Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman has pleaded guilty in Regina provincial court to sexual assault involving a teenage girl.
Astonishing Burj Dubai Opening Fireworks Will Boggle Your Mind [Fireworks]
Forget about any Olympics inauguration ceremonies or any Fourth of July: The Burj Dubai is the tallest building in the world, and it got the highest fireworks too for its opening ceremony. So colossal you’ll think they are destroying it.
The tower—which officially is 2717 feet tall (828 meters)—was inaugurated today, and the developers launched it with all they got. The people who attended the ceremony couldn't stop cheering in awe. I don't blame them. Watch the whole video to see the lighting effects just before the final fireworks. They look designed by aliens.
Understanding Windows 7’s ‘GodMode’ [Windows]
Although its name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden “GodMode” feature that lets users access all of the operating system’s control panels from within a single folder.
By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.
The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.
To enter “GodMode,” one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Once that is done, the folder’s icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options. I’m not sure it’s my idea of playing God, but it is a handy way to get to all kinds of controls.
I’ve asked Microsoft for more details on the feature and how it came to be. But so far, Redmond is silent on the topic.
This story originally appeared on CNET
World’s tallest skyscraper opens in Dubai
The world’s tallest skyscraper formally opened Monday in Dubai. The Burj Khalifa is more than 160 storeys tall, rising more than 800 metres into the sky.
Kipper’s 10 Best Saves
Wallpaper Juggler Downloads and Rotates Fresh Wallpaper [Downloads]
Windows: Whether you’ve already got a folder full of wallpaper or you’d like to find some new images for your desktop, Wallpaper Juggler can rotate and keep your backgrounds fresh.
Wallpaper Juggler is a small application that does two things: it rotates existing wallpaper in your wallpaper directory on a schedule of your choosing and it downloads new wallpaper from both Interfacelift—the winner of our Wallpaper-centered Hive Five—and Wallpaper Stock. Between the rotation of your already collected wallpaper and the infusion of new wallpaper in the size you specify from the aforementioned sites, you’ll never have to stare at a bland desktop again.
Have a favorite tool for keeping your desktop fresh? Let’s hear about it in the comments.
Cacoo Makes Diagram Creation amd Collaboration Simple – Charts – Lifehacker
If you need to make diagrams, wire frames, network charts, and more but you don’t have much experience with graphic design, Cacoo makes chart creation as simple as drag and drop.
Avatar Makes $1 Billion in 17 Days [Movies]
Apparently, the $300-$500 million budget paid off. Right now, with over $1 billion in worldwide sales, Avatar is the third highest grossing movie of all time. It could even take down Titanic‘s $1.8 billion record. [Inquirer via Techie via boingboing]
Canadian juniors advance to gold-medal game
Defenceman Marco Scandella and his teammates made sure that Canada advanced to its ninth consecutive world junior tournament final with a 6-1 victory against a determined Switzerland team at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre on Sunday, setting up a date with the United States in the gold medal game.
No Conroy, Phaneuf for skills competition
First things first.
Dion Phaneuf and Craig Conroy didn’t participate in the skills competition. Both are banged-up (but both were on the premises). Cory Sarich, for what it’s worth, did take part Sunday afternoon.
No official word on any of the injured chaps.
Now, here’s how the skills contest went.
==
FASTEST SKATER
* Freddie Sjostrom — 13.589
* Mark Giordano — 13.958
* Nigel Dawes — 14.043
Note: Curtis Glencross, a two-time winner in this event (last year with the Flames, the season before with the Oilers), took a pass, citing a slight injury.
==
SHOOTING ACCURACY
* Staffan Kronwall — five pucks (to hit four targets)
* Jarome Iginla — six pucks
* Nigel Dawes — six pucks
===
HARDEST SHOT
* Jarome Iginla — 102.3 mph
* Curtis Glencross — 100.1 mph
* Robyn Regehr — 98.1 mph
===
BREAKAWAY RELAY (on Curtis McElhinney)
* Robyn Regehr — 2 for 2
* Nigel Dawes — 2 for 2
* Jay Bouwmeester — 2 for 2
===
The Flames, quite possibly with reinforcements, leave Monday morning for Nashville.
New Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 screenshots
