Tech Talk 4 U

We've moved!

2007-10-19T05:02:00.001-07:00

If your wondering why we haven't posted in a long time, that's because we've been busy setting up Tech Talk 4 U on it's own domain. We have know switched over to that and will not be posting here anymore. We will be posting over there. Where's over there?

Tech Talk 4 U.com

See you there.

My Guest Post

2007-08-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend fellow blog Everybody Go To decided they would allow some guest blogging, as they were going to be busy. So being the good community fellow I am, I decided to help out, and submitted my latest post (Top 16 WP plugins) to them. I guess they thought it was pretty good, as they posted it. You can view it on their blog at: www.everybodygoto.com/top-16-wp-plugins.

Last I checked it had 14 diggs, and a few comments.

The Top 16 Wordpress Plugins

2007-08-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

To a lot of people starting a new blog can seem like a gigantic task. And not that it isn't, it is. You have to worry about hosting it, what theme your going to use, what content to post, signing up for the half-a-gazillion things you might or might not need, ads, and, those plugins. Well to make your life simpler I have compiled a list of the top 16 wordpress plugins. I think these 16 are great for making your blog more functional, and user friendly, in a faster time. {No guarantees, individual results may vary.} So, without further ado, I give you the top 16 WP plugins. {By the way, did i mention these are all free?}

Plug Installer ~ This is the first plugin you need to get, as it helps you install all the rest.

WP e-Commerce ~ Perfect if you are selling anything from your blog, like those Alexa traffic rank tee shirts with your site name.

WP Post Rating System ~ Your readers can rate your post on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the best.

Gregarious Bookmarking ~ The ultimate social bookmarking plugin, integrated with Share This.

WP Movie Review and Ratings ~ Simple, write about movies and you need this plugin. Integrated with Internet Movie Database.

Author Highlights ~ Highlights the comments/replies to comments made by the author, just so you know who's who.

Edit Comments ~ Users can edit their own comments, an alternative to a bad word filter.

Dash Notes~ So you can remember that post you wanted to write. It's Canadian!

Digital Fingerprint Beta2 ~ Protects your content from being stolen. Someone let John Chow know about this. {Also Canadian!}

WP Ads~ An add for showing Banner and Contextual ads.

WP Table ~ Since the WP visual editor has no table function, this plugin adds one.

Ad Man~ Add ads before/in-the-middle-of/after your posts.

Contact Form 7 ~ A simple contact form plugin, that supports multi-forms, etc.

Transpose Email ~ With this spammers won't be able to grab your mail-to: links.

Since Last Visit ~ A handy plugin that display the number of Comments and Posts since your last visit.

Easy PayPal ~ Accept "If you liked this post, buy me some beer/coffee/milk" payments.

Have fun and start pluggin'!

A $500 Cash Cow

2007-08-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

My recent web explorations have lead me over to the fine grazing at the pasture of JohnCow.com. Now these guys definitely have a cool web host. Their web host is sponsoring a cowpetion, and if you hadn't allready guessed it, the prize is....$500.00!

This is your chance to win basically anything you want! Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, iPhone, Ipod, if you can name it then they'll pay it. They really must have mad cow disease. If this sounds cool to you, don't get left behind. Head over to their mad cow blog for mooore. This is my official mooo of an entry, who knows..maybe i'll be writing my next post from an iPhone! After that i'll call my web host..

[Pic courtesy johncow.com]

Google Update

2007-08-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Quick update on Google.

Google street view: has added another 4 major cites, creating a total of 9 U.S. cities, as reported by Google LatLong.

Gmail: has tallyed up another couple g's of storage, bringing the total to 9 gb (9030mb). Apparently there was great surprise about this with gmail users, (I guess thinking it was a trick of the light).

Gdrive: this is a new service, allowing you to bring together your gmail, and Picasa accounts into one place. Rumor has it that Google Docs and Spreadsheets will be added next. Though Google has many free services, this is not one of them with plans as follows =

~6gb ($20.00 per year)

~25gb ($75.00 per year)

~100gb ($250.00 per year)

~250gb ($500.00 per year)

via Google checkout.

{ image courtesy Google Systems}

Blog Contest

2007-07-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a cool little blog contest I found. The contest is being hosted by fellow blog Everybody Go To; they are giving away an autographed USB Drink Cooler signed by John Chow, and a USB Tech Lamp. Yeah, they’re really into USB stuff over there.

To join go to: Everybodygoto.com and leave a comment.

