How to Jailbreak Your iPad (Plus 8 Things to Do With It)

Computer Renaissance found this article useful and would like to share it with you.

Apple's iOS 4 enables multitasking and other new and useful features, but the iPad can't join the party until this fall. If you jailbreak your iPad, however, you can multitask today--and that's just the beginning.

Your jailbroken iPad can run all kinds of third-party apps far beyond the selection in Apple's App Store. Want to sync over Wi-Fi, connect a Bluetooth GPS or mouse, and browse the entire iPad file structure? Here's how.

Jailbreaking Basics

Jailbreaking your iPad lets you install third-party utilities and applications. (That's different from "unlocking," which allows you to use a device with a different phone carrier.) When jailbroken, the iPad becomes an actual computer in that you can tweak the interface and make modifications at the lowest levels. This is a double-edged sword: You could run unstable tools or even damage your device, although that's highly unlikely. Remember that with your jailbroken iPad, Apple isn't around to tell you what you can and can't do with it--for better or for worse.

Fortunately, if you pay attention to what you're doing, you can run the warranty-voiding process without incident--and if you change your mind later, you can return to Apple's default, locked-down environment.

How to Jailbreak Your iPad

As with all major installations, begin with a backup. Connect the iPad to your computer. In the left iTunes column, right-click the iPad's name, and pick Backup. You can restore your data from here if needed.

Download Spirit to jailbreak the iPad. Note that the jailbreak process depends highly on your version of iTunes and iOS. As of this writing, Spirit hadn't yet been updated to work with iTunes 9.2; be sure that you have an older version of iTunes or that Spirit now supports iTunes 9.2 before proceeding. The jailbreaking community usually compensates for Apple's updates within several days or weeks.

Unplug other iPod devices, and connect your iOS 3.2 iPad directly to your computer. Run Spirit. The process will modify and restart the iPad; leave everything alone until the process is complete. Did it work? Great.

If it didn't work--as happened to me initially--quit Spirit and restore your iPad in iTunes. If iTunes won't even recognize the iPad, kick it into DFU (device firmware upgrade) mode. Connect the iPad, and hold the lock and home buttons for 10 seconds. Release the lock button, but continue holding the home button. The screen should stay black, but the iPad should appear in iTunes. Restore the iPad, and then reattempt the jailbreak.

Again, if you ever get cold feet and want to revert to your iPad's original state, just restore the iPad in iTunes. If iTunes doesn't recognize the iPad, put it in DFU mode first.

What to Do After You Jailbreak Your iPad

After completing the jailbreak, you'll see a new icon named Cydia. This is the center for downloading free and paid apps and tweaks. These apps coexist with your App Store programs, so you don't have to commit to one or the other.

Cydia connects to various sources to download and install packages. Though Cydia includes its trusted sources by default, you can add others. (I'll explain how later.) You can also download other stores, such as Rock App; Rock even includes a way for you to try demos of many downloads before purchase.

When you launch Cydia, it will check the version numbers of your apps against its latest files and prompt you to install updates if necessary. Even if you don't want any more apps, open Cydia once in a while to look for updates.

Before you dig through the Cydia options, back up your iPad's ECID SHSH--an identification code that Apple uses to determine which devices can install what firmware--with the Cydia server. If, in the future, you accidentally install an iOS update that defeats jailbreaking, you should be able to use this backup to revert to the prior, jailbreak-friendly version of the OS. Within Cydia, approve the backup when first prompted with a dialog box, or pick the option within the main page.

Your iPad also now has a default, root login that anyone could guess. Since Cydia and various apps can enable additional network functionality, set a new password. Follow the directions under 'Root Password How-To' in Cydia; basically, you'll install a terminal program and enter a few commands.

Add Multitasking

Apple's iOS 4 only partially multitasks. Apps need to be written for multitasking--the feature isn't enabled for everything--and further restrictions dictate what apps can do in the background. With a jailbroken iPad, however, you can multitask with any app. This comes in handy in various ways, permitting you to leave a cooking-timer app active, for instance, or to pause a game that doesn't save.

To add multitasking, install Backgrounder (free). Tap Search within Cydia to find it.

