MakeUseOf » Angelina

How To Remove Computer Viruses At Home For Free

Angelina — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:31:57 +0000

To the average computer user, contracting a virus is like contracting a rare disease – it brings life to a halt, it is expensive to remove, and worst of all, the probability of catching a virus is much higher than that of catching a serious disease.

After the dreaded infection, removal procedures usually include taking the computer to a service center, where technicians charge hundreds of dollars to remove the virus. But what many users don’t know is that viruses are actually not very difficult to deal with.

In fact, there are hoards of free tools on the internet that make it simple enough to remove viruses for free, for anyone with even a bit of technical savvy. These tools render spending ridiculous sums of money for a virus removal a thing of the past.

The bulk of the work is brute forcing: repeatedly attacking the virus with different scans until it gives into deletion. If you have a decent amount of time on your hands, virus removal becomes a very simple process.

The first step to remove viruses for free is backing up your data. At work, I usually take the hard drive out of the computer and use a hard drive dock (pictured above) to back data up on our servers. This is the safest method of backing up files, since the traditional method of backing up your files to an external hard drive yields a higher chance of the viruses copying themselves onto your external.

However, not many people own a hard drive dock, so in a pinch, you could try uploading your files to a cloud based storage system, like Dropbox. If you do want to invest in a dock, though, the cheapest one I found online was $20.

Once you have your data backed up, you can begin running virus scans on your computer. First, boot your computer into safe mode. Each manufacturer has a different F-key for boot up options, but the most common one is F8. A quick Google search should tell you which F-key is the one your computer uses to boot into safe mode. Make sure, when you are selecting which mode to boot into, that you pick the safe mode with networking, since we will be running both online and software scans.

From here on out, I will simply list tried and true scanners that I use on a daily basis (also check out Justin’s recent article on the 10 best free anti-virus programs). The procedure for each is the same: download the installer, install it onto your computer, make sure you update the definitions, and then let it run (always select FULL scan). Once you’ve completed the scan, make sure you uninstall the program before you install and run the next one.

Anti-Virus Softwares

1. Malwarebytes

2. A Squared

3. Microsoft Security Essentials

4. AVG Free

5. Spybot Search and Destroy

The procedure for running online scanners is exactly the same as running software scanners, except that instead of downloading an installer, you will simply be downloading a plug-in.

Online Scanners

1. Panda ActiveScan

2. Bitdefender

3. ESET

Usually, by the time you’ve made your way through the above list, you should be receiving clean reports from your anti-virus scans. Sometimes, you will encounter a virus that is particularly difficult to remove, but if you have already identified it, Bitdefender hosts a bevy of free removal tools for specific viruses. Otherwise, there are dozens of other, equally effective anti-virus tools on the internet: for example, Avast and Avira. Just follow the same process as above, and you should be good to go.

The last resort, if all else fails, would be to reformat your computer. However, if you must settle for this option, rest assured knowing that your data is already backed up, and, since the procedure you just went through is the same as the one many computer repair shops use, that you probably would have been told to reformat anyways.

Do you have any trusted virus removal tools, or any pro tips for other users wishing to keep their computers infection-free? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit : Nils Geylen

What Is A CPU and What Does It Do? [Technology Explained]

Angelina — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:30:31 +0000

Although most moderately tech-savvy people today know that a CPU is one of the components in their computers, not many people know what a CPU actually does. In fact, if asked, most people probably would not know what CPU stands for.

But when searching for a new desktop or laptop, and typical CPU-related terms such as “quad-core” or ” i7 core” pop out from advertisements, each proclaiming their superiority over the other — what is a person to do, especially if he or she has no idea what either of those terms mean?

First of all, what is a CPU? CPU (also commonly called a microprocessor) stands for “central processing unit”. It’s a very suitable name, because it describes exactly what the CPU does: it processes instructions that it gathers from decoding the code in programs and other such files. A CPU has four primary functions: fetch, decode, execute, and writeback.

Fetch

In the first step, the CPU retrieves the instruction that it needs to run from program memory. Each instruction in a program (which contains millions of instructions) is stored at a specific address. The CPU has a program counter, which keeps track of the CPU’s position in the program ““ more specifically, the address of the instruction that the CPU is accessing.

Decode

For this step, it’s important to know that no matter what code a program is written in, the compiler for that specific language breaks the code down to Assembly Language. Assembly language is a language that the CPU understands, but may vary between different CPUs. From there on, an “˜assembler’ translates Assembly Language into binary code, which the CPU can manipulate to execute the instructions it is given.

Execute

Based on the instructions it is given, the CPU can then do one of three things:

1) Using its Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), the CPU can calculate extremely complicated mathematical functions;

2) Move data from one memory location to another;

3) Jump to different addresses in the program based on decisions made by the CPU itself.

The diagram above shows the setup of an extremely simple microprocessor capable of performing these actions.

Writeback

Typically, each of the actions taken by the CPU produces some sort of output. The CPU takes this output and writes it into the computer’s memory. For example, if a program wanted to execute the first item of the list above on two operands, 3 and 5, the output, 8, would be written back into a specific address. However, for the 3rd bullet, the program counter (which, as stated above, is used to keep track of the CPU’s progress through a program) simply changes to reflect the start of the next set of instructions.

