SAMFELLOW

SEO Basics for Blogs

2007-12-17T23:43:00.001-08:00

Anyone who runs a website or a blog quickly learns the importance of
traffic from search engines. While SEO basics are becoming common
knowledge for designers and marketers, blogs face different issues with
search engines than traditional websites.

With blogs you have less control over the coding that is used.
Depending on what blogging platform you are using, you are probably
typing directly in an internet browser to add a new post. The program
then generates the coding. Most modern blogging programs have been
designed to create blogs that are built with search engine-friendly code. However, some control is lost for the blogger.

There are a few areas that can often be troublesome for bloggers who are attempting to optimize for search engines.

1 - URL Structure

Most blogs create URLs that contain a lot of random characters, like
question marks, and no keywords or anything of value. A page will rank
higher in search engines when its URL contains words or phrases that
are part of the search. Therefore, getting keywords in your URL is
important. In addition, many search engines won’t index pages that have
auto-generated URLs, like the standard blog post page.

What can you do to have URLs that are more search engine-friendly?

Some blogging programs allow you to choose what type of URL (or permalink) you want to be created. For WordPress
users, from your dashboard click on “options” and then “permalinks.”
From here you will have 3 standard choices, plus the option to create
your own custom permalink structure. For this blog we have entered the
following in the custom textfield, “/%category%/%postname%/”. This
tells WordPress to create permalinks that include the category of the
post followed by the name of the post. Feel free to use this for your
blog, or see some other ideas at The Undersigned and at Geek Notes.

2- Page Titles

One of the most important on-page factors for search engine rankings
is the page title. Unfortunately, many bloggers do not change their
page titles. In WordPress you can standardize how you want your page
titles to appear by editing some code in the header.php file. Open up
header.php and look for the title tag. The code between the title tags
is what you want to edit. For this blog we use the following code:

This will create page titles that start with the name of the post and
end with the name of the blog. Alternatively, you can get the SEO Title
Tag plugin http://www.netconcepts.com/seo-title-tag-plugin/ that will
easily allow you to create titles for your posts and pages.

For Movable Type users, the page titles can be changed on the settings tab. Blogger users can get more information from Control Your Title Tags in Blogger.

3 - Duplicate Content

No search engine likes to see duplicate content. Whether it is two
pages on the same site with the same information or multiple pages on
different sites with essentially the same information or content, the
results can include pages being cast into Google’s supplemental index
rather than the main index. Duplicate content is a major issue for
blogs, as category pages and calendar/date pages often cause search
engines to find the same content on multiple pages.

There are a few ways for bloggers to overcome duplicate content
issues. One method is to use the robots.txt file to instruct search
engines on which pages should be ignored, leaving just the primary
pages to be indexed. For more information about creating a robots.txt
file for blogs, and to see an example, visit Not So Boring Life.

Another option for WordPress users is the Duplicate Content Cure plugin.

You can also control how much content appears on your categories pages
by choosing to have those pages display only the beginning of posts
rather than the entire post. In this case the reader would click
through to the main post page to read the entire article and search
engines may not recognize the category page as having duplicate
content. WordPress users can do this by editing the archive template.
If you are using the default Kubrick theme, open archive.php and look
for . Change “content” to “excerpt” and that’s it.

4 - Meta Tags

When designing a traditional, static website you have the
option/ability to enter meta tags (descriptions and keywords) for each
page. Although these tags a less influential on search engine rankings
as they used to be, it doesn’t hurt to have them in your pages.
However, most blogging programs do not give the user the option to add
meta tags when writing a post.

For WordPress users the Add-Meta-Tags plugin will allow you to enter meta tags for any page.

Movable Type users should see the article from Anders Jacobsen and the article from Miles Evans. Blogger users should see the article from ORblogs.

While this is just a quick summary, these are the most important SEO
topics that bloggers will face (as compared to those issues faced by
traditional websites). By understanding the unique qualities that a
blog has in comparison with a static website and knowing what options
and resources are available, you can create a blog that is ready for
search engines.

10 Tips for Making Your Blog Posts More del.icio.us

2007-12-17T23:40:00.001-08:00

Like the other leading social media websites, del.icio.us
can be a great source of traffic for your blog. In order to make the
most of del.icio.us, follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to
driving thousands of new visitors to your blog.

1 - Use Powerful Headlines/Titles

Headlines and Titles are always important for getting your blog
posts read, but they are especially important for drawing traffic from
del.icio.us. Some readers will bookmark a page without even reading the whole thing, influenced primarily by the title. Even more important, as your post starts to move its way up the popular pages
on del.icio.us, the title will either entice people to click or it will
not stand out enough to get them to take action. If you look at the
items that make it to the front page, you’ll see a predictable trend
that almost all of the items have very effective titles.

2 - Be Original

Think about what makes you decide to bookmark a page. If it’s
information that you can find at a number of different websites or
blogs you’re probably not going to bookmark it. Be original, provide readers with something they haven’t seen before, and make them want to bookmark it before the forget where to find it.

3 - Use Lists

While lists aren’t a prerequisite for getting to the front page of
del.icio.us, it’s another consistent trend that you’ll see. Why do
lists work? For one thing they’re easy to scan and readers can quickly gauge the content without reading word-for-word. Numbered lists, such as this one, also tend to work well.

4 - Encourage Bookmarking

If you actively encourage your readers your bookmark your posts they
are more likely to do it. This can be accomplished by placing a
sentence at the beginning or end of your posts, or it can be
accomplished with buttons and widgets that let readers bookmark with
one click. Whatever your method, for the best results you should place
the link to bookmark in a prominent spot where readers will see it. WordPress users can use the Antisocial Plugin (an SEO-friendly version of the Sociable Plugin) to display buttons for various sites, including del.icio.us.

5 - Encourage Others to Join Your Network

Building a network is one way of sharing links with other users. It
certainly doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get more of your pages
bookmarked, but it makes it easier for others to see your bookmarks.
del.icio.us provides a great tool to make this easy. When you’re logged
in, go to the settings page and you’ll see a link for “Network Badges.”
From that page you’ll get some code to paste into your blog that will
encourage visitors to join your network (Mine is on the sidebar if you
want to see an example and join my network).

6 - Write About Hot Topics

When you’re looking at the del.icio.us front page you’ll notice that many of the popular bookmarks are technology-related.
This is a common trend, so if you write about technology you have a
better chance of getting bookmarked. Visit the page regularly to see
what is hot and learn how you can benefit from knowing other users’
bookmarking habits.

7 - Get Your Posts Popular with Some Other Social Media Site

This may not be easy, but many of the pages that are popular on del.icio.us are also popular on other social media sites. This is actually how I made it to the del.icio.us front page for the first time. My article 83 Top Webmaster Resources became popular at D-Zone,
and the increased traffic that came from D-Zone lead to a lot of
bookmarks and a spot on the del.icio.us front page for a while. Using
other social sites as a gateway is a proven tactic.

8 - Show How Many People Have Bookmarked Your Post

The del.icio.us Tagometer will show readers how many people have bookmarked the particular page
they are viewing. It’s a great way to remind visitors that other people
are bookmarking the page. If no one has bookmarked the page yet, it
will say “be the first to bookmark this page!” Here’s an example from
our post Find the Perfect Colors for Your Website.

9 - Use FeedBurner’s “Save to del.icio.us” Feed Flare

FeedBurner users can insert a link into their RSS feeds that will allow readers to bookmark. It also shows the number of bookmarks
and the most popular tags from within the RSS reader. To active this
FeedFlare, login, click on the Optimize tab, click on FeedFlare and
check the box.

10 - Allow Other del.icio.us Users to See Your Bookmarks

By default your bookmarks are viewable to other del.icio.us users.
You can change them to be private in the settings tab, but if you’re
bookmarking your own pages you will be decreasing the chances that
others will see your pages. Leave this on the default setting.

By using these 10 tips you’ll be able to increase the number of
bookmarks your posts get, which will help you to bring floods of new
traffic from del.icio.us. If you have any additional tips for our readers please leave a comment. If you’re a del.icio.us user feel free to leave your id or a link to your profile in the comments and grow your network.

100 Best Free Opensource Software for windows XP and Vista

2007-10-29T21:22:00.001-07:00

Here are a few Great open source apps i am using and most which i
would definitely recommend to anybody, even if your not particularly
skillful with software, these applications have such an easy user
interface utilizing should be a breeze. I put them in a list so it is
easily browsable .

Web Browsing

Mozilla Firefox

The premier free, open-source browser. Tabs, pop-up blocking,
themes, and extensions. Considered by many to be the world’s best
browser.

Download Page

Video Player / Video Podcasting

Miro

Beautiful interface. Plays any video type (much more than windows
media player). Subscribe to video RSS, download, and watch all in one.
Torrent support. Search and download from YouTube and others.

Download Page

IM - Instant Messaging

Pidgin

Connect to multiple IM accounts simultaneously in a single app, including: AOL IM, MSN, and Jabber.

Download Page

Email

Mozilla Thunderbird

Powerful spam filtering, solid interface, and all the features you need.

Download Page

RSS

FeedReader

Simple, lightweight aggregator.

Download Page

RSSOwl

Solid cross-platform RSS client.

Download Page

Peer-to-Peer Filesharing

Cabos

A simple, easy to use filesharing program. Gnutella network.

Download Page

Gnucleus

A very good Gnutella search and download filesharing program.

Download Page

Azureus

A powerful, but complicated BitTorrent client. So many features you’ll lose your mind.

Download Page

Video Playback

VLC

Plays more video files than most players: Quicktime, AVI, DIVX, OGG, and more. Pretty good interface.

Download Page

MPlayer

Similar to VLC– plays loads of video formats.

Download Page

Media Player Classic

Compact, but powerful media player. Plays anything under the sun. No install necessary.

Download Page

DVD Ripping / Video Conversion

Media Coder

Great tool for ripping CDs, DVDs, etc and converting between tons of video formats.

Download Page

Word Processing / Office Suites

OpenOffice.org

Big, full featured suite of tools for word processing and
spreadsheets. Compatible with and a free replacement for Microsoft Word
documents. Also supports OpenDocument Format.

Download Page

AbiWord

A word processor. Leaner and quicker than OpenOffice. Compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.

Download Page

Podcasting

Juice

Solid podcasting client.

Download Page

DVD Ripping

Handbrake

DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter.

Download Page

Sound Recording

Audacity

Simple sound recording tool.

Download Page

Graphics / Photo Editing

GIMPShop

Photo editing application that rivals Photoshop in features.

Download Page

Paint.net

Graphics editor with a very nice interface.

Download Page

Inkscape

Vector graphics application.

Download Page

FTP / SFTP

Filezilla

Excellent FTP program.

Download Page

IRC

X-Chat 2

IRC client.

Download Page

Freemind

An innovative application for note taking and outlining. Takes time to get used to, but some people swear by it.

Download Page

Jarnal

Open Source note taking application written in Java

Download Page

Keynote

Open Source note taking application, very good. I use this myself extensively

Download Page

Personal Finance

TurboCASH

Simple, easy to use application for managing personal finances.

Download Page

Quasar

Easy to use Accounting package

Download Page

Chat Clients

AMSN

MSN Messenger client written in TCL/TK

AMSN Messenger

X-Chat

IRC Client

X-Chat

More Web Browsing

KMeleon

Fast, nice web browser.

Download Page

Amaya Browser for Windows

W3C developed web browser and editor for multiple platforms

Download Page

Screensaver

Electric Sheep

Immersive, trippy screensaver.

Download Page

More Filesharing

Frostwire

GNUTella client based on the Limewire codebase.

Download Page

Also see: Poisoned - Azureus

3D Graphics and Modeling

Blender

Powerful 3D Modeling software.

Download Page

Also see: Kerkythea (illumination engine) - Persistence of Vision Raytracer - Quesa

Stars and Outer Space

Celestia

Open-source 3D planetarium software. Akin to traveling through space (outer space).

Download Page

Stellarium

“Renders realistic skys in realtime.” See what you would see if your city wasn’t so light-polluted. Used in real planetariums.

Download Page

Also see: macORSA - Orbit Reconstruction, Simulation, and Analysis

Games

Marathon: Aleph One

Engine for Bungie’s free FPS series Marathon. Play online, solo play
with rich original story, many total conversions and thousands of maps.

Download Page

Zombies

3D zombie strategy game.

Download Page

Armagetron Advanced

3D Tron game.

Download Page

BZFlag

First-person tank game.

Download Page

Battle for Wesnoth

Fantasy / Strategy Game

Download Page

Also see: Snes9X (SNES emulator), Frozen Bubble

Free File Hosting

CC Publisher

Host Creative Commons video or audio files for free on archive.org with this easy uploader.

Download Page

Security Tools

NMap

Easy to use port scanner for Windows

Download Page

Wireshark

Network Protocol Analyzer, formerly called Ethereal

Download Page

TrueCrypt

Creates encrypted virtual hard drives for extra security

Download Page

ClamWin

Open Source Anti-Virus. Very good at detecting viruses. Can be plugged into hMailServer for e-mail protection

LIMITATION: Real Time scanning not implemented yet

Download Page

Eraser

Delete files securely off your hard drive utilizing DoD standards

Download Page

MP3 and Audio Tools

MP3 Gain

Easy to use MP3 manipulation tool for Windows. adjusts sound levels on MP3’s so they are all the same

Download Page

MP3 Book Helper

This program provides rapid Mp3 (ID3v1, ID3v2) and Ogg/Speex/Flac
Vorbis tags editing and file renaming functions. Mass Tag editing is
done using special variables and Regular Expressions.

Download Page

musikCube

Open Source MP3 Player, ripper and organizer written using the .NET Framework

Download Page

Utilities

–>

7zip

File archiver.

Download Page

Developer tools

SharpDevelop

Open Source IDE for the .NET Framework. Utilizes the multiple programming languages and Windows forms

Download Page

Notepad ++

Open Source programmers notepad for Windows

ScITE

Source code Editor for Windows and X

Download Page

Web Developer Server Suite

Very good WAMP Stack (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP) Very thouroughly
tested on Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server (preliminary
testing on Longhorn Server underway). Highly Recommended.

Download Page

Mapping Tools

Nasa World Wind

Mapping tool similar to Google Earth for Windows. Must have the .NET Framework installed.

Download Page

Address Book

Corvalis
- is a free, open source address management system .Export to/import
from other popular e-mail programs such as Outlook and free e-mail
service. Improved search features and group management .
Rubrica -
is an address book manager for the GNOME Environment. It allows you to
add personal data (name, surname, address, etc.), web links, irc and
email addresses, telephone numbers, job information (company where
contact works, company infos, contact’s assigment, etc.) and notes.

Audio Tools

MediaCoder
- is a free universal batch media transcoder, which nicely integrates
most popular audio/video codecs and tools into an all-in-one solution.
It converts file formats, giving you a great deal of control over the
output. It can also save you plenty of hard disk space by shrinking
media files. There are also lots of extensions you can download that
expand the programs’ capabilities, such as make it easy to transcode
files for specific media players.
Audacity
- is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS
X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. It allows users to record
live audio, convert tapes and records to digital formats, or mix
pre-existing digital audio tracks. Supported formats include Ogg
Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files. Operating system: Windows,
Linux/Unix, OS X, Classic Mac.
HandBrake
- is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to
MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows. It grabs
video from a variety of sources, including a DVD and a DVD image, and
grabs audio from sources as well, including MPEG audio tracks. You’ll
then be able to output a digital file in a variety of formats,
including MPEG-4, AVI, OGM for video, or AAC, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis for
audio.
LAME
-is one of the best MP3 encoders in the world, producing excellent
quality MP3s. It is used by many CD rippers, combopacks and so on and
its popularity is increasing almost daily. Also, in great quality DivX
encoding, people tend to use LAME over other MP3 encoders.
AC3Filter
- is an open source AC3 decoding filter that allows you to watch videos
with AC3-encoded surround audio. After you install the filter, all
video players, including Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, that use
DirectShow, should be able to play AC3 audio correctly. Filter also
supports ProLogicII audio as well.
MP3Gain
-analyzes and adjusts mp3 files so that they have the same volume. It
does not just do peak normalization, as many normalizers do. Instead,
it does some statistical analysis to determine how loud the file
actually sounds to the human ear. With MP3Gain you can adjust your
songs per file, which makes them all play at the same loudness (radio
gain), or per album, which keeps the volume differences within an album
but makes the albums play at similar loudness.
Moosic
- is a music player for Unix systems. It focuses on convenient and
powerful playlist management. The key feature of this music player is
its playlist management/queuing abilities. By default, Moosic supports
MP3, Ogg, MIDI, MOD, and WAV files, but it can be configured to support
other file formats as well. Operating system: Unix.
StreamRipper
- allows you to record and save Shoutcast streams and other Internet
audio. Its key feature is the ability to find silences and mark them as
possible points of track separation. Operating system: Windows,
Linux/Unix.
EasyTAG -
is a utility for viewing and editing tags for MP3, MP2, MP4/AAC, FLAC,
Ogg Vorbis, MusePack, Monkey’s Audio and WavPack files. Its simple and
nice GTK+ interface makes tagging easier under GNU/Linux or Windows.

Bulletin Board

phpBB
-is a high powered, fully scalable, and highly customizable open-source
bulletin board package. phpBB has a user-friendly interface, simple and
straightforward administration panel, and helpful FAQ. Based on the
powerful PHP server language and your choice of MySQL, MS-SQL,
PostgreSQL or Access/ODBC database servers, phpBB is the ideal free
community solution for all web sites. Features include: Unlimited
forums and posts; Multiple language interface; Private or public
forums; Powerful search utility; Private messaging system; Templates.

Databases

Firebird
-is a relational database offering many ANSI SQL standard features that
runs on Linux, Windows, and a variety of Unix platforms.
PostgreSQL
-is an advanced PostgreSQL-based search engine that provides online
indexing of data and relevance ranking for database searching. Close
integration with database allows use of metadata to restrict search
results. Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X, Solaris.

