On 11.27.09, In iPhone/Android, by Matt Brian
With the release of the Motorola Droid, awareness has been raised about the Google Android platform and shown there is a real alternative to Apple’s iPhone. Many people have ditched their iPhone’s and migrated across to the Google platform but have had real trouble working out how to get all of their contacts, settings and app data ported from one device to the other.
We have recently showcased a number of Android apps that will help iPhone owners move from the App Store to the Android Market and today we will show you how to make sure all of your iPhone contacts are ported from the iPhone to your Android phone courtesy of Google Contacts. This is tried and tested on a HTC Hero, I haven’t had the chance to check and see if it works with the Droid. If it works for you, please let us know in the comments.
There are many guides on the internet listing the best freeware applications that provide a decent solution to many computing tasks. These lists tend to be long, the software briefly mentioned and inaccurately reviewed, sometimes it can be difficult to narrow down the right tool for your specific job.
I make a point of sourcing and employing freeware applications on my computer, taking time to test them against their paid-for counterparts to see if they will enable me to the job I am after. This can be a lengthy process but it is all the more worthwhile when you can recommend these tools to friends and family, saving them time and money when outfitting their computers with the software they need.
I would like to share with you 10 really useful and free applications that I would be lost without on my Windows machine. I will try to include all relevant information, links and screenshots so that you can make an informed decision before you decide to download an use them.
Whether you are an experienced Windows user or new to Microsoft’s all-powerful operating system, the chances are you may have either have to protect yourself from the threats of computer viruses or had to deal with the fallout when your system is infected. Research a virus related problem on an internet forum, the most common reply would be to arm yourself with a decent antivirus, that or buy yourself a Mac or install Linux.
There are a number of free antivirus solutions for Windows, some of the most popular distributions including; AVG, Avast, ClamWin, Avira Antivir. One company you might have expected to write their own antivirus software for Windows would be the creators of the operating system the viruses were designed to exploit; Microsoft. Sadly that was not the case…until now!
Today I am pleased to introduce and review Microsoft Security Essentials, a free real-time protection software designed to keep your system free from Viruses, Trojans, Spyware and Malware. We will take a look and see just how well it fares against other, more well-known virus scanners.
A week or so ago I received an email from a social media agency acting on behalf Microsoft, asking whether I would be interested in attending the Microsoft Technical Launch Event on the 6th October at Wembley Stadium. Intrigued, I read more of the email and noticed it was covering the launches of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Exchange 2010, I would be a fool not to attend.
Signing up, I received notification of my place and will be especially attending the Windows 7 product launch (our Windows 7 coverage may have helped somewhat in getting this invitation). We are especially lucky in the respect that these tickets were booked almost instantly when they were released, with WillINeedIt getting a personal invite sometime after that.
The event offers feedback sessions led by IT Pro Evangelist James OʼNeill and Windows 7 Product Manager, Laurence Painell. As you may have stumbled upon WillINeedIt after reading one of our Windows 7 articles, we wanted to open the floor to our readers and allow you to have the opportunity to ask the questions that really matter about Windows 7.
If we get the chance, we will ask the questions you provide. Drop us a line in the comments section and we will do our best to get them out there. Expect a full round up in the days following the launch!
Don’t you always wondered how many keys and mouse clicks you do each day? Every thought if you typed more keys than your friends? With WhatPulse, it’s easy to find out!
WhatPulse is a multi-platform program that monitors how many keys your press, and how much you click/move your mouse. It is NOT a keylogger, as your computer protection software might be suspicious about this.
On 08.31.09, In Cool Websites, by gorsefox
I was reminiscing about an old project from the early 90’s. Its code name was Raven and it was an external data storage archive for large scale AIX (UNIX) systems. What I liked about it was that once configured it took over the task of file management and from the moment a file was first created it was copied into the archive and retained. The Raven was not a resounding success. The ideas, however, were sound and I got to thinking about how I could manage the storage on my PCs.
Bringing this concept up to date was remarkably simple.
I pressed some external USB drives into service – as it happen I have a couple of Western Digital “My Book” drives. I formatted these to mimic the drive structure of my PC. This was not strictly necessary, but it did allow me to plan out my data retention policy more simply.
Then came the exciting bit (ok, that may be an exaggeration).
I installed Allway Sync. Allway Sync is available for free download and is designed to synchronise drives and folders between, say, PCs and Laptops, or USB drives, and so forth. In my book “free” is usually an attractive proposition when I want to try something out, so I downloaded the code and got stuck in. As their Features page explains…
Windows 7 is just around the corner. The real question now is how you would like to install it. There are two options for installing Windows 7, Custom and In-Place Upgrade. Custom meaning a clean install. In-Place Upgrade meaning you can upgrade your OS and keep your programs and settings. Unfortunately, not all Windows 7 versions will allow both these options. All possible upgrade paths are shown on the chart below.
Many IT experts recommend not using Window’s built in firewall because of it lacking in outbound security. Without outbound security, malware will have the perimission to make connections from your computer to another without your knowledge, leaving your computer more vulnerable to botnets. Inbound security is also very important, it protects your computer from attacks. The solution is to use a two-way firewall. A two-way firewall will filter both inbound and outbound connections, hence lowering the risk of unathorized connections.
What many people dont know is Windows Vista has a two-way firewall built in. It just has to be activated by the user. This can either be done manually for each outbound connection or it can be done with a simple application (Sphinx Windows 7/Vista Firewall Control).
If you are reading this blog, chances are you are running Windows 7 or at least have heard of it. Just recently, the highly anticipated Windows 7 has been released to manufacturing by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. This is a significant milestone followed by the Retail DVD considering the ultimate failure of the Windows Vista operating system.
If you decide to download Windows 7 RC, you will need to make sure you are downloading the correct file. This article lists the best way to verify you are getting the real deal and not a virus infested archive. Click To Continue
Searching for alternatives to paid software can be a pain at the best of times, scouring open-source repositories like Sourceforge, reading up on reviews to check if the application can do exactly what it says it can. Whilst there are social websites like Wakoopa that track application usage, there isn’t much in the way of sites that suggest different applications to the ones you already use.
AlternativeTo is a website that carefully selects the software it finds alternatives to, instead of listing thousands of applications that people wouldn’t necessarily find alternatives to.
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