SE-DesktopConstructor Builds Appealing, Functional Windows Wallpapers

 

Windows only: Maybe you don't have time to create gradient color fades, embedded calendars, and interactive clocks into your desktop. SE-DesktopConstructor is a simplified desktop configuration tool for those who aren't in need of every widget there is.

The options in SE-DesktopConstructor are far fewer than in a full customization suite like Rainmeter, but they're just enough to make some good-looking desktops. Pick a background image, choose a color and graduated fade level, position some graphical boxes, then place a clock or calendar. With just a bit of practice, you'll have a desktop set up that you'll dig. SE-DesktopConstructor has to run in the background—it took about 13 MB on my system to run, but your mileage may vary.

SE-DesktopConstructor is a free download for Windows systems only, and comes with a no-install portable download option.

SE-DesktopConstructor [via FreewareGenius.com]

DIY Motion Detecting Camera

 

If you live in an area with lots of wildlife and would like to get photos without having your camera constantly at the ready, you can repurpose a cheap camera, air freshener, and a microprocessor into a motion-detecting camera.
What's neat about this hack is that it's not only remarkably cheap (around $20), but the instructions are so well laid out that anyone can do it. It definitely involves some work with electronics, but as long as you've learned how to solder, the instructions are super easy to follow. The sensor can pick up movement from 15-20 feet away and can snap a picture as long as the movement isn't too subtle—luckily, the guide has a great FAQ on using the final product too. If you're looking to get a bit more into electronics, this is probably a great project to start with. Hit the link to check it out.

Cheap Motion Detection Wildlife Camera [Instructables]

Turn a Cheap Router into a Home Automation Server

We love to automate things in our home here at Lifehacker, and it turns out that with just a router, an Arduino, and an RF switched outlet, you can control pretty much any electrical device you want from your smartphone or computer.
This tutorial is courtesy of Instructable user mrx23, who turned an OpenWRT-compatible router into its own little web server that sends serial commands to an Arduino, which then controls switched RF outlets fia a remote control. You can access the switch with any browser and use it to turn on and off pretty much any electrical device you want—lights, music, video games systems, or anything else lying around your house. Check out the video to see it in action, and hit the link for more detailed instructions on how to set it all up.

Home Automation Server with Router [Instructables]

Set Up a Simple, Web Streaming Home Surveillance System

Lifehacker has featured numerous home surveillance apps, as well as some details on how to make a pretty hardcore surveillance system. If you're looking for something simpler, though, how-to weblog Tinkernut shows us how to do it in just a few steps.
Of course, you'll need to rustle up a few webcams before you set it all up, but Tinkernut has some helpful advice on how to choose the right one for you. Once you have the hardware, it's as easy as adding your webcams to a program and streaming it over the internet (privately, of course). That way, you can keep an eye on your house when you're at work, on vacation, or anywhere else offsite. Check out the video to see how it's done, and if you have your own methods for surveilling your home, share them with us in the comments.

Super Simple Webcam Surveillance System [Tinkernut]

India's rising Startups

At UnPluGGd2, 10 startups demoed their product to the audience. From the initial list of 250, 35 made it to the second round and post that, our panel helped us select the 10 promising startups.
Like we mentioned earlier, there were several parameters that were taken into account and here is the list of companies that made it to the stage (in no partcular order).

AppCanvas

Started by an ex-Googler, AppCanvas is the “photoshop” for web applications.
Appcanvas is a powerful tool and is targeted towards non-programmers who want to create custom dynamic applications (like a blog). Features of the platform include

• Non-programmers who want to create custom dynamic applications.
• Appcanvas exports code and allows injecting code for advanced functionality. Developers who want to retain control of their development environment, can still use Appcanvas to do 90% of the work and later modify the code manually.
• Without its dynamic capabilities, is a powerful tool to design web sites which can be directly exported to HTML. This in itself is a powerful product that many designers and developers want.

Dialify

Product : Cwicket
Started by Nikil Soman, who earlier started Zapak and BigAdda, Dialify has launched their first product – cWicket.
Cwicket is an Audio Game designed for in-call delivery over telephony networks, bringing a new cricketing experience to all phone users across the country. NO Downloads, NO Data plans, NO GPRS, just a simple number to dial & play.
Audio gaming as a concept may sound odd – particularly because our lives are visually saturated. However Audio/Sound has some unique properties – sound perception includes  spatial distribution awareness & multi-channel sensitivity, which implies multi-tasking. These are quite easily ignored or over-shadowed by the visual sense.
At Dialify, we believe that sound/audio on its own is a very powerful medium. Perhaps that’s why music is still such a big hit, and also why I cant imagine watching cricket on TV without the commentary & Movies sans music. Cwicket is commentary of a cricket match that users play over a phone call.
The company has worked on building the next generation Interactive Voice Game Engine with support for turn based, strategy & role playing games. Future releases include dynamic environments, social publishing from within games, collaborative task completion, virtual items & Massively Multi-player Tournaments.

