Technology blog

3D Tab Management in Firefox with FoxTab

2009-03-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

FoxTab is a Firefox addon that brings innovative and attractive 3D tab management to Firefox. It takes your Firefox experience to the next level with its five eye-candy layouts.

One of the best I liked was the Aero-style tab switching. This feature lets you go through opened Firefox tabs just like you switch windows in Windows Vista with the Windows Key + Tab combination.

FoxTab enables grouping, filtering, closing and switching between tabs much more quicker and easier. And most of all, it has lots of configurations options so you can tweek and adjust it according to your needs.

It currenlty supports Firefox running on Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X Leopard and Ubuntu 8.04.

Download FoxTab

You can download this Firefox addon from here: Download FoxTab

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 Beta is out (Download)

2009-03-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

Most of you may already know that the next version of Firefox is already in the works, in fact those of you diagnosed positive for tech addiction would already be using the latest beta. The next release for the worlds most popular alternative web browser, code named Shiretoko was marked version 3.1 until last week, when Mozilla decided to change the version to 3.5 to mark the significant number of upgrades from the previous version.

This latest beta packs a lot of new features and performance improvements from the previous beta. Some major upgrades include:

Support for HTML 5 and tags.
Improved support for CSS 2.1 and CSS 3 properties introduced with Gecko 1.9.1.
Performance and stability improvements in the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. It is a lot faster now but still scores 93/100 in Acid3 tests.
The Private (or Porn) browsing mode has some minor tweaks to add even more privacy.
Slight changes to the user interface (The add new Tab button is moved yet again).

The latest beta certainly is faster compared to the previous one, and may cut close to the nightly builds of Firefox 3.6. Mozilla plan to launch Firefox 3.5b4 next in a couple of months before shipping out the final (stable) build. If your getting that itch to try out the latest version, then you can go and download it from here, but remember that it may have stability issues so proceed with caution.

Direct Download Firefox 3.5b3 (US English)

Disable More Features in Windows 7

2009-03-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 is still in its beta phase, and an RC release is just round the corner, but the earlier milestones versions already proved how faster Windows 7 really is than Vista and XP.

Last week, when Wndows 7 build 7048 got leaked, testers found out that they can disable Internet Explorer 8 in Windows. Similarly, you can disable more applications now.

This feature is also available in Windows Vista, but was limited to a small number of programs that could be disabled. Thanks to all the user feedback, Microsoft has added the following applications in the list that you can disable on the fly!

Windows Media Player
Windows Media Center
Windows DVD Maker
Internet Explorer 8
Windows Search
Handwriting Recognition (through the Tablet PC Components option)
Windows Gadget Platform
Fax and Scan
XPS Viewer and Services (including the Virtual Print Driver)

Windows 7 fits in 8 GB disk space, but you can reduce it more by removing all the unwanted applications, thus increasing the overall OS speed.

Opera 10 Turbo speeds up Web browsing

2009-03-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, Opera unveiled a new feature for upcoming Opera 10 called as Opera Turbo.

Opera Turbo is nothing but a server-side optimization and compression technology that provides significant improvements in browsing speeds over limited-bandwidth connections by compressing network traffic. Not only does it help you surf the web in a faster environment but also saves your cost of browsing.

It is a perfect new feature for users to make use of in scenarios where they have limited or low bandwidth e.g. on dial-up connections or while using internet through 3G tethering on your phone. When turned on, Opera Turbo will display the average compression rate (such as seen below).

Interestingly, Opera Turbo uses a technology called 'Opera Web Optimization Proxy' which is quite different to the one used in Opera mini, this means that web sites layout will look exactly the same as the original website though the image quality might be affected a little bit due to compression.

To test out this new feature, head over to Opera Labs. It will be available as a standard-feature in future Opera versions.

Manage all online accounts from within Email

2009-03-22T23:27:00.001-07:00

NutshellMail is a newly developed web based
service that provides you the better access to manage and monitor all of your emails and social networking accounts at the same time through your most frequently used mailbox. With NutshellMail, you can make your primary email inbox a universal platform that automatically retrieve all your messages at one place.

Nutshell is specially designed to enable employees that are restricted from the third-party messaging accounts. This enables the security of accessing the personal messages at work without violating the IT policies of the employees.

NutshellMail services can be used by anyone whose looking to save time by managing their accounts without having the hassle to switch between accounts. Furthermore it can prove to be a very useful tool for parents as well. It can help them monitor their kid's activities in social media services and gives access to their email accounts.

Key features include

Free, Easy, and Secure
Multiple email and/or social network accounts
Avoid log ons to each account separately
Monitor your children's incoming messages
Access all your accounts online through a single, consolidated inbox
Better way to manage all your messaging accounts

NutshellMail supports almost all the major email providers. You can view the complete list Here.

Check out NutshellMail

How To Change Windows 7 Logon UI Background

2009-03-22T23:26:00.001-07:00

For a long time Windows users have been using third-party tools and hacks to customize the Windows Logon UI, but Microsoft has finally realized that and have made this option available on Windows 7.

In the latest build 7057 of Windows 7, Rafael Rivera found out that now you can customize the logon UI without any hacks or patches. You will still have to do it manually, but it will be safe as no patching of system files will be involved.

How To Change Windows Logon UI Background

First, you need to go to the registry, and enable the option from there. Navigate to the following path:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background

Look for the DWORD value type called ‘OEMBackground‘ and change its value to 1 (default value should be 0, which means to disable it).

Then navigate to the following folder %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds and put your wallpaper in this folder. Remember, this folder might not be there because the registry and this folder is for OEM versions of Windows 7 only. So you will have to create it yourself. Wallpapers should be in less than 256 KB in size and in JPG format. Replace/add images with the following nanmes:

backgroundDefault.jpg
background768×1280.jpg (0.6)
background900×1440.jpg (0.625)
background960×1280.jpg (0.75)
background1024×1280.jpg (0.8)
background1280×1024.jpg (1.25)
background1024×768.jpg (1.33-)
background1280×960.jpg (1.33-)
background1600×1200.jpg (1.33-)
background1440×900.jpg (1.6)
background1920×1200.jpg (1.6)
background1280×768.jpg (1.66-)
background1360×768.jpg (1.770833-)

Windows automatically detects the background from backgroundDefault.jpg file. If the background is smaller in resolution, it will be stretched to fit your screen. Or if it’s too big in size, then the default Windows 7 logon backgrounmd will load.

Catch the Live iPhone 3.0 Preview Coverage

2009-03-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

iPhone 3.0 preview event is in full swing, and people from all around are trying to catch the event’s coverage.

Several tech-blogs are covering the event live where you can get the latest updates of what is happening inside the Apple, Building 4, Town Hall. Copy/paste is a confirmed feature that will hit iPhone 3.0 firmware.
Where to catch the iPhone 3.0 Preview event live?

You can go to any of the sites listed below for the latest updates on this event.

It’s almost time, and I’m off to see what does Apple has in store for us this time!

Download the new iPhone 3.0 beta Firmware for Free

2009-03-22T23:22:00.002-07:00

Everyone is excited about the new iPhone 3.0 firmware beta which was released earlier a couple of days ago at the iPhone 3.0 event by Apple.

The new firmware brings some exciting new features , most significantly the Copy and Paste and Multimedia messaging. But the unfortunate part here is that the final iPhone 3.0 firmware will be released during the summer for consumers and till then there is no direct way of accessing and testing out the features of this new firmware on your iPhone or iPod Touch unless you are an official iPhone developer.

Our blog shall give you the chance to download the iPhone 3.0 firmware beta for your iPhone (2G and 3G) or for your iPod Touch (1G and 2G) and will also provide you instructions on how to install and get it working on your device without any problems. Below you will find the download links for each of the device. Make sure to read the note at the end of the article.

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPod Touch 1G (Direct)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod1g-direct

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPod Touch 2G (Direct)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod2g-direct

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPhone 2G (Direct)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone2g-direct

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPhone 3G (Direct)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone3g-direct

In case the above links are removed or are not accessible for some reason, we have hosted the backup firmware for devices on Rapidshare which can be seen below. Here, you can make use of our List of Rapidshare Premium Generators to save yourself from waiting in the queue.

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPod Touch 1G (Rapidshare)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod1g-part1 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod1g-part2 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod1g-part3

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPod Touch 2G (Rapidshare)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod2g-part1 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod2g-part2 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-ipod2g-part3

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPhone 2G (Rapidshare)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone2g-part1 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone2g-part2 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone2g-part3

iPhone 3.0 beta for iPhone 3G (Rapidshare)
http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone3g-part1 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone3g-part2 http://tinyurl.com/sizlopedia-iphone3g-part3

Now that you have all the download links for your respective devices which support the iPhone 3.0 beta firmware, use a utility e.g. WinRar (for Windows) and UnRarX (for Mac) to extract the firmware IPSW to a folder on your operating system.

The installation and upgrade procedure for the devices will be discussed in an upcoming article.

HD Movies now available for purchase on iTunes

2009-03-22T23:22:00.001-07:00

Apple has made another announcement today that is definitely going to make a new room of entertainment for users and provide them with a better user experience.

The announcement is about the new availability of HD Movies for purchase on the iTunes store. Until now, Apple only allowed HD movies to be rented for a price of $3.99 but with this new feature, a user will be able to own a HD movie title just for a price of $14.99. Of course, purchasing a title would allow you to watch it whenever you want without keeping a countdown for the rental-time.

The movies available for purchase at the HD movies store on iTunes are encoded and compressed in H.264 with a standard HDTV resolution of 720p.

Also, the good news here is that purchasing a movie would not only allow you to download its HD version but will also allow you to download an iPod/iPhone ready version of the movie so you can enjoy the movie on your favorite portable media device.

Follow this link to access the HD movies store on iTunes.

New Features in iPhone OS 3.0

2009-03-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

The much-awaited iPhone OS 3.0 preview event took place today and many of the most-requested features by iPhone and iPod Touch users have been unveiled today.

Apple events are always full of surprises, and it takes no time to spill the beans. I didn’t miss a single word, and had my eyes on all the sources live-blogging the event.

New Features in iPhone OS 3.0 and Event Highlights

Several new features have been announced and were demoed live during the event. And Scott Forstall said that there arae about 100 new changes/features. Here’s a list of features that I found intresting.

Download Content within Apps

Yes, with the iPhone OS 3.0, you will be able to download more content in your existing apps. Like purchasing additional features in games.

Peer-to-Peer Connectivity

Bluetooth support in iPhone firmware 2.0 is only limited to its headset, but the iPhone OS 3.0 opens more gates for developers that can add P2P connectivity with other iPhones.

You can enjoy multiplayer gaming over bluetooth in the iPhone and it would even automatically search for other devices around. And as for iPod Touch users, Apple said there is a posibility for iPod Touch 2G users that their devices can be unlocked for Bluetooth.

Accessories Support

iPhone’s compatibility with other accessories has been taken to the next level. You can now control a speaker’s EQ, send medical device data straight to doctor and control a FM radio from display screen. It was also added that thousands of devices are being built for the next iPhone OS.

Maps App Improved

Touts and Google are working on producing a much better Maps app for the iPhone where developers would be able to embed maps in apps using the public API. And users will be able to custom notes, view in hybrid or satellites images etc.

Push Notifications

Apple has been late on this one, but have been working on it for 6 months and have rearchitectured their servers for it. This feature will give text and sound alerts on notifications from various apps.

Background Processes

I had high hopes for this feature, but it didn’t seem to be in their list. Apple thinks apps running in background is not good for the iPhone. Mainly because it doesn’t let the device go to sleep and drains the battery.

On the other hand, Push Notifications have been optimized for mobile networks that maintains battery life and performance.

EA Games

EA plans to release 10 more games for the iPhone. They demoed Boatman and The Sims 3 which was liked by many.

Cut/Copy and Paste

According to Apple, getting the cut, copy and paste feature work on the iPhone UI was pretty hard. From what they showed, the copy/paste feature looks quite complex.

Landscape Keyboard

Previosuly, keyboard in landscape orientation was only available in the Messaging and Mail apps. But now, it can be used in whatever apps we like.

Multimedia Messaging

This feature is not new for users who have jailbroken their devices, but still it will be better to have it as a native feature.

Message Forwarding

Surprisingly, Apple took three OS updates to add one of the basic features that every cell phone has. But still, better late than never!

Spotlight (Search)

This is a new search interface introduced for the iPhone OS 3.0. Whether it’s an app name, or something within the app’s data or it’s music or mail, Spotlight will let you search for anything throughout the phone. It’s more like the Search app in Symbian.

Unlike iPhone 2.0, the 3.0 upgrade will come free for ther iPhone users but iPod Touch users will have to pay $10 to get it. The iPhone 3.0 SDK is now available for the developers and will be ready for public downloading in Summer.

Internet Explorer 8 Released, Download Now

2009-03-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

Internet Explorer 8, which Microsoft has put into beta testing since more than a year now, has finally released a few minutes ago!

Microsoft has made sure everything goes on well, and has come out with the fastest Internet Explorer ever. Lots of performance improvements and security updates have been made. I’d recommend everyone to give it a try once!

Features Overview:

* Faster Internet Explorer 8 is more responsive with new pages and tabs, opening up fast and reliably. You can now get to the information you care about most, in fewer steps; one click access to your webmail, favorite news sites or other online services.
* Easier Reduce the steps to accomplish many common tasks, and automate your access to real time information updates. You can keep track of your favorite sports team, news, weather with a single click.
* More Private Helps protect your privacy and confidential information where ever you go on the web.
* More Secure Helps protect and stop malicious software from reaching your PC, and makes it easier to detect when a website is an imposter.

