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ClifNotesNewsletter090301

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Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter

March 1, 2009

 

  

Hi Everyone.

Thanks for reading my newsletter. I try to have a few freeware reviews, tips, tricks, news, and cool websites for you to check out.

I hope you enjoy this week's letter. Be sure to write me for advice or yell at me for messing up.

Email me

Click here to chat while

visiting this newsletter!

_Online?

 

 

REVIEWS

 

LastPass - you don't have to remember more than one password

Posted by ClifNotes, Sep 2008, Mar 2009 permalink Password Manager

 

In September of last year, Chet recommended a nice password manager that he's using called LastPass.com. LastPass stores your passwords for you online in an encrypted format that only you can decrypt with your master password. Many people have mentioned that they don't trust any service online to keep their precious passwords and I'd agree in some cases.

 

I recently started using LastPass. The easy access to my passwords from any computer running any operating system gives me freedom to access my sites anywhere. In my case, the freedom to roam outweighs my desire for maximum security. I trust them when they say that they won't crack their own encryption but I mostly trust that they probably don't have any reason to do it.

 

LastPass allows you to transfer the passwords that you already have stored in applications like Roboform, Keepass, Password Safe, and MyPasswordSafe. I was using AiRoboform and I had no trouble at all uploading over 300 passwords. I still keep Roboform around and I keep several backups of the data just in case.

 

The Firefox Addons and Internet Explorer toolbars allow you to autofill passwords and forms on nearly any web page. The only forms I had trouble with were forms used in online Flash applications.

 

I did have one problem with the Firefox Addon that they offer. It kept me from using my online editor tools in PBwiki.com. I found that the bookmarklets that they have work just as well for me. In addition, the bookmarklets also work in almost any web browser. I'm using them right now in Opera 10 and Google Chrome with no problems.

 

I'm giving LastPass a big thumbs up. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

 

Comment from Chet:

I'm a fan of both ROBOFORM and a new one I found LASTPASS.COM.

I'm veering more toward lastpass.com lately ... give it a shot.

PS: LASTPASS is freeeeeeee!

 

Quote from the website

lastpass is a free password manager that makes your web browsing easier and more secure.

 

• Create strong passwords, knowing you only have to remember one.

• Log into your favorite sites with a single click

• Access and manage your data from multiple computers seamlessly

• Share logins with friends and let others share logins with you

https://lastpass.com

 


 

Pixlr - online image editor kicks mspaint to the curb

Posted by ClifNotes, Mar 2009, permalink Web Service

 

Pixlr is an online image editor that can do everything that MS Paint can do plus much more. It even supports layering so that you won't feel that you need Photoshop or Gimp for every little job.

 

I'm using Pixlr more often now because it allows me to load images directly from a web address. The flash based editing is quick and responsive. I have a difficult time believing that this no lag tool is on the web, not installed.

 

Quote from the website

Pixlr is a free online photo editor, jump in and start edit, adjust, filter. It's just what you imagine!

http://www.pixlr.com/editor/

 


 

Xenon Portable File Manager - lets you open apps on your thumbdrive, not the host pc

Posted by ClifNotes, Mar 2009, permalink File Management

 

I don't how many of you are familiar with this problem. When you are using a thumb drive loaded with your favorite portable applications, it can sometimes be a little frustrating having to open your portable apps and browse for the files you need instead of the natural way most of us open files.

 

Normally, I open up a file browser (MS Explorer) and when I see a file I want to open, I double click it and it opens. However, it will always open up in the application that the host PC is set to recognize as the appropriate app for that file. Wouldn't it be nice if you could open up files and they'd open in the portable app that you have chosen?

 

Xenon Portable File Manager allows you to do that through the use of their Association Editor.

 

 

I found the association editor a little hard to find in the menus and a little hard to figure out. However, it's fully featured and allows you to assign two apps to a file type and an icon as well.

 

I found out about this tool while browsing the Donationcoder forums. You can see a lively discussion there and check out the other explorer replacements that they recommend for thumb drives.

