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Windows: Trillian, voted a favorite instant messaging client by Lifehacker readers, is out with a 4.1 beta that ups its Twitter and Facebook functionality, integrates Windows 7 interface features, and smooths out the already slick interface.

The major focus for Trillian 4.1 seems to be Twitter functionality and link grabbing. Links can now be clicked from any profile, status, tweet, or other screen, and Trillian recognizes Twitter hash tags, @ replies and user names. The other big item worth noting is its full Windows 7 taskbar integration. New messages change the taskbar icon to add an icon, file transfers fill the icon from left to right, and video chat offers a full graphical preview, in case you need to jump away and tackle other things.

There’s a lot more that’s new in 4.1, and all of it put together seems like it’s worth the jump to a potentially buggier beta. Trillian is a free download for Windows systems only.

Originally posted 2009-10-30 18:25:06. Republished by Old Post Promoter

These things are a dime a dozen, sure, but you can’t fault Gear4 for trying. In fact, it has managed to create something that’s marginally unique in a world full of me-toos, as the SmartDock relies on hardware and software aspects in order to shine. At first blush, the actual dock isn’t much to look at, but the bundled app enables you to search through stations using the iPhone’s touchscreen and pause / rewind at will. You can also sync the alarm clock to play through the dock’s speakers, and it’ll work just fine on the iPod touch. We certainly wish a remote would’ve been thrown in for good measure, but hopefully the whole package will be cheap enough to make us overlook the omission. Wink, wink.

Gear4 ups the iPhone alarm clock ante with SmartDock originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Flickr Find

Flickr member flypigs has made this series of six cover mock-ups for the rumored forthcoming Steve Jobs autobiography. They’re all pretty cool, and if you look at the notes for each photo you’ll see that flypigs has put a little research into it. For Steve Jobs: The Man Who Makes It A Different Place, flypigs stated: “After searching “Walter Isaacson” on Amazon.com, you will find almost all his books share the same layout of cover design — a big title on the top, a highly visible “Walter Isaacson” on the bottom, and a huge famous face in the center.”

Personally, my favorite is Connecting The Dots. It uses a photograph by Diana Walker called STEVE JOBS AT HOME IN 1982. Steve Jobs said of the photo: “This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.” I love the layout of the title and the fact that flypigs took the title from Steve Jobs’ 2005 Commencement address at Stanford University.

What’s your favorite? Vote in the poll!

View Poll

TUAWFlickr Find: Fan-made imaginary covers for Steve Jobs’ biography originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Developer, iPhone, Apple History, App Store, App Review

When it comes to famous names in the Apple pantheon, Bill Atkinson ranks very high in the list. The brains behind MacPaint, HyperCard, the Mac OS menu bar, and a host of other innovative software applications has been a professional nature photographer since 1996, but now he’s melded his development mojo with photography and released his very first iPhone app, Bill Atkinson PhotoCard for iPhone.

At first glance, the US$4.99 app looks like yet another postcard app for the iPhone. But when you actually start looking at the details of PhotoCard, you realize that it’s much, much more. To start with, the app comes with 150 of Atkinson’s fabulous nature photographs that can be used in the creation of postcards. That takes care of the front of the postcard, but what about the back?

Like many of the apps of this genre, PhotoCard has a space for typing in a message to the recipient. It ups the ante with 150 stamps to add to your card (more on these later). There are also 325 little stickers that can be added to the back of your card. Once the card is ready to send, you have your choice of either sending it to the recipient via email or having the card printed on an HP Indigo digital press and then sent through snail mail.

When it comes to famous names in the Apple pantheon, Bill Atkinson ranks very high in the list. The brains behind MacPaint, HyperCard, the Mac OS menu bar, and a host of other innovative software applications has been a professional nature photographer since 1996, but now he’s melded his development mojo with photography and released his very first iPhone app, Bill Atkinson PhotoCard for iPhone.

At first glance, the US$4.99 app looks like yet another postcard app for the iPhone. But when you actually start looking at the details of PhotoCard, you realize that it’s much, much more. To start with, the app comes with 150 of Atkinson’s fabulous nature photographs that can be used in the creation of postcards. That takes care of the front of the postcard, but what about the back?

Like many of the apps of this genre, PhotoCard has a space for typing in a message to the recipient. It ups the ante with 150 stamps to add to your card (more on these later). There are also 325 little stickers that can be added to the back of your card. Once the card is ready to send, you have your choice of either sending it to the recipient via email or having the card printed on an HP Indigo digital press and then sent through snail mail.

TUAWTUAW review and giveaway: Bill Atkinson PhotoCard for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Avoid the hassle of lugging your bags to the airport, getting slapped with over-limit fees, and fighting with the airlines to be reimbursed in the case of loss or theft by shipping your bags ahead.

Photo by cliff1066.

Two years ago we suggested you ship your bags expressly to save money in the face of rising airline over-limit fees. Since then the fees have continued to climb and shipping your bags to save money in still a valid reason, but over at the financial magazine Kiplinger they have an additional reason:

Even if the cost is the same for shipping and checking bags, you get so much more from FedEx and UPS, says Airfarewatchdog.com founder George Hobica, who ships his luggage. They have better delivery records than the airlines, they provide tracking numbers so you can follow your shipment online and they let you insure items that the airlines don’t, he says. Plus, you’re more likely to get a refund from a shipping company than an airline if your luggage is damaged or lost.

We’re inclined to agree with the statement that carrier companies have radically better delivery records than airlines. One Lifehacker editor once had a suitcase destined for Florida end up en route to Beijing, a problem that has never plagued us with domestic package delivery. Check out the full article at Kiplinger for a run down on the benefits of shipping your luggage and if you’ve gotten into the habit of shipping your luggage, we want to hear about it in the comments.

The Social Analyst is a weekly column by Mashable Co-Editor Ben Parr, where he digs into social media trends and how they are affecting companies in the space.

Google may have finally figured out social media, even if there have been some major slip-ups in the way. The implications of that realization could dramatically change social media as a tool and as an industry.

On Tuesday, February 9th, Google launched Buzz for Gmail, a service for sharing thoughts, multimedia, and your social media feeds with your friends utilizing Gmail as the conduit. The result: over 160,000 Google Buzz posts and comments per hour.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Google didn’t launch a small addition to Gmail — no, it has dropped a nuclear bomb whose fallout will permanently alter the social media landscape. I could never have predicted that it would become so popular so fast when I first learned about it.

Why? Why has it grown so rapidly? Why has it riled up such strong emotions on both sides? Are the privacy issues going to permanently damage Google? And most of all, what does Google Buzz mean for Twitter, Facebook, and the rest of the social media world?

I’m going to tackle all of these questions and more in this week’s in-depth column.

Google Buzz’s Skyrocketing Usage

While it’s still very early into Buzz’s life cycle, initial indications show that Google has a hit on its hands. Linking Buzz to Gmail’s millions of users has clearly brought people into the company’s new social domain.

Google has only released two numbers so far: there have been over 9 million posts and comments in about 56 hours, amounting to around 160,000 posts and comments per hour. That’s even more impressive if you consider the fact that most users didn’t get Buzz until Wednesday the 10th.

The other number: over 200 mobile check-ins per minute, nearly 300,000 mobile check-ins per day.

Those numbers are simply stellar.

Why Have Users Embraced Buzz?

It’s a question that has both simple and complex answers: why has Google Buzz taken off as a service (thus far) in ways that Orkut, Google Friend Connect, and Google’s other attempts at social media did not?

Let’s start with the most obvious one, and one I think was a brilliant move, despite the privacy issues: it’s wired directly into Gmail. With a flip of a switch, Buzz gained tens of millions of users. With the Buzz tab just directly under “Inbox,” the service creating its own unread count, and Buzz emails flooding inboxes, how could people not try it out?

The embrace goes deeper than that, though. I asked the Mashable Buzz community the following:

“Why do think Google Buzz has gained traction so quickly? What’s the #1 reason you find yourself using Buzz?”

