Koffdrop's shared items in Google Reader

PSX Longplay [079] Future Cop: L.A.P.D.

2011-11-04T14:38:03Z

I've favourited a YouTube video: http://www.longplays.org Played by Boneofhead Game by - Electronic Arts Redwood Shores, Published by - Electronic Arts. 1998 Playthrough of Future Cop L.A.P.D. story (Crime War) on playstation 1, Collected the three secret technologies from zo...

"[GMA sponsors Grainger Games] brought bikini clad women, midgets, a hideous orange hummer and the..."

2011-10-30T05:08:01Z

“[GMA sponsors Grainger Games] brought bikini clad women, midgets, a hideous orange hummer and the cherry on top — Grainger Games’ very own brand of condoms. Because all of those things simply scream videogame journalism.”

- Destructoid, Fraser Brown: Games Media Awards trolled by sponsor [October 29th, 2011]

Well… yeah. Yeah, Fraser. They kind of do.

I’ve been quiet about the GMAs, largely because the very idea of game journalists celebrating their “achievements”, such as they may be called, seems like a monumentally preposterous idea. It’s the journalistic equivalent of a pie-eating contest. Truthfully, I have to give credit to Grainger Games for absolutely nailing their contribution to the evening.

This may strike you as odd, but I’m not fond of trolling. I don’t see the point of it. Nor, I suspect, do Grainger Games. I don’t think they had in any way, shape or form “misjudged” their presence at the GMAs. I think they looked at game journalism, looked at what it is, what it does and what it represents, and planned accordingly.

Looking at the content of sites like GamesRadar, Destructoid, Kotaku, and IGN, to name four of the biggest names in the field, it’d be difficult to see how you’d go wrong with poor-taste midget jokes and scantily-clad women.

They catered to what they perceived as their audience. Rather than writing pissy articles about how the GMAs were “trolled”, perhaps it would be better if game journalists reflected on exactly why Grainger Games thought these sort of antics would be acceptable at an award ceremony highlighting the “best” of the field.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Walkthrough - Chapter 1 [HD] {Let's Play} (PS3)

2011-10-29T08:29:17Z

I liked a YouTube video: If you would like to buy Uncharted 3: http://amzn.to/UnchartedIII The first part of a complete Uncharted 3 Gameplay Walkthrough for the Playstation 3. Played, of course, on the Playstation 3. To enter the giveaway for a free copy of Uncharted 3:...

Let's Play! Devil May Cry 4 - Mission 1

2011-10-22T18:16:50Z

I liked a YouTube video: This Mission is usually a nice, gentle introduction to the game... until you do it on DMD mode with a fresh character! Holy cow Dante, settle down. This is actually really fun, and if you have the PC version, you should try it. Music: "Devil...

Michael Winslow - Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin (Senkveld med Thomas og Harald)

2011-10-21T12:24:14Z

I've favourited a YouTube video: Michael Winslow on Senkveld med Thomas og Harald.

Oy Vey, (or, How to Give Yourself a Headache)

2011-10-19T01:47:57Z

There appears to have been rather a bit of controversy on the Twitters about yesterday’s post regarding a Bethesda PR rep referring to the press build of Skyrim as “pre-alpha code”. I’m going to do my best to clear that up.

I’m not arguing whether or not Crecente or any of the other journos who got a hands-on with the game were playing unfinished code. Of course he played unfinished code. The idea that he’d be playing the release candidate is preposterous, even this close to release.

That was never the point I was trying to make, and if that’s what you took away from my post then I apologize for the confusion. Admittedly, the wording I used wasn’t great. I don’t feel I got my point across properly.

The key point of contention was the use of the term “pre-alpha” by Bethesda’s PR people. Y’see, there is literally no way Bethesda would bring pre-alpha code to a press release. Why? Because a pre-alpha build is barely even the beginnings of a game.

