If you’re like me, when you are knee-deep in work at your computer, you don’t like distractions.  I have been known to constantly minimize windows to get the desktop clear so I can concentrate on the one task at hand.  It keeps my focus where it needs to be and it’s not a big deal other than the constant minimizing of the extra windows.

That’s where the Freeware of the Moment comes in.  SpiritedAway does one thing and one thing only: After a user-configured amount of time (I use 60 seconds), any window that has not been touched automagically disappears.  The program is still running and can be retrieved when needed from the dock but it is no longer in my way.  It sounds trivial but I can’t emphasize how big an impact this has made on my productivity to get these distractions out of my way.  My desktop stays clean, with only the window I am actually working in on the screen.

SpiritedAway sits in the system menu where you can configure the time delay before windows disappear as well as temporarily deactivate it.  You can also tick certain windows to be excluded so they always stay visible if desired.  I do this with my Mail window, which sits off to the right on the second screen where it doesn’t distract me.

The latest version of SpiritedAway won’t work on Leopard, I’ve been told, but there is an earlier version that I am using that works fine.  Thanks to Merlin Mann for pointing out this great free tool.

When working mobile if you’re like me one of the most important pieces of information about your mobile computer is how much battery life you have remaining.  I have long enjoyed a taskbar toolbar that Lenovo uses that puts an easy-to-see battery graphic that lets you keep tabs on the battery all the time.

Today’s Freeware of the Moment is a BatteryBar that does the same thing and works on any Windows PC.  There is a full-featured free version that shows the remaining battery life in the taskbar and full information about the battery when you hover over the graphic.  There is also a Pro version for $7.50 that supports some extra stuff like themes but I have not found a need to go that route.

BatteryBar is a great addition to the mobile computer toolkit and has worked flawlessly for me on Windows XP, Vista and even Windows 7.  Give it a try and you’ll see how useful this simple little tool can be.

(via Download Squad)

One of the biggest differences Windows users find when moving to a Mac is the single Menubar. Unlike Windows where each application contains its own unique menu, OS X provides one Menubar at the top of the screen. The Menubar changes context to reflect the active window. Now that James has a second monitor for his Mac, many folks with a similar setup are asking about multiple menubars. You can easily drag the menubar from one monitor to another in your Display Arrangement settings, but you can’t have two menubars. That makes for plenty of cursor movement when you need the menu.

I’ve had a external monitor attached to my Mac at the home office for months and found a free workaround some time ago. It doesn’t solve the problem by adding a second menubar, nor is it as elegant, but it addresses the issue just the same.

Continue reading »

Although I dabble from time to time, I don’t often run Linux distros. (Does that make me a “distro dabbler”?) And I don’t have a BlackBerry. I’m betting however, that there’s more than a few of you out there that run Linux and use a BlackBerry. Someday I’ll join your faction and when I do, I’ll be looking at Barry.

Ostatic just turned me on to this software which supports Ubuntu, Debian, Mandriva, and Fedora. It allows you to:

• charge your Blackberry’s battery from your USB port
• retrieve Address Book, Email, Calendar, Service Book, Memos, Tasks, PIN Messages, Saved Email, and Folders
• export Address Book contacts in text or LDAP LDIF format
• make full data backups and restores of your device using a GUI
• synchronize contacts and calendar items using the OpenSync framework
• use the Blackberry as a modem

Sounds like a useful, open-source tool to me. Or at least it will be if anyone can convert me to a full-time BlackBerry owner that lives in Linux. Someday, maybe?

Lifehacker points to a fantastic little utility that I’m already seeing benefit from. When using Windows on my netbook, I’m periodically checking how much battery charge remains. That means every so often, I’m looking in the system tray for the battery icon. I get a general idea of the remaining run-time by the icon, but specific details require me to mouse over and hover. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an easier method that adds value?

That’s where Power Meter Plus comes in. This small application places a power meter on your desktop at all times. Now when I first heard that, I thought I wouldn’t want to waste space on the MSI Wind’s little 10.2-inch display. As they say, the devil’s in the details and I’m glad I dug into them. It turns out that Power Meter Plus uses the “always visible” approach to it’s advantage. When your battery is fully charged, the transparent power meter is barely visible and therefore, barely noticeable when you really don’t need it. As your battery discharges however, the transparency level of Power Meter Plus decreases, making it more prominent. In this way, it becomes more of a useful alarm as your battery capacity nears zero. You can also have it move from one side of the screen to another simply by mousing over it, so it’s really never in the way. Very slick as shown by the mostly transparent screen-cap from my Wind which has about 80% juice left, which Windows estimates as four more hours.

