Friday, September 23, 2011 by Shep McAllister Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Intel Core i5-powered Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Friday, September 23, 2011 by Emily Chapman Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Intel Core i5-powered Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Watch, Read, Make is our weekly exploration of cool things to start off the weekend.
Friday, September 23, 2011 by Luke Turcotte 
Photo courtesy of Flickr user jawcey. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Intel Core i5-powered Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Looking to add a little spice to your dorm room? With some special paint and primer you can turn any wall into a whiteboard, chalkboard or even a magnetic wall. Intrigued? The possibilities are endless.
We’re big fans of whiteboards here at HackCollege. Not only are they tons of fun, they’re also great tools for organizing your college life. Somehow though, they never seem big enough. Sure you could make your own, but nothing beats the sleek appearance of a giant whiteboard wall. The fine folks at Rust-Oleum make a superb Dry Erase Paint. Just roll it onto a wall of your choice and voila!, you’ve got a whiteboard. Perfect for keeping track of to-dos, assignments and for diagraming those pesky mechanisms for your Orgo class.
Although chalkboards are slowing fading into extinction in the classroom, they still have a certain nostalgic aesthetic appeal to them. To keep score of the beer pong games we’ve been playing on our shiny new table, my roommates and I decided that only a chalkboard wall would do. Sure enough, Rust-Oleum has done it again with their Chalkboard Brush On Paint. It’s the bee’s knees.
Here’s where we get really fancy, magnetic walls. Just like hanging pictures on your fridge, a magnetic wall is the perfect way to jazz up any bare wall. Use it to post notes, your favourite pizza joint’s fridge magnet or even some humorous decorations. Rust-Oleum’s Specialty Magnetic primer is applied as base coat, which is then painted over with the paint colour of your choice. Here’s the best part, using the Magnetic primer, you can magnetize your whiteboard or chalkboard walls just by layering the products.
Have fun turning your bland walls into fun and functional surfaces for creativity!
Thursday, September 22, 2011 by Emily Chapman 
It's not going to be this easy, but it's doable. Image courtesy of Flickr user Jips. Licensed under CC BY NC ND.
Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Intel Core i5-powered Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Most people think of the social media tubes as being a place for connecting between people. And, for most people using it authentically, it is--organizations are often so self-promoting as to be unfollowable on social networks. However, if you are a college student or soon-to-be graduate looking for work, those self-promotey social media accounts can help you big time. Though we can't guarantee you a job, we can at least show you how to get a heads up about a job opening in the mid-sized company of your dreams using social media.
Look for real people accounts: The reason some social media accounts are so desperately self-promotional is that they're really just RSS feeds being spit out into the ether. Don't follow those accounts--there's likely not anyone checking them regularly, and they're a sign that that company isn't investing that much effort into social media. Accounts which are managed by an actual human (look for them interacting with other people, adding funny commentary, and linking to other peoples' content) are going to be your in. It's probably a single person managing the account, and they likely don't get a whole ton of people responding to them, so they'll be likely to listen to you.
Give them links: Send the feed manager links that you think they might like. If they use them, you'll get credit (and more exposure), and even if they don't they'll remember you for being tuned-in and interesting. When you have something to contribute, comment or @ reply whatever they're sending out. Bonus points if you're funny. You want to establish yourself as interested in what the company's interested in and tuned in to the industry.
Let them know you're looking: Once you've established something of a relationship with the person managing the account by contributing, let them know that you're interested in working for their company. Do this via a private method if you can (DM or email). Make sure they know you're looking for a job, what your skills are, and the fact that you like their company.
Be on your best behavior: This goes without saying, of course, because HackCollege readers are clever, but while you're doing your best job-flirting, don't post about booze and law-breaking. Don't curse more than is appropriate for the company, and don't complain unless it's funny. Try to look cheerful, useful, and competent.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by Deryck Wong 
No...not those Windows Utilities. Although if you're thinking that you must never use a computer... Photo by Albert Bridge and licensed under Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Just like owning a car, owning a computer comes with the hassle of maintenance every now and again. In order to prevent your computer from getting sluggish, download these free utilities. Most are shareware and include additional features if you pay, but their free versions are more than powerful enough. Get them, and ensure your Windows PC stays just as fast as the day you first got it!
CCleaner (shareware) – CCleaner cleans all areas of your computer and gets rid of those old files and caches you no longer need. If you’ve never cleaned out this data before, you can sometimes recover multiple gigabytes from your hard drive just by running CCleaner and deleting your browsers’ caches and temporary files within Windows. You should run this about twice a month.
