This image is on the right here, but in the RSS feed it would appear without formatting.

One of the only complaints I’ve ever had about Wordpress is that images didn’t maintain alignment in our RSS feed.  RSS feeds are used to offer subscriptions to visitors and can be used with applications like Google Reader.

When adding an image to an article in Wordpress, you have the option to align it on the left/center/right side of the screen – but when viewed in the RSS feed the images appear with no formatting.  A little searching revealed why images weren’t aligning in the RSS feed: Wordpress developers removed the deprecated align attribute from image tags.

Removing the align attribute was the right thing to do to stay compliant with web standards, but it had the unfortunate side effect of breaking alignment in RSS feeds (the alignment for the web version of an article works because it is defined by in a CSS file).

The Fix

Fixing the alignment is as simple as installing and activating the Align RSS Images plugin for Wordpress.  After activating the Align RSS Images plugin, images will automatically appear with the correct format in your RSS feed.

Align RSS Images works by finding any images in a post and applying the correct formatting to them in the RSS feed.  This is done dynamically when the RSS feed is generated, so no code gets added to your original post.  Best of all: the feed still remains compliant with W3C feed standards.

Note: After activating Align RSS Images, it may take a few hours for the changes to appear in your RSS feed.

Check out a before and after comparison below!

Before, no image alignment.

After, now properly aligned!

[Align RSS Images - Wordpress Plugins]

Related posts:

1. How To: Remove the Smiley from the Wordpress.com Stats Plugin
2. How to Keep Wordpress Secure with WP Security Scan
3. Wordpress Plugin: Lock Accounts After Invalid Logins with User Locker

Image Resizer Powertoy Clone provides the solution, adding a highly useful “Resize Pictures” option when you right click any image in your operating system.  You may recognize this application from the Windows XP PowerToys pack – and you are correct, it’s basically the same application rewritten in C++.

Unlike the original PowerToy which only supported Windows XP 32-bit, this “cloned” version supports both the 32- and 64-bit version of of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Using the application is incredibly simple:  Right click any image (or images) you’d like to resize, select Resize Pictures, choose your desired resolution, and the resized images will appear as copies in your current working directory.  You can also specify custom resolutions and the application can edit the source images directly without making copies.

Image Resizer Powertoy Clone is free and open source for Windows XP, Vista, and 7.  [Download]

Related posts:

1. How to Prevent Automatic Windows Restarts
2. How To: Mount Images (ISO Files) in Windows XP with a Small, Free Microsoft App
3. Windows Won’t Boot? Try The Recovery Console

Disk Space Fan is a free program available for Windows that scans your storage devices and shows a visual representation of your files.

When you first open Disk Space Fan, you are asked to select the storage device you want Disk Space Fan to analyze.

Disk Space Fan scans your drive and will generate a graphic to represent file and folder sizes, as shown below.

Not only can Disk Space Fan scan and analyze a complete drive, but you can set it to only scan a specific folder and display the corresponding graphic.

You can right-click on a section of the fan visual to display an options menu.

Disk Space Fan is available as a free download.

Related posts:

1. How To: Find Large Files On Your Hard Drive With WinDirStat
2. Cleanup Your Computer With CCleaner
3. EeePC 900A: Add More Hard Drive Space with a SDHC Card

WP-Database backup

The WP-Database Backup plugin automates the database backup process and puts your mind to ease about the safety of your blog. WP-Database Backup can perform a manual backup, allowing you to save it to the server, download it to your computer, or email the backup to you.  WP-Database Backup also allows to schedule hourly, daily, or weekly backups and have them automatically emailed to you.

WP DB Optimizer

As your Wordpress blog continues to grow, your database can become cluttered and will slow down your blog.  The WP-DB Optimizer plugin is a simple plugin that allows you to optimize your database from within the Wordpress Dashboard.  This is the same form of optimization that you can perform from within another database management software such as phpMyAdmin.

WP-DBManager

A combination of the above plugins, WP-DBManager increases the amount of control you have on your database from the Wordpress Dashboard and provides features similar to those found in phpMyAdmin.  WP-DBManager is a powerful database manager that allows you to add, drop, or edit tables.  WP-DBManager also can optimize, backup, or restore your database, and has the ability to schedule backups and database optimization.  If you’re looking for total database management, then I suggest you give WP-DBManager a try.

WP-Memory-Usage

Many hosts may limit your PHP memory usage to keep your site from affecting others within a shared hosting environment.  As you install more Wordpress plugins and add more functionality to your site, the amount of consumed PHP memory increases.  WP-Memory-Usage is a Wordpress plugin that allows you to see how much memory your Wordpress installation consumes.  WP-Memory-Usage simply adds a single bar graph to your Wordpress Dashboard that give your important information regarding PHP and the amount of memory being used.  If you notice memory usage is high, disable a Wordpress plugin or two and check the memory usage.

Ozh’ Admin Drop Down Menu

The default Wordpress installation includes the Wordpress menu vertically stacked on the left side of the screen.  Clicking menu options and waiting for the page to reload to display the sub-menus can be quite frustrating.  Ozh’ Admin Drop Down Menu for Wordpress changes the way Wordpress menus work by displaying them horizontally across the top of the screen which allows for a wider Wordpress Dashboard.  The Ozh’ Admin Drop Down Menu also features mouse-over drop downs so there is no more reloading to display sub-menu items, saving unnecessary clicks and page loads.

Maintenance Mode

When performing work on your Wordpress blog, it may be necessary to have some downtime.  The Maintenance Mode plugin works by blocking users from visiting your site when downtime is scheduled.  Administrators and other Wordpress users will still have the ability to login to the Dashboard.  When in Maintenance Mode, visitors are presented with a message saying the site is down for maintenance.  Logged in users are able to access every part of the site while in maintenance mode.

Admin Menu Editor

If you’ve installed a few Wordpress plugins on your site, you may notice the addition of new menu buttons.  Depending on the Wordpress plugin, a new menu item may be added to the main menu or an item of a sub-menu.  As more plugins are installed, your Wordpress menu may become cluttered with menu buttons that you never use.  The Admin Menu Editor plugin allows you to edit your Wordpress menus with a convenient drag-and-drop interface.  You can also create custom menus to access any part of the Wordpress Dashboard.  If you mess up or simply don’t like your changes, Admin Menu Editor allows you to return to the default menu configuration.

WP-Task-Manager

WP-Task-Manager is a plugin that allows you to create and manage a virtual to-do list.  This plugin creates a task manager within the Wordpress Dashboard, allowing you to create and assign tasks that can be completed by your contributors.  WP-Task-Manager includes feature such as due dates, commenting, and the ability to control who can modify tasks.

Check back later as we continue our Essential Wordpress Plugins series when we look at plugins for tracking your website’s statistics.

What Wordpress plugins do you use to administer your Wordpress site?  Let us know by commenting below.

Related posts:

1. Essential Wordpress Plugins Part 1: Security
2. Wordpress Plugin: Login To Other User Accounts With Skeleton Key
3. How to Keep Wordpress Secure with WP Security Scan

Microsoft recently announced free upgrades to Office 2010 if you purchase and activate an Office 2007 product between March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010.

Several qualifying Office 2007 products are listed below, and you can check out the complete list at the end of this post.

• Office Home and Student 2007
• Office Small Business 2007
• Office Professional 2007
• Office Publisher 2007

Microsoft Office 2010 is looking very good so far, and if you want to try it out before it officially releases you can download and install the free Office 2010 beta.

For more information check out the official Office 2010 upgrade page and FAQ.

Eligible Upgrades to Office 2010

Related posts:

1. Microsoft Office 2010 Beta Now Available
2. Quick Tip: How to Save Documents as PDFs in Microsoft Office Word 2007
3. Looking for Free Virus, Spyware, and Malware Protection? Try Microsoft Security Essentials

Why use ShareTool?

Let’s say you have a Mac at home and a Mac at work, or maybe you travel a lot and can’t take all your files (like your music) with you. ShareTool provides the perfect solution for these problems: it allows a person to access his/her home computer from any place with an internet connection.

ShareTool's iTunes sharing

For example, I keep my relatively large music library on a Mac Mini at home. I work on an iMac at work. I can’t transfer all my music to my work computer and then worry about it being synced, kept up-to-date, etc. – so I turn on ShareTool at home, turn on ShareTool at work, and my iTunes library pops up under ‘Shared’.

The real beauty of ShareTool is how invisible it is. Once you’re connected, everything shows up on your Mac exactly like you are connected directly to that remote network.

Not just music

Bonjour Services on the Mac

While ShareTool is great for iTunes sharing, that’s not the only thing it’s good at. Any Bonjour services that are enabled on your home computer are accessible to ShareTool (via System Preferences>Sharing).

