Idea: Have different sections?
samhealer
For example, school/college, work, home, play, that kind of stuff? It
would help people find hacks most useful for them, but there is the
problem of one hack needing to be in two sections.
Anyway, thoughts?
Nicholas M.
something like that. It would eliminate the problem with a hack
needing to be in two sections.
dand...@dandavis.com
> For example, school/college, work, home, play, that kind of stuff? It
Tags are popular these days, right? How about each hack get tagged
and, like Nicholas said, have an appendix or tag index in the back
that lists all the tags and associated articles?
dan
kotha...@gmail.com
physical book like they do in the web.
On Sep 10, 9:13 pm, "danda...@dandavis.com" <danda...@dandavis.com>
wrote:
Dan Davis
Tagging is a good idea but I wonder, if they will be efficient on
physical book like they do in the web.
dan
CK
to using the Lifehacker site and book is that there is so much good
stuff, it's hard to use or organize it all (a happy problem to have).
I would love a way to be able to look things up by what they're
utilizing. For example - I have a couple USB drives I know I'm not
using to their fullest potential. Perhaps somehow organizing all the
things you could do with a thumb drive in one place would be helpful.
Or all the options you have for tweaking your media (music, Media
Center, etc). The sections in Version 1 were a good step in this
direction, I just wonder if they could go further.
On the site the tags and search are great places to start. Maybe the
2nd edition could have a sub-index or color coding or Icons for easier
sorting.
Wilf
the printed form a textual tag is more difficult to utilise - the idea
of icons in place that identified popular choices (a thumb drive icon
for things to carry on your vital thumb drive, perhaps?) would be very
useful.
In that way, you can flick through the major sections and see
obviously where there are cross-overs without having to go back to the
index as often?
Wilf
Nicholas M.
that a good majority of people are visual readers.
> > sorting.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Gina Trapani @ Lifehacker
ways they could be in the physical book. (Though this problem of
organization is one we struggle with and constantly discuss regarding
the site, too, so it's a very valid point.)
I like the idea of icons, but it could turn into a visual mess. Right
now we separate the hacks into the chapters, which represent the
larger principles of life hacking, and then "tag" each one with
platform, cost and user level at the beginning of each.
Happily there's always the index at the end of the book. In the
current edition, you can look up "USB drive" in the index, which
cross-references to "flash drives," which lists the 7 places in the
book they're mentioned (with sub-headings, like "securing," "portable
applications," "useful information to store on.")
--
Gina Trapani
Editor
http://lifehacker.com
Order Lifehacker the book:
http://lifehackerbook.com
peter.fi...@gmail.com
Are you planning on arranging the book differently this time around or
under refined topics?
On Oct 2, 6:30 pm, "Gina Trapani @ Lifehacker"
<lifehacker.edi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sadly it's almost impossible to slice and dice the hacks in all the
> ways they could be in the physical book. (Though this problem of
> organization is one we struggle with and constantly discuss regarding
> the site, too, so it's a very valid point.)
>
> I like the idea of icons, but it could turn into a visual mess. Right
> now we separate the hacks into the chapters, which represent the
> larger principles of life hacking, and then "tag" each one with
> platform, cost and user level at the beginning of each.
>
> Happily there's always the index at the end of the book. In the
> current edition, you can look up "USB drive" in the index, which
> cross-references to "flash drives," which lists the 7 places in the
> book they're mentioned (with sub-headings, like "securing," "portable
> applications," "useful information to store on.")
>
> Editorhttp://lifehacker.com
>
> Order Lifehacker the book:http://lifehackerbook.com- Hide quoted text -
Gina Trapani @ Lifehacker
> Are you planning on arranging the book differently this time around or
> under refined topics?
The second rev will be organized much like the first one: first, in
chapters, each representing a big picture initiative (control your
email, clear your mind, trick yourself into getting done, etc);
second, each hack will be "tagged" with operating system (where
applicable, many are "all" or "web"), user level
(beginner/medium/advanced), and cost (mostly free.)
This is the best way I could come up with to make the book focused on
personal productivity but easy to flip through and cherry-pick. And
there's always the ever-helpful index for very specific questions,
like "what all can I do with my flash drive?"
--
Gina Trapani
Editor
comedy writer
In addition to an appendix, why not add some short lists -- like
top ten things to do with a thumb drive? Or Ways to jump -start your
morning?
Dave
Rob Hudson
that sit within the book text.
For example, within a section about using a thumbdrive you might, as
Dave suggests, add a small box on the page with "top ten things to do
with a thumb drive."
This might be a nice way to sneak in more advanced tutorials as links
to the LifeHacker site. Like introducing SVN -- maybe have a box
somewhere in the sync section of the book that says 'if you want to
manage and compare different versions of your files, try Subversion.
Subversion does this, that, etc. For more information, see the
tutorial on the LifeHacker site, "Using Version Control at Home to
Manage Your Files."
This might get around the requirement to keep the book from getting
*too* advanced by subordinating the advanced portions to callouts with
links to the site.
--
Rob Hudson
PhD Student, Technical Comm. and Rhetoric
Composition Assessment Software Developer
Texas Tech University
www.iteachwriting.com
Gina Trapani @ Lifehacker
> For example, within a section about using a thumbdrive you might, as
> Dave suggests, add a small box on the page with "top ten things to do
> with a thumb drive."
That's a good idea! I did something like this, adding in "Tips"
sections, which interrupting the text saying things like, "For more on
how to do blah blah, visit [link here]." The only bad part about that
is that you can't click on books and typing URLs from a book is the
pits. (Wherever possible I created a TinyURL-like redirect for long
links.)
One less than great thing about the book's template is that the
"sidebars" aren't actually on the side at all; they're colored
differently but they interrupt the text entirely and stretch across
the page. This book will actually be physically smaller than the
first one, so it's easier to throw into a backpack and more compact to
carry around.
> This might get around the requirement to keep the book from getting
> *too* advanced by subordinating the advanced portions to callouts with
> links to the site.
Definitely! My editor advised me not to include TOO many "see more at
the web site" notes, because they can get distracting to a reader
curled up with the book not in front of a computer, but I will
recommend reading the book near a computer in the introduction.
> On Nov 29, 2007 9:54 AM, comedy writer <dave.wa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > In addition to an appendix, why not add some short lists -- like
> > top ten things to do with a thumb drive? Or Ways to jump -start your
> > morning?
> >
> > Dave
> > >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Rob Hudson
> PhD Student, Technical Comm. and Rhetoric
> Composition Assessment Software Developer
> Texas Tech University
> www.iteachwriting.com
>
>
> >
>
--
Asher
u had the links on the site. Since I go to lifehacker regularly mabey
additionaly to how you referred to the posts on the books' website you
can also put links mentioned in the book
On Nov 30, 12:20 pm, "Gina Trapani @ Lifehacker"
<lifehacker.edi...@gmail.com> wrote: