1. Awesome Note (+Todo)

Awesome Note is pretty much an idea tank for iPhone. With Awesome Note, you have the ability to take down everything from very detailed notes to brief shopping lists and to-do tasks. Awesome Note (+Todo) allows your notes to be so detailed, that you can attach multimedia, drawings, and more. All of your notes can also be pushed to your calendar without any added effort. Your notes stay protected with password lock, as well as backup support. All of these features may be amazing, but they only scratch the surface of what Awesome Note (+Todo) can do. Check it out for $3.99 today.

2. Flashcards Deluxe

Flashcards Deluxe is the best flashcards application on the market today. Flashcards Deluxe allows you to not only create cards, but also helps in making them an important study tool. You can create tests for yourself, hear the flashcards read to you, categorize them, and more. All flashcards come with several design templates to choose from, making your next study session a bit more unique from the last. Don’t worry about them getting lost, all of your flashcards made on Flashcards Deluxe are backed up and with the ability to be saved on Dropbox and Google Docs. Check out Flashcards Deluxe today for $3.99.

3. Dropbox

Dropbox is an essential service for any student of any age or grade level. Dropbox, if you don’t already know, allows you to save any content to your Dropbox folder and access it from everywhere. Dropbox is free if you don’t require additional storage, and with referrals, you can gain free upgrade to your storage space of up to 18GB. Your content not only can be saved, but also shared online. You can assign your stuff with a link for easy viewing, or you can invite only certain individuals if you want to keep the information private. Dropbox for iPhone is free to download, so check it out today.

4. iStudiez Pro

iStudiez Pro has been repeatedly awarded as one of the best educational applications on the market. iStudiez Pro has a scheduling system to takes into consideration many of the varying schedules that various students across the nation/world have. iStudiez Pro allows you to keep track of your classes, the room numbers, and professor contacts. You can also keep track of your homework, project, and class work assignments all in one application, with support of alarms and push notifications. You can import your grades and make sure that you stay above water with your GPA. All of this is backed up and protected, insuring that you make your freshmen year in college your best. iStudiez Pro comes at a cost of $2.99 and is available today on the App Store.

5. Epicurious Recipes

College is a time when many individuals pack on the pounds due to the unlimited options presented to them both on and off campus in terms of food. In other situations, there may not be a lot of tasty options available. This results in having to focus on cooking for yourself to have a balanced diet or to even have the foods you enjoyed back home. Epicurious, the website and now application hosting thousands of recipes, comes as a handy tool in making great meals for yourself. You can search by food, cooking times, and more. You can save the recipes you want to cook, and even create a shopping list when you’re ready to prepare the meal. The recipes range from gourmet meals to fast and easy meals. Epicurious is free to download from the App Store today.

6. Beanhunter

In college, the local coffee shop can be a pivotal place to go. Not only can you do the obvious, pick up a cup of Joe, but you can also have the local coffee shop as a great place to hang out and meet new people, a quiet place to study, and also a place where you can make yourself a regular and build relationships with the staff. However, it can be hard to find the right one when big chain shops seem to get all of the attention. Beanhunter is there to put the focus back on the smaller hangouts that sometimes go unnoticed. I like to call it the Urbanspoon for coffee lovers. You can get reviews or see photos. Plus, it’s free to download, so get to it now and find your next hangout spot.

7. Groupon

Without a doubt, the cost of expense in the university is high. For those without scholarships or a bit of help from the parents, scraping and saving is the way to go. Groupon allows you to experience your new college town on a budget. You can check out and redeem the latest deals and purchase your Groupon from the application. From half off on meals to 70 or even 80% off on entertainment, Groupon makes having a blast affordable. Groupon is free to download and is available on the App Store today.

What other apps do you use to manage your university life?

Image credit: Girl Writing by Big Stock Photo.

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Forecast’s Design

The Forecast application is built on top of the Foursquare application, so you will find many elements, such as the location page and the color scheme, very similar to Foursquare. To log into a location, simply click the orange “Forecast” button at the center. You can also check out the activity from the individuals you follow by clicking the “Activity” button on the left. The profile button is to the right of the “Forecast” button. The front page automatically shows the forecasts that you make. You can also click the “Check-In” page to show the confirmed Forecasts. The top right button allows you to add a friend or invite someone to Forecast.

