http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/document-corrupter-corrupt-word-documents

Most universities have specific Academic Integrity policies in place under which this would constitute cheating. At my university, for example, it states:

Academic misconduct is behaviour that erodes the basis of mutual trust on which scholarly exchanges commonly rest, undermines the University’s exercise of its responsibility to evaluate students’ academic achievements, or restricts the University’s ability to accomplish its learning objectives.

The University takes a serious view of academic misconduct and will severely penalize students, faculty and staff who are found guilty of offences associated with misappropriation of others’ work, misrepresentation of personal performance and fraud, improper access to scholarly resources, and obstructing others in pursuit of their academic endeavours. In addition to this policy, the University has adopted a number of policies that govern such offences, including the policies on Misconduct in Research and Scholarship and the Student Rights and Responsibilities regulations. These policies will be strictly enforced.

My dog corrupted my Word document. is a post from: Hackademe

Google Chrome: faster than a speeding potato is a post from: Hackademe

A few years ago, I came across EarPlanes, which are silicone earplugs that have a ceramic pressure regulator inside. In general, one inserts them during take-off and descent, but can remove them for most of the flight at cruising altitude.

These actually work extremely well, and I never fly without them. The manufacturer suggests using a pair only twice (one return flight), but I use them quite a few times and they still work fine.

Earplanes earn the Hackademe seal of approval.

Flying need not be a pain in the ear. is a post from: Hackademe

Inspired by posts on ProfHacker and Lifehacker, I decided to hack myself a new office door sign. Moreover, I was determined to produce a working prototype for less than $100.  There are several how-to guides out there, but here are some specifics of my pilot project.

Step 1: Obtain an old laptop.

I sent around an email in my department asking for old laptops that still boot up but which are no longer being used.  I indicated that the laptop would not survive the procedure I had planned (at least not as a laptop), so my colleagues should only donate their old laptops if they didn’t want them back.  I received an old 2001 Toshiba Satellite the next day.  The campus electronics recycling depot has also been a great source of old laptops.

Not exactly as shown. I forgot to take a "before" photo. Also, I wasn't sure this would all work.

Step 2: Strip down the laptop.

The only parts you need are the LCD screen, the motherboard (including fan, USB ports, ethernet port, etc.), the hard drive, the power switch, and the guts of the touch pad.  The latter is just so it will boot up without complaining that there is no mouse and may not be necessary.  Pretty much everything can be disassembled by removing tiny screws.  Oh, so many screws.  It helps to have a computer toolkit, but any small screwdriver will work.  If you are having trouble, you may be able to find disassembly instructions for your laptop model online.

Be sure to recycle the plastic case and to dispose of the battery in an environmentally responsible way.

Stuff you don't need.

Step 3: Get a picture frame.

I decided to mount the door sign inside a picture frame.  The criteria for the frame are that it be large enough (I ended up with one 11″ x 14″), as deep as possible (you could also go with an actual shadow box), and cheap. Cost: $20.

Step 4: Attach the laptop components to the frame.

Since this was just a pilot project, I didn’t worry too much about aesthetics.  To wit, I attached the LCD to the inside of the glass with electrical tape, trimmed and replaced the particle board backing and taped it in, and then taped all the components to the outside.

Electrical tape is the new duct tape.

This extended beyond the frame a bit, so I found some spacers and screws and attached a piece of old particle board that I had in my garage.  Again, I didn’t work under stringent aesthetic standards, so it’s pretty rough (but no one sees it most of the time anyway).

Side view showing spacers and back.

I have since built a second one of these walltop systems, in which I used more of the original casing.  It looks better and allowed me to skip the step of making a backing. In this model, the motherboard and case is attached to the frame using double-sided tape and foam, as well as galvanized strapping wrapped in black electrical tape screwed into the frame.

Improved approach using the bottom of the case as the back.

Step 5: Test.

Plug in the power and test it to see if it will boot up.  In my case, it would get partway there and would shut down.  This sort of thing often happens if the processor is overheating, and sure enough there was an issue with the fan.  I took the fan off, replaced the heat sink compound, and put everything back in place.  It is now working fine.  Cost: $10.

Step 6: Mount on the door or wall.

This will vary according to your office layout, but in my case I mounted the frame on the inside of my office door using some simple brackets.  Cost: $0.49 x 4.

Step 7: Connect to internet.

This particular laptop did not have wireless capabilities (did I mention it was old?), and using the campus wireless network requires logins and other hassles anyway, so I just ran a 25′ cable from a switch on my desk.  Cost: $30.

