Geek News and Musings

Attended my very first BarCamp here in San Diego this weekend, and came away from it super-impressed. BarCamp is a free, self-organizing unconference where the attendees are also the speakers. The schedule isn’t decided till the conference starts–when everyone slaps a big Post-It note describing their session on a board in the time slot and room they want to talk in. I’ve been to several Foo Camps, the invite-only O’Reilly event that inspired the BarCamp movement, and I’ll be honest: compared to Foo, I had low expectations for BarCamp. O’Reilly’s a good-sized company in the business of holding tech conferences, and their events are always top drawer. I didn’t think a DIY get-together whose funding was scraped together by local sponsors in the midst of a recession could even come close. Boy was I wrong.

BarCamp’s sessions ranged from very technical (hitting on topics like hosting and replicating terabytes of data, version control, and web API’s), to interactive (like an improv session which brought out everyone’s acting skills with fun games), to pop culture (like a session for devising theories on the plot of the television show Lost). In light of Tuesday’s California Supreme Court decision, I led a session called “Ask Me Anything About Being Gay Married,” which turned into a good discussion about how the state constitution works, the meaning of marriage, and the arguments on both sides of the issue. I also pitched in on Stephen Harman’s talk on how he organizes his personal information in a hosted wiki, something I touched on a few years back in a Lifehacker feature story. BarCamp organizer Dan Tentler’s People Hacking talk was also a must-see; hopefully I’ll be able to snag him for an interview to do a future lengthy post on the topic here or on Lifehacker.

Thanks a whole lot to Dan and the rest of the BarCamp organizers for a great weekend, to Intuit for hosting, and for all the sponsors who ponied up cash and sent folks along (like HP and Yahoo). Here are some photos I snapped at the event.

BarCamp San Diego

Before you officially unpack your swimsuit for the summer months to come, it’s time for a quick look back at the posts you liked best this May. We hacked our batteries, enjoyed 10 incredible and tiny Windows utilities, spiced up our wallpaper with some retro video game remakes, and more.

• 10 Killer DIY Projects for Your Extra Day Off
  The year’s not quite half over, but already we’ve featured buckets of amazing DIY projects. Here’s a quick look at a few of the best, most popular projects you may want to undertake on your extra day off.
• Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks
  The gadgets you love don’t always love you back-at least when it comes to battery life. But you can get more from your laptop, your iPod, your phone, and other devices with these 10 techniques.
• Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities
  It’s the little things that make a Windows system great-like utilities that use less than 10MB of memory to make your life easier. Here are 10 apps that pack a lot of greatness into very little space.
• How to Dual Boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista
  This post wasn’t written this month, but with the release of Windows 7 RC, a whole lot of you wanted to know how to get your dual-boot on.
• Absolutely Amazing Video Game Remake Wallpapers, Take Two
  Lifehacker reader Orioto stunned us a few months ago with his gorgeous paintings of classic video games for your desktop-and he’s at it again with another must-see collection for your eye-candy needs.
• Five Best Free Data Recovery Tools
  The best way to recover from unexpected data loss is to be properly prepared. With one of the following tools on hand, you’ll always be ready to save your data from the Reaper.
• The 10 Best U.S. Cities to Live and Work
  Personal finance site Kiplinger has released their annual list of the best cities in the United States to live and work. The key this year: It’s all about where you can find-and keep-a good job.
• Lifehacker’s Guide to Upgrading to Windows 7 RC
  Whether you want to set up a dual-boot system, you’re ready to migrate all the way to Windows 7 RC from XP, or something in between, here’s what you need to know.
• Clean Up and Revive Your Bloated, Sluggish Mac
  A few years back you dropped significant cash to switch over from the virus-laden world of Windows to a shiny new Mac, but over time it’s gotten slow and crufty.
• Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill
  There’s something about grilling food outdoors that’s both exhilarating and terrifying. It’s great to commune with your food in such a straight-up way, but what if it goes wrong?
• Windows 7’s Best Underhyped Features
  We’ve run down the top 10 Windows 7 features and the best new features in the RC, but after using Windows 7 exclusively for a week straight, the real goods are in the small stuff.
• Google Wave “Is What Email Would Look Like If It Were Invented Today”
  Google announced today a new, experimental idea aiming to reshape the future of communication on the web. It’s called Wave, and if you believe its developer, it’s “what email would look like if it were invented today.” It’s also going to be totally open source. Intrigued?