How to Begin

To begin, simply click the “Sign in with Foursquare” button. After signing in, you are brought to the homepage. From there, you can check in by clicking Forecast. By clicking Forecast, you are sent to your most commonly checked in location, perfect for places that you frequent most often. If the location isn’t on the page, you can go to where it says “Search places” to find the location you are currently at. Once you find and select the location you want to check into, you can click “I’m Here Now” to check right in.

If you want it to forecast your next checked in location, then use the turn wheel to find the date and time you will be there and click the big orange button to forecast. If you want more information on the location, including a map, click the “i” right next to the location in the list.

The Features

Forecast revolves mainly around remembering to check into the location that you are planning on checking into in the future. This means that Forecast doesn’t do this automatically. There are many features in Forecast that help you to remember this, while still being logical in knowing that you may not always be there. Plans change, times move up or behind an hour. Forecast understands this and has a push notification feature that allows you to always remember your plans.

Once your forecast is scheduled, you will receive a notification once your scheduled time has come to remind you to check in. From that page, you can either check in or change the time and date. Another feature related to push notifications is the ability to see when your friends schedule a check in, great for scheduling meet-ups in the future. Once you see their scheduled check-in, you can also mark that you will be going to, like a digital RSVP service.

The Possibilities

The great thing about Forecast is that there are many possibilities with Forecast. When you look at it at face value, you can see it as a great way of not forgetting to check into your next location. Especially when I’m out with friends for the night, I may find myself enjoying my time so much, that checking in would be an after thought. However, I really am into Foursquare and building up my points. This application will definitely come in handy allowing me to continue to increase my points.

However, when stretching the idea a bit, we can see Forecast as a great addition to an informal event. Want to celebrate a new business deal or an upcoming celebration? If you have enough friends on Forecast, you can make a forecast and they will be notified by push notifications, almost guaranteeing a response. This takes out having to call each and every one of them, or even having to text. The possibilities of Forecast are endless. The service is free, and with a growing number of people switching to iPhone, you can find yourself with even more options. If you find a great use of Forecast, let us know in the comments.

The Conclusion

To conclude, Forecast is the perfect way of planning your check-ins for the future. In addition, as we see, Forecast is a great way to get a group of friends to have a night out in a short period of time. There are many times when i have to text friends to schedule a dinner or an evening out. Could Forecast be a great replacement of this? We must wait and see. The iPhone-only focus at the moment can hinder it’s growth.

In addition, Forecast seems too much like Foursquare to be an app of its own. Foursquare should look into partnering with Forecast and having a “schedule a check-in” feature implemented for the Foursquare application. Sort of like how we saw with the Starbucks application and the dedicated Starbucks mobile payment application. Forecast has the potential, we just need more users.

Forecast (iTunes link)

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1. Evernote

Evernote is the ultimate multitasking application that allows you to create notes, saved web pages, and more. You can also share the notes that you created with others. Once shared, the recipients can edit the note if you enabled that feature. This makes Evernote a perfect application for collaboration on school projects and assignments. Evernote has a fantastic cloud feature that sends all of your notes to your iPhone and iPad. Evernote is available on the Mac App Store for free.

2. Smartr

Flashcards are a popular way to study for tests and exams, but they can be horrible for the environment. After a semester, these flashcards usually get thrown away. Smartr is a fine flashcard alternative that allows you to create virtual text and photo flashcards.  Smartr even allows you to separate each group of flashcards into categories, resulting in easier discovery. Need a study partner? Smartr gives you tests based on your flashcards, as well as tips for improvement. Smartr is available for $2.99, with a free option also available.

3. Things

Things is a quite expensive application, however it’s worth every penny to purchase. The application is simple while still getting the job done. Along with school notes, Things allows you to create detailed to-dos, lists, and more. You’ll be able to see which tasks need attention in an instant. Things allows you to add ideas on a whim with the Quick Entry feature.. The attractive design, amazing organization, and the ability to create tasks on the go makes Things ithe all in one productivity application for everyone.

4. iStudiezPro

During the school year, the stress of the work load can result in missed assignments and appointments. For $9.99 at the App Store, iStudiez Pro is there to help you remember the important things in your week. The application allows you to keep track of your classes, assignments, grades, and more. iStudiez Pro allows you to also know how to get in contact with your instructors the ability to add contact information for each course. With notifications and iCloud sync, iStudiez Pro makes it no excuse to miss your next test or assignment.

5. Keynote

Some students find slideshows to be an arduous task to create. You must keep them beautiful and interesting, while still being informative. Keynote makes producing eye-attractive slideshows a breeze, allowing you to focus more on the. Keynote allows you to use amazing themes, have quick access to other iLife applications, and generate amazing animations. The capacity to record narrations and control your slideshow with the remote app makes Keynote the ultimate slideshow companion, all for $20!

6. Dropbox

Dropbox is the ultimate USB alternative. All you have to do is download the file onto your online Dropbox account, the file then becomes available with a few clicks and an upload. Don’t have the ability to download a file each time? No worries, Dropbox is also available as an application on Mac. This allows you to drag files into a dedicated folder, the file automatically updates your online account each time a new file is dragged in. Dropbox offers you two and a half gigabytes of memory for free, more memory is available at an extra cost.

7. Schoolhouse

Schoolhouse is a free assignment manager for Mac. The developer, being a student, knows what students want out of a school application. Schoolhouse allows you to organize your classes with its extensive category feature. In addition, you can know which classes need extra attention with the ability to know your GPA. Schoolhouse is great, however unless it is regularly updated, you’ll find no use in it. All in all, Schoolhouse is the ultimate $5 school organizer.

8. iHomework

Homework, assignments, and exams seem to have tighter deadlines as the year goes by. However, iHomework is there to make these deadlines easier to digest. You have the ability to quickly enter homework, and other assignments, along with their respective due dates. Features, including the ability to add your partner’s information, make it an amazing assignment and project manager as well. iHomework is available for $2.99, along with a free iPhone companion.

9. AudioNote

Listening to your previous lecture becomes an easy task with AudioNote. However, it is easy to forget that not all lessons can be easy to follow by voice alone, deviations and interruptions do happen. But, there is no reason to worry about having a forty minute recording with only ten minutes of important information. AudioNote allows you to have typed, written or drawn notes along with your recorded audio. AudioNote is available for $5, with a free option also avaliable.

10. Swackett

Swackett may not seem like a school application at first, but it’s more important than you think. Snow and ice advisories increase during winter months, resulting in dangerous conditions and cancelled classes. Additionally, you can prevent an uncomfortable wait for the bus or your parents with being able to know when you need a coat or umbrella. Swackett is a free useful application, even outside of school. Swackett X is the $3 Swackett cousin, offering the ability to get historical weather information, notifications and more.

With all of these amazing back to school applications, you’ll be on top of your classes for this year. If there is a special application that you find useful for the school year, let us know in the comments.

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One of the most powerful buttons on an android phone is the search button. You know, the magnifying glass button. If you aren’t using it regularly, perhaps you don’t know what pressing this one button can do for you.

Here are a few tweaks to help you give the Android search button even more power.

In the settings

I know a lot of people don’t go poking around in the settings if they don’t have to. One tip for better searching on Android involves adding some choices to your search.

Press the Android search button and look for the Google icon at the top. This is where you can change how the Android search acts. You can search a bunch of different applications. When you install applications to your Android device, you cannot search these apps by default. You need to go into the settings and allow them to be searched.

To add new applications to the Android search screen, you need to:

1. Press the search button.
2. Press the menu button.
3. Select search settings.
4. Select searchable items.
5. Check all of the boxes for the apps you want to search within.

Now when you go back into the search screen by pressing the magnifying glass (search button). When you press the Google logo next to the search bar, you will see the apps you selected available to search now.

Searchify

Searchify is an application that adds functionality to your Android search button. What I mean is it lets you search certain web pages and search Google using shortcuts in front of your search term. They are essentially search operators similar to the operators for search engines.

A couple of the terms to use before your search term are:

• twt will search twitter for your query
• slang in front of your search will take you to results in the Urban dictionary.

To activate Searchify, install the app from the market. Once it is installed, you will need to follow the steps listed above to activate it in the Android search settings.

LaunchKey

LaunchKey is another application to add even more function to the Android search button. LaunchKey works in a way similar to QuickDesk. By long pressing the Android search button, you can choose 9 application or system shortcuts.

Download LaunchKey APK. After you install and run it for the first time, you will need to do a little configuring. I chose the custom menu option.

From there you will need to long press the Android search button. When you do, you will be asked to choose the default action. Check the box Use by default for this action then select LaunchKey.

Choose what applications or system functions you’d like to have access to by following the onscreen instructions.

Conclusion

The more you can access with fewer clicks, swipes or typing, the more productive you will be using your Android phone. The trick is to keep it simple enough where you do not need to radically change the way you search. Most people struggle when they need to learn a whole new system.

The addition of Searchify and LaunchKey will let you keep doing what you are doing, but adds a few useful features.

What Android productivity tips or apps do you have to share?

image credit: somegeekintn

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There are several ways that you can do so, but the easiest way I have found is via the use of Process Tamer.

Process Tamer is a donation-ware that runs in your system tray and constantly monitors the cpu usage of other processes. When it sees a process that is overloading your cpu, it reduces the priority of that process temporarily, until its cpu usage returns to a reasonable level.

Using Process Tamer

Download Process Tamer from DonationCoder.com.

Run the installer. (The application works on Windows XP/2K/NT/Vista/Win7)

Once you have completed the installation, run the Process Tamer application. At first run, you will see the window as shown below:

You will be prompted to enter a license key. If you are wondering why you need a license key for a free software, this is because ProcessTamer is a donation-ware and the process to acquire a license is to encourage you to make a donation to support the developer.

To acquire your free license key, go to Donation Coder Forum and register a user account. Once you have created a user account, go to Process Tamer license page. Copy the license and paste to the Process Tamer app.

After the app is activated, it will automatically run in the system tray, monitoring your computer’s CPU usage. This is what you will see when you open the configuration window.

You can see the Priority assigned to individual process. If you see that an application is taking far too much CPU resources, or that you wish to limit a particular app to low priority, you can manually set the “Explicitly Rule” to “Force below normal” or “Force Low”.

On the Configuration tab, the more important thing you should take note is the marker for CPU Trigger Low and High usage. You can set the value to a higher or lower value if you find the default values don’t work well for you.

You can also select if Process Tamer should start on boot up.

Overall, Process Tamer works pretty well even if left alone. You can simply install and leave it and it will do the necessary monitoring. If, however you need to restrict certain apps to have high or low priority, Process Tamer allows you to do so too.

Process Tamer

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Poll results and this week’s poll after the jump.

The question for this week’s poll is: How much are you willing to pay for a mobile application?

There are many factors that can make or break a mobile application. Other than its usability, the price point is also a deciding factor. For the end users like you and me, are you willing to pay for any mobile application? If yes, what is the largest amount you are willing to spend on any application?

Take Our Poll

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The two leading smartphone operating systems, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, both have some backup functions built-in. In the case of Apple, it is possible to backup to the cloud through MobileMe. However, this is a relatively expensive solution and reviews suggest that it has some serious limitations. Google’s offering is also limited, but it is completely free. In both cases there are restrictions as to the type of media that can be backed up. Android only syncs your contacts, calendar and email and neither syncs bookmarks, messages or calls.

With such poor offerings, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across m:IQ. This app is a simple tool to ensure all the data (including photos, videos, calls, messages and bookmarks) on the phone is backed up.

Note: This app heavily consumes data (as uploading photos and videos takes up a lot of bandwidth). Hence, it is advisable that you have an unlimited data plan on your phone.

1. Setup

Although it is possible to register this app directly from your phone, I prefer to start with the web. First, navigate to the m:IQ and sign-up for an account.

M:IQ supports a large catalogue of devices including phones running Android, Symbian, Windows and Blackberry.

Once you have signed-up on the web, navigate to http://m.miqlive.com/ on your phone. On my Android phone this opened up the marketplace and displayed the m:IQ application (other systems may produce different different results).

2. First Use

Once installed, launch the application and login.

That’s it! Providing your phone has a stable connection, your data will immediately start backing up to the m:IQ dashboard. You can also click on the big green button to start/stop the sync.

There are a few (limited) settings that allow you to select the type of data that you would like to backup (contacts, calendar, messages, calls, bookmarks, photos and videos).

Further, you can set whether you want your data to be private or made public. M:IQ integrates a number of social features (discussed below), but these can be universally blocked by switching on the Privacy Mode.

3. Dashboard

The m:IQ dashboard is the control centre for all your backed up data.

The Home page displays a summary of all your data. Along the top, you can select the type of data you want to view. You can also upload photos and videos and add contacts directly from the dashboard.

