The VLC player, which stands for VideoLAN Client player, is one of the most popular video players in the market. It can play most video files regardless of formats. For Windows user, this is definitely a good news as it is a better replacement for Windows Media Player and most of all, it’s free.

The VLC player can be easily recognized with an orange traffic cone logo. However, it does come with a minor annoyance, and in this case, it is the Font Cache dialog window, which pops up every time when you start to use the player. It can be a bit irritating especially if you have to click the cancel button every time you are watching a video.

So, what exactly is a font cache and how to disable it?

What is a font cache?

When watching movies, there are several occasions when different font styles are used in the movies. To help solving the problem, the VLC Building font cache window pops out every time because it can make the subtitles to become clearer on your screen. So VLC developers have created a font fig that contains a list of all the fonts available in this world.

How to get rid of the font cache

Removing the building font cache is easy and can be done in just a few steps. You just need to complete the following instructions to disable the building font cache window:

1. Open the VLC player by clicking on the traffic cone icon. From the Tools Menu selection, click preferences.

2. On the lower left part of the window you can see a check box labeled as All. Click the tiny box beside it.

3. Click on the expand video tab on the left side of the window and select the subtitles/OSD option.

4. On the right side of the same window you will see the drop down menu. Click on Dummy font rendering functions.

5. After that, its time to check if the video is working properly. Re-open the VLC player by clicking on the traffic cone icon. Play the video or movie with subtitles, and as you will notice the Building Font Cache dialog box will not appear anymore.

Voila! No more annoying pop-ups at the welcome screen.

Your computer will automatically generate a disk queue length when you switch on your computer. In general, the disk queue length of a computer can affect its performance, because this is basically the list of tasks that your computer has to accomplish. In this article we will tell you what exactly is an average disk queue length and what it does to your computer.

An average disk queue length tracks the number of requests or activities you do during an interval. Let’s say you want to open a program, following by an Internet browser, and then go on Skype to chat with your families. Your computer will put all these tasks in a queue, and the performance of your computer will depend solely on how your computer handles them. For a single disk system, the moment you run two requests simultaneously, your computer might lag or slow down when processing the requests. This is the time when your computer is telling you he can only handle one request at a time.

When your computer indicates a high average disk queue length, it means you have gone past what your computer can handle. A simple way of getting things back to normal is to cancel some non-critical and unnecessary programs and try doing them after you have finish one task. Most of the time, closing some programs, and cancelling some requests can speed up your computer and get it back to its normal speed.

Before using your computer, you should put into consideration how and what you are going to use it for. Make sure you know the specs of the computer by looking for it in your Control Panel. Older models tend to be inflexible with disk queue length and slow down faster when there are more than two tasks done at the same time. These computers are not built for multitasking purpose and are basically used for typing and other simple computer tasks only.

So what are the other alternatives you can use to prevent and fix a high average queue length? It’s easy, you just have to reconfigure your computer. If you find that your computer is having a hard time catching up then add more RAM to it. Computers with higher RAM tend to work flawlessly for people who prefer multitasking. You can also add more disks to your computer.

Another trick is to simply monitor your queue and be a little cautious when working. Look out for those programs that use up a lot of memory and avoid using those programs if they are not necessary.

To sum it up, the performance of a computer depends on the disk queue length. To avoid lagging or hanging, one should always close the programs they are not using, and if you have a deep pocket, add in extra arsenals such as RAMs or disks.

The iPad is a must have gadget, it’s a handy little thingy that can be bring to anywhere you want. You can play games, surf the net, watch movies, listen to music, read eBooks, etc literally everything can be done on an iPad. But (Yea there’s a but) it does come with a drawback; If you want to do something that requires a flash player, it will not start and instead, it will show a blue cube in your screen.

It can be a bit disappointing to know that one of the best gadgets out in the market does not support Adobe Flash, a program that we are all used to. However, the Apple fanboys do not let the users down by creating alternatives to the flash players. Listed below are the top two flash player applications that you can use on your iPad:

Skyfire ($4.99 usd)

Skyfire is definitely one of the best flash player applications in the market. If you see a broken flash video icon in your screen, simply touch it with your finger to see if Skyfire can detect the video and if it does, it will pop out just like the one you see in a computer.

