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Written by Web Master
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Saturday, 12 June 2004 |
Find everything that you need at Help4Um.com. We have the latest News, Blogs, Help and How to's for many Topics and Gadgets. Home Improvement DIY Computer Help and How to's Internet Help and How to's Automotive Help and How to's Pets Help and How to's Real Estate Travel Help Forum
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This is a Community website whose success depends on the contribution of its users. If there is something that you would like to see that is not here, register and submit a News Article, Suggestion, Blog or a Link. You can also email us and give us your suggestion. All suggestions and content will be reviewed and considered for content on this site.  Be first to comment this article |  Add as favourites (0) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 258 | E-mail | Read more...
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Last Updated ( Friday, 14 March 2008 )
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Written by Brad Wehde
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Sunday, 24 February 2008 |
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Do It Yourself
DIY Life
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Anyone who has built a home or taken on a hefty home improvement project can tell you that there are lots of measurements, calculations, and costs to keep track of. Even for seasoned DIYers, it can be overwhelming.
Enter the construction calculator. This handy device -- available in handheld units, iPhone apps, and web-based apps -- makes short work of the dizzying array of computations common to the construction industry. Figuring board/feet, fractions,slopes, and converting feet to inches or metric can be challenging on common or scientific calculators, but a construction calculator handles all of this with ease. It's built for the job.Continue reading Construction Calculators: The DIYer's Handy Helper Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Crafts, Holidays
Craft a clock out of your sweetie's favorite novel. Photo: Erin Loechner
So, you want to give your Valentine a gift that's original, adorable, and straight from the heart? Well, you have less than a week to do it (yes, V-Day is this Sunday). No worries, though: I have just the project to keep you in the good graces of your spouse, kids...well, just about anyone this February 14th.
Inspired by David Stark's blog, I'm excited to present this super-easy and totally doable craft that you can personalize to your heart's content: custom clocks!
Yep, you can make a clock out of virtually anything. All you really need is a simple clock kit -- which includes the hands and the movement (the case that houses the clock's mechanism). Check out the easy (and affordable!) project after the jump, complete with a tutorial and a few ideas to get you started.
YOU'LL NEED:
Photo: Erin Loechner
(1) Clock kit (I used this model from Amazon, which came...
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It's no mystery why stainless steel is one of the most popular finishes for the kitchen: it's chic and goes with everything. But if you own stainless appliances, you know the cold, hard truth: they're a chore to keep clean. Every time you wipe off a fingerprint, a new one seems to appear.
Here are a few tried-and-true techniques for eradicating smudges on your stainless -- and preventing those smears from showing up in the first place.Continue reading The Daily Fix: Stainless Steel Smudges Be Gone! Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: in the kitchen
Guests arriving at 6pm. Quick! Get the main course in the oven and start on dessert. Grab all your baking equipment and -- oh darn it, those glass mixing bowls are stuck together again! Always when you're in a hurry, right?
Don't fret: there's an easy way to separate nesting bowls or stacked glasses that have become wedged together: drip a few drops of vegetable oil between the items in question and wiggle very gently. If they still won't budge, add a bit of warm water to mix things up. They should pop apart without a problem.
No luck? Here are some other suggestions worth trying:Continue reading The Daily Fix: How to Separate Stuck Glassware Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Crafts, Holidays, Crafts & Celebrations
Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I know you clever DIYers just refuse to settle for run-of-the-mill chocolates or flowers for your loved ones. So this week's Links We Love is devoted solely to DIY Valentine's Day gifts. Make your gift as unique as your love!
Check out the "DIY Sweet Love Garden," a guest post for Mint by SucculentLOVE's Kelly. This adorable and slightly retro-style Valentine's gift is refreshingly free of candy and the color pink, don't you think? You'll need to choose some pretty rope, yarn or piping. Other required items: a hot glue gun, a cute container, some baby succulents and cactus soil. - Mint
This love heart pincushion is sure to delight fellow craftsters. It's handmade. It's adorable. It's practical. Do we really need any additional reasons to love this how-to? Downloadable pattern templates are included in the tutorial. You provide sewing skills, time, and cute fabric pieces....
