Sunday, July 12, 2009

MakeUseOf.com

MakeUseOf.com

Link to MakeUseOf.com

Cool Websites and Tools [July 12]

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 04:00 PM PDT

cool websites Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For more cool websites and web app reviews subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory.

 

(1) CoboCards – Useful web app which lets you create flash cards and use them for studying. These flash cards are interactive and can include both images and graphs. You may share them with friends, print out, edit and go back to previous versions. Additional features like posting comments on the cards, setting deadlines are also suported. Read more: CoboCards: Create Interactive Flash Cards Online

(2) DangerouslyFun – Website that lists a dozen of projects for creating various physical devices, many of which are rather dangerous. You can learn how to make burning bubbles, pingpong pistol, vinegar grenade and lots more. Each project includes introduction, step by step instructions and lots of user comments. Read more: DangerouslyFun: Learn How to Make Burning Bubbles, Pigpong Pistol, Fire Wire etc

(3) FitDay – Diet and weight loss tracking journal where you track and achieve your long-term fitness goals based on your daily foods and exercises. It analyzes information and shows your daily calorie intake (fats, proteins, carbs), weight loss from each activity, long-term diet analysis and more, viewable on easy-to-understand graphs and charts. Read more: FitDay: Online Diet & Weight Loss Tracking Journal

(4) RoosterFly – Price comparison engine for tickets of entertainment events like sports events, concerts and theater. It aggregates information from secondary ticketing websites and displays them in a simple, user-friendly interface helping the customers to compare event ticket prices and find the best deals. Read more: RoosterFly: Compare Event Ticket Prices

(5) Whyzz - New website that lets you quickly find appropriate answers to many questions from kids. You can search site by typing the exact question or browse by categories. Read more: Whyzz: Get Answers to Tough Questions From Kids

Submit Your Web App

 

These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts


Manage Application Updates With The ‘Google Updater’ Service [Windows]

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 02:00 PM PDT

Google Updater is probably the only application from Google that does not have a face and is also not in your face. Because it runs periodically in the background.

Google Updater is a part of the Google Pack (Google's own apps and a few third party tools like Firefox, Norton Security Scan etc.). Google Updater is the small itsy bitsy “installer” that downloads and installs the software. But its brevity goes beyond that as it also monitors the apps for updates and manages their run. In short, it's a meta-installer and auto-updater.

The two hitches …

Being a package management app also means that Google Updater continues to run behind the scenes though in the new version it is controlled by the Windows Task Manager to run once every hour. You can see it running in the background by doing a Ctrl + Alt + Del and going down the Task Manager entries. Some users feel that apps should give the option of self-timed updates rather than the auto-updater butting in. (It is especially annoying when the firewall catches it while auto-updating). Also, a separate service running in the computer (and consuming resources) for update checking is the exception rather than the rule.

Then according to Google,

When Google Update communicates with Google servers, it sends IDs of Google Update-managed applications on your computer and general usage information for these applications. Google Update also uses its own, randomly-generated unique ID number to accurately count total users. This information includes version numbers, languages, operating system, and other install or update-related details, such as whether or not the applications have been run. This information is not associated with you or your Google Account. Additional information may be sent if you choose to send your usage statistics for Google Chrome.

It is this point where a lot of brow wrinkling has come about. Though the information is sent using random IDs, any user might feel a bit ill at ease with his usage information being uploaded however benign the intention. While Google has tried to ease the issues by open sourcing the Google Updater code (the Omaha project), a lot of us will still have a go at blocking it.

The 2 ways to disable Google Updater

A. Remove from startup

  1. Click on Start – Run. Type in msconfig in the Open field and click OK.
  2. The System Configuration Utility opens up. Select the Startup tab. Go down to the GoogleUpdate startup item and deselect it.
  3. Restart the computer.

B. Stop the Google Update service from running

  1. Click on Start – Run. Type in services.msc in the Open field and click OK.
  2. In Services, scroll down to GoogleUpdate Service. Double click on it to open the Properties box (or right click and select Properties).  The Startup Type drop-down lists three options – select Disabled.
  3. Click on Apply and OK.

The 2 ways to manage Google Updater

Manage Updates using the Task Scheduler

Spurred by the concerns of an automatic updater as a background process, Google now has added the option – Let me check for updates myself under the Preferences tab. Also, the Updater runs only periodically as per the Windows Task Scheduler.

To run the task scheduler, click Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Scheduled Tasks.

The default interval for Updates is to connect to Google's servers once an hour. It will stop running after it checks for updates. You can change the schedule double clicking on the Google Software Updater and setting a new time in the Schedule Tab.