If you press the home button, the iPad will quit apps as it normally does. But if you hold the button for several seconds, a message will appear, saying that the program will keep running in the background. (If you want to quit an app later, repeat this process to exit completely.)

Keep an eye out, too, for an iPad update to the Multifl0w iPhone tool. This multitasking add-on swaps between active applications, showing a preview of the other apps.

Sync Over Wi-Fi

Tired of connecting over USB to sync with iTunes? Cut the cord, and sync through Wi-Fi. The process is slower than that of USB, but it works well. Within Cydia, search for and install Wi-Fi Sync ($10)

Install the companion utility on your computer. Then, with iTunes open, run Wi-Fi Sync on the iPad. iTunes will recognize the connected iPad, and you can initiate a sync from the app.

Add a Bluetooth Mouse

Apps occasionally feel like they need a mouse. You can connect most Bluetooth mice--but not the Mighty Mouse--through BTstack Mouse. Search for and install the free app through Cydia.

Once BTstack Mouse is installed, run the app and set your mouse to discoverable mode. Pick it out, and the app will superimpose a mouse pointer on the screen. Click just as if you were on a traditional computer.

BTstack Mouse disables Apple's built-in Bluetooth protocol. If you want to connect a keyboard as well, install BTstack Keyboard ($5) too.

Manage Your Files as You Do on a PC

Without a file browser, it's hard to get documents on and off the iPad. So install one. The free iFile lets you rummage through the iPad's disk structure; search for and install it through Cydia.

Once launched, iFile can also set itself up as a file server, so you can access files back on a computer. Tap the antenna icon at the bottom of the screen, and connect to the listed address on a Web browser.

Add GPS Through Bluetooth

BTstack GPS connects to a range of Bluetooth GPS devices; if you have a Wi-Fi iPad, you can enable GPS for most apps. Search for and install the free app through Cydia.

I connected a DeLorme Earthmate Blue Logger GPS unit. To set up your GPS device, open the BTstack GPS app, set the device to discoverable, and select it in the iPad. Once you have a clear satellite signal, the iPad will recognize your location.

Play Classic Games

On the App Store, Apple doesn't allow applications that run executable code. That shuts out one of my favorite entertainment apps, ScummVM (free). The classic LucasArts adventure games from the 1990s--and many others--ran on the SCUMM engine, and this application can play those games. You just need to track down copies of the original games; for many people, that's simply a matter of looking in the closet.

To get the latest ScummVM release, install a new source within Cydia. Tap More Package Sources in the main Cydia screen, and pick UrbanFanatics.com. TapInstall. Now, search for ScummVM, and install the free app.

Transfer your games to the iPad. I used the iFile server feature, moving the files through a Web browser. Open up ScummVM, locate the directory with the games, and begin playing.

Customize the Interface

After sampling many of the terrible interface tweaks available, you might appreciate Apple's design even more. Still, some tweaks add great features.

My favorite iPad-compatible interface tweak, Infiniboard($2), lets you place as many app icons on a page as you want. When you get to the bottom of the screen, you just scroll down to see the rest. It's a simple way to organize apps without running out of room.

Music Controls ($5) adds an interface for background audio apps. It supports dozens of other apps, including Pandora, Slacker, and the default iPod app. Music Controls gives you many control options, too, such as putting buttons and song info in the Status Bar and even using swipe gestures to control background apps.

Run iPhone Apps Full Screen (With Better Results)

Though you can blow up iPhone-only apps to fit much of the iPad's screen, the result is chunky and the process is a weak workaround. Instead of waiting for native, higher-resolution editions, try the free FullForce (available via Cydia), which sharply renders apps with great results and a few caveats.

 

 

 

 

 

Apps that aren't constrained to two-dimensional art look the best. Text-driven apps and many 3D games can look great. In my tests,Pandemonium, Remote,Stair Dismount, and others looked like native apps. Try your favorites to see what works.

You're Free!

These apps and tweaks are just the surface; be sure to browse through the hundreds of apps and utilities in Cydia to find more.

As you use your hacked iPad, avoid iPad updates from Apple, since they can revert your device to the non-jailbroken state. But once Spirit or another tool is compatible, you can run the Apple update and then jailbreak your iPad again.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/199834-2/how_to_jailbreak_your_ipad_plus_8_things_to_do_with_it.html

Top 10 Clever Google Voice Tricks

Computer Renaissance found this article useful and would like to share it with you.

