Crenk » Software

Feedly: The Best Browser RSS Reader

Dean Sherwin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:22:24 +0000

I though I’d share with you guys an RSS reader that I started using recently called Feedly. Basically it’s and add-on for most browsers including Chrome and Firefox which combines all your RSS feeds into one incredible place that by far surpasses generic readers such as Google.

Here is a screenshot:

What I like most about is that it also combines other services such as GMail and Twitter into the same package so you’re getting all of your information in the one place instead of having several tabs open.

It’s free and its easy to set up once you have installed it as an add-on. Click here to download Feedly.

Google Chrome 4 Beta Released on Windows

Steven Finch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:06:18 +0000

It has been amazing that Google have been able to pump out 4 releases of a browser that has only been in the market for a little over a year. Compare that to Firefox, which took over six years to reach 3.6.

We’ve improved performance scores on Google Chrome by 30% since our current stable release, as measured by Mozilla’s Dromeao DOM Core Tests, and by 400% since our first stable release.” – Idan Avraham and Anton Muhin

Expectedly, Google Chome 4 is currently only available for the Windows platform. Reports have come in that it works just fine with the latest release of Windows, despite the fact that it only specifies XP/Vista as being currently supported.

Download Google Chrome 4 Beta

iPhone Synchronization with Linux

Augusto Alvarez — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:31:39 +0000

I guess there are tons of Linux users that were waiting for this kind of project; Marcan42 is developing Usbmuxd, that it is capable to synchronize your iPhone/iPod Touche with your Linux distribution.

Well there are a few applications already available that are capable to achieve this functionality, but at a small cost, iPhone must be jailbreaked. Usbmuxd represents a library that will be in charge to generate the communication with the device and your machine. Usbmuxd name actually was created from “USB multiplexing daemon”.

Using this daemon, plus other Linux libraries, you will be able to proxy requests from the USB cable to the specific port on the iPhone. Here are some of the libraries involved:

libusb-1.0 provides an advanced API to access USB devices under Linux, replacing the old libusb-0.1 API
usbmuxd coordinates application access to the device and talks the specific iPhone/iTouch USB protocol
libiphone implements the Apple-specific protocols that are tunneled through usbmuxd: it can launch services through lockdown, retrieve device info, send notifications, and access the filesystem via AFC.
iFuse and gvfs-backend-afc both provide access to AFC to regular Linux apps. iFuse does this by mounting via FUSE, while gvfs-backend-afc is obviously a backend for gVFS.
libgpod (the library that traditionally has managed music databases for iPods) is being extended to support the new SQLite format, the new hash, and also to talk to libiphone to properly put the device in to and out of sync mode.

Ok, I know, if you are not a Linux user, some of these concepts might confuse you; but you can be certain about one thing: it is so great to have the opportunity to use your favorite technology and gadgets no matter which platform are you using.

Windows 7 Edition Switcher

Augusto Alvarez — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:45:36 +0000

As many of you already should know, Windows 7 media, as it was for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, includes all the versions inside the same disc. But, the difference from Vista is that Windows 7 does not let you choose from the different versions available when you install the operating system.

Windows 7 Edition Switcher will let you easily do that, and the possibility, for example, to switch from Windows 7 Home to Ultimate.

This new and simple app will let you convert any Windows 7 ISO file to the version that you need, and it only takes a few clicks.

Just select the patch from the zip file that you downloaded from the website, select the ISO file that you wish to convert and done.

Oh, did I mention this app it is also portable?

Enjoy!

Top 4 Converter Programs from PDF to JPG for Mac

Steven Finch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:45:43 +0000

A lot of people have big issues converting files from PDF format to any other format. Today, I wanted to run through converter programs which change PDF files to JPG (image) files for both Mac and PC.

Zamzar

Zamzar is probably the most well known file conversion site. The process is simplicity personified: Choose the file to convert then choose the format to convert to (e.g. JPG) then enter your email address to receive the converted file then convert. The minuses with the free service are that the file size is limited to 100MB with just 5 simultaneous conversions. Also, you might feel a wee bit uneasy uploading sensitive data without encryption support.

YouConvertIt

YouConvertIt is a new site that lets you upload 5 files at a time and then convert them from PDF to JPG format.

Neevia Document Converter

Neevia Technology has a web interface which facilitates the conversion of PDF documents to image files. Select the conversion settings and upload your file. The converted file can be rendered in the browser or can be downloaded via an email link. Two dropdowns further give you control over image quality and resolution. The only visible restriction is the 1MB file upload size limit.

If you are wary of uploading sensitive files over the net, you need to look beyond the online solutions to something much more local. Thankfully these three pieces of free software take up the task.

PDF-Xchange Viewer

PDF-Xchange Viewer is a light feature-rich PDF document reader. The free version of the software is a capable document handler with most of the standard features expected. Add comments and annotations, mark-up pages with texts and objects, type within the PDF document along with plug-ins for both IE and Firefox are also included.

But the feature which interests us is the ability of the software to export a file or a page to the supported image formats like JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG and more.

Open the PDF file in the viewer, click on File – Export to Image and the dialog opens up where you can set the pages to convert, the image type to convert to and the destination folder. More importantly, the ‘Export Mode’ setting allows you to designate the number of image files for the subject PDF file. The ‘Page Zoom’, ‘Resolution’ and ‘Page Background’ also allow added finishing touches.

How to Download from Megavideo

Dean Sherwin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:29:36 +0000

Many sites such as MegaVideo, Vreel and other offer the ability to watch some of our favourite TV shows and Movies. However, does that time limit put in place by Megavideo bother you? Or how about just wanting to watch it on your iPod? So why not download the videos? Oh yeah, they charge you for that.

Well, here at Crenk we have a quick, easy and FREE way to download videos from sites like Megavideo.

1. Get the video’s URL. Most players offer this next to the embed code for the video etc… or in the address bar in the browser. In Megavideo it’s one of the options along the bottom of the screen.

2. Go to www.clipnabber.com .

3. Enter the space provided at Clip Nabber. Press ‘Nab It!”

4. Then (required for Megavideo only), go back to the video page and right click outside of the video and view the page’s source. Or, click edit in the Browser’s menu and select to view it there. Select all of the code and paste it into the HTML box that appeared in ClipNabber.

5. Press ‘Nab It!” again.

6. Click on the link to download the video.

Now chances are that Clip Nabber has given you a .FLV video which can only be played in Real Player. To convert this into an .mp4 or .avi, use this video converter.

Now you can put the video on your iPod.

One Installer for All Your Applications with Ninite

Augusto Alvarez — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:51:19 +0000

There are only a few things in your life that you are condemned to repeat it over and over, re installing operating systems it is definitely one of them. And this task never comes alone; you are condemned also to installing your common apps all over again. That’s where Ninite appears, providing you in one installer all the applications of your choice.

As simple as it sounds, Ninite will let you decide from several applications already loaded (don’t worry, I’m pretty sure that the 90% apps will appear there) and generates automatically one installer with all of them.

The another great thing I found is that you just need to visit Ninite home page, select your apps (no registration needed) and click on “Get Installer”.

In case you were asking, here are my selected apps:

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari
Skype, Live Messenger
iTunes, VLC Player
Foxit Reader
Microsoft Security Essentials
Flash Player, Silverlight, Java JRE 6 Update 18
uTorrent
DropBox, ImgBurn
WinRAR
WinSCP, PuTTY

Microsoft Releases Application for Installing Windows 7 using USB

Augusto Alvarez — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:18:51 +0000

Just a few days after Windows 7 official release, we now have tons of tools available to optimize our Windows 7 experience. And Microsoft Store offers us: Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, which will let us burn an ISO Windows 7 image into a DVD or, my favorite choice, a USB flash.

This represents a new approach by Microsoft to insert Windows 7 into the netbooks world, that by default never include an optical CD/DVD ROM.

The usability provided by the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool it is quite simple as well: You will need, of course, the Windows 7 ISO file (extracted from the DVD or downloaded from Microsoft); select to create a DVD disc or a bootable USB drive and complete the wizard.

An important note about the USB option is that it will use the entire flash drive to build this bootable image, meaning that you better move those files from your portable drive.

I guess you are running out of excuses for not using Windows 7 right?

Presenting the First Windows 7 Tablet

Augusto Alvarez — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:11:39 +0000

Archos is presenting the first Tablet PC with Windows 7 incorporated, natively: Archos 9 PCTablet. Taking advantage of the touch-screen technology included within the new operating system. Now, with Windows 7 out in the market, you should expect to see a lot of these products in the next few months.

Want to know some of the features included in Archos 9 PCTablet?

VGA-out port.
USB and audio jack ports.
60 GB hard disk space available with an extra 25 GB for online use.
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and BlueTooth 2.1
9-inch screen.
FullHD support!
Intel Atom processor included.
1.7cms thick and 800g of weight.

And how much does it costs? £449.99 in the UK. That’s where it will only be available for now, or you can buy it from their website.

Here’s also a quick review made by TechRadar.

The netbooks seems that they are going to take the market (Windows 7 was already built thinking in netbooks), but having this devices available already, including a great OS like Windows 7, sounds like an excellent idea to me.

Windows 7 Official Launch Day Today

Steven Finch — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:35:09 +0000

There has been a huge amount of hype around Microsoft and their new Windows 7 operating system, and today is the big launch day! The reactions so far from users and reviewers have been mostly positive and to me it looks like Windows 7 is a great improvement from XP and the huge issue of Vista.

If you’re interested in making the switch, the price is $319 for Windows 7 Ultimate, and $299 for the Professional version ($219 and $199 for the upgrade, respectively). Windows 7 Home Premium will set you back $199, and an upgrade from either Vista or XP will cost you $119.

Free Windows 7 Transformation Pack for Ubuntu

Steven Finch — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:58:06 +0000

A lot of people are really looking forward to getting their hands on Windows 7 when it comes out. In the mean time there are a lot of people wanting to replicate Windows 7 in other operating system (not really sure why!). Here is a new Windows 7 transformation pack for Ubuntu.

Download Win7 Transformation Pack for Ubuntu from here

Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Early Beta

Augusto Alvarez — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:03:58 +0000

Even though all the rumors said that we were going to have an official beta of Firefox 3.6, as we’ve discussed earlier, Mozilla will be releasing a 3.6 build, but as an early beta.

This “test build”, that should contain several bugs, will be a small preview of the real 3.6 beta that will be available to the public on October 21^st (yes, one day before Windows 7 official release to the public). To take a nice preview of what’s coming in 3.6, you can access Mozilla FTP and download the build.

As we’ve said earlier, Firefox 3.6 (codename Namoroka) won’t bring us big changes, the features that you’ll find here:

Lightweight themes with Vista-like interface.
Improvements in TraceMonkey JavaScript engine
Bookmark synchronization
Optimized session restore feature.
Enhanced page rendering.
New additions for CSS.
Previews of tabs

We’ll have to wait for 3.7 to expect major differences.

Adobe To Release CS5 Suite on April 10th 2010

Steven Finch — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:29:00 +0000

It has been reported that Adobe will be releasing CS5 suite on April 10, 2010. Adobe has been working very hard on the follow-up to CS4 and below I have attached a sneak preview which looks amazing.

Download Free Mp3s from Last.fm with This Last.fm Downloader

Steven Finch — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:08:38 +0000

Here on Crenk we have covered a lot of video downloaders in the past. Today I wanted to run through a new music downloader in which allows users to download songs straight from last.fm to their computer.

The application is called LastFMp3Getr. This application is designed to simply automatically download mp3s in which a specific user has listened to most recently.

Download: LastFMp3Getr here for free from Sourceforge.

Random Posts

Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 Expected for Next Week

Augusto Alvarez — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:30:16 +0000

Mozilla team it’s working really hard on another release, the 3.6. And they are expecting to make public the first Beta on October 13, according to The Register. But the date it is just an estimative, so don’t be surprised if they postpone it for a few days more.

We’ve been talking about the incoming versions of Firefox, especially Firefox 3.7. And using some official statements from Mozilla, the main idea of that version is to remove the menu bar and introduce a very similar look-n-feel of the Office 2007/2010 ribbon (but later, other statements tried to dismiss this article by saying that they are not considering a ribbon, just hiding the menu bar).

Glassy look for Mozilla Firefox 3.7 (no preview of that on 3.6, too bad)

On the other hand Firefox 3.6 seems that is only going to take minor tweaks, here are some of them:

Lightweight themes
Improvements in TraceMonkey JavaScript engine
Optimized session restore feature.
Enhanced page rendering.
New additions for CSS.

AVG Version 9: Free AntiVirus Coming October 15th

Steven Finch — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:37:28 +0000

AVG 9 is nearly here! AVG 9 antivirus is coming on October the 15th with great enhancements such as speed, performance and it also minimizes the impact on your system resources.

The new AVG is install process has been streamlined, with developers reducing the number of tedious, finger-numbing mouse clicks from 22 to 11.

Grisoft says scanning speeds have been increased by as much as 50% and that version 9 also reduces Windows boot lag by 10 to 15%. The firewall is more intuitive and has been made less intrusive — another small but welcome change.

