MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [April 15th]” plus 10 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [April 15th]
- 5 Great Sites To Create Your Very Own Forum
- The 5 Best Non-Blog Wordpress Themes
- 5 Great TV Shows You Can Completely Watch Online
- Hot Tech Deals [April 15th]
- First Impressions of Opera Mini Web Browser for the iPhone
- Never Forget Another Login Password with MobileWitch
- DaisyDisk Giveaway Winners: Round 3
- 3 Impressive Photoshop Effects Performed In Less Than 5 Minutes
- How to Create a Website Header Image Using PowerPoint
- When and How To Reinstall Internet Explorer
| Cool Websites and Tools [April 15th] Posted: 15 Apr 2010 08:31 PM PDT
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. Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers! Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 Great Sites To Create Your Very Own Forum Posted: 15 Apr 2010 06:30 PM PDT
Anyone who wants to talk with their friends, make their own community, or own their very own website may want to setup their own forum. However, you may think that it is impossible to set one up as you have no clue about how to create a website, but don't worry, here are 5 sites that allow you to easily create your own forum.
ForumotionMakeUseOf has covered Forumotion before, and one of the good things about Forumotion is that you get to choose from 4 different forum platforms. These include: phpBB2, phpBB3, punBB, and Invision. You can also customise your forums with over 3000 themes. There is also a large list of subdomains that you can choose from to match the type of forum that you want to host. But if you don't want to go down the path of a subdomain, Forumotion allows you to purchase your own domain through the forum’s admin interface. Forumotion also offers a number of features:
Free Power Boards/Free ForumsFree Power Boards and Free Forums is another great forum provider that offers an great range of features. However, only phpBB is available. They offer a number of upgrades that you can add to your board such as domain names, the removal of ads and copyright banner. However, these all come at a cost. The features are very similar to those of Forumotion such as a custom admin panel, over 150 different styles, a large range of forum mods, a recovery console, and 24/7 support. Visit the Free Forums Features Page for all the features that they offer. The mods that you can install on your forum are:
LeforaLefora offers a unique forum experience with the ability to add sidebar widgets and much more. Lefora offers the following features when you use it to create your own forum:
phpBB HostphpBB doesn't offer anything special compared to the sites above, but if you want a basic version of phpBB3, then phpBB Host is for you. If you can put up with the large banner that's placed on your forum and love the unlimited bandwidth, members and posts, you can't go wrong with phpBB Host. Other features include:
There are also a number of mods that you can install as well such as:
You can check out the full features that phpBB Host and phpBB3 have to offer.
Pro phpBBPro phpBB is very similar to phpBB Host as you just get the phpBB3 forum with nothing extra. Pro phpBB doesn't offer anything fancy, but doesn't seem to have the obtrusive ad that phpBB Host has. If you just want the basic phpBB3 forum without the hassle of installing it on your own server, Pro phpBB is for you. I was also going to review Boardster but never received an activation email; and ProBoards but the CAPTCHA wouldn't let me register an account. You may also want to have a look at Vanilla: Fast, Free Forum Hosting. Have you used any of these sites to create your own free forum? What did you think of it? Do you use another service? We would like to know. Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf fan page on Facebook. Over 17,000 fans already!
Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 5 Best Non-Blog Wordpress Themes Posted: 15 Apr 2010 04:30 PM PDT
Like I said, Wordpress began as a simple content management system for bloggers. It was pretty light, fairly simple to install and use and worked great for what it was meant for: blogging. I’m here to tell you it is still light and easy but it has grown to be much more than just a blogging platform. Extensions and non-blog Wordpress themes have done a great job making it into the CMS it is today and through the upgrade process, many of those useful extensions have been built in and now it works great running all sorts of sites.
Newspress – A Great Magazine Wordpress ThemeMagazines have hit the internet and they’ve done well creatively. I think a good magazine site will be colorful, easy to navigate, highlight main or new articles and will draw your attention to the content. When it comes to magazine themes, layout makes a big difference.
Newspress does a good job of immediately getting your attention. Across the top, you will see articles being highlighted with pictures from the individual articles. I believe the theme does this automatically for you. There are some customization options and a widgetized footer for further flexibility. Churches Can Use Wordpress TooI think Wordpress lends itself very well to running a site like a church site. That’s because of the amount of changes a church site could see on a weekly or monthly basis and Wordpress is a fairly simply CMS to learn. Churches don’t always have the budgets for professional webmasters or design professionals so a simple CMS and free non-blog Wordpress themes make life a lot easier.
