AddictiveTips

Best Ways To Send Text & Share Files From Your Mac To Other Devices

Fatima — Sat, 26 May 2012 08:00:59 PDT

One of the most common ways people send files or text is over email or instant messengers. Messengers are excellent if you’re sending text to someone other than yourself, but if you need to send it to yourself or to another system that you might be using, a messenger might not be the best option. As far as sending files to yourself is concerned, you almost always email them. In both scenarios, you’re emailing files because you want them on a different system, but you’re achieving that at the expense of cluttering your email inbox. Here are a few methods where you can send files and text from Mac to any device, i.e., Android, iPhone, iPad, another Mac or a Windows PC.

Send Text From Mac To An iOS Device

Sending text from Mac to your iPhone or iPad has been much simplified, thanks to Messages that will debut in Mountain Lion, but is available for Lion to those willing to give the Beta a go. To send text and image files (only image files – does not support other file types), all you need to do is send yourself a message. Your Mac and iOS device need not be connected to the same Wi-Fi network; however, both devices must have internet connectivity. To send text or an image file, open Messages, compose a new message, and in the To field, enter your own Apple ID. Send the message and you will receive it on your iOS device. Although the message will appear twice in both the sent and received sides, but it will nevertheless be there.

Send Files From Mac To iOS Device

To send files from your Mac to your iPad or iPhone, you will face some restriction, in that both the devices must be on the same Wi-Fi. Use a pair of little apps, called Deliver for Mac and Bubbles the Deliver for iOS (both of which are absolutely free), and start sending files. File transfer may be a bit slow, but they can be sent reciprocally and the app is reliable. Additionally, you can password protect the transmission of files to ensure no one else can send them to your system or device. Read the full review of Deliver here.

Send Files From Mac To Mac Or Windows PC

One of the many reasons that file exchange becomes painful, is because not everyone uses the same platform; some like Macs, and others use Windows PCs. Still others might have a combination of both Macs and Windows PCs. If you are in a situation where you have to work with both platforms and need a simple effective way of sending text and files, your answer lies in two excellent web services that are available for both platforms; Evernote and Dropbox.

Install Evernote on both the Mac and PC you want to exchange files between. Create a notebook that is meant specifically for exchanging text, and create notes whenever you have text to send. Access them from your other Mac or Windows PC from the stock app.

To send files between two systems, Dropbox is the ideal choice because of its desktop client that not only makes sending files easy, but also informs you when you have received a new file. As opposed to using it for storage, you can use Dropbox as a gateway between two systems. If the system you want to send files to isn’t your own, and subsequently not configured with your Dropbox ID, consider creating a shared folder with the person you want to send files to and adding files to it. Uploading and downloading files will take time though, depending on your internet connection speed.

The Universal Solution For Sharing Text Between Any Two Devices

If you’d rather use only one medium for communicating with just about any device when using a Mac, Clip.Share is an excellent service with apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. You can use Clip.Share’s web interface or make use of the apps to easily exchange text snippets. Do note that you will need a Gmail or Google Apps account to send text between two devices. The devices can be situated anywhere in the world, as snippets are sent over the internet. One limitation is that you can ‘throw’ and ‘catch’ only one snippet at a time, although you may throw it from a single device and receive it on any number of devices. There isn’t a similar solution for sending files, especially one that would make it easier to send files between Mac and Android, and you will undoubtedly have to resort services like Dropbox that exist on multiple platforms. Read the full review of Clip.Share here.

Hopefully, this will keep your email free of items that are just there because you had to send them to yourself and didn’t have any removable storage on hand to copy them to. As far as sending files or text between Mac and iOS devices is concerned, you will find lots of apps that facilitate it. For sending files or text to non-Apple platforms, you will have to rely on a web service. The process will be as smooth as the apps for the respective platforms themselves are.

jetAudio Brings Powerful & Customizable Music Playback To Android

A. Rehman — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:30:38 PDT

When talking of some of the most feature-rich and widely-used desktop audio players, jetAudio undoubtedly ranks very high on the list. If you’re an Android user, you’d be thrilled to know that Cowon, the company behind jetAudio, has just rolled out the Android variant of jetAudio in the Google Play Store, and it looks quite a handy prospect. Laced with a rather extensive set of features, and supporting almost every known audio file format (including MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, M4A, MPC, TTA, WV, APE, MOD, SPX, AIFF), jetAudio vows to be the one-stop shop for all your audio playback needs. The main interface of the app follow a simple design, and presents you with the option to explore your music tracks by artists, albums, songs, folder and playlists. The interface of the music player itself is arguably one of the best and most user-friendly that we’ve seen on an Android device. Atop all that, a 10-band equalizer with 32 different audio presets, powerful music playback options with customizable BBE, BBE ViVA, Wide, Reverb, Automatic Gain Control (AGC), and X-Bass sound effect settings, support for crossfading and gapless music playback, social media integration (details later), adjustable playback speed, customizable sleep timer for starting and stopping playback, and plenty of visual goodness easily make jetAudio one of the best Android music player to have hit the market so far.

Citing jetAudio as an out-an-out winner in the race of the best Android music players would be a tad unjustified, as it currently lacks a few vital options that we shall look at later on. However, with its extremely powerful audio effects, slick design and extensive customizations, the player beckons hardcore music fans to enjoy high quality music playback on their Android devices with a much-desired control over the audio settings.

Continuing with the app’s long list of features, it offers you a couple of handy widgets to control music playback and jump to your favorite playlist right from the homescreen. Like most quality music players, jetAudio also supports a notification panel widget that lets you play/pause and switch between tracks without heading over to the app’s main interface. Apart from that, jetAudio also brings some subtle yet exciting customization and social media sharing features to the table. For instance, if authorized, it can automatically post to Twitter and/or Facebook whatever tracks you are currently listening to. It lets you specify custom actions upon switching between songs, both manually and automatically.

For manual track switching, you can set the app to first stop the currently played track and then switch to the next one, crossfade while switching, or fade out the currently played track before switching to the next one. Similarly, it lets you pick the default action for auto-advance track switching. In this regard, you have the option to set the app to play gapless music, crossfade between tracks according to a user-defined crossfade time interval, or play the next track after a brief pause of a couple of seconds.

Then there is the option to specify the condition under which you want the app to implement the track resume feature. For instance, you can enable/disable the resume feature altogether, or apply it on tracks longer than 10, 15 or 20 minutes. The audio fade in/out feature while resuming/pausing tracks can also be enabled from within the app’s main settings screen. Among other options on the cosmetics front, you can set the app to display album art (with animations) on playback window. There is also the option to set album art as the selected album’s background within the app’s library interface.

Head over to the app’s Sound effects screen, and you’re greeted with a dozen of customizable sound settings, that include the option to:

Adjust the default left/right sound balance
Adjust the default Preamp level (auto-adjusts sound volume before applying selected sound effects)
Adjust the default Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to reduce volume fluctuations between different tracks
Enable the BBE, BBE ViVA, wider stereo image, Reverb and X-Bass sound effects (using user-defined effect levels, and custom Reverb mode)
Set the default current playback speed anywhere between 0.5x to 2.0x (with auto-pitch adjustment)
Enable the equalizer feature by selecting your preferred EQ preset

Now, to the crux of the entire app: the music player interface. From the outset, jetAudio looks yet another ordinary music player with basic music playback controls, and album art etc. However, the various buttons present at the top of the album art window can prove to be very helpful for muting the audio, jumping to the equalizer or SFX settings screen to specify the preferred sound settings, enabling the sleep timer, and adjusting the volume level, as well as the sound balance.

To manage your Now Playing playlist, you can either hit the button in the top-right side, or drag down anywhere on the player interface to launch the playlist. Tapping anywhere in the middle of the album art window reveals a compact panel that allows you to control music playback speed. To switch between tracks, you can also swipe left/right on the album art window. While listening to an audio track, you can set it as your device’s ringtone, or add it to a preferred playlist.

