From time immemorial Windows has come with it’s classic Notepad app.  Few users bother with it anymore, thanks to the proliferation of Microsoft Word and the free alternatives, both desktop and web based.  There are also countless competitors to Notepad itself that provide the simple text editing, but a better interface and a few more options.  When Microsoft introduced the ribbon interface to Office 2007, and now Office 2010, the original Notepad started to feel a bit dated.

Windows Notepad isn’t going away, though.  There are still enough users who favor it’s simple design and interface to keep it around.  There are also those Notepad users who want to get that more up-to-date feeling, and for them we found Notepad 7.

Notepad 7 brings the Office feel to the app with the ribbon interface that was introduced in Office and is now proliferating in Windows 8.  It offers the same great functionality that was a part of the original app, including the ability to save files with a simple .TXT extension.  Users can also customize the toolbar or move it around,  and add the date and time to documents.

Notepad 7 is available for Windows versions, including Vista SP2 and 7.  It requires .NET framework 4.0 to be installed on your PC.  It doesn’t replace the Windows version of Notepad, but is a stand-alone app.  To open a document  with it, simply choose the “open with” option.  It’s a free download from SkyForU.

Most people think of Google as a search company, but their primary source of revenue is actually advertising.  It permeates everything they do – there are ads in the search results, they sell ads to advertisers through AdWords and publishers through AdSense, and much more.  Last year they made their first tentative steps into the entertainment business with Google TV, which met with a less than ideal response, although that is beginning to change.  Now it appears Google in beginning to test a new entertainment device.

There’s a real possibility that this is nothing more than the next generation of Google TV, but at this point it all seems a bit mysterious.  Google has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to test a  WiFi and Bluetooth enabled device in the homes of employees in four different cities.  From the FCC request:

“Google is developing an entertainment device that requires testing outside the laboratory environment. The device is in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing. … Users will connect their device to home WiFi networks and use Bluetooth to connect to other home electronics equipment. This line of testing will reveal real world engineering issues and reliability of networks. The device utilizes a standard WiFi/Bluetooth module, and the planned testing is not directed at evaluating the radio frequency characteristics of the module (which are known), but rather at the throughput and stability of the home WiFi networks that will support the device, as well as the basic functionality of the device. From this testing we hope to modify the design in order to maximize product robustness and user experience. Utilizing the requested number of units will allow testing of real world network performance and its impact on applications running on the device, so that any problems can be discovered and addressed promptly.”

The test will be carried out in Mountain View, CA, New York City, NY, Cambridge, MA, and Los Angeles, CA.  The test period will run from January 17th until July 17th.  That means it will likely be quite some time before we get any real information on what this product is.

You may not encounter disc image files, generally known as .ISO files, on a  regular basis, but they are a common way to distribute files on the internet.  The files associated with a disc image, or .ISO, are rips of CD’s or DVD’s.  Yes, they are most frequently images of…shall we say less-than-legal content.  It’s a common way for file sharers to distribute and download software and movies, but it’s also used for other purposes like distributing beta software.  The Windows 8 Developer Preview, for example, was an .ISO file that users could download, burn to a DVD and then install on a PC.  I frequently rip DVD’s we buy to .ISO files in order to put them in the movie library of our living room  Media Center computer.  I use the .ISO format to get the complete disc, menus, extras, and all.

There are many free and paid programs out there for working with image files, but ISOBuddy is one of the better free ones that I have used.  It breaks everything down into the simplest terms and it can work with multiple image formats such as Roxio (gi), Nero (nrg), Padus Discjuggler (cdi), Alcohol 120% (mdf), IMG (img), Blindwrite (b5i, b6i), Macs (dmg), Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD (pdi), CDRWin (bin) and CloneCD (ccd).

Just start up ISOBuddy, click Open and choose a file, and then click Save As.  When it’s done converting your image it can then burn the resulting .ISO file to a disc for you, which eliminates the need for a separate program.