The Delta Theme is a very amiable choice for a church website. It’s layout is very easy to figure out and shouldn’t be all that unfamiliar to someone who frequents church sites. With easy page navigation up at the left of the banner, and a thin sidebar directly beneath, and a wider right sidebar, there is plenty of room for things like services times, contact information, and calendar widgets. Easily Setup A Portfolio Site Using WordpressIf you are a design professional of any type these days, you’ll be wanting a presence on the internet. You’d want something to grab and hold attention, using graphics and photos that are large enough to show off your skills. You’ll also want it to be easy to navigate as to not frustrate any potential clients. Wordpress makes setting it up easy… with the right theme of course.
The WP-Creativix theme may just be the portfolio theme you’ve been looking for. In my opinion, one of the best portfolio themes, WP-Creativix has many of the features a design professional may be looking for. It has easy page navigation along the top, large pictorial previews of each project just below the page navigation, and an easy scroll through of the rest of your projects. Show Off Your Photography Skills With WordpressA good photography site or blog will actually get out of the way and allow the photography to take center stage. That not only means that the design should not be distracting, but also that the navigation should be unobtrusive. You can also have a page set up for each photo explaining about it. Wordpress, with the right theme, can help you accomplish all of this quite easily.
Viewport is one of those photo blogging themes that gets out of the way. Notice how the page navigation is small and subtle. There’s a search box but it’s not distracting. There are arrows on either side of the photo allowing you to easily flip through the photographs. There’s also a caption and quick description which also allows you to click through to a post that tells more about the photograph. All you can ask for in a photography theme, right? Use Wordpress as an Internal Communication Tool with P2As mentioned in an earlier article, How To Use Wordpress As A Twitter-Like Communication Tool, if you make use of Automattic’s P2 Theme, you can also turn Wordpress into a tool that may help pull your business or organization out of the uncommunicative rut.
The theme takes much of its usability from Twitter and it allows you to easily, and in real time, post and reply right from the front page. Want to know more? Just check out the post. Wordpress, even though it began as a simple blogging platform, can be used in many different ways. These are some of the best non-blog Wordpress themes highlighting many of those non-blogging uses. What other uses (and themes highlighting those uses) can you think of that Wordpress may be good for? Let us know in the comments. NEW: Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE! Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 Great TV Shows You Can Completely Watch Online Posted: 15 Apr 2010 02:30 PM PDT
But some TV shows are available online to a much greater extent than a few recent episodes. A few shows have opted to put the entirety of their catalog onto the web for all to see, for free. Sadly some of these only work in the United States, but that’s nothing you can’t get around with a good proxy. Check out Aibek’s article on watching Hulu from abroad and you’ll have the tools to watch these TV shows online as well, because the same process should work for all these shows.
Star Trek: The Original Series
This show really needs no introduction. What started as a quirky 1960s TV show would become a worldwide phenomenon, including 5 different TV series, a dozen movies (if you include the upcoming sequel to the original remake) and countless books. Of all these movies and shows, however, it’s the original series that’s found a good home online. CBS is hosting all of Star Trek at its website as well as at YouTube. For more information, why not read Mark’s article on the subject. The Twilight Zone
No, this one’s not about whining teenage vampires. It is, in fact, some of the most influential TV science fiction in history. It’s also online, care of CBS. The Twilight Zone isn’t a TV show in the traditional sense: there’s no consistent characters from episode to episode, nor is there a wider story arc. Rather, this show gives its viewers a complete story focused on the surreal. I really can’t explain better than that, so you might as well check this show out at CBS. While you’re there, check out the other TV classics as well. The Daily Show
That’s right: you can access any of the clips that kept you sane during Bush’s administration online for free. The Daily Show is America’s premier satire broadcast, but for many it’s more than that: Jon Stewart, the show’s host, was recently voted the most trusted newsman amongst 20-somethings. That the Internet generation’s most trusted journalist is, in fact, a comedian tells you a great deal about the mistrust journalists have created by not cutting through the crap and getting to the point. Come to think of it, I’m missing my point here. Watch any clip from the Daily Show’s history at thedailyshow.com The Colbert Report
This is the Daily Show’s evil twin. Whereas The Daily Show mocks the news, The Colbert Report twists it into a bizarre sort of sitcom. A parody of the altogether too-common personality-based news broadcasts such as The O’Reily Factor or The Glenn Beck Show, Colbert needs to be seen to understand (but rest assured: it’s brilliant). Watch any clip from The Colbert Report’s history at colbertnation.com. South Park
It makes sense that South Park would end up online in its entirety, because in many ways South Park was the first viral video. Commissioned to make a video Christmas card for Brian Graden (then an executive at Fox), animators Matt Stone and Trey Parker made a short video that was quickly passed from person to person via old-fashioned video tape. The short eventually made it’s way online, and spread quite far despite the limited bandwidth at the time. Since then every South Park episode’s been widely available online via pirated streaming sites, so the South Park team figured they may as well put every episode online legally. Today you can watch the 200 episodes of South Park at SouthParkStudios. Even better, South Park Studios is working out deals with a number of international partners, so you might even be able to watch this in your country without using a proxy. Head over to the site to find out! Honourable Mention: FireflyWhen Hulu launched it hosted the entirety of Firefly, the single greatest science fiction show in history. It is to gritty, dystopian science fiction what Star Trek is to the hopeful, utopian side of the genre, and it achieves this by borrowing a great deal from American history in general and the settling of the west in particular. Sadly the show was cancelled before its first season ended, but fan loyalty was so fierce that a movie featuring the characters came out just a few years later. You can’t get every episode of Firefly on Hulu anymore, however; now they rotate episodes there instead. To me, this feels like Fox cancelling Firefly on me all over again.This is salt in an already festering wound, because it’s almost been 10 years and I still think I’ll never forgive Fox for cancelling Firefly. And Futurama. And Arrested Development. You know what? I hate Fox. ConclusionIt’s cool to find the latest episodes of shows online, but to me there’s nothing like finding an entire series. This allows you to watch TV shows online in order of episode and really get a feel for the show’s history. Plus, it just plain means you can watch more of the show. Well guys, did I miss any shows online in their entirety? Share them! Are you angry that these links don’t work in your country? Complain below, or share your favorite method of bypassing the restrictions. We’re all in this together! Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Do share our articles with others! It’s really important to us. Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 15 Apr 2010 01:30 PM PDT
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.
Image credit: Modified from Svengraph’s icon set Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras. Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Impressions of Opera Mini Web Browser for the iPhone Posted: 15 Apr 2010 12:30 PM PDT
Opera Mini Web Browser [iTunes link] for the iPhone has a few features that should have shipped with the iPhone – Opera’s Speed Dial homepage, searching for specific text within a web page and the choice to remember passwords.
Another feature where Opera excels over Safari is its search bar. Using the search bar next to the address bar, you are given the choice of using Google, Amazon, Dictionary.com, eBay, IMDB or Wikipedia. It’s possible to remove any one of these search engines, but if you’re a fan of Bing or other search engines, you’re out of luck, because there is no way to add alternatives.
Opera boasts tabbed browsing, which is executed in a slightly similar way to Safari, in that when you have several tabs open, an icon at the bottom of the screen will show you how many web pages you have open. Moving between these pages in Opera Mini, however, is a very different experience than in Safari. Rather than swiping between screens, clicking on the icon will pull up a small screen with thumbnails of each tab that is open to select from. You can continue to open and close additional tabs using this menu.
One of the best features in the Opera Mini browser is the ability to control opening a link in a new tab. Clicking on a link and holding it down will bring up a small menu where one of the choices is to open it in a new tab. Opera’s “long click” can be used in a second way – to select text on the screen. After choosing that option, simply swipe your finger over the section of the text you would like select, and it will be highlighted. You can then choose to copy that text, or to search for that selection using the search engine of your choice. It has to be said, however, that Apple’s copy and paste method is a little bit more user-friendly. Clicking a picture and holding it down will bring up a small menu allowing you to save the image, or open it in a new tab.
Some may argue that storing passwords on a mobile phone is a security threat that they would rather not risk. Either way, Opera gives the user to choice to save passwords or not. When this option is switched on, when you log into any given web page, you will be asked whether or not you want to save the password. If you use Opera on your desktop, you will be happy to know that the Opera Mini browser also includes its Opera Link feature, which allows you to sync your bookmarks, speed dial and search engines between your iPhone and computer.
And of course it has all the standard features to be expected in a browser – a decent bookmarking system and the ability to browse through your history.
So the only question left to answer about Opera Mini is the browsing experience itself. Setting Opera Mini to full screen mode allows you to dedicate more of the screen to browsing rather than menus, so aesthetically, it definitely has one up over Safari. With Opera Mini you can open all web-pages in a mobile format – regardless of whether or not the site in question offers the option. When you’re on Edge or 3G – this is an extremely handy feature. In the screenshot below, you can see the difference on the BBC News website when opened in it’s normal state, and when opened using the ‘Mobile view’ setting.