 

Quote from the website

Xenon File Manager is an open source file manager written in AutoIt.

http://www.mi3soft.info/?page=noblegas.xenon

 


 

TKexe Kalendar creates photo calendars of any size

Posted by ClifNotes, Mar 2009, permalink Notes and Reminders

 

I saw TKexe Kalendar somewhere and I thought it looked interesting. Ron wrote in with a comment on what he thought about this personal calendar creator. Thanks for offering your opinion Ron.

 

My vote goes to TKexe Kalendar. I've used it before with very decent results. The website is German, but the Cnet download link gets you the English translation in the program. The only thing I'm not really fond of is the install. There's no easy option to set the directory that you prefer; it defaults to C: whether or not you'd like to put the program elsewhere.

 

Still, it's nice to have a calendar on the desk or wall. To keep from losing interest in the software, it seems to me that making monthly calendars will keep it fresh.

 

2 penny Ron

 

Quote from the website

TKexe Kalendar enables the creation of photo calendars of any size. Customization is very easy: position the elements by dragging them with the mouse and change the settings of any element by double-clicking it. 20 images can be added to a month.

http://www.tkexe.de/kalender/

 


 

PCLinuxOS - great Linux live CD and installed OS

Posted by ClifNotes, Mar 2009, permalink Operating System

 

PCLOS (PCLinuxOS) is a 700mb download in ISO (CD image) format. I've been trying quite a few Linux Distros lately and this was one of the easiest to install on my PC. The final installed OS boots fairly quick and the KDE desktop is very easy to navigate if you're used to Windows.

 

The only beef I had was that the current version is 2007. That means I had to update a few programs. The one I struggled with should have been easy. Firefox 2x had to be upgraded to Firefox 3x. The install using the Synaptic package manager went well, but the program wouldn't run. I finally ended up getting a linked binary download from Mozilla and manually installing it. Once that was done, I had to do the same for Adobe Flash. Now I'm happier with it.

 

I did see that a 2009 version is nearly ready.

 

I would recommend this one to those wishing to replace Windows, but Ubuntu seems to be better supported for those who need the help.

 

click to expand picture

Quote from the website

Texstar and the Ripper Gang are pleased to announce the final release of PCLinuxOS 2007. Featuring kernel 2.6.18.8, KDE 3.5.6, Open Office 2.2.0, Firefox 2.0.0.3, Thunderbird 2.0, Frostwire, Ktorrent, Amarok, Flash, Java JRE, Beryl 3D and much much more. Almost 2 gigs of software compressed on a single self bootable livecd that can be installed to your hard drive provided it is compatible with your system and you like the distribution. Over 5000+ additional packages available after hard drive install through our Synaptic Software Manager. Please note PCLinuxOS does not ship with Win32codes or DVD decryption software. Proprietary Nvidia and ATI drivers available after hard drive install.

http://pclinuxos.org/

 


 

 

 

 

 

Old Newsletter

 

I like to look back and see what I was thinking about. Here's another letter from the wayback machine.

 

 


 

 

 

 

TIPS AND FEEDBACK

 

What free software do you need?

Notes from ClifNotes, permalink Windows Tips

 

So what do you need? Write it down below and I'll see if I can find it. If you know the answer to someone else's question, add your answer there.

 

 

Previous What Do You Need comments

 

Search all the comments


 

What freebie should I try next?

Posted by ClifNotes, Mar 2009, permalink Software Collections

 

Below are a few freebies I haven't had time to try yet. Have you tried them? If so, let us know how you like them.

 

Moo0 RightClicker 1.26 - Enhance Your Context Menu

Moo0 RightClicker is a set of enhancements on the context menu (right click menu) of Windows Explorer. It adds many useful functionalities like duplicating current explorer window, open/move to/copy to bookmarked folders, hiding default context menus, and so forth.

 

Please install this software and experience the possibilities that it can bring to you. Although you may need some time to get accustomed to it first, you will probably find your life far easier with these extra enhancements.

