How Solid Ink Technology Can Revolutionize Workplace Sustainability

Think you know ink? In this guest author article, you’ll get an introduction to an old “new” technology – Solid Ink.

Although Solid Ink technology is far from a brand-new concept – having been around since the early 1990s – it remains unique in its innovative printing method as one of the most economical and environmentally friendly techniques in the printer industry.

It is not only an increasingly viable and affordable option for businesses looking to improve the color output and professionalism of their business documents; it has the ability to significantly improve a company’s bottom line.

Developed by Xerox and brought to market in 1991, Solid Ink is now said to generate up to 90 per cent less printing waste than comparable color laser printers; resulting in a very attractive low total cost of ownership.

As a cartridge-free technology, there are no cartridges to dispose of from the workplace and subsequently, less packaging to feed to the landfills. But how does it work and how does it provide such a vibrant print output in comparison to a conventional laser or LED printer?

Solid Ink images are printed onto a rotating drum that is offset onto paper with just a single pass of the print engine. This imaging process ensures an almost-100 per cent ink-to-page transfer for normal printing.

Unlike toners that can spill and leak, causing wastage, not to mention smudge resulting in poorer quality print output, Solid Ink sticks are incredibly safe and clean, generating a miniscule amount of landfill waste in comparison with a typical color laser.

Businesses looking to minimize waste of valuable resources on printer maintenance should look to adopt a Solid Ink printer immediately. These only consist of three main assemblies – the print head, the print drum and the controller. With fewer parts to maintain and repair and its ability to last for up to 10,000 prints on average, these printers also use considerably less energy over the light cycle and reduce the energy consumption of color printers from over 75 per cent by an additional 42 per cent.

There is a myth that Solid Ink devices can take a long time to warm up, holding back print jobs that result in delays and workplace inefficiency. It is not however regarded an issue in the typical office environment, particularly where Solid Ink printers are left ‘idle’ in low-power modes rather than switched off entirely.

Many of Xerox’s uniquely-developed Solid Ink printers boast a patented Intelligent Ready power management function that learns and adapts to the unique print usage patterns of your particular workplace.

With a low entry price and greatly reduced cost per page Solid Ink printing technology is now the most environmentally friendly way of putting image to paper and can greatly reduce a business’s carbon footprint in line with government targets.

About the author

“How Solid Ink Technology Can Revolutionize Workplace Sustainability” is written by authorized Xerox supplier First Choice Business Systems, one of the UK’s leading providers of Solid Ink multifunctional printers and print production environments. It aims to maximize efficiency, cost control and organizational fit for customers across a breadth of industries.

Rip Your Commercial DVDs With Free MakeMKV Beta

CDs and DVDs are not indestructible – they seem to attract scratches, cracks and sticky fingers – at least around here. As a result, I’ve developed the habit of backing-up my DVDs by ripping them to a Hard Drive – and often, to additional storage devices. This, despite the fact that it’s generally prohibited by laws that protect the “Greed Is Us”  entertainment industry. An industry which has been slow to react to changing technologies.

As I see it – it’s my Disc – I paid for it. If I buy something, it becomes mine. As for the law – I don’t give a rat’s ass what this particular law says. I will not be coerced by a government that holds a clumsy club over my head to protect an industry which continually shows little regard for the paying customer.

Since the majority of commercial DVDs are protected by a digital lock – CSS, CPRM, or AACS – should you decide, that it’s appropriate to safeguard your investment in commercial media – you’ll need a format converter capable of decrypting, and preserving, the media content.

MakeMKV is the best one-click free solution to convert owned video that I’ve found, to date. This is a very impressive application – straightforward, and easy to run –  even for a relatively new computer user.

A quick walkthrough:

For this post, I’ve chosen to backup one Disc from my collection of the HBO series – The Pacific – a 10 part series which cost me $90 – including tax. So yes, given the cost involved, I feel more than justified in protecting my investment.

Any of the following screen captures can be expanded to the original, by clicking.

On application launch, you’ll see the following. Be sure to expand the menu from which you’ll have an opportunity to select a variety of customizing options. Then click on “Make MKV” and……

sit back and relax.

Converting video is time intensive and your CPU will get a real workout. In this test, the job took approximately 30 minutes to complete.

