A Michael Jackson impersonator I snapped at the Imperial Palace in Vegas earlier this year. Rumour had it that doubles were going to play quite an important role in Jackson’s planned London concert series, but there should definitely be steady work from now on in B-grade entertainment venues across the planet for anyone unfortunate enough to look like this. (And no apology for that last remark: Jackson’s untimely demise in no way changes the fact that no-one sane would actually want to look anything like his post-surgery self.)

No time for excuses, just a quick roundup of everything I’ve published online since May before I try to get back on track. Let’s do this in orderly groups of increasing size, shall we?

Group 1: APC

ASUS: Only 5% of Eee PCs use Linux

Why Commonwealth Bank spam is slipping through spam filters

Group 2: SearchSecurity

Why security administrators became a speed-bump on BT Financial Group’s road to automation

Bank delivers card readers to secure customers

Roll-your-own social networks no guarantee of improved security

When blade servers compromise security

Can AppLocker ease desktop lockdown woes?

Group 3: Lifehacker

Make Earrings From Old Resistors

Time To Hunt PC Tax Bargains

Best Australian iPhone 3GS Deals

Windows 7 Australian Upgrade Pricing: Unclear, Expensive

iPhone 3GS: Telstra And Apple Store Pricing

PodShifter Speeds Up Podcasts For Faster Listening (promptly picked up by the US site)

Tour de France Streaming Live On SBS Site

How Long Do You Need To Keep Tax Documents? (Loaded)

Cityrail Redesigns Web Site

Which Keyboard Keys Would You Make Bigger?

Vodafone iPhone 3GS Pricing Has Prepaid, Tether Bundles

What TV Shows Would You Like To See Streamed Live?

Twitlogo Builds A Twitter-Style Logo

Fix Common PowerPoint Problems

Most Aussies Happy With Phone And Net Service

DIY IKEA CD Rack Laptop Stand

What New Options Affect Your Tax In 2009?

Switchwise Electricity Comparisons Now Australia-Wide

Set Photoshop To Log All Your Activity

Remove Norton IPS And Toolbar Extensions From Firefox (Norton didn’t like this very much)

INeedThingsDone.Com Solicits Bids For Small Household Jobs

Check Occupation Guides To Maximise Tax Deductions

What Are Your Favourite Spelling Memory Aids? (promptly picked up by the US site)

Battle Of The BlackBerry Twitter Clients (Road Worrier)

Optus iPhone 3GS Prices: No Big Shocks, Tethering Just About Dead

Last Week’s Best Posts

iPhone 3GS In Australia: What We Know One Week Out

Beat Cable Clutter With Beads

Make Gmail Firefox’s Default Email Client

Complain About Products To Get Free Stuff

Myer Offering Two $20 iTunes Cards For $30

Qantas Adds Online Check-In For International Flights

The BRW Rich 200 On How Not To Lose Your Money (Loaded)

Optus Wants $9.99 A Month For iPhone Tethering

Cook Carrots Whole For Better Taste And Health (promptly picked up by the US site)

iPhone 3.0 In Australia: MMS Good, Tethering Iffy

Block Retweets For More Effective Twitter Searches (promptly picked up by the US site)

Kmart Offering 10% Off iTunes Cards

Organise Your Home With The SPACE Method (Lifehacker 101)

Aussies Addicted To External Hard Drives

Phones And Net Are Cheaper, But We Complain More

No Free Tethering For Optus On iPhone

Fix Problems With People Search In Twitter

Add Wheels To Your Furniture For Faster Cleaning

Speed Up iPod Video Conversions By Ditching H.264

World Cab Fares Prices Your Journey From The Airport

Can’t Get Windows 7 RC To Install? Try 64-Bit

ACCC Gets Tough On Dodgy SMS Services

The Future Of GPS Traffic Monitoring In Australia (Road Worrier)

KFC Pushes Grilled Chicken As “Healthy” Choice

Last Week’s Best Posts

Build A Photo Wall From CD Cases

Bing Maps Birds Eye View Gives Different Perspective

Windows 7 Reality Check: It Can Still Suck Big Time

Image Sharpening 101 (promptly picked up by the US site)

