Giveaway - Wondershare iPod Slideshow
"Wondershare iPod Slideshow is an innovative and easy to use tool to show off your imagination and create your entertaining slideshows on iPod..." Grab the Giveaway
Remove Email Attachments in Outlook Without Deleting the Message - Digital Inspiration
"Someone sent this email message that contained two very large attachments - they were video files and each weighed in excess of 6 MB. While there’s enough free space on the hard drive, such big email attachments do inflate the size of Outlook PST files thus slowing down the backup process." Read on...
20 Top Add-Ons That are Ready for Firefox 3 - Planet Mozilla
"Being involved with Firefox development and testing is both an honour and a privilege. The one major drawback to being on the bleeding edge of the Mozillaverse, however, is that none of your add-ons ever work. Sure, I’ve had the absolute joy of using the Smart Location Bar (aka: Awesomebar) for ages, but I’ve also been living without any of my add-ons for months. It’s been hard. Very, very hard." Read on...
Download Digsby Skins and Themes - Killer Tech Tips
"If you’ve become a fan of Digsby and if you’re looking for some skins to spruce up your new Digsby instant messenger, this is a site you must check out: ..." Read on...
Enhance GUI in Windows Vista with Vize - Life Rocks! 2.0
"Few days back I had written about a freeware to improve the GUI experience in XP. Although Vista has a very much improved look and feel there still few places where Microsoft has to still improve. Vize is a freeware application which can improve the GUI experience in Vista. It replaces most of the non-Vista icons, animations and bitmaps that Microsoft is still overlooking." Read on...
May 23, 2008
May 21, 2008
My PC Tools
It's results time out here and I'm under hypertension, high blood pressure, sleepless-nights syndrome, and I-will-fail-in-everything phobia. I just hope you understand I'm not in a position
to write sensible stuff at the moment. But I really have to write something, so here's my stupidest ever post : the list of software tools on my computer. This is This isn't a big list (much smaller than my recommended Complete PC Pack), as I prefer every thing most things to be minimalistic, my desktop being one of them.
To start with, I have a pirated version of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2. :(
Adobe AIR : My favorite Adobe tool yet; do read my previous post on AIR.
AlShow : A video player with all inbuilt codecs so you don't have to go hunting them. It's like VLC without audio support, but looks much better.
avast! Antivirus (Home Edition) : Keeps me safe from viruses and spyware. I can actually do without it, but you never know what's inside an alien thumb drive. Check out the solution to avast! 's confusing default skin.
BurnAware Free Edition : A pretty-faced and fast CD / DVD burner with all required features; fulfills all my needs and keeps me off the bloated Nero.
Button Shop : A professional tool (not free) that lets you create logo buttons of any shape in a jiffy. This is available as a giveaway only for today. Go grab it before the time's up!
CCleaner : Not the best system cleaner, but certainly the smallest and fastest one out there. More about CCleaner...
ClearType Tuning Applet : A Microsoft PowerToy to smoothen the fonts on your desktop. It's very useful for LCD monitors, but does work on my CRT as well.
FileHippo Update Checker : Quickly lets me know what's outdated on my PC. Some alternatives...
Free Download Manager : If you use the free version of DAP, you really need to check this out. Doesn't have the best looks, but definitely has more features than ANY other download manager.
Google Analytics AIR : A very useful AIR client that displays your Analytics stats.
IZArc : File archiver utility that supports over 50 archiving formats! Now that's a hard smack at WinZip's arse.
Mozilla Firefox (3.0RC1) : Can't live without it.
Mozilla Thunderbird : Be ready to roll out with laughter - I didn't know how to use an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird till a few days ago! I am still not very much comfortable with Thunderbird, but adding my Gmail account was easy.
OpenOffice.org : Using a pirated Windows is too much shame for me, so I declined my friends' offers to lend me Office 2007 CDs. OOo 's Writer actually works much better than Word. An OOo tip...
Opera 9.50Beta2 : Yeah I am starting to get into betas (the haunt is probably over)! I got it for testing purposes, but now I use it whenever I have to open something like 8-10 tabs at a time (because Firefox gets snail-ish on heavy use).
Paint.NET : A very neat tool for lightweight photo and screenshot editing jobs, which is what I mostly do.
Pidgin : My friends call it "Piggy" because it's boring; and yes, it's starting to get boring for me as well. I should be jumping to Digsby anytime now, or maybe create a Prism WebApp for Meebo. By the way, Pidgin is a multi-account instant messenger if you're still in the dark.
RSSOwl : An excellent RSS-Atom feed reader. I prefer it to the more popular FeedDemon.
ScreenHunter Free Edition : It's very handy if you have to take lots of screenshots at a time (applies to many tech bloggers).
Ubuntu (using Wubi) : I have installed Ubuntu as an Windows application using Wubi. This has been working great so far (3 days and counting).
There are also,
1. All the inbuilt programs like IE 7, WMP 11 etc.
2. Hardware drivers
3. Adobe PDF Reader
4. Runtime environments like Java, Gtk+ and .NET Framework 2.0
5. The Windows firewall
Well that's my crappy list. What about you? What software have you got on your PC? Have you got any better free alternatives to the ones I have mentioned? Drop a comment and share your thoughts! :)
PS : I will try my best to keep posting over this week and the next. Even if my mind goes insane, I will at least put up techrolls. If anyone has got interesting articles that I have somehow missed, just drop me a mail at pctonic@live.com or leave a comment in the latest techroll post. :)
to write sensible stuff at the moment. But I really have to write something, so here's my stupidest ever post : the list of software tools on my computer. This is This isn't a big list (much smaller than my recommended Complete PC Pack), as I prefer To start with, I have a pirated version of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2. :(
Adobe AIR : My favorite Adobe tool yet; do read my previous post on AIR.
AlShow : A video player with all inbuilt codecs so you don't have to go hunting them. It's like VLC without audio support, but looks much better.
avast! Antivirus (Home Edition) : Keeps me safe from viruses and spyware. I can actually do without it, but you never know what's inside an alien thumb drive. Check out the solution to avast! 's confusing default skin.
BurnAware Free Edition : A pretty-faced and fast CD / DVD burner with all required features; fulfills all my needs and keeps me off the bloated Nero.
Button Shop : A professional tool (not free) that lets you create logo buttons of any shape in a jiffy. This is available as a giveaway only for today. Go grab it before the time's up!
CCleaner : Not the best system cleaner, but certainly the smallest and fastest one out there. More about CCleaner...
ClearType Tuning Applet : A Microsoft PowerToy to smoothen the fonts on your desktop. It's very useful for LCD monitors, but does work on my CRT as well.
FileHippo Update Checker : Quickly lets me know what's outdated on my PC. Some alternatives...
Free Download Manager : If you use the free version of DAP, you really need to check this out. Doesn't have the best looks, but definitely has more features than ANY other download manager.
Google Analytics AIR : A very useful AIR client that displays your Analytics stats.
IZArc : File archiver utility that supports over 50 archiving formats! Now that's a hard smack at WinZip's arse.
Mozilla Firefox (3.0RC1) : Can't live without it.
Mozilla Thunderbird : Be ready to roll out with laughter - I didn't know how to use an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird till a few days ago! I am still not very much comfortable with Thunderbird, but adding my Gmail account was easy.
OpenOffice.org : Using a pirated Windows is too much shame for me, so I declined my friends' offers to lend me Office 2007 CDs. OOo 's Writer actually works much better than Word. An OOo tip...
Opera 9.50Beta2 : Yeah I am starting to get into betas (the haunt is probably over)! I got it for testing purposes, but now I use it whenever I have to open something like 8-10 tabs at a time (because Firefox gets snail-ish on heavy use).
