This Week's Top Downloads

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Every week, we share a number of downloads for all platforms to help you get things done. Here were the top downloads from this week.

Ever wish you could find out whether someone actually opened that email you sent, or whether they just ignored and trashed it? A service called Bananatag can tell you-but if you find that a little creepy, we've got the lowdown on how to protect yourself too. More »

Android has what seems like a billion different weather apps available, but when it comes to getting the most information in an easy-to-read fashion, WeatherBug is the best around. More »

The iPhone has a remarkable number of weather app options, and you'll find a ton that suit different needs depending on what you want. That said, one shines brighter than the rest, and Accuweather is one of the best full-featured weather apps on the store. More »

iOS: ZenAwake ditches loud, sharp alarm sounds or music in exchange for a kinder, gentler way to bring you out of a night's sleep. Ten minutes before you're scheduled to wake, the app sounds a gentle chime. More »

Google Chrome likes to use memory and give your processor a good workout if you keep a handful (or more) tabs open on a regular basis. This can have a negative impact on the speed of your computer, and certainly the life of your laptop's battery. More »

Plex, one of our favorite desktop media servers (and yours, too) just took the wraps off of a major overhaul Plex/Web, its streaming service that makes all of your media easily available across all devices. More »

Chrome: Chime is an extension for Chrome that intercepts your notifications for popular services like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and others, then puts them all together into a single drop-down menu in Chrome that you can click to see them at once. More »

Windows/Mac/Linux: Free and open source office suite LibreOffice got a major update today. LibreOffice 4.0 can attach comments to selected text in documents, import Visio and Microsoft Publisher files, get Firefox Persona themes, and much more. More »

OS X: We love text expansion because it can save you hours of typing every day, and fortunately OS X offers a wide variety of apps. The downside is that they generally cost a bit and lack a feature or two another has. More »

Android: One of the great things about Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean is that you can long-press the home button to switch apps or close apps running in the background. More »

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This Week’s Most Popular Posts: February 1st to 8th

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This week we fixed our sucky smartphones, sold our stuff for money, jailbroke iOS 6, and celebrated Lifehacker's 8th birthday. Here's a look back.

Sometimes, smartphones can be a boon for your personal productivity, but other times it's amazing how much trouble they have performing simple tasks. Here are ten things your phone probably sucks at, and how to make it work better. More »

We've shown you how to kick your clutter habit, but why trash all of those things you don't need when you could make some money off of them? In this guide, we'll walk you through how you can appraise your items, where to sell them to make the most cash, and how to avoid geting screwed in the... More »

This week marks Lifehacker's 8th birthday, and to celebrate we put the call out to you to help us determine what some of our best tips, tricks, and guides from the past eight years have been. More »

We've all done it. When our glasses are smudged up we reach for the corner of our shirt and clean them off. You probably even know that's the wrong way to clean glasses, but you do it anyway. More »

Since kicking off the How I Work series last summer, nothing has been praised by our interviewees as many times as Evernote. (Seriously, we counted.) The free, cross-platform app does just about anything you could want to stay productive: More »

Jailbreaking is a process that changes little by little with each iOS upgrade. Rather than always publishing new guides, we're simply going to keep this one up to date. More »

With the new jailbreak for iOS 6, it's time to start playing around with all the great apps and tweaks on your newly freed device. Here's a look at some of our favorites available in Cydia for iOS 6. More »

Whether you need to learn a new skill or language to advance your career, or you just want to learn something new and broaden your horizons, lifelong learning is important. More »

January is the biggest discount month of the year, but a lot of the winter sales carry over into February-not to mention a few new sales thanks to annual trade shows. More »

Let's be honest: there's no weekend project that's both as fun and practical as building a computer, especially when you have so many options. Whether it's a home theater PC, a workstation, or something else, it's a great way to spend a day (or two) off. More »

Ever wish you could find out whether someone actually opened that email you sent, or whether they just ignored and trashed it? A service called Bananatag can tell you-but if you find that a little creepy, we've got the lowdown on how to protect yourself too. More »

