MakeUseOf.com: “DOWNLOAD Go Google: Free Email & More On Your Domain” plus 14 more |  |
- DOWNLOAD Go Google: Free Email & More On Your Domain
- Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun]
- Cool Websites and Tools [June 9th]
- Join MakeUseOf On Facebook!
- Gmediafinder – Watch & Download YouTube Videos And Music Without Flash [Linux & Windows]
- Change & Delete Windows Drive Letters with DriveLetterView
- Solarized – A Crisp, Scientifically-Based Color Scheme For Your Apps
- Free Up Your Hands With Speech-To-Text [Android]
- Hot Tech Deals – D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Gigabit Storage Wireless Router $74.97 + more
- 5 Ways To Blur The Line Between Web Apps & Desktop Apps
- Chrome 12 Adds Malware Protection, More Hardware Acceleration [News]
- Browse Smarter & Faster With Triple Rendering Engine Browser Lunascape
- How To Get Your Android Phone’s Notifications On Your Desktop With Android Notifier
- Minigroup Lets You Create Small Private Groups To Share Posts, Files & Events
- The 3 Best Paid Minecraft Alternatives
| DOWNLOAD Go Google: Free Email & More On Your Domain Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:31 AM PDT
Imagine logging into your own custom email address, at your domain, using an amazing cloud-based interface. Doesn’t that sound great? Wait, there’s more! You don’t just have email any more. You have a calendar that automatically saves itself and can be accessed anywhere. You have an office suite that you can use anywhere to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations that automatically save themselves and can be accessed anywhere, too. “That sounds great,” I hear you say, “but it must be really expensive!” Not at all. It’s free. Interested? Download “Go Google: Free Email and More On Your Domain.” DOWNLOAD Go Google: Free Email and More on Your Domain
This free PDF manual will show you how to:
Download “Go Google: Free Email and More On Your Domain.” DOWNLOAD Go Google: Free Email and More on Your Domain Please take a moment and share this guide with friends on Facebook and Twitter using the social network sharing buttons below. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun] Posted: 09 Jun 2011 11:23 PM PDT
If you would like to keep up with all latest Geeky Fun additions, please subscribe to the Geeky Fun feed here. You can also subscribe and get the latest additions via email. Hey Facebookers, make sure to join MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 105,000 fans already! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Cool Websites and Tools [June 9th] Posted: 09 Jun 2011 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. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Posted: 09 Jun 2011 07:31 PM PDT
We also use our fan page to inform you about premium software giveaways and discounts that are not announced on the website. We get a lot of those from software developers and distribute them mainly on Facebook. Simply click on the “Like” button below to get started! So grab some friends and join us on Facebook today! SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Gmediafinder – Watch & Download YouTube Videos And Music Without Flash [Linux & Windows] Posted: 09 Jun 2011 06:31 PM PDT
If Flash is too cumbersome for you, and you enjoy being able to download your favourite YouTube videos, then Gmediafinder might just be the perfect solution. Streaming & DownloadingThe application itself really couldn’t be easier to use. Once launched, the first thing you’ll see is the Playlist view and everything you need to get streaming. Pick a source from the drop-down box (more on sources later), enter a search query and any results that match will be displayed in the left hand column.
Then it’s just a single click to load the video (or audio) of your choice in record time – the video doesn’t take long to load as there’s no Flash video player to load first. I found using Gmediafinder much faster than browsing YouTube via a web interface, with the added ability to download too! Once you’ve found a video you like and fancy downloading, a small drop-down box should appear next to the Download box under your search results. You can use this to choose your preferred quality of video, which is limited to the versions YouTube has available for streaming.
A simple click of Download takes you to your downloads page, and the video will immediately begin downloading to the location specified in the Download path drop-down box. It’s then up to you to decide what to do with your new FLV or MP4 video. By default YouTube will only search for videos at the 640×320 resolution. If you’re after HD content and if your Internet connection can handle it, you’ll want to change this option in Settings. Here you can also turn the other search engines on or off; by default they’re all enabled.
ServicesGmediafinder doesn’t just embrace Flash-free YouTube, but a couple of other sources of entertainment – MP3 search engines. You know the rules by now – if you don’t own it, it’s not legal. Audio playback is pretty good too, as is downloading files you’ve searched for. You even get a decent selection of visualizations to enjoy whilst you listen.
In addition to YouTube, Gmediastreamer supports the following search engines: DilandauA European-run MP3 search engine that allows you to "Download music for FREE", though with a limited catalogue. MP3RealmNow pointing to azmp3s.com, another slightly shady looking MP3 search engine that offers streaming, downloading and a lyrics lookup service. I’ve noticed not all files will stream, for some unknown reason. SkreemrAn MP3 search engine that claims to deliver music, remixes, podcasts and ringtones and works well. TagooA Russian MP3 search engine, quite possibly legal in Russia but probably not anywhere else. Some adverts on the site are probably NSFW (not safe for work) but accessing via Gmediafinder gets rid of those anyway! ImusiczAnother questionable search engine that comes with its own status page that you can check if your results aren’t showing up. Download & InstallTo install Gmediafinder on Ubuntu Linux, simply paste the following into a new Terminal window:
There is a version available for Mandriva Linux at Gnome Files. If you’re using another variant of Linux you can try to compile from source, you can find out detailed instructions regarding this at the Gmediafinder github homepage.
Windows users first must download and install this (32bit) or this (64bit) and then download and run the Gmediafinder installer from here (both 32bit and 64bit versions). The project doesn’t seem to have a dedicated homepage, though you can find out more at the Gnome Files website. ConclusionGmediafinder is a fantastic little tool for those of you who appreciate a Flash-free YouTube experience and the ability to download your favourite video and audio files. The program is responsive, simple and not bogged down with unnecessary extras, making it the slickest streamer and downloader I’ve used in a while. Download, stream and give Adobe the heave-ho with Gmediafinder; another fantastic piece of cross-platform freeware. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Change & Delete Windows Drive Letters with DriveLetterView Posted: 09 Jun 2011 04:31 PM PDT
Removable drives receive drive letters based on availability. For example your USB flash drive could receive the drive letter G when it is plugged in alone, but it might receive the drive letter H, when your external hard drive was plugged in and grabbed the G first. As this demonstrates, drive letter assignments for removable drives are not permanent. In some cases, however, a permanent drive letter assignment is desirable. Let’s say you have set up a backup routine. Your storage location is an external hard drive. You specified the path to this hard drive, assuming it would always be assigned the same drive letter. If however, another device is connected and occupies the respective drive letter, the backup may fail. To avoid this scenario, you can permanently assign drive letters to selected devices. DriveLetterViewDriveLetterView is a freeware utility for Windows, which provides a list of currently and previously connected devices and their respective drive letters. Moreover, you can use this tool to remove devices or change their drive letter assignment. If desired, a list of all drive letters with assigned drives and other properties can be exported to a simple text file or saved in CSV, XML, or HTML format. DriveLetterView comes in a ZIP archive and being a portable tool it doesn’t require an installation. Simply extract the files, run the EXE file as Administrator, and you will see a list of your drives, similar to the one shown in the screenshot below. Note that if your anti-virus software reports DriveLetterView as malware, it’s a false positive!
Using the red X in the top left you can delete drive letters of devices that are not currently plugged in. This way you can make drive letters available and subsequently assign them to other devices from the list.
Note that DriveLetterView cannot be used to change the drive letter of a local hard drive! Windows Computer ManagementIn case you are wondering whether assigning drive letters can be done in Windows without the help of third party software, the answer is yes, this is possible. It does however require that the respective device is connected. In Windows 7, click the > [WINDOWS] + [R] key combination and run > compmgmt.msc. Within the > Computer Management window switch to > Storage > Disk Management.
You can now right-click on any of the devices listed on the left and select > Change Drive Letter and Paths… In the window that opens, click the > Change… button. In the next window, select the desired drive letter and > OK your changes.
The change is instant. The next time you connect that device to your computer, it will again be assigned the drive letter you selected. Moreover, the Windows solution also allows you to change drive letters of local hard drives. Be careful though as these changes can render software unusable. SummaryUsing DriveLetterView instead of the native Windows Computer Management tool not only has the advantage that it requires less mouse clicks. In contrast to the default Windows solution, you can easily manage drives that are not currently connected, but were previously connected to your computer. DriveLetterView thus is a handy tool for those of you who frequently switch around external drives and wish to permanently assign drive letters to specific devices. I recently wrote about NirLauncher, a portable software library from NirSoft that comes packed with over 100 freeware utilities. DriveLetterView is one of these free tools. How many removable drives do you have and are you going to take advantage of the possibility to permanently assign drive letters? SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Solarized – A Crisp, Scientifically-Based Color Scheme For Your Apps Posted: 09 Jun 2011 03:31 PM PDT
For starters, Solarized isn’t aimed at one particular editor or piece of software. You can get Solarized for Vim, Emacs, IntelliJ and six other editors, for four different terminal emulators, and even for Mutt (a console email client). It is also available as a color palette for Photoshop or GIMP. Solarized author, Ethan Schoonover, did not just pick colors he felt were pretty. Instead, he used something called Lab color space to figure out the exact differences in lightness various screen elements should have, and selected the colors based on fixed color wheel relationships (some of the hues are analogous, some are Triad-based, etc.). Sure, the result is pretty, but it’s also very readable. The Solarized color schemes are available both with a light and dark background. Here’s what the light-background variation looks like:
And here’s the dark variation of the same file:
You can see how similar both modes are. They feel like one color scheme, but both are very readable. In fact, they’re both readable to the same exact degree: they have symmetric lightness differences, so switching between dark and light background retains the same perceived amount of contrast between scheme elements. It’s a minimalistic scheme, with just sixteen colors. The number of colors can even be brought down further, to just five specific hues, and it would still be quite readable. Another thing that’s very impressive about Solarized is the presentation. Most color schemes are just a single text file with hardly any documentation. Solarized has a gorgeous webpage (colorized according to the scheme, of course), where the author lays down his reasoning for the scheme and its advantages in excruciating detail. The two screenshots above were taken from that very page, where you can find many other screenshots showing different file types in Vim, as well as many other applications. I’ve been using Solarized for a few weeks now, mainly in Vim via Putty. For this particular scenario, installation was not trivial: I’ve had to configure Solarized for PuTTY, and then configure it for Vim as well. Even so, the colors I get on my own screen seem somewhat different from what I see on the Solarized website. I do like the look I ended up with, but you’ll have to agree it doesn’t look exactly like the beautiful screenshots above:
That’s the only drawback really. If you just use a single application (say, GVim or another local text editor), you should have no problem installing Solarized on your system. But if you need to get it working via PuTTY and Vim, you’re in for a bit of a challenge. Having said that, if any of you manage to replicate the exact Solarized look using Putty/Vim, I’d love to hear about it in the comments — perhaps you can teach me a thing or two! SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Free Up Your Hands With Speech-To-Text [Android] Posted: 09 Jun 2011 02:31 PM PDT
Android’s voice software is easy to customise and is already ready to use RIGHT NOW on your Android phone. There’s no need to scour the Android market for decent speech-to-text software because you already have access to it. It’s also unlikely you’ll need to find a paid alternative because this works quite well. I think you’ll be surprised. Set Correct DictionariesFirst, make sure your phone is set up to use the correct dictionaries. Go to Settings > Voice Input and Output Settings.
Choose Voice Recognizer Settings > Language. You can fine-tune the input language not just with basic language differences, but with local accents. Your Android can differentiate between Canadian English and American English, even if most of the rest of the world can’t. I’m clearly in need of the Australian English variety, myself.
For the text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities you’ll need to go into Text-To-Speech Settings > Language. There’s not as much choice as for speech input, but you can at least pick from a few popular languages and accents. Test out the speech synthesizer by clicking Listen To An Example. Here is also where you can change the speech rate and lock in your settings to ensure applications don’t override them with their own settings. To do this, check the box for Always Use My Settings. Note that to use text-to-speech the application will need to have been written to support it.
How To Use Android Speech-To-Text CapabilitiesRight, now you should have a go at using your voice features. To use your voice to write something, head to any application, find a text field and bring up the keyboard control for entering text.
Then, just to the left of the space bar you’ll see a button with a microphone and two letters indicating your language input settings. Hold that button down and your phone will ask for voice input rather than keyboard input. If you don’t hold it down long enough you will see a menu where you can change the language. This is also a useful feature, but not what you’re after right now.
A window will pop up saying “Speak Now“. Speak into the phone clearly and use full sentences. When you want to use punctuation you’ll need to speak the name of the punctuation mark. Sadly, despite my Aussie settings I still needed to use American punctuation mark terminology. So, to enter a full stop (a.k.a. a period) you’ll say “Period” to get the punctuation mark entered. What Else Can You Do With Speech in Android?For starters, remember that this speech-to-text function is available anywhere you can use the keyboard. That’s pretty versatile! You could dictate whole blog posts by sending yourself an email to edit later. Android 2.2 (Froyo) also lets users search Google using speech and to use voice commands — Grab this Google Voice Search application to get going and check out this post for more information. You can even phone friends using speech only. Some applications are voice-compatible and will allow you to enter commands using your voice. This leads to some nifty ideas: think about how useful brainstorming could be with a to-do list which understands voice commands and lets you enter text with your voice. If you’re just getting into using voice on your phone, you should also read about The 5 Coolest Voice Apps For Your Android Phone. How does Android‘s speech-to-text suit you? Does it save you time? Does it understand your accent? What do you use it for? Let us know in the comments! SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Hot Tech Deals – D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Gigabit Storage Wireless Router $74.97 + more Posted: 09 Jun 2011 01:30 PM PDT
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.
Hey Facebookers, make sure to join MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 105,000 fans already! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| 5 Ways To Blur The Line Between Web Apps & Desktop Apps Posted: 09 Jun 2011 12:31 PM PDT
We love web apps here at MakeUseOf; our mission is to write more about what you can do online than what you can do with your computer offline. As time goes on however, the line between the two is increasingly hard to define. If you embrace this wholeheartedly, you might want to take some active steps to blur the web and the desktop. Let’s take a look at some ways of doing so – some simple, some complex. Chrome’s Web AppsThe most obvious place where the desktop and the web is blurring is, of course, Chrome. Their new web store is made up entirely of applications that run within your browser.
Did you know, however, that you can add direct shortcuts to such applications on your computer? Simply open a new tab, then right-click the application’s icon. You’ll see an “add shortcut” option. Click that and you’ll be able to add an icon, either to your system’s menu or your desktop. This works on Windows, Mac and Linux, so try it out. Having such shortcuts on your desktop make web apps feel more like desktop apps, which is fitting. Most people today regularly switch between the two types of applications. But Chrome’s not the only game in town for that. Mozilla’s Prism ProjectMozilla has been in on the web app scene for a while. The Prism project allows users to create site-specific browsers for any web app.
Fluid For MacLove the Prism concept, but want something speedy for your Mac? Fluid’s got you covered. Making use of the Safari engine, Fluid is well integrated with your Mac system. It even creates functional dock icons, with indicators:
Jolicloud OSDo you really want to blur the line between the operating system and the web? Try out Joli OS, formally known as Jolicloud. This operating system is built from the ground up to make web apps the primary function of the operating system, and it does a good job. Use this system for a while and you’ll forget there’s a difference between your computer and the web.
You can get a taste of what this is like without installing an OS, by installing the Jolicloud app for Chrome. If you like what you see, install Joli OS later. Chrome OS
Of course, the ultimate foregoing of desktop apps for the sake of the browser is Chrome OS. Official laptops running this operating system will be on the market this summer, but for now there is an unofficial download for you if you’re brave. You’ll have access to Chrome’s web apps, and you’ll get to see how Google things the future of computing should look. ConclusionGoogle, and a number of other companies, are looking to surplant the traditional desktop paradigm with web-based desktop applications. Whether consumers will fully embrace this or not is an open discussion, but it’s pretty clear that many already have. Millions use Gmail and other web-based email clients instead of a desktop alternative, and even more make use of web-based word processors and photo editors. Do you think the web will eventually replace the desktop operating system? Leave us some comments below, as well as any predictions you might have. Or share other ways you blur the desktop with the web. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Chrome 12 Adds Malware Protection, More Hardware Acceleration [News] Posted: 09 Jun 2011 12:17 PM PDT
Many of the changes in the new version focus on security. The Safe Browsing technology in Chrome has been updated to provide some protection against malware and phishing and will be able to detect some malware in files. At the moment, Google hasn't made any specific claims about the effectiveness of this newly implemented defense. In addition to the malware protection, there are new controls for Flash's local shared objects. This makes it possible for users to delete Flash cookies, a task that previously could only be accomplished by using Adobe's online settings application.