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Filed under: Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Dining Rooms, Home Offices, Small Spaces, Living Spaces
Photo: Getty Images
If you start shivering when your indoor temperature hits 65 degrees, brace yourself; this news will be a shock to your system. According to the New York Times, some Americans are living without any heat at all -- and they're doing it by choice.
One of these people, Maine resident Daniel F., lives in a house with no thermostat, no heating system, no radiator, and no furnace. The house's average indoor temperature lingers around 52 degrees.
Daniel explains, "It all started in October '08 as just a few pals goading each other to see who could wait the longest to turn on their furnace." After the friends made it past Thanksgiving without heat, Daniel grew accustomed to the colder temperatures and decided to launch Cold House Journal, a blog in which he chronicles his controversial lifestyle. He notes, "It [the blog] was a way to focus my thoughts and maybe inspire a few others. Also,...
Gadgets
Engadget
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To say that we've been waiting for AMD's Fusion CPU / GPU combo for a long time would be an understatement. In fact, while AMD was busy talking about it, Intel swept in with its own Arrandale and Clarkdale chips that pack graphical and computing processing into the same chip. Lest we were discouraged, then, AMD is making a return to form with news that its first Fusion APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) is about to start sampling to manufacturers, with a now definite 2011 launch window. Codenamed Llano, this will be a quad-core beastie with intended operating speeds of more than 3Ghz and graphics parts borrowed from ATI's successful line of Evergreen GPUs. That means DirectX 11, a feature Intel is unlikely to match, whereas AMD will have everything Intel currently does and more, with a 32nm production process, on-die integration (rather than just the same chip packaging), and power gating allowing for dynamic per-core overclocking a la Turbo Boost. It's been lonely without you AMD, now just fulfill this promise and all that absenteeism will be forgiven.AMD...
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Looking to get a Bluetooth earpiece without actually upping your tool factor by 40x or so? Good luck. Helium Digital's so-called alternative (that'd be the HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband) was recently reviewed by our iPhone-lovin' pals in the Great White North, and while they found it to work well when it came to handling calls without actually using the speaker and microphone within the iPhone 3GS, everything else about it was ho hum at best. There's no inbuilt LCD for watching Caller ID streams, the mini-USB jack was "flimsy," and there's still the issue of this unit being at least somewhat unsightly. It's also $90, which puts it just north of the all-important "ah, who cares" range for most of you price-conscience consumers. Hit the source link for their full impressions, but don't be shocked if you come away still in search of the aforementioned mystery device.Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband gets reviewed, given 3.5 Jack Bauers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Do you think non-disclosure agreements apply if you're one of the guys who built the company you represent? Probably not, as evidenced by Shigeru Miyamoto, who recently took the opportunity -- while receiving an award, no less -- to blab about forthcoming hardware and games based around the MotionPlus peripheral. There wasn't much content to his mentions, beyond us now knowing that he's actively engaged in the design of multiple games outside of the next Zelda iteration, but this is the firmest confirmation yet that the Wii is set for a Wiiplacement. Parsing this with earlier comments from Miyamoto-san would suggest the company will be looking to optimize its present formula (maybe with a touch of HD?) rather than revolutionize what is already a wildly successful console. Until then, let's just be happy that one of gaming's patriarchs is still going strong and dropping crumbs of knowledge for us undeserving earthlings.Nintendo's Miyamoto casually references new hardware, MotionPlus games originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Finally making the transition from the trade show floor to retail shelving are Panasonic's famed Viera 3D plasma HDTVs. The company has just announced it will be launching two 1080p panels on April 23 in Japan, priced at ¥530,000 ($5,932) for the 54-inch P54VT2 and ¥430,000 ($4,813) for its smaller sibling, the P50VT2 (pictured after the break). For your money, you'll be getting those deep, deep blacks that ensure a ridiculous 5,000,000:1 native contrast ratio, a plethora of inputs highlighted by four HDMI jacks, and of course a pair of those inescapable active shutter glasses. Don't worry though, the screens are capable of working at the necessary 120Hz to ensure smooth frame rates for each eye. Whether the premium paid for 3D is worth it, on the other hand, remains a question best left for each deep-pocketed consumer to make on his own.Continue reading Panasonic TH-P54VT2 takes plasma HDTVs into 3D territory Panasonic TH-P54VT2 takes plasma HDTVs into 3D territory originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google readily admits that its Nexus One customer support at launch was lacking. However, the Goog says that it's committed to improving the experience as it blazes a path into the world of consumer handset sales. Today, more than a month since the launch of the Nexus One, Google is offering owners access to a real live person via 888-48NEXUS (63987). The new support line is operational from 07:00am to 10:00pm PST and augments Google's support forums, FAQs and email support. Unfortunately, Google's live support line seems limited to status and shipping issues -- for live tech support you'll still have to call either HTC customer care number or T-Mobile depending upon the issue. And of course, the whole thing changes if you're an international user. As convoluted as it all sounds, an unamed Google spokesperson still claims that "live phone support from Google, combined with an optimized on-line support experience, enables a superior Nexus One customer experience." Sure it does: the average consumer just loves looking through on-line forums and FAQs to solve issues before picking up the phone to complain.