Having looked at the positive aspects of jetAudio in detail, now let’s see what is lacking currently. As of this writing, there is no headset button playback control; a big miss in my own opinion. Support for automatically fetching album art from over the internet is missing. Lyrics support isn’t there; not as yet. On-screen ads, as always, can serve as an annoyance.

As mentioned on the app’s Google Play Store page, with jetAudio Basic (the free version), you’ll have to bear the ads, while at the same time, having to make do without the BBE/BBE ViVA high definition sound effects. Users will be able to lift all the restrictions with the jetAudio Plus version, whenever it is made available. All in all, in jetAudio, Android have certainly found an immensely powerful and option-packed music player that offers most of the features for free.

jetAudio Basic requires Android v2.3.3 or higher to run, and can be downloaded via the link or QR code provided below.

Download jetAudio Basic

Webmailer: Redirect All Mailto: Links To Open In Default Browser [Mac]

Fatima — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:52:14 PDT

A while back, we reviewed RCDefaultApp, a Mac preference pane that makes it easy to set default apps in your Mac. The only slight shortcoming with the pane was that it wasn’t developed for Lion and might act a little glitchy. Webmailer is a free Mac preference pane that helps you redirect mailto: links to your web browser or any other app that you would like to handle all your email through. This is built specifically if you aren’t a fan of Mail and would love a different way to handle emails. The preference pane handles mailto: links that originate in a third party app, and redirects them to the app you want (like your browser).

Although the app should simply redirect a mailto: link to your browser and open it in Gmail if you’re signed in, tests revealed that it did not do that. A simple work around for this is to use an app that redirects mailto: links to you browser and have Webmailer direct it to that app. In this case, we used Gmal Notifr, a free Mac app that works in the Menu Bar (read full review here) and set Webmailer to send all Mailto: links to it.

Click the Advanced button and select Try to use the current browser or Always use and select your default browser. Click Done and you’re good to go.

You must have Gmail Notifr running at all times. To test if it worked, click a Mailto: link in the Mail app, and it, too, will redirect to your browser. All links in any email that you may have synced to Mail will also open in your default browser.

It isn’t clear why you need Gmail Notifr to act as a middleman, since Chrome (the browser used for testing) handles mailto: links well on its own. It might have to do with how the defaults are set or perhaps even an extension that is installed. If you prefer to use Hotmail or Yahoo, it is likely you might need an app similar to Gmail Notifr, but tailored for that specific email provider.

Get Webmailer For Mac

DeskNotifier Forwards Notifications From All Android Apps To Your PC

A. Rehman — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:43:35 PDT

Android apps that support pushing your mobile notifications straight to your computer are a dime a dozen in the Google Play Store. However, if most of the already tried-and-tested ones left you yearning for a simple and more comprehensive solution, you should consider giving DeskNotifier a try. Developed by XDA Member greenday123, DeskNotifier is a lightweight, yet handy app that pushes almost all types of Android notifications to your PC over Wi-Fi as well as USB connections. Be it the missed calls, new next messages, updates from the Google Play Store, or any notifications from various apps, DeskNotifier supports pushing all of them straight to your Windows-based computer via translucent popup messages. In addition, it also lets you send text messages to desired contacts right from your desktop.

As with several other similar apps, DeskNotifier, too, works in combination with a desktop-side server application that helps sending and receiving notifications from your mobile device to the computer, remotely. The desktop client of DeskNotifier is available for free, and can be downloaded via the link provided at the bottom. Both the mobile as well as the desktop applications require minimal configuration. That said, in order to establish a connection between the computer and mobile device through USB, you must have your device’s ADB drivers drivers installed on the system.

The desktop app, once installed, prompts you to feed in the correct IP settings, and select the preferred connection mode (USB or Wi-Fi), as well as the language (English or German). Provided your computer and mobile device are sharing the same Wi-Fi connection and the relevant app is running on its respective host device, the remote connection is automatically established between both of them. Using the desktop client, you can view all you unattended notifications at a glance, clear with a mere click, and send new text messages to a contact of choice.

Now, let’s shift our focus to the mobile app. Upon launch, the app prompts you to enable the DeskNotifier option from within your device’s Accessibility settings screen. From the app’s solitary homescreen interface, you can toggle the DeskNotifier service (option to auto-start the app on boot, too), send a test message to your PC, and more importantly, feed the Wi-Fi IP provided on this screen into the desktop app to successfully establish the remote connection.

Once successfully paired with the computer, the Android app pushes each and every newly received notification on your desktop almost instantly, and displays each individual notification via a separate translucent popup window right above the notification area. Each notification remains visible for a few seconds before fading away. However, you can sneak-peek at all your notifications by clicking the app’s notification center icon any time you want.

To clear an individual notification, just click anywhere in the middle of its popup window. Apart from the conventional incoming call and new SMS notifications, we’ve successfully tested the app’s capability to forward Android notifications from WhatsApp, Facebook, GO SMS Pro, and the Google Play Store app.

DeskNotifier is available in the Google Play Store for free, and can be downloaded via the link or QR code provided below.

Download DeskNotifier (Android Client)

Download DeskNotifier (PC Application)

[via XDA-Developer]

Get A Slick New Tab Page With A News Feed & Built-In Translator [Chrome]

Zainab — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:40:39 PDT

We’ve covered loads of new tab page extensions for Chrome in the past, but New Tab Feeder offers you with something unique. This elegant tool provides customized speeds dials, news feeds from your favorite channels, apps, bookmarks, a built-in translator and smart search. New Tab Feeder does not only let you save time, but also keeps you up-to-date with the latest happenings around you. The design allows you to quickly get from the new tab page to your desired websites with minimal friction, and lets you quickly read news and access your installed apps. Personally, I think the built-in translator and customized news feed that updates at regular intervals will make it a better option for busy people. More after the break.

The extension customizes the new tab page and adds Home, News, Apps and Translate options to it. Home displays customized speed dials for your favorite pages, and the newsfeed at the bottom of the page. Additionally, you can switch between News, Apps, and Translate from the top of the page.

The apps are neatly displayed, and you can utilize the smart bar to quickly visit your favorite websites. The smart bar not only retrieves links from your browsing history, but also quickly translates the entered term to your desired language.

The Default Translate Languages can be changed from drop-down menus, which include Spanish, German, French, Italian, Dutch and Hebrew.

Options allow you to choose news websites for various locations, such as USA, UK, Canada etc, or you can simply enable the featured ones (CNN.com, TIME, VB and The Economist), depending on your preference. Moreover, the feeds get updated every three seconds to show you the latest hot news from partner sites.

If you’re concerned with privacy issues, note that the extension does not use your browsing data or save any of your private information. It would have been nice if the colors, background and news sources were customizable, but overall, New Tab Feeder is easy-to-use, looks nice, and gives you a better browsing experience. You can grab the it from the link below.

Install New Tab Feeder For Google Chrome

Liked this extension? You might also want to take a look at the other Chrome extensions we’ve reviewed so far.

Firewall App Blocker : Add Applications To Firewall Block List via Drag & Drop

Fawad — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:37:23 PDT

Windows Firewall is a vital system security and packet filtering component that enables users to create inbound and outbound data traffic rules to protect their PCs and network from malicious external sources. The function of Windows Firewall is to restrict third-party applications from sending and receiving data to unauthorized users/apps. However, the Windows Firewall is not utilized up to its full potential by most users because it seems a bit difficult to configure. Previously, we brought you a guide on How to Create Exceptions in Windows 7/ Vista Firewall. Today, we have an application for Windows called Firewall App Blocker, which allows you to add applications to the Windows Firewall block list via drag and drop. Moreover, the application lets you set Windows Firewall policies by providing you with easy access to Windows Firewall with Advanced Security dialog box.

The application does not provide you with any extra options other than those provided by Windows. Firewall App Blocker only enables you to easily access Windows Firewall options. The default way to block or unlock individual applications using Windows Firewall requires you to first open the Windows Firewall and choose the programs to allow or block in Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall.

With Firewall App Blocker, you can easily add programs to the Windows Firewall block list by just dragging them over its main interface. When you want to unblock the program again, just select them from the list and click Delete.

