Using free tools, Tinkernet’s Daniel Davis explains how to create an Internet radio station that all your friends can listen to. The tools needed are Winamp, Shoutcast DSP Plugin, Shoutcast Sever, and a supply of digital tunes to play. Sorry, today’s tip is for Windows users only.
Before upgrading to Windows Service Pack 3, Leo Notenboom of Ask-Leo.com recommends doing a complete virus and spyware scan, backing up your computer, and verifying that you have at least 1.5 gigabytes of available disk space. To learn more, read these two articles from Microsoft and Ask Leo.
Efficient use of Gmail (Google’s free email service at http://www.gmail.com ) requires a
paradigm shift in how you think about your email inbox. Other email services and clients treat
email as you might a piece of paper in your office. It is either in your inbox, a filing cabinet or a
trash can. Gmail does not, however, emulate a a filing cabinet with folders, where your mail can
only be in one folder at a time. Instead, it offers a label and search system, where mail moves
from your inbox to a single archive, and is retrieved via search or by one of the multiple labels
that can be assigned to it. Stephen Shankland explains why he became a Gmail convert (
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9994405-2.html ).
Ever wonder about downloading YouTube videos onto your iPod? The problem is that YouTube (and most other video sharing sites) uses a Flash format, and your iPod needs a QuickTime format such as MP4. The solution is a piece of software that will assist with the video download, do the format conversion, and place the converted file in your iTunes folder for easy transfer to your iPod. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch recommends iTube for Windows or PodTube for Mac.
Getting a dreaded “corrupt file” error is very frustrating, but PowerPoint users have a number of
ways of recovering. For example, if the error appeared after a Windows crash during a Save
operation, you can usually find a *.tmp file that contains your uncorrupted PowerPoint. Or
sometimes, part of your presentation can be recovered in Microsoft Word. For more tips on
recovering corrupt Power Point files, read Microsoft Office Online and Echos Voice.
Tired of shelling out the big bucks for computer security? Seth Rosenblatt, a technology blogger at CNET’s Download.com, lists his pick of free, top-rated security programs in his Security Starter Kit. His recommendations include Comodo Firewall Pro and AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center, also known as IC3, is a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. They accept online Internet crime complaints, offer tips on how to protect yourself, and explain ongoing illegal Internet schemes. For example, the Nigerian Letter is also known as “419″ because that’s the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that it violates. “Beware when asked to assist in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
Useful but little known Windows keyboard shortcuts are a sure way maximize your computer efficiency. Here are a few that I use daily. Ctrl-A selects all the items in a window. Alt-F4 will close the active program or window. Alt-Tab switches between open windows. To learn more, read Windows Keyboard Shortscuts at About.com.
Although the history functions of Firefox and Internet Explorer are not perfect, they do offer some settings to allow customization. Firefox lets you tweak the number of days history is kept, whether to remember data entered in forms, and whether to track downloads. Internet Explorer also lets you set the days history is kept, and how much disk space is allocated to history. For more details on how to change these options, read CNET’s Worker’s Edge.
Picassa photo management lets you geotag your photos using a map view. To tag multiple photos in the same album, click Map Photos, and then drag your thumbnails onto the map. For instructions on how to tag single photos, and entire albums at once, read Google’s Picassa Help.