Earlier this week, Google Voice opened to everyone in the U.S.. The phone management app is great, but even cooler hacks exist just under the hood. Here are our favorite tricks every Google Voice user should know about.

If you're just signing up for Google Voice, and wondering, in general, what it's good for, we've previously offered our take on whether Google Voice makes sense for you, and how to ease your transition to your new number and system. Google Voice also offers the option to just use it for voicemail and keep your number, but you won't get use of much of the SMS features touted here. Now, onto Voice's lesser-known perks and features:

10. Manage Voicemail and Text Messages Through Email

It's not a "hidden" feature, per se, but it's not made apparent that you can have Google Voice send you an email when you get a new voicemail message or a text message—and that you can reply, from your email client, to those text messages. Because they come from a standardtxt.voice.google.com, they're also easy to filter and set alerts for. If you're a Gmail user, you can also play messages back right in Gmail, and they'll be marked as listened to in your Voice account. (Original post)

9. Set as Your Skype Caller ID

Free internet calling service Skype is a really cheap way to make phone calls to a landline from your computer. One big downside, though, is those you're calling probably don't recognize the caller, and your number might change every time you call. Google Voice set up their servers, though, to allow setting your Google Voice number as a Skype caller ID. Commenter downdb explains the step-by-step process, which generally involves confirming a text message code and waiting for Skype to change your number.

8. Use Your Location to Determine Which Phones Ring

You can set up time-based rules for your phones in Google Voice—so, for example, your home phone doesn't ring from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.—but not everybody works a regular schedule. Chad Smith, a Wichita-based geek who loves him some Google Voice, set up a clever means of syncing Google Voice with your GPS location, using some PHP scripting and the Locale geo-location app. When you're away from home, you can have only your cellphone ring. When you're at home, you can have a VoIP line and your home line ring. If you're not rocking your own PHP-friendly server space, there's a somewhat beta-level app in the Market, Google Voice Locations (scan-able QR link here) that accomplishes much the same kind of GPS-aware phone management.

7. Use "Do Not Disturb" to Get Work Done

If you've managed to make Google Voice your one number that rings all your phones, you can enact a cloak of silence when you really need to get things done by enabling "Do Not Disturb" for a certain amount of time. All your calls go straight to voicemail, and nothing buzzes or plays a ringtone. It would be even nicer if Google could delay your SMS for the same time—that's often just as deadly a distraction. (Original post)

6. Send Yourself Advanced Voice Memos

True, you could use a digital recorder, or just call your own voicemail, to leave yourself a voice memo about something you need to remember later. But using Google Voice, you can have that voice memo transcribed to text, sent to your Outlook inbox at work, backed up forever in Gmail, and smartly delivered just where you need it. Drew Vogel's setup sets up his system so that all his other phones don't ring when he calls himself from one of them, and also gets his note-to-selfs into his Outlook box. Mark Stout's method sets up a special greeting for when he calls ("Record note now"), then has that message sent first to Gmail, then forwarded to cloud-based memory service Evernote. Mix and match settings from the two, and you'll feel like you've got your own personal assistant that lives in the cloud and only wants to help you remember things. (Original posts: Stout, Vogel).

5. Upgrade Your Cellphone Voice Plan to Unlimited

Every major U.S. cellular carrier offers some kind of "pick a few numbers, talk with them for free" plan. You know what happens when you make your Google Voice number one of your "friends"? Yep—unlimited free calls on your cellphone. Since everyone gets a unique Google Voice number, it would be hard for AT&SprintRizon-Mobile to start universally blocking Google Voice from your picks. So, for the time being, enjoy living beyond your cellular talk time means through the magic of whatever business plan Google has for Voice.

4. Send Text Messages Through Your IM Client

Google Voice's web site is pretty fast and easy to grasp, and there are a few nifty desktop clients, like the Google Voice AIR app, that make it easy to send messages with a click or two. But you've already got an instant communication system set up—instant messaging, in fact—and you can receive, reply, and send SMS through it.GVXMPP hooks together your Google Voice text messaging, your email address, and your IM client, so that when a friend texts you, it shows up as a kind of IM, and when you reply, it goes back to their phone—no extra thought, web tab, or phone reach needed. (Original post)

3. Use Voice on an iPhone, Despite Apple's Block

Apple generated a good bit of criticism when it blocked the Google Voice app from its iPhone app store, but doesn't seem to be backing down any time soon. In the meantime, Google has created a pretty powerful webapp as a partial work-around (that also works on Palm WebOS phones). For even tighter iPhone integration with Google Voice, you can use GVMax. The free app can send Google Voice SMS messages to your IM client or email address, and then notify you through a push message that you've got a new message. (Original post)

2. Use Google Voice SMS and Call Shortcuts from Any Phone

Google Voice has crafted pretty neat mobile apps for Android and BlackBerry phones that integrate Google's free SMS messaging. If you're not on one of those platforms, or don't have any kind of data plan, you can still hide your "real" number behind Voice and benefit from its inbox. Gina explained how to do it with a standard phone. It unfortunately involves saving a kind of "alternate" number for each contact, but most modern phones make that fairly easy. Luckily, you can also use that alternate number to call your contact through Google Voice.

1. Make and Receive Free VoIP Calls with Your Google Voice Number

Google Voice once integrated nicely with the free, Skype-like Gizmo5 service. Then Google bought Gizmo5 and closed down new registrations. They might come back—heck, Google might offer its own desktop client someday. In the meantime, we've detailed how to make free computer calls to any phone with Google Voice, using the free Sipgate service, which gives you your own actual phone number that you can feed to Google Voice as just another phone you can have ring whenever you want.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573714/top-10-clever-google-voice-tricks

How to Prevent Your Computer from Overheating (and Why It's Important)

Computer Renaissance found this article very important and would like to share it with you.

Keeping your computer running within safe temperatures is important, especially as the temperature rises outside. Here's how to make sure your computer's not overheating—and how to fix it if it is.

The cooling system of your computer is one of the most important features of the device. Without the cooling system, the electrical components of your computer wouldn't be able to function; overheating would damage the integral parts of what makes your computer work. The heat has to be dissipated in order to keep everything working within safe operating temperatures.

Why an Overheated Computer Is Dangerous

Simply put, if your computer becomes too hot, it is possible to destroy and shorten the lifespan of the hardware inside your computer, leading to irreparable damage and potential data loss. Besides losing your data, heat pecks away at your computer's internal organs—the motherboard, CPU, and more—significantly shortening its lifespan.

Besides the most obvious reason to keep your computer cool, a hot computer will also run slower than a cooler computer. So to prevent your computer from slowing down, make sure that it is running at a moderate or low temperature.

What Temperature Should My Computer Be Running At?

Because of the different types of computer makes and models out there, the safe temperature range your computer should run at varies. The safe operating range depends on things like processor type, manufacturer, and other factors that make it impossible to give an answer that applies to all CPUs.

According to the folks at the Overclockers Club (a site dedicated to pushing CPU performance to its limits without overheating your CPU):

AMD and Intel both have maximum temperature ratings for their CPUs listed around 80C. If your CPU gets this hot, you've got some serious problems. Most people try and keep the CPU temperature below 40C at idle and below 55C at load.

How To Check The Temperature of Your PC

Sticking your hand over your computer's ventilation system or case isn't an accurate way to judge how hot your computer is running. (However, it can be a good gauge of whether you computer is getting progressively hotter, or climbing to astronomical temperatures. It should not be so hot that you would want to pull back your hand.) So how do you determine how hot your system's running? You've got a few options.

To check the computer's temperature without additional software, you can check your system BIOS. Restart your computer, and on the boot screen, you should have an option to press a key (often Delete) to enter the BIOS. Once you enter Setup, navigate the BIOS menu using the on-screen instructions. You should be able to find a menu that deals with the computer's hardware monitors and CPU. There should be a field that lists your CPU temperature.

Rather not restart your computer to check the temp? We don't blame you. Plenty of system monitoring tools can give you a temperature read-out, like free Windows program HWMonitor, which displays the temperature of the CPU, each of the computer's cores, video card, hard drives, along with the minimum and maximum values of each temperature. (Unfortunately, you'll need to make sure that your hardware is supported because the program can only read certain sensors.)

We've featured several system monitoring options in the past that can also handle these duties, like the cross-platform, previously mentioned GKrellM (Windows/Mac/Linux), system-tray friendly app Real Temp, Core Temp, and SpeedFan. SpeedFan has the added bonus of being able to show how fast each fan is spinning, complete with RPM readings.

How to Keep Your Computer From Overheating

Most computers come with adequate cooling systems and plenty of fans, but here are some steps you can take to ensure heat doesn't become a problem.

Keep it clean: The first step in overheating prevention is making sure that the insides of the computer are kept clean. We've covered how to give your computer a spring cleaning to get rid of the dust that's a huge culprit in raising your computer's temperature.

Like we previously mentioned, internal dust buildup over time can lead to heating problems:

Dust is an insulator. When you crack open the case of your computer and [it's blanketed with dust] you're looking at a computer that's facing a radically reduced life span. Every inch of it is covered with a blanket of insulating dust that raises the temperature of components across the board. Your computer might not be that dusty but given how easy it is to clean out a computer, it's ridiculous not to. Not taking the time to dust out your computer once or twice a year is like being too busy to get your oil changed.

So what happens if you've got all that dust? You arm yourself with a Philips screwdriver, mechanical oil dropper, and a can of compressed air and get to work. Luckily we've got a step-by-step guide with pictures on how to banish those dust bunnies from your computer. While we used a damp cloth to clean our fans, typical geek procedure says to use the compressed can of air to blow out the fans, inlets, and heat sinks. Among the really important things to check for is the fan on top of the CPU, the filters over the fans, and the fan on the power supply.

Avoid hot neighbors: It's also important to check the physical location of your computer. If you have devices nearby that are blowing hot air into the computer's intakes, that's not good either. Ideally, the flow of air where the fans are should be steady and adequate, with room for the computer to breathe.

Photo by sneaka.

If Your Computer Overheats Anyway

Here's a word of caution: If your computer is overheating, resist the urge to take the side of the case off the computer. It's a rookie mistake that will often make the problem worse. Because most computers are very carefully designed to ensure that cool air is delivered to critical components, removing the side of the case disrupts the circulation (convection) system.

Instead, shut down the computer and let it cool down. From then on, you can plan a course of action that involves doing some cleaning if necessary, potentially upgrading your BIOS (check your motherboard's manual or web site for details), or planning some system-cooling upgrades if necessary.

If your computer is clean, your BIOS is up to date, and you're still having temperature problems, crack open your computer and check for damaged fans and heat sinks. Check for cracks, missing pieces, and make sure all the push pins are secure and all the appropriate fans are running. Secure and/or replace any loose or damaged cables. If you find you've got broken fans or a damaged heatsink, you can buy and install new cooling hardware for relatively cheap, and finding a highly rated, compatible fan or heatsink on a site like Neweggcan potentially go a long ways toward keeping your computer cooler.

If you're not comfortable cracking open your PC and installing new parts, this is the point that you may want to consider finding some professional help.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5570909/how-to-prevent-your-computer-from-overheating-and-why-its-important

CD/DVD -R +R RW – what does it all mean?

Computer Renaissance found this article interesting and would like to share it with you.

A full description of the differences between all of the CD and DVD formats would fill an entire book. There are many, many different types of physical media, methods for storing the data, methods for writing the data and media formats (MPEG-2, MP3, AVI, MP4, etc.)

But… since most people use just a few of the CD/DVD formats, we’ll cover just those. The most common formats are generically known as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, CD-Audio, DVD-Video, and the newer HD DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Vocabulary

First off we need to define a few expressions and words.

• Burning – This is the process used to store data on the media. Which means we burn “holes” in the writable layer inside the disk.
• Session - ”Period of time in which something occurs”. Which translated means a file or files added in the same operation.
• Single Session – All files on disk are added in one operation.
• Multi Session – Several sessions on one disk.

What is burned on disk, stays on disk

As you’ve read in one of my earlier articles, ROM stands for Read Only Memory. This means that any information stored on the disk is there to stay. This is commonly used on the Music CD’s or Movie DVD’s you buy in the store. These disks are not Burned but pressed, much like the good old LP Records. An inverted original (or master) is pressed onto a heated sheet of polycarbonate which is then coated with aluminum powder to create a reflective coating.