The Advanced button brings up the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security window that allows you to apply Firewall policies and helps you configure Inbound Rules and Outbound Rules.

Windows App Blocker works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download Windows App Blocker

Pinterest-Like Visual Search Engine For eBay, Amazon, & Shopstyle, Viewer For Instagram [Web]

Zainab — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:34:38 PDT

Pinterest has gained immense popularity over the past few months, and it seems they are actually going to bring a new trend among social media users. Only a few days ago, we covered Searchgonzo, a Pinterest-like product discovery engine. 5th village is a similar web application that is geared towards shopaholics, letting them search and explore products from popular online shopping services such as eBay, Amazon and ShopStyle. Additionally, it allows you view and filter Instagram images by tags and even lets you sign into your account. With it, you can browse thousands of pins to find the perfect style, product, image and more. The slick tool lets you choose categories from a pull down menu displayed at the top of the page. When an image is clicked, the service automatically redirects you to the product’s website, so you can purchase it or view further details, such as price, time left etc.

By default, 5th village’s homepage displays a range of products from ShopStyle, with multiple categories displayed at the top of the page, such as Shoes, Bags, Beauty, Men and Kids. To the top right of the page, you will also find three other popular services, including eBay, Amazon and Instagram. Once you’ve selected a service, you will be able to enter a product’s name, browse by various categories and refine your search results by different parameters.

For instance, eBay allows you to enter terms or select different categories from a drop-down menu. Form the left hand-side of the page, you will be able to refine your results by different parameters, and you will also find multiple options at the top of the page, such as Auctions, Buy it now, New, Used and more. Similarly, you will be able to browse all types of products on Amazon with large and neat photos. Note that the stream of products is automatically refreshed when you scroll to the end of the page. When you come across an item that you really like, just click it, and you will instantly be redirected to the product’s store in a new tab, after which you will be able to purchase it directly from there.

Another great feature of the app is that you can login to your Instagram account to view your photo stream in a slick and neat interface. Moreover, you will be able to browse through other people’s photos and filter them by tags. Photos can be pinned on Pinterest or shared on Facebook and Twitter.

5th village seamlessly integrates the most popular online shopping services into its interface, and completely revamps the way you shop online for products on eBay, Amazon and ShopStyle. With it, you will not only be able to browse products without visiting multiple websites, but also strain your eyes lesser thanks to the elegant interface. The Instagram integration is yet another plus. We recommend all the shopaholics and Instagram lovers to give it a try!

Visit 5th village

Liked this app? You might also want to look through our showcase of web applications reviewed so far.

ContLab Is A Comprehensive General-Purpose Workflow Manager

Zeeshan — Sat, 26 May 2012 00:40:40 PDT

ContLab is a free business organizer for Windows that is currently still in its beta stages. Nevertheless, it shows promise of being a reliable tool for business enthusiasts who have trouble keeping records of their projects, contacts, agendas, reports and accounts. Also, the application comes packed with networking feature, which allows you to run the application from the server, so that all connected computers can easily use different features of the application from one central location. Details to follow after the jump.

Once installed and run, a notification icon appears in your taskbar. Just double-click it to open the main interface. For the first time usage, it will ask you to create a new database. Once you’ve created a new database, the window will shift into view mode. Henceforth, every time you run the software, the previously opened database will automatically load. By default, the application will automatically run at startup, but you can disable this from application’s Settings.

You can choose to immediately add new project, contact or event (which will be displayed in their respective Work Areas, except for events, which will be shown in the Agenda Work Area). Alternatively, you can click the tabs on the bottom-left to navigate to their respective Work Areas and create/view/edit/delete their records. All Work Areas follow the same outlook template. The Menu sidebar on the left displays common tools and actions, which you will definitely find useful. For example:

The Projects Work Area Menu holds links that Highlight the projects with their respective status colors or Expands or contracts the projects in order to display more or less information.
The Contacts Work Area Menu holds links to a tool that is used to show the contact address on a map and an option to display only a certain type or contact.
The Agenda Work Area Menu displays event type display options and filters options for the events.
The Reports Work Area Menu has an option to switch between summary display and data warning display mode.
The Reports Work Area Menu has an option to switch between viewing the common cash flow records and the movement of money to internal teams.
The Tools Work Area Menu has links to navigate between a Document, Sites & Passwords as well as the Notes Manager.

After opening a Work Area, clicking the Add or edit buttons will open windows similar to the one below. Here you can add new records or edit an existing record’s information. Different tabs hold different parts of the record. Using them to their utmost capacity will enable you to keep track of all projects, contacts, agendas, etc. Records from different Work Areas can be linked together to create an interrelated database that would be of even more use to a professional. Once the data has been entered to your satisfaction. Click OK and the changes will be committed.

Even though ContLab has all these functionalities, it is still in its beta phase. One of the biggest problems seen is the mix-up of the English and Italian languages. In the Tools menu (the top-menu bar one this time, not the sidebar one) you will find additional settings that will allow you to choose to change the behavior of ContLab; like changing the language, user accounts’ settings, as well as other advanced application settings.

Note: Closing the application window does not end its execution. Thus all events will be notified when their time of execution comes. In order to properly close ContLab, you must select Close in the right-click menu of the application’s notification icon. However doing this will stop ContLab’s event scheduler and you won’t be able to check your agenda for notifications.

Once all the problems have been solved, it is anticipated that this software will become a must-have tool for businessmen everywhere. Currently, you are required to register in order to download from the author’s website. It supports Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Download ContLab

Recover Lost Disk Partitions & Deleted Data Using Eassos Recovery

Fawad — Sat, 26 May 2012 00:33:06 PDT

It happens quite so often that we accidentally delete files from the computer that we did not mean to. For this reason, it’s highly advisable to create backup of your important files. In the past, we have covered some great backup and restore tools, which allow you to easily create backups of important files and folders and recover them later in case the original ones get deleted. However, if you’re not among those who regularly backup their important data, and have accidentally deleted some critical files, you can use file recovery utility. The file recovery applications are designed to recover deleted files and folders. You may know that whenever you delete a file from a storage device, only the reference to the file’s data in File Allocation Table is deleted, and unless more data is written over it, the content is not erased from the disk. That’s the reason why the deleted data can be recovered. Today, we have a file recovery application for Windows called Eassos Recovery, which provides you with a step by step wizard to recover files, lost partitions, disks and data deleted from the Recycle Bin. Details to follow after the break.

The application has a built-in wizard that guides you through the recovery process, for each available mode. When you start the application, you can choose between, Recover Files from Partition, Recover Lost Partitions, Recover Files From Disk and Recover Deleted Files. Just choose the option according to your requirements.

For instance, if you choose Recover Files from partition, you will be guided through a 5 step process. First, choose the partition which contains the deleted files. When you select a partition, important information about the volume is displayed at the right side. Click the Select File Types from right sidebar to choose specific file types to recover. Clicking next will start the scan.

When the scan is complete, you can select the files that you want to recover by browsing through folders. When all the required files are selected, click Next.

Choose the Target Folder where you want to save the files and select what you want to do if the file already exists in the target folder and click Next.

Upon click, the application starts recovering files and saves them in specified folder. You can choose to click the Open Folder button to view all the recovered files. Clicking Complete will close Eassos Recovery.

Similarly, you can recover lost partiions and data from specific partion & disk. Just select the required recovery mode and follow the wizard steps to recover the files. The application works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download Eassos Recovery

Note: You should specify remote directory or external hard disk as output location for saving recovered data from local disk partitions, as attempting to recover data on the same disk where it’s being read from may lead to permanent loss of data, and in some cases, unrepairable bad sectors.

days For iPhone & iPad Reminds You Of & Counts Down To The Days Left To Any Event

Hamza — Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:30 PDT

days is a reminders app for iOS, but there are a lot of those already out there, aren’t there? So, what makes it special when there are thousands of other to-do apps in the App Store, and since iDevices even have a stock Reminders app that is pretty good. days is different from all these owing to the fact that it doesn’t remind you of your tasks just at the eleventh hour, it builds up to each event, counting down the number of days to go. It is also a useful app if you want to quickly calculate the exact age of any event or person, and the app certainly has the potential of becoming your default to-do list.