I asked programmer and friend Case Wagner to do his best to explain what “pre-alpha” actually means from a programming perspective. He sent me this colorful bit of text:

Pre-alpha: The magical land between the designer’s pillow and a product worth getting the world excited about. You might have concepts, middleware tech and a vast collection of ideas scribbled on post-its while a team of ninjas practices Agile Development by beating their keyboards against the faces of baby seals while discussing their progress each day, but you’ve only got your toes in the water yet. Things can change. Redefining character direction or genre, the discovery that “making games is hard”, or poor planning, can significantly alter the early trajectory of a game. And you haven’t even written the first line of code yet…

The pre-alpha stage is usually the absolute start of software development, and often involves figuring out exactly what the program is going to do, and figuring out what the team is going to need to do to make those ideas a reality.

Once you know that, you know there’s no way the build of Skyrim that Bethesda showed to the press was “pre-alpha”. It was playable. There were graphics. There were NPC interactions. (9.5 out of 10, Editor’s Choice - Ed.)

The build provided some indication of what the final product would be like - enough for Bethesda to merit booking a handful of hotel rooms for a day or two and inviting members of the press to come over and give it a go.

It’s been suggested that Bethesda may use different terms for development stages internally. Not only would this make any ICT professor worth his salt weep into his pillow for 40 days and 40 nights, but even if it were the case that internal terminology would be exactly that - internal. Unless you’re using it in front of people you don’t expect to know any better, of course.

The problem I have is with PR reps using the term “pre-alpha” to brush off any complaints about glitches in the code. So what if there are glitches? You don’t need to justify the current flaws of an unfinished game by reappropriating a term that effectively means development hasn’t actually started yet.

I was surprised and disappointed that Crecente, who has worked in game journalism for some years now, didn’t spot this misuse of the term, but the focus of my rage was on the PR folks who use the term incorrectly.

I’ll leave you with a bit of roleplay. Don’t worry, you don’t have to dress up if you don’t want to.

Imagine you’re a food critic. You’ve been taken to a private suite in a restaurant to enjoy a world-renowned chef’s brand new concoction. You’ve heard good things - by all accounts it should be flavorful, aromatic and well-presented.

The waiter brings out your meal on a plate. It looks superb - finely cooked, and garnished with just a hint of parsley.

Unfortunately the appealing look is rather offset by the smell of the thing. It’s not bad by any measure, but it certainly isn’t pleasing. Fortunately it tastes much better - the flavors set off fireworks in your head, though the impact is dampened by a bizarre aftertaste, not to mention the aroma still wafting from the plate and into your nostrils.

You call over the waiter and ask him to bring out the head chef. He leaves the room, reentering a moment later with a man in a white chef’s uniform.

“I trust everything is to your liking,” says the chef, smiling confidently

“Kind of,” you reply. “It tastes great, but it smells a bit weird and there’s a funky aftertaste.”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry about that,” says the chef. “I haven’t started cooking it yet.”

OurPad Brings Multiple Account Management to the iPad

2011-10-19T17:00:51Z

iPad: You use your iPad, your spouse uses your iPad, so who gets the privilege of having the iPad remember their Facebook and Gmail info? With OurPad, you both do.

It’s one of the more glaring oversights in the iPad design. Unlike an iPhone that is usually only used by one person, multiple people often use the same iPad. A simple mechanism for switching user profiles would be enormously helpful but is conspicuously absent from the device.

OurPad steps in to help fill the gap. It’s not a perfect solution but it does make it dead simple to switch between Facebook, GMail, MSN/Hotmail, Yahoo!, and Twitter accounts for multiple users.

OurPad is free, iPad only.

OurPad [via Addictive Tips]


How To Make Ghosts In Photoshop or GIMP	The How-To Geek Guide to Getting Started with LastPass	Hardware Upgrade: The HTG Guide to Picking the Right PC Monitor

"Thus goes the cycle of gaming press. 1) Announcement of announcement (Countdown clocks are always..."

2011-10-18T14:43:45Z

“

Thus goes the cycle of gaming press.

1) Announcement of announcement (Countdown clocks are always appropriate!)

2) Announcement of game (Teaser trailer cannot contain more than 1% actual gameplay)

3) 12 months of previews from every mouthbreather with a keyboard and delusion of Thompson-esque grandeur. (Don’t say anything negative! You may not get a free press copy, or ridiculous swag available to the press only! But don’t let that influence your review…you’re a journalist, after all!)

