Category Archives: Software
GVNotifier – Desktop Google Voice Notifier App
Revisions:
12-29-12: Initial release.
Are you a google voice user? I am, and one feature I like about it the most is the free SMS texting. Even though I have google voice on my phone, on my tablet, and looking at sms text messages from the web browser, I wanted to know if there was an easier way on my desktop to access all of my google voice functions.
It turns out that there is!
There is a program called GVNotifier that simply does that: it notifies you of new calls, voicemails, and you can even do SMS texting straight from the desktop! Sweet, time to turn off email SMS text notifications.
For more screenshots, and a link to the latest free download, click here.
Dear PIPA and ACTA, I Hate You
Piracy is an enormous problem, without a doubt. So I’m just going to jump into things right off the bat and begin by stating something that I haven’t heard anyone say so far regarding PIPA and ACTA: There are numerous other problems that are exponentially worse. Sure, piracy is a crime, but if it gets “omitted,” will that change the world for the better? I can, off of the top of my head, dish out a list of better causes that drops to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
1. Solve world hunger
2. Shelter the homeless
3. Solve global warming issues
4. Stop aids
5. Stop breast cancer
6. Stop any disease
7. Increase literacy rates
8. Stop oil starvation
9. Population control
10. Solve poor/rich distribution of wealth
This, I will not deceive you, is a list conjured from a pile of rubbish I thought up in thirty seconds. Although all of the above can be debated widely, the point is nonetheless clear: THERE ARE NUMEROUS AMOUNTS OF GREATER PROBLEMS THAN PIRACY!
Now, let me begin with the comparisons. There is a vast array of countries that prohibit piracy, and America is one of them (obviously). Now, my question to you, the reader, is “what is the only major country that piracy is not frowned upon?” Allow me to give you a hint or two: It’s a world superpower, it’s located in Asia, and over 95% of the goods sold in America derive from there. That’s right, you’ve guessed it! China!
Amazingly, real copies of things are harder to find than burnt ones! If one were to walk into a video store and attempt to browse their selection, you could find any movie without a doubt. Why? Because everything is burned, my good friend! Every movie you could possibly imagine, burned on a previously blank DVD that is now titled with a sharpie. Same goes for video games, programs, and just about any other form of data. What’s more amazing is that if the price is put into equivalent of the United States economy, the average movie would only cost you a whopping fifty cents! That’s right, the latest and greatest for only half of a dollar. Prices vary depending on how big the file is and how difficult it was to burn; still, the most expensive piece of data (if applied to our economy, once again) would be no more than five dollars.
Now, could you even possibly imagine how excellent it would be if you were only asked to dish out fifty cents for the newest blockbuster hit? Well I’d say that you don’t need to pirate whatsoever, because data doesn’t cost ridiculous amounts. Doesn’t it chafe you at least the tiniest bit knowing that a Chinese citizen only spends eight minutes out of his minimum-wage paycheck to purchase the newest release while you work for three plus hours to buy the “original” copy of that same exact movie? I assume it does. And the list doesn’t end there! Xbox 360 games, PS3 games, PC games, all programs, operating systems, and just about anything else you can imagine, all for under five dollars.
China, considered to be one of the most communist and controlled countries on Earth, condones piracy while America, said to be one of the freest and most prosperous countries in the world, does not? My fellow reader, if there is one thing I ask of you it is that you at least consider the possibility of betrayal by the American system and that you will also consider making a stand for yourself.
Long live free-world.
Speccy – Freeware for Gathering System PC Information
Did you know that there is an easy way to figure out the specs on your PC without having to dig through the mess? Your life can be easier using freeware program Speccy. Basically what it does is that it indexes your system, and at a glance, it can tell you about the serial numbers of the devices in your computer, the speed of your CPU, the temperatures of the motherboard, GPU, and more!
For an example screenshot, see below for a simple snapshot of my current computer configuration:
To learn more about the program and to download it, go here.
Auto Shutdown Your PC Using Freeware App AMP WinOFF
Revisions:
9-7-10: Initial release.
I love to save power on my PC. In fact, I am probably one of those green tech users that turn off the computer when they are not in use. Therefore, it is no surprise that when I have a computer idling, I feel it is being put to waste.
I have a great application that I use for almost a 4+ years now and that is AMP WinOFF. This is a great freeware utility that you can use to shut down your PC based on specific criterion. For example, let’s say that I am encoding a movie. When I encode a movie, I know it takes about 99 to 100% of my CPU usage. The sad part is once the encode is done, my computer just sits there upon hours and hours until I come back and make use of it.
[How To] Create Your Own Portable Applications Using Thinapp
After browsing the net a few months ago, I came apon a website showing off there own portable applications which you can easily use, on any PC without the need for installing (www.portableapps.com). After being annoyed by portableapps.com’s annoying splash screen, I decided to make my own.
This simple tutorial will explain, on how to create your very own portable apps.
