Dec 16

WindowTabs: Organize Your Windows and Taskbar

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on June 05, 2009 by CyberNet.

windowtabs.pngarrow Windows Windows only arrow
Tabs are undoubtedly a hot thing these days with more and more applications moving to some sort of tab-like interface. Web browsers are probably the first thing you think of, but other apps like Microsoft Office even have a tab-like interface with the Ribbon. Why not go a little further? With WindowTabs you can extend the tab interface to pretty much any app.

We’ve seen other programs that are capable of doing this, but after having played with it for a bit I’d say it’s one of the smoothest and best looking solutions I’ve seen. As you can tell from the screenshot the tabs currently take on a Chrome-like appearance, which may or may not be something you like. Unfortunately at this stage it’s not something you can customize, but skinning capabilities seem like a natural next step for this app.

What’s cool with WindowTabs is that you can group together any apps, regardless of whether they are the same program or not. Each group will then show just one Taskbar item, and the title/icon will reflect the currently selected tab. So not only does it de-clutter your desktop, but it also frees some space on your Taskbar.

Still not sure if you should try it? Check out this video demonstrating WindowTabs in action. You’ll see just how smooth the whole tab-grouping process is.

There’s just one catch. The free version is considered a “trial” even though it doesn’t have any nag screens and isn’t time limited. Instead you’re not allowed to have more than 3 tabs per grouping. If you want to buy the full app you’ll need to shell out $19. The developer did a great job on this, but I think somewhere around $9.99 would have been better suited for a program like this.

WindowTabs Homepage [via Lifehacker]

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Dec 15

“Stitch” Photos Together Using DipStych

Posted in: Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on December 02, 2006 by CyberNet.

DipStych

DipStych is an Open Source program that will surely be useful to you at one point or another. It will essentially take multiple images and put them side-by-side or on top of each other. Sure you could copy and paste images into other programs but when you are trying to bring more than two images into one single file it could get tedious.

This is useful for me because I can easily put screenshots together for tutorials to show what to do in step 1, step 2, and so on. It will generate one nice flowing image for me and you can even decide whether you want to put a border around the images.

There is a Flickr homepage for DipStych that discusses some of the cool things that it does but you should really checkout the DipStych tag on Flickr because it shows some of the photos that other people have used DipStych for.

Believe it or not this is one of the few programs that I have found to merge multiple images. I have seen some before that will do two images or even a few applications that can handle multiple inputs but they aren’t free. DipStych is unique in that sense because it is both free and can handle multiple photos.

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Dec 14

iPhone’s App Store Gets Less Spammy in iTunes

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, itunes, Phones, Software, Today's Chili

convert
Over the weekend Apple rolled out a visual makeover for its App Store page in iTunes, placing emphasis on photos previewing the apps and allowing less space for textual descriptions.

The redesign increased the size of the photos and trimmed down on the amount of words that appear in the “Description” field that developers used to pitch their apps; the descriptions are now limited to two lines. Before, app descriptions could display several lines, and many developers used the opportunity to fill the space with line after line of buzz words, capitalized letters with asterisks and so on to help the app gain attention.

There’s a “…More” button to view the full description of the app, but we doubt most consumers are going to click on it. We’re willing to bet most people just lightly scan the description and spend more time looking at the images anyway when determining whether they want the app.

Long story short, the iTunes App Store got less spammy, which most consumers will likely enjoy. Will some developers complain? Probably. But that’s nothing new.

Via ZDNet

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Dec 12

Stardock Object Desktop 2008 Preview

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

This article was written on April 30, 2007 by CyberNet.

Object Desktop is a nice little suite of applications that can really change the way your Windows computer looks and feels. The $50 suite includes programs to replace icons, modify the right-click menu, skin Windows, and much much more. There are so many different programs that you can install with Object Desktop that we had a hard time covering them all in our detailed review.

Things are going to be changing soon…Object Desktop 2008 is going to take customization even further by utilizing some of Vista’s native features. One of the most needed changes in my opinion is the Stardock Central, which is where you manage and install all of the applications that are part of the Object Desktop suite. It looks like it is finally getting an overhaul:

Object Desktop 2008
Click to Enlarge

One of Stardock’s most popular applications, which is included in Object Desktop, is probably WindowBlinds. Version 6 is promised to bring a ton of new features to the table including the ability to add a blur effect to transparent skins. That means you can actually enable the blurring on all skins that support transparency, and not just new skins that are made with the blur effect in mind:

Object Desktop 2008
Click to Enlarge

And you can also skin the Vista Sidebar in WindowBlinds 6:

Object Desktop 2008
Click to Enlarge

Stardock has also teamed up with TweakVista.com to provide a new application called, well, TweakVista. This program will give users the chance to customize their Vista installation even further, with options like choosing the level of security for User Account Control (UAC) prompts:

Objectdesktop20084
Click to Enlarge

There aren’t any details available in terms of possible pricing changes, but Stardock did announce that Object Desktop 2008 will have a “big brother” called Object Desktop Ultimate. Current Object Desktop subscribers will receive the Ultimate edition for free when it is released, but the new subscriber cost is still a mystery.

Betas for these programs are scheduled to be available in the next few weeks, so if you’re looking to test out the latest skinning software for Windows you might want to think about purchasing an Object Desktop license soon!

Read more information on Object Desktop 2008
Object Desktop Homepage

Source: WinCustomize

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Dec 11

CyberNotes: Email Alerts when your IP Address Changes

Posted in: CyberNotes, Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on May 22, 2007 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Time Saving Tuesday

We’ve already shown you how to setup an FTP server in less than 30 seconds, but now I thought I would show you how to retrieve your IP address when you’re not at home. After all, you do need to know the IP address of your computer before you can remotely access it, and if you have an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that is always changing your IP, it can be hard to keep track of.

There are many tools that will tell you what your IP address is when you request it, such as my favorite this-ip.com which tells you the information you want to know without a bunch of clutter. However, it could pose a problem if you’re not in front of the computer you want to know the IP address for. That’s where these tools will come in handy.

I wanted to write about this because a reader emailed me asking if I knew any utility that would let them know when their IP address changes. Luckily my ISP never changes my IP address so I haven’t had to worry about it, but I started looking around to see what kind of freeware solutions I could find.

The first application that I found is called IP Observer and it is essentially a zero-configuration solution. All you have to do is download the program (download mirror for version 0.8.4), unzip the folder, and run it. Then you can optionally enter in your email address(es) for it to send the notifications to. Click on this screenshot to see just how easy it is:

IP Observer

Most software applications (even the ones you pay for) require that you take the time to setup your mail account in order to send the emails. Not with this one! They do offer the option to use your own mail account, but I like being able to just enter in my email address and let it do its work. Here is what the email notification looks like that you’ll receive each time your IP changes:

IP Address Notifications

You can let IP Observer check for IP address changes every 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or 6 hours. It will even show you the computer’s local IP address (in case you’re behind a router) and MAC address, which is something many of us are always searching for.

There is, however, a small downside to this program and it’s that it lacks the ability to minimize itself to the System Tray. Normally I would say that is a big downside, but there are plenty of applications (examples: DM2 and TrayDevil) that most people will already have installed which makes doing this possible.

While I really like that application, there is something that I’m a little more partial to because of how useful it is…LogMeIn! I’ve written about the service before because it lets you remotely control any computer using just a Web browser, and it also needs no configuration. It is a free service, but there is a feature that let’s you view the IP address of the computer as well. When you’re on the “My Computers” screen (which you’re taken to after logging in) just click on the Edit link of the computer who’s IP you want to view:

LogMeIn

Then you’ll be taken to the screen where you will see the IP address of that computer:

LogMeIn

LogMeIn is also nice to have because you can always connect to the computer that you’re having troubles with. It’s a nice service to have and I use it all the time, but if you’re looking for something a little more straightforward (and something that doesn’t require installation) then IP Observer (Download Mirror) might be the better solution.

If you know of any other great freeware tools that will email a user their IP address feel free to post them below in the comments.