We’re big fans of recycling things into new and better things here at Lifehacker. Today’s featured workspace aptly turns a bunch of wine cases into a sturdy and storage-friendly desk.

Lifehacker reader Brian Nuckelt was sick of crappy particle board tests. He decided he could do much better for much less by building it himself. He kept his eye out for some material to recycle into a new desk and lucked out by finding a bunch of wine cases out on a curb, destined for the trash.

We’d recommend, if you want to build a similar desk, to look for a similar find or ask around at local wine stores. You’d have to drink 96 bottles of wine to get the 8 cases that Brian used to build his desk.

The desk is constructed of the 8 cases he found, plus a $60 glass table top he picked up at Ikea. The entire thing is designed to be broken down easily for both rearrangement and moving. The boxes are secured to each other and to the desktop using deep throat C-clamps he picked up for less than a dollar each. Where the C-clamps meet the glass is protected with small rubber pads and the tension is only high enough to grip properly.

Brian’s favorite thing about the design is that when it comes time to move the desk, everything is already in boxes and ready to be moved. He’s had the desk put together for some time now and notes that despite its unconventional appearance it is far sturdier than any previous desk he’s had. You can’t go wrong with a desk made of repurposed materials with plenty of storage and a unique look. Great work Brian! For a closer look, check out the pictures below.

If you have a workspace of your own to show off throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.

These stockings printed with veins and arteries are 41,00€ from UpFactory.
Collants/Bas
veines et artères (Thanks, Tara McGinley!)

At this past week’s Google I/O event in San Francisco, Google brought a contraption it calls the “Holodeck,” for event-goers to experience. Basically, it’s a near-360 degree way to view Google Street View in fast motion, high definition video. Danny Sullivan posted a bunch of pictures of the thing earlier in the week.

Unfortunately, Google only allows it to show the area at and around the actual Google campus in Mountain View, as I’m sure it doesn’t want any legal complaint from those caught sunbathing in their backyards. Also, while it does zoom past the area where the Google Goats were kept, it unfortunately failed to catch any of them on tape. Luckily, I did that for you a few weeks ago.

Google’s Holodeck isn’t quite as cool as the Star Trek Holodeck, but give them a few years, I’m sure they’ll figure out how to do that as well.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Whether you’re an able but slow touch typist, or you never graduated beyond hunting and pecking, TypingWeb is a free and easy to use online typing tutor that will help you hone your keyboard chops.

There is no registration necessary, you can dive right in and try out the basic lessons. Registering for an account lets you save your progress and other statistics. Along with a clean and easy to use interface, what sets TypingWeb apart from other free typing tutors is the ability to change the language and keyboard layout. Want to learn Dvorak without tearing your current keyboard apart? Learning to type on a keyboard other than an English QWERTY layout? Swap out the keyboard in the settings section.

TypingWeb is structured to take you from the home row all the way to efficiently using infrequent keys and key combination. There are also actually enjoyable typing games, unlike the lame typing games you may recall from grade school typing tutors. TypingWeb is free, but if you want to get rid of the ads, you can pay a one-time $9.99 fee to turn TypingWeb ad-free. Thanks Kratos!

• I’m getting a tattoo, what advice and personal experience can you share?
• Do you use portable apps on your laptop? Why use them if you have a computer you can take with you?
• Are there any video editors for Linux that are comparable to Windows Movie Maker or iMovie?
• Any tips for explaining the benefit of geeky projects to non-geeks, like why you’d want to build an HTPC?
• I’m copying all my CDs to disk for ease of use while traveling, what format/bitrate should I use?
• My husband is at sea and has to pay 1.50 per MB of data transfer. Is there an easy way for him to monitor usage?
• I’m switching from 32-bit XP to 64-bit Windows 7, any pitfalls to watch out for?
• I’m in the market for a home media server and backup solution but I’m not sure which solution would work the best for me.

Music service Last.fm shuts its doors for the afternoon, claiming “datacenter temperature issues beyond our control” required them to go offline. The outage began around 12:30 pm PST, so we’re at two hours and counting. Updates are on their Twitter account.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Why pay for a disc of pre-made textures or a pricey Photoshop plugin to get the texture you want? Grab a source image and follow this simple tutorial to make your own seamless texture.

