Raise Your Marketing IQRaise Your Marketing IQ

NOW AVAILABLE on itunes: tinyurl.com …and at amazon.com: www.hurl.ws … Here’s a fun little hoedown about twitter, facebook, youtube, digg… and unrequited love. I think I just wanted an excuse to play as many different instruments as possible on one song.

According to the New York Times, education and well-being trends in the U.S. seem to demonstrate a strong correlation between happiness and education. As the NYT author is quick to point out, correlation does not equal causation, but hey—we could all use an excuse to do a little more learning, and what’s a better pay-off than happiness? Photo by dotbenjamin. [NYT]

Android: NPR News’ Android app has quickly upgraded its nice but not quite necessary app to something far more useful: a portal for streaming nearly any NPR station’s content live to your phone, including your local favorites.

Fire up the application, choose the Stations menu item, and you’re asked if you want to find your stations based on location, or enter a ZIP code or city name to find one. Assuming your local station is one of the 600 NPR stations in the U.S. offering more than 1,000 news, HD music, and other streams, you’re good to go. For at least one Lifehacker editor, this means having a much more varied playlist to cook dinner to, and one more excuse not to get up early on weekends.

NPR News is a free download in the Android market.

Readers offer their best tips for working out at the office, using hooks throughout the house, and keeping the bag from slapping you in the face while drinking tea.

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About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they’re a bit too niche, maybe we couldn’t find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn’t fit it in—the tip didn’t make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

Discreetly Work Out at the Office

Photo by Fuyoh!

Rustopholous shares a few workout routines that can be done throughout the day:

I work at a job where I am sitting in front of the computer 8+ hours a day. When I get home I’m usually tired and use it as an excuse to relax instead of doing some much needed physical activity.

Now at work I make a point of taking breaks at certain intervals so I can squeeze in a workout throughout the day. Here are a few ways to discreetly work out in your office:

Tricep dips on your office chair – hold on to the arms of your chair while sitting and lift your body out of the chair, then lower your body to the point just before you touch the chair.

Quads – I can see this making people uncomfortable, but it works for me. Take full advantage of a bathroom break to bust out a series of squats (no, not that kind of squat). [twohundredsquats.com] has a good plan.

Abs – You can easily work out your abs while sitting in your office chair. Simply stretch out your legs and hold them straight out in front of you for a few seconds, then lower them. Repeat. Reverse sit-ups can also be done rather easily by leaning back in your chair and lifting your knees.

These exercises are quite discreet and you can usually do them without anyone noticing, that is unless they are sitting in a desk (or stall) right beside you. If there is someone right beside you there are always other options like going into a storage room to get in a set of pushups, or take advantage of a 15 minute “smoke break” to go for a quick jog (don’t over-do it though, pit stains can make co-workers uncomfortable).

Not only will this improve your health but also your overall awareness and productivity. I often feel refreshed and alert after a quick workout break.

Use Hooks to Store Things on the Wall

Nic shows us how to use the surface area of the wall as an organizational space:

I use small 1″ household hooks that you can screw into anything.

First: i use one to hold my toothbrush, it works great and is barely noticeable with the toothbrush in place. I like clean uncluttered spaces, and buying a toothbrush holder seemed like a waste and throwing it in the drawer or leaving it out would result in something getting on it or it getting in the way. It should be noted that I did take a pair of wire snips and cut off the very tip of the hook to allow the toothbrush neck to fit in easily

Second(my main and favorite “hack”): screwing a row of these on the wall to use as a charger station. It works great set up by the front door (this one happens to be by my desk) or anywhere you need to charge your devices and don’t have/want them taking up usable and valuable surface space—looks great to boot! I always get compliments on the idea and even give these hooks away to anyone that comes over and mentions it, they were super cheap and work great in the workshop and kitchen too! also catching keys, etc…

Use Binder Clips to Keep Tea Bags Out of the Way

If you like to keep your tea bag in the mug while you drink, you probably know the annoyance of having it hit you in the face and drip tea up your nose while you’re drinking—Lifehacker reader Jennifer uses a binder clip to keep it in the tea but out of the way of your face.

Use Categories to Send Delayed Email Now

axma55 has a default delay on his sent emails, with one convenient caveat:

This is an add-on to the tip on delaying the sending of emails for a specified time in Outlook. I have a rule set to delay all emails from being sent for 2 minutes. It’s so that I can stop an email from going out if I need to because of things like forgetting someone on the distribution, forgetting the attachment, or if I felt the email had the wrong tone. It’s worked wonders, but sometimes I wish the rule wasn’t in place, like when I send that final email right before I leave the office. I can’t shut down until it’s sent because I work on a laptop. Or, when I need to get something to a co-worker right away. Those 2 minutes can seem like an eternity. What I did was alter the rule to include an exception. Now, if an email has the category “Send now,” Outlook doesn’t wait the 2 minutes to send it. You can create whatever category you want to apply this exception. I just figured “Send now” is pretty easy to remember, and it’s the first “S” category on my categories list, so it’s just a few keystrokes to tag the email with that category.

Microsoft this week slashed $20 off both versions of the Zune HD, as first spotted by Gdgt. It seems this is the source of a mini price war that customers have been noticing over the past couple of days. When the device first debuted, the 16GB version sold for $220 and the 32GB version went for $290. A few retailers have taken Microsoft’s $20 price cut as an opportunity to cut the price down even lower. Here are the prices from a few online retailers:

Speculation is rampant on why Microsoft chose this week for the price cuts (as opposed to, say, a few weeks before the 2009 holiday shopping season). It’s possible that Microsoft has adjusted the prices in anticipation of a 64GB version, which has been rumored to be coming for many months, even before the Zune HD launched. The even-more-expensive-by-comparison iPod Touch has had a 64GB version for five months so Microsoft really has no excuse for releasing one and undercutting Apple again.