It also provides quick links in a click of a button to your favorite videos and other related content. The toolbar also has the regular buttons for a web browser such as the search button, bookmarks, tabs and viewing history. If you have got used to the wide computer screen it can also access the full version of a page, making it look wider than on a mobile screen.

Frash (Free)

Compared to Skyfire, Frash is still in developmental stage, but some users who are not satisfied with Skyfire purchase Frash instead. The only difference between the two, aside from the fact that Skyfire is a complete version, is that you will have to jailbreak your iPad in order to use it.

I have never jailbreak my iPad before but common sense applies here; you have to make sure that downloading it is safe. There are few people who claimed that using these flash players have caused their iPads to crash and break, so it is better to consult someone who has installed the product and ask for their experience with this app before installing it on your own iPad.

Just in case you are wondering, the iPad is designed to be a portable device, but flash player is intentionally left out of the device. Why? It is because they use up more of the battery life than any other applications. So if you want to preserve your battery life, it’s better to limit or better yet, don’t install flash apps on your iPad.

Don’t you hate it when you computer starts to move slowly? I mean, looking at the blue circle icon going round and round isn’t fun, especially when you have splash out lots of money or you are working on something to meet the deadline.

I own a Mac for about 2 years and so far, I have yet to experience any problems (Unlike Microsoft which I have formatted twice during this period) but most people don’t have the budget to spend on a better computer, so if you are one of them, then read on as the following tips may help you in fixing a slow computer.

There are a couple of reasons that make your computer load slowly, & those are:

1. Spyware and Viruses.

This is the number one culprit and the most common problem users are facing nowadays. If you like to download torrents or other illegal stuffs from unknown websites, you are likely to become a victim of spywares and computer viruses. Downloading antivirus can help you to solve the problem. Most of the antivirus programs offer a 30-day free trial, so you can try them before deciding whether to purchase them.

2. Junk items.

If you have been using your computer for quite some time, you will definitely see some unwanted files such as cache files, cookies, and other unnecessary components that clog up your system. Most of the time users don’t even notice the existence of these files.

3. Unwanted applications and pop-ups.

Programs and applications can also cause a computer to slow down. Check your system, and see if you have any applications that you forgot to uninstall. Disallowing auto pop-ups can also solve the problem.

Now that you know the reasons why a computer is not performing as fast as it should be, it’s time to learn how to improve the performance, or better, to its original state. Here are a few tips to speed it up:

1. Eliminate viruses.

Once you have downloaded antivirus software, schedule an autoscan every week to prevent your computer from being infected. Look out for the warning sign when you want to download from an unknown source, read reviews of the websites that you are downloading from and if you can afford it, pay for a antivirus package as they can provide a detailed scan of your computer. If you have several family members in your house you can consider purchasing multiple users license as it’s cheaper comparing with an individual license.

2. Delete files.

Once a month, clear up those temporary folders as you will not be needing them in the future. To clear up those files,

3. Uninstall.

If you have files that you won’t use anymore, simply head to Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Programs and Features. Select a program, and then click Uninstall.

If the tips above can’t solve your problem, you might want to consider formatting your computer but make sure you backup your files before proceeding! Still not working? Then the only 2 options left are either upgrading your RAM or buying a new computer.

Funky club beats are becoming more and more common these days. Notice how many singers nowadays who don’t really sing but instead mixing their music with a robotic tune? Yeah that’s what you call an autotune.

What is autotune?

Autotuning is a technique used by hip-hop, rap and pop artists all over the world. It is mainly use to correct the pitch, cover up the flat and out of tune notes and make it seem that it is totally in sync.

But most artists purposely distort the music to create a robotic tune. Although this is already considered common in the music industry, many artists still protest and request that autotuning be banned from the industry. Why? Because many artists have abused it and try to release their own music even though their voices suck. Many audiences feel cheated when they realized that those singers can’t even sing a right pitch in a concert and they feel like their hard-earned money have been thrown into the sea. (Even Jay-Z want it dead right now).

Ok so I am not an advocate of autotune myself, but I am curious to try just how autotune can correct my pitches (I suck at singing btw).

How does one do autotuning?