4) Previews to be dissected by millions of people. (Best ever! Worst than a million Holocausts!)

5) Game is delayed. Announcement of DLC cushions the blow. (Be sure to use the words “quality” and “experience” here!)

6) It’s a month before the new release date! Make sure your site is decked out with plenty of ads to inform your loyal readers of that fact!

7a) Game is released! If it’s a passable game, it’s at least an 8.5. Be sure to use visceral, transcendent and Oscar-worthy in your review. Be sure to point out negatives. For instance, was the game too good?

7b)If the game is not what you expected, or just not very good, make sure to mock it with the same verbiage one might find on a junior high school playground. Use of funny costumes and poorly acted skits are highly appropriate if producing video content

8) Remember the golden rule of games journalism. Hyperbole is the best literary device, ever. Without it, your readers will become bored and resume picking their nose. And if they’re doing that, they can’t read your excerpt about how you have super-secret information about a game they’re dying to see - but you can’t tell them because of those damn embargoes! Stay tuned!

”

- The incredibly accurate, and borderline hilariously sad state of “announcement-to-review” for games these days, as acknowledged by a NeoGAF member. (via semprafi)
NeoGAF isn’t exactly my favourite place in the world, but occasionally someone will post something brilliant like this.

Stop Windows From Adding the Word "Shortcut" to Every Shortcut You Create [Registry Tweak]

2011-10-17T14:30:00Z

When you create a new shortcut in Windows, it annoyingly adds the word "Shortcut" to the end of the file. A very simple registry tweak can turn off this behavior.

This tweak's actually been around for awhile, but we never knew about it. All you need to do is hit the Start button, type regedit in the search box, start up regedit.exe, and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. Click on the Explorer folder and you should see a registry key called "link" in the right-hand pane. Double click on it and change its value from 1e 00 00 00 to 00 00 00 00. Then, restart Windows Explorer or log off your machine. When you come back, all your newly-created shorcuts should have the same name as their original program, saving you quite a bit of tedious typing.

If you don't want to edit the registry manually, hit the link for a downloadable, two-click version. And be sure to check out our other favorite registry hacks for powering up Windows.

Remove "Shortcut" Text From New Shortcuts in Windows 7 or Vista | How-To Geek via How-To Geek

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

Why I can't trust critics who don't finish story-based games.

2011-10-14T20:26:40Z

thecynicscorner:

I’ve got a lot of pet peeves when it comes to critics. Though that’s obvious to anyone who has been reading this little blog of mine, something has just been bugging me lately. A couple people on my twitter feed consistently recommend or praise certain critics who I’m not a big fan of. Let me tell you why.

If I can’t trust a critic, it ruins the ability for me to read anything they write and take it seriously. There’s quite a few critics I can’t trust, but there are some that have committed the one sin of video game reviewing that I cannot forgive: not finishing a story-based game.

The reason that this is a problem for me (and many others) is that storyline has become a huge part of the video game experience these days. Whether people realize it or not, most games out there are driven by the storyline in all directions. Without storyline, gameplay mechanics aren’t justified, the levels have no purpose, etc. If you can’t finish the game, how can you tell me about the entire experience and how it all weaves together?

Simply put, you can’t. At all. At any point. Ever.

Some folks have been outright caught not finishing the game, and there are others that you can tell didn’t finish the title when you, the audience, plays it. It sickens me to see things like this, and sickens me even more when people call these folks “good at their jobs.” No, they aren’t. If the guys at fucking IGN and Kotaku finish the games they review, there really isn’t an excuse for anyone else. If the bottom of the barrel is required to do it, then we all are.

I don’t like a lot of critics, but I can respect the ones who take the time and energy to put what they have to the side to finish a long story-based video game to review it for their audience. Even if they aren’t the best writer, you can tell they at least want to make an effort at doing what their community (who ultimately pays their bills with the site hits they deliver) asks of them.

Simply put, I can’t trust someone to tell me how good a game is if they don’t finish it. Would anyone trust Roger Ebert if he walked out of movies? Would you trust a music critic if he stopped listening to an album halfway through and called it crap? No.