Dhiti

Product : Nuggetize.com, driLL.com, Intweetion.com
A starup by ex-Googlers, Dhiti (means ‘insgights’ in sanskit) helps gather insights from online information. The company has three services – Nuggetize.com for publishers, driLLL.com for users and Intweetion.com for twitter.
Nuggetize understands user intent, and the content out there – and presents the most relevant facts fast, organized around contextual concepts.
As far as the engine capabilities are concerned, Dhiti’s tools and widgets assist publishers serve different classes of visitors:

• Landing page optimization for search engine referrals
• Spectrum of content for the explorers
• Content discovery for the miners.
• Brief and concise nuggets for attention-challenged readers
• Contextual recommendations for casual surfers.

Nuggetize.com can also be used directly by users to get nuggets on any topic, any web page, an RSS feed, a blog, or even a Twitter id. These nuggets can be curated, shared with an audience, or even embedded/ syndicated in blogs through their contextual widgets.

Bizosys.com

Product : Bizosys Elastic Bridge
Bizosys Elastic Bridge enables software applications to work with large amounts of data, both structured and unstructured. It provides distributed data storage and real time search engine for applications to scale on demand.
The product provides a solution to software scalability that comes with large amounts of data and high number of users. Prospective customers are from various domains that deal with high amounts of data such as content aggregators, social media analytics or large number of users like mobile applications.

Capillary

Product : !nTouch Customer Engagement Solutions
!nTouch is a product for mobile-based instant customer engagement solutions for retvilers and consumer facing businesses. The product is an enterprise solution that enables customer engagement and loyalty through the mobile phone thus making it hassle free for the consumer and cost effective for the retailer. Apart from that, it bundles in an instant analytics engine – for doing cross-sell while the customer is still in the store, thereby increasing the share of the wallet. The product is backed by our analytics and campaign management tools and services. We also provide necessary marketing services thus making it a full turnkey solution.
The product has been deployed in more than 2500 retail merchants around the country of marquee names such as Raymond Ltd., Madura Garments, PUMA, Future Group, UniverCell. Odyssey from different verticals and categories.

Ozonetel

Product : KooKoo.in (Cloud Telephony)
KooKoo is a next generation Inbound and Outbound IVR telephony platform that allows users to build and manage their telephony application themselves using web technology of their choice leveraging existing web infrastructure. KooKoo is more than an IVR platform.
KooKoo allows quick go to market for the users, providing robust and highly scalable production grade platform. KooKoo allows users to launch their services locally in multiple states. KooKoo currently offer services in Hyderabad (AP), Bangaloru(Karnataka),Chennai(TN), Mumbai (MH). In near future KooKoo services will be extended to most of the state capitals.
KooKoo API will evolve to offer other cloud services like transcription, speech recognition, speech authentication and many more one a single platform. KooKoo will partner with different cloud service providers offering their services through KooKoo API transparently.
KooKoo is built for Indian context in line with all TRAI regulations, still innovatively offering affordable pay as you go model to end users.

AdaptiveCAD

Product: Adaptive3D.com
Adaptive 3D Technologies develops “Easy to Use” 2D and 3D Design , Simulation and Data Management Software that helps Engineers and Manufacturers around the World to Fast track their Product Development ( TTM and NPI Cycles) by better Creation,Simulation , Publication and Collaboration of Design Data.
Revolutionary 2D and 3D CAD Solid Modelling Product built with Unique IP which caters to the needs to Artists, Designers/Engineers and Organizations in Several Verticals( Public Sector, Mfrg, Consumer Products, Industrial , Education etc) to fast track their Product Development Process using Rapid Prototyping ,Iterative Design and Dynamic Simulation.

Hamesha ON

HameshaON is a low Cost Smart Grid  for Indian conditions with 100% Power Theft Prevention and Variable Power Delivery.
The product/system Hamesha ON consists of different components and they work together to deliver the desired result.
1. Power manager with configurable no. of connections up to 16 connections from a single device.
2. Overhead theft detector that sits on the overhead wire with Phase Tripping Device
3. Network control application through Windows/Web interface.
4. Optional In Home Display for consumers
The product guarantees zero power loss due to theft and commercial reasons. The product enables peak reduction without inconveniencing consumers, it eliminates the need for power cuts and automates the entire power distribution, billing and payment processes.

inDefend Endpoint Protection

Product : DataResolve.com
inDefend Endpoint Security is an application which will help you achieve full control on your enterprise network against theft of data without blocking you for your relevant access, at the same time blocking all kinds of unauthorized usb devices, websites related to porn, games and applications like chat and VoIP.
Loss and theft of information from an enterprise network because of rising number of removable media devices such as usb stick, digital cameras, ipod, mp3 music player and high speed internet connectivity with 3G, bluetooth, IR etc. Enterprises are faced with huge threat of losing confidential information either by intentional activities such as sending confidential information through email etc or accidental such as losing a USB drive containing some confidential information.

EyesAndFeet

Eyes And Feet is a web application that helps local businesses like restaurants & spas understand and use social media like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
At EyesAndFeet.com, local businesses can get information and tools that no one else provides. With the only dynamically updated social media directory of its kind, we provide curated, relevant and real time data on what exactly their competitors & peers in their city are doing on social media.
The application also provides wizards, guides and tools that helps a local business get up and running with their own social media presence!