The paid versions are available now through the AVG web site, and we’ve been told that the much-loved free version will be good to go in ten days.

If you’re a believer in free antivirus, your preferred version will be up for grabs on October 15th. Keep your browser tuned to free.avg.com — that’s where the download will appear when it goes live.

iPills: An App for Keeping Track of Your Medication

Dean Sherwin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:21:29 +0000

So taking medication can be a nuisance but at some point in our lives we’ll all have to. Most likely under strict orders of a doctor about when to take them and how often. Great, just one more thing for us to remember.

For situations like this most of us would simply create an alarm on our phone but I think that iPills does a much, much better job.

It’s an app for the iPhone that is basically a virtual pillbox. You program in what pills you have to take and when. You can also set them up to re-occur if you have to take them more than once. Each pill in your pillbox can be customized to look like the real thing or to set it apart from the rest. When you have taken the pill you simply tap it and it is moved into the ‘Taken’ box.

This is an incredibly simple app to use which is good seeing that many people on numerous types of pills are of an older generation and may not be as tech savvy as younger people.

But then it isn’t just for old timers. Many of us take vitamins, birth control pills (don’t forget that one!) and other such meds. So keeping track of it all just got that little bit easier. iPills is available here.

Random Posts

Slooh: Have a peek into the unkown

Dean Sherwin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:03:55 +0000

Space, the universe and that lies beyond interest us all to some degree or another. Given the opportunity, I think we’d all be on the next shuttle to the International Space Station because it’s new and it interests us as human beings.

Kids are especially enthralled by the wonders of space. I suppose we all go through that ‘I wanna be an astronaut’ phase. Well Slooh is a great product that lets you take control of high powered telescopes around Europe to have a look into space.

Basically, it works on the same principal as controlling public access CCTV cameras. You can move them around and zoom in and out.

It costs just $19.95 and it’s available here. You also get a book that you can record your finding in and that has activities for the kids. Slooh will definitely have the whole family gathered around the PC saying “left! Left! …no, back a bit!”

Windows Mobile 6.5 Arriving October 6

Augusto Alvarez — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:23:53 +0000

Microsoft announced recently the arrival of the first wave of Windows Mobile 6.5 cell phones, which will hit the stores tomorrow: October 6.

But here’s an interesting note, AT&T released yesterday (October 4) a new model “AT&T Pure”; which includes Windows Mobile 6.5! Yeap, they’ve released a phone with an operating system that hasn’t been officially released just yet. Here’s some user evidence.

Here are the companies that will include devices with this new operating system:

North America
Mobile operators: AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, TELUS, and Verizon Wireless
Phone manufacturers: HP, HTC, LG, Samsung, and Toshiba
Europe
Mobile operators: Orange, T-Mobile, and Vodafone
Phone manufacturers: Acer, HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba
Latin America
Mobile operators: Telecom Italia Mobile Brazil
Phone manufacturers: HTC, LG Electronics, and Samsung
Asia Pacific
Mobile operators: NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank Mobile, SK Telecom, Telstra, and WILLCOM
Phone manufacturers: Acer, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba

We’ve also already mentioned about a Sony Ericcson phone that will include Windows Mobile 6.5: XPERIA X2.

Here’s a quick reference about the improvements in 6.5 version:

New engine for Internet Explorer. Including support for Adobe Flash Lite.
Microsoft My Phone. Application to synchronize data (photos, music, contacts, etc)
Office mobile new version.

Windows 8 Incoming Features

Augusto Alvarez — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:10:58 +0000

You don’t have to be a genius to be certain that Microsoft is working on the next Windows version for a while now. And even though there isn’t much around about it, gathering a lot of hints, here’s a report about possible (and some certain) next features:

Hibernation improvements: Windows 8 will include a special Hibernation/Resume API that will replace Windows Vista Xpress compression engine used in the hibernation process. Windows 7 includes some improvements in this area, but they are promising a whole new experience.
Kernel security enhanced. PatchGuard feature (Windows’ kernel security module) will provide a new and enhanced security.
Maintaining and improving DirectAccess feature for mobile users. Presented in Windows 7 (along with BranchCache), DirectAccess brings a better experience for mobile users outside the organization.
New user interface. Nothing much about this, but they are promising a new one.
Improvements in the Remote Desktop protocol and other Server tools.
New download experience.
New networking features.
Windows 8 Application Server. For the server version, will include (like already has) the application server role but with a new strategy.

This new operating system, since it will be a major release that will include also the server version, will be in 2012. But still is too early to be certain about things.

