Windows/Mac/Linux: The latest version of OpenOffice.org, the free and open-source office suite, improves startup times by over 40 percent (by some tests), improves importing and support for password-protected and 2007 office files, and improves many areas of the Calc spreadsheet.

You can check out the full feature list at OpenOffice.org, but the majority is nitty-gritty stuff. That said, the Calc tool seems to have picked up quite a few improvements and compatibility features, including support for "complex" (multi-row or column) copy and paste, pivot table importing, cell sorting and merging, and much more.

Importing Office 2007-formatted files seems to have gotten lots of attention in this release as well, and password-protected files can successfully be loaded, provided you've got the password. If you're an OpenOffice.org fan and see something new and great, share it in the comments.

OpenOffice.org 3.2 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

OpenOffice.org Downloads

Kevin Purdy00490252475335708998101949688525653052811251981035080383654701058726096188651751060994042177635903810251550279487627168714243084278485576048136290031934394377161705280074528591333913054029105311166648154541312245875584121686722223602891076116736032301053779373177333106612648965871748556509185794872915189966205704648124046480710302796180610913724979913763022717773877436509848496038177643881274455350499836507301892675510219456665617116596074602257874620785310765465833498574767904533956006538601095088870475082103599900778958007919404780414999831267959437671021711488817626115501419526820307271733310224806090400526669178467329014000837180762330155581818005812031584663151709364112017770727281841081379734333391952252006871296831909521223000747048219041646331124743069615420492008647057105976149199160723020556181492661579688308946136652409797821143691347762

Whether you call it a huge privacy flaw or just an annoyance, Google Buzz can put the contacts you automatically follow—a.k.a. those you most frequently email or chat—on a public profile page. Here's how to undo that.

Google Blogoscoped's Philipp Lenssen felt he had to avoid following certain Buzz contacts, as he didn't want to expose his social circle to the wider net. He's right—if you have a Google Profile, once you set up Buzz, those you're following, and those following you, are shown on your profile page in a right-hand link list.

Update: This might not apply if you haven't touched much inside Buzz, or haven't set up a Google Profile, or that Profile is set to be hidden from the public. If so, you're mostly in the clear. But keep in mind that, once you post to Buzz, your profile will likely be created, and you'll want to know what's getting put up on the web.

To turn this off, sign into your Google account (via Gmail or elsewhere) and head to your Google profile—that link should work if you're signed in. Look for the two links showing "Following X people" and "X people following me." There's a gray note underneath those numbers, indicating whether they're visible to just you or to everyone.

If they're visible to everyone, hit the "Edit Profile" link on the right-hand edge of the blue bar in the middle of the page, to the right of "About me," "Buzz," and "Contact info." In the third column of options there, there are checkboxes that control privacy features, and one of them is labeled "Display the list of people I'm following and people following me." Un-check that box, and now your list of followers and followees is private—or at least seen only by those you're following, perhaps.

Want Google Buzz gone entirely? Log into Gmail, then look at the bottom of your inbox page for a "Turn off Buzz" link. If you're mainly annoyed at Buzz's constant, um, buzzing, read up on removing Buzz updates from your inbox.

This tip came courtesy of Contributing Editor Lisa, who was similarly shocked to see Google dropping everyone's frequently-contacted names on the net. If you've found a similarly crucial privacy tweak for Buzz, tell us about it in the comments.

Kevin Purdy07967496542914882981075461729958736706140825874488321947730311581356320720943583022746188239733247270122173806329933730117390738091867650189152954857497955978740980309858872711047703177916231155712833154009268555158225890038506103163702780810189629731342897742010587260961886517511753557578361972061417288746471480810696032449888456481146180743320714513164347612241254153738475126170528007452859133391027379731223292916005223376838768235657171742379086935348571595553872857325469217800874248662491655161240793328237736470283664247845453855317791258684761366323154925309595645948611550227935537730711202060702160081701213014507215952971186611305402910531116664801426861735837653543131025882258148402520134926472123099519301505127736911639550135266560996797945840627500023684429283305703780034632396026066365157168484338121194320105577736811100908162041245689695136330136064001707720349266014776571418508426282066595482091020682801662817184250890673952524279253708149505224633488232117616116327987135031295324284537471478002178698353135411812177333106612648965871551254376317193274417262077285984573144149273300248328276651748556509185794872905086291712098338007094404024810008697820199469568249053949615832524450573508824091413801004436657251731193962890896500012990458228847299420107757706746148016050470089877251373862314628300225308585514047642779454188011921270718900187347526304701295947426758274058110761675220288010791799917126562504902265370481678997130162033472030254433220548544636499962927803808254001669077563091372497991376302271620357664853119415301697986127750486082127336263568734684451549876161860164945904998365073018926755102194566656171165961592776321368295872316947043249986751824011125794368576243651244293645657508791701824103153877683849045339560065386010950411400128023160763206787076594280507468104728847853712209340899654584414780686517639449416811006048000381754341067538160176458641225474462905109540065337507610137384267450006226060778958007919404780409318702010703989872

