Create a Separate Account on Your PC for Presentations and Sharing

Whether you're hooked up to a projector or just showing something to your boss on your laptop, the last thing you want is personal notifications popping up onscreen. If you know when you'll be sharing your screen though, you can create a separate account to keep anything embarrassing at bay. This isn't to imply that you have anything to hide, but in this era of push notifications and always-on web apps, the risk of something potentially awkward popping up on your screen is ever-present. The idea is pretty obvious in hindsight, but it's one of those things that you need to think about and set up in advance, before an awkward disaster strikes. Just create a new user account on your machine, and leave it pretty bare bones. That means default wallpaper, minimal files and applications, and no desktop notifications of any kind. As long as your computer is reasonably fast, you can switch over to this account in a matter of seconds when someone is walking over to see something on your screen.

Kikin Scours the Web with Just a Long Click

Chrome: If you see a word or phrase on a webpage you want to know more about, you could select it, copy it, open a new tab, paste it into your search bar, and work from there. Or, if you want to save a few steps, you could install Kikin. Once you've installed the extension, clicking and holding on any word on any webpage will open up a sidebar full of related links, images, videos, news articles, and map locations. If you want to expand your search to an entire phrase, you can drag the grab handles on the ends of your selection to add more words to the query. While not exactly revolutionary, Kikin is a very slick solution to an all-too-common web task, and it's certainly worth checking out.

Wikipedia's Date View Keeps You Caught Up on Current Events

We've all had those busy weeks or months where we fall a little behind in keeping up with news. If you'd like to catch up on what's going on, Wikipedia has a fantastic "date view" that will summarize news in a specific time period. Redditor blueridgemountain shares this handy tip: All you need to do is head to Wikipedia and search for a month and a year, such as "August 2013." You'll get a quick summary of major events on each day which are pretty easy to breeze through and click on if you want more detail. If you haven't been able to keep up with news, it's a nice way to quickly catch up on what's been going on.

Add a Mud Guard to your Bike with a Detergent Container

Mud guards are a must if you're ever going on a ride where you might experience mud or rain, but if your bike doesn't have them, it's easy to make your own from a laundry detergent container. The Instructable through the source link has all the details, but you're basically cutting off one side of a large laundry detergent container, and attaching it to your bike frame above the wheel with a spider nut or elastomer. The curvature of the container should be perfect to keep mud and dirt from flying onto your clothes if you ever get caught in the rain. We've shown you how to do this with an old wheel, but this option is far cheaper, though admittedly not as nice looking.

NetLive Monitors Network Traffic in Your Notification Drawer

Android: If you're on a limited data plan, or if you're just watching your battery life, you sometimes want to peek at how much data your Android device is using at any point in time. NetLive keeps things simple, and puts the essential data in your Notification Drawer. Once you install the app, it puts a permanent banner in your Notification Drawer that displays the app currently using the most data, and your device's total upload and download bandwidth. This is great if you notice your battery draining too quickly, and want to quickly figure out which process is misbehaving. There are a ton of data usage trackers available on Android, most of which offer a lot more features than NetLive. However, for getting a quick glance at your network activity, NetLive is tough to beat.

Turn a Dead Laptop Into a Workout Companion

If your old laptop has a few broken parts, or has just gotten too slow to use as your everyday machine, you can give it new life as a treadmill entertainment center. This isn't the first time we've discussed turning an old laptop into a wall-mounted PC, but this one looks a little easier to tackle. Essentially, you have to unhinge the machine, and mount the various parts into a styrofoam base, taking extra care to keep the fans exposed. Your specific build will vary depending on the computer, and how you want to set it up in your house, but the finished product is the ultimate way to watch Breaking Bad while working up a sweat. Check out the source link for some more details.

Race Your Microwave to Keep Your Kitchen Clean

Whenever you throw something in the microwave for a few minutes, what do you usually do while you wait? If you're like me, you probably pull out your phone to kill the time, but what you should be doing is treating it as a cleaning challenge. Reddit user withoutamartyr suggests using that time for a concentrated burst of kitchen cleaning. If you work fast, a couple of minutes is probably enough time to empty the dishwasher, toss out old leftovers, or wipe down the sink. Unless you eat a depressing amount of microwave meals, you probably can't rely on this trick exclusively to keep your kitchen clean, but it can definitely help take a chunk out of your chores later on.