instant fundas

Dismantlement:Radio – Cool puzzle game

2009-11-18T20:48:00.001+05:30

Dismantlement: Radio is a fascinating game of puzzle where the ultimate goal is to dismantle a radio and reduce it to it’s components parts. You have only one tool at your disposal – a screwdriver.

Obviously, the only thing you can do with a screwdriver is unscrew. So your aim is to click on any screws you can find. Locating the screws is one part of the challenge, but the harder part is reaching them. You can see the screws but often they are underneath other radio parts that need to be removed first. But those parts doesn’t seem to have any visible screws. So you have to figure out where the screws are located and how to remove them.

You say you’ve opened a radio before? Forget it. This is originally a Japanese game and you are most likely opening a Japanese radio. If that is any indication you should know you are tackling something complete alien … and insane. That said, Dismantlement: Radio is an extremely satisfying, fun and challenging puzzle game.

How to find the best time to watch meteor showers

2009-11-18T13:26:00.001+05:30

If Wikipedia is to be believed, millions of meteors hit the Earth's atmosphere every day. That’s impressive. However only a small percentage of these are visible because half of them happen during the day, and many are too small to be seen. The rest are obscured by air pollution and light pollution. Meteors are hard to catch because of the complete lack of predictably when the next one is going to strike and strike bright enough to be visible with the naked eye.

The best time to watch meteors is during meteor showers when flocks of them slash through the Earth’s atmosphere together. But how do we know when the next shower is going to happen? Keeping an eye on the news helps, but not all showers have a celebrity status as that of the Leonid or the Perseid.

NASA has created a handy Java applet called Fluxtimator that allows you to calculate the expected shower rate for a given date and a given location. It also allows you to see the difference between staying downtown or moving out into the country side to a dark and clear location. All rates were calculated by taking into account the Moon light, but assume a transparent cloud-less sky and unobstructed field of view.

Dozens of meteor showers are available on a dropdown menu, many of which I’ve never heard before. The only thing this application is missing is it doesn’t tell you when the next meteor shower is going to occur. It only tells you whether a particular shower is visible on a particular night. So I guess, you will have to gather that information from somewhere else.

I admit this article would have been more useful had I published it about 12 hours earlier. The Leonid meteor shower peaked last night, if you live in the west. But if you’re located on the east like in India you can still catch an intense shower tonight.

Also read, how to view the International Space Station

Growl for Windows – Another Growl application

2009-11-18T11:59:00.001+05:30

Growl for Windows, as the name says, is a Mac styled Growl-like application for Windows, similar to Snarl which we mentioned in the past. Those who aren’t familiar, Growl is a notification system on Mac that lets users know when things happen like files finished downloading, friends came online, new email has arrived etc. Growl notifications are subtle and it stays out of your way most of the time.

Growl for Windows function similarly. It substitutes the native Windows notifications system with Growl notifications and allows the user to control how, where and when applications display alerts on the screen. Like Snarl, Growl for Windows works only for applications it support. Good thing is the software is open source and so any application developer can include support for their application, assuming they receive enough request from their users.

The current list of supported applications include names of like iTunes, Pidgin, Firefox, Foobar2000, Thunderbird, uTorrent, Skype, Outlook and some more.

When you install and run Growl for the first time, the application tab will be blank. Applications must register to send notifications with Growl and once registered, they will appear in the application. To make this happen you must download and install the appropriate plug-in for the application from the site.

One interesting feature of Growl is that it allows notifications to be forwarded to another computer on the network. For instance you can configure Growl notifications from client PCs to be forwarded to the server to keep tab of what’s happening on other computers on the network. This is extremely helpful for network administrators. But that’s not all. Growl can forward notification to your iPhone, an email address, post to Twitter or even read it aloud!

Growl for Windows comes with several displays or skins built-in, and more can be downloaded from their website.

Brief list of features:

Supports images, and sounds in notifications
Send callbacks when a notification is clicked/closed
Run script or launch program in response to a notification
Keyboard shortcuts for closing last notification and closing all notifications
History feature that records all notifications
Missed notifications summary
Forward notifications to iPhone, email, and Twitter
Notification forwarding can now be configured on a per-application or per-notification basis
Available in multiple languages

SuperPreview for Internet Explorer – Test website in different versions of IE

2009-11-17T20:49:00.001+05:30

SuperPreview is a tool from Microsoft that lets web developers test websites and debug layout issues across different web browsers, by viewing their pages in multiple browsers simultaneously.

