Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on February 06, 2007 by CyberNet.

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the Giveaway of the Day site, but I subscribe to it in my feed because I’m always looking for a great (free) download. Basically, the site legally offers a download each day that would normally cost you money. There is one catch though, you have to download and install the application that same day! You’re sorely out of luck if you ever have to format your hard drive.

Normally on Giveaway of the Day, the software doesn’t seem to be that great, and I actually haven’t downloaded any of their offerings. After you download one of their programs you have to run their activator before you install the program, and I assume that their activator only works for the day that the download is available for. If you try and activate it anytime after that you’ll probably receive some sort of warning stating that you cannot activate the software yada yada (although I’ve never tried so I’m not sure what the activator would do).

I’m sure that is the only way they can get these companies to offer the software to them for their readers, because this way they get their software on the computers of a variety of people. Then, when a user clears their computer they’ll realize that the software can no longer be installed so they might actually go and buy it if they grew accustomed to it.

Today the software available is Post2Blog which is exactly what the name implies: blogging software. It normally costs $39 but it is available for you to download and install for free during the next 7 hours from Giveaway of the Day. I was a little skeptical about giving the software a trial run because I didn’t want to cozy up with it, and then later on down the road want to buy it since I have become so used to it. However, we write a lot of articles so I was curious what a commercial blogging application had to offer that other free alternatives, like Windows Live Writer, didn’t have. Here are the features that the site boasts…and there was one that really caught my attention in regards to the activation scheme (see if you can find it before I point it out):

• WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor with complete hot-keys support
• Built-in "Live" spell checking
• "Portable Mode" support
• Images are uploaded automatically (supported uploading types: Flickr, file area of your blog, imageshack.us, picturelli.com, custom FTP server)
• Post text and/or images from Firefox or Internet Explorer to your blog with 2 clicks only using plug-ins for Firefox (check example) and Internet Explorer
• Compose new posts in MS Word and post them to your blog using Post2Blog toolbar for MS Word
• Integration with RSS Bandit (rssbandit.org) and Sharp Reader (sharpreader.net) – you can post selected items from these RSS readers using Post2Blog plug-in
• Post files, images, documents from Explorer or any other program using "Send To -> Post2Blog" command
• Add Technorati, Del.icio.us, Buzzwords, 43 Things tags to your posts
• Automatically send trackbacks, ping web-services to notify about updates in your blogs
• Earn money using "Insert Amazon Link" feature
• Use built-in smiles for use in your blog

Did you see it? The third option down mentions a "Portable Mode" that I was intrigued to see how it worked. Very rarely have I seen commercial software offer a portable version, and I was excited to see this. Being able to have a great blogging utility on my USB drive wherever I go was an appetizing thought, so I was excited to give it a shot.

After installing the program there is a new option in the Start Menu entry called "Create Portable version" that you use to put the application on your USB drive. All it does is copy the files for the program and your settings into a single folder (that you specify) so that you can run the app from anywhere. Pretty slick, but that also brings up the big point that I want to make…this portable version has your settings, files, and registration info! If you save this folder you’ll never have to install the program again, and it will always be registered. So if you reformat your computer, there is no risk in having to go and purchase the program.

I was thinking to myself that this might be against the terms of Giveaway of the Day somehow, but I don’t see how it could be since you are just taking advantage of features the program has to offer. The download only has 7 hours left so you have to download and install it before that time expires. Then you can go about creating the portable version whenever you feel like it, as long as you do it before you format your computer!

Hope this helps any bloggers looking for a nice commercial application to use! I really like it, but I’m not sure if it is worth the $39. Oh yeah, and for those of you who like Web standards, this does have an XHTML option to generate XHTML code.

Thanks to Radu for pointing out that this software was available.

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This article was written on May 27, 2008 by CyberNet.

When we announced back in March that Photoshop CS4 had been leaked there were (and still are) some skeptics that it’s the real deal. The timing of the leak seemed about right since the Adobe Creative Suite is on an 18 to 24 month release cycle, which would place the final release of Adobe CS4 somewhere between October 2008 and April 2009. It took 5-months for Adobe to release Photoshop CS3 from the time they unleashed the first Beta, and today we are one step closer to that stage.

Photoshop CS4 Beta hasn’t been released yet, but three other Beta products of the Creative Suite are available: Dreamweaver CS4 Beta, Fireworks CS4 Beta, and Soundbooth CS4 Beta. I think that’s a good indication that Photoshop CS4 Beta is on the horizon, but in this article we’re going to focus on the new Dreamweaver. If you already have a Dreamweaver CS3 serial number you’ll be able to use CS4 Beta outside of the trial mode, otherwise you’ll have just 2-days to evaluate it.