But as Google says, if the Updater or the Task scheduler is seen to be not working properly then Google Update resumes its automatic behavior. I am also not sure whether a new install of a Google app affect the user set update time.

The Google Updater can also be configured to update either all software in the Google Pack or only software developed by Google. And if you no longer use any Google apps, it uninstalls itself.

Manage Updates using the Group Policy Editor

In mid-May, Google explained how the Google Update could be customized (set update periods or disable it) for enterprise users using the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) using an imported administrative template. Power users can check out the detailed instructions given in the help.

Most software these days feature automatic updates. The need to keep applications updated is vital to plug malware attacks and remove bugs. But many users voice that there is no need to check for updates so frequently. If your voice is one of them then these methods would help in 'caging the little beast'.

Do you agree with the concerns or do you feel that automatic updates are the way to go? Let us know in the comments.

Related posts


5 Recommended Bookmarklets To Simplify Tedious Tasks

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 12:00 PM PDT

A bookmarklet is a piece of code saved as a bookmark. When you click it, instead of just taking you to a bookmarked website, it performs an action (which may include taking you to another website, but does not have to do that). Here are 5 recommended bookmarklets to boost your productivity by helping you instantly subscribe to, read, tweet, share and translate webpages.

[To use the bookmarklets, simply add them to your bookmarks bar. Right click them and choose "Bookmark This Link" or just drag and drop it to the bookmarks bar]

1. Subscribe to a website with Google Reader

Add or drag to your bookmarks bar ——> Subscribe

Here is a known scenario – you visit a cool blog and want to subscribe to it. Now you need to find and click its RSS icon, get to the Feedburner site, choose ‘Google Reader’ as your RSS reader, get to the ‘Add to Google’ page and choose ‘Add to Google Reader’. Easy, right? Well, why not make the process much easier – use the ‘Subscribe’ bookmarklet. Just click it, and you’ll immediately get into Google reader, one click away from subscribing to the site. Life’s good, isn’t it?

2. Speed read online content

Add or drag to your bookmarks bar ——> ZAP read

The ZAP reader bookmarklet opens a new window where it flashes text at high speed (text which you  previously marked in a website). Not only that it makes you read much faster, but it also improves your speed reading abilities (I can personally testify).

It’s a good idea to use a speed that you can read relatively easily when the text is important and you have to completely understand it. Use higher speed when the text is of less importance, in order to gradually increase your reading speed.

3. Tweet a link and monitor it

Add or drag to your bookmarks bar ——> Bit.ly

The Bit.ly bookmarklet is the most useful way I know to share links through Twitter. The bookmarklet pops-up a sidebar within the site you are in, shortens its URL and lets you tweet it without leaving the page. Moreover, it tells you how many people have got to the site through a Bit.ly shortened URL and how many got there through your link.

If you think about it, Bit.ly lets you measure the effectiveness of your tweets. By telling you how many people you’ve reached, you can know if people are reading your tweets and what is the content they like the most. I make sure to check out my Bit.ly stats once in a while to better understand what are my best tweets and how I can reach more people.

4. Share sites via email

Add or drag to your bookmarks bar ——> Email this

If you feel like sending a website via email rather then tweeting it – ‘Email this’ is the bookmarklet that I recommend. ‘Email this’ opens a new email in your default email client (including web based ones) with the site’s title as the subject and the link to the page in the body. All that is left for you to do is add recipients and click send.

‘Email this’ is suitable for work settings, where you would usually share content via email. It’s also better to use it when you need more then 140 characters or you just don’t want to share something publicly.

5. Read any language

Add or drag to your bookmarks bar  ——> Translate
‘Translate’ uses “Google Translate” to display the content of the page in English. More or less, it means you can instantly read sites in any language. Really useful

If you think that there is enough content in English – try to think of situations where local content is better. For example, if you’re going on a trip to another country – reading about it on local websites will get you better results. That is where this bookmarklet will come in handy.

Don’t forget to check out the other bookmarklets that MakeUseOf has written about! What are your top productivity bookmarklets? Share them with us in the comments!

Image credit: vramak

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too.

Related posts


Manage Multiple Cameras Like A Pro [Mac]

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 10:00 AM PDT

Call me the wannabe pro photographer. My motto is “Shoot everything now, think about them later.” I always thought that among those blurry and often ‘out of the frame’ shots, there should be one or two jewels worth bragging and blogging.

The Mac and the cameras

So I connect my digital camera to my Mac almost all the time; saving those precious moments to the hard drive.

There are two applications that I use to manage my photos: iPhoto (which always opens automatically), and the camera picture transfer software from my camera manufacturer – just for the sake of backup.