Don’t celebrate people who half-ass their work.

Wise words there from Blistered Thumbs’ Micah C.

How To Anonymize and Encrypt Your BitTorrent Traffic

2011-10-11T20:00:00Z

Whether you’re trying to dodge an angry government, a connection throttling ISP, or the watchful gaze of media conglomerates, anonymizing and encrypting your BitTorrent traffic can help. Read on to learn how.

Photo by jin.thai.


Online Safety: Who Says Macs Don’t Get Viruses?	How To Anonymize and Encrypt Your BitTorrent Traffic	3 Easy Tips to Fix Ugly Edges When Removing Backgrounds

News: Newell: Rise of closed platforms is "ominous"

2011-10-12T09:19:00Z

Valve's managing director Gabe Newell has proclaimed the rise of closed platforms like the Apple's iOS and Xbox Live as "ominous".

According to a report on The Seattle Times' website, Newell made the comments while participating in a panel, hosted by former Xbox exec Ed Fries, at the WTIA TechNW conference.

Newell argued that companies that once built platforms to enable developers, "instead view themselves as more rent guys who are essentially driving their partner margins to zero."

Get 5 great free games at the Chrome store: Angry Birds, Fancy Pants Adventure World 2, Cargo Bridge, Steambirds Survival, and Canvas Rider

2011-10-02T10:26:05Z

If you use Chrome, head out to the ‘Chrome App Store’ and get the following classic free games:
(1) Angry Birds, (2) Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2, (3) Cargo Bridge, (4) Steambirds: Survival, (5) Canvas Rider

There are tons of free games on the internet, of course, but if you do not want to waste time looking for them and just want some cool, fun games to sink your teeth into, consider the ones on this list. These are casual games that are guaranteed to satisfy; just go ahead and grab them, you will not be sorry that you did.

Chrome apps vs. flash games: although that you could play most of these as browser independent flash games somewhere on the internet, in some cases there is an advantage in installing these as Chrome apps in that in some instances (a) your progress is saved and associated with your gmail login, and (b) you can play offline in some case, and (c) the Chrome store enables game vendors to use the freemium model, where in-game upgrades can be purchased.

More info and screenshots:

1. Angry Birds: the iPhone classic works may not work as well with the mouse as with touchscreen controls, but is still so much fun that you probably won’t even notice.

2. Fancy Pants Adventure World 2: so much fun and one of my personal favorites, I love the way this game looks and the gameplay is extremely satisfying.

3. Cargo Bridge: a bridge building game that’s the kind of addictive physics game that we’ve been seeing more and more of lately, esp. on touchscreen devices like the iPhone (though I could not find an iPhone version of this game as of this writing).

4. Steambird Survival: if I told you that a turn based game can be action packed would you believe me? That’s exactly what this aerial dogfighting game manages to achieve. Very cool!

5. Canvas Rider: this game (which harkens back to previously mentioned Linerider ), has the player riding around on hundreds of user-submitted tracks. These are frequently very creative and/or amazingly beautiful, but also frequently very difficult. You can draw and submit your own if you like.

Know other cool games you’d like to tell us about? Share in the comments section.

Top 10 Tech Concepts You Always Wanted To Learn About (But Never Did) [Lifehacker Top 10]

2011-10-01T15:00:00Z

We're busy people, and even the most savvy of us sometimes just don't have the time to learn about every odd and end in the tech world. Here are some of our favorite tech explainers on things you probably hear a lot about, but never really knew.

10. Net Neutrality

It's a subject that only crops up from time to time—usually when new legislation is being pushed through or a tech company has done something really stupid—but it's an important thing to know about in today's age of ubiquitous internet. If you still aren't sure what net neutrality is—or even if you have a rough idea but aren't an expert—check out our introduction to net neutrality and what it means for you.

9. The Windows Registry

Many Windows users know of the fabled registry, though fear it because of its cryptic (and powerful) nature. However, for those that understand how it works, it can be an invaluable tool. Check out our explainer and mythbuster on the Windows registry, and then be sure to check out our top 10 favorite registry tweaks to really make it work for you.