The following screen shot shows the save location, and the relative sizes of the files. The first title – “00” represents the first episode. Similarly, the second title “01” represents the second episode from the DVD. Title “02” represents both episodes combined. Additional content from the DVD is also noted.

Finally, I’ve included the following screen captures in order to give you an idea of the just how perfectly MakeMKV has completed the task. BTW, VLC Media Player is my preferred application for running media on a PC. It is an outstanding application which offers a huge range of control functions. For example – if, I had forgotten to uncheck “Subtitles” while processing this test task – no big deal. VLC Media Player provides an option to “not show” subtitles while running.

Running in a Window.

Running in full screen

MKV File Format Fast Facts:

MKV is open and free. No one holds patents or licenses and anyone can implement it freely. As a result nearly every software player and many hardware devices support it. The best software players out there ( VLC, MPlayer ) have full MKV support and are absolutely free.

MKV files do not have evil features attached.

You can play them on any capable hardware. No need for HDCP-certified video card or any “trusted” environment.

You can copy them to your laptop and watch anytime, even if your laptop lacks DVD or Blu-ray drive, or any drive whatsoever.

One file is one title. If you don’t want to watch dozen trailers before the movie, you don’t have to. And fast forward button always works, too.

There are no restrictions where to play the file. There are no region-based restrictions. You have control over the content you’ve paid for.

MKV files are easy to change. Want to remove unneeded audio track from the file? Thought about converting MPEG-2 video into H264 to make the file 5 times smaller? All of it can be easily done with free software.

MKV files are compact. For exactly the same content MKV files are about 10% smaller than DVD files and roughly 40% smaller than Blu-ray files.

System requirements: Windows Vista, XP, Win 7 (tested here on Win 8), Intel-based Mac OS X 10.5 and above, and Linux.

Download at: MakeMKV

Restrictions you need to know:

Program is time-limited — it will stop functioning after 60 days. You can always download the latest version from makemkv.com that will reset the expiration date.

MakeMKV is currently still in beta and during the beta phase it will rip both DVD and Blu-ray for free. However, the DVD ripping functionality will always remain free.

After 30 days if you want to continue ripping Blu-ray discs, you’ll need to purchase a license.

HD-DVD support is limited – some discs may fail to open and not all audio and subtitle tracks will be preserved.

Blu-ray and DVD discs are fully supported.

The Next Big Thing: Trading In Your Sunglasses For… Instagram Glasses?

At this point you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t completely enamored with the photo app Instagram, and if they aren’t regularly using it then they’ve at least probably heard of it. The app has erupted in popularity since its debut in October 2010.

Now, nearly every Facebook page and Twitter account boasts pictures that have been dutifully Instagrammed to perfection. The app has even become a social media forum in its own right; where users can give their stamp of approval for pictures and comment accordingly.

When the app first launched it initially was exclusive for iPhone users, however it quickly became a popular pastime, and as it grew in popularity Android users began to demand access to the app as well. Instagram delivered, and since then the company has been acquired by social media conglomerate Facebook, catapulting it to any even higher level of success. At this point it almost begs the question of “what’s next?”

Well, Markus Gerke released a plan for a potential next step for Instagram… Instaglasses. This concept is practically designed for the hipster generation.

The glasses, designed to function as sunglasses, would have a button on the side that would allow you to filter your view of life as you wore them into different Instagram filters, giving you a nice sepia tone for the view of the park, or perhaps a Polaroid view of your nephew. You would essentially become a walking piece of photo-editing software, ready at a moment’s notice to capture a photo-worthy shot of life.

“You activate the glasses by pushing ‘Insta’ and option to choose between different filters. Are you enjoying a moment? Just take a picture with your glasses and upload the image straight to Instagram,” Gerke said about the glasses.

So basically, if you happened to stumble across a particularly spectacular scene (or even just a mediocre one because let’s be honest, Instagram is full of photos of feet and food) during your everyday life, then you wouldn’t even need to get out your camera or phone – you could just filter the scene as you see fit and then snap a photograph with the glasses. The picture would then automatically upload to Instagram.

As it states on the Behance website, where the concept for the glasses is showcased, “life is beautiful, even more beautiful with filters.”

While it does sound like an intriguing concept and is a brilliant display of technology, the thought of filtering our everyday perception of the world also seems a little strange, and even seems almost too futuristic for our own good.

