“While it might not make as many headlines as the iPhone it doesn’t mean that we are not focusing on all manufacturers” Source: Gizmodo.com

This is the heart of the matter: Greenpeace is using the iPhone (and Apple before, in Macworld) as an instrument to get more publicity, and Greenpeace’s video (as well as the targeting of a widely known corporation and über-media-darling like Apple) is clearly designed to take advantage of the iPhone’s popularity to Greenpeace’s own benefit. Failing to address or ignoring facts as the actual law doesn’t make Greenpeace look good either. As Greenpeace rebuttal points out, the law is the law. Apple or anyone else can hardly be considered guilty of anything if the laws don’t tell them that what they are doing is harmful for the environment. (If it is, in fact, harmful. We, the media, and we, the public, want to know the straight facts.)Like Greenpeace says, other manufacturers are at fault. Why do a video about Apple and the iPhone first instead of publishing their findings as a whole report, including the other manufacturers, with references, clear methodology and, hopefully, in a scientific journal or publication so it can be peer reviewed;then make an announcement and crush any company they want? Doesn’t Greenpeace think that this will give their allegations more weight rather than making them look like publicists cashing in on the latest fad? While we take the piss here in the Giz quite often, we do believe that serious accusations require serious methodology, not showmanship.  Full Story: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/greenpeace-vs-iphone/greenpeace-responds-to-alarmist-claims-admits-targeting-apple-grabs-headlines-313728.phpRebuttal: http://weblog.greenpeace.org/makingwaves/archives/2007/10/bromine_industry_lets_out_the.htmlTake my word for it and do some research, check out the links, and you’ll find that the iPhone isn’t as bad as some people say, or think, or assume, or talk about. In reality, it’s a downright sexy phone and I’m going to buy the next version – due out sometime in January.

Looks like Apple is still ahead of Microsoft in something.

Photo Source: Greenpeace.

Screen shot of my desktop – Minimal Finder, Use of Menubar, Quicksilver opening my iTunes

Get an external hard drive
Depending on how much work you produce and what you do on your computer should determine what size external hard drive you should buy. Back up everything important to you on the external drive – media, music, documents, school work, photos, movies, resumes, notes, etc. Anything that you use for entertainment, reference, or documents you have created should be saved on the external hard drive. This will free up storage space on your computer and help it run smoother, startup faster, and could avoid future problems without all the clutter.

Clear off the desktop
Minimalism is the essence of cleanliness. Simple. The focus is on the computer, not all of your documents and shortcuts you have on your desktop. Sure, it might seem convienent to have everything you need at one click. But, if you clear EVERYTHING off your desktop, remove shortcuts, file away documents in appropriate folders – you will feel CLEAN. Your production on your computer will increase. You will be less prone to distractions. You will get more done in less time.

Think of it this way, you can have everything on your desktop you need and risk being distracted by wasting time playing a game or reading a random email, or, you can file everything away properly and get rid of the distraction allowing you to get your WORK done faster. This will give you more time to break away from the computer and not be an internet junky.

Run only applications you are using at the moment
Avoid running multiple applications (programs) if you don’t need to. This will rid yourself of distractions and help you to focus on the task at hand. The sense of accomplishment and motivation will also help you become more confident and happy while you are using the computer. You are being productive!

Utilize the power of Quicksilver
Quicksilver is a MAC OS X tool that allows me to open up applications by simply typing part of the application’s name I want to open up. This allows me to keep my desktop simple by having no icons in my dock. I have noticed that since I have removed all desktop icons and applications from my dock (except the Finder and Trash) my computer has been running smoother and faster.

For Windows users, check out these programs which are equivalent to Mac’s Quicksilver:
* AppRocket – functional, but quite resource intensive, and not free.
* Launchy – only just found this, but seems to do 99% of what I need, and it’s free.
* Colibri – I haven’t used this yet – leave a comment if you’re a fan (or not).
* PC-Com – recommended by others. I haven’t used it.

Clean your e-mail inbox
Ok, you probably have a free email account somewhere online. Right? Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. If your email provider enables POP3 service (you can find out in your settings/help section) you can forward your mail to Outlook Express on your desktop.

I use Gmail. It’s amazing in so many ways, but this blog isn’t about that so I will refrain from spilling my guts about the wonders of Google. Anyways, have your mail sent to Outlook Express and ARCHIVE all the mail you recieve online.

Keep you inbox clean. If you have Forwarded mail from a various source, delete it. Unless it’s from your boss. Set up rules in Outlook to file away certain contacts into various folders. For example, my parents and grandparents like to send me random emails about (fill in the blank)…so, I decided to filter their mail into one folder. I have subscriptions to various sites online that I like to read about, but I don’t like them flooding my inbox. So I created another folder to filter all my subscriptions so I can read through them later. I have all my Lee University mail sent to a separate folder because, let’s be honest, the JustReLEEsed spam mail is rather annoying.