What is the difference -R +R and RW  ??

Basically the minus, plus and R’s tells you what kind of burnable media you are using and how the data is stored upon them. The different markings also show you how long lifespan you can expect. The different kinds of media, use different types of degradable materials.  The ROM media can easily (with proper care and storage) be expected to last many many years, and the cheapest RW media can be expected to be unreadable after as little as 6 months.

Markings

• R : The ‘R’ it self stands for Recordable. Hence a disk without the R cannot be recorded onto.
• -R : The Minus marked media (it being a CD or DVD) is a Single Session Media.  Meaning that you cannot add more data to the disk once the burning has locked it (even if there is room for more). Some systems are able to do a mulitsession on the -R disks (like DVD Recorders) but not all systems are designed to read these extra sessions. Usually only the first (or none) will be readable on other media players.
• + R : The Plus marked media is intended for multi-sessions. Meaning that you can add data to the disk in Sessions. You don’t have to fill it up all at once but can use it as a backup media to add files over a period of time. Each Session can be Added to an existing session or be created as a separate one. As an added bonus you can tell a session to “delete” an excisting file. Delete in the sense that a code is inserted telling the media player to disregard it.
• RW : Means, ReWriteable. Basically the burnable layer inside the disk is made of a material that can be erased and overwritten. There are limitations as to how many times it will work and still be readable. The RW disks have more or less been replaced by the USB Flash Chips – which of course are much more versatile.

Are there other differences ?

Yes there are. They use different kind of technology which controls how the data is stored, packed and retrieved, read/write-speed, error handling and  reliability. As with the old VHS vs Beta, and the last HD-disk vs BlueRay – The DVD-R and DVD+R were developed by different manufacturers, Phillips and Sony as the main contributors. And they are both convinced theirs is the best solution.

How is a disk identified ?

If you look closely to an empty disk you will see a small circle at the very inner part of the reflective area. This is where the disk information is stored. We can compare this to the BIOS or ROM on your computer. This information tells your writer or reader how the disk will work.

Why can’t some media players read all disks ?

That depends on the manufacturer. Each kind of media has its own way of storing data. And these have to be programmed into the device. Much like an ordinary DVD player can’t read DivX formatted movies unless it has all necessary codecs installed in its firmware. Each Session on a disk have Start and End Entries telling the device where the data is stored, and where there are none. Therefore if you force multi sessions on a disk that is not coded for it, devices that read the disks will not know what to do with the extra information stored.

So there you have it. Keep those suggestions coming into our suggestion box.

Source: http://mintywhite.com/software-reviews/multimedia-software/cddvd-rw/

Top 10 Mac Applications that Should Be on Windows

Computer Renaissance found this article interesting and would like to share it with you.

We love what Microsoft's done with Windows 7, but when we boot into Windows after spending a good amount of time on a Mac, here are 10 applications we sorely miss.

Note: In almost all of these cases, we're not saying that "This exact application should be ported to Windows." What we are suggesting is that there's a need for a particular kind of application, and that this application, on OS X, fills exactly that need. Also, for most purposes, we stuck with free applications. For a counterpoint, check out these 10 Windows apps that should be on Macs.

10. NetNewsWire

Most Lifehacker readers prefer to read their RSS feeds using Google Reader, and Reader is a great webapp, but if you'd prefer an offline-friendly, desktop alternative, we'd rather have something likeNetNewsWire than any other desktop newsreader we've used on Windows.

9. GarageBand

Windows has no great, free audio recording and editing application that can hold a candle to GarageBand. Sure, there's Audacity, the open-source audio editing app we know and love, but it's not the friendliest of applications, and it certainly doesn't have the range of GarageBand. While GarageBand technically isn't free, since you do have to pay for updates to iLife, GarageBand ships for free on new Macs by default.

8. Skitch

We take far more screenshots around Lifehacker HQ than most people, and while you'll find no shortage of Windows screenshot-taking applications, we've yet to find anything as simple, effective, and attractive asSkitch. Where most screenshot applications have extremely ugly call-outs, Skitch pays close attention to the way screenshot annotations look, so you're actually proud to share the attractive screenshot you just snagged. Oh, and as icing on the cake, Skitch supports one-click screenshot sharing online.