8. Android Task Killers

Android task killers were useful tools back in the very early days of Android, but nowadays they actually do more harm than good—yet cellphone manufacturers still recommend them to new users all the time. Read up on what Android task killers actually do, and why you shouldn't use them on your phone. You might be surprised at what you find. Android isn't perfect, but traditional Task Killers aren't the answer (though we list some alternative tools that will help you in that explainer).

7. SSL Encryption (Also Known as HTTPS)

You've probably noticed that some sites use https:// instead of http:// in their web addresses, but maybe you don't know what that actually means. Maybe you know that it encrypts your data for better security, but you don't really know what it's protecting you from. Either way, read up on what HTTPS is and why you should care about it on sites like Facebook, and once you do, be sure to check out browser extensions like HTTPS everywhere to get it enabled on as many sites as possible.

6. What "4G" Really Means

This new "4G" phenomenon that's sweeping the nation is full of hype, but not very much real info. No one really says what 4G is or how fast it actually is—they just tell you it's something you want. We've talked about everything you need to know about 4G, including whether it's worth upgrading your phone for. Even if you thought you understood the basics behind 4G, you might be surprised at what you find.

5. The Difference Between Lossless and Lossy Music

You may or may not think a lot about the "bitrate" of your music, but the argument of whether bitrate actually matters has raged for quite a while. We break down exactly what bitrate means, how lossless music compares to "lossy" music, and whether it's something you should worry about. If you decide lossless music might be for you, you might also want to check out our guide to managing multiple music libraries, which can be a great help to those with both high- and low-bitrate files.

4. 64-Bit vs. 32-Bit Operating Systems

If you've reinstalled Windows or Linux anytime recently, you were likely given the option to choose between 64-bit and 32-bit versions. In a nutshell, if you have 4GB of RAM or more, you'll want to go 64-bit—but if you want to know why this is the case, check out our guide to 64-bit vs. 32-bit operating systems. And, if you aren't sure whether you even need more than 4GB of RAM, we've got you covered with an answer there too.

3. Proper Windows Maintenance

Windows maintenance myths have been around since what seems like the beginning of time, which can leave you very confused as to what you actually need to do to your computer to keep it running in tip top shape. We've mentioned a few of the most important maintenance tasks you should perform, as well as some of the myths that might seem good, but can actually slow you down. Peruse our Hive Five on the best all-in-one Windows tools, while you're at it. When you're done reading, you should know enough that you'll never have to reinstall Windows from scratch ever again.

2. Viruses, Trojans, Worms, and Other Malware

Windows malware: it's a burden many Windows users have to shoulder, yet something most of them know nothing at all about. If that sounds like you (or someone you know), we recommend learning the difference between viruses, trojans, worms, and other malware to get a better idea of what you're up against. You'll also want to check out these nine common myths and misconceptions about viruses, and then get yourself some good antivirus protection (which you shouldn't need to pay for since Microsoft's tools are good enough).

1. Wi-Fi and Networking

With the internet as ubiquitous as it is today, networking is an essential part of any computer user's setup, yet so many of us are completely lost when we actually have to configure the networks in our home. We've gone through everything you need to know about routers, Wi-Fi performance, and making the most our of your network in our "Know Your Network" night school, so you'll never be puzzled by that router configuration page ever again. While you're at it, you might want to check out the many things that can lead to bad Wi-Fi coverage and how to fix them—you'll be glad you did.

There are a lot of complicated tech subjects out there, but these are some of our favorites from over the years that we think more people should know about. You probably have your own opinions, so if you can think of a good explainer we didn't mention above, share it with us in the comments.

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

Is the internet rewriting history?

2011-09-30T04:31:45Z

Teaching the difference between truth and propaganda online

How to Automatically Download Movies as Soon as They're Released with CouchPotato [Downloads]

2011-09-28T22:00:00Z

Windows/Mac/Linux: If you just saw an awesome movie in the theaters and want it on your computer as soon as possible, free app CouchPotato will look for it on Usenet and automatically download it as soon as a copy is available online.