When you zoom in on a webpage, you will discover another interesting little feature that Opera Mini offers – you can use the back button to zoom back out to fit the web page to the screen. But in general, the pinch and zoom method feels a little bit laboured using Opera, and web pages look a little bit better in Safari. Testing out the speed on Safari versus Opera Mini gave us varied results. In some cases, Safari loaded faster, while in others, Opera Mini got there quicker. The differences however did not seem in any way significant to push users in the direction of one browser over the other, although Opera Mini’s initial load up time can sometimes be surprisingly long. Only time will tell if Opera Mini can sway long-time Safari users away from their default browser. Have you tried out Opera Mini [iTunes link] for the iPhone yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments. Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers! Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Never Forget Another Login Password with MobileWitch Posted: 15 Apr 2010 11:30 AM PDT
Here at MakeUseOf, we’ve covered a number of password management apps and offered a number of secure password storage software reviews. Stefan covered Mitto, a fairly simple and efficient password manager application, and we also reviewed PassPack, an online password management tool. In the first case, the application is a little bit too simple for my needs, because I really want to be able to organize the many websites where a password is needed, and with Mitto it’s not easy to do that. I also am a bit wary about sites like PassPack – do you really want all of your sensitive passwords stored online? After a bit of searching, I found the perfect secure password storage software called MobileWitch.
Secure Password Storage Software to Automate All Your LoginsMobileWitch answers each of my concerns when it comes to storing and managing my many passwords. It’s a local application with encryption and an excellent level of security built into it, so I know my passwords are safe. It allows for the export of password data to a database.kdb file which you can store on your flash drive and bring with you anywhere. Install MobileWitch on any of the computers that you use often, and as long as you have your database.kdb file with you, then you know you have your latest list of passwords.
When you first install and launch the application, you’ll be asked to configure your master password. For extra security, you can also enable the use of a “key file” and select the location of your key file. This requires that a unique key file is present on the PC or the application won’t launch, even with the right password. This option will make mobility a little more difficult, but if your goal is utmost security, then you should enable this option.
The key file is encrypted with random values, generated by your mouse motion inside the “static box” as well as random keys you press on the keyboard. These completely random values, not generated by the software but by unpredictable human input, generates an ultra secure and virtually unhackable key file. Just seeing this level of security upon initial startup immediately put my mind at ease regarding whether this software would be secure enough to protect all of my sensitive passwords.
Once you’re through the initial setup, adding your websites and password login data is as simple as clicking on Edit -> Add Entry, or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Y.
Each entry asks for a Title – which you can use to easily identify the account in a way that you’ll immediately recognize. Then, type in your user name and password for that account, and also insert the URL for the login page. If your account password expires every 30 days or so, make sure to include that on this screen so that the software will prompt you for the new password when the time is right.
What I love about this software is that all of your login details are organized into groups. There are password records for your Windows and Network apps, email accounts, bank accounts, and of course Internet sites. Of course, some of these are very generic – just imagine how many entries would go under “Internet.” Luckily, the software lets you right-click and add subgroups so that you can organize even further.
To do so, just right-click on the group and select “Add Password Subgroup.” Keep in mind that when your password list gets very long, there are search features integrated throughout – you can search by group or through the entire collection if you can’t quite remember where you put a password. One other note on adding login information – you may notice that sometimes the auto logon feature doesn’t work quite right. To make sure the sequence of entries for the login form works correctly, click on Tools and then select “Auto-Type: Customize Sequence.”
The standard UserName->Tab->Password sequence should be appropriate, but if you encounter a strange login screen somewhere, this feature lets you customize the sequence script to match that exact screen.
When you’re ready to start using the application to log into your accounts, just right-click on the site that you want to log into and select “Open URL(s).” This will launch the website that you defined in the URL field. This saves even more time, because you don’t have to remember how to get to the login screen – you just click and you’re there.
Then, right click on the entry and select “Perform Auto-Type” and the application will automatically log into the account using the credentials you’ve supplied. Remember that the keyboard shortcuts are always available if you want to save even more time – Control-V will perform the auto-logon for you.
I really wanted to mention one more little security feature I discovered while I was exploring this software, and that is the clipboard auto-clear. In the settings section, you’ll find that you can configure the application to automatically clear the clipboard whenever you use copy-paste to copy your passwords. The creators of this software really tried to cover all of the bases to protect your passwords and provide the best security possible. In the end, I decided to use this software to cut down on the time that I waste either trying to find login URLs or trying to remember my passwords. What do you think of MobileWitch? Do you use your own password management tools or tricks? Share your own techniques for remembering your passwords in the comments section below. We NEED Your Comments!!! Please do share your thoughts in article comments. Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DaisyDisk Giveaway Winners: Round 3 Posted: 15 Apr 2010 11:00 AM PDT
Congratulations! Watch your email inbox for more information on how to claim your prizes. The next 4 winners will be announced at the same time tomorrow. The giveaway is about to end — if you feel your luck running out, use the 25% discount code “MAKEUSEOF” at DaisyDisk’s online store checkout. MakeUseOf would like to thank Oleg from DaisyDisk for his generosity while participating in this giveaway. Interesting in sponsoring? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us via email. Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf fan page on Facebook. Over 17,000 fans already!
Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 Impressive Photoshop Effects Performed In Less Than 5 Minutes Posted: 15 Apr 2010 10:30 AM PDT
One of the downsides of so many features in a single piece of software is that it gets cumbersome and difficult to learn for newbies. Well fret not, here are 3 Photoshop effects that you can do in under 5 minutes to make your photos look a bit more stylish!
Edge VignettingEdge vignetting is another common and very impressive Photoshop effect. While purists may argue about its classification as an edge effect, it definitely adds to the overall image and can catch the eye onto the subject of attention. Here is how to achieve it:
The effect is in place. You can make the final tweaks by moving the black layer or scaling it up if you need to move the vignette. The Polaroid Photoshop EffectA very common effect and very easy to achieve at the same time. Assuming you have the photo you want to work on open inside Photoshop, here are the steps you need to take to get the Polaroid Photoshop effect:
Optionally, you can add custom backgrounds or gradients to the layer beneath, add an extra white strip to the bottom of the photo before the transformation in step 2, add some text or whatever seems right! You can also stack more than one photos on top of each other and follow the above steps to get a cool collage Cool BordersYou can also use Photoshop to create cool borders for your photos quickly and easily. Here is how:
Do you know of some other Photoshop effects that can be done just as quickly? Share them with us in the comments! Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How to Create a Website Header Image Using PowerPoint Posted: 15 Apr 2010 09:30 AM PDT
In the terms of web presence, the first thing that people will see on your website is the header. So if you want your web page to give a good impression, you should create a nice header image. It is like a handshake and will tell the visitor about your personal quality. There are many ways to create a header image. But for those who have an allergy towards graphic editors, you can use just about any application with the ability to insert images and edit text to create one.
Beyond The Power Of PointsLet’s try using PowerPoint for our project today. The reason for choosing this app is because I’m sure most of office computers have this application installed, and as one of our readers pointed out in the comment section from the article “Create Cool Desktop Wallpapers Quickly using Microsoft Word” – it has the ability to save the document as an image. Before starting to create a header image, we have to be ready with the concept first. Because we want to create something that is simple and cool (and quick), the concept should not be too complicated either — the header should contain an image as a background, adorned with a short title and sub-title. That should be easy enough, right? So the first thing to do is to launch PowerPoint. I’m using the Mac version of the app, but the other version should not be too far off.
Start by resizing the size of the slide to the size of web header that you need. Go to “File – Page Setup” menu to open the setting window.
Then choose the appropriate size from the drop-down menu. The nearest choice for a web header is “Banner“, but that might not be what you need. If the size that you want is not on the list, you can always adjust the size manually. I chose to go with the proportion of 720 x 180 for this project.
Continue by inserting the background image. Click the “Insert Picture” icon, or use the “Insert – Picture” menu.
Resize the image and drag it to the position that you want.
Please note that even though the image is bigger than the canvas, PowerPoint will only show the part that stays within the boundary of the canvas. So always refer to the thumbnail on the left. Send the image to the back by choosing the action from the right-click context menu. If you do not do this, your text will be placed behind the image.
Another right-click, this time is at the blank whitespace, and choose “Format Background” from the pop up menu.
Choose how you want to fill in the background. You can choose solid color, gradient, picture or texture.
Now all that’s left to do is to type out the title and the description of the webpage, then modify the fonts (type, size, and color), alignment, and all other accessories to get the best appearance. My personal favorite font is Gill Sans Light with a drop shadow.
Saving the pictureNow, all that’s left to create your header image is to save the canvas as picture. The process is a snap: just go to the “File – Save As Picture” menu and choose the save destination.