How to Protect Ideas when Seeking Funding

As much as the gospel is to the choir, the idea is to the entrepreneur. It is the idea which drives, creates and grows. The idea is the bedrock of the business and entrepreneurs are equally concerned
with making it a working reality as well as protecting it. Most of these ideas would remain on the drawing board in the absence of funding, and it is at this stage that entrepreneurs seek out venture
capital. Obtaining venture capital is a difficult task and it requires detailed and skilled information presentation on the business. When sharing all this information sweaty palms often crease business
plans as entrepreneurs juggle with terms such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, confidentiality clauses, non-disclosure agreements and privileged information. These legal terms understandably
sounds like Greek and most of these concepts can find reflection in latin maxims. Rather than taking a course in legal reasoning or Latin, this article informs an entrepreneur how to protect information
when sharing it with a VC without the legalese.

Holding Back when Pitching

Most entrepreneurs have detailed business plans in place before approaching a Venture Capitalist. To set up a meeting and elicit the VC’s interest usually a 2 to 3 page executive summary of the
business plan is prepared and dispatched. Both these documents contain vital information which has been the product of the entrepreneur’s knowledge, foresight and ideas. The nature of the
information which is contained in the business plan is incredibly sensitive as it includes a general review of the business, the financial forecasts, the funding needs and the expected valuation of the
company. In addition on meeting the VC, a presentation is made which outlines the business plan to walk the VC through the proposition. Now it is evident that, (a) the executive summary; (b) the
detailed business plan; and (c) the presentation will include highly sensitive information which if used to the detriment of the entrepreneur will have disastrous effects. Hence, the entrepreneur
is highly anxious to, obtain funding for the project and at the same time protect and to establish paternity over the information which is submitted to the VC.

Intellectual Property Rights as a non-starter

It would seem obvious and natural that one of the many statutory forms of Intellectual Property Rights would protect the essence of the business plans. However, none of the various forms of Intellectual Property protect the essence of the idea contained in the executive summary or the detailed information which is found in the business plan and the presentation. The law of trademarks only protects the name of the business or the product, whereas copyright also comes up short only protecting the expression of the idea and not the idea itself. Hence simply paraphrasing the business plan will evaporate the copyright protection.

Turning to the use of patents, the law of patents in India may provide limited protection if the business relies upon a device or invention which is patentable. However this protection will often not stretch to the idea and the business plan. The reason for this is that business method patents are not granted in India as they are in the United States. Hence, Intellectual Property Rights in this respect remains a complete non-starter. With the limitations which are present in Intellectual Property Rights one finds lawyers and entrepreneurs turn to contracts and agreements to create rights and obligations.

Having your cake while sharing it too

In the absence of any natural and automatic intellectual property rights attaching to business plans, the rights and obligations are created by a special form of contract termed as a confidentiality agreement. The confidentiality informs the VC that business plan is a confidential document and the VC agrees not to discuss or disclose the contents to a third-party.

Well drafted confidentiality agreements have various features, chief amongst them being the mode of acceptance. Since a contract becomes only enforceable on prior assent to the provisions of any agreement, it is important to signify the mode of acceptance. It is also important to make the mode of acceptance, non-onerous. This is important since, if the acceptance is mandated by traditional means, such as signing and returning a copy of the confidentiality agreement, it may end up in the dustbin rather than on the VC’s desk. VC’s are important and busy people, who receive several business plans without having time to go through each. Hence, a business plan accompanied by a confidentiality agreement requiring assent to be signified by signing and returning will seem onerous.

An easy and simple way is to model the assent by “deemed acceptance” as is done in most electronic contracts. Here “acceptance” is “deemed” to have been given if the VC proceeds beyond the first page and studies the business plan.

Other touchstones of a good confidentiality is asking the VC to destroy all copies of the business plan after perusal and use as well as to make it specific by putting a business plan number and date for each copy which goes out. If an entrepreneur is drafting the confidentiality agreement, they are further better off putting the confidentiality in simple and clear English and avoid lifting clauses from confidentiality littered over the internet. Sample confidentiality agreements are often wrong or contain legal language with a very different meaning than what ostensibly appears on a first reading.

Another reason why relying on sample agreements may result in difficulty is that these agreements have been drafted by lawyers from foreign jurisdictions after detailed negotiations and the clauses which are contained in them may not help in a local jurisdiction.

Strategizing the use of the Confidentiality Agreement

A measured legal protection is the best strategy to go about when seeking VC funding. Here the information disclosure and the confidentiality notice should be metered correspondingly. The first point of information disclosure is when the executive summary is sent. The executive summary should simply be labeled on its header and footer as “confidential and for [x] personal use only” (“x” being the VC). Here by inserting short succinct language an entrepreneur can avoid muddling the summary with legalese and devote more space to the business. When sending out the business plan, it is advisable to have a confidentiality and non-disclosure clause placed on the coverpage, however as outlined it should not mandate an onerous form of assent from the VC.

