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.
This week I was trying out freebie tools that were supposed to convert an AVI movie. I wanted to burn it to a SVCD so that I could watch it in a DVD player.
In case you weren't aware, an SVCD uses a digital format for storing video on standard CDs that's supposed to work just like a DVD in most DVD players. This would be great for me since I don't have a DVD burner on any of my computers.
Each time the tools I tried would fail at some point into the process. The options and details needed to do this are very confusing to me. I even found a great tutorial at AfterDawn to help me do it.
A while ago DVD2SVCD got another feature: create (S)VCDs and DVDs from AVI sources. DVD2SVCD is pretty flexible towards this account and it can even handle AVIs with AC3 sound (thought AVIs with multiple audio sources, OGMs and subs aren't possible - actually subs are possible but it's outside the scope of this guide). Though starting out from a non DVD source is really not such a great idea, you'll notice what I'm talking about when you watch your SVCD on your PC and compare with the original.
Recently one of your fellow readers wrote in with a question.
Letter from Daniel G:
Hi Clif,
Could you give us your opinion on programs like TuneUp Utilities?
Also, is it worthwhile to delete Windows Temp files?
Thanks again!
-Daniel
I've always had big doubts about the use of "tune up" utilities. Most often, when you run into these online, they are advertised in a popup and they'll leave your system more screwed up than when you started. The only place I've ever used to help with system tune-ups is PC Pitstop. They do a decent job, but you can bet they'll be pushing some payware tools to help out their cash flow. They won't force you to buy anything, so I'd still give'em a try if I needed help.
So is there a good free software tool for system tune-ups?
There's only one that I've tried (long ago) that I've ever heard anything good about. It used to be called Advanced Windows Care but it's now called Advanced SystemCare Free. You can read some of the past comments about the Advanced Windows Care tool. If you're up to it, be sure to add some comments about the current version of Advanced SystemCare.
If you want to try out a new tune-up utility you see online, but sure to check it out at SiteAdvisor to see if it's legitimate or bogus.
Note: Iobit (author of SystemCare) gets a green rating from SiteAdvisor.
Oh, one more thing. If you want to clean up temp files, go ahead. Just be careful to stick to the Windows temp folders unless you're willing to take a little risk. If you need to clean up browser stuff, use the tools and options in each browser to do that.
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Slow down, freeze, crash, and security threats are over. Advanced SystemCare Free is a comprehensive PC care utility that takes a one-click approach to help protect, repair, and optimize your computer. It provides an all-in-one and super convenient solution for PC maintenance and protection. All work will be done with 1 click and 1 minute. Compared with its nearest competitor, Advanced SystemCare Free provides the more essential and practical formula for Windows: Removing Spyware and Adware, Preventing Security Threats, Privacy Protection, Fixing Registry Errors, Temporary Files Cleanup, Startup Cleanup, Repairing Windows, Speeding up System and 1-click Mechanism.
I use Ubuntu Linux occasionally. Sometimes when I create Launchers (shortcuts) for scripts or programs, I need an icon to represent them. I haven't yet figured out how to locate icons for Linux, so I grabbed a few from Windows to use.
I found a great Windows stand-alone tool from Nirsoft called IconExtract. It's simple to use and it's fast. You won't find anything else at Nirsoft that doesn't meet those standards.
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This utility is a standalone executable, and it doesn't require any installation process or additional DLLs. Just run the executable (iconsext.exe) and start using it.
Immediately after you run this utility, the "Search For Icons" dialog box will be appeared. In this window, you should select the files or folders that you want to scan, and the resource types you want to find (icons, cursors, or both). You can also filter unneeded icons and get only icons that contains images with specific size and number of colors.
While sprucing up the article about VST plugins, I ran across a recommendation for a text editor that is able to sort and remove duplicate lines. I was given a list of over 3000 http and ftp links that were all mixed up and had many potential duplicates. MadEdit had that text file sorted and cleaned in seconds.
The application looks really old school, like from Windows 95 days. It's got tons of functions and it's more geared towards programmers and other hackers.
The download was at Sourceforge.net and it came as a 7-Zip file. I merely unpacked it into my Portables folder and ran it.
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MadEdit is an Open-Source & Cross-Platform Text/Hex Editor written in C++ and wxWidgets.