[Thanks, Phil L.]
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Back at CES, we were pretty excited to get our hands on Notion Ink's far out, Pixel Qi display-boasting reader, Adam. Well, Notion Ink is on the move, and encouraging development for the Tegra-powered little devil is apparently a top priority. The company has unveiled plans to hold an App Competition with one million dollars in prize money for the development of Adam-compatible software. There are no final details about the contest yet, but we think we'll probably be hearing more about it next week at MWC. Slashgear's got some interesting renders Notion Ink sent over which give us an idea of what a final production model might look like -- and it's definitely different than the prototype we saw in Las Vegas. The company also told Slashgear that it's considering having two retail versions of the Adam -- but has only said that one might measure 12.9mm thick, and the other 11.6mm thick -- so we're not sure what other differences might be in tow. We'll let you know when we hear more details about that million dollar prize money, though.Notion...
Automotive
Autoblog
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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Toyota 
Southeast Toyota, which is the largest franchised distributor of Toyota vehicles in the world with 173 dealers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina & South Carolina, has reportedly pulled all of its advertising from local ABC stations. Why? Apparently, the group decided that the television stations were airing "excessive stories on the Toyota issues" by ABC News and its chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross.
So, where is all that latent advertising money going now? According to one unnamed ABC station manager, Southeast Toyota's commercials were shifted to non-ABC stations "as punishment for the reporting." We have to wonder if those non-ABC stations aren't covering the Toyota recall issue with as much fervor?
Marcia Owens-Reder, senior vice president at Atlanta-based 22Squared, the advertising agency that handles the account for the dealers, said in an email to the ABC stations, "We have counseled the client on the pros and cons of this, and ultimately it was their decision to make." Thanks for the tip, Rene!
Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the...
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Filed under: Aftermarket, Sedan, Performance, Videos, Cadillac 
Hennessey Cadillac CTS-V - Click above to watch the video after the jump
When we were fortunate enough to have a Cadillac CTS-V for a week to review, we said it was "one of the finest cars on the road today and one of the best vehicles ever built by General Motors." Of course, there's always room for improvement. At least Hennessey Performance thinks so, and they have come up with the V700 upgrade package that boosts the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 to more than 700 horsepower.
What does it take to squeeze more than 150 more horsepower out of the LSA V8? Hennessey adds a cold air induction system, a smaller supercharger pulley, a new engine management system, long tube headers, three-inch exhaust system with high-flow cats, an upgraded intercooler, more aggressive cam, and high-flow heads.
The result? Horsepower is up to 707 at 6300 rpm, and torque is rated at 701 lb-ft. That all adds up to some impressive performance on-track, including a 0-60 mph time of just...
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Filed under: Videos 
One day we're going to finally get our hands on Gran Turismo 5. And when we sample Polyphony Digital's long-awaited sequel we'd be amazed (and delighted) if the game lives up to its constantly growing hype. While we still have absolutely no idea when GT5 will hit the shelves, when it does arrive it will come strong with a raft of new features gamers have been clamoring for.
