Saturday, April 12, 2008
Amic Email Backup Keeps Messages and Settings Intact
11:30PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: Back up your messages and nearly everything else associated with an email account with Amic Email Backup, a free download for Windows. Amic only works with desktop-based mail clients but covers a wide range of them, from Outlook and its Express sibling to IncrediMail to Opera, and beyond. Amic grabs email account info, address book, sender lists, stationary, message rules, and more and tucks the data away anywhere you want it to—and can even do it automatically on a schedule. While previously-posted MailStore Home is a more open-ended, Amic’s dead-simple interface, scheduling abilities and comprehensive settings capture make it a worthy installation for relatives who don’t do the backup thing or refuse to move out of their familiar email client. Amic Email Backup is a free download for Windows systems only. More »
Best Jobs for College Students?
10:00PM Tamar Weinberg | Since students are super-busy writing papers, studying, and surviving finals, the GoCollege Weblog says that you shouldn’t have to venture far off campus to get a good job. In fact, one of the most in-demand positions is a campus network technician. Many colleges also offer a “residential network” program, also known as ResNet, where students can get help from fellow students on computer network troubleshooting issues (wired or wireless) at any time of the day. All you need is to make an appointment. Benefits include working face to face with college students and being able to maintain a real flexible schedule. What other jobs do feel are ideal for college students? Share your past positions or best tips in the comments. The Best Jobs for College Students [GoCollege] More »
Syncopation Syncs Up to Five iTunes Libraries
9:00AM Adam Pash | Mac OS X only: Shareware application Syncopation keeps your music, podcasts, and video in sync between up to five iTunes libraries. The app finds music that’s in one library but not others, then transfers files between computers until everything matches. Syncopation is smart, too: it automatically replicates changes to a track’s metadata in one library across your others. You can even set up block lists that keep, for example, your thrash metal out of your significant other’s library. Syncopation is $25 for the full version, but you can download a demo version that works with two computers for 30 days—so if you just want to run one quick sync between two libraries, it’s an excellent free solution. Either way, the Mac OS X-only Syncopation is a great tool, though it’d be great to see a completely freeware alternative. Syncopation [via TUAW] More »
Cheap and Easy Velcro Ties
8:00AM Adam Pash | The Cool Tools weblog raves about the Velcro One Wrap, a strip of strong velcro you can put to use almost anywhere you need a good tie. (The author uses them to keep raccoons out of his trash). The One Wrap will set you back $3 at Amazon for a pack of six. While the One Wrap is great for heavy duty use, I also can’t sing enough praises about a similar product, the Belkin Velcro 8-inch cable ties (also $3 at Amazon for a 6-pack). These colourful cable ties are perfect for organising your cords, and they’re easy to adjust and reuse at any time—ideal for setting up your cordless workspace. Velcro One-Wrap [Cool Tools] More »
Replace Notepad with Notepad2
7:00AM Gina Trapani | Windows only: When Notepad just doesn’t have the features you need to get simple text-editing done, check out the lightweight but feature-packed alternative, Notepad2. Since we mentioned Notepad2 back in 2005, the application has seen several updates, including a new release just this week. Get code syntax highlighting, regular expression search, better text selection options, and support for Unix and Mac-created text files in Notepad2, which can run standalone from a thumb drive. You can even replace Windows Notepad entirely with Notepad2, though it takes a few steps—here’s a tutorial on how for XP users, and one for Vista users. My one gripe about Notepad2? It can’t open multiple files in one window. But it’s still a big step up from Notepad. Notepad2 is a free download for Windows only. More »
Swap Clothes and Accessories for Free at Rehash
6:00AM Adam Pash | Web site Rehash is like an online swap meet for clothes and accessories. According to the site, the average American throws away around 68 lbs. of clothes per year—Rehash is a place to recycle those clothes and get something in return. Once you’ve joined, you can list anything you want to exchange, along with items you’re looking for. Rehash trades can happen either in person or through shipping, though the site doesn’t have anything in place to help you with shipping. Obviously Goodwill is always there to take your clothes donations so that you aren’t trashing your unused clothes every year, but if you’re looking to get something in return, Rehash may be a good place to do it. Thanks Antonella! Rehash More »
Silence Your Hard Drive with Elastic Suspenders
5:00AM Gina Trapani | When they’re in use, hard drives vibrate, and that means they can get noisy—unless they have the right shock absorbers. In an oldie-but-goodie article, the folks at the Silent PC Review rigged up a hard drive bay with thick elastic bands they picked up at the local crafts store. The resulting setup suspends the drives in space with the elastic, which absorbs vibrations and gives the drives plenty of breathing room. Writer Mike Chin says: As a simple test, when I touch the drive while it was running, I can feel a fair amount of vibration. But when I touch touch the case right next to the hard drive—or any part of the case, there is NO vibration from the drive. None at all. More »
Anti Keylogger Shield Keeps Your Passwords Safe
4:00AM Adam Pash | Windows only: Freeware application Anti Keylogger Shield blocks keyloggers from tracking the passwords and other personal information you type on your computer. Unlike other similar tools, Anti Keylogger Shield does not detect existing keylogger software; it just disables the mechanisms they use to record your typing. While I can’t vouch for this app across the board, I did install one keylogger and it worked as advertised—I typed, but the log remained empty. This would be a real winner if it were portable and could run from thumb drives. (For portable protection, check out previously mentioned SafeKeys.) Thanks Jason! Anti Keylogger Shield [via Red Ferret] More »
Stitch Photos Into Panoramas with Free Software
2:00AM Kevin Purdy | You can get decent photos out of a standard, consumer-grade digital camera, but a little post-processing can turn them into fantastic wide-angle landscapes. You don’t need to be one of those people who can explain the concept of lateral chromatic aberration to get truly eye-catching digital pictures. With a few shutter clicks and some free, cross-platform software, you can easily mesh standard digi-cam shots into true landscapes, fix one photo’s deficiencies with another, and create layered photo collages. Let’s take a look at how to use the free, open source application Hugin to make two basic kinds of panoramas. More »
