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Lifehacker: Top

Lifehacker posts tagged 'Top'


Windows 7 Theme for a Vista DesktopToday

win7_vista_splash.jpgdeviantART crafter giannisgx89 offers up an unofficial Vista (SP1) theme that puts Windows 7's basic look and feel on your desktop in a lightweight, non-intrusive way. Take a closer look below.

Like any unofficial theme, using the Windows 7 PDC Style theme will require unlocking your copy of Vista to allow unofficial themes, which we covered in our guide to using custom Windows visual styles.

giannisgx89's theme does a basic skinning job without requiring too many extra ShellStyle images. Those looking for the complete Windows 7 look can grab Windows 7 wallpapers and icons from user Mheltin, and follow Vishal Gupta's guide to iconizing the Vista taskbar (all linked from the page below).

Here's a larger look at the Windows 7 PDC Style, with an appropriate wallpaper and a few icon tweaks. Click to enlarge to a truly full-size view:

Th

MLB Supercharges Mouseless BrowsingYesterday

mlb.pngFirefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Firefox extension Mouseless Browsing (MLB) adds numbers next to clickable elements on any page, allowing you to quickly navigate to any portion of the page from the comfort of your home row.

We've mentioned MLB once before, but the latest version adds support for dynamic webapps like Gmail, Google Reader, or Facebook. (Previously if a page was updated without reloading entirely, the new links were not identified by MLB. Now they are.) Aside from support for dynamic apps, MLB has seen several improvements since we first mentioned it. The core functionality remains the same, though: Just type the number of the element you want to jump to, hit enter, and MLB "clicks" on that element.

Of course, Firefox already comes packed full of great keyboard shortcuts out of the box, so if you're a true keyboard lover you should also check out our guide to mouseless Firefox. Mouseless Browsing is a free download, works wherever Firefox does.

Mouseles Browsing [via
Skype 2.8 Beta Adds Screen Sharing, Wi-Fi Access ToolYesterday

skype-access.pngMac OS X only: The popular VoIP application Skype has released a killer new beta for Macs, adding new features like screen sharing and Skype Access, a great new Wi-Fi access tool.

NOTE: There appears to be a hiccup in Skype's web site right now, so you may have trouble following the links below or downloading until they're fixed.

Skype Access

boingo.pngSkype knows that a big hurdle keeping its users from enjoying Skype everywhere is the cost of Wi-Fi access on the go. With Skype Access, you get to pay for access by-the-minute at any of 100,000 Boingo Wi-Fi spots for around $0.19 per minute. Under some circumstances you'd still be better off paying for full access, but it's an interesting direction. Boingo is the only Wi-Fi provider currently supported, though it seems very likely that Skype would be happy to integrate with more providers in the future.

Screen Sharing

screen-share.pngThe next big thing from the new Skype beta is


Windows 7 Beta Boasts Sub-30 Second Boot TimeJanuary 6

custom_1231285762513_windowsbootmanager.png The Windows 7 beta offers a speedier startup than its predecessor: for me the beta boots to a fully functional desktop in under 30 seconds, faster than the preview or Vista.

On the same exact computer, where I'm triple-booting Vista, XP, and now the Windows 7 beta (build 7000), I ran a set of startup tests to pit the beta against the rest, using my previous measurements. Here's what I found.

The hardware: My test system has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 3.16GHz with 4GB of RAM. Windows XP, Vista, and the Windows 7 beta build 7000 are all installed on the same, physical SATA hard drive (partitioned, of course).

The test: Since I'm triple-booting the three operating systems, I used a simple handheld timer to get my numbers, starting at the "Choose your operating system" screen (which comes after the BIOS startup) and ending at a fully functional desktop in my first set of tests, then the user login screen in my second. I timed each OS startup three times and averaged the results to account for my fat fingers.

Enigma Desktop Customization Update Now AvailableJanuary 6

enigma11preview.jpg Windows only: Reader Kaelri—famous for the beautiful and functional Enigma desktop—has packaged and released version 1.1 of the customization files.

What's changed? Kaelri explains:

I've added:

  • RSS reader.
  • Gmail notifier.
  • Calendar by ~limpet.
  • System/battery graphics using ecqlipse 2 icons.
  • Tray clock replacement.
  • Quick-edit button for Notes.
  • Application launcher. Useless to anyone with Launchy or StandaloneStack, but it's pretty, and way too much fun to play with. (You can see what it looks like in the deviantArt screenshot.)
  • Assorted doodads and revisions.
  • Fixed the Location bug plaguing Enigma and HUD.Vision.

The Enigma 1.1 ZIP archive includes config files for Samurize and Rainmeter, fonts, a Windows theme, and more. Unzip it to get the full installation instructions. Nice work, Kaelri! The Enigma 1.1 customization package is a free download for Windows only.

Enigma by ~Kaelri [deviantART via