You might think that autotune requires a PhD but in fact it’s relatively easy to do so. There are plenty of plugins and softwares that can be used to create professional music just like the pros.

Ready? Here we go:

1. Download autotune programs such as Antares Autotune, Wavepad, Aurdacity, or Waveosaur. After that, set up your microphone so that you can record your voice directly onto the computer.

2. Depends on the program you are using, you might want to alter some of the settings and change the tune to whatever pitch you want it to be.

3. Now you can go on and record your own song using the microphone and replay it to see if there are any off beat parts. Using autotune does not mean that you have to be out of tune. You can actually sing just like normal and just tweak any parts that you feel not good enough. Otherwise, you can download any sample songs from the internet to skip this step.

There are 2 things that you need to know :

a. Pitch is the note you are playing.

b. Pitch modulation – You can raise or lower the pitch to make it sound more robotic. It’s basically a process of manipulating the original pitch.

Unfortunately most of the autotune programs are relatively expensive, and trial often does not come with full features, so unless you really can’t sing well I would suggest you to spend that money hiring a music teacher

The highly anticipated electronic device – iPad has just been announced by Steve Jobs in Apple Media Event. Everyone has been talking about how good the device was before it released & I am now here to reveal it for ya’ all.

Features :
* Processor: 1GHz Apple A4
* Operating System: iPhone OS 3.2
* Storage: 16GB, 32GB or 64GB flash drive
* Size: 9.56 (H) x 7.47 (W) x 0.5 (D) inch
* Weight: 1.5 pounds (680 gram) for iPad WiFi, 1.6 pounds (730 gram) for iPad 3G
* Display: 1024×768 pixels
* Wireless connection: WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G (Additional payment needed)
* Battery: up to 10 hours of web surfing, video watching, music playback
* Input/Output: Dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jack, build-in speaker, microphone, SIM tray (iPad 3G only)

Homepage looks slick with iPhone app launcher but with Mac OSX dock. Size of keyboard has been increased, we can see Jobs is typing on the keyboard using fingers instead thumbs.

Fear not if you own an iPhone but am afraid to pay for the same apps again on iPad, you can simply sync it & your iPad will get the same apps as those on your iPhone. All apps will be resized automatically to fit your screen.

Games are running smoothly & ‘presumably HD’ as described by Gizmodo as Need For Speed & NOVA were demonstrated during the event, but for me the games look just the same as on iPhone, so it’s quite disappointing for a heavy gamer like me.

How About Apple iPad Price In Malaysia?

The iPad ships worldwide in 60 days, but only in Wi-Fi versions. The 3G version will be another 30 days after that. Here are the prices:

Without 3G:

• $499: 16GB (RM1714)
• $599: 32GB (RM2057)
• $699: 64GB (RM2400)

With 3G:

• $629: 16GB (RM2160)
• $729: 32GB (RM2500)
• $829: 64GB (RM2848)

Apple will ship all the iPads in 60 days—the end of March—to America, and just the Wi-Fi models internationally. It’ll be another 30 days beyond that for 3G models to be available outside our shores; Apple says they’re still working on carrier deals.

iBookstore & iBooks are nowhere to be seen, so it is not available to international users (At least for now). Of course, after all these rants about iPad you know I am still going to get myself one of them

Will you get yourself an iPad?

Via Gizmodo & LiewCF

Looking at pictures of the family picnic can get pretty boring as you open one file, close it and open the next picture file. Wouldn’t it be cooler if you can create your own slideshow – displaying one picture after another, in sequence and at the pace you choose? It makes sense to viewers, that’s for sure. Especially if we’re talking about an instructional slideshow or a professional looking business presentation.

You want to look good and you want the visual information properly sequenced and paced to suit your purposes, whether it’s to entertain, educate or to show a new employee how to insert Tab A into Slot B.

You can purchase slideshow software but why would you when there are so many open source software apps and tools available, as in FREE. Here are some of my favorites. Try them. One of them will become your favorite. Guaranteed.

Roll ‘em.

1. Smilebox

I’m amazed at how deep in features Smilebox is. It does almost everything you could want:

* choose from 100s of predesigned templates
* design a slideshow for a specific occasion like a birthday or wedding reception
* integrate stills, digital video clips, narration and even a music bed and sound FX
* output the finished slideshow to an email, print it out or burn to a DVD with a click
* import files from any source – just browse your way to the best looking presentation ever

The interface is totally user friendly, making it easy to upload files and place them on the time line. You can also mix audio to create a narrated presentation complete with music – all in just a few minutes.

Smilebox is perfect for making personalized e-cards, online scrapbooks, photo albums, business quality presentations for upload to a client’s site – the list is endless.

And the cost? Zip. You’ll love how easy Smilebox makes slideshow creation. Even more, you’ll love how good your pictures look – especially when you provide a little narration to describe each shot.

Smilebox is one cool, photo sharing tool.

2. Photozig

Photozig does deliver a robust slideshow creator but there’s more to this download than putting on a good looking slideshow.

Photozig is also a great tool for organizing your picture files, using a “slide tray” to display all of your images. You can save pictures to different folders, create multimedia presentations, download complete folder contents to the time line for easy picture manipulation and edit your pictures with a centering and crop tool that lets you show your best side.

Photozig also lets you create personalized or business-oriented screensavers, wallpapers, DVDs and CDs. I’ve used Photozig a few times now and each time I do I discover more features and more functionality.

This slideshow editor gets two thumbs up from this reviewer.

3. Microsoft’s Photo Story 3

You know MS has to stake a claim in the photo editing realm and Photo Story 3 puts Microsoft on my “best of” list for the simple reason that it configures seamlessly with other Microsoft apps. It’s made by MS so it works with all other Microsoft image manipulation tools running in Windows XP.

The basic, home edition is pretty robust, but if you’re serious about your presentations, Microsoft also offers an MS Media Center edition, a special net book edition and a somewhat pricey professional edition for businesses that need more than PowerPoint.

The pro version is more than you need to create a slideshow for grandma, but for professionals who blog or otherwise work in the web world, Photo Story 3 puts control of your pix in your hands.

Try it, all you fans of MS. You’ll like the way it syncs up with all your other Microsoft tools.

4. PhotoStage

PhotoStage is made by NCH Software and it comes with a basketful of goodies.

First, there’s a complete, intuitive photo editor that simplifies preloading – something you’ll appreciate and a feature missing from some other free slideshow creators. You can zoom in or out, crop images, auto enhance and otherwise manipulate your pictures to suit your artistic preferences or your instructional needs. And it’s easy to use the PhotoStage editor.

Second, your finished slideshow can be output to DVD for viewing on any TV monitor (including high-def flat screens) or PSP, send your slide deck to any mobile device automatically, add vid-clips and more.

Finally, PhotoStage is 100% compatible with Vista based apps. You can add 100s of different pictures to create visual interest and keep your audience engaged, while looking every bit the professional in the process with a full slate of transition options.

Fun, fast and simple. This MS based slide sorter is a favorite.

5. Picasa

Most bloggers are familiar with Picasa – part of the Google Apps suite. It’s Google’s answer to Microsoft’s Photo Story product line and, I must say, it’s a handy little tool to download. FREE.

Unlike a lot of other OSS image creation software, Picasa has a lot of editing options that simplify photo editing and slideshow creation. For example, there’s an Auto Color option that optimizes the colors, even in scanned images in low res formats like gifs.

Picasa comes with an Auto Contrast feature, a Redeye compensator, a simple alignment tool, a border creation tool, templates and other fun stuff to simplify slideshow creation and photo editing.

I especially recommend Picasa for those shutterbugs who are using older digital cameras with lower res than the standards of today. The automated enhancement features “fill-in” the holes in your source materials making lower res images crystal clear. You’ll never have to delete an older photo. Just open it in Picasa, click the auto enhance features and even your old pix will pop on any HD screen.

I’ve used all of these tools for different purposes – from creating a family photo album to creating slideshows for enterprise tier corporate clients. Check ‘em out. One of these is perfect, whatever your slideshow creation needs.

And….cut.

There’s nothing worse than spending $10 at the local multiplex to see a movie that totally sucks. The movie theater sure isn’t going to give you a refund. And yea, it pays to read a couple of reviews by professional movie watchers.

That’s why I usually rely on friends’ recommendations and read few reviews of any movie I want to watch so I know what I’m getting before the endless trailers even start running.