Paint.NET : A very neat tool for lightweight photo and screenshot editing jobs, which is what I mostly do.
Pidgin : My friends call it "Piggy" because it's boring; and yes, it's starting to get boring for me as well. I should be jumping to Digsby anytime now, or maybe create a Prism WebApp for Meebo. By the way, Pidgin is a multi-account instant messenger if you're still in the dark.
RSSOwl : An excellent RSS-Atom feed reader. I prefer it to the more popular FeedDemon.
ScreenHunter Free Edition : It's very handy if you have to take lots of screenshots at a time (applies to many tech bloggers).
Ubuntu (using Wubi) : I have installed Ubuntu as an Windows application using Wubi. This has been working great so far (3 days and counting).
There are also,
1. All the inbuilt programs like IE 7, WMP 11 etc.
2. Hardware drivers
3. Adobe PDF Reader
4. Runtime environments like Java, Gtk+ and .NET Framework 2.0
5. The Windows firewall
Well that's my crappy list. What about you? What software have you got on your PC? Have you got any better free alternatives to the ones I have mentioned? Drop a comment and share your thoughts! :)
PS : I will try my best to keep posting over this week and the next. Even if my mind goes insane, I will at least put up techrolls. If anyone has got interesting articles that I have somehow missed, just drop me a mail at pctonic@live.com or leave a comment in the latest techroll post. :)
Photo Credit : The Eggplant
May 20, 2008
techroll 4 : 20th May, 2008
WebDev Icon Pack Released - Technoworld
Check out this awesome, 4500-strong, icon pack from Technoworld. Read on...
How to Delete All Recent Temporary Files in Windows - ReadersZone
A handy registry-editing tip to throw out all your temporary files in one go. Read on...
Wikipedia Tips & Tricks : Learn How to Use Wikipedia More Effectively - Digital Inspiration
"Wikipedia, the largest online encyclopedia, needs no introduction. We share some of the best tools, tips and tricks to help you use Wikipedia more effectively and productively." Read on...
Best Free Ways to Protect Private Files - Lifehacker
"When you're saving sensitive files on your computer meant for your eyes only, make sure you've got the right tools on hand to keep them private." Read on...
5 Nice Tools to Search Twitter in Real Time - JeetBlog
"We know that Twitter is always hyperactive with hundreds of tweets floating around every second. This presents a good opportunity to find out what are the opinions of different twitter users on a particular topic of your interest." Read on...
>Latest PC Ton!c posts<
Tits & Bits of Mozilla Prism
The Much Improved Hardy Heron
A Quick Intro to Adobe AIR
Manage Your Stored Passwords in Firefox
Your post could be right there in the next techroll! Just drop a comment here with a link to the article that you want featured (or mail it to pctonic@live.com). :)
Check out this awesome, 4500-strong, icon pack from Technoworld. Read on...
How to Delete All Recent Temporary Files in Windows - ReadersZone
A handy registry-editing tip to throw out all your temporary files in one go. Read on...
Wikipedia Tips & Tricks : Learn How to Use Wikipedia More Effectively - Digital Inspiration
"Wikipedia, the largest online encyclopedia, needs no introduction. We share some of the best tools, tips and tricks to help you use Wikipedia more effectively and productively." Read on...
Best Free Ways to Protect Private Files - Lifehacker
"When you're saving sensitive files on your computer meant for your eyes only, make sure you've got the right tools on hand to keep them private." Read on...
5 Nice Tools to Search Twitter in Real Time - JeetBlog
"We know that Twitter is always hyperactive with hundreds of tweets floating around every second. This presents a good opportunity to find out what are the opinions of different twitter users on a particular topic of your interest." Read on...
>Latest PC Ton!c posts<
Tits & Bits of Mozilla Prism
The Much Improved Hardy Heron
A Quick Intro to Adobe AIR
Manage Your Stored Passwords in Firefox
Your post could be right there in the next techroll! Just drop a comment here with a link to the article that you want featured (or mail it to pctonic@live.com). :)
May 19, 2008
Tits & Bits of Mozilla Prism
Mozilla Prism is a relatively new tool that allows you to run websites as independent "WebApps" from your desktop.
If this is what you're thinking after reading my Adobe AIR post yesterday,
please be patient. Mozilla Prism, formerly called WebRunner, adopts a different path from AIR in desktop-tizing your online life. It's still pretty much in the closet (beta, that is) and you have to be a bit brave to try it out. However I have got to liking it for the past few days, and after reading this post, you may start using it too.
Installing Prism
Prism is cross-platform, meaning it will run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. If you use Firefox 3, you can simply add Prism as an extension too.
[Windows]
You can directly download the .exe file and run it to install Prism. Older versions of Windows (ME, 98, 95) may have compatibility problems.
[Linux]
If you use Ubuntu 8.04, open Add / Remove Programs and then follow the instructions in this screenshot to install Prism.
If you are using Debian Linux or any of it's derivatives (including older versions of Ubuntu), simply download this .deb file and then open it to start installation of Prism.
In other Linux distros, you can install Prism from the source file.
[Mac OS X]
Download and run this file to install Prism (I am not a Mac user, so can't help you much).
Caution : As mentioned Prism is still in beta, and you may face some issues. I have tried it on Windows XP Pro SP 2 and Ubuntu 8.04 with no problems so far.
Let's Get Started
Now that Prism is up and running, let's put it to useful work. Prism supports "web bundles" or "WebApps" that have a .webapp extension (very much like .air for Adobe AIR). There are a limited number of such official .webapp bundles available right now, you can find the list in this Mozilla Wiki page : WebApps for Prism. Just double click on any one of these bundles (say Gmail) and your browser will throw an option to open it with Prism. Select "Yes", and you'll get something like this :
Just do any changes you want and you'll have the Gmail icon sitting right on your desktop (or wherever you put it)! Double click it and the Gmail page will pop-up in a pseudo-browser like window.
Create your Own Custom WebApps!
One great feature about Mozilla Prism is that it goes beyond the list of available WebApp bundles. This means you can create a WebApp of ANY website you want! To do this, open Prism and then enter the URL of the website whose WebApp you want to create (say PC Ton!c). Fill in the additional details, and your custom WebApp will be at your service.
Uninstalling a WebApp
To uninstall any WebApp, you simply have to remove it's shortcut from the desktop, Start and Quick Launch areas. In Ubuntu, you can also uninstall community provided WebApps from Add / Remove Programs.
Bugs / Issues
So far, Prism has been running very smoothly on my Ubuntu 8.04, courtesy the watchful eyes of the Linux community. There hasn't been any issue in Windows XP as well, expect that the Prism installer doesn't have an icon!
Limitations
The window that runs these Prism WebApps, is horribly out of features at the moment. There aren't even navigation buttons to move back and forth between web pages! Thankfully, there are some add-ons available to pimp it up, but they just didn't open up on my desktop (neither Windows nor Ubuntu). It was probably because of some server problems, and they will likely show up on your PC.
What's the Catch?
1.Needless to say, Prism is very useful in uncluttering your online life. Instead of managing a hundred different accounts from a single browser, which can drive you to insanity, you can simply create independent apps for your various accounts and pop them up as and when necessary.
Prism can also be useful when other persons share your computer. You can keep your data secure by using WebApps (either make them "Hidden" or store them in your personal folders) while others use the web browser.
2.Linux users can install the web version of Google Talk via Mozilla Prism. If you on Hardy, open Add / Remove Programs, select "All available applications" and search for "google talk". Alternately, just fire up Prism and fill up the details as shown below:
It looks and works just like the native Google Talk client for Windows, except that voice chatting and file transferring features are unavailable.
