Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on December 13, 2007 by CyberNet.

PhraseExpress is one of our favorite freeware applications because of the sheer power it harnesses. They’re stepping up their game with the new PhraseExpress 5 that is slated for release sometime next month, but in the meantime they have a Beta version that you can kick around.

Version 5 introduces several new features, and two of them are particularly great. The first one is an automatic text prediction tool that will learn phrases that you commonly type. That’s right, if it sees you repeating the same phrases over and over it will automatically start suggesting them in a small popup as you’re typing.

The other cool feature is a more advanced clipboard that retains several of your recently copied text snippets. By default the Windows clipboard is only able to store the last item that you copied, but with PhraseExpress 5 you can access several text items that you’ve previously copied. To retrieve them you’ll simply use the Shift+Ctrl+V keyboard shortcut.

I’m sure you want to see all of this in action, and there’s no better way than with a video demonstration:

PhraseExpress is free for personal use, but the Beta version will expire on January 31, 2008. They expect the final release to be completed before then, so this is just a way to ensure people upgrade to the latest version.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on September 28, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

Another Browser Migrates to WebKit
The WebKit rendering engine is on a roll. Safari started the whole thing, and then Google Chrome thought it would be good to use, then just recently Maxthon followed up with support, and now Epiphany. Sure, Epiphany may not be the most popular browser since it’s Linux-only, but that’s besides the point. What this shows is a growing trend of browsers migrating over to WebKit, which could prove to be a positive thing for users. If WebKit is established as a common rendering engine we may start to see an increasing number of sites making sure they work well with it. We might finally be able to pick a browser based upon the features it offers instead of whether it can display sites properly.

Phoenix BIOS Boots PC in Seconds
Phoenix has developed a BIOS that can “POST” in a mere one second, which leads to an overall fast boot time. They used a Lenovo T400s with an SSD, and it was able to reach a useable Windows 7 desktop in just 10-seconds. It’s not quite as fast as resuming from standby, but this can make having to restart your PC much less painful. I look forward to seeing this available in the future.

Dropbox Hits 2 Million Users; 1 Million Active
I have to admit that Dropbox is one of my favorite services. The main reason I like it so much is the fact that they offer 2GB of online storage that can be used to keep all the files I upload in sync across all my machines regardless of the OS. I was actually surprised to see that they only have 1 million active users… they definitely deserve more than that.

–News in Brief–

Wii Price Cut Available on Amazon
Amazon is already showing the price cut on the Wii, bringing it down to $199. To top it off they are also throwing in a $25 Amazon gift card with it.

Microsoft’s New Prototype “Wall”
Want a glimpse of the future? Here’s a new video put out by Microsoft demonstrating yet again what our offices may look like tomorrow. And by tomorrow I mean 50 years from now.

Firefox 3.6 Provides Tools for Better Support
Mozilla is adding an about:support to their browser that will give the users details about their Firefox setup that can be provided when they are in search of support.

DirectX 10.1 vs. DirectX 11
The difference between these two versions of DirectX doesn’t appear to be that great, but it might be more significant at higher resolutions.

Hide Read Labels in Gmail
A new Labs feature in Gmail will let you show only those labels that have unread items.

Video Interview with Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer sits down with TechCrunch and talks about Yahoo, Zune, and more.

FeedDemon 3.0 Released
The final version of FeedDemon has made it out the door, and is complete with Google Reader synchronization.

Microsoft’s Tablet… the Courier?
Rumors are that Microsoft is working on on a new kind of tablet PC that could be pretty amazing if the “leaked” image ends up being real.

Google Taps into IE with Chrome Frame
A plugin for Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 offered by Google lets web pages render with Chrome.

Picasa 3.5 Gets Name Tags and More
The new version of Picasa can identify the people in your photos, and will also let you geotag them.

Push Gmail for the iPhone and Windows Mobile
Both iPhone and Windows Mobile users can receive push email notifications if they’re using Gmail thanks to the new Exchange/ActiveSync support.

Netflix Makes Out Like a Bandit with their $1 Million Competition
We’ve covered the Netflix $1 million competition before, and we may see other companies following their lead. It’s said that if you look at everyone involved in the competition that Netflix was getting “Ph.D.’s for a dollar an hour.”

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Auto Shutdown Firefox and More
I’ve seen extensions to shutdown Firefox after your downloads are done, but this one is rather unique. How so? First off it can integrate with the popular DownThemAll extension. Second, you can specify command line operations you want executed before your computer shuts down. Now that’s impressive.

GIMP is Getting Single-Window Mode
If you follow me on Twitter you know how excited I was last week when it was announced that the next version of GIMP would include a single-window mode. That’s right. Should you choose to you’ll no longer have windows floating all over the place. Not only that but the new version will also have several other great improvements that actually make me excited for the next release.