My favorite sites:

1. Rotten Tomatoes

It’s amazing how much money this one site has saved me. I missed all those so called blockbusters that failed to live up to expectations but still had them lining up at my local theater complex.

I like rottentomatoes.com for a couple of reasons. First, there’s always some good gossip and I’m a sucker for good Hollywood dirt. I also like this site because they list gross earnings figures for flicks. So what?

Well, I don’t always follow the crowd so if I see a big name movie is raking in millions and millions, I’ll read at least one more review and ask friends for their opinions before I pay the price of admission.

Also, the reviewers on rottentomatoes.com are pretty brutal sometimes, which always makes for fun reading.

2. Metacritic

Metacritic is a one stop review shop for all kinds of media including movies (of course) but also TV shows, console games (a real money saver when you consider that an Xbox game can set you back $60), music and other fun stuff.

Unlike a lot of other movie review sites, Metacritic actually collects reviews from lots of other review sites all in one place. So, I load Metacritic into my RSS reader and I’m caught up on all new releases, from the latest RPG to just plain PGs, as in movies.

This site’s a time saver when I need a quick review before running out for dinner and a movie with friends. I know what I’m getting myself in for – another Hugh Grant chick-flick? I hope not.

3. The Internet Movie Database

Cool site for watching trailers to see if this is something worth spending money on or a definite pass.

I also get the top grossers of the day, a slew of information on opening dates for movies I have on my must watch list (which seems to be growing longer; I gotta get out more) and there’s an extensive database of reviews of older releases.

For this reason, I always check imdb.com before I pay for a DVD rental or a digital on demand fee for some flick that’s five years old. Another money saver.

4. Pluggedin.com

Plugged in is kind of edgy in its tone. I like that. The reviewers cut through the hype and just give me the information I need to know.

It’s also another one stop review shop covering games, TV shows worth watching, music, DVDs and movies that are currently running. And while pluggedin doesn’t have the extensive database of reviews you’ll find on other sites, these guys don’t pull any punches. If it’s a stink a roo, they tell you it’s a stink a roo. No doubts.

5. Badmovies.org

Sometimes I like watching cringe worthy movies. Bad acting, plot holes you can drive a truck through, wooden acting that makes Clint Eastwood look like Robin Williams. Now, I won’t spend ten bucks to see these clunkers in the cineplex, but I will watch them when they make it to my watch list.

And I watch. And laugh. And cringe.

But there’s something else I like about badmovies.org. They strip away the veneer of hype that surrounds so called big movies and tell it like it really is. You know, some movies get caught up in a tidal wave of hype with one reviewer after another gushing over how great the new release is.

Badmovies will find the bad parts even in good movies – the critics’ darlings. It’s fun reading and it’ll reconfigure your must watch list just like it does mine.

6. Moovees.com

Decent enough reviews, many from other sites, but what makes Moovees a little different is the Moovee community that’s evolved over the past few years since this site launched. I know lots of people who have this site bookmarked because of all the features. It’s a community of users who keep Moovees growing in popularity.

You’ll find daily box office sales, weekend grosses, links to movie trailer sites, a pretty decent archive of reviews and movie related media (like trailers from older movies) and more good gossip and fearless predictions.

7. Nitpickers.com

I’m throwing this site in at the end of the list because it’s just what it says it is. It’s a site for those of us who hate obvious mistakes in movies – continuity issues, for example. In this shot, the glass is half empty, in the next shot it’s full. Maybe 10% of viewers even notice but it’s this kind of stuff that keep nitpickers coming back and posting.

It’s just a lot of fun, and when you see a nit, pick it. Or read about it on nitpickers because a thousand other people saw that mistake, too. (Did you know that the apartment numbers on “Friends” changed after a couple of seasons? Now there’s a nit for you.)

See ya at the movies.

This is a guest post contributed by Lisco, owner of a website offering best air mattress reviews & ratings on the internet

Image via Channy Yun

If you’re like me, you have at least a couple of browsers loaded on your desktop – Opera, Chrome and probably Firefox, my browser of choice.

I’ve written a lot of posts about Firefox because it’s totally customizable through the use of the thousands of addons available and because the basic Firefox interface is just so darned simple to use.