Content Managers

Joomla!
- is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on
the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple
websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla is easy to install,
simple to manage, and reliable.
Drupal
- an open source content management platform. Equipped with a powerful
blend of features, Drupal supports a variety of websites ranging from
personal weblogs to large community-driven websites.
Wordpress - is a state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability.
Plone
- Content Management System built on top of the open source application
server Zope and the accompanying Content Management Framework
XOOPS
-is an extensible, OO (Object Oriented), easy to use dynamic web
content management system written in PHP. XOOPS is the ideal tool for
developing small to large dynamic community websites, intra company
portals, corporate portals, weblogs and much more. Read the All about
XOOPS page for more details.
Opencms
- is a professional, easy to use website content management system. It
is based on Java and XML technology. It can be deployed in an open
source environment (e.g. Linux, Apache, Tomcat, MySQL) as well as on
commercial components (e.g. Windows NT, IIS, BEA Weblogic, Oracle).
WebGUI
- is a web application framework and web content management system that
puts the publishing power in the hands of the people who create the
content, rather than the IT staff. Join the thousands of businesses,
universities, and schools that have found out just how easy web can be.
PHP-Nuke
-is a powerful Open Source portal application. It can be used as a
weblog or as a CMS. PhpNuke allows webmasters and editors to easily
post new content and comment existing articles. PHPNuke is much for
game clan and guild sites. It is free software, released under the GNU
License.

Developer Tools

phpMyAdmin
- handles the administration of MySQL over the Web. phpMyAdmin performs
many database administration tasks like running SQL statements, adding
and dropping databases, and adding, editing or deleting tables or
fields. Operating system: OS Independent.
Dev-C++
gives you a full-featured Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for
the C/C++ programming language. It uses Mingw port of GCC (GNU Compiler
Collection) as it’s compiler. Dev-C++ can also be used in combination
with Cygwin or any other GCC based compiler.
EasyPHP
- is a complete software package allowing to use all the power and the
flexibility that offers the dynamic language PHP and the efficient use
of databases under Windows. Package includes an Apache server, a MySQL
database, a fully PHP execution, as well as easy development tools for
your web site or your applications.
XAMPP
- is an easy to install Apache distribution containing MySQL, PHP and
Perl. XAMPP is really very easy to install and to use - just download,
extract and start. Operating system:Windows, Linux, OS/X, Solaris.
Notepad++
is a free source code editor which supports several programming
languages running under the M$ Windows environment. Notepad++ is
designed to be a freeware replacement for Notepad. Supported languages
: C, C++,Java, C#, XML, HTML, PHP, Javascript, RC resource file, make
file, ASCII art file(extension .nfo, doxygen, ini file, batch file,
ASP, VB/VBS source files, SQL, Objective-C, CSS, Pascal, Perl, Python
and Lua.
jEdit -
is a text editor written in Java. It supports auto indent and syntax
highlighting for 130 different coding languages, as well as dozens of
independently developed plug-ins and macros that make programming
easier. Operating system: OS Independent.
TortoiseSVN
- is a really easy to use Revision control / version control / source
control software for Windows. It works directly from Windows Explorer
and you can use it with virtually anydevelopment tools. Operating
system: Windows.
DotNetNuke
- is a powerful open source framework that creates and deploys robust
modules on the ASP.NET platform. Written by its core team of
developers, this book will provide youwith the tools and insight you’ll
need to install, configure, and develop your own stunning
AppServ -
is an Apache/PHP/MySQL distribution designed to be completely installed
and configured in less than one minute. While it works on Windows, the
developers recommend Linux for Web ordatabase servers that will be used
heavily. Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix.
SharpDevelop
-is a free IDE for C#, VB.NET and Boo projects on Microsoft’s. It
includes a forms designer, code completer, an integrated debugger, and
many other features. Operating system: Windows.
wxWidgets
- lets developers create applications for Win32, Mac OS X, GTK+, X11,
Motif, WinCE, and more using one codebase. It can be used from
languages such as C++, Python, Perl, and C#/.NET.
Hibernate
- is a powerful, high-performance object/relational persistence and
query service. Hibernate allows you to express queries in its own
portable SQL extension (HQL), as well as in native SQL, or with an
object-oriented Criteria and Example API.
Ultimate++
is a C++ cross-platform rapid application development suite focused on
programmers productivity. It includes a set of libraries (GUI, SQL,
etc..), and an integrated development environment.
DeskWeb
- applies the iconography and usability of a common Windows desktop
system to Web applications. It is familiar and user-friendly and lets
users easily learn how-to exploit all of the software’s features. It
can be used in various ways, such as a content management system, a
company groupware, a wiki, or more. Operating system: OS Independent.
Zile
- is a small Emacs clone. Zile is a customizable, self-documenting
real-time open-source display editor. Zile was written to be as similar
as possible to Emacs; every Emacs user should feel at home. Operating
system: Linux/Unix.
WAMP5
- installs automatically Apache, PHP, MySQL, PHPmyadmin and SQLite
manager on any Windows system. It was created in order to make it easy
to use the latest version of PHP?PHP5Operating system: Windows.
MiKTeX
- is an up-to-date TeX implementation for the Windows operating system.
It is a typesetting program with a complete set of fonts, utilities,
and macros.
TEA
- is a GTK+-based text editor that supports a number of different
coding languages, but it is especially helpful for writing HTML. It?s
very small but includes a file manager, spellchecker, search function,
and more. Operating system: Linux/Unix, OS X, Solaris.
SiSU -is
an information structuring, transforming, publishing and search
framework. Supported formats include plain-text, HTML, XHTML, XML, ODF,
LaTeX, and PDF. Operating system: Linux/Unix.
PDFCreator
-is a free tool to create PDF files from nearly any Windows
application. It allows users to create PDF files from any printable
Windows document. As an added bonus, it can also create PNG, JPG, TIFF,
BMP, PCX, PS, or EPS files. Operating system: Windows.
Ghostscript -allows
users to convert, view, and print PostScript and PDF files. Different
versions of the software are available either as open-source or as
commercial distributions. Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X,
Classic Mac.

Emulators

DOSBox
- isa long gone from Windows–the command prompt inside Windows isn’t
truly DOS anymore. Many old games simply won’t run from the Windows
command prompt. They need true blue DOS. You can get the free DOSBox,
which does a great job of emulating it. Install and run the program,
then run any DOS game–or DOS application, for that matter–inside it.
When you run DOSBox, it automatically sets any sound-system related
variables, so that your sound system will work properly with your old
games.
ZNES
- is a Super Nintendo emulator programmed by zsKnight and _Demo_. It
lets you play your Super Nintendo games on your PC. Some games work
better than others, and it?s very much a workin progress. Operating
system: Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and DOS.
eMule
-is one of the biggest and most reliable peer-to-peer file sharing
clients around the world. Many developers contribute to the project, so
the network gets more and more efficient withevery new version.
Operating system: Windows.
Ares
- is a P2P file-sharing program. It’s easier to figure out how to
search for files and download them, and it also will download files
using BitTorrent, which is probably the most popular file-sharing
protocol today. Also useful is that the program includes a built-in
media player, as well as chat capabilities and a built-in Web browser.
Wine
- is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X,
OpenGL, and Unix. It lets you run Windows programs on x86-based Unix
systems. Operating system: Linux/Unix, OS X, Solaris.

P2P

BitTorrent
- is the global standard for delivering high-quality files over the
Internet. BitTorrent enables you to publish your own content. If you
are a filmmaker, musician, or even a comedian, it?s the perfect place
to showcase your work to worldwide audience. Operating system: Windows,
Linux/Unix.
DC++
is an open source client for Windows for the Direct Connect network.
Direct Connect allows you to share files over the Internet without
restrictions or limits. The client is completely free of advertisements
and has a nice, easy to use interface. Firewall and router support is
integrated and it is easy and convenient to use functionality like
multi-hub connections, auto-connections and resuming of downloads.
BBurst!
- is the BitTorrent client that uses less memory and other resources
than the original client. Key features include a torrents manager and
super-seeding mode. Operating system: Windows.
BT++
is an improved client for the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file distribution
solution. It is written, like the official BitTorrent client, in Python
and wxPython for maximum cross-platform compatibility. It should work
on any platform that wxPython is available for.
Shareaza P2P
- is known by its support for numerous P2P networks, including
Gnutella2, Gnutella1, eDonkey2000/eMule, and BitTorrent. And its
“Collections” feature allows users to preview albumcovers, song lists,
and descriptions from a single screen. Operating system: Windows.
ABC -
is an improved client for the Bittorrent peer-to-peer file distribution
solution. ABC is based on BitTornado which extended from from Original
Bittorrent Core System , coded by Bram Cohen. It offers some unique
customization options. With this app, you can customize which
information is displayed, prioritize the queuing system, and download
multiple files simultaneously in the same window. Operating system:
Windows.
RevConnect
- is a file sharing program based on DC++. It is fully compatible with
the Direct Connect network. RevConnect is an free open-source, ad and
spyware-free client, written in C++ for the Direct Connect protocol
that allows you to share files over the internet with other users.
Operating system: Windows.

File Transfer

WinSCP
- allows users to transfer files securely via FTP and SFTP. It
incorporates Secure Shell (SSH) technology. Operating system: Windows.
cURL
- is a command line tool for transferring files with URL syntax,
supporting FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS, SCP, SFTP,TFTP, TELNET, DICT, FILE
and LDAP. curl supports SSL certificates, HTTP POST,HTTP PUT, FTP
uploading, HTTP form based upload, proxies, cookies, user+password
authentication (Basic, Digest, NTLM, Negotiate, Kerberos…), file
transfer resume, proxy tunneling and a busload of other useful tricks.
Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X, Solaris.

Games

ScummVM -
allows you to port many classic point-and-click adventure games to
nearly any platform you like. Supported games include Simon the
Sorcerer 1 and 2, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Beneath A Steel Sky, Day
of the Tentacle, Broken Sword 1 and Broken Sword 2, Monkey Island,
Samand Max, and dozens of others. Operating system: OS Portable.
StepMania
- can be played using the keyboard or a sensor-laden “dance pad”.
StepMania has game modes similar to Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution and
Andamiro’s Pump It Up, Amuseworld’sEZ2Dancer, and Konami’s Para Para
Paradise. Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X, Xbox.

