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Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter

June 24, 2007

  
Hi Everyone.

Thanks for reading my newsletter. Each week, I will have freeware reviews, tips, tricks, news, and lots of cool websites for you to check out.

I hope you enjoy this week's letter. Be sure to write me for advice or yell at me for messing up.

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  1. Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter
  2. REVIEWS
    1. Plasma Pong - a new twist on the oldest video game
    2. TubeSucker - a unique way to snag and play videos
    3. Unplug - download the hidden media on web pages
    4. YouRipper - download videos or listen to Shoutcast music
    5. SyncToy - Folder Sychronization Tool
    6. Chromium B.S.U. - fast paced space shooter
    7. Old Newsletter
  3. TIPS AND FEEDBACK
    1. Startup Monitor - an old solution for unexpected startups
    2. What are M4A files?
    3. Internet Fixes Weekend Windup
    4. Comments last week
  4. COOL WEBSITES
    1. The OSSwin project: Open Source for Windows!
    2. Laughing Girl - she watched last week's video
    3. Eagle VS Fox - who wins?
    4. Starship Groove - computer animated music
    5. CoolSites Newsletter this week
    6. Websites I've visited recently
  5. NEW NEWS
    1. SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware
    2. News from Sarah in Tampa
    3. Security news from Malware Advisor
    4. A view from CyberNirvana
  6. OTHER STUFF
    1. Chatting at FreewareWiki
    2. Frapper - you people live all over the world!
    3. Write your own review
    4. What do you have to say?


REVIEWS

Plasma Pong - a new twist on the oldest video game

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Games

I didn't think it was possible to do much more on the Pong theme. After all, it's been around since the 1970s. It took me just a few minutes to figure it out. I was fascinated with this game and I spent nearly an hour playing it the first time. I get bored easy, so that's a big two thumbs up on this one.

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
PLASMA PONG is a variation of PONG that utilizes real-time fluid dynamics to drive the game environment.

Players have several new abilities that add fun twists to the classic game. In the game you can inject plasma fluid into the environment, create a vacuum from your paddle, and blast shockwaves into the playing area. All these abilities have fluid-based kinetic effects on the ball, making Plasma Pong a fast-paced and exciting game.

http://www.plasmapong.com/


TubeSucker - a unique way to snag and play videos

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Misc. Multimedia Tools

Everybody loves YouTubeDotCom.

My wife and I have spent hours there at times, just looking at some of the odd-ball stuff people have shared. I've found a few ways to download those videos so I could share them with other folks who don't surf as much as I do. One of the most unique applications I've seen for grabbing YouTube videos is called TubeSucker.

Firstly, I'll mention that this is a free program, but not true freeware. I'd call it LiteWare because the free version doesn't include many features that the paid versions do. I have no problems with that idea and I've used many Liteware or CrippleWare applications in the past. You just have to decide if you can put up with the occasional grayed out feature or the occasional message telling you to upgrade.

Some good things:
■ The search box is nice, but like many of the options in TubeSucker, it's not something you can't do at YouTube on your own.
■ After you find a video you like, just click on the download button. Like many of the features in TubeSucker, the buttons and other features don't stand out and can be hard to spot at first. Look around at the program for awhile to get familiar with the features.
■ The "Play" tab allows you to play videos, music, and display images that you have downloaded. The videos are listed on the left very nicely and it's easy to navigate through folders to find saved items you are looking for.
■ Once you are playing a video, you can easily change back and forth between windowed and full screen mode.

Some bad things:
■ The program contacts it's home website to look for updates every time you launch it. Some folks really hate that, but many of us have figured out how to block that when we want to.
■ The browser on the search page is Internet Explorer and you can't choose the the browser you'd like to use (such as Firefox).
■ The video player it uses is actually Windows Media Player (WMP). I think WMP is bloatware but I guess it makes sense for the author to take advantage of the fact that it comes pre-installed on all Windows machines.
■ The author left way too many unusable (paid) features in this free version and he asks you to upgrade every time you try to use one.

Conclusion:
I like this program but I doubt if I'll keep it for long. I typically use UnPlug, a Firefox extension, when I want to snag videos from websites.

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
TubeSucker - YouTube Video Downloader makes downloading videos from the internet and watching them from your PC or TV quick and easy.

http://www.newrad.com/software/tubesucker/


Unplug - download the hidden media on web pages

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Browser Tools

This is my preferred method for downloading hidden content from websites. Unplug can often provide me download links to streaming video or audio that I wish to download for viewing or listening to later. Once this Firefox addon is installed, you can right click on any webpage to see if any of the hidden media files are available for downloading.

Quote from the website
Unplug is a Firefox extension which lets you save video and audio which is embedded on a webpage.

Unplug scans web pages and tells you where things like media players and other embedded objects are getting their data from, and displays it as a simple hyperlink: in most cases, you can then follow the simple download link to save the media file.

It doesn't need to connect to external sites to find where media is kept - but it can do if you want it to by downloading the results from KeepVid and VideoDownloader. Unplug will search, ask and even guess where media is on a website, presenting its results in an easy-to-use results page.

Unplug connects with a number of other extensions, including Down Them All and NoScript. Version 1.4.5 works as a Songbird extension too.

http://unplug.mozdev.org


YouRipper - download videos or listen to Shoutcast music

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Misc. Multimedia Tools

I haven't tried this one yet, but I thought I'd throw it in this week as an alternative to the TubeSucker and UnPlug utilities I've reviewed. It sounds cool and I've chatted with the author before so I trust him at his word when he says it's freeware.

Here are a couple of the features that drew my attention:

YouRipper includes an RSS Feed Reader, preloaded with feeds so that you are only ever a click away from seeing what's new and what's hot. Even when there is nothing worth watching, the integral ShoutCast Radio Player within YouRipper will having you bopping and popping to any of the thousands of Internet radio stations available.

Give it a try if you like. I'll be happy to post any comments here. If you have any questions or suggestions, I can ask the author to reply.


Quote from the website
YouRipper is a small, easy to use utility which enables the end-user to download videos from the major video sharing websites such as YouTube. YouRipper also enables Webmasters, Bloggers and MySpace Hosts to Embed videos from YouTube etc into their own pages, using a generic, fully customizable video player.

http://www.remlapsoftware.com/youripper.htm


SyncToy - Folder Sychronization Tool

Note from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink File Management

Brett Christensen, the author of HoaxSlayer newsletter, also has a blog in which he mentions useful, and mostly free software. He had neglected this blog for awhile, but I was happy to see a new post recently. Keep up the good work Brett.

SyncToy - Folder Synchronization Tool

Recently, I was looking around for a program that would allow me to easily synchronize two folders across two computers on my home network. While there are a number of applications that will perform this fairly simple task and a lot more, Microsoft's SyncToy v 1.4 turned out to be just the ticket for what I required ...

Read the rest of Brett's article at Nibbles and Bytes.


Chromium B.S.U. - fast paced space shooter

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Games

I love space shooters and this one is modeled after the classics. It's fast and furious action from the start and a sure death to those not fast enough (like me).

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
You are captain of the cargo ship Chromium B.S.U., responsible for delivering supplies to our troops on the front line. Your ship has a small fleet of robotic fighters which you control from the relative safety of the Chromium vessel.

http://www.reptilelabour.com/software/chromium/

Old Newsletter

I like to look back and see what I was thinking about. Here's another letter from the wayback machine.





TIPS AND FEEDBACK

Startup Monitor - an old solution for unexpected startups

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink PC Activity Monitoring

One of you recently wrote me with an excellent question:

Clif-

I'm not sure where to post my question, so I'm going to give this a try. Being a relatively new subscriber to your newsletter, I may have missed this discussion.

I'm looking for a freeware application that alerts me when any application tries to load itself so it launches when I start my PC. I would like to be able to accept/reject the application's intentions. Therefore, the application would need to monitor the start-up files so that nothing can be slipped in there, without my approval.

For example... my daughter uses AIM instant messaging. She launches the program, uses it, and then closes it. The next time I re-boot, AIM is loaded, and displays on my screen. I alter the settings, but it still launches the next time I reboot (after she uses it). Another example is Yahoo pager... this application is constantly loading itself when I re-boot.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Wolfe

I love easy questions. Here's one of my favorite solutions to this problem. I've been using StartupMonitor since about 1996. You may use other programs that monitor the startup folder and startup registry locations, but not many give you immediate notice that a new program has placed itself as an automatic startup. It does this while using only a tiny amount of system resources. You won't even know it's running.

Quote from the website
StartupMonitor is a small utility that runs transparently (it doesn't even use a tray icon) and notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup. It prevents annoying programs from registering themselves behind your back.

http://mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml


What are M4A files?

tip from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Windows Tips

A good friend wrote me with this question.

Clif,

The WAV to MP3 convertor looks very nice. But do you know of other music file convertors that maybe are more universal. I have some WAV's that need converted, but I also have some m4a files that would be nice to convert to mp3. Have you heard of m4a and do you have any advice/direction?

Thanks!
Curt

I wrote back ...

Hi Curt,

I know what M4A is now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14

Here's a good place to convert almost anything.
MediaConvert

Best of luck to ya.

Clif

Internet Fixes Weekend Windup

tips from Gary at InternetFixes, Windows Tips

From Clif:
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!".

Sign up for Gary's newsletter?

============================
Mondays News Letter Tips.
============================
1. Add Read Mail Icon To IE 7.0 Toolbar.
http://www.internetfixes.com/I_E_7/IF01122.htm

============================
2. Add An Internet Explorer 7.0 Icon To Desktop.
http://www.internetfixes.com/I_E_7/IF01123.htm

============================
3. Delete Browsing History From Internet Explorer 7.0.
http://www.internetfixes.com/I_E_7/IF01124.htm

============================
4. Windows XP Fast User Switching Doesn't Always Work Properly.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00365.htm

============================
5. Create A Boot Log For Troubleshooting In Windows XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00366.htm

============================
6. Deleting Temp Files In Windows.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00367.htm

============================
7. Redirect My Documents To An Alternate Location In XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00368.htm

============================
Click The Link Below To Join My News Letter.

The Form At The Link Below Covers Both Monday and Wednesdays News Letter.
http://www.internetfixes.com/newsletter.htm

============================
PC Problems? Use My New Detailed Help Form.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question.asp

==============================
Clean Install Procedure For XP Pro With Full Graphics!
http://www.internetfixes.com/xp_pro_install/index.htm

============================
Have a Friend Or Colleague That One Of My Tips May Benefit? Forward This News Letter To Them!
============================
Backup Your Registry.
http://www.internetfixes.com/registry/index.htm

============================
Wednesdays News Letter Tips.
============================
1. Send Your Start Menu Shortcuts To The Desktop In Windows XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00369.htm

============================
2. Put Administrative Tools On The Start Menu In Windows XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00370.htm

============================
3. Save Search Queries On Your Desktop In Windows XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00371.htm

============================
4. WordPad Is Missing! One Of The Questions From the Past Weekend. Went As Follows.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_and_answer/IF00372.htm

============================
5. Disable Vistas Data Execution Prevention (DEP).
http://www.internetfixes.com/vista_tips/IF01184.htm

============================
6. Backup The Vista Registry.
http://www.internetfixes.com/vista_tips/IF01185.htm

============================
7. Disable Automatic Restart to Read Vista Blue Screen Messages.
http://www.internetfixes.com/vista_tips/IF01186.htm

============================
Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, A-K

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01051.htm

Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, L-P

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01052.htm

Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, Q-Z

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01053.htm

============================
IF01101 How Can I Stop Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) from opening documents in the IE.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01101.htm

============================
IF01102 I am unable to see full amount of a new hard drive I bought and installed.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01102.htm

============================
IF01103 Is Your Computer Running Slowly?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01103.htm

============================
IF01104 My Web Browser Has Been Hijacked.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01104.htm

============================
IF01105 How Do I Enable / Disable Or Delete Internet Cookies?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01105.htm

============================
IF01106 How Do I Prevent Windows Messenger Pop-ups?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01106.htm

============================
IF01107 How Do I Stop Pop-up Or Pop-under Internet Ads?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01107.htm