But you might want to adjust the quality of the result by going to the “Preferences“, click the “Save” tab, and set the “Advanced Resolution Settings“. The figure could be at “DPI (dots per inch)” – the bigger the better, or in “Pixel” – using the size that you need.
And here’s the result of our little project.
Have you tried to use PowerPoint beyond creating presentation? Or do you have personal favorite non-graphic editor app to create quick graphics for everyday use? Share using the comment below. Image credit: Aidan Jones Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Do share our articles with others! It’s really important to us. Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When and How To Reinstall Internet Explorer Posted: 15 Apr 2010 08:30 AM PDT
Sometimes after cleaning a virus or spyware infection, applications can be damaged and Internet Explorer is usually the victim. In a case like this, Internet Explorer will not display web pages or it might take you to somewhere you do not want to go.
If these are your issues and you can not format the machine, it might be time to reinstall Internet Explorer (insert your own switch to Firefox joke here). I recommend uninstalling the browser totally, rebooting and then reinstalling it. This way, we are sure that we ripped out all of its guts and nothing is left behind lingering. You can also use these steps to simply remove Internet Explorer. How to Efficiently Reinstall Internet ExplorerWhen you remove Internet Explorer 8, your previous version of Internet Explorer will be restored. For example, if you upgraded Internet Explorer 6 to IE8, you will wind up with Internet Explorer 6 after you remove Internet Explorer 8. But I will walk you through reinstalling the latest and greatest version of IE8 before we are complete. If you are using Windows 7, removing IE8 will leave you without a browser so be prepared with the installation files on a USB stick. You can get the files here. To perform these actions, you will need to be logged in as an Administrator. For this example, we will be using Internet Explorer 8 on a Windows XP SP 3 machine. First, let's open Add or Remove programs by going to the Start menu then hitting Control Panel and then choosing Add or Remove programs.
Once Add or Remove programs opens, scroll down the list until you see Windows Internet Explorer 8 as you see in the example below:
Click on the words Windows Internet Explorer 8 and you will see a ‘Remove’ button appear as you can see below:
After you click on the Remove button, you will be brought to a screen like the one below. From here, all you need to do is click on Next. This will start the removal process.
The removal process lists applications that were installed after Internet Explorer 8 was installed. Sometimes applications rely on Internet Explorer for functionality. This warn us that we may have problems with these applications after the uninstall is complete. Don't worry, we will be reinstalling it when we are done! Go ahead and click on Yes to continue.
You will see file copying going on, followed by 4 removal steps. The computer will run through each of them until IE8 has been uninstalled and replaced with an older version.
When it is done you will see a Finish button. Clicking on Finish will restart your computer. Clicking on the ‘Do not restart now’ button will delay the inevitable but things may be screwy!
After restarting your machine, you will have your previous version of IE installed. You can verify the version by going to help – about. This is what I see:
Now from here, I can go to this link to upgrade my Internet Explorer back to 8. Find the ‘Download now’ button in the orange box like you see below and hit it.
Clicking on that button will start your download and installation of a nice clean copy of IE8. This time, watch where you are going and install some sort of protection from those nasty infections. You can check out the post by our very own Aibek on 15 Free Must-Have Applications For Your PC. For more anti-virus applications, check out The 10 Best Free Anti-Virus Programs. Good luck! Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers! Similar MakeUseOf Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 
Sites like 
If you’re in the market for a new computer, laptop, mobile phone, games and other accessories; don’t waste your time searching online. We’ve taken the liberty of locating the best deals tech deals and unifying them into a single post for your convenience.
As powerful a device as the iPhone is, its native mobile Safari browser leaves a lot to be desired. Until now, it has had no real competition in the iTunes app store , but with the launch of the Opera Mini browser browser for the iPhone – that could change. The launch may come as a surprise to many who didn’t think that the app would ever make it past Apple’s vetting process, but the significant absence of Flash support probably played a large role in that decision.
I have to admit, the one thing that I dislike about the explosion of the Internet, and the multitude of websites and online tools that we now use throughout our daily lives, is the fact that there are just so many passwords to remember. Some of you may experience this worse than others, depending how many tools you use that require a secure login, whether it’s an Internet site or a desktop application.
I’m sure everybody is familiar with the terms “Love at first sight” and “First impression will last forever”. Those statements tell you the importance of first impression. There’s even a statement saying “You only have three seconds to make your first impression”.
I recently wrote about how to deal with 
| You are subscribed to email updates from MakeUseOf.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment