Thursday, September 25, 2008
Organise
Photoshop.com Mobile Offers 2GB Of Mobile Pic Storage
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | Windows Mobile only: Photoshop.com, a picture-sharing site connected to the ever-improving Photoshop Express editing tool, has released a mobile application for uploading, viewing, and sharing both your smart phone’s pictures and any shots you’ve uploaded from your desktop. The app currently supports only a few Motorola Q, Palm Treo and Blackjack models, but free app Shozu can also put your pictures on Photoshop.com. From a quick test, the app worked as promised, and a built-in editor provides some basic crop and tone functionality. To download the app directly, head to m.photoshop.com. Photoshop Mobile is a free download for Windows Mobile phones only. Photoshop.com Mobile [via Digital Inspiration] More »
Fix
Convert Word 2007 Files Online
10:35PM Kevin Purdy | Got a Word 2007-formatted file you need to convert while you’re away from your desktop? Web tool Zamzar can flip .docx files to old-format Word files, PDFs, or lots of other things. For more convert-anywhere ninja tricks, check out five email addresses that convert documents. [via Download Squad] More »
Communicate
Google Moderator Lets Groups Vote On Questions
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | If you’re holding a meeting and only have time to answer your audience’s most important questions, Google’s free Moderator tool might be a wise solution. The simple tool, originally built for putting together question lists at tech conferences, lets anyone with a Google account create a “topic,” like “Questions for the boss,” throw a few sample questions up, then submit a group of emails to take part in question voting and suggesting. Given the simplicity of Moderator, there are likely other helpful group polling uses it can be put to. Moderator is a free service, requires a Google account to create question lists. Moderator [Google Apps Engine via Google Blogoscoped] More »
Work
Battle Of The Linux Distros
9:00PM Kevin Purdy | digg_skin = 'compact';digg_bgcolor = '#F8FAF0';digg_url = 'http://digg.com/linux_unix/Lifehacker_Faceoff_Battle_of_the_Linux_Distros'; In theory, any computer running Linux can be custom-built and tweaked down to the very last bit. In reality, a first-time Linux user wants to grab an install CD, get a working desktop, and do their own thing from there. Lots of Linux distributions make claims about being easy to use, fast, or stable, but what does that mean for a non-programmer trying out a Linux system for the first time? Today we’re taking a look at the real differences between three popular distributions of open-source software, and offering our readers their chance to weigh in on why they like their own particular open-source OS. More »
Organise
6:03PM Angus Kidman | If you’ve been put off switching banks because you don’t want to have to mess around working out which regular payments need to get re-established, life’s about to get a little easier. Karen Dearne at Australian IT reports that from November 1, banks will automatically provide a printout of direct payments made over the previous 13 months, making it simpler to check you haven’t missed setting something up at your new bank. In these eco-conscious times, I can’t help wondering why the list couldn’t be sent in electronic form, but it’s certainly a step forward from leaving you to wade through your own records.
Switching banks made easy [Australian IT]
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Switching Banks Speeds Up, But Still Needs Paper
6:03PM Angus Kidman | If you’ve been put off switching banks because you don’t want to have to mess around working out which regular payments need to get re-established, life’s about to get a little easier. Karen Dearne at Australian IT reports that from November 1, banks will automatically provide a printout of direct payments made over the previous 13 months, making it simpler to check you haven’t missed setting something up at your new bank. In these eco-conscious times, I can’t help wondering why the list couldn’t be sent in electronic form, but it’s certainly a step forward from leaving you to wade through your own records.
Switching banks made easy [Australian IT]
More »
Organise
1:16PM Angus Kidman | Windows only: As the name suggests, Everything is a file search engine which tracks every single file on your PC. Unlike full-on search systems like Google Desktop or Windows Search (both recently updated), Everything doesn’t index file contents. The default view is all files on your machine: as you type in search terms (including Boolean operators like AND or OR if necessary), the list shrinks to just those files that match. The filenames-only approach makes it less useful when you’re searching for a specific nugget of information, but if you’re trying to track down a particular file whose name you remember but whose location is elusive, or want to get a sense of how many files of a particular type are on your machine, it’s a good solution. It’s also considerably leaner than full-blown indexing alternatives; on my test machine, the index was up and running in just a few seconds, although the developer notes that performance may slow if you have a very large collection of nested files. Everything is freeware for Windows only.
[Everything For Windows]
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Everything Indexes Every File On Your PC
1:16PM Angus Kidman | Windows only: As the name suggests, Everything is a file search engine which tracks every single file on your PC. Unlike full-on search systems like Google Desktop or Windows Search (both recently updated), Everything doesn’t index file contents. The default view is all files on your machine: as you type in search terms (including Boolean operators like AND or OR if necessary), the list shrinks to just those files that match. The filenames-only approach makes it less useful when you’re searching for a specific nugget of information, but if you’re trying to track down a particular file whose name you remember but whose location is elusive, or want to get a sense of how many files of a particular type are on your machine, it’s a good solution. It’s also considerably leaner than full-blown indexing alternatives; on my test machine, the index was up and running in just a few seconds, although the developer notes that performance may slow if you have a very large collection of nested files. Everything is freeware for Windows only.
[Everything For Windows]
More »
Organise
12:33PM Angus Kidman | BigPond Movies has just released some research it commissioned to spruik its DVD-rental-by-mail service. It’s obviously no surprise to find that 90% of DVD-by-post customers choose such a service because of the “value, longer loan periods and no late fees”. The more interesting question is what reason the other 10% picked, something which the BigPond Movies team didn’t disclose.
My gutter mind immediately assumed that Joe Public perhaps didn’t want Grandma Public seeing him pick up a few porn titles, but it turns out that BigPond doesn’t rent adult flicks anyway. Having a wider selection of movies would doubtless be a good reason for rural viewers, though that has to be offset against the speed of the postal service in general. But let’s throw it open to you. If you’ve ditched your local DVD store for a mailbox option, tell us why — and if you aren’t tempted, tell us why not.
[BigPond Movies]
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Why Would You Use A DVD Rental Service?
12:33PM Angus Kidman | BigPond Movies has just released some research it commissioned to spruik its DVD-rental-by-mail service. It’s obviously no surprise to find that 90% of DVD-by-post customers choose such a service because of the “value, longer loan periods and no late fees”. The more interesting question is what reason the other 10% picked, something which the BigPond Movies team didn’t disclose.
My gutter mind immediately assumed that Joe Public perhaps didn’t want Grandma Public seeing him pick up a few porn titles, but it turns out that BigPond doesn’t rent adult flicks anyway. Having a wider selection of movies would doubtless be a good reason for rural viewers, though that has to be offset against the speed of the postal service in general. But let’s throw it open to you. If you’ve ditched your local DVD store for a mailbox option, tell us why — and if you aren’t tempted, tell us why not.
[BigPond Movies]
More »
Fix
12:02PM Angus Kidman | Daylight saving in the majority of Australian states (NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT) has been harmonised this year to begin on October 5, which will doubtless lead to the usual calendar-related confusion. While Microsoft reflected these changes in patches rolled out back in April when daylight saving last stopped, there’s bound to be a few machines that haven’t received the updates (XP users might have to worry about Service Pack 3 problems, for instance). Microsoft has launched a site which walks you through the process of getting everything up-to-date if you have a Windows machine. The advice is tailored to your operating system, although the process is still fiddly: suggesting that you “scroll down and look for Update for Microsoft Windows (KB951072)” isn’t actually very practical in a list featuring hundreds of similarly-named patches.
[Microsoft Daylight Savings Page]
More »
Microsoft Site Offers Guidance On Daylight Saving Problems
12:02PM Angus Kidman | Daylight saving in the majority of Australian states (NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT) has been harmonised this year to begin on October 5, which will doubtless lead to the usual calendar-related confusion. While Microsoft reflected these changes in patches rolled out back in April when daylight saving last stopped, there’s bound to be a few machines that haven’t received the updates (XP users might have to worry about Service Pack 3 problems, for instance). Microsoft has launched a site which walks you through the process of getting everything up-to-date if you have a Windows machine. The advice is tailored to your operating system, although the process is still fiddly: suggesting that you “scroll down and look for Update for Microsoft Windows (KB951072)” isn’t actually very practical in a list featuring hundreds of similarly-named patches.
[Microsoft Daylight Savings Page]
More »
Communicate
9:28AM Angus Kidman | Having recently complained about the haphazard approach being taken to Australia’s proposed digital TV switchover, it’s good to learn that Australia will be emulating the UK by adopting a region by region switching model, rather than the more drastic US approach of just switching off the analog signal and dealing with the chaos afterwards. There’s also a research project underway to ensure that digital reception works well in units and apartment blocks, reflecting the reality that we can’t all live in a freestanding dwelling these days. Switchover is still scheduled to be finished by 2013, by which time hopefully the ABC won’t be the only free-to-air broadcaster with a decent range of digital channels.
More »
Digital TV Switchover Will Take Place Region By Region
9:28AM Angus Kidman | Having recently complained about the haphazard approach being taken to Australia’s proposed digital TV switchover, it’s good to learn that Australia will be emulating the UK by adopting a region by region switching model, rather than the more drastic US approach of just switching off the analog signal and dealing with the chaos afterwards. There’s also a research project underway to ensure that digital reception works well in units and apartment blocks, reflecting the reality that we can’t all live in a freestanding dwelling these days. Switchover is still scheduled to be finished by 2013, by which time hopefully the ABC won’t be the only free-to-air broadcaster with a decent range of digital channels.
More »
Communicate