Not all of the updates are about protecting users, however – some are about having more fun. Chrome 12 is introducing hardware acceleration for 3D CCS transforms. This provides yet another hardware-accelerated option for delivering media to users. Google has a demo of this new functionality. It displays a running video clip that users can rotate, scale and apply 3D effects to in real time. As could be expected, the new version also includes some bug fixes and a number of smaller improvements. For example, users can now launch Chrome apps by entering their title into the omnibox. Source: Google Chrome Blog SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Browse Smarter & Faster With Triple Rendering Engine Browser Lunascape Posted: 09 Jun 2011 11:31 AM PDT
One of the things that has always irritated me about the various browsers is that there are some pretty cool features in some that are lacking in others, and each of them use one of three or four “rendering engines.” A rendering engine is the part of the browser that does most of the work – it reads in web content in the form of HTML, XML, CSS and other client-side mark-up languages, and then displays that coded information in a graphical, well-formatted webpage. These engines can actually be embedded into more than just browsers – many e-mail clients, RSS readers and other applications now have the rendering engine built in. The IE engine, Trident, is the one most commonly used. Each rendering engine has subtle differences, and if one of your favorite pages doesn’t display right, or you are a web developer and need to see how each engine formats the page, then you’re faced with installing several browsers that use the different engines. Browse With Multiple Rendering EnginesAll you have to do now is install the Lunascape browser, and you can switch rendering engines on the fly. This is great for web designers, and it’s also great for anyone that wants a browser that will display every page on the net correctly, even if it was programmed to work for one particular rendering engine. When you first install Lunascape, you’ll have the option to import bookmarks, settings, and even many of your favorite add-ons, into the Lunascape browser.
You have the ability to switch multiple rendering engines at will with Lunascape, but during install you can choose which engine you’d prefer as your default. Since I prefer Firefox, which uses the Gecko engine, that’s the one I chose.
The default skin for Lunascape is a silvery/gray that I personally feel leaves much to be desired. An important order of business for me is to change the skin. But first I wanted to poke around to see if Lunascape has anything unique to offer by default – without the need for plugins. As you can see here, the display is very much tab-based, with quick links in the menu bar and a navigational bar that’s fairly straightforward. You also have a leftbar with favorite links, history and RSS feeds.
If, at any point, you want to change the rendering engine, just look at the lower left corner of the browser and click the icon there. You’ll see a pop-up where you can change the engine on the fly. A cool feature is that if you find a website that only displays correctly with one specific engine, you can actually tell Lunascape to always load that page with that rendering engine.
If you look at the lower right of the window, you’ll see a group of icons with a lock, an eye and more. This is the security and privacy area. You can use these to take a look at detailed information about the page, including any robots, whether your connection is encrypted, and more.
Click on the Security tab to see if the site stores cookies on our computer or review any saved passwords for the site.
At the Lunascape website, you can sift through hundreds of browser skins to make the look and feel of the browser a bit more personalized for your tastes. There are both “official” skins as well as many user-submitted designs. The one I went with is a dark theme called Luna Drive. It’s a cool theme, although unlike the display I have below, you’re supposed to slide the URL field over to the right so the speed gauges are displayed in all their glory!
Extra Lunascape FeaturesBeyond the multiple-engine feature – which is awesome – there are also lots of extras that make Lunascape a browser worth checking out. For example, there are dozens of preloaded scripts and bookmarklets you can choose from to further customize your browsing experience.
There’s also a quick dropdown selection in the menu bar that you can use to switch your tabbed display from a single-page display to one that displays all pages either vertical or horizontal. This is especially nice when you need to work on two pages at once (like editing, reading the news, and blogging all at once).
Each of the navigational and display features that you really want on-the-fly are all available in the dropdown menus. Modifying which buttons are displayed are as easy as clicking on “Add or Remove Buttons.” You can just about customize everything about how Lunascape looks and behaves to suit your tastes.