Do we really want to walk around changing our realities all day? Is this an idea that would actually catch on? While people are certainly caught up in the easy photo-editing craze, it also makes you wonder how long this fad is going to last, and how long people are going to continue to wear sunglasses during all hours of the day and night.

About the Author:

This guest post is contributed by Kate Croston – a freelance writer who holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing home internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to:  katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.

Tips for Making Your Website Look More Custom

Anyone can launch a website these days, but not everyone can successfully make their website resemble a custom-made one. This becomes a problem when you’re trying to set yourself apart from the hundreds of other stock websites that all have a similar version of the same theme as you. If you want people to take your site seriously, it’s imperative that you make your website look as professional as possible. Luckily you don’t have to be a computer genius or spend thousands of dollars to make this happen; you just need to implement a few changes.

1. Simple, sleek logos

Far too often people get caught up trying to make their website’s logo as fancy and flashy as possible. Unfortunately these types of logos don’t do much for you because too much color and graphics are distracting. The best logos are the ones that have clean lines and a simple look. Think of all the successful companies and their logos; they almost all have one thing in common: they have one basic and unpretentious graphic and a nice, easy to read font. Retaining a minimalist look is more appealing to the majority of consumers.

2. Avoid overusing colors

Less really is more, and is important to keep in mind when you’re designing your website. Don’t go overboard with several competing colors; instead stick to a neutral color palette with a few accent colors thrown in to give it a breath of life. Having too many colors thrown together cheapens the look of your website.

3. Skip the website intro

Website intros have a tendency to make people click off of a website rather than be interested in learning more from it, so don’t make interested consumers sit through a Flash intro to get to the information they originally came to your site for. And if you do insist on putting one up then at least give them the option to skip it.

4. Be smart with your text

The font on your site needs to be easy to read so it’s best to stay away from weird colors and unnecessary underlining of words. It can be frustrating and difficult to read when you’re on a website where the font or text color is inconsistent throughout the site, and it’s misleading to underline words because that usually indicates a link to somewhere else on the web.

5. Use high quality graphics

Skip the stock images when you’re adding graphics onto your website and use high-quality, high-resolution images. These are the most visually appealing to people and make your website appear much more professional looking. They also give a nice visual complement to text, as people sometimes are turned off by text-heavy websites.

When it comes to professional looking website design the key is to keep everything as simple and sleek looking as possible, from the fonts to the pictures to the logos. When in doubt, err on the side of conservatism.

Author Bio:

This is a guest post from Laura Backes, she enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet providers in my area. You can reach her at: laurabackes8 @ gmail.com.

Tablet Display On An HD TV? – Nobody Does That, Right?

I don’t do it; I don’t know anyone who does it – ergo, nobody does it. A logical progression? Valid inference and correct reasoning? Well, let’s see.

I don’t run naked through the woods in the summer. In fact, I don’t know anyone personally, who does. Still, I keep hearing rumors that a certain “class”    of people do just that –“nudists” apparently. But this can’t be true – after all, I don’t do it and, I don’t know anyone who does. That’s my logic, and I’m sticking with it. Valid inference and correct reasoning be damned.

If Jason Hiner, Editor in Chief of TechRepublic, can massacre logic – then, why can’t I? I’m as smart as he is – I know as much as he does – so, I’m equally as entitled to twist logic until it screams in agony, as he is.

In a recent article Tablets: What Amazon and Apple know that all the CES tablet peddlers are still missing – Hiner makes the point “How often have you seen someone hook up a tablet to a 50-inch HDTV and use it to play HD movies and games? The truth is that there are much better and easier tools for ……watching digital content on your HDTV”.

Fair enough comment, I think – a  personal point of view that we’re all entitled to. One could even consider this a logical observation, if in fact, one has had no experience with “someone hook(ing) up a tablet to a 50-inch HDTV and us(ing) it to play HD movies and games.”

Of course, if one got off one’s ass, got out and about, and pretended that a “real world” exists outside the confined world of IT (and, stopped acting as part of Apple’s marketing department), it’s entirely possible – “valid inference and correct reasoning” might be put to the test.

From a personal perspective (there’s that “in my view” thing again), high on the list of motivators in my choosing to buy a BlackBerry Playbook, was its unequalled ability to play 1080 HD. Strange thinking I’ll admit –  since “The truth is that there are much better and easier tools for ……watching digital content on your HDTV”.

Yes, it was almost beyond my ability to stick a 15 foot HDMI cable into the HDMI “out” port on my Blackberry tablet, and the other end into the HDMI “in” port on my TV. Most confusing and difficult – surely, there’s an easier way, right Jason.

Here’s a quick shot of my Playbook GUI on my TV. As you can see – I’ll never win a prize for my photo skills.

“Difficult” as it was, it was worth the effort – spinning through YouTube, checking out what was on offer at PBS, the National Film Board of Canada……. Boring choices, I know – but, I’m a pretty boring fellow.

As boring, I expect, as those who bought out my supplier’s stock of HDMI cables so that they too could hookup their Playbook to an HD TV. It seems these lucky folks didn’t read Hiner’s article – so, his logic had no mojo.

Here’s a couple of videos which illustrate the advantages of hooking up a tablet to an HD set.

It’s not my style to lay on the sarcasm to quite this extent – but truthfully, I’m dead tired of reading unsupported, factually incorrect, blowhard nonsense disguised as educated opinion from writers who should know better.

Note: If you’re a Blackberry Playbook user, you’ll be happy to hear that RIM will release the long awaited OS 2 (the ghosts of IBM?), in February.

A new feature turns a Blackberry smartphone into a remote control for Playbook users to play movies on a connected big-screen TV.

Backberry Video Storefront, which will offer “thousands of movies and TV shows” for rent the day they appear on DVD.

Improved ability to create and edit presentations and, transfer files from a laptop or desktop computer.

Built-in e-mail and calendar programs (finally). 

Rescue Santa And Get Wondershare Vivideo FREE – Save $39.99

If you’re in the market for a video editor to personalize your videos, you might consider Wondershare’s freebie offer. Starting today, through to December 25 @ 24:00 PST, Wondershare’s premium video product, Vivideo, can be yours at no cost – provided you play and win, the Santa rescue game (more on this in a moment).

If you’re a regular reader here, and “Wondershare” strikes you as being a familiar developer – you score a point! We’ve previously reviewed several Wondershare applications here – including Wondershare Time Freeze – a superb system virtualization application. See – For Added Internet Protection – Virtualize Your System with Free Wondershare Time Freeze.

In order to engage with the game, the developer suggests that you visit the following page – click on the graphic to do so. My advice – DON”T. If you’re into simple and straightforward, then  you should go directly to the “game” page.

The game page – click on the graphic below.

How to play:

Beat the demon & rescue Santa Claus.

Get Passcode when you beat the demon.

Enter your Passcode to get Vivideo.

Fast facts:

Manage Various Video, Audio and Photo Formats

Support all SD and HD videos, including WMV, AVI, MP4, FLV, MOV, MKV, MTS, etc.

 

You can also capture videos directly with a video capture device or add videos from camcorders and other external hard drives directly.

 

Add background music to your videos to add more flavor. All regular audio formats like MP3, WMA, WAV, M4A, AAC, AC3, OGG, etc. are supported.

 

Import photos like BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, etc. and create home movies with photos and videos combined.

Edit and Enhance Your Media Files with Fantasy

Edit and personalize videos/photos/audios with video editing features like trim, crop, rotate, set fade in & fade out, adjust duration, etc.

 

Add stylish captions on your videos and photos with customizable font, color, etc. to for better video meaning conveying.

 

Bring your movie to the next level instantly with professional and creative filter effects. 30+ filters are ready for your videos and photos.

 

Add transition effects between two clips and apply motion effects to photos so as to achieve a natural and smooth transition.

Share Your Videos with Family and Friends in Multiple Ways

Get optimized videos for playback on your portable devices like iPhone, iPad, PSP, iPod, Wii, Zune, etc.

 

Save edited videos to local hard drive for further use in a variety of video formats.

 

Directly upload your video creation to YouTube for sharing with more people by filling in necessary information.

 

Burn videos to DVD discs or save as DVD folder or ISO image files to preserve videos in a better way.

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7. Mac.

I’m a fan of Wondershare’s products – I’ve reviewed and recommended more than a few in the last several years. However, I think the developer has overreached here.

While I appreciate the generous offer, I’m less than enthusiastic that I had to engage in a confusing and pointless, multi stage process, in order to comply with the developer’s demands. Tedious and frustrating – definitely not cool.

BTW, Wondershare – according to popular culture, Santa Claus has 9 Reindeer – not 12.

Note: As part of the “game”, you will be asked to choose the number of Reindeer Santa has. Choose 12, as the correct answer. Go figure!

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Get Ready For School With These 35 Free Computer Apps

Heading back to school? Make your life easier and checkout these free PC applications.

Take a look at the following recommended free downloads that will help you communicate, get those assignments done, have some fun, and manage and protect your system while you’re surfing the Internet.

These applications have riding out the storm of new competitors, and have developed a strong, loyal following, based on their reliability and functionality.

Process those words:

Nitro PDF:

With its ability to not only view and review PDF files, but create PDF files as well, it’s little wonder Nitro PDF Reader has amassed such a large following. I have to say that Nitro PDF Reader is my favorite PDF tool so, I’m more than a little enthusiastic to get on the go with this latest release.

Version 2 continues the strong tradition which Nitro has established with previous version – it’s fast, lightweight, and incorporates customizable security controls, including the option to completely disable JavaScript – no small consideration for security conscious users.

Listen N Write:

Anyone who has to transcribe recorded audio should try Listen N Write, a free tool designed specifically for transcription. Perfect for lectures.

LibreOffice:

LibreOffice is the power-packed free (open source) personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and GNU/Linux, that gives you six feature-rich applications for all your document production and data processing needs: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base.

AbiWord:

AbiWord is a free light weight word processing program similar to Microsoft Word. It is suitable for a wide variety of word processing tasks.

AbiWord allows you to collaborate with multiple people on one document at the same time. It is tightly integrated with the AbiCollab.net web service, which lets you store documents online, allows easy document sharing with your friends, and performs format conversions on the fly.

WordWeb:

WordWeb is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia.

Manipulate and correct your pics – put them online:

FastStone Image Viewer:

This is one of my favorite photo applications, with good reason. It’s not just a viewer, but an image browser, converter, and an editor as well. You’ll find the interface intuitive and very easy to use. This program is loaded with features including, renaming, cropping, color adjustments, lossless JPEG transformation, drop shadow effects, image frames, scanner support, histogram and much more.

IrfanView:

With IrfanView you can fix and enhance digital photos including resizing, cropping, correcting red eye, flipping, and rotating. As well, you can perform a wide variety of image adjustments, including brightness, contrast, and applying special effects such as sharpen and blur. I’ve been using this neat little program (every day) for years, and with each new release it just keeps getting better.

Google Picasa:

A free application that helps you locate and organize all the photos on your computer, edit and add effects with a few simple clicks, and share your photos with others through email, prints, and on the web.

Play those tunes:

Audacity:

Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It’s available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. Definitely the best of breed.

iTunes:

According to Apple, this is the world’s best digital music jukebox. Download music, TV shows, movies, and more.

Winamp:

A multimedia player that supports numerous audio and video formats. It also plays streamed video and audio content. Winamp is designed for people who like to customize, tinker and tweak: offering the widest range of extensions, skins, and services to add to your listening experience.

Watch your fav videos:

Miro:

Miro is a free application designed to be easy to use and to give you an elegant full screen viewing experience. Not only can Miro play virtually any video in HD, including, QuickTime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, and XVID, but on top of that this application, which sports major changes from previous editions, is effectively a media management center.

VLC:

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols.

Free Video To iPhone Converter:

Convert video files to Apple iPhone MP4 video format. Convert the whole movie or select a partition from the movie to convert (trim video).

iPod Video Converter:

Free iPod Video Converter provides an easy and completed way to convert all popular video formats to iPod video. You can enjoy DVD/VCD and AVI, MPEG, WMV, RM, RMVB, DivX, ASF, VOB video files in your iPod with few clicks.

Better browsing:

Firefox:

Firefox includes tons of useful features such as tabbed browsing, built-in and customizable search bars, a built-in RSS reader and a huge library of extensions developed by thousand of developers.

Opera:

The fastest browser on Earth – but that’s not all. Use Opera Turbo to double your page-download speed on slow connections. Download Opera now and get more from the Web.

Google Chrome:

A browser that combines a minimal design with new technology designed to improve the user experience. Includes download and documentation.