Here are some of the responses we received that I believe really sum up Buzz’s popularity:

– Adrian Eden: Ease of use and simple interface

- Eyal Herlin – it just works for me. i like the zero effort setup and the making of connections easy

- Sheldon Steiger – #1? It’s embedded into Gmail. After that, it seems to be exposing me to people and subjects that were not readily visible in the other networks.

- Roy Ruhling – On a scale of 1-10 for “socialness” of social networks Twitter is about a 3, Facebook is about a 4 and Buzz is about a 9. It honestly and truly connects people from all over the world instantaneously

- Daniel L – The main reason buzz is growing so quickly is because it is easily accessible to Gmail’s large and already established user base. Normally, Gmail is the one site i always have open because it has my calendar, my to do list, and my chat all in one window. Because of this, i always see when i have new Buzz, and i will tend to check it and respond. This is the #1 reason i use it — convenience.

Summary: Easy to use, accessible, convenient, closer social circle, moves in real-time, engaging…

Google’s got a monster on its hands.

Addressing the Privacy Issue

One of the obstacles to Google Buzz’s growth — and a major point of criticism — has been the privacy issue. Since it’s linked directly into Gmail, people can figure out your email address. Since it auto-followed your most emailed friends, people could figure out your email habits.

All of these issues are legitimate, but here’s the thing: Google is responding with lightning speed. Yesterday the search giant made some serious privacy tweaks, making auto-follow into auto-suggest and giving you the ability to completely kill Buzz if you so choose.

In a few months, few will remember these privacy snafus. Just as people have forgotten about the Facebook News Feed fiasco and other Facebook disasters, people will forgive and forget about Buzz’s initial privacy concerns.

In that sense, Google will get the best of both worlds: it has seeded Google Buzz with people and content via the auto-follow and automatic opt-in features, but it won’t feel the heat for privacy issues due to the recent changes to both. It may have been unintended, but it was savvy.

The Potential Impact on Twitter and Facebook

Now that we’ve established that Google Buzz is growing and isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon, it’s time to look towards what will happen next.

If Google Buzz is here to stay, what does that mean for the two kingpins of social media, Twitter and Facebook?

If you don’t think both companies haven’t had constant meetings over the potential impact of Buzz, then you are kidding yourselves. There’s no way both companies don’t have people analyzing scenarios and Google’s plan for its social media wunderkind.

To analyze the potential impact of Buzz on both services, lets look at the key questions for Twitter and Facebook, and some possible answers:

Q: Will Buzz Kill either Facebook or Twitter?
A: No. There’s probably nothing that could kill either service. The user bases are too large and passionate for that to happen.

Q: Could Buzz slow down the growth of Fb/Twitter?
A: Absolutely. Imagine that 15 million people are spending 15 more minutes in their Gmail inbox because of Buzz, whether that’s browsing what their friends are saying or creating their own posts. There are only 24 hours in a day, so that time has to be taken from somewhere.

Yes, part of that time is being taken away from tweeting and facebooking. Even if it just means one less status update per person per day, that adds up to millions of updates lost to Buzz.

The effect could be a lot worse. We just can’t know yet.

Q: Could Buzz become bigger than Twitter?
A: It already is:

While we can’t pinpoint an exact number, Twitter has probably around 18-25 million users worldwide. Heck, let’s say there are 30 million to be generous. Gmail has over 38 million uniques in the U.S., and that was back in September 2009. Worldwide, that number is simply larger.

Yes, there are far more tweets than comments/posts on Buzz right now, but beating those engagement numbers isn’t out of the question for Buzz.

Q: Could advertisers and brands switch some of their dollars and focus from Facebook and Twitter to Buzz?
A: With millions of people using Buzz, how could they not?

Buzz is already taking a chunk out of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media services. That’ll only grow as brands and advertisers better understand what they can do with Buzz and its millions of users. Buzz is equivalent to throwing a giant super magnet into a room filled with nails.

Predicting How Google Buzz Will Play Out

Google Buzz has landed, and its impact is already changing the landscape. Gmail integration, real-time commenting, ease of use, and a new base of users that might not have been as socially engaged are now part of the Buzz universe.