Power Meter Plus is free for home use and $10 for businesses; it supports Windows 95, 98, 2000 and XP.

If you really (and I mean REALLY) like that hardware keyboard on your G1 handset, you can now use it as a wireless entry system on a computer. RemoteDroid is a bit of software that allows just that, plus you can use the G1’s touchscreen for mousing around as well. The free application works with Windows, Mac and Linux computers and sends the input over WiFi. There’s some minimal setup involved on the smartphone side, since RemoteDroid will require your computer’s IP address for communications. Catch all of the wireless remote action in the video demo.

Considering your traditional computer probably offers a decent trackpad and keyboard, the usefulness is pretty limited in a case like that. With a slate-style Tablet PC or UMPC however, RemoteDroid could be a nice addition to your Android handset.

Related:

• Air Mouse turns your iPhone, iPod touch into a wireless mouse
• Share Your Desktop Keyboard and Mouse with Synergy
• Multiplicity KVM Software Boosts Productivity

(via Engadget)

Many moons ago, we offered a video look at Earthcomber’s iPhone-specific web site. The service has been around since 2005 and supports many device platforms, but up to now hasn’t been a native application on the iPhone. I say “up to now” because you can grab Earthcomber for free in the iTunes App Store. It still offers the great features that I showed off last year, but like most mobile-formatted websites that have morphed into standalone apps, it’s a much cleaner and easier to use. Don’t just take my word for it though; even though it’s free in the App Store, you can get a web-based simulation right on the Earthcomber website.

I still like the category listing to navigate through various venues in the area. It’s a wide range, from Bars & Clubs to tours of cultural attractions and everything in between. Based on your location, every venue is available on a map so you can get visual directions with a tap, or you can view locations in a list, complete with the distance from where you are. While you can always get by with local searches in standard search engines, Earthcomber can be better personalized by signing up for a free account. The “My Radar” function acts like a social search, showing you friends and favorite locations in the area. Overall, it’s handy and free. I’ve got it installed on my iPhone and I’m sure Tyler and I will be using it to find things to do on our Phoenix trip this weekend.

I won’t go on record to say that the Stacks feature in Mac OS X 10.5 is the best feature in the OS, but I do use it on a regular basis. If I didn’t like it, I’d simply turn it off and go back to folders, I suppose. Having said that, you can easily add the same visual navigation feature to Windows XP or Vista using the free StandaloneStack application that Download Squad just highlighted.

Once installed, you can easily create or customize your own stack groupings in the Taskbar: just click ‘em and you can simulate the grid or fan views on a PC. I find that I can navigate a wee bit quicker using Stacks than I can with the standard Windows menu system, but I offset that with the QuickLaunch toolbar to a large extent.

Today’s freeware pick is not really just for netbooks but it’s a utility that works with Windows XP and that’s the OS of choice for many netbooks.  StartEase 2  is the updated version of a PC Magazine utility that adds a ton of functionality to the plain jane Windows XP start menu.  There are far too many features to list them all here but basically StartEase 2 is a program launcher and menu program that is totally configurable so you can build the system you want.  You can bookmark any program on the system in the utility and organize all of those programs any way you wish.  It’s free and it’s easy to use so if you use Windows XP on your netbook and you want a better start menu then give it a try.

UPDATE:  We are receiving reports that this utility is asking those who install it to pay for it.  There is no mention anywhere on the site that this utility has any cost associated and since PC Magazine is not in the software business we trustingly assumed this was freeware.  Links have been removed to the utility and we are leaving this post up so anyone who may have seen this earlier will understand that the program IS NOT FREE.

It’s always good to see our brethern blogs pick up on the growing netbook trend. Sam Dean penned a nice list over at GigaOM with ten ways to tweak your XP or Linux netbook that’s worth passing along. The best news: every single one of them is a freebie!

Some, like OpenOffice and Google’s Chrome browser, are likely already on your radar. I’ll admit that I haven’t seen mention of TinyResMeter before though. I’ll definitely be checking out this itty-bitty resource monitor for MSI Wind.

I’d also add one more item to the list: one of any number of cloud-based storage and synchronization services, although they may cost a few bucks. My thought process: although a few may use a netbook as a primary device, for the majority it’s really a companion device. As such, you’ll want access to documents or files from your primary computer when you and your netbook are out on the town. Consider some of the services we’ve looked at in the past such as Dropbox, SugarSync, or FolderShare which is now morphing into Windows Live Sync.