Thursday, July 4, 2013

Does shaving your pits make them smell better?

Does shaving your pits make them smell better?

Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!

For great discussions any time, be sure check out our user-run blog, Hackerspace.

If you've got a cool project, inspiration, or just something fun to share, send us a message at tips@lifehacker.com.

Happy Lifehacking, everybody!


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Simple Sliding Knot Bracelet

Hi Everyone!  Ready for something quick and easy? In this Instructable, we will make a

Simple Sliding Knot Bracelet with an Antique African Coin

This bracelet is totally adjustable and can fit just about every wrist, depending on how much cord or string you use.


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3D printed Turk's head dice

die_ss.jpgI'm working on an app which generates 3D models of Turk's head knots which can then be 3D printed. I thought it would be cool to generate Turk's head dice, so I went about making it happen!die_grid.jpg

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Most Popular External Battery Pack: Anker Astro Series (3E/E4/Pro)

If you need to keep your gadgets powered up on the go, you'll need batteries—or better yet, an external battery pack. There are tons to choose from, but last week we asked you for the best. Then we looked at the five best external battery packs based on your nominations. Now we're back to highlight your favorite.

Most Popular External Battery Pack: Anker Astro Series (3E/E4/Pro)

The Anker Astro Series were your clear favorite, and they took the top spot with over 40% of the overall vote. The affordable, slim, and power-packed 3E, E4, and Astro Pro were just a few of your favorites, and a number of you called out other Astro models in the call for contenders that were just as powerful and just as portable.

In second place with 22% of the vote was the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation, a metal-bodied, sturdy power pack with a ton of juice for its size. Right behind it in third were MonoPrice's external battery packs, which brought in close to 16% of the vote and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Their universal qualifier however is that they're generally cheap and get the job done. In fourth place were the New Trent iCarrier and iGeek external battery packs, both of which are affordable, portable, and offer easy-to-read displays to show you how much juice is left. Bringing up the rear in fifth place was a big name in battery technology: Energizer's XP Series brought home just shy of 8% of the votes cast, and offer a wide array of battery packs from the super-affordable and portable (but low on power) to the power-packed and pricey models that can power netbooks and laptops if need be.

The bright spot here is that any of these external battery packs will serve you well on the go, and they're all portable enough to fit into either your pocket or a small laptop bag or backpack, so you can't really go wrong here. There were some other nominations in the call for contenders thread and the full post, so if these don't strike your fancy, make sure to check there for more suggestions.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

How to Fix iCloud's Biggest Annoyances

Apple's iCloud service is a handy and free option built right into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but it's also a closed system that's hard to really tweak to your liking. Thankfully, you have a few options for making iCloud a bit more useable so you can step out of Apple's restrictive box and use it how you like.

We've talked before about getting the most out of iCloud, as well as debated about whether iCloud is even useful to begin with. iCloud is far from perfect, but since it's a standard service on Macs and iPhones, we're stuck with it to some extent. You can fix a few of the bigger annoyances though, and doing so will make iCloud a bit more useable as a whole.

How to Fix iCloud's Biggest Annoyances

One of the biggest problems with iCloud is the fact that all your documents are hidden away within OS X and only accessible with Apple's programs, or apps that are made to sync directly. This is fine with certain file types like Pages or Keynote, but it's annoying for pretty much everything else. Thankfully, a few options exist to give you access to those files easily.

If you want to get a snapshot of all the files in iCloud, we like Plain Cloud. It's free, and gives you access to all your iCloud files, including game saves, sync settings, and documents. From there, you can open whatever you need to easily.

If you're looking for something that integrates with Finder, Cloud Mate is a $6.99 app that shows you everything in iCloud as if it's just a normal folder on your computer. It's handy if you want to create extra backups, or if you need to open up a file on your computer in a different program than iCloud supports.

Finally, you can also set up iCloud to work more like Dropbox by creating a syncing folder. This just requires a simple Terminal command:

ln -s ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents ~/Desktop/SyncFolderThis creates a folder on your desktop with your iCloud files. You'll be able to drop files in there just like you can with a service like Dropbox, or dig around for whatever files you need. Whichever of the above methods you choose, you'll get access to those files that Apple keeps hidden away.

