Geek to Live: The 100th installment
by Gina Trapani
It was a little more than a year ago that we decided to make Lifehacker into something more than just a link blog: a source of original feature articles on software and productivity that you won't find anywhere else. I chose the title "Geek to Live" for my twice-weekly feature post because it embodies what Lifehacker's all about: a tech-centric approach to solving common every day problems. (Oh yeah, and it's the site tagline, too.)
Right now you're reading the 100th installment of Geek to Live, which has spanned every one of my personal nerdy obsessions over the past year: from home networking, Firefox, and data security to personal finance, netiquette and web publishing. A lot happens in the course of a year, so today I've gone back and updated the dustier GTL installments and rounded up a giant look back at the series so far.
Home servers
How to set up a personal home web server (Sept 2005) - The debut of Geek to Live prompted the most reader questions (which I still get via email today) of them all. Updated the text for Apache version 2.2 and added further reading links. Enabled comments.
Control your home computer from anywhere (Sept 2005) - Using VNC, you can drive your home PC or Mac from any internet-connected computer. Comments now enabled.
Tech support with UltraVNC SingleClick (Sept 2006) - Remote control Mom's computer using a standalone VNC client you can email to her.
Host a personal wiki on your home computer (Sept 2005) - Using Instiki, a great beginner's wiki. Comments enabled.
Set up your personal Wikipedia (March 2006) - Using MediaWiki, a more advanced wiki package. Comments enabled.
Access a home server behind a router/firewall (Sept 2005) A primer on port-forwarding through a home router/firewall. Comments enabled.
Assign a domain name to your home web server (Sept 2005) - Use a dynamic DNS service to register a memorable domain name for your home server (be it VNC, FTP, Web or Instiki.) Comments enabled.
Finding free stuff
6 ways to find reusable media (Aug 2006) - Homage to the public domain, Creative Commons and the Free Documentation License.
Find free music on the web (Nov 2005) - Your mostly-legal MP3's await.
Networking
Fast, one wire network (IP over FireWire) (May 2006) - This won't work in Vista, so enjoy it while you can.
Create your own virtual private network with Hamachi (Sept 2006) - Free VPN for secure file-sharing.
Set up a home wireless network (March 2006) - Send this to your brother-in-law who wants to set up wifi.
Web publishing
Improve your web site with Google Analytics (Sept 2006) - Diving into the web stats package you want on your site.
Have a say in what Google says about you (Feb 2006) - Create the online legacy you control.
Write effectively for the Web (Nov 2005) - Physician, heal thyself.
Netiquette
The art of asking (August 2006) - Applies IRL as well as online.
How to deal with Internet Meanies (March 2006) - Develop troll immunity.
Lifehacker's guide to weblog comments (Sept 2005) - On being a good commenter.
Passwords and Security
Choose (and remember) great passwords (July 2006) - A few methods.
Securely track your passwords (July 2006) - With KeePass.
Secure your saved passwords in Firefox (Feb 2006) - Without Firefox saved passwords I wouldn't be able to login to anything.
Encrypt your data (June 2006) - Lock up your USB thumb drive or simply your pr0n collection.
Money
Automate your finances (May 2006)
Send and receive money with your cell phone (May 2006)
Year-end money moves (Dec 2005)
Avoid New Year's credit card debt (Dec 2005)
Firefox
My favorite Greasemonkey user scripts (Dec 2005) - Still my favorite Firefox extension EVER.
Turn Firefox into a web writer (Nov 2005)
Fifteen Firefox Quick Searches (Oct 2005) - Don't miss Adam's follow-up take on Firefox Quick Searches.
Backup
Automatically back up your hard drive (Jan 2006) - Set it and forget it. One of the most popular GTL's ever published.
Automatically email yourself file backups (April 2006) - Somewhat hacky (in the bad way) command line automated self-email with file attachments.
Effective data capture
Develop your (digital) photographic memory (April 2006) - Put that ubiquitous cameraphone to good use.
Take study-worthy lecture notes (Sept 2006) - An overview of the Cornell note-taking method; especially geared towards students.
Quick-log your work day (July 2006) - Track what you did all day long without tiresome interruptions.
Save and annotate the Web with Scrapbook (April 2006) - Pre-Google Notebook, Firefox-based web clippings. Still outstanding from a feature set perspective.
Personal organization
Organizing "My Documents" (Feb 2006) - A simple folder scheme.
Extreme makeover, filing cabinet edition (Feb 2006) - Taking the "work" out of "paperwork."
The Usable Home (Oct 2005) - Your apartment is just like a software interface. How easy is it to use?
Tickle yourself with Yahoo! Calendar (Sept 2005) - Pre-Google Calendar email/SMS reminders about Mom's birthday.
Mental focus
Firewall your attention at the office (Jan 2006)
Ban time-wasting web sites (Jan 2006)
Command line
Mirror files across systems with Rsync (Aug 2006)
Plain text calendar with Remind (July 2006)
Mastering Wget (March 2006)
Introduction to Cygwin: part 1, part 2, part 3 (June 2006)
Operating Systems
Format your hard drive and install Windows XP from scratch (March 2006) - When the last resort is your only one.
Windows Vista RC 1, in screenshots (Sept 2006) - A photo gallery of what's to come on new PC's in 2007.
Rescue files with a boot CD (August 2006) - Start up your unbootable PC with a Knoppix CD.
Future-proof your email address (Dec 2005)
Essential email filters (July 2006)
Empty your inbox with the Trusted Trio (June 2006)
Knock down repetitive e-mail with Thunderbird's QuickText (Nov 2005)
Train others how to use email (Jan 2006)
Best tools
Top 10 free and cheap productivity tools (July 2006)
Lifehacker Pack (Jan 2006) - My answer to Google Pack.
Top underrated apps of 2005 (Dec 2005)
Best apps of 2005 (Dec 2005)
Phew! At a few thousand words a pop, I must admit I never thought 100 articles later it'd still be full steam ahead. But Geek to Live's been the most fun I've ever had in a textarea. I hope it's been good for you, too.
Got any topic requests for future Geek to Live installments? Lemme know in the comments. And as always, thanks for reading.
Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, looks forward to writing the next 100. Her semi-weekly feature, Geek to Live, appears every Wednesday and Friday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Geek to Live feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
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