloned a full drive with it, but according to reader Jason, it copies files significantly faster than previously mentioned HDClone. On the flip side, if you're looking to hot image your hard drive continuously, check out how to do that with DriveImage XML. Disk Copy is freeware, works anywhere you can boot from a CD. Thanks Jason!

Read More »

Despite the fact that it ships with a DVD drive, for whatever godforsaken reason, the Nintendo Wii doesn't support DVD playback—until last week, that is, when a homebrew hacker released a tool that enables DVD playback on your Wii. The best part? You don't have to crack open your Wii or disturb your hardware in any way to install it. Let's take a detailed look at how to softmod your Wii with the Twilight hack to run homebrew apps. Then I'll show you how to install the Wii port of the open source media player, mplayer, to turn your Wii into a DVD (or should I say WiiVD?) player.

Read More »

Earlier this week, we showed you how to auto-change desktop backgrounds in Ubuntu using a small script and a scheduling tool. Turns out a good number of our commenters were already hip to dynamic, time-tracking wallpaper, and have found easier, more full-featured means of keeping their desktops fresh—and using some pretty cool backgrounds as well. Let's take a look at what else you can do to keep your Linux desktop fresh without a lot of hassle.

Read More »