When these four steps have been completed, the Program Counter moves onto the next instruction and repeats the entire process again, until the termination of the program.

Another important component of a CPU is called the “clock.” The clock produces a signal that acts to synchronize the logic units within the CPU as they execute the instructions given in a program. In the diagram above, the purple line represents the signal of a clock as it is being inputted into a logic unit. For every time the line goes from low to high, and back to low (one cycle), an instruction is carried out.

Thus, the CPU Clock speed refers to the number of times that a CPU’s clock cycles per second. Typical computers have a clock speed around 2.8 GHz (Gigahertz), which means that the clock cycles 2.8 billion times a second, and executes an equivalent number of instructions!

Now, even though this seems like an incredible amount of information processed, a CPU operating solely on the technology explained above would still be slow, if it were not for parallelism, and multi-core technology. But I’ll leave that for later, as I’ve just given you a great deal of information to digest. Now, you’re a little closer to learning how processors work, and to to gauging which processor is best for your needs.

In Part 2, I’ll explain more in depth about the technology that goes into dual- and quad-core technology, and what claims such as “Hyper-threading” mean. I’ll also introduce the concept of overclocking a CPU (the practice of increasing the clock rate of a CPU to increase its performance and speed).

What CPU does your computer have? Have you ever thought about overclocking your computer? Let us know in the comments!

4 Sites To Find Cool Gifts For Dad

Angelina — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:30:07 +0000

Every year, there’s a last minute scramble around June for Father’s Day presents. Even though as of now, Father’s Day is quite far away, it’s never too early to keep an eye peeled for good deals on cool gifts for dad. Or, perhaps you’re looking for a birthday present.

Either way, I have the sites for you, whether they’re ones that carry amazing deals, but that you’ll need to check daily, or the ones where you can find truly unique presents for a truly unique individual.

ChronoShark

If your dad is into gorgeous designer watches, Chronoshark is a great site to keep a watch on for that cool gift for dad. Although it only features one watch a day (a bit like Woot!), the deals are spectacular. For example, today’s offering is a Lucien Piccard Rally Sport Watch that retails for $600 in the Watch Group. However, ChronoShark has the same watch for an astounding $59.

Each watch is up for exactly a day only though, as you may be able to tell by the timer under the ‘Buy Now’ button, so if there really is no time to mull over the purchase. However, there is a 14 day return policy, so as long as you keep the watch in pristine condition, including all packaging and tags then you have an additional 2 weeks to determine whether or not you really made a smart purchase. Standard shipping is a lowly $5, so even if you do end up deciding not to keep the watch, you’d only be down 10 bucks.

ThinkGeek

If your dad’s a bit more of a geek than a watch man, ThinkGeek has pretty much an endless supply of trinkets for your gift giving needs. As you can see in the screenshot above, I’ve picked out something decently masculine, just to give you a sample of what ThinkGeek has to offer.

They have everything from stuffed animals to Caffeine pills to a shirt with a playable guitar graphic on it, which means you have a very very good chance of finding something appropriate. Shipping costs differ by the item, but ThinkGeek has a 30-day return policy, so, once again, you can buy first, think later.

Etsy

I cannot stop recommending Etsy, simply because the collection of items there are so unique, and so beautifully crafted. Granted, the selection of items is not as large, but the items are all handmade. I ran a search for ‘Father’ to see what came up, and I found cuff links with a hand drawn map of Brooklyn on them, a hand carved collectors Sherlock smoking pipe, and the awesome Man Cave sign pictured above and lots of other very cool gifts for dad. Prices, shipping policies, and return policies all vary by seller, but regardless of which artist you buy from, you’re guaranteed to get a one of a kind item.

TechBargains

Now if you’re not feeling as adventurous, you could always just get the newest shiny tech toy for your (hopefully) technology inclined parent. TechBargains has an extensive selection of electronics, movies, and games, most at sizable discounts. Although this is another one of those hit or miss sites, when it comes to timing, you can at least rest assured knowing that, regardless of what you buy, you’re going to be getting a good deal. Since TechBargains is just a conglomeration of links to good deals on the internet, there’s no standard return or exchange policy, but as long as you do your homework and step cautiously, that should be no problem.

Now that I’ve shown you four great websites to browse for that perfect gift for your dad, there should be no excuse for any lame gifts ever again. You never know, if you start looking now, you might find a little something not JUST for your dear old papa, but for yourself as well. After all, with all those options, who could resist?

5 Sources For Free Photoshop Addon Downloads

Angelina — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:31:29 +0000

When it comes to image editing, there’s no doubt that Photoshop is one of the most widely used programs on the market. While it comes with tons of features out of the box, sometimes the packaged components are just not enough. Luckily, Photoshop is an extremely versatile program that allows you to install actions, brushes, and even plug-ins to extend its capabilities.

Here are a few of the choicest freeware Photoshop addons, to get your creative juices flowing, and hopefully to enhