Make Tech Easier » Windows

Mobile Media Converter: A Cross-platform No-Brainer Media Converter

Damien — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:39:29 +0000

Fancy a media converter that works in all Operating Systems and supports most of the widely used multimedia format? Look no further, Mobile Media Converter could just be the one for you.

The Mobile Media Converter (MMC) is a free video and audio converter for converting between popular desktop media formats like MP3, Windows Media Audio (wma), Ogg Vorbis Audio (ogg), Wave Audio (wav), MPEG video, AVI, Windows Media Video (wmv), Flash Video (flv), QuickTime Video (mov) and commonly used mobile devices/phones formats like AMR audio (amr) and 3GP video. iPod/iPhone and PSP compatible MP4 video are also supported.

Simple UI, great functionality

One thing that I like about MMC is that it is simple in design and does not contain any extra stuffs to misled its users. Regardless you are using Windows, Linux or Mac, you will get the same interface throughout. There is a +/- button for you to add/remove file(s), a button to select the output destination, a dropdown bar to select the output format and a Convert button to start the conversion. That’s it.

Its simple design is by no mean an indication of a lack of functionality. On the contrast, it is packed with plenty of features that you will find it useful.

Supports a variety of media formats

Be it video or audio formats, MMC has covered it all. It is able to convert between the commonly used formats, such as OGG, MP3, WMA, WMV, MP4 WAV, AVI etc. Unless you are using a device that required a special codec, MMC should have you covered.

Batch conversion

MMC supports batch conversion of videos/audios. Simply add a bunch of videos/songs to the application and it will batch convert them and save them all in the same folder.

Advance setting

Most of the time, you won’t have need for this, but if you are keen to change the output bitrate, codec, channel, size etc, then this is the place to go to.

Youtube downloader

We have previously covered several Youtube downloader desktop apps. Here’s another one to add to your collection.

The best part about this is that after downloading the Youtube video, you can convert it to the format that you want, or just to extract the mp3 track in the video. This is great if you just want to get the music out of the video.

Trim/crop

If you think that is all, then you are wrong. MMC also allows you to trim/crop your video before converting. One thing though, this functionality is hidden on its interface and you have to perform extra steps to edit the video.

On the Video entry, right click your mouse. You should now see the options to Trim/Crop. The Trim function is for you to determine the start and end length of the converted video while the Crop feature allows you to change the aspect ratio of the video.

Suggestions for Improvement

One thing that I found lacking is the ability to stop the operation once the conversion start. While testing this out, I accidentally clicked the Convert button and the conversion starts without showing a prompt. Neither does it provide a Cancel button for me to stop the operation. I have two choices: wait for 30 minutes for the conversion to complete or to kill the application completely. I choose the latter. It will be great if it stop the operation in mid-way.

Another thing that is lacking is the support for subtitle files. For converting movie to iPhone format, until it supports adding of subtitle files to the video, I will still stick with my XviD4PSP . Other than that, this is one of the best media converter that I have come across so far.

What do you think?

Image credit: Houkwing

Mobile Media Converter

Mobile Media Converter: A Cross-platform No-Brainer Media Converter originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

One More Way to Install Windows 7/Vista/Server 2008 From a USB drive

Soumen Halder — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:35:31 +0000

There are plenty of ways that you can install Windows 7 from USB drive. We have covered two, and here is another one for you.

The following free tool is created by one of the AskVG.com readers created exclusively for the sake of the site. This free tool is coined as A Bootable USB (ABUSB) and it allows you to easily create a bootable USB drive for the purpose of Windows 7 or Vista or Server 2008 installation.

Now let us proceed to the steps to create a bootable USB Drive with Windows 7 or Vista or Server 2008 installation files on it.

Requirements to use this tool :

A USB Drive or simply a pendrive with at least 4GB in free space.
A Windows 7 or Vista or Server 2008 (whichever you are trying to install) bootable DVD Disc or ISO Image.
A PC that has Windows 7 or Vista or Server 2008 already installed. You can borrow one from your friends or use the other one (if you own another) that has a DVD drive. This app is designed to work on these platforms only.

NOTE : Though this utility lets you create a bootable USB, your PC must be able to support booting from USB for this to work. You can check the BIOS settings and set the USB drive to select primary boot device as USB Drive.

Now after making sure you have fulfilled all the three necessities mentioned above start with the steps below

Steps to create a Bootable USB Drive :

1. Download A Bootable USB from the following link onto the PC mentioned in the 3rd step in the requirements section.

Download Bootable USB Drive Creator from Skydrive.

2. Load the OS DVD onto the DVD Drive or mount the ISO Image file onto a virtual drive of the same PC.

3. Its a portable utility and hence don’t need installation. Simply run it. Check the option “I have read and accepted the following License Agreement“. Now click on OK button to launch the main application. The app looks somewhat like below.

4. The app will then carry out the following 4 steps:

Check USB drive (To check whether your USB drive is attached or not)
Format USB drive
Choose DVD or ISO image (To copy the required files to USB drive)
Start the process to create bootable USB drive

By now I’m sure you have figured out that this great tool will now end all worries for those really looking forward to experience Windows 7 but unable to do so due to the lack of a DVD drive. Hope this small trick solve your problem. Fee free to ask questions.

One More Way to Install Windows 7/Vista/Server 2008 From a USB drive originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Create a Virtual Machine of Your Existing Windows Operating System

Soumen Halder — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:35:57 +0000

A virtual machine is a software, that lets you create and run a separate operating system in your existing computer system. You can boot the virtual machine from the parent operating system and run just like another software application.

For example: If you are using Windows xp, you can install popular virtualization software like Windows virtual PC, Vmware workstation to create a virtual machine within your current operating system. Now in that virtual machine, you can install any operating system e.g Windows xp, vista. You can run these operating systems in a new explorer window within Windows xp.

The problem with virtual machines is that you have to install an operating system from scratch. This includes loading the operating system from cd or dvd, installing all the drivers and system software etc. This can be very time consuming and is not a quick job.

How to Convert your Existing Operating System into a Virtual Machine

Microsoft has a free application named Disk2vhd, which can create a virtual machine of your existing operating system. The utility is a portable application and does not require any installation. You can run the virtual machine on any computer you want.

Following are the steps involved to create the virtual machine of your existing Windows operating system:

1. Download the Zip file (751 Kb) and extract it. After that, just run the Disktovhd. exe.

2. The application will show you the available drives in your computer.

3. Select the drive which you want to migrate as a virtual machine. In this case, i would want to create a virtual machine for my Vista installation, hence i have selected the D drive.