Web of Trust (WOT):

WOT is a free Internet Browser add-on. WOT tests web sites you are visiting for spyware, spam, viruses, browser exploits, unreliable online shops, phishing, and online scams, helping you avoid unsafe web sites.

Cocoon for Firefox:

Protect your privacy and security online with this Firefox add-on, which has on-the-fly e-mail dropboxes and lets you watch Netflix from outside the U.S.

Protect your system:

Immunet Protect – Free Cloud Based Antivirus Application:

Immunet Protect is a lightweight cloud based, community driven, antivirus application, (available in both a free, and a paid version), designed to add a layer of protection while working in partnership with the most popular antimalware solutions.

Microsoft Security Essentials:

Microsoft Security Essentials, which incorporates antivirus, antispyware and rootkit protection, all under one roof, was released by Microsoft as a free  replacement application for the late, and unlamented, Windows Live OneCare.

ThreatFire:

ThreatFire blocks malware (including zero-day threats) by analyzing program behavior, instead of relying only on a signature based database. ThreatFire works together with your signature based security applications, to increase the effectiveness of your total security arsenal.

SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition:

The free version of this award winning program, is used by millions of people worldwide to protect their computers. And why not? SUPERAntiSpyware is well known for its high malware detection rate. A simple, intuitive, and easy to use interface makes SUPERAntiSpyware straightforward to setup, customize, and run, for both less experienced and expert users alike.

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has an excellent reputation (shared by me), as a first class security application, for its ability to identify and remove adware, Trojans, key-loggers, home page hijackers, and other malware threats.

PC Tools Firewall Plus 7:

I’ve been running with PC Tools Firewall since I installed Win 7 and I have been impressed with its performance. It installed easily, set up quickly, and has not caused any conflicts with my machine. The default settings are well thought out, and provide excellent protection for less experience users. Experienced users on the other hand can tinker to their hearts content, customizing and tweaking the application to meet their specific requirements.

Staying in touch:

Windows Live Essentials 2011:

Do more with Windows on your PC with free programs from Microsoft for photos, movies, instant messaging, email, social networking, and more. Get it all in one simple download.

Pidgin:

A multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once. Pidgin can work with: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo!, MySpace IM and many more.

Trillian:

A fully featured, stand-alone, chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC.

Skype:

In its basic form, Skype is a free communication package, using proprietary code, which allows users to make free computer to computer calls, including video calls, across the globe. As well, there are a bundle of additional features, that can be purchased at a low cost, which will expand the application’s functionality.

System Tools:

WinPatrol:

You can monitor your startup programs and services, cookies and current tasks. Should you need to, WinPatrol allows you to terminate processes and enable, or disable, startup programs. There are additional features that make WinPatrol a very powerful addition to your security applications.

CCleaner:

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast; normally taking less than a second to run.

Autoruns:

You can configure Autoruns to show additional locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and more. Autoruns goes considerably beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows.

Glary Utilities:

Glary Utilities, a free all-in-one utility, is a terrific collection of system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC. Personal experience with this application for the last 2 years has convinced me that a typical user can really benefit by having this application on their system. With this free program you can tweak, repair, optimize and improve your system’s performance; and its ease of operation makes it ideal for less experienced users.

Revo Uninstaller:

Revo Uninstaller is a superior program to uninstall programs from your computer. This free program with its advanced and fast algorithm scans before, and after you uninstall an application. After the program’s regular uninstaller runs, you can remove additional unnecessary files, folders and registry keys that are usually left over (those “orphaned” registry entries we talked about earlier), on your computer. This feature is a definite plus.

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Download Miro – An HD Open Source Internet TV Platform And So Much More

There continues to be much discussion in Tech media circles, on the benefits of  getting rid of expensive Cable TV where prices seem to be skyrocketing (I just got another $2 a month bump this week), and focusing instead on the multiple alternatives which the Internet now supports.

Given that your computer screen is, in reality, a high-definition display, you can easily enjoy Internet sourced videos in HD full screen. Pretty neat – especially if you have a wide screen LCD display.

Miro (last updated August 16, 2011), is a free (open source), Internet TV platform and Video Player (and so much more), that can certainly even out your path in breaking your reliance on Cable TV – and, the costs that go with it. Miro, in fact, might well be the perfect tool to help with your transition.