So you've gotten started with Usenet, and maybe you've even turned your computer into an internet PVR with Sick Beard. If you're a movie buff, though, you're still stuck searching for and downloading movies manually—and that just won't do. CouchPotato automates the process: just tell it what movies you want to download, and it will search according to your quality and language specifications, find the perfect match, and download it for you. If the movie isn't out yet, it'll check back periodically until the movie is available, then download it for you right then and there.

Step One: Install CouchPotato

Installation on Windows is easy—just download the ZIP file and extract it somewhere on your computer. It's a portable app, so you don't need to install it or anything—just double click on it to start it up. Mac users will need to install Python, then drag the app into their Applications folder as usual. Linux users will need to do a bit more work. This guide also assumes you have SABNzbd installed as described in our original Usenet guide.

Step Two: Configure Your Settings

Once you've started up CouchPotato, it should open up the web interface in your browser. Hit the cog icon at the top of the page to edit your settings and get it set up.Under the General tab, you can tell it how often you want it to search, and which search terms you want it to add (like "Bluray" or "DTS") or remove (like "dubbed" or "hardcoded") from your search. You can also add a username and password if you want to protect the web interface from others.

Under "NZBs/Torrents", type in your host IP for SABNzbd, the API key, and the username and password you use to access SAB (you can find all this info in SAB's settings under General). You'll also need to enter your username and API key for your NZB provider—like NZBMatrix or Newzbin—under the "Providers" tab. The Quality and Renaming tabs let you customize how you search for and save movies.

Step Three: Add Movies to Download

To add a movie, just type a movie name into the box in the top right-hand corner of the page. Select your preferred quality and click "Add". You should see the movie show up on your wanted list, which you can access via the "Wanted" button in the upper left-hand corner of the interface. CouchPotato will check Usenet every so often to see if someone's uploaded that movie, and send it straight to SAB to be downloaded when it finds a copy. If the movie's been out for awhile, it'll find the best version according to your specifications and download it for you.

It's actually very simple to set up, and takes a lot of the annoyances out of downloading movies on Usenet. Now, instead of wading through search results and checking back periodically for new releases, you can just punch your movie into CouchPotato and get on with your day. When your movie's ready, it'll show up in your download folder. Hit the link below to check out CouchPotato's home page.

CouchPotato

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

Neembuu Uploader Simultaneously Uploads Files to Up to 25 Filehosts [Downloads]

2011-09-25T18:00:00Z

Windows/Mac/Linux: If you're tired of your browser crashing and killing your 2GB upload, you may want to consider Neembuu Uploader, which features automatic download URL generation, (and deletion URLs if the filehost supports it) login support for filehosts where you have accounts, upload histories, and the ability to drag and drop files from anywhere onto the Neembu window to begin uploading.

Neembuu is also a portable app that can run from a USB drive that on any OS that includes Java. It's a handy tool if you need to share files across multiple hosts, and is worth using to avoid browser crashes killing your upload even if you never upload to multiple hosts simultaneously.

Neembuu uploads to 25 filehosts including ImageShack, MegaUpload, and RapidShare; the full list can be found at the link below. The only three hosts that require an account are Dropbox, EnterUpload, and RapidShare—everything else can be used without an account. Neembuu is also open source and freeware. These advantages along with the ability to be used on nearly any OS place Neembuu above other upload clients we've featured in the past.

Neembuu is a free download from SourceForge

Neembuu Uploader | SourceForge via NirmalTV

Top 10 Ways to Upgrade Your Cat's Life [Lifehacker Top 10]

2011-09-24T15:00:00Z

We spend a lot of time talking about how to improve our own lives, but how about the lives of our pets? Today we're looking at ten great ways to improve the life of your cat—which has its benefits for you, too.

Note to dog lovers: We're concentrating on cats this weekend, but we'll be back again sometime next month with a full set of tips, tricks, and projectds for dogs. So stay tuned, we haven't forgotten about you!

10. Teach Your Cat to Shake Hands

Isn't it cute when animals do human things? According to wikiHow, if you want to teach your cat to shake hands you just need to spend a few hours over the course of a couple of days. Ready some treats, let your kitty smell them, open up your treat-less hand, and issue a command (like shake). If your cat paws your hand, provide him/her with a treat. If not, keeping trying and life his/her paw if necessary.