The point is, keep you inbox free of stuff that isn’t immediate or needs attention right away. Mail from your parents or newsletters from IKEA don’t need immediate attention. Keep your inbox open for people who need your attention.

Use RSS feeds – free up your bookmark files
Instead of wasting time surfing around the internet reading articles and the latest news, have all of it sent right to you with RSS.

RSS is a simple way to have headlines from multiple sites compiled into one feeder. It may take a little bit of effort to set it up, but every (good) website has an RSS feed somewhere on their site.

I save hours and hours from sifting through sites and reading news daily by using RSS feeds. Do yourself a favor and get a feeder for free.

File things away – the right way
Think of your computer as a big outline, except it is compiled of folders instead of a professor’s lecture notes.

Take an hour of your time and go through to organize your “outline”. Under “Documents” make appropriate categories for things you are working on at the moment. Personally, I have a “School” folder, “Design” folder, and “Downloads” folder. Under each of these folders I have created sub-categories where I place files and documents I am currently working on. Once I finished with a document I then move it over to my external hard drive under similar categories.

This helps to keep my computer clean and my life structured. I know that everything on my computer is a work in progress and once it is complete I can move it over to my external hard drive where it will be saved for all eternity.

Eyesight
While working long hours on the computer, your eyes may become strained or tired. At my last eye exam I asked my doctor what I can do after long durations of working on the computer.

He gave me this tip: Take a few moments to look out the window or find the farthest point in a room and focus on it for a few minutes. Your eyes see depth on a computer screen but you are only looking a few inches in front of you. You eyes can become weak and tired. Give your eyes some exercise and focus far away for a while.

Yes, it really works.

Thanks to National Geographic, here is a nice collection of some high quality desktop backgrounds from around the world.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/wallpapers?nav=TOPNAV

If you know of any other places to get some great quality wallpapers, please share! I love having a good collection of desktop choices.

Oh, and just to catch your attention in the crazy world of blogosphere…here is the most famous National Geographic cover.

Read an article about the girl on the cover

Downloading music also takes out the risk of buying a bad album. So many times in the past I have taken a chance on an artist and was highly disappointed.

I guess if you consider downloading as theft, then I am stealing from the record labels because they make almost all the money off the album sales. Record labels have monopolized and used bands for their own corporate gain.

There are some artists who I have heard from downloads and I went on to spend $250-300 on an artist from Iceland that I never would have known about otherwise.

I see downloading differently than going into Wal-Mart and grabbing a handful of albums and walking out the front door without paying. There is nothing really tangible. It is a digital format. The only way to make money would be to reproduce into an album form and sell the tangible version.

This is a viewpoint that differs from person to person and cannot be argued or solved. I don’t feel bad about downloading and sampling music to find good and bad artists. I support those who I enjoy and discover, and I delete the awful music after listening…plus, I couldn’t profit off of bad music anyways.

There are cars that endure for all times. They are icons of their type, masterpieces of craftsmanship and technology; they put ideas into motion, make progress tangible and sometimes quite simply make everyday life better, more practical and enjoyable. Many of these cars carry the VW logo. “Bug, Beetle, New Beetle”, “T1, Bulli, Samba bus, California”, “Golf, GTI”. Now Volkswagen is presenting – as a world premiere at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt – a concept car that once again has the right stuff needed to move more than just one generation. It is a small, pure and high-spirited Volkswagen that pays tribute to its environment. The overall concept is marked by an innovative, clear, intuitive functionality. The name of the concept car: up! – a positive name that is a synonym for departure, activity, dynamics and the future.

While we know there’s been much talk of a tie-up between Apple and V-Dub, there is no idea if this is the car folks have been talking about — despite the vey Apple-like interior designs. What we do know is this concept’s one of those “gonna be made” concept cars and it’s set to go into production in two years with a fuel economy target of as close to 100 mpg as possible and the engine placed in the rear.

Volkswagen Official Press Release

On October 15th, bloggers from all over the world will be joining together to discuss the issue of our enviroment. The earnings from visits, clicks, ads, Google Adsense, etc. will be donated to a charity from each participating blog. The goal is to raise awareness about global warming and the increasing amount of pollution. Anyone can get involved, support, or promote Blog Action Day.

I signed up and will be supporting Blog Action Day. If you get a chance, maybe you could sign up too. It just takes some time out of your day to type some things about the enviroment and create awareness. I find it encouraging that the internet is being used for good and to help change things in our world. I think its great that technology is becoming so powerful that it can be used in such a great way.