It is also important for the entrepreneur to consider whether the insertion of a confidentiality clause may decrease the chances of the business plan being read. This is a credible concern since VC’s review a large number of business ideas, many of which may be related and do not have time to consider potential litigation associated with business plans that are potentially related to one another.

Here if an entrepreneur is tempted to drop the confidentiality and non-disclosure clause, they can be some assurance in knowing that common law (law developed through cases decided earlier) provides for remedy even in the absence of any agreement. However, these are strategy calls which will needed to be taken keeping in view the specifics which vary from case to case. However, as a broad
general rule, it is advisable to have a confidentiality and non-disclosure clause to protect the core of the business, the idea. It is a truism that an idea is the most powerful force in the world (provided it
has legal protection).

WorthMonkey Helps Determine How Much Your Used Gear Is Worth

Ever wonder how much your used gear is actually worth? WorthMonkey takes a guesswork out of determining a selling price for your stuff. WorthMonkey is a pretty simple but awesome concept: you pick something you want to sell, search for it in WorthMonkey, and WorthMonkey will give you an overview of your pricing options:

 It works by scouring the web for prices on various items and using that data to determine the most fair price you can offer. While it doesn't currently take into account the condition of your item, it gives you enough good information to help you determine what your gear is worth. You can even embed a WorthMonkey widget in a Craigslist or eBay post to prove you're offering a fair price for your used gear:

Twitter, Facebook, and email sharing is available as well.
WorthMonkey is a free service that requires absolutely no sign up, so if you've got a few free seconds you can give it a try.

SSDLife Keeps You Informed of Your Solid-State Drive's Health and Lifespan

We all know solid-state drives take a bit of care, so if you want to keep track of how your SSD is faring health-wise, free utility SSDLife will let you know.
While lots of newer SSDs have fewer lifespan-related problems than older ones, it's nice to keep an eye on how your drive is doing. SSDLife will let you know how many times your drive has been powered on, written to, what its health and S.M.A.R.T. status is, and even give you an estimated lifespan of the drive. Of course, if you'd like to extend the drive's lifespan, you can always use a tool like Intel's previously mentioned Solid-State Drive Toolbox (as well as Windows' built-in tools) to make sure you're getting the most out of your SSD.
SSDLife is a free download for Windows only. You can also purchase a $20 pro version that will scan your drive at scheduled intervals.

SSDLife [via AddictiveTips]

Top 10 Must-Have Browser Extensions

10. Web of Trust (WOT)

 

Web of Trust, or WOT, is a browser extension that's designed to help you browse more safely. When you search online, WOT accesses its database to see approximately how safe your search results really are. Next to each result it places a colored circle. Green indicates a safe site, yellow means you should proceed with caution, and red tells you that you should probably steer clear. When you roll over the colored circle, you'll get more in-depth ratings. If you really want to look into a particular site, WOT can provide you with ratings from other WOT users. This is especially useful for online shopping. WOT has a special rating for vender reliability to help warn you of a potentially fraudulent storefront. WOT is available for Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer. For Opera and other browsers, a bookmarklet is available.

Web of Trust (WOT) | Multi-browser Download Page

9. Google Translate

Web translation services are nothing new, but they're exceptionally helpful when you run into a site written in a language you don't speak. While these services have been around for awhile, they've evolved to make the translation process a lot easier. With the Google Translate extension (gTranslate in Firefox) you can just install it and it'll recognize when a page is not in your primary language. You'll receive a request to translate whenever this happens and the extension will reload the page with the translated text. Like all web translations, it's imperfect, but it's the closest things your browser's going to get to a Babelfish. (Note: Google Chrome has auto-translate built in, so no extension's required for Chrome users.)

Google Translate | Firefox • Safari • Opera

8. AutoCopy

AutoCopy does what the title suggests. Whenever you select some text in your browser, AutoCopy will automatically copy it to the clipboard. While pressing Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on a Mac) to do this manually isn't that big of a deal, but what makes AutoCopy really worthwhile (for me, anyway) is the option to copy without formatting. There are so many times where I just want to copy text but want it to conform to the style of the document I'm pasting it into, and AutoCopy cuts out that tedious step no problem.

AutoCopy | Chrome • Firefox

7. Better Gmail

Gmail's great, but it's not perfect, which is why Better Gmail was born—here at Lifehacker no less—out of the need for additional features. It compiles a bunch of the best Gmail-related Greasemonkey scripts to add a bunch of highly desired features to gmail. Those features include hierarchical labels, an unread message count in your browser tab, file attachment icons, row highlights, label links, the ability to hide and show all sorts of things, and more. The official version is Firefox-only, but an unofficial Chrome port is also available.

Better Gmail | Chrome • Firefox

6. PriceBlink

When you're shopping online, you're probably accustomed to searching for the lowest price. PriceBlink removes the need to do any actual work and presents you with your options, automatically, while shopping. Just browse to the page of something you want to buy and PriceBlink will show up if it can save you money. In addition to showing you lower prices, if PriceBlink finds a coupon for the retailer you're visiting it'll offer that up as well. When you're not shopping, PriceBlink will stay out of your hair. It's a pretty great tool for keeping your wallet from getting too thin. InvisibleHand extension.)