Or you can check out the IE8 features review done by us.

After using the beta and RC releases, I’m impressed how Microsoft has worked hard to put IE back into the browser-war! IE8 is available for Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003 and 2008. I don’t see any IE8 links for Windows 7. Looks like, Microsoft has something else in mind for the Windows 7 users.

Download Internet Explorer 8

You can download Internet Explorer from the download page link given below.

https://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx

Apple to launch an affordable 17-inch iMac

2009-03-22T23:17:00.002-07:00

While the news is not official yet, it still seems to come from a very authentic source i.e. Apple's very own education site.

Earlier this month, Apple updated its line of iMacs with new hardware including 20-inch and 24-inch models but a 17-inch model was nowhere to be seen. However, the latest newsletter from Apple's very own e-news for education site has an indication about a new 17-inch iMac (refer to the text in the image on the right).

Interestingly, the official Apple iMac store shows no indication of this new model.

Apple also mentions the price of this new 17-inch iMac to be starting at $899 which is quite reasonable and will definitely attract new users in terms of affordibility. Also, it is believed that Apple might be planning to introduce this new iMac model specially for the students as we already know that Apple has been kind enough to offer student-discounts for Macbooks in the past.

Below is sneak-preview of the e-news for education newsletter, in case Apple decides to remove indications for the new iMac.

Click on image to enlarge

Even though the 17-inch iMac might not attract those high-end Mac users, but it is probably the first move by Apple into introducing some affordable computing for the low-budget users and we really appreciate if it comes out to be real.

Apple to launch an affordable 17-inch iMac

2009-03-22T23:17:00.001-07:00

Interestingly, the official Apple iMac store shows no indication of this new model.

Below is sneak-preview of the e-news for education newsletter, in case Apple decides to remove indications for the new iMac.

Click on image to enlarge

Download iPhone OS 3.0 Torrent Leak

2009-03-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

iPhone OS 3.0 was announced a couple of days ago, and since then iPhone /iPod Touch users are crazy about trying out the latest firmware.

Wondering why? It has many of those features that users have been requesting Apple to add since firmware 2.0 was released and looks like Apple finally listened to many of them.

For now, iPhone 3.0 is only available to developers, but a nice developer has taken the initiative to leak it out on torrents. If you want to try it before the final release, you are more than welcome to download it from below.

Download iPhone OS 3.0 Torrent

You can download the leaked firmware from the link below

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4780862/IPHONE_OS_3.0_leaked_

Get an almost old layout for Facebook homepage

2009-03-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

Facebook recently updated its Homepage layout to a new one which is not being liked by most of the users, and even by some of the Facebook employees themselves.

The new homepage makes Facebook look nothing like a social network, rather more of a spam-zone where random stories, notes and links are being published by your friends and unfortunately there is no way to control it. Also new changes in the UI such as deeper fonts, a three-column layout and rounded profile pictures just contribute more to the ugliness of this new layout.

While we may not help you in completely reverting back to the old layout, we still have a couple of hacks for you to get the old-style two-column layout on the homepage, along with full square-shaped profile pictures.

All you need to do is install the following two userscripts on Firefox.

Greasemonkey addon for Firefox is essentially required to run these userscripts. Once installed, these scripts will provide you with an almost old Facebook Homepage layout feel so you don't have to curse the Facebook authorities again for introducing the new design.

Take a look at my current Facebook profile with these scripts installed!

My Facebook Profile

Sadly! it doesn't get any closer than that to the old Facebook homepage layout. Enjoy and spread the word.

Unzip files online with Wobzip

2009-03-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

Normally while working with the compressed zip or rar files most of the users use more common and traditional methods like the paid winzip or winrar or the free 7zip but what if you are working on a computer where none of these applications are installed and you are not even allowed to install any of these software by the system administrator, you just go online to wobzip.org and upload your zip file and within few minutes you would be presented with the list of all files enclosed in the original zip file to be downloaded separately.

But uploading the files to wobzip and downloading can become very hectic when either the zip file size is very large or the number of files in the archive is huge. The only one benefit in this kind of scenario comes into mind is that you can download the selective files only but the truebenefit as explained by DownloadSqaud is the feature of decompressing files directly from theinternet. Means you enter the url of the zip file and hit the wobzip button before it present you with the list of uncompressed files in that archive and from there you can download the only files which you need and skip the rest.

I sure like wobzip with the simple features offered and the unique usability as discussed above and would recommend you to give it a try even if this is not the kind of cup of tea you like.

Watch some hilarious advertisements on Very Funny Ads

2009-03-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Although this one is not concerned with any of the topic we discuss here but I am posting this for those who are looking to waste some time on the internet by watching some of the funniest ads.

Very Funny Ads is an online video service with only one thing to offer i.e. the funny and creative advertisements. The collection is quite huge and I there were quite a few ads which I really loved (Hint: search for LG Electronics: Voyeur for example).

The best of very funny ads is that although the resolution of the ad videos is quite good, the streaming is very smooth and hiccup free even if the internet connection speed is not that good.

So if you have some free time in hand and have nothing else to do, make your self grin or laugh out loud with VeryFunnyAds.

Apple introducing new iMacs

2009-03-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

According to Engadget Apple has announced a new line up of iMacs introducing the two new 20 inch and 24 inch models in the line.

The prices for all the new models are listed as

* 20 inch for $1,199 powered with 2.66Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD and GeForce 9400M graphics
* 24 inch for $1,499 powered with 2.66Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB HDD and GeForce 9400M graphics
* 24 inch for $1799 powered with 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, , 640GB HDD and Nvidia GeForce GT 120 with 256MB video memory
* 24 inch for 2199 powered with 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, 1TB HDD and GeForce GT 130 512MB graphics with 512MB of video memory

All of the models are available now and can be purchased from Apple store

at http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac

A Simple method to make Youtube video playlist

2009-03-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

There are some instances when someone require to make playlists of videos available on online video sharing services like Youtube, Metacafe etc and I have posted about making video playlists with embedr which actually takes videos of your choice from different video sharing sites and create a single playlist which can be shared. Youtube Reloaded do the same but only Youtube videos and in a very very simple manner.

Visit http://www.youtubereloaded.com/ and just simply input the search query of the videos you are looking for to add in your playlist and specify how many videos on a specific topic you want to add in your playlist and once you hit the “Preview and Create Code” button you get your playlist player and the code which can be embedded on your website, blog or forum.

There’s nothing much more to it but a few customization can be done i.e you can select the search source to be either the complete youtube database, user’s favorites, related videos or user’s upload. Also you can customize the player with your desired skin, size and stretching. That’s it.

So if you are looking for the most simplest way to make video playlists from youtube, youtube reloaded is the way to go.

Sigpad: Create dynamic social email signatures

2009-03-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Okay guys, this one is quite interesting. The main reason for email signatures is to let your email recipient know more about your self or anything else which obviously just your email address cannot show and most of the time people use signatures to display the additional contact information of the sender.

Sigpad makes it more interesting by providing you the email signatures which are dynamic and can show your real time updated stats from some famous social networking sites with obviously twitter being the first.

The sigpad signatures are dynamic and change with every email you send and will show the latest status update from the selected services which include status update from twitter, your latest flickr photos, your latest blog post, most recent uploaded youtube video, latest facebook update, myspace and yelp.

The procedure is quite simple, just select any of the service you want, type in your user name or any of the information which the signature generator page asks and you will have a bookmarklet to be added to your browser’s bookmark toolbar. From there when you are in the compose section of your email, you can add your custom signature by simply clicking on the bookmarklet you added.

Visit http://sigpad.com/ to create your dynamic

ooVoo makes video conferencing fun and easy

2009-03-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Text Chatting, I think is as old a phenomenon in the world of internet as the Internet itself and the very first thing we learned back when the Internet started to grow up was how to chat. Then things become more advanced and forums, blogs and social networks like facebook took the place of chatting.

Same is the case with video chat which apparently is not as old as the text chat yet people are doing it for quite some time now and is considered more interactive and enjoyable than any other form of communication. Oovoo takes video chat or video conferencing one step further by offering video conference with up to six persons at the same time.

I am sure this idea of a group video chat is very exciting for most of us and the only hindrance I can see is the internet speed of a user which can ill effect the experience since there are total seven high quality video streams transferring in real time so a better speed broadband internet connection is recommended if you really want to enjoy ooVoo.

ooVoo offers a desktop video conferencing client which can be downloaded and be used like any other chatting client out there but if there’s a scenario where any of your friend doesn’t have ooVoo installed on their computer you can send them a link for them to open up in their browsers to initiate the video call without the desktop client. This feature is called Web video call by ooVoo.

The feature list of ooVoo is rather large so see below:

Video call: Connect Up to three friends with ooVoo standard free and up to six friends with ooVoo super paid.
Web video call
Video chat room:
Video Call recording: Only paid service
Video messaging service: Send up to 1 minute long video messages with the standard ooVoo account and 5 minute long with ooVoo super paid service.
Add effects to videos
Make phone calls to USA or Canada
Traditional text chat
Send files to your online and offline contact up to 25mb
Sidebar View: Make ooVoo as a sidebar on your computer screen
Search for Friends: Find people you know or find new friends on ooVoo.
Call Me Button: Add this button on your website or blog to enable visitors to call you with ooVoo.
Set Privacy Controls Control who can see or contact you.
FREE

Last but not the least ooVoo website provides help on almost every topic for the newbie users. The most important thing about the ooVoo is that most of its features are provided for free and for an average users like me ooVoo is superb even if I am not getting the full features set offered in the paid package of called ooVoo super. Sure I will only be not able to connect with six people at the same time but three and a few other limitations but its fine with me as far as I am not paying for anything. But if you want to have the full features without any limitation, you can subscribe to ooVoo super for only $10 a month and additional $5/month will get you unlimited landline and mobile phone calls to US and Canada.

Upgrading to ooVoo super gets you following additional features.

Unlimited 6-way live video chats.
High Resolution video.
Unlimited 6-way audio chats (so no worries if you don’t have that web cam yet).
Unlimited video messages (up to 5 minutes long).
Unlimited length video chat recordings stored on ooVoo servers.
Up to 1,000 total minutes of video storage and streaming.
Create up to five video chat rooms.

Download free Video Chat and Video Conferencing from ooVoo

http://www.oovoo.com/

How quickly clothes can be changed [MAGIC]

2009-03-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

My wife still gets amused by the speed and time I take to change my clothes normally but I am not sure how this is even possible as shown in this video. Must be magic ;)

Watch and enjoy

Microsoft and its vision of the Future in 2019

2009-03-07T04:35:00.000-08:00

We all believe that Microsoft has played a great role in the development of modern technology by not only providing us with an operating system that is easy to use, but also by giving us an insight into the future.

A couple of days ago, Microsoft unveiled a Microsoft Office Labs production codenamed '2019' at the Wharton Business Technology Conference, giving out the idea on how Microsoft itself envisions the future.

The video production can be viewed below.

The video helps us visualize and imagine all the candy that is waiting for us in the future and also sheds some light onto the future plans for Microsoft.

Although none of the devices shown in the production exists as of now. But we are definite that in the next 10 years, all of this will be in our hands. For more futuristic production videos by Microsoft, click here.

All new Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro

2009-03-07T04:33:00.002-08:00

It was only until yesterday that we posted about the rumor of an upcoming Apple event where Apple was supposed to introduce all new and upgraded line of Mac computers. But today marks a day of great surprise as Apple secretly unveils an all new line of Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro on its official online store.

Even though I believe that Apple is getting dry on its techniques of product marketing but it still feels good to know that Apple is not giving up on its products already and still working on making them better and more efficient.

The new iMacs come with Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 3.06GHz, either 20-inch or 24-inch LCD displays, and up to 8GB of RAM. Each with a storage space of up to 1TB and with integrated AirPort Extreme WiFi and Bluetooth. Pricing for 20-inch model starts at $1199 and for the 24-inch model at $1499.

As for the new Mac Pro, it comes with the new Quad-Core Intel Xeon Nehalem processor and its pricing starts at $2,499.

The new Mac mini is what makes as the actual show-stopper for the day. It features the new Nvidia Graphics chipset, a more energy-efficient architecture and ships with the new iLife 09.

It now comes with over 4GB of memory and is priced at $599 or more. All of these products will be available for purchase at the official Apple store within next 24 hours.

And thats all for the new juicy hardware upgrades by Apple. Now what we really want to look forward to at is the 3rd Generation iPhone.

Free E-Book reader for iPhone by Amazon

2009-03-07T04:33:00.001-08:00

Amazon has rolled out their library of online books for iPhone and iPod Touch users. This new application known as Kindle for iPhone comes totally free of charge and can be downloaded from Apple App Store.

Upon installation, it allows you to read Kindle books on your iPhone and iPod touch. It automatically synchronizes your last page read between devices with Amazon Whispersync. You can also adjust the text size, view the annotations you created of your Kindle or add bookmarks. This application will give users full access to over 240,000 e-books including many of the best sellers.

The vice president of Amazon, Ian Freed stated,

We think the iPhone can be a great companion device for customers who are caught without their Kindle.

He also added that the experience of using the new iPhone application will mostly likely to persuade people to buy a Kindle because it has much longer battery life than the iPhone and a screen better suited for reading.

Key features of Kindle for iPhone

Free of charge
Offers best reading experience on your iPhone
Access your Kindle books even when you don't have Kindle with you.
Adjust text size
Add bookmarks
View the annotations you created
Access to over 240,000 Kindle books

Download Kindle for iPhone and iPod Touch for free here.

Note that the application is free but you will still need to buy the books.

Adsense to publish revenue reports in Euros

2009-03-07T04:31:00.000-08:00

Google Adsense has just announced that they will be publishing Adsense reports in Euros for publishers who are located in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. The new system will now convert dollars into Euros on a daily basis by using the prevailing market rate from the previous day.

This way publishers will avoid the risk of currency exchange fluctuations between US Dollar and the Euro. Note that you will still have option to receive your payments in either U.S Dollars or Euros with a range of payment methods as well.

Click on image to enlarge

The new Terms and Conditions stated by Adsense are as followed

The party that publishers are contracting with changes from Google Inc. to Google Ireland Limited.
Publishers are responsible for paying any local taxes in their jurisdiction. Google will only issue VAT refunds to publishers with an address in Ireland.
The governing law changes from California law to either English or local law.

Further more it is highly recommended that you download and save copies of all your previous earnings in U.S dollars. As soon as you update your account you will be able to view current and past reports only in Euros while you'll still be able to view your prior payment history of U.S. Dollar earnings.

Even the Taliban use the iPhone

2009-03-07T04:30:00.001-08:00

If you were not already thrilled by the fact that Mumbai terrorists used Blackberry to monitor the world response in real-time, here is another one that may surprise you.

Mullah Abdul Salaam, the former Taliban ambassador who ruled out Internet and TV earlier, regularly uses the iPhone to make calls, surf the web and to find remote locations using the GPS.

According to him, the use of such a high-tech device is neccessary in today's world where people want to progress.

While its hard for anyone of us to decide how the use of such a device can help in terrorism but the fact alone that the web is now being used by the terrorists as a tool to monitor the social activities of the masses is kind of scary.

Evolution of technology has now reached to a point, where we are creating products that shall later help in our very own destruction.

Facebook about to roll out a new Home Page

2009-03-07T04:29:00.001-08:00

In an effort to win another battle in the ever-growing war of social networks, Facebook is now planning to roll out a new home page for users with new features and updates.

According to Facebook, the new home page will make it easier for you to understand what's going on around with your friends and will allow you to track their posts in real-time and also control the content in the way you like the most.

A sneak-peak of the new home page can be seen below.

Click on image to enlarge

As it can be seen in the mockup, the new Facebook layout will put more focus on allowing users to share and read posts.

The new Facebook home page update shall be rolled out to all Facebook users in a couple of days so stay tuned.

Microsoft working on a new search engine named Kumo?

2009-03-07T04:27:00.000-08:00

According to a source close to Microsoft, the Redmond company shall be rolling out a whole new search product later this year codenamed Kumo.

From what rumors believe, it is actually going to be the rebranded form of Microsoft Live Search which was expecting an upgrade for long. However, no source so far explains whether this is an individual search project of Microsoft or a replacement for Live Search.

A sneak-peak of Kumo, provided by AllthingsD, can be seen below.

Click on image to enlarge

If we claim to know Microsoft good enough, we are certain that 'Kumo' is just another codename for the search product while it is in its early phase of testing and the final product will definitely have a whole new name and look.

As for the search product itself, it looks to be quite innovative with a simple and clean look. All the search results are organized in a brilliant manner with an explorer pane on the left that helps the user in finding relevant information for the related search keyword.

Interesting, a source reveals that the search product is being tested out on the domain Kumo.com. But a quick visit to the web page in the browser returns a blank output.

Free N-Gage Game Code from Nokia

2009-03-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

Nokia N-Gage gives out free games and game codes occassionally, and this month again they are giving away a free game codes to every N-Gage Arena username.

Last time I remember they gave out free licenses to FIFA 09, and after that N-Gage users in India got free game codes from Nokia. And this time, it’s UK’s turn to get free codes.

Getting your free game code is very easy. Just visit NGage Wizard and enter your details. Your free game code will be emailed to you. You can use this game code to purchase any game you like from the N-Gage Store.

First this promotion was for all worldwide users, but today they changed it to UK N-Gage users only. I wasn’t able to get one either. Bad luck, I guess.

Update: The N-Gage Wizard website is down for maintenance at the moment

Download AVG Anti-Virus 8.5

2009-03-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

According to me, AVG Anti-Virus is one of the best among free anti-virus softwares available which I have used for a long time. Today they released AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 with some new features.

AVG Anti-Virus is improving with every release, and in version 8.5, a new security toolbar has been added for Anti-spyware along with a new feature called LinkScanner Active Surf-Shield.

This new feature gives enhanced security and protection to you by scanning and analyzing web ages for any threats. Other updated features include Anti-spyware, Anti-virus and Email Scanner.

AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 can be downloaded for free for Windows XP, Vista and also 7.

Download AVG Anti-Virus 8.5

You can download it from here: Download AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 Free Edition

Facebook Photo Album Downloader

2009-03-07T04:18:00.000-08:00

I’m sure people with many friends on Facebook come across interesting albums or individual photos that are uploaded by friends, and sometimes you even want to download them.

But since Facebook does not provide an option to download albums, you have to go through all the photos saving each of them one by one.

Well, not to worry anymore. Enters FacePAD, a firefox entension that lets you download Facebook albums in just a single click!

This is a very simple plugin which requires just a click to download albums. Simply right-click the View Album link, and from the menu, select Download Album with FacePAD. Then a Javascript pop-up will appear telling you to wait a moment while it initiates the download process. Press OK and the photos will be downloaded.

These downloaded albums will be saved in your default Firefox download directory.

Download FacePAD

Create personalized search results page with Addict-o-matic

2009-03-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

Now this is kind of unique and very very useful in searching the web for the topic of your choice. Addict-o-matic searches the best sites on the web for the latest news, blog posts, videos and images and display in a single page layout.

Addict-o-matic displays search results from differnet web sources in a very iGoogle style drag able gadgets on a single page and you can configure the page to add or remove the available sources of information which include Google, Youtube, Twitter, Flickr, Blinkx, Icerocket, Google Blog search, Live.com search, Technorati, Wikio, Digg, Delicious and much more.

The best thing is your desired search results will be be assigned a unique url which will be displayed in your browser url bar and can be bookmarked or share with friends. Now when everytime you will visit this url, you will be displayed with the latest search results of that specific topic. The search results can also be shared via the bookmark/share menu in the top navigation which will pull down a list of popular social networking sites where the results can be shared. Very handy.

Apart from creating your own search results on a specific topic, one can also search through the latest hot topic and trends in different categories by using the “Browse the News” feature of addict-o-matic.

So I am finding it very useful as a one stop place for my internet search needs as I can search all of my favorite sites from one place. Visit http://addictomatic.com/ and start searching the web smartly.

Fix your monitor display problems with ScreenFix

2009-03-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

So if you have some problems with your computer monitor’s display like Phasing, poor brightness, flicker etc and you need an instant solution to fix these problem, Screen Fix has these web based tools to fix these problems.

Following is the list of tools provided by Screen Fix.

Gamma checker:

Gamma checkers tells you about the gamma levels of your monitor, if gamma levels are poor the image details and graphic details would not be optimal and this tool will help you calibrate your monitor to get the best Gamma settings.

Phasing checker:

Phasing is a term which is used for the computer monitor displays where the colors on the screen are not smudged / blurred with each other. This tool will show you a simple black and white image on your screen with which its is very easy to see if a screen has a phasing problem. This tool will suggest and helps you to set your monitors clock’s settings until the phasing problem is gone.

Brightness checker:

To get the optimum image and color display in movies, games and say to day computer usage the brightness of a monitor should not be too high or too less and this tool helps you to check and adjust the brightness levels on your monitor.

Flicker fixer:

This test helps in fixing the screen flickering issue. The tool will show a simple but flicker friendly pattern on your screen and you would notice the flickering instantly even if you don’t notice it otherwise. The tool suggests to use your monitor’s auto adjust feature to get rid of this problem or else you can manually set the refresh rate of your monitor higher to remove flickering problem.

Dead pixel fixer: LCD only

Yes this should apply to LCD screens only normally dead pixels happen. This test lets you fix dead pixels on your screen, though it does not guarantee to fix the problem but in most cases the dead pixel will come to life once this test is done. Just use this text in full screen mode for more than an hour.

Head to Screen Fix at http://screenfix.net/

Installing Ubuntu or Kubuntu Linux within windows with Wubi

2009-03-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

The fact is people are just afraid of Linux due to many factors like setting up the hardware, installing software, configuring drivers, configuring network, and use of command prompt for most of the tasks, but the most popular debian based Ubuntu/Kubuntu linux has given the newbie users a lot of hope and courage by offering easy to use GUI based software and hardware installers, software updates and a lot more, all in all Ubuntu makes it easier for everyone and with Wubi installer it goes another step in introducing a thing which makes it much more easier for people to install and give Linux a try.

What is Wubi?. Wubi is an installer which actually lets user install Ubuntu or Kubuntu Linux within windows as a windows program. Yes it will install the Ubuntu as an uninstall able program in windows which can be easily removed later by using the windows uninstall feature. More importantly Wubi will automatically edit the windows boot loader to include Ubuntu as a second boot operating system making your system a dual boot machine and there is no need for the users to manually setup the partitions or boot loader at all.

Wubi is available as a separate installer from http://wubi-installer.org/ which will ask for some pre install setup configurations like your Ubuntu user name and password, installation size and language etc which you can configure according to your needs. Wubi is also included in all of the current Ubuntu distributions’ CD image files and upon mounting that iso image within windows, it will automatically pop up the setup window which is called umenu and from here you can click “install inside windows” button to initiate Wubi installer. The best thing about using this method is that you don’t even have to burn the iso image to a CD to boot from it and it can be mounted to any virtual CD/DVD drive you have in your system. (If you dont have any I recommend Daemon Tools).

During install what Wubi actually do is that it creates virtual Linux partitions within your system’s NTFS partition where you have given the Wubi installer the instructions to install Ubuntu. If you have downloaded the Wubi installer from the installer website, it will automatically download the appropriate Ubuntu version which you have selected and will begin the install once the download is complete. If you are running the Wubi installer from the Ubuntu installer CD itself, it will install directly without downloading. That’s how easy it is.

So you get to install the Ubuntu or Kubuntu linux in your system like a piece of cake and none of your partition or boot record gets disturbed. You reboot and start testing and learning the Ubuntu Linux as much as you want and if anything goes wrong you can simply uninstall it. Once uninstalled the folder where the Ubuntu partition is will be deleted and your NTFS partition will stay intact. No harm done.

The Ubuntu Linux which is installed within windows using the Wubi installer easily read/writes to your NTFS partitions by default and without installing any third party software in Ubuntu however although there is a way of reading linux EXT2 and EXT3 partition in windows, windows would not be able to read any data of the virtual partitions of Ubuntu created by Wubi. Also in Ubuntu the NTFS portion of the partition where the Ubuntu Linux has been installed will not be visible.

So apart from few quirks I can say that Wubi is the smartest and safest way for the newbie Linux users to install and try one of the best Linux distribution and I recommend anybody to give it a try, most importantly for those who actually want to try Linux on their machines before they make the switch or simply for those who are afraid of getting into the Linux world just because they want to avoid the hassle of partitioning and dual booting.

Delete Twitter DMs with DM Whacker

2009-03-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Twitter is emerging as very helpful social networking place as compared to other social networking websites. Its active user base, simple design and user-friendliness makes it even better and bigger.

Twitter is a good tool to get quick help, news updates from various people around the world. It has various interesting features, but as they say every coin has two sides.

As we all know, Twitter has a useful facility, Direct Message (DM), which is meant for sending private messages. There are many twitterers who use this feature extensively and send DMs to market their blogs/websites, products etc. Unfortunately, Twitter doesn’t have any proper solution other than deleting those messages.

If you have lots of direct messages then get ready to spend precious time to delete each one, as there is no feature to delete bulk messages. Well, you don’t have to worry more because a developer from DCortesi blog has designed a JavaScript based bookmarklet, DM Whacker!

DM Whacker allows you to delete all DMs at once. In order to use this bookmarklet, simply drag following tool link to your bookmarks list. Open direct message window from - http://twitter.com/direct_messages and select DM Whacker from bookmarks list.

This tool also allows you to delete particular user’s DMs by just mentioning his/her twitter id in given text box. It supports major browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Opera and Google Chrome.

Get DM Whacker to wipe out direct messages from the javascript link below.

DM Whacker

Backup Windows Live Writer with WLWBackup

2009-03-02T07:04:00.001-08:00

Windows Live Writer is the best desktop blog publishing tool which comes for free with Windows Live suite of applications. There are a few things I like about WL Writer, like you can expand it with plugins and most of all, I can use it to write posts offline.

Now, what I don’t like about Windows Live Writer is that I have to re-configure it every time I re-install or install it on a new computer. But I think, I have found the perfect utility to handle that.

WLWBackup is a free tool to backup and restore our settings, drafts, plugins etc. in Windows Live Writer. It is a very simple and easy-to-use tool. Just select the options you want to backup, and hit the Backup button.

Download WLWBackup

You can download WLWBackup 2.0 from here: Download WLWBackup 2.0

Recover Deleted Files from Any Media

2009-03-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

Most often we share our USB drives with others to transfer data. One such incident took place with me and I accidentally deleted some important files (I didn’t know they were important to him) off his USB drive.

After 30 minutes of Googling and trying out various recovery free and shareware trial applications, I found the perfect tool to recover files from any kind of media.

DiskDigger is a free tool that can recover files from any media that has been connected to your computer. This includes all your drives, USB drives and memory cards. It goes through scanning each sector of your media for traces of files.

It can recover full or even recover fragments of some files, like partially overwritten photos or other images. It is completely safe to use, as it does not save or modify any files on your drives.

For now, DiskDigger is restricted to some file formats and configurations, but new ones will be added soon. This application can be carried on any portable media as it is just an executable without any installation needed.

Download DiskDigger

You can download it from here: Download DiskDigger

Download Apple Safari 4 for Windows and Mac

2009-02-28T03:58:00.001-08:00

Eager to make a score in the browser industry too now, Apple has released the next version of Safari i.e. Safari 4 beta to the public and claims it to be the fastest browser ever.

The new Nitro Javascript engine is what gives Safari the speed of light in rendering webpages, making it over a 30 times more efficient than IE 7 and almost 3 times faster than Firefox 3.

It also carries support for HTML 5 and CSS 3 which makes it a heaven for developers and future web technologies.

Following are some of the key new features in Safari 4.

Top Sites, Safari 4 Beta tracks the sites you browse and presents them as thumbnails on a single page.
Cover Flow, It provides a highly visual way to sweep through your sites and bookmarks (just like in iTunes).
Tabs on Top, Tabs now appear on the top of the window like in Google Chrome.
Windows Native Look, Safari now has a native theme for when run on Windows Vista or XP.

Click here to check out all the 150 new features in Safari.

Still not convinced? Head over to Apple to Download Safari 4.

A Free Trip to Google IO Conference

2009-02-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

I have just stumbled upon Google's Enterprise Blog and discovered that Google is holding a contest to see how "Findable" the Google Search Appliance is in your workplace. The deadline for this contest is March 31, 2009 and the winners shall be announced on April 17.

The Google Search Appliance is an on-premise search solution that has the ability to search all content through one search box for your business including your web servers, intranets, file shares, databases, content management systems
, and business applications

Google will pick 2 lucky winners who will receive an all expense paid trip to the Google IO conference and they will have a chance to tell their story during an enterprise search session. Other prizes include two HTC Dream phones, and a whole host of Google schwa but these gifts will only be offered to winners in North America.

Make sure to read the complete guidelines of this contest before registering. A quick overview includes:

You need to take a picture of you and your Google Search Appliance.
Submit your GSA story.
The GSA team will read your story and look at your picture to judge the quality and uniqueness of your content.

If you already own a Google Search Appliance click Here to enter the contest.

Google Toolbar 6 for IE with Quick Search Box

2009-02-28T03:55:00.000-08:00

Google has released an update for the Google Toolbar for IE and what comes significantly new in this release is the Google Quick Search Box.

Recently, the Quick Search Box was released to Mac but now thanks to Google Toolbar 6 Beta, Windows users will be able to make use of this great tool too. Simply click on the Google logo in the taskbar (or use Ctrl+Space shortcut key) to bring up the quick search box.

The exceptionally cool feature of Quick Search Bar for Windows is that apart from providing a faster way to search the web, open webpages or find relevant bookmarks, it even allows you to launch Windows applications by just typing in their name.

The new toolbar also brings in the new tab page for IE users which gives you thumbnail access to your most visited websites, recently closed tabs and bookmarked pages (Just like in Google Chrome). This feature can be activated from within Toolbar settings menu.

Head over to Google and give it a go (Also make sure to visit this link from within IE)

Mockups for the 3rd Generation iPhone

2009-02-28T03:53:00.002-08:00

Honestly! we have no idea what Apple has in store for us this year but at least thanks a bunch of leaked photos of the next generation iPhone, we are quite sure that the new iPhone will have a brand new casing.

Graham, over at Mac Predictions, has taken his imagination to the next level by creating some mockup images for the 3rd Generation iPhone.

Here is one with a textured back and metallic borders.

Click on image to enlarge

And one complimented by a black metallic bezel on the front.

Click on image to enlarge

Though these mockups do not give any significant information about to the features of the new iPhone, they still give an idea about the looks and the color.

If one of these mockups really turns up to be as the new iPhone, I would vote for the second phone.

Microsoft building a new Web Browser named Gazelle

2009-02-28T03:53:00.001-08:00

It seems like Apple isn't the only one here trying to make new friends in the web browsing community.

Microsoft is planning to do the same by introducing a new web browser called Gazelle, which it claims to be as somewhat bigger and better than Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer.

The development of Gazelle is leaded by Microsoft Research and according to a research paper, it will boast of a lot of new features and will have the capability to operate as an operating system.

This will increase the performance and improve the security of the browser in such a way that it will be able intelligently identify traffic and react to anything malicious.

As for now, the browser is only open for discussion and no release is expected in any form.

This tells us that Microsoft may not be the best at IE, but at least they have something in oven for us that may soon turn out to be the best of all.

Add Funny Effects to Your Photos Online

2009-02-28T03:52:00.000-08:00

Just confronted a very cool website that offers ready made effects for your pictures.

Fun Photo Box lets you pick from tons of photo effects and allows you to add your own picture to it.

The process is really simple. You don't need to sign up or register to add effects to your photos. Simply log on to the website and perform the following 3 steps

Select your Effect
Then Upload your Photo and
Save results.

You can upload your picture from your computer or use the web Url feature to upload any picture from the internet.

Fun Photo Box currently supports 3 image formats including JPEG, GIF and PNG. The maximum size of a photo can be up to 4MB. You can even post these pictures automatically to social media networks directly from the website.

Check out Fun Photo Box

Palm PRE live demo video tells us how great it is! Palm PRE live demo video tells us how great it is!

2009-02-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

The excitement and anticipation about Palm getting back to the smart phone business with the all new Palm Pre handset got many of us gadget lovers to wait for the device to release. Palm pre is sure a positive comeback from the smart phone manufacturer and with this live demo video it is the first time I actually witnessed the beauty of the device.

Though many of the interface gimmicks are taken from the revolutionary iPhone itself but going through this demo video I can easily say that most of the things looks even better than the iPhone. To name a few I can quote actual tactile qwerty keyboard, better multitasking support, neat clutter free user interface, better internet browsing, awesome facebook integration and a lot more.

Anyway enjoy the video below start counting the days before Palm Pre is available for you to get your hand on.

Stylish image search from desktop with Ginipic

2009-02-28T03:49:00.000-08:00

Most of the times when someone needs a photo of something the first place which come to mind an image search engine and Google’s image search, Picasa web albums, flickr and photobucket are the most popular and appropriate places to go searching for images. Ginipic is a desktop application which makes searching on the popular internet image hosting and search services in a an easy and absolutely stylish way.

Upon first install Ginipic sets itself as a “stay on top” sidebar which can be dragged to either left or right on your screen or you can view in the full screen. Just enter your search query in the search bar and you would be presented with the thumbnails of resulted images from sites like Flickr, Google, Yahoo, SmugMug, deviantART, Live Search, Picasa, Photobucket, Dreamstime, Fotolia and Stockxpert. Phew…A huge list and I am sure there is no place else where you would want to go for your needs for image search.

The Ginipic features are:

* Multiple search sources.
* Duplicates image filters.
* Search for images in your local area network computers.
* Advanced customized search.
* Copyright information.
* Resize away.
* Image Tagging.
* Post directly to your blog.
* Drag and drop support.
* Open, Save, set as wallpaper.
* Share image with your friends.

and the ultimate plus point is that all of this is being done on your desktop and this software cost nothing i.e. its absolutely free.

I am pretty sure you are impressed by now so visit Ginipic’s website to download. If you think that there is another software or tool available like this then let me know in the comments section below as I may be interested in a comparison review later.

Inquisitor: Dynamic and instant search companion

2009-02-28T03:48:00.000-08:00

nquisitor was primarily a Safari only add-on which integrates with the browser search bar and display the instant search results dynamically as you type your search query and keyword in the search bar. The add-on is now available as a beta for Firefox as well as internet explorer since the project has now been acquired by yahoo.com.

Inquisitor is configurable and you can set quite a few options according to your own liking. For instance, the default search engine which inquisitor uses is yahoo.com (obviously since its own by yahoo now) but you can always change this to Google from the inquisitor settings windows in the browser options page. Unfortunately Yahoo and Google are the only options available and the users might like to have more search engines added to this list.

You can also configure additional search engines like flickr, wikipedia, youtube etc in order to search these websites directly from the inquisitor search bar. Type in your search and click on any of the additional search engine link and you would be taken directly to the search results of the that website. Very handy.

An inquisitor application for iPhone will also be available soon as mentioned on the iPhone section of Inquisitor website and would be a handy web search tool for iPhone. I will post more details once this is available.

I recommend this fantastic browser add-on for everybody. Visit http://www.inquisitorx.com/ to download the extension for your browser and start searching smartly.

5-Min: Five minute DIY and instructional videos library 5-Min: Five minute DIY and instructional videos library

2009-02-28T03:46:00.000-08:00

5-min.com is a nice website where you can find short video solutions for practical questions, do it your self (DIY) videos, and a place for people to share their knowledge through demonstration videos instead of text or audio methods. The advantages of instructional videos over the traditional text or audio based solutions are far more effectual and uncomplicated which help newbie users to easily understand the instructions given in the video.

The concept of 5min is unique i.e. any solution can be visually explained in no more than 5 minutes. Users can upload their own instructional or DIY videos hence making it a mixture of youtube and wikipedia and therefore calling it a Videopedia is quite appropriate.

According to 5-min about page

The goal is to create the first communal Life Videopedia allowing users from all over the globe to contribute their knowledge by sharing visual guides in areas such as arts, business, fashion, sports, health, tech, food, and much more.

5min’s basic philosophy is that everybody is an expert in something and has something to teach others. So whatever you know you are expert of, just grab a video camera and make video of how you do that and upload your video to 5-min.com to be viewed by thousands of other visitors. A quick browse through 5min.com revealed that you can find the videos like how to play a musical instrument, cooking food, learning fashion, gardening, car repair, health, fitness, how to handle your pets and lots and lots of other stuff.

http://www.5min.com/ is surely a fantastic place to visit by and find awesome user made DIY and instructional videos.

Internet Explorer 8 RC1 Leaked

2009-02-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday only we heard news of Microsoft releasing Internet Explorer 8 RC1 in the next few days.

But it looks like, some people can’t even wait that much and have leaked the first Release Candidate (RC1) version of Internet Explorer 8.

We saw great performance and feature improvements in IE 8 Beta 2, and hope to see it even better in Release Candidate 1. Official versions will be out soon for Windows XP, Vista and 7. But if you can’t wait to give it a try, download it form the links given below.

Download Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 (RC1)

You can download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 from the following links for Windows XP and Windows Vista (still no Windows 7 version).

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 for Windows XP

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 for Windows Vista

How To Appear Invisible in Facebook Chat

2009-02-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

Last year, back in April 2008, Facebook introduced Chat to communicate with our friends in real-time right from the Facebook website. For some it proved quite useful, but some people didn’t liked it and keep themselves offline.

Earlier, I used Facebook Chat a lot, but as my friends list got bigger, it started getting annoying that every time I log in Facebook to check my wall, messages etc, 4-5 friends would come by just for a casual chat.

If I go completely offline, I can’t even see those who come online. Looks like this application, Be Invisible!, has finally solved my problem.

Be Invisible! can show your online friends list on a separate page, even when you are appearing offline. You see a screenshot below where my Facebook Chat is offline, but still I can see who’s online. It even refreshes the page automatically to see what new friends are online or went offline.

How To Appear Invisible in Facebook Chat

Go to Be Invisible! application or Online Now application page.
Add the application and allow it to access your info.
There you’re with the Be Invisible! page.

Update: Facebook has removed that application for some reason. I’ll update this page as soon as it gets back.

Update 2: Another similar application added.

QtWeb: Compact and Secure Internet Browser

2009-02-26T07:48:00.001-08:00

Firefox-powered browsers are quite common and I have even reviewed a few them in the past, Flock, Orca etc. but you don’t see browsers based on Nokia Qt framework often.

QtWeb is one such web browser, that is compact, portable and secure, and uses Apple’s WebKit rendering engine. In case you didn’t know, Apple’s very own Safari and Chrome also use WebKit to render websites.

One of the first things I check after installing a new web browser is its memory usage. And surprisingly, QtWeb only used 20-25 MB with one tab opened.

Unique Features:

Tabbed and non-tabbed Interface
Move or undock Navigation and Bookmarks bar
Private Browsing with masked User Agent
Full browser reset feature
Low memory usage and portable app

QtWeb has all the features that you can expect from a web browser, plus some unique user interface and privacy features. It allows you to change it’s Application Style, and see how websites websites look under different versions of Windows and Unix environment. You can also move inside the browser window or undock and place your Navigation and Bookmarks Bar on your desktop.

For privacy issues, you can turn on Private Browsing mode to avoid leaving traces of browsing. It even masks your UserAgent which is being sent to the web server.

In short, QtWeb is a great browser with very low resource usage, small in size and is portable so that you can carry it around in your USB drive.

Download QtWeb Browser

You can download QtWeb from: Download QtWeb.

iPhone Getting Bluetooth File Transfer Soon

2009-02-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

Not including Bluetooth file transfer was one of the most talked about not-added-features of iPhone when they came out. But looks like, some rogue developers have finally decided to fill that gap!

Bluetooth file transfer is among the most awaited features of iPhone, but Apple doesn’t look any interested in adding that feature any soon. But thanks to Cydia, iBluetooth app will soon let transfer files with other cell phones.