More >>

9. Create a Place for Your Cats to Climb and Perch

Here are two DIY projects that'll save you some money and provide your cats with some activity. First, you can turn an old bookcase into a cat tree where they can climb and play. Unsurprisingly, IKEA furniture is a great starting point. If you just need a perch for your kitty, a wine crate will do the trick. Just attach it to the wall and you'll be good to go.

Bookcase Cat Tree / Wine Crate Cat Perch

8. Get Your Cat Comfortable with a New Place with the Help of Butter

Humans have a hard time adjusting to new places, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that cats do too. New surroundings are always a little daunting, but it helps if your cat is forced to stay put and survey the area. The trick? Butter up their paws. When they head outside, they'll slip around and have to lick it off. This will give them a chance to get used to their surroundings as they won't be able to go anywhere right away. It also comes with the added bonus of making their coat a little shinier.

More >>

7. Turn an Extra Storage Bin into a Mess-Free Litterbox

If you've run out of files to shove in your storage bins, file away your cat's waste instead. Top-entry litter boxes can be pricey, so you can save a bit of money by simply repurposing your leftover office supply. Just fill it with kitty litter like you normally would. Your can't probably won't know the difference, but your wallet will.

More >>

6. Make Pet Travel Easier

Traveling with your cat can be as stressful for you as it is for them, especially when on an airplane. The best thing you can do is be prepared and know your options ahead of time so there are no unexpected problems along the way. This means knowing whether or not you can take your cat on the plane with you, if your airline allows pet travel at all, if you can check your pets (and how much that costs), getting your cat used to the travel crate before leaving, and providing it with adequate playtime prior to the flight. You also won't be able to feed it six hours prior to the flight. It's not exactly a pleasant process, but it'll be a lot worse if you're not prepared. Alternatively, find a good pet sitter.

More >>

5. Save Your Furniture from Your Cat's Claws

Cats love to scratch, which isn't great for our furniture, but there are ways to keep that behavior at bay. Offering up appropriate scratching surfaces is a good start, but you need to combine that with making the places you don't want them to scratch unpleasant. Give them scratching posts they can use as they please and spraying them with water when they scratch the couch are both good ways to teach them what's okay and what isn't. And, of course, regular claw trimming can be a big help as it's a bit harder to scratch something when you don't have the proper tools.

More >>

4. Make a Cat Litter Box Ventilation System

Ah, the wafting smell of cat turds. If you've never taken to the smell, here's a DIY project that'll sit well with you: a litter box ventilation system. DIYer Alan Graham came up with a way to use a bathroom fan to vent the poopy air out of the garage and into the world for everyone to enjoy. He even hooked up his Mac mini to automate the process so the fan wasn't running 24/7. If into home automation and not smelling stale cat butt, this project is for you.

More >>

3. Get Your Cat to Take His/Her Pills Without Incurring Bodily Harm

You love your cat about as much as s/he doesn't love taking pills. You can trick dogs with peanut butter, but cats just need a little help from our friend gravity. And your forceful fingers, of course. Just open up your cats mouth, toss the pill inside, and tip his/her head back to let gravity do the rest. You want to do this quickly or it'll be an unpleasant experience for both of you.

More >>

2. Eliminate Cat Hair with Your Hand and Water

Chances are pet hair isn't part of your apartment's desire aesthetic, and it's definitely a problem when you've got company who might be allergic. Cleaning up pet hair is a major pain, but wikiHow has a few handy suggestions—literally. The first is wetting your palm with some water and scooping up the dander bare-handed. The water will make it stick and easy to move from couch, floor, or wherever to the trash. You can also get the same effect with a lightly dampened kitchen sponge or regular latex gloves. A more fun approach is using an inflated balloon. Create some static electricity by rubbing it on your hair, then touch the balloon to hairy areas. It'll attract the hair until you can dispose of it. Finally, try a fabric softener sheet. If it doesn't work on its own, mist it with a little water for some extra cling.

