I've been hearing about this one for a long time. Torpark is a special portable version of Firefox that allows you to surf the net without being spied upon by people in your network or people on the internet. You get protection from both ends.
I downloaded it and ran the executable installer. The installer simply asks you where you want to unpack the compressed archive at. Once it's unpacked, all you have to do is find the torpark.exe file and double click it to be on your way.
I won't go into details on how this thing works. I'll just tell you that it works. With this tool on my thumb drive, I can surf around at work and my employers can't see where I'm surfing. The websites I visit can't tell what my true location is. As long as I'm not logged into any services that already know me, I am Mr. Anonymous. This is freedom!
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Tor helps to reduce the risks of both simple and sophisticated traffic analysis by distributing your transactions over several places on the Internet, so no single point can link you to your destination. The idea is similar to using a twisty, hard-to-follow route in order to throw off somebody who is tailing you?and then periodically erasing your footprints. Instead of taking a direct route from source to destination, data packets on the Tor network take a random pathway through several servers that cover your tracks so no observer at any single point can tell where the data came from or where it's going ...
Multimedia players? Everyone has multiple choices for multimedia. There are so many good free players out there and that's what makes it tough to choose. I stumbled across Gom Player this week and thought I'd give it a try.
Pros:
It weighs in pretty small with a 4mb installer and it did install very easily. Gom Player includes almost any media codec you will need, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it plays flash video files (FLV) very well. The controls that you see when using it are the same basic controls you see on every player. This player can also be tweaked by adding WinAmp plugins and other codecs.
Cons:
There isn't much I could find wrong with it. I would have liked to have seen more skins available for it but I can live without them.
Conclusion:
This is a great free alternative to WMP (Windows Media Player). It does all the same stuff that WMP does and it's less likely to load you down with requests to add more features/codecs/licenses like WMP does. I'd recommend this one for kids and newbies. Serious audio and video freaks will not be impressed. Personally, I'm still going to stick with Media Player Classic which comes with the K-Lite Codecs. My wife is claiming K-Lite as a favorite so she can watch videos while downloading. Then if it's something she doesn't like, it's history.
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Be Free from Codecs
GOM Player supports most popular codecs (AVI, DAT, MPEG, DivX plus many more) with its own embedded codec system that you won't have to look for appropriate codecs everytime you can't play a certain video format. For those codecs that require a license that cannot be distributed, GOM will automatically lead you to an open-source codec web-site.
Plays Broken Files
Watch video files while you are downloading them! GOM has a registered patent for playing broken AVI files and files that are still being downloaded. So try one of your broken AVI files or one that you are downloading right now. You'll find it amazing!
Enjoy Advanced Features
GOM supports a lot of advanced features for advanced users. You can customize the player by creating your own skin, setting toggle keys, VMR modes, detailed resolution among others. It also provides features such as an overlay mixer, real-time index rebuilding for AVI files, unicode support, key frame based RW/FF and many more!
Sorry folks, I meant to try this program out this week, but I ran out of time. The website looks very smooth and the software sounds even smoother. If you are in a Zen mood and try this one out, be sure to comment below to let us know how you like it.
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ZenKEY. Instant and complete control of your PC. One keystroke, any action.
Launch a program, bring it back into focus, or move to another one.
Open a document, folder, Internet resource or start a search
Move, mininimize, or make windows transaparent. Make them bigger, smaller, send them to the tray. Set them to 'Always on top' or tile them. Play.
Issue a Media command, such as play, pause or volume up/down.
Use an unlimted desktop to move across and place program windows.
Start your screensaver, shutdown your computer, open a CD door and more.
Access hidden Windows utilities
Control Winamp or compatible media players (we love QCD Player!)
Instantly display any menu of programs or actions at the mouse pointer
Launch other programs automatically on ZenKEY startup
Simulate a series of keystrokes (Script any action - automate tasks)
Advanced settings allow you to automatically make program windows transparent as you move between them. Using the ZenKEY configuration utility, you can add any program, add or alter any menu, and assign any keystroke to perform any action.
I'm finding it easy to be a wiki-holic these days. Every time I round a corner on the net, I find a new flavor and I stop to take a sip. I've been thirstily watching StickWiki slowly approach it's alpha version and it's looking better as each new version pours out.
It's tastiest feature is that it's a single portable HTML file that you can run on your PC, keep on a thumb drive or upload to your web host. Any way you try it, you'll find it's easy to use. Another great recent feature is the ability to password protect it with AES encryption.
Welcome to Wiki on a Stick! This projects is a wiki that lives in one self-modifying HTML file. It's perfect to use in your home or office computer, laptop, USB pen drive (along with Portable Firefox if you want) and even in a diskette! It can be used as a personal notepad, calendar, repository for software documentation, and many other things.
Here's another game from the author of MrBlocko. This game puts you in control of a one man ship that must defend it's city from an attack by a massive alien mother ship. The game is made more difficult because the author included some A.I. in the game which decides the attacks that are more effective against you.
The download is small and if you download the RAR archive, you don't have to install it. Just unpack the RAR into a folder and start strafing.
I love the game but I'm getting frustrated. The mother ship pwns me in the second level every time!
See the fast action below in this trailer.
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Defend the Earth from a huge battleship in this classic, bullet-hell shooter, akin to such games as Ikaruga and Giga Wing. Beware however, as the enemy will change its tactics dependingon its arsenal's effectiveness in battle, focusing its firepower on what actually works!
I used to play Tetris for hours. That was years ago and I've since gotten tired of it. There are a few variations that seemed interesting for awhile, but now I've found one that is really interesting.
Mr. Blocko lets you jump around in a themed Tetris setting and compete against other players. I've tried it and I like it.
This is a small download and no installation is required. Just unzip it to a folder and start playing.
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Mr. Blocko is similar to Tetris but instead of controlling the lines, you control a little square guy who pushes them around. The goal is the same: Clear lines to gain points.
However, you only gain points for the blocks in your color, and the only way to turn blocks into your color is to push them!
The new version, Super Tournament Edition, features, among other things, simultaneous four-player multiplayer, and the ability to customise the game engine to your liking.
As a public service, I try to make sure everyone with kids knows that simply keeping an eye on your kids when they surf the net, may not be enough. You can't watch them constantly, but some programs that will run on your PC can do that for you.
The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) and the Website Rating and Advisory Council (WRAAC) today announced that WRAAC will use ICRA's labeling standards to support its ParentalControl Bar software, a free, effective browser filtering tool that enables parents to control the content their children view online. ICRA is a non-profit organization that exists to protect children from potentially objectionable material while preserving free speech on the Internet. In addition to using ICRA's labeling system, WRAAC is also making a generous donation to support ICRA's mission. WRAAC joins other major Internet and communications companies in supporting one of the world's leading self-regulatory efforts on the Web
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WRAAC developed the ParentalControl Bar. How does it work you ask? When your child attempts to access a website the toolbar first checks if the site is self-labeled, compares this site label to your parental settings and determines whether to block or allow access. If the site is not self-labeled, then the toolbar scans our extensive list of 3rd-party labels before deciding whether to block or allow. The toolbar also allows parents to add specific websites to a personal 'always blocked' or 'always allowed' list. Although no system is ever perfect and we cannot guarantee that all unwanted websites will be blocked, parents will be able to more effectively control the types of websites their children access with this tool. WRAAC continues to promote website self-labeling and is constantly 3rd-party labeling the most popular unlabeled sites on the internet, so that this tool remains an effective browser filtering tool.
I sometimes drop by Leo's website to see what's up and look for good Windows tips. Here's one I've been asked a few times. I've found my own solutions, but Leo goes into much more detail than I would.
Quote from Ask-Leo.com
How do I copy an entire web page? I copy and paste, but not everything appears as I see it. For example I'm copying and pasting a bank statement to Word, but portions of the page appear empty.
Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do this!".
If you are using Windows XP don’t buy Remote Desktop Connection software. Use Windows XP’s Remote Desktop. Don’t know how you say. I have the Tutorials you need below. One to setup Remote Desktop and another to setup a Virtual Private Network For Use With Remote Desktop. Both Tutorials include full Graphics. Don’t pay for something you already have.
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Using Windows XP Remote Desktop Connection Software.
Thanks to everyone who commented on the articles last week. You gave me more ideas and some good advice. If you see comments on an article, you will be missing out if you don't click on them to take a look.
If you commented last week, check to see who commented on your comment!
The Free Software Foundation has a new page up about Ogg. So, what is Ogg? In short, it's a totally no-strings alternative to using MP3's for audio files. The MP3 format isn't free, whereas Ogg was made to always be free for any software author who wants to use it's encoding in his freeware. To find out more you should pay this page a visit.
The website recommends a free multimedia player that's gotten great reviews. Be sure to check out VlcMediaPlayer. It even has a Firefox plugin so you can listen to streaming Ogg on the net.
Quote from the website
The use of MP3 is restricted by patents, while Ogg Vorbis is not. Unlike MP3, there are never any licensing costs for using Ogg Vorbis, and you do not have to worry about anyone suing you for using it without a license. You might have heard about Microsoft's recent loss in a $1.5 billion suit over their use of MP3.
Hey! Becky (Respect2Glory) and I love this game. Actually, we love the game Bejeweled by Popcap and I even bought a cheap copy from Walmart. It's actually our favorite game to play while traveling. So kick back a few minutes and play a game or two. All you have to do is match 3 or more of the same colored jewels in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row.
New. Audio Recorder for Free is real-time, sound-recording software that lets you record any sound from your sound card and save the recording directly to MP3, WMA, or WAV files: http://www.mcfunsoft.com/arf/
New. Sqirlz by xiberpix.com - warp morph animate water reflections perspective correction: http://www.xiberpix.com/
New. PrettyMay for Skype, call recorder, Call Center for Skype, call centre for Skype, record skype, IVR, share music, use Skypeout from mobile: http://www.prettymay.net/
Quote from the website
COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.
You need a free 2.8 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.
I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
Wow! Over 600 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
Write your own review
I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.
What do you have to say?
Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.
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Subject: FW: INCREDIBLE !
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