Category: Software

Our brothers at Lifehacker have highlighted a nifty sounding Android app called CallTrack, which shows all your calls on a Google Calendar. More »

I deal with PDF files almost every day at work. Unless you have the full version of Adobe Acrobat, making changes to existing PDF files is sometimes a problem. I’ve discovered one program that helps me deal with splitting and merging PDF files. It’s name is ‘Gios PDF Splitter and Merger’ (GiosPSM).

GiosPSM is the result of an open source set of tools for manipulating PDF files. It is a stand-alone program and it’s all contained in a single executable file about 145kb in size. The program is small, mainly because it relies on the .NET Framework v2.0 libraries. Here’s what the main interface looks like:

The feature I like best about GioPSM is the fact that you can drag and drop PDF files into it’s list when you are using it. This is a big time saver when you are merging dozens of PDF files. So far, I haven’t found any other PDF split/merge tools that allowed drag and drop without some other limitations.

GiosPSM also allows you to set page ranges when you are splitting and merging so that you can specify exactly what you need to work with. There is also a command line version of GiosPSM for those who need to automate splitting and merging operations.

The one thing I don’t like about GiosPSM is the fact that it’s a little fussy and will occasionally crash on you. When it happens, no permanent harm is done and it’s only a minor problem.

Download: Gios Home Page (requires .NET Framework 2.0)

Techie Buzz Verdict:

GiosPSM is easy to use, it’s small and it’s portable. This is a great free product that is actively being developed. The additional command line version is a real bonus for those needing to automate PDF operations.

Techie Buzz Rating: 4/5 (Excellent)

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• Backup Your Files to FTP Server Using Command Line

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The latest version of the ZuneHD firmware, version 4.5, is now available, bringing the announced SmartDJ and Marketplace for TV support.  There are also a more expanded collection of codecs, including Xvid support and part of full compatibility with MPEG-4 part 2 Advanced Simple Profile, meaning even less video need to be converted before it can be viewed on the device.

In the above video by Engadget we have Micheal Yaeger, Zune marketing manager, taking Engadget through the new features

Hopefully Microsoft will maintain consistency and make sure these features make it to Windows Phone 7 also.

ZuneHD owners can get the update via their PC client.

Bizarrely timed and impressively unleaked, iPhone OS 4.0 is coming—at least as an announcement—this Thursday. So what’s it going to change, really? Here’s what we think. And because it’s about eight times as fun, what we hope.
More »

We reviewed the first version of this product a few months back and we are happy to review the improved version of the same now. Happily, the developer has built on top of a few kinks that we found and we present to you LyricsFinder 2.0!

Read the rest of the review at BestWindowsMobileApps.com

I was speaking with my future sister-in-law over the weekend and she was complaining about her laptop running Windows Vista. She asked me if Windows 7 was better and I quickly realized I was gushing about it. Windows 7 (as I told her) is easily the best version of Windows and I recommended she upgrade her laptop if proper drivers are available. I also realized there are some utilities I use on every Windows 7 system I test, and I recommended them too. Here are my top 5 Windows 7 utilities.

Microsoft Security Essentials. A good anti-virus/spyware utility is a must on Windows 7, and I like Microsoft’s latest free product. I have used other free products in the past, AVG and McAfee in particular, but I find Microsoft’s Security Essentials is easier to install on new systems and uses less system resources than any other.

Rocketdock. I use a lot of Windows systems with limited screen real estate, and the free Rocketdock is a good way to have one click access to the programs I use the most. Rocketdock is fully configurable, and can be positioned on any edge of the screen preferred. It is simple and indispensable once installed. It is the utility I am most asked about when showing off a system with it installed.

Batterybar. I only use portable computers, and keeping an eye on battery performance is critical. Batterybar is a free meter (paid version available) that sits in the taskbar and shows the battery gauge. It also tracks lots of stats about the battery performance, and over time is extremely accurate.

CCleaner. Windows 7 requires housekeeping, just like all the versions before it, if you want to keep it humming along nicely. CCleaner is a free utility that keeps the pesky Windows registry lean and mean, along with clearing out the jump web browsers leave behind.

Wireless Network Meter. Desktop gadgets were introduced with Windows Vista, and Windows 7 carries on the tradition. I live my work life online and keeping an eye on the network performance is a useful thing to do. Wireless Network Meter monitors the network bandwidth in real time. It provides useful network information to make sure hotspots are secure.

Interesting comment, Nintendo. Aside from its questionable validity, last we heard, most third party games weren’t doing so hot on your own platforms. [Kotaku] More »

Those of us who bought a 16GB iPad are probably reluctant to load on too much media. Luckily, there’s a $3, iPad-native app that can stream all the A/V you’d like from your networked Mac: StreamToMe. More »

Pocketnow has published 2 nice hacks for the Windows Mobile 6.5 lock screen slider.  The first allows you to position the slider anywhere you want on the screen, and the second allows one to customise the text on the slider.

Read the full instructions at Pocketnow here. (Slider Position and Slider Text)

In another example of the ease of development we can expect to see for apps on Windows Phone 7, here we have an example of a Sic Bo Machine game being created by Eric Wing, with an accompanying playable web version available here.

For a first time effort the game is clearly pretty polished, which again promises much for the eventual quality and number of applications we can see on the platform.

[Windows Only] Do you manage or share user accounts on a PC? Are there certain programs that you don’t want someone to use? A tiny stand-alone freeware application named ‘Lockup’ will let you lock programs so they won’t run at all.

Lockup is very easy to use, but you should be very careful with it. If you make one wrong move, you can accidentally lock an entire user account so that it’s difficult to return to a usable state.

How to use Lockup:

Here’s a screenshot of one of the two modes of operation, “Only the list” mode.

In the screenshot above, you can see that I’ve added Internet Explorer to the list of executable files that will not run. To add more executables to the list, click the “Browse” button to select an EXE file, then click the little green check-mark icon at the bottom of the Lockup window. After you reboot or log off the PC and log back in, you’ll find that the EXEs you’ve listed will bring up a message telling you that the program is “restricted”.

Below, you can see a screenshot of Lockup in the “All except the list” mode.

This is a fairly risky mode since all executable files will be blocked from running, except those you add to the list. Make sure you don’t remove Lockup from the list or you may have a little trouble getting back access to it. I tried this mode briefly and it works great. All of my autorun (startup) applications failed to load when I logged in, even my antivirus application was blocked. This mode would be perfect for a PC that was used in a public place such as a library, school or cafe.

How does it work?

Occasionally, I run into a little program like this and I have to figure out what it’s doing. I learn lots of neat tricks this way. I suspected that Lockup was only making some changes to the Windows Registry and I was correct. I used an installation monitor to find out what changes it made in the second mode I showed you above.

As you can see in the image above, Lockup made changes to the Current_User policy to achieve the blocking it does. Anyone with the knowledge of these registry keys can do the same thing using the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe). Here’s a link to more information on the DisallowRun and RestrictRun registry keys.

Final Tips:

If you do get blocked from using programs or a specific program, you can still launch them using the Windows Run menu (Press Windows key + R) or from the command console (Press Windows key + R / type ‘CMD’ without quotes / press Enter). For example, if I wanted to run Notepad, I could type ‘notepad’ into the Run menu.

You can run Lockup from a USB flash drive if you want to make sure that nobody using the PC has access to the Lockup program. This could also be used for a practical joke if you are feeling mean (not recommended).

Also … here’s how to:

* Password Protect Programs and Files
* Lock and Hide Files and Folders
* Hide Your Secret Files in Zip Folders

Download: Home page for Lockup (requires .NET Framework 3.5)

Techie Buzz Verdict:

If you need to keep people from running specific applications on your PC, this little freeware app could be one of your favorite tools. It’s small, easy to use and it’s free. The only thing missing from this application is a password protection feature.

Techie Buzz Rating: 4/5 (Excellent)

Don’t miss these Related Posts:

• Remove Unwanted Programs And Clean Your System With Revo Uninstaller
• Locking Programs and Files with a Password – SaveIt
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• Lock And Hide Files & Folders
• Manage Your Windows Startup Programs With Startup Inspector

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Luke Timmerman wrote:

This week’s tech news was dominated by a certain new device from Apple, but we found quite a few other things to write about on the San Diego tech scene.

—Our in-house gadgetphile, Wade Roush, previewed the market introduction of Apple’s iPad with a survey of Xconomy readers, and followed it up with a story about his victorious experience in buying one on opening day. There are comments all over the map here on whether this new thing is revolutionary or evolutionary. I haven’t checked out the tool myself, but I will say that Jay Flatley, the CEO of San Diego-based genomics powerhouse Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), told me on Thursday that he was excited to get his iPad over the weekend. Flatley made a bold prediction that the iPad will be better for reading books than Amazon’s Kindle.

—San Diego-based Hookit, a maker of social networking tools for action-sports players, has been on a torrid growth curve, according to this feature story from freelancer Nathan Bomey. The growth is all the more impressive given how Hookit has been embroiled in a trademark dispute that could have caused serious trouble.

—Anybody looking for the next big thing in San Diego 20 years from now ought to take a look at computational neuroscience. That was one of the bits of advice we heard from legendary biotech entrepreneur Paul Schimmel of The Scripps Research Institute at Xconomy’s San Diego Life Sciences 2030 event last week.

—Regular readers know we love to dig up news you can’t find anywhere else about San Diego’s innovation community, and here’s a good example. We found four small financings of interesting local companies, with some help from our partner CB Insights.

—Denise offered up a timely profile of a San Diego company that is looking to seize on the trend toward more cost-effective healthcare. NextImage Medical is seeking to increase the efficiency of radiology exams, which is part of what drives up the costs of worker’s compensation insurance in California.

—We learned from scanning the SEC filings that IO Semiconductor, a San Diego fabless chip design startup, has raised $1 million in debt and equity-based funding, out of a $14 million planned offering.

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

My Shopping List is a free windows mobile software that is being actively developed by amirdt from xda-developers.com , it offers a lot to the users and one of its top feature has to be the PC app. You can create and edit your shopping list on your PC and then sync it to your Windows Mobile device.. too easy….

Read the rest of the review at BestWindowsMobileApps.com

Yes, we’ve covered Apple’s iPad quite a bit this week. While there are other happenings in the mobile tech world, this was a big one — besides, I haven’t blogged much about it just yet. Oh, I will — I’ve been spending time with the device in bits and pieces over this holiday weekend — but I wanted to let the dust settle in terms of coverage. However, there’s one tidbit I wanted to share now, simply because it solves a problem for Google Calendar users that want to sync events with their iPad using Google Sync.

The problem is — using a Microsoft Exchange setup for Google accounts currently works for one single calendar on the iPad. I can’t have that, so I scoured the web for a workaround, found one in a MacRumors forum, and used it successfully. Here’s the method to use until Google addresses the issue for Apple’s iPad — you’ll need to use the Safari browser, although this might work with user agent string spoofing on other browsers too:

• Open Safari and then view its Preferences pane.
• In Preferences, go to the Advanced tab and check “Show Develop menu in menu bar.” If you already have this checked, you can skip this step. Close the Preferences.
  
• In the Safari menu bar, you should now see a Develop menu option. Select it, choose the User Agent option and pick “Mobile Safari 3.1.3 — iPhone” This tells web sites that you’re using the iPhone’s browser. You need to do this to open up the mobile site for the Google Sync service.
• In Safari, browse to http://m.google.com/sync and sign in if needed. Normally you’d do this on your mobile device, but Google isn’t yet recognizing the iPad properly. If you try to configure Google Sync from the iPad, it will say “Sorry, Google Sync is not supported on this device.”
• Now go to the Develop menu in Safari and choose to Disable JavaScript as shown by the check mark below.
  
• Still in Safari, choose to manage your iPad. In my list, it’s the most recent device, but if you use Google Sync across multiple devices, it could appear anywhere in the list.
  
• In the next window, you’ll see that Google says you can sync up to one calendar to your device. Ignore that message because the workaround now allows multiple calendar selections. For instance, I chose three primary calendars and three shared calendars, offering both work and family events in one single view.
  Once you’ve made your selections, click the Save button. That should do it, so don’t forget to undo the User Agent change and re-enable JavaScript in Safari. On the iPad, here’s what the result looks like less than a minute after I ran through these steps:

I’m sure Google will address the one calendar limitation with Google Sync, but until they do, you can easily work around the issue in just a few minutes. Hopefully that helps — and now I’m off for some more iPad playtime so I can share all my thoughts soon.

Related iPad Content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d)

Continuing our remote control theme for the day, WIFI Remote Access by Julien Manici is one of those cool applications one wish were around a long time ago, when we did not have Marketplace to install cabs and most phones did not come with USB Storage mode, when it no doubt could have saved a huge amount of time.

Be that as it may, the app is now here and has continued to evolve. The latest additions, teased in previous releases, allow for the actual remote control of the smartphone and also the ability to send SMS messages directly from your PC. Users can also view pictures on their phone in a 3D gallery and upload multiple files at one to their phone.

See a gallery of the app after the break, and download the latest version here.

If the iPad is supposed to let us lean back in our chairs, heralding a new era of relaxed computing, then Zen Bound 2 is an early masterpiece of that new philosophy. It’s beautiful, contemplative, and eminently touchable. More »

So you shelled out for an iPad, and you’re staring at an empty homescreen. You need games. But which ones? More »