Each of the dedicated pages also offer a number of useful features, including the ability to search your data.

Contacts

Your contacts names along with their contact details (email, phone, address, etc) are displayed.

Messages

The contacts who you have received message from or sent to you are displayed alongside the text of the messages. You can also send messages directly from this page.

Calls

The names of the persons who called and who you called are displayed alongside their telephone numbers.

Calendar

The Calendar page displays all the events in your default Google calendar. In my case it has also backed up my “Phone Calls” calendar (added through CallTrack), but has not backed up any of my other custom calendars.

Photos and Videos

The photo and video pages allow you to share and download the photos that have been uploaded to m:IQ. If you have set up your sharing to public, you will be able to select which photos you want to share with the public.

Only photos and videos from the following folders are uploaded (so ensure you move your data to these folders):

• BlackBerry: Pictures, Videos
• Android: Gallery
• Symbian S60: Images, Videos
• Windows Mobile: My Pictures, My Videos, DCIM

There is also a 1GB storage limit for all your photos and videos and your photos and videos remain on m:IQ even after you delete them from your phone, so ensure you keep an eye on your data limit.

4. Social Features

What really set m:IQ apart is the social features that come with this app.

Firstly, all m:IQ users get a dedicated “social” page at http://miqlive.com/your-username. Here your shared photos and videos are displayed.

Next, it is possible to have the photos and videos synced with m:IQ to be automatically uploaded to your social media sites. You can do this automatically, or on a piecemeal basis.

To automatically share your photos, first click on “Social Settings” from the Home page of the dashboard.

Here you can allow Facebook and Twitter to automatically share your status and photos, and have Flickr and FriendFeed automatically share your photos. Unfortunately, the number of social networks is limited and there does not appear to be any method of automatically sharing videos.

Now, whenever a photo or video is synced to m:IQ it will automatically be uploaded to your social networks.

To share individual photos navigate to the Home page and look for the “I WANT TO…” section.

Click on “SHARE A PHOTO” and a small box displaying the four social media networks will pop-up. You can then drag your photos to the social networks to have them upload.

Remember, if you have enabled privacy mode on your phone, no matter what you select on the dashboard, your data will not be shared.

5. Conclusion

M:IQ is not only a powerful backup tool, but has also managed to develop robust social features.

Backup is not something we want to have to think about on a regular basis. In that respect m:IQ exceeds my expectations: once the app is turned on I don’t ever have to worry about my data. In addition, the integration of social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, allow you to easily share your photos with your friends.

Finally, if you change phones syncing all your data to the new phone will be a breeze (I have not tried this feature).

Can m:IQ be your solution to mobile backup? Can us know in the comments.

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In a nutshell Ninite is an app downloader and installer. However, it offers more than just a directory of apps to download. What makes Ninite special, is they take all the crap that most people done want — toolbars — and saves you from having to click next 50 times. Kinda makes you wish you got off your lazy butt and did created something like this doesn’t it?

What apps does it work with?

Most of the apps are open source software like Firefox, Skype, Chrome, VLC, GIMP and Filezilla. There are a lot of others too. The landing page is broken down into categories; web browsers, messaging, media, imaging, documents, security, runtimes, file sharing, utilities, other, compression and developer tools. In total, there are currently 71 different apps to download and install via Ninite.

How do you use it?

1. I’m telling you, it’s super simple. Start by selecting one or more applications you’d like to install on your Windows computer. I am selecting CutePDF, Evernote, Defraggler and Recuva. (1 click if you are installing 1 app)

2. Click on the big Get Installer button. Are you still waiting for the hard part? (Click 2)

3. You will be taken to a screen showing all of the apps included in the installer you will be downloading.

4. At the bottom of the screen—using Chrome—you will need to click to save the installer to your desktop. (Click 3)

5. Go to where your files download to. You will see a new file that bears the Ninite logo. You will also notice the file name includes all of the apps you have chosen to download.

6. Double click the installer to start the installation. (Click 4 and 5)

7. On my netbook, I had to click one more popup to run the installer, you may not need to depending on your security settings. (Click 6)

You will then see a progress bar.

The whole installation is completely hands off. Go get that coffee refill or something. When you get back, everything will be done. Seriously, that’s all there is to it. Here are the desktop shortcuts created by the installer.