Testing websites on different browsers is often a pain, and at times impossible. Most browsers can’t have multiple versions installed side-by-side, for one reason. The newest version replaces older versions. So, you can’t have IE6 and IE7 on the same machine. One way is to use online services like Browsershots, but these are slow.

SuperPreview solves this problem by letting you view your pages in a variety of different browsers. Most online browser tools show you only images of different browser renderings. SuperPreview, on the other hand, couples image renderings with DOM data, letting you highlight specific DOM elements within the image, and showing you differences across browsers. It also provides element information such as position, dimensions and ID. This helps you pinpoint the element that’s causing the compatibility issue. You can use rulers and guides to measure and highlight visual problems, zoom in and out of a page and see all the browser renderings update in tandem.

SuperPreview is still under development and when it’s complete, it will be a part of future releases of Expression Web. However, a beta version of SuperPreview for Internet Explorer is available. This free download will allow you to compare renderings of IE6 with whatever other version of IE you have installed on your machine. If you have installed IE8, you’ll be able to compare IE6, IE8 and IE8 running in IE7 compatibility mode, side-by-side. The final version is likely to include all installed browsers on the system like Firefox, Chrome, Opera etc, as shown in the screenshot.

Here are some other ways of testing websites on different versions of IE.

PosteRazor – Print posters using a desktop printer

2009-11-17T18:37:00.001+05:30

A free, open source application called PosteRazor allows you to print large sized posters on a standard desktop printer. The software takes the image you want to turn into a poster and chops it down into precisely sized smaller pieces which can be printed on standard printer-sized papers. After printing out all the pages, they are then pasted together to create posters of any size you want.

PosteRazor employs an easy-to-follow wizard that takes the user through the steps needed to create the poster. The user can adjust the size of each page and the final size of the poster. It also leaves a comfortably sized margin around the edges of each page allowing you to paste the sheets over one another. The resulting poster is saved as a multipage PDF document. Do watch the video demonstration below.

Features

All popular, both free and proprietary, image formats are supported.
Supports Monochrome, Grayscale, 4 Bit palette, 8 Bit palette, 24 Bit RGB, 48 Bit RGB (only via TIFF and PNG), 32 Bit CMYK (only via TIFF).
The page size and orientation of the printer where the poster will be printed can be set manually or selected one from any of the predefined formats (DIN A4, DIN A3, Legal, Letter, Tabloid).
The size limit for one page is 5 meters (16.4 feet), which is the maximum that PDF allows.
The final size of the poster is theoretically unlimited, but the clarity of the poster will depend upon the resolution and size of the input image.

PosteRazor is available for Windows, OSX and Linux.

Never miss movie stingers with “What's After The Credits?”

2009-11-17T15:30:00.001+05:30

Do you walk out of a theatre as soon as the movie ends and the end credits starts rolling? Many people do that. After all, who wants to know who the makeup artist’s assistant was, or who was responsible for the lights? End credits are like the bibliography at the end of a book – you have to include it but nobody reads it. And they are always like 10 minutes long.

Movie producers know this too. So in order to make the end credits more interesting and possibly inspire the audience to sit through it, often short clips are shown while the end credits are rolling. These are known as “stingers”. A common example of a stinger will be videos of the production crew working on the sets, or bloopers which were edited out of the movie. Stingers are often entertaining to watch.

But how do we know if a movie contain stingers or not? What's After The Credits is a site where you can quickly find out whether a movie, television show, or a video game has any special scenes during the credits or post credits.

At the time of this writing, What's After The Credits had a total of 456 movies listed. Movies/shows etc are arranged alphabetically and an asterisk ( * ) at the end of an entry denotes that the movie or TV show or game contains stingers. You can also read details about the stinger and sometime get a few screenshots of it.

Similar site: Movie Stingers

Also checkout RunPee, a site that tells you when you should take a bathroom break during a movie, and what you missed.

VMLite – A better alternative to Windows XP Mode

2009-11-16T11:02:00.001+05:30

When Windows Vista was released and many of the earlier programs that ran on Windows XP didn’t run on Vista, users made a big face. Microsoft anticipated a similar problem when there were working on Windows 7, and so they came up with a rather novel solution – Windows XP Mode.

The Windows XP Mode is a virtual desktop environment running inside Windows 7 that allows users to run Windows XP applications seamlessly with other applications on the desktop. Windows XP Mode integrates with Windows 7 so well that you are able to launch Windows XP applications directly from the start menu. However, there is one major obstacle users has to overcome – XP Mode requires a processor that supports hardware level virtualization, and not all processors has that feature. You can check whether your processor is capable of running Windows XP Mode.

So what if your processor doesn’t support hardware level virtualization? That means you can’t run Windows XP Mode. But don’t worry, it isn’t the end of the world. There is VMLite.

VMLite XP Mode runs just like Microsoft’s XP mode, but does not require virtualization support from hardware. No kidding! VMLite allows you to run multiple operating systems at the same time on the same physical machine. You can install individual applications to each virtual Windows XP computer and all applications can be run seamlessly on the Windows 7 desktop. A green border around the window is the only indication that the application is running under a virtual environment.

Advantages of VMLite over Microsoft Windows XP Mode

Runs faster: Microsoft's implementation treats the VM as a remote computer and uses Remote Display Protocol (RDP) to communicate between VM and host machine. VMLite uses direct high bandwidth communication between VM and host machine, and therefore performs much faster.

Supports more virtual machine images: VMLite supports Microsoft's XPM package, plus existing virtual machines already created from prominent VM vendors (VMDK, VHD, VDI, HDD). It also supports virtual machines converted from a physical computer using our MyOldPCs software.

Runs more applications: Since Windows XP mode is based on RDP, some applications do not run when they detect a terminal session (RDP). VMLite can run such applications without any problems.

Available for more operating systems: Microsoft XP Mode only supports Windows 7 as host. VMLite supports Windows XP/Vista/7/Server 2003/Server 2008 as host.

Runs on more PCs: VMLite requires no hardware virtualization support (Intel VT‐x or AMD‐V technologies).

[via The Windows Club]

Vitamin D turns your webcam into a security system

2009-11-13T16:04:00.001+05:30

A working home surveillance system with motion detection can be easily setup with a cheap webcam and free software such as UGOlog, which we wrote about a while ago. But the problem with such tools, as John Biggs from CrunchGear observed, is that it captures too many blank shots triggered by false alerts like moving leaves or a reflection. Vitamin D Video solves this problem.

Vitamin D Video detects people and moving objects in video streams only inside the regions you define. The user can set “rules” that defines a specific type of event to find in recorded video, or to take action (record or notify) if events like it are seen in the future. For instance, you select a region around a door on a room and set it to record video only when someone walks through it. The system will ignore any movement around the room, but the moment somebody approaches the door or comes directly in front of the marked region, the webcam begins to record.

Vitamin D can determine if an object is:

Inside or outside a region
Entering or exiting a region
On top of a region
Entering or exiting through a door
Crossing a boundary
Loitering

Vitamin D can record videos, play a sound and even notify you by emails with screenshots of the intruder.

Vitamin D supports multiple cameras including network webcams. It works on Windows XP, Vista and 7, as well as on Mac OSX.

The software is in beta and currently available for free. A subscription version will be sold in early 2010.

Secret Disk – Password protected file storage

2009-11-13T13:16:00.001+05:30

Secret Disk is a free software that lets you hide files you don’t want others to see on your computer. This may include your personal emails, financial records, and other private data. Secret Disk lets you have a separate virtual disk on your PC which can be locked and unlocked with a password.

Just install Secret Disk and choose a password. Then, start Secret Disk, press the unlock button, enter your password and you will see a new disk X: appear in My Computer area. When you lock Secret Disk, the drive becomes invisible.

Anything you save on this drive will remain hidden from other users once it is locked. Also notice that the new drive X: has the same size and same amount of free space as your C drive. This is because Secret Disk uses your root partition to save your secret files.

Features

Access with a password - you can access Secret Disk with a password only
Locking - when locking secret disk disappears and stays invisible with all contents.
One second protection - when you need protection Secret Disk disappears within one second with all content, no matter how many files you have on the disk.
Power failure - in case of power failure Secret Disk will be automatically locked.
Automatic locking - Secret Disk can be automatically locked if you away from your PC (screensaver is running) or when you press emergency F8 button.

Limitation

No way to define the location of your secret storage. Everything is saved on C drive.
Only one secret drive can be created

Alternatives: SecretDrive (better), SafeHouse Explorer and My Lockbox

Windows7 in a Box

2009-11-13T11:12:00.001+05:30

So you just made the switch to Windows 7 from your trusted Windows XP box, but you have trouble finding things and figuring out where different settings and tools are located. Although the system wide search is a big relief, you might still want everything at one place. Then give Windows7 in a Box a try.

Windows7 in a Box was designed to help guide you through the brand new operating system from Microsoft .Everything from Theme settings to Parental Controls.Sits on your desktop,easy to navigate,and puts an end to all the frustration of endless searching for settings. Windows7 in a box can make the complete novice seem like a pro in just seconds.

Windows7 in a Box is a single executable file and runs even from portable flash drives.

Classic Start Menu with Aero for Windows 7/Vista

2009-11-13T10:52:00.001+05:30

Classic Windows Start Menu brings back the classic Windows Start Menu to Windows Vista and 7, while retaining the glassy Aero look that is so popular among Vista and 7 fans. The program has no GUI or settings whatsoever. Just run the executable file and click on the Start menu Orb to see it in action.

To get back the original menu, click on “Original menu” or simply open Task Manager and end the process cwsm.exe.

What’s more? Classic Windows Start Menu also brings back the missing Windows shutdown confirmation box in Windows Vista and 7. So no need for extended tweaks. Of course, the shutdown box comes bundled with the classic start menu and you have to use either both or none.

Lunascape now supports Firefox addons

2009-11-12T13:09:00.001+05:30

Lunascape is the only browser that includes three major rendering engines namely - Firefox’s Gecko, Internet Explorer’s Trident and WebKit (Safari and Chrome), and allows the user to switch from one to the other on-the-fly. The first time we wrote about Lunascape was back in November 2008 when the product was in alpha stage. The latest beta release Lunascape 6 ORION has received a big overhaul.

The new default skin is definitely inspired by Chrome…

.. or is it Internet Explorer 7?

Lunascape 6 goes beyond the Triple Engine with Triple Add-on support, achieving what they call “the greatest degree of extensibility and flexibility among Web browsers”. The browser already supports IE addons and Lunascape specific addons. And now it supports Firefox addons too. It also lets you import your existing Firefox addon from Firefox 3.5 to Lunascape 6. Chrome and Safari addons are still not supported, but Firefox addon support was the most requested feature.

Other changes include:

New interface design (Orion) - sleek, simple, and easy to use
Split tab display that lets you view a website in 3 engines side-by-side which is very handy for web developers and designers. The layout can be changed to vertical or horizontal tiling, thumbnail or cascade.
A floating sidebar that lets you manage add-ons, settings etc and can be made to be displayed separately anywhere including another monitor.

New improved Google Movies

2009-11-12T11:28:00.001+05:30

Today Google announced some major improvements to Google Movies. Never heard of Google Movies? No surprise. It’s one of those cool toys nobody knows about. Google Movies is a movie showtime search engine that displays movie timings from local theatres no matter where on Earth you are. Previously, Google Movies showed just movie timings. Starting today, it began showing more detailed movie information with ratings, genre filters and a new map view.

Just go to www.google.com/movies and enter your location and immediately see what movies are playing at your local theatres. Clicking on a movie title takes you to a detailed informative page that tells you which theatres are playing the movie along with brief plot synopsis, trailer, reviews and photos. You can also read reviews from viewers, pulled mostly from Yahoo Movies.

Click on the Map view and see where these theatres are located. The map view isn’t available on all cities though.

A set of Genre filters lets you explore films by genre and find the one you're in the mood for. Sometimes, you might feel like seeing a sci-fi flick or a romance, but you're not sure what's out in theaters. With genre filters you can start browsing right away and quickly find the right movie for you.

So what are you seeing tonight?

Also read, how to use Google Sets as a movie recommendation engine.

