Showing posts with label Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tech. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
JWT: 100 Things to Watch in 2011
We found this intriguing and you might too.It's easier to see the text on Slideshare.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
doubleTwist
I think the major advantage the iPhone has over every other mobile device is the iTunes environment. It doesn't really matter how great the hardware is on the other phones, the ease with which you can plug in your iPhone and one-click sync all your digital media from one interface is hard to beat.
I have the Motorola Droid, which runs the Google Android OS, and one of the major frustrations I had was that to manage music, pictures, or video, I had to mount my phone like a USB drive and click and drag anything I wanted onto or off of the phone, which can take some time if you're working with several gigabytes of media(the Droid comes with a 16GB card).
doubleTwist is free software that is an attempt to bring this convenience to the rest of us who don't use Apple's phone or mp3 players.
It looks very similar to the iTunes UI. Here's a screenshot from the doubleTwist website, click on the pic for a larger view:
doubleTwist
As you can see on the left under the "DOUBLETWIST" heading, you can search and subscribe to podcasts.
Click the "MUSIC STORE" link, and you'll find that doubleTwist integrates with the Amazon mp3 store, where most of the time you'll find music much cheaper than on iTunes or Zune, DRM free.
In the "LIBRARY" menu you'll be able to view and manage the digital media on your machine. doubleTwist also allows customizable playlists.
In the "PREFERENCES" menu, you can change media locations, set to automatically sync when your device is attached, or set custom syncs for only the media you want moved to your device.
doubleTwist is worth checking out if you use your mobile phone as your main media player, and have more than a few GBs of media to manage. It has a very light learning curve if you're at all familiar with iTunes.
You can download doubleTwist beta for free at the doubleTwist website, and it works with Mac or PC.
--kb
I have the Motorola Droid, which runs the Google Android OS, and one of the major frustrations I had was that to manage music, pictures, or video, I had to mount my phone like a USB drive and click and drag anything I wanted onto or off of the phone, which can take some time if you're working with several gigabytes of media(the Droid comes with a 16GB card).
doubleTwist is free software that is an attempt to bring this convenience to the rest of us who don't use Apple's phone or mp3 players.
It looks very similar to the iTunes UI. Here's a screenshot from the doubleTwist website, click on the pic for a larger view:
doubleTwist
As you can see on the left under the "DOUBLETWIST" heading, you can search and subscribe to podcasts.
Click the "MUSIC STORE" link, and you'll find that doubleTwist integrates with the Amazon mp3 store, where most of the time you'll find music much cheaper than on iTunes or Zune, DRM free.
In the "LIBRARY" menu you'll be able to view and manage the digital media on your machine. doubleTwist also allows customizable playlists.
In the "PREFERENCES" menu, you can change media locations, set to automatically sync when your device is attached, or set custom syncs for only the media you want moved to your device.
doubleTwist is worth checking out if you use your mobile phone as your main media player, and have more than a few GBs of media to manage. It has a very light learning curve if you're at all familiar with iTunes.
You can download doubleTwist beta for free at the doubleTwist website, and it works with Mac or PC.
--kb
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
CCleaner Drive Cleaner
CCleaner is one of the top free drive cleaners/utility tools available for Windows operating systems. As of January 2010, CCleaner boasted over 375 million downloads.
CCleaner drive cleaning tool works with IE, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari browsers. It removes temporary files, browsing history, cookies, download history, and password/form history. CCleaner can also be configured to wipe the entire free space on your hard drives, removing any random bits that get strewn out during program installations.
It also cleans Recycle Bin and clears your recent documents list.
What puts CCleaner ahead of other drive utilities are its tools beyond browser cleaning.
CCleaner also includes a registry cleaner that can remove missing .dlls and unused file extensions that accumulate after installing and uninstalling programs. The registry cleaner has a super simple user interface, with a one click "scan for issues" and one click "fix selected issues" button.
3 other great tools are found in the "Tools" section of CCleaner. You can uninstall programs directly from the CCleaner tools menu, and the interface is much easier than using Windows control panel.
You can also enable and disable programs that run during startup from the "Tools" menu. This is something you'd normally have to do using the "msconfig" command from the Windows command prompt. CCleaner makes this process much simpler, and does not require restarting your system.
There is also a "System Restore" option in the "Tools Menu" for more advanced users that can help diagnose Windows errors likely caused by faulty drivers or user error and will restore your system to its last successful restore point recorded in Windows.
CCleaners clean and simple interface along with its easy to use system tools is a great tool for everyday users to keep their system clean and running optimally.
--kb
CCleaner drive cleaning tool works with IE, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari browsers. It removes temporary files, browsing history, cookies, download history, and password/form history. CCleaner can also be configured to wipe the entire free space on your hard drives, removing any random bits that get strewn out during program installations.
It also cleans Recycle Bin and clears your recent documents list.
What puts CCleaner ahead of other drive utilities are its tools beyond browser cleaning.
CCleaner also includes a registry cleaner that can remove missing .dlls and unused file extensions that accumulate after installing and uninstalling programs. The registry cleaner has a super simple user interface, with a one click "scan for issues" and one click "fix selected issues" button.
3 other great tools are found in the "Tools" section of CCleaner. You can uninstall programs directly from the CCleaner tools menu, and the interface is much easier than using Windows control panel.
You can also enable and disable programs that run during startup from the "Tools" menu. This is something you'd normally have to do using the "msconfig" command from the Windows command prompt. CCleaner makes this process much simpler, and does not require restarting your system.
There is also a "System Restore" option in the "Tools Menu" for more advanced users that can help diagnose Windows errors likely caused by faulty drivers or user error and will restore your system to its last successful restore point recorded in Windows.
CCleaners clean and simple interface along with its easy to use system tools is a great tool for everyday users to keep their system clean and running optimally.
--kb
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Secunia PSI
Security conscious computer enthusiasts usually always download and install updates to their operating systems as soon as they're released to fix security vulnerabilities and keep OS programs running smoothly. For example, if you're a Windows user, Windows update will provide you with updates for Windows, Microsoft Office & other MS programs, Internet Explorer, and hardware driver updates. But what about that version of Adobe Reader or Flash Player that hasn't been updated since you've installed it? Some of the most efficient security hacks have been exploited through unpatched versions of Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, and Quicktime Player.
With third-party programs the burden is usually on the user to check for, download, and install updates not necessarily tied to the operating system. I currently have 32 programs installed on my PC. Manually checking for updates daily for 32 programs would be very time consuming, not to mention boring, which leads most people to ignore them, making them more and more vulnerable to viruses and exploits.
I discovered a program called Secunia PSI(Personal Software Inspector), that can do all this for you. It also uses so little memory you won't notice it's running in the background.
Secunia PSI by default runs on system startup after installation and automatically scans the versions of all programs installed on your computer. When the scan is complete Secunia will let you know what programs are insecure on your computer, and provide one click links to download and install patches for insecure programs.
Secunia PSI also provides a simple and advanced version. The simple interface provides one-click solutions for insecure programs, while the advanced version provides version numbers, program and insecure file locations, notification for end-of-life software, and hard drive paths for easy removal of insecure .exe files.
If you brave the advanced setting, be cautious when deleting .exe files. Removing these files can cause some programs to run incorrectly or not at all.
You can download Secunia PSI for free at http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
With third-party programs the burden is usually on the user to check for, download, and install updates not necessarily tied to the operating system. I currently have 32 programs installed on my PC. Manually checking for updates daily for 32 programs would be very time consuming, not to mention boring, which leads most people to ignore them, making them more and more vulnerable to viruses and exploits.
I discovered a program called Secunia PSI(Personal Software Inspector), that can do all this for you. It also uses so little memory you won't notice it's running in the background.
Secunia PSI by default runs on system startup after installation and automatically scans the versions of all programs installed on your computer. When the scan is complete Secunia will let you know what programs are insecure on your computer, and provide one click links to download and install patches for insecure programs.
Secunia PSI also provides a simple and advanced version. The simple interface provides one-click solutions for insecure programs, while the advanced version provides version numbers, program and insecure file locations, notification for end-of-life software, and hard drive paths for easy removal of insecure .exe files.
If you brave the advanced setting, be cautious when deleting .exe files. Removing these files can cause some programs to run incorrectly or not at all.
You can download Secunia PSI for free at http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Backing Up Your Work with Autosave in Office 2007
I was helping a college student a few days ago with a resume on which she'd spent several hours working. As Murphy's Law would have it, there was a total power flicker, only for a few seconds, but she lost all that work and had to start from scratch.
A great way of avoiding this kind of headache is to take advantage of the "autosave" feature in Microsoft Office 2007. With autosave you can configure Office to automatically save your projects as you create and edit them, without any extra effort from you.
From your document window, look to the top left corner of your screen, and you'll find the Microsoft Office button. Click once and you'll get a drop down menu. At the bottom right of your menu you will see a rectangular button labeled WORD OPTIONS.
Clicking WORD OPTIONS will open the word options window. In the menu on the left of the window click SAVE, this opens up a menu allowing you to configure all save options for Office 2007.
Near the top of the window you will see a checkbox with "Save Auto Recover Information" and a number box to the right. For example, if you enter a "5" into the number box, Office will automatically save your document every 5 minutes. So every five minutes, Office will save any changes or additions to your document automatically at that point.
Just below the Save Auto Recover Information line, you will see AUTO RECOVER FILE LOCATION. This location is where Office will auto save your files and where you would find your files should your computer crash, Office freeze up, or you accidentally close your document without saving.
You will see that the default "Auto Recover File Location" is located on a folder on the "C" or main hard drive. You can choose any folder, or create your own folder for the auto save location, or you may want to click the BROWSE button to the right to save to an external hard drive or usb drive, just in case a serious error on your hard drive occurs.
--kb
A great way of avoiding this kind of headache is to take advantage of the "autosave" feature in Microsoft Office 2007. With autosave you can configure Office to automatically save your projects as you create and edit them, without any extra effort from you.
From your document window, look to the top left corner of your screen, and you'll find the Microsoft Office button. Click once and you'll get a drop down menu. At the bottom right of your menu you will see a rectangular button labeled WORD OPTIONS.
Clicking WORD OPTIONS will open the word options window. In the menu on the left of the window click SAVE, this opens up a menu allowing you to configure all save options for Office 2007.
Near the top of the window you will see a checkbox with "Save Auto Recover Information" and a number box to the right. For example, if you enter a "5" into the number box, Office will automatically save your document every 5 minutes. So every five minutes, Office will save any changes or additions to your document automatically at that point.
Just below the Save Auto Recover Information line, you will see AUTO RECOVER FILE LOCATION. This location is where Office will auto save your files and where you would find your files should your computer crash, Office freeze up, or you accidentally close your document without saving.
You will see that the default "Auto Recover File Location" is located on a folder on the "C" or main hard drive. You can choose any folder, or create your own folder for the auto save location, or you may want to click the BROWSE button to the right to save to an external hard drive or usb drive, just in case a serious error on your hard drive occurs.
--kb
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