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- Cool Websites and Tools [November 28]
- Join MakeUseOf On Twitter!
- Some Cool Keyboard Tricks That Few People Know About
- Update Your Hardware Drivers For Free With Device Doctor
- 4 Sites To Help You With Troubleshooting Car Problems
- Start The New Year With A Flickr Self-Portrait Project
- How To Create A Custom Splash Image For Grub 2 [Linux]
| Cool Websites and Tools [November 28] Posted: 28 Nov 2009 04:00 PM PST
(1) FindMeByIP – Web app that tells you what your IP address is and what your browser can and can't do. The tool also gives your geo-specific details based on your IP. Read more: FindMeByIP – Shows IP Address & Evaluates Your Browser
(2) BlankLabel – This web app allows you to create your own custom dress shirts and experiment with new designs. The flash-based editor will let you pick the type of fabric, style aspects such as the kind of pockets, buttons, cuff, and collars that you want, and the sizing based on body size, shirt size, and cut. Read more: BlankLabel – Design Custom Dress Shirts Online (3) iTunes Preview – New website that lets you browse iTunes store's music collection right in the browser without installing iTunes. It lets you check out the availability of a song in the iTunes store or other information such as the price, reviews, artist info, etc. You'd still require iTunes to buy a songs. Read more: iTunes Preview – Browse iTunes Store Without iTunes Installed (4) PicTranslator – iPhone app that helps to translate foreign language text in images clicked from the iPhone camera into English. It currently supports a wide range of languages like French, German, Italian, Spanish and many more. Read more: PicTranslator – Automatically Translates Text in Images (5) Load2All – Great online service that lets you upload your files to multiple (19 popular) file hosting services. It has one additional feature that you'll love for sure. You can upload large files without worrying about file size limit imposed by file hosting sites. It automatically splits large file into .rar parts and then uploads them for you. Read more: Load2All – Upload Your Files To Multiple File Hosting Services
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 Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too. Related posts
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| Posted: 28 Nov 2009 03:00 PM PST
You’ll be notified everytime there is a new post on the MakeUseOf Blog, a web app review on the MakeUseOf Directory or something new on Geeky Fun. Plus, we would love it if you would re-tweet the posts and discuss them, so more people get to know about us and join our community. Thank you! Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! Become a MakeUseOf fan on Facebook? – Our photos, MakeUseOf specials and more. Related posts
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| Some Cool Keyboard Tricks That Few People Know About Posted: 28 Nov 2009 02:01 PM PST
The keyboard on the other hand is far more powerful than we realize. And don’t we have our hands all over it anyways? There are a few cool keyboard tricks that can help you save time and make you more productive. Here is a short list for the most handy Windows XP and Firefox shortcuts. Some of these may also work in other applications. Windows XP1. [SHIFT] + [alt] + [PrntScrn] – high contrast A window will open, click OK or simply hit [Enter]. This will enlarge the font on all open Windows and change colors to high contrast. For example the desktop will turn black, what was black text on white background will be reversed. Clicking the same key combination again reverts the changes.
This won’t work on every machine as it depends on your graphics card and video drivers. However, if it does work, it will rotate your desktop. 3. [Ctrl] + select items from taskbar, right-click selected – mass control open windows
With this trick you can simultaneously close a group of applications at once or show them side by side or stacked or in a cascade. This can save a ton of time wasted on rearranging windows. 4. [Alt] + [Tab] – switch between running programs A little window will launch showing all open programs. Click the [Tab] key to jump to the next application, release keys to open the selected one. 5. [SHIFT] + [Del] – delete without confirmation Do you hate these nagging windows asking you whether you really want to do this or that. If you want to quickly delete something, without being harassed for a confirmation, use this shortcut. 6. [Windows] + [D] – show desktop or restore open windows This is the keyboard shortcut to the respective quick launch taskbar icon. 7. [Windows] + [L] – lock system An easy way to quickly protect and lock your system. When you log back in, all programs will still be running and windows will appear just the way you left them. 8. [Ctrl] + [Z] and [Ctrl] + [Y] – undo and redo I’m sure you all know that you can undo changes using the [Ctrl] + [Z] shortcut. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have this feature outside the computer? Anyways, you can undo an undo, i.e. redo what you did using the [Ctrl] + [Y] key combination. 9. [Windows] + [R], type cmd, hold [Ctrl] + [SHIFT] and hit Enter – run command prompt as Administrator The command prompt will now be run as Administrator. 10. Create your own keyboard trick!