Something to note about using the free version of Ninite (yes there is a pro subscription). The installer(s) you download need an internet connection to download files from Evernote or Mozilla or whatever app you are installing.

If you are setting up a new computer with all of your favorite apps, browsers and other essentials, This is definitely a site you will want to keep in mind. If you are setting up computers very regularly, the pro subscription has some features to make your job easier and faster. Here is a link to the page talking about the Ninite Pro paid version if you need more features. For my personal needs the free version works fantastic.

How many clicks does it take you to install an application? As a comparison, I counted to see. It took me 16 clicks to install 1 program (CCleaner) right from piriform.com/ccleaner. I installed 4 apps (2 apps are from the same company who makes CCleaner) using Ninite in 6 clicks.

What other time savers do you have when setting up a new computer?

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In no particular order, here are a few that I have recently encountered and are worth mentioning.

Countdown Widget

With my graduation less than a month away, this widget is the perfect reminder of how many projects I have to finish before I complete my courses. But the widget itself can be used for any sort of countdown: your birthday, payday, anniversary, or anything else you want to remember.

It is a simple widget, and you can install it directly within KDE’s Add Widgets dialog.

1. Right click on the desktop
2. Click “Add Widgets”
3. Click “Get New Widgets”
4. Click “Download New Plasma Widgets”
5. Find “Countdown” and click “Install”
6. Drag the countdown icon to your desktop.

Wallpaper Clock

Another extraordinary KDE feature is the ability to use a wide variety of desktop wallpaper plugins. Rather than having a plain image as your wallpaper, you can have a slideshow, the weather, and even an interactive map of the world.

Wallpaper Clock is an add-on that connects to vladstudio.com and allows you to install their wallpaper clocks, which show the time and date in creative ways. The wallpapers are updated in real time (pun intended), changing every minute without any flickering or noticeable repainting.

You can install wallpaper clock using the normal widget installation procedure, but the actual widget will appear in your Plasma Workspace settings.

1. Right click the desktop and click “Desktop Activity Settings”.
2. Click the dropdown menu next to the label “Type” and find “Wallpaper Clock”.
3. To install new wallpaper clocks, click “Get New Wallpapers”
4. After you have downloaded the ones you want, click “Close”
5. Select the wallpaper you desire and click “OK”.

Pulse (KWin effect)

Pulse is a visual effect for KWin (KDE’s window manager). When a window appears, it zooms in and pulses with a fading ghost image of itself. When I first tried it, I found it a little overwhelming. Every window that appeared made me a little woozy, but after I turned the settings down a little, I found the effect rather refreshing. Every time a window appears, I notice it, and the effect adds a nice bit of life to the desktop. Not everyone will be able to tolerate the flashing, but for those who want to add a little spice to their desktop, this is a good effect to accomplish that goal.

Unfortunately, there are no easy ways to install KWin effects. You will have to compile this one from source, but that only takes a couple of minutes. If you are comfortable with the Linux command line and wish to proceed, be sure to follow the standard KDE building instructions.

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
make install

There are many other useful KDE add-ons available for download, and you can install many of them from within the KDE dialogs. For all others, visit KDE-Look.org and KDE-Apps.org.

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Here are the steps to make older programs run in Windows 7/Vista.

• Open Control Panel from the start menu of  Windows 7/Vista.
• Click on “Programs” from the right pane.
• Now you can see “Programs and features”. Under this header, click on “Use an older program with this version of windows“.
• The program compatibility wizard will appear with a caution message.
• Click “Next” to continue.

For Windows Vista

• Now 3 options will appear. You can run program compatibility wizard for those programs that are already installed but not running properly by choosing the the option”I want to choose from a list of programs“. There is another option that allows you to choose the location of the setup file of the application which you are going to install in Vista.
• After choosing the appropriate option, you have to select the operating system in which the program is compatible. Here I have chosen Windows XP service pack 2.

• The next window allows you to change the display settings for the application. This is only necessary if you experienced any problem with the display.

• If your programs need the administrator privilege to run, check the box Run program as administrator and click “Next“.

• Windows will now check if the program compatibility settings work fine for the older program. Once it is done, it will show a UAC security prompt. Click “Allow“
• If it finds any compatibility issue, it will show an error message.

• If everything is fine, go back to the compatibility wizard page and choose “Yes, set this program to always use these compatibility settings“. Click “Next” and then “Finish“.