To get started, you will just have to create new events within the days app using the ‘+’ button in the top right corner of the main Annual page. This is the same page that will display all the recorded events, along with their start and end dates. For all the past events, it is possible to apply a wide range of filters before browsing through them. You can also sort the list on the basis of event names or the time of their occurrence.

The events created within the Annual menu can include a title, description, date and category. There are no existing categories in days, and you have to define your own. This is a good thing, as the app learns with time and will suggest categories automatically in the future. Users can also choose the time at which they want the day app to remind them of the approaching event. Once an event has been created, days automatically calculates its exact age, along with the days that are left till it occurs again (if it is a recurring event).

If you want to find out the exact time that has elapsed since an event, but don’t want to add a new entry in the app for it, the More section features a Date Calculator for this situation. Just enter From and To dates, and you are provided with the accurate age. If the nature of the events you have stored in the day app is personal, you can protect the app with an app-specific password. One of the best features in days is its Email Backup/ Share option. With this app, your to-do list is not stuck in the app forever, and can be synced with any email service pretty easily.

days has been around for quite a long time, but this universal app went free for a limited time recently. So, if you are looking for a new way of managing important dates in your life, do give days a try.

Download days

Mehdoh Is Arguably The Best Free Twitter & Instagram Client For WP7

Hamza — Fri, 25 May 2012 23:01:05 PDT

Facebook might be the most popular social network in the world, but when it comes to Windows Phone 7, developers seem to favor Twitter more than Facebook. The best thing about most of the Twitter clients available for the Mango platform is the quality of these apps. Most of them are good enough to give the official Twitter app a run for its money, and some even surpass it. Mehdoh is one such app, which comes with some pretty distinguishing features. The app has been around in the Marketplace for a long time, but its latest update might have made it the most comprehensive Twitter app out there. Not only can you use Mehdoh to tweet, the app will also let you link your Instagram account with it! Doesn’t that sound amazing? Read on for more.

The welcome screen of Mehdoh prompts users to sign in to their Twitter account, and while your timeline is being populated after login, the app asks users to choose the service they want to employ for sharing images on Twitter. Once the setup is complete, you can add more Twitter accounts from the account management section of the app. If you want to link your Instagram account with any of the added Twitter profiles, go to the bottom menu of the accounts page and tap add instagram account. Your timeline integrates posts from all the linked accounts, and this section is pretty similar to the official WP7 Twitter client. Swiping to the right will bring you to the mentions section, while another swipe leads to messages. You can look for a user or keyword using the search button in the bottom bar. The small box at the top of each section acts as a notification area, and will display the number of new mentions or timeline updates (something that is missing in the official Twitter app).

The real changes become apparent in Mehdoh when you tap a tweet to open it. Instead of just a link, the app displays a preview of the attached images or webpages. To navigate to these previews just swipe to the left of the screen to the link section. Another cool feature offered by Mehdoh is its translate tweet with Bing option, which is available for all tweets, and taping it will convert the tweet’s contents to the default language of your WP7; that, too, without leaving the current screen.

The Trends section in Mehdoh is the most comprehensive one we have ever seen in a WP7 app. You can apply a number of filters to view trending topics in various regions of the world, and during different times of the day. When composing a new tweet with the app, you can switch accounts with a single tap, and special character support is also available.

Mehdoh is available as a free download, and if you are a regular Twitter user who has an Instagram account as well, you should give the app a try by heading to the following web Marketplace link below.

Download Mehdoh

Soft4Boost Update Checker : Get Alerts When Installed Applications’ Updates Are Released

Waqas — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:43:56 PDT

Most Windows (in fact, almost all OS platforms’) applications are designed to automatically update themselves to the latest available versions. This, however, isn’t true for every program, as a few of them require your utmost attention to manually install their newer versions. There are many standalone applications available out there that are specifically developed to keep an eye on all installed programs on your PC and automatically notify you if a latest version gets released. Recently, we stumbled across another utility called Soft4Boost Update Checker. This minuscule application sits in your system tray and keeps track of the latest versions of the installed programs, albeit it doesn’t update any program rather just notifies you if an update of installed application is released. In addition, it supports a number of different applications, during testing it did notify us about the latest version release of some outdated programs. Details after the jump.

There isn’t any kind of sophistications involved, as the tool is quite simple and offers straightforward usage. Its main console displays the icons of all your outdated applications and their names. There is just a Settings and Help button (the later of which is to get you acquainted with the program). It’s worth noting that clicking any of the outdated application does nothing, as the tool’s sole purpose is to just notify you of the outdated app – and you’d need to manually update the program.

Whenever a latest version of an installed application goes out, the program shows a system tray notification, showing New updates are available! message.

From Settings, you will be able to change the application’s Skin Style and Language. You can choose from a number of different skins including, MS Office, Sparcle Blue, Sparcle Orange, System etc. You may also enable Launch program at Windows startup option if you want to check the updates of all installed applications as soon as you log on to Windows.

Clicking the minimize button sends the application to system tray. You can however, right-click its system tray icon to display the context menu, from where you can choose to show main application window, exit the program or open the Settings console.

Soft4Boost Update Checker is available for free and works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Both 32-bit and 64-bit OS editions are supported.

Download Soft4Boost Update Checker

Convert iOS 5.1.1 Thethered Jailbreak To Untethered With Rocky Racoon 5.1.1 Untether [Cydia]

Aatif Khan — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:41:53 PDT

It’s been a wonderful day for iOS jailbreakers across the globe, as today’s Absinthe 2.0 update brought untethered jailbreak for almost all iOS 5.1.1 devices, including the A5 iPhone 4S and iPad 2, and A5X sporting iPad 3 (the new version). You may even check our iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak guides for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S here, and here for the new iPad. However, there had been the A4 devices, too, that already had a jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1, albeit a tethered one. If you have an iPhone/iPod touch that was tethered jailbroken on iOS 5.1.1 until now, good news awaits, for Chronic Dev Team has released the Rocky Racoon 5.1.1 Untether package in Cydia to get you the untethered status right away! Read past the jump for details.

Similar to the Corona Untether package that followed the release of Absinthe for iOS 5.0.1 untether, Rocky Racoon will convert your existing tethered jailbreak to an untethered one without requiring any intervention from iTunes or erasing the contents of your device. Earlier, a tethered jailbreak needed your device to be wiped completely for the untether to take effect. However, since the Chronic Dev Team took charge of the jailbreak scenario, things have become more convenient, and all you need to do now is install a package from Cydia and that should get things done for you.

To install the package, launch Cydia on your tethered jailbroken iPhone 4, iPad or iPod touch, and let all the repositories refresh. Make sure that your device is currently rocking iOS 5.1.1 (which should automatically be the case if you have a tethered jailbreak). Head to the Search tab in Cydia, and key in Rocky Racoon 5.1.1 Untether. Install the package, and that’s it – your tethered jailbreak has converted to an untethered one right away! It’s as simple as this!

It may be interesting to point out that Rocky Racoon incorporates the same exploit that Absinthe uses for newer devices. Hence, if you are running an iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or the new iPad that you have freshly jailbroken through Absinthe 2.0, this package will automatically be among the installed ones. The thing to remember, however, is that the package is crucial to maintaining your jailbreak, and should you remove it on any of the aforementioned devices, you will lose the jailbreak!

So, that’s it, jailbreakers. Things are looking good on all fronts for now, but we know the cat and mouse game will restart as soon as Apple releases a patch for the latest exploits. Enjoy the freedom while it lasts, and let’s leave it up to the experts to save us in the future as well.

Get Untethered Jailbreak On iPhone 4/4S & iPod Touch Running iOS 5.1.1 Using Absinthe 2.0

Hamza — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:04:34 PDT

The wait is finally over, and it’s about time you stop seeing that red sign in the Cydia store, warning you against updating to iOS 5.1. The Greenpois0n team has just released the much-anticipated untethered jailbreak for all devices running iOS 5.1 or later, and that includes A5 devices as well! No matter if you have an iPod touch, the 3rd generation iPad, or the latest iPhone, Absinthe 2.0 has got you covered. The tool is truly the most convenient method of jailbreaking that has ever been released. You just have to run a program on your PC, Mac or Linux, and that’s all! Head past the break for further details.