Priceblink | Chrome • Firefox • Safari

5. BugMeNot

There are times when you just do not want to sign up for an account. Maybe you're lazy, or maybe you don't want to give out your email address to a web site you're only going to use once. BugMeNot is an extension that uses the BugMeNot web site to retrieve login credentials for the site you're visiting. Browse to a site, click the extension icon, and BugMeNot will offer up accounts to try. If the account works (or doesn't), you can quickly send feedback to BugMeNot to let them know if the credentials are good or bad. This success rate is used to rank the options available to you. BugMeNot uses these ratings to suggest credentials for you whenever you visit a new site. If you want to avoid creating an account, BugMeNot will save you a ton of time.

BugMeNot | Chrome • Firefox • Safari • Opera

4. Tab Cloud

Tab Cloud is an excellent extension for managing your browser tabs on a single computer or across multiple machines. You can name browser windows and save sessions, view a graphical representation of all your tabs and windows, and sync tabs from one browser to another. While Firefox 4 has tab sync already, Tab Cloud gives you a little more control over how you sync your tabs. It's an excellent addition for Chrome, which (currently) has no existing tab sync at all. Regardless of sync, it makes for an excellent organizational tool for those of us who can't help but keep at least 30 tabs open at a time.

Tab Cloud | Chrome • Firefox

3. FlashBlock

With recent reports that the lack of Flash on the MacBook Air nets it two extra hours of battery life, you have to wonder if Apple's choice to leave Flash off its new highly portable laptops was really the right choice after all. Even if you don't use Flash much, there definitely are those few occasions where it's a necessity. That's where FlashBlock comes in. It lets you keep Flash installed on your computer but prevents Flash content from loading without your expressed permission. The upside is that Flash will never run without your intervention, though you can whitelist specific sites that you'd prefer Flash always works on. It's a great compromise for gaining better battery life (and better overall performance) without needing to remove Flash entirely.
Note: FlashBlock functionality is already built-in to Chrome for Windows and is in the Mac developer builds.

FlashBlock | Chrome • Firefox • Safari • Opera

2. Greasemonkey / Greasemetal / Etc.

GreaseMonkey is pretty incredible, in that it lets you do virtually anything you want with your web browser with the help of simple JavaScripts. By itself it doesn't do much at all, but when you consider all the available userscripts it's suddenly the most powerful extension you can have. It's basic purpose is to serve as a JavaScript injector. Userscripts that you install will inject JavaScript into a particular page to make it perform differently than it normally would. Although there are tons available, if you know JavaScript you can write your own and get exactly the functionality you're looking for. While Greasemonkey was original written for Firefox, it's possible to run Greasemonkey userscripts in Chrome (Chrome supports installing userscripts by default) and Safari (thanks to a port of the platform).

Greasemonkey | Firefox • Safari

1. LastPass

LastPass is an amazing password manager. Actually, it may be better described as a personal data manager. It can remember login credentials (and automatically log you into web sites), credit card numbers, your address and phone number, and other personal information you often need to enter on a web site or storefront checkout. It stores everything securely and syncs with any machine that has a LastPass extension installed, and it's one of the best timesavers you can install on your browser.

RockMelt: The new browser on the line

sorry for the oversized video but then its worth it rather than cramping up everything in a small space. Would give you a clear view


New browsers might be hatched almost every day, but new browsers that sound like a sandwich one might find in Philadelphia—and that everybody seems to be talking about—don't. What is RockMelt?

It's a browser...

As you might guess when you fire up RockMelt for the first time, it's a browser built on top of Chromium—the open source project that powers Google Chrome. Which means RockMelt is really, really fast, even with all of the sharing stuff on top of it. In fact, it's kind of like Chrome, but with super-duper extensions for Facebook and Twitter.

...with some interesting backers...

The big name behind RockMelt is Marc Andreessen—you might remember him as the founder of Netscape, the loser of the Great Browser War, when it was obliterated by the Dark Lord IE.

...that's built for sharing...

RockMelt's centered around sharing links with your friends. In practice, it's like having Facebook built into your browser. In fact, every time you start up RockMelt, it logs into your Facebook account. (Twitter is optional.)
On the left side, there's a Facebook buddy list, populated with your favorite Facebook friends for dragging links to share, chatting or checking their latest updates. The address bar is the biggest departure from Chrome: There's a giant share button for posting to Facebook or Twitter, and the separate search box drops down the results in a list—flicking through each with the down arrow, you can quickly preview the site for each search result. On the right, there's a collection of feeds, like Twitter, your Facebook newsfeed and your favorite sites.
It's the Facebook browser, in effect, since most of the convenience is for quickly posting stuff on, communicating through or scanning Facebook.

...and it could be the future of web browsing...

Like it or not, in RockMelt, you can see the beginnings of a true social browser, one that'll more deeply integrate lots of different social services, from StumbleUpon to Flickr, and hopefully blend them together in a way that works. Given that more and more of the stuff we read and watch online comes from social networks, it seems obvious that the next step is to build that into the browser.
It's not hard to imagine one day seeing what all of your friends are browsing in real time without having to manually "share" anything, or watching crazy YouTube videos together. For now though, RockMelt's just a handy browser for serious Facebook and Twitter addicts who don't mind a little extra clutter in their browser window and the constant threat of procrastination.

