How to Do Everything Faster

Create a Podcast

Movie critics sometimes pan a performance by saying that the actor just "phoned it in." But if you are audio-podcasting with Garageband's Gcast, phoning it in is actually all you have to do.

To get started, sign up for a Gcast account with a password and a four-digit PIN. Once the site assigns you a URL, recording a podcast is no more difficult than leaving a message on a friend's voice mail. You simply dial the toll-free number, enter your PIN (Gcast recognizes your account via caller ID), wait for the beep, and then start speaking.

Afterward, you can go to your Gcast site and edit the podcast's properties to make it easy for people to find.

Burn a Playlist CD

Having your entire music collection loaded on your iPod won't do you much good on a long trip if your car lacks an iPod adapter. To take your favorite playlists with you on the road, burn them to multiple audio CDs automatically.

In iTunes, select a playlist and then click the Shuffle icon in the lower-left corner (when you shuffle the list, the icon turns blue). Select File, Burn Playlist to Disc. When the CD drive slides out, put in a blank disc and close the tray.

A dialog box will pop up to warn you that the job requires more than one CD. Click Audio CDs and don't worry about the warning. When the first disc's burn is finished and the CD drive opens, remove the disc, put in a new one, and just go about your business. iTunes will figure everything out.

In Windows Media Player, you can click the Library tab and select your playlist, or you can click Songs for a truly random set of music files taken from the entire collection. Start playing the top song on the list. Click the Burn tab and then select the first option on the Burn menu, which will be either Now Playing or the playlist's name. When the dialog box asks for a blank disc, click Cancel.

All of the songs included in the playlist will now appear in the right pane, below a Burn List drop-down menu, from which you should select Shuffle List Now. The action will not only shuffle the songs but also divide them across multiple discs. Click the Start Burn button as soon as it ceases to be grayed out. The burn will start automatically in a few seconds. If you're spanning multiple discs, just stop by and swap in a new blank CD whenever the previous one is full.

Add Online Payments to Your Web Site

When it comes to attracting people to your site and persuading them to give you their hard-earned cash, you're on your own. But once you've taken care of those preliminary details, here's how you can ensure that the money has a safe journey into your pocket.

If you have a service people might pay for or a charity they might donate money to, go with PayPal. You'll need a Premier or Business account; to upgrade an existing Personal account, go to PayPal. After logging in, click the Merchant Services tab for options.

Of course, you don't have to sell anything to make money online. Google AdSense will put advertising on your site in minutes. To participate in the AdSense program, you'll need a Google account, but it's easy to set up. When you're done, the site gives you a snippet of code to insert into your pages. Just don't expect much: Depending on your traffic, it may take months or even years for your earnings to reach $100.