Disclaimer: Please attempt this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips won’t be responsible if your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way due to this method.

Before we proceed, here is a list of all the devices supported by Absinthe 2.0.

iPad (3rd Generation)
iPad 2
iPad
iPhone 4S
iPhone 4 (GSM/ CDMA)
iPhone 3GS
iPod touch (4th Generation)
iPod touch (3rd Generation)

If your device is among the ones listed above, read the instructions below to get Cydia up and running on your iDevice.

Instructions:

Absinthe 2.0 will only work for device that are already on iOS 5.1.1. So, first of all, update your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS.
Once you have done that, create a backup of the device via iTunes if you don’t want to lose all your apps and data.
Now, go to the stock Settings app and restore your phone to factory settings by hitting the Erase all Content and Settings button under the Restore menu in the General section. Remember, this is not a compulsory step, but might help you in avoiding some complications.
Download Absinthe 2.0 from this link. The files for all operating systems are provided in the downloads section.
After doing all that, connect your iDevice to your computer via the USB cable, and run Absinthe 2.0.
Absinthe will automatically detect your device, if it is on iOS 5.1 and the hardware is compatible. As soon as the device is successfully detected, hit the Jailbreak button (which happens to be the only button in the desktop application’s interface).
Don’t disconnect your device, and wait for Absinthe 2.0 to work its magic.

When the application tells you that the procedure has been completed successfully, you are free to disconnect your iDevice from the computer. You don’t have to do anything else, just launch the Cydia store on your device (it will be there in on your device by now). When you launch it for the first time, Cydia will prepare the filesystem and that’s it. You now have a jailbroken iDevice running iOS 5.1.1!

If you happen to own the new (A5X) iPad running iOS 5.1.1 and plan to jailbreak it, head on over to this guide of ours, and we’ll walk you through the process.

Update: If you already have tethered jailbreak on your iPhone 4 or iPod touch running iOS 5.1.1, click here for a shorter, quicker method (Rocky Racoon) to get untethered jailbreak.

How To Jailbreak New iPad 3 (A5X) On iOS 5.1.1 via Absinthe 2.0

Aatif Khan — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:03:45 PDT

All the speculation regarding the elusive iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak has finally come to an end, with the just-released update to Chronic Dev Team’s famous Absinthe tool, pushing it up to version 2.0. With the latest release of the popular jailbreak tool, support for untethered iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak has been added for all the current devices capable of running the new OS, including the new A5X iPad (or the iPad 3, as some call it). The following post will guide you on how to jailbreak your new iPad on iOS 5.1.1 using Absinthe 2.0.

Disclaimer: Please attempt this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips won’t be responsible if your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way due to this method.

Before you begin, download the Absinthe 2.0 jailbreak package for your platform (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux) and make sure you backup your device in iTunes. This you can do by right-clicking the device’s name in iTunes and selecting Back Up. This is a mere precaution, and not a requirement for jailbreak.

Once past the jailbreak, on your new A5X iPad, head over to Setting > General > Reset – Erase All Content and Settings. Again, this step is only there to smoothen the jailbreak process and speed it up.

Run Absinthe on your computer and connect your iPad. The software will automatically detect the connected device and the firmware, after which you just need to hit the Jailbreak button.

That’s all there is to it, frankly. Everything will be performed on the device automatically, and you will be kept apprised of the progress through a blue bar. During the jailbreak, your iPad 3 may appear to be restoring from a backup, something we saw in earlier versions of Absinthe jailbreak as well.

Just sit back and relax until you get the Done message. Believe me, the jailbreak will not require any interference from your side, at all!

Once you see the above screen on Absinthe 2.0, pick up your iPad and viola! Good old Cydia will be there on the Springboard. The first launch will reconstruct the file system, as is customary for the jailbreak store, but it should be fine after that.

Congratulations! You just got a brand new jailbreak for the new iPad 3 running iOS 5.1.1. Enjoy the freedom!

If you happen to own an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S running iOS 5.1.1 and plan to jailbreak it, head on over to this guide of ours, and we’ll walk you through the process.

How To Permanently Delete A Single File From Mac Using Terminal [Tip]

Fatima — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:56:11 PDT

A very basic thing to do, but still not commonly known, is how to delete a single file permanently from your Mac. Moving a file to Trash means it’s still there and can be restored any time, not to mention eating up precious space. The slight problem with Trash is that if you want to remove a particular file from it, i.e., permanently delete it, you have to remove all of them. In the event you have just a single file to remove (wipe permanently off the face of your hard drive and the earth itself), you go to the Terminal and execute the simplest of commands.

Open Terminal, type “rm” (no quotes, but there should be a space after it). Drag & drop the file you want to remove onto the Terminal window, and its path will be added at the end of the command, then hit Return. Your file will be removed beyond recovery.

This tip works for any and all files types and sizes, and is literally irreversible. Be extra cautious when using the command, and better if you use it only sparingly. To delete files of low priority, use Trash, which gives you some allowance for recovering a file if it was removed by accident.

For folders, use the command “rm –rf” followed by the path to the folder. Enter the command without quotes. Your folder and every single file in it will be removed permanently. This command is really the same one for deleting files, but modified slightly to tell Terminal that you want to remove a folder. It will have the same permanent effect mentioned when deleting a file, so proceed with caution.

inFocus.cc Lets You Share A Webpage With A Certain Portion Highlighted [Web]

Zainab — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:45:29 PDT

Normally, we share full website URLs with friends even when we want them to see a particular image, link or paragraph on the page. Not only do we have to send them the link, but we also have to describe the particular content in detail, so they know exactly where to look. inFocus.cc is a free web application that solves this very common problem by letting you easily highlight a certain part of a website and get a shareable URL for the resulting screenshot. The app offers users with a bookmarklet, as well as a Chrome extension. To start off, all you have to do is click the bookmarklet or the button in the toolbar and a highlight box will pop up, letting you focus on your desired content. Once you have made your selection, you can then hit the Copy URL button to get the URL address that you want to share with others.

To start off, you can either install the Chrome extension for the service, or simply drag its bookmarklet to your bookmarks toolbar, and you are ready to highlight and share portions of websites in a single click. Alternatively, you can enter a URL of the site you want to focus in the text box at the infocus.cc website, and hit ‘Get Focus!’

When the bookmark or the toolbar button is clicked (or alternatively, the URL is manually entered at the infocus.cc website), the page blurs and a red translucent selector appears over it, which you can drag or resize in order to define the area you want to highlight. Once you’ve placed the selector over the desired region of your page, inFocus.cc will provide you with a URL that you can share with others to show them the specific page and the section you’ve highlighted.

When others visit the link, the entire page will be blurred except the shared content, which will be highlighted. In addition to that, the recipient will be able to toggle between showing/hiding the focus, as well as exit the focus mode entirely, using the Hide Focus and Exit Focus buttons on the top of the page.

inFocus.cc can be quite useful, specially when you want to share particular content from a website, but don’t want to waste time describing and explaining it to others or telling them where to focus. You can visit the app’s website or install the Chrome extension from the links given below.

Install inFocus.cc For Google Chrome

Visit inFocus.cc

Like this app? You might want to look through our showcase of web applications reviewed so far.

Remove All Windows System Tray Icons Left By Uninstalled Applications

Fawad — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:40:49 PDT

Often, when you install a new software, it adds a notification icon to system tray. This system tray icon helps users easily select and use the program options as well as provide quick access to different application settings. When you uninstall the software, the icon is automatically removed from the system tray. However, sometimes Windows native application uninstaller fails to delete the past notifications. Only because you cannot see it in the system tray does not mean that it is not there anymore. System tray is set to show the currently active icons, but the non-active icons are not always deleted along with the software. Previously, we covered a tool called Tray Cleaner (reviewed here), which allows you to clear the extra items in the notification area. If, for some reason, Tray Cleaner does not work for you, you can use Notification Area Cleaner, a portable application for Windows that lets you delete unwanted notification icons in Windows 7.