4. Specify the path where you want to save the virtual hard drive (vhd) file. The file would be of large size and almost equal to the size of the operating system drive.

5. Hit the Create button. It would take some time to create the vhd file (mine took 25 minutes).

The software will clone a virtual hard disk of the drive selected and save it in specified location. After the vhd file has been created, you can use any virtualization software to mount the virtual hard disk and run the operating system as a virtual machine.

For example: I mounted the virtual hard disk on Microsoft Virtual PC and ran Windows Vista as a virtual machine under Windows xp. The software can convert the chosen hard drive into a vhd file, even if it is under use.

How can the Virtual machine be useful

Using a virtual machine has many advantages, especially when you are tech savy. Consider you are working in Windows xp and need to test a small Windows application compatible with Windows vista only. In that case you have to boot your system and start Windows vista again. A virtual hard disk of vista will come in handy here as you can start testing the vista compatible application by starting a virtual machine in xp.

Another situation where virtual machine can be a real time saver is when you are using multiple computers. Suppose you want to work in your friends computer with all your installed software and applications. In that case, just create a virtual hard drive of your operating system and carry the vhd file in a usb stick. When you are using the friend’s computer, just mount the virtual hard disk and use all your installed software.

Disktovhd can be used to create virtual hard drives of Windows xp, Windows vista, Windows server 2003. If you are using Ubuntu, check out how to create an Ubuntu virtual machine.

How to Create a Virtual Machine of Your Existing Windows Operating System originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Become A Technical Guru With Problem Steps Recorder

Damien — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:19:42 +0000

How many times have you tried to teach your mum or old granny a simple task on the PC, but you never seem to be able to get the message across?

Firefox? What is that? Browser? Browse what? …

In MakeTechEasier, we understand how you feel, because we have been teaching people to do simple stuffs on their computers day in and out and we know how frustrating it can be. Apparently, what appears simple to us is actually an arduous task for many.

In Windows 7, there is this small and simple application that could make your life much easier. Problem Steps Recorder is an useful tool that allows you to record down your steps to troubleshoot the issue. It is almost like a screencast application, except that it saves in the MHTML format.

Using Problem Steps Recorder

In your Windows 7, click on the Windows Orb (also known as the Start menu) and type in psr in the search field.

Select and run the psr.exe application.

Click on the Start Record button

Do the required action.

At any point of time, you can Add Comment button to add comments to your recording.

Once you are done, click Stop Record. You can also click Pause Record to stop recording temporary.

PSR will then prompt you to save the recording. The saved file is in zip format. When you unzip it, you will get a MHTML file where you can double click to open it in browser.

Viewing the recording

In the file, you will see the actual steps (with screenshot) recorded by the psr. For example, I recorded the way to uninstall an application in Windows 7. The following screenshots are the result generated from PSR.

1st step: Click on the Start button.

2nd step: Click on the Control Panel

3rd step: Click uninstall program

5th step: Uninstall the application

As can be seen, every single step that I did was recorded.

Uses of PSR

Here are some ways that you can make use of the Problem Steps Recorder:

be a technical guru and provide visual technical support, especially for your old granny.
If you are facing a problem in Windows and are seeking support, you can use PSR to record down the problem and email to the support officer. It enables them to has a better understanding of what went wrong.
Documentation: You may have discovered a hack to solve something and you want to record it down and store it somewhere so that you can refer to it in the future.

Have you tried PSR? What do you mainly use it for?

Note: Problem Steps Recorder is only available in Windows 7.

Become A Technical Guru With Problem Steps Recorder originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Amaya: A Simple, Yet Useful Alternative to Dreamweaver

Shevonne — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:10 +0000

While on a project, where money was scarce, we were scrambling around looking for a free or open source HTML editor that can provide us the same functionality as Adobe Dreamweaver. During my analysis of the different HTML editor out there, I came across Amaya. What intrigued me about it was that it was created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). As someone who loves Dreamweaver, I thought that I would never find something comparable to it that was free (open source), but I was wrong.

Amaya is an open-source HTML editor created by the W3C. If you don’t already know, W3C is an international community that develops Web standards. It was founded by Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited as inventing the World Wide Web. In 1998, Amaya was invented. Since then, there have been various releases that have given more functionality to Amaya.

Amaya is the most user-friendly HTML editor that I have come across. One of its features that is very similar to Dreamweaver is that you are able to split the screen to view the visual editor and the HTML code. In this way, you are able to code while seeing the changes, or you can do the other way around. It’s a great way to learn HTML, if you don’t know already. On the sidebar, you are able to easily modify the HTML, like in Adobe Dreamweaver. Different profiles can change the way they see the sidebar displayed.

Another great feature is the CSS functionality. With the press of a button, you are able to create a CSS stylesheet. You do not have to know CSS in order to create one, which is great for people trying to learn CSS and/or if you are trying to design a stylesheet quickly. This is a great way to have your site’s formatting and style be in a different file than the HTML code. It provides a way to add flexibilty to your web site/blog. It also has a debugger to check your code for errors.

One good thing about Amaya is that it allows five different user editing profiles, so if someone wants to change the behavior of the Amaya tool, he/she can have his/her own profile that is different from someone else. In addition, Amaya runs on Linux, Mac, and/or PC, so regardless which OS you are using, you will be able to use Amaya for your coding project.

What’s can be improved on?

Amaya is a quick and neat HTMl editor. I couldn’t find any issues, except that it needs to keep up with the new technologies. For instance, it isn’t made to build smartphones apps, which I saw in other free HTML editors. It also doesn’t support Ajax, which is being used more and more.

When it comes to features, Amaya is definitely not on par with Dreamweaver, but if you are looking for a free, simple, and useful HTML editor, then Amaya is a good candidate.

Have you use Amaya before? Tell us what you like/dislike about it.

Amaya: A Simple, Yet Useful Alternative to Dreamweaver originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

VistaUACMaker Makes Your XP Apps Compatible With Windows Vista & 7

Soumen Halder — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:20:17 +0000

Windows Vista and 7 come with User Account Control (UAC) that controls the permissions the users have for running each application. Due to this restriction, many program in Win XP that require administrators privilege will not be able to run smoothly in Vista or Win 7. In such cases, you can use the VistaUACMaker to change the permission in the application and make it compatible with Vista and Windows 7.