A new group of Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 screenshots have been revealed by livesino.net, a month after Neowin originally posted the first screenshots. Since our previous post, the Windows Live team improved on the Windows 7 taskbar integration, adding in quick status markers for available, away, busy and appear offline. Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 will come with tabbed conversations, much the same way Internet Explorer 8 works. One other noticeable change is the 'x' close button at the bottom of users' chat windows, possibly allowing people to hide the advertisement. Other changes are in the "Select an Emoticon" menu, with a rearrangement of icons with Winks now included.
Fans buzzing over Oilers’ New Year’s bill
Hockey fans are buzzing about allegations that members of the Edmonton Oilers refused to pay the full cost of a nearly $17,000 night out at an upscale Calgary restaurant.
Google and HTC Working On a Chrome OS Tablet [Tablets]
Everyone is clamoring about tablets these days—ourselves included—so it's not too surprising that Google and HTC are set to join the fray. They are reportedly working together on a Chrome OS Google Tablet.
Smarthouse, an Australian publication, reports that HTC and Google have been collaborating “for the past 18 months” and have produced “several working models of a touch tablet,” including one outfitted with Google’s Chrome OS. We wrote why a Google Tablet would be a good idea last month, and with the Apple Tablet discussion reaching a fever pitch, it’s harder and harder to get excited about a Chrome OS netbook from Google.
Having collaborated on the Nexus One, a smart phone that impressed us with its design as well as its hardware, HTC and Google partnering on a tablet seems like a promising prospect. But will it “compete head on” with Apple’s tablet as Smarthouse claims? Probably not.
From what we know, it seems like Apple is putting as much effort into their tablet’s content as they are into the gadget itself. We’ve written extensively on how an Apple tablet could redefine newspapers, textbooks, and magazines. In the last case, we’ve already salivated, more than once, over concepts for how magazines might evolve in a multi-touch future. Add that to Apple’s recent acquisition of Lala, a move that likely points to a cloud-based future for iTunes, and the reports that Apple is trying to secure TV show subscription packages for the iTunes store. Admittedly, not a whole lot is certain about Apple’s tablet. But you start looking at all of those pieces and how they might fit together around one device, you can easily envision a gadget that is focused on streaming the stuff you read, the stuff you listen to, and the stuff you watch.
It’s hard to foresee a future in which a Google Tablet tries to go head to head with Apple on the content level. That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t some compelling things that could be offered by a Google tablet. As the launch of Google’s Chrome OS made clear, they’re looking toward a future with a multitude of devices that can access the Internet quickly, cleanly, and cheaply. A Google Tablet could be just the thing to realize all of those goals. When we tried out the JooJoo tablet, we saw how a well-designed tablet for consuming web content could provide an engaging experience. A Chrome OS tablet by Google would likely work the same way, keeping typing to a minimum and offering a literal hands-on web surfing experience. [Smarthouse via Business Insider]
Ei.cfg Removal Utility Lets You Use Any Product Key With Your Windows 7 Disc [Downloads]
Windows: Windows 7 install discs are edition-specific—if you've got a valid license key, you still need the right disc for installation. The ei.cfg Removal Utility, however, lets you create a new, universal installation ISO for Windows 7.
Although your Windows installation disc may say "Home Premium Edition," it still contains the other versions (such as Pro or Ultimate) on the disc—it just has a very small file called ei.cfg that tells the disc what version to install. The ei.cfg Removal Utility creates a new ISO of your install disc that ignores this file, thus letting you choose what edition you want when you start the installer.
While this tool is especially useful for computer technicians who have to install Windows a lot, it's also nice to have for those of us that tend to lose discs often—especially in this day and age of emailed product keys. Now, if you need to reinstall Windows but can't find your disc, you can just borrow a friend's—even if it's an edition that's different than yours. You just need let the installer know which edition matches your product key (Note: Your disc still needs to be the same kernel as your key (i.e. 32 or 64-bit).
The ei.cfg Removal Utility is a free download, Windows only, and requires a Windows 7 install disc to use. Thanks, Cody Ryan Harrod!
B.C., Sask. restrict cellphone use while driving
It’s now illegal to talk and text while driving in British Columbia, but tickets won’t be handed out for one more month.
Canada’s juniors come back to beat U.S. in shootout
Brandon Kozun scored the winner in the third round of the shootout to lead Canada to a 5-4 comeback victory over the United States at the world junior hockey championships in Saskatoon on New Year’s Eve.