JB Hi-Fi To Ditch CD Singles

A Resume Template You Shouldn’t Use

Credit Cards: The More You Fail, The Worse It Gets (Loaded)

Optus Offering $50 Bonus On Weekend Prepaid Top-Ups

Sleepinginairports.net Tells All On Airport Sleepovers

Two $20 iTunes Cards For $30 At Big W

DIY IKEA Placemat Netbook Bag

Making The Most Of The Microsoft Office 2007 Ribbon (Lifehacker 101)

Facebook User Name Rush Begins This Weekend

Fix Your PC For National E-Security Awareness Week

Everyday Rewards Sets Qantas Frequent Flyer Rate

iPhone 3GS: The Key Australian Details

Suna Traffic Info For Perth, Adelaide, Canberra This Month

Write Shopping Lists A Day Ahead To Cut Costs

Hit F4 To Redo That Last Office Command

New Mac Users Will Pay $14.95 For Snow Leopard

Use Album Covers To Inspire Photo Editing

Lifetick Adds Recurring Tasks

Fixing Case Sensitivity Problems With Firefox Find

Fix Problems With Page Numbers In Word

Laptop Connect Rents 3G Broadband Access

Cheap iTunes Cards At JB Hi-Fi, Kmart

Mobile Bing Lacks Aussie Zing

What FlyBuys And Everyday Rewards Get You These Days (Loaded)

How To Customise And Share Windows 7 Themes

Google Flu Trends Expanded To Australia

Google Updates Australian iGoogle Apps

My Quest For The Mac’s Keyboard Shortcut Soul

Officeworks, Harris Technology Pulling Out Of FlyBuys

Internode Increases Caps On 3G Broadband

Google Maps To Add Public Transport For Canberra, (Sydney)

Hand Luggage Only: The Small Lessons Learned

HD Movies Coming To Xbox 360 In Australia

Vodafone Goes Cheap With Android HTC Magic

Vodafone’s iPhone Visual Voicemail Still Having Problems

3 Offers Free Facebook Access Until September

Pushing The Limits On IKEA Hacking

Hand Luggage Only: The Big Lessons Learned (Road Worrier) (promptly picked up by the US site)

Everyday Rewards Offers Free Qantas Frequent Flyer Membership

Last Week’s Best Posts

HLO Day 29: See Inside The Bag

No Consumer Change As Vodafone-3 Merger Approved

The Bing Features Australia Won’t Be Getting

Why I Didn’t Buy A Mac (Lifehacker’s most commented local article ever)

Faster Extension Puts Google Results In Sidebar

Find Banks With The Smallest Interest Rate Drops

Skype 4.1 Beta Has Proper Firefox Extension Uninstaller

3 Offers HTC Magic Pricing, Vodafone Stays Mum

Avoid Unhygienic Restaurants With National Food Safety Lists (Loaded)

Transferr Organises Bookmarks In A Chrome-Like Display

Minimise To The Desktop For Faster Keyboard Access

HLO Day 27: The Bag Breaks And 3G Dies

Vodafone Promises Visual Voicemail Will Be Working By Friday

Skype Launches Shopping Site, Nothing To See Here

Use PowerPoint Shortcut Keys For More Accurate Placement

Protect Your Shave Stick With A Film Canister

Vodafone Adds Visual Voicemail To iPhone

HLO Day 26: Delay Growth And Damp Garments

Australian Posts - Page 12 | Lifehacker Australia

Get New YouTube Subscription Videos Via RSS

Name And Shame Food List Highlights Unhygenic Restaurants

Tweleted Tracks Deleted Twitter Messages

Finding An ISP That Shapes To 128Kbps

Vodafone-3 Promises No Swift Price Changes After Merger

Digital TV Switchover: We’re Clueless And Sometimes Unhappy

Planning The Perfect Travel Washbag (Road Worrier)