To achieve the goal that we have in mind, we need to alter the Manifest File of the app which contains the useful information that provides the privileges needed by the app concerned & its UI Interaction of the app.

Those are the three types of privileges that can be stored in the Manifest File.

requireAdministrator – Run the app as administrator.
asInvoker – Run with same privilege as that of the parent process.
highestAvailable – Run with highest possible privilege available to user.

Ok that is enough with the geeky talk, let us proceed to the HOW TO section which tells us how to perform the task.

1. Download Vista UAC Maker.

2. Run the Utility. Now using the Select… button browse & locate the app or program executable file.

3. Add some words in the Project Description field for future reference.

4. In the Required Privilege Level drop-down list select the privilege. The default is [requireAdministrator], but you can change it to whichever is suitable for the application.

5. In the last step where you are asked “Does your application interacts with high privilege windows on desktop?”, check the Yes box only if your app interacts with high privilege apps on UI level in Vista else leave it as No.

That’s it.

Now the configured app is compatible with Windows Vista as well as Windows 7 too. This works great in cases where you need to use a particular app meant for XP to be sound & working in Vista & Windows 7. Hope that helps. Share your experiences by putting in your valuable comments.

VistaUACMaker Makes Your XP Apps Compatible With Windows Vista & 7 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

TonidoPlug: Your Personal Cloud Server in a Plug

Damien — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:47:39 +0000

Putting all your stuffs and confidential data on the cloud may seems like a good idea as it allows you to access to them anytime, anywhere. However, it can become a totally bad decision when the security of the cloud server is compromised or the third party providers wind up their services and all your data gone down with them. When such things happen, you might wonder why you have not heard of Tonido earlier.

Tonido is a free software that turns your desktop into a personal server and allows you to access and share your files, media, calendar and apps from everywhere. Be it Windows, Mac or Linux, you simply install the software and have your own personal cloud server up and running in no time. Forget all the complicated stuffs you have heard about creating your own server. There are no technical skills required to set up and run Tonido. The best thing is – all the data resides in your own computer and there is no need to worry about security or even data loss (unless your own computer crashes).

Introducing TonidoPlug

On the other hand, if all your important data resides on your external backup drive and you wish to have your own cloud server running at all times without having to turn on your computer everytime, then TonidoPlug is the one for you.

TonidoPlug is the hardware version of Tonido. It is a tiny, low power, low cost home server and NAS device powered by Tonido software. It comes with its own RAM and CPU (and preinstalled with Ubuntu). All you need to do is to plug it into the power socket and there you are, a server ready at your beckoning. It integrates nicely with all the features found in the Tonido software and allows you to access your files, music, pictures from anywhere.

Setting up TonidoPlug

Once you have connected up the respective cables (there are only 3 cables that you need to connect: the power cable, LAN cable and the USB cable), power it up. On any computer that are linked to the home network, go to the URL: http://tonidoplug.com/ip. This will detect your Tonido Plug. In some cases where it doesn’t detect, you can enter the MAC address (at the back of the plug) to get it identified by the network.

Once the plug is detected, you will have to create a new profile for the Tonido. Those who already have an existing profile can use this method to import them into the Plug.

In the dashboard, you will find the exact same interface as the Tonido. The software available in TonidoPlug is as follow:

Many of these apps should be familiar to already Tonido users, (Jukebox, Photos, Search, Thots, Workspace). The newer apps are WebsharePro, Torrent, Explorer and Plug Admin.

Here’s a quick summary of these applications.

WebsharePro: All the power of Tonido Webshare, plus the ability to upload, setting upload quotas for users, zip downloads, viewing currently downloading lists, change thumbnail and photo slide show image size
Torrent: Download Torrent files to your plug and control torrents via your web browser from anywhere
Explorer: Web based File manager and browser that allows common file operations like rename, delete, copy files and folders and even uploads
Plug Admin: Manage your TonidoPlug hardware, recover Tonido Profile passwords, Manage attached USB drives, Share USB drives over the network for access, Monitor CPU loads etc

If you are not in your own home networks, you can also connect to your TonidoPlug via the public URL: http://yourprofilename.tonido.com:10001.

In addition, TonidoPlug is also a DLNA device, which means you are able to connect to your PS3, Xbox, or even XBMC software and stream music over the cloud.

The Tonido software is free to download and use, but the TonidoPlug comes at a price of $99.

Considering that most Web servers with the same hardware spec as the TonidoPlug can easily cost you up to $40-50 per month, at a mere price of $99, TonidoPlug is really a great bargain; not to mention the unlimited amount of storage device you can attach to it and the security issue that you never have to worry about. This is really a no-brainer deal.

Note 1: Thanks to Venkat for sending in a test unit for review and providing a prompt support for all my doubts.
Note 2: MakeTechEasier is not affiliated in any way to CodeLathe, the company behind TonidoPlug, nor do we benefit from any sale of TonidoPlug generated from this article.

TonidoPlug: Your Personal Cloud Server in a Plug originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

The Top Three RSS Readers for PC Users

Shevonne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:42:23 +0000

In previous weeks, we have discussed the best RSS Readers for the Web and the Mac. This time we will be talking about the desktop-based RSS Readers for the PC.

1. FeedDemon

FeedDemon is an application, made for the PC, created by the people behind NewsGator. It has numerous functionalities that will help enhance your RSS feed management. It has the basic layout: All Subscriptions, Unread Items, Starred Items, Shared Items, and tags.

During the installation, users are able to sync the FeedDemon with their Google Reader, if they choose to.

They are also able to decide if they want to allow FeedDemon to add default feeds, which is useful if you do not have any subscriptions. Another useful option is the ability to import subscriptions from Bloglines, OPML file, RSS Bandit, or a Windows Common Feed List.

There is also a featured called “Watch,” where you are able to add keywords. Whenever one of your feeds has one of those keywords, the folder is smart enough that it contains it. If you want to remove posts, you are able to do so using the Cleanup Wizard. It allows you to remove them by date, number of items, and folder.

Other useful features are desktop alerts that are customizable by time and feed; ability to share with other people specific items; and the fluidity with Internet Explorer. If you want to choose another browser, you can always open links outside of FeedDemon.

It’s definitely a great RSS Reader with tons of functionality, which is especially useful if you have tons of RSS feeds, like I do.

2. Feedreader

Feedreader is a simple RSS Reader that does not have the number of features that FeedDemon, but it does what it sets out to do. The layout is very similar to FeedDemon, which has your subscriptions, unread items, and starred items.

If you want to import your Google Reader (or from another service) items, you can do it by uploading the OPML file and picking the feeds to import in. Feedreader allows you to add default feeds to get you started.

There is this useful feature call “Rating” that you can turn it on. When it is on, Feedreader will monitor your behavior and suggest items that you might find interesting. If you do not want a keyword to be used to make these suggestions, you are able to blacklist it, so that the application doesn’t take it into account.

It also has desktop alerts that summarizes the unread items for each feed.

This is definitely an useful RSS Reader if you are just looking for simplicity.

3. Snarfer

Snarfer is a robust RSS Reader that really uses Google apps. the layout is just like the other two RSS Readers.

It is very similar to the other two that it allows Snarfer to import default RSS feeds to start off users that need the assistance. After you select the feeds you want, you are able to place them in preexisting folders or folders you have already created (or imported).

If you don’t want to put your feed into one of the folders listed, the application should give you the option to create a folder. Users are able to add two plugins: Google Reader Synchronization plugin and Google Reader plugin. These allows you to import and sync your feeds you are maintaining in Google Reader, and the ability to share interesting items with others. Snarfer even has a Google translate function, so you are able to translate feeds from one language to the next.

Snarfer also allows you to do three types of searches: ebay, keyword, or web. If you want to monitor items that you bid on Ebay, you are able to do this using Snarfer.

Like FeedDemon, you are able to watch certain keywords, and whenever it comes in, Snarfer automatically adds them to a “Watch” folder. You are also able to search by web sites. It really takes searching to another level. Snarfer is the most visually-pleasing RSS Reader of the bunch. Additionally, it has great plugins that enhance the reader even more. However, needing to add plugin, whereas with others, it is already built-in the app, is an extra step that isn’t needed. It also doesn’t have desktop alerts, which can be useful. Overall, it’s a nice RSS Reader application.

Which RSS reader do you use on your PC?

Image credit: dwingdwang01

The Top Three RSS Readers for PC Users originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Easily Create DVD Videos With WinX DVD Author (Free Download)

Damien — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:10:31 +0000

[Windows only] As part of the WinX DVD range of product, Winx DVD Author is a cool tool that allows you to author and create your own DVD easily. For those who are looking for a professional, yet easy to use DVD authoring software, WinX DVD Author could be the one for you.

At MakeTechEasier, we don’t usually review paid software as we are great believers of free and open source software. However, the WinX DVD team decided to give away a free 1 year license (scroll down for the download link), which makes it compelling for us to give this DVD authoring software a second look. And yes, we are not disappointed. Read on for the full review.

One good feature about WinX DVD Author is that it supports a wide variety of video formats such as AVI, ASF, MPEG, MKV, MP4, MOV, RM, RMVB, XIVD, DVIX, H264, OGG, QT (quick time), FLV, etc. Being an authoring tool, you are also able to add subtitle files, create DVD menu, clip video segment and many other useful features.

On the main screen, you can find the various options to manipulate your video files.

You can either:

Choose the DVD Author option and run through the wizard to create a DVD from your video file.
Convert the Video to Vob format and store it for later use
Convert existing Vob to DVD
and finally, burn the file to DVD.

Note that the first option DVD Author is just the combination of point 2, 3 and 4 in few clicks.

Authoring DVD

At the DVD Author page, you can see a variety of options to edit your video files.

Click on the +/- button to add/remove video files.

Change the start/end timeframe of the video.

Click on the subtitle button beside the track to add subtitle files.

Change the output resolution and check if you want to include DVD menu. There is also a one-click button for you to change between DVD-5 and DVD-9 format.

DVD title & chapter menu editing

Authoring the DVD Title & chapter menu is quite cool. Select background pictures, music and add texts that you may need to customize your DVD menu.

Burning DVD

Burning your edited video file to DVD is as simple as choosing the DVD-writer as the Device name and click on the Start button.

Suggestions for improvement:

Add text/tooltips to button

Most of the buttons found in the UI are graphical and does not come with any text description. The developers might feel that the graphic icons are self-explanatory, but I have completely no idea about the functionality of each button until I clicked on it.

Specifying supported video formats

It will be great if the developers can specify the individual supported file formats rather than just listing a Supported Formatted Files in the selection dropdown.

Add support for SWF

Not sure if this is too much to ask for, but it will be great if it can support SWF file.

Ability to create ISO images

ISO format? No?

Download link

As I mentioned above, this software costs $29.95, but is free to download until 31st Oct 2009. You can grab it at this link. This is the fully functional and licensed version, not the trial copy, so grab it while it is available.

The WinX DVD Author works in Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Thanks to Viola for sharing with us this promotion.

Download WinX DVD Author

Easily Create DVD Videos With WinX DVD Author (Free Download) originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How Not to Place a Deleted File in the Recycle Bin

Soumen Halder — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:02:22 +0000

Whenever we need to delete a file/folder in Windows Explorer, it does not delete the file/folder totally. Instead it places a copy of the file/folder in the Recycle Bin. And again we have to go to the Recycle Bin, locate the file & then delete it again to remove it completely. But let me show you how to tweak the settings of Windows which will completely delete a file/folder whenever we delete a file using the Windows Explorer.

Trick 1 :

Follow the steps below to tweak your Windows XP :

1. Go to START -> RUN, Or simply press Windows key + R.

2. Type in “cmd” in the RUN window.

3. In the Command Prompt type “gpedit.msc” & hit enter.

4. Now the Group Policy window will open.

5. In the left pane, select the Administrative Templates under User Configuration.

6. Now in the right pane, double-click the Windows Components & then Windows Explorer.

7. Now in the list of content that opens find & right-click on “Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin”.

8. Now select Properties. And in the resulting check the “Enabled” radio button and click Apply. In the Explain tab you can read what Microsoft says about this tweak.

Now you have your windows tweaked not to send a copy of the deleted file/folder to the Recycle Bin instead delete it completely.

Trick 2 :

This trick works fine for both XP & Vista as well

In case we want to delete a file directly bypassing the Recycle Bin we can use Shift+Delete. but this can also be done pressing Delete button only. Follow the steps to get your job done.

1. Right-click the Recycle bin icon on Desktop.

2. Click the Properties.

3. In the resulting window, change the settings as shown in the screenshot.

4. Now every time we try to delete a file to the recycle bin or totally, we get a confirmation message. This message can also be bypassed by changing the settings as shown in the screenshot above.