Windows: Ever download a movie from—oh, I don't know—some far-reaching nether-region of the internet, and when your download finishes realize the video is split into multiple parts? AVI Joiner quickly combines those split videos in just a few clicks.

Using it could not be easier. Just run the app (AVI Joiner.exe), drag and drop the files you want to join into the Files to be joined pane, make sure they're in the correct order, and click the Run AVI Joiner button. The app will ask you where you want to save the joined video (name it and make sure to add the .avi extension to the end), then sit back as it fires up a command line and starts the joining process. I joined a couple of 700MB files into a 1.4GB video in roughly a minute.

This awesome little app was built courtesy of the Lifehacker Coders group over at the Productive Geek forums. You can currently grab the download hosted over at drop.io here. We reached the download cap—get the ZIP here instead. (For a portable version, grab the AVI_Joiner.zip file; if you want an installer, grab the setup.exe and install.nsi files. Make sure you grab the newest versions, and if we happen to hit a bandwidth cap at drop.io, be sure to let me know.)

AVI Joiner is a free, open-source application for Windows only.

Let's do a simple AHK project together: AVI joiner [Productive Geek]

Adam Pash0664495248301206494817620498849501707898101949688525653052810499214902188581014601058726096188651751142430842784855760480913110334952812145409016337472654914596170528007452859133390594763686841641444714563649796345552783083853103338686082391144918900678694804006424155634918650711100025461746483619040296548461232729453200908162041245689695148111806070474481160203446345670465990300962667482867399676001342782446978376280647687771295891142400640717984446960109167206767377857322010302469657101512555508835047637809717221123550690156731559760613370283110767099304623377043902775615097203254632129630941746031612955211596609853577685763160393102194566656171165960184485155201804647809935819610576659794039058780575118509300899654584414780686511071645091468899621000989985402722851650931870201070398987214999831267959437671139115162091082641271376325659466917804016375977050362978140081476475983465038990078961505171199395613794947302340938903073444768256481657270007470482190416463300761894183449363746112474306961542049201314881938572147223608485755386023171900

Windows: Desktop Eye is a small sidebar gadget that puts security camera monitoring in an unobtrusive widget and saves you from running a bulky separate application that may not always be in focus where you can see it.

It's worth noting immediately that Desktop Eye is not an absolutely real-time monitoring solution, you aren't seeing a direct frame-by-frame feed from your remote webcam. Desktop Eye allows you to connect into a a remote directory and view images from a security camera as they are dumped into that directory—both the Desktop Eye author and we recommend previously reviewed YawCam as a great free tool for this. You can read the author's detailed instructions of setting up Desktop Eye with YawCam here.

Once installed, Desktop Eye sits in your sidebar and checks the remote location for new pictures at the interval you specify. If you set up your monitoring software and Desktop eye to snap a picture and check for a picture every second or two you could have nearly real-time monitoring.Thanks D3vman!

Have a favorite tool for making the most of your webcam? Let's hear about it in the comments.

D-Eye Windows Sidebar Gadget

Jason Fitzpatrick0499214902188581014601058726096188651751054573792032073163561705280074528591333916262175671238198838033297372070679799981828184728268657068600908162041245689695174939874717683327760096266748286739967603808254001669077563166220703900062331070972032546321296309404207219008236287170149998312679594376711419526820307271733316522242275378447520169278000364401923451718514373581102597408485755386023171900

Ubuntu has a unified notification system that posts to your desktop's upper-right corner (unless you move them), but the Thunderbird email client doesn't seem to know about them. Make Thunderbird use the same notifications as other apps with this quick terminal fix.