ISOBuddy is free to download and use, just visit DVD Ranger to get a copy.  It’s compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 and both 32 and 64-bit versions of each.  It is currently only available in English.

Recently Belkin, who you probably already know for WiFi, introduced their first home automation products.  Home automation is a term that has a tendency to scare off many users because it brings up thoughts of high prices and complicated setups, but Belkin is hoping to change all of that with their products which will work right over your home’s WiFi networks, which is something many users already have.

The new Belkin line will consist of only two devices to start out.  The first is a control switch which can be plugged into any outlet and then a user can plug a device, such as a lamp, into the control.  Now you can use the mobile app on your phone or tablet to control that device.  The second product is a motion sensor which can turn on lights when it senses motion and then turn them back off after a period of time.  Besides the mobile app, then Belkin home automation devices can also be used to schedule events, such as having your coffeemaker come on at 6am.

The new line, known as WeMo, will be available this summer.  The plug will retail for $49.99, while the motion sensor and plug together can be purchased as a set for $99.99.  You can get more details from the Belkin press release.

Microsoft has been rolling along quickly with their mobile operating system, Windows Phone.  They are, of course, in catch-up mode because they started with a serious deficit to iPhone and Android, but they are consistently winning rave reviews and slowly gaining market share.  While everyone is talking about, and waiting for, the next big Windows Phone update, known as Tango, to come along in the next few months, Microsoft is quietly rolling out smaller updates that are mostly just bug fixes.

The latest of those updates is known by the less than user friendly name of 7.10.8107.79.  No fancy code names like Mango or Tango here.  That doesn’t make this update any less important though.  Microsoft lists the following improvements included in this update:

• On-screen keyboard. Fixes an issue to prevent the keyboard from disappearing during typing.
• Email. Fixes a Google mail syncing issue.
• Location. Fixes a location access issue. With this fix, the Me feature in the People Hub sends anonymous information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers to Microsoft only if you agree to allow the Check In function to access and use location information.
• Security. Revokes digital certificates from DigiCert Sdn Bhd to address an encryption issue.
• Email threads. Fixes an email issue related to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. With this fix, when you reply to or forward a message, the original message is now included in your response.
• Voicemail. Fixes a voicemail notification display issue that occurs on some European and Asian networks under certain conditions

If you are new to Windows Phone and not familiar with how to update your device then Microsoft has Phone updates FAQ to help you out.

While Google struggles with bad press and user fear surrounding their new Privacy Policy the Windows Live team at Microsoft are taking advantage of the situation.  In the past we have seen the Windows phone guys jump on Android problems by giving away Windows Phone handsets to frustrated Android users, and now Microsoft is taking another shot at Google.

Yesterday the team that runs Windows Live, the suite which SkyDrive is a part of, posted a new video to their YouTube channel giving detailed instructions on how users can move their Google Docs files over to SkyDrive.  SkyDrive contains the Office Web Apps as well, which is Microsoft’s consumer alternative to Google Docs.  The process for moving your documents over is pretty simple and those with Windows Phone handsets may want to consider doing this thanks to the mobile operating system’s native Office app and integration with SkyDrive.

You can watch the video posted below or head over to YouTube, where you will find many more videos from Windows Live.

Mozilla have announced the availability of the first Beta of Firefox 11, with a lot of new features for both developers and users.  The new Beta is available cross-platform for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.  Firefox, the popular web browser from Mozilla, has been updating steadily on their new”rapid release” schedule, but also have a slowed down release for business users to try and help endear themselves more to IT departments.

New features include built-in developer tools and features like cross-platform syncing of add-ons for users.  Other features include the ability to import bookmarks, history, and cookies from the Google Chrome browser directly into Firefox.  As with any new software update, not all of the changes are visible.  There are also changes under-the-hood with the usual bug fixes.  In this case they have done such things as redesigned the media controls for HTML5 video and improved Firefox notifications.