There is nothing much we know about this app, but the app is still in beta, and the developer has posted a video showing iBluetooth in works and how he transferred files to other phones.

iBluetooth, the application developed by MeDevil, has been shown transferring files between an iPhone and a Sony Ericsson phone.

According to the developers, once they finish developing the app, your iPhone will be able to transfer files with any phone supporting the Bluetooth file transfer protocol.

Best S60v5 Applications for Nokia 5800

2009-02-26T07:43:00.001-08:00

With the release of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, we saw the next version of the OS, S60v5 SymbianOS 9.4 which has opened gates to lots of innovative mobile apps and games.

It’s main feature is the touch support, and powers all the new touch-screen phones from Nokia. Not many applications are available for S60 v5, so I compiled a list of popular apps that you can use with your Nokia 5800.

Nokia Handwriting Calculator

Handwriting Calculator is a showcase of Nokia’s new handwriting recognition technology. It allows you to calculate handwritten math expressions with a touch-screen Nokia device (and with a Windows PC).

Download Nokia Handwriting Calculator

Touch Piano

Touch Piano-Turns your phone into a musical instrument. Play music using virtual keys. There are special sound effects including piano, organ, violin, flute, guitar and drum etc.

Download Touch Piano

SMS Timer

SMS Timer allows you to schedule SMS/MMS messages to be sent on a future date and time. The application functions exactly like the standard messaging application allowing you to define multiple recipients.

Download SMS Timer

GMail App

Read and respond quickly to your e-mails - Get your Gmail messages anytime, from anywhere. Once you have Gmail on your phone installed, there were only one or two clicks. Your messages will be opened almost immediately.

Download Gmail App

Nokia Drawing Board

Draw your favourite drawings with the styrus in this free app.

Download Nokia Drawing Board

Windows Live Messenger

Now you can chat with your Windows Live Messenger freinds, and browse other Windows Live features on your Nokia 5800 or any other S60v5 device.

Download Windows Live Messenger

Smart Guard

Smart Guard protects all your private information (e.g. Messages, Contacts, Videos, Pictures etc.) both on the phone’s internal memory and on the memory card. Thus it is visible only to the one who holds the passcode.

Download Smart Guard

Scenetone

Scenetone is a music player that is able to play old module formats such as Soundtracker, Protracker, S3M and XM. Also, Commodore 64 .SID files can be played. Scenetone also supports generating of .WAV files to a fixed location in the file system to be used as a ringtone.

Download Scenetone

Mobile Paint

The application provides a number of drawing options that can be selected from a toolbar. There are two toolbar options, CAknToolbar and a custom floating toolbar. All application graphics have been implemented as SVG-T icons. The example application has been developed for S60 5th Edition and touch UI.

Download Mobile Paint

Nokia Step Counter

Nokia Step Counter does what it says on the tin: it counts the number of steps you take by analyzing how you ’shake’ your phone. Since most people have their phone with them everywhere they go, it is natural to use the accelerometer in an S60 product to track your daily activity.This is actually the S60v3 version but it seems to work on S60v5 phones.

Download Step Counter

Wave Secure

The ultimate security application for your phone. It not only helps you track the lost phone but also ensures full security of the data on the device.

Download Wave Secure

Best S60v5 Applications for Nokia 5800

2009-02-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

Nokia Handwriting Calculator

Download Nokia Handwriting Calculator

Touch Piano

Touch Piano-Turns your phone into a musical instrument. Play music using virtual keys. There are special sound effects including piano, organ, violin, flute, guitar and drum etc.

Download Touch Piano

SMS Timer

Download SMS Timer

GMail App

Download Gmail App

Nokia Drawing Board

Draw your favourite drawings with the styrus in this free app.

Download Nokia Drawing Board

Windows Live Messenger

Now you can chat with your Windows Live Messenger freinds, and browse other Windows Live features on your Nokia 5800 or any other S60v5 device.

Download Windows Live Messenger

Smart Guard

Download Smart Guard

Scenetone

Download Scenetone

Mobile Paint

Download Mobile Paint

Nokia Step Counter

Download Step Counter

Wave Secure

The ultimate security application for your phone. It not only helps you track the lost phone but also ensures full security of the data on the device.

Download Wave Secure

BOLT, Fastest Mobile Web Browser

2009-02-26T07:42:00.001-08:00

We have seen many mobile browsers i.e Skyfire, Opera Mini, TeaShark etc. And yet, once again another mobile browser has popped up with many features and great speed.

BOLT is a free J2ME-based web browser for mobile phones, that offers an uncompromised browsing experience on even lower-end mobile phones.

It is a very lightweight browser which uses only 500kb of RAM, unlike Skyfire which is a complete memory hog. It offers users with a fast, efficient and feature-rich way to enjoy full PC-style web browsing and web apps right on their mobile phones.

BOLT is built on Bitstream’s ThunderHawk browsing technology, which means great usability, speed and performance. To speed things up and save battery, BOLT passes all its data through a proxy for rendering and compression before being passed to the handset.

Features

Very lightweight
Fastest mobile browser
Full website rendering
Built-in RSS reader
Split screen browsing
AJAX and Flash video support

Currently, it is invite-only and in beta stage. But you can still sign up to receive your free download copy as soon as they release a new version. I have also included the J2ME version of BOLT (below) which you can try installing on your cell phones.

I’ve been trying to get this to work on my Nokia N96, but I get an error while installing. May be it doesn’t support my firmware yet. Although, I was successful to make it work on Nokia N85. You can also download it from below.

Download Bitstream Bolt

You can download this mobile web browser from the links below:

Download Bitstream BOLT (JAR - offline installer)

Download Bitstream BOLT (JAD - web installer)

Antivirus and Antispyware for Windows 7

2009-02-26T07:40:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 is now considered the best OS ever released by Microsoft. Why? Because it’s way faster than XP, Vista and its performance improvements have won the hearts of many tech enthusiasts.

They didn’t even let the security factor get you. There are loads and loads on antivirus software for Windows XP and Vista. But none are fully compatible with the new OS, Windows 7.

Antivirus for Windows 7

Microsoft quietly worked with other security/antivirus providers, and have managed to get around three fully-functional and compatible antivirus for Windows 7.

Kaspersky Antivirus

Kaspersky has released a beta version of their popular antivirus software. You can download it from here: Kaspersky Antivirus [Read More]

Norton 360

Symantec also released the beta version of Norton 360 3.0. Download it from here: Norton 360 3.0 Beta

AVG Antivirus (Free)

ANG is offering both, Internet Security and Antivirus, applications for Windows 7 which are fully compatible and offer all features. Download: AVG Antivirus (Free)

Antispyware for Windows 7

If you are looking for some anti-spyware applications for Windows 7, consider downloading one of these mentioned below.

Spybot and Ad-Aware have always been my personal favourites. Let me know if I missed any antivirus or antispyware software.

Play FLV Files in Windows Media Player

2009-02-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

Normally we download other third-party media players to play formats, such as FLV, that are not supported by Windows Media Player by default. Ofcourse, they are way better than WMP, but you don’t have to download them just to play FLV files.

Codecs package, such as K-Lite, also adds FLV support to WMP, but why so much fuss when you can easily make it work by just adding the FLV format file in WMP.

PlayFLV is a small plugin that enables your WMP to play FLV files, as simple as playing a normal video file by double-clicking it. It also prompts to install FLVSplitter by Gabest, and then associates all the FLV files in your computer to Windows Media Player.

Features of PlayFLV are:

Plugin that enables Windows Media Player to playback FLV files
Features all default functions, such as zooming, skipping and full screen view
Creates file association: Double-click FLV files to play them in Windows Media Player
Very lightweight plugin
Free and open source

Download PlayFLV

You can download it from here: Download PlayFLV.

Microsoft Gazelle: A New Web Browser in Works?

2009-02-26T07:37:00.000-08:00

It looks like Microsoft wants to make the browser war a bit more interesting by coming up with something that will be much more bigger and better than the current web browsers in the market.

Microsoft Gazelle, a new web browser project by Microsoft was recently brought into the spotlight on Microsoft Research.

According to the information provided by Microsoft, this web browser will be more like an Operating System with many new features that you won’t find in Firefox, Chrome or even in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

This is what the Research publication says:

In this paper, we introduce Gazelle, a secure web browser constructed as a multi-principal OS. Gazelle’s Browser Kernel is an operating system that exclusively manages resource protection and sharing across web site principals. This construction exposes intricate design issues that no previous work has identified, such as legacy protection of cross-origin script source, and cross-principal, cross-process display and events protection. We elaborate on these issues and provide comprehensive solutions.

Ofcourse, this will be greatly increasing the perfomace and security - in other words, can come up as the safest web browser of the world.

There is no information on its release or any other details as this project is still under works. But I’m sure, Microsoft will soon reveal more about it as time passes.

Internet Explorer 8 RC1 Released

2009-02-25T05:42:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has just released an update to the next version of its web browser, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Release Candidate 1 (RC1).

Just a couple of days ago I shared links to a leaked version of IE8 RC1, and here we are with the official release from Microsoft.

Features Overview

Faster Internet Explorer 8 is more responsive with new pages and tabs, opening up fast and reliably. You can now get to the information you care about most, in fewer steps; one click access to your webmail, favorite news sites or other online services.
Easier Reduce the steps to accomplish many common tasks, and automate your access to real time information updates. You can keep track of your favorite sports team, news, weather with a single click.
More Private Helps protect your privacy and confidential information where ever you go on the web.
More Secure Helps protect and stop malicious software from reaching your PC, and makes it easier to detect when a website is an imposter.

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 (32-Bit Vista)

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 (64-Bit Vista)

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 (Windows XP)

Backup IE Favourites, Settings & Passwords

2009-02-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

Not everyone use Firefox as their primary browser. There are still many people who use Internet Explorer for their daily browsing on their home and personal computers.

In that case, sometimes you might need to change your computer, but don’t want to lose your IE settings, favorites, passwords. By default, Internet Explorer does not provide any feature to export, or backup them all.

Internet Explorer Backup is a free tool that can backup and restore all your Internet Explorer data. It allows you to backup favorites, history, proxy settings, fonts, dialup accounts, auto-complete passwords and cookies.

This freeware makes it very easy for an Internet Explorer user to move from one computer to another. Currently, it supports Internet Explorer 6 and 7. Hopefully IE8 support will be added once the final version gets released (Try the RC1).

You can even schedule backups for making regular backups of your IE data on daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Download Internet Explorer Backup

You can download IE Backup from here: Download Internet Explorer Backup.

Offline Gmail with Google Gears

2009-02-25T05:40:00.000-08:00

We all know how Gmail Labs has been releasing new experimental features to enhance Gmail experience. Since the release of Google Gears, there has been rumors of Gmail adding support for offline mode, but nothing happened at that time.

Today, they released the most awaited feature “Offline Gmail” for US and UK users. You can now access Gmail in offline mode i.e when not connected to the Internet.

Once you turn on this feature, Gmail uses Gears to download a local cache of your mail. As long as you’re connected to the network, that cache is synchronized with Gmail’s servers.

When not connected to the Internet, you can simply point your browser to gmail.com and have access to your emails and be able to edit, read, and even write emails but they will not send until the user connects back to the Internet.

Currently, this feature is only for Gmail users in US and UK, and has been tagged as an experimental feature.

How To Enable Offline Gmail

Remember, to use this feature, you will need to install Google Gears first. Then follow the steps given below.

Login to your Gmail account.
Click Settings (top right) and then click the Labs tab.
Select Enable next to Offline Gmail.
Click Save Changes.
After your browser reloads, you should see a new “Offline0.1? link.
To browse in offline, simply click that link.

As this feature is still in beta, you might come across some bugs.

Opera Mini 4.2 for Android

2009-02-25T05:38:00.002-08:00

Opera Mini for Android was in beta stage since November 2008, but the Opera team has finally made it live, the final Opera Mini 4.2 for Google Android.

It is is an award-winning Java-based web browser for mobile phones, which is being used by more than 44 million people!

Android is currently running on T-Mobile G1, and Opera Mini 4.2, with a few feature additions and improvements, have been released for this mobile phone and is said to be faster than the default Chrome (web browser) that comes in Android.

Feature Improvements in Opera Mini 4.2

uploading and downloading files through Opera Mini and saving pages for offline viewing
Flash videos redirected to Android’s YouTube player
double tap now works for zooming in and out
Inline URL entry instead of using native input
password text entry now hides characters
problems with exiting application when back button was pressed
improved trackball speed
internal pages, like the start page, now have font size extra large for easier navigation

A Mac Workspace is all about the looks!

2009-02-25T05:38:00.001-08:00

Almost a year ago, I didn't care much about the hype created by new Apple products e.g. the Mac, the iPhone and the iPod but now that I own all of these products for myself, I can assure you that the hype doesn't come along for no reason.

Every Apple product, especially the Mac, surrounds itself with an aura of elegance and creativity which makes the bearer enjoy every piece of it.

To support my say, I have gathered photos of some of the best Mac workspace setups from around the world. Take a look and experience for yourself.

JoshTrefethen

JaronBrass

MattBrett

Yvas Janse

Cramerica

iMacMan

Jaysgirls

Garrett Murray

O'Rian

QuatzaCoalt

Kivlor

Lukas

Raw Reflex

Jesus Franco

Antilocapra

Andrew Egenes

AlexanderH

Law Concept

Glenn Wolsey

Andrew

If possible, please share a photo of your workspace in the comments below.