You may need to reboot the computer to set the changes. And sorry to say sometimes like all other tricks it may not work for you at all. But do not doubt the tweak, as you can check what Microsoft says about this (step 8 for trick 1). Well that’s all for now.

How Not to Place a Deleted File in the Recycle Bin originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Organize Windows Folders and Applications in Multiple Tabs

Soumen Halder — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:00:55 +0000

Imagine a situation when you have a lot of applications and windows open and you have to constantly switch different windows. This takes away the focus from your work and kills your precious time. What if we could arrange all the windows folders and running applications in tabs just as we open multiple websites in Firefox?

Earlier we have used QTtabbar, which lets you import tabbed features to your windows explorer but WinTabber is even more useful. It is a free desktop tool for windows that lets you organize open windows and running applications in tabs. All the open folders can be grouped together which keeps your desktop clean and uncluttered. Another advantage of using tabbed applications is that you get a lot of space in the taskbar and the running applications do not get huddled together. (also see : useful Firefox extensions for better tab management)

Earlier my desktop used to contain a lot of open applications and took me quite a lot of time to figure out a particular program or window. Here is how my desktop looked

After using WinTabber the same desktop looks quite different.

As you can see, all the running programs and open folders are neatly organized in multiple tabs under one common explorer window. You can open almost any program in a new tab. This may include your browser,Microsoft word,command prompt or even a video playing in your favorite media player.

How does WinTabber work ?

Nothing that geeky. Following are the steps involved to use WinTabber :

1. Start the application and open a new tab or a new window.

2. WinTabber will ask you which applications and folders you want to dock. Select the desired applications which you want to group together.

3. The selected applications will open in a new tab inside the WinTabber window. You can drag and rearrange the tabs and change the position just as you do with Firefox tabs.

4. You can run multiple instances of WinTabber simultaneously. So if you are working on different browsers then open a new WinTabber window and dock all the browsers together. Similarly you can group all the open folders in another WinTabber window and so on.

5. Ctrl + tab moves to the next tab while Shift +tab takes you to the previous tab.

6. You can release a particular window or you can release all of them with a single click. If you want to close all the applications just hit “Remove and close all”.

7. If you have a large number of tabs open,you can compress the appearance of tabs just as it appears in Google chrome. Go to View–>Tab layout—>Compressed and it’s done.

8. There are quite a handful of themes to choose from so that you can give the tabbed environment your own feel. Personally, I like the Office 2007 theme.

There are two editions of WinTabber available for use. One is Free while the other one requires a one time registration fee of $5. The registered version allows you to open an unlimited number of tabs while the free edition limits you to a maximum of 4 tabs. Here is a quick rundown of all the features of WinTabber.

Other Tabbed applications for Windows

1. Window tabs: This app is quite similar to WinTabber. It lets you group similar windows and programs into a tabbed interface. Comes with a licensed version as well a free one.

2. Xplorer2 : Instead of organizing the open folders in tabs, Xplorer2 adds multiple panes in your windows explorer so that you can work on different folders at the same time.

Do you use any of the apps that we have discussed here? Do share your thoughts and ideas so that we get to know what makes you productive.

How To Organize Windows Folders and Applications in Multiple Tabs originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

10 Social Media Plugins for Windows Live Writer

Shevonne — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:43 +0000

Windows Live Writer is the best desktop-based blog editor for PC users. It allows you to manage different blogs and has rich functionality that makes it easy to create blog posts. Additionally, it provides a way for you to add social media features into your actual blog post, or notify services when you are publishing them. Here are ten plugins that will help your blog be social-media ready:

1. Twitter Notify Plugin

The Twitter Notify Plugin provides a way for you to tweet your blog post to your followers when publishing using your Twitter account. You are able to customize the format of the tweet in the Options area, or when you press the Publish button. In addition, there is a built-in URL shortener in the plugin. If you are a Twitter user, then this is a must-have plugin for your Windows Live Writer.

2. Delicious Notify Plugin

The Delicious Notify Plugin allows you to notify Delicious whenever you publish a blog post. In the Options, you are able to enter your Delicious userid and password, and check if you want to automatically publish your blog posts to the service.

3. TweetMeme Plugin

The TweetMeme Plugin lets you add the TweetMeme button into your blog posts. The Options allows you to add your Twitter name, use an URL shortener, and position the button on the top or bottom. When you publish your blog post, the TweetMeme button will appear. This allows your readers to tweet your blog post, so definitely a plugin to add.

4. DiggThis Plugin

The DiggThis Plugin adds the Digg button to your blog posts, so your readers are able to Digg it, if they want. In the Options, you are allowed to decide on four different types of button styles: badge, compact, button, or the little guy. You are also able to choose the alignment to be either to the right or left. Digg users will love this plugin.

5. WLW Bit.ly Plugin

The WLW Bit.ly Plugin lets you shorten all of the URLs in your blog post using the Bit.ly URL shortener. If you have a Bit.ly user account, you can enter it in the Options area. This allows you to use the Bit.ly statistics to view information like how many people clicked on a certain link.

6. Twitter Inserter Plugin

The Twitter Inserter Plugin provides a way for you to add your tweets into your blog post. You are able to select the number of tweets in the Options area. It’s great to use once in awhile. However, if you use too much, you might alienate your readers.

7. Flickr4Writer Plugin

The Flickr4Writer Plugin lets you add Flickr images from your albums or any image that is allowed to be blogged. You are able to select the image size, spacing, positioning, and alignment. It’s a way to add images to your blog without stealing images. One of my favorite ones, and I use it often. Definitely a must.

8. Zemanta related articles & images Plugin

The Zemanta related articles & images Plugin provides a way for you enter add links, related articles, and images to your blog posts. It is on the side of the Windows Live Writer window, so it provides easy access in allowing you to save time in finding items for your blog posts. Another one of my favorites. It helps you save time and enriches your blog posts.

9. Amazon Book Linker v1.3 Plugin

The Amazon Book Linker v1.3 Plugin lets you add book information to your blog posts. You are able to modify the image size and the template, which is how your readers will view the Amazon item. If you have an Amazon Associates ID, you are able to add that as well, so you can make profit on the books you add. Great for people who reviews books or want to share a great book with their readers.

10. xPollinate – Cross Post Plugin

The xPollinate – Cross Post Plugin allows you to cross-post a blog post, or a snippet, to your other blogs and post to Ping.fm when you are publishing. Ping.fm allows you to post to different social-media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., so you are able to notify your followers of your blog post by using this plugin. I am starting to use this plugin more often now. Ping.fm is one of the social media tools that I use often, so this saves me plenty of time.

Which social media plugins do you use for your Windows Live Writer?

10 Social Media Plugins for Windows Live Writer originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Boot And Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive (Updated)

Damien — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:39:08 +0000

Previously, I have discussed the way to create a Windows 7 USB installer drive using the command prompt. Even though I have make it easy to follow, there are still some of you having some difficulty in the process. Recently, I have come across this little cool portable application that is able to do all the things covered in the previous tutorial in a breeze and without the command prompt.

The application that I am talking about is WinToFlash. This is a small application (only 2.1MB) that allows you to convert your Windows installer CD/DVD to a bootable USB drive. Not only is it easy to use (nearly idiot-proof and does not require you to have any technical knowledge), it is also fully portable – No installation is required and you can bring it wherever you are.

Preparation

Before you start, here are some stuffs that you need to take note of:

1) You need to have a USB drive of at least 3GB space in order to create a Windows 7 bootable USB drive.

2) The process will format and wipe off all your files in the USB drive. Remember to backup before you proceed.

3) You need to have a Windows 7 installer DVD and an optical drive to read the DVD. If you have only the ISO file (downloaded directly from Microsoft), you can use Virtual Clone Drive to mount the ISO in your computer.

Installation

Download WinToFlash

Put in your Windows 7 installer DVD and plug in your USB drive.

Unzip the folder to your desktop and run the WinToFlash.exe file

Some of you might see the “WinToFlash DLP_NotFound” error message. You can safely ignore this error message.

On the main screen, click on the Window Setup Transfer Wizard. This will bring you to the wizard mode where it automates (almost) the whole process for you.

On the next screen, there is an option for you to go into the Advanced mode and tweak some of the settings. You can ignore that (if you are not into tweaking) and click Next to proceed.

Point the Windows file path to the Windows Installer DVD directory.

Point the USB drive to the USB directory.

Click Next.

Accept the agreement.

Preparing your USB drive. Make sure you have backup all the important files before you proceed. This will erase all your data.

Transferring in progress. This might take a while. Go for your coffee break.

Once you see the following message, the whole process is done. You can now boot Windows 7 from the USB drive.

Some computers require you to change the bootup setting in the BIOS before you can boot from USB. Look into your motherboard/computer manual for more instruction.

How To Boot And Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive (Updated) originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Display Hidden Files and Folders In Windows

tehseen — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:37:06 +0000

There are a number of reasons why certain files or folders may be hidden in Windows. Firstly, some system files and folders are hidden by default so users don’t accidentally delete them or change them. This setting comes in from Microsoft. Secondly, you or other users of your computer might have hidden some files and folders to protect their confidentiality or to make them more secure.

Here is a refresher again on how to hide a file or a folder. For this example I created a folder called secrets in my test folder. I can hide this folder by simply doing a right-click, choosing Properties from the menu and selecting Hidden under the Attributes section. This will hide the folder from all the users.

Whatever the reason might be, if you have hidden files or folders, it is not hard at all to display them again. Here’s how to do it:

Display Hidden Files in Windows Vista or Windows 7:

Right now, the folder secret that I created still exists but is not visible to the users. Here’s how to make it visible.

Once inside your main folder (where the hidden files/folders exist), click on the Organize -> Folder and Search Options from the menu.

Click on the View tab. These settings control what gets displayed to the users. Towards the middle of the menu, there is an option to control hidden files and folders. By default, it is set to “Do not show hidden files and folders“. Change it to “Show hidden files and folders“.

Click Apply and then Ok. Windows will now display all the hidden files and folders contained in this folder. The exact same instructions apply for Windows 7.

Also note that these settings are global and would apply to all the folders in your hard drive.

How To Display Hidden Folders in Windows XP:

For windows XP, simply go to My Computer -> Tools Menu.

Selecting Folders Options will take to the same folder settings tab that we saw for Vista. Now under the Hidden files and folders option, choose “Show hidden files and folders“. Click Apply and then Ok.

Windows XP would now display all hidden files and folders.

Protected Operating System Files:

It is important to mention that following the above instructions would display most of the hidden files and folders but would still not display sensitive some protected operating system files. These files are hidden because of the risk they pose if anything is altered in them. However, if you want to display these files as well, uncheck the box titled Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended). This will display the operating system files within your PC.

How To Display Hidden Files and Folders In Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

3 Free and Useful AntiVirus Software for Windows

Shevonne — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:25:00 +0000

Having a reliable antivirus software is something that every Windows user should have on his/her own computer. However, these antivirus tools are usually very expensive and use up way too much computer memory.

Here are three ~~open source~~ free antivirus software for Windows. They have functionality that will give you the ability to protect your system and information the same way as paid antivirus software.
Note: Remember that it is very important to keep it up-to-date because there are different viruses popping up every day.

1. ClamWin

ClamWin is a standalone, open source virus scanner with a scanning scheduler. It gets the job done by scanning and removing harmful malware that could affect your system. One of the great features is that it automatically downloads updates to fight and prevent new viruses that have appeared after you initially install the software. ClamWin is the most simplest of the three antivirus software.

Another useful functionality is that it integrates with Windows Explorer; in addition, there is an add-in to Microsoft Outlook to automatically remove virus-infected attachments. It doesn’t have an online scanner, which is not good because the Internet is usually accessed when the computer is on.

Another issue is that there is no automatic way to scan a file for viruses. In order to scan for viruses, you have to manually perform this process. For this antivirus scanner to be useful, you would have to also have an additional scanner that prevents malware from being placed on your system from your internet browser.

To download or find out more information about ClamWin: http://www.clamwin.com/

2. AVG Free

AVG is another antivirus and antispyware software that protects against viruses, spyware, adware, and trojans created for Windows. Like ClamWin, it does automatically scan for new virus definitions daily. It also has an added advantage that it is able to scan online items in a real-time capability. It has a Scheduler that can let you set and change time frames of when the virus scanner should run.

One of the major cons with AVG Free is that it does not protect against identity theft, hacker attacks, infected downloads, infected instant-messaging and spam. If you want to protect your system from these types of attacks, you will have to upgrade to the paid service. Furthermore, the free edition does not give you access to AVG technicians in case you run into a problem, which can be a major flaw because that is something that should be offered, even if you are not paying. AVG Free has useful functionality that can be sufficient in protecting your computer, but it does not fully protect the way it should.