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Dec 11

Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store

Posted in: Apple, application, AppStore, maemo, nokia, refresh, Software, symbian, Today's Chili, update

Not quite sure if you’ve noticed, but some pretty significant shifting is going on in the heart of Espoo. Just days after Nokia announced that it would be closing up its flagship shops in London, New York and Chicago, in flies this: a new Ovi Store is already in the works, and if all goes well, it’ll be available for public use as early as next Spring. For those keeping tabs, that’s right around a year after the (admittedly tumultuous) launch of the existing platform, which has yet to live up to the firm’s own expectations according to George Linardos. In case you’re wondering (and c’mon, you’re wondering), Mr. Linardos is the head of products at Nokia’s media group, and in speaking with the Financial Times, he confessed that the Ovi Store “had been outpaced by Apple.” He also admitted that the chorus of complaints from end-users were driving the next version, noting that his company has “screens up in [their] offices running Twitter feeds [of gripes] all day long.” In fact, he likened the act to “sitting there and getting punched in the face.”

As for the next go ’round, he’s looking to take a “tortoise and hare” approach when it comes to competing with Apple, who he himself claims “radically changed” the world around us when the App Store was introduced. As it stands, George sees the Ovi Store as a “jambalaya” of services, with Ben Wood — an analyst at CCS Insight — proclaiming that “none of those [work] properly.” In the future, Ben has confessed that Ovi needs “to get all their ducks lined up, including hardware, software and services.” So, what exactly will said ducks look like early next year? We’re told that new features will include “in-application payments, a redesigned user interface that makes apps easier to discover and faster operation,” and beyond that, the outfit is also looking to toss in recommendations based on the app purchases of their friends. This is definitely stirring stuff to hear from someone deep within Nokia’s lairs, and it certainly makes us all the more excited to see what the next generation will bring. Nothing like a little competition in the market place to really light a fire up under someone’s posterior, right?

Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceFinancial Times  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 11

Jolicloud pre-beta now available to download, walkthrough now available for viewing

Posted in: download, Linux, open source, opensource, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, Software, Today's Chili

Let’s face it: Chrome OS has been snagging all of the attention in the OS world here lately, but let us not forget about Jolicloud. The Linux-based system, which was designed to be installed onto existing netbooks without much of a fuss, has finally reached its public pre-beta stage. In other words, the 600MB .exe file is now out for you and yours to download and try, and according to our good pals over at Download Squad, it’s well worth the effort. They seemed to have no issues whatsoever installing it as a second OS on their machine, and they went ahead and deemed it superior to Chrome OS’ earliest build due to its ability to support “both native and web-based applications equally well.” Their own tests found it to boot in just 15 seconds on an Eee PC netbook, but if you’re still curious if dipping your toes is the best move, hop on past the break for a lengthy walkthrough video.

Continue reading Jolicloud pre-beta now available to download, walkthrough now available for viewing

Jolicloud pre-beta now available to download, walkthrough now available for viewing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Download Squad, Netbook News  |  sourceJolicloud  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 11

CyberWare: Project Looking Glass 1.0 Released – Try it yourself!

Posted in: Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on December 21, 2006 by CyberNet.

CyberNet's CyberWare
Tracking Down Great Software For You!

In early November I referenced Project Looking Glass as an amazing idea for a 3D Operating System created by Sun. Well, a big milestone (version 1) was just released and I have to admit that I am quite amazed with how it works. Before I get started in covering some of the features I wanted to let you know that I have attached a video demonstration at the bottom of this post. I am not the one who created the video and it is a little old, but it still demonstrates all of the features that you can find in today’s version of Project Looking Glass. The idea of creating my own screencast was appealing to me but the problem was that I couldn’t get this to work on any of my three Windows Vista machines so I had to use my XP machine that only has 256MB of RAM and an integrated video card. The performance wasn’t spectacular but it was still usable.

Project Looking Glass on Windows
Click to Enlarge

For starters, Project Looking Glass is available as packages for Linux, but you can also just download the bundles that come with everything that you need to get it up and running. I downloaded the Windows XP Mega Bundle (weighing in at about 53MB) and had it installed within minutes. I got it up and running and my first impression was very good.

The first thing that I noticed was the virtual desktops are really fun. When you bring your mouse to an edge of the screen, just click and it will rotate your panorama desktop background and switch you to another virtual desktop. It gives you the feeling that you are standing right there and rotating around in a circle, which is weird at first but I quickly began to like it.