Mobility Tools

BitPim -
is a program that allows you to view and manipulate data on many CDMA
phones from LG, Samsung, Sanyo and other manufacturers. This includes
the Phone Book, Calendar, WallPapers, RingTones(functionality varies by
phone) and the File system for most Qualcomm CDMA chipset based phones.
Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X.
PortableApps
- aims to make all of your applications portable. It makes it easy to
transfer software and data from your PC to a USB flash drive, iPod,
portable hard drive, or other device. Operating system: Windows.

Photo Tools

Gallery -
is an open source project with the goal to develop and support leading
photo sharing web application solutions. It allow some basic photo
manipulation, such as resizing, rotating, and altering image quality,
but does not include advanced photo editing. Operating system: OS
Independent.
Coppermine Photo Gallery
- is a multi-purpose fully-featured and integrated web picture gallery
script written in PHP using GD or ImageMagick as image library with a
MySQL backend. It offersa huge lineup of features including multiple
languages, e-card creation, thumbnails, and many more. In order to use
it, you need a Web server running Apache, PHP, MySQL, and either GD or
ImageMagick. Operating system: OS Independent.

Instant Messaging

aMSN
- is an open source MSN Messenger clone. It allows you to communicate
with users on multiple networks. a MSN also allows you to display
pictures and emoticons and add skins to yourchat window. Operating
system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X.
Miranda
- is a small, fast and easy instant messenger with support for multiple
protocols. Miranda IM is designed to be resource efficient and easy to
use while still providing many features including support for AIM,
Jabber, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo, and more. Operating system: Windows.
Pidgin
- is a multi-platform instant messaging client that allows you to
connect with all your buddies from a single messenger, even if they are
using different networks. It supports MSN, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, IRC,
GroupWise, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Same time and XMPP. You can login to
multiple messenger accounts at one, allowing you to chat with your
buddies onYahoo, ICQ and MSN (for example) at the same time.

Security

PeerGuardian -
protects your privacy while you?re using P2P file sharing networks. It
supports multiple lists, list editing, automatic updates, and IPv4
blocking. Operating system: Windows, Linux, OS X.
Eraser
- is an advanced security tool (for Windows), which allows you to
completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it
several times with carefully selected patterns. Works with Windows 95,
98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Windows 2003 Server and DOS.
ClamWin Free Antivirus
- is a Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and 2003.
With Clam Win you can scan individual files manually or you can use the
Microsoft Outlook add-in to find and remove infected attachments
automatically.
IPCop Firewall
- provides a good option for home users and small offices. It?s stable,
secure, and easy to configure and maintain. Operating system: Linux.

Remote Desktop

UltraVNC-
is a powerful, easy to use and free software that can display the
screen of another computer (via internet or network) on your own
screen. The program allows you to use your mouse and keyboard to
control the other PC remotely. Key features app include File Transfer,
Video Driver, optional Encryption Plugins, MS Logon, Text Chat, Viewer
Toolbar, and others. Although it?s designed primarily for Windows, the
Embedded Java Viewer allows you to transfer files to and from other
operating systems as well. Operating system: Windows.
TightVNC
- is a free remote control software package derived from the popular
VNC software. With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote
machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like
you would do it sitting in the front of that computer. TightVNC offers
additional features like file transfers, video mirror drive support,
scaling of the remote desktop, support for two passwords, and more.

System Administration Tools

Webmin
- is a web-based interface for system administration for Unix. Using
any modern web browser, you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS, file
sharing and much more. Webmin removes the need to manually edit Unix
configuration files like /etc/passwd, and lets you manage system from
the console or remotely.
Wireshark -
is the world’s foremost network protocol analyzer. It supports hundreds
of different protocols, multiple platforms, and can analyze VoIP
traffic. Operating system: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS X, Solaris, All BSD
Platforms.
Nmap
-is a free open source utility for network exploration or security
auditing. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, although it
works fine against single hosts. Nmap uses raw IPpackets in novel ways
to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services
(application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating
systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet
filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics.
TrueCrypt
- is an open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP/2000
and Linux. It is a software system for establishing and maintaining
anon-the-fly-encrypted volume (data storage device). On-the-fly
encryption means that data are automatically encrypted or decrypted
right before they are loaded or saved, without any user intervention.
GLPI
- is the Information Resource-Manager with an additional
Administration- Interface. You can use it to build up a database with
an inventory for your company (computer, software, printers…) Operating
system: OS Independent.
ClameWin
- is a Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and 2003.
ClamWin Free Antivirus comes with an easy installer and open source
code. You may download and use it absolutely freeof charge

Video/Multi-Media Tools

VirtualDub
-is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms
(95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP).It?s useful for basic trimming and cleaning up
footage, and also has batchprocessing capabilities.
MediaCoder
- is a free universal batch media trans coder, which integrates most
popular audio/video codecs and tools into an all-in-one solution.
FFDShow - is a DirectShow decoding filter for decompressing DivX, XviD, H.264, FLV1, WMV,MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, MPEG-4 movies.
Xine
- is a free multimedia player. It playsback CDs, DVDs, and VCDs. It
also decodes multimedia files like AVI, MOV, WMV, and MP3 from local
disk drives, and displays multimedia streamed over the Internet.
MPlayer OS X
- is binary distribution of MPlayer (The Movie Player for Linux) and
comes with native GUIin MacOSX. After installation you can simply (by
Drag&Drop) play almost all3ivx, DivX 3,4,5 and other codecs files
in the window or full screen mode. Rendering of very nice antialiased
text-based subtitles is also supported.
WDM
- is a Video Capture driver for Bt848, Bt849, Bt878 and Bt879 based
video capture boards. It tries to take the most of the hardware, using
all the features the chipset has to offer. It is also implemented as a
WDM driver, so the same driver works under Win2000,Win98SE, WinXP and
WinMe without modifications.
MediaPortal
- is an Open Source application ideal for turning your PC / TV into a
very advanced Media Center. Media Portal allows you to listen to your
favorite music & radio, watch and storeyour videos and DVDs, view,
schedule and record live TV as a digital video recorder and much much
more.
LiVES
- is a very flexible tool which can be used by both VJ’s and video
editors - mix and switch clips from the keyboard, trim and edit your
clips, and bring them together using the multi track timeline.
VLC Media Player
- is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video
formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2,MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, …) as well as DVDs,
VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

Source : ajaxflakes.com

Pagerank 0 updated to Pagerank 5 in 5 Months

2007-10-29T02:18:00.001-07:00

Pagerank Update phase 2 swinging blogs' Pagerank going up,down and up again!
Etienne
has mentioned in a contrasting result on Blogs' Pagerank increasing,on
par and further decreasing after a phase 2 action at the Google
Pagerank Lab.Lets have a look at who are the blogs that are doing the
right techniques in the Link Popularity section,who are on par with
their older pagerank and some naughty blogs that had done something
evil,resulting the Google Pagerank guys to demote them further
(Etienne's Research and my add-ons)
The Climber Board
Copyblogger - Jumps to Pagerank 7
Problogger -Climbs back to PR6 (Congratulation Darren!)
DoshDosh - Climbs to PR6 (Congratulation Maki!)
Cashquests - Climbs to PR5 (Congratulation Kumiko!)
Garryconn - Climbs to PR5
Washington Times - Climbs to PR5
AndyBeard -Climbs to PR4
Bloggingbits -Climbs to PR4
BloggingTips -Climbs to PR4
Zac Johnson -Climbs to PR4
AutoBlog - Climbs to PR4
Etienne - Climbs toPR3 (Congratulation Etienne!)
Dailymoolah - Climbs toPR3
John Cow - Climbs to PR3
Charleslau - Climbs to PR3
Jobmob - Climbs to PR3
Worldofangel - Climbs to PR3
Courtney Tuttle - climbs to PR3
Shamoneymaker - Climbs to PR2
Spaceinfluence - Climbs to PR2
Slyvisions - Climbs to PR2

Those That Stays
Adesblog -Remains as PR5
Washington Post -Remains as PR5
New Scientist -Remains as PR5
Engadget -Remains as PR5
Sun Times -Remains as PR5
Seattle Times -Remains as PR4
Tuaw - Remains as PR4
Joystiq - Remains as PR4
Seroundtable - Remains as PR4
John Chow - Remains as PR4
Searchenginejournal - Remains as PR4
Quickonlinetips - remains as PR3
Netbusinessblog -Remains as PR3
Paulamooney - Remains as PR3
TylerCruz Remains as PR3
Carlocab - Remains as PR3
Blogging Secret - Remains as PR3

Relegated Further
Natewhitehill -Drops to PR4
JohnTP -Drops to PR3
Entrepreneurs-journey -Drops to PR3
Seattle Times -Drops to PR3
Rotorblog - Drops to PR2
Earnersblog - Drops to PR2
Michael Kwan - Drops to PR2

But last but not least,Constructicle Boy (which is myself) climbed from Pagerank 0 to Pagerank 5 in 5 months!?Gosh!!!Something if not everything that I have done is hitting the jackpot after jackpot.Ding Ding Ding!And I do not recommend buying Pagerank links as they are considered unnatural.

Conspiracy Theory of Pagerank?
Blogstorm
mentioned in his blog that a respectable source has leaked out on part
of the Pagerank logarithm coding that triggers the massacre pagerank
demotion of A-list bloggers and websites.

 $spammers=file_get_contents(" Your blog or website URL which Googles blacklisted to slap you");
$pos = strpos($spammers, $domain);
if ($pos === false) {
  $newpagerank=rand(0, 10);
} else {
$newpagerank=rand(0, $pagerank);
}

Huh?Is
that true?Conspiracy Theories say yes!A-list bloggers say yes!Blogger
like myself says possibly.That could really spells the word that Google
hates : Spammer

How to get Slapped by Google?
Like what Daniel said,Penalties are bound to be if there are your blog is turning into an advertising competitor to Google Adsense and into a Link Farm.
Or you can make your blog into a Spam Farm! ;)

Check your Pagerank too!
Maybe..just
maybe Google will give you a good Halloween surprise by increasing or
decreasing your Pagerank.A good way to check is thru Digpagerank as they provide Pagerank checks from over 700!!!! datacenters.Surely it cannot be wrong.

How To Sell Your Site For $1000

2007-10-29T01:59:00.001-07:00

If you’re looking to make a quick $1000 by selling your site - here’s how to do it!

There is a rule of thumb on the internet that a website will generally sell for ten times it’s monthly earnings.

So if you want to sell your site for $1000, you’re going to need to make $100 per month from it. Sound hard? It’s not really that difficult and history has shown that it can be achieved by a site that receives just 100 hits per day.

Here’s how you’ll make your thousand dollars:

1. Text link ads - You’re going to sell links from
your site but instead of charging ridiculously high prices, you’re
going to sell them for only $1 each. Sell ten of them.

Money made: $10

2. 125×125 banner ads - You’re going to set up six of these ad spots and sell them for an unbelievably low $5 each.

Money made: $30

3. PayPerPost - You’re almost guaranteed to make money with PayPerPost. It’s not a struggle to write two sponsored posts per week and most will earn you at least $5 per post.

Money made: $40

4. 480×60 banner ad - Placed at the top of your site next to the header, this is a prime piece of advertising space and you’re going to guarantee it’s sale by selling it for just $10 per month.

Money made: $10

5. Feed ads - With a regular posting schedule, ads in your feed will receive a lot of impressions. No doubt that you’ll be able to sell an ad in your feed for just $5 per month.

Money made: $5

6. Site review - Whether it’s through ReviewMe, PayPerPost Direct or via your readers, selling a great review of a site for just $5 is a steal that will have advertisers running to your site.

Money made: $5

GRAND TOTAL: $100 per month!

Congratulations! You’ve just earned enough money that will see your site sell for $1000. Making money online is easy, isn’t it?

Youtube Catcher: Youtube and Other Video Downloader Tool

2007-10-26T19:33:00.001-07:00

Looking for a good solution to download Youtube
and other video sharing site videos, Youtube Catcher is for you.
Youtube Catcher can download videos from Youtube, Google Video, Myspace
Video, Yahoo video Dailymotion Stage6 Veoh.

The downloaded videos can be exported to various formats like
MPG,AVI, MP4,3GP, 3G2, WMV, PSP, MOV, FLV with the quality you choose.
You can set the encoding options such as size, framerate, aspect, video
codec, fileformat, audio codec, audio sampling, quality, motion search,
etc.

You can encode your videos to standard formats as DVD,VCD,IPOD,PSP,
etc. It also supports “Authentication” in YouTube, so you can download
private videos if you have athorization.

Videos downloaded from other sites with other tools can also be converted to other formats using this tool.

This tool supports Batch file processing, just paste the links in a
plain text file, and YouTube Catcher will download all the videos to
the specified folder, you will not have to wait one by one anymore.

Youtube Catcher Works on: Windows 9X/NT/2000/XP/Vista. It can also run on linux if you can install WineHq.

Donwload Youtube Catcher

GIMP 2.4 Released

2007-10-26T19:32:00.001-07:00

GIMP, the popular open source alternative to Adobe Photoshop has been upgraded to version 2.4 with lot of new features.

GIMP now comes with Tango style Icon set to provide a consistent
look on Windows, Mac and Linux. New features includes improved
selection tools, brushes scalability, changes in menus, improved
display when zooming in or out. See the release notes for full list of features.

Along the lines of this release GIMP website also got a new dark design.

Download GIMP

Time to update your affiliate links

2007-10-26T19:30:00.001-07:00

Text Link Ads is sending emails that they have changed their URL
structure and all the affiliates had to change to the new URl, they are
suing tiny URL. I guess this move is because of the Google’s move on
penalizing sites selling text links.

Whatever may be the reason, if you have posted these links inside
some posts its going to be pain to update all those links, because TLA
says in one week the old links become inactive.

To avoid this in future and also to hide your affiliate links from
Google use redirects for all the affiliate links, this way they don’t
look annoying like tinyurl links and you just have to update one link
in future if something like this happens. Personally i don’t like
tinyurl links and i never click those links because you never know
where they will take you.

Here i will show you how can you setup redirects of affiliate links.

1. Using .htaccess

Using .htaccess file you can set redirects quite easily if you are on a linux hosting and using apache server.

For exaple you are going to add a redirect to Text Link Ads referral link, add the below line to your .htaccess

Redirect /tla http://tinyurl.com/3e2xbo

Now replace all your TLA referral links with http://www.yoursite.com/tla

What the above code does is whenever some one clicks on the link
http://www.yoursite.com/tla it redirects to the url
http://tinyurl.com/3e2xbo.

2. Using rederects in webpages

<html> <head> <meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow"> <title>Text Link Ads</title> <script>window.location="http://tinyurl.com/3e2xbo";</script> <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="2; url=http://tinyurl.com/3e2xbo"> </head> <body> <p align="center">If the page doesn't reload automatically Please <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3e2xbo">click here</a>.</p> </body> </html>

So your visitors will never see the ugly tinyurl link. Don’t forget to replace all my links to yours if you use this code.

40+ Free Windows Apps For You

2007-10-26T19:26:00.001-07:00

You,
i got lot of feedback for that post and my readers suggested some
excellent programs to be included in that list. So here i am listing
all those programs which i have missed in my earlier post. Do check the
earlier post for the complete software list.

The list is in random order. Most of these apps serve as alternatives to commercial windows apps.

I am sure that there may be some useful programs which i have missed
here, if your favorite application is not listed here comment or shoot
me an email i will include that in this list.

Security:

1. Open Antivirus:

OpenAntiVirus is not another virus scanner to put on a computer!
OpenAntiVirus is a platform for people seriously interested in
anti-virus research, network security and computer security to
communicate with each other, to develop solutions for various security
problems, and to develop new security technologies.

2. Truecrypt:

Free open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP/2000 and
Linux. Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as
a real disk. Encrypts an entire hard disk partition or a storage device
such as USB flash drive. Encryption is automatic, real-time
(on-the-fly) and transparent.

3. ClamAV:

ClamAV application is primarily for unix based systems but now a
windows version is available. This version needs a emulation layer like
CygWin

4. RogueScanner:

RogueScanner is an open source vulnerability management tool that is
used to gain greater network visibility. This enables you to quickly
identify and remove rogue wireless devices that may provide back door
access to your critical data and infrastructure.

5. Keepass:

KeePass is a free/open-source password manager or safe which helps you
to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your
passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a
key-disk. So you only have to remember one single master password or
insert the key-disk to unlock the whole database.

6. Clipperz:

Clipperz is a free and anonymous online password manager. Local
encryption within the browser guarantees that no one except you can
read your data. Nothing to install. (earlier review)

7. SoftPerfect Personal Firewall:

The SoftPerfect Personal Firewall is a free network firewall designed
to protect your PC against attacks from the Internet or via a local
area network. SoftPerfect Personal Firewall offers customizable
security using user-defined rules for packet filtering. It works at a
low level and also allows you to create rules based on non-IP protocols
such as ARP.

File Transfer / Sharing:

1. WinSCP:

WinSCP is an open source free SFTP client and FTP client for Windows.
Legacy SCP protocol is also supported. Its main function is safe
copying of files between a local and a remote computer.

2. PuTTy:

PuTTY is a free implementation of Telnet and SSH for Win32 and Unix platforms, along with an xterm terminal emulator.

3. ShowMyPC:

ShowMyPC is now a Community for Remote Support providers. Providing
tools for Instant Support to Service Providers and Users. It started as
an open source Desktop Sharing and Remote PC access project, an
alternative to subscription based sites like WebEx or Gotomypc.

4. Ares:

Ares is a free open source file sharing program that enables users to
share any digital file including images, audio, video, software,
documents, etc.

Multi Media

1. Media Player Classic:

Media Player Classic (MPC) is a compact free software media player for
Microsoft Windows. The application has a similar look and feel to the
old light-weight Windows Media Player 6.4. Underneath, however, it is a
completely different application which has all the options and features
one might expect from a modern media player.

2. Media Coder:

MediaCoder is a free universal batch media transcoder, which nicely
integrates most popular audio/video codecs and tools into an all-in-one
solution. (earlier review)

3. Hanbrake:

HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded
DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

4. musikCube:

musikCube can be an alternative to iTunes to manage your music collection.

5. popCorn:

popCorn is a desktop-oriented MPEG-1 audio (MP3) and video software
capable of playing data streamed directly from the network.
Compatibility with existing media servers is provided by the support of
the industry standard RTSP protocol.