This will only work for shortcuts located on your desktop! First you need to create an actual desktop shortcut. Right-click on the application and select > Create Shortcut from the context menu. Make sure the shortcut sits on your desktop. Now right-click the shortcut and select > Properties. You should see a line that says “Shortcut Key: <none>”. Click that line and then click a letter ony our keyboard, for example P. A shortcut will be created, in this example [Ctrl] + [alt] + [P]. And there you go, now you have your own personal shortcut key. Firefox1. [Ctrl] + [1] to [9] – jump to tab numbers 1 to 8 or last tab (9) Rather than scrolling through all your open tabs, you can quickly navigate to a specific tab if you know its position. For example, clicking [Ctrl] + [4] will open to tab number 4 (from the left). With [Ctrl] + [9] you will jump to the very last tab, no matter how many you have open. 2. [Ctrl] + [Tab] or [Ctrl] + [SHIFT] + [Tab] – move up/right or down/left in tabs Neat shortcut to move between tabs. 3. [/] or ['] – Find As You Type Text or Link Firefox has a neat search feature, which is Find As You Type. When you click the [/] key before starting to type your search, Firefox will only search in text. Likewise, clicking the ['] key will only find links.
4. [Ctrl] + mouse wheel – change font size With the new generation high resolution screens we often find that text on websites is way too small to read properly. Here is a little trick that can quickly increase the font size for better reading. While you hold down the control key, move your mousewheel to increase or decrease the font size in Firefox. This will also work in other programs, for example Word. This is also very useful for making a website fit your window size, rather than to adapt the browser window.
5. [Ctrl] + [F4] – close tab A quick, mouseless way to close a tab. 6. [alt] + [F4] – close window This will rapidly shut down Firefox. 7. [Ctrl] + [SHIFT] + [T] – open closed tab/s Did you accidentally close that tab? Re-open it using this key combination. 8. [Spacebar] or [SHIFT] + [Spacebar] – scroll PageDown or PageUp Give your mouse wheel a break and use the spacebar to move up and down a website. 9. [F7] – caret browsing Caret browsing allows you to select and copy text from web pages using the keyboard.
10. [F11] – toggle full screen Quickly change into full screen mode. Find out about more shortcuts for Firefox, Windows and more Windows. Also find out your favourite Firefox shortcut in our Poll. Which ones are your favorites that didn’t make it to the list above? Image credits: thesaint Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! Become a MakeUseOf fan on Facebook? – Our photos, MakeUseOf specials and more. Related posts
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| Update Your Hardware Drivers For Free With Device Doctor Posted: 28 Nov 2009 12:01 PM PST
We should probably start off with what a device driver is and when you need to load drivers. Drivers are needed for every piece of hardware on your computer from your monitor to your mouse back to your printer. The device needs the driver to tell it how to interact with the operating system – no drivers means that your hardware is not going to work as expected, if at all. When you reformat your computer system, you need to reinstall your drivers but sometimes you cannot find the proper driver and then sadly you will not be able to get your hardware to function. What do you do? Well Device Doctor can also identify and download the proper driver for unidentified items. Let's take a look at the application, how it works and how it can help you update drivers for free. First run the installer and it will do its thing:
Go ahead and click Begin Scan to let it scan your device's drivers.
Once the scan is completed you will be presented with a full list of devices that need updating. But wait! There is more - the application actually provides download links to grab the drivers that need updating. They really take all the leg work out of this for you. If a device is unidentified the application can still grab data from the card and check for drivers online. This is super helpful when you do not know where to look for the correct drivers. This can help you to not have to open the case and pop the card out looking for the fcc id or another identifying piece of information.
When you click download update it will take you to a webpage. That page will contain information as well as the link to grab the driver.
If the driver does not work out for you, please click the link to report the incorrect driver and then the next person will not have the same issue as you. This feature alone makes this much better than just Googling for the driver. I have used other applications like Double Driver in the past but it did not do much for downloading drivers for unknown devices and then I found Zhangduo that does find drivers for unidentified devices but not for known ones. You will see a statement warning you to backup, create a restore point and instructions for doing so. Good looking out Device Driver Guys! Click the download driver installer link in the center of the page to initiate the download. That will start the download like so:
Run the installer and update your drivers. It is that simple!
