BERT VERDONCK, lifehacker & networking coach » lifehacking

How to import your Mac Address Book contacts in Hotmail?

bertverdonck — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:16:13 +0000

“How can I import my Mac Address Book in Hotmail.com? It seems they don’t sync.”

I have received this question a couple of times. That’s why I decided to share the 4 simple steps on how to do it (in true lifehacking-style ).

If you are using the Mac Address Book and Hotmail, you may want to be able to share your contacts between both services.
Unfortunately, a direct or true sync of your Mac Address Book with your Windows Live Hotmail Contacts is currently not possible.

What can you do? A one-time synchronization.

How? Follow these simple steps:

Export your contacts to vcards: File > Export > Export vCard…
Import in Gmail: Contacts > Import Contacts
Tip: when importing in Gmail, you should check the box “Also add these imported contacts to New group…” and name it (e.g. Mac Contacts).
Export in Gmail to Outlook CSV: Contact > More > Export > Outlook CSV format
Import in Hotmail: Manage > Import
Tip: make sure the option for Microsoft Outlook (using CSV) option selected

Congratulations and enjoy your Mac Address Book contacts in your Hotmail!

PS : if you are using Hotmail and don’t have a Gmail account (yet), create one first! It’s easy and free as well…

Twitter Shortcuts

bertverdonck — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 06:23:48 +0000

There is no way around it, so let’s face it: Twitter is one of the top social media in the world! If you don’t have a clue what tweeps or hashtags are, then this article is NOT for you. However, if you have been using Twitter for a while and you want to improve your way of working with its interface, you’ll find several Twitter Shortcuts right here!

The Genius Shortcut to remember them all is “?”. When you have logged yourself into Twitter, regardless of on which page you are, just press ? See what happens…you will get the overview I am providing you below

To be honest, I am not using this interface myself, because I was not a fan of the Twitter interface before. A lot has changed in the last 12 months and I might reconsider if I hadn’t discovered HootSuite. If you want to know more about HootSuite, read this. Back to Twitter now. A lot of people have been asking me to tell them these Twitter Shortcuts, so time to share the Twitter Shortcuts with you. There are 3 categories : Actions, Navigation and Timelines. Of course, I’ll share a couple of extra hidden Twitter Shortcuts too

Actions
f : favorite
r : reply
t : retweet
m : direct message
n : new Tweet
enter : toggle details pane

Navigation
? : overview of the Twitter Shortcuts
j : next Tweet
k : previous Tweet
space : page down
/ : search
. : refresh Tweets and back to top

Timelines
g h : home
g r : replies / mentions
g p : profile
g f : favorites
g m : messages
g u : go to user

Hidden (= not mentioned on the overview)

Enter : to drill down into or close a selected tweet
Escape : to cancel a compose window, dismiss the help window
Shift+Space : to page up
. : to go to the top of the page

Have fun with Twitter! And if you need another hand, just find me and dare to ask : @bertverdonck

Obsolescence?

bertverdonck — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:45:55 +0000

When I heard the word “obsolescence” for the first time I liked it immediately.

What does it mean? According to Wikipedia : “Obsolescence is the state of a being which occurs when an object, service or practice is no longer wanted even though it may still be in good working order. Obsolescence frequently occurs because a replacement has become available that is superior in one or more aspects. Obsolete refers to something that is already disused or discarded, or antiquated.”

Now why would I write about this? Well, a number of obsolete products are on the way back. Want an example? The USB Record Player.

Ok, I have to admit. I still have a number of records. Sure enough, I hardly play them…in this era of MP3 and iTunes.

Now, I discovered something else. A USB Typewriter. That’s right! Lovers of the look, feel, and quality of old fashioned manual typewriters can now use them as keyboards for any USB-capable computer, such as a PC, Mac, or even iPad! You can either buy a refurbished one or Do-It-Yourself. Personally, I find it cool to have a classic typewriter as a keyboard for an iPad2 I haven’t tried it yet, but it seems great, don’t you think?

Here is a video, because pictures don’t always tell the full story:

Save on Fonts

bertverdonck — Tue, 24 May 2011 06:58:26 +0000

Everyone is looking for savings, right? Some go really far to achieve it, while others are looking for a Genius Shortcut to get similar results. When it comes to printing, which savings did you try so far?

I discovered the EcoFont (Dutch indeed ), you know a font with holes in it to save on ink. Personally, I see that you make a statement with it, but frankly I don’t like it! With my background in communication, I support building your brand in a consistent way. And the EcoFont does not fit mine.

So, I did some research on fonts and discovered a great experiment by Matt Robinson. A selection of the most commonly used typefaces were compared for how economical they are with the amount of ink which they use at the same point size. Large scale renditions of the typefaces were drawn out with ballpoint pens, allowing the remaining ink levels to display the ink efficiency of each typeface.

Here are the results for a number of common fonts:

Now you actually see the difference! Impressive, right? I know, we can now start a discussion on our preference of Garamond over Times New Roman

Of course, the most effective way to save on ink is to print less! Do you really have to print everything? Isn’t it time to learn how to read and process info on the screen? We have come a long way and I can safely state that the Digital Era is here already, just in case you weren’t aware of it yet

Elevator Express

bertverdonck — Mon, 16 May 2011 06:29:25 +0000

Let’s assume you are running late for your meeting and you enter
a crowded elevator. You need to go to the 14^th floor ASAP. You dream of going directly to your floor instead of stopping for everyone else’s. Wouldn’t that be just great? Impolite, but great, right?

Well, there is a Genius Shortcut that you can use in most elevators.
Yes, I know! How come so few people actually know about this?