6. ImgBurn:

ImgBurn is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application. It supports all windows versions.

7. AVS Disc Creator:

Write your data to CD, DVD and Blu-ray Discs quickly and easily using FREE AVS Disc Creator.

8. DVDStyler:

DVDStyler is a cross-platform DVD authoring application that makes
possible for video enthusiasts to create professional-looking DVDs.

9. mp3mymp3:

Record any audio playing on your computer as mp3 or wav file with
mp3mymp3 recorder. It can record any sound originating from your
computer, it works by recording all audio through your sound card.
(earlier review)

10. Youtube Catcher:

Youtube Catcher can download videos from Youtube, Google Video, Myspace
Video, Yahoo video Dailymotion Stage6 Veoh. The downloaded videos can
be exported to various formats like MPG,AVI, MP4,3GP, 3G2, WMV, PSP,
MOV, FLV with the quality you choose. (earlier review)

11. Media Portal:

MediaPortal is an Open Source application ideal for turning your PC /
TV into a very advanced Media Center. MediaPortal allows you to listen
to your favorite music & radio, watch and store your videos and
DVDs, view, schedule and record live TV as a digital video recorder and
much much more.

12. VirtualDub

VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows
platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP), licensed under the GNU General Public
License (GPL). It lacks the editing power of a general-purpose editor
such as Adobe Premiere, but is streamlined for fast linear operations
over video.

Video Editing Tools

1. Vivia-The Video Editor:

Vivia is a video editing program for Linux and Windows. It provides
extremely easy editing of clips and transitions in real-time, along
with multi-camera support for editing scenes that were recorded by more
than one camera simultaneously.

2. MiNi Video Studio:

MiNI Video Studio is a program for non-linear video editing. It means
this application allows creating of a movie from other movies in a way,
that the elements of the final movie overlap, creating a series of
layers, that can be rendered one by one, or all at once.

3. DVD Flick:

DVD Flick aims to be a simple but at the same time powerful DVD
Authoring tool. It can take a number of video files stored on your
computer and turn them into a DVD that will play back on your DVD
player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. You can add additional custom
audio tracks as well as subtitles of your choice.

4. OpenVIP:

OpenVIP editor. It provides a user-friendly GUI to the core and is
based on the timeline concept - you place multimedia files on the
timeline, apply filters, transitions…

5. Avidemux:

Avidemux is a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering
and encoding tasks. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD
compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs.

Image Viewing & manipulation

1. Irfanview:

IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista.

2. Paint.net:

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that
run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface
with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide
variety of useful and powerful tools.

3. XnView:

XnView is a free software to view and convert graphic files, really simple to use. It Support of more than 400 graphics formats.

3D Graphics:

1. Art Of Illusion:

Art of Illusion is a free, open source 3D modelling and rendering
studio. It is written entirely in Java, and should be usable on any
Java Virtual Machine which is compatible with J2SE 1.4 or later.

2. OpenFX:

OpenFX is an Open-Source 3D modeling, animation and rendering suite. A
powerful feature-set includes a full renderer and raytrace engine,
NURBS support, kinematics-based animation, morphing, and an extensive
plugin API.

Office / Productivity

1. AbiWord:

AbiWord is a open source and fully cross-platform word processor.

2. Launchy:

Launchy is a free windows utility designed to help you forget about
your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager.
Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your
documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few
keystrokes! (earlier review)

3. Cygwin:

Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows. It consists of two
parts: A DLL (cygwin1.dll) which acts as a Linux API emulation layer
providing substantial Linux API functionality. A collection of tools
which provide Linux look and feel.

4. Pandora Recovery:

Pandora Recovery is a powerful free tool that provides its users an
effective way to attempt recovery of permanently deleted files.
(earlier review)

5. CCleaner:

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes
unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and
freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your
online activities such as your Internet history.

6. Wink:

You can create presentations or screencasts with Wink in just minutes,
you can record mouse movements or take screenshots of your application
and save them as flash files. (earlier review)

7. Freemind:

FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java. The recent development has hopefully turned it into high productivity tool.

8. jetToolbar:

Despite Microsoft’s best intentions, the Start Menu isn’t everybody’s
cup of tea. If you’re looking for an alternative way to launch your
programs, take a look at jetToolBar. During installation this well-done
utility creates 14 default categories, registers shortcuts for many of
your applications, and adds bookmarks for recommended Web pages.

9. MyUninstaller:

MyUninstaller is an alternative utility to the standard Add/Remove
applet of Windows operating system. It displays the list of all
installed application, and allows you to uninstall an application,
delete an uninstall entry, and save the list of all installed
applications into a text file or HTML file.

10. Flashget:

Flashget is a freeware for downloading files. It uses MHT(Multi-server
Hyper-threading Transportation) technique, supports various protocols

11. ZScreen:

ZScreen is an open-source screen capture program that allows for
region/window/full-screen screenshots. It can FTP screenshots and put
the URL in your clipboard in a single keystroke. It supports automatic
custom naming conventions with variables. It can also interface with
image editing software.

12. CamStudio:

CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your
computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its
built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean,
bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)

13. Libra

Libra is a library software to organize your stuff: Books, Audio CDs,
Movies, & Games (for a start). Hook up your webcam, and Libra turns
it instantly into a barcode scanner. Point your webcam towards the
barcode (in any orientation) on the back of your books, DVD’s or CD’s
and Libra will auto-retrieve the product information automatically, and
add it to your library. Its free for non commercial use.

Web / Development

1. PSPad:

PSPad is a freeware programmer’s editor for Microsoft Windows operating systems, useful for people who:

2. HTTrack:

HTTrack is a free and easy-to-use offline browser utility. It allows
you to download a World Wide Web site from the Internet to a local
directory, building recursively all directories, getting HTML, images,
and other files from the server to your computer.

3. NOTEPAD++:

Notepad++ is a free source code editor (and Notepad replacement), which
supports several programming languages, running under the MS Windows
environment.

Google Pack

I haven’t listed any of the programs from Google Pack because most
of the users are aware of these. Except one or two all the programs in
this pack are must have for anybody, if you havn’t downloaded google
pack get it from here

Miscellaneous

Virtual Box:

VirtualBox is a family of powerful x86 virtualization products for
enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely
feature rich, high performance product.

20 Open Source Windows Apps For You

2007-10-26T19:20:00.001-07:00

Some of the commercial software like Photoshop are so expensive that
an average user can not afford to buy it. Lately I am looking for some
free or open source alternatives for windows programs and i was amazed
with the range of programs available. Here i will list some of the open
source or free programs as alternatives to windows commercial programs.

1. 7-zip

7-Zip
is a open source file archiver program for windows. It supports packing
and unpacking of 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR format files and supports
onlu unpacking of RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and
NSIS. It provides better compression ratio than WinZip for ZIP and GZIP
formats. It is an alternative to programs like WinZip

2. Audacity:

Audacity
is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds.Audacity
can be used to record live audio, convert tapes and records into
digital recordings or CDs, edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files.
cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together.

3. Blender:

Blender
is a open source free software for creating 3D animations. Blender can
be used for modelling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, skinning,
animating, rendering, particle and creating interactive 3D
applications. Blender has robust features et similar to programs like
3ds Max and Maya.

4. ClamWin:

ClamWin
is a Free Antivirus for Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and 2003. ClamWin is a
good alternative to commercial softwares like Norton, McAfee etc.
Clamwin features include High detection rates for viruses and spyware,
Scanning Scheduler, Automatic downloads of regularly updated Virus
Database, Standalone virus scanner and right-click menu integration to
Microsoft Windows Explorer, and Addin to Microsoft Outlook to remove
virus-infected attachments automatically.

5. eMule:

eMule is a open source peer to peer file sharing (P2P) client tool.

6. Feedreader:

Feedreader
is free desktop RSS aggregation tool. “Feedreader automatically
downloads updates from your favorite Web sites. So, it eliminates the
need for you to constantly monitor multiple Web pages, while allowing
you to immediately identify and retrieve new articles”

7. Filezilla:

FileZilla
is a free, open source FTP client for Windows. It supports FTP, SFTP,
and FTPS protocols. It has all the essential features required for a
FTP client. The main features of FileZilla are Ability to resume
Uploads/Downloads, Site Manager with folders, Keep Alive system,
Timeout detection, Firewall support, SOCKS4/5 and HTTP1.1 Proxy
support, SSL secured connections, Upload/Download Queue, Drag&Drop.

8. Firefox:

The
best cross platform supported web brwoser available on the net, it
doesn’t need any introduction and many of you might be using. The wide
range of Firefox Add-On’s make this the most powerful browser for all
types of users. Firefox is an alternative to Microsoft Internet
Explorer.

9. GIMP:

GNU
Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is free open source raster graphics
editor for manipulating photos or images. GIMP is an excellent software
and alternative to expensive photoshop, it is used for photo
retouching, image composition and image authoring.

10. hugin:

hugin
is a open source easy to use cross-platform panoramic imaging tool.
Using hugin you can assemble a mosaic of photographs into as complete
immersive panorama, stitch any series of overlapping pictures and much
more.