Read Amazon Kindle books on your PC

2009-11-11T21:20:00.001+05:30

Amazon today announced the beta release of Kindle for PC, a free ebook reading application for Windows which is capable of opening ebooks made for the Kindle. Customers do not need to own the device to use the software - books can be purchased, downloaded and read directly on the PC.

If you do own a Kindle, on the other hand, you can keep your books and reading list in sync with your device. Highlights and bookmarks you applied on your Kindle appears just the same on your PC.

For some strange reason, the Amazon Kindle store isn’t integrated into the application. You have to buy them through a regular browser, download and import the ebook into the reader.

Kindle for PC lets users adjust the font size and bookmark a page. Windows 7 users with touch screen can enjoy added features using a finger pinch to zoom in and out and finger swipes to turn pages.

Other ebook reader/management software: Calibre, Mendeley

Virtual Router turns Windows 7 into WiFi hotspot

2009-11-11T12:48:00.001+05:30

Soon after Philadelphia developer Nomadio discovered an unfinished Windows 7 feature (Virtual WiFi) that can turn a laptop into a WiFi hotspot, the company exploited the feature and created a free application called Connectify, which we reviewed just weeks ago.

Virtual Router is another new application that takes advantage of this hidden Windows 7 treasure. Like Connectify, Virtual Router allows any Windows 7 laptop or computer equipped with a wireless network interface card to be used as a Wifi router. With Virtual Router you can share your Internet connection with multiple computers and wireless devices like the iPhone while paying for a single connection.

The Wireless Network create/shared with Virtual Router uses WPA2 Encryption, and there is not way to turn off that encryption. This is actually a feature of the Wireless Hosted Network API's built into Windows 7 and 2008 R2 to ensure the best security possible.

You can give your "virtual" wireless network any name you want, and also set the password to anything. Just make sure the password is at least 8 characters.

Real world Windows and OS X calculator look alike

2009-11-11T11:17:00.001+05:30

A designer at Mintpass showed off a couple of designs for calculators that look exactly like the calculator applications in Windows and in Mac OS X.

The Mac version has a metal case and a 2-liner LCD screen like its software counterpart, while the Windows calculator sports the classic XP color scheme, complete menu headers. Right now this is just a concept, but it will be awesome if it can actually go into production.

The designer is aware that neither Microsoft nor Apple will allow to commercialize their design, so he is leaving it up to the two computer makers to make real-life versions of their OS calculators.

[via Technabob]

Firefox addon InvisibleHand beta invites

2009-11-11T10:31:00.001+05:30

A while back we did a review of an interesting addon for Firefox called InvisibleHand - a tool that compares prices across dozens of different online retailers and displays the best offer available for the item you are currently looking.

A new beta version 1.8 is out and we have 200 invites to give away! To try the beta just go to this page and enter the invite code “invisibleInstant”.

The new version integrates with Google search showing you the cheapest prices when you search for a product. This allows you to view the cheapest offers even before you visit an online retailer’s page. And unlike other price comparison sites which uses out-of-date product prices, InvisibleHand gets those prices in real-time.

The new beta also has an enhanced notifications system which is more discreet, and the responsiveness of the addon has improved.

Current limitation: Not all regional Google search sites are supported. Presently supported for Google.com or Google.co.uk.

Javascripts that make web pages IE6 compatible

2009-11-10T17:27:00.001+05:30

We all know Internet Explorer 6 is a big pain in the ass, especially if you do web design/development. Professional web designers despise IE6, and often charge extra for making websites compatible to IE6 because of the additional effort needed and the time wasted on bug hunting. Here is one way to allay their troubles.

IE7 Script is a JavaScript library that makes Internet Explorer behave more like a standards-compliant browser. It fixes many HTML and CSS issues and makes transparent PNG work correctly under IE5 and IE6. The library consists of several scripts, the chief of which is ie7.js. Using this script you can fix many troublesome issues which are not possible using separate stylesheets for instance: Fixed positioning, Maximum and minimum width and height, parent>child selector etc.

Additional bugs can be corrected by using another script called ie7-squish.js. The complete list of fixes is documented here.

To use the script all you have to do is call this Javascript library if the page is accessed from Internet Explorer using the IE conditional tag.

