Here’s a handy Ubuntu tweak that simulates one of my favorite Windows 7 features: Aero Snap. This is the user interface feature that automatically resizes application windows when you drag an app to edge of your workspace. Drag a window to the top and it snaps into a maximized view. Move an app to the left or right edge and it automatically resizes to take up half of your space. It’s one of those features that I originally thought I wouldn’t use, but I find that I hit a several times a day when using Windows 7. Like registry bloat, it grows on you.

Besides having a killer name, OMG! UBUNTU! has the specifics on how to enable this feature in Ubuntu. The directions look pretty straight-forward — you essentially need to enable Compiz and then tweak a few commands in the Compiz Config Settings Manager. The downsides? Lifehacker says you won’t be able to drag windows into other workspaces, which sort of makes sense since you’d be dragging beyond the edge of your primary workspace. And windows might get fluky on a secondary monitor. Neither of these would keep me from making the mod, but I don’t have Ubuntu on anything at the moment. My poor netbook is already dealing with a triple-boot environment with Windows XP, Windows 7 and Moblin. Adding Ubuntu would probably blow up the device.

I have demonstrated Parallels Desktop on the Mac that I use to run Windows 7 alongside OS X. A new version of Parallels Desktop, version 5, was released yesterday and among many new features offers better Snow Leopard and Windows 7 support. One of the new features of Parallels Desktop for Mac v.5 is the Crystal mode, which allows the Windows 7 environment to be “hidden” while running. In the video I demonstrate how this works, and show the ability to run Windows programs like Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer on the Mac desktop.

One of my mobile mantras — No. 4, actually — is to turn off wireless radios and work offline when I can. Solutions like Google’s Gears allows for that approach, but sometimes you don’t need your entire mailbox with you when you’re offline. Starting today, you get a little more control.

Google has now implemented a way to choose which mail you want to use offline with Gmail. Now you can tell Gears to only pull down mail from specific labels and from certain time periods. Only want your Inbox and two other labels from the past week? No problem. Once you have Gmail setup for offline use, just hit the Offline tab in Settings to pick and choose.

Fans of Microsoft’s Windows Live Sync using Snow Leopard can have a sync party tonight — the file synchronization application received support on Apple’s latest Mac OS X version today. Live Sync was born from the old FolderShare service, and offers a free way to sync files or folders between computers. But on the Mac side, Windows Live Sync lost official support when Apple introduced Snow Leopard. That issue is now resolved.

When it was known as FolderShare prior to its change to Live Sync, it was a must-have service for me — it offered one of the easiest and effective ways to sync data between multiple devices. The features are still pretty solid:

• Sync up to 20 folders with a maximum of 20,000 files each
• Folders can personal or shared with others
• Integration with Windows Live ID
• Integration with the Recycle Bin
• Remote file access to powered-on computers with the Live Sync software running.

Mac OS X 10.6.x users can grab the free software directly from Microsoft.

Smartphones are becoming more capable all the time, with features that are beginning to rival full mobile computers. I have been following a few people online recently that are making concerted efforts to leave the laptop at home and only travel with the smartphone. It’s an interesting proposition and while I think it can be done by some folks, there must be times when a larger screen and keyboard would fit the job at hand a little better. I keep thinking back to the Celio REDFLY that I looked at a while back, and it seems to be a decent compromise of mobility and functionality for these folks mostly using the smartphone while traveling.

The original REDFLY I looked at paired with Windows Mobile phones to simply extend the display and keyboard. My evaluation proved to me that it was perfect for those times when I needed to do more extensive data entry, such as long email responses. It was also a good tool for working with spreadsheets and Word documents, something I wouldn’t even try on a phone.

The folks at Celio, makers of the REDFLY, have produced a version of the little laptop that work with some BlackBerry phones. There is a good fit with this REDFLY, given the focus of the BlackBerry on strong messaging features. I can see how the ability to connect the BlackBerry to a notebook-like device could be a good tool for those trying to travel as light as possible. I’ll soon know for certain, as the folks at Celio are sending over a REDFLY for me to try with the BlackBerry. That means you’ll soon know for certain too, as I will share that whole experience with you. Until then, refresh your memory of the REDFLY with the video overview I shot of the original version.

Google Chrome’s bookmark sync has come a long way since I last looked at it. The latest Windows beta build now offers bookmark sync, which by itself may not sound glamorous. But at the tail end of the video demonstration it gets a bit more interesting. If you have multiple computers signed in to Google, adding a bookmark on one computer adds it to the other in a near-real-time fashion. Google is leveraging the XMPP servers it uses for Google Talk to make the magic happen. That’s pretty clever since the first word in IM is “instant.”

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I am fortunate to be able to work at home. It has a lot of advantages, not the least of which is the 30-second commute. There is a sense of empowerment in being able to work in my own home office, primarily because I can control the environment in which I work. I have honed that environment to the point that it suits me perfectly, so it’s appropriate to share what I learned works well for me. Note that what works for me may not work for you, we’re all different in many ways and have different needs.

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I’ve made no secret of how I use Remember the Milk for all my task management needs. One of the strengths for me is the way RTM works on so many different platforms, so making it always in my pocket when I need it. The RTM folks let me know that the iPhone version of the program has just been updated. The new update brings Smart Add capability to the iPhone version.

What is Smart Add? That’s the natural language method for task entry that the program properly translates into a real task. You can create tasks like “Pick up the milk tomorrow”, “Order stationery #work”, “Return books in 2 weeks @Library” and the program will intelligently make the proper entry into your task list. A good program just got better, and that’s always a good thing.

RTM for the iPhone requires a Pro account, and that is currently $25 for a one year subscription. The Pro account opens up the ability to use RTM on the iPhone, Android phones and more.

Here’s a nice Windows 7 tip from the How To Geek — with a little registry tweak you can adjust the how quickly or slowly Aero Peek thumbnails appear. By default, Aero Peek is programmed to show an application thumbnail when the mouse hovers over the app for a half second. That’s 500 milliseconds to the programmer types out there. And you can modify that 500 number by finding this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

To mod the time, simply run type regedit in your Start menu to run the registry editor. Note: although this is a very minor change, it always makes sense to backup your registry before making any changes. You never know what might get hosed up and a backup can save the day.

Once you have the registry editor open, just navigate to the key path above. Look for and double-click on DesktopLivePreviewHoverTime, which should show the default value of 500. Here you can edit the Aero Peek delay time in terms of milliseconds: 1000 would be one second, 0 would be instant, etc… Not only will your live thumbnails appear faster — or slower, if you want — but the Show Desktop function in the far right of the Taskbar will follow the same time delay.

Earlier this summer, James took a look at reMail for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The $4.99 application puts Apple’s mobile Mail app to shame when it comes to searching for information. With reMail, you get full text searches of emails even while offline. reMail intelligently stores messages and attachments without taking up too much space, and no email can hide from its search capabilities — at least not any that I’ve been looking for. You can also configure the app to store mail from only certain folders in order to save space and cut down on the initial synchronization time.

Version 2.5 of reMail (App Store link) just hit the App Store, and I grabbed the update. The biggest feature change I see so far — support for multiple email accounts. Up to now, all I could do was use reMail for either my work mail or my personal mail. Now I can use it to search across both accounts, or any new ones that I might add. I highly recommend taking a look at this app. If $4.99 sounds too steep for you to try, you can grab the free version that supports Gmail only (App Store link). The full version supports Gmail and any other IMAP mail solution, including Microsoft Exchange mail accounts.