Here at AddictiveTips, we need to constantly install and uninstall applications in order to find the best ones for our readers. As you can see in the screenshot, the notification area of my computer contains a lot of system tray icons left behind by uninstalled programs. You can check the extra notification icons from Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Notification Area Icons window.

If you’re dealing with the same problem and have a lot of system tray icons of those programs that you do not use anymore, download the compatible version of Notification Area Cleaner for your system (32-bit or 64-bit) and run the application. To delete the obsolete system tray icons, click Clean and wait for the program to finish working.

During testing, the application worked flawlessly and cleaned all the system tray icons left by uninstalled applications without any issues, whatsoever.

Notification Area Cleaner works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download Notification Area Cleaner

25Trends Provides A Visual Representation Of Twitter Trends, Top Links & Tweets [Web]

Zainab — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:01:48 PDT

25trends is a Twitter analytics tool that provides you with real-time information for trending topics, top links and top tweets, along with percentages for different types of moods. With it, you can quickly find out not just what people are talking about, but also how they feel about that particular topic in form of percentages for different mood types, such as Positive, Negative and Neutral. The service searches Twitter for you, analyzes and aggregates key terms, links and tags. and gives you a neat visualization with links to the related tweets. With 25Trends, you can find out about various popular places, people, products and more. The service comes with a basic-looking interface, which is quite easy-to-use; all you have to do is type a name or topic of your interest and you will be able to browse through Trending Topics, Top Tweets and Top Links for those keywords, and view the related links directly on Twitter.

To start off, type a twitter #tag or @mention, or simply any word to find out what people are talking about.

25Trends will instantly display results for Trending Topics, Top Links and Top Tweets. Trending Topics are displayed according to three different Moods. For instance, Blue colored boxes show a Neutral mood, Orange ones represent a Negative mood, whereas the yellow ones denote a Positive mood.

You can hover your mouse over these colored boxes to see the percentage for each mood and when you find something interesting, you can click the tiny arrow to view it directly on Twitter. Additionally, you can scroll to the end of the page to view Top Tweeters, Top Tags and Languages.

The app delivers up-to-date information and lets you view it all with just a glance, that can make it quite useful for both the researchers and the casual surfers amongst us.

Visit 25Trends

Like this app? You might also want to look through our showcase of web applications reviewed so far.

Conloco: Batch-Download & Install Free Software And Check For Updates

Waqas — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:00:40 PDT

How often do you have to reinstall your Windows OS? If it’s one of those tasks that you frequently need to perform, then you must’ve gone through the process of downloading and installing all your favorite applications and system utilities. Wouldn’t it be convenient, if you could download and install all your favorite programs from a single place? Conloco is an open-source program, designed to keep an eye on latest (and most popular) free software, displaying a catalogue from wherein you can download them in batch. In addition, it also keeps a check on latest software updates and notifies you if a newer version of the program is available – thus saving you the headache of manually updating each program. Details to follow after the jump.

To get started, launch the application and you will be presented with a simple looking UI, showing a list of available applications on the left side. All the applications are present in Catalog section, click on an application and you will see its brief Description, Author name, Website as well as Current and Installed versions. You can install all the selected applications in one go. Just mark the applications that you want to download and click Download and Install on the quick access bar (or select Actions > Download and Install from the menu bar) to start the process.

A dialogue window will pop up, displaying the currently Running Jobs (i.e. applications that are being downloaded). Just sit back and wait for the process to finish or you may halt it anytime by clicking the Cancel button.

As of now, Conloco doesn’t have a massive list of applications. The only worthwhile we found were Firefox, Gimp, Notepad++, VLC, Thunderbird etc. Hopefully, developer will add more applications to the list in future updates. The program works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download Conloco

Peel Brings Its Personalized TV Show Recommendations App To Android

A. Rehman — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:16:03 PDT

After making its mark among iOS users, the popular personalized TV shows discovery and recommendations app, Peel, has made its way into the Google Play Store for Android users. Laced with plenty of visual goodness and an endless stream of high quality TV content recommendations, the official Peel mobile app ensures that you don’t have to look across multiple TV guides and other online resources to find your daily dose of infotainment. Using Peel, you can curate your TV program schedules as per your own liking, and get timely recommendations from the app, as well as other app users. The app also lets you search for your preferred TV shows and movies, sift through various content-intensive program genres from a chosen category, check in to shows, rate favorite programs, load complete program schedules for your favorite TV channels, share your favorite shows with your Facebook and Twitter friends, cut out the shows that don’t match your liking, and check out what other users think about a particular show.

Just like the previously reviewed TV guide app BuddyTV, Peel also requires you to provide your area ZIP code at launch. This helps the app fetch the list of TV service providers from your current location. Once past that, the app prompts you to decide whether you want to continue with the default (recommendation) preferences or Personalize the Top Picks as per your own liking. The app’s interface is exactly the same as you get with its iOS counterpart, which ultimately means that you’re in for plenty of eye candy, sleek looks, and user-friendly in-app navigation controls.

Despite supporting numerous TV channels from multiple service providers, the interface of Peel is not cluttered at all, thanks to the controls for sorting content in different ways. Tapping the button in the top-left side of the app’s main screen lists different categories that Peel supports. Various options present on this screen include Top Picks, TV Shows, Movies, Sports, Search, Social and Settings. Once you pick a category of your choice, you can filter out content by time as well as by genre. Depending upon the chose program category, time, and genre, you’re presented with program recommendations from all the various TV channels supported by the app. Recommended programs are presented through individual thumbnails on a horizontally scrollable gallery.

To view a program’s details, channel info and airing time, tap its thumbnail. While viewing a program’s info, you can switch between programs airing on the same time on other channels by swiping left/right on your screen. In addition, you can also rate a show, check-in to your favorite program, recommend it to your online friends, or cut it out from the list. The figures appearing above the thumbnail keep you informed about other users who like that particular program, feel the same way about the program as you (via rating), and have recommended the show to their own friends.

Through the Social tab, you can keep an eye on your Peel activities and profile in detail. While the app’s suggestions are pretty handy, it must be mentioned here that the more you let Peel know about your personal preferences, the better suggestions you’re likely to get. To sift through the app’s recommendations, you can hit the Top Picks tab and decide whether you want to check what programs the app has to suggest to you, or go through your Friends’ Favorites list, the week’s top shows, or the programs that you’ve already plucked from the app’s various channels list.

The app’s Settings screen also houses several important options. It is from here that you can reselect your TV service provider as well as favorite channels, and manage your Peel profile and favorite programs. Moreover, you can cut programs out that you aren’t interested in, customize supported genres, and manage the sports categories as per your liking. Finally, you can also log out from Peel from within the same screen.

Just like the iOS variant, the official Android client of Peel is available for free. The app requires Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) or higher to run, and can be downloaded via the link or QR code provided below.

Download Peel for Android

Download Peel for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

Photo Filter Factory: Countless Image Effects, Batch-Resizing & Conversion

Fawad — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:01:11 PDT

Nowadays, people upload hundreds of images on different image hosting websites, such as Flickr, Imgur, ImageShack etc. Apart from these public sharing websites, social media networks, such as Facebook and Google +, have also gained a lot of popularity in photo sharing circles. The Instragram app, available for both iPhone and Android, is famous for allowing users to apply beautiful filters to their images, making them look as if they were professionally shot and edited. A while back, we covered a Windows application called Perfect Effects 3 that allows you to apply multiple Instagram-like photo filters in layers, one over the other, or to specific parts of an image from its library of 30 professional effects. Today, we have another image editing application called Photo Filter Factory, which contains over 4000 different image filters and effects to choose from. Additionally, it allows you to apply frames to images, correct brightness and contrast, change image size, adjust image scale and batch convert images to different formats and sizes.