How to Fix iCloud's Biggest Annoyances

The Photo Stream is one of the nicest things about iCloud. With it, every photo you take is instantly synced up in iCloud and available on your computer through iPhoto. The problem is that the only way to get access to them is with iPhoto, and not everyone wants to do that. Thankfully, tech blog The Iconmaster shows how easy it is to get access to that Photo Stream without iPhoto.

In OS X's Finder, Option-Click Go and select "Library."Navigate to Application Support > iLifeAssetManagement > assets > sub.In the search field, type "jpg" and select "Kind: JPEG image."Select just the "sub" folder in Finder.Select the "Save button" to save the search.Select "Add to Sidebar" to give you instant access to your Photo Stream in Finder.If you want, you can also add that folder to your dock by right-clicking the sidebar item, and selecting "Add to Dock."You can adjust your search however you like. If you just care about photos than the JPG search will grab everything you need. Alternately, you can also add PNG to get any screenshots you take from your iOS device. The end result is the ability to instantly see what's added into your Photo Stream without ever opening iPhoto.

How to Fix iCloud's Biggest Annoyances

By default, most of Apple's apps default to automatically saving everything you do in iCloud. That's fine in some cases, but if you want to just create a text file in TextEdit that sits on your desktop you have to make an annoying series of clicks just to save it there. If you're not using iCloud that much, Mac OS X Hints shows how to change the default setting with a Terminal command:

defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToCloud -bool falseNow, whenever you go to save a file in TextEdit, Pages, or any other Mac app that supports iCloud, your default location will be your hard drive instead of iCloud.

How to Fix iCloud's Biggest Annoyances

When you have the iCloud backup turned on in iTunes, your iPhone or iPad automatically saves all your settings to iCloud. That's great, but unfortunately you can't automatically back up your device both locally and in iCloud at the same time. So, you need to do in manually if you want to create a local backup:

Open iTunes with your device connected with a USB cable.Select your device and click the "Summary" button.Now select "This computer," and click "Back Up Now."You'll now have a local copy of your backup as well as an iCloud backup. So, if something goes wrong you'll be able to restore your device from pretty much anywhere.

Title photo remixed from Donatas1205 and Iwona Grodzka.

Fried Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers

FBS26 (800x693).jpgOne of my favorite recipes from my favorite Ohio chef Michael Symon. These sprouts are delicious; the leaves get crispy, while the insides get tender, tossed in a vinaigrette with the perfect amount of spicy, sweet, and acidic notes to complement the fried sprouts, adding a little more crunch with fried capers, parsley, and walnuts. 

Original recipe found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/fried-brussels-sprouts-with-walnuts-and-capers-recipe/index.html

Serves 4-6

FBS3 (800x486).jpgYou'll need:

Canola oil, for deep frying
1 clove garlic, minced
4 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed, filleted, and minced (I used 1 tsp. anchovy paste)
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (Michael Symon uses 1/2 cup, since I like a lot of acid, I used less, use what you like)
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
2 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 Tbsp. salt-packed capers, rinsed and patted dry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


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Spotify Discover Guides You to New Music Based on People You Follow

Web: Spotify's radio feature already tries to suggest bands and artists based on the ones you like, but Discover suggests new music to you based on the people you follow. Your recommendations will be packed with playlists, songs, and artists your friends enjoy that you may not have tried.

Spotify has one of the web's biggest databases of streaming music, and while it's always had things like shared playlists and the ability to see what your friends are listening to, Discover is a more direct take on music discovery. It takes things a step further and tries to combine truly useful suggestions with playlists and artists that your friends have recently enjoyed.

If you're worried that you'll get stuck with a bunch of suggestions you'll hate because you and your friends have different tastes in music, don't worry: Spotify says that the recommendations you'll see take a number of things into consideration, not just what your friends are listening to. To try Discover, head over to Spotify's web player—it's only available on the web right now (partially because it's supposed to replace Spotify's home page eventually) and will make its way to the desktop and mobile apps soon.

Spotify Web Player | Spotify via The Verge


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