7. Fluid

Fluid is a site-specific browser (SSB) that creates a standalone desktop application from any web site—effectively turning your favorite webapps into desktop applications. That may not sound all that impressive, especially since Windows users have the Mozilla-built Prism, but Fluid's robust support for user scripts and ability to hook into the Dock system notification tools like Growl put it head and shoulders above Prism in our experience.

6. Growl

It's not exactly fair to putGrowl into this category, particularly because at least two projects (Growl for Windows and Snarl) have tried really hard to gain traction on Windows systems, but unfortunately neither seem to have caught on in a really significant way. This likely has something to do with the fact that Windows has its own (weak) notification system built in out of the box, while OS X does not. As a result, users and developers interested in a nice, unified notification system have incentive to use Growl. Still, we'd kill for a Growl on Windows that works as well and enjoys the near universal adoption Growl for Mac does.

5. Adium

Adium is an open source, multi-protocol chat application that's actuallybased on Pidgin, a chat app for Windows and Linux. The difference: Adium is about a thousand times more attractive, configurable, and fun to use.

4. Cyberduck

When you go looking for a solid free FTP client for Windows, you generally end up using FileZilla. And while FileZilla is certainly functional, it doesn't have close to the impressively broad range of functionality and user-friendly good looks of Cyberduck.

3. Preview

OS X's default image viewer, Preview, is lightning fast, opens nearly any image file you throw at it—from PDF to JPG to TIFF and well beyond (see the full list of supported file types here)—and on top of it all, provides a relatively impressive advanced feature set. And while there are plenty of solid PDF tools for Windows, we'd kill for something as simple and lightweight as Preview, built into Windows 7, that also supported, say, quickly viewing a folder's worth of images.

2. Any Sort of Mac-on-Windows Virtualization

It's not Microsoft's fault that there's no good way to run OS X or OS X applications seamlessly on your PC in the same way Mac users can run Windows operating systems and applications within OS X, but that doesn't change the fact that if you could do so, it could nearly render this entire conversation moot.

1. Quicksilver

Steve Jobs can crow all he wants about how great OS X and Apple's hardware are, but Quicksilver is the Mac application that got me to buy my first Mac. Sure, Windows has plenty of application launchers, but this deceptively powerful application for keyboard shortcut lovers puts almost any action you'd want to quickly perform on your Mac at your fingertips, and we'd kill to see a solid, stable, and functional alternative for Windows.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5567699/top-10-mac-applications-that-should-be-on-windows

Quickly Copy Movie Files to Individually Named Folders

Computer Renaissance would like to share with you this useful article.

Some HTPC media manager applications require movie files to be in stored in separate folders to properly store information such as cover art images and other metadata. Here we look at copying movie files to individual folders.

If you already have a large movie collection stored in a single folder, we’ll show you how to quickly move those files into their own individually named folders.

File2Folder

FIle2folder is a handy portable app that automatically creates and moves movie files into a folder of the same filename. There is no installation needed. Simply download and run the .exe file (link below). Enter the current movie directory, or browse for the folder. File2folder now supports both local and network shares.

When you are ready to create the folders and move the files, click Move!

You’ll see the move progress displayed in the window.

When the process is finished, you’ll have all your movie file in individual folders.

Change your mind? Just click the Undo! button…

…and the move and folder creation process will be undone.

If you would like to have the folder monitored for new files, click the Start button. File2folder will process any new files it discovers every 180 seconds. To turn it off, click Stop.

This simple little program is a huge timesaver for those looking to organize movie collections for their HTPC. We should also note that this will work with any files, not just videos.

Download file2folder

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/19707/quickly-copy-movie-files-to-individually-named-folders/

Monitor your Hard Drive’s Health with Acronis Drive Monitor

Computer Renaissance found this article useful and would like to share it with you.

Are you worried that your computer’s hard drive could die without any warning?  Here’s how you can keep tabs on it and get the first warning signs of potential problems before you actually lose your critical data.

Hard drive failures are one of the most common ways people lose important data from their computers.  As more of our memories and important documents are stored digitally, a hard drive failure can mean the loss of years of work.  Acronis Drive Monitor helps you avert these disasters by warning you at the first signs your hard drive may be having trouble.  It monitors many indicators, including heat, read/write errors, total lifespan, and more. It then notifies you via a taskbar popup or email that problems have been detected.  This early warning lets you know ahead of time that you may need to purchase a new hard drive and migrate your data before it’s too late.