Anyway, the trick is to push the button to close the doors at the same time as the floor you directly want to go to. So, in this example, it is the 14^th floor. Just look at the picture if you are a more visual type

Why does it work? While some elevators require a key, others are configured to get into “Express Mode” when the “close doors”-button and one of the floor-buttons are pressed simultaneously. Most paramedics know this (or should!), so they get faster to the right floor in case of an emergency.

It is a great lifehack that I discovered many years ago at Darknet, but it amazes me that still only a few people know about it…

So, I invite you to give it a try!

Bottle of Beer Opener

bertverdonck — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:35:22 +0000

It’s kind of funny how some of the Genius Shortcuts are starting a life of their own. After publishing the lifehack on how to open a bottle of wine without a corksrew, people kept on asking me how to open a bottle of beer without a bottle opener. Do you know how? Of course, most people would use a spoon or a lighter, but what if you are stuck in a hotelroom without any gear?

Would a piece of paper do? Sure, it does! Have a look at this video and see how simple it really is to open a bottle of beer with a piece of paper!

Of course, it’s always a matter of leverage. So, it simply doesn’t matter much what kind of material you are using to open the bottle! Just to be safe : Never open a bottle with your teeth

Enjoy your beer(s),

Bert

(Video via Instructables)

Forge new habits!

bertverdonck — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 08:50:50 +0000

Do you also find it difficult to create a new habit? Is it a challenge to stay disciplined? Of course, you are motivated, but we are living in a hectic world and you (sometimes) forget about your great New Year’s intentions?

I used to be like this. Not any more! I found a Genius Shortcut to solve it the easy way : Habitforge.com

It takes 21 days to forge a habit. Some say it takes 30 days or more. Others say change happens in a heartbeat. Anyway, it takes quite some discipline to keep up and to stick to your plan.

How does Habitforge.com help you? What do you need to do?

Step 1 : You enroll and share a goal or desire. If you could do one thing every day that would change your life for the better, what would it be?

Step 2 : Habitforge will send you a daily email. They’ll ask you if you were successful the day before at doing that one thing. From within the email, just click “yes” or “no” and Habitforge will do the rest.

Step 3 : Succeed for 21 days in a row. Do that one thing you’ve committed to doing. Skip a day before succeeding for 21 days straight, and Habitforge will start you back at day one (oh yes!). Succeed for 21 days in a row, and you can enter monitoring mode. But by that point the action should seem second nature, right?

Did I mention Habitforge is FREE?

Wishing you all the best with changing you life for the better and forge a new habit that makes you happy!

Upside Down?

bertverdonck — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:00:28 +0000

If the world were upside down, what would it look like? Ever wondered what would happen if you start to write “upside down”?

“˙˙˙uǝǝɹɔs ǝɥʇ pǝuɹnʇ ɹo pɐǝɥ ɹnoʎ uo ƃuıpuɐʇs ɹǝɥʇıǝ ǝɹɐ noʎ ‘sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟı”

Isn’t that great? I like it!

Now, how did I do it? Well, there is a Genius Shortcut for writing upside down. Typeupsidedown.com

Typeupsidedown.com is an easy website with 2 textboxes. You fill out the first one with your message. Simultaneously it will create your text upside down in the second box. Now you can easily copy and paste the upside down text to other applications and have fun with it!

What can you use it for? Fun! Ok, I admit, I haven’t found a serious application for it yet. I use it to update my LinkedIn-status, Twitter or on Facebook. I even put it in my LinkedIn Profile and I sure some people will want to know more about it

Have fun too, always,

Bert

Your life as a movie

bertverdonck — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 09:36:50 +0000

What’s happening in your life? Are you sharing your important moments with the world? Is it too hard to make a movie about your own life?

Well, there is a Genius Shortcut to create a movie about yourself in no time! How? Just simply go to Pummelvision.com.

What is it? Pummelvision flashes your life before your eyes using photos from Facebook, Flickr, or Tumblr. Of course you need to have an account and some pictures on one of these platforms.

How does it work? Well, in 3 little steps, you’ll create your movie!

Decide where Pummelvision can grab photos for you : Facebook, Flickr or Tumblr. Authorize your account.
Decide where Pummelvision can blast the video to : Vimeo or YouTube. Authorize your account.
If you want to be notified, type your mail address in the box. Click on the “Make My Video” -button.

That’s it!

Here are a couple of examples of Pummelvision: Justin Ouellette and Jacco Van Giessen. Enjoy and share!

Tethering

bertverdonck — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:07:35 +0000

If you are like me, you would like to have Internet access (almost) everywhere you go, right? Of course!

Well, my Apple Macbook Pro does not support PC cards like my 3G Vodaphone one (worked pretty good on my ThinkPad). This means I can not get online anymore when I am not in the office… There MUST be a solution, also for places where there is no WiFi support…

And there is! It is called “tethering”. According to Wikipedia it is the use of a mobile device with Internet access such as 3G or 4G cellular service to serve as an Internet gateway or access point for other devices. In other words, it connects my laptop with my iPhone, so that I can browse the Internet from my laptop. Exactly what I was looking for…

There are different suppliers out there and I choose to look around and see what others are using. TetherMe seems to be highly recommended. So, I testdrove it and …approve it. It works flawlessly!

Where to find it? Cydia > Search > TetherMe

Of course, some want more. So, if you want a complete wireless hotspot for mulitple devices, MyWi seems the app of choice for many others. I have not tried it myself, but it looks promising, except for the price. Where? Cydia > Search >MyWi

Anyway, another reason to choose TetherMe is that some carrier networks don’t allow you to tether your 3G connection from your iPhone. TetherMe enables the native tether option!

Oh, by the way, TetherMe is not free, but for a mere 2 $ you are all set. I know it’s worth it