To download or find out more information about AVG Free: http://free.avg.com/

3. AntiVir Personal 8

AntiVir Personal 8 scans both internal and external hard drives. The antivirus software has the increasingly popular “Advanced Heuristics Analysis and Detection” technology, which provides new levels of virus detection and cleaning by intelligently analyzing whether or not something is a virus. This is something that ClamWin and AVG Free do not have.

Additionally, AntiVir has the capability of allowing users to remove viruses by a one-button removal button. When it opens, AntiVir opens up to an overview of your last scan, last update, and what version you are running. The software has an internal event log that shows a detailed look of the your entire system. There are also reports that you can run to check your system and how well the software is protecting it.

Out of the three software, AntiVir seems to offer more functionality that is similar to paid antivirus software. It does not leave any needed feature out that could allow malware to infect your system.

To download or find out more information about AntiVir Personal 8: http://www.free-av.de/en/index.html

Others

Don’t forget too about the free Microsoft Security Essential that we have previously covered. While Microsoft has stop the free download, you can still find a copy at Softpedia.

3 Free and Useful AntiVirus Software for Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7

Sharninder — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:00:47 +0000

If statistics are anything to go by, Internet Explorer is the biggest and the most popular browser on the Internet. Of course, all of us geeks here know that statistics are not always correct … or fun.

But, well, the truth is that IE owns anywhere between 60-70 percent of the browser market and despite it’s flaws, it’s still going strong. While most of the geeks have long moved to Firefox, there are millions of Windows users who still swear by IE, not because they like it but because of the simple fact that it is bundled along with their OS – Windows.

When Microsoft released the latest Incarnation of Internet Explorer, version 8, a couple of months back, it started pushing it as the answer to everyone’s miseries. Advertisements promoting IE 8 and urging users to upgrade were (and still are) on the Internet, in magazines and on TV. MS also did all it could to force users into installing the latest version of Internet Explorer on their computers by pushing it through windows update as a recommended update.

I agree that IE8 has some pretty nice features and is miles ahead of IE 7 or 6, but for people like me, who have almost completely moved over to firefox, IE just takes up precious space on the computer and is of absolutely no practical use.

And it looks like Microsoft has been thinking the same way as I do.

Windows 7, like all previous versions of Windows is also going to ship with Internet Explorer but Microsoft, faced with a number of legal threats for bundling IE along with Windows, has finally provided an option in Windows 7 to uninstall IE. The only problem is that the option to do so is hidden quite deep and with this post today, I’ll teach you how to get to it and remove Internet Explorer once and for all from your Windows 7 running PC.

First, of all, open the Control Panel and from there go to the Add-Remove programs utility. In Windows 7, this utility is present under the Programs heading and named simply, Uninstall a Program.

On the right hand side of the pane, you’ll see a list of all the programs that you’ve ever installed on your computer but Internet Explorer 8 will not be present in this list. To get to that, look at the left hand pane and you will see a link which says “Turn windows features on or off”. Clicking on this link will open a window with a list of all the windows features that you can turn off (or on).

Internet Explorer is listed in this window as a feature of Windows and it is turned on by default (denoted by the tick mark against it’s name).

To remove Internet Explorer all you have to do is uncheck the Internet Explorer 8 option.

To be fair, this feature only turns Internet Explorer off, which means that it’s still there, but you won’t see it in the programs menu and you won’t be able to run it using the windows Run command also. All links supposed to open in Internet Explorer will fail with a message saying that the application required was not found.

Missing IE ? Turning it back on is simple too, just follow the same procedure and check the tickbox saying Internet Explorer 8.

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Run Multiple Instances Of Windows Messanger

tehseen — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:00:03 +0000

A lot of people have different email accounts for family and work and often want to keep their instant messaging accounts separate as well. That is easy to achieve if you are using a browser based chat client like Google Talk; you can simply open a new browser window, or a different browser and login from two different accounts. However, this trick does not work if you are accustomed to using a desktop client like Windows Messenger.

There is a way however, using which you can open multiple Windows messangers on the same computer and login with different accounts.We can accomplish this by tweaking the Windows Registery settings of the software.

To refresh your memory, here’s what Windows Registery is all about:

The Windows Registry is a database that stores settings and options for Microsoft Windows oerating systems. It contains information and settings for hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, and per-user settings.

Here is a very useful link if you want to know more about Windows Registery.

Coming back to topic, following are the steps you need to follow in order to tweak the Windows registery for Windows Live Messanger and run multiple instances of it:

1. In the Vista search bar, type RegEdit and press enter. This will open the Registery Editor. From here, select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

2. Select Software and then Microsoft from the menu.

3. Within the Microsoft folder, select Windows Live and then Messanger. On the right you will see different registery settings for the Windows Messenger.

4. We will now add a Windows registery in here. To do this, right click anywhere in the window and click New >> DWORD (32 – bit) Value.

5. Type MultipleInstances as the new registery. Press Enter.

6. Now right click the MultipleInstances registery you just created and choose Modify. In the pop-up, the value is currently set to 0, change that to 1.

Thats it! This will allow you to run as many instances of Windows Messenger as you want. You can login to each with a different account. If you ever decide that you want to undo this whole process, all you need to do is go to the Windows registery you created and delete it.

This technique can also be used with other software, however, one should be very careful while editing Windows Registry settings. Moreover, It is always a good idea to make a backup of your registry settings in case you mess something up. The simplest way to do that is by using the System Restore function in Windows. When you create a restore point, all your settings and customizations including changes to Windows Registry are backed up.

How To Run Multiple Instances Of Windows Messanger originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Upgrade Windows XP to Windows 7 Without Losing All Your Settings

Sharninder — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:36:46 +0000

Windows 7 is the latest incarnation of the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems. It is also the latest darling of the blogosphere and is being widely regarded as the only true successor to Windows XP. While Microsoft did release Vista after Windows XP, it was a disaster and most people, including yours truly, resisted migrating to Vista completely because of various reasons.

It is nice to know that Microsoft has been listening all this while and promises that Windows 7 will be much better than Vista both in terms of resource utilization and general useability. That and the fact that Microsoft has decided to withdraw support for Windows XP, will see a lot of people migrating to Windows XP from Windows 7.

The only problem is that Microsoft has not provided a direct upgrade path from Windows XP to Windows 7, so there are only two options for people who want to migrate up from Windows XP.

The first one is to upgrade to Vista and then upgrade to Windows 7 but that’s not really recommended for obvious reasons. The other solution is to do a clean installation of Windows 7 (which would wipe out your Windows XP). This option is the one that Microsoft recommends.

