Google Tasks Standalone!

Google Tasks is known and loved by many of us, but one problem with it--at least with me, anyway--is that Tasks is only able to be edited through a Gmail window. All you need to do it is enable it in Google Labs.

Unbenownst to many of us, Google has surreptitiously launched a standalone version of Google Tasks: no more wasting RAM to hold a Gmail window just to read your tasks!

It is located at http://mail.google.com/tasks/ig.

There are many ways to make this standalone; the way I am using right now is through Firefox's Prism application.

Because I use Ubuntu, I use the (to me) easier, downloadable Prism app: just do sudo apt-get install prism in the terminal and apt-get will automatically download the prism application. (Remember, this is ONLY for Ubuntu and other systems that support apt-get, not Windows. Windows users should go to the above link for Firefox.)

Of course, if you don't have Firefox or anything, you can use Google Chrome's "create a standalone application" tool or just keep the Tasks open in a tab or window.

Feel free to comment about how YOU organize your tasks, and if you found this useful or interesting.

Update: Someone has found out a slick way for Windows users to integrate these tasks on to their desktop. His post is as follows, and is located at here.

"What I did was right click on my windows taskbar and go to the Toolbars> submenu, click on the 'New Toolbar…' button.
In the field for the location, just past the link:
https://mail.google.com/tasks/ig
And press Enter.
Then you will see a new toolbar on your windows taskbar (it may be collapsed). Now take that toolbar and drag it to your desktop. It will create a window on your desktop.
This window will always load with windows, and if you logged in with internet explorer and saved your passwords and username for your gmail account, then it will log in automatically.
What’s nice is it sits on your computer and loads up to remind you what to do and I believe there’s an option to even make it sit on top of all windows if you like."

[TipsFor.Us]

Ubuntu 9.04!

Is out.

This is a great thing for any Linux enthusiast.

The thing that the Ubuntu team worked on this release is BOOT TIME. All over the web, there are posts about how fast their ubuntu loads; I myself am still using 8.10 on my desktop (because there is no driver for my graphics card in 9.04) so I can't test this for myself.

Additionally, it seems that the Ubuntu team is hopping on the netbook bandwagon! Ha and I both have a netbook: him, a Dell Mini, and I, an Acer Aspire One. I have my One double-booting Windows XP and Canonical's new Ubuntu Netbook Remix, or UNR for short. This has a special launcher that takes the place of the taskbar, but of course Gnome is still usable under System->Preferences. The main difference is under the cover: UNR has better power management than the desktop or server versions of 9.04.

It's always a good time to try out Ubuntu via either double-booting, jumping straight in, using a virtual desktop, etc... but I especially recommend starting with this release. You won't ever look back at Vista with longing ever again.

The next release will be in October, and will be called Karmic Koala.

Comment freely!

[Ubuntu]

Got My Mini

Those of you that know me personally will know that I have been considering getting a new computer for a while now, and that I am on a pretty low budget. And just my luck, I was online going through my normal feeds, I found a nice deal for the HP mini 1030NR for only 275$ with 10$ shipping. I pulled the trigger and I don't really have any regrets. Of course, this is a refurb, but you can expect to have a 90day warranty from HP and for another 25$, you can probably also find a new version of the HP mini 1030NR at staples, but there is tax.  The Mini is pretty nice, and for you that don’t really know about the HP mini, the mini has a body of the approximate size of the Acer Aspire, but there is the option of getting the 10.1” screen in the same body. The dimensions are 10.3 in (L) x 6.56 in (D) x 0.99 in (H) and with a weight of about 2.4LB. Full review to come

Buy it now!

The New HP dv2 reviewed for your pleasure

The New Hp dv2 had been released several days ago, and now since we do not have any sponsors yet, we have the pleasure of other blogs to view their opinions.

Here is some background on the HP dv2. Back in early January, AMD (advanced micro devices) announced that they would be making a new line of processors called the “Neo” processors to compete with the ULV devices of Intel. They had also stated that they would not be fighting for the position of top dog in the netbook saga where nearly all current netbooks are built with that special Atom processor.

Most of these reviews generally say the same thing; the dv2 is sleek and very shiny, and partially lagging in terms of processing power. The Yukon platform that it performs on only has the single strong suit of graphics and even then, the computer reaches a steaming hot 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Of the pack-ins that HP had included, there was the typical fanfare of manuals and then there was the USB powered blu-ray drive. Wanna read more? Click on the reads

Read-slashgear

Read-LaptopMag

Read-Notebook Review

Get the Old Facebook Back! (March 2009 Update) Now Complete!

