YamiPod: Yet another iPod manager

YamiPod is a freeware standalone iPod manager which allows you to manage the content of your iPod without the need to have iTunes installed. It needs no installation and can be run directly from your iPod. So,for example, it doesn’t matter if it is not your computer where you want to run it, you still can!

It comes with many useful features such as iPod ‘notes’ editing features, exporting your song list to HTML, management for duplicate files, the ability to locate lost music files, AAC file support and of course PC to iPod synchronization! It can automatically download the latest version and includes a built in music player.

This is a worthwhile alternative to the official iPod client which many people think is bloated and overrated. Personally i think iPods are overrated anyway as mp3 players existed long before they claimed the market, but if you have an iPod, this alternative is definitely worth checking out!

It’s freeware and you can get more info and download it from here.

Enhance your Windows with Windowblinds

So maybe you’re sick of the same “boring blue” windows theme, day in-day out. Well before you throw your Windows out the window, check this out!
Windowblinds is one of those programs that once you start using it, you can never go back to the old way again.

It comes from the same people who brought us bootskin and logonstudio, so they know what they’re doin’. Basically you can change how your windows operating system looks, by simply downloading easy to install themes. There’s plenty of these available online in lots of styles on sites such as www.wincustomise.com and www.skinz.org, so you’re sure to find something to suit your tastes.

It doesn’t change how Windows works, but just how Windows looks. I’ve been using it for the last couple of years now and i found it doesn’t slow up the computer in the slightest. In fact i remember reading that it uses less resources than the windows default skin! Whether this still appies to the latest version, i’m not too sure, but it hasn’t slowed my computer up at all in any way. This new version, Windowblinds 5, now includes per-pixel alpha blending, allowing such effects as semi transparent menus and windows. You ‘re also able to change progress animations toolbar icons, and the hue and saturation of the windows interface.

This is a cool program if you wanna escape from boring blue default windows theme land . It’s safe and you can finally have a more individually styled computer (like this example).

Check it out here for more info

albums ebooks movies

http://albumz-ebookz-moviez.blogspot.com/

Winamp Tips: Getting the most from Winamp.

Winamp is a very popular music player for windows. Chances are you’ve heard of it by now if you’re into using your computer to listen to music, so i’ll save the big introduction. I’m gonna share some (hopefully) useful tips from my experience of using it as my main music player.

Skins:
I’ve downloaded a lot of skins in the past in my neverending quest for the perfect skin.The novelty value soon wears off after a few minutes of use with most of these. So in the end i decided to settle on the default “modern” skin. I didn’t like the default color of it, but i found you can easily change this in options. This way you’re sure to have the most compatible skin (since it’s the default one as standard) but in a color more suited to your taste or desktop. If you’re on a slower computer, i recommend you stick with the “classic” skin as it uses a lot less resources.

Control:
If you use Firefox as your main browser, I recommend an extension called “Foxytunes”. It adds a handy, customizable control panel onto firefox so u can, stop, forward, skip etc your music easily and fast without having to minimise and maximise windows everytime.

Lyrics:
Anyone interested in lyrics should check out my review of the excellent Evillyrics plug in for winamp.

Ripping and burning:
Making mp3s from cd, or making a cd from mp3s, can easily be done from winamp without the need for a separate program. Open the media library and click “rip and burn” to get started.

Internet radio:
Also in the media library is a list of many internet radio stations,listed by genre. Of course theres hundreds more available if you google for them.

Eye candy:
There is a lot of visualisations available on the winamp site. When i tried some of these out, they weren’t that great compared to the ones that come with winamp.
I think winamp picked what has to be two of the very best, “milkdrop” and “nullsoft visualisation studio”. These come with it as standard and can be found in the visualisation options menu. So if you’re someone who’s idea of a good time is having swirly colors and patterns form right before your eyes, check it out (…or you could just go talk to that friend of the friend who knows a guy with the right connections…)

I’ve purposely left out mention of its ability to play video and that it has “TV stations” much like the radio stations, i haven’t really explored this side of it, i think with the popularity of sites such as youtube, theres not really a need for such a feature. I don’t use it for viewing video files,and see it as a little unneccessary bloat to an otherwise great program. As you can see, theres more to winamp than just something that plays songs.