Another possibility to consider is that Microsoft has a new Zune product up its sleeves, or up someone else’s sleeves, that is coming sooner than previously expected. In two weeks, Microsoft is set to unveil Windows Mobile 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We know that Zune will play a role in Windows Mobile’s big day, but nobody is sure to what extent. Rumors range from a Zune phone completely designed and developed by Microsoft (think Zune HD plus phone capabilities, iPhone style), to multiple Windows phones with Zune media services preloaded. In either case, we would not be surprised if the device(s) sell(s) for just above the new prices for the Zune HD.

Windows/Mac/Linux (AIR): It’s always fun to throw a party and let your guests get goofy with a camera. Free photo app Party Booth creates photo-booth-style picture strips from a webcam, and can automatically upload them to Facebook, Twitter, or other services.

After setting up your camera and connecting Party Booth to whatever social/photo service you’d like—and, most definitely, making sure you know just how visible those photos might be—it’s a very simple app to use, which might be perfect for, well, later in the night. Simply hit the space bar, and a timer ticks off until Party Booth captures four frames of your guests. You can set up the photos for old-time, vertical four-strips, two-by-two grids, any many other options, including the addition of custom backgrounds.

Don’t like the idea of automatic uploads? Set Party Booth to just save to your disk, and your job is safe on Monday.

It must be said that Party Booth costs $38 for a full version, which isn’t cheap for software you’ll probably only use every so often. It does, however, offer a 10-day free trial that only nags you upon launching the app. That’s perfect for giving it a go at an upcoming shindig, and it makes a nice complement to other photo projects to document your party.

Party Booth runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux under Adobe AIR.

We don’t know what it is, but there’s just something a bit too “netbook” about Samsung’s netbooks. We took a look at the new N210, NB30 and N150 models that Samsung is showing here at CES, and while there’s nothing precisely wrong with any of them, they just felt a little uninspired. Like almost everybody these days, Samsung has moved to chiclet keys, which would be alright if they were as quality as previous generations of Sammy’s netbook keyboards, but they just felt a little plastic and shallow. At least the NB30 has an excuse, with its water-resistant keyboard tray, and to the lineup’s credit, there was very little flex to any of the keyboards — a common netbook problem. The durable, ridged plastic that encases the NB30 is also pretty nice, but nothing to make our heart aflutter. We spied the NB150 sporting a rather unique pink shell and accents, but apparently the final model will come in a rather more tame black. Interestingly, the most inspired netbook in Samsung’s lineup was the N127 (pictured), which they aren’t even planning on bringing to market (yet). The unit runs Moblin at a lightning fast pace, has the old school “good” Samsung keyboard, and if it came to retail would likely undercut its Windows brethren by a nice margin. We’re not sure if Moblin is ready for the mass market, and obviously Samsung isn’t either, but it would be a fun experiment from our perspective. After all, if you’re going to bother building three formulaic netbooks, what’s the harm in cutting a little loose on the fourth?

Samsung’s new netbook line goes hands-on, Moblin makes a cameo originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Someone over at CES had to have had a twisted sense of humor to allow The Phubby — a “wrist cubby” for your phone — to grace the showcase this year.

The product almost seems like a joke, especially since the website describes it as merging “new age fabrics and the design features of a marsupial.” (No word, however, on what these “new age fabrics” are — they appear to be spandex and mesh. If that equates new age, we’ve apparently zapped ourselves back to a particularly tragic point in the mid-’90s.)

Still, the Phubby seems to be legit. There’s even a video describing how it works. Warning: Extreme attempts to sexify this product have been taken — this video contains sexy girls in bikinis, rocker chicks, high-powered Wall Street dudes, and the sweet, sweet crooning of Tommy Tutone.

Great. Just what the world needs: Another (lamer) method by which we can be literally tethered to our cell phones 24/7. Now I have no excuse for not calling my mother back.

[via recombu.com]

Tags: CES 2010, gadgets, humor, tech, viral video

Diehard BlackBerry users often compare BlackBerry Messenger to a potent drug. And just like a drug, coming down from a BBM high can be rough — so rough, in fact, that RIM’s claiming that a couple recent releases are responsible for “an unanticipated database issue” that stone-cold knocked out data service for many of the world’s subscribers yesterday. Folks using versions 5.0.0.55 and .56 are being strongly advised to upgrade to 5.0.0.57 immediately, but in the meantime, Waterloo says its systems are back to normal while apologizing “for any inconvenience to customers.” With three major outages now under BlackBerry’s belt in the past month, faith in the rock-solid stability of its infrastructure is fading rapidly — but then again, it gives you a great excuse to be off IM for a few hours and talk to live humans, doesn’t it?

RIM blames massive service outage on newer Messenger versions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lightboxes aren’t just for the professionals any longer. Using them to illuminate your Craigslist and eBay listings can help make a sale, and amateur photogs can get professional-looking shots with one. Create your own using K’nex and a little know how.

At first the idea of using our favorite childhood toy to make a light box may feel slightly silly, but the slim design of the pieces would be beneficial in keeping unwanted shadows or darkness out of your final photograph. Plus, it’s a fabulous excuse to bust out the toy box again. Here’s what you’ll need:

Hit the full post on DIY weblog Spin Hand Spun for all the assembly details, including how to grommet your fabric to encase your structure.

Do you use a light box to give your photographs a professional touch (maybe a simple cardboard one perhaps)? Share your expertise in the comments.