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Posts with tag power

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

How to add Windows tray icons for the trash bin, disc drive, and power

MinibinIt only takes a few clicks to do things like empty your Windows recycling bin, reboot your PC or open your CD-ROM drive. But if you're looking for easy access to these features, why not add system tray icons that give you two-click access no matter what you're doing with your computer?

E-sushi has a series of utilities that add these features to your system tray. Disc Tray Toggler lets you open and close your disc drive through a right-click context menu. MiniBin lets you open or empty your recycle bin. And iPower lets you logoff, shutdown, or reboot your PC.

The company also has a couple of other useful utilities including MyKeyGen, a password generator, and TimeBomb, a tool that lets you shutdown, logoff, or reboot your system after a specified periord of time. There's also a program called RunIdleTasks that's designed to force any tasks that normally run when your PC is idle to run immediately. But to be honest, we had a hard time figuring out if RunIdleTasks was doing anything when we took it for a test drive.

[via Shell Extension City]

Filed under: Linux, Open Source

Intel pushing low-power Linux development for laptops

LessWattsEveryone wants a blazing fast PC. But if you've got a laptop, you also want long battery life. Oh yeah, and if you care about the environment or your home electric bills, you might want your desktop to suck electricity from the power grid a little slower too.

PC power consumption comes from a combination of hardware and software. Intel, AMD, and other chip makers have been trying to reduce power usage in their new processors, and Microsoft and Apple have tried to build power-saving features into their operating systems.

Now Intel has also launched a new initiative to encourage Linux developers to find ways to save power. The goal is to create a community of developers, users, and organizations committed to sharing code, bugs, or tips on reducing the power use of PCs running Linux. Intel has been turning to Linux as a way to boost battery life in ultra mobile devices, and has already demonstrated that low-power software can boost battery life by up to an hour on some devices.

[via APC Magazine]

Filed under: Business, Google

Google joins the hybrid auto market sector

google joins the hybrid auto marketWhen we think about Google, we normally think about search, so what's the deal with the entry into the auto market?

Google is set to give out $1 million in grants to fund the development of technology for both hybrid and electric cars. They are doing this through their philanthropic Google.org. The search giant also has a request for proposals on the table with a $10 million pot for any company that can help commercialize plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars. Way to go Google for taking the initiative in this slow move to convert autos and help reduce greenhouse gases!

Google has done a lot to help the environment lately. The solar power installation at the Googleplex will generate enough to power 1000 homes daily.

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Social Software

Backpack refresher: brush up on your power user tips

37signals' online PIM service Backpack is known far and wide in part for its extreme simplicity. It offers everything you need with nothing you don't - but that doesn't mean it's lacking in the power user department. While it hasn't been updated in a while, 37signals maintains a Power Users archive page at the Backpack blog with a whole slew of tips and tricks that will likely serve as a great review for old schoolers, or a killer resource for those new to the handy service. Some of our favorites include prefixing reminders with a plus sign and a number to quickly set an alarm for a few minutes or hours, as well as being able to email pictures and even lists of items to pages.

Since that blog hasn't been updated in a while though, what other tricks have you users discovered for the service? Let's see if 37signals' Backpack blogger(s) have been laying down on the job.

Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

View more Time Wasters

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