The bottom line is that while I don’t normally entertain changing browsers, I’ve decided to switch over to Lunascape and see how well it treats me for a while. So far, it appears to do just about everything I liked about Firefox and Chrome, and page-load time really appears to scream with Lunascape. The site claims it’s the fastest browser – but that claim would really have to be put to the test to confirm. If you want to freshen up your browsing experience, give Lunascape a try. Let us know what you liked or didn’t like about the browser in the comments section below. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| How To Get Your Android Phone’s Notifications On Your Desktop With Android Notifier Posted: 09 Jun 2011 10:31 AM PDT
About Android NotifierAndroid Notifier is the app that gets it done. The general idea is simple: have a part of the app on the phone, listening for notifications and sending them out according to its configuration. The part on the desktop then receives these notifications and displays them for you, as shown below.
That’s all there is to it. However, you have a handful more options than just the simple idea. InstallationTo start things off, go ahead and download the app from the Android Market, or just follow the link to their site and read the QR barcode. Now go to the site if you haven’t already and download the corresponding setup file for your system. There are files available for easy installation in Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE. Note that these packages do not come in the default repositories for your system if you use Linux.
ConfigurationConfiguration takes a little while because you have to configure both the part on your phone and the part that is on your desktop. However, for both, the process is very self-explanatory. If you choose to send the notifications via your WiFi (or even over the Internet if you have a static IP address and the correct port forwarding), you can choose whether to broadcast the notification over the entire network so that configured clients will be able to pick it up and display it (this won’t work over the Internet), or whether you want to target specific IP addresses (this needs to be set if sending over the Internet). You can also choose to send the notifications via Bluetooth if distance is not an issue. You’ll just need to have the phone and computer paired as a prerequisite, and you’ll be able to choose which device to send the notifications to. Finally, you can also set a passphrase for your notifications, so only when both the phone and client have the correct passphrase entered will notifications appear. Make sure that similar settings are entered into the desktop client. Note that you can collapse certain categories of settings when you don’t need them. To test your settings, just send out a test notification. Another handy feature is the availability to execute commands for your computer each time a certain even occurs.
Aside from the notifications that appear in the notification bar on your phone, Android Notifier can also periodically notify you of the battery level of your phone. This is a great feature because it’ll be one less thing to worry about where you have to constantly check your phone. ConclusionUsing Android Notifier is a great advantage for those who wish that they did not have to constantly check their phones while working on the computer. If you have an Android phone, I highly suggest that you try it out! Do you find Android Notifier a great convenience and plan on using it, or just more pop-ups in a sea of other notifications? Let us know in the comments! Image Credit: Flickr SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Minigroup Lets You Create Small Private Groups To Share Posts, Files & Events Posted: 09 Jun 2011 09:31 AM PDT
It’s true that you can adjust Facebook to let you share things to a few selected people, but why not try to use a web service which is specifically built to cater to this need? Meet Minigroup – a web tool that will help you create your own small private groups to share posts, files, and events. Let’s Get The Groups GoingThe first step you need to do to create your private online groups is to sign up for the service. Fill in all the required fields, set your time zone, upload a photo, and click the red “Create my account” button.
After the signing up step, you can start creating your groups. Click the “+ Create a group” button under your profile picture.
You can also watch the introduction video to get familiar with the features. Give a name and description for your group, upload a photo – preferably a picture of all the group members, then click “Next“. If you want to give permission for your group members to invite others to join, check the “Allow members …” box.
Minigroup allows you to customize your profile just for the group. You could upload another photo, use an alias, and give a different self description visible only on that specific group.
Click the “Create the group” button, and… Posts, Events, And Group MembersCongratulations! You’ve just created your first group. There are four visible tabs in the group view: “Post” is a chronological summary of everything that you’ve shared with the group, while the other three are items filtered by type.
You can create blog-like posts by clicking the “+ New post” button on the top right area of the page.
You can also create events and invite others to join using the “+ Create an event” and “+ Invite people” buttons on the left sidebar.
The posting process is fairly simple: you write the title and the body, then click the “Post” button.
You can add any kind of files to your post by clicking the red “Attach …” link. The files will be uploaded to Minigroup. Please be warned that each group has a 250MB storage limit. While this limit is fine for text documents and small images, you would want to think twice before uploading a 30 minute vacation video.