Building a media center is a killer way to watch or stream your favorite movies and TV shows, but if you miss being able to watch live TV-and record it so you can watch it later-you can turn your XBMC box into a personal video recorder (PVR) with just a bit of setup. More »

I've heard of productivity systems like Getting Things Done or the Pomodoro Technique, and everyone seems to swear by them. Do I really need to learn one of these complicated systems to be productive? More »

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Top 10 Hacks for Automating Your Life

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What if you were a wizard that could bend the entire world to your will? Chores would do themselves, bills would pay on time, and your appliances would obey your every thought. Well, you can't do that exactly, but with a bit of ingenuity, you can automate a lot of your life so you don't have to trudge through the boring stuff. Here are ten things you can automate right now.

No one likes to sit around and clean up their computer, but it's something that has to get done. We've talked about what kind of maintenance you need to do on your Windows PC and Mac, and much of that you can automate—like running CCleaner on a schedule. You should also set up an automated backup program, so you never lose your data. Set it up once, and forget it.

Paying bills and managing your budget sucks. Luckily, we live in an age where computers can do a lot of the work for us. Have your bills automatically pay themselves online, and set up an automatic budget that's easy to stick to with Mint. Check out our guide to automating your finances for more ideas, and be sure to check out when you shouldn't automate your finances, too.

Whether you're trying to lose weight or just take the stress out of planning and cooking, you can automate what you eat with a number of tools. Gather all your recipes up in one place and plan your weekly meals ahead of time for stress-free shopping and cooking. If you need to pay closer attention to your diet (like if you're trying to lose weight), try a service like Eat This Much or Swole.me, which will plan your diet for you based on your goals. That way, you can keep an eye on what you eat and stay on track with minimal effort.

We've all got stacks of papers lying around, not to mention a hard drive full of unorganized files. Luckily, you can automate just about anything with those files using a few tools. First, if you're having trouble organizing that paper, go paperless so you can organize it digitally—it won't take you much time. Ditch hard drive clutter by organizing your home folder automatically. For everything else, you can use Actions on Windows or Automator on the Mac—they'll let you automatically rename a bunch of files, crop a large number of images, or even extract text from a bunch of PDF files. Anything you can imagine, you can probably do—heck, I even put together a service that syncs iTunes with nearly any device.

Whether you're grocery shopping or trekking yourself to Home Depot, you can make shopping a lot easier by...well, not doing it. For example, Amazon Subscribe & Save will automatically send you everything you need on a schedule, and at a nice discount—heck, you can even use it to automate office lunches. Don't like grocery shopping? Get what you can delivered, and plan your way through the store for the few things you can't. While you're at it, be sure to automate all your coupons so you don't have to search for discounts—you'll just get them automatically.

Smartphones can be useful, but sometimes it feels like it takes forever to perform the simplest of tasks. With a few tools, you can essentially make your phone read your mind, performing tasks in response to related actions. For example, you could tell your phone to automatically dim your screen at night, or go into silent mode when you put it face down. Android users should check out Tasker, while iPhone users will need to jailbreak and try out some of these tools to make it happen.

You probably have a few apps and tools that you absolutely couldn't live without—like Dropbox, Gmail, a to-do list, or something else. That's great, but you can make those services even better by automating tasks—and even making them talk to each other—with If This Then That, also known as IFTTT. Make job searches easier, save articles for later, fix Instagram pictures on Twitter, add to-dos with Siri, make app deals last forever, archive your life, get digital doubles of your photos, and much much more. There's barely a limit to what it can do.

The days of combing the net for good downloads is over. With a small collection of programs, you can have your computer automatically search for, download, and organize nearly any type of file in existence. You can even tell it the quality of videos you want to download, the file format of the music you want, or what program you want to use to download it. It takes a little work to set up, but you'll never have to search for a file on the web again.

Doing chores is boring, so why waste time doing them when you can put them on autopilot? You can't make your broom come alive and clean the room for you (unless you're Merlin), but you can create a schedule that breaks everything up into almost unnoticeable chunks. Do your cleaning in regular short bursts, speed up your laundry, and even maintain your home without batting an eyelash. It isn't true automation, but it'll sure feel like it when you have all that extra time in your day.Photo by Maarten Takens.