...that you can try right now.

You can sign up for early access to RockMelt right here.

Build an FM Bug for Cheap Eavesdropping and DIY Electronics Fun

Useful electronics projects are a great way to learn new skills. Today we highlight a handy DIY guide for turning old radio parts into an audio-bug that transmits on FM frequencies.

DIY electronics blog LucidScience has an easy to follow—if lengthy—tutorial on harvesting parts from an old radio to build your own simple FM bug. When you're done you'll have a simple variable-adjustment FM bug with enough broadcasting power to transmit a signal several rooms away.

As far as audio bugs go, this one falls on the low-power/bulky side of things and should serve more as a fun exercise in learning circuitry rather than a rock-solid eavesdropping tool—for easier concealment and a broader frequency range be prepared to bust out your checkbook. Visit the link below for a detailed build guide including additional photos and video.
Build a 2-Transitor Spy Transmitter [LucidScience via Hack A Day]

How to Uninstall My Web Search Toolbar

My Web Search is a toolbar add-on for Internet Explorer that is often installed when you download software from the "Fun Web Products" line. This includes software such as Smiley Central, My Mail Signature, PopSwatter, Cursor Mania and My Mail Stationary. Despite the fact that these applications are not spyware, they do run processes in the background that can use up memory and slow your computer down. Some, like the My Web Search toolbar, are also flagged by spyware scanners for removal. Even if you uninstall the My Web Search toolbar, there may be unknown files left on your computer that need to be removed.

Instructions

Uninstall My Web Search Toolbar

1. 1
   Click on "Start" and choose "Control Panel."
   
2. 2
   Click on "Add/Remove Programs" if you are a Windows XP user. Windows Vista and 7 users should click on "Programs and Features."
   
3. 3
   Find the My Web Search toolbar in the list of programs that are installed on your computer. The toolbar may also be installed under the name "My Search Bar," "My Web Search Bar," "Search Assistant" or "MyWay Speed Bar."
   
4. 4
   Click on the toolbar name once to highlight it in the list, then click the "Remove" button to uninstall the program.
   
5. 5
   Reboot your computer to allow changes to take effect.
   

Remove Remaining Processes

6. 1
   Download and install the free HijackThis utility (see Resources).
   
7. 2
   Launch the HijackThis utility and click the "Do a system scan only" button.
   
8. 3
   Allow the utility to scan your computer and look for any of the following entries:
   
   R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {00A6FAF6-072E-44cf-8957-5838F569A31D} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\SrchAstt\1.bin\MWSSRCAS.DLL
   
   O2 - BHO: MyWebSearch Search Assistant BHO - {00A6FAF1-072E-44cf-8957-5838F569A31D} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\SrchAstt\1.bin\MWSSRCAS.DLL
   
   O2 - BHO: mwsBar BHO - {07B18EA1-A523-4961-B6BB-170DE4475CCA} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\1.bin\MWSBAR.DLL
   
   O3 - Toolbar: My &Web Search - {07B18EA9-A523-4961-B6BB-170DE4475CCA} - C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\1.bin\MWSBAR.DLL
   
   O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MyWebSearch Email Plugin] C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\bar\1.bin\mwsoemon.exe
   
   O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MyWebSearch Email Plugin] C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\bar\1.bin\mwsoemon.exe
   
   O4 - Startup: MyWebSearch Email Plugin.lnk = C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\1.bin\MWSOEMON.EXE
   
   O4 - Global Startup: MyWebSearch Email Plugin.lnk = C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\1.bin\MWSOEMON.EXE
   
   O8 - Extra context menu item: &Search - http://bar.mywebsearch.com/menusearch.html?p=ZWYYYYYYYYUS
   
   O16 - DPF: {1D4DB7D2-6EC9-47A3-BD87-1E41684E07BB} - http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/nocache/funwebproducts/ei/MyWebSearchInitialSetup1.0.0.8-2.cab
   
9. 4
   Place a mark next to each entry that you find and click the "Fix Checked" button to allow the tool to remove them.
   

Remove Remaining Files

10. 1
    Click on the "Start" button and choose "Computer" from the Start menu.
    
11. 2
    Double-click your main hard drive. This will usually be the "C" drive.
    
12. 3
    Double-click the "Program Files" folder.
    
13. 4
    Locate the folders named "FunWebProducts" or "MyWebSearch."
    
14. 5
    Right-click on the folders and choose "Delete" from the menu to remove them.
    

Make Your Own USB Stick

Take the internals of old USB thumb drive, ask IT to dig out an obsolete floppy disk, throw in a pair of scissors and combine. What do you get? If you do it properly, you'll have an easy to make novelty USB stick. If you follow the instructions in our how-to video, things might not go so well.

Detect motion with itty-bitty embedded PIR sensors

Stop! Who Goes There?

ePIR Layout Zilog

Would you like to reduce the size of your home security system? Like something on the order of magnitude of motion detectors that can fit on a postage stamp? These tiny rectangular sensors are actually powerful passive infrared (PIR) detectors that can be easily slipped into an area where their larger PIR brethren couldn't even dream of fitting.