I have thousands of sites bookmarked on my Firefox browser – bookmarks that I’d like to also export to the other browsers I use, or to a thumbdrive or memory stick that I can take with me to access favorites from a remote site. As with all online functions, Firefox makes it easy to bookmark and easy to export your bookmarks to anything from a spreadsheet to another browser.

Now, over the years, I’ve got lots of folders loaded with lots of bookmarks. Problem is, they’re only available through the Firefox browser, right?

Luckily Firefox makes it simple to export that long list of favorite sites to other browsers or external storage devices with a few clicks. The programmers at Mozilla has delivered the utility I need to get basic tasks done quickly.

Exporting Firefox Bookmarks

There are a couple of ways to export Firefox bookmarks depending on where you want to export them to.

To export from Firefox to a portable storage device like a memory stick:

1. Open Firefox. Click on the Bookmark Manger tab on the bookmark toolbar.

2. A drop-down menu appears asking what you want to manage. Scroll to the bottom of the drop-down to Export.

3. A window opens. Click on Browse and locate the memory stick or thumb drive. It’ll usually show up as E: lexar or F: Memorex. In other words, the drive will have a letter after C:, your hard drive, and you’ll see a short description of exactly what you’ve plugged in to a USB port on your computer.

4. Then, select the portable drive to which you want to copy your favorites. Firefox does the heavy lifting. No formatting required.

And, what’s even cooler, with all of your bookmarks stored on a flash drive or some other portable storage device, you can still access all of your favorites from another computer – even one that doesn’t have Firefox loaded on it.

5. To find your Firefox bookmarks on that thumb drive, locate the file named bookmarks.html and click on it. All of your Firefox bookmarks will appear in the file hierarchy you created while using Firefox to browse and bookmark sites.

Exporting Firefox bookmarks to another browser is just as easy – maybe even easier.

1. Open the browser to which you want to export your bookmarks. To keep things simple, let’s say you want to export those thousands of bookmarks to Chrome. Open Chrome.

2. Minimize Chrome so it appears on your icon tray as open.

3. Next, insert your thumb drive or memory stick into the appropriate port – a USB port for the thumb drive, the memory stick port for a memory stick.

4. Browse to find the bookmarks.html folder on the portable memory device where you’ve stored your bookmarks. (See above.)

5. Open Chrome and shrink it so you can still see the Chrome browser interface.

6. Now, simply drag and drop the bookmarks.html file to any space on the open Chrome browser.

7. If you don’t want to save your bookmarks to a portable data storage device first, NP. Simply open your Firefox Profile Directory. The profile directory stores your bookmarks, your personal preferences and settings, themes, add-ons, extensions and other customized features that you’ve added to or disabled from Firefox.

Access your Firefox Profile Directory by opening the Firefox folder that appears as part of the list of Programs when you click on the My Computer icon on your desktop.

8. Open the Firefox Profile Directory.

9. Scroll to find the Bookmarks folder.

10. Now, simply drag and drop that Bookmarks folder anywhere on the open Chrome window.

Firefox will automatically reconfigure your bookmarks to the protocols of Chrome or any other browser, enabling you to export your Firefox bookmarks to Chrome, Safari, IE or any other browser.

One final note: I highly recommend storing your Firefox favorites on a thumb drive or memory stick for a couple of reasons. First, you can take your favorites with you wherever you go and simply plug in that drive into any other system using any other browser for instant access to your favorite, bookmarked sites or blogs.

Second, it’s taken years to collect bookmarked data – the important sites you visit routinely. It’s not data you ever want to have to recreate. So, storing these bookmarks regularly to a portable storage device provides another layer of protection from losing critical data.

I sleep better knowing my favorites are right there on my keychain.

Image via albany tim

If you’re a WordPress blogger you know how easy it is to post a new piece. The editing form for creating a new post is user intuitive and very friendly, even to newcomers within the blogosphere. But…

…as far as word processing editors are concerned, the WordPress blog editor is only available to users with internet connection. What if you have some terrific idea but there’s no way you get to jot it down on your WordPress dashboard?

NP. There are lots of offline, WordPress compatible editors – Complete wp programs that enable you to show your creative side as you whip up some good looking posts that actually say something worth reading.

