Readers offer their best tips for using old smartphones as feature-rich alarm clocks, listening to internet radio without the Flash ads, and a dress code for getting things done.
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About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.
Use an Old Smartphone as an Alarm Clock
Photo by Dmitry Baranovskiy.
Jeff finds new uses for his smartphones after he's upgraded to a newer model:
Play Internet Radio Without Banner Ads
TehBeardMan shows us a neat workaround for keeping the Flash down when listening to radio:
Dress Up to Focus and Get Things Done
Photo by Kai Hendry.
Bonsai_haicyon tells us how he keeps his focus when it's time to get work done:
Use Old Containers and Sharpies to Keep Track of Collar Stays
Photo by Guilherme Torelly .
mahfrot shows us his favorite collar stay wrangler:
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Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.
About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.
Use an Old Smartphone as an Alarm Clock
Photo by Dmitry Baranovskiy.
Jeff finds new uses for his smartphones after he's upgraded to a newer model:
I recently picked up a Motorola Droid and hated the idea of throwing away my old (though still fully functional) BlackBerry Pearl. After activating the Droid, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that the Pearl still displayed the current time. Apparently even though the service has been disconnected, the Pearl still picks up the time from Verizon's network. (Maybe this is so the phone still has access to emergency services?)
I realized that the Pearl could serve as a fully-functional alarm clock, which has been awesome for a number of reasons:
1. The alarm on the Pearl can be set to make any number of annoying and startling noises.
2. More excitingly, the microSD card can be loaded up with music, and and any song can be used as an alarm.
3. The Pearl has many more features than my old alarm clock, such as the music playback, automatically-updated time, and unlike my old alarm, the time won't reset in a power outage.
4. The Pearl is so much smaller than my other alarm clock. Less clutter = good.
5. I don't have to make sure that my current working phone, the Droid, lands near my bed at the end of the night. The Pearl stays plugged in, so the Droid can be left anywhere at night.
I've been using the Pearl as my sole alarm for awhile now, and the only downside I can see is that, unless I hang it on the way and keep the screen lit, the time can't be seen at night. This hasn't been a problem for me because it makes the room darker, but it might bother some.
Hope this prevents some people from trashing a perfectly good smartphone.
If not being able to see the clock bothers you, many phones have the ability to keep the backlight on when being charged or in a dock, or even apps that act as an always-on clock display. This will obviously shorten the life of the display, but if you were about to toss it anyway, you've got nothing to lose!I realized that the Pearl could serve as a fully-functional alarm clock, which has been awesome for a number of reasons:
1. The alarm on the Pearl can be set to make any number of annoying and startling noises.
2. More excitingly, the microSD card can be loaded up with music, and and any song can be used as an alarm.
3. The Pearl has many more features than my old alarm clock, such as the music playback, automatically-updated time, and unlike my old alarm, the time won't reset in a power outage.
4. The Pearl is so much smaller than my other alarm clock. Less clutter = good.
5. I don't have to make sure that my current working phone, the Droid, lands near my bed at the end of the night. The Pearl stays plugged in, so the Droid can be left anywhere at night.
I've been using the Pearl as my sole alarm for awhile now, and the only downside I can see is that, unless I hang it on the way and keep the screen lit, the time can't be seen at night. This hasn't been a problem for me because it makes the room darker, but it might bother some.
Hope this prevents some people from trashing a perfectly good smartphone.
Play Internet Radio Without Banner Ads
TehBeardMan shows us a neat workaround for keeping the Flash down when listening to radio:
I like listening to Pandora online radio as well as Slacker radio. But sometimes the ads on the sites are a bit annoying. Ignoring the obvious of using a adblocker, you can look at the source of the page and find the URL for the flash music player and make that your bookmark.
For example, here is Slacker's music player, free from all the banner ads and such.
And here is Pandora's latest one.
Both on a nice and clean page by themselves.
(I know pandora has a similar option built in for the mini-player but I like everything in one window)
As always, we encourage you to leave the ads alone, since that's how sites like Pandora and Slacker (and us, for that matter), are able to stay free—but, of course, we also know how much of a resource hog Flash can be, so if you're on battery or a computer with low specs, this is a nice way to keep yourself running a bit smoother.For example, here is Slacker's music player, free from all the banner ads and such.
And here is Pandora's latest one.
Both on a nice and clean page by themselves.
(I know pandora has a similar option built in for the mini-player but I like everything in one window)
Dress Up to Focus and Get Things Done
Photo by Kai Hendry.
Bonsai_haicyon tells us how he keeps his focus when it's time to get work done:
When trying to study up for a midterm or buckle down on the paper due tomorrow, you might find it helpful to dress up a little, instead of wearing your sweats.
I had a college roommate who would put on a jacket and tie when he had to cram for a midterm or final - dressing nicely helped put him in the right frame of mind for Getting Things Done. It's all mental.
This may not be for everyone, and may seem like a strange tip—but I can definitely back this up for some. It's why I don't own sweats...I feel like I should be watching TV with the flu when I wear them.I had a college roommate who would put on a jacket and tie when he had to cram for a midterm or final - dressing nicely helped put him in the right frame of mind for Getting Things Done. It's all mental.
Use Old Containers and Sharpies to Keep Track of Collar Stays
Photo by Guilherme Torelly .
mahfrot shows us his favorite collar stay wrangler:
I found myself continually losing collar stays whenever I'd take them out to wash my dress shirts. I'm sure there's a million other options out there, but I found using an old Altoids tin the perfect size. Also, to make sure I remember which stays go to which shirt, I write on the back of the stays in Sharpie the colors or patterns on the shirt.