They have a new setup routine in place, and it installs surprisingly fast. What I didn’t like, however, was that they took it upon themselves to “skin” the entire application. I tested it on a Windows machine, and as you can see here it doesn’t take on any characteristics of the operating system (window border, menu toolbar design, etc…):

(Click to Enlarge)

Aside from the new design there aren’t many breathtaking features. Here’s what Adobe says is new in Dreamweaver CS4 10.0 Build 3963:

• Live View: View your web pages under real-world browser conditions with the new Live View in Dreamweaver — while still retaining direct access to the code. The new rendering mode, which uses the open source rendering engine WebKit, displays your designs like a standards-based browser.
• Related Files: Manage the various files that make up the modern web page more efficiently in Dreamweaver. The Related Files feature displays all the documents associated with your current page, whether CSS, JavaScript, PHP, or XML, in a bar along the top of your document.
• Code Navigator: The new Code Navigator pop-up window shows you all the code sources that affect your current selection. A click in either Code or Design view brings up the Code Navigator pop-up, which displays CSS rules, server-side includes, external JavaScript functions, Dreamweaver templates, Library files, iframe source files, and more.
• CSS best practices: The Property inspector’s new CSS tab shows the styles for the current selection as well as all the applicable CSS rules. Hover over any property to view a tool tip with jargon-free English explanations of CSS principles. New CSS rules can be created and applied in the Property inspector panel and stored in the same document or an external style sheet.
• Code hinting for Ajax and JavaScript frameworks: Write JavaScript more quickly and accurately with improved support for JavaScript core objects and primitive data types. Work with popular JavaScript frameworks including jQuery, Prototype, and Spry.
• HTML data sets: With HTML data sets functionality, you can create your data in a standard HTML table, a series of div tags, or even an unordered list and then choose Insert > Spry > Spry Data Set to integrate that data into a dynamic table on the page with sortable columns, a master-detail layout, or other sophisticated displays.
• Photoshop Smart Objects: Photoshop and Dreamweaver integration has evolved to the next level of compatibility and functionality. Drag and drop an Adobe Photoshop PSD file into a Dreamweaver page to create an image Smart Object.
• Subversion integration: Dreamweaver integrates Subversion software for a more robust check-in/check-out experience with file versioning, rollback, and more. Once you’ve defined Subversion as your version control system, you can update your site to get the latest versions of its pages directly from within Dreamweaver; no third-party utility or command-line interface is required.
• Adobe AIR authoring support: Create multiplatform desktop applications from your Dreamweaver HTML and JavaScript sites with new Adobe AIR authoring support.
• New user interface: Work faster and smarter across Dreamweaver and other components of the next version of Adobe Creative Suite thanks to a new level of integration and common user interface elements.

To download any of the Beta’s you’ll need an Adobe account even if all you want to do is download a trial. Here is a username and password you can use for that compliments of BugMeNot:

• Username: monket@mailinator.com
• Password: monket1

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on April 12, 2007 by CyberNet.

Apple iTunes which launched in 2003, has managed to turn themselves into an extremely successful media store.  Up until this point, Apple has always said that they would never consider turning to a subscription service.  Now rumor has it that they may be changing their tune.

Other music services on the web like Yahoo’s Music Unlimited have taken the subscription route, but yet none of these services have become too popular. Why is that?

Some analysts are saying that subscription models haven’t worked yet for other services because iTunes hasn’t gone that route yet.  Is iTunes really THAT influential? Or are these other services just lacking something?

Phil Liegh who’s a senior analyst with Inside Digital Media spoke to CNN Money and said:

“The number one factor regarding the acceptance of the subscription model is the dominance of Apple. The idea of subscribing to music is new to most consumers so when the dominant player doesn’t talk about it, the idea seems out of the mainstream for most consumers.”

While some are saying that an iTunes subscription is definitely a possibility, others are saying that this isn’t very likely.  Dan Moren over at MacUser.com says:

I think the deluge began in my newsreader sometime last night: “Apple to consider iTunes subscription service!” You’d have thought that perhaps the clouds had parted and the smiling visage of Steve Jobs had blazed forth, sending down word from on high that Apple would offer iTunes subscriptions. Not exactly.

The whole rumor of Apple starting a subscription service came from the CEO of Intent Media Works who works with peer-to-peer networks.  If Apple was going to start such a service, I doubt they’d be telling them their plans first.

Whether or not this rumor is true, I think most people would be happy with a subscription service, particularly if they purchase media regularly.