MadEdit can edit files in Text/Column/Hex modes, and supports many useful functions, e.g. SyntaxHighlightings, WordWrap, Encodings.
I can tell you from experience. Some of the smartest geeks I know seem to have an additional talent for music. Actually they might say they are musicians with a talent for PC's. In any case, here's a page of links from a musician I trust. Hopefully a fellow musician will someday benefit from this page.
Letter from Jimi
bro, almost every one of these links is freeware....a few MAY be shareware, but i doubt it...these are from my aol bookmarks, and are mostly VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins...there are also stand-alone programs including my fav audacity...
there's thousands of things out there, and these are from all over the world. one caveat: a spyware scan is a must after visiting a few of these sights...not because of the programs or plugins, but because ya run into nasties sometimes on the servers themselves..
anyways, hope these may prove helpful for some of your readers.
Since its initial leak a few days ago, the torrents for Windows 7 build 7000 have become more numerous - and extremely healthy.
Pirate Bay's now has more than 5,500 seeders and more than twice that number leeching. Mininova's top two torrents have almost 6,000 seeders and 17,000 leechers.
While they're likely a little concerned with how quickly the leaked image appeared on the net, Microsoft has to be pleased about the buzz generated so far.
I can almost picture Steve Ballmer rubbing his hands together and muttering "Exxxxxxxxcellent."
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!".
Don't Warn On Close With Multiple Tabs Open In I E 7.
By default, if you close Internet Explorer 7 with multiple tabs open, it will prompt you to confirm this decision. This helps prevent you from accidentally closing the browser when you forget that websites are open in other tabs.
A feature of Internet Explorer 7 is Clear Type which makes the text on a web page look smooth instead of looking crisp and sharp. Clear Type is supposed to make reading text easier on a web page. This guide shows you how to turn off Clear Type.
I have to admit when I first started using Internet Explorer 7 the Clear Type text gave me a headache for a few days. After getting used to it I have to say it is much easier to read text with Clear Type turned on. I suggest giving Clear Type a try before
Learn how to configure and use the search box in Internet Explorer 7 (IE7).
One of the features of Internet Explorer 7 is the search box located at the top right of the Internet Explorer 7 window. You can search the internet using most search engines from that search box instead of going to the search engines site and using their search
Clear the Temporary Internet Files Folder on Browser Close.
By default, Internet Explorer 7 keeps a cache of visited webpage's in its Temporary Internet Files folder. This way, if you frequently view the same webpage's, Internet Explorer 7 can load unchanged content such as images, multimedia, or the pages themselves from your cache instead of reloading content from the web.
While many people find the cache feature useful, others find it a potential privacy violation. If others use your computer, they may be able to figure out which sites you viewed using Internet Explorer.
Many parents out there, are worried about their kids once they have an Internet Connection at home. From sex, to violence its all available on the internet and worst still most of it is FREE!
I ran into this unique list of privacy tools last week. The author has put together a great selection of stuff that will keep Big Brother from looking over your shoulder.
Some of the links there include tools for sending private or anonymous email, anonymous surfing, erasing your tracks on browsers, protecting yourself from infections, tracking down laptop thieves, spying on your family or friends, and spying on terrorists.
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If your wardrobe includes a shiny tin-foil hat, then you will love these free Internet tools. Whether you want to protect yourself from Internet snoopers, want to spy on those out to get you, or want to be able to track trends that you know will lead to something big, then these tools will help you get the job done.
Here are a 6 links (out of dozens) from Mark's CoolSites Newsletter. Be sure to visit his site and see the rest of his links this week.
January 9 2009 COOLSITES Newsletter #199 by Mark Donaldson
• FreeOCR .net is a list of totally free OCR (Optical character recognition) software available to download: http://www.freeocr.net/
• DownThemAll (or just dTa) is a powerful yet easy-to-use Mozilla Firefox extension that adds new advanced download capabilities to your browser: http://www.downthemall.net/
• TheWorld Browser 2.4 fast, safe, and easy way to browse the Web. I use this browser for it's great builtin downloader. Mark.: http://www.ioage.com/en/
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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.
Wow! Over 900 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.
Get Gmail! and Get Firefox!
You need a free 6 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.
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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