Things you can get your computer to do automatically (that you use).

Thaed

I've been playing with Firefox extensions and the one that automatically refreshes your browser has provided me with fun today. I also set up automatic back-ups for my various PCs (of course they have to be on to work). What are some automated processes you've set up that you find useful or fun?

trogdor9

I have a batch file on my desktop for when Firefox crashes that ends every instance of the firefox.exe process.  I have a serious problem with my Firefox that I can't am too lazy to figure out.

Bronzdragon

I had a podcatcher when I still had XP...
Now that I've switched (came with my laptop) Juice doesn't work anymore... and I can't find another.

Omnutia

I use DownloadThemAll to download all the links on a page. Comes in handy when ripping manga from sites that don't put up torrents.

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I don't like most automated things, though never ventured into backing up territory since I never had HD space, or the will to gather all that I want to back up and burn it to a CD/DVD. I even update anti-virus software manually. As for the automation I do use. I, also, use DownThemAll! to download a lot of files from a site to a specified directory, and sometimes use the automatic refreshing of pages in Tab Mix Plus. Man I love Tab Mix Plus. One can do everything tab related with it. I use bashpodder (start it manually) to download updated podcasts. (@ Bronzdragon, if you switched to Linux you can try bashpodder with a cron job, don't ask me for details though, as Linux Reality) And that's about it. Besides the automatically set up automated tasks Ubuntu comes with.

Neito

Now that I've switched (came with my laptop) Juice doesn't work anymore... and I can't find another.

I used to use Juice. After the third time that, for no reason, it started downloading every single episode of Fast Karate, I moved over to iTunes.

kage_rod

Er. My cellphone has autoalarms that, every monday to friday at 6:30 it rings, and on weekends, at 8:30, it has a lady going, "Hey, don't answer the phone, stay in bed with me."

.. Er. and Trillian starts up automatically.

I really don't have much that I need/want done automatically. I only download select podcast episodes; and even then I don't listen to half of them.

If there was an auto-program that told me, "You're being a dipshit, stop being mopey about your girlfriend. SHE HAS A LIFE." that'd be nice. =3

Anastius

I've been playing with Firefox extensions and the one that automatically refreshes your browser has provided me with fun today.

Opera does that without extensions.

Apreche

Ever since RSS feeds were invented, I have never had a reason to automatically reload web pages.

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I've been playing with Firefox extensions and the one that automatically refreshes your browser has provided me with fun today.

Opera does that without extensions.

Opera doesn't let you choose to include it or not. Firefox does.

Anastius

I've been playing with Firefox extensions and the one that automatically refreshes your browser has provided me with fun today.

Opera does that without extensions.

Opera doesn't let you choose to include it or not. Firefox does.

What does that even matter? You can let it be unused if you don't like it.

Thaed

Ever since RSS feeds were invented, I have never had a reason to automatically reload web pages.

Works great for twitter and for web based email. Scott I would think you would have more than a few automated doohickeys for various thingamajigs.

Apreche

Ever since RSS feeds were invented, I have never had a reason to automatically reload web pages.

Works great for twitter and for web based email. Scott I would think you would have more than a few automated doohickeys for various thingamajigs.

GMail already "reloads" itself. If you're using some other web-based e-mail, what's wrong with you? Also, Twittr, I thought the point was that it was supposed to IM or txt you everything. Why would you reload a web page?

As far as automation, I think you need some defining. Technically just about everything the computer does is automation. Unless I take a tiny magnet, come to your house and change the data on your magnetic disks, everything the computer does is an automated doohickey.

Thaed

Ever since RSS feeds were invented, I have never had a reason to automatically reload web pages.

Works great for twitter and for web based email. Scott I would think you would have more than a few automated doohickeys for various thingamajigs.

GMail already "reloads" itself. If you're using some other web-based e-mail, what's wrong with you? Also, Twittr, I thought the point was that it was supposed to IM or txt you everything. Why would you reload a web page?
As far as automation, I think you need some defining. Technically just about everything the computer does is automation. Unless I take a tiny magnet, come to your house and change the data on your magnetic disks, everything the computer does is an automated doohickey.

Lulz. Twitter will send it to your cell, but if you're watching it's web page, you need to update. Ok, I'll define automated as a scheduled task that your computer does on it's own (like timed backups), or a task or program that you assign on an ongoing basis that just runs for a purpose you desire (like Wireshark). I have a gmail account for OFG, but, sadly all of my other email accounts are not.

Apreche

sadly all of my other email accounts are not.

Forward them all to the GMail.

dutopia

I prefer the manual way for things like Anti-Virus and Windows updates. I dunno why, it doesn't take much effort I guess. I suppose the only thing I use that's automated is Podcast downloading in iTunes.

Victor Frost

I made one of my old PC's take a picture of my room with its webcam every 15 seconds and upload it to my ISP provided webspace. Though my room is being painted, so now it's pointed at my backyard.

Said webcam.

clx

I made one of my old PC's take a picture of my room with its webcam every 15 seconds and upload it to my ISP provided webspace. Though my room is being painted, so now it's pointed at my backyard.

Said webcam.

Ooohh I want my Nokia N95 to do something like that when I do a big trip near x-mas. Take a picture either every x seconds, or x miles and save it to the memory while I drive so I can make a massive .gif from it later. I just need to find out how.

Back on topic.
Automatic things my computers do, mm...
Google Sync is nice, keeping my bookmarks, cookies, logged in sessions and active tabs between home and work.
My Vista machine likes to try and install default out the box ATI drivers on my home pc at random times. Which is fun.
I'm still trying to find a better way to get PeerGuardian2 to start automaticly on Vista, damn 64 bit drivers and people not fixing programs they made.
Other than that I don't use anything that hasn't already been mentioned here.

Page

Random backgrounds is all that I really have my computer do on its own, other then that nothing really.

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I'm still trying to find a better way to get PeerGuardian2 to start automaticly on Vista, damn 64 bit drivers and people not fixing programs they made.

Have you tried just putting a shortcut to the executable in the start up folder? I tend to keep that folder clean but it's a simple way to just let programs start up at start up if they don't have (a working) start up function build in.

And I should get my hands on some Linux wallpaper changer.