How is Prism Different From AIR?
I am sure many of you must have already figured it out yourself. For those who haven't, here are the major differences :
1.AIR apps are "true" standalone tools. They have got their own features and don't just mimic the accounts they are meant for (for example, Google Analytics AIR is strikingly different in looks and somewhat in features from the Analytics website). Like any other software, you have to uninstall them using an uninstaller.
On the other hand, Prism WebApps are single files, which point you to the website that they are built for. You can simply delete these files whenever required.
2.Adobe AIR apps are limited in number, about 140 at present.
Supported Prism WebApps are limited as well, but you can easily create your own custom WebApps as shown above. Unless you're a geeky programmer, you can't do it in AIR.
Mozilla Prism is yet another step towards the ever mingling of our desktop with the internet. However, it needs to get out of beta and provide some jaw-dropping features, before it can become a force to reckon with.
Have you tried out Mozilla Prism? If yes, how would you rate t and what improvements do you suggest? If not, do you plan to try it out anytime soon? Feel free to let us know by dropping a comment in this post. :)
Mercy, not another bring-the-internet-to-your-desktop thing!If this is what you're thinking after reading my Adobe AIR post yesterday,
please be patient. Mozilla Prism, formerly called WebRunner, adopts a different path from AIR in desktop-tizing your online life. It's still pretty much in the closet (beta, that is) and you have to be a bit brave to try it out. However I have got to liking it for the past few days, and after reading this post, you may start using it too.Installing Prism
Prism is cross-platform, meaning it will run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. If you use Firefox 3, you can simply add Prism as an extension too.
[Windows]
You can directly download the .exe file and run it to install Prism. Older versions of Windows (ME, 98, 95) may have compatibility problems.
[Linux]
If you use Ubuntu 8.04, open Add / Remove Programs and then follow the instructions in this screenshot to install Prism.
If you are using Debian Linux or any of it's derivatives (including older versions of Ubuntu), simply download this .deb file and then open it to start installation of Prism.
Download (.deb, 8.4MB)
In other Linux distros, you can install Prism from the source file.
Download (.tar.bz2, 7.9MB)
[Mac OS X]
Download and run this file to install Prism (I am not a Mac user, so can't help you much).
Download (.dmg, 11MB)
Caution : As mentioned Prism is still in beta, and you may face some issues. I have tried it on Windows XP Pro SP 2 and Ubuntu 8.04 with no problems so far.
Let's Get Started
Now that Prism is up and running, let's put it to useful work. Prism supports "web bundles" or "WebApps" that have a .webapp extension (very much like .air for Adobe AIR). There are a limited number of such official .webapp bundles available right now, you can find the list in this Mozilla Wiki page : WebApps for Prism. Just double click on any one of these bundles (say Gmail) and your browser will throw an option to open it with Prism. Select "Yes", and you'll get something like this :
Just do any changes you want and you'll have the Gmail icon sitting right on your desktop (or wherever you put it)! Double click it and the Gmail page will pop-up in a pseudo-browser like window.
Create your Own Custom WebApps!
One great feature about Mozilla Prism is that it goes beyond the list of available WebApp bundles. This means you can create a WebApp of ANY website you want! To do this, open Prism and then enter the URL of the website whose WebApp you want to create (say PC Ton!c). Fill in the additional details, and your custom WebApp will be at your service.
Uninstalling a WebApp
To uninstall any WebApp, you simply have to remove it's shortcut from the desktop, Start and Quick Launch areas. In Ubuntu, you can also uninstall community provided WebApps from Add / Remove Programs.
Bugs / Issues
So far, Prism has been running very smoothly on my Ubuntu 8.04, courtesy the watchful eyes of the Linux community. There hasn't been any issue in Windows XP as well, expect that the Prism installer doesn't have an icon!
Limitations
The window that runs these Prism WebApps, is horribly out of features at the moment. There aren't even navigation buttons to move back and forth between web pages! Thankfully, there are some add-ons available to pimp it up, but they just didn't open up on my desktop (neither Windows nor Ubuntu). It was probably because of some server problems, and they will likely show up on your PC.
What's the Catch?
1.Needless to say, Prism is very useful in uncluttering your online life. Instead of managing a hundred different accounts from a single browser, which can drive you to insanity, you can simply create independent apps for your various accounts and pop them up as and when necessary.
Prism can also be useful when other persons share your computer. You can keep your data secure by using WebApps (either make them "Hidden" or store them in your personal folders) while others use the web browser.
2.Linux users can install the web version of Google Talk via Mozilla Prism. If you on Hardy, open Add / Remove Programs, select "All available applications" and search for "google talk". Alternately, just fire up Prism and fill up the details as shown below:
It looks and works just like the native Google Talk client for Windows, except that voice chatting and file transferring features are unavailable.
How is Prism Different From AIR?
I am sure many of you must have already figured it out yourself. For those who haven't, here are the major differences :
1.AIR apps are "true" standalone tools. They have got their own features and don't just mimic the accounts they are meant for (for example, Google Analytics AIR is strikingly different in looks and somewhat in features from the Analytics website). Like any other software, you have to uninstall them using an uninstaller.
On the other hand, Prism WebApps are single files, which point you to the website that they are built for. You can simply delete these files whenever required.
2.Adobe AIR apps are limited in number, about 140 at present.
Supported Prism WebApps are limited as well, but you can easily create your own custom WebApps as shown above. Unless you're a geeky programmer, you can't do it in AIR.
Mozilla Prism is yet another step towards the ever mingling of our desktop with the internet. However, it needs to get out of beta and provide some jaw-dropping features, before it can become a force to reckon with.
Have you tried out Mozilla Prism? If yes, how would you rate t and what improvements do you suggest? If not, do you plan to try it out anytime soon? Feel free to let us know by dropping a comment in this post. :)
May 18, 2008
The Much Improved Hardy Heron
Canonical has made my birthday for the second year running (today's my 18th birthday, by the way). Last year I had received the wonderful Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04) CD s via their ShipIt! service on my 17th b'day, and today I received my Hardy Heron CD! I have read a lot about Hardy since it's beta was out and I was dying to try it out, so the CD was really a pleasant surprise (more so, as my Gutsy CD never arrived...).
As mentioned earlier, I had migrated back to Windows XP for better blogging. But this CD made me forget everything and I just wanted to get Ubuntu back on my computer.Thankfully, the Hardy Heron Live CD includes the Wubi installer, with which you can install Ubuntu right within Windows (and uninstall it whenever you want). I went for it and Hardy was up and running within half an hour. A quick glance made it clear than Hardy is indeed a great improvement over Feisty (I haven't tried Gutsy). Three hours hence, I have already explored quite a bit of the newest Ubuntu. I have plans start my own "Ubuntu for Beginners" tips in near future; till then here's a quick "what's-great-and-what's-not" in Hardy Heron.
The Improvements
1.The UI has been greatly refined. Window borders are smoother, there are better inbuilt themes available (Human-Murrine especially) and desktop effects are present by default. Icons are sexier and there are better screen resolution options as well.
2.I am on Firefox 3! I have had trouble with beta products in the past, and that kept me from trying the betas of Firefox 3 in Windows. But this browser is inbuilt in Hardy and works without a glitch! Firefox 3 is easily much better than 2, which is what I still have in Windows.
3.GIMP 2.4 is awesome. I use Paint.NET in Windows, as it's lighter and still has everything that I need. Nevertheless, GIMP has a Photoshop like royalty about it. The perspective clone feature in the latest GIMP looks cool, and I will be trying it out soon.
4.Tomboy looks promising. I haven't quite started using it, but it feels much better than the old version in Feisty.