In my view, Miro is one of the most underappreciated open source applications available on the Internet. It never fails to amaze me how less deserving “media players”, which are often hyped to the max, can generate more downloads than this superb application.

Not only can Miro play virtually any video in HD, including, QuickTime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, and XVID, but on top of that this application, which sports major changes from previous editions, is effectively a media management center.  I must admit, I was more than a little surprised at how effective Miro is in this role.

For example, the application quickly, smoothly, and effectively, located my music files after prompting me to select a search path. Playback controls are typical and playlists are easily created.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

The core of the program however, is the well designed video features including built-in Torrent download capabilities.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

In the following example I downloaded a 1.4 GB movie using the Torrent client. The test torrent download  took full advantage of my Internet settings – 1.7 MB per second.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

Playback of the downloaded file was a bit of a treat really. Definitely HD; smooth; quality sound.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

Additional features include the ability to sync media to multiple devices –  including Android phones and tablets. Better yet, Miro will even convert video files to the right format to play on your phone.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

Getting the application just right to meet your specific needs, using the Settings menu is straightforward and uncomplicated.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

Fast facts:

Works with your current music library – It’s very easy to switch from iTunes to Miro– without any copying. Just point Miro to your music and video folders and those files will appear. If you don’t like Miro (impossible!), nothing’s changed.

Converts and syncs to Android – You’d have to be crazy to use a music player that doesn’t sync to your phone. Miro is simply the best music and video player for Android phones and tablets.

Download and play almost any video – Do you still use separate programs to download, play music, play videos, and sync to your phone? Miro plays almost any video or music format and downloads from YouTube, podcasts, Amazon, and bittorrent.

Convert any video – You can convert almost any video with Miro into mp4/h264, with presets for almost any device you can think of (including iPhones, iPods, iPads, Android phones, and more).

Share Your Media on your Network – When two Miro’s are on the same Wi-Fi network, they can stream and transfer music and videos to each other. It’s the easiest way to watch a video or play music upstairs if the file is downstairs.

Ultra-fast torrent downloading – Miro has some of the fastest bittorrent downloading in the world, built in. Try us head-to-head with any bittorrent application!

Open-source – don’t lock yourself in – Unlike some other media players, Miro is not trying to run your life. Not only is Miro 100% free and open-source, it’s made by a non-profit organization. You don’t need to be locked down by one corporation to have a great media experience.

Buy Music and Apps inside Miro – The Amazon MP3 store is built-in to Miro. Buy, download, and listen, seamlessly. Buy Android apps from the Amazon or Google app stores and they will sync to your device.

There are many more features in Miro that can be quickly covered in a short review. I haven’t, for example, covered the easy way to stream and share music and video on your local/home network, using Miro. Checkout the publisher’s features page.

This program continues to receive high praise from video geeks, and it’s worth considering as an addition to your entertainment applications.

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP, Mac, Linux. (I have not tested this application in 64 bit – but, I understand 64 bit support is available).

Download at: Miro

User Manual for Miro 4.0 (last updated June 30, 2011), available here.

A caveat: During the install process, pay particular attention so that you don’t install items you may not want (Yahoo Toolbar/homepage) .

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More Freebies From Microsoft Research Labs

“We are excited to be developing technologies that weave software, hardware, and services into every aspect of our lives, thereby advancing toward the goal of making computers genuinely useful — We see a future in which computers interact with people the way we interact with each other, think ahead to anticipate and meet our needs, and support us as we make the most of our ideas, efforts, and intellect.”

Joulemeter

Joulemeter is a software tool that estimates the power consumption of your computer. It tracks computer resources, such as CPU utilization and screen brightness, and estimates power usage.

System Requirements: Windows 7

HD View 3.3

With HD View, you can view and interact with very large images on the Web. HD View supports smooth panning and zooming, as well as appropriate viewing perspectives as you zoom in and out. HD View also makes creating and hosting your own HD View images easy. HD View is available as a plug-in for Windows-based browsers, including Internet Explorer and Firefox.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 (32-bit version).

Image Composite Editor (32 bit)

Microsoft Image Composite Editor is an advanced panoramic image stitcher. Given a set of overlapping photographs of a scene shot from a single camera location, the application creates a high-resolution panorama that seamlessly combines the original images.