It works great as an all in one solution for all your music listening,lyrics reading,visualisation watching, cd ripping and burning, needs!
I recommend Winamp if you prefer something different from Windows Media Player and a lot more customizable!

More info and a free download at http://www.winamp.com

Acronis True Image: Clone an original copy!

Acronis True Image is the ideal solution for making an entire exact copy of the contents of your hard disk. This means an exact clone including the operating system, applications, user settings, and all data. This is extremely useful if you’ve just bought a new computer or drive and want to move everything from your old computer or drive to the new one.

It does exactly what it claims to, all it takes is a few hours, depending on size of course, size doesn’t matter with Acronis True Image either!

It’ll work no matter how big your hard disk is, but obviously time taken to clone is relative to size, although it worked pretty fast cloning a 20 GB drive the time i used it. It can even work in the background. The best thing is that even though you wont need to clone an entire drive for upgrade purposes often, it works good as a ‘normal’ backup program too.

Tip: Check the site for updates first before using to avoid any potential problems.

You can get a 15 day trial and more info by going here

LogonStudio: Banish the Blues!

Another free little program from the same people who bought you bootskin. This is a similiar thing, working in much the same way, but allows your to change your windows log-on screen. You can actually create and edit your own screen if you are feeling creative. If not, don’t worry! If you don’t feel up to the challenge of making your own there’s a lot of bootscreens available here .

Both bootskin and this program work great together for anyone who wants to add a more personalized touch to their computer, and who realises there is life past default blue color schemes and windows logos. : )

There’s one important thing to bare in mind though. If you have a widescreen monitor, i found some of these won’t show up properly, its really a case of trial and error or make your own. But if they don’t show up right, simply delete them from inside the settings, no harm done!

Go here to download it free!

Stay tuned for more customisation tips, i’m big into customising my computer to make it original and cool and as far away from the boring defaults as possible, so i love programs such as these, if you know of any that may interest me, feel free to let me know! Share the knowledge!

Stickythis: Keeping it simple!

If you every have to give a webpage address to someone, its pretty easy to just copy and paste it, right? What if you had to write it down and it was long and complicated or worse, had to give it over the phone?

Now imagine if it was this one: ‘http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=white+house&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=26.991659,68.994141&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=38.89763,-77.033515&spn=0.012909,0.033689′ …

Well, good luck!

Or how about you could just change that into this? http://stickythis.com/thewhitehouse

That’s where Stickythis comes in. It changes any URL into ‘http://stickythis.com (whatever you want it to be)’

You can go check it out here and add it to your collection of useful bookmarks!

Avast Home Edition: Free Antivirus with style

If you’re looking for a decent free antivirus program with a nice looking user interface, you could do a lot worse than to check out Avast antivirus. As well as the regular on-demand and on-access scanner, it protects most email clients and p2p programs against viruses, also has a web shield and network shield and it’s also skinnable!

This is my free standalone antivirus program of choice, as it’s easy to use, looks good, has regular updates, and has a very good reputation when it comes to catching and eliminating viruses. It regularly recieves 100% in the “virus bulletin” test, a very good sign it protects good , see https://www.virusbtn.com for more info. (Requires free sign up).

On a side note its worth checking out this site to get the latest ratings of how good various antivirus software is at doing their job, they throw a ton of “in the wild” viruses (virii?) at them and see how they deal with it. (This program has scored 100% every month in the last 2 years). After all what good are its looks and features if it ignores all the nasty stuff!

Speaking of which, its also got very good eye and ear candy, because as well as a nicely designed and skinnable interface, it announces with a voice when virus database has been updated or when it detects a virus! So if you like that kinda thing (and what computer geek doesn’t! oh come on, admit it!) it’s well worth checking out as it does its job great and with style!

More info and the free download here http://www.avast.com/.