For developers Mozilla has added the following features to Firefox 11 Beta:

• Page Inspector 3D View: Tilt is a new WebGL-based website visualization tool that illustrates the relationship between various parts of a websites and their ancestors in 3D. [insert screenshot]. The Tilt 3D view is integrated with the Page Inspector tool and is particularly useful when searching through problems in the HTML structure. Read more about Tilt in the Hacks blog post.
• Style Editor: Firefox Beta includes the new Style Editor tool, which gives developers complete freedom to edit CSS files for a page with live updates in the browser. Developers can then save the CSS files to desk when they are done.
• SPDY Support: Firefox Beta now supports SDPY. SPDY is a transport protocol designed as a successor to HTTP that reduces the amount of time it takes for websites to load. This improves page load times and reduces server load because headers are compressed and fewer connections are used. All pages are loaded on SSL with SPDY, making browsing more secure. To enable SPDY, go to about:config. Search for network.http.spdy.enabled and set it to “true.”

You can download a copy from Mozilla or, if you are already using a Firefox Beta version, you should receive the update automatically from Mozilla the next time you boot up your web browser.

Microsoft is getting very close to releasing the public Beta of Windows 8.  We will being seeing it sometime in February, and Build 8220 may actually be that Beta, or Consumer Preview as it looks like it may be referred to as.  It’s unclear if there be only one Beta, or if a second one will come later as Windows 7 did.  The final version of Windows 8 is expected to be released in October of this year.

Today some screenshots of Windows 8 Build 8220 found their way onto the web via Chinese web site PC Beta.  The screenshots show the new build has some changes to the interface as well, including the Start menu which we are told will only appear when the mouse is moved to the lower left corner of the screen.  Clearly this move is to get users used to accessing apps from the new Charms menu.  We also noted that it does in fact state the name at the bottom right as “Windows 8 Consumer Preview”.

The new Windows version number is 6.2.8220.0.  The bottom right of the screen states “Windows 8 Consumer Preview Evaluation Copy Build 8220″.  It will be available to everyone in the next couple of weeks and will be free to download and use.  The new screenshots can be seen below.

Super Bowl weekend is upon us and everyone has their pick of who will win football’s biggest prize.  Will it be the New England Patriots or the New York Giants?  If search is any indication then Yahoo may have your answer.  Of course search is really a popularity contest and not a real insight into who has the better team or will get the lucky break, but it’s still fun to look at the numbers that Yahoo recently published.

For starters a search for the phrase “Indianapolis Super Bowl” is up a whopping 1,743 percent!  As for the teams involved, the New England Patriots were searched for fifty percent more often than were the New York Giants over the past year.  When looking at the starting quarterbacks for the two teams it was Tom Brady receiving four times as many searches as Eli Manning during the regular season, but in the post-season Manning has taken a slight lead.  Eli Manning also holds a commanding lead over Brady in searches by women.

Of course these search numbers are fun to look at and compare, but they don’t mean anything once the kickoff happens.  If you would like to read more about all of the search numbers that Yahoo has published you can visit their blog.

I am a big Firefox fan, and I especially love Personas, but they seems to be lost on many users.  That’s something Mozilla claims to have heard for years, but now they have finally decided to do something about, by holding a contest to choose the new new name for Firefox Personas.  If you aren’t familiar with Personas, they are essentially skins or backgrounds or wallpapers for your Firefox web browser.  That’s where the problem lies – users of the Mozilla browser  don’t understand the word “Personas”; they want to call them everything else but what Firefox calls them.

Firefox finally acknowledged the problem today in a posting to their Mozilla Blog in which they explained their position on Personas and what they plan to do with both the name and the replacement for it.

“We’ve heard questions from many users over the years as to why we kept the Personas name, and even ran tests that showed users are more likely to try out Personas when called by a different name. “Persona” is a good name, but is probably better suited for a different product in the future.”

Mozilla in holding voting between four suggested names and your choice of a write-in.  The choices include “Backgrounds”, “Wallpapers”, “Skins”, “Themes”, and “Other”.  The voting will run now through February 8th over at Mozilla.  So what did you vote for? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Mozilla Blog