In March of 2009, Facebook changed the layout... again. Not as big or major as that in September but still an update. That pretty much wipes out getting the layout before September 2008 major update that used to be possible. However, many have gotten used to the previous update and despise the new layout. Personally, I like the new layout, but many don't, so....

Lets "hack" the new layout and get the old one as much as we can!

Ask me any questions or chat with me live in the Digsby widget below!

First off, only one browser takes customizing to the next level.... Get the latest stable version of Mozilla Firefox! Note: Some Greasemonkey scripts also function in Opera however they often have reduced functionality. Get Firefox to fully take advantage.

Everything in this requires only one add-on and that is the one and only Greasemonkey! Whats Greasemonkey you may ask? It allows you to customize how sites load through pieces of Javascript. Greasemonkey scripts can do millions of useful things on virtually any site, even replace some add-ons, since many add-ons are based on scripts. Anyways, back to the main point here. If you know Javascript, you can write your own codes too.

After you have installed Mozilla Firefox and the add-on Greasemonkey, time to get the old Facebook layout back as much as possible.

To change script configurations, visit a page that the script is enabled on, then right click on the status icon or through Tools --> Greasemonkey, then mouse over User Script Commands and click on the appropriate item. Some scripts do not have configuration though. The configuration will not be available on pages that the script does not work on.



IMPORTANT: Many of these scripts will NOT work on the HTTPS (SSL) encrpyted version of Facebook by default. To enable it, go to the Greasemonkey Scripts manager, then edit one of the sites that might say: "http://www.facebook.com/*" Change it into "http*//www.facebook.com/*" Basically, add a wildcard * after the http. An alternative is simply to add "*facebook.com/*" to the list. That handles everything. Note that chat does not function in SSL mode.

Facebook Fixer
Click the Install button to load into Greasemonkey. Does not require a browser restart, however often requires refreshing Facebook.

This single script pretty much handles most of it. You can remove the filter menu, highlights, connect with friends, people you may know, and/or pokes. Fully customizable through the configuration. Right click on the monkey icon in the statusbar and mouse over Script Commands. The highlights are new to the new layout, so remove it. You can also hide the filter list, which is also new. Right now, your page should look something like this: (Click to enlarge)

In addition, it adds a huge number of nice optional enhancements such as top and bottom toolbar transparency, top banner to move with the page like the bottom bookmarks, show a preview of a photo by mousing over the thumbnail, Zodiac signs next to birthday, links to add to Google Calendar, round profile pictures, and MUCH MORE.

The configuration can also be accessed through the Facebook Settings menu. Click to enlarge.
That pretty much handles everything possible, but the old Facebook had smaller text... so... our next script (which can also be used as a user style with Stylish, a user style manager that also changes pages but it changes how pages look by modifying CSS rather than how they load by modifying Javascript) is...

Facebook March 09 Layout Shrinker
To install this, there are two options: Load into Stylish (if its installed) and load as User Script. If you are using Greasemonkey, load as User Script.

This does not have configuration. It basically makes everything smaller. It says combine with another script, however Facebook Fixer can handle everything that the other script does and more. With this script and the Facebook Fixer, your homepage should look something like this:
Thats pretty much as far as it can go for now. Wall posts are generally the only thing left to remove. Unless everyone sets to not allow them in news feed, its impossible to block them for now. I'm sure there will be ways too. Script developers are working on it. I take NO CREDIT for these third party scripts.

Heres a bonus to remove the what I find annoying posts from applications and quizes in the news feed using Facebook Purity, another script. It automatically hides these posts but there is an option to show them if you want to see them anyway.

After installing the 3 scripts mentioned here, this is what you'll get:
UPDATE 4/15/09: Add Facebook Add Status to bring your status message back to the homepage.
UPDATE 4/15/09: Remove Wall Posts from your news feed. Install this script. Unfortunately, this prevents removing the filter list.

Thanks for reading and I hope this post was useful to you. Click on the banner below to get Firefox in order to install Greasemonkey.

Email me any questions or feedback at: free...@gmail.com
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Note: Add Greasefire to your Firefox if you want to know when there is a script from UserScripts available for your current page. Greasefire requires Greasemonkey. The Greasemonkey icon has a red background when scripts are available.

Ubuntu 9.04 beta is out and the public release is coming too!