5.The NTFS editing feature is neat, though I will probably not need it. Looks like I will be needing it a lot...it was very helpful while creating screenshots for my article on Mozilla Prism.
6.Rhythmbox has got a more complete feeling about it. Addition of Jamendo and Magnatune stores has spiced it up.
7.Hardy recognizes and mounts my sister's Nokia N-72, something which Feisty didn't do.
8.Brasero is simple and un-Nero-ish, which is what I like. I use BurnAware free edition in Windows, and both have a very similar layout.
9.Geyes is great as ever. Everyone who has seen our desktop just loves those prowling eyes.
10.YouTube search integration into Totem makes my favorite movie player even better.
11.I haven't quite got grasp over this PolicyKit thing. It's supposedly very useful, which I should be finding out in a couple of minutes. I am comfortable with it now. Nice add to Ubuntu.
12.I had heard a lot of Gnome Do, so I downloaded it right after installing Hardy. It looks very handy at the moment, but I haven't yet utilized it completely.
13.The Help browser has been revamped for the better. I am still pretty much a Linux n00b, so I have to fire up the Help menus every once in a while.
14.The World Clock Applet is really cool, but our town Bhubaneswar isn't up in the list yet. I had to adjust my settings to the nearby metro Kolkata. :(
15.I hate to admit that I was on Gaim all the time on Feisty. Pidgin 2.4 feels so much better, smoother and simpler. Many feel it's boring, but I will keep using it full blast in Windows and Ubuntu.
16.F-Spot is hard to beat. Picasa or FastStone of Windows don't match up to it at all.
Things that could have been better...
Hardy is certainly a big improvement over Feisty (and probably Gutsy as well), but there are some minor tweaks that would have made Hardy even better.
1.I am not sure if there is any name of this feature in Windows. Anyway, I will try to explain :
Using the inbuilt CD writing wizard in Windows XP / Vista, you can write data to a CD-R which already contains some data. This is really helpful as I have a bunch of old project CD s containing now-useless things like a single document or a presentation (which are never larger than 100K). These CD s can't be erased for reuse, but with the CD wizard in Windows I can easily add more data to them.
This feature wasn't present in Feisty, and this isn't there in Hardy either (you will asked to enter a rewritable or a blank disk if you try this). With CD s getting obsolete, it may not be really a big deal for you anyway.
2.Plugins added into Firefox can be uninstalled only via Add / Remove Programs or Synaptic Package Manager. It would have been a better choice to provide an uninstall option right within Firefox. If there is a way to do this, please tell me.
3.No exciting games are available by default in Ubuntu, yet. There are some pretty thrilling games exclusively for Linux, but they are all massive size downloads - something which my limited broadband doesn't allow me to get.
Update:
4.Nautilus is better than ever before, but still not quite in the league of Windows Explorer or Konqueror. I would love it to shed it's simplicity and get a bit more robust.
These small snags apart, Ubuntu Hardy Heron has won me over. You can go ahead and give it a try as well, I am sure you'll like it.
Is there any more cool / useful feature in Hardy than I can try out? Feel free to share via a comment. :)
As mentioned earlier, I had migrated back to Windows XP for better blogging. But this CD made me forget everything and I just wanted to get Ubuntu back on my computer.Thankfully, the Hardy Heron Live CD includes the Wubi installer, with which you can install Ubuntu right within Windows (and uninstall it whenever you want). I went for it and Hardy was up and running within half an hour. A quick glance made it clear than Hardy is indeed a great improvement over Feisty (I haven't tried Gutsy). Three hours hence, I have already explored quite a bit of the newest Ubuntu. I have plans start my own "Ubuntu for Beginners" tips in near future; till then here's a quick "what's-great-and-what's-not" in Hardy Heron.
The Improvements
1.The UI has been greatly refined. Window borders are smoother, there are better inbuilt themes available (Human-Murrine especially) and desktop effects are present by default. Icons are sexier and there are better screen resolution options as well.
2.I am on Firefox 3! I have had trouble with beta products in the past, and that kept me from trying the betas of Firefox 3 in Windows. But this browser is inbuilt in Hardy and works without a glitch! Firefox 3 is easily much better than 2, which is what I still have in Windows.
3.GIMP 2.4 is awesome. I use Paint.NET in Windows, as it's lighter and still has everything that I need. Nevertheless, GIMP has a Photoshop like royalty about it. The perspective clone feature in the latest GIMP looks cool, and I will be trying it out soon.
4.Tomboy looks promising. I haven't quite started using it, but it feels much better than the old version in Feisty.
5.The NTFS editing feature is neat,
6.Rhythmbox has got a more complete feeling about it. Addition of Jamendo and Magnatune stores has spiced it up.
7.Hardy recognizes and mounts my sister's Nokia N-72, something which Feisty didn't do.
8.Brasero is simple and un-Nero-ish, which is what I like. I use BurnAware free edition in Windows, and both have a very similar layout.
9.Geyes is great as ever. Everyone who has seen our desktop just loves those prowling eyes.
10.YouTube search integration into Totem makes my favorite movie player even better.
11.
12.I had heard a lot of Gnome Do, so I downloaded it right after installing Hardy. It looks very handy at the moment, but I haven't yet utilized it completely.
13.The Help browser has been revamped for the better. I am still pretty much a Linux n00b, so I have to fire up the Help menus every once in a while.
14.The World Clock Applet is really cool, but our town Bhubaneswar isn't up in the list yet. I had to adjust my settings to the nearby metro Kolkata. :(
15.I hate to admit that I was on Gaim all the time on Feisty. Pidgin 2.4 feels so much better, smoother and simpler. Many feel it's boring, but I will keep using it full blast in Windows and Ubuntu.
16.F-Spot is hard to beat. Picasa or FastStone of Windows don't match up to it at all.
Things that could have been better...
Hardy is certainly a big improvement over Feisty (and probably Gutsy as well), but there are some minor tweaks that would have made Hardy even better.
1.I am not sure if there is any name of this feature in Windows. Anyway, I will try to explain :
Using the inbuilt CD writing wizard in Windows XP / Vista, you can write data to a CD-R which already contains some data. This is really helpful as I have a bunch of old project CD s containing now-useless things like a single document or a presentation (which are never larger than 100K). These CD s can't be erased for reuse, but with the CD wizard in Windows I can easily add more data to them.
This feature wasn't present in Feisty, and this isn't there in Hardy either (you will asked to enter a rewritable or a blank disk if you try this). With CD s getting obsolete, it may not be really a big deal for you anyway.
2.Plugins added into Firefox can be uninstalled only via Add / Remove Programs or Synaptic Package Manager. It would have been a better choice to provide an uninstall option right within Firefox. If there is a way to do this, please tell me.
3.No exciting games are available by default in Ubuntu, yet. There are some pretty thrilling games exclusively for Linux, but they are all massive size downloads - something which my limited broadband doesn't allow me to get.
Update:
4.Nautilus is better than ever before, but still not quite in the league of Windows Explorer or Konqueror. I would love it to shed it's simplicity and get a bit more robust.
These small snags apart, Ubuntu Hardy Heron has won me over. You can go ahead and give it a try as well, I am sure you'll like it.
Is there any more cool / useful feature in Hardy than I can try out? Feel free to share via a comment. :)
A Quick Intro to Adobe AIR
Adobe products like Photoshop, Acrobat Professional, Flash and Dreamwaver have set industrial standards in their respective categories.
And who can miss the universally popular Adobe PDF Reader? But there’s still more to Adobe than these. One of the latest projects by Adobe to hit the Internet is AIR, a new phenomenon that has taken the geeky world by storm and is expected to catch steam among normal users as well. Adobe AIR has been out for some months already and has been covered thoroughly by many other tech blogs; this is just a quick know-how of this tool in case you haven't heard of it yet.