When my driver was updated, my mouse moves smoother! Sweet. It is easy to run this on a system to see where you stand. Now I will preach a little bit about how important keeping your drivers up to date are. Today in my network we upgraded a switch to giga bit speeds from 10/100. One of our servers refused to connect at giga bit speeds. What did we have to do? We had to update the NIC drivers and then all of our problems were gone. If I had done this before it would not have been an issue and the upgrade would have been complete. Instead it took another 20 minutes of my life and down time! So kids keep your drivers updated! When you don’t know what drivers you need, this can wind up being a MUST HAVE application! Do you have another method of keeping your drivers updated or downloading unknown drivers? Please share your free methods in the comments! Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! Become a MakeUseOf fan on Facebook? – Our photos, MakeUseOf specials and more. Related posts
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| 4 Sites To Help You With Troubleshooting Car Problems Posted: 28 Nov 2009 10:01 AM PST
While they may be few and far between, there are actually some websites out there that offer truly free information that can help you with troubleshooting car problems that you may be having. Reading a manual or tutorial on the Internet may not bring you up to speed on how to break out the ratchet set and start changing your own spark plugs if you’ve never even laid your hands on the oil dipstick. However, free informational portals and tutorials can train you on how to understand how your car operates and how to troubleshoot the more common problems that many people have, with the sort of repair solutions anyone can accomplish themselves. Many times, if you take your vehicle in for repair at a local auto repair shop, they’ll find a way to stick you with a ridiculous repair bill that you didn’t really need. If you’d like to have a few truly free resources for troubleshooting your own minor car problems, then please review the following list and consider adding them all to your bookmarks under “auto repair.” The next time your engine doesn’t start, don’t immediately call the repair shop. Work through the step-by-step guides on these sites and you may surprise yourself when you’re able to figure out how to get the car started on your own.
Site #1 For Troubleshooting Car Problems – HowStuffWorksHowStuffWorks, the site that Aibek reviewed in 2006, has evolved significantly and is leaps and bounds ahead of any other site when it comes to learning about your car’s various systems starting from the ground up. It obviously isn’t the equivalent of going to mechanics school, but the sheer volume of information available at HowStuffWorks is enough to teach you the basics of how your car engine works as well as all of the parts and systems of your car.
HowStuffWorks is a well known and well established website for information on a multitude of topics, but their specialized Auto section has so much more additional information than any other site, so clearly organized and presented, and so much more free from the overwhelming commercialism of most of the other sites that it definitely deserves the top spot on this list.
Each section provides very detailed information on how that particular car system works, including complete slideshows and even videos detailing those parts and systems. You’d be hard pressed to get this quality of information even in an introductory automotive textbook that you’d purchase. Site #2 For Car Maintenance – Yahoo AutosThe “Maintain” tab of Yahoo Autos is a valuable resource filled with information about car warranties and car manufacturers, but most importantly a large section on car repair tips and advice.
The tips and advice section of Yahoo Autos contains a comprehensive library of frequently asked questions and answers that span every single system of your car that you could imagine you might have a problem with.
Two things really impressed me about this section of Yahoo Autos. The first was the fact that other than typical ad banners, the site was not overrun with attempts to sell auto parts. The FAQ section really covers a great deal of information, and the answers to the questions are thorough and well written. The only drawback is that this site doesn’t have the sort of graphical content that HowStuffWorks has, like slideshows and videos. Site #3 For Car Manuals and Repair Schematics – AutoZoneIn deciding positions 2 and 3 for this writeup, it was a tossup between AutoZone and Yahoo. AutoZone is actually a better site and contains a great deal more valuable vehicle information for anyone who’s serious about DIY auto repairs. Unfortunately AutoZone is a U.S. based company, so worldwide readers may not find as much value in the site when it refers to specific parts from AutoZone stores. Given that one drawback, the repair section of AutoZone is not a sales site and doesn’t try to sell AutoZone parts.
When you register for free at the website, you have access to the entire vehicle repair section. This section includes an excellent area where you can step through troubleshooting your vehicle based on sounds, smells and more, and then drill down into the specific behavior characteristics, and the system attempts to offer you some possible causes.
In addition to this very useful resource, the free membership also grants you access to the valuable “Vehicle Repair Guides.” These are actual information guides of the quality you’d find if you ordered vehicle manuals online. These manuals are completely free of charge and include useful information like wiring schematics and specific information about the systems for your exact make and model.
When you’re trying to troubleshoot something like a car’s electrical system, there’s nothing quite as valuable to have as the actual electrical schematics for that exact vehicle. Site #4 For Car Troubleshooting – 2CarProsThe final website I would recommend to anyone who is trying to learn how to maintain a vehicle, or how to troubleshoot car problems, is 2CarPros. Starting from the main page, the site itself doesn’t look like anything special. It’s a fairly regular looking web page with a menu and a series of articles.