11. Inkscape:

Inkscape
is an open source vector graphics editor. Inkscape is a good
alternative to commercial vector graphics tools like Corel Draw, Adobe
Illustrator, Freehand or Xara X. Inkscape uses Scalable Vector Graphics
(SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format. It can be
used to create web2.0 buttons, banners, logos, icons etc. (see earlier review)

12. Juice:

Juice
is a free open source cross-platform podcast receiver application. It
is used to download podcast media files, such as oggs and mp3s. Using
juice you can schedule the podcast and juice will let you know when a
new podcast is available. The downloaded files media files can be
automatically copied to a digital audio player.

13. OpenOffice.org:

OpenOffice.org
is the open source office suite similar to Microsoft office available
to different platforms. OpenOffice.org is a collection of applications
with the features similar to Microsoft Office. The Components include
Writer, Calc, Base, Impress, Draw, Math, Quickstarter etc.

14. PDFCreator:

PDFCreator
is a free program for creating PDF documents from windows programs.
Once installed, it allows the user to select PDFCreator as their
printer, allowing almost any application to print to PDF.

15. Pidgin:

Pidgin,
formerly known as Gaim is a multi-platform instant messaging client
that supports many commonly used IM protocols. Pidgin is a free
software and supports IM’s including Yahoo, Google Talk, Jabber, MSN,
AOL, ICQ etc.

16. Programmers Notepad:

ProgrammerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Notepad is the free, open source, text editor for programmers.

some of the features of Programmers Notepad: Code Folding/Outlining,
Docking tool windows, Excellent external tool support with
user-configurable output matching, Export to HTML (using CSS) and RTF,
Word Wrapping

17. Scribus:

Scribus
is an open source desktop publishing (DTP) application. It has some
nice page layout features and can be used as an alternative to Adobe
PageMaker, QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign. “It can also create animated
and interactive PDF presentations and forms. Example uses include
writing small newspapers, brochures, newsletters, posters and books.”

18. Sunbird:

Sunbird
is open source desktop calender application from Mozilla foundation.
Sunbird is a cross platform, open standards application built on Mozill
Toolkit.

19. Thunderbird:

Thunderbird
is the open source desktop email application from Mozilla foundation.
Thunderbird has the best features in the industry. “Thunderbird 2
features many new enhancements to help you better manage your unruly
inbox, and stay informed. Thunderbird 2 scales to the most
sophisticated organizational needs while making it easy to find what
you need.”

20. VLC Media Player:

VLC
Media Player is a open source media player from VideoLan project team.
It is the best media player available in the net, it plays almost any
file format available. It also supports streaming protocols. It is a
good alternative to different media players.

Tips For Bloggers " 5 Essential Time Saving "

2007-10-26T19:09:00.001-07:00

We bloggers have funny lives. Blogging means so much to us yet
people think we waste time on blogging. We virtually live in two
worlds, and both these worlds can be very demanding at times.

So how do you manage time to cope with the duties in both worlds and still have plenty of time left to enjoy yourself?

Trust me, I’ve struggled to manage time just as you do, and I know
your pains. So without further ado, here are five time saving tips that
I have come to rely on to get the best of both worlds.

1. Write batches of posts

This is the most useful technique I have just come to appreciate.
Write when you are most prolific, have a lot of free time, and there
are no disturbances around to break your concentration. Write till your
fingers hurt. You won’t even feel bored or worn out once you get into
the flow.

Currently, I can write up to 5 posts in a row, and then my eyes start making out faces in the words.

With so many posts written beforehand, you’ll feel immensely
relieved later on when you are supposed to churn out posts under
pressure. And, of course, if you are very prolific and have plenty of
free time everyday, you can write so many posts in 15 days that you
won’t have to write a word for next three months!

2. Cut down the time you waste on seeing your stats go up and down

I am sure most bloggers are addicted to seeing all kinds of stats
about their blog, just as I was until a week ago. I would sometimes
feel the urge to check my traffic stats right in the middle of writing
a post, and after fiddling around with stats for a while, I’d check out
new referrers, and, ultimately, lose track of time in hopping from one
link to another.

This is highly unproductive and absolute waste of
time. I’ve learned to keep myself from checking stats every 10 seconds,
and now I hardly have any urge to peek at the stats more than twice a
day.

Stats are not going anywhere. They accumulate while you do something
more productive. You can always delve deep into your stats at the end
of the day and explore them to your heart’s content.

3. Keep a schedule

Similar to above, we bloggers are also prone to checking email and
our hourly earnings, diving into feed reader to see if there has been
updates, and doing all kinds of useless stuff. As a result, we waste
precious hours and hardly get anything done.

So, you have to sort this mess by tidying up your routine in a
time-saving yet effective manner. Here’s how I manage my schedule after
logging into the Internet.

First thing I do early on is check my inbox for new emails. Then I
go on and check out my traffic stats and my AdSense earnings. When
done, I go to my blog’s dashboard and check new comments and new
incoming links, and then close down the browser. I don’t do anything
that might capture my attention unnecessarily. The whole process takes 15 minutes to complete.

Now that I’ve satisfied my urge to see what happened during the time
I was sleeping, I move on to do real life or virtual life work.

Next, I come back at noon and reply to emails, comments, and
conversations on other blogs and forums I am active on. This usually
takes just above 30 minutes.

I, then, move on to check out my social media profiles and browse around for a while on StumbleUpon and Digg. This can take an hour or more depending on the kind of content I come across.

Then I come back at night and go straight into my feed reader, and
in a fifteen minutes or so I am full of inspiration and new ideas. So I
settle down to write and keep on writing until I have written two or
three posts. This can take a lot of time if my creative juices refuse
to flow for some reason. But who cares? Nights are long and peaceful,
and I am bound to put together at least one post in an hour or two.

If you add up the time I spend on all the above activities, it amounts only to 4 hours per day, on average. Compare this to 8 to 9 hours
of my post-organization life and you’ll clearly see how much time I’ve
managed to save just by restricting myself to a defined schedule.

4. Organize your tools of the trade

Organize your desktop - Keep the most used tools
right on your desktop, and delete all other shortcuts that do nothing
but add clutter. Similarly, if you are on Windows, keep your start menu
and quick launch tidy by removing and uninstalling the unwanted
shortcuts and programs.
Organize your browser - Keep all the toolbars
turned off unless you need them. If you are a Firefox user, make use of
bookmarks toolbar and keep your most visited pages organized in
separate folders.
Use an offline post editor - Usually, you don’t
want to be distracted when your are focused on writing. Writing in the
web browser is a distraction in itself. You know, the usual urge to
load up another page in a separate tab is sometimes quite irresistible.
Using a desktop blogging client such as Windows Live Writer can be used to avoid such unnecessary distractions.

5. Post every alternate day

Finally, if you are really pressed for time, consider cutting down
your post frequency. Posting an article everyday is not necessary. On
the contrary, I believe posting less often is much more beneficial for most bloggers.

from Blogging Bits | Filed Under Blogging

Google Analytics to Boost Traffic

2007-10-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Google Analytics is a great free statistics
tool that provides comprehensive statistics on your site, and those
statistics can be used to help you boost your traffic. It is pretty
simple to install by simply inserting a snippet of code on your site.
Try to use something like a header or some piece of code that is on
every page, or in Blogger simply insert it into the html.

Considering how expensive some stat programs are, or the fact that
some of the free ones require an icon or image linking back to their
site, this is extremely valuable. In particular, this is great for
bloggers who might lack money to spend hundreds on a decent stats
package.

Once it’s loaded, you can simply visit the Google Analytics page for
detailed statistics. While the usefulness of this information might not
be obvious, there are many ways you can mine this information to help
you drive more traffic and better optimize your site for search engines.

Google Analytics Dashboard

This is the main page of the Google Analytics site. Even right here,
you can gather some useful information. You can see the number of
visits, percentage of new visitors, and average time on site over an
extended period. A key statistic here is the bounce rate option in the
top right pulldown menu. Look for trends here, and also find out if you
have a lot of visitors who hit your site and immediately bounce out.

Then you can play with your site to see if you can improve those
numbers. Add more internal links, for instance, in blog posts to
encourage internal clicking. Change your color scheme or tinker with
your design, and wait to watch your bounce rate to see if it’s impacted.

Google Referral Tracking

One of the best tools of the Google Analytics is the ability to
analyze your Google (and other search engine) traffic. You can look at
trends to see how many referrals you are getting from various search
engines, pay-per-click ads or external links. From the dashboard, just
click on “traffic sources.”

This
is a gold mine of information. If you click on a particular source,
like Google, you can see a graphic of referrals over a period of time.
This will tell you, for instance, if Google referrals have dropped off,
which should be a concern. It’s also nice when you get a bunch of
traffic from a social bookmarking site. That will show a whole bunch of
page-views, but can mask a drop-off in search engine referrals.

Better yet, examine the keywords. You can use this information to
expand on phrases where you are ranking well, or to revise pages that
currently drive traffic for totally irrelevant to your site. You can
also click on keywords, and then click “bounce rate” at the top right.
That will show you which keywords bring bad traffic that doesn’t stay
on site.

Google Analytics Map

Another
great feature is the Google Analytics map. If you’re running a general
interest site, it could be easy to overlook this cool feature. But you
can even use it just to see, for example, that you get a decent amount
of traffic from a specific country. That can help you cater your
content to that audience.

You can even narrow your statistics down to the city and state
level, which could be useful if you find you have a large audience in a
particular city.

Content Statistics

Use the content statistics to determine which pages are the most
popular, or which have high bounce rates and might need to be improved.
You can view your top content by title or by URL. You can also see
which content is keeping people on the page for the longest time, or
serve often as exit pages.