Ever wish you could change the thermostat without getting up, or unlock your door without fumbling with your keys? Home automation can make it happen. We've shared tons of tricks over the years, from transforming your digs into a home of the future, controlling everything with Siri, turning stuff off with your phone, or even watering the plants and feeding the cat. Check out all our posts on home automation for even more ideas—the sky's the limit!

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Tandukan Pemain Pengganti Selamatkan Inter

Penyerang Inter Milan, Ezequiel Schelotto (kanan), merayakan golnya ke gawang AC Milan dalam laga Serie-A di Stadion Giuseppe Meazza, Minggu (24/2/2013).

MILAN, KOMPAS.com — Sempat unggul terlebih dulu, AC Milan dipaksa bermain imbang 1-1 dengan Inter Milan dalam lanjutan Serie-A di Stadion Giuseppe Meazza, Minggu atau Senin (25/2/2013) dini hari WIB. Gol balasan La Beneamata diciptakan Ezequiel Schelotto pada menit ke-71.

Laga berlangsung sengit semenjak menit-menit awal. Kedua tim saling serang. Namun, kedua tim kesulitan mencetak gol setidaknya pada 15 menit pertama. Bahkan, kedua tim tak mampu membuat shots on goal.

Namun setelah itu, Milan lebih menguasai permainan. Kerja keras tim besutan Massimiliano Allegri berujung manis setelah Stephan El Shaarawy pada menit ke-21. Kevin Prince-Boateng dengan jeli melepaskan umpan kepada El Shaarawy yang merangsek ke dalam kotak penalti. El Shaarawy yang dikawal dua pemain lawan berhasil melepaskan tembakan, membuat bola bersarang ke tengah gawang Inter.

Gol itu semakin membuat I Rossoneri percaya diri. Balotelli nyaris membubuhkan dua gol. Pemain muda asal Italia tersebut berhasil menanduk bola dari umpan sepak pojok El Shaarawy pada menit ke-27. Namun, tandukan Balotelli masih bisa diblok oleh Samir Handanovic.

Berselang dua menit, Super Mario kembali memiliki peluang emas dengan memaksimalkan umpan silang De Sciglio. Namun, Balotelli terpaksa gigit jari setelah Handanovic kembali melakukan penyelamatan gemilang.

Balotelli kembali menebar ancaman pada menit ke-33. Kali ini, Balotelli melepaskan tendangan bebas yang cukup keras dari luar kotak penalti. Namun lagi-lagi, Handanovic berhasil mengeblok bola yang meluncur deras ke pojok kanan bawah gawangnya.

Tak ingin kehilangan momentum, Mario Balotelli dan kawan-kawan terus menekan Inter. Meski begitu, tak ada gol tambahan yang berhasil diciptakan Milan sampai wasit meniup peluit tanda istirahat.

Selepas turun minum, Inter mengambil inisiatif menyerang. Sebuah tusukan dari Palacio berhasil dimanfaatkan dengan baik oleh Guarin. Apes bagi Inter, tembakan Guarin masih bisa dihalau oleh Christian Abbiati pada menit ke-55.

Milan langsung bereaksi cepat. Mereka berusaha balik menekan sang lawan. Umpan silang dari Nocerino nyaris berbuah gol jika Handanovic tak cepat memotong umpan tersebut.

Sayang, Milan malah kebobolan pada menit ke-71. Umpan manis dari Yuto Nagatomo berhasil ditanduk oleh Ezequiel Schelotto. Pelatih Inter, Andrea Stramaccioni, untuk sementara lega karena keputusannya memasukkan Schelotto pada menit ke-69 membuahkan hasil.  

Allegri dengan cepat mengubah strategi. Dia memasukkan Niang untuk menggantikan Boateng pada menit ke-80. Milan kembali menguasai permainan. Bahkan, mereka mendapatkan peluang emas dari sepakan keras Niang. Namun, Handanovic masih perkasa di bawah mistar La Beneamata. Itu menjadi peluang terakhir yang dimiliki Milan. Skor 1-1 bertahan sampai peluit panjang.

