log inhelp

  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • Finally, you can manage your Google Docs, uploads, and email attachments (plus Dropbox and Slack files) in one convenient place. Claim a free account, and in less than 2 minutes, Dokkio (from the makers of PBworks) can automatically organize your content for you.

View
 

ClifNotesNewsletter050227

Clif Notes Newsletter          February 27, 2005 - digital land of the free
Reviews

 Games Digger XP - a dig-dug look alike
Here's a cute little free game to pass the time. Installs easily. Simple to play but challenging. I found I could copy the program folder over to a USB flash drive so I can play the game on other PC's. Some games require registry entries to be present in order to work. This one doesn't. That's a big plus in my opinion.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the website - This is a re-mastered and improved version of Digger. Here is the main features list:
  • Absolutely FREE!
  • AI/gameplay engine of the original Digger (written by the Windmill software in 1982)
  • Full Windows support
  • High quality true-color graphics (supporting different graphics themes)
  • Additional graphics effects and improvements
  • High quality digital music/sound (supporting sound themes)
  • Different game modes for one and two players. Some of them are came from the original Digger and some of them are really new.

Editors evolvEd Text Editor - simple text and highlighted keyword editor
I've been trying out evolvEd for a short time and it's just great for the limited html editing I do. It's very customizable and would work well with almost any programming language. I continue to have some trouble getting it to keep the font and font size I choose as default. This is very important to me and if I can't figure it out before long, this program is hitting the toilet.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the website - evolvEd® is a FREE general purpose text editor useful for web-developing, programming and scripting. Easy to use, with all the features a power user requires. When "just getting the job done" is work enough, the last thing you need is to waste time having to learn yet another computer application. Your experience with other tools should be relevant to each new application, making it possible to sit down and use that new application right away. Whether you simply need a powerful replacement for Notepad, a tool for editing your web pages, or a programming IDE, evolvEd® does what you want, the way you would expect.

 Disks Flexible Renamer - batch file renaming
I downloaded and installed this program because I need to change the three letter file extension on over 300 files. Within a few minutes I had my files renamed. Easy to install. Easy to use. Offers the ability to rename MP3's based on the tag information.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the website - a file/folder renaming utility, which can use Wildcard or Regular-Expression and Tag-information (MP3, EXIF).

Editors Metty - metatag generator for webpages
I tried this metatag creator out because I had to make a new website and I am starting to realize that the metatags are one of the most important items in a web page that help draw visitors to it. Metty offers an easy to use form you fill out with most of the common metatags. Metty is easy to install and use.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the website - Some search engines examine meta tags to index information about web pages such as subject matter, type of content and author. Metty Freeware Meta Tag Maker presents you with simple forms that allow you to input the information you want, then generate all of your meta tags. Once meta tags have been generated, you can copy and paste the meta tags into one of your HTML files or insert the meta tags into a new or imported HTML file. No knowledge of meta tags is necessary to build meta tags with Metty Freeware Meta Tag Maker.

 Security Microsoft Anti-spyware to remain free
This is great news for most of us. I'm not happy yet because I'm using Windows ME and MS Anti-spyware won't run on it. Don't let me be a wet blanket, by all means, go out and get yourself a copy of it to try out. I've heard lots of good things about it so far. Thank you Bill Gates for listening to us for once. That said, don't forget to continue using antivirus software, a firewall, Adaware, Spybot S&D  and Intrusion Detection Software to defend your PC. The secret to keeping out spyware is multiple lines of defense.
Government Computer News Article - Download - Freeware
Quote from the website - SAN FRANCISCO—Microsoft Corp.'s new AntiSpyware tool will be available at no charge to all Windows users, company chairman Bill Gates said today.

"Spyware has been on the rise and is a very serious problem," Gates said during his keynote address at the RSA Security Conference. "All of our Windows licensees should have this capability."

 Desktop Switch Off - control the pc from the system tray
Kay from Birmingham, AL wrote to tell me: I've just installed the SwitchOff program and it works well on my Windows XP Pro OS. It's a freebie. Thought you might be interested too.
 
Thanks Kay, I'm sure there are others who will find it useful too.
No longer available - Freeware
Thanks to jfw06013 , who found it, here is a new link for Switch Off.
Quote from the website - Switch Off is a tiny easy-to-use tray-based system utility that can automatically perform various frequently used operations like shutdown or restart your computer, disconnect your current dialup connection, lock workstation, etc. It also provides fast access to this operations through system tray icon.

 System UNOFFICIAL Windows 98 Second Edition Service Pack
My wife was surfing around and found this cool download. When I set up an old pc with Windows 98, I always end up downloading tons of updates from Microsoft. In fact I put quite a few of them on a CD to save me time. Now all I have to do is put this one update on the CD. Great find dear!
 
About the author of this package: Alper Coskun is currently a MSc student in Computer Engineering department at Gebze Institute of Technology in Turkey.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the website - Microsoft has never released a service pack for Windows98 SE. But I made a Service Pack for Windows98 SE users. It contains all Windows98 SE updates from Windows Update site and more.

It is a self-extracting and self-installing pack like Microsoft's update files. Thus, you cannot choose files individually. However, the pack installs only required fixes for your system. Uninstallation is possible from Add-Remove Programs. However, I don't recommend uninstallation of the pack, if you don't have any problem.
TIPS

  Breaking The Law - removing Digital Rights Management?
Is removing the DRM (Digital Rights Management) from songs you download breaking the law? Scott Moschella tells us all about it as he breaks the DRM on an iTunes song he legally downloaded. He's going to let us know if the RIAA tries to get him thrown in jail.
Website - Tip
Quote from the website - I’m gonna preface this by saying that I love Apple and their products and I hate the RIAA and their shortsightedness. My only complaint with Apple is the restrictive DRM built into iTunes Music Store songs

 Internet Municipal Broadband: Corporate or Local Control?
It's beginning to look like the big cable and telephone companies here are successful at buying votes in U.S. State legislatures. More and more states are passing laws that make it either difficult or illegal for a community to create it's own internet services. How do you feel about that? It makes me turn red in the face when I read about it. The local broadband providers here are only supplying us with basic services and charging high prices for them. If I lived a few miles down the road I'd be paying half the dollars I pay now for the same service.
Website - Tip
Quote from the website - Big telecom and cable companies have responded by furiously working to slam the door on community wireless. The telephone and cable giants are trying to use their lobbying clout in state capitals to pre-empt local control, preserve higher prices and preclude competition.

 Security Qualys' Free Browser Checkup - can you be hijacked?
This free browser test will put your Internet Explorer through a series of simulated attacks. If your browser doesn't pass, they offer helpful advice for fixing your problems. If you pass the tests at Qualys, you can boldly go to the Scanit Browser Security Test website and see if you pass there also.
Website - Tip
Quote from the website - Welcome to Qualys' Free Browser Checkup, a series of audits designed to test and fix your browser's security vulnerabilities. This application supports only Microsoft Internet Explorer on the Windows operating system. These tests automatically assess your browser for selected vulnerabilities and offer you the most up-to-date patches from Microsoft, when available.
COOL WEBSITES

 Website ASCII Browser - a service from drunken men
VSubhash, webmaster and freeware author from India, wrote to tell me: I use ASCII Browser service at the DrunkMenWorkHere.org to visit web
pages that might have heavy images or inappropriate ones. You enter a URL on the site and it strips all the images and style sheets from the web page and produces a text-only web page. The drunkmen are are a sinister group of dutch computer programmers. Perhaps they have some Brits and Americans among them but I am not very sure. Check the Archives section of the website.
 
Great tip Subhash. Thanks for telling me about it. Subhash also mentioned that Opera web browser also has this ability. I've been using Opera for years and I didn't know that. Thanks again.
Website - Cool Website
 

 Email Mail2Web - pick up your pop3 email from any computer
Latest Updates from cyberguide

EMAIL: MAIL2WEB

I have known about Mail2Web for a while...A service which allows you to access any email anywhere without the need to register. I never gave much thought to it as I hardly used POP mail, confining myself to web-based alternatives such as Hotmail and Yahoo.

However, ever since I acquired of the SPV smartphone, I truly believe that mail2web is a great blessing in disguise for all those with a PDA wanting to access email on the move.

In addition to its ability to check any email (not fully tested!), I love the simple interface and options for 'PDA' and 'WAP', simply ideal for wireless PDA's and smartphone...no doubt saving us some valuable data connection charges! Watch out the brilliant customization feature...Thanks Mail2Web!!!

Website - Cool Website
Quote from the website - Pick Up Your Email From any computer, anywhere in the world. No need to register!

 Internet Rapidshare - free temporary file hosting
Here is another free file hosting service like YouSendit and DropLoad. Basically they all work the same. You go to their website and upload a file there. They will give you back a link to that file so that once your friends get the link from you, they can download your file onto their PC's. The maximum file sizes for these sites are: Dropload=100mb / YouSendit=1000mb / Rapidshare=30mb. The Rapidshare site was the easiest to use so far and it's download speed was up around 18k/sec. Not bad at all.
Website - Tip and Cool Website
Quote from the website - RapidShare is a absolutely free web-hosting service for providing webspace on our servers without the need to sign-up.
The whole web-service is ad-financed. More infos can be found in our FAQ. Due to legal reasons we log uploader's IP-addresses.
---- Which UPLOAD-RULES have to be followed?
  • No files that are not allowed to be shared.
  • No split-files in order to work-around the upload-limit.
  • Number of downloads: Unlimited. We have files being downloaded more than 100.000 times.

    • Printable version