Author Archive

Streamline Your Cell Phone Contacts

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">And I thought phones were supposed to be getting smaller. Photo courtesy of Flickr user daryl_mitchell. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.I guess I'm getting a reputation around HackCollege as the "phone guy". Ironically, my cell phone is probably the least important piece of my technical repertoire. I was a bit amazed as I was nearing my cell phone's limit of 600 contacts halfway through my first semester of freshman year - yes, dumbphones still have low contact limits and yes, I'm just that good at meeting people (not really). After all, it was my second phone (remember how to survive without a lost phone?) so I liked to pat myself on the back for doing well at being social.

And then I went to the Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic (formerly known as The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party), had a weekend to never forget that I couldn't fully remember, and celebrated my Gators' thrilling overtime victory. I made it back home alive, went to the bathroom, and in the process of calling a friend dropped my phone in a urinal. Plop, plop, fizz. Alka-Seltzer would have been proud.

I decided to try the traditional methods to save it, but all for naught. Ends up this _third_ insurance claim in a year inspired me to make my phone a bit more valuable to me and make it more of a useful tool than the catch-all I'd made it. I decided to streamline my contacts, and here's how I did it.

How to Survive with a Lost Phone

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">Unfortunately you can't use this guy to make calls or text. Photo courtesy of Flickr user KB35. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.So there was that one crazy night - you lost count of Jell-O shots, games of beer pong, and perhaps even where you were. You wake up in the morning, the grogginess sets in, and you feel your wallet, your keys, and -- that's it. Your phone is AWOL, and in the new era of technology you're up a creek without a paddle as a college student.

Or are you? Modern technology might have wiped out our previous lifelines and made cellular telephones a necessity, but they've also provided for ways to survive without them.

Here are some tips for surviving without your cell phone in college.

How Not to Fail at Using GroupMe

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">GroupMe can make you smile too. Logo used courtesy of fair use.

Last week, Shep wrote about the new text message-based group collaboration tool - GroupMe - and he gave some examples on how it could be used for a positive, productive environment.

I tried to emulate that example by using GroupMe to communicate with my pledge brothers at my fraternity. Bad idea. There was a lack of foresight on my part - spamming people during a SEC rivalry football game where alcohol was involved? Whoops. Here's how to make sure that doesn't happen to you.

Think Education’s Broken? Help REDU It.

There’s a new kid in town. Photo courtesy of kevindooley. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.Microsoft – the very name invokes majesty and power. The powerhouse behind Windows, World, Excel, Xbox, and modern computing. Oh, yeah, and the Zune. Well, we can’t be perfect. One of the most recent and most popular Microsoft creations is Bing ...

The Best Place to Study On Campus

This girl’s got the right idea. Photo courtesy of malias. Licensed under CC BY-2.0. Everyone likes to have a different study environment. Some like pure silence, others like white noise, some like the soft vocal stylings of Neil Diamond or James Taylor, and even more will love to rock out to bands like Metallica. Some like to sit up in ...

12 Essential Items for Your College Backpack

div>Okay, so mine's not Eddie Bauer. Photo courtesy of Flickr user ToastyKen. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.This week, I started my first week of classes as a college student. And dear Lord, how different that was. I experienced WiFi in classrooms (some of them at least) and as a result, Facebooking during class, professors who weren't afraid to say what they thought, and the first appearance of the mythical TA.

Last week, Lifehacker welcomed us back to school - with a combination of some of our posts and some of theirs. Lifehacker asked its commenters what's in their backpacks and as cool as some of the responses were (I'd want to be researching for a Ph.D in Botswana!), they just weren't relevant to most of us university students. I also find some things to be "pocket items" - their presence is a given, and I keep them in my pocket (girls might use a purse) instead - those include a cell phone, a wallet, a Moleskine notebook, and my iTouch.

After the jump below, I've got a list of what is absolutely required in every college backpack.

What Does the Death of Google Wave Mean for Students?

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">Time to *wave* goodbye. Photo courtesy of Flickr user liako. Licensed under Google is an obvious cultural force in our society. From its image search being immortalized in Chiddy Bang's hip-hop top 40 hit "The Opposite of Adults" ("google me, the images"), its mail service joining the most popular free options, and the controversy surrounding Google Books and Google Maps' Street View has propelled both of those services into the spotlight. Not to mention a little thing called YouTube.

Unlike YouTube, one of Google's latest services didn't get the red carpet treatment or many views. Google Wave, Google's web-based collaboration tool, heralded as Web 3.0, has bit the dust.

Google's decision to drop Wave isn't incredibly surprising, although their decision to open registration only two months ago came across as a vote of confidence. Unfortunately, Google Wave's closing at the end of the year is more of a loss to students - especially in higher education - than nearly anyone else.

Using Evernote for Stress-Free Move-In

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">Don't doubt the mighty Evernote elephant. Flickr image courtesy of smarthero. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.If there was the equivalent of the Best New Artist Grammy for webapps, Evernote would win it for 2009-10. We've shown it much love in the past year, and deservingly so. Evernote is more open-source than competitors OneNote and is available on nearly all platforms - Windows, Mac, web plugins for all the popular browsers, and nearly all mobile OSes - be it iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Palm.

This versatility makes it THAT much better as a packing tool as well. I've considered it essential in packing for my first move-in (12 days!), and have suggested it for my friends to use.

Here's how to use Evernote as a packing tool that helps both get your bags and boxes in the car for the haul to campus and how to unpack once you've arrived at campus.

Idiotproofing Your Facebook Photos and Videos

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">Yep, THAT red cup. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Chris Makarsky. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

So it happened. Your first red cup picture has made its appearance on Facebook. Most likely you're underage - and you're probably a freshman who let your squeaky clean high school reputation slip a bit. But the question is - what do I do now?

In the United States, drinking under the age of 21 is illegal. However, for some reason, social networking sites like Facebook are hotbeds for photos of underage beer pong, keg stands, Jello shots, and undercover vice cops.

Wait, what? Follow these tips below to protect yourself from getting into trouble by not being cautious enough on Facebook.

Add Your Events and Friends’ Birthdays with fdCal

Surviving in college is all about communication. Your high school counselor needs to send your final transcript to your college or university to ensure your admission isn't rescinded and to prove you graduated. Your class selections need to go from the registrar to the academic advisor to each individual section of each individual class.

So why not make your #1 Internet stop Facebook (presuming you're one of its 500 million users) and your calendar communicate better? fdCal does just that.

Stumped on What To Pack? What To Take To College Can Help

One small step for student. One giant leap for freedom. Photo courtesy of Flickr user dvortygirl. Licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0.I’m hardly an expert on packing for college. In fact, I’m quite the opposite. If it’s a weekend trip or quick getaway, I’ve got it covered. Weeklong endeavors with the family? No sweat. But living on ...

Summer Internships: Coveted, Elusive, and Achievable

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">Now THAT's relevant work experience. Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory and licensed under CC by SA 2.0.The One Ring. The Holy Grail. UFOs. Bigfoot. Loch Ness Monster. And that internship you're trying to get for the summer. If you believe this past Friday's headline in the New York Times' fashion section, you would believe that summer internship might be as hard to obtain as information about Area 51.

Over here at HackCollege, it's safe to say we've got internships covered. We devoted a whole week to tips and tricks on obtaining and excelling at internships and Kelly recently discussed why unpaid internships might be as relevant as the dodo bird soon. Not to mention the internships some of our own editors have ended up nagging.