Facebook tricks, Windows trick, Google trick, Internet hacking, Ethical Hacking, gmail tricks, Technological news, Software Crack, Mobile Tricks, Blogging Trick, ebay Trick, Computer program, LAN hacking, WAN hacking, cookies stealing, Email Tracing
Many see Macs as the domain of graphic designers, with many turning to Photoshop as their weapon of choice. At the same time however, many college students also love their Macs for the ease and simplicity they bring to basic computing tasks like browsing, sending emails, and word processing. However, given that Macs are the computer of choice among many graphic designers, it’s surprising Apple has neglected to include a native bitmap image editor for making simple changes. While Preview allows you to annotate and crop images, you can’t actually edit them per se. Microsoft includes Paint with its OS, allowing users to create such hilarious content as this. With Apple leaving its users high and dry, what’s a Mac fiend supposed to do if she wants to create hilarious images to start a brand new meme?
Fortunately, Paintbrush fills that void. Paintbrush is a free open-source bitmap image editor native to Mac OS X. Download it here. In no way is it intended to replace Photoshop, but it really is equivalent to Microsoft’s Paint. You have the litany of tools we all know and love, from the pencil to the paint bucket, to the dropper. Use it to crop photos or go nuts with your own works of art! While the application is certainly lacking advanced features, it was never designed to be advanced in the first place. The interface is simple and intuitive, and anyone should be able to figure it out in minutes. Itching to satisfy your MS Paint fix on Mac OS X? Grab Paintbrush today!
Over the next few days, as people draft their New Year’s Resolutions and 2012 predictions, I’ll be providing tools to help you Achieve Your Resolution – valuable webapps and web sites that I’ve found in the past year that help achieve popular New Year’s Resolutions.
Everyone wants to read more. For fun, and not for school. This is a daunting task when all you’ve got is your school’s bookstore and not so much free time.The biggest way I’ve found I can enhance my reading is with my e-reader, and the support I’ve had from Amazon.com. As an Amazon Student member, I can borrow books on my Kindle Fire for free, which helps defray the otherwise high cost of fiction.But if you like to listen to books while you work out, drive to work, or are just on the go, Audible.com is second to none when it comes to audiobooks. They have the largest selection and the best deals to get your reading done…with your ears.And finally, Project Gutenberg has over 36,000 free e-books, mainly classics, that are available to be read on your Nook, Kindle, and on your computer. And yes, the Kama Sutra’s there, as well as some of the great works of Dickens and Lewis Caroll.Get reading – whether it’s on your e-reader, through your earbuds, or in the classical world – in 2012.
Sean Quinn is a sophomore at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL majoring in political science and public relations. Go Gators! He enjoys watching all sports, especially baseball and football, listening to every type of music (and yes, that includes country and opera), is a relentless Apple fanboy, and is originally from north New Jersey. Sean's an avid reader and was involved in student government and drama during his run at Seminole High School in Sanford, FL. He is also infamous for having a never-ending Hulu and Netflix queue. Sean was previously the Vice President, Marketing and Media Relations and Community Blogger for Teens in Tech , a Silicon Valley-based start-up that provided technology opportunities for pre-teens and teenagers. You can contact Sean on Facebook or Twitter or through email at sean@hackcollege.com.
Check out the following infographic about how college freshmen surveyed by GOOD and the University of Phoenix feel when entering college. Some of these statistics are staggering.
For those who can’t check out the image:
33% feel high school did not do a good job preparing them for college44% wish they had taken different high school courses55% said college courses were more difficult than they expected24% of college freshmen had to take remedial courses16% of college freshmen (9% 4-year, 24% 2-year, 32% all other programs) did not finish their first year
Wondershare gave 6 licenses WinSuite 2012 as reward for post about wondershare promo in tricks-collections.com. Now the WinSuite 2012 License Keys will be given as giveaway for tricks-collections.com readers. Normally the software price is $49.95 for one license. In this giveaway contest you’ve a chance to get one WinSuite 2012 license key for free.
Wondershare WinSuite 2012 provides complete tools to optimizing and maintaining your PC. It also equipped with data revocery and security tools. This software provides application that commonly used by PC users. All the tools are divided into 5 category: PC TuneUp, privacy and security tools, data recovery, disk manager, password and key finder.
Wondershare WinSuite 2012 Overview Wondershare WinSuite 2012 PC Health Check
Check and TuneUp
Windows Speedup tools contain start-up management, windows service management and internet optimizer.Windows Clener: registry cleaner, disk cleaner, privacy cleaner, shortcut cleaner, plugin cleaner and smart uninstaller.Windows Customization
Privacy and Security
File shredder to delete important file completely and cannot be recovered by data recovery toolsFile encryption a tool to encrypt your important filePrivacy cleaner
Data Recovery
Data recovery is powerful Wondershare recovery tools to recover all deleted or formatted data from your hard disk
Disk management
Clone partition toolsBackup and restore partitionPartition tool
Password and Key Finder
Password finder to search your lost password. It useful if you saved the password when opening the application.Windows and Office key finder to find and recover Windows and Office key
I got 6 licenses for Wondershare WinSuite 2012 and all licenses will be given for this blog readers as giveaway contest. If you are interest to get the license, you can read the following giveaway rule.
The giveaway contest start from Marc 15, 2012 to Marc 22, 2012.The Winner will select randomly and will be announced Marc 23, 2012 (1 license for each winner)Leave a comment in this topic if you are interested to obtain one license key for Wondershare WinSuite 2012 and write your reasons “why do you want this software?“Share this post with your friend in twitter, FB, Google plus or other Social Bookmark (optional)
Unfortunately Wondershare not provides trial version for WinSuite 2012, but you read more complete info about the software on it official website: Wondershare WinSuite 2012.
Run a free PC Performance Scan to identify the issues slowing down your PC!
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 the ultimate suite for constant performance of your Microsoft Windows system!
Wondershare held a spring promo titled “Show Your Vacation Highlights & Win the New iPad“. To enter this promo contest, you must show your vacation in three simple steps. Wondershare also giving away Video Editor in this promo. The campaign is alive on spring wondershare page promo and open to global citizens.
Interested to enter to this campaign, show your best vacation and upload your best vacation photo. Wondershare giving away 20 copies of Wondershare Video Editor 3 ($39.95 value) to the first 20 participant each day. The winner New Ipad ($499 value) will be announced online April 20th, 2012.
Let Show your best vacation to win the New Ipad and also get video editor for free. Check also Wondershare WinSuite 2012 license key giveaway on previous post.
Run a free PC Performance Scan to identify the issues slowing down your PC!
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 the ultimate suite for constant performance of your Microsoft Windows system!
As I write this I’m sitting in a hotel room in Bradford, West Yorkshire (UK) getting ready to give a talk tonight to a large IT user group about Windows 8. This isn’t the first Windows 8 talk I’ve given, though it is the first since the Consumer Preview version of the OS was released. About once a month I’m asked currently to travel somewhere in the UK and talk about Windows 8, the new UI, the new features and what it all actually means for them.
In many ways giving talks to large groups of people is easy, I am a teacher by trade after all, but there are always uncertainties associated with these talks, and this is exacerbated further when you talk about a subject that polarises people quite as much as Windows 8 does. I thought then that I’d write the experience up here so that you can get a better insight into what its like to give these talks.
The biggest issue with talks about Windows 8 is that people can be preoccupied by the new Metro interface and Start Screen. The types of people who come to these talks are usually IT Pros and very commonly busy people who, because they’re hesitant to change in their work IT environments, don’t commonly download and install things like beta operating systems. So they’re getting their information from the newspapers and blogs that talk about the product.
In many ways this can skew a person’s opinion and I always try and have a Windows 8 tablet that I can hand around the room. This means that during the talk they’ll all have an opportunity to actually have a play with it. I may not be able to do this tonight but my Windows tablet will still be there for a live demo.
People are genuinely concerned about Metro but I’ve already written about it quite a lot here and I think you probably know how I feel. There are a great many more things to discuss about Windows 8 though that are of relevance to businesses and IT Pros including Secure Boot, Hyper-V, Storage Spaces and so on. So tonight I’ll be concentrating on those.
It is always interesting getting questions from people at talks though because some of the misconceptions that people can get about things such as the Start Screen can be quite left-field and incorrect. My role as a speaker is to make sure that the information they get is completely 100% accurate and that I give them a broad understanding of a product rather than just focus on a narrow part of it.
The general feedback I’ve had from people at Windows 8 talks though, and this is after I’ve had a chance to chat to them collectively and sometimes one to one, is that they feel Windows 8 simply isn’t for them. As a Windows MVP awardee I personally find this a bit disappointing, after all they’re saying this after the talk that I’ve just given them. But the product has to stand on its own merits and I have to be fair and impartial.
So in short it’s actually quite tough giving talks about Windows 8, especially when there’s still a lot we don’t know about it or are just figuring out day to day. We’ll see how tonight’s talk goes and what people say about it. I’ve no idea, as is usual, who will be there so it could be anything, and it could get any reaction.
Even though Mozilla would prefer users not to look at Firefox versions anymore, it is something that I like to keep track of to see what’s changing in the browser. It is easier to compare Firefox 12 to Firefox 13, than it is to compare Firefox released in February, with Firefox released in March. Why? Because you might end up comparing the same browser versions, and come up with zero changes or feature additions otherwise.
Firefox 13 is currently being prepared to be moved to the Aurora channel. If you remember the rapid release schedule, you know that it will stay in that channel for six weeks before it is moved to beta, where it stays another six weeks before it is released as a stable version. Firefox 13 therefor will be released in about 12 weeks from today on.
Firefox 13.0 will be one of the first versions of Firefox that’s bringing a lot of new features to the table ever since Mozilla switched to the rapid release process. It is definitely something to look forward to, and here is why.
The new version will introduce silent background updates which are designed to cut the time the updating process is visible to the user. Instead of having to wait seconds and sometimes even minutes for the update to be downloaded and installed, Firefox users beginning with version 13 are handled in the background invisible to the user. This is similar to how Google is handling Google Chrome updates.
But this is not the only major change in this version of the browser. Firefox 13.0 will also see an update to the reset Firefox feature which lets you fix the browser automatically by creating a new profile and migrating data to it. You can read more about Firefox Reset in the linked article. The current plan is to finalize the feature in Firefox 14. Mozilla aims to release the new hang reporter with Firefox 13, which is used to “collect, analyze, and fix browser hangs”.
You may also have heard that Firefox will ship with a new tab page and home tab. The new tab page mimics Opera’s Speed Dial feature. It displays nine popular websites with thumbnails and their page title. Firefox users can disable the feature to keep the blank tab page instead. The new home tab page opens when about:home is loaded in the browser.
Additional features inlcude incremental garbage collection which would improve browser performance, inline URL autocomplete, and the new tabs on demand feature for automatic session restores.
Firefox 13.0 may also get mandatory ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) on Windows for binary components, which improves the browser’s defense against attacks targeting the browser’s memory. Some third party extensions may stop working because of this and Mozilla will monitor the impact carefully on release.
You can download the Firefox 13.0 Aurora build in the next days from the official download site over at Mozilla.
I write a lot about security, and about Microsoft’s Bitlocker drive encryption technology. Frankly I really like Bitlocker because it is easy to deploy and because its tied to a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip on a computer’s motherboard, it’s very secure. It does have a flaw however and with Windows 8 now upon us this is beginning to concern me. First of all let me explain what Bitlocker is in a bit more detail. This system is a full-disc encryption technology. It will completely encrypt a computer’s, or more commonly a laptop’s hard disk(s) and store the encryption key on the TPM chip. This is different from the Bitlocker To Go feature used to encrypt external USB hard disk and Pen Drives which doesn’t require the TPM.
When I’ve written about Bitlocker before I’ve highlighted all the times we’ve heard, and speculated on all the times we haven’t heard about laptops being left on buses, in the backs of taxis, on trains, in coffee shops and so on. These laptops usually belong to businesses and can contain very sensitive and precious data. Worldwide thousands of laptops are lost or stolen every single day. Top this off with the number of government laptops that are left laying around and lost and the picture gets very concerning indeed.
It is a sad fact that very few business laptops contain a TPM chip and fewer still are encrypted with Bitlocker. The problem on not having a TPM chip in a laptop is both one of cost and of desirability. Businesses don’t want to spend the extra money and as a result, laptop makers don’t bother to fit the chips to anything other than their very high-end models. Any encryption is better than none though despite the flaw that Bitlocker has.
This flaw, which is more of a design and coding fault than anything else, stores the encryption key on memory when the computer is being used. If a laptop is placed in hibernation the contents of memory are written to a hibernation file and stored until you wake the computer next. This hibernation file also contains the encryption key, uncoded, and any hacker who knows what he’s doing, or any industrious person with the correct cracking software, can read the file and get the unlock code. It is because of this that security experts recommend that you disable hibernation if you use Bitlocker.
But what about Windows 8? You can still disable hibernation and, presumably this security problem will still go away. But Windows 8 hibernates the computer every time you shut it down. It does this so that it can provide quick startup times, and they are very quick. Unfortunately there’s been no word yet on whether the Bitlocker hiberfile flaw has been rectified or, if hibernation is manually disabled, some type of hibernation still occurs when the computer is shut down.
These are questions that businesses and governments will need answers to before they make any decision on whether or not to upgrade to Windows 8. The simple fact remains though that Bitlocker will protect the vast majority of computers and should be used anyway. The chances that a random government laptop will be left in a taxi containing very sensitive data, and the person finding it will know about the flaw and how to circumvent it, or even be interested in the laptop’s contents and infinitesimally small. Theft is the problem here where specific people, and specific computers would be targeted deliberately.
So don’t let this put you off using Bitlocker or encrypting your data. In any business it’s important to do so if only to maintain compliance with data protection laws and regulations. Microsoft need to reassure us all though if Bitlocker isn’t going to be resigned to the bin of great computing ideas.
Windows users can configure their PC’s power saving options in the Control Panel. Here they can create different power plans for specific situations, for instance when their computer is connected to a power source, and when it is running on battery. Here they can configure when the display or hard drives get turned off, when the computer is put to sleep or hibernation, or when other components like the processor should be slowed down.
Two power plans can be configured that are automatically used when the computer runs on battery, and when it is plugged in. There is however no direct option to switch to another power plan, other than changing it in the Control Panel directly.
The How-To Geek has published a tutorial on how to create shortucts or hotkeys for switching power plans which may aid users who need to work with multiple power plans.
One of the things that you may notice is that these power plans are rather strict. There is no option to block certain things from happening if they are configured in the power plan.
Sleep Preventer is a lightweight tool for the windows operating system that can block your PC from entering sleep or hibernate modes. When you first start the portable program, you are presented with a basic interface that lets you configure the application.
A click on the prevent sleep button will block the PC from going into sleep mode. The initial timer is set to infinite, which you can change to a time between 5 minutes and 2 hours instead. You can furthermore check the Allow display to sleep box if you do not mind that the display is entering sleep mode on the computer.
You can toggle the program feature with a right-click on the system tray icon and the selection of Toggle On/Off as well.
Sleep Preventer is a lightweight program for Windows that you can use to prevent your system from entering hibernate or sleep mode.
Remember the HTMl5 video war from about a year ago? When browser manufacturers left and right claimed allegiance to H.264 or WebM? For the user, such moves can often be disastrous, anyone remembering the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD uncertainty knows what I’m talking about. With HTML5 video it came down to Microsoft and Apple supporting H.264, and Mozilla, Google and Opera supporting WebM. Google furthermore had support for H.264 built into the browser, but promised to remove support completely in the future.
The fronts appear to be crumbling right now, with Mozilla’s Andreas Gal proposing a change in strategy for the Firefox web browser. Originally aimed at the mobile version of the browser, it soon widened to include the desktop versions as well.
Firefox Mobile is in a predicament, as WebM support has not yet been included into the Android operating system. With Firefox only supporting WebM, it would effectively mean that Firefox users cannot play HTML5 videos, the new standard when it comes to video on the Internet. For now, Adobe Flash offers a fallback.
Gal’s idea to bake H.264 support into Firefox comes with an interesting twist. Instead of supporting H.264 natively, the developers plan to use the format if it is supported by the operating system. This could also pave the way for additional codecs being supported by the browser, mp3 comes to mind.
I want to land bug 714408 on mozilla-central as soon as I get review for it. It adds hardware-accelerated audio/video decoding support to Gecko using system decoders already present on the system. Android, for example, ships by default with a number of decoders, and in particular for such mobile devices we really have to use these hardware-accelerated decoders for good battery life (and performance).
Initially this will be enabled on Gonk (B2G). In a few weeks we will add support for Android as well. We will support decoding any video/audio format that is supported by existing decoders present on the system, including H.264 and MP3. There is really no justification to stop our users from using system decoders already on the device, so we will not filter any formats
On Android, H.264 would readily be available for the browser. As far as the desktop goes, things are more complicated. If you look at Windows, you will notice that Windows 7 ships with H.264 support, while Vista and XP do not. Microsoft recently created a Firefox add-on that added H.264 for Windows 7 users of the browser.
Concerns were raised by some developers that Mozilla was capitulating on free codecs, but most seem to agree that Mozilla needs to do something to stay competitive.
I do believe this war is lost. Just look around. Almost none of the content users want to watch is available in WebM. The only reason desktop is usable is because of Flash, a proprietary plugin, playing video for us (in H.264, mostly). Even Google, supposedly a proponent of open codecs, never fully converted YouTube and never dropped H.264 from Chrome. Taking a principled (I would at this point prefer ‘stubborn’ I think) stance on H.264 won’t change reality. It just hurts us and our users.
Firefox got to the point where we are on desktop today by embracing reality. In the early days we started supporting IE-isms like document.all that were god awfully ugly and non-standard. But it was needed for compatibility so we can give people a usable web experience. The web uses H.264. That’s an unpleasant fact, but its a fact. We have to support it whether we like it or not, so we can be around for the next round and continue to influence the web for the better.
Nothing seems to be set into stone yet, but it appears as if Mozilla intents to go forward with the implementation in the near future. Would you personally have a issue with Firefox supporting codecs such as h.264?
Tranquility is definitely not the first add-on or bookmarklet that is improving the readability of websites in the Firefox web browser. We have covered quite a few apps that can do that for you, from Readable over Tidyread to the recently released Evernote Cleary extension. All tools work considerably well in the browser. They have in common that they turn a common web page into a compressed page that is displaying the article or post on the page, and barely any other page element. This improves the readability of the article, as you cannot be distracted anymore by ads, banners or sidebar elements, and because you often get better typography as well.
Tranquility for Firefox is a new add-on for the browser that improves the readability of web pages in a similar fashion as the apps mentioned in the first paragraph. Firefox users who install the extension have several options to trigger the functionality. They can click on the add-on’s navigation-bar icon, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Alt-T, right-click on links and choose the Tranquility option, or enable a Pause/Break button that acts as a single key shortcut.
Here is a before and after image of the latest Ghacks article: ClipGrab Lets You Download Videos From The Internet
As you can see, there is a big difference between the two screenshots. There is also a more links button on the right side of the screen that can display additional links found on a particular page. This can be useful if the site display related links in the sidebar for instance.
You can open the preferences of the extension to change fonts and font sizes, turn off the background image, and select individual background and font colors.
Here it is furthermore possible to change the reading width, useful if you are on a widescreen monitor or small resolution monitor.
So called Tranquil Browsing Mode is enabled by default, which means that any link opened in Tranquility view will also be opened in that view mode. The developer states that Tranquility works fine with the NoScript extension, which other add-ons that offer a similar functionality are not.
Extensions like Tranquility are not only useful if you prefer to read on the web without noise around the text, but also in case you want to print an article on your printer.
When you load a website in your browser, a lot happens in the background to render and display that website to you. Your computer makes a number of requests, one for each file that is somehow linked on the site. This can be images or multimedia contents for instance. Whenever a file cannot be retrieved because it does not exist, a 404 not found error is created for that file in the log. This may not affect the person loading the website, but it very well may provide the webmaster with information that something is not working correctly.
There is another case where 404 errors happen. When you enter a link into your browser or a program directly that is not existing. This may be an image that you want to load, a feed url or any other form of link that points to a non-existing element on the web server.
The primary reason for analyzing error logs is to resolve all, or at least the most popular causes for errors. If you notice that half of your users want to access a page that does not exist, you may want to redirect them to an existing page instead, and especially so if that page has been moved or is available under a different address.
Once you have created the redirect, users are automatically passed along to the new resource. It is barely visible for them.
Too many broken links and elements can also have a negative impact on a site’s search engine rankings. It is likely that the quality score sinks when a certain threshold of broken links and pages is reached.
For WordPress, I like to use the Redirection plugin. It basically records all 404 not found errors in the interface, with the option to redirect those requests to other pages on the site.
All requests that returned a 404 not found error are listed on one of the log pages of the plugin. Here you see the date the requests took place, the requested page, the referrer if available, and the IP of the user or machine that made the request. A click on the plus icon at the end of the row adds the source url to the redirection form at the bottom of the page.
You then need to enter a target url – that is the url you want the visitors to be redirected to – to complete the process. While it is possible to use regular expressions or customize the matching and action filters, it is nothing that needs to be done to create the redirect.
But there are other reasons why you may want to check the error logs regularly. I’d like to share two examples.
I noticed lots of requests for apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png and apple-touch-icon.png in the logs that tried to load the images from the root directory of the site. I first thought it was a misconfiguration of the mobile theme and plugin, but found out later that Apple devices make those requests if the device owner adds the site to it. This is the equivalent of the favicon. The issue was easily resolved. I took the Ghacks logo, modified it to fit in a 100×100 png file, saved it under both names and uploaded it to the root directory of the server. After that, the errors were gone.
The second example that I’d like to share may have more serious consequences. I noticed that someone tested the site for known vulnerabilities. This was done by trying to load pages on the site that would trigger the vulnerability. The most recent attacker tried to use the Timthumb vulnerability by testing whether themes that made use of the plugin were installed on the server (they were not). Still, I knew someone was looking for vulnerabilities which made me monitor my site closer for the time being. A webmaster who had a theme with TimThumb installed on the other hand, might check out the developer site for an update to protect the site against the vulnerability.
Depending on the number of 404 you received per day, you may have little motivation to resolve the issues. If you get thousands, you may spend most of your day resolving those errors with little time for anything else besides that. But it gets better, at least that’s what I’m telling myself. It also feels a bit like gold digging, redirecting invalid links to valid links. It first makes your visitors happy, as they do not see an error page but a – hopefully – related page, and it also can have a positive effect on the site’s quality score and search rankings.
When I’m working with the Firefox browser, I use the excellent Download Helper extension for all of my video downloading needs. It is unobtrusive on the page, and supports hundreds, if not thousands of different sites. The extension detects videos playing on a page automatically, and links to the download versions so that you can download the videos to your PC. The core limitation here is that you need to start the video for a second or so, before it is detected.
That’s the main reason why I sometimes prefer desktop apps, as they let me download videos without playing or opening the video pages first. ClipGrab is a free program for Windows that comes with built-in YouTube search capabilities, and a download engine supporting a variety of sites. Supported sites include Dailymotion, MyVideo, Vimeo or Clipfish.
If you want to download from YouTube, all you need to do is key in a search term and wait for the results listing to be populated. Here you see then a selection of matching videos along with a thumbnail still and the video’s title.
It appears that the program limits the results to eight videos tops, with no option to increase that limit. This is definitely not enough for broad searches, and you may need to work your way around the limitation by narrowing down your search terms.
A left-click sends the video to the download tab of the application, where you can configure the download options. Available for selection are the format that you want to download the video in, and the video quality.
ClipGrab comes with a built-in conversion engine to convert videos automatically. If you select, lets say wmv as the format of your YouTube video, you’ll notice that it will first be downloaded before it is converted locally into the right format.
You may wonder how you get to download videos from the other supported video hosting sites? You can either copy and paste video urls directly into the downloads tab to download those videos, or have the program monitor the Clipboard for you to make that an automated process.
The settings let you do the usual things, like configuring proxy connections or notifications. ClipGrab is a handy software, especially if you are into downloading videos from YouTube. I personally prefer Free FLV Converter as it displays more videos and makes the downloading of multiple videos at once more comfortable. clipGrab on the other hand is available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
You can also check out our YouTube downloader overview for additional tools for the job.
Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Freemake Video Downloader, Download Videos From The Internet 4K Video Downloader, Download Online Videos How To Download Vevo Videos From Youtube [Download] Download Online Videos With Web Video Cap Bookmarklet To Download Youtube Videos, And More About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Friday March 16, 2012 - Tags:linux software, mac software, windows software, youtube videos
The popular free VPN (virtual private network) software Hotspot Shield has just received an update to Hotspot Shield 2.5 which comes with an impressive set of new features. Hotspot Shield lets you connect to a secure network with the click of a button to improve online security. Once you are connected to the Hotspot Shield network, it acts as a proxy for all your Internet connections. Websites that you visit, servers that you connect to, and people that you communicate with will only see the Hotspot Shield IP address, and not your own.
The encrypted secure connection furthermore ensures that your data is protected from snooping, which is especially useful when you are using public networks to connect to the Internet. This is the case in hotels, airports, corporate offices or public Wi-Fi hotspots.
The VPN may also allow you to bypass firewalls, for instance on your University campus or office. Networks are often designed to block access to a set of websites. This can be sites like Facebook, Google Mail or YouTube for instance.
Hotspot Shield 2.5 comes with a new network detection feature that tries to automatically detect if the network your are currently on is secure or insecure.
The following screenshot demonstrates how it looks like if the connection has been identified as insecure.
The developers of the program have added options to the program to help users take advantage of the new feature. The options can for instance be set to automatically establish a connection with Hotspot Shield if a new or unknown network has been identified. They can alternatively be set to warn the user when that happens, or do nothing at all.
The new version of Hotspot Shield can be installed without administrative privileges, and program use does not require them either. The program indicates the connection status in the browser window in the new version, which can act as a visual reminder (with options to turn it off in the program settings).
AnchorFree, the company behind Hotspot Shield, have added malware protection in a previous version of the VPN software. This warns the user when a malicious site is requested. This warning, along with a remote (safe) snapshot of the requested site are then displayed in the browser, with options to leave, or to continue on to the real site.
Hotspot Shield 2.5 can be downloaded from the developer website. Make sure you pay attention to theinstallation, as you may otherwise end up with a Hotspot Shield browser toolbar that you had no intention to install. The free version is limited in certain ways, including bandwidth, and displays ads while running. Users can upgrade to Hotspot Shield Elite for unlimited bandwidth, and ad free internet browsing.
Google Expands Its All Your Base Are Belong To Us Approach .download-info .download-button {background-image: url(http://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/page-addon/downloadbutton.gif);}.download-info .more-button {background-image: url(http://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/page-addon/morebutton.gif);} HomeWindowsLinuxSoftwareInternet ExplorerFirefoxChromeOperaEmailContactAdvertiseGoogle Expands Its All Your Base Are Belong To Us Approach
When Larry Page took over the steering wheel at Google, the company made a u-turn on the “do not do evil” road which it had followed for most of its existence. Now, Google concentrates on generating revenue, and pleasing investors, and if that means shoving certain services down a user’s throat, so be it.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google plans to roll out another change to its search engine in the coming months that is going to affect a lot of users, webmasters and Internet businesses. Semantic search aims to provide search engine users with direct answers to their questions. And while that does not sound too bad immediately, it is likely having a negative effect on many websites and services that previously received the traffic. Those sites will still receive a chunk of the traffic for particular queries, but a Google answer box on top of the results could make that traffic drop like a stone in water.
When you search Google for a phrase like “when was George Washington’s birthday”, you end up with a series of sites that answer that question, with Wikipedia prominently sitting at the top of the results. Google Semantic Search would put a box on top of that stating that the birthday was on Monday, February 11 February 22, 1732. It could look similar to how DuckDuckGo is providing these results.
Google’s intention may however not be that altruistic, as it is reported by the Journal that it could provide the company with more ways to serve up advertisement. It is not clear right now how the box will look like, and how advertisements will be baked into it. One possibility would be to use in-text advertisement to lead users to Google stores. A search for Michael Jackson’s Thriller could for instance lead right away to Google Music where the album can be purchased in digital form. The same is true for book and other media searches.
Some users, maybe even the majority of users, are certainly going to like the change, as it is making things simpler for them. For me, it is another step into a web that is turning from a diverse landscape into a brand-orientated place.
What’s your take on the story? Good move, or bad, and why? Oh, and for those who did not catch the all your base are belong to use references, check it out at Wikipedia.
If you are a regular reader here on Ghacks you may know that I operate a few other sites besides my baby. Back when Windows 7 was just a rumor, I started a blog with Everton from Connected Internet which we named Windows 7 News. It was not clear if Microsoft would stick with the name for the operating system, or another name. Luckily for us, they kept it. And since we could not write about future operating systems on the blog, we decided to register Windows 8 and Windows 9 domains as well. While that worked great in theory, especially since it is almost certain that Microsoft will stick with the Windows 8 name, we felt the negative aspects as well.
Instead of just maintaining a single domain name, we had to maintain three, and would have to maintain even more in future years. The problem here was that this meant managing authors on three different sites, moderating comments, trying to come to agreements with advertisement companies, upgrading plugins or scripts, or fixing other issues. It also had an impact on the domain authority, as it was divided between the sites.
A single domain name on the other hand has a lot of advantages.
One domain name means one userbase and easier moderationEasier management of server upgrades, site updates and fixing of issuesOne email address for communication, instead of threeEasier communication with advertisers and authorsA stronger domain as links are all pointing to one site now and not threeFuture ProofVisitors do not have to read three sites to keep up to date. Now everything is posted on one site
That’s why we made the decision to move the sites to a central domain. The contents and authors will remain the same, only the domain name changes for the sites.
We have started to redirect the least important site first, windows9news.com to everything-microsoft.com. Tomorrow, we will be moving windows7news.com to the same site. All links pointing to the old sites will redirect to the same articles on the new site.
We will run the site this way for some time to see how everything settles in, before we finally move windows8news.com to the new domain as well.
Since it is a new domain I welcome you to check it out and let me know what you think of it. And if you are in a good mood, we’d love to see you spread the word around and give us some likes and +1s and tweets if you can spare any. In case you missed it, here is the domain name again: Everything Microsoft
We have decided to use a generic domain name so that we are able to cover all Microsoft related news, and not only Windows operating system news. While we have covered Office or Windows Server news lightly on the old sites, we plan to increase the coverage on the new site. If it is Microsoft related, we will cover it there.
The move is not without risks, and I hope that everything goes along as planned. I’m expecting that it will take at least a month before things settle in on the search engines. We may drop temporarily there and lose a good chunk of traffic, but unless we are flagged somehow by a search engine, the rankings should return to their former status after a while.
When I’m looking for a particular song or band, I often visit YouTube first as it is almost 100% sure that someone has uploaded matching music videos to the video hosting site before. And while it is nice to use YouTube for that, I personally prefer desktop applications over Internet services. Maybe because I find it easier to control them while I’m using the browser for other tasks.
Freemake Music Box is a well thought out music player that takes advantage of the vast amount of music on today’s Internet. It seems to use YouTube exclusively for that, but I can’t say that with 100% certainty. All the songs that I tried were from YouTube.
When you first start the program you see a search form at the top, and an attached player with playlist attached to the left part of the program window.
To find music, enter a band name, artist, album or song into the search form and hit the enter key or click on the search button. The program populates the interface with results that reveal the band, album and song name, and the play time on first glance. You can click on the play button to play a song right away, or use the playlist button to add it to your playlist.
One interesting option that is available to you is to switch to the 200+ albums or artists listing instead. Say you have entered Nirvana into the search form. The initial search results have listed Nirvana songs only. If you switch to albums, you see the list of Nirvana albums, while artists will display Nirvana at the top, and below that cooperation with other bands or bands that also have Nirvana in the band name.
Especially the album listing is interesting, as you find all albums of the band listed here. You can either start to play an album right away, add it to your playlist, or click on it to see the song listing.
The program has a few shortcomings right now. Besides not revealing the music sources, it also ships without any options. It is for instance not possible to set a quality level for music, block certain tracks from appearing in the application, or to sync playlists between devices.
The developers have big plans for their application which will resolve some of the issues just mentioned. They plan to release iPad and Android versions, enable synchronization of music and playlists, add top music charts and create a web based version of the service.
All in all a great player for Windows users that could become a lot better in the future. The player requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 to be installed on the system. The program is offered as a web-installer, and an offline installer.
Remember Super Cards on the Commodore Amiga or Death Rally on the PC? Micro racing simulations that were lots of fun to play, especially if a multiplayer option was available. GeneRally is a freeware game that’s focusing on the racing, and not on extras, power boosts or even shooting. While that may make the game look like its less fun to play than its more action-orientated counterparts, it is something that racing fans still might want to try out.
The less than 2 Megabyte download should not keep you from playing the game. GeneRally is fully compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. You can start the game right after you have unpacked the game contents on the system.
You can now add computer or human players, and select the tracks that you want to race on. You can create a full circuit or race a single race instead. You may want to click on the options link as well to change the point system and variables like tire wear, fuel mass and consumption or race length. If you are playing alone, you can also change the driver skill of the AI controlled players. They are pretty good and you will take a few beatings before you gradually get better in the game.
A click on advanced opens the graphics and sounds menu with options to change the game’s screen resolution and other graphics and sound related settings.
Once you are satisfied with the selection, you can start to race. You control your car with the cursor keys on the keyboard. You can play the game with up to six human players on one PC. I’m not sure how this is going to work though as the keyboard seems to be the only input option.
Each player’s goal is to finish the selected number of rounds before any other player to receive the most victory points. If you have selected multiple tracks, you race on all tracks against the selected players.
One interesting aspect of the game, next to the incredible amount of tracks it ships with, is the wide range of additional tracks and cars that you can download from fan sites and the official support forum. These will keep you entertained for weeks at least.
The game’s not top notch graphics-wise, but it is playable and fun, especially if you play with a friend on the same computer. And if you are really into it, you find racing leagues on fan sites that you can participate in.
When you cannot play a media file on your system, it is usually because a codec that is missing to play that file on the operating system. You have got a few options to resolve the situation. You can switch the media player to one that is shipping with its own set of codecs that it uses to play back those media files. An alternative would be to download and install the missing codecs individually, which may take some time depending on the unsupported formats that you want to play on your system. The third and final option is to install a codec pack which installs codecs for the most popular media formats right away.
The developer of the Vista and Windows 7 Codec Pack has released a codec pack for the Windows 8 operating system. The program is compatible with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview released earlier this year, and maybe also with the developer preview. The latter has not been tested by me.
The codecs pack adds system-wide support for more than a dozen codecs, including fivx, flac, mkv, ogg, rmvb and xvid. All codecs will be installed during setup, with no option to only install support for select formats on the Windows 8 system. The setup will install a third party app on the system unless you uncheck the option in the installer.
Once installed, all file formats are supported right away, which means that you can play the files in Windows Media Player or other apps from then on.
The installer adds two shortcuts to the Metro start page. First a link to the settings of the application, and second a link to the uninstaller. It is not necessary to change any settings, as everything should be working right after installation. You can however use the settings to switch between default Microsoft codecs and installed codecs for instance.
The Windows 8 codec pack can be interesting for users who like to play media in Windows Media Player or another application that does not come with its own set of codecs. Windows 8 users can download the codec pack from the developer website over at Shark007.net. If you are looking for player recommendations that ship with their own sets of codecs, then I suggest you either look at VLC Media Player or SMplayer.
Say you are an Internet Provider and have a customer base that has selected you for one reason or the other. What would convince you to start policing your users on behalf of another company or organization? According to CNET, U.S. American ISPs like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon or Cablevision have agreed to “policies designed to discourage customers from illegally downloading music, movies and software”.
I cannot think of many reasons. Some ISPs might be part of a larger media company, or have stakes in media companies. Others may see this as a great way to drop the average bandwidth usage of their customer base to save costs. But beyond that?
ISPs have to create their own infrastructure to automate the system, which will not only be used to monitor the majority of U.S. Internet users, but also to keep track of infringements and the penalizing of users.
If you now thought, wow automated, that spills trouble, you may be right. Even worse than the automatic flagging and notification of users, is the fact that ISPs have a wide array of what the RIAA calls mitigation measures at their disposal. No, public flogging is not part of that catalog, but reducing the bandwidth of the customer or even terminating services permanently is (which according to Cnet none have agreed on).
I always thought that separation of power existed for a reason. With this new system, ISPs gain executive and judicative powers over their customers. And while those are restricted to the Internet connection, it still is a recipe for disaster.
I see several issues here. First automatic monitoring and detection will surely lead to false positives, which in turn could be very problematic for affected customers. While we do not know how the implemented measurements work, we could see solutions that are less from perfect. Hashes might work, but using a different compression engine or changing the files included in the distribution would be enough to circumvent those filters.
Name based filters have their same set of issues. Would the system detect that THG.rar is a copy of the movie The Hunger Game? What if someone names the copy TheHG.rar instead? The icing on the cake is that encryption will render the monitoring useless.
Another unanswered question is if customers have a say in the process, if they can lawyer up or even sue ISPs for monitoring their traffic or alleging them of copyright infringement when they have not done such a thing. I hope many do sue their ISPs if it should ever come to this.
Back to the original question: Why do you think have the ISPs agreed to monitor and penalize their customers?
I reviewed the Software Updates Monitor (SUMO) application for Windows in 2008 for the first time, and included it in the “battle of the software updaters” before that as well. Yesterday, version 3.0.1.143 was released by the developer of the program, and I decided to use that opportunity to take another look at the program, to see what has changed, improved and if features that needed improvement have been improved by the author.
I recommend you download the sponsor-free version of the program on the KC Softwares download page, as you otherwise will encounter toolbar and adware offers during program installation. The program interface has not changed a lot in the four years, but since it was functional then, it is not an issue at all.
Let me give you a quick rundown of the program’s functionality first. The application has been designed to scan the system for installed software, to check the installed version with the latest program version online. It is recommended to keep software up to date on the system, as newer versions sometimes improve a program’s stability, close security issues or add new features that you may want to make use of.
You can click on the Scan button in the program interface to scan the local system for installed software. Keep in mind that the scan won’t find portable software, but you can add portable software and other applications that have not been recognized manually later on with a click on the add button.
A click on the check button compares the installed program version with a master server online. Sump divides results into up-to-date, minor updates and major updates. You can sort programs by group, so that all major updates are listed on top, followed by the minor updates. The program lists the product name and company, as well as the local version and available update version in the program interface.
A double-click or the selection of an app and a click on Get Update opens a web page on the KC Softwares website listing the different versions, and links to a Google Search and various software portals (including Softpedia, Snapfiles and FileHippo).
There is still no option to download programs directly from within the application, or to initiate a bulk download of all program setups of applications that need updating. This was one of the suggestions that I had back then to improve the program.
You may also notice that some of the findings link to programs that you cannot update, for instance when they are listed in a folder that you have no control over. You can still enable the inclusion of beta versions in the application, which are then displayed as the latest version in the program interface. Keep in mind that you may see program updates in this case that are not really updates for the installed version. If you have Chrome Stable installed for instance, you will see a major update to Chrome Dev listed in the update listing. There are only a few update proposals that seem to link to a wrong version of the software. Sometimes you may see an update for a program that you do not want to update, for instance the next major version of a commercial program that you would have to pay for. You can report errors, or choose to ignore the update instead so that it is no longer displayed.
It still pays to go through the list once a month or so, to make sure all of your software is up to date on the system. It actually does not take that long to do that, even if you have to use a search engine to find a download link. You may even end up with a newer version than the one listed. This happened sporadically during tests.
The program itself is very responsive and fast both in the scanning of installed software and the checking of program updates on the Internet. It is surprising that the interface and functionality has not changed that much in the past four years. It is likely that a lot of work went into the program database and and data collection routines, as they are without doubt the most important parts of the software updater.
Sumo is a nice program to have on your computer to search for updates. It is more of a notification tool that it is a program that will do all the hard lifting for you though.
Have you tried Sumo or other updaters in the past? If so, which one would you say is the best of the pack, and why?
I have ignored Stumbleupon for years, and just stumbled upon the service again while checking broken links here on the site. The site was big back in the days when Digg dominated the tech news landscape and MySpace was the place to be on.
The company behind Stumbleupon has rolled out a new interface last Monday which should now be live for all users of the service. After playing around with my old account and the new Stumbleupon toolbar for a while, I ended up with new inspiration for future articles.
It sometimes happens that I do not really have anything to write about on a slow news day. I then use a handful of sites for inspiration, and while I have not used Stumbleupon for that in recent years, it feels like I should add it to my rotation in the future.
You need to take care of a few things first though before you can use it for that. Your interests play the biggest role here. All sites that get liked on Stumbleupon are sorted into interests (which are categories), and you need to make sure you select the right categories for your sessions.
If you select the software category for instance, you only see random software related sites when you click on the stumble button in the toolbar.
Let me give you a quick rundown how it works. After you have installed the toolbar / button and created your account, you can add interests to your Stumbleupon account. These and others are displayed in the toolbar, where you can select all or a single one that you would like to explore. The screenshot below shows the software interest as the selected category. Whenever you click on the Stumble button, a new random web page is loaded in the active tab.
You can like or dislike the site, comment on it, share it, enter a specific interest in the search form, or click on the stumble button again without doing any of those things.
The interesting thing here is that you can click through a lot of sites in rapid succession until you find one that you can use for inspiration. Twenty minutes of stumbling in the software category led to a dozen interesting sites and programs that I could write an article about. Naturally there were also articles and sites that I could not use at all, but it is easy enough to skip those with a single click. There is even enough time to down vote the worst offenders before you click on the stumble button again.
If you are fast, you can go through 30 sites in a minute. In reality, you will be stopping more often before you hit the stumble button again as you sometimes need more than a second or two to check out a site.
Have you used Stumbleupon recently? If so, what’s your experience with the site?
Wine is often perceived as a stuffy, fussy thing, but it doesn't have to be. Sure, different flavors may go better with different foods, but in the end everyone's palate is different, and there's no reason you need to be a sommelier-in-training to order a decent wine with your meal. It's easier than you think, and we sat down with a wine expert and educator to come up with some tricks you can take with you to the restaurant.
Ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant can be a tricky affair, especially if you're on a date or you're ordering with a group of people and they all turn to you for advice. You can always use the Adam Pash technique, described by Kevin Purdy here, and order a "spicy red" to go along with your meal or sip at a small gathering—a technique that I can completely vouch for. Alternatively, you can always just ask the sommelier if they have a preferred wine selection that goes well with the meal you're ordering—that works too.
Still, in between bluffing and just coming out and asking, here are some suggestions from Wine.com Director of Education and Content Gwendolyn Osborn (basically their in-house sommelier, though actually even more wine-geeky as she holds the Diploma level with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET).) that will help you find something tasty.
Do Your Homework. If this event is serious business, you may want to do a little research before you even go to the restaurant. Gwendolyn notes that the menus of most restaurants are online and available from your smartphone these days, as are the wine lists. Look it up before you go. You don't even have to pick out something specific to order, but looking at the wine list and the menu in advance will help you get a feel for what's available, and you can even come up with a few ideas or choices before you arrive at the restaurant. Photo by Chris Cohen.Don't Hesitate to Ask Questions. Gwendolyn notes, "Sommeliers and wine stewards are there to help! They are proud of their lists and have spent lots of time putting them together. That said, you don't want to ask ‘what wine should I order,' you want to give some guidelines. Ask about a style of wine such as ‘I like light and crisp whites, what do you recommend.' Or, ‘I love Cabernet Sauvignon, but would love to try something new in a similar style.'" She also suggests that you point out what you're planning to order, and ask their opinion based on that, like we mentioned above. Giving the sommelier or in-house wine expert a feel for what you're looking for will take the pressure off of them to come up with a suggestion out of nowhere, and ups the chance you'll get a wine you'll enjoy.Send Your Sommelier a Subtle Message. If you're worried about losing control over the price of the wine if you leave everything up to the sommelier or expert, Gwendolyn suggests sending them a subtle message: "Hold up the menu and say you're ‘looking for a bottle similar to this one' and point to the price rather than the wine. Sneaky, right? The sommelier should pick up on that signal and recommend wines in that price range. Note the word ‘should.'" It's by no means a surefire approach, but it's not a bad idea if you want a suggestion but you want to stick to a price range without saying it out loud. At the same time, There's nothing wrong with mentioning a price range. If it's the sommelier you're concerned about, don't worry.Order By the Glass, and Try Different Wines. Let your server or the sommelier know that you're interested in trying different wines to see what you like, and order by the glass so you don't break the bank on several bottles. Feel free to try a glass of one wine, and then move on to another, or another if something catches your eye. In the best case, your sommelier may have a number of suggestions that work with the food you're eating, and can help you pick a couple of options to try over the course of your meal. You get different flavors with every glass, and you don't spend a mint to try new things.Pick an Old Standby. If you know a particular varietal that you enjoy, ask the sommelier if it'll go well with the meal. If you don't have a sommelier or wine expert and your server is indifferent, order it, conventions be damned. Again, your taste buds are what's important here, so go with what you like. Gwendolyn has a few suggestions, "Some wines are universally food-friendly. One that is, and that is constantly underrated for pairing with food, is sparkling wine. The bright acidity is such a great match with a variety of foods. Another go-to in the food-wine pairing world is Pinot Noir. Ripe fruit, lovely acidity, lighter body… all these attributes make it one of those wines to please those ordering the fish and those ordering the steak.
" Try To Take Something from The Experience. The best way to be more confident about wine, and enjoy wine with any meal (or by itself as a great beverage) is to try new things and expand your palate. Sometimes the best way to not look like you're clueless when trying something new is to give up, push past your anxiety, and let yourself look clueless until you get your bearings or learn enough to feel confident and competent. Try new blends and varietals, find out what you really like. Go to wine tastings or festivals in your area and talk to the people who make and distribute the wine. You'll find that even in a short time, you'll learn what you like and dislike, and be able to pick up smells and flavors you didn't know were there before. Photo by Jeff Kubina.
Wine has an unfortunate reputation for being fussy and pretentious, and while it certainly can be, that's more often the fault of the people drinking than the beverage itself. There's no reason to let an implied stuffiness around different blends, bottles, and varietals stop you from enjoying what can be a delicious part of a great meal. All it takes is a little homework, a little bravery, and good communication.
Are you a wine fan? What are your go-to selections from the wine list? Share your favorites—and your wine ordering tips—in the comments below.
iOS: One of the best complete camera packages on the iPhone, Camera+ updated today with the ability to share to multiple social sites at once, a workflow system for quickly taking pictures, independent focus and exposure locks, and more.
Camera+ is already our pick for the best camera app on the iPhone and these updates certainly help. The photo sharing now allows you to share multiple pictures to multiple accounts at once, which is a great time saver if you tend to upload to Facebook and Flickr at the same time. Also added is the ability to lock your focus and exposure independently of each other so you can customize your picture more than you could before. A few other changes include options for setting different workflow types, a new interface, improved performance on the iPhone 4S, and a few bug fixes. The update is free for current users, but Camera+ is also on sale for 99¢ for those who haven't picked it up yet.
Sometimes a little bit of the past goes well with the future, like in this workspace by Polygon Homes. The very contemporary iMac sits against a chalkboard backdrop with choice wines from recent years mounted and labeled. Even the little rotary phone adds some charm to this simple, clean, and effective home office.
This workspace is just one part of a well-designed home. Be sure to hit up the full post over at Polygon Homes to see plenty of other photos.
If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.
Kinfield at Westerleigh | Polygon Homes via Apartment Therapy Tech
Readers offer their best tips for quieting your cellphone's vibration function, getting back your lost coat, and easily logging into troublesome wi-fi hotspots.
Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.
Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, email it to tips at lifehacker.com, or share it on our tips and expert pages.
Every day we're on the lookout for ways to make your work easier and your life better, but Lifehacker readers are smart, insightful folks with all kinds of expertise to share, and we want to give everyone regular access to that exceptional hive mind. Help Yourself is a daily thread where readers can ask and answer questions about tech, productivity, life hacks, and whatever else you need help with.
We love saving space, whether it's stashing boxes long-term, organizing areas we use all the time, or just getting cables and components out of sight. Still, clutter is insidious and it seems there's always more organizing, archiving and triage to be done. We've shown you some of our favorite ways to save space, like modding a drawer as a hidden print station or throwing a shoe organizer on your pantry door for small items. What are some storage solutions that changed your life? Have a system that takes care of itself? Is there a source of clutter you just can't get under control? Ask and answer questions about saving space in the comments.
Windows: The ribbon is probably one of the most highly polarizing UI decisions Microsoft has ever made (well, that and the start screen), and whether you love it or hate it, one great thing about the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is that people are already working on tools to tweak the upcoming OS so it works better for them. Ribbon Disabler, a free utility that permanently removes the ribbon from all Explorer windows, is one of those tools.
This is one of those utilities that's aimed at the person who really really hates the Explorer ribbon. It's a simple, portable app that doesn't require an installation, and when you run it you can either remove the ribbon from all Explorer windows, or restore it if you've decided you want to give it another try. Windows 8 by default allows you to show, hide, and customize the ribbon, so if you're not sure whether you like it or not, or think you could get used to it, I wouldn't suggest going all out and removing it with this tool. If you hate the ribbon, have always hated the ribbon, and blame the ribbon for the fall of modern society, it's worth a download.
How do you feel about the ribbon, either in Windows 8 or in other products, like Microsoft Office? Let us know in the comments below.
Webapp Time.is compares your computer's clock to an atomic clock (the "most accurate time source in the world") to let you know how accurate your clock is.
It's safe to assume you've changed all your clocks by now for Daylight saving time, so we're not going to patronize you by "reminding" you to change them. But your computer's clock can drift over time, depending on your settings, so while a few seconds here and there isn't going to make a huge difference, it doesn't hurt to double-check that you're in sync with reality. To do so, just hit up Time.is and it'll let you know how closely your computer's clock matches up with their atomic-clock-syncing timekeeper.
If you happen to learn that you clock's accuracy could use some improvement, consider syncing your Windows clock with an alternative time server and increase it's sync frequency.
Software bundles often are a great way to grab at least a couple of great, deeply discounted apps and introduce us to new ones. This one from MacUpdate Bundle is very compelling with its inclusion of useful utility and productivity apps.
Lion-friendly virtualization app VMware Fusion 4 is one of the best deals here. It alone retails for $49.99, the price of this bundle. So buying the bundle is like getting VMware Fusion plus the other 10 apps for free.
PDFpen 5, ForkLift, and Typinator are also standouts in this bundle. Here's the full list of software you'll get (with retail prices):
VMware Fusion 4 ($49.99) – Run Windows and more on your Mac without rebootingDrive Genius 3 ($99.00) – Optimize, repair, test, resize and clean up your MacPDFpen 5 ($59.95) – Edit and annotate PDFsForkLift 2.5 ($29.95) – File manager: FTP, WebDAV, S3, Bluetooth, and moreTypinator 5 ($33.00) – Text expansion solutionDesktopShelves 2 ($14.99) – Display folders as desktop shelvesSnapheal ($14.99) – Professional-quality image enhancement utilityBoom ($10.99) – Boost audio output for your entire systemPhone to Mac ($24.95) – Copy media from an iOS device to your MacStar Wars: The Force Unleashed ($29.99) – High-energy action set in the Star Wars universeWorms Special Edition ($9.99) – Classic turn-based strategy game
Total retail price if bought separately is $378. Granted, you might not buy all of these apps, but for $50, the cost of each comes to about $4.54, and if you were going to buy VMware Fusion or, say, PDFpen anyway, the bundle would be worth it. The deal is good for the next 14 days.
Priceline's "name your own price" feature can save you a great deal on quality hotel rooms (and other travel), but the negotiating process can be time-consuming and setting the right price confusing. Budgets Are Sexy offers a strategy that combines Hotwire and Priceline.
Instead of starting with a low price and having to raise it as necessary (putting in your credit card information each time or possibly getting your offer rejected), the simple strategy is to go to Hotwire and find out the price for the type of room you're looking for, then in Priceline enter a price that's 30% less than the Hotwire price as your offer. So, for example, if the price for a hotel room is $177 per night on Hotwire, use $123.90 when you name your price.
This strategy saved the writer around 40% off discount prices quoted for similar rooms on Travelocity. Definitely worth a try for low-cost hotel prices on Priceline.
How to Save Even More on Hotel Rooms | Budgets Are Sexy
One item that we often mention should go into your emergency kit is some way to start a fire. Even if you're in the woods and kindling is plentiful (or worse, it's not and the old kindling around is wet), it always helps to have something that will give your fire a boost, whether you're out camping or you're in trouble and waiting for help. This simple trick involves a couple of cotton balls and some plastic drinking straws—in a few minutes, you'll have tiny fire starting kits that fit into any emergency kit.
Making them is easy—just cut a segment of drinking straw, pull off a little cotton from a cotton ball or pad, and stuff it into the straw. Seal both ends with a little heat so your cotton won't get wet if your emergency kit does, and you're all finished. If the technique looks familiar, it should—the same person built this pill bottle emergency kit we mentioned earlier this week, although this item wasn't included in that kit. Some of the commenters at Instructables note that you have to use the right kind of straw, or else the plastic may not melt and seal easily, or you can dip the ends in wax to get the same effect. When you need it, just break or cut the straw to get at the dry cotton inside and light it.
You could even go a step further and add a dab of vaseline or chap-stick to your cotton to make it easier to burn. If this isn't up your alley, maybe some char cloth is a better addition to your kit, but it's a high-maintenance option. Aside from a lighter or some matches, how do you make sure your emergency kit can always start a fire? Share your survival tips in the comments below.
How to Make Mini Straw Fire Starters | Instructables
It's something that most of us don't like to think about, but toilet clogs happen. If you don't have a plunger handy when they do (or you're dealing with a particularly difficult clog), some warm water and dishwashing detergent can help.
Reader Ignignokt recently sent in a tip saying that you could just turn on hot water elsewhere in your house to get rid of a nasty clog. While I couldn't verify this, I did come across something just as good in my research: dishwasher soap and a bucket of hot water can get you pretty far. The Art of Manliness has more info:
Add a few cups of hot water to the toilet bowl before you start plunging. After you pour the hot water in, let it sit for a few minutes. To put it mildly, the heat helps break the, um, stuff up. This will make unclogging the toilet with the plunger much, much easier. The heat from the hot water can sometimes break up the clog without plunging, so this could be a good tactic to use if you a clog a toilet at a friends house and you don't want to face the embarrassment of asking for a plunger.
Also, try adding some dishwasher detergent to the mix. The soap can help break the clog up, as well.
For more expert tips on unclogging a toilet, be sure to check out the full post over at the Art of Manliness. And, if you're having trouble filling up that bucket of warm water, remember that a dustpan can overcome the limits of any small sink.
How to Unclog a Toilet Like a Plumber | The Art of Manliness
The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale.
Bills Reminder (Amazon Appstore) Previously $3.99, now Free. Bills Reminder for Android does what it says with a simple interface for tracking your bills and notifications when the due dates draw near. Get it for Free. (via LogicBuy)
When you're stuck in a creative rut it can be hard to dig yourself out, but one way to get the job done is to alter you idea to include something that doesn't belong. Adding an atypical element can help you think in different ways. Although you may not keep that element when you're done with your project, it can be enough to give you the jump start you need.
This idea is widely applicable, but when I was reminded of it when I came across Why I Suck at Guitar—a blog and guitar learning site by music teacher Dan Vuksanovich. When he's stuck in a rut while learning the guitar, one of his suggestions is to try playing music that wasn't written for the guitar at all:
Guitar music has a certain sound to it because it's typically composed on the guitar. There are certain patterns and shapes that are very easy on the guitar, so lots of guitar music tends to center around these patterns. It's human nature, really, and we can break out of it by playing non-guitar music. For non-guitar music I love Bach. He wrote pieces for the cello and violin, for example, that are often difficult to play on the guitar because the music doesn't cater to any of the usual fingering patterns that we're used to. That's the point, though, to get away from those comfortable patterns. Horn lines from jazz standards and vocal melodies are other examples of ways to get away from guitar music for awhile.
The same advice works for most creative endeavors. If you're trying to put together a web site design, try using a style that you don't think fits at all and you might find new elements to incorporate in the final product. If you're writing a fictional story and you're stuck at a certain point, try writing that section as if it were a completely different genre. Wherever you're stuck, just alter your idea by adding something that really doesn't belong at all. It might just give you the momentum you need to break through.
Dear Lifehacker, I love Dropbox, but there are some files I'm just not comfortable keeping in "the cloud," like my tax returns and bank statements. I also have huge media files that I'd like to sync between my computers but can't use Dropbox for because it would put me over my account limit. I saw your Dropbox alternatives article, but it looked like all of those services also store the files online. Is there a way to keep my files in sync—without having to store them on someone else's servers?
Signed, Syncing Without Servers
Dear SWS, You point out a lot of good reasons why people look for alternatives to Dropbox and similar online syncing and storage services, including added security risks and costs when you've got a huge amount of data to sync up. Some workplaces and campuses don't even allow Dropbox or other external servers to be used at all, for intellectual property reasons or, again, security.
So what can you do? Thankfully, there are several tools you can use to sync your computers directly, bypassing the need for you to use an online server as a middleman. Here's an overview so you can choose the best one for your needs:
Windows Live Mesh is a unique tool in that it offers both direct PC-to-PC syncing and online storage space on Microsoft's SkyDrive. You can select, on a folder basis, local syncing and/or store up to 5GB of files on SkyDrive. Live Mesh even has a feature to let you remotely control your Live Sync-connected Windows computer.
The program has a very simple setup and interface: Select your computers' folders, network drives, Microsoft Office settings, or Internet Explorer program settings to keep in sync across all your computers and the app runs seamlessly in the background. You might not even know it's running. However, if you want more granularity (logs, file versioning, scheduling, etc.) or control, Live Mesh isn't your app.
Here's the bad news: Microsoft's SkyDrive team has stated in a Windows 8 blog post that direct PC-to-PC syncing won't be an option when SkyDrive is integrated with Windows 8 (major bummer!). You can install Live Mesh and use it for now for local syncing, but there's a good chance local syncing won't work when Windows 8-plus-SkyDrive rolls out officially later this year, so it's probably best to look for alternatives.
GoodSync from SiberSystems (the makers of password manager Roboform) keeps Windows PCs and/or Macs in sync and can also sync your files with FTP sites, Google Docs, SkyDrive, Amazon S3 servers, WebDAV servers, and removable drives. There are a ton of configuration options to set how and when you want your files to be synced. The latest GoodSync 9 update added remote file access and faster syncing with block level synchronization (i.e., syncing only your file changes).
Here's the catch: The free version of GoodSync only allows for syncing 100 files and 3 sync jobs, while the Pro version allows unlimited syncing. Think of a sync job as, basically, the folder and subfolders that you want to keep in sync from one location to another). The Pro version is $29.95 for Windows or $39.95 for Mac. You only need one license to sync two or more computers, though.
For syncing Windows computers only, take a look at SyncBack, another feature-rich syncing tool that can schedule backup jobs too. Besides keeping Windows PCs in sync, SyncBack can sync your files with an FTP server, external drive, or network drive.
This oldie but goodie (voted one of the most popular offline backup tools) comes in several versions—SyncBack Freeware, SyncBackSE for $34.95, and SyncBackPro for $54.95. Even the freeware version has options like filters for what to include or exclude in your sync jobs, email or HTML log files, and settings for programs to run before or after your sync jobs (many more options for the paid programs, of course). It may take time to learn all the settings (same as with GoodSync) and could use an updated and more intuitive interface, but it gets the job done.
Also worth consideration, however, is Microsoft's free SyncToy, previously mentioned as one of Lifehacker readers' favorite syncing tools. The small utility basically pairs two folders (whether they're on a hard drive, network or USB device) for mirroring folders. It doesn't have scheduling built in, but you can use Windows Task Scheduler to run it on a schedule. If other syncing programs seem too convoluted for you, SyncToy might be a relief. However, it hasn't been updated since 2009.
AeroFS promises to be a great private and optional online backup storage service, but it's currently in private beta so we can't say for sure yet. Features promised, however, include optional online storage and special subfolders ("backup libraries") encrypted with AES-256 encryption. It's a distributed, peer-to-peer system, so there's no middleman server, yet you get unlimited storage. AeroFS says they'll be issuing invites again next month, so stay tuned.
Finally, SparkleShare is another tool we've been keeping our eyes on. The free, open source project lets you roll your own Dropbox-like service, using the open source version control system git as the backbone. The program works by basically creating a "SparkleShare" folder on your computer (there are now builds for Linux, Mac, and Windows), and any new files you put in that folder will be pushed to the remote git repository. Other SparkleShare users connecting to that folder will see that file appear in their SparkleShare folders and get a notification. It's very similar to Dropbox, but you can share your folders locally or to others without dealing with the cloud. We're getting ready to test SparkleShare ourselves but you can try the project out yourself to see if it works for you.
As you can see, there are a few options for syncing your files and getting around the cloud requirement. Which should you choose? That depends on your operating system and whether you want a lot of features and settings (e.g., SyncBack or GoodSync) or something simpler (e.g., SyncToy or possibly AeroFS when it launches).
The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale.
Voice Brief (iTunes) Previously $2.99, now Free. Voice Brief for iOS reads aloud from your email, news feeds, socal networks, and more. It's a text to speech assistant with customizable sources and a music player style interface. Get it for Free. (via Apps-aholic)
iOS
iOS
SketchTime - Quick Sketch & Simple Note | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99, now 99¢The World Clock | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $1.99, now 99¢Runmeter GPS - Running Fitness, Jogging Workouts, 5K, 10K, Marathon Run Training | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $4.99, now $1.99Walkmeter GPS Walking Stopwatch for Fitness and Weight Loss | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $2.99, now $1.99Cyclemeter GPS Bike Computer for Road Cycling & Mountain Biking | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $4.99, now $1.99Maps 3D - GPS Tracks for Ski, Outdoor, Bike & Hike | iTunes via Apps-aholic | Previously $2.99, now $1.99
If you missed out on the last free online storage space offer from Dropbox, here's another one you can grab: a total of 3GB of extra space just by using the Camera Upload feature to put photos and videos into Dropbox.
If you took advantage of the beta offer in February (February 2 to 23) when Dropbox offered 5GB of extra space, but didn't finish uploading for some reason, you can still upload your photos and videos and get the max 5GB instead of the 3GB, but it doesn't look like you can grab an additional 3GB on top of that.
Everyone else can bump up their storage space to a total of 3GB extra by using the Android app's camera upload feature or the Camera Upload feature from the desktop application; you'll need the experimental forum build (1.3.4 or higher) for the desktop app. The camera upload feature automatically uploads photos and videos to your Dropbox account.
Dropbox will add 500MB of free space the first time you add a photo or video using the feature, then for every 500MB you upload, another 500MB of extra storage.
See the Dropbox help page below for more info or the comments in our previous post about the 5GB offer for some useful tips on getting enough photos and videos uploaded.
How do I get free space for using Camera Upload? | Dropbox via Slickdeals
Every day we're on the lookout for ways to make your work easier and your life better, but Lifehacker readers are smart, insightful folks with all kinds of expertise to share, and we want to give everyone regular access to that exceptional hive mind. Help Yourself is a daily thread where readers can ask and answer questions about tech, productivity, life hacks, and whatever else you need help with.
There are lots of upsides to living and working in close contact with others, like pooled resources, help with tasks, and of course the company. Still, people in close proximity are bound to come into conflict sometimes, too. We've covered how to live with a slob, keep co-workers from distracting you, and manage shared expenses. How do you keep it copacetic with roommates, family or coworkers? Is something sparking conflict at home or in the office? Ask and answer questions about sharing your space in the comments.
Nothing's better than sinking your teeth into a satisfying after-hours side project—or what I guess most people may just call a hobby. But after 10 hours at work, it's not always easy to muster the energy to switch off your TV and go to work on your project. The trick I use is simple, self-evident, and it works. Getting started is everything.
Here's a scenario ripped from the headlines (of my life):
It's a Wednesday night. I'm exhausted from a bad night of sleep and a long day of work. I'm hungry, so I make some food and eat while catching up on an episode of The Walking Dead (which is relatively awful). I eat, I finish the episode, and suddenly all the momentum I'd planned to carry into working on my side project that night has seeped out of my pores, absorbed by couch cushions. Shit.
Shit.
Maybe, instead of working on my passion project, I should just keep catching up on The Walking Dead, even though I'm not actually enjoying it! I'm already convinced that continuing on my current self-destructive downward spiral is the only option I've got the energy for, so this seems like the inevitable outcome of my night.
But damn it, I should really do some work. It's not even work. It's a hobby I enjoy—far more than I enjoy watching a show about zombies that's actually a tedious soap opera that happens to occasionally have a zombie in it. And I know that tomorrow, I'll absolutely regret that I spent hours watching people argue about how to be civilized when zombies want to eat you instead of actually making something.
At this point, I make a deal with myself that makes all the difference. I've finished eating, and I've finished the episode I watched with dinner. Instead of jumping into the next episode, I convince myself to spend ten minutes on my project. Just ten minutes. Enough time to accomplish one small task. Then, after that ten minutes is up, I can go back to zombies, guilt-free, if I so choose.
The beautiful thing is, I almost never do. Getting started is everything, and once I've accomplished one small task, I'm ready (and excited) to tackle another. And another. And that's how, instead of wasting my night on TV that I'm not that into, I actually get something done.
It doesn't always work that way, but it doesn't have to. Even if all I did was ten minutes of work and then went back to zombies (which happens on occasion), I still knocked out one small task. But more often than not, finishing 10 minutes of work launches me into an enjoyable hour or two of progress. Better luck next time, zombies.
This isn't a new idea by any means, but having successfully employed it recently, I felt like talking about it. If you've got your own tried and true method for getting to work when you're not exactly excited bursting with energy or overflowing with excitement at the prospect, we'd love to hear it in the comments.
We've featured lots of ways to find your lost or stolen phone, but we're wondering how many of you have actually gotten your phone back after losing it.
A recent experiment by Symantec purposely "lost" 50 smartphones in cities around the US. Symantec found that only 50% of of those smartphones ever had a chance at being returned, and even 96% of them were accessed by their finders—in more privacy-breaking ways than one:
This may have started as an attempt to discover the owner of the phone, but our research shows that the finders of these devices had what can graciously be called a curiosity about more than the name of the owner. Case in point:
Six out of 10 finders attempted to view social media information and email.Eight out of 10 finders tried to access corporate information, including files clearly marked as "HR Salaries," "HR Cases", and other types of corporate information.
If you are in any way associated with securing a company's valuable information, those are pretty striking numbers. However, it is not just business-related information that is at risk and a cause for legitimate concern. Our "honey stick" smartphones also had an application that appeared to allow access to a remote computer or network. Surely, people wouldn't go that far. Well, one out of every two finders tried to run the "Remote Admin" app.
Apart from being yet another warning to lock your device, this study piqued our curiosity. I've never lost my phone, but I've returned two or three that I found on the street. We're wondering: have you ever lost your phone, and if so, did you ever get it back? Tell us your tales of success (or woe) in the comments. And hit the link to read more about the study and Symantec's recommendations for protecting your data.
If you like your sandwiches with the crusts cut off, or you're making loaves of spiced or flavored bread to give away as gifts, the path to a perfectly cooked loaf—or multiple loaves cooked at the same time—may be as close as an old coffee can. Coffee can bread is an old, old technique designed to make it easy to bake multiple loaves at once, resulting in perfectly round slices of bread with little crust and more soft homemade bread to enjoy. Just because it's old doesn't mean the technique is out of date.
When digging into this tip, I found dozens of recipes for all sorts of coffee can bread, including one bakery that's trying to revive the tradition as a way to make gift loaves of sandwich bread, pumpkin bread, and brown bread, a dark, chewy bread that's steamed rather than baked. There's some debate over the safety of cooking in a coffee can (and how frequently people buy coffee in cans these days—even though they're still all over grocery stores) and which brands package their coffee in straight metal cans versus those with liners you shouldn't heat, but everyone agrees that the result is delicious, and perfect for people who want to bake lots of bread in a short period all at once.
Is coffee can bread a family recipe in your household? Perhaps it's something your grandmother used to make? Hit the link below for a couple of recipes from Ready Nutrition, and let us know in the comments below if you'd give coffee can bread a try, or you'd just go out and buy a loaf pan and call it a day.
Wondershare WinSuite 2012 Overview
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