Next, open up an application and what’s the coolest thing that you can do in a 3D world? Rotate the windows in nearly every direction, duh! Left-click on the Java icon in the upper-right corner (while you have some sort of window open) and hold the left-click while you drag your mouse around. The window flips around in nearly every direction and what happens when you let go? It essentially reverses all of the animation that it just did except it does it sort of hyperspeed (a.k.a. really fast).

You probably want to browse the Web, right? They do have a built-in 3D browser (that I pictured above) except I couldn’t get it to go beyond the default Google Homepage. At the bottom you’ll see the address bar along with what appears to be screenshots for the Back/Forward sites (therefore eliminating the need for Back/Forward buttons). As you can see, while I’m rotating the screen those small thumbnails also have depth to them which is something a lot of the Project Looking Glass applications take advantage of. Unfortunately there is not a normal browser, such as the Mozilla one pictured in the video where you can slap notes on the back of websites. If you want to try out their 3D browser, go to the Menu and click Demos -> Early Prototypes -> 3D Browser. Oh yeah, and the Menu is the scrunched up thing located to the left of the CD icon.

After playing with Project Looking Glass for around an hour in Windows XP, while I liked it, I didn’t feel like I had to go setup a more permanent installation of it on Linux. Doing that I would be able to install common Linux applications like the Mozilla Web Browser, but I look at it as being a proof-of-concept. It shows that 3D Operating Systems are very much possible and can even make you more productive. While this may seem far fetched from actually being implemented, the last post I made quoted the KDE site as saying “2D menu and interface is outdated. We need something new. Like 3D desktop.” Who knows, after the newness of XGL and Compiz/Beryl wears off we may be seeing something similar to Project Desktop being implemented in Linux!

Also, the download site for Project Looking Glass is going pretty slow so I took the liberty of uploading the Windows XP installation file to FileHo. Hopefully they don’t have a problem with me doing that.

Here is a video that demonstrates nearly all of the features of Project Looking Glass (6 minutes and 46 seconds long):

News Source: OS News

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Dec 10

The Free iPhone Apps You Need To Download Right Now

Posted in: Apple, apps, free, iPhone, ipod touch, Software, Today's Chili, top

Nobody wants to pay for iPhone apps, and some people simply don’t. The good news is, you don’t really need to: For almost every paid app, there’s a free app that’s nearly as good. Here are the best of the best.

A lot of these apps will be familiar to anyone who’s checked out our Essential iPhone Apps directory before, and yeah, there is a lot of overlap. What we’ve done, basically, is strip out the dollar signs from list, then fill in the gaps with more free.

With the new list, you can turn a fresh, untouched iPhone or iPod Touch into a decked-out powerhouse without spending a single dollar.

(To view the following gallery as a single page, click here.)

What counts as an essential iPhone app changes all the time, and so should our guide: If we’ve missed anything huge, or you’ve got a much better suggestion for a particular type of app, let us know, or say so in the comments. We’ll be updating this thing pretty frequently, and a million Gizmodo readers can do a better job at sorting through the app mess than a single Gizmodo editor. Enjoy!

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Dec 10

Gorillacam, A Tripod Application for iPhone

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili

gorillacam

The iPhone presents a unique opportunity for accessory makers. Never before has a tripod maker, for example, been able to actually reach inside a camera and tweak its software. But that’s exactly what Joby has done with Gorillacam, an iPhone app which lets you get the most out of not just Joby’s iPhone tripod but any tripod on which the phone may happen to be perched.

The functions are skewed towards tripod-mounted pictures, of course, and you get such smart additions as a bubble level at the top of the screen, grid lines, a press-anywhere shutter release and auto-save to let you keep shooting instead of waiting for a save between snaps.

As this is a tripod application, you also get an easy to adjust self-timer, a burst-mode (three shots) and best, a time-lapse function which will take pictures at intervals of anywhere between one second and two minutes.

I wish that this kind of thing could be done to real cameras. My Nikon DSLR, for example, could do with some easier to use software, especially if it was as nice-looking as Joby’s application.

Gorillacam is free, presumably as a great advertisement for Joby’s hardware, so you can go grab it even if you don’t own a GorillaPod.

Gorillacam [Joby. Thanks, Mark!]


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