Twitter Still Promising Australian SMS Service

Last Week’s Best Posts

The Notebook Airline Test

DIY IKEA Bookshelf Cat Run

The Hidden Cost Of Cheap Food

SUNA Traffic Tracking Expands To Gold Coast

HLO Day 22: Why Airport Shuttles Bite

Vista Service Pack 2 Due Within Weeks

Vodafone, 3 Taking Pre-Orders For Android HTC Magic (UPDATED)

Can Contractors Go On The Dole? (Loaded)

HLO Day 21: The Balloon Laundry Challenge

Invoiceplace Manages Your Invoicing And Finances

Regulator Cracks Down On Premium Mobile Services

HLO Day 20: Thank You To The Sentinel Chickens

Learn To Tweak Zoom In Internet Explorer 8

How To Protect Your Privacy On Twitter (Lifehacker 101)

The Reading Room Is A Social Network For Book Lovers

MyInvites Offers Swanky Online Invitations

HLO Day 19: The Kuranda Broadband Trail

Do Not Call Fax Exemptions Will Cover Everyone

Mall Shopper Finds Deals Near Where You Are

Does Your Netbook Need Its Own Accessories?

Use Twitter To Save Money

HLO Day 18: When Broadband Software Sucks, Part 2

Foxtel Makes Remote Movie Ordering A Tad Easier

Finding Cheap Airport Transfers From Australian Airports (Road Worrier)

Battle Looming Over Do Not Call Register

Pirate Windows 7 RC Used To Build Botnet

Last Week’s Best Posts

HLO Days 15-17: A Prayer For The Drying

Use A Squeeze Bottle For Perfect Pancakes

Weekly Envelope Helps Plan Your Budget

Take Your Life Philosophy From Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell

TiVo Adds Nova, Vega Radio Streams

Virgin Deal Highlights Mobile 3G Issues

HLO Day 14: Online Check-In Saves The Day

Quickflix Offers Movie Downloads, Munches Your Bandwidth

Clarity In Pricing: Ad Shonks To Get Slapped (Loaded)

Malware Fiends Focus On Facebook, Twitter

Hack Your Phone To Start Google Latitude Automatically

HLO Day 13: The Bag Is A Celebrity

How To Switch Off User Account Control In Vista (Lifehacker 101)

Google Search Options Help Filter Results

Add Local Weather To Your Outlook

HLO Day 12: Banking On Battery Life

Ice TV Cuts Subscription Price

TrafficHawk Shows Sydney Traffic Trouble Spots

What Are The Best Reasons For Working From Home?

HLO Competition: The Winning Playlists

Travellr Hunts Answers To Your Travel Questions

Beware Windows 7 RC Non-Functional Updates

iPrimus Offering Unmetred TiVo Downloads

Why 3G Broadband Software Is So Annoying (Road Worrier)

Tjoos Launches Australia-Specific Coupon Site

HLO Day 11: Devonport Airport Bans My Luggage

Last Week’s Best Posts

I may have dropped back to weekly blogging here, but because of the Hand Luggage Only project at Lifehacker, I’ve been running updates on my movements like never before. In the unlikely event you read this blog but haven’t been following it, here’s the key posts from the last week (including lots for the now-concluded iTunes competition):

HLO Day 10: Why Your Mobile Phone Alarm Is The Best Bet

HLO Day 9: Sea? Sick!

HLO Day 8: A Burst Of Spontaneity In Ballarat

Last Chance For That $100 iTunes Card

HLO Apple Store Marathon Stop 3: Chadstone

HLO Apple Store Marathon Stop 2: Chatswood

HLO Apple Store Marathon Stop 1: Sydney

HLO Day 6: Now It’s Going To Get Nasty

Don’t Miss Your Chance At $100 To Spend On iTunes

HLO Day 5: Plugging Up The Laundry Gap

Want To Win $100 iTunes Money? Get Creative

HLO Day 4: When Your Qantas Club Card Dies

HLO: Choosing The Right Notebook PC For Travel (this week’s Road Worrier column)

HLO: Win $100 iTunes Credit

HLO Days 2-3: Transport And Laundry Are Too Easy

In non-Lifehacker mode, I did a story for APC about the first feature to get pulled from Windows 7 (and you’ll have to read it to find out what it was. And of course Lifehacker continued to produce lots of non-travel content:

Fatten Up Patriotically With Tim Tam Cupcakes

Google Maps Mashup Shows Opposite Points On Globe

How To Make Your Own Photoshop Brushes

eBay Drops Insertion Fees On Cheap Auctions

Nest Unclutterer Dumps Unwanted Twitter Followers

How To Avoid Gym Membership Rip-Offs (this week’s Loaded column)

How To Choose And Remember Secure Passwords (this week’s Lifehacker 101)

eBay Australia Selling Inconvenient Music Downloads

DealTracker Finds Australian Deals Of The Day

Nokia Offers Free Trial Of Messaging On Older Phones

DIY IKEA Shoe Rack Laptop Desk

Early Windows 7 RC Doesn’t Support Compatibility View

Tech Job Falls Mean Tech Support Sucks

eBay Australia Cuts Time You Can Lodge A Dispute

Vodafone Prepaid 3G Broadband Plans Up The Price Ante

Last Week’s Best Posts

I’d hoped to be more efficient with the blog this week, but I ended up being heavily occupied getting ready for the Lifehacker Hand Luggage Only project. The basic idea is pretty simple: I have to spend a month on the road, with only a single regulated airline size carry bag, visit every state in Australia, and do my normal work. Should be fun/interesting/hellish (delete as appropriate).

Predictably, that dominated affairs at Lifehacker during the week. Monday’s Road Worrier column announced the project, on Tuesday I revealed my packing list, Thursday’s Loaded looked at how I found cheap hotels and on Friday I hit the road as my BlackBerry crashed. I’ve now reached Adelaide, the first stop on the journey, and have told myself firmly I need to blog more often.

But of course, it wasn’t all that was going on. At SearchSecurity, I looked at how to develop security policies for virtual environments. For iTWire, I wrote up Dell’s new retail deal with Dick Smith. And in the non-HLO world at Lifehacker:

Free Comic Book Day 2009 Is This Saturday

Adding Smart Bibliography Citations In Word

DealSucker Aggregates Australian Deals Of The Day

Twitter Adds Proper Search Button

Blockbuster Offering Movie Downloads On TiVo

Vodafone 3G In Regional Centres Goes Live

Perks Still Define The Best Places To Work

Expand Your TiVo To 1TB — For A Price

How To Move Your Outlook Files From One PC To Another (this week’s Lifehacker 101)

FOX Sports Mobile Offers Live Scores On Your Phone

Windows 7 Changes AutoPlay For Better Security

Tjoos Aggregates And Verifies Discount Shopping Coupons And Codes

ABC Adds Twitter, Facebook Features To iView

Best Free Sites For Kids?

How To Uninstall The Skype Firefox Extension

Would You Skip The Voice Recognition Option Given The Chance?

Use Excel As A Twitter Client

Internode’s 3G Broadband Service Not Spectacular Value

Ice TV Decision Could Bring Web Information Explosion

Last Week’s Best Posts

Or: what I posted since last Friday. Two stories at APC: one looking at in-game porn viewing (I kid ye not), the other on Kogan’s run-in with the ACCC. I also made an appearance on Radio Australia, discussing travel technology on Tech Stream. At Lifehacker:

Kogan Case Shows Need To Consider Price Comparisons Carefully (referencing my APC story)

Where To Find ANZAC Day Broadcasts Online

DIY IKEA Under-Couch Toy Storage System

Has Your Boss Cut Back On Staff Benefits? (inspired by a Dell launch, of all things)

Count Occurrences Of A Word In A Document

Tech Travel Tips In Audio Form (ie, my Tech Stream appearance)

Should You Participate In Net Filter Trials?

Why Debt Relief Services Won’t Help With Debt Reduction (this week’s Loaded column)

Warner To Release Download Movies The Same Day As DVDs

Google Giving $75 Free Credit To New Advertisers

Air New Zealand Offering Free Domestic Flights

How To Set Up Firefox Keyword Bookmarks (the new Lifehacker 101 column)

Ice TV Wins Legal Battle Against Nine

YouTube Enables Comment Filtering

How To Customise Internet Explorer 8

TrueLocal iPhone App Maps Local Businesses

Do You Use Your Full Mobile Phone Cap Every Month?

