Jan 26

winLAME: Another Free Audio Converter

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on October 01, 2009 by CyberNet.

winlame.jpg

A few weeks ago we wrote about a free audio converter that was pretty nice, but when installing the app it tries to also put a bunch of third-party software on your machine. I made sure to point this out, but our readers stepped up and mentioned several other apps that are both free and clean. One of them, called winLAME, was recommended by Ian and really caught my attention. Not only is it free, but it’s also open source.

There were a few reasons why I really liked this app. First, it already has support for Windows 7. Second, it has presets for people looking for no-brainer audio conversion in addition to custom settings for people looking for more control. It’s basically a four-step process: Select your input file(s), select your output settings, choose from one of the quality presets or customize the advanced settings, and then let it go to town. And not only can it convert your audio files, but it can also rip CD’s.

Here’s a more complete list of features and supported formats:

  • Encoding and decoding of many audio formats, including:
    • .mp3 via LAME mp3 encoder (encoding) and MAD (decoding)
    • .ogg Ogg Vorbis
    • .aac via libfaac/libfaad
    • .wav, .aiff, .au, .voc and many more, via libsndfile
    • .wma via Windows Media Audio codec
    • .flac via FLAC library
  • Uses LAME features, including:
    • high quality and optimized mp3 encoding
    • nogap encoding of continuous-mix-cd’s
    • optimized 3DNow! and SSE routines
    • ID3 v1 and v2 tagging
  • Easy-to-use wizard-like user interface style for easy encoding setup
  • CD Audio extraction (aka. CD ripping), including freedb support
  • Presets for fast settings setup
  • User interface translations to english and german language
  • Batch Processing
  • Detailed HTML Help File
  • Easy install- and uninstall process
  • Small size

If you’ve got some audio files to convert this is one app that I highly recommend downloading.

winLAME Homepage
Thanks Ian!

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Jan 26

Pagani Huayra supercar has a steampunk interior that would impress even Dio Eraclea (video)

Posted in: feature, Features, Today's Chili, video
Pagani's new supercar, the Huayra, has a steampunk interior that would impress even Dio Eraclea

After a number of leaks and teases Pagani has unleashed its Zonda successor to the world, and it’s the Huayra, a name that we’re still having trouble spelling reliably but know that it’s pronounced “hoo-aii-ra.” Compared to the company’s current offering this new model has a relatively understated design, designed to “shape the wind” rather than tear it a new one like the Zonda does. That said, the Huayra still shares key elements that make it unmistakably Pagani — headlights, short nose, and a decided pear shape that could make J.Lo blush. Sure, the nose is a bit questionable, making this look a smidge like a Fisker Karma to us, but it’s the interior that really has us intrigued. Click on through for more.

Gallery: Pagani Huayra supercar

Continue reading Pagani Huayra supercar has a steampunk interior that would impress even Dio Eraclea (video)

Pagani Huayra supercar has a steampunk interior that would impress even Dio Eraclea (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 26

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview

Posted in: Android, cellphone, exclusive, Features, gaming, gingerbread, impressions, mobile phone, MobilePhone, phone, playstation, preview, prototype, slider, smartphone, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, video, xperia

Oh yes. After all the unbearable teasing since we unveiled the first ever photos of the PlayStation Phone, we’ve finally managed to get hold of the real deal for an in-depth preview. Honestly, we couldn’t wait any longer with this thing floating around in China; we’d otherwise have to wait until MWC, where we expect the phone to be launched as the “Xperia Play” (and we shall refer to this name henceforth). Before you pop the cork for us, do bear in mind that what we’re seeing here is subject to changes, so don’t be alarmed by any missing features or exposed cables in our preview. When you’re ready, head right past the break to find out what Sony Ericsson’s cooking up.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview

Continue reading Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 26

Firefox 3 Beta 3: Integrated Add-ons Downloader, Theme Preview, and More

Posted in: Features, Firefox 3, Freeware, Pre-Release, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on February 12, 2008 by CyberNet.

Firefox 3 Beta 3

It’s that time again! We haven’t seen a Firefox 3 Beta release in nearly 2-months, and I’m sure many of you are ready to jump on this download. The Windows build features some of the new icons (back, forward, refresh, etc…), and checkout the Bookmarks Toolbar if you start wondering where the heck the Home icon disappeared to. I guess Mozilla thinks that the Home icon makes more sense when it is in your bookmarks?

Also in the screenshot above you can see the new section that has been integrated into the Add-ons Manager. Now you’re able to search and install extensions into Firefox without ever having to open a website. I think most experienced Firefox users will still stick with the official add-ons site since you’re able to sort the results and whatnot, but this was a smart move by Mozilla to expose new users to extensions.

Last, and definitely not least, is the new section in the Status Bar that displays the status of all your downloads. It tells you how many active downloads you have, the time remaining for them to complete, and clicking on it will bring up the download manager. And then it will disappear when the downloads have completed restoring your precious space in the Status Bar. *applause* I’ve got to hand it to Mozilla for adding this feature because little things like this is what makes a browser great.

Firefox 3 Beta 3 Download Status Bar

Okay, now it’s your turn to try it out! Mozilla hasn’t updated the official Beta site yet, but the necessary files have been added to the FTP. Our downloader, as always, balances the load across all the servers that are hosting the setup file which eases the burden on Mozilla’s servers. So download until your heart is content:





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Jan 25

ContourGPS helmet cam review

Posted in: 1080p, bluetooth, feature, Features, gps, review, Today's Chili, video
ContourGPS helmetcam review

Helmet cameras have now achieved the pinnacle of HD recording: 1080p. If you have the cash, a head, and a pastime worth filming you have a few choices for full HD extreme POV recording. So what’s a little lid-mounted recorder to do for its next trick? If you’re Contour it’s to add a positional sensor and the letters G, P, and S to your product and create the ContourGPS. It lets you not only record your extreme antics but also how fast you were going when you were partaking in them, plus a lot of other information. And, more promisingly, there’s a suite of hardware updates here, some paving the way to letting you use your smartphone as a viewfinder. But how does this $350 piece of helmet jewelry perform on the ice? Keep on reading for some video evidence.

Gallery: ContourGPS

Continue reading ContourGPS helmet cam review

ContourGPS helmet cam review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 23

Instantbird – Where Mozilla Meets Pidgin

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Mozilla, Newly Released, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on October 19, 2007 by CyberNet.

Pidgin is an extremely popular open source instant messenger, but have you ever thought to yourself what it would be like if Mozilla created something similar? It would be possible to make the instant messenger do almost anything you want with the use of extensions … you could even add more networks! Well, there hasn’t been any signs that Mozilla is working on such an application, but Florian Quèze and Quentin Castier took it upon themselves to turn the dream into a reality.

Let me introduce you to Instantbird, an XUL application that uses the libpurple library to connect to other networks. That’s the framework used by Mozilla, and the same library that both Pidgin and Meebo run off of.

–Current State–

The Instantbird 0.1 download is about 13MB in size, and there is no installation required to test it out. With that being said you may want to do a quick read through of this article before you spend the time setting it up.

Right now Instantbird is about as simple as it gets, but it does let you connect to several different networks: AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, MSN, QQ, XMPP, Yahoo!, and more. There is a tabbed interface for your chats and a decent account manager, but there are absolutely no options for you to configure. This screenshot that I took just about demonstrates the entire extent program:

Instantbird 

–What’s to Come–

The exciting part, however, is still yet to come. Here’s a brief look at the plans for future versions of Instantbird:

  • Instantbird 0.2 – status handling (away, busy, etc…), contact management, extensibility, notifier, and more.
  • Instantbird 0.3 – richtext for outgoing messages, buddy icons, file transfers, preferences, sounds, and more.
  • Instantbird 1.0 – should be close to what Pidgin offers
  • Instantbird 1.0+ – video and voice support

–Oh the Possibilities–

I’m really excited about the future of this project because of how it plans to use extensions. In fact the theme and extension manager has already been implemented into Instantbird:

Instantbird Addons

The add-ons site hasn’t launched yet, but when it does we might see some truly awesome features roll out. Think about being able to send files to friends no matter what network they are on! The thought of having addons in an instant messenger is extremely appealing to me, and if developed well enough could cause its popularity to rise very fast. Pidgin’s plugin system just doesn’t cut it in my mind.

I wish the best to the developers, and I can’t wait to see what future versions have to offer!

Instantbird Homepage [via David Ascher]

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Jan 23

WordPress 2.3 Download (Beta)

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on August 28, 2007 by CyberNet.

The WordPress development team is on the home stretch to releasing the next milestone! WordPress 2.3 is scheduled for an official release on September 20, and right now they are looking for people to test out the first Beta.

Before we tell you what’s new in WordPress 2.3 we wanted to clarify that this is a Beta release of the blogging platform. It probably shouldn’t be used on any production sites, and the development team has requested that those who participate in the Beta feel "comfortable troubleshooting PHP issues, filing tickets, and backing up your data religiously." Not only that but the new version might possibly break some of your existing plugins.

Okay, here’s a sneak peek at WordPress 2.3 features:

  • Tag Posts
    WordPress 2.3 Tags

  • Import Ultimate Tag Warrior (UTW) tags or convert select categories to tags
    WordPress 2.3 Import UTW Tags
  • Improved Post and Draft Management using filters
  • Improved publishing workflow with a new post status of Pending Review
  • WordPress and plugins upgrades available notification
  • Terms tables (combined post categories/link categories/tags)
  • Canonicalize more URLs
    WordPress 2.3 Permalinks
  • Upgrade to "800% faster" jQuery (1.1.4), and some parts of the WordPress dashboard have been converted to jQuery.
  • MovableType/TypePad and WordPress Importers memory usage has been greatly improved
  • Several bundled libraries were updated to the latest versions. TinyMCE is now at 2.1.1.1, Prototype is at 1.5.1, and script.aculo.us is at 1.7.1 beta 2. More updates to script.aculo.us and an update for TinyMCE Spellchecker are on the way.
  • The files in wp-admin were reorganized to make things easier to find.

The new tagging system is a bit of a disappointment right now. It’s extremely basic, and I would have liked to see it recommend existing tags based upon the content of the article. Not only that but there is no way to know what tags you’ve already created, which makes it hard to know whether I’ve already created a similar tag.

After WordPress 2.3 is released in about 3-weeks work will begin on the next version. There was some discussion in the mailing list about bumping the version number up to "3." Mark Jaquith, a contributing developer to WordPress, had this to say about WordPress 3:

There is one nice solution for the "marketing problem" that I keep throwing out there every couple months: WordPress 2008. Do it like a sports video game franchise does it. For multiple releases within a year, we can do WordPress 2007.2 or WordPress 2007b. This works well with our new 4-month cycle. And people will be made aware of exactly how long it has been since they’ve upgraded.

The problem with skipping numbers is that before you know it, you’re shipping WordPress 14.5, which just reeks of version inflation. What makes good marketing sense for 2.2-to-3.0 bites you in the ass down the road.

My first choice, though is to stick with 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 until we’re ready to rewrite 50% of the code and really break stuff for a groundbreaking, spoon-bending, mind-blowing 3.0 release.

So don’t expect to see WordPress 3 anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean that the development team won’t be adding new features in the upcoming versions. Keeping with their 4-month release schedule, WordPress 2.4 is currently scheduled for December 12, 2007 and WordPress 2.5 is expected on April 1, 2008.

Get WordPress 2.3 Beta 1

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Jan 21

Windows Mobile 6.1 Features

Posted in: Features, Newly Released, Phones, Software, Today's Chili, videos, Windows

This article was written on April 02, 2008 by CyberNet.

windows mobile 6.1 home screen Microsoft just released Windows Mobile 6.1 yesterday, and they’ve added some features that are actually pretty slick. The new home screen is really the focal point of the release. With it you have several “panels” that get expanded as you scroll up and down over them. A video demonstration of this (and other features) is at the end of the article.

The thing that really caught my attention, however, were the new text messaging layout and Internet browsing. It looks as though both of them have taken some cues from the iPhone. First off the text messaging looks like it would if you were instant messaging the person on your computer. It keeps all of the messages from an individual into one fluid layout so that you can easily keep up with the conversation.

Next, the browser. Microsoft has made it possible to zoom in and out of web pages so that you can get the “full view” of them. This way users get a more desktop-like browsing experience, but are still able to read the content by zooming in when necessary.

Here are some of the other features that you’ll find in Windows Mobile 6.1:

  • Simpler e-mail and Bluetooth setup
  • New Getting Started Center
  • Security enhancements
  • Easier Wi-Fi connection
  • More personal choice

And finally lets wrap things up with a nice video demonstration put together by Microsoft:

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Jan 21

CyberNotes: Easily Create Panoramic Shots

Posted in: CyberNotes, Features, Freeware, Photos, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on October 07, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Time Saving Tuesday

arrow Windows Windows only arrow
I’ve always felt like there hasn’t been a perfect tool out there for the average person who wants to shoot panoramic shots, and doesn’t want to spend ages assembling them on their machine. One of the last tools that we covered on the site was Hugin, but you could spend hours tweaking settings trying to get things just right. It just wasn’t something the most people would want to fiddle with.

Over in our forum Tony pointed out an amazing tool that Microsoft provides for free called the Image Composite Editor (ICE). Sure Microsoft has already incorporated panoramic creation capabilities in Windows Live Photo Gallery, but having this standalone app gives you a few more features.

I guess the real question is how well does it work, and how much effort will you have to put into stitching your photos together. I tried the program on several different panoramic shots that I’ve taken over the years, and it turned out some of the best results. Ironically enough it’s also one of the easiest programs I’ve ever used for this type of task.

When you first get Microsoft ICE up and running you should see something like this:

microsoft ice select files.jpg
(Click to Enlarge)

All you have to do is drag and drop the photos you want stitched together into the gray area. The program will then go to work trying to figure out the best way to assemble them, and once it’s done you’ll see a preview of the result:

microsoft ice.jpg
(Click to Enlarge)

That’s really all there is to it. There are different types of stitches that can be done including rotating motion or planar motion, and the image can be cropped to your liking by adjusting the box that appears around the panoramic shot. The best part, however, might be the variety of formats you can save the panoramic in:

  • JPEG
  • TIFF
  • Photoshop
  • HD View Tileset
  • Deep Zoom Tileset
  • BMP
  • PNG
  • HD Photo Image

Now you don’t have much of an excuse as to why you still have some photos laying around that you haven’t stitched together!

Get Image Composite Editor for Windows

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Jan 21

PhraseExpress 6: HTML Formatting & Performance Enhancements

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Newly Released, performance, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on December 02, 2008 by CyberNet.

phraseexpress.png
(Click to Enlarge)

We’ve written about PhraseExpress before because of the fact that it’s a free application for personal use ($50 for commercial users). They are pretty smart giving away their software for home users, because they know once you start using it you’ll want to have it in front of you while you’re at work as well. So if you do happen to be a PhraseExpress user you’ll be pleased to know that version 6 was just released today, and includes some nice improvements:

  • Support for HTML formatting
    PhraseExpress now supports Rich Text and HTML-formatted phrases which can include pictures and hyperlinks as well.
  • Up to 10x faster loading time
    A new file format reduces the phrase file size by more than 10 times compared to previous versions.
  • Restrict Autotext and Hotkeys to certain applications
    The scope of Autotexts and Hotkeys of any phrase can now be restricted to certain programs or excluded from a customizable list of applications.
  • Autocomplete for individual words
    The unique text prediction feature which has been introduced in v5 has been significantly improved. Additionally, it also offers to auto-complete single words rather than full sentences only.
  • Multi-language support
    PhraseExpress supports Unicode for multi-language phrases but now also offers to switch the keyboard language layout automatically.
  • Automated Email creation
    PhraseExpress can now compose an email including html text/bitmaps (Outlook only), file attachement and definition of cc: and bcc:. The body text length is now only limited by Outlook and PhraseExpress can be configured to send the email immediately without need of confirmation.
  • Runs from a USB memory device
    PhraseExpress can now be used on a USB memory stick. If running from an USB stick it stores all user and configuration data on the removable device only and leaves no traces on the host PC.

Another free text replacement utility is Texter, and while it isn’t as powerful as PhraseExpress it is definitely a fast and simple tool. Give them both a whirl and see which one works best for you. But remember, PhraseExpress is only free for personal use.

Get PhraseExpress for Windows [via Lifehacker]

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