Specifically designed for embedded projects, ePIR Motion Detectors are made by Zilog. Yes, those same folks who sparked the personal computer revolution with the Z-80 CPU. In this case, Zilog has created a single board computer (SBC) system for "drop-in," rapid-time-to-market development featuring a powerful motion detector. Zilog calls this whole motion-sensing shebangePIR Motion Detection Zdots® Single Board Computer. Heck, the name is bigger than the sensor itself.

But this diminutive ePIR sports some big-body features:

• ePIR #ZEPIR0AAS01SBCG
• 60-degree detection pattern
• 5-meter range
• Included Fresnel lens
• Ambient light filter capability
• Low power sleep mode
• Standalone or MCU controlled
• Built-in sensing algorithms

Oh, and did I say that these little fellas can be battery-powered? Sipping only 3.3VDC, a completely self-contained PIR system could be easily coupled with a buzzer, an LED, or a relay for discreet home sentry duty. Want to add a motion sensor at the end of your driveway? No problem, when using an ePIR as a remote motion trigger system -- you'll have no cables to bury, no complex computer setup procedures; just a simple standalone warning system that could, for example, tell you when the mail has been delivered.

Home security isn't the only function that suits a Zilog ePIR. You could add an ePIR relay unit to a lamp in a closet, for example, that will automatically turn on when the door is opened. Likewise, proximity sensing is available on an ePIR, simply by adjusting the sensor's sensitivity input. Therefore, home appliances, like a kitchen news reader terminal, could be activated when someone comes within a couple of feet of the sensor. Voila, instant-on information.

It's a security system. And it's a helping hand. Clapper, you've met your match. You can order ePIR #692-ZEPIR0AAS01SBCG from Mouser for $6.50.

ePIR Schematic:  Zilog

Bypass Heavy-Handed Web Filters with Your Own Proxy Server

If your workplace or school's extra-restrictive internet filter has you pulling your hair out during the occasional browsing break, there's hope! Here's a quick look at how to get around heavy-handed browser restrictions with the open-source PHProxy.

Back in January we pointed you toward PHProxy, along with some instructions for setting it up on a web server; fact is, most people don't actually have access to a web server to run something like PHProxy. The solution: Install a local web server on your home computer, then run PHProxy from there. Setting one up is actually a lot easier than you may think.

A quick crash course on proxy servers: Let's say your dastardly workplace blocks you from reading Lifehacker. Many web filters block web sites based on URLs, so if Lifehacker were blocked, the filter would recognize the URL http://lifehacker.com and automatically block any connection. A proxy acts as a go-between for your browser and the web site you want to access, and as far as the web filter can tell, the proxy-employing user isn't visiting Lifehacker—she's visiting whatever the URL is for the proxy. And since we're setting PHProxy on your home computer, chances are slim that the web filter will block your home IP address (or URL, which we'll talk about more below).

When you're done here, you should be able to access restricted sites from anywhere by routing your requests through your home computer. First I'll explain how to install a local web server on your computer (for Windows and then Mac users), then explain how to install and use PHProxy from there, and finally I'll walk you through how to access your newly minted local proxy server easily from any other computer.

Download and Unzip PHProxy

Regardless of your OS of choice, the first step is easy: Head over to SourceForge anddownload PHProxy, then unzip your download to a folder and name that folder phproxy. Put it in a safe place, and we'll get back to it later.

Install a Local Web Server on Your Windows PC

In order to run PHProxy on your home computer, you'll need to install a local web server. You've got lots of options for doing this, but probably none easier than just downloading and installing WAMP—which stands for Windows (your operating system), Apache (the web server), MySQL (a database, which PHProxy won't actually use), and PHP (the popular programming language, which PHProxy is named for and written in).

Once you've downloaded WAMP, go ahead and run through the installer. It's a pretty basic install, and when you're done, launch the WAMP system tray application. After you do, you'll notice a new icon in your system tray (it's the one that looks like a speedometer). WAMP's running, but it's still not turned on. To put WAMP online, left-click the system tray icon and click Put Online.

Now, to verify that everything's working, left-click the WAMP icon in the system tray again and click Localhost—or just point your browser to http://localhost/. If all's well, your browser should load a page that looks like the one below.

Good work—you now officially have a web server up and running on your PC. You can skip the Mac section and head straight to the section on installing PHProxy to your server.

Install a Local Web Server on Your Mac

Above, Windows users installed a web server bundle called WAMP—in which the 'W' stood for Windows. Mac users, appropriately, haveMAMP—Mac, Apache (the web server), MySQL (a database that you won't actually be using), andPHP (a popular web programming language after which PHProxy is named). So go download MAMP (it's a hefty 156MB download) and install it to your Applications folder (make sure you install the free version and not the Pro version).

Now it's time to fire up MAMP. Open the MAMP folder you dragged to your Applications folder, then double-click MAMP.app to launch it. On this first run, click the Preferences button in MAMP, click Ports, and then click the Set to default Apache and MySQL ports button. Hit OK (enter your password to confirm), then point your browser tohttp://localhost/ (or http://localhost/MAMP/ if you want to see the MAMP landing page). If everything's working as it should you should see a page called "Index of /" at localhost, or the page below if you go to the MAMP URL.