For Windows 7

• It will list all the installed programs.
• Pick the incompatible program from the list. If you have not installed (or can’t install) the program, you can choose “Not listed” to select the setup file of the program.
• Now two options will appear. The first is for testing with the recommended settings and the second one is for customizing the settings. If you are having problems with the display and user permissions, choose the second option.

• If you choose the recommended compatibility settings, the system will find the suitable settings for the program. If you have chosen the second option, you will see a window where you can configure the display and user permission issue.
• Click on “Start the program“.
• Once it is done, go back to the program compatibility wizard and click on “Next“.
• Choose “Yes, save this settings for this program“.

You can also set the compatibility mode by right clicking on the executable file.

• Right click on the executable file and choose Properties.
• Select the Compatibility tab.
• Check the “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” option.

Make the necessary configuration and click OK.

You will have a better chance of running the older programs in Windows 7 than on Vista. However, it still doesn’t guarantee to work for all software. You might want to contact your software vendor to see if a newer release of the software is available.

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For those who have not heard of Afloat, it is an useful software that you can use to keep an application window “always on top” of all other windows. One thing for sure, Afloat 2.2 brings some new features that are not available in previous version.

Make windows appear in all spaces

If you are a great fan of Spaces in Mac, then you are going to love this feature. If you are working on a project and have several application opened in different spaces, instead of traversing between spaces to access your data, you can make the application window follow you around, without you having to do the manual work.

Resize windows easily

The usual way of resizing an application window in Mac is to move your mouse to the right bottom corner of the window and drag to resize. With Afloat 2.2, you can now press Ctrl + Command + right mouse click to resize the window from anywhere inside the window region.

Move window around without dragging the title bar

By pressing Ctrl + Command + left mouse click, you can move the window around easily and quickly (similar to the Alt + left mouse click feature in Linux Compiz).

Pin to the desktop

You can also pin a window to the desktop and make it persistent. With this feature turn on, even the “Show Desktop” command will not hide the window.

Existing functionality

For those who are new to Afloat, here are some of the functionality that existed since version 1

Afloat: keep the window “always on top”. Accessible via the shortcut key Ctrl + Command + A or via the Window menu. (Note: the shortcut key don’t work in Preview)

Add transparency to windows: Press Ctrl + Command + mouse wheel scroll to change the transparency of the window. This is useful if you just want to take a quick peek at the windows beneath.

Make window an overlay: This turns a window into an overlay. When this mode is on, it will not respond to any mouse click or keyboard entry.

One thing to note: Afloat does not work with all applications. It only works for Cocoa based applications, such as Safari, Preview, iChat etc. Carbon based applications like iTunes and Finder do not get the love.

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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.

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Ask anybody who uses computer what command he/she uses most and you will likely have Copy, Cut and Paste among the tops. Basically, everytime you Copy or Cut an item, it will be stored in the clipboard to be put wherever you do the Paste command. These are extremely useful, not only for text-related activity but also for almost anything including images, sound and videos.

One caveat, though, by default the computer sets that only one item could be stored in the clipboard. I guess this is a legacy from when the computer’s storage capacity was still within megabytes range. If you put one item in the clipboard, the previous one will be replaced by the newer. This limitation can be very annoying if you – like most people – constantly have to do Copy – Cut – Paste between multiple items.

To overcome this limitation, we need clipboard managers – applications which keep record of clipboard history. For Mac users, here are three best options to try:

1. QuickSilver

This long time favorite multi-functions launcher has a plugin called Clipboard History. It’s accessible by opening the Quicksilver launcher (Command + Space or whatever key combination you use) then go through plugins menu or by using the Command + L shortcut. If you don’t have the plugin, you can add it by going to plugins menu or use Command + Quote (”) shortcut. The interface is simple but sufficient for everyday use.

One quick note: despite the popularity, Quicksilver is not developed anymore. So if you plan to use the Clipboard History plug-in, you’ll just have to stick with the last available version.

2. Jumpcut

This tiny app (only 520 kb) is the simplest yet. It resides in the menubar above and constantly record every item put into the clipboard. To paste any item, open the application you want the item pasted into, then choose the item by clicking the Jumpcut logo in the menubar.

There is also an option to show a pop-up bezel using a shortcut key, but be sure to change the key combination – the default is Command + Option + V if you have another application using that combination already.