<!--[if lt IE 7]>
<script src="http://ie7-js.googlecode.com/svn/version/2.0(beta3)/IE7.js"
type="text/javascript">
</script>

The other files in the library will be run from this script. If you choose to host the files on your own server, you can do that too.

Author Dean Edwards explains that the reason that ie7-squish is not included as an integral part of ie7.js is that it will change the behavior of some elements that can result in damage to some layouts when viewed using IE6. It is therefore up to the author to test and check whether applying squish is necessary in the first place and, if so, to test to see if it does any damage. In some cases residual issues may need a specific stylesheet to be targeted at IE6 in the traditional way to clear up remaining issues.

Dean has created another script called IE8.js Script that includes all that is in ie7.js along with many enhancements for IE7 regarding support in CSS. The result is a dramatic improvement in conformance for both IE6 and IE7.

Also see IE6 CSS Fixer, that automatically applies IE6 specific hacks to stylesheets.

FindList makes Firefox remember searches

2009-11-10T11:12:00.001+05:30

If you frequently use Ctrl+F (the search feature) in Firefox to find inpage text, you will like FindList, a new experimental addon that adds a drop down list to the search box. FindList keeps a history of the last 15 searches in the web page.

Since it’s an experimental addon, you will need to login/register to Mozilla’s website. Alternatively, you can download the addon directly from the author’s website without registering.

PrintBrush – Portable printer that prints like magic

2009-11-10T10:48:00.001+05:30

PrintBrush is by far the most amazing printer I have ever seen. It fits in your pocket and can print full sized A4 sheets at 600 dpi (black and white only). It uses Bluetooth and rechargeable batteries to print without any wires, although it does carry the optional USB and IRda interface. But PrintBrush’s awesomeness is in the way it prints. Watch the video below.

The real beauty of the PrintBrush is that it’ll print on any flat surface like, notebooks, letters, and other media that would never fit into a conventional printer device. PrintBrush uses some kind of accurate optical sensor that can detect tilt and rotation in addition to translation.

PrintBrush is due for launch by the end of 2009 or early 2010 for $199.

[via OhGizmo]

A chance to win Garmin-ASUS Nuvifone M20

2009-11-09T20:12:00.001+05:30

Opera Software and Garmin-ASUS have organized a contest that offers you a chance to win the newly launched Garmin-ASUS Nuvifone M20 – a sleek and sexy, touch screen, Windows Mobile based, GPS mobile phone, along with other daily prizes.

The contest named “Where in the world is this?” shows you a picture and you have to identify the location. That won’t be easy for sure, but with tools like Google Similar Image search and TinEye, the reverse image search, you might get lucky.

The contest which kicked off today will run for a total of 12 days, ending Friday, November 20th, 2009. Each day you’ll have a different picture and winners will be announced daily. However, there will be only one winner for the mega prize of the Nuvifone M20. The contest is open to everybody irrespective of the browser they use.

And here is the phone.

Specification:

3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0
Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.1
2.8" touchscreen display
3MP geo-tagging camera
Built-in Motion Sensor

PLoP Boot Manager

2009-11-09T19:24:00.001+05:30

The PLoP Boot Manager is a very flexible boot manager program that lets you boot different operating system in a multi-OS system. The different operating systems not necessarily be installed on a had disk. PLoP Boot Manager can boot OS from hard disk, floppy, CD/DVD or from USB. The boot manager itself can reside on a floppy, CD or on a network.

PLoP is a powerful boot manager

It can boot OS from CD/DVD without BIOS support
It can boot from USB without BIOS support
No extra partition is required for the boot manager
Different profiles for operating systems
Define up to 16 partitions
It allows the administrator to hide partitions to keep other users unaware of the existence on another installed system
Password protect the computer and the boot manager setup
Backup of partition table data
Start boot manager in Text or Graphics mode
Supports graphic user interface up to a resolution of 1280x1024
Allows editing of MBR partition table

PLoP Boot Manager can be installed on the hard disk with Windows installed, overwriting the MBR. It can be also used along with Linux loaders such as GRUB and LILO. It can also be run without installing on the hard disk, directly off a CD, Floppy or from the network.

PLoP Boot Manager has an interesting feature that lets you protect the MBR from changes. If another software change the entries in the MBR, the boot manager detects this change at the next startup and allows you to choose if you want to import the new values or forget them.