 

The functionalities of this software are well selected and simplified for easy start. If you want all the functionalities, please try out Moo0 RightClicker Pro.

 

Tips:

 

- You can always Un-Hide default right click menus like "Send To" from "Customize.." > "UnHide" > ..

- You can show all the munus available by Right-Clicking with Shift-Key.

- It takes time to get used to a new set of menus. Please try it a while.

 

 

http://www.moo0.com/software/RightClicker/#RightClicker

 

MenuMaid - remove items in the right click menu

Are you looking for a fast and easy way to clean up your Window Explorer and Internet Explorer right-click (context) menu? Look no further. MenuMaid makes it simple! Just uncheck the items you don't want to show up. Restore them at any time.

 

 

http://www.sdsoftware.org/default.asp?id=11403

 

The Newspaper Clipping Generator - create your own bogus newspaper articles

To download your newspaper, use the link at the bottom of the generated image. You can use the images as you wish ie. put them on your own website or blog. Please note, that direct linking to the newspaper clippings doesn't work; the images are deleted from the server after a short time span.

 

 

http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp

 

PDFtoWord - The Most Accurate PDF-to-Word Converter

Using our PDF-to-Word conversion technology, you can quickly and easily create editable DOC/RTF files, making it a cinch to re-use PDF content in applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, OpenOffice, and WordPerfect.

Best of all, it's entirely free!

 

 

http://www.pdftoword.com/default.aspx

 

Easy Whiteboard - lets you mark up your desktop for presentations

Easy Whiteboard is a program that turns your screen into a whiteboard. You draw directly on your screen on top of all other applications. (from PawEng)

 

Translated from German:

With easy the Whiteboard practically any sceen contents can be covered temporarily „frozen “, and/or sense-figurativy with a clear foil. Strengthen your presentations effectively. With your pointer of mouse or a digital pin you use your screen as digital indication surface. Outline, draw and write simply digitally on the sceen contents shown, like in a material meeting. Subsequently, you can the descriptive sides store and print. If you call easy the Whiteboard over your Desktop, this functionality is to you practically in each of your applications at the disposal.

 

 

http://www.go-conference.de/-65.html

 

VideoCacheView v1.41 - Copy video files from Web browser cache

After watching a video in a Web site, you may want to save the video file into your local disk for playing it offline in the future. If the video file is stored in your browser's cache, this utility can help you to extract the video file from the cache and save it for watching it in the future.

It automatically scans the entire cache of Internet Explorer and Mozilla-based Web browsers (Including Firefox) and finds all video files that are currently stored in it. It allows you to easily copy the cached video files into another folder for playing/watching them in the future. If you have a movie player that is configured to play flv files, it also allows you to play the video directly from your browser's cache.

 

 

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/video_cache_view.html

 

 


 

Comments from the last newsletter

Thanks to everyone who commented on last week's articles. You gave me more ideas and some good advice.

 

REVIEWS

Digital Clip Factory - easy to use photo to video tool •

WinSplit Revolution

Snowbird Search - still very fast but has a new look and new features •

Can you replace Windows default search?

Freebyte Task Scheduler - small and portable automation •

Print What You Like - website helps you save paper •

 

COOL

Tabbloid.com - have RSS feeds sent to your email •

ActiveFreeStuff.com - all kinds of stuff, no money needed •


 

 

Internet Fixes Weekend Windup

tips from Gary at InternetFixes, Windows Tips

 

From Clif:

Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do it!".

 

Sign up for Gary's newsletter?

Weekend Windups are now available online

http://www.internetfixes.com/weekend_windup/

 

Internet Fixes Weekend Windup

Visit My New FAQ Section Of The Website! This Takes The Place Of The Old Forum And Login Section Of The Website!

http://www.internetfixes.com/fixes/index.php

 

The Following Are New Tips From The Past Week.

============================

 

Question about XP or Vista?  Post Them at the Address Below.

http://www.internetfixes.com/fixes/index.php

 

============================

Automatically run a batch file when you open a Windows XP command prompt.

 

You probably run the same few commands each time you start using the command prompt in Windows XP. For example, perhaps you first switch to the root directory and then clear the screen. Then, you may have put these commands into a batch file and saved the file to the C:Documents and Settings{username} folder so that when you open the command prompt, you simply type the name of the batch file to issue the commands.

 

You can save

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01961.htm

============================

 

How to redirect shared folders in Windows XP?

 

The Shared Documents link shown in the My Computer window, is just a pointer to another folder. Its location, by default is set as %ALLUSERSPROFILE%Documents. If you want to redirect the Shared folders to a different drive or a network path, follow the steps in this article.

 

Note:  The

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01962.htm

============================

 

Still using Floppies?

 

It seems like just yesterday that floppy drives were the “cool” thing to use and now we’ve sort of gone past CDs as well. Of course, CDs are still a good way to save your information, but is there something even better? To some, a flash drive may seem like the better answer when it comes to saving your important files and folders and that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today.

 

So, if you own a

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01963.htm

============================

 

Have you observed that F7, F9, F10 and F12 have no use in Windows.

 

You can assign some tasks to these keys. Just select which program you are regularly using.

 

1. Locate the shortcut of that program. If it

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01964.htm

============================

 

Create a shortcut to (map) a Network Drive with Vista.

 

When you create a shortcut to a shared folder or computer on a network (also called mapping a network drive), you can get to it from Computer or Windows Explorer without having to look for it or type its network address each time.

 

1. Open Computer by clicking

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01965.htm

 

****************************

This Tips Are Made Possible Because Of Your Continued Donations!

http://www.internetfixes.com/main_paypal.htm

 

REGISTRY PROBLEMS?

http://www.internetfixes.com/registry/

 

****************************

Remove A Second Installation Of XP From The same Partition

 

Having a second copy of Windows XP on the same partition is not particularly desirable, as it is possible that the second installation may conflict with the first. If it is imperative that you have two copies of XP on your PC (and be aware that you will require a separate license for each installed copy of XP on your PC) you should consider creating a dual boot system by installing the second copy of XP on a separate partition or hard drive.

 

If, however, you are

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01966.htm

============================

 

Share a drive or folder in Windows XP with other computers on a Windows network.

 

Drive sharing on the XP computer: My Computer, right-click C:, Sharing and Security, Sharing. It had drive C: shared as C$, the default share. This share is not visible to other computers on the network.

 

Clicked New Share and

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01967.htm

============================

 

Where did the Clipboard Viewer go in Windows XP?

 

To install the Clipboard Viewer (now called the Clipbook Viewer) right-click Start, select Properties, select Classic Start Menu, Customize, Add, Browse, C: drive, expand the tree by clicking the plus signs to Windows, System32, select

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01968.htm

============================

 

You can get more out of Internet Explorer 7 Tabs when using Windows XP

 

Many Windows XP users have upgraded to Internet Explorer 7 in order to take advantage of the Tabs feature, which allows you to view multiple sites at the same time. Here are some shortcuts and tricks that you can use to get even more out of Internet Explorer 7’s tabs.

 

-While clicking the tabs to

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01969.htm

============================

 

I'm having a problem with Outlook Express.

 

It started when I downloaded my e-mail and there were a much higher number of e-mails than usual. It said I have 83 messages, but I only had 14. It rolled through the 83 e-mails really quick and gave me a bunch of error messages. I deleted all of them and the next time the same thing happened. It also downloaded the original messages. Also, while I'm downloading the messages, I use AVG virus scan that automatically scans each e-mail. It starts at zero and goes up to 100%. When it was scanning the messages, it went up to the thousands or even ten thousands before it would finish. Sounds like a virus, so I used AVG to scan for a virus. No luck. I cleaned the cookies and temp files. Help. Thanks.

