Okay, I know I said I was going to do back to school software today. Unfortunatily, links for two of the three downloads I was going to feature are now dead. I’ll try to re-find links for those downloads and get back to you soon.

Moving on; The most catastrophic thing that can happen to any computer user when a hard drive crashes. Therefore, it is essential to backup. One easy way to backup that may not come to mind is using your iPod. This way, your music is already on there, and you just need your other files.

The only thing you need to make sure of is that your iPod is set for disk use. To do this, plug in your iPod and in the iPod options, make sure disk use is enabled.

If you’ve done that, open your iPod in Explorer (or Finder on the Mac), and just drag over. The trick comes when it’s time to restore. READ MORE »

What? A lock and key isn’t good enough for you? Then you might like this.

Although normal locks are fine for the 20th century, these Samsung touchscreen door locks show that you’re a man that doesn’t settle for last year’s technology. These locks have a Samsung cellphone-esque touchpad for easy number entry, plus aluminum alloy and tempered glass for that extra bit of style.

Talk about cool. There’s no announcement of when they’ll be available, but the locks will come in black and silver for $180.

AVING [via Gizmodo]

Grr, who is that strange number that keep calling my phone. Perhaps Sullr can help.

Sullr is a tool for obtaining information from telephone lines in reverse mode. Very quickly, it will allow you to know the name of the person responsible and find on the map the address where he is.

At present, we only have 5 countries available: Argentina, Belgium, France, Italy and the USA. But we are working to offer many more (as long as the laws of each country allow it).

Unfortunately, it only does land lines, but they are working on getting mobile phones included. And who ever that damn(whoops) darn 218 area-code number that keeps calling me, I will find out who you are!

Sullr

While I’m not a big twitter guy, I know many of you are, so I shall mention it. Twitter has teamed up with Google to add a new feature to Twitter.

Who from your Gmail address book is already on Twitter? You might be surprised when you try out our newest feature. Fred tried it and found some new people to follow. Duncan checked it out too. There’s no time like the present, so try the new Gmail thingy we made!

Am I impressed? Not really. Facebook has had this for some time, but I am glad they added this feature. Becauser really, you never know who you actually know on Twitter. It’s accessable by visiting https://twitter.com/invitations/gmail.

Twitter and Gmail [Twitter Blog via Download Squad]

And boy do I wish it were Sunday. As part of the new plan I announced yesterday, I’m starting a news roundup that will appear on Mondays, properly named “Manic Monday”. That said, here we go.

– Supernova.org is back, now being run by The Pirate Bay and they don’t give a rip.
– Comcast Is Starting The Tiered Internet. They deny any such claim.
– RIAA subpoena may violate federal privacy law. That’s too bad.
– Dell’s sales have suffered, Apple’s has sored (thank the iPhone). By the way…
– iPhone is unlocked. About time. By the way..
– Apple announces a Major event on September 5th! Okay, I’m done.
– Toshiba has unveiled a 32GB SD-Card. I want one.
– Finally, Yahoo! Mail now offers free text messaging to mobile phone numbers. Cool.

So that’s this first edition of Manic Monday. Let me know if you like it, hate it, or think I should change something. Just leave a comment.

I figured today I would take some time to explain a few changes that are going to happen to the site.

The top priority is how (or when) new content will be rolled out. I start school tomorrow, so my posting schedule is going to change. In the past, I’ve gone to every-other-day posting. This year, I’m going to try something different. Rather than go every other day and limit you on content, I’m going to go a non-guaranteed posting, meaning that I’m going to try to post everyday, but it may not happen.

Also, with this switch, I’m going to start pushing myself to get more original content. You’ve emailed me, and you want cool new stuff on the site, not what everyone else has. And since I am here to serve you, I’m going to try just that. I have some cool stuff in the works, and you should be able to see it soon.

These changes are for the better, and I hope they work out. Thank you so much for sticking around these two and half years (500+ posts- woot!), and I hope to continue to provide more great tech content in the near future.

- Jake

There are times when you want your iPod on the dock, but need to move it too. That’s why Mike Kruckenberg invented the iPod Dock Extension Cable.

The Dock Extender Cable allows you to dock your iPod from a distance. The base length is 2 feet, but you can extend that by as many feet as you would like by adding extra feet to your cart ($4 per foot).

The Dock Extender Cable extends most of the functionality of the iPod. It is perfect for a speaker system like the Bose SoundDocktm that has audio, power to charge the iPod, and iPod control.

However, this cool cable comes at a price. For $65, it’s a little more than pocket change.

iPod Dock Extender Cable [CableJive]

See that picture? That’s me stressed out sometime last year. Don’t let that happen to you. In this week’s installment, I’ve got a roundup of cool homework help (kinda) sites for you, all of which you have seen before.

Dictionary.hm – Dictionary.hm holds a searchable database of over 175,000 non-taboo definitions and growing. It uses AJAX, which enables live results. As you start typing your word, it starts providing results. This can be nice if you don’t know how to spell the word, it allows easy change in the search, rather than having to go back and start over again.

SparkNotes – So it’s the night before the big test, and you need to study. Here’s an effective way to study, SparkNotes… Created by Harvard students for students everywhere and geared to what today’s students need to know, SparkNotes study guides are the perfect aid for studying and writing papers. Each guide contains thorough summaries and insightful critical analysis of a nearly endless range of subjects including English literature, Shakespeare, History and Math and Science.

DropBoks – Looking for a way to transfer files between two computers without a disk? DropBoks may be able to help you out… There are too many web apps out there that are bloated with features and are difficult to use. Our philosophy: SIMPLE IS BETTER. We are fanatical about usability and believe that the interface should never get in the way of what the user is trying to accomplish.

There you have it, three very effective sites to help you get that work done. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment (as always). As for next week, I’ve got some Software/Hacks to help your “learning” abilities. Enjoy!

Despite being on the Mac for almost a year now, I still can’t get over the fact their is no “easy” way to burn an ISO file. Being a Windows guy in the past, I got used to just firing up Nero and burning away. So how do you do it? Easy:

1. Insert a blank disc.
2. Start Disk Utility.
3. From the File menu, choose Open Disk Image and select the ISO to be burned.
4. In the list of volumes, you will now see an item representing the ISO file. Select it.
5. Click the Burn button and follow the instructions.

If you’ve been on the Mac for some time, chances are you know this already. But for those who may not be as familiar to the Mac (or just an idiot sometimes, like me), this is a great tip. The functionality is built in; it’s just underneath your nose.

How to burn ISO disc images [Mac OS X Hints]

There are times when the Wi-Fi you’re trying to connect to just isn’t strong enough. The people at hField Technologies feel your pain. That’s why they created the Wi-Fire.

The Wi-Fire is a compact, range-extending USB device that enables you to access a wireless Internet connection from up to 1,000 feet away–three times the range of your internal wireless adapter.

The Wi-Fire uses a powerful directional antenna, highly sensitive receiver and proprietary software to find and enhance normal Wi-Fi signals. With it you can connect wirelessly to the Internet faster and with a stronger signal than an internal wireless adapter can achieve.

The Wi-Fire is USB based and (I would assume) uses generic drivers. hField claims it can increase your signal up to 1,000 feet, which could help pretty much anywhere. Wi-fire supports both Mac and Windows computers and is available now for $79.

Product Page [hField Technologies via Everything USB]