[How to] Configure and Use Jing Screen Capture Software
Introduction:
If you’re making a video tutorial about a software program, you are probably going to need a screen recorder to make it professional. What if you’re writing a text tutorial? If it’s all text, the reader will have a hard time making sense of it, so you’ll want to include some screen capture images, right?
A friend told me about Jing, which is a free screen capture program. It can record videos and still images of your computer screen. Click here to get Jing.
Speed up your internet (for free) with Ashampoo Internet Accelerator 2!
Ashampoo is a great company; they make great software and also they offer great promos for us to get their quality software for free.
The topic of this post is another Ashampoo freebie: Internet Accelerator 2. The purpose of Internet Accelerator 2 is to help you load web pages quicker by optimizing your connection; and the great thing is it actually works! For example, GOTD loaded quicker by approx. 1.5 seconds after I optimized my internet connection (using IE7). Although some of you might not get the same result (results will vary depending on the website you visit, your internet connection type, and the geographical difference between your computer and the server which hosts the website you visit), Internet Accelerator is really worth a try, especially as it’s now free. Here is a more detailed description from the developer on the features of this software:
A slow internet connection costs time and gets on your nerves. For this reason, taking the time to optimise the settings is almost considered a must – particularly since an optimisation in terms of speed doesn’t come with any additional cost, neither for a hardware extension nor for the software, as the Ashampoo Internet Accelerator 2 can be used completely free of charge.
The program allows a fully automatic setting of the most important parameters. To achieve this, communicating the method used for internet access to the Ashampoo Internet Accelerator 2 on the part of the user is sufficient:
- Analogue modem
- ISDN
- DSL via LAN cable or cable modem
- DSL via wireless LAN
- Other LAN connections (no DSL)
This system means that the program gets the very last drop of performance out of the internet connection. When using a modem and an ISDL connection, the improvements in performance are particularly noticeable – a reason for celebration. With a DSL connection, the tuning result isn’t quite as impressive, as there are fewer things which need adjusting in order to provide an optimisation. Nonetheless, it is still the case here that every percentage of extra performance means better internet surfing.
So, how do you get this great program for free?
Visit the promotion page [click here] and fill in your email address. Ashampoo spams with their “service letters”, so feel free to use a temp email address from Mailinator, 10MinuteMail, or Trashmail. After you enter your e-mail, click “Send” and check your e-mail inbox. If you are a new Ashampoo customer, you will first need to “verify” your account; look for an e-mail from from “Ashampoo <MrReg@ashampoo.com” with the subject of “Registration (Step 1) …”. There will be a link in the e-mail for you to visit and verify your account:
Follow the link in this email and verify your account. After you have verified your account, or if you are not a new Ashampoo customer, check your inbox. You should have an e-mail from “Ashampoo <MrReg@ashampoo.com>” with a subject of “Your registration – Ashampoo® Internet Accelerator 2 (English)”. In this e-mail you will find your registration code. It should look like this:
Copy the registration code or save it in a secure place. Now go to download Internet Accelerator 2 from HERE and install it with your reg key. Enjoy!
Program Contest for Windows Mobile? Trying to look like iPhone?!
iPhone’s success might be partly due to the vast array of imaginative and entertaining software for that platform, so Microsoft are doing the best to persuade the community to make software of iPhone in the form of a “Windows Mobile Software Contest” that is going to be held worldwide. This means that Microsoft are eager to excavate new software for the Windows Mobile.
A successful program should achieve a balance among the following aspects: creativity, functionality, aesthetic design, interface operation, usability and entertainment factors. It is suggested that team members may divide their respective roles as below: (It is not a must to have all these roles in a team)Ø Playwright: Create characters and arrange the storyboard.Ø Research: Collect and consolidate information the program requires.Ø Interface Graphic: Arrange interface elements and design graphics.Ø Programming: Determine data structure, program code and server.Ø Debugging: Testing and debugging the program and suggest improvements.Each team is required to appoint a team leader. The team leader will be the only eligible person to claim any prizes of this Contest. The Organizers will not be involved in any prize assign issues within the team.
Nation States: A very simple but fun online political simulation game
[Note: This review was written by Adrian, the Freeware Elite. Visit his tech blog at: Freeware Elite.com]
Version Tested: 1.0 (final version)
Description: NationStates is an online political simulation game that is totally free, unlike Soccer Manager in which you can buy gold accounts. You can create different nations with strange prefixes (Republic, Dominion, People’s Republic, Most Serene Kingdom, etc.) and manage them through your browser.
There is also something called the World Assembly, which is similar to the United Nations, but has a whole lot more countries (around 11000) and different “regions” which can be freely chosen. However, the World Assembly membership is totally voluntary. Here are some more notes on this online game:
Windows 7 Release Date – October 22nd!
Microsoft recently announced that October 22nd is when the next version of Windows will be released. Sweet! I am using the RC right now and I am truly digging it.
When October comes around, I will definitely be moving to the new OS. Will you?
Source
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