So, what’s this AIR?
AIR is a free, cross-platform runtime environment that will enable you to run web applications as standalone desktop tools. Didn’t quite get the idea? Let’s suppose you're an active eBay seller / buyer. Everyday you fire up your browser, open the eBay website, sign in to your account and then start your transactions. Needless to say, this takes quite some time. Wouldn’t it be much better if you could control your eBay account directly from your desktop? With Adobe AIR, you really CAN make this happen! Simply install AIR on your computer and then download the AIR-based eBay Desktop client. After installation, you will have an eBay icon right on your desktop. Open it, add your account and you’re ready to go!
eBay Desktop
And it’s not just eBay; AIR-based desktop installers for many online accounts, social networks and tracking tools have been popping up every now and then. Today with AIR, you can do anything from updating your Twitter status to following your Google Analytics stats, and from managing your Google Reader feeds to tracking the recent activities of your online buddies (with FriendFeed), right from your desktop. AIR has been out for a few months and can only grow from where it is today. Many tech blogs have mentioned some useful AIR applications which you can use. Here are but just a few of these posts (links to the AIR apps for the web services mentioned above can also be found in these posts):
15 Useful Adobe AIR Applications - Teknobites
8 Adobe AIR Apps that Don’t Suck - MakeUseOf
Top 7 Useful AIR Applications for Bloggers – Killer Tech Tips
List of Adobe AIR Applications - Adobe AIR Website
1.All Adobe AIR apps have a .air extension.
2.If you are unfamiliar with web services like Twitter or FriendFeed, do look them up in Google or Wikipedia. I will be briefly covering them soon. :)
And who can miss the universally popular Adobe PDF Reader? But there’s still more to Adobe than these. One of the latest projects by Adobe to hit the Internet is AIR, a new phenomenon that has taken the geeky world by storm and is expected to catch steam among normal users as well. Adobe AIR has been out for some months already and has been covered thoroughly by many other tech blogs; this is just a quick know-how of this tool in case you haven't heard of it yet.So, what’s this AIR?
AIR is a free, cross-platform runtime environment that will enable you to run web applications as standalone desktop tools. Didn’t quite get the idea? Let’s suppose you're an active eBay seller / buyer. Everyday you fire up your browser, open the eBay website, sign in to your account and then start your transactions. Needless to say, this takes quite some time. Wouldn’t it be much better if you could control your eBay account directly from your desktop? With Adobe AIR, you really CAN make this happen! Simply install AIR on your computer and then download the AIR-based eBay Desktop client. After installation, you will have an eBay icon right on your desktop. Open it, add your account and you’re ready to go!
eBay Desktop
And it’s not just eBay; AIR-based desktop installers for many online accounts, social networks and tracking tools have been popping up every now and then. Today with AIR, you can do anything from updating your Twitter status to following your Google Analytics stats, and from managing your Google Reader feeds to tracking the recent activities of your online buddies (with FriendFeed), right from your desktop. AIR has been out for a few months and can only grow from where it is today. Many tech blogs have mentioned some useful AIR applications which you can use. Here are but just a few of these posts (links to the AIR apps for the web services mentioned above can also be found in these posts):
15 Useful Adobe AIR Applications - Teknobites
8 Adobe AIR Apps that Don’t Suck - MakeUseOf
Top 7 Useful AIR Applications for Bloggers – Killer Tech Tips
List of Adobe AIR Applications - Adobe AIR Website
Note 1.All Adobe AIR apps have a .air extension.
2.If you are unfamiliar with web services like Twitter or FriendFeed, do look them up in Google or Wikipedia. I will be briefly covering them soon. :)
May 17, 2008
Manage Your Stored Passwords in Firefox
Note -
If you have been using Firefox for some time, chances are you have saved a good number of passwords for auto-filling of sign in information at some websites. This is a particularly good feature in all new web browsers, but what to do if you save a wrong password by mistake? Or say you want to delete a stored account? Fortunately, Firefox does provide a minimalistic password manager where you can delete faulty / duplicate / obsolete accounts. The password manager is not conspicuous like the bookmarks or add-on manager, but then passwords are like underwear and need to be kept private! Ok, let’s see where to find the password manager in Firefox.
1.Open Firefox. If you are in Windows, go to Tools > Options. In Linux, navigate to Edit > Preferences.
2.In the Options / Preferences window, open the Security tab and click Show Passwords under the Passwords section.
3.The Remember Passwords window will open up. You will be able to see the URLs and user names of all your stored accounts. Should you want to remove any account, select it and hit Remove. If you still want to see the passwords, click Show Passwords and then Yes. Do you find any wrong password that has been saved? If yes, just delete to account; the next time you sign in to it, Firefox will again ask you to save the password details and you can do so.
Clearly, Firefox's password manager is handy but nothing you can call robust or versatile. Should you require one, try out KeePass (for Windows), or the online PassPack (all OSes).
Do you know any Firefox add-on that will spruce up the password manager? Do share by dropping a comment here. :)
This tutorial also applies to Flock, an unofficial derivative of Firefox.
If you have been using Firefox for some time, chances are you have saved a good number of passwords for auto-filling of sign in information at some websites. This is a particularly good feature in all new web browsers, but what to do if you save a wrong password by mistake? Or say you want to delete a stored account? Fortunately, Firefox does provide a minimalistic password manager where you can delete faulty / duplicate / obsolete accounts. The password manager is not conspicuous like the bookmarks or add-on manager, but then passwords are like underwear and need to be kept private! Ok, let’s see where to find the password manager in Firefox.
1.Open Firefox. If you are in Windows, go to Tools > Options. In Linux, navigate to Edit > Preferences.
2.In the Options / Preferences window, open the Security tab and click Show Passwords under the Passwords section.
3.The Remember Passwords window will open up. You will be able to see the URLs and user names of all your stored accounts. Should you want to remove any account, select it and hit Remove. If you still want to see the passwords, click Show Passwords and then Yes. Do you find any wrong password that has been saved? If yes, just delete to account; the next time you sign in to it, Firefox will again ask you to save the password details and you can do so.
Clearly, Firefox's password manager is handy but nothing you can call robust or versatile. Should you require one, try out KeePass (for Windows), or the online PassPack (all OSes).
Do you know any Firefox add-on that will spruce up the password manager? Do share by dropping a comment here. :)
May 16, 2008
techroll 3 : 16th May, 2008
SugarSync Giveaways at Life Rocks! 2.0 and Killer Tech Tips
SugarSync is an upcoming online backup, file sharing and synchronising system. This service isn't free, but tech blogs Life Rocks! 2.0 and Killer Tech Tips will be giving away 3 one-year subscriptions each of SugarSync 30GB packages, for free. Follow the blogs for more details and pariticipation rules.
SugarSync giveaway at Life Rocks! 2.0
SugarSync giveaway at Killer Tech Tips
Top 10 Things You Forgot Your Mac Can Do - Lifehacker
Macs may be more expensive, and Mac users more elitist (ahem), but blind Apple loyalty aside, there are a number of neat features bundled into your Mac that make it super useful and fun. Read the full post...
Quickly Rename Multiple Files in One Batch! - Giveaway of the Day
GAOTD is offering File Renamer Deluxe for free only for today. Go and grab it before the giveaway's up!
How to Surf Securely with an SSH Tunnel - PaulStamatiou.com
Paul tips you how to surf safely with an SSH tunnel. Read the full post...
Understanding the Silver Skin in avast! Antivirus - PC Ton!c
Take a look at the explanatory screenshot of avast!'s confusing default skin. Read the full post...
