HackCollege Podcast Episode 6: Prague

This week Chris and Kelly are in Prague talking in front of the Charles Bridge where such villains as John Voight and a toxic missile-carrying submarine have been vanquished.

This week's topics include:

• Don't Do What Johnny Does


• 30+ Uses for Your Cameraphone


• Ballooning Student Debt

This week's music:

• "Stadiums and Shrines II" by Sunset Rubdown
  
  

Congratulations to Michelle, Susan, and Dawn!

So we got a bag and drew numbers. Congratulations to Michelle Draveski, our grand prize winner!

Susan Smoaks and Dawn Thomas will also be receiving [adult swim] schwag bags. So, you three, check your email for further details.

And thanks for all the comments, guys. ;) It looks like we'll be running another contest soon.

Yale University: Watch YTV!

YTV, Yale's student-run television station, is apparently trying to mix things up. The YTV website is scheduled for a relaunch, and sophomore Meg Martinez (Yale '10) is asking you to... Watch YTV!

During my time at Yale, I actually had a muted YTV on in the background constantly, but I was probably one of the few. This video makes me want to storm a dorm and turn the tv on, though.

Question: How many of you actually watch your college's student-run television station?

[via the illustrious IvyGate]

But Is Tom Really Your Friend?

Tom... You accepted his friendship blindly, and you've probably kept him on your friends list. But is Tom really who you think he is?

Some recent digging has argued that Tom Anderson, everyone's first "friend", might be lying about his age. His profile says he's 32, but how old is he really?

We first heard 40. We dug a little online and came up with nothing. But then we got a senior person at MySpace to talk to us about it off record at the Web 2.0 Summit last week: this person confirmed that he’s really “36 or 37? and that MySpace has been trying to keep this quiet for some time.

But why, Tom? Aren't friends supposed to be honest with one another?

[via TechCrunch]

Disabling Your Laptop Keyboard (and why the heck you'd do that)

Pretty much every key combination on my laptop is likely to perform some sort of fancy function, thanks to Triggers with Quicksilver. Ironically, this article is about how to add another shortcut to disable them all.

For instance, if you use a notebook computer and a real notebook in class (like me) then table space is at a premium. But taking notes on top of my keys will cause a mess and closing my computer makes it sleep. Maybe your computer is at risk of being pounced on by pets, children or transformers. Or, you might find your OCD taking over and a sudden keyboard-cleaning is in order. My friends -- these solutions are for you.

Impromptu

If you know me, you can expect that heading on just about every article. Keep it simple.

• Unplug your Keyboard. I assume this doesn't need explanation. Though simple, it's a quick fix. If you have a laptop, you can still unplug your keyboard. It'll just void your warranty and it's not a very good hack.


• Open a Text Editor. Then you and your kitten can mash all the keys you like. Just try to avoid shortcuts. I guess this one is strictly restricted to meticulous key-by-key cleaning. It's compatible with all platforms!

Software

• For Mac: Keyboard Cleaner (Free) It's a basic, small program. I installed it and assigned it a Trigger in Quicksilver so I can disable the keyboard quickly and switch to a notepad. It also blacks out the screen which saves a little battery life. The display brightness adjuster is left un-disabled, so I can dim the screen even more.


• For PC: Toddler Keys (Free) While Toddler Keys isn't meant for this specific task, it works pretty well and is free. Like the name implies, it's a program for preventing a toddler from messing up your keyboard. Huge thanks to reader Barry Shifrin for recommending this to us!


• For PC: Keyboard Locker (Not Free) It's just plain stupid for such a simple program to cost money, but I give them props for giving it a handy hotkey. And I can't completely endorse it since I don't have a PC.

Student Using Linux: The "Gutsy Gibbon" Update

I love Linux, specifically Ubuntu. Effectively every six months with Ubuntu a new "Vista" or "Leopard" is released. Last week saw the release of version 7.10 (meaning the October 2007 release) codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon."

If you're not already using Linux, you should definitely consider it if you're up for the task. Linux is perfect for poor students.

Here's a few things that I've noticed from the upgrade:

• The Linux interface is now professional. Between some obvious built in font smoothing and some tightening up of the UI, it no longer feels like I'm using an operating system for kids. It's great.


• There are some growing pains. For example, Miro has stopped working (implied sad face).


• Ubuntu is undeniably better than Windows. Then again, I wouldn't know, because I haven't used Windows for a while.

Is anyone else running Linux and loving it?

Guest Post at Study Hacks: How to Use a Laptop in Class

It's been a pretty crazy week around here at HackCollege. Between the Adult Swim Contest and us making the Lifehacker front page, we've been keeping busy.

Because of this, I completely forgot to mention a guest post that I wrote over at Cal Newport's Study Hacks blog. I'm sure all of the readers of HackCollege are also avid readers of Cal's blog so they already caught it; and if you aren't an avid reader, then you should be.

Guest Post: How to Use a Laptop in Class [via Study Hacks]

Boston University Adds Text Messaging

Probably with the Virginia Tech Tragedy in mind (though not specifically stated), Boston University recently began requiring its students to hand over their cell phone numbers for the university's new Send Word Now system (or SWN, if you text with a lot of acronyms).

Send Word Now is an emergency notification system that will help ensure rapid and reliable mass communication to students, faculty, and staff. The Send Word Now system is designed to communicate with cell phones (text and voice messages), landlines, e-mail systems, and pagers during a crisis or time-sensitive situation on the Boston University Charles River and Medical campuses. In certain cases, Send Word Now has the capability of allowing recipients to provide responses to messages received.

Great step, Boston University. Here's hoping other colleges and universities follow your lead.