Step 8: Operating system.

I found that Windows XP was a bit too much for this old laptop, both in terms of processing and disk space. I ended up using Windows 2000, which runs very well. I also considered installing Ubuntu, which is another viable option.

Step 9: Make desktop wallpaper.

I made an image of the correct dimensions that is black with some white boxes that provide information that I want permanently displayed, such as how to make an appointment.

Step 10: Set up Twitter.

To have real time updates on my whereabouts available to visitors, I followed the example posted by others and set up a Twitter feed just for this.  On the display computer I installed Twhirl to show my tweets and added it to the startup programs.  Others have used TweetDeck, but I find that Twirl lets you do more customization, such as increasing the font size to make it easier to read.  I also installed a Twitter application on my BlackBerry so I can update it from anywhere easily.

Step 11: Create a slideshow.

With the extra space on the screen, I created a slideshow of images from our lab in irfanview, set the size and location, and exported as an executable that loads automatically on startup.  I also set the Windows taskbar to auto-hide so it’s not visible most of the time.

Optional: Set up remote access.

You can make changes on the mounted display computer by plugging in a USB mouse and keyboard, but you may also find it handy to be able to access it from your desk.  To do this, set up a free LogMeIn account.

Optional: Set up Wake on LAN.

I don’t want the display computer to run all the time, but I also don’t want it to only be turned on if I am in my office.  This would defeat part of the purpose, which is to let people know when I am not in.  To be able to turn it on remotely, I first set the BIOS to enable Wake on LAN.  You access the BIOS menu during boot up by hitting a particular key depending on your computer (e.g., DEL, F2), and if your motherboard supports it you will see a Wake on LAN option that can be enabled under Power Management Setup.  You will also need the IP address and MAC (aka physical) address of the computer, which you can get by running a command prompt (START -> RUN -> command) and typing “ipconfig /all”.

Next, I set up a desktop application from SolarWinds that can send the “magic packet” to boot the mounted computer.  There are various other free programs available that will do the same thing.  This can also be done through an online site that I can access from my other computer or from my BlackBerry.   Wake on LAN appears to be rather finicky and doesn’t seem to work every time, so I am still fiddling with it.  Also, I have not yet found a decent BlackBerry application that can remotely boot computers, which I would prefer over using a webpage.  But in preliminary tests I was able to turn it on from my desktop and from my BlackBerry, at least when I am on campus.

That’s it!  The sign is now operational and looks great on the door. Total cost: $62.00.

Turn an old laptop into a multi-purpose office door sign. is a post from: Hackademe

Bumptop transforms your computer desktop into a highly customizable 3D desk environment, complete with walls for pinning notes, files that can be arranged into piles, gadgets for photos and web apps, and much more.

Here is a video highlighting some of the main features:

And another in which Anand Agarawala presents BumpTop in a TED talk:

If you have a touch-screen tablet, you can really interact with your desktop:

BumpTop is available in a free version as well as a pro version and works on both PC and Mac. It’s well worth checking out simply for the coolness factor, but it could also be quite useful for those who find it easier to be organized in 3D.

BumpTop makes your desktop more like a real desktop. is a post from: Hackademe

For academics, being offline can range anywhere from relief to panic. It can be great to be unable to check email for a while, but this also means that messages will pile up. And what if you have revisions on a manuscript that are due, and you’re stuck without wireless access? (Or maybe you’re in an airport but they want to charge you for access — personally, I refuse to pay extra for internet at the gate and then again for a snack on the plane). You could pay a monthly fee for a mobile internet stick which will give you access anywhere that there is cellular coverage, but probably you only need this sort of connection occasionally. If you have a smartphone and a laptop, there is an easy, and usually free, solution: tethering.

Tethering means connecting your smartphone to your laptop, and using it as a wireless modem to get internet access on your existing cellular data network. In fact, as I write this I am without a proper connection, but I am still able to post this because I have tethered my BlackBerry to my computer. This can also be done easily with an iPhone and probably most other smartphones.

With a BlackBerry, simply open the current version of the Desktop Manager, and you will see an option for IP Modem:

Clicking this gives the option to configure or connect:

You only need to configure the first time, and this involves simply choosing your carrier:

Back at the configure or connect screen, click connect:

You’ll soon be back online!

If you don’t have a USB cable with you, or if you prefer not to use one, you can connect via Bluetooth.

Some things to bear in mind:

• Be sure to look into your carrier’s policy on tethering charges (most major carriers should not charge for this).
• Make sure you keep an eye on your data usage.
• Don’t expect to be blown away by blazing speeds — this is a back-up solution only.