Rules and restrictions apply. Many will enter ~~few~~ one will win.

Virtual Dimension

2007-07-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself switching programs a lot? Then Virtual Dimension is for you. You can have unlimited desktops, with different names, wallpaper, and hot keys for easy switching.

The preview window allows you to see all your desktops, and drag apps from one to another. The tray icon is great for accessing all of the functions. VD has a transparent function to make windows transparent, and you can easily make one window always on top. Virtual Dimension works on Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP and possibly 95*, the transparent function only works on 2000/XP

*[they weren’t too sure of this..but who as 95 anymore?!]

In my testing I found that having different icons on each desktop didn’t really work, but everything else worked fine. I am a big fan of virtualization, and this is a great virtual product. If you use a lot of programs when you work, then this is definitely for you.

4 U: virt-dimension.sourceforge.net

Time to switch from my “blog” desktop to my “fun” desktop..

Screenshot Pilot

2007-07-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Screenshot Pilot is an excellent little screen capture app, that allows you to capture and save images in 7 formats, including .png, .bmp., .tiff, and . jpeg.

As with most screen capture utilities you can take the screen shots in different shapes, but with Screenshot Pilot, you can also capture windows under the cursor, and menus under the cursor. It also allows you to take multiple shots, while auto saving them in between with auto generated file names.

In short [this post was short..] this is a great free utility, and very handy. However you will get a few more features if you go with another, paid, capture app. Try it out and let me know what you think.

4 U: colorpilot.com

Media-Convert

2007-07-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Media-Convert is an online file converter service that takes any of your files, and converts them. Literally any files. Images, Documents, Spreadsheets, Music, Videos, in any format you can think of.

You upload your files (up to 150mb), select the input format(or auto detect), select the output format, and it’s converted!

Depending on the file, but it usually doesn’t take too long. You don’t have to download the smallest bit of software, you don’t even have to sign up for an account(and remember another password)!

Another tool it has is an MIDI Sequencer to make your on ring tones, if you cell doesn’t support MP3. If your not sure, consult their chart of which sounds are supported by which phones.

You can even have Media-Convert on your own site, via the free partner account. Sign up for it, customize the colors, language, header, footers, then generate the HTML code. It is possible to put you own advertisements in the header, and footer if you so desire, as long as the ad is a Google or other compatible module.

If your uncomfortable with uploading you files to a non-password protected website, I understand. However as Media-Convert says, “It’s more secure than having to download software onto your computer, which can contain viruses, etc.” They also say “You can access it from anywhere in the world.” Which just happens to be true. Media-Convert still has more services then the ones listed here, so if you need something converted, give them a try at media-convert.com.

Tip: Their RDF feed is handy..if you know French.

Au Revoir,

Zach Dunn

Runstream.com

2007-07-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, today I’m here to tell you about a great free (it’s the word these days, if you didn’t know) service. Your probably wondering, what service? That’s why I’m here.

So, the service’s name is Runstream, and what it is, is a free RSS Feed creator. When you sign up for it, you have the option to either create an RSS feed, or a dedicated iTunes podcast.

(Screenshot courtesy Runstream.com)

Either or, one per free account. The feeds are very easy to create with the site’s feed creation wizard. You can have your feed up and running in right under 10 minuets, from sign up to feed creation completion. Of course then you have to put something in the feed, which is as easy as copy and pasting what you want to say. They give the Auto-discover HTML code for your web-site, full tracking tools, and the option to automatically “ping” or inform 16 services such as Technorati, Ice Rocket, Yahoo!

The “non-free” version, gives you the ability to map the feed to your own domain, and mange 5 different feeds from one account. This come at the price of U.S. $5.00 a month. If you still do not want to get into the cool world of RSS feeds yourself, then you can contact Runstream to create your feed(s) for you, starting at U.S. $10.00.

All these wonderful things are available at www.runstream.com Good Luck with your RSS feed creation!

Ciao,

Zach Dunn
Senior Editor

Welcome..

2007-07-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

To TechTalk4You.com “The truth about tech 4 you". Well, as you can see this is our first post, and we’re pretty excited to be writing this. By starting this blog we hope to provide you, the reader, with a tech blog that will give you, accurate reviews on such items as: Hardware, Software, Websites, Handheld Devices, Mp3s, and occasionally, Music. (Hey, you have to put something on your mp3.) We will be posting frequently. If you would like to advertise on this site, contact us for info on our packages. Thanks for reading the Tech Talk 4 You Blog.