How to Uninstall IE8 Beta in Windows XP

2009-02-25T05:36:00.000-08:00

Microsoft’s new OS Windows 7 is packed with Internet Explorer 8 beta, which the blogosphere reviewed it, criticized it and tagged it as another crap from Microsoft. Many people liked new added features with its Windows XP compatible versions and updated their existing IE to IE8.

But now if you want to uninstall IE8 Beta and want to roll back to your previous version then simply follow these steps:

* Go to Run from START menu.
* Type Appwiz.cpl there or you can also avoid this step and simply go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
* They at the top you have to check the radio button ‘Show Updates‘.

Now navigate the list and select Windows Internet Explorer 8 and click Remove.
Finish the un-installation process by rebooting the system.

Your previous internet exloper will be restore. If you are still not able to uninstall then go to Microsoft’s Help Center for alternate ways to uninstall IE8.

Free Windows File Manager

2009-02-25T05:35:00.000-08:00

All Windows versions feature a file explorer for managing and files, folders and other data, but it is not an all-purpose, feature-packed file manager.

Nomad.NET is a powerful file manager written using .NET technology and comes with a simpler, elegant and polished UI with support of themes.

It is a very advanced file manager with built-in text editor, support for popular archives formats i.e RAR, ZIP etc. Nomad.NET is the only file manager with full UNICODE support.

Other Features:

Full Unicode support.
One of the most powerful search engines on market with the ability to create complex search rules.
Powerful filtering system, based on the same core as search. You can use dedicated advanced filter dialog, or use simple toolstrip for quick filtering.
Folder shortcuts were implemented in much more simple way that its predecessor.
Much simpler, elegant and polished UI with support of themes, different toolstrip renderers.
Program layout was changed, too. You can use single panel or dual panel mode (horizontal or vertical).
UI can simple scale according to your current system DPI settings, or manually (through Options).
New breadcrumb folder toolstrip on every panel is much more powerful than simple folder name.
Internal support for more archive types (using 7-Zip libraries).
FTP folders support added.
Many things were done more correctly - drag’n'drop from explorer, clipboard handling, shell file menus.
Support for shell shortcuts, url shortcuts (ftp only) and shell folder shortcuts.

Download Nomad.NET

Nomad.NET requires .NET Framework 2.0 or higher to run. You can download it from here: Download Nomad.NET

Ubuntu 9.10 named as Karmic Koala

2009-02-25T05:34:00.000-08:00

The Ubuntu bells have started ringing again and as we approach closer to the launch of next edition of Ubuntu, some new news about Ubuntu 9.10 is already here to fill our gaps of curiosity.

According to an update, Ubuntu 9.10 will now be officially called as Karmic Koala and will make its way to release in October this year.

As Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope is already focusing on the deployment of web applications, Koala will take this to another level by allowing any Linux user to setup their own cloud using entirely open tools. Plans for Koala have also revealed that APIs for the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) will be embraced at the core level to provide a new platform for applications to run in a cloud computing environment.

Also there will be a new boot/splash screen and probably a much improved boot time along with a new login experience to accompany it. And for the Netbook lovers, the Ubuntu Netbook Edition will be updated to include all the latest technology.

Also revealed so far is that Koala will have less of Ubuntu's legacy Brown color and a whole new design can be expected in this release.

Many of the previews, screens and features for Koala will be shared at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Barcelona, this May.

How to Sync Any Portable MP3 Player with iTunes

2009-02-25T05:32:00.001-08:00

iTunes is a very popular music player by Apple, which was basically made for Apple computers, but a Windows version was also released. There are several media players for Windows, but none of them have syncing features like iTunes has.

It is a great music player and organizer. But unfortunately, it can only synchronize Apple products like the iPhone, iPods - and not everyone owns one. It would great to see iTunes syncing our own MP3 player, and that’s exatcly what I’m going to share with you all.

iTunes Agent is a free utility that can enable you to sync music, movies with any portable music player. It sits in your system tray and checks for new devices that are attached to your computer. Once connected, you will be able to manage it with iTunes, just like you do it with an iPod or iPhone.

Whether you want to transfer music or just create playlists on your player, iTunes can handle it with ease.

iTunes Agent is based on Microsoft .NET Framework, so you will need version 2.0 (or higher) in order to use this tool. And this also means that it is a Windows-only app.

Download iTunes Agent

You can download it for there: Download iTunes Agent

Apple Safari 4 Beta Released

2009-02-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

Apple has released today the next version of their popular browser, Safari 4, for Windows and Mac. One thing that it claims to be is the world’s fastest browser, and I think it is! It’s amazingly fast with improved navigation and searching.

Safari 4 is still in Beta stage, but it can load HTML pages up to 3 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 3. And can execute Javascript 30 times faster than IE7 and 3 times faster than Firefox 3. It also features the new “Nitro” engine that runs JavaScript 4.2 times faster than Safari 3.

The interface has also been given a new look which now looks more like Google Chrome. And the famous Cover Flow feature that can be found in almost all Apple products is now also integrated in Safari 4. You can flip through bookmarks and history pages as if going throw album covers.

Safari 4 is the first web browser to pass the Acid 3 test, and comes with HTML 5 and CSS 3 web standards support for better and interactive websites.

Download Apple Safari 4 Beta

The public beta of Safari 4 is available for free download for Windows and Mac from Apple Safari website.

Free Open Source Video Editor for Linux

2009-02-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

Acidemux is a free open source multi-format, cross-platform video editor for Ubuntu Linux, specially designed for simply cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs.

This program is written and available for almost all distributions of Linux that are capable of compiling C/C++, GTK+ and the SpiderMonkey ECMAScript scripting engine.

It supports OGM, MP4 and Matroska files natively, direct read input for various types of MPEG files, and many other video formats and containers. It offers MPEG editing and requantization. It also has built-in subtitle handling.

The functionality may be a little difficult for the newbies but once you get use to the applciation, you will find tens of possibilities and figure what more you can do with it. Its probably one of the best tools for editing videos in Linux. It has lots of options for tweaking and the best part is not only that its free but it produces high quality output files.

Key features of Acidemux include

User Friendly interface
WYSIWYG cutting, appending, filters and re-encoding into various formats
* mux and demux audio streams into and out of video files

Supported file formats : Avi, OpenDML, ASF, flash video, bmp, jpeg, png, Matroska, MPEG PS, OGM, Mp4, 3Gpp and Nuppel Video.

Supported Video formats includes Cinepak, DV, FFV1, H.263, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HuffYUV, Mpeg-1, Mpeg-2, Mjpegm MSMSPEG-4, Raw RGB, SVq3, VP3, VP6F and WMV2.

Last but not the least, audio formats cover AAC, AC3, AMR, Mp3, Mp2, Vorbis, WAV and WMA.
For linux users, this is a very useful software. While it is often touted as a Virtualdub clone for linux but it does have some features that differ.

The current stable version of Avidemux is 2.4.3. Compared to the 2.3 and earlier versions, Avidemux 2.4 offers 3 user interfaces: GTK+, shell and Qt 4.

Download Avidemux 2.4.3

QuickOffice 6.0 with Office 2007 Support

2009-02-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

QuickOffice is an all-in-one suite for Symbina S60 phones, which allows you to create, edit and view Office document
right on your Symbian device.

You can edit your documents in its original formatting and retains its quality just as it was in your computer.

In the latest release, QuickOffice 6.0 now features support for all Office 2007 documents. And with all the old features, you can be more productive on the go now!

New Features of QuickOffice 6.0

Word® and Excel® 2007 Viewing
Word and Excel 2007 Editing
Excel 2007 Chart Viewing
PowerPoint® (.ppt and .pps) Viewing and Editing
Enhanced File Manager
ZIP File Support
View Password Protected Word and Excel files
“Go To Cell” in Excel
Word Count

You can buy QuickOffice 6.0 for only $309. Or if you already have a previous version, you can check out the QuickOffice website for discounted upgrade prices.

Facebook and Orkut Desktop Client

2009-02-23T10:15:00.001-08:00

Facebook and Orkut are very popular social networks, but one thing lacks in both of them is a proper desktop IM client to chat with our friends on those networks.

Scrapboy is a free desktop client for some of the popular social networks like Facebook, Orkut, and MySpace. It is a very useful app that brings all the features of social networks right on your desktop.

I tried it with my Facebook and Orkut accounts, and it worked like a charm without any flaws. You get one simple interface for all social netowkrs, an all-in-one window type interface where you can easily see Facebook, Orkut and MySpace contacts.

Features of ScrapBoy

Improved Facebook chat
View online friends
View new tagged photos
Supports proxy server
Browse profiles, photos, messages
And a lot more…!

Download ScrapBoy

You can download it from here: Download ScrapBoy

Messenger Plus! Live 4.80 Released, Download Now

2009-02-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

Messenger Plus! Live is the most popular add-on for Windows Live Messenger. It adds tons of features and extras to WLM with which you are bound to have a better and enhanced user-experience. To name a few are: auto-reply status messages, skins, tabbed-chatting windows, multi-MSN fter the last update in Windows Live Messenger, which took it out of beta to release candidate, many features of Messenger Plus were not working with the latest WLM. But the latest release have fixed them all. Patchou has officially released Messenger Plus! Live 4.80 which adds tons of functionality for developers and skinners (Yes, soo nwe are gonig to see some awesome themes for WLM). For a complete list of changes, check out their

It is recommended that you upgrade to the latest versio nwhich fixes lots of known issues and bugs. It is now also fully compatible with Windows Live Messenger v14.0.8050.1202.

Download Messenger Plus! Live 4.80

You can download it from here: Download Messenger Plus! Live 4.80

Google Earth 5.0 with Ocean

2009-02-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

Google just announced the launch of Google Earth 5.0, with a new feature “Ocean” in it that enables users of Google Earth to dive beneath the water surface and explore the 3D underwater terrain, or browse lots of ocean-related content contributed by researchers.

This is not all. Google Earth now also comes with a new feature called Historical Imagery which lets you travel back in time and browse through the archival satellite. Google Earth 5.0 is one major update from Google and we all were expecting new features in it.

Ocean in Google Earth lets you explroe the sea, and with the help of expert content, can explore those parts of the world where are most difficult to reach.

The latest Google Earth has just launched, so I’d suggest you to download and give it a try yourself!

Download Google Earth 5.0

You can download it from here: Download Google Earth 5.0

Set Google AdSense Custom Fonts

2009-02-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Google adverts are already popular for their trend setting strategies once announced by Google are followed by other similar and competing advert networks online.

Google in effort to maximize the user friendly behavior of their adverts has allowed to set custom fonts for ad units.

With this feature you will be able to make new adverts appear in different fonts including Arial, Time and Verdana. You can also choose to change default font of your all Ad Units from My Account > Ad Display Preferences. Moreover existing advert’s fonts can also be changed via Manage adverts tab. Changing the font was also one of the requested feature from Google by publishers to match it with their website’s font and maximize their advert revenue.

Go on Blogger, publishers and experiment with this new feature, and maximize your earning by blending the font of you adverts similar to your website.

Screenshots

Individual Custom Fonts Settings - Highlighted Red Box

Changing Default Font For Adunits

Eyesight stressed? Try Eyes Relax

2009-02-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

Our life nowadays is full of stress. Working in front of a computer and keyboard for hours can make you really stressed - and that’s when you feel the need to take a break from the screen for a while.

For all those lazy people who don’t keep a check on their continuous computer usage timings, can try this new free application, Eyes Relax.

This utility reminds you about rest-time and save your eyesight. It allows you to customize the duration of your work time and length of breaks so that you can remain productive and healthy at the same time!

A feature called “Parent Mode” can be used to force children to take break from the computer after long use. A handy tool in cases where children forget the real world while playing computer games.

This tool quitely sits in your system stray, and you can change the work and break duration anytime from there.

Download Eyes Relax (Requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or higher to run)

Download Web Video Streams with Bywifi

2009-02-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

Dial-up Internet connection users can not watch YouTube videos without and pauses or jerks. Reason? Slow Internet speed. I have found the perfect application that could help such people in streaming videos online.

Bywifi is a free software that lets you download videos of popular video sharing websites like Youtube, Dailymotion, Metacafe, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

It not just only downloads, but also accelerates the streaming process and transcode them into other formats i.e mobile phones, PDAs.

It integrates itself into Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, and quietly sits in the taskbar and scans every web page you open for embedded videos. It uses all possible methods to speed up video streaming and avoid any pauses during playback.

Download Bywifi

Huawei Android Phone Announced

2009-02-22T03:49:00.001-08:00

A very pleasant telecom update for Android lovers is that a Chinese telecommunication company Huawei has announced their first Android powered smartphone.

They announced it at MWC 2009 at Barcelona. After the success of G1, Android has already got its way to rule the telecom market when Motorola, Samsung, Kogan and now Huawei have announced their Android powered smart phones.

It is being said that Huawei partnered with an “established design consultancy to develop a robust and user-friendly interface, creating a powerful customer experience that is able to evolve with operators’ differentiation requirements.”

This device is going to have a peculiar resemblence to iPhone. Huawei further vows to make their smart phone available across the world - even in developing countries like Pakistan. This phone will be commercially available in 3rd quarter of 2009.

New Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H20 With Selected Face Memory Feature

2009-02-22T03:48:00.000-08:00

Sony has announced the launch of its new Cyber-shot DSC-H20, the 10.1-megapixel digital camera which sports an impressive Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar wide-angle lens with 10x optical zoom, 3-inch touch-screen display and a bundle of impressive features, aiming to capture your precious moment with impeccable detail.