Susunan Pemain
Inter (4-3-1-2): Samir Handanovic; Javier Zanetti, Andrea Ranocchia, Juan Jesus, Yuto Nagatomo (Chivu 77); Walter Gargano, Esteban Cambiasso (Schelotto 69), Ricardo Alvarez (Kuzmanovic 74), Fredy Guarin; Rodrigo Palacio, Antonio Cassano
Pelatih: Andrea Stramaccioni

AC Milan: Christian Abbiati; Ignazio Abate, Cristian Zapata, Philippe Mexes, Mattia De Sciglio; Sulley Muntari (Ambrosini 88), Riccardo Montolivo, Antonio Nocerino; Kevin-Prince Boateng (Niang 80), Mario Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy (Krkic 85)
Pelatih: Massimiliano Allegri

Wasit: Paolo Mazzoleni

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Virtual Router Plus Turns Your Windows 8 PC Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot

This story will display in ...Feb 10, 2013 12:00 PM  

Windows: If you need to share your computer's internet connection with the wi-fi only devices in your house—say, if you don't have a wi-fi router—Virtual Router Plus will turn your computer into a wi-fi hotspot.

We've showed you how to do this with Windows 7 before, but the option seems to be missing in Windows 8. The feature is still there—you just need to do a bit of command line work to start it up—but Virtual Router Plus is a simple, free download that makes it easy. Just download the program, start it up (no installation required), and choose the network you want to share. Give your wi-fi network a name and a password, and start it up! You should be able to connect to that wireless network from your other devices with no problem.

Virtual Router Plus | via NirmalTV

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Zanetti: Ini Malamnya Schelotto

Penyerang AC Milan, Stephan El Shaarawy (kanan), berebut bola dengan gelandang Inter Milan, Ezequiel Matias Schelotto, pada lanjutan Serie-A, di Giuseppe Meazza, Minggu (24/2/2013).

MILAN, KOMPAS.com - Sejak didatangkan Inter Milan dari Atalanta, Januari lalu, gelandang Ezequiel Schelotto, sudah bermain empat kali di Serie-A. Total, ia sudah bermain 20 kali di Serie-A musim ini dan membukukan satu gol.

Menurut kapten Inter, Javier Zantti, meski hanya satu, gol itu sangat bernilai, karena tercipta pada Derby della Madonnina, Minggu (24/2/2013) dan merupakan satu dari dua gol yang tercipta malam itu. Gol lainnya dicetak penyerang Milan, Stephan El Shaarawy pada menit ke-21, atau 50 menit sebelum gol Schelotto.

"Ini adalah malam yang yang istimewa untuk Schelotto dan kami gembira karenanya. Ia mendapatkan kesempatan dan memanfaatkannya dengan baik," ujar Zanetti.

Sepanjang laga, menurut catatan Lega Serie-A, Inter menguasai bola sebanyak 46 persen dan menciptakan enam peluang emas dari sepuluh percobaan, sementara Milan melepaskan enam tembakan titis dari 18 usaha.

"Pertandingan derbi kali ini sangat ketat. Milan lebih baik dari kami pada paruh pertama, tetapi Inter melakukan segalanya untuk mencetak gol penyama kedudukan," ulas Zanetti.

"Aku terutama gembira dengan bagaimana kami bermain di babak kedua dan bagaimana kami melakukan pendekatan terhadap pertandingan itu," tambahnya.

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Transform a Pile of Old 3x4s Into a Stunning Table

This story will display in ...Feb 10, 2013 3:00 PM  

Look around the garden, in the shed, around the house or workshop. You've probably got a bunch of wood that could be put to better use. DIYer Jimmy DiResta has a great design for a simple table that can be put together for a weekend project.

We're all about using things you already have lying around rather than spending a bunch of money. Some of that scrap wood is best suited to the fire, but there's a lot that can be done with the more solid pieces. All you need are a few basic tools and Jimmy has provided a video showing the entire process step by step.

It's a versatile design that can be tweaked to your liking or to cater for the size of wood you have. You could create a low-level coffee table for the front room, or something for the garden. Click through to Make to see how it's done.

DiResta: Reclaimed-Wood Table | MAKE

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