‘Blue’ moon to grace New Year’s sky
Partygoers will be treated to an extra full moon Thursday night, but don’t expect it to actually be blue.
Most Popular Hive Five Topics of 2009 [Best Of 2009]
Every week we pose a simple, focused question to the Lifehacker readership about a specific topic: Which is best? From netbooks and malware removal to home servers and wallpaper, here’s a look back at the most popular Hive Five topics of 2009.
The Hive Five asks the question "Which is best?" in a variety of topics covering hardware, software, and sometimes even a combination of the two. Although sometimes it's easy to predict the winner—Ubuntu has had its share of wins, to be sure—the real value in the Hive Five isn't actually its ability to elevate a single winner to a pedestal but to highlight all the great options that are out there.
Between the four runners up in each Hive Five and the other options highlighted in the hundreds of comments on both the Hive Five Call for Contenders and the actual Hive Five every week, it’s easy to discover new things. If ever you’re not sold on the winner of any Hive Five always make sure to read over the comments and see if any of them tip you off to a new and awesome product you’d never heard of.
Five Best Netbooks
Some months have elapsed since we asked you which netbook was best, but the newer models of the winner and runners up in that Hive Five are still the forerunners in the netbook market.
Five Best Malware Removal Tools
Nobody likes having their machine laden down with malware. Check out this Hive Five to find great applications for keeping things running smooth and malware free.
Best Home Server Software
Media files, data synchronization, and remote backups, oh my! Home computing has advanced to a point where it’s practical to run your own home server, and we’re running down the five best tools for the job.
Five Best Linux Distributions
There are many, many Linux distributions, and a lot of unique reasons to like them. Read on to see which open-source operating systems inspired our readers to provide our biggest Hive Five response to date.
Five Best Wallpaper Sites
Nobody likes staring at a boring desktop when they fire up their computer every morning. Keep your wallpaper fresh with the five most popular sites Lifehacker readers use to satisfy their wallpaper needs.
Five Best Free Data Recovery Tools
The best way to recover from unexpected data loss is to be properly prepared. With one of the following tools on hand, you’ll always be ready to save your data from the Reaper.
Six Best Video Editing Applications
You want to be the supreme ruler of your own virtual cutting room? Better break out the checkbook—your film-chopping powers aren't going to come cheaply.
Five Best Web Browsers
It’s probably the most important and debated piece of software on the modern computer. See how your fellow readers get around the net, and vote for your favorite web browser.
Six Best MP3 Tagging Tools
A well tagged MP3 collection makes everything from organization to playback easier. Keep reading for a closer look at your fellow readers’ favorite tools for cleaning up their MP3 tags in this Hive Five.
Five Best Antivirus Applications
Computer viruses are increasingly sophisticated and pervasive. If you can’t afford to run your computer without some sort of antivirus software installed, check out these five popular options to protect your PC.
Five Best Live CDs
Live CDs (and DVDs) are versatile tools, allowing you to boot into an operating system without installing anything to your hard drives. Let’s take a closer look at the five most popular live CDs.
Five Best Disk Defragmenters
Your computer is a busy beaver, rapidly accessing and utilizing files all in the name of bringing you what you want, when you want it. Sometimes it needs a little help tidying up, and that’s where these five disk defragmenters come in.
Five Best Portable Applications
Whether you got a shiny new flash drive over the holidays or your old thumb drive is looking for a new lease on life, pack it full of goodness with these five killer portable applications.
Five Best Instant Messengers
Instant messaging has become so ubiquitous, an entire generation of internet users is probably unaware there was ever life without it. Check out the following five most popular instant messengers to to help you communicate across networks and the world.
Five Best Free System Restore Tools
Backing up data is a great way to minimize losses after a computing catastrophe. But what about restoring your actual system right away? Here are the five most popular reader choices.
Five Best People-Search Engines
Need to do a little online detective work? Track down anyone from long lost schoolmates to the new friend whose number you’ve lost with this assortment of powerful people-search engines.
Five Best System Tray Applications