The stitched panorama can be shared with friends and viewed in 3D by uploading it to the Photosynth web site. Or the panorama can be saved in a wide variety of image formats, from common formats like JPEG and TIFF to the multiresolution tiled format used by Silverlight’s Deep Zoom and by the HD View and HD View SL panorama viewers.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7

Download 64 bit version here.

StickySorter

Ever found yourself lost in the eye of a brainstorm? Lots of great information, but it’s all over the place! Sticky Sorter is a Grassroots Project, developed by two Microsoft Employees, that you can use today to manage such challenges.

The inventors, Julie and Sumit, were looking for an easier way to capture, sift through, and organize hundreds of research observations traditionally done on physical sticky notes in an affinity diagramming exercise with researchers from around the world.

The result is StickySorter which met their complex needs, supports virtual collaboration, and is now available for you to use in managing your next brainstorm.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 with .Net Framework 2.0.

Touchless

Touchless is an Office Labs Grassroots Project that started from an idea Mike Wasserman, a Microsoft Office Graphics developer, started during his college days to create multi-touch experience using a webcam. Through Office Labs sponsorship, Mike’s weekend hobby turned into an open-source prototype, currently available for download.

With just a webcam and color markers, you can get a taste of Touchless through the multi-touch demos provided. Play a pong-like game, rotate maps, control a snake, and draw with markers. If you’re someone technical, the Software Development Kit (SDK) is available for you to view, contribute to the code, or create your own multi-touch applications to help explore the possibilities.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Webcam

Bonus – Not free, but free trials:

Songsmith

Songsmith generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your PC’s microphone, and Songsmith will create backing music for you. Then share your songs with your friends and family, post your songs online, or create your own music videos.

System Requirements: Windows XP (SP2), Vista, Windows 7

AutoCollage 2008

Researchers from all disciplines and the Cambridge Innovation Development team worked together, building Digital Tapestry and AutoCollage research into a new product. Face detection, saliency filters, and other Microsoft research identifies interesting parts of pictures. Advanced object selection and blending technologies seamlessly combine these pieces into a beautiful new AutoCollage.

System Requirements: Windows XP (SP3), Vista, Windows 7

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MachStudio Pro 2 – Price Cut From $4000 To Zero!

A product price reduction is one thing, but reducing the product price from $4000 to zero, zilch, nada – well, that’s a whole other thing. In a rather surprising move, StudioGPU, the developers of MachStudio Pro 2 (which has an excellent reputation in the 3-D industry), has done just that. Sort of beats a Wal-Mart rollback hands down!

If serious animation is your thing, and you have the hardware to support it – then rush on over to StudioGPU, and download their flagship product – MachStudio Pro 2.

I should point out; this application is not a toy – this is the real thing; designed by artists for artists, and shaped by the actual demands of a production environment.

Sample screen captures from video productions available at the developer’s site.

Fast facts:

• Real-time rendering on your desktop — say good-bye to expensive render farms.
• Groundbreaking levels of interactivity giving the power back to the artist instead of the pipeline.
• Provides revolutionary workflow allowing manipulation of cameras, lighting, ambient occlusion, animation, and materials in real-time.
• Seamless interoperability with most leading CG software programs including Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max .
• Resolution independent, allowing renders at any resolution and format (e.g. 1080P, 720P, 16:9, 4:3, NTSC, PAL and even 2K and beyond).
• Render as final frame, or as passes for additional compositing work.
• Generate higher quality CGI results for less time and money.

System requirements:

Windows 7 – 32 bit or 64 bit, Vista Business – 32 bit or 64 bit (SP1 or higher).

Minimum Hardware Requirements:

• Intel Pentium 4 or higher, AMD Athlon 64, or AMD Opteron processor
• 2 GB RAM
• 2 GB of available disk space
• 1 GB DirectX 11 compliant video card (tested w/ ATI and NVIDIA)

Download at: StudioGPU

If you’ve got a creative streak, and you have a drive to create imaginary worlds populated with imaginary characters, then this is a terrific opportunity to harness the power of your computer with the magic of MachStudio Pro 2.

Checkout the video at the developer’s site.

I’m not an artist, a movie producer or director, but I’ve been playing with animation creative software since the days of Autodesk’s ground breaking 3-D applications in the 1980s. You can be sure, I’ve already downloaded MachStudio Pro 2.

Special thanks to Michael F., who brought this to my attention.

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