Your post could be right there in the next techroll! Just drop a comment here with a link to the article that you want featured (or mail it to pctonic@live.com). Articles written in poor English may be rejected.
SugarSync is an upcoming online backup, file sharing and synchronising system. This service isn't free, but tech blogs Life Rocks! 2.0 and Killer Tech Tips will be giving away 3 one-year subscriptions each of SugarSync 30GB packages, for free. Follow the blogs for more details and pariticipation rules.
SugarSync giveaway at Life Rocks! 2.0
SugarSync giveaway at Killer Tech Tips
Top 10 Things You Forgot Your Mac Can Do - Lifehacker
Macs may be more expensive, and Mac users more elitist (ahem), but blind Apple loyalty aside, there are a number of neat features bundled into your Mac that make it super useful and fun. Read the full post...
Quickly Rename Multiple Files in One Batch! - Giveaway of the Day
GAOTD is offering File Renamer Deluxe for free only for today. Go and grab it before the giveaway's up!
How to Surf Securely with an SSH Tunnel - PaulStamatiou.com
Paul tips you how to surf safely with an SSH tunnel. Read the full post...
Understanding the Silver Skin in avast! Antivirus - PC Ton!c
Take a look at the explanatory screenshot of avast!'s confusing default skin. Read the full post...
Your post could be right there in the next techroll! Just drop a comment here with a link to the article that you want featured (or mail it to pctonic@live.com). Articles written in poor English may be rejected.
Understanding the Silver Panel Skin in avast! Antivirus
avast! is one of the most robust antiviruses available in the market. The Home edition, which is free for personal use, boasts of a 6-shield real time protection, a strong virus and malware scanner, an excellent infection remover and a “chest” to isolate tough viruses from your system. Another good feature of avast! is it’s skinnable interface – you can use any of the fifty-something skins available on the website! By default, avast! uses the “Silver Panel” skin, which looks great but can be highly confusing for beginners. When I had tried avast! for the first time about two years ago, the only reason I threw it out was because of this skin. If you too are having the same problem with the Silver Panel skin, this explanatory screenshot will probably help you out.
Should you continue to have more problems, feel free to ask me through a comment. I will be covering more of avast! in coming days, do stay tuned. :)
Should you continue to have more problems, feel free to ask me through a comment. I will be covering more of avast! in coming days, do stay tuned. :)
May 15, 2008
3 Reasons Why I Don't Like AVG Free 8
and happily recommended it to all. However, the latest version has left me disappointed and I can't get to like it at all. I used it for about 2 days before switching over to Avast! Home Edition, which looks wonderfully better. In this post, I have brought about the stuff that disappointed me.
1.Ever increasing installer size.
It’s another new version of AVG and another phenomenal increase in the installer size. From 28MB it has now frog leaped to 46MB. I agree that adding spyware cleaning and link scanning capabilities should require more space, but Avast! Home 4.8 too included spyware cleaning for the first time and it’s installer size is still 22MB. Moreover, Avast! Home includes a 6-shield real time protection, a skinnable interface, boot time scanning and about a dozen more configuration options than AVG. Surely, AVG is becoming the Adobe Reader of antiviruses.
2.AVG
AVG has no longer got the light-resource-usage thing that it was famous for. This new edition eats up as much memory as any other antivirus, and maybe even more. The good thing is that the scans are faster than before.
3.The “Upgrade to PRO version” slogan is on an all-time high.
The guys at AVG Technologies are well known for
Well these are my reasons. Many won't agree with me, but I believe these points have got ground. With time I am starting to like Avast! more and more, and I will be covering this wonderful app in details very soon. If the default silver panel interface of Avast! confuses you, my future posts will help you out. Subscribe now and keep a lookout! :)
May 14, 2008
Minimise Pop-up Alerts by Comodo Firewall Pro 3
Fact file -
Comodo Firewall Pro 3 is easily the most comprehensive firewall you can possibly get. It's completely free to use but still beats out the best of paid firewalls out there.
Version 3 of CFP includes a proactive HIPS tool called Defense+, which monitors odd / malicious behavior in your computer and notifies you of the same. As mentioned in an earlier post, HIPS can be a bit irritating at times because of the excessive number of alerts it causes. I was recently following a what-is-your-favorite-firewall poll on MakeUseOf, where some users (including MUO's administrator, Aibek) were smug at the continuous alerts that Comodo produced. This is why I felt it necessary to jot down some points on how to minimise the alerts by this tool. I wouldn’t recommend switching over to another free alternative, because there isn’t one that matches Comodo’s standards.
1.Be patient for the first 1-2 days.
HIPS is a learning tool, it analyses every file on your system and asks you to allow / block the ones it can’t recognise. As your system might have thousands of files, it will definitely take some time for Defense+ to cover up all of them. As it keeps on learning, you will notice that the number of alerts come down significantly in a couple of days.
2.Turn on Installation Mode while installing a new software.
Any new software contains a bunch of files which are alien to your computer. This is why you will get repeated alerts from Defense+ as the files get added to Windows (? read HIPS). To stop these alerts, just turn on the Installation Mode momentarily (as shown in the figure). After sometime, Comodo will ask you to turn off the Installation Mode and you can do so.
Similarly, you can set an application as "trusted" so that CFP will include all the files of that software under “My Own Safe Files”.
3.Review pending files once in a while.
Defense+ stores all unrecognised files under “My Pending Files”. Occasionally it may alert you to review these files and mark them as safe or unsafe. Unless you had a recent virus / spyware attack, all the pending files are usually safe and can be transferred to “My Own Safe Files”. You should preferably do this every 4-5 days. This is required only for "Clean PC Mode" and higher security levels (read point 5).
4.Hide balloon messages.
If you see balloon pop-ups like “Defense+ is learning ...”, you can easily turn them off from Miscellaneous > Settings in CFP.
5.Lower the Defense+ Security level.
Let’s say you still get more alerts than you’d like to. To further decrease the alert numbers, open CFP and navigate to Defense+ > Advanced > Defense+ Settings. Decrease the Defense+ Security Level bar from Clean PC Mode (default) to Training Mode. You can simply turn it off as well.
6.The last stand - throw out Defense+.
If you want CFP to behave like a firewall and nothing else, open up the Defense+ Settings again and select “Deactivate Defense+ Permanently”. After a system reboot, Defense+ will be gone. Alternately you can reinstall CFP from the installer file and choose to install just the firewall from the options given. CFP will now behave just like it’s older version and produce only firewall alerts.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this because Defense+ can actually detect and remove all kinds of virus and malware (real-time and on-demand). If your primary antivirus or antispyware fails to catch a malware, chances are Defense+ will detect and remove it. This also applies (to the geeky and daring folk) that you can use CFP as your all-in-one security suite without having to use another antivirus / antispyware, thereby using less system resources.
Have you tried out Comodo Firewall? If yes, how would you rate it and what modifications would you like in it? Feel free to drop a comment and share your thoughts. :)
Comodo Firewall Pro
!!!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP
Links : Home | Download.com | FileHippo
Comodo Firewall Pro 3 is easily the most comprehensive firewall you can possibly get. It's completely free to use but still beats out the best of paid firewalls out there.
Version 3 of CFP includes a proactive HIPS tool called Defense+, which monitors odd / malicious behavior in your computer and notifies you of the same. As mentioned in an earlier post, HIPS can be a bit irritating at times because of the excessive number of alerts it causes. I was recently following a what-is-your-favorite-firewall poll on MakeUseOf, where some users (including MUO's administrator, Aibek) were smug at the continuous alerts that Comodo produced. This is why I felt it necessary to jot down some points on how to minimise the alerts by this tool. I wouldn’t recommend switching over to another free alternative, because there isn’t one that matches Comodo’s standards.1.Be patient for the first 1-2 days.