Foxtel Site Offers Previews, Promises Video On Demand Later

Enable MMS On Your Australian iPhone 3.0

Outlook 2010 To Feature Combined Conversations

AVG Offers LinkScanner Tool For Free

Use DD-WRT To Make Your Router Into An Access Point

What Should Never Go In Checked Luggage (this week’s Road Worrier column)

Webslug Rates Your Site’s Loading Time Against Others

Foxtel Planning Online Catchup TV Service

Last Week’s Best Posts

No excuses, just a lot of catching up. For SearchSecurity, I looked at how Thiess combined WAN optimisation with security policies. At Technology & Business, I looked at whether the rich application environments war was a furphy.

Lifehacker rolls ever onwards, and as an added bonus we had a site resdesign and changed CMS. Yay WordPress, long may Movable Type rot in hell. Here’s what I wrote:

Five Things To Do This Weekend

Turn That IKEA Artist’s Dummy Into A Lamp

CaptionTube Adds Captions To YouTube Videos

Draft Important Emails In Your Word Processor

Add Reflections To Your Photos (promptly picked up by the US site)

Microsoft Updates Outlook Connector, Fixes Calendar Bugs

Could You Use Mail Merge To Speed Job Hunting?

Top 5 Ways To Save Money On iTunes (Loaded)

Twitter Tools That Don’t Need Your Password

Seven To Offer Heroes Download Prior To Australian Broadcast

iTunes Cards 15% Off At Coles

3 Confirms New Roaming Rates, Wider Coverage

HarvestHub Co-Op Offers Cheap Fresh Fruit And Veg

Qantas Offering Show Tickets For Frequent Flyer Points

Queensland Trains To Get Free Wi-Fi In 2010

Telstra’s 21Mbps Next G Wireless Broadband Finally Arrives

Too Much Facebook Might Ruin Your University Grades

What Hotels Get Wrong For Business Travellers (Road Worrier)

Internet Explorer 8 Hits Automatic Update

Community TV Will Be On Freeview EPG

Last Week’s Best Posts

See You After All The Chocolate

Easterhacker: Easter Ideas For The Thrifty And Geeky

Google Not Rushing Towards Other Mobile Browser Clients

eBay Increases Fees For Vehicle Sales

spellr.us Runs A Spell Check Across Your Site

DIY IKEA Robot Bathroom Mirror

The NBN Might Cost $100 A Month For Consumers

Microsoft Wants Windows 7 Testers To Downgrade To Vista

Variable Pricing Hits iTunes Australia Store

Office 2007 Mapping Workbooks Show Where Everything Went

eBay’s Listing Discounts Getting Less Impressive

Postcode Dot-to-dot Joins Australia’s Postcodes On A Map

Buy Your Petrol Soon To Avoid Easter Price Hikes

NBN Delay Sucks, But Rudd Broadband Plan Still Good News

Improve Your Willpower By Shifting Your Tooth-Brushing Hand (promptly picked up by the US site)

BlackBerry Curve 8900 Pushes The Right Buttons For Travellers (Road Worrier)

Fake A Fish Eye Photo In Photoshop

What Aussies Are Cramming Onto Their PVRs

Last Week’s Best Posts

Five Things To Do This Weekend

Remember Your Daylight Saving Tech Check

DIY IKEA Office To Hide In A Laundry

Microsoft SharePoint Designer Now Free

Big W Offering 15% Off ITunes Cards

3 To Drop Roaming Prices For Next G Access

Why Airport Parking Is Such A Rip-Off (Loaded)

BlackBerry App World Opens, But Not For Australia

Vodafone And 3 Merger Might Not Be Good For Prices

Google Tweaks Suggest, Transit Maps, AdSense For Aussie Users

Why Are So Many Australian Sites On The IE8 Compatibility View List?