1. wbloggar.com Cost: $0

Yep, you get a lot for nothing with wblogger. Just download the software and your blog posts will look better AND you’ll be able to post them faster, meaning you can do more in less time – increased productivity.

Create your post in wblogger’s editor and publish with a couple of clicks to WordPress, Blogger and the other popular blogging platforms we’ve all come to know and love.

With wblogger you can edit posts from a single dashboard, edit templates without reworking code strings, import text files, format text alignment (rather than the left, centered and right options found in the WordPress wysiwyg editor), even created colored HTML code to simplify placement of everything from pictures to charts and graphs.

wblogger supports all MS OSs from XP forward so even older systems will be able to take full advantage of this off-site editor. There’s a preview feature, a find and replace option and a sack full of useful goodies that’ll allow you to create better looking posts and get them on your blog faster.

2. Live Writer Cost: $0

From Microsoft, Live Writer , obviously, works well in any offline environment.

The interface is super easy, enabling instant previews of works in progress so changes can be made immediately. (Something I really like.) You have a complete selection of fonts (WordPress’ font menu is pretty short), define spacing, alignment, image placement, text wrapping, add photos and embed videos with a couple of clicks.

What’s especially cool about Live Writer is that there’s a growing number of plugins available that equip you to create the blog post creation tool that best suits your blogging needs. In other words, using these plugins, your Live Writer will look different from mine because we all blog to suit our own tastes – one of the benefits of blogging, right?

Just download Live Writer, create your posts offline and manually post to the WordPress editor. Simple, adaptable, flexible and expanding all the time. For this reason alone, I recommend all bloggers download Live Writer and take it for a test drive.

3. ScribeFire Blog Editor 3.4.6 Cost: $0

I’ve written extensively about Firefox addons because I love the concept. Ultimate customization of your own web browser. That’s what makes Firefox so popular. You design your browser according to your needs by downloading addons.

ScribeFire is a simple, but feature rich Firefox addon (so you’ll need to download Firefox first, which you should do any way if you haven’t already). Because ScribeFire is integrated into your Firefox browser, posting is super easy. ScribeFire delivers some very nice features including an image gallery (a time saver), a tabbed menu of features, an open page that can be scaled to suit your needs and artistic vision and a totally built-in sharing option that lets you publicize each new post as soon as you publish. Automatically.

If you’re a Firefox fanatic and a blogger (like me), you’ll use the latest edition of ScribeFire everyday.

4. Post2Blog

This tool is used by a lot of bloggers because it’s mighty, as in powerful, so if you’re serious about your blogging activities, I recommend you check out Post2Blog.

Where to start?

* a complete wysiwyg editor (naturally)
* hotkeys
* automated pinging to services you select (no more duplicate pings and no more pinging throughout the day)
* automatically tag each post for Digg, Technorati, Del.icio.us and other social bookmarking sites and blog search engines
* post content in virtually any format – videos, image files, text files – heck, this thing takes an MS word doc and holds the formatting after you cut-and-paste (that’s a first)
* automated image upload (saves cutting and pasting images from other sources)

There’s a lot more, but you get the idea. Post2Blog is a blogging machine that does everything to simplify post creation and flaring – all from a simple interface that you’ll warm to in minutes.

5. Quamana

I just started to experiment with Quamana after reading some very positive reviews and I have to admit, this is one cool blogging tool.

First, it works cross platform if you’re switching back and forth between the Mac and PC worlds, which many bloggers are.

The utility features are clearly labeled so there’s virtually no learning curve. Just install, open and get to work. Quamana makes advert creation simple (ideal for bloggers who want that paid advertising but don’t want to spend hours creating a clickthrough box).

There’s an easy HTML editor so you can add snippets with scrolling through a big block of code, image alignment is simple, text alignment simple, multiple window editing options, cross posting options, trackbacks and complete pinging features simplify your posting, your promotion and daily blog maintenance – all offline until you’re ready to go live.

Bloggers need all the help we can get to make our blogs look professional, to monetize without looking like a carnival midway, to organize content the way WE want to organize and to layout our posts the way WE want them to look.

Check them out. These 5 blogger apps are the perfect solution for the bloggers and the ideal starting place for those who want to become bloggers.