The Windows system tray can be so much more than a parking lot for programs you don’t want cluttering up your task bar. Read on to see the five most popular tray tools readers can’t live without.
Five Best Online Backup Tools
Local backup is a useful and necessary part of securing your data against catastrophe, but with the advent of broadband and inexpensive online storage, you’ve got little reason to not back up critical files to the cloud as well.
Five Best PDF Readers

Adobe’s free PDF reader has long been a standard for handling its extremely popular document format, but you aren’t limited to using it to view your PDF files. Let’s take a look at five of the most popular PDF readers.
Five Best Video Players

We’ve come a long way since animated GIFs and video-game-style MIDI files were considered cutting edge computer-provided A/V entertainment. Take advantage of today’s high-quality video with one of these five most popular video players.
Hive Five: Five Best Mind Mapping Applications

Mind mapping is a great way to add structure to brainstorming sessions and visualize your ideas. Check out the applications your fellow readers use to do their best brainstorming.
Five Best Windows Task Manager Alternatives

The Windows Task Manager is a functional but basic tool for keeping an eye on what your computer’s up to. If you want to go beyond the built-in tool and for more in depth information and control, check out these five alternatives.
Six Best Portable Operating Systems

Why restrict yourself to merely carrying around your data on a thumb drive? Take your entire operating system on your flash drive with the excellent portable operating systems you’ll find inside this week’s Hive Five.
Five Best Portable Apps Suites

Once upon a time, easy remote computing was a pipe dream, now people routinely carry gigs of data around on flash drives smaller than a modest pack of chewing gum. Manage your apps and data with these portable application suites.
Five Best Virtual-Desktop Managers

Long before multiple monitors were popular (or financially feasible), there were virtual desktops—applications that allow you to swap your entire workspace with another for easy compartmentalization of your work. Here's a look at five of the most popular virtual-desktop managers.
Five Best Application Docks

Remember the days of digging through folders of shortcuts and menus to launch applications? These days many users prefer customizable, attractive docks for launching and keeping track of their favorite apps. Here’s a look at five of the most popular docks.
Five Best Time-Tracking Applications

Where does the time go? Whether you need to know for billing purposes or just want a better idea of how your work day is split up, you can always answer that question with a good time-tracking application.
Five Best Software Update Tools

Rather than wait around for your software to notify you of updates (let’s face it, a lot of applications never will), these five handy tools keep an eye on your apps, alert you when an update’s available, and streamline the updating process.
Six Best Exercise Planning and Tracking Tools

Technology and exercise make an excellent pair; you can now track, plan, and graph your workouts more easily than ever. We’re here to take a look at six of the most popular tools for the job.
Five Best Alternative File Copiers

If you do any serious file copying on a Windows system, you’ll quickly discover that there are substantial limitations to the default file copier. Ease your file copying frustrations with these five alternative copiers.
Which is Your Favorite Hive Five Topic from 2009?(polls)
Have a favorite Hive Five topic from 2009 that wasn’t highlighted here? Let’s hear about it in the comments. If you have a topic you’d love us to cover in 2010, make sure to send an email with your suggestion to tips @ lifehacker.com with “Hive Five” in the subject line so we can add it to our list.
Most Popular Hive Five Topics of 2009 [Best Of 2009]
Every week we pose a simple, focused question to the Lifehacker readership about a specific topic: Which is best? From netbooks and malware removal to home servers and wallpaper, here’s a look back at the most popular Hive Five topics of 2009.
The Hive Five asks the question "Which is best?" in a variety of topics covering hardware, software, and sometimes even a combination of the two. Although sometimes it's easy to predict the winner—Ubuntu has had its share of wins, to be sure—the real value in the Hive Five isn't actually its ability to elevate a single winner to a pedestal but to highlight all the great options that are out there.
Between the four runners up in each Hive Five and the other options highlighted in the hundreds of comments on both the Hive Five Call for Contenders and the actual Hive Five every week, it’s easy to discover new things. If ever you’re not sold on the winner of any Hive Five always make sure to read over the comments and see if any of them tip you off to a new and awesome product you’d never heard of.
Five Best Netbooks
Some months have elapsed since we asked you which netbook was best, but the newer models of the winner and runners up in that Hive Five are still the forerunners in the netbook market.
Five Best Malware Removal Tools
Nobody likes having their machine laden down with malware. Check out this Hive Five to find great applications for keeping things running smooth and malware free.
Best Home Server Software
Media files, data synchronization, and remote backups, oh my! Home computing has advanced to a point where it’s practical to run your own home server, and we’re running down the five best tools for the job.
Five Best Linux Distributions
There are many, many Linux distributions, and a lot of unique reasons to like them. Read on to see which open-source operating systems inspired our readers to provide our biggest Hive Five response to date.
Five Best Wallpaper Sites
Nobody likes staring at a boring desktop when they fire up their computer every morning. Keep your wallpaper fresh with the five most popular sites Lifehacker readers use to satisfy their wallpaper needs.
Five Best Free Data Recovery Tools
The best way to recover from unexpected data loss is to be properly prepared. With one of the following tools on hand, you’ll always be ready to save your data from the Reaper.
Six Best Video Editing Applications
You want to be the supreme ruler of your own virtual cutting room? Better break out the checkbook—your film-chopping powers aren't going to come cheaply.
Five Best Web Browsers
It’s probably the most important and debated piece of software on the modern computer. See how your fellow readers get around the net, and vote for your favorite web browser.
Six Best MP3 Tagging Tools
A well tagged MP3 collection makes everything from organization to playback easier. Keep reading for a closer look at your fellow readers’ favorite tools for cleaning up their MP3 tags in this Hive Five.
Five Best Antivirus Applications
Computer viruses are increasingly sophisticated and pervasive. If you can’t afford to run your computer without some sort of antivirus software installed, check out these five popular options to protect your PC.
Five Best Live CDs
Live CDs (and DVDs) are versatile tools, allowing you to boot into an operating system without installing anything to your hard drives. Let’s take a closer look at the five most popular live CDs.
Five Best Disk Defragmenters
Your computer is a busy beaver, rapidly accessing and utilizing files all in the name of bringing you what you want, when you want it. Sometimes it needs a little help tidying up, and that’s where these five disk defragmenters come in.
Five Best Portable Applications
Whether you got a shiny new flash drive over the holidays or your old thumb drive is looking for a new lease on life, pack it full of goodness with these five killer portable applications.
Five Best Instant Messengers
Instant messaging has become so ubiquitous, an entire generation of internet users is probably unaware there was ever life without it. Check out the following five most popular instant messengers to to help you communicate across networks and the world.
Five Best Free System Restore Tools
Backing up data is a great way to minimize losses after a computing catastrophe. But what about restoring your actual system right away? Here are the five most popular reader choices.
Five Best People-Search Engines
Need to do a little online detective work? Track down anyone from long lost schoolmates to the new friend whose number you’ve lost with this assortment of powerful people-search engines.
Five Best System Tray Applications