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve needed a file on my home computer while I’m at work or away on vacation. ShareTool makes file sharing as simple as mounting an external drive since it adds the home computer right into the sidebar of Finder.

Screen sharing is also available through ShareTool and it’s a joy to use. One click and you’re controlling your home computer. This feature is also very useful for a quick preview of larger files.

While ShareTool may not transfer files as intelligently as software like Dropbox, it’s great to be able to browse my entire desktop at any time.

Negatives

While I don’t have much to complain about with ShareTool, there are a few downsides. My biggest gripe is that the host computer needs to remain on for it to be useful. This is a rather obvious point but it does mean more electricity usage. There are some options for remote waking of computers, but I haven’t had a chance to fool around with those.  Luckily for me the Mac Mini is so power efficient I haven’t noticed an increase in my electric bill.

The only other thing I have a slight issue with is the need for ShareTool to be installed on each computer that’s being used. It’s not just a process that runs on the home computer; a ShareTool license must be purchased for each unique Mac. For their part, Yazsoft does a pretty good job of offering bundles for ShareTool and their other Mac apps (SpeedDownload for faster downloads, and Playback to enable media sharing with PS3, Xbox 360, or other UPnP devices).

Conclusion

If easy sharing between Macs is what you need, ShareTool is the way to go. It’s cheap, easy, and works really well. At $20 for one license or $30 for a bundle of 2, this program is a bargain.

What other Mac apps do you use for screen sharing? Let us know in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Files Over Miles: Browser to Browser File Sharing
2. How To: Install Wordpress Locally in Mac OS X
3. How To: Restore Built-In Zip File Integration in Windows XP

To use the voting template, just head over to the Oscars template page and click Use this template at the top.  You will then be taken to Google Docs where you can customize the title of the form and add a message.

The voting sheet has already been populated with nominees in each category, so when you’re finished customizing just click Save.  You can view the form by clicking the link at the bottom of the Docs page.

If you want to share the voting form with your friends, simply click the Email this form button from the Docs page and enter as many email addresses as you like.  The form will be sent right to their inbox so they can easily fill it out.

After your friends have submitted the form, you can click the See Responses button from the Doc page.  Here you can view a summary of results (with graphs) as well as a complete spreadsheet of all data.

It's going to be a close competition...

The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony airs tonight at 5 pm pacific/7 pm central/8 pm eastern time.

Image credit: Dave_B_

Related posts:

1. How To: Create, Edit, and Share Documents Online with Google Docs
2. Create a Simple, Awesome Browser Start Page with Fav4
3. Google Labs Announces Google Squared

Fav4 is very simple – you can choose four of your favorite sites to have displayed on your browser start page.  When you first visit Fav4, you’ll be greeted with four very large buttons for Facebook, Flickr, Gmail, and Twitter.

Changing the four sites displayed is very easy, just click the Site Settings button in the bottom right.

You can then click the Config tab to select which four sites you would like to display.  Fav4 currently supports over 130 different services, and if your favorite service is missing you can click the Suggest tab to let them know.

When you’ve finished selecting your favorite sites, just click Save Settings and your custom page will be created.  All you need to do then is set fav4.org as your browser homepage.  Check out this link for instructions on how to do this with your browser.

What do you use for your browser start page?  Share it with us in the comments below!

Related posts:

1. Create Goo.gl Shortened URLs in your Browser – Now without Google Toolbar
2. Opera Web Browser: Fighting Back With Version 10.50
3. Watching the Oscars Tonight? Google Docs Has a Simple Voting Template

In part one of my Essential Wordpress Plugins series, I will be taking a look at some of my favorite plugins that help secure your Wordpress-based website.

Related posts:

1. Essential Wordpress Plugins Part 2: Administration
2. How to Keep Wordpress Secure with WP Security Scan
3. Wordpress Plugin: Login To Other User Accounts With Skeleton Key

Step 1: Head over to the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for 2007 Microsoft Office programs page.  Make sure to close Microsoft Office Word if you currently have it open.

Step 2: Download and install the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS add-in.

Step 3: Re-open Microsoft Office Word.  You will now have the option to save as PDF in the Save As menu!

Related posts:

1. Great Deal: Buy Office 2007 Now, Get Free Upgrade to Office 2010 in June
2. Microsoft Office 2010 Beta Now Available
3. How To: Create, Edit, and Share Documents Online with Google Docs