If you have a lot of data in Windows XP, now is the time to make a backup of it while we hand-hold you through the recommended upgrade procedure from Windows XP.

Make sure that you have the Windows 7 installation disk, either the retail version (when it comes out) or a disk burned from the ISOs that Microsoft made available for download.

Backing up your data

Insert the disk in the CD/DVD drive and when windows autorun prompts you to run the Windows 7 installer, don’t run it and instead select the option to browse/open the DVD.

In the DVD, under the support folder, there will be a folder named migwiz.

Run the program named, migsetup.exe. This is the Windows Easy Transfer tool. Microsoft wrote Windows Easy Transfer to help you transfer all your data and settings to a new machine when upgrading to a newer operating system.

As you can see, with this tool, you will be able to migrate all user accounts, email, user data and pretty much everything else from Windows XP to Windows 7.

The only thing that the Easy Transfer tool cannot take care of are the third party programs that you have installed, so you’ll need to reinstall them again. This is a limitation imposed by Microsoft and it is, currently, not possible to upgrade from XP to Windows 7 and while keeping all the third party programs as it is.

Click Next at the welcome screen and you’ll be asked to chose one of three choices for the location where you want to store all the data that the tool will save.

I chose the “External Hard disk or USB flash drive” option and I recommend that you do the same since it sounds the easiest one. If your XP machine is connected to a network and you have a network share that you can use, feel free to select that option, and click on the Next button.

The next option is pretty self explanatory and is actually the only option on the screen so select “This is my old computer” and move on.

The easy transfer tool will then scan the various user accounts for all the data that it can migrate.

Click Next and select a password for the archive. This password will be later used on Windows 7 to complete the migrartion of your settings and data. And the last step of the process is to chose the location where the Easy transfer file will be saved. Connect an external hard disc to the machine, if you haven’t done so already, and select it.

That’s it.

Now, run the Windows 7 installation program and install Windows 7 normally.

Since Windows XP cannot be upgraded to Windows 7 directly, you’ll have to choose the “Custom Option” to install Windows 7.

Proceed with the installation as you normally would.

Once Windows 7 is installed and running on your machine, attach the external hard disc that you used to take the backup, to the machine, browse over to it and double click on the backup file that you’d created earlier.

The Windows Easy Transfer utility will then start, ask for the password that you’d set earlier and migrate all your XP settings and data to Windows 7.

How to Upgrade Windows XP to Windows 7 Without Losing All Your Settings originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Remote Control Your Windows PC Using Twitter

Sharninder — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:12:11 +0000

Twitter is a cultural phenomenon these days. In the few short years of it’s existence, it has gone from becoming just the latest social kid on the block, to the service which most of us see/read even before our daily newspaper.

Different people use twitter for different purposes. Some use it to share interesting links with their friends, some use it to share funny jokes and some use it as their own public instant messenger, broadcasting intimate details of their life. All this was before some enterprising open source enthusiasts decided to come together and use Twitter for something even bigger – remotely controlling their PC.

TweetMyPC is an open source application that lets you send commands to your PC via Twitter and instruct it to shutdown, logoff, restart, download files off the internet and a lot more.

To setup TweetMyPC, download the latest version on your windows PC and run the installer.

TweetMyPC works by listening to a Twitter account for updates. I’d suggest that you create a new Twitter account for this purpose and also keep the updates on this account as private so that no one else is able to read the commands being issued.

Head over to Twitter.com and create a new account. Login to your newly created account and click on the Settings link. On the main Account page, you will find a checkbox to protect your tweets. Check it.

Now, launch TweetMyPC and setup the application for the first time by giving it the twitter account details that you just created.

That’s all. TweetMyPC is now setup and will continue to run in the background listening for commands on the twitter account that you set, every one minute.

To send a command to your PC, login to the Twitter account that TweetMyPC is listening to and write the command as a status update.

TweetMyPC will respond back with the physical memory of your PC in a tweet. The responses from TweetMyPC look something like this.

The responses come as updates to the same Twitter account and so everyone will be able to see them. This is the reason why I suggested that you protect your tweets while creating this account – You wouldn’t want anyone to look screenshots of your desktop. Yes, TweetMyPC can also take a screenshot of your desktop and upload the picture to Twitpic if you want to know what exactly is happening on your computer while you’re away.

Some other important and very useful commands that TweetMyPC supports are reboot, hibernate, getfilelist, getfile , hibernate and standby. You can see the complete list of commands and their syntax in this blog post by the author of TweetMyPC.

How to Remote Control Your Windows PC Using Twitter originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 in Windows Vista

Sharninder — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:35:31 +0000

I like to call myself a reluctant Windows user, at best. Microsoft Windows is something I use only when I have to and even then I make sure I don’t touch Internet Explorer even with a 10 ft pole.

Needless to say, whenever I login to my Windows desktop, every couple of weeks, I usually have a slew of updates waiting for me to install them, which I always dutifully install. That’s what updates are for, right ?

Well, this is where the sad part of the story begins. I haven’t really had a problem with any MS updates till now but when Microsoft, in a recent update, pushed Internet Explorer 8 on my computer, all hell broke loose. A lot of web based applications I rely on daily started acting weird. Active-X Add-ons that I need for my work stopped working. IE 8 crashed a lot more and was much more buggy than IE 7 and that is saying something, considering that I hardly used IE 7 also .

Which is why I decided to get rid of IE 8 once and for all and write this post so that it may benefit others who are in a similar situation. I use Windows Vista so some of the instructions might be Vista specific.

The first step to getting rid of IE 8 is to open the control panel and click on the Program and Features applications.

This application will show you a list of all the programs installed on your machine and allow you to uninstall them. Except for one small problem !

As you can see, Internet Explorer 8 does not show up in the list of programs installed on your machine. Since, IE was installed by Microsoft as part of a system update, The Programs and Features application doesn’t consider it a normal user application.

IE 8 shows up as an update installed on your computer. To get to that list, click on the “View Installed Updates” link in the left sidebar.

You will now see a list of all the updates that you’ve ever installed on your computer. If, like me, you’ve had your windows install for a long time, this will be one long list. Browse through the list and find the update which says Internet Explorer 8.

Select it, and click on “uninstall”. Follow the instructions, if any, and let the uninstaller take charge. Once the uninstall is complete, restart your computer and carry on with your IE 8 free life.

How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 in Windows Vista originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)