3. PTHPasteboard

This app has the most complete clipboard monitoring features, but unfortunately some of the features are disabled in the free version.

It will be installed as a Preference Pane item and will open an icon in the menubar and also a small window containing all the clipboard items.

Be sure to adjust the settings via System Preferences Pane, otherwise you might get an always-open window blocking another windows – which is annoying for me personally. You also need to open System Preferences Pane if you want to close the app. For those who need visual help, please refer to the screencast.

Have you used one of these or do you use other clipboard manager? Share your experience using the comment below.

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I’m not much of a mouse person. I prefer to use keyboard and shortcuts whenever possible. So, two of my favorite combination of keys are Command + Tab to switch between apps and Command + Tilde (~) to switch between windows in one app.

Personally I don’t feel this two steps process as a problem – maybe like a more organized way of working. But for recent Windows switcher the process could feel a bit annoying. There’s an easier way, though. Use Witch, a small application from Peter Maurer which behave similar to Alt + Tab in Windows – switching between windows of all open applications.

After you download and install Witch, a new Preference pane will appear and you can configure the way this application behave exactly the way you want, including the key combination to use in the “Triggers” tab. As the default shortcut key, Witch assign Option + Tab to switch between open Windows.

Witch also have something more to offer. It will automatically pull minimized windows out of the Dock when you switch to them. This one is my personal favorite features of Witch, and I’m sure most of Mac users will find this useful also.

The “Behaviour” tab will let users, among others, decide how should Witch sort the list of open apps. But maybe the most useful feature here is the Exception part, which lets users decide which windows should (not) be excluded from the list. If you want certain applications or certain windows with specific title out of the Witch list, here’s the place.

As an added bonus, the “Appearance” tab will let you decide on the cosmetics to wear, such as: theme to use or color combination to take on Witch appearance.

Last but not the least is the “About” tab which explain about the Licence. I think it’s fair to inform you that Witch is not a free application anymore (it used to be) and occasionally you will get some “friendly reminder” to buy the licence – which you should if you find this little app to be useful. But the nag is not too annoying and it seems that the developer will let the users use the unlicensed copy without time limit.

Have you tried Witch? Do you know other similar alternative? Share your opinion and experiences in the comment below.

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Wakoopa offers a straightforward registration; once you register on the site, you’re asked to download a small program called Wakoopa Tracker (Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista, and Mac OS X). This app sits in your taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (Mac OS X) and tracks which applications you’re using. Every once in a while, it sends that data on to the main Wakoopa servers, which then complies a list of software from every user and creates a top 25 list of the most utilized software’s.

Eventually, people can find you on Wakoopa and see how often you use various apps. It defines “use” by it actually being in the foreground and you interacting with it; it doesn’t count it as being used if it’s running in the background. This is actually a good thing, as there are many applications that run without you knowing about them. Dock and SystemUIServer are apps that are always running, albeit always in the background. Now the stats here may be really predictable (most of us will have most of our time logged in our respective web browser), but it’s intended to be fun, not necessarily useful.

Wakoopa as a social website

There is no doubt in my mind that of course, Wakoopa is a social website, which means that you can of course find your friends on there and view their app-usage stats. Wakoopa even has something called “Teams”, which essentially allows you to form groups with things in common that people can join. Wakoopa will then aggregate the usage stats for everyone in the team to find out how many hours are being used up on their common apps. (I say we find out which web browser is used the most…)

Not only does Wakoopa allow you to find info about users, but each application gets its own page as well. On an application’s page, Wakoopa will list the latest version of the app, a description, and a link to the app’s website. It will then aggregate how many hours it has been used by all members of Wakoopa, and how many Wakoopa members are using it. And, my favorite idea, it allows Wakoopa users to rate and post their own reviews of these applications, so you can really get a collective idea of whether that app you want to try out is good or not.

Wakoopa is a great application that allows you to quickly and effectively view software usage, updates, and new versions. You can connect with friends and integrate your desktop with all of its services as well. We’ll have to give the person who came up with this idea a 3 out 5 star rating, since the concept behind this application and the way that it gathers information and compiles accurate lists is astonishing, however, its uses are limited and quite frankly, as a social media website it’s in need of a few more uses for interaction rather than simply wanting to find out what your buddy uses to surf the web.

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