HIPS is a learning tool, it analyses every file on your system and asks you to allow / block the ones it can’t recognise. As your system might have thousands of files, it will definitely take some time for Defense+ to cover up all of them. As it keeps on learning, you will notice that the number of alerts come down significantly in a couple of days.
2.Turn on Installation Mode while installing a new software.
Any new software contains a bunch of files which are alien to your computer. This is why you will get repeated alerts from Defense+ as the files get added to Windows (? read HIPS). To stop these alerts, just turn on the Installation Mode momentarily (as shown in the figure). After sometime, Comodo will ask you to turn off the Installation Mode and you can do so.
Similarly, you can set an application as "trusted" so that CFP will include all the files of that software under “My Own Safe Files”.
3.Review pending files once in a while.
Defense+ stores all unrecognised files under “My Pending Files”. Occasionally it may alert you to review these files and mark them as safe or unsafe. Unless you had a recent virus / spyware attack, all the pending files are usually safe and can be transferred to “My Own Safe Files”. You should preferably do this every 4-5 days. This is required only for "Clean PC Mode" and higher security levels (read point 5).
4.Hide balloon messages.
If you see balloon pop-ups like “Defense+ is learning ...”, you can easily turn them off from Miscellaneous > Settings in CFP.
5.Lower the Defense+ Security level.
Let’s say you still get more alerts than you’d like to. To further decrease the alert numbers, open CFP and navigate to Defense+ > Advanced > Defense+ Settings. Decrease the Defense+ Security Level bar from Clean PC Mode (default) to Training Mode. You can simply turn it off as well.
6.The last stand - throw out Defense+.
If you want CFP to behave like a firewall and nothing else, open up the Defense+ Settings again and select “Deactivate Defense+ Permanently”. After a system reboot, Defense+ will be gone. Alternately you can reinstall CFP from the installer file and choose to install just the firewall from the options given. CFP will now behave just like it’s older version and produce only firewall alerts.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this because Defense+ can actually detect and remove all kinds of virus and malware (real-time and on-demand). If your primary antivirus or antispyware fails to catch a malware, chances are Defense+ will detect and remove it. This also applies (to the geeky and daring folk) that you can use CFP as your all-in-one security suite without having to use another antivirus / antispyware, thereby using less system resources.
Have you tried out Comodo Firewall? If yes, how would you rate it and what modifications would you like in it? Feel free to drop a comment and share your thoughts. :)
May 13, 2008
Comment Moderation Enabled
Credit : dr loplop
It looks like the spam bots have found out my blog. They have been attacking the older posts for the last two days and it's tiring job having to delete those comments. This is why I had to enable comment moderation to keep these bogging bugs out. Be ensured that all "human" comments will be allowed, unless there's something highly abusive. :)
Free Internet TV Software
An Internet TV software allows you to legally download / view streaming media from a list of available channels, documentaries, video sites and podcasts. In this post, I've mentioned some of the best of free Internet TV tools available out there. As this Internet TV stuff is still a pretty new concept, all the mentioned software are relatively 'young' and three of the five aren't even out of beta. It's not recommended to try beta software on your personal / work computer.
Joost Beta - Joost N.V.
!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X
Overview : Joost is an upcoming Internet TV tool that boasts of a splendid interface and the ability to watch streaming media from over 300 channels. On the downside, it doesn't allow you to download the channel shows, it's a massive resource hog and it's still a bit buggy. Joost is still a far cry from keeping up with the open source and ever expanding Miro, but it has it's own charm which may win you over. Read the detailed review of Joost on MakeUseOf for more info. Home
Adobe Media Player - Adobe Systems Inc.
!!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X (Check out the detailed system requirements)
Overview : Adobe Media Player is the latest tool to join the Internet TV bandwagon. It may have just hatched but it already includes a host of popular channels like Blip.TV, MTV and Nickelodeon. AMP allows you to conveniently choose and download the latest content from your chosen channels and then organises them neatly into your personal video library. If the constantly increasing positive reviews are any indication, AMP is certainly going to be one of the top players in the category soon. Home
Livestation Beta - Skinkers Ltd
!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP
Overview : Livestation allows you to receive live TV and radio news from world's leading broadcasters on your PC via it's multi channel interactive application. You can flick between various available channels and receive alerts for breaking news broadcast across any channel. I would say Livestation is like a TV with a bunch of news channels. Read this detailed review of Livestation in MakeUseOf for more information. Home (Registration is required for a beta invitation.)
VeohTV Beta - Veoh Network
!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X
Overview : This free tool lets you watch and record full length episodes from popular channels like CBS, NBC and also from video sites like YouTube and Google Video (everything that's included in the Veoh Network). Like all other tools mentioned above, VeohTV creates a TV-like environment in your PC. The sad thing is that VeohTV has sort of stagnated and is not likely to make a big bang in the near future. Home
There goes the list of five top Internet TV tools. Feel free to drop a comment and express your views and/or mention any other Internet TV tool that I have missed out. :)
Miro - Participatory Culture Foundation
!!!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP / 2000, Mac OS X, Linux
Overview : Miro is undoubtedly the best Internet TV software available today. It's open source and includes a vast number of features like free subscription to channels (3700+ as of now), access to video sites like YouTube, effective grouping and sharing of downloaded content, an inbuilt BitTorrent client and an inbuilt video player with support for all major formats. Unlike it's rivals, Miro isn't heavy on system resources, and is highly recommended for every TV-shows addict. Read our previous post on Miro for more screenshots and information. Home | Download.com | FileHippo
Joost Beta - Joost N.V.
!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X
Overview : Joost is an upcoming Internet TV tool that boasts of a splendid interface and the ability to watch streaming media from over 300 channels. On the downside, it doesn't allow you to download the channel shows, it's a massive resource hog and it's still a bit buggy. Joost is still a far cry from keeping up with the open source and ever expanding Miro, but it has it's own charm which may win you over. Read the detailed review of Joost on MakeUseOf for more info. Home
Adobe Media Player - Adobe Systems Inc.
!!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X (Check out the detailed system requirements)
Overview : Adobe Media Player is the latest tool to join the Internet TV bandwagon. It may have just hatched but it already includes a host of popular channels like Blip.TV, MTV and Nickelodeon. AMP allows you to conveniently choose and download the latest content from your chosen channels and then organises them neatly into your personal video library. If the constantly increasing positive reviews are any indication, AMP is certainly going to be one of the top players in the category soon. Home
Livestation Beta - Skinkers Ltd
!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP
Overview : Livestation allows you to receive live TV and radio news from world's leading broadcasters on your PC via it's multi channel interactive application. You can flick between various available channels and receive alerts for breaking news broadcast across any channel. I would say Livestation is like a TV with a bunch of news channels. Read this detailed review of Livestation in MakeUseOf for more information. Home (Registration is required for a beta invitation.)
VeohTV Beta - Veoh Network
!!!
Available for : Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X
Overview : This free tool lets you watch and record full length episodes from popular channels like CBS, NBC and also from video sites like YouTube and Google Video (everything that's included in the Veoh Network). Like all other tools mentioned above, VeohTV creates a TV-like environment in your PC. The sad thing is that VeohTV has sort of stagnated and is not likely to make a big bang in the near future. Home
There goes the list of five top Internet TV tools. Feel free to drop a comment and express your views and/or mention any other Internet TV tool that I have missed out. :)
May 12, 2008
techroll 2 : 12th May, 2008
5 Excellent Ways to Waste Time Online - MakeUseOf
Find out how Tina covers her time gaps with more fun and less boredom. Read the full post...