On a side note, once I’ve heard that Microsoft always uses a transition operating system in the middle of the main releases. For example: Windows Millennium (between Windows 98 and Windows XP) and Windows Vista (between Windows XP and Windows 7). So, where do you think Windows 8 is?

DJay: Mac OSX DJ Software

Steven Finch — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:55:45 +0000

The world’s sexiest DJ software DJay has just launched their version 3 for the Mac OSX.

DJay has to have the best looking interface on the market for DJ software and im sure it is making Windows users wonder why the hell they cant get anything like this on their system. DJay is very featured rich and it even reads your iTunes library, thus turning your Mac into a full DJ system that is suited to both beginners and professionals alike.

Features include:

Drag and drop from your iTunes library
Mix manually to automatically
Full beat and tempo detection
Auto volume control and effects
Midi device connection options

It is as if any person can now become a DJ and make some money by pretending to mix in their local bars and clubs.

Google Chrome OS Arriving this Month?

Augusto Alvarez — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:40:47 +0000

I guess when there’s a lot of anticipation on something, sometimes things might get faster. We’ve talked before about Google Chrome OS announcement, and we’ve also said that users might get hands on it in the second half of 2010. But now, a Chinese netbooks manufacturer seems that is planning to release netbooks with a previous version of Chrome later this month.

Shanzai is announcing that the devices with the Loongson-CPU will have Google Chrome OS installed, and released by Lemote hardware manufacturer. And even though these are only rumors, there have been some snapshots available in the web of what seems to be Google’s OS:

The anticipation is increasing significantly, since we don’t have much data around this operating system. We know that it will be focused on netbooks, open source with a Linux kernel and user interface based mainly in a web experience.

Sounds good to me if an Asian hardware manufacturer is taking a chance with this new OS. We are all waiting for the moment to install and use Chrome OS.

Windows 7 Steve Ballmer’s Edition

Augusto Alvarez — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:44:37 +0000

Marketing in Microsoft has always been a strong area (I think it is the main reason that Microsoft is Microsoft today) and they do not hesitate to go a little further every time. This time: Presenting Windows 7 Steve Ballmer’s Edition.

Well it is not exactly what you may think; it does not have special “Ballmer features”, or using only desktop backgrounds with Microsoft’s CEO. But what it does have is a special box edition with Ballmer’s signature.

The lucky ones that will receive this package are those that are throwing a Windows 7 party (we’ve discussed this earlier). But here’s an interesting story published by ArsTechnica: A very enthusiast Windows user sent an e-mail to Microsoft complaining that even though he completed the registration to Windows 7 party, no Caribbean countries were eligible to use it. So the company in response, sent the Windows 7 with Ballmer’s signature and the Windows 7 Party Kit.

Original story in sutffiwrote

I’m pretty sure that once this story hit public, a million complains were received from Microsoft. But still, sounds good to me that the company is trying to reward those enthusiast that are trying to help Windows 7 marketing, even though they participate in a contest or not.

Google Announced Website Translator Gadget and Firefox Addon

Steven Finch — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:16:19 +0000

Google has announced a lot of new additions to its translation offering. Firstly they have announced a new website translator gadget which is available in 51 languages. Now, when people visit your page, if their language (as determined by their browser settings) is different than the language of your page, they’ll be prompted to automatically translate the page into their own language. If the visitor’s language is the same as the language of your page, no translation banner will appear.

Additionally, Google has announced that they have improved their Toolbar, which now also includes in-page translation.

Microsoft Free Antivirus Releasing Today

Augusto Alvarez — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:06:31 +0000

Microsoft has been working for a long time now in giving a good and reliable antivirus platform for all users. And when I say “for all users” I mean a free one. Seems that the dream is about to become true today: Microsoft Security Essentials will be release to the public as the free antivirus solution from Microsoft.

Microsoft Security Essentials will be replacing Windows Live OneCare as the security suite for viruses and malware. The suite can be installed in Windows XP, Vista and 7; and seems that already has a good review about the protection you can achieve, by giving you a shield for 97,8% of the existing malware in the web.

On the other side, some of the other reviews this antivirus platform has received so far say that the engine inside it is a little bit slow and intrusive with other applications.

And of course, leaders from other security solutions already are trying to tear this solution down, like McAfee: “will compete against other free solutions by offering limited security functionality”; or Symantec saying it is a “thin defense” and not giving you any type of antispam or identity safeguards.

Let people decide then.