—

As a side note, you just might be able to purchase your favorite Beatles songs from iTunes soon. The Beatles recently settled a $50 million royalty dispute with EMI that has kept their music from the iTunes store thus far.

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on November 06, 2007 by CyberNet.

EverNote is one of my favorite applications because of its advanced note taking capabilities. With it I’m able to clip important information from the web, write up grocery lists, keep track of things I need to do, and more.

The new EverNote 2.2 raises the bar even more by adding some highly anticipated features:

• Improved search for printed and handwritten text within images
• Auto-import snapshots from your camera phone
• Basic image editing right inside EverNote
  
• Google Desktop Search (GDS) compatibility – all searches using Google Desktop will include your notes
• Universal Clipper with image markup
• Open, manage, and edit notes in separate windows

The advanced version of EverNote ($49.95) includes searching within images, handwriting recognition, shape correction, and digital ink support. You’ll get to use all of those features for your first 60 days, and after that EverNote will revert to a fully functional mode without those features. I think it’s safe to say that if you don’t have a Tablet PC the free version will suffice.

Heads Up: The download is 56.5MB in size, which is rather large.

EverNote Homepage [via jkOnTheRun]

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This article was written on June 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

It’s time for your daily fix of iPhone updates!  The first reviews are in from The Wall Street Journal (Walt Mossberg), The New York Times (David Pogue), USA Today (Ed Baig), and Newsweek (Steven Levy), and overall I’d say the reviewers were pretty impressed and generally had nothing but good things to say about the phone. My biggest concern after reading the reviews however, is that they mentioned that AT&T’s Edge Internet service is slow. I’ll get more into that later, but first we’ll start with the areas where they were all in agreement.

Areas of Agreement :

Worth the hype?

Is the iPhone worth all of the hype that it’s been receiving lately? The general answer is absolutely! Pogue of the New York Times says, “most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years,” while Baig of USA Today says “This expensive, glitzy wunkerkind is indeed worth lusting after.”

Design, Screen and User Interface

Good news! All four pointed out that it’s practical, but more importantly fun to use. And in a nutshell, it’s slim, sleek, and comfortable in the hand to use and touch.

Regarding the screen, many people including myself were wondering how the screen would stand-up to heavy use. I was thinking that users would end up using a screen-protector of sorts to keep it scratch-free, however that may not be needed. All four reviewers noted that the screen doesn’t scratch easily, and after weeks of use, it was nearly as good as new. Now, whether or not the phone will look “as good as new” a year from now we have yet to know.

Edge Internet/Wi-Fi

While they were all in agreement here, they’re not agreeing that the Internet is great. Instead, the resounding agreement was that it was slow. Not good!

• Excruciatingly Slow (Pogue)
• Pokey; far slower than Verizon or Sprint networks (Mossberg)
• Pokey, compared with 3G data networks (Baig)
• Feels like dial-up

The one thing that will help compensate with the slow Internet is the Wi-Fi access which Levy notes is partial compensation, and Baig says is iPhone’s savings grace for data. Mossberg says that it doesn’t fully make up for the lack of a fast cellular data, but Pogue says it is fast and satisfying.

I have a feeling that users will be quick to switch to a Wi-Fi network for data when one is available if the Edge Internet is as slow as all four said it was.

Areas of Disagreement :

Typing

I had already been hearing that the keyboard is difficult to use for typing, however it may be one of those things that just takes getting used to. The reviewers didn’t all agree here with Pogue saying it was frustrating, especially at first, and Mossberg saying it’s a non-issue because of smart software.

Apple has actually put together a video specifically for typing on the iPhone.  I must say, it does look like there is pretty amazing technology behind the keyboard. While they recommend getting started with just one finger, I don’t think it’ll be too difficult before you’re using both of your thumbs to quickly type emails and text messages (unfortunately, no instant messages).

Battery Life

Just a couple of weeks ago, Apple surprised everyone with battery life details for the iPhone saying that it will get 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and 24 hours audio playback. While those numbers are impressive, how did the reviewers rate battery life?

Well, three of them thought it was great with comments like “impressive,” “so far so good,” and “generally lasts the day.” Pogue however, said that it was not quite as impressive.

I think we’ll wait for the masses to give their opinions on this one, because I’m sure it will widely vary depending on what people are doing with their phones.

Overall

Overall, I’d say wait for the masses to give their opinions. While I think all four reviews had a lot of great insight in them, I tend to find the average-joe review to be more accurate, and I’m sure we’ll be reading plenty of those within the coming weeks. From the sounds of it, the iPhone will in fact live up to its hype and really change the cell phone industry.

Note: Gizmodo has a great iPhone Review Matrix for quick, easy referencing.

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