Limitations:

SATA CD/DVD drives are not supported. Only IDE CD/DVD drives work.
USB CD/DVD drives are not supported.
USB keyboards are not supported.

All Adobe product shortcuts

2009-11-09T15:18:00.001+05:30

Keyboard shortcuts are always useful if you want to work fast. Instead of wasting time navigating menus and looking for items and buttons, hit a keyboard combination and you are done. If you are a designer, keyboard shortcuts are an absolute necessity. But memorizing shortcuts is not easy because every program has it’s own set of shortcuts and you probably use more than a couple of products for your work.

If you primarily use Adobe products, the Adobe Shortcut App can help you quickly locate shortcuts associated with 12 programs of the Adobe Creative Suite CS4 - Illustrator, Photoshop, In Design, Flash, Dreamweaver, Soundbooth, Fireworks, Contribute, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore and Acrobat.

Simply click on the product’s icon and you’ll see a full listing of shortcuts for that particular program. You can also save shortcuts as favorites, and it’s ‘search as you type’ functionality lets you easily find shortcuts for almost any tool or action.

Adobe Shortcut App also gives you a link to a downloadable cheatsheet in the PDF format which you can print it out. Adobe Shortcut App is an Adobe AIR based application.

Landcraft - Cool online landscape generator

2009-11-09T13:15:00.002+05:30

Graphics generators are a cool thing. They are useful, they are fun. A while back I wrote about a landscape generator called Terragen. Terragen was a realistic 3D landscape generator capable of creating stunning Earth terrain, vegetation and water bodies that is impossible to tell apart from real photographs. Terragen is often used in games and movies. It was a real thing.

Landcraft is another landscape generator. This one is online and the focus is less on realism and more on visualization. For instance, if you are doing a seminar on land geography, or say effects of climate on geography or something along those lines, Landcraft’s beautiful landscapes will help you spice up your presentation.

Landcraft is easy to use. The controls are divided into three sections – Surface, Landscape and Render. The Surface control contain two noise generators that let’s you create random surface terrain and control the slope of hills and high grounds. Every time you click on the “Generate” button it will create a new landscape. Keep clicking until you are satisfied with the result.

The Landscape control lets you adjust the texture of vegetation, snow, water level, fog etc. There are two default settings for Earth and Mars texture, but you can create your own texture.

Finally the Render controls let you adjust render settings like sun position, brightness, contrast, shadow and so on. When you done fiddling with the various controls click on “Simulate” and behold the view!

FamiliLink – Simplified email service for older people

2009-11-07T11:18:00.001+05:30

Technology is changing at such a rapid pace that even tech people have trouble keeping up with the latest trend – multi touch screens, OLED displays, ever growing social networking tools and Google Wave. Imagine how a person born before the transistor was invented must feel in this digital age. For them technology is a huge impenetrable wall. It’s a shame because computers and the Internet is such a wonderful thing. FamiliLink helps bridge the huge communication gap that exist between the older generation and today's technology.

FamiliLink is an easy to use email service that allows technologically challenged persons to digitally connect with their family members and friends, share photos and keep in touch with them. It includes, apart from an email service, a calendar with scheduler and reminder and an address book.

FamiliLink sports almost a kid-like appearance – bright colors, big buttons and big typefaces. Navigation is easy to follow and buttons to various actions such as “Write message”, “Read more” and “Enlarge image” are prominently displayed.

Photos sent as attachment to FamiliLink’s email ID automatically appears in the “Pictures” section which can be viewed in a slideshow. To send photos the user just need to click on “Add Photo”, choose the photos to upload and then add them while writing a new message. Similarly, attached videos automatically appear in the “Video” section, although this can be a bit confusing for elder people because the “Video” tab is hidden inside the “Pictures” section.

A FamiliLink account can have a helper - a trusted friend who agrees to manage the account for the person. The helper or administrator can’t view messages but is able to add important events, appointments, birthdays and anniversaries to the FamiliLink calendar. They can upload photos and videos for the person, add people to their address book and make easier for an elder person to start using FamiliLink.

FamiliLink is a really brilliant idea that deserves all the praise they get. Currently it’s free to register for the first 2000 users. After the free slots are gone the service is going to cost $9.99 per month.

[via Killer Startups]