More >>

1. Make the Smartest Cat Door Ever

For the tech-obsessed cats of the future—or at least their owners—comes this DIY automatic cat door with facial recognition technology. Why would you want something like this? You probably don't have strange cats wandering in your house so it's not meant for that as much as it's designed to keep your cat outside if it decides to bring back a dead mouse. Basically, it compares you cat's face with a few cat profile pictures and it won't match if there's something dead in its mouth. It also won't match if it's a raccoon or some other animal, which is an added bonus. It's a pretty crazy project, but definitely very cool.

More >>

Title illustration by I Can Has Cheezburger

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

LulzSec and Anonymous suspects arrested

2011-09-23T08:29:11Z

In two separate incidents, alleged members of the LulzSec and Anonymous hacker groups have been arrested and charged with being involved in hack attacks on web sites earlier this summer. Read more...

Leave the X-Wing in the Garage. Use your iPad to Explore the Galaxy: Three Free Star Gazing Apps Reviewed

2011-09-21T10:38:44Z

If you’re like me, a not too serious star gazer with an iPad, you may appreciate an app that helps you navigate the night sky. From the DOS days forward there have been many computer programs that show you the universe, or a specific chunk of it. But unless you want to hold up your laptop outside at night and try to orient the screen to the direction you’re facing, you are limited to an onscreen experience indoors. The iPad, with its portability and gyro changes all that. It’s like taking an illuminated map outdoors. I installed three apps that allowed me to look toward the heavens with a more educated eye: SkySafari, SkyORB 3D and Planets.

[Note: this post was written by Freewaregenius contributor Will Lewis].
SkySafari: at first I didn’t like this app because I thought it had too much bun and not enough meat. After playing with it for a while, it became my favorite. It is feature rich and hard to compete with. Although they can be turned off in the settings, the constellations first appear in a semi-translucent, detailed image. For example, Ursa Major is shown with a fully detailed image of a blue bear. Other apps have just a simple line drawing connecting the stars in the constellations. Also, you have a choice of three styles of horizon: rocky hills, snowy alps and an island scene. This feature can be turned off and replaced with a basic horizon line. The mountain landscape was beautiful, but actually blocked some of the stars near the horizon. Once I selected the translucent horizon it was easier to keep a proper perspective of up versus down without hampering the view. Some may find these extra features as enhancements to the experience. I am the first person to praise apps with a high level of refinement and spectacular visual style. However, when it interferes with the functions I am specifically looking for, I put it in the “unnecessary fluff” category. SkySafari is informative, detailed and fun. Other features include object search, object information, a time function to allow you to see the sky as it would be in the past or future. Also available is a Night mode that changes the display to red so that the eyes don’t have to make a dramatic adjustment when going from the iPad to the sky. SkySafari is fun and would be great for both kids and adults to play with and learn from. After learning how to customize the app to my liking, I couldn’t find fault with the design or execution. Strongly recommended.

3SkyORD 3D: This is a lite version and it constantly reminds you that some features are available only in the purchased copy. The controls are simple and readily available along the top edge. As you change modes the subordinate controls and options are presented directly underneath, making for a fairly short familiarization phase. The horizon is represented by an inconspicuous compass heading with latitudinal degrees. You can choose to see star names, constellation lines, planet names, etc. The buttons are a little small for my big, meaty paws. But the average person should have little difficulty, especially a young adult. I love the planetary view that allows you to fly around the entire solar system, with orbital lines and nicely represented planets. Take away the constant request to get out my credit card and I would be perfectly happy with this one.

Planets: This one is the quickest way to get started looking at the stars. It’s not overly spectacular, but excellent for a free app. You can select between a 2D and 3D view, see a visibility chart of celestial objects, or view the globe as it appears with a current representation of where daylight and night time fall. Move the globe around with your finger or zoom in. When viewing 3D mode, you have the choice of Visible, X-Ray, Hydrogen a, Infrared, Microwave, or Radio images of the heavens. I found this to be a fascinating feature as it shows you the hot spots in the sky for each. Infrared is hottest along the path of the Milky Way, for example. You will want to stay in 3D mode. 2D is an unspectacular 360 degree image of the visible night sky from your location. It is basically a quick reference guide to the constellations. Though Planets has limited features, it’s an awesome place to start identifying stars or for getting a great idea of what your new iPad can do.