But the source of photos is not only my own camera. My wife has a pocket digital camera. My kids are still babies, but soon they too will start taking pictures. And I believe that there are folks who have several cameras for each of their family members. Over time, managing all of the devices and all the pictures taken by them could be mundane tasks.

Luckily, there’s Cameras – a little Mac app to help you manage all of your cameras including your iPhone’s camera.

Shoot, Cameras, Manage!

This camera picture transfer software from Flexibits is less than 1MB in size. So downloading it wouldn’t be a problem. The installation process is also a snap; you just double-click on the “Cameras.prefPane”. Cameras will then reside in your Mac’s System Preferences.

You will have a blank “Cameras” Preferences Pane window. Make sure to check “Enable Cameras” and choose “Ask what to do” in the options of “When you connect new cameras”. These option allow Cameras to always run in the background and ask you what to do if you connect new camera(s).

After doing that little setting, I connect my camera to my Mac and… a pop-up window appears and asks what to do every time that specific camera is connected. The options are: do nothing, open iPhoto, open Image Capture, open other application, and automatically download. Choose one according to your preferences.

03_cameras_asking_what_to_do

The nice thing about Cameras is that you can set different things to do for each different camera. If you want to, you can choose to simply download all images from all of your cameras automatically.

But if you are a professional photographer who wants to edit the shots from your dSLR with Aperture while manage images from other cameras with iPhoto, you can do so. Just set your preference in Cameras and you won’t be bothered again.

With a little help from Image Capture

My personal preferences is to manage all my pictures with iPhoto and keep a copy of each for backup. To achieve this objective, I ask Cameras to open Image Capture.

In Image Capture, I set the option to download the image from my camera to a folder (as the back up) and set it to automatically opens iPhoto after the downloading process has finished.

I also dug a little bit deeper into Image Capture’s options and choose to

  • delete items from camera after downloading
  • automatically download all items from camera
  • set the camera’s date and time

With everything is set, all that’s left for me to do is to continue taking pictures and connect my cameras to my Mac. No more manually opening several apps and downloading the images.

Final Note and Wish List

As the ’s’ behind the name suggested plural form, Cameras is indeed a useful little app for those who have multiple cameras.

But I need to point out that if you have only one camera, Image Capture could do a better job in automatic camera management.

So, I think Cameras would turn into a much better app if the developer adds the ability to:

  • do several task for each device, for example: first downloads the pictures, then renames them, then opens iPhoto, and continues with the task of creating copies of the images in folder X.
  • manage other cellphone’s cameras other than iPhone. Almost everybody has cellphones these days, and almost all cellphones have camera built in. iPhone might be very popular, but not everybody owns it.

Do you enjoy photography? Do you have multiple cameras? Have you tried Cameras? Or do you know better alternative application? Share using the comment below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts


Xiah Rebirth – Martial Arts Themed MMORPG

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 08:00 AM PDT

Few things are as majestic as Martial Arts. Those of you who’re practicing it, or have even merely witnessed movies like Ong-Bak, know what I’m talking about.

There’s a hidden grace, in the simple complexity of the dance. A fluent chain of movements with no moves wasted.

There’s a strange intesity that comes from MMORPGs. Getting inside the character’s head – no, becoming the character and walking the strangest of worlds. You’re living the most instense of experiences, and become the hero of your own adventure.

Now try to imagine a martial arts MMORPG. Imagine corruptness, the vilest of evils and its sickening touch on the world. Imagine a battle between good and evil, fought with martial arts and magic alike. Imagine Xiah Rebirth.

Xiah Rebirth

Xiah Rebirth, also known as Oriental Fantasy-Xiah, is an asian-themed online fighting game, created by GamesCampus. You might now these guys from other great (free) online games previously seen on MakeUseOf, like Cue Online and Asda Story. Although the game originally dates back to 2005, regular updates keep Xiah Rebirth an enthralling game that miserably fails to disappoint.

In Xiah Rebirth’s world – based on ancient asian mythology – four legendary warriors must take up arms against the heritage of the evil Blood Emperor and weigh the combined forces of good against the ancient forces of evil.

Multiplayer Online Fighting Game

Focused in the gameplay of Xiah Rebirth are asian martial arts. Through fierce training, you can try your character in. Work hard to level up and unlock various new abilities and powers. Boosting your experience level gets even easier if you participate in one of the many guilds, or play in a party with other players. There are a few major guilds that dominate the political landscape, fight hard and define ‘the good side’ by pushing your faction to the top.

The martial art moves are worked out in the slightest detail, and the game can be enjoyed in both first and third person perspectives. Keep your distance, or experience everything first-hand. There are various paths to addiction and you can choose which fits you best.