The post will appear on the group page. While images will be displayed along with the post, other kind of attachments will only be available as a download.
Creating a new event is also quite straightforward. You fill in the start time (and end time if you want), give a title, location, and a short description of the event.
Other group members can respond to the event by choosing one of the buttons: “Attend“, “Maybe“, and “Decline“.
You can invite people to join your group by entering their email addresses or choosing from the existing members.
You can also create an invitation link and share the link with others. Be careful though, as anybody with the link could join the group.
You can view all the existing groups under your account by clicking the “Groups” tab.
Quick Post With BookmarkletTo help users post web materials to their Minigroup account, Minigroup provides us with a bookmarklet. You can find the bookmarklet link on the left sidebar under your profile picture. Or you could also click the “Tools” link at the bottom of the page.
On the Tools page, drag and drop the “Share on Minigroup” blue button to your browser’s bookmark bar.
Using the bookmarklet is easy – click it whenever you have found a nice article on the web that you want to share to one of your groups.
A quick post window will appear. If you select any part of the article, the selected part will appear on the window. You can choose to send the article to one of your groups or to specific members of the groups.
After playing around with Minigroup for a while, I found the tool to be fun and useful. If you prefer interactions within small private online groups instead of broadcasting your status to the world, then you should try Minigroup. What do you think of Minigroup? Do you use similar web services? Please share them using the comments below. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| The 3 Best Paid Minecraft Alternatives Posted: 09 Jun 2011 08:31 AM PDT
But few is not none, and Minecraft’s success has certainly inspired some other developers to try apply a similar sandbox concept to different titles. If you like Minecraft, but you’re a bit burnt out, these similar games might be a nice vacation. Blockland
At first glance, Blockland seems very similar to Minecraft, as they’re both about using available blocks to create whatever you’d like in a custom environment. Even the perspective is similar, although Blockland has a much different graphical style. These similarities are deceiving, however. Blockland actually began life back in 2004 as a homage to Lego. After spending three years in a beta state, it went retail in 2007 and has since enjoyed a small but loyal following. There’s arguably less game here, as Blockland doesn’t have a survival mode and isn’t about mining at all. It’s purely about building. The complexity of what you create using in-game tools is actually greater than that of Minecraft, however. Up to 32 players can join forces in multiplayer. Blockland is $19.95 on the developer’s website. Fortresscraft
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Notch and everyone else involved in Minecraft’s development should be very flattered indeed. The games are so similar that the first question in Fortresscraft’s FAQ is “Can’t you be sued for infringing Mojang’s copyright?” The developer’s answer is naive in the extreme, but that’s beside the point. The big difference is the platform. Fortresscraft is a Xbox Live Indie project, which means that while the look and feel of Fortresscraft is similar to Minecraft, you now have the option of enjoying the game from the comfort of your couch. Fortresscraft’s unique features relate to Xbox Live. Your avatar will be your Xbox avatar rather than a generic, blocky loser, and multiplayer is supported through the Xbox Live service. The price of $3 (240 MS Points) is hard to complain about as well. Terraria
Something of a surprise, Terraria rapidly gained attention after a successful beta. The game is something of a mash between a 2D platformer and Minecraft. While some naysayers have bashed the game as a clone, it’s the most unique game of the three Minecraft alternatives listed here. It’s the 2D platformer elements that make Terraria distinct. Although mining resources and building structures are important parts of the game, combat is also front and center. You’ll run into monsters early and often, and your ability to maneuver and time attacks can determine success or defeat. There’s also a robust character development element to Terraria. As you obtain new resources and attractive vendors to your structure(s) you’ll be able to obtain a wide variety of new weapons, armors and gadgets. These are critical if you want to mine your way into the deepest, darkest dungeons and beat the bosses within. Terraria supports multiplayer, although as with Minecraft, you’ll have to know the server’s IP address. ConclusionI decided on these games because I think they offer the most unique gameplay while also replicating that exploration and creativity that makes Minecraft so addictive. There are a number of other games that deserve honorable mentions, however, such as Manic Digger and Infiniminer. If you know of a great block-based sandbox game, feel free to share it in the comments. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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