============================
IF01108 How Do I Enable And Or Disable The Microsoft Windows XP Firewall?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01108.htm

============================
IF01109 You Can’t Find A Lost Windows Product Key?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01109.htm

============================
IF01110 Hyperlinks Not Working In Internet Explorer 6.0.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01110.htm

============================
IF01111 Your Windows Installer Could Not Be Accessed Error (Windows XP).
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01111.htm

============================
IF01112 How Do I Create A New User Account Profile In XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01112.htm

============================
IF01113 Hyperlinks in Outlook Express Messages Stop Working.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01113.htm

============================
IF01114 Correct An NTLDR Or NTDETECT.COM Not Found Error.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01114.htm

============================
IF01115 Rectify A Missing Or Corrupt NTFS.SYS Error In XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01115.htm

============================
IF01116 The Text In Web Pages Appears Too Blurry In Internet Explorer 7.
Is There A Setting To Fix This?
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01116.htm

============================

Comments last week

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!

Here are the comments from last week.

Reviews
REVIEWS
Ad-Aware 2007 - new look but no major improvements •
Safari 3 beta - Apple's new web browser for Windows •
Opera 9.21 USB - excellent portable browser •
JkDefrag - a unique and handy defrag tool •
MessenPass - getting lost IM passwords from your PC •
Free WMA to MP3 Converter - as simple as it sounds •
Word Processor Review from Zaine at Donation Coder •

TIPS AND FEEDBACK
The Quintessential Guide to Creating High Quality MP3s •
Why DRM Doesn't Work •
Dad at the Comedy Barn •

COOL WEBSITES
Vista-Themes.net - free themes, icons and wallpapers •
WebRide - discuss the web •





COOL WEBSITES

The OSSwin project: Open Source for Windows!

from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Cool Website

CC wrote me the other day ...

http://osswin.sourceforge.net/games.html
http://osswin.sourceforge.net/

for your files......bookmarks

Thanks CC, these are wonderful websites for those of us who love free stuff.

Quote from the website
OSSwin now also has a separate games page. Go check it out and please promote the organization of an Open-Source-only LAN-party in your neighbourhood!


Laughing Girl - she watched last week's video

notes from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Funny

The girl featured in this video is watching DadAtTheComedyBarn. You may have laughed at that one last week. Are you ready for another laugh?


Eagle VS Fox - who wins?

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink

Have you ever seen an eagle trying to take off with a fox in it's claws? Apparently a guy in Finland did, and here's his proof ...

Will the eagle have lunch or will the fox slip away?

I guess you'll have to find out the same way I did.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/current-issue.html#twelve


Starship Groove - computer animated music

review from ClifNotes, Jun 2007, permalink Multimedia

I saw one of these awesome videos on TV the other night and I decided to visit their website to see if they had any free downloads. They didn't really have much there, but I was able to download a short video.

After I downloaded this video, I was able to upload it to PBwiki (my webhost) and they displayed it for me using one of their partner services called Fliqz.

So here it is for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.animusic.com/

CoolSites Newsletter this week

Here are a few links from Mark's CoolSites Newsletter. Be sure to visit his site and see the rest of his links this week.

June 22 COOLSITES Newsletter # 118 by Mark Donaldson

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.


http://luem42.googlepages.com/coolsites.html


Websites I've visited recently

Have you seen any cool websites you want to share with us?





NEW NEWS

SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware

Source - http://snapfiles.com/freeware

News from Sarah in Tampa

Source - http://sarahintampa.com


Security news from Malware Advisor

blog by TeMerc Internet Countermeasures, source
Infected? Go to http://temerc.com for help


A view from CyberNirvana


CyberNirvana: Zia's blog about the web and web technology.
http://www.ziarezvi.com





OTHER STUFF

Get Gmail! and Get Firefox!

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.

Get Firefox!


Chatting at FreewareWiki

permalink

Now you can chat with anyone visiting a website by using Gabbly. To see who's gabbing at this website, click here.

Find out more about Gabbly.com

Frapper - you people live all over the world!

Wow! Over 700 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.

Have fun and surf safely.

Clif

http://clifnotes.net & http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com
Devoted to promoting Freeware and Free Information


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