Laptop + smartphone = internet anywhere. is a post from: Hackademe

• Ten words you need to stop misspelling
• How to use an apostrophe
• How to use a semicolon

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation — made fun? is a post from: Hackademe

ProfHacker, another great resource for hackademics. is a post from: Hackademe

This post assumes that you already have a feed reader (also known as an aggregator) running. (See here for an introduction). I use Google Reader, but there are many options available. The point of this post is to outline how to create RSS feeds based on automated searches of literature indexes. The examples will be based on two scientific literature indexes, PubMed and Web of Science, but the approach should be applicable to any index regardless of discipline.

To review, an RSS reader will bring together new content as soon as it is available from any feeds to which you subscribe. This can include anything that is formatted as an RSS feed: blogs, news, even your favorite academic comics like PHD Comics (RSS) and xkcd (RSS). Most journals offer their table of contents alerts as RSS feeds as well, which will let you browse new content from many journals all in one place (and no more email alerts!). To subscribe to journal TOCs, just go to their website and click on the RSS or XML link.

Here’s a screenshot of my reader showing journal TOC updates:

This works well, but articles relating to my research interests are published in a lot of journals, some of which I don’t have cause to read regularly. For non-hackademics, the solution is usually to (try to remember to) run searches on journal indexes on a regular basis to see if anything new has been published in their area. Hackademics, by contrast, automate the process and let the new content come to them. How? By creating an RSS feed of their search and then subscribing to it.

Here is an example from my reader showing some automated searches:

Below are the instructions for creating your own automated searches in PubMed and Web of Science.

Setting up automated searches is very easy to do in PubMed. Simply input your search terms to perform the search. For efficiency, use Boolean strings to combine all terms into one search. For example, here is a search string that I might use: “genome size” OR “C-value” OR “junk DNA” OR “transposable elements”. This provides the following results:

You will notice that at the top of the window there is an RSS link. Clicking this link opens a window where you can name and then create the RSS feed.

The next window is a small box with an XML link.

Clicking this allows you to subscribe to your search feed.

Done! Now any new results of this same search will be sent to your reader each week.

In case this isn’t clear yet, here are some video tutorials on how to create RSS feeds of PubMed searches:

Web of Science is an amazing resource for finding scientific literature. It is worthy of its own post, but for the time being I will assume that you are already familiar with the service.

To create an automated search feed in Web of Science, you need to have a subscription through your institution. You also need to sign up for a free personal account so that you can save searches. If you don’t have an account yet, click Register. Otherwise, go ahead and sign in.

Now, as in PubMed, just enter the search terms you want to include. For this example, we’ll search by an author (chosen at random, of course) instead of a set of topics.

Here are the results:

Next, click the Search History tab, which opens this screen:

Clicking on the Save History / Create Alert button gives you some options for the saved search:

Save this once you have chosen your settings, and you will see the familiar XML link to subscribe to the feed of this custom search.

You can create multiple searches and manage them through the “My saved searches” link on the top menu.

RSS feeds, part 2: Automated literature searches. is a post from: Hackademe

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a system that allows readers to receive “feeds” of new content broadcast from various online sources without having to visit each site individually. It’s akin to subscribing to a magazine and having each new issue delivered to your mailbox rather than walking to the store to see if there is a new issue available.

By using an aggregator, you can subscribe to any RSS feeds you want and have them all show up in one place. This includes feeds for your favorite blogs, news sites, journal tables of contents, and even automated literature searches. In this series of posts on RSS, I will describe how hackademics can use RSS feeds and an aggregator to substantially increase their access to information that interests them while actually saving time.

To start, here is a very straightforward introduction to what RSS feeds are all about. It was created by the crafty folks over at Commoncraft.

In order to read RSS feeds, you need an aggregator. A list of desktop and web-based aggregators is available in Wikipedia. The most popular online aggregators include Google Reader, Bloglines, and Netvibes. You can also install a desktop aggregator that does not require you to open a webpage. Free examples include FeedReader, Feed Demon, and RSSOwl. Recent versions of email programs like Outlook and Thunderbird also include feed reading functions.

I personally use Google Reader along with iGoogle (the subject of a later post). Here’s another Commoncraft clip, this time explaining Google Reader.

 Subscribe to feed

Clicking on the link will bring up options for subscribing to this site’s RSS feeds, which means you will never miss new content when it is posted — including more posts about RSS feeds.

RSS feeds, part 1: Introduction. is a post from: Hackademe