Foxtel iQ2 Lets You Extend Recording Time By 20 Minutes

Qantas Extends Deadline For Transferring Points

Lifehacker AU Gets New Look

Microsoft Kills Encarta In Victory For Community Content

Twitter Tweaks @Replies Interface

DIY IKEA Scrabble Table

Watch Out For Fake Microsoft Support Calls

BigPond Outage Across NSW, Victoria

Last Day To Set Up Qantas Frequent Flyer Credit Card Transfers

I’ve seen more rain in Sydney in 24 hours than I saw in London in a month. You get that. You can also get conned if you’re foolish enough to take security advice over the phone, as I point out in a news piece for APC.

Mondays at Lifehacker always mean Road Worrier, which this week looked at some recent statistics on Australian online travel buying habits which suggest that we don’t always get it right. Elsewhere on the site:

What Google Doesn’t Index On Its Own Site

Australians Like Mobile Internet, Still Don’t Want To Pay For It

Get Free Wi-Fi At The MCG

Last Week’s Best Posts

So it’s good to be back. But of course all that hanging round airports wrecked my updating again. For SearchSecurity, I looked at an SSO rollout at Thomson Retuers. At Technology & Business, there was a piece on what Windows 7 means for servers. Meanwhile, at Lifehacker:

Five Things To Do This Weekend

TheF***ingweather.com Tells You The Weather (NSFW)

Microsoft Extends DreamSpark Free Software Program To Aussie High Schools

Double-Check For Daylight Saving Changes On Your Gadgets

Twexxter Is A Twitter Client For Netbooks

Sitcom Maps Help You Plan That TV-Inspired Holiday

Vote On Which IE8 Bugs You Want Fixed

Make Sure You’re Counting All Your Debts

Choosing Between Functions And Pivot Tables In Excel

Last.fm No Longer Free For Aussies

eBay Will Retain Community Discussion Board

TheSOCExchange.com.au Lets You Sell Anything For An Annual Fee

Fumzup Helps Choose Credit Cards And Bank Accounts

eBay Discussion Board Change Stirring Controversy

Get 3’s Internet Key Working On Smaller Screens

Google Translate Now On Main Google Dropdown

Yes, it’s almost time again for the Lizzies, the annual awards which recognise the best of Australian IT journalism. I’ve got myself a record-breaking four nominations this time around, in the somewhat divergent categories of Best Technical Journalist, Best Consumer Technology Journalist, Best Columnist and Best Technology Industry Journalist. Last year, I got Highly Commended for the first two, so I guess they’re the ones to watch — though my inner pessimist says that I’m not going to win any of them and probably came sixth in the scoring across all four categories. Plus, Darren Yates always deservedly wins Best Technical Journalist and the column I’m nominated for has actually since been axed. But it’s nice to be included.

Over at SearchSecurity, my latest piece looks at threat modelling software from Microsoft. At Lifehacker, there was something of a comms theme, which isn’t unusual:

Google Seeks Students For Summer Of Code 2009

Would You Make A Skype Call From Your Browser?

Commonwealth NetBank Swarms Onto Mobile Phones, Still Needs SMS

Internode Officially Allowing Unmetered Tivo Downloads

Vodafone Beta Testing Xpress Phone Account Management Software

Google Street View Expands Australian Coverage

Microsoft Still Lagging On Browser Error Messages

What Are The Essentials For International Carry-On Luggage?

Melbourne Metcards On Special Online For The Next Fortnight

Commercial Digital Channel Plans Slowly Taking Shape

Last Week’s Best Posts

The beast in question is a sheep I saw today from a heritage railway. More about that another time.

For the recently revived Technology & Business (now purely online), I did an analysis of Microsoft’s approach to software-as-a-service. Meanwhile, Lifehacker had the customary eclectic Friday mix:

Five Things To Do This Weekend

Smarten Up Your Digital Photo Frame

How To Get Famous By Writing Just One Novel

Use Control-Space To Clear Formatting In Word

Safari Falls First (And Everything Falls Eventually) In Browser Hacking Competition

NRMA Roadtube Site Lets NSW Drivers Whinge