caffeinate

Cyber Joe

Caffeine keeps a computer from locking up or falling asleep by regularly simulating keystrokes. Like a strong cup of coffee, the program prevents your screensaver from kicking in without your having to disable the screensaver itself. It's handy for times when you don't want a screensaver but also don't want to change your desktop settings.

We enjoyed this program's interface, because it didn't try to overextend itself. Caffeine basically has only an on/off switch. It's pretty much impossible to be confused with such a simple layout. The program's description claims it simulated … Read more

Google: Caffeine search is ready to go

Google's Caffeine initiative to perk up search results is leaving the sandbox.

First revealed as a "secret project" in early August, Caffeine is intended to speed up search results and improve their accuracy. Google's Webmaster Central blog at the time described Caffeine as "the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions."

A Caffeine Web page had been set up as a developer preview test site asking people to try out the new feature and offer their feedback. But as spotted … Read more

Beat those palpitations with a caffeine test kit

Here's one for the paranoid decaf coffee drinker--D-Caf Test Strips. These tiny strips of paper will tell you if there is too much caffeine in the beverage when you dip one in a small sample. It takes about 30 seconds to display a result and will work with both hot and cold coffee.

Those who get their days ruined by intolerance to caffeine may want to check it out at online shopping site The Spoon Sisters, which sells the product for $9.95 per pack of 20 strips. Or, if we may so suggest, drink something other than coffee. … Read more

Bug testers: Google is clean, Bing is buggy

An independent search engine bug bash gave high marks to Google's bug testers and found that while Bing is buggy, it's also doing a lot of things right.

A company called uTest solicited 1,100 software developers and set them loose on the four major search engines of the day: Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Google's new Caffeine update. Google had the fewest number of bugs and the least severe bugs among the competition, while Bing amassed the most bugs yet still scored well in the accuracy of its results.

uTest solicits bug testers with cash rewards for … Read more

Google Caffeine: Newsier, by a nose

Google is running a public experiment of a new search technology, code-named Caffeine (link takes you to the beta search engine). There are visible changes in search results, but they are so subtle that you likely won't notice differences between the old Google and the beta Google unless you run queries side by side.

Caffeine is a test version of the Google indexing and ranking system, not an upgrade of the Google user interface. For many queries that I ran, the top entries were identical, and result pages look the same.

For example, when searching for "Google Caffeine,&… Read more

Google's Caffeine: A jolt to search rankings?

One of the largest behind-the-scenes updates to Google's search technology in three years is under way, as the company reworks its computing muscle.

On Monday evening, Google quietly began soliciting feedback for "Caffeine," a new system for Web searches that is being tested completely separately from the live search results currently found through Google.com.

Google makes almost constant changes to its search algorithms and infrastructure, but it hasn't made an update of this magnitude since 2006, said Matt Cutts, a principal engineer at Google who is considered one of the driving forces behind its approach … Read more

Keep your Mac awake for movies

With more and more people watching movies on their wide-screen Macs and Apple TV, it's no secret the computer is starting to move in on traditional DVD, Blu-ray, and other video player territory. If you have a laptop and the right cords, you can even plug your computer into your big-screen TV and enjoy all the glory of the new standalone Hulu for Mac. But while your Mac is great for watching movies, your Mac's sleep feature to save energy has a nasty way of making your screen go dark right in the middle of the show. To … Read more

For the caffeine-sensitive:
D+caf Caffeine Test Strips

I've always assumed prankster-loving baristas might substitute decaf coffee for the real thing. I'm sure there are those out there who would not think twice about slipping some caffeine to an unsuspecting customer. Whether accidentally or on purpose, for some, this unexpected addition of caffeine could be a serious health threat--at least serious enough to warrant caution.

Those who have high blood pressure or a heart condition should probably be avoiding caffeine. However, as many people tend to do, the doctor's advice goes out the window when in the real world of cafes, restaurants, and soda pop … Read more

Get some Caffeine for your Mac

Ever in the middle of a presentation and the Mac screen dims or your Mac goes to sleep? Yes, you can go in and edit your preferences to avoid this, or you can get Caffeine.

It's super easy to use and does one thing extremely well:

Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back. Hold down the Command key while clicking to show the menu. The … Read more

Where we can't keep our eyes open

EPISODE 93

Michael Breus joins us, author of Beauty Sleep and thesleepdoctor.com. We basically sit and bask in his sleep wisdom. Want to know how long is long enough, or how much is too much? Listen to Michael, he knows what's up. One of our most informative shows ever.

Listen now: Download today's podcast