Do You Know this Firefox Trick? - JeetBlog
A seemingly obvious but easily ignorable Firefox trick, uncovered by Abhijeet. Read the full post...
Create Cool Stick Animations Very Easily with StickFigure Animator - Technoworld : Indiandevs
Find out how to make funny animations using only stick figures, with a bit of help from Siddharth. Read the full post...
Send Your Name to the Moon in a NASA Spacecraft - Digital Inspiration [via The Presurfer]
Support the Lunar Reconnaissance mission by NASA and get yourself featured onboard the spacecraft! Read the full post...
Get 91% Off Microsoft Office Ultimate - Lifehacker
Do you have a .edu email address? If yes go and grab Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate for just $60 (actual price : $680). Offer valid only till 16th May! Read the full post...
Your post could be right there in the next techroll! Just mail the link of any interesting post in your blog to pctonic@live.com (or simply drop a comment in this post) and it will most likely be featured in a future techroll. Articles written in poor English may be rejected.
Find out how Tina covers her time gaps with more fun and less boredom. Read the full post...
Do You Know this Firefox Trick? - JeetBlog
A seemingly obvious but easily ignorable Firefox trick, uncovered by Abhijeet. Read the full post...
Create Cool Stick Animations Very Easily with StickFigure Animator - Technoworld : Indiandevs
Find out how to make funny animations using only stick figures, with a bit of help from Siddharth. Read the full post...
Send Your Name to the Moon in a NASA Spacecraft - Digital Inspiration [via The Presurfer]
Support the Lunar Reconnaissance mission by NASA and get yourself featured onboard the spacecraft! Read the full post...
Get 91% Off Microsoft Office Ultimate - Lifehacker
Do you have a .edu email address? If yes go and grab Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate for just $60 (actual price : $680). Offer valid only till 16th May! Read the full post...
Your post could be right there in the next techroll! Just mail the link of any interesting post in your blog to pctonic@live.com (or simply drop a comment in this post) and it will most likely be featured in a future techroll. Articles written in poor English may be rejected.
Where to Find the 'Options' Window in Windows Media Player 11?
Ever since it was released, Windows Media Player 11 has quickly become my favorite media playing and managing tool. It's sleek interface, smooth navigation and no-restrictions features are barely matched by any rival freeware.
Nevertheless, WMP 11 does have glitches. First is of course the support for a tiny number of media formats. There isn't even DVD playback support in WMP 11 for XP! Third-party codecs are available to solve this issue but I have a bad impression of most of these (not without reason, as they either contain malware or destabilize the media player). Next problem on the list is the virtually untraceable configuration options. Say you want to restrict other user accounts from viewing a particular movie or you want to disable automatic downloading of official codecs. What to do? Where to find that sh*t Options window? Let's find out.
1.Fire up WMP 11. Now just hover your mouse over any one of the topmost menu buttons (like "Now Playing", "Rip" or "Library"). You will now notice a dropdown arrow just below that menu button.
2.Click the dropdown button and a list of common options for that specific tool will be displayed. Click the last but one option, i.e., "More Options..." and the Options window for WMP 11 will pop up! Do any modifications that you want to make WMP 11 even more likable.
Nevertheless, WMP 11 does have glitches. First is of course the support for a tiny number of media formats. There isn't even DVD playback support in WMP 11 for XP! Third-party codecs are available to solve this issue but I have a bad impression of most of these (not without reason, as they either contain malware or destabilize the media player). Next problem on the list is the virtually untraceable configuration options. Say you want to restrict other user accounts from viewing a particular movie or you want to disable automatic downloading of official codecs. What to do? Where to find that sh*t Options window? Let's find out.1.Fire up WMP 11. Now just hover your mouse over any one of the topmost menu buttons (like "Now Playing", "Rip" or "Library"). You will now notice a dropdown arrow just below that menu button.
2.Click the dropdown button and a list of common options for that specific tool will be displayed. Click the last but one option, i.e., "More Options..." and the Options window for WMP 11 will pop up! Do any modifications that you want to make WMP 11 even more likable.
May 09, 2008
"Ratings" added to Blogger (?)
I was making some page modifications when I came across this new Ratings feature under Page Elements > Blog Post > Edit.
I hadn't seen this before; so is this a new feature or has it been there for sometime now? I can't get it to work on my blog as I use a third party template which doesn't support a lot of other options as well (like sharing by mail or showing ads between posts). If anyone is using a default Blogger template and has got this rating enabled, please leave a comment here with a link to your blog so that I can check out how good is this. :)
I hadn't seen this before; so is this a new feature or has it been there for sometime now? I can't get it to work on my blog as I use a third party template which doesn't support a lot of other options as well (like sharing by mail or showing ads between posts). If anyone is using a default Blogger template and has got this rating enabled, please leave a comment here with a link to your blog so that I can check out how good is this. :)
Deep Look - CCleaner
CCleaner (or Crap Cleaner) is one of the smallest and most popular system optimization tools available for Windows. This 2 MB program includes a thorough junk files cleaner, a registry fixer, an uninstall manager and a startup manager. In this post, we shall discover CCleaner with a bunch of screenshots and tips.
Cleaner - The junk file cleaner
By default, CCleaner opens it's Cleaner tab. Here's the snapshot :
Registry Cleaning
The registry cleaning option in CCleaner is usually overlooked by many users but you can clean up some crap from your computer with this feature. Here's how to :
For safety purposes, CCleaner asks you to take a backup of your registry. I never do this but you should if you don't want to take risks. Should you click Yes, follow the on-screen instructions to take the backup.
Additional Tools
CCleaner has two additional tools - an uninstall manager and a startup manager. The uninstall manager mimics the default Add / Remove Programs in Control Panel; the startup manager, on the other hand, is a small but great tool to quickly remove unwanted startup items, which may usually creep in during new software installations.
Tweaking CCleaner
CCleaner has some pretty strong options to configure itself. Have a look :
Integration with Recycle Bin
During installation, you can choose CCleaner to integrate into Recycle Bin to provide quick emptying options for the bin. If selected, you can empty your Recycle Bin by right clicking on the icon and selecting "Run CCleaner".
I am sure that you must now be dying to try this extremely useful and small utility. CCleaner isn't the best of the junk file cleaners out there, but it's express speed makes it a must-have for daily use.
CCleaner - Piriform
Rating : !!!!! (Excellent)
Main function : Junk file and registry cleaning
Type : Freeware
Links : Home | Download.com | FileHippo
Cleaner - The junk file cleaner
By default, CCleaner opens it's Cleaner tab. Here's the snapshot :
Registry Cleaning
The registry cleaning option in CCleaner is usually overlooked by many users but you can clean up some crap from your computer with this feature. Here's how to :
For safety purposes, CCleaner asks you to take a backup of your registry. I never do this but you should if you don't want to take risks. Should you click Yes, follow the on-screen instructions to take the backup.
Additional Tools
CCleaner has two additional tools - an uninstall manager and a startup manager. The uninstall manager mimics the default Add / Remove Programs in Control Panel; the startup manager, on the other hand, is a small but great tool to quickly remove unwanted startup items, which may usually creep in during new software installations.
Tweaking CCleaner
CCleaner has some pretty strong options to configure itself. Have a look :
Integration with Recycle Bin
During installation, you can choose CCleaner to integrate into Recycle Bin to provide quick emptying options for the bin. If selected, you can empty your Recycle Bin by right clicking on the icon and selecting "Run CCleaner".
I am sure that you must now be dying to try this extremely useful and small utility. CCleaner isn't the best of the junk file cleaners out there, but it's express speed makes it a must-have for daily use.
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