Microsoft Security Essentials – For the longest time, Windows users had to turn elsewhere to guard themselves from the onslaught of viruses and malware that plague their systems. Recently, the folks in Redmond decided to step up to the plate and release their own anti-virus program. It’s free, works great, and receives definition updates almost daily. Add to that live protection, and you’ve got one of the best anti-virus programs out there, all for free! Just be sure not to accidentally delete important registry files if you do get a virus; you’ll be in for a world of lost data and headaches. You should make sure this is turned on and doing live protection everyday.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (shareware) – MB Anti-Malware is undoubtedly the number one anti-malware application out there, and it has saved me many, many times. Microsoft Security Essentials can sometimes miss malware that MB Anti-Malware simply doesn’t. More importantly, it can also remove that malware, and it even includes a tool called FileASSASSIN – a great tool that can even delete files locked by Windows. You should run this once a week.
Revo Uninstaller (shareware) – As I previously mentioned before, this is the best uninstaller on Windows. It completely removes all traces of an application, even the files located deep within your registry associated with that program. Use this to ensure that you reclaim all available hard drive space when uninstalling a program. Use whenever it's needed.
Recuva (shareware) – If you accidentally delete a file, use Recuva to pull deleted files from the grave. It's got support for a ton of different file formats, from emails to iPod music to word documents. It’s helpful every now and again whenever you need it.
Do you know of any othe great free Windows utilities? Let us know in the comments!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by Shep McAllister Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by Laura Schluckebier 
Make smart choices while dining out so that you can save money. Photo courtesy of Glenn Loos-Austin. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.
Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Every once in a while, you need to get off campus to get away from dining hall food or get away from the kitchen to give yourself a break from cooking. Eating out is awesome because it gives you that kind of break. However, you should also keep in mind a few things while you're out so you don't spend an unnecessary amount on your dining adventure.
Singing up for services like Groupon and Living Social can give you some really great discounts on awesome restaurants. Keep checking on them every week or so to keep a look out for some place you'd really like to eat. Go with a group of friends or on a date. Using these coupons means you can go to nicer, better quality restaurants without sacrificing too much of your paycheck.
You might not be able to do this at every restaurant, but if you know that the place you're eating at serves rather large portions (and let's face it, most restaurants in America do), split a meal with a friend. Not only do you keep your portion in check, but you spend half as much as you would.
An alternative, if you can't find anyone to split your chosen dish with, is to just make a second meal out of it. When I go out, by habit, I don't order anything unless I know I can eat it for leftovers for lunch or dinner. A $15 plate is now two $7.50 meals.
A lot of restaurants have great happy hour deals. Check them out online or call them up to see if they offer any special times to order things for less. The deals can range from just a small percentage off to 50% off, so make sure you plan accordingly.
If you're trying to stay on a budget when you're out, use your head. Ordering water instead of a coke isn't going to cost you anything. Don't order alcohol since they're usually expensive when you're out. Either save it for when you get home, or look for a place that's BYOB. Also, don't order dessert. You can always have something at home.
What do you do to save money when you go out? Let us know in the comments!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by Laura Schluckebier 
Recycling is awesome! You should do it too. (Peer pressure) Photo courtesy of epSos.de. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.
Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Samsung Series 9 Notebook!
Last Earth Day, I made a list of some things that you can do to help you be more green around your dorm room. But with the new start of the semester, sometimes you can forget how easy it can to be ecofriendly on your campus. So here is a list of a few tips that you can use every day to help make a difference in our environment today.
If you're not using a light across the room, be aware of it and turn it off. When you leave a room, turn the lights off. Turn the AC down. Don't let the water run for an unnecessary amount of time before you get in the shower, brush your teeth, do the dishes, etc. Also, always get leaks fixed. Leaks aren't just annoying-- they cost money and waste water.
I wrote a whole post on this for Back to School Week, but this still applies even when the semester is in full bloom. Try to buy supplies made of recycled paper or that have been repurposed.
Also, try out these cool ecofriendly yellow hightlighers from Stubby Pencil Studio. They're made of natural wood, and don't use any ink solvents and are biodegradable. They're also awseome because they won't bleed through pages of your books. Pick them up for $2.00 here.
Air conditioning is expensive and uses a lot of energy. Try turning your thermostat up and supplement it with a standing fan. You can move them to wherever you are to keep only certain parts of your place cool.
Buying bottled waters is one of my biggest pet peeves ever. Chilled, filter water from a Brita pitcher is the exact same thing, and if you put it in an awesome, personalizable reusable water bottle, you're helping out the environment every time you fill up your water bottle.
How do you try to stay green on campus? Let us know in the comments!
[via Re-Nest]