The application sports a very minimalistic interface. All the filters are directly accessible from the main interface (the top left corner has a drop down list containing all the filters). When you select a filter from the list, a bar appears on the right side that lets you choose different intensity levels for the selected filter. The top bar contains options such as Brightness, Filter and Add Frame that lets you quickly change image brightness and apply a frame to your images with variable pixel width respectively.

The filter list contains a number of filters such as After Draw, Aged Paper, Dry Dirt, Floor Board, Melted Tar, Purple lace, Rough Wood, Stone Wall, Water Drops etc.

The application offers different tools to manage different image options including White/ Black Balance, Sharpen, Distort, Gamma, Image Size, image Scale, Rotate Image and more.

The Batch Converter can be accessed from the File menu. It allows you to batch convert images into different formats, such as BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, TGA and TIF. Moreover, you can resize the images and change their Brightness, Contrast, JPG Quality and other color levels.

Photo Filter Factory works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download Photo Filter Factory

How To Access The Old Control Panel From Windows 8 Start Screen [Tip]

Waqas — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:01 PDT

One of the major changes in Windows 8 is its revamped Start Menu Screen. Instead of introducing the same old Start Menu that we’ve all grown used to, Microsoft has opted for a rather different route – creating a Metro themed Start Screen. If you’re using Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you must have noticed the absence of Control Panel shortcut in the Start Screen. Although you can easily access PC Settings console from Charms Bar, Windows 8 doesn’t offer a quick way to open the classic Control Panel, as one needs to either search it from Start Screen or open Desktop and then access it from Windows Explorer window. In what follows, we will explain how you can create a shortcut to Control Panel and pin it to Start Screen.

To begin, create a shortcut on the desktop. From Desktop right-click context menu, select New > Shortcut. A window will pop up, asking you to enter the shortcut’s target location. Simply enter the following Control Panel shortcut path.

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}

In the next step, give a name to your shortcut, simply type in Control Panel under Type a name for this shortcut section and click Finish.

Once done, it will create a shortcut to Control Panel on the desktop. In order to replace its folder’s shortcut icon with Control Panel icon, right click the shortcut and select Properties from the context menu to bring up the Properties sheet. Under the Shortcut tab, click the Change Icon button.

Now, copy the following path in the field, and then select the Control Panel icon:

%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll

Once done, click OK, right-click the newly created shortcut and select Pin to Start from context menu. It will pin the Control Panel shortcut to Start Screen.

AppRemover Now Lets You Remove Almost Any AntiVirus Suite & Its Left Over Data

Waqas — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:30:19 PDT

There are certainly sheer number of security related software available out there to fight even the most obnoxious of viruses, malware, trojans, spywares etc. Sometimes while switching to a new antivirus or anti-malware program, we want to first remove the existing one. However, the Windows application uninstaller is not effective enough to remove every single bit of the installed anti-virus suite/application, and it often leaves behind various traces in the form of registry files and other preferences/settings file. Back in 2008, we covered an application known as AppRemover (reviewed here), an app uninstaller that allowed you to remove any system security-related software within a few clicks. Since our review, the application has been completely revamped, and now it supports a wide range of system security solutions including McAfee, Kaspersky, AVG, Avast, Avira, ESET, GDATA, k&, Kingsoft, Panda, Symantec, Lavasoft, TrendMircro, TrustPort, Norman, Webroot, ClamWin and so on.

It’s worth noting that the application doesn’t look the same as it was four years back. The dev team has done away with the old black user interface. There’s a big application logo of the program itself with the company behind its development. The wizard comprises of a total of four steps (Detection, Select Products, Removal and Finished). When you launch the application, simply click Next to continue.

Next up, you need to select Removal Type i.e., whether you want to remove a security application (Remove Security Application) or wipe off a previous failed installation (Clean Up a Failed Uninstall). If you’re removing the security program for the first time, select Remove Security Application and click Next.

It will begin scanning for the available security software on your machine. Simply click Next to continue, when the scanning process finishes.

The program will auto detect the available security solutions, but if it fails to do so, you can click Applications not found? Try this button. Select the program you want to remove and click Next.

Now wait for the removal process to be completed. When the process finishes, you can click Start Over to remove another program or the Reboot Now button to complete the uninstallation process.

AppRemover is a portable application and works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Both 32-bit and 64-bit OS editions are supported.

Download AppRemover

INfoHesiveEP: Create & Publish ePublications In eBook, PDF, CHM Format

Fawad — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:00:31 PDT

If you are a software developer, you must know the importance of creating a help manual while moving through different phases of SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). Without a detailed help manual, it becomes quite difficult for your audience to completely understand the functionality and the usage of the software. However, if you don’t want the hassle of creating help topics and compiling them into a single document, give InfoHesiveEP a shot. The application is developed for creating e-Publications such as help manuals, eBooks, support guides etc. The utility allows you to export files in PDF, EPUB, MOBI, LIT, CHM, HTML, RTF and TXT formats, tweak document layout, manage important keywords, tag topics, create table of contents and index page(s), insert timestamps, tables, links, anchors and cover page image. Not only does it provide you with features to effortlessly fine tune your publication, it also lets you use basic formatting tools to remove text styles, edit anchor, manage indent and text alignment, insert and organize annotations and more. Read past the break for details.

The main interface includes File, Outliner, Editor, View, Insert, Format, Annotations, Tools and Settings menus at the top, the documents list appear at the left, while the document can be viewed and edited from the main window.

To add any existing documents, select File and choose Import from the list, but if you want to create new eBook, select the New eBook option, and a new tree will be created in the left side of the interface, which lets you easily organize the topics that you want to add to your document.

The Outliner menu holds add New Topic, New Article Item, user Templates, Create Table of Contents and Index Page, Tag the document, Organize Tags, Manage Keywords etc., options.

Along with simple editing tools including Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Find & Replace etc. The Editor tab allows you to edit the source of the file.

You can change viewing options from View menu, while the Insert menu allows you to add TimeStamp, Table ,Links, Images, Anchors etc. A Cover Image for the document can also be added by clicking the Cover Page Image option.

You can change the basic formatting of the document from the Format menu, which includes options like text alignment, indent, remove text styles and hyperlinks etc.

The Settings menu provides you access to Settings dialog box to configure the default application behavior including Workspace preferences, Program options, File Options, Backup Settings and Windows Options.

Once you’ve created or modified the document, select Export Article option from File–>Export menu, and then choose the required document format. InfoHesiveEP works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Visa, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download InfoHesiveEP

Colasoft MAC Scanner: View IP & MAC Addresses of All Computers On A Network

Fawad — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:45:11 PDT

The Media Access Control address (assigned to Network Interface Card) is a physical address of the system on the network. It can be used to check if any specific device is connected to the network or not. To perform basic remote operations, often only the IP address is required, however, actions such as Wake-on-LAN, requires you to specify the MAC address to remotely control the connected computers. Finding the MAC address of your own PC is quite simple, but if you want to view the MAC addresses of all the computers connected to the network, then noting down the MAC address of each PC manually can become quite a tedious task. Today, we have an application from Colasoft, called MAC Scanner Free, which allows you to quickly find out the MAC addresses of all the devices connected to the network.

The application sends Address Resolution Protocol queries to specified subnet, and then listens to the responses from all connected clients. Using this request send and listen process, it lists down both MAC and IP addresses of the systems connected to the network.

The application offers a simple and user friendly interface. At the top, there are Export All, Export Selected, Copy, Delete, Find, Local Subnet list, Start and Pause buttons, while the MAC and IP address list is displayed in the main window. To look for the MAC addresses, you just have to select a Local Subnet and click Start to begin scanning for all the devices connected to the network. Along with the IP address and MAC address of the connected computers, it also displays the Host Name (computer name) and Manufacturer of the connected devices.

Using the Export All and Export Selected options, you can easily save all or specific items from the list in TXT format.

The application works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Download Colasoft MAC Scanner Free

Memolane Aggregates A Timeline Of All Your Online Social Media Activities [Web]

Haroon Q. Raja — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:42:04 PDT

Timelines are great for taking a trip down memory lane. While Facebook has had its own timeline view for a while now, it isn’t the only widely used social media service. For those of us who want a single public, private or hybrid timeline view for all our social media feeds, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Foursquare and many more, there’s memolane, a new web application that serves as a true aggregator for all the supported networks, with an elegant interface. Details past the break.