XPize Polishes Up XP
If you’re still holding off on upgrading your copy of XP then maybe you should consider giving it some new life with XPize. It updates a lot of the icons so that they are much more modern, and comes bundled with some themes that can even skin your login screen. It’s a completely free way to make your PC feel a bit more up-to-date.

Evernote Beta for Windows Gets a Facelift
I use Evernote all the time to take notes when I’m on the go, at home, or at work. The great thing is that Evernote stays in sync no matter where I’m at, and now the refreshed Windows version has some of the features only the Mac version had. The most prominent example is probably the thumbnail previews that go along with the awesome three-pane view.

–Tips in Brief–

How to Try Out Microsoft Office Web Apps
If you’re impatient and want to try out Microsoft Office Web Apps these are the instructions you need to follow.

Top 10 Ways to Get More From a Cameraphone
Here’s a variety of different ways you can use your cameraphone to ensure that it’s put to good use.

Create Beautiful Drawings with Livebrush
Got some artistic talent? This free app will transform that talent into a digital form.

Force IE to Use Chrome Frame
If you really like Chrome Frame you can force IE to always use that to render websites. Or, you know, you could just use Chrome.

CNet Techtracker Checks for Software Updates
Yep, another app that will check for updates to the software you have installed on your computer.

Selectively Block Flash Animations in Chrome
This will block all Flash animation on websites until you explicitly approve them.

Tux Paint: Great Image App for Kids
This is a pretty cool app for kids because it makes it simple for kids to find the various tools they need to draw.

Digsby Gets New Twitter Features
My love for Digsby has diminished a bit, but the new Twitter functionality is pretty cool.

John’s Background Switcher Updated
The new version includes a bunch of features including Google, Yahoo, and Bing image search results.

3 Tools to Manage Virtual Drives
Get some virtual drives hooked up to your PC with these free programs.

–Downloads–

• AIM 7.0.11.2 [Mirror]
• BurnAware Free 2.4 [Mirror]
• Digsby Build 65 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Drupal 6.4 [Mirror]
• FeedDemon 3.0.0.41 [Mirror]
• FileZilla 3.2.8 [Mirror]
• Google Chrome 4.0.213.1 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Google SketchUp 7.1.4871 [Mirror]
• iTunes 9.0.1 [Mirror]
• Mandriva Linux 2010.0 ^RC1 [Mirror]
• Maxthon 3.0.48 ^Alpha [Mirror]
• Maxthon 2.5.9.1883 [Mirror]
• Miranda 0.8.7 [Mirror]
• Notepad++ 5.5.0 [Mirror]
• Opera 10.10.1792 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Paint.NET 3.5 ^{Beta 1} [Mirror]
• Picasa 3.5.79.67 [Mirror]
• RSSOwl 2.0 ^RC1 [Mirror]
• Sandboxie 3.39.20 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Thunderbird 3.0 ^{Beta 4} [Mirror]
• uTorrent 1.8.4.16667 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 2.0.16625 ^Beta [Mirror]
• VLC Media Player 1.0.2 [Mirror]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on December 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

Microsoft is trying hard to show people that they are serious about online storage, and I’d say they are doing a darn good job of it. They just updated their SkyDrive online file storage service with numerous new features, but more importantly they bumped up the free storage quota from a mere 5GB to 25GB. While the new limit sounds rather appetizing you should take into consideration that they do restrict individual file sizes to under 50MB. So no, you won’t be able to upload your video library.

Here are some of SkyDrive’s features (new features are highlighted in green):

• Storage: Store up to 25 gigabytes (GB) of photos and files.
• Organization: Arrange your files in top-level folders (A folder that appears in the Documents, Favorites, or Photos sections on the Windows Live SkyDrive home page. Also known as a root folder.) and subfolders (A folder that you create inside a top-level folder.) that you create.
• Control: Choose permissions (A setting that lets you limit who can see and download files from your folders.) for each top-level folder that you create. Keep your photos, files, and favorites in personal folders (Only you can view or edit files in this top-level folder. You can use personal folders to store private files.) so only you can access them; in shared folders (Only you and people that you select can view photos and files in this top-level folder. For each person that you allow to access the top-level folder, you can assign the role of reader or editor.) so you can share them with your Windows Live network, your extended network(The people in your network on Windows Live—your Windows Live Messenger and profile contacts—plus the profile contacts of the people in your network.) , and people on your contact list (A list that contains the name and e-mail address of each of your contacts.) ; or in public folders (Anyone on the Internet can view photos and files in this top-level folder, but only you can edit the photos and files.) so that they can be viewed by anyone on the Internet.
• Flexibility: Upload any photo or file up to 50 megabytes (MB) in size, and move, copy, delete, rename, and caption your photos and files after you upload them. Entire folders can be downloaded as a single ZIP file.
• Display: Photos saved as the JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIF, and TIFF file types (A standard way of storing information on a computer by using the last three letters of a file name, known as the file extension, to indicate the file type. Different programs use different file extensions.) display with thumbnail (A miniature version of an image or electronic version of a page that is generally used to allow quick browsing through multiple images or pages.) images, and can be viewed by other users on SkyDrive or in an online slide show, if they have the right permissions to view them.
• Sharing: Share links directly to your folders, files, and photos, or embed your photos and files in your blog (Short for weblog. An online journal. Each entry typically contains personal thoughts and web links, with the newest entries listed first.) or webpage. You can also share files with users who don’t have a Windows Live ID, and they won’t be required to create an account.

The only thing the service lacks is a way for people to bulk upload files and folders through a desktop application. Having to go to the site and upload items one-by-one can get rather frustrating, but I suspect that’s how they are getting away with offering such an enormous amount of free storage. Lifehacker did find a free tool that will let you do just this, but I’d still like to see something come from Microsoft.

You may not agree with me, but I believe SkyDrive could be on the verge of becoming a terrific social network for sharing files. People can upload files and photos that can then be shared with friends, family, and colleagues. I have to give credit where credit is due. I thought for sure Google would beat Microsoft to the punch in terms of online file storage, but they proved me wrong. Bravo!

Sign-up for Windows Live SkyDrive

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Growing up in the 80’s, many kids used their Little Tikes easels to sketch their homes, or their families, or a football or two. Mine was littered with pictures of ceiling fans. But not just the ceiling fan mounted above my playroom — no, these fans were upside-down (like a model I saw in New Orleans), daisy-chained (seen at a local arcade), and connected to a gas-powered motor (as I once noticed at an Amish farm). My obsession with ceiling fans, and really any motor-powered gadget, ran deep. At one point, shortly after I took my first steps, I began refusing to eat in restaurants that didn’t have fans. And when a particular establishment was sophisticated enough to have installed that ever-so-necessary exposed air circulator, you better believe that it needed to be running, and at full speed.

My seemingly bizarre obsession with powered devices didn’t stop there. I also had an unlikely fascination with vacuum cleaners. Not with their ability to pick up dirt — I don’t believe I had any interest in what they were actually used for, much to the chagrin of my mother — but with the loud motor that sprung to life when I flipped the power switch, and the uncannily bright headlight that lit the way. Sure, vacuums today feature quiet motors and highly maneuverable ball designs, and even though life was simpler two decades ago, that mesmerizing loud hum, and bright, guiding light would be all it took to get a two-year-old me hooked. But electricity became more than a casual curiosity. My most prized possession was a wood-mounted set of outlets paired with matching switches — one was fixed, and one dimmed. My grandfather helped me build it after one of our weekend trips to the hardware store.

Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Zach Honig

Growing Up Geek: Zach Honig originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on October 21, 2007 by CyberNet.

Yesterday I went through how you can enable restricted drivers in Ubuntu 7.10, but that was only part of my struggle while trying to get Compiz Fusion turned on. Enabling the advanced graphics should technically have been a piece of cake after getting my 3D-enabled ATI drivers installed on my ATI X1400 graphics card, but that wasn’t exactly the case.

I went to System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Visual Effects and tried filling in the Extra bubble. That should have worked, but instead of being overwhelmed with the amazing eye candy that Compiz Fusion brings I was presented with an error message stating that “The composite extension is not available“. And I had my hopes up. *sigh*

I went hunting around the Ubuntu forum to see if I was alone in experiencing such an issue, and it turns out I wasn’t. There were a lot of people trying to figure out how to work around the problem, but one member hit it right on the dot. Here’s what I had to do:

1. Go to System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager. This is going to be used to install two packages that you’ll need to have.
2. The first package that you’ll need to search for is xserver-xgl, and check the box next to it.
   
3. Now do another search for compizconfig-settings-manager, which isn’t needed but might as well be installed. This provides a user interface for configuring the different settings of Compiz Fusion.
   
4. Go back to System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Visual Effects and fill in the Effects bubble.
   
5. You may need to restart Ubuntu, but after that you can use Compiz Fusion in all its glory!

I plan on writing up a review of several Compiz Fusion features later on, and I’ll admit that it is worth any extra work you need to do to get it running. Don’t forget that you installed the Compiz Settings Manager in step 3 which provides an interface for configuring the different Compiz Fusion plugins. That can be accessed by going to System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Advanced Desktop Effects Settings:

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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