Beyond damage rendering and a cornucopia of racing styles, GT5 will reportedly also come with Data Logger Visualization. DLV will enable gamers to go to a track in the real world and shoot in-car video, upload that clip to the PlayStation 3 and then compare that footage side by side against a virtual run in GT5. The folks at Polyphony Digital tested the functionality for themselves, and the resulting video after the jump is pretty impressive. Amazingly, the only difference between the live and game footage is that the real-world camera was shaky and uncrisp while the GT5 video is expectantly perfect. Very cool. Now if we...
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The all-new GT500 is here, and not only does the super snake pack more horsepower and torque, it's gone on a much needed diet. Bow down.
Some people watch the Super Bowl for the game, others watch it for the ads. If you stepped out for a beer during one of the breaks, we've got the best of the best automotive spots for your perusal and a poll to determine the top ad from the game.
The 997 Turbo has yet to benefit from an S variant, but that changes today with the arrival of the 204 mph 911...
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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ford 
You've no doubt read by now everything we've had to say about the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 with its new aluminum engine. But what does it sound like? Glad you asked. We've got two clips of B-roll after the jump showing both the GT500 coupe and convertible out running on what appears to be a frigid Michigan afternoon (feel sorry for the guy driving the drop top). Fortunately, lots of time is spent mashing both their throttles so we can hear that new 5.4-liter supercharged aluminum engine howl. Question: Can a car look lighter? If so, the GT500 definitely does, especially at WOT as the car transfers its weight to the rear wheels with haste and boogies off. Follow the jump and twist the dial to 11 before you hit play.
[Source: Ford]Continue reading Video: 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 plays its new aluminum soundtrack Video: 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 plays its new aluminum soundtrack originally...
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Filed under: Spy Photos, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Crossover, Hatchback, Hyundai 
Hyundai HED-5 - Click above for high-res image gallery
It's been nearly two years since the Hyundai HED-5 concept bowed at the Geneva Motor Show, but in late 2008, the Korean automaker announced that a production version of the compact crossover would arrive in 2010. And here it is.
Spied while testing in Northern Scandinavia, Hyundai's unnamed answer to the Opel Zafira gets substantially toned down from its conceptual predecessor, although shades of Hyundai's new "Fluidic Sculpture" design language are peering through the camo.
The hood's squat proportions are balanced by the acres of windshield, and if there wasn't enough glass up front, Hyundai has seen fit to add a set of small windows aft of the A-pillars. Even with the camouflage covering much of the rear hatch, it's obvious that the mini-'ute is destined to provide plenty of cargo space, and judging by the size of the rear doors, back seat passengers won't be wanting for legroom.
Although the original...
Cool Stuff
Playing with cool gadgets in the ongoing search for the Coolest Gadget
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Two weeks ago, we reported on how electronic projections and digital technology was taking traditional board games to a whole new level. Now, old-school video games are being taken to a whole new level with Sportpong.
Yes, you can’t get any more old school with video games than the classic Pong game with the paddles [...]
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Recharging batteries makes it possible to live without constantly shopping for batteries. However, in reality those dinky chargers are inconvenient and hog precious outlet space. Which is a serious crime in my house that seems to have a single outlet per room. Well this design will only cover up one outlet and it will work [...]
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You know, umbrellas have probably been around for over one hundred years, and in all that time, they have not changed all that much.
As the Nubrella slogan says: “You’ve Waited Long Enough! Someone has finally changed the design”. Best of all, they added hands free. It isn’t hard to open and close [...]
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If you’ve yet to find your ideal cable management solution, this is one more option for you. This would allow for you to keep multiple cords at an easily accessible spot. Plus like all great solutions, this one is cheap and extremely simple. In an area that feels heavily complicated and twisted up, it’s nice [...]
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If you’re feeling a little lonely while you’re surfing the internet or chatting it up with someone online, now you can have a yellow friend to brighten your day. This little guy is capable of picking up on the tone of your conversation and changes his mood accordingly. He’ll even go as far as getting [...]
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What you see here is a robot made by both NASA and GM, in order to go into outer space. Yeah, it sounds like science fiction, but it is happening right now.