Impressive Features Of Sony CyberShot H20:

Powerful 10.1 MP Super HAD CCD image sensor
Professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 10x optical zoom lens
3-inch Clear Photo LCD touchscreen display (230k pixels)
BIONZ image processor delivers high resolution and fast performance
Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode can recognize and adjust to scene conditions and lighting, enhancing natural skin tones and reducing blur
Records HD movies in 720p high-definition MPEG4 format at smooth 30 frames per second
Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) Mode automatically detects 8 different types of scenes
Enhanced Face Detection technology detects up to 8 individual faces
Selected Face Memory can optimize focus, exposure and white balance for a specific face
Anti-blink function works to help counter blinking and squinting
Enhanced Smile Shutter technology automatically detects and captures a smiling face
Double Anti-blur Solution combines Optical SteadyShot image stabilization and High sensitivity up to ISO 3200
Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) Standard and Plus uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine the best exposure and contrast settings for almost any shooting environment
Intelligent Auto Focus automatically detects changing subject brightness and zoom ratio and pre-focuses the camera making be far more responsive
9-point auto focus system measures 9 precision focus points, giving users greater creative freedom to compose their images
Burst mode can shoot up to 100 images at approximately 0.57 second intervals
In-Camera Retouching Tools including Trimming, Red-Eye Correction, Soft Focus, Partial Color, Fisheye Lens, Cross Filter, Radial Blur, Retro, Happy Face and Unsharp Masking effects
PhotoTV HD, PHOTOMUSIC and Multi-purpose Resize function

The new Sony Cyber-shot H20 digital camera which measures 107.3 x 68.7 x 47.1 mm and weights approx 250g is expected to hit the market by end-April 2009 for about $280.

HTC Magic: The Next G2 Announced

2009-02-22T03:45:00.000-08:00

Remember the leaked photos I shared of another Android-powered T-mobile phone, which was termed as ‘G2′? Well, the curtains finally went up when, a couple of days ago at the Mobile World Congress ‘09, HTC Magic was announced.

HTC Magic will be the first touch-only phone, featuring the upcoming Android Cupcake update, which also includes an on-screen keyboard.

It also comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.2″ HVGA touchscreen display and a trackball, similar to the one we saw in G1. It consists of all Google services, that were also the part of G1 and built-in auto-rotation of the screen orientation thanks to accelerometer.

A 3.5mm headphone jack is still not included - not a good move by HTC. With my hands on with the G1, thickness was one thing that I noticed a lot, and it seems with no physical keyboard, HTC Magic is considerably slim and has a G1-like chin at the bottom. I just hope it is now more lightweight!

Engadget and MobileCrunch got their hands on the HTC Magic and took some photos. The official press image (above) is different from the photos below with round front buttons.

For all those who are waiting for it, HTC Magic will be available in the UK in second quarter.

OCZ New Alchemy Illuminati Backlit Keyboard With Rubber Coated Keys

2009-02-22T03:44:00.002-08:00

The market leader in ground-breaking, high performance memory and computer components, OCZ Technology Group has announced its new Alchemy Illuminati Backlit Keyboard, which the company claims as the quality keyboard that incorporates extensive features and sleek ergonomic design.

“Building on our Alchemy line of peripherals OCZ is now introducing the Illuminati backlit keyboard,” said Ryan Edwards, Director of Product Management at the OCZ Technology Group. “The Illuminati Keyboard offers multimedia consumers a host of features including rubber coated keys for comfort while both working and gaming, fourteen quick launch keys to better access to multimedia, and the choice of two backlit colors making it easier to make full use of the keyboard in low light environments.”

Impressive Highlights Of OCZ Alchemy Series Illuminati Keyboard:

14 multimedia and internet hotkeys help users to manage their music, web, and video applications with the touch of a button
Switch between stylish Red or Blue Backlighting effect with adjustable brightness
Plug and play, eliminating the need of drivers
Extremely reliable lifespan of 5 million cycles
Travel Distance: 2.5 +/- 0.5mm
Peak Operating Force: 55 +/- 7g
Buit-in Palm Rest

According to the company, the new OCZ Alchemy Series Illuminati Keyboard which measures (W)215 x (L)495( x H)30 mm and weights at 850g will feature rubber coated keys, but no words on its release date and pricing yet.

Extend iPhone Camera Resolution to 4 Megapixels

2009-02-22T03:44:00.001-08:00

iPhone is no phone for a person who wants a powerful camera phone, because the 2 megapixel camera of iPhone just doesn’t come to the mark.

There are many photo enhancing apps in App Store, but there is not even a single one as useful as the one I’m going to share with you all.

ClearCam is an iPhone app that sticthes up multiple photos taken from the 2MP camera of your iPhone, and produce a single 4MP shot! It turns your iPhone into a high quality camera with more than double the resolution of the original camera application.

Enhanced mode takes 6 shots in rapid succession, combine and enhance them and save them to your camera roll.

The image produced looks just like the standard 2MP photo, but this one can be enlarged up to 4MP. This is not the only function this app does, it also features a QuickShot mode to capture 4 shots at once.

ClearCam never made it to Apple’s App Store because it’s Enhanced mode breaks Apple’s SDK rules. But you can get it for free via Cydia on a jailbroken iPhone.

Norton Removal Tool for Windows

2009-02-22T03:42:00.000-08:00

Installing antivirus softwares is not a difficult job, but when uninstalled they leave back some files and are not completely removed.

Similarly, when Norton products are installed, they also leave some files back when uninstalled - or in some cases, they don’t even uninstall. So to remove them, a freeware has been released called Norton Removal Tool.

This free tool removes a failed installation or a damaged Norton product. It supports all Norton products from 2003 to 2008. Norton 2009 removal tool will be released in the next few days.

Download Norton Removal Tool for Windows

You can download it from here: Download Norton Removal Tool

Online Favicon Grabber

2009-02-22T03:41:00.000-08:00

Favicons of social networking websites can be used on our blogs, websites etc as bookmarking icons. You don’t have create new ones, infact I prefer using the default favicon. You see the Twitter favicon in the sidebar.

Mindzilla Icon Grabber is a free online utility that retrieves the shortcut icon for a selected web page and converts the icon into a more useful format.

Grabbing a favicon from your favourite website is just like 1, 2, 3. Just enter the URL of the website whose favicon you want, select the output favicon format and press the Grab It! button.

You will be able to save the favicon from the Output box in the right side.

Mindzilla Favicon Grabber

UniBlue RegistryBooster 2009 Free Activation Serial Key Download Giveaway

2009-02-22T03:39:00.000-08:00

RegistryBooster from UniBlue (liutilities.com) is a registry optimization program similar to PC Tools Registry Mechanic that able to conduct a deep scan of your registry, check for file extension errors and other registry conflicts, and then clean, repair or remove unused, obsolete, residual, corrupted and harmful files and registry keys to optimize PC’s performance. Normlly, computer will run slower and slower over time, or even pops up error messages, causing application crashes or errors and unable to start Windows, due to fragmented registry entries which cluttered when users install or uninstall software, add or remove hardware driver, or change computer’s settings.

Using advanced error detection technology, RegistryBooster automatically identifies missing, corrupt or possibly harmful items in Windows registry, dramatically enhancing performance and general stability, and keeps the PC free from errors and from obsolete, unused or unwanted files.

Features of Registry Booster 2009:

Boost system performance by cleaning out all missing, unwanted, obsolete and corrupt registry entries automatically with RegistryBooster.
Dramatically improve computing experience by repairing all registry problems and minimizing application seizures and crashes, keeping PC fine tuned.
Set in a highly intuitive, attractive, logical and user-friendly graphical user interface, Uniblue’s registry cleaner sets the standard for ease-of-use.
Improvements made to the scanning engine allows user to scan for more sections within the registry.
Ignore list to exclude registry section and path from the scan.
Displays a log transcript of all the actions performed on the registry by a particular fix operation to let user knows what has been done to the registry.
Windows Vista compatible, in addition to Windows XP support, although on 32-bit is supported.
Safe and trusted.

UniBlue RegistryBooster 2009 (aff) normal retail price is £26.62. My Digital Life is giving away 2 (two) free license with genuine activation serial key to lucky winners, free of charge.

To win one of the UniBlue RegistryBooster 2009 registration license, just enter into the lucky draw contest by posting a comment on this post. Email address in the “Mail” text box must be valid to be eligible for the prize. Entry closed on February 23rd, 2009 23:59 (UTC+8) server time, equivalent to February 23rd, 2009 15:59 (UTC) or February 23rd, 2009 10:59 (UTC+5).

Lucky draw will be used to select 2 winners who will receive the serial number to register the full version of UniBlue RegistryBooster 2009. The full unlimited version setup installer of RegistryBooster 2009 can be downloaded from http://download.uniblue.com/support/rb/latest/registrybooster.exe. It’s also possible to download the free scan trial version to try. The license comes with free 1 year of Active Protection (product upgrades and support).

Ubuntu 9.10 will be called Karmic Koala

2009-02-22T03:37:00.000-08:00

Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of the largest open-source operating system, Linux, announced a couple of days ago about Ubuntu 9.10 (named as Karmic Koala) and the number of changes Ubuntu 9.10 will bring with it.

Some features that are expected in Karmic Koala are the cloud capabilities to Ubuntu’s server edition, along with startup performance boost on the desktop and work on the netbook version of Ubuntu.

According to Ubuntu’s six-month release schedule, the next major release of Ubuntu 9.04 - codenamed as Jaunty Jackalope - will be released in April, and Karmic Koala in October.

Cloud computing capabilities in Ubuntu 9.10 will make use of the suspend and resume feature in servers to conserve resources in times of no load, and get back to work when it needs to. Karmic Koala’s will also feature support for Amazon’s EC2 APIs, which means, using Eucalyptus project you will be able to host cloud-based apps in your own data center.

Ubuntu 9.10 desktop environment will have a number of GUI improvements. First, a graphical boot screen, new login and splash screen, and then a brand new theme will hit the Karmic Koala.

No sreenshots or details are available as of now, but more will be revelaed in the upcoming Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) in Barcelona, Spain in May.

Amazon E-Book Reader Kindle-2 Manual for Downloading

2009-02-22T03:34:00.000-08:00

After the successful run of the first-generation Kindle, Kindle-2 users can now download the user manual on this soon-to-be released device on the Kindle 2 product page or in Amazon’s Kindle documentation section. A full review of Kindle 2 will be out after its launch on Feb 24th. Users are expected to get excited about what Kindle 2 can and can’t do, so comments are most welcome.

Download:

Kindle 2 User’s Guide (PDF)

Kindle 2 User’s Guide (AZW)

Kindle 2 Quick Start Guide (PDF)

Inquisitor: Dynamic and instant search companion

2009-02-21T04:04:00.000-08:00

Inquisitor was primarily a Safari only add-on which integrates with the browser search bar and display the instant search results dynamically as you type your search query and keyword in the search bar. The add-on is now available as a beta for Firefox as well as internet explorer since the project has now been acquired by yahoo.com.

Once the add-on is installed your default search engine in the browser’s search bar would automatically be changed to inquisitor and you can start using it instantly. As you start typing your search query the inquisitor’s drop down window automatically appears and start showing you the relevant websites. The inquisitor window also displays the number of visits to a website which was already visited from that specific browser where the inquisitor has been installed.

Inquisitor is configurable and you can set quite a few options according to your own liking. For instance, the default search engine which inquisitor uses is yahoo.com (obviously since its own by yahoo now) but you can always change this to Google from the inquisitor settings windows in the browser options page. Unfortunately Yahoo and Google are the only options available and the users might like to have more search engines added to this list.

You can also configure additional search engines like flickr, wikipedia, youtube etc in order to search these websites directly from the inquisitor search bar. Type in your search and click on any of the additional search engine link and you would be taken directly to the search results of the that website. Very handy.

I recommend this fantastic browser add-on for everybody. Visit http://www.inquisitorx.com/ to download the extension for your browser and start searching smartly.

5-Min: Five minute DIY and instructional videos library

2009-02-21T04:03:00.001-08:00

According to 5-min about page

The goal is to create the first communal Life Videopedia allowing users from all over the globe to contribute their knowledge by sharing visual guides in areas such as arts, business, fashion, sports, health, tech, food, and much more.

http://www.5min.com/ is surely a fantastic place to visit by and find awesome user made DIY and instructional videos.

5-Min: Five minute DIY and instructional videos library

2009-02-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

According to 5-min about page

The goal is to create the first communal Life Videopedia allowing users from all over the globe to contribute their knowledge by sharing visual guides in areas such as arts, business, fashion, sports, health, tech, food, and much more.

http://www.5min.com/ is surely a fantastic place to visit by and find awesome user made DIY and instructional videos.

Resco Contact Manager is an amazing contact management utility for windows mobile

2009-02-21T04:02:00.000-08:00

Although the windows mobile is a superb platform in smart phone market and with the release of upcoming windows mobile 6.5 it plans to be more interactive and user friendly, however there are few quirks in the current generation of windows mobile operating system that leave something to be desired and a good contact management system is one of the lacking capabilities of Windows mobile platform when compared to the competitors iPhone or more recently addition into the mainstream Google Android.

Resco Contact Manager is as the title says an amazing piece of software which can be installed on any windows mobile pocket pc version and can present you with one of the most innovative, advanced and easy to use contact management system on your windows mobile device.

Resco is designed in such a way that it is fully functional finger touch control application and while using Resco Contact manager there is no need to use stylus at all which enables you to navigate, search, edit and making a call to a contact with just using your hands. Resco contact manager features the letter preview of the contacts you would like to access and you can also instantly filter contacts by typing in the starting letters. Also a rather unique feature of Resco Contact Manager is viewing the text messages of a contact in threaded view which converts your SMS exchanges with a contact in a chat like interface. Very handy indeed.