The truly “special” content comes when you start clicking on the left menu items and drilling down into the articles and help guides. Each section is filled with a whole multitude of how-to guides and articles that feature high quality images, edited to point out the components and areas that you need to understand and focus on for the particular task at hand.
This is obviously quality content produced by a couple of folks who really know what they’re talking about. And as though the articles and pictures weren’t enough, they also produced and published their own how-to videos included in most of the articles.
These aren’t videos that were quickly pulled off YouTube like many other amateur auto repair sites do. These two car pros actually produced this video, branded at the bottom with their website, specifically for these articles – showing you step-by-step exactly how you can accomplish the task yourself. Do you try troubleshooting your own vehicle? What are your favorite websites to research car problems? Share your insights in the comments section below. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! Become a MakeUseOf fan on Facebook? – Our photos, MakeUseOf specials and more. Related posts
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| Start The New Year With A Flickr Self-Portrait Project Posted: 28 Nov 2009 08:01 AM PST
As of this writing, the group's membership is up to 15,596 members. I joined up back in June of 2008 and nearly finished the project before stopping in May of the following year. Nevertheless, with the 286 some-odd self-portraits I completed, I took my digital photography skills and creativity up a few steps, while at the same time meeting and supporting some really inspiring Flickr members. The beauty of doing a Flickr self portrait is that the subject is you. You don't have to travel to far exotic places to find great subjects. And you don't need models or family members waiting for you to figure out what to do with your camera. The subject is you, and so you can be just as patient and time consuming you like to produce the type of creative photos you want. There are several ways to do a photo self-portrait project. You can do it simply by taking a quick daily snapshot of yourself that will represent a sort of visual diary over a year's time. One such project is still being done by Noah Kalina. But you can also take a more creative approach and use the project to learn how to better use your camera and get your creative juices flowing. If you're like me and you don't think you have natural creative talent when it comes to photography; believe me, when you devote yourself to a daily project like this one, you'll be pleasantly surprised about what you can do.
Cell Self Portrait—self-portraits using your cell phone's camera feature. Do a keyword "self-portrait" group search on Flickr, and you will find about a dozen other groups that you can join and become inspired by.
How To Get Started1. A good time to begin the project is on January 1st when many other Flickr members begin. 2. Figure out how to use the self-timer on your camera. If you're using your iPhone camera, there are even a few self-timer applications to use with the camera feature. Though many of your photos might be taken with your arms extended out in front of you, using a self-timer will often get you more steady shots. I typically set my timer to 2 seconds which is plenty of time to pose and take a shot. 3. Get a tripod – a mini tripod for compact cameras or a regular long-legged tripod for 35mm cameras. There's no way I could have successfully done the project without using a tripod. A tripod makes for more steady shots and creative options for self-portraits. 4. Learn to use your camera's flash, or better yet, an attached flash strobe. I tried taking my self-portraits during the day, using the abundance of light shining through my office window. But I also learned to use flash photography better during this project. As you will see in 365 Days groups, many members shoot some very creative self-portraits using their camera's strobe and other lighting equipment. However, don't let the lack of lighting equipment keep you from using flash photography. If all you have is an on-camera flash, use it to get the extra light you need. 5. If you have a 35mm camera, you might also look into getting wireless remote that triggers the shutter on your camera. I found an affordable one on Ebay for my Canon DSLR and it made doing many self-portraits photos ten times easier.
Tips For Completing The Project1. Don't be hard on yourself. 365Days is a self-project for you to learn and have fun with. On many days you will not have the time or ideas to shoot great self-portraits. So have some fall-back ideas, like simply taking a shot of yourself in the mirror when you wake up in the morning. Or do a shot with a family member or significant other. During the project, you might only produce ten really powerful creative self-portraits, but those ten will come out of daily practice and commitment to the project. 2. Get ideas and respond to Mini Challenges from the 365Days group. I would go so far as to recommend copycatting the ideas of other photographers and giving them credit for their photo idea. You will find that Flickr members in the group will be honored by you copycatting one or more of their photos. Check out Chris Maverick’s Mini Challenge for copycat photos. 3. If you have any version of Photoshop or the free photo manipulation program, GIMP, use it to do some creative transformations to your photos. One popular self-portrait technique in this regard is to create a photo of clones of yourself. See this tutorial on how to do it.