Memolane takes all your social media feeds and combines them into a single timeline. When you first visit the site, you are offered to connect using Facebook to begin. Once connected, you are presented with the Explore view that shows several categories of public memory lanes including Featured, Most Followed and Recommended. You may choose here to follow the lanes that seem to interest you, or move on to your Profile.

On your profile page, you can see your lanes, the lanes you have followed, and a list of your friends. You can also edit your connected services, make changes to your profile, and add friends.

You may add friends by searching for them in the ‘Search lanes & users’ box on the top-right, or by clicking the ‘Add Friends’ button on your Profile page. Friends can be added by their email addresses, or by automatically fetching them from your Gmail address book or Facebook contacts.

Your personal lane contains all your updates on Facebook by default. It gives you a horizontal timeline view that you can scroll on both sides. There is also a date line at the bottom that you can click for navigation, and an option to embed your lane anywhere on the web. Viewing someone else’s lane also gives you the same interface, with an option to follow the lane if you want. You can also share the lane’s link directly on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

Mere Facebook not enough in your lane? Feel free to add more services! Available options include Facebook profiles, Facebook pages, Twitter, Flickr, Google+ (public posts only), Picasa, Last.fm, Foursquare, Instagram, Tripit, YouTube, MySpace, Vimeo, SoundCloud and WordPress.com. In addition, you can also add any RSS feed as a lane, which can cover pretty much everything. Once you have linked all the services, you can choose whether to keep them public, private or visible to your friends only.

You may want to keep different lanes for different audiences. For instance, a private lane with updates from all your social media services that is viewable only by you, another lane with updates from selective services for your friends, and a public lane with updates from even fewer services. In addition, you can even create a lane with updates from multiple people, for instance a lane for a combined timeline of social media updates of all of your closest friends. You get all these options when you create a new lane. Simply provide the name of your lane, add a description, select your memo sources (yourself only, or any of your friends), add a filter to ensure the lane shows only the updates matching certain keywords, select the services to be included in that lane, and even limit the lane’s starting and ending date if desired, in case you want to cover only a specific time interval in that lane.

While it may seem intimidating at first due to all the options it offers, memolane is actually quite simple to setup. Once you have all your services connected, configuring your lanes is a breeze. Once you are all done, you’ll have your custom-tailored timelines of just the social media content that you want.

Visit memolane

Generate Detailed Graphical Analysis For All Your Chrome Bookmarks

Zainab — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:41:29 PDT

Often, while browsing the web, we tend to quickly bookmark multiple websites without organizing or giving them meaningful names. This cannot only clutter your Bookmarks Bar and folders, but can also be very difficult to organize these at a later time. In such a scenario, you won’t normally be able to get an idea of the nature of content that is stored for later in your favorites, or the origin of most of them. This is where Gleana Bookmark Infographic comes in useful. This nifty Chrome extension quickly generates an infographic-style visual report for your browser bookmarks, letting you view various aspects of your collection, such as folder structures, largest folders, deepest folders, top domains, total number of folders, bookmarks and more. It does this by displaying bookmark statistics in bar charts, line graphs and mind maps. Gleana seamlessly integrates with Chrome, letting you view, access and arrange bookmarks in a unique and interesting way.

After you’ve installed the extension, simply click the button in the toolbar, and Inforgraphics for your bookmarks will automatically be generated and displayed in a new tab. Here, you will be able to get an analysis for all your favorites by various criteria, such as Bookmarks added by day of week and Bookmark added by month etc.

As you scroll down the page, you will be able to view a graph for Growth over time. Note that each band in this graph represents a single folder.

Next, you will be able to check statistics for the most active days, longest gap (when no bookmarks were added), bookmarks per day and more. You will also be able to view top domains and bookmarks by host graphs as well.

At the end of the page, a mind-map representation of your bookmarks is relayed, where each oval represents one of your bookmark folders, and the size indicates the number of bookmarks that it contains.

Note that the extension neither records nor stores any information related to your bookmarks, or attempts to navigate to any of the target URLs. Gleana scans your bookmark data, creates graphs, and then forgets about these as soon as the tab is closed. It can be especially useful for people who work with a lot of bookmarks and would like to view them in colorful graphical representations, so that they can manage them in an easier manner.

Install Gleana Bookmark Infographic For Google Chrome

If you liked this extension, you might also want to take a look at other Chrome extensions we’ve reviewed so far.

Tune Your Mood: Music Tracks For All Occasions & Emotions [WP7]

Hamza — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:25:01 PDT

While Tune Your Mood might not be the first Windows Phone 7 app of its kind, it certainly is one of the most comprehensive ones in the Marketplace. The app can be used for two purposes. You can use it as a music discovery app when you have really run out of songs to listen to, and it can also be helpful if you want to stream music related to a particular mood. Tune Your Mood has playlists that are categorized with respect to different events and moods, rather than the music genre or artists name. You just have to share your feelings with the app, and it will come up with the perfect playlist for you. Read on to know all about this fantastic music streaming app.

The app has two main menus. The Activity area features playlists that are created for specific occasions or events. You can find appropriate music for parties, a hangout with friends or just a quiet walk on the beach. The other menu of the app deals with the emotional state the user is in. You just have to answer the question of “feeling like?” to see the playlist that will go well with your current mood. A good thing about Tune Your Mood’s playlists is the fact that they aren’t overly long, and a playlist will generally finish playing before the user loses interest or has a change of heart.

Many songs are a bit low in volume, but the overall quality of the streaming is good enough. Tune Your Mood supports background and lockscreen play, and the player’s controls allow easy navigation within each playlist. Album art is included with most of the songs, and it is also possible to search for a particular track or artist if you don’t find it in any of the playlists. Most of the playlists in Tune Your Mood are regularly updated, making it a good stop for frequent listeners.The app fetches for $0.99, but has a fully-functional trial mode that will keep working for a month. So, if you are looking to add some new songs to your collection, head to the web Marketplace link below and grab Tune Your Mood.

Download Tune Your Mood

Google+ For Android Gets Visual Refresh, New Menu, Photo Downloads & More

A. Rehman — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:33:18 PDT

Google seems quite determined to make Google+ one of the the best social networks out there. Just recently, the web interface of the fast-flourishing network got a massive overhaul, with my personal favorite feature “What’s Hot” being added to the mix, too. Just a few days back, the official iOS client of Google+ also received a major update that brought with it plenty of exciting goodies. To the utmost delight of Android users, the same changes have now been implemented in the Android variant of the service. The update brings several cosmetic and functionality changes that we shall look at in detail after the break.

Among the most notable enhancements is the totally revamped Stream interface that gets visual refresh, meaning that all the posts are now presented on larger tiles, with the embedded photo being used as the background of each individual tile. The hottest posts on the network are represented by a tiny fire icon that sits at the top-right side of the corresponding post.

The dashboard interface is now a part of history, as the update brings a brand new ribbon that pops out in the from of a left-pane as soon as you hit the button in the top-left side of the app’s homescreen. The ribbon provides quick access to all the core features of Google+, including Stream, Profile, Messenger, Hangout, Photos, Circles and Notifications.

As evident from the above, you can now easily initiate a Hangout right from within the app’s main menu instead of sifting through various screens, as was the case with the older versions. What’s even better is that you can now also receive ringing notification for a Hangout, much akin to incoming calls.

Images can now be downloaded directly from within posts as well as from the Photos screen. Once you’re on the Messenger screen, you can get suggestions about people that you ‘may know’. To start a group conversation, all you need to do is tap the avatar of the required participants, and you’re good to go. Another handy feature in the updated app is that it lets you edit posts inline, meaning that you can now edit your previous posts right from within the app.

If you haven’t yet received the update on your Android device, or want to take the new-look Google+ mobile app out for a spin, hit the download link or scan the QR code provided below.

Download Google+ for Android

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