Rebirth and Five Elements System

Like an oversized reincarnating Pokémon, you’re able to be reborn several times during the game, each time achieving vastly greater powers and abilities.

Not only does the system allow you to increase your mastery of in-game items, through time you can also unlock the infamous Dragon Attacks – which include special magic techniques that are only known to expert rebirth masters and a handful of blind monks in the tunnels below the southern Himalayas.

The Five Element magic, on the other hand, allows you to greatly enhance the overall strength of your rare weaponry. Enchanted weapons are sure to inflict a multitude of damage, combined with special elemental attacks, such as enchanted fire and water strikes.

You can download the game here. If you’ve got anything to say, remark, or ask – head to the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too.

Related posts


The 4 Fixes to Common Problems with iTunes for Windows XP

Posted: 12 Jul 2009 06:00 AM PDT

Love it or hate it, iTunes is one of the most popular media players available, thanks to the success of the iPod and iPhone. The following tips should come in handy for those of you who use iTunes for Windows XP, in the event that your iTunes installation ends up in less-than-perfect operating condition.

First off, we suggest uninstalling iTunes from the Add or Remove Programs Control Panel and then installing the latest version of iTunes downloaded from Apple.com. This may fix some issues with older versions. Apple also suggests keeping your anti-virus software up to date. Now, on to some more-specific issues.

Problem #1

Certain iTunes screens are pink. (Note: Only a problem if you don’t like pink.)

Cause: Windows is set to display a low-quality color palette, and thus cannot correctly render the iTunes window when it demands a high-quality color.

Solution: Make sure Windows is set to display 32-bit color in the Display Control Panel. This will be under the Settings tab, as “Color Quality.”

Problem #2

Error messages as follows:
“iTunes might be unable to launch or communicate with iPod or iPhone.”
“The iPod (Customer’s iPod) cannot be updated. An unknown error occurred (-50)”
“The iPod (Customer’s iPod) could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (1418, 1429, 1430, 1436 or 1439)”

Cause: This symptom may be caused by an issue with the digital signing of Windows XP drivers.

Solution: Re-register Certain Windows XP Drivers
(Copied from source: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1539)

  1. Disconnect the iPod from the computer and close iTunes.
  2. Highlight all of the following 10 lines of text that begin with regsvr32 and then choose Copy from the Edit menu of your web browser:

    regsvr32 /s softpub.dll
    regsvr32 /s wintrust.dll
    regsvr32 /s dssenh.dll
    regsvr32 /s rsaenh.dll
    regsvr32 /s gpkcsp.dll
    regsvr32 /s sccbase.dll
    regsvr32 /s slbcsp.dll
    regsvr32 /s mssip32.dll
    regsvr32 /s cryptdlg.dll
    regsvr32 /s initpki.dll

  3. Open the Notepad program by navigating to:
    Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad
  4. In Notepad, choose Paste from the Edit menu. Note: make sure that the text that appears in Notepad is the same as what is shown above.
  5. From the File menu, choose Save As.
  6. In the File name field type appleipod.bat and save the file to the Desktop.
  7. Close Notepad and locate the appleipod.bat file.
  8. Double-click the file and you will see a black window appear on the screen for about a minute. Wait until the window automatically disappears and proceed to the next step.
  9. The appleipod.bat file can be deleted at this time.
  10. Open iTunes and connect the iPod.
  11. When the iPod appears in iTunes, restore the iPod and resync your content.

Problem #3

iTunes will not open or unexpectedly quits

Cause: Corrupted preference files or possibly out-of-date plug-ins.
Solution: Remove Preferences and Third-Party Plug-ins. Delete the following folders:

  • C:\Documents and Settings\Your Username Here\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes
  • C:\Documents and Settings\Your Username Here\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes
  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\SC Info

    • Problem #4

    Error messages as follows:
    “iTunes cannot run because it detects a problem with QuickTime”
    “iTunes cannot run because it has detected a problem with your audio configuration”
    “Error (-200)”

    Cause: Apple doesn’t provide a cause for this issue, but it appears to have something to do with QuickTime Player’s audio preferences.
    Solution: Reinstall QuickTime
    Click Control Panel from the Start Menu then select Add or Remove Programs.
    Select QuickTime from the list then click the Remove button to start the uninstall process.
    Download and run the QuickTime installer without iTunes from here.

    There are other problems like broken iTunes links but Saikat’s got that covered.

    How frequently do you face the above issues when using iTunes for Windows XP, and how do you normally deal with them? Ever had to “roll back” to an older version of iTunes? Any problems from Mac users? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!

    Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

    New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

    Related posts


    Posted by at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)