4. From day one when you start the project, start connecting with other 365Days group members. Don't wait for others to comment on your self-portraits. Commit to making almost daily positive comments about the photos of other group members. The more comments you give, the more you will tend to get in kind. Even befriend a few Flickr members who can give you critical comments on your photos if you seek such feedback. 5. Use your Twitter, Facebook or social networking sites outside of Flickr to let others know you're doing the project. Telling others about your project might compel you to stick with it during the rough times. You might also consider starting a blog about your project, documenting what you learn. 6. Be prepared to take several photos to get the desired results. This is a tip that any professional photographer will tell you. You can't get great photos by simply taking a single shot of a subject. Often times in shooting my self-portraits, I would take a couple of dozen shots before I got the right one. 7. If you start missing days, change the scope of your project. Maybe you decide to do a weekly self-portrait instead of daily one. Maybe you'll do it for just 30 days instead of 365 days. Make the project yours. You set the rules. 8. Finally, I would suggest getting a wireless Eye-Fi memory card if your camera uses an SD card. Setting up and using this card will will automatically transfer your photos to your computer as you shoot them. I used this tool with my Canon Powershot G9 and it saved me lots of time. Celebrate Your WorkOne of the things I looked most forward to was creating a book of my self-portraits. Many other project members do the same thing using online services like Blurb or Qoop. Find ways to print and share you photos beyond the Internet and computer screen. The joy you get when looking back on your project can hardly be described. You’ll have plenty of days when you’ll feel too tired to take a self-portrait, but if you give it an honest effort you will learn and grow as a photographer. So bookmark this article and post a January 1st reminder on your calendar to get started. After you begin the project, drop me a line and let me know how it's going. If you have additional questions or ideas about getting started please leave it in the comments section. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! Become a MakeUseOf fan on Facebook? – Our photos, MakeUseOf specials and more. Related posts
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| How To Create A Custom Splash Image For Grub 2 [Linux] Posted: 28 Nov 2009 06:01 AM PST
GRUBv2 is the next iteration of the immensely popular GRUB boot loader. It offers improved capabilities like a graphical interface and better design. If you are fan of mods like me and tried the previous tutorial with GRUBv2, you would have realized it no longer works that way. So let’s update the steps and see how we can create a custom GRUB 2 splash image.
With the image ready, its time to get into configuration mode. A lot has changed in GRUB2, so read along even if you are familiar with the procedure for the legacy GRUB loader.
We are almost done here, now issue the sudo update-grub2 command and verify it completes successfully. It tells you if it found the image you mentioned. If it doesn’t, it most likely means that you missed something in the steps mentioned above.
You can refer to this Debian Wiki page for more details on GRUBv2 splash images. The wiki also lists template files that you can use as a guide when creating your own custom splashimages. If you want to use higher resolution images and not merely 640 x 480 ones, you can do so by editing /etc/default/grub. Remove the # sign if it exists on the line that lists - GRUB_GFXMODE and change its value to the custom resolution you want to use. Keep in mind that not all resolutions may be available. You can view a list of available resolutions by pressing ‘c’ on the GRUB menu and then using the command vbeinfo.
If all goes well, you should be able to view your custom splashscreen the next time GRUB menu is displayed. If the image is not displayed correctly you might want to change the resolution to match the one listed in the /etc/default/grub file. Remember the default is 640 x 480. In case you are running short on imaginative ideas, you can install the grub2-splashimages package, that will give you a set of images that you can use as a splashscreen. Give it a spin and let us know how things went. We would also love to see your custom splashimages if you feel like sharing them with the world! 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
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We have become so addicted to the mouse that we do not realize how much it disrupts our work as we keep reaching out for it. And just how annoying does it become when your mouse is unresponsive, gets stuck or you trip it over as you try to quickly get a hold of it.
You need to hold the [Ctrl] key while selecting open windows from the taskbar. To open the menu seen on the left, right-click any of the selected items.
Are there folders or applications you need a lot? Why not create your own keyboard shortcut to quickly access these tools?
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If you’ve ever attempted to research a car problem using the Internet, then you already know that finding free information or tutorials is nearly impossible. The large majority of websites that market themselves as auto repair sites are nothing more than thinly cloaked sales sites for auto parts, ebooks and manuals or a question & answer service that will charge you a fee to receive an answer.
One of the most popular groups on Flickr is one aptly called "
Some time back we showed you 
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