Mozilla has an experimental bit of code that makes Thunderbird use Ubuntu's libnotify system, but it's not available as an easily installed extension. The Ubublogger has two commands that turn that code into an XPI file, which you can then install in Thunderbird:

bzr branch lp:~ruben-verweij/libnotify-mozilla/experimental

This will download the files from the experimental branch to your computer. Next, create the addon by browsing to the folder and executing the build.sh script with the following command:
./build.sh

If you're working with a relatively new or untouched system, you might have to head into the Synaptic package manager (in System->Administration) to install the libnotify-bin and bzr packages before you can act on this. And when you're done, be sure to turn off Thunderbird's own notification window in your preferences to prevent double-up notifications.

How to install the experimental version of libnotify-mozilla [Ubublogger's Blog via The Open Sourcerer]

Kevin Purdy10194968852565305281029147092543566848500105872609618865175111580807580514879590170528007452859133390466126768681882111412184104689266750220095038517618723363980199469568249053949600016115150333647082085853565965919647771021945666561711659603309515484077807287

To save time and gas money while running errands or long trips, it makes sense to map out the best route so you can hit all the places you need to go without doubling back. Have Route4Me do the planning for you.

Before heading out the door, jump on the internet and enter the addresses of all the places you need to stop or fire up the iPhone app (more on that below). Route4Me plots your whole route for maximum efficiency. It will also map out a round trip so you can get back to where you started, without trying to backtrack using the initial directions. For a more global approach to navigation—if you're traveling between cities, for instance—furnish airport codes, landmarks, cities, or even zip codes, to find optimal routes.

The free web-based service is pretty slick, but its iPhone app really shines. It uses Google Maps to plot out your stops for you and is a great way to access Route4Me when you don't have an internet connection (like in the car).

Route4Me figures out where you are using your iPhone's geo-location feature. If you want to skip that step and enter your own starting location, you can do that, too. Then simply add the addresses of everywhere you want to go and the app does the rest. You'll get estimated trip time and mileage to help you plan ahead, and turn-by-turn navigation so you won't get lost along the way.

Route4Me stores your favorite locations so you can return to them quickly in the future. it also snags addresses from your phone's contact book and tracks places you've visited recently to make adding destinations really easy.

The app runs $1.99 in iTunes but it's a handy tool to have on-hand when you need it. It's perfect for getting organized before you run errands, but it's also a terrific way to plot out impromptu carpooling situations, and great for sightseeing while traveling.

What tips do you have for optimizing your errands and multi-destination car trips? Share them in the comments.

Route4Me [iTunes App Store]

Lisa Hoover1122677749067988700501058726096188651751091401823247840684691059856738794670419413450853072007150937045818760967705242991178185189398414389600286206959309310597066365157168484338121363301360640017077202068280166281718425150924001781776495541596389402784070537418431582024589949739173978269975675355160985357768576316039304021626469880375409032649669458428217871371802126814810409201321626217105420125076889323618819435381784673290140008371815487071088208495996157768607993379953451753181594437869949208092416594357941276

Ed. note: If you've tried moving the Windows Users directory to a location other than the default, you know it can be quite an undertaking. Reader Roobs wrote in detailing how he moved his Windows 7 Users directory without nasty registry hacks.

(Every day we keep a close eye on our #tips page to see what readers have to offer. Sometimes we get links, other times quick suggestions, and sometimes we get full-fledged how-to guides. Here's one of them.)

When scouring the net for hours on a method of relocating the entire Users directory (in Windows 7) on another partition, most of the methods were not good. They mostly involved nasty registry editing and dummy accounts, and had quirks that could cause potential issues further down the line.

Eventually, I came across a brilliant method on tuts4tech by a user named "ohdannyboy". It's utterly flawless, and makes use of symlinks. It's simple, and you can just forget about it after it's done. Everything takes care of itself. The only quirk is that accessing the Users folder from the C: drive (for example) appears as "C:" when it's actually on "D:". But this appears to be the intentional behaviour of symlinks. Several months on for me, and it's like nothing was ever changed.

Unfortunately, that post no longer seems to be there (the site crashed shortly after, and I think they had to resort to backups or something). It's too good a method to let it disappear. Just remember that this is THIS user's method and NOT mine.

It's also best to do this on a clean install of Windows, unless you don't mind waiting awhile...

I've read all I could find about this, and the information below is correct and tested:

To most easily move all user files and user program files off your boot drive (an SSD in my case), follow these instructions.