Getting Started

Head over to the Acronis site to download Drive Monitor (link below).  You’ll need to enter your name and email, and then you can download this free tool.

Also, note that the download page may ask if you want to include a trial of their for-pay backup program.  If you wish to simply install the Drive Monitor utility, click Continue without adding.

Run the installer when the download is finished.  Follow the prompts and install as normal.

Once it’s installed, you can quickly get an overview of your hard drives’ health.  Note that it shows 3 categories: Disk problems, Acronis backup, and Critical Events.  On our computer, we had Seagate DiskWizard, an image backup utility based on Acronis Backup, installed, and Acronis detected it.

Drive Monitor stays running in your tray even when the application window is closed.  It will keep monitoring your hard drives, and will alert you if there’s a problem.

Find Detailed Information About Your Hard Drives

Acronis’ simple interface lets you quickly see an overview of how the drives on your computer are performing.  If you’d like more information, click the link under the description.  Here we see that one of our drives have overheated, so click Show disks to get more information.

Now you can select each of your drives and see more information about them.  From theDisk overview tab that opens by default, we see that our drive is being monitored, has been running for a total of 368 days, and that it’s health is good.  However, it is running at 113F, which is over the recommended max of 107F.

The S.M.A.R.T. parameters tab gives us more detailed information about our drive.  Most users wouldn’t know what an accepted value would be, so it also shows the status.  If the value is within the accepted parameters, it will report OK; otherwise, it will show that has a problem in this area.

One very interesting piece of information we can see is the total number of Power-On Hours, Start/Stop Count, and Power Cycle Count.  These could be useful indicators to check if you’re considering purchasing a second hand computer.  Simply load this program, and you’ll get a better view of how long it’s been in use.

Finally, the Events tab shows each time the program gave a warning.  We can see that our drive, which had been acting flaky already, is routinely overheating even when our other hard drive was running in normal temperature ranges.

Monitor Acronis Backups And Critical Errors

In addition to monitoring critical stats of your hard drives, Acronis Drive Monitor also keeps up with the status of your backup software and critical events reported by Windows.  You can access these from the front page, or via the links on the left hand sidebar.  If you have any edition of any Acronis Backup product installed, it will show that it was detected.  Note that it can only monitor the backup status of the newest versions of Acronis Backup and True Image.

If no Acronis backup software was installed, it will show a warning that the drive may be unprotected and will give you a link to download Acronis backup software.

If you have another backup utility installed that you wish to monitor yourself, clickConfigure backup monitoring, and then disable monitoring on the drives you’re monitoring yourself.

Finally, you can view any detected Critical events from the Critical events tab on the left.

Get Emailed When There’s a Problem

One of Drive Monitor’s best features is the ability to send you an email whenever there’s a problem.  Since this program can run on any version of Windows, including the Server and Home Server editions, you can use this feature to stay on top of your hard drives’ health even when you’re not nearby.  To set this up, click Options in the top left corner.

Select Alerts on the left, and then click the Change settings link to setup your email account.

Enter the email address which you wish to receive alerts, and a name for the program.  Then, enter the outgoing mail server settings for your email.  If you have a Gmail account, enter the following information:

Outgoing mail server (SMTP):
smtp.gmail.com

Port:
587

Username and Password:
Your gmail address and password

Check the Use encryption box, and then select TLS from the encryption options.

It will now send a test message to your email account, so check and make sure it sent ok.

Now you can choose to have the program automatically email you when warnings and critical alerts appear, and also to have it send regular disk status reports.

Conclusion

Whether you’ve got a brand new hard drive or one that’s seen better days, knowing the real health of your it is one of the best ways to be prepared before disaster strikes.  It’s no substitute for regular backups, but can help you avert problems.  Acronis Drive Monitor is a nice tool for this, and although we wish it wasn’t so centered around their backup offerings, we still found it a nice tool.

Link

Download Acronis Drive Monitor (registration required)

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/19591/monitor-your-hard-drives-health-with-acronis-drive-monitor/