 

A. It all depends on why you are getting so many emails.  There are dozens of potential causes

 

Read More...

http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01970.htm

 

****************************

This Tips Are Made Possible Because Of Your Continued Donations!

http://www.internetfixes.com/main_paypal.htm

 

****************************

Clif Notes Freeware Reviews

http://freewarewiki.com/FreewareReviews

 

****************************

Question about Vista?  Post Them at the Address Below.

http://www.internetfixes.com/fixes/index.php

 

============================

Click The Link Below To Get My NewsLetter.

http://www.internetfixes.com/newsletter.htm

 

============================

Kids And Computers

http://www.internetfixes.com/blog/

 

============================

BUSY SECTIONS OF THE WEBSITE!

 

Function Keys, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12

 

http://www.internetfixes.com/definitions/IF01424.htm

 

============================

140 Windows XP Run Commands.

http://www.internetfixes.com/xp_run_commands.htm

 

============================

Vista Run Commands.

http://www.internetfixes.com/vista_run_commands.htm

 

============================

Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, A-K

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01051.htm

 

Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, L-P

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01052.htm

 

Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, Q-Z

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01053.htm

 

============================

Computer Motherboard And Chipset Drivers.

http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01057.htm

 

============================

I try and keep up on the latest Virus Alerts.

http://www.internetfixes.com/virus_info.htm

 

============================

Drivers Index.

http://www.internetfixes.com/drivers_index.htm

 

============================

Click The Link Below To Join My News Letter.

http://www.internetfixes.com/newsletter.htm

 

============================

Computer Problem?  Post Your Question Here.

http://www.internetfixes.com/fixes/index.php

 

==============================

TIPS WITH FULL GRAPHICS!  ALL ONE LOCATION!

http://www.internetfixes.com/tips_with_full_graphics.htm

 

============================

 


 

CoolSites Newsletter this week

 

Here are a 6 links (out of dozens) from Mark's CoolSites Newsletter. Be sure to visit his site and see the rest of his links this week.

 

February 27 2009 COOLSITES Newsletter #206 by Mark Donaldson

• Freeware by DmitryBrant.com: http://dmitrybrant.com/downloads

• Clonezilla live is suitable for single machine backup and restore: http://clonezilla.org/

• Efficient Diary is a completely free while still beautiful, easy-to-use and powerful electronic diary software package: http://www.efficientdiary.com/

• Family Budget Planner. FREE software to help manage your expenses: http://www.naturalparentingtips.com/familybudgetplanner/

• Password Gorilla cross-platform Password Manager: http://www.fpx.de/fp/Software/Gorilla/

• Qipit - Copy documents, whiteboards and handwritten notes with your camera phone or digital camera to store, fax, email or publish: http://www.qipit.com/

 

Quote from the website

COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.


http://luem42.googlepages.com/coolsites.html

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW NEWS

 

SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware

Source - http://snapfiles.com/freeware

 

 


 

 

News from Sarah in Tampa

Source - http://sarahintampa.com

 

 


 

Security news from Malware Advisor

blog by TeMerc Internet Countermeasures, source

Infected? Go to http://temerc.com for help

 

 

 


 

A view from CyberNirvana

 

CyberNirvana: Zia's blog about the web and web technology.

http://zia.blogspot.com/

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER STUFF

 

Frapper - you people live all over the world!

Wow! Over 900 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.

 

Here's a small look at my frapper map.

 


 

Get Gmail! and Get Firefox!

 

You need a free 6 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.

 

 

I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.

 

Get Firefox!


 

Chatting at FreewareWiki

permalink

 

Now you can chat with anyone visiting a website by using Meebo. To see who's gabbing at this website, click here.

 

 

 

 

Find out more about Meebo.com


 

 

 

 

 

 

Write your own review

 

 

I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.


 

What do you have to say?

 

Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.


 

 

Have fun and surf safely.

 

Clif

http://clifnotes.net & http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com

Devoted to promoting Freeware and Free Information

 

 

 

 


 

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