The Windows system tray can be so much more than a parking lot for programs you don’t want cluttering up your task bar. Read on to see the five most popular tray tools readers can’t live without.
Five Best Online Backup Tools
Local backup is a useful and necessary part of securing your data against catastrophe, but with the advent of broadband and inexpensive online storage, you’ve got little reason to not back up critical files to the cloud as well.
Five Best PDF Readers

Adobe’s free PDF reader has long been a standard for handling its extremely popular document format, but you aren’t limited to using it to view your PDF files. Let’s take a look at five of the most popular PDF readers.
Five Best Video Players

We’ve come a long way since animated GIFs and video-game-style MIDI files were considered cutting edge computer-provided A/V entertainment. Take advantage of today’s high-quality video with one of these five most popular video players.
Hive Five: Five Best Mind Mapping Applications

Mind mapping is a great way to add structure to brainstorming sessions and visualize your ideas. Check out the applications your fellow readers use to do their best brainstorming.
Five Best Windows Task Manager Alternatives

The Windows Task Manager is a functional but basic tool for keeping an eye on what your computer’s up to. If you want to go beyond the built-in tool and for more in depth information and control, check out these five alternatives.
Six Best Portable Operating Systems

Why restrict yourself to merely carrying around your data on a thumb drive? Take your entire operating system on your flash drive with the excellent portable operating systems you’ll find inside this week’s Hive Five.
Five Best Portable Apps Suites

Once upon a time, easy remote computing was a pipe dream, now people routinely carry gigs of data around on flash drives smaller than a modest pack of chewing gum. Manage your apps and data with these portable application suites.
Five Best Virtual-Desktop Managers

Long before multiple monitors were popular (or financially feasible), there were virtual desktops—applications that allow you to swap your entire workspace with another for easy compartmentalization of your work. Here's a look at five of the most popular virtual-desktop managers.
Five Best Application Docks

Remember the days of digging through folders of shortcuts and menus to launch applications? These days many users prefer customizable, attractive docks for launching and keeping track of their favorite apps. Here’s a look at five of the most popular docks.
Five Best Time-Tracking Applications

Where does the time go? Whether you need to know for billing purposes or just want a better idea of how your work day is split up, you can always answer that question with a good time-tracking application.
Five Best Software Update Tools

Rather than wait around for your software to notify you of updates (let’s face it, a lot of applications never will), these five handy tools keep an eye on your apps, alert you when an update’s available, and streamline the updating process.
Six Best Exercise Planning and Tracking Tools

Technology and exercise make an excellent pair; you can now track, plan, and graph your workouts more easily than ever. We’re here to take a look at six of the most popular tools for the job.
Five Best Alternative File Copiers

If you do any serious file copying on a Windows system, you’ll quickly discover that there are substantial limitations to the default file copier. Ease your file copying frustrations with these five alternative copiers.
Which is Your Favorite Hive Five Topic from 2009?(polls)
Have a favorite Hive Five topic from 2009 that wasn’t highlighted here? Let’s hear about it in the comments. If you have a topic you’d love us to cover in 2010, make sure to send an email with your suggestion to tips @ lifehacker.com with “Hive Five” in the subject line so we can add it to our list.
10 things you should know about USB 2.0 and 3.0 | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com
USB 3.0 has been highly anticipated — and now, it’s finally here. Sort of. Find out about its availability, specifications, benefits, and limitations