Resco is still in its beta stage and is a free download. I would recommend this for everybody who owns a windows mobile pocket pc device. Head over to Resco Contact Manager download page to download this.

Twisten.FM: An awesome way to discover music through twitter

2009-02-21T04:01:00.000-08:00

I don’t have the words to describe the awesomeness of twisten.fm and I can say twisten is one of the best twitter companion service out there for those who love music.

Most simply twisten.fm display tweets from twitter in which a twitter user has shared a song via any of the song sharing services like Hype Machine, imeem, last.fm, FoxyTunes, blip.fm or Grooveshark and display all the tweets with a play/pause button so that you can not only see what others are listening to at a specific time but hit the play button to actually listen to the song streamed right out of your computer speakers. Very convenient and superbly dynamic way of sharing and discovering the music online.

Click http://www.twisten.fm to find your music now

Pict.com: An interactive and user friendly image hosting

2009-02-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

Pict.com is another image hosting Web 2.0 application which just like troovi is an easy, user friendly and interactive way to upload and share photos online, however, pict.com is a notch better in a sense that it is way faster and visually appealing.

Same as troovi you are presented with a unique url which is pict.com refers to as album and you can add as many photos as you like by clicking on the uplaod image thumbnail. Once the image is uploaded the “upload image” text thumbnail will be replaced by the photo thumbnail as you can see above where I have uploaded a marvelous Angelina Jolie photo to pict.com

So when someone other than you open the same album url he/she is presented with the same set of images you uploaded and hence can view whole album or click on any of the photo to view the larger/original version which can be downloaded as well. Not just the full albums, only a singe image can also be shared with the help of a direct url link, a link for forums, blogs etc. You want to delete an image, no problem just hover your mouse pointer on the image you want to delete and click on the red X which will instantly delete the photo from the album.

he best of everything, there is not a single instance while using this where you are asked to register or do anything other than clicking your mouse. Quite simple eh, though I would like to have this option enabled as if I may require to work with my uploaded images from a different computer I may be able to do it by simply logging in. The registration process can be made simple with the help of twitter, google, facebook, gravatar or openid APIs.

One thing which pict.com may lack as compared to troovi is the ability for other than the creator of the album to add more images in the same album though it makes it quite vulnerable if you do not want other to mingle with the photos in your created album.

[Update] Pict.com also has a firefox plugin available here which once installed helps you take screenshots of your computer screen as well as upload any image you see on any website to upload to pict.com with one click.

Visit http://www.pict.com/ to share your photos with less headache

Virtual Box an open source virtualization product

2009-02-21T03:58:00.000-08:00

Vmware, Microsoft’s Virtual PC and Parallel workstations are few of the virtualization software I have tried in the past but Virtual Box by Sun Microsystems is the only open source (under the terms of the GNU General Public License GPL) alternative I can find. Since its open source then obviously its free but the most important is that its backed up by Sun.

The Virtual box is available for Windows, MAC, Linux and Sun Solaris system and supports quite a large number of operating systems which can be installed in virtual mode including almost all version of Windows and all famous version of Linux and Unix. The complete list can be found here.

So if you are looking into installing and trying a new Linux build or if you want to host a windows in your linux installation so that you can run your windows programs which do not natively work in Linux or MAC, this should be the solution for all your requirements.

The complete lists of features are

Enterprise-class open source desktop and laptop virtualization
Runs multiple operating systems at the same time on the same PC
Enables cross-platform, multi-tier applications
Supports the Solaris OS, OpenSolaris, Windows, Macintosh OS X, and Linux
Improves efficiency with intuitive blend of platforms and applications
Provides remote access to guest virtual machines from anywhere
Supports virtual server environments
Protects existing hardware investments
Modular design with well-defined internal programming interfaces and a client/server design.
Virtual machine descriptions in XML.
Guest Additions for Windows and Linux: VirtualBox has special software that can be installed inside Windows and Linux virtual machines to improve performance and make integration much more seamless.
VirtualBox allows for declaring certain host directories as “shared folders”, which can then be accessed from within virtual machines.
USB devices support.
Remote Desktop Protocol.

For download visit http://www.virtualbox.org/ and visit download link in the left sidebar.

Use iPodRip to sync your iPod with different computers

2009-02-21T03:57:00.000-08:00

Due to copyright if an iPod filled with music, videos and pictures is synced with a computer other then the one which was used to originaly upload data to the iPod, it looses all its data so there is no direct and legal way for a two way sync when it comes to iPod. Last week I posted about a very useful application named PodtoPC which helps in extracting data from an iPod or an iPhone to any computer which can further be added to the iTunes library but there is another application called iPodRip which is more simple and exctract or rip the data from an iPod directly into the iTunes of any computer.

The iPod rip features are

* Control your iPod: Whether you want to transfer your music to a new Mac or let your colleague sample your music tastes, iPodRip sets your iPod free.
* Save your Media: Has your Mac broken? Does your iPod contain the only copy of your valuable music, movies, and TV shows? Never fear, iPodRip will automatically recover everything.
* Friends with iTunes: iPodRip will seamlessly copy your songs, playlists, ratings and more directly into iTunes.

Available for windows and MAC, iPodRip doesnt come free but for a useful and dead simple application like this a $20 price tag is quite reasonable, though, iPodRip can be used as a fully fucntional trial software before buying.

To download the trial visit http://www.ipodrip.com/

Tweet a link is the easiest way to share websites on twitter

2009-02-21T03:56:00.000-08:00

Tweet a Link is a Web2.0 service with only one thing to offer i.e. to share or announce a website/webpage link and title to your twitter followers/buddies. While there are a lot of other ways to do this but those are not as simple as tweet a link is.

You need to just login tweet a link with your twitter user id and password and a bookmarklet link will be provided to you which can be dragged and dropped to your bookmark toolbar and that’s it.

Now whenever you find a web page on the internet which you may like to share with your twitter buddies, all you have to do is to click the tweet a link bookmarklet while staying on the page and a new window will open (as shown above) with the title and truncated (shortened) URL of that page. Press tweet this and its done. As simple as that.

Unfortunately I could only use the service on Firefox and opening the tweet a link in internet explorer only gave me a blank blue page. Shame, but I can only suggest to switch to Firefox if you want to use this as well as plethora of other useful applications.

Click TweetaLink to use the service.

Idou: At last a true next generation phone from Sony Ericsson

2009-02-21T03:54:00.002-08:00

The first time in the last couple of years I have heard about a phone from Sony Ericsson which can be considered as a true Sony Ericsson next generation phone i.e. Idou.

Now don’t get me wrong here as I love Sony Ericsson products because of the ease of use, quality, speed, camera quality and lot of other stuff but the lack of proper design upgrade and innovation has forced quite a few fans to switch to alternatives products. Now SE has announced Idou which in my opinion can be considered a next step in the mobile phone market by Sony Ericsson.

Most notable Sony Ericsson Idou features a 12.1 mega pixel camera a 16:9 wide touch screen and the sheer beauty as you can see in the above pictures but the best one is that Idou will be running on Symbian OS which makes it a happy news for Symbian lovers.

The final specifications may change when Sony Ericsson Idou is released but here are some of the details which are currently available for Idou.

12.1 megapixel camera with Xenon Flash, auto focus
3.5-inch touch screen with 640 x 320 resolution
Symbian OS
Turbo 3G (HSDPA or HSUPA)
WiFi
GPS
Bluetooth
Micro M2 memory card slot

The Sony Ericsson Idou is slated to be released in the the second half of 2009 and is sure going to be a tough competition for other touch screens phones out there provided the price of Idou is as competitive as we have seen with other SE products in the past.

Speed Crunch: Desktop Calculator on steroids

2009-02-21T03:54:00.001-08:00

Available for Windows, Linux and MAC, speed crunch is the most sophisticated, feature rich and easy to use Desktop Calculator application. When I say “On steroids” I am not wrong here as Speed crunch is in fact look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of Windows Calculator or any other Michael Cera like Calculator applications available for all three platform as mentioned above.

The most highlighted feature of Speed crunch could be the possibility of just typing in the expressions with the calculation you want and you will have a result straight away. These expressions or functions are guided through when you start typing and help you by auto completing.

The complete lists of features which is a rather long list is below.

History and results on a scrollable display
Up to 50 decimal precisions to ensure fewer rounding errors
Unlimited variable storage
Intelligent automatic completion
Full keyboard-friendly with keyboard shortcuts to speed up tasks
More than 50 built-in maths function including abs, sqrt, pi, log, exp, ln, sin, cos, tan, sinh, cosh, tanh, asin, acos, atan, arsinh, arcosh, and artanh
Optional keypad
On-the-fly calculation
Customizable appearance
Syntax highlight, with parentheses matching
History of last expressions
A special variable ‘ans’ holds the last calculation result
Angle mode: Alt+D for degrees, Alt+R for radians
Inside an immediate tooltip, calculate the result of the selected text
Save and restore sessions
Dock windows serving as a browse able mathematics manual, with geometry figures, quadratic equation etc

For more details and free download please visit http://www.speedcrunch.org/

More iPhone battery time with Mophie Juice pack Air

2009-02-21T03:49:00.000-08:00

With a huge wide touch screen and the multi touch interface which offer the world’s most advanced and easy to use operating interface on a mobile device and the un-comparable sound quality, iPhone stand really really apart from its competition but all these next generation high-profile show off features come with few quirks and battery time is one of the most annoying one.

Seriously I can live with the poor battery time if I am given a hefty device like iPhone but most of the users would expect and seek for a better standby and talk time from a device which they carry all around and with which they do most of their daily mobile activities. Mophie comes with a solution here with “Mophie Juice pack Air” which is worlds thinnest battery pack for iPhone 3G.

The new Mophie Juice Pack Air is apple-certified rechargeable external battery for your iPhone. The thin profile 1200 mAH lithium polymer battery, when fully charged, provides twice as much battery for your iPhone 3G. It has an integrated 4 phases LED to indicate battery status, and also an innovative standby mode to allow the unit functions completely as a protective case.

Following is the detailed overview of the extra time you get with Mophie juice pack Air.

* Standby Time : Up to 270 hours
* Talk Time : Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
* Internet Use : Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 5.4 Hours (Wi-Fi)
* Audio Playback : Up to 20 hours
* Video Playback : Up to 6 hours

The Juice Pack Air will be available in three flavors i.e. Black, Purple and White and is slated to be launched from spring at Apple Store or mophie.com at $79.95 which is quite a hefty tag for an add-on like this but if you are so addicted to your iPhone and cannot live without it any minute you may want to spend these dollars in order to stop pulling your hairs out when your iPhone’s battery get drained earlier than expected.

More details at Mophie

Embedr: Create and share video playlists easily

2009-02-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

Embedr is another web2.0 application which lets you create and share playlist of online videos available on many online video sites like youtube, metacafe, myspace, vimeo etc etc. It means that you would be able to select and embed several videos in one single embeddable url which can be shared just like any other video url you might share.

But this is not it, Embedr provide quite a few more options/features to actually turn the process of making and sharing video playlists a really fun and productive thing. As one example you can create dynamic video playlists which are called smart playlists and display the most relevant and updated videos based on the keyword a user assign.

Making a playlist is very simple process. Just choose a name of the playlist you would like to have and click the start button at the Embedr home page and you will be taken to the add video option page. Then copy either the video URL or the embed code of your video from any of the supported video sharing websites and and paste in the Video URLs or Embed codes of all desired videos and click “Add Video”. You can arrange the order of the videos and then click create playlist which in a few minutes will take you to a permalink of your Embedr playlist just created. From here it can be shared or embedded anywhere.

Al full list of features are listed below. (Taken from Embedr website)

Smart Playlists. Build a dynamic YouTube playlist that automatically plays the most relevant videos based on the keywords, categories, or channels you specify.
Save Your Playlists. Organize and keep track of all your playlists you’ve worked hard to build on your Embed profile page. (Requires free acount registration)
Update Your Playlists. Access your saved playlists and re-edit them at any time. This allows you to Embed a playlist somewhere and update its contents on Embedr.com without having to re-paste the embed code! (Requires free acount registration)
Customize How Playlists Look.Change the color, size, and format (standard or widescreen) of your playlist to match your website, blog, or MySpace page seamlessly.
Browse popular playlists.Click the explore playlists tab to view the newest, most popular, and top rated playlists on Embedr.com.
Rate and Comment on Playlists.For goodness sake, let someone know if they’ve built the ultimate collection of Chocolate Rain tribute videos.
Support Atom Films, Blip.TV, College Humor, Dailymotion, Metacafe, MySpace Video, Veoh, Vimeo, and YouTube.

I hope many people will find this useful so head over to http://www.embedr.com and start making your video playlists.

Kadoo: 10GB storage for your digital media

2009-02-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

We take pictures, make videos, store music and then we upload these to online storage for easy sharing with our friends and family for this we are offered many free ad supported web 2.0 services online and Kadoo is one of the serivce. But what make Kadoo different is generalization of the data which can be stored and the amount of disk space per user, yes 10gb I think is more than enough for sharing digital content online.

A few key features of Kadoo are

Digital content storage service
Free registration with 10 GB storage space.
Personalized dashboard with RSS support.
Fully functional email system.
Share photos and videos publicly and privately.
Easily send large files.
Free faxing option.
Photo printing starting only at 13 cents.
Ability to share data among other social networks like Facebook.

Visit http://www.Kadoo.com for more details and signup.