FIRST, Create a restore point (they're better in Windows 7 than you might remember):
1. Open System by clicking the Start button, right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.
2. In the left pane, click System protection. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Click the System Protection tab, and then click Create.
4. In the System Protection dialog box, type a description, and then click Create.

THEN: Go to System Recovery/Command Prompt:
1. Boot with the Win7 Install DVD, choose language, currency and keyboard, and hit Next.
2. At the screen with the "Install Now" choose "Repair your computer"
3. You will be asked if you want to "Repair and Restart" by the System Recovery options, choose "No".
4. Then Make sure that Windows 7 is listed as one of the installed OS's available for recovery, and that it's selected and then press next. You will be given a list of recovery tools.
5. Choose "Command Prompt".

Find your virtual Windows drive loaded from the Win7 media (probably either C or X), find your actual Windows/SSD drive (D or E) and find your HDD (regular hard drive) (D or E).

In my system normally, C=SSD with Windows on it, D=HDD data drive

Using Win7 Update media, the drives in Recovery mode were set up differently, thusly:
X: virtual/temp Windows drive,
E: actual Windows/SSD drive,
D: HDD, hard drive I wanted to put \Users on.

Some report that System Recovery mode will set up their drives like this:
C: virtual/temp Windows drive
D: Actual Windows/SSD drive
E: HDD, they want to put \Users on.

In the command prompt you will be using Robocopy (NOT xcopy!) to copy c:\Users to d:\Users, then delete the old c:\Users, then make a symlink from c:\Users to D:\Users. Note that you must do these things in order, and you must not have a d:\Users dir before you do this.

NOTE: in the System Recovery command prompt window, your drives are not the same as they will be after you leave recovery mode! So adjust the commands below for how the drives are in Recovery Mode, and then they'll turn out correct later.

I used:
robocopy /mir /xj E:\Users D:\Users

To move \Users from Windows/SSD to HDD.
/mir tells robocopy to mirror the directories, this will copy all files and permissions.
/xj is very important, this tells robocopy not to follow junction points. If you forget this, you will have a lot of trouble.
Make sure no files failed to copy (FAILED column = 0).

Then you must remove the old Users Folder from the Windows/SSD (c:) drive, before you can create the symlink:
I used:
rmdir /S /Q E:\Users

Create a NTFS Junction/symlink that points to the new Users folder:

I used:
mklink /J E:\Users D:\Users

Use the /J switch to create a junction that's a hard symlink. (If you use the /D switch, you'll also have to edit the registry, cuz it won't be a hard link.) Using /J, when Windows looks for the C:\Users dir, it will find it! But it will be on the HDD instead of the SSD. Tricky!

To see the proof of what you've created, still in the command prompt window, go into the actual Windows/SSD and do the "dir" command, and you'll see:
" Users [D:\Users]"

Now restart and you'll see \Users on your HDD, and there you go. No further configuration or fiddling required. New user profiles will all be stored on the D: drive, as will any user specific data. And it is achievable without any messing about in the registry, searching and replacing values, or having to mess with new profiles in any way. Totally set and forget.

If you give the method above a try, make sure you set your System Restore point just in case something goes wrong. If you've tried this or other methods, let's hear about it in the comments. Thanks Roobs!

Roobs098799772868682492361423012431094171637102914709254356684850102761650875739898701745700716804562861603079775764677157178115808075805148795900387728863159067841417052800745285913339069210868461578430891070951846444210176813102588225814840252182818472826865706860871665849013476147814811180607047448116009626674828673996761295302487655129437105729994923712409190019946956824905394961077577067461480160512355069015673155976174614426579836024300137006953052035248109720325463212963094160394706604921723381548315564947349167615773748806799375376078790088981625652110094698567525245717802965862051566725628041140012802316076321796824474727087044714999831267959437671102572945527139271100254280428714235070600309594338721478007025416967947757458750415751858378559085414116893061075381057007896150517119939560702023610635180778914479795649333427839137771495903360763140173051730776761755818006338175323744994014449152509405056581124743069615420492011034157769474668849

In addition to the usual complexities, millions of Americans will discover new twists and potholes on the road to preparing their returns this year. (author unknown)12128080852281383372

• Facebook for Silverlight Puts a Dark, Stylish Facebook on Your Desktop
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