Google Analytics Downsides

Anything free can’t be perfect, right? There are a few downsides to
using it. For one thing, you are giving Google access to detailed
statistics on your site. There is also a lag in reporting, so the
statistics are not real-time. In the post, Three Reasons Google Analytics Fails for Seo, Eric Lander writes:

If you are serious about search engine optimization,
Google Analytics is NOT for you. I know it’s tough to look past the
(non-existent) price tag, ease of use and conversion tools — but trust
me when I say that Google Analytics is a flawed program for your needs.

So it’s important to know there are downsides. For many sites and
blogs, these aren’t crucial and probably aren’t reason enough to avoid
using this great free program. It also shouldn’t be your only source of
statistics, and you can use resources like Google Webmaster tools and
your hosting provider’s log tracking.

In the end, though, it is a great tool (certainly for the money) and
is especially important if you are not currently using detailed
statistics. This post just covers some of the basics, but there are
many uses for these statistics. If you currently use Google Analytics,
what’s your favorite use?

from Type a Mom | Filed Under Search Engine Optimisation

20 Best Favicon Online Generators

2007-10-26T04:38:00.001-07:00

Favicons (favorite icons) are the small images that are associated with
a website. It will be displayed on address bar, tabbed browsers and
your bookmark list. Therefore, creating an outstanding favicon is
particularly important for website branding. The basic guidelines for
design a good favicon are “simple” and “unique”.

Here is the simple steps for beginners to set up favicons,

1. create a favicon (16 x16) for your sites;

2. upload favicon.ico to root directory;

3. copy and paste the code to header section;

<link rel=”shortcut icon” href=”favicon.ico” type=”image/x-icon” />

4. reload your sites and finish!

It is more complex if you want the favicons also work well at IE,
for more information you might take a look the links at the bottom. And the generators below is selected from almost 50 favicon tools on the web. Simply drop me a message if you have any better suggestions.

Favicon.cc - a new web 2.0 feel favicon generator.
You can draw by yourself or import images to generate favicons, and it
also have a live preview function at the bottom. Recommended!

256pixels - raise a daily favicon design challenge via different topics. Great idea and worth to take a look.

Favicon2dots - unique Japanese favicon creator from any website URL.

Converticon - generate favicons from URL or your computers. Beware, sometimes it will have annoying pop-up ads.

FaviconTool - the coolest interface favicon generator.

Webscriptlab Favicon Generator - we mentioned this site before at 13 Online Generators For Web2.0 Design before.

Flavicon - they also offer custom favicons service.

Favicon Generator and Gallery - at this site you might choose the size of favicon before generation, and they also have a awesome favicons showcase.

FaviconGenerator.com - clean favicon generator.

Dagondesign Favicon Generator

Favicon.ru

Faviconsfor.us

More Here

13. http://www.degraeve.com/favicon/

14. http://www.antifavicon.com/

15. http://www.html-kit.com/favicon/ - probably most popular one.

16. http://www.favicon.jp/ - Japanese site.

17. http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/ - DynamicDrive tool.

18. http://www.faviconprime.com/

19. http://shaheeilyas.com/favicon/

20. http://www.faviconfactory.com/

Pipe Your News Ticker

2007-10-26T04:24:00.001-07:00

Via the Hacks Authors' Blogs feed, we find Jim Bumgardner's Pipes Picayune & Daily Tube mashup news ticker:

Headlines from a BBC RSS feed
are fed, via Y! Pipes, to my news ticker, which is implemented in
Flash. Click on the spinning newspaper to read the story in full on the
original website. This widget can work with any RSS feed, but I'm using
the BBC because they tend to write short pithy headlines which fit my faux newspapers better.

You can include this widget (as well as others offered in Jim's bog post) in your own blog by copying the <iframe> code and specifying which feed you want to use.

UPDATE:

In the comments, Jim points out that he's now added an easy-to-use form for generating custom RSS tickers. Check out this feed of Hackszine:

Read RSS with a POP email client using FreePOPs

2007-10-26T04:18:00.001-07:00

FreePOPs is an open source, plugin-based POP proxy that you can run
on your local machine. It was originally designed to allow you to use a
normal POP email client to read your mail on a multitude of webmail
systems. You point your mail client at the FreePOPs server, and it
connects and screen-scrapes your webmail account so that you can read
your email in the comfort of your favorite mail reader.

The great thing about FreePOPs is its filter plugin architecture.
There are a number of different plugins to support the specific
requirements of most of the popular web-based email systems. There's
even an RSS plugin that will pull an RSS feed and make it look like a
normal POP mailbox. Thankfully, you don't need to configure anything on
the server. Instead, you connect to the FreePOPs server using a
particular username and password format to activate the appropriate
plugin.

Here's how to set up an RSS-to-POP mailbox using FreePOPs and the standard OS X Mail.app email client.

Download and Run FreePOPs

Download the FreePOPs server - Link
In
OS X, just run the .pkg file and click your way through the installer.
It'll drop the FreePOPs application in your Applications folder.
To
start the server, just double click the FreePOPs icon. This will run
the server on localhost port 2000. You can stop the server by hitting
the icon a second time.
If you want it to start automatically, add it to your account's Login Items in System Preferences.

Installation is similar for Linux and Windows. Just refer to the particular installation instructions on the downlods page.

Create a New POP Account in Your Email Client

The setup is roughly the same for any POP client. I'm using Mail.app
as an example. Use any name and email address for your account. Just
make sure it's set to POP (not IMAP, etc.) Set the account description
to the name of the site, so you'll know what it is later.

Configure Account Settings for the RSS Plugin

The FreePOPs server runs on localhost:2000 by default. Mail.app's
configuration doesn't allow you to set the port on this screen,
however, so enter localhost for the moment and we'll fix the port later.

For the username, you need to use anything@aggregator to trigger the RSS aggregator plugin.

The password needs to be the full URL to the feed you want this account to pull, for instance, http://www.hackszine.com/index.xml. You can't see your typing, so it might help to cut and paste this one.

Change the POP Port to 2000

Once you've saved your account, you can go back and adjust it's
settings to change the POP port to 2000. In Mail.app, just right click
and edit the account. The Port setting is under the advanced tab.

Sync the RSS Feed

Once you've saved your settings, just hit the "Get Mail" button, and
the RSS for the site will be downloaded as if it's normal mail. The
sender for every entry will appear to be from freepops@your.rss.url.
That's sort of annoying, so I just removed the from field from this
mailbox's display.

Mobile Access?

Now, if you're ambitious, you can run the freepops server from the
command line and bind it to a public-facing IP address on a server
machine. You could then easily access RSS feeds using the integrated
email client on a lot of internet enabled devices and smartphones. With
this setup, anything with a POP client will be able to conveniently
pull RSS feeds.

Access Banned Orkut Myspace Youtube with Power Scrap with much more features

2007-10-26T03:16:00.001-07:00

You might have seen hundreds of methods to access banned sites at office/ college / schools particularly Orkut, Myspace, Youtube etc. Most of them are complicated (You can get all details by doing a search on the labnol blog).

However the best method available is to use Powerscrap. You need to do nothing just logon to the site and access Orkut, Myspace, Youtube and many more sites with much more features including multiple logins.Check out the list...

* Multiple scraps – send messages to several friends
* New Skins - Change the color of your Orkut
* PowerScrap Radio
* Orkut communities’ Chat room
* Send YouTube videos and media in your scrap.
* One unified account for all Orkut profiles
* Confidential Scraps
* Scraps via SMS (coming soon)
* Power Dating (coming soon)
* And much more...

Now You Can Read Blogger comments by email subscription for all blogspot blogs

2007-10-26T03:06:00.001-07:00

Bloggers blogging on blogspot/blogger domain and readers too can rejoice. Blogger Buzz reports that they can now use advance features like subscribing & reading comments by email. Here is what the help section has to say-

"The
comment subscription feature allows readers of a blog to receive an
email each time a comment is made to a particular post. You can
subscribe to a post's comments by clicking the "Email" link next to
"Subscribe to comments" on the post page.

In
order to subscribe to comments by email, you must be logged in to a
Google Account. Please log in with the account using the email address
at which you'd like to receive the comment emails. As soon as you're
logged in, you’ll be taken to a confirmation page where you can click
"Subscribe" to opt in. On this page, you’ll also have the option to use
a different Google Account to receive comment emails.

After you
subscribe, you’ll receive one email for every comment published on the
post. For moderated comments, an email will be sent out only after the
comment has been approved by the moderator.

You can unsubscribe from comments by email at any time; just click the unsubscribe link in the comment emails you receive.

Or,
alternatively, you can click the "Unsubscribe" link on the blog's
comment page. Then, just as when you subscribed to comments by email,
you’ll be taken to a confirmation page where you can confirm your
unsubscription."

Build Brand Awareness with Google AdWords

2007-10-26T02:36:00.001-07:00

Google AdWords
is one of the best places to advertise your website. Most people,
however, avoid using it thinking that they would need a big budget in
order to obtain results. Not at all, my friend, especially if your goal
is to build brand awareness rather than to generate massive traffic on
your site.

You can create mainly two types of ads on AdWords: text ads and
image ads. While less popular around the Internet, the image ads
represent a very efficient tool to build your brand. First of all
because a catchy banner will make your name or logo stick in people’s
head. Secondly, because you can play smart with the campaign settings
in order to obtain a surprisingly low cost per impression.