Although the author of the tutorial flags it as a tutorial for Photoshop CS4, the tutorial will work in any version of Photoshop with the Offset filter and the clone stamp tool. Find a source image you want to turn into a seamless texture. It helps to choose a source texture that has either a fairly simple and easily blended pattern, or a complex pattern that will make hiding any imperfections easy. Check out the video below to see the technique in action:

If you’d like to learn some more Photoshop tricks, check out previously reviewed VunkySearch or check out some cool light-effect tutorials. If you’ve got a tutorial you think is especially helpful, share it in the comments below. Thanks Kristofer!

One thing I love about Facebook spokesperson Randi Zuckerberg - she says exactly what she thinks, and she isn’t afraid to use the power of Facebook to back up her opinions.

Mean bar bouncers can lose their Facebook pages (this was later retracted but remains funny). Meanwhile, Holocaust deniers are given a pass.

Now she’s taking on the Republican party, and the Republican party is fighting back.

At a Startup2Startup event last week Zuckerberg talked about her experiences at the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions last year. The relevant clip (care of Ustream) is above.

“At the Democratic national convention we were like rock stars,” Zuckerberg said. “At the Republican national convention I sat in my hotel room by myself for three days, no one would meet with us, I was like begging people to meet with us.” Randi also recounts a conversation on a plane where a Berkeley professor calls Zuckerberg “you’re like the most powerful person in the world.”

The Republicans aren’t amused. Matt Burns, the Director of Communications for the 2008 Republican National Convention left a long comment, calling Zuckerber “full of sh*t”:

With all due respect, Randi Zuckerberg is totally full of sh*t on this one – at least as her comments relate to the Republican National Convention.

As the Director of Communications for the convention, I can tell you we worked closely with Google/YouTube, Ustream.tv, Microsoft, and countless other companies to create a comprehensive and successful online campaign. Those efforts were recently recognized with five “Pollie Awards” from The Association of Political and Public Affairs Professionals. And we utilized Facebook – even if it wasn’t up to Ms. Zuckerberg’s standards – as part of our overall strategy.

Is it possible Ms. Zuckerberg sat alone in her hotel room during the Republican National Convention because she never actually contacted anyone? Or maybe she forgot about the major hurricane barreling toward the Gulf Coast on the eve of the Republican National Convention? Or maybe she didn’t really want to be around a group of conservative Americans in the first place?

According to the Wall Street Journal: “’At the Democratic convention we were like rock stars,’ Zuckerberg said Thursday to a conference crowd of what could safely be called Democratic-leaning entrepreneurs and investors.”

Wait. Ms. Zuckerberg bashed Republicans while speaking to an audience of her liberal friends? Shocker!

In all seriousness, can Ms. Zuckerberg tell us what the Democratic National Convention did with Facebook – aside from pet their enlarged egos and take them to glitzy parties with the Hollywood elite – that Republican National Convention planners didn’t?

I guess next time we won’t make the mistake of letting the business of nominating our Presidential candidate get in the way of the folks at Facebook being treated like rock stars.

Apologies to Facebook. Our bad.

Whenever Randi speaks, point a camera at her. There’s almost certainly a story in there somewhere. All I hope is that Facebook never muzzles her. As the most powerful person in the world, we need to hear more from her, not less.

I’ve emailed Burns for confirmation that he left the comment, but the language is definitely his style.

Update: Burns has responded:

YES. I left it.

I LOVE Facebook as much as the next person, but think the criticism was a
bit misdirected. I can’t speak for the McCain campaign because I wasn’t
working on its new media efforts, but the convention itself made
unprecedented efforts to incorporate new media into our campaign. Over the
course of our convention, we attracted 1.7 million unique visitors, and
strategically partnered with Google/YouTube and Ustream.TV to draw an
additional 7 million unique viewers to our content. And the GOP convention
had more Facebook “friends” than the Democratic National Convention. We had
about 10,000, while the Dem Convention had about 3,300.

GOP facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/GOPconvention2008

Dem facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5209534425

Also encourage you to read the following news item:
http://www.gopconvention2008.com/news/read.aspx?id=557

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

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