Upgrade Your Life (by Lifehacker)

Lifehacker's Upgrade Your Life is the ultimate compilation of the best Lifehacker tips and tricks. It's a book version of the best Lifehacker has to offer. While you'll have to shell out dollars to get the book, the online version is absolutely free. There are lots of great tips you can use. Here are the most useful for me...

• Outlook tip: Color code messages addressed only to you - This is extremely useful since I get a lot of email advisories that I don't necessarily have to read asap. This makes the most important emails (the ones addressed directly to me) stand out of the numerous unread messages in my inbox.
• Generate unlimited email addresses with Gmail - I hate, hate, hate spam. Who doesn't? With this tip, you can create "disposable" email addresses for use with websites that require the submission of an email address.
• Future-proof your email address - Email addresses used to be novelties. Not anymore. Now, they are a cruicial part of your social life. That's why it's important to choose an email address that will grow with you.
• Create and customize your own planner with D*I*Y Planner - Electronic PDAs aren't always the best choices in organizing your life. Sometimes, the good old planner is the way to go.
• Power Texting Tips - Text messaging may not just be for kids and teenagers anymore. These tips take you from novice to power texter.
• Create your own virtual private network with Hamachi - If you've got multiple computers at home, creating your own VPN makes it a whole lot easier finding and accessing files from other machines.

Check out Lifehacker's Upgrade Your Life for many other useful tips.

Laptop DIY

If the price of your new laptop has left you all broke and laptop accessory-less, then DIY! Here are a bunch of do-it-yourself projects for all sorts of laptop accessories that will surely make you the envy of all your friends. Ok, maybe not, but they're still cool projects! :-)

• Foam, foam, foam! There's no better and cheaper material to encase your laptop in than foam. This step by step tutorial shows us how to custom make a foam case for your laptop.
  
  



• If foam doesn't float your boat, then cardboard and duct tape might. Check out this instructable for creating your very own cardboard and duct tape laptop case.
  
  

  
• This PVC laptop stand is cheap, easy to construct and definitely cruicial if you use your laptop on a regular basis. Your back will definitely thank you.
  

Macro Photography 101

I love macro photography. For those who are unfamiliar, macro photography is "the art of taking pictures of things extremely close-up." It's a great way to see your subject in a whole new perspective. However, it's not exactly the easiest thing to do, especially if you don't have a dslr in your camera bag. Erin Manning has created a how-to for taking macro photos using just a regular point and shoot camera. Take a look and you'll be taking terrific close-up pictures in no time.

Easiest Way To Solve A 3x3 Rubik's Cube

I've been meaning to learn how to solve a 3x3 Rubik's Cube all on my own. I tried different techniques via Rubikssolver.com. Although they were fairly easy to follow, the problem is, my poor memory limits me. My efforts were not paying off as I was having a very hard time memorizing the algorithms required for the different situations.

It would be a different story if the logic of the algorithms were explained. That way it would be easier to remember the combinations. Anyway, to make the long story short, I think I've just found the easiest to understand 3x3 Rubik's Cube tutorial. It's a 25 minute video and the host manages to explain every single step in a way that is very easy to understand. Don't just take my word for it... check out the video below and try solving a cube. Good luck!

Easiest 3x3 Rubik's Cube Tutorial You Will Find - Watch the top videos of the week here