Not only can you expect Facebook and Twitter to respond with their own features and partnerships, but you can expect developers to shift their focus as well. Remember last year when there was a Twitter app gold rush? I do — as the service skyrocketed, countless developers embraced Twitter’s API and built amazing apps on top of it. Facebook had the same experience when its platform first launched.

Now it’s Google’s turn. Buzz is an open platform, meaning that developers will soon be able to create new apps for Buzz — everything from iPhone apps to analytical services will be built on top of it.

Now if Google wanted to really shake up the developer ecosystem, it could offer ad revenue share for Buzz apps and its own app store. Gmail advertising is already well developed, and if you haven’t noticed yet, Buzz already has Google ads being placed against it. Offering apps the ability to quickly and easily monetize within Google Buzz could really take away from development resources being placed towards Twitter, Facebook, and mobile platforms.

If Buzz can keep up the momentum, everyone from publishers (like ourselves) to developers to Fortune 500 companies will have to pay attention to the conversations happening on Buzz. If this thing can drive traffic or put a big brand on its toes because of a buzz that goes viral, then there’s no telling how far it will go. Oh, and Google’s only just begun with this thing — more killer features are in its immediate future.

The social media landscape has been permanently altered. To ignore Buzz would be a costly mistake, because Google has finally created the definition of a game-changer.

Readers are invited to follow both Mashable and Ben Parr on Google Buzz.

Tags: Column, facebook, friendfeed, Google, google buzz, Opinion, The Social Analyst, trending, twitter

A gaggle of higher-ups from Sony Ericsson stuck around after the conclusion of today’s event to show off the X10 mini, X10 mini pro, and Vivaz pro in person, and we seriously can’t stress this enough: the mini twins are small. Well, either that, or the men holding them were gigantic — but we’re pretty sure it’s the former since we got around to spending some quality time with the mini pro and continued to be blown away by its diminutive stature. Rikko Sakaguchi (pictured left) had two colors of the mini plus a Vivaz pro, while Lennard Hoornik was rockin’ the original X10 plus a mini pro. We’ll be honest: the company’s platform strategy is as meandering and muddled as ever, but with designs like this in the pipeline, they’ll definitely be demanding their fair share of attention over the next few months. See a bunch more shots of the execs handling the phones in the gallery below.

Sir Howard Stringer and friends show off Sony Ericsson’s new handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner.

Ask the attorney: What sort of stock should I give my angel investor? – Getting pressure to sell your angel investor preferred stock? Attorney Scott Edward Walker runs down some alternatives and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Five compensation-related mistakes startups make (and should avoid) – Are you deferring your salary until your start up starts to take off? Bad idea, says corporate and securities attorney Caine Moss. He explains why here – and details four other common mistake.

The lost generation of entrepreneurs – The Internet bubble had plenty of problems, but the flood of start ups also gave some of today’s best entrepreneurs a chance to get leadership experience early. Jeff Bussgang, general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, notes that the lack of substantial start-ups between 2001-2009 has created a deficit of strong entrepreneurial leaders.

Our secret to getting funded – Infusionsoft went the bootstrapping method through the early days of its business, but ultimately secured $17 million in two rounds of venture capital. Co-founder and CEO Clate Mask describes what the company did to secure that money.

A VC’s tips on securing seed and series A financing – Purse-strings are  finally loosening at venture capital firms – if you meet the criteria. Opus Capital general partner Carl Showalter tells you the questions you’ll face – and the criteria you’ll be evaluated upon.

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.

Don’t like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.

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.

After a long wait, Apple has released the next major update to its pro-class photo workflow application, Aperture 3. The new version boasts over 200 new features, including the addition of the successful facial recognition and geotagging features, Faces and Places, that were introduced with iPhoto ‘09. Version 3 also adds edge-detecting adjustment brushes for non-destructive localized editing and touch-ups. Along with numerous UI and performance improvements, Aperture 3 adds full 64-bit support on supported systems running Snow Leopard.

Aperture has always had a focus on the workflow of professional photographers, but Apple also markets it for amateurs that want to move beyond the simplicity of iPhoto. Aperture 3 takes that even further, seemingly melding more power and advanced management with the features and ease of use of iPhoto.