Good work, you're officially running a local web server on your Mac. Now to PHProxy.

Install PHProxy on Your Server

Now we want to install PHProxy on your server. I'm using "install" pretty loosely here; assuming you've already downloaded and unzipped PHProxy to a folder named phproxy, all you really need to do is copy that folder to the root directory of your local web server.

To find your server's root directory on Windows, just click the WAMP system tray icon and click www directory (which, on my Windows 7 installation, is located at C:\wamp\www\. Inside this folder you should see a file called index.php—that's the page that loaded when you pointed your browser tohttp://localhost/ above. Now simply take the phproxyfolder you unzipped PHProxy to above and drag it directly inside the www folder.

Mac users, the MAMP root directory is located inside the MAMP folder at/Applications/MAMP/htdocs/. Likewise, just open that folder and copy the phproxyfolder to it.

And... there you have it-you've officially installed PHProxy. To make sure it worked, point your browser to http://localhost/phproxy/. You should see the page below.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

To test it further, all you have to do is type or paste the URL you want to visit into the web address input box and hit Enter. Below you can see me visiting Lifehacker through my PHProxy installation.

Depending on what your web filter is blocking, you can tweak the way PHProxy works—you can show or block images, allow or reject cookies and scripts, encode the URL you're visiting into a string that's complete gibberish, and more. Handy, huh?

Set Up Port Forwarding and a Friendly URL

At this point PHProxy should be working fine from your home computer, which is all well and good, but now we need to make it easy for you to access your local PHProxy installation from outside your home. To do so, we're going to have to set up port forwarding, then optionally we'll give your PHProxy server a friendly URL.

Set Up Port Forwarding on Your Router: When you try to communicate with your home computer from outside your local network, the request first has to go through your router—which then identifies which computer the request is intended for and sends it on its merry way. When you're running a web server on your home computer, other computers looking to communicate with that server will try communicating with it on port 80 (you don't really need to know what any of that means; web servers generally communicate on port 80, and that's what browsers try to access by default). So when your router receives a request on port 80, you need to tell it that those requests should be forwarded to your local PHProxy server.

Rather than detail the entire process, I'll point you toward our previous guide to accessing a home server behind a router/firewall. All routers are a little different, and that's a general guide, so if you want more specifics, try visiting PortForward.com, selecting your specific router model, and finding the instructions for setting up port forwarding with Apache (the web server).

If you've successfully set up port forwarding, you should now be able to access your home server by visiting your network's external IP address (this is the single address that identifies your home to all the other computers on the internet). Quickly point your browser to What Is My IP and copy the series of numbers following "Your IP Address Is:", paste that into your browser's address box, and hit Enter. If everything went according to plan above, your browser should now load up your local server. Add /phproxy/ to the end of your IP address and you should see the PHProxy homepage. Smooth.

Now that your web server is accessible to the outside world, you don't want to let just anyoneaccess it, so at this point it's a good idea to password protect your server. We've already been down this road before, too, so rather than explain it all here, head to step three in ourguide to setting up a personal home web server. (For a little extra help generating the necessary password files, I also like web site Htaccess Tools.)

Set Up a Friendly URL: You could stop at that point, but that series of numbers that makes up your IP address isn't all that friendly, and in fact, if your ISP assigns you a dynamic IP, it could change regularly. Luckily you can assign a friendly domain name to your home proxy server for free using DynDNS.com, a process that we've detailed in the past.

By assigning a domain name to your home server, you can create an easy-to-remember URL like mycrazyproxy.selfip.com, rather than typing in 76.189.XX.XXX every time you want to access your home server.

A Few PHProxy Pointers

PHProxy is an excellent tool, but you should also be aware of the concessions you're making when using it. For example, you should expect your browsing experience to slow down considerably when you're browsing through your home proxy. Remember, your requests are being routed through your home proxy server every step of the way, which puts a rather slow middleman (your home network) between you and the web sites you want to access.

Also, while PHProxy works like a charm for most plain old browsing, it can be tricky when it comes time to log into some web sites. For example, I could log into Twitter without any issues, and I was able to get to the static HTML version of my Gmail account and Facebook, but—though I was able to log in—I had trouble viewing either until I told PHProxy to remove scripts. In fact, I found that removing scripts was a good step whenever I had trouble with sites I wanted to log into.

Last, a Note on Responsibility

Setting up your own proxy is a fun project, but a few things to keep in mind if you're actually planning to use it in your workplace:

• Even if you're using a proxy, your employer can still see everything you're doing on the internet (and your computer), whether they're watching the data as it comes to your computer or they're literally watching your screen.
• Some employers actually forbid the use of proxies in their employee agreements, so if you get caught, you could face some very serious consequences (like, you know, getting fired), so use at your own risk.

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Got your own tried and true method for accessing blocked web sites? Have a web filter that just won't be defeated? Prefer not to mess with the establishment? Share your thoughts and experience in the comments.