In fact, there is a video of it after the jump so you can see the robots at work. You [...]
PC
Slashdot news for nerds
News for nerds, stuff that matters
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snydeq writes "Apple's reticence to reveal details prior to a product's launch is legendary. But when Apple extends this silence beyond a product's unveiling, historically this has meant that the product cannot deliver the functionality that analysts and journalists are asking about. InfoWorld's Galen Gruman lists eight key questions for the iPad, about all of which Apple has kept silent. Can you save and transfer documents to the iPad? Does the iPad support Microsoft Exchange email? Does the iPad support VPN? Configuration management? 'I have no doubt the iPad will be compelling to some users. But I now have major concerns that it will fulfill the potential beyond being an iTunes delivery screen that I and other industry observers saw,' Gruman writes." 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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A piece up at Mashable explores how some schools and universities are finding success at integrating social gaming into their education curriculum. Various game-related programs are getting assistance these days from sources like the government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"For the less well-to-do educator, the Federation of American Scientists has developed a first-person shooter-inspired cellular biology curriculum. Gamers explore the fully-interactive 3D world of an ill patient and assist the immune system in fighting back a bacterial infection. Dr. Melanie Ann Stegman has been evaluating the educational impacts of the game and is optimistic about her preliminary findings. 'The amount of detail about proteins, chemical signals and gene regulation that these 15-year-olds were devouring was amazing. Their questions were insightful. I felt like I was having a discussion with scientist colleagues,' said Stegman. Perhaps more importantly, the video game excites students about science. Motivating more youngsters to adopt a science-related career track has became a major education initiative of the Obama administration. So desperate to find a solution that motivates students to become scientists, the government has even enlisted Darpa, the Department of Defense’s 'mad scientist' research organization, to figure out a solution." 
Read more of...
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CWmike writes "The only smartphone Linus Torvalds doesn't hate is that much less unlikable now that Google has quietly chopped $200 off its early termination fee on the Nexus One. Customers who cancel the service had been on the hook for $550, including a $350 Google cancellation charge. Google has reduced their fee to $150 — but users are still liable for a $200 ETF from T-Mobile. Users have a 14-day grace period during which they do not have to pay either charge, although they may be hit with a restocking fee. The $350 total fee matches one of the highest in the industry, charged by Verizon. Google did not announce the change but simply altered its online terms-of-service document." The price cut could add momentum to a phone that, by one reckoning, costs only $49 unlocked. 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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An anonymous reader writes "Many games developers have been pursuing agile development, and we are now beginning to witness the debris and chaos it has caused. While there have been some successes, there have also been many casualties. As the industry at large is moving away from the phantasmagoria of Agile, Gwaredd Mountain, Technical Director at Climax Studios, looks at Post-Agile and what this might mean for the games industry." 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Dan Jones writes "As discussed here last year, IBM has made good on its promise to release the Power7 processor (and servers) in the first half of 2010. The Power7 processor adds more cores and improved multithreading capabilities to boost the performance of servers requiring high up-time, according to Big Blue. Power7 chips will run between 3.0GHz and 4.14GHz and will come with four, six, or eight cores. The chips are being made using the 45-nm process technology. New Power7 servers (up to 64 cores for now) are said to deliver twice the performance of older Power6 systems, but are four times more energy efficient. Power7 servers will run AIX and Linux." And reader shmG notes Intel's release of a new Itanium server processor after two years of delays. The Power7 specs would seem to put the new Intel chip in the shade. 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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An anonymous reader writes "What I feared has come true: after buying Sun, Oracle had a look at its accessibility group and made big cuts in it by firing the most important contributors to the Linux accessibility tools. This is a very sad day for disabled people, as it means we do not really have full-time developers any more." The coverage in OSTATIC has a few more details, including the caution: "This just shows that all too few companies are sponsoring a11y work. If one company laying off a couple of developers spells trouble for the project, then there were problems before that happened" (thanks to reader dave c-b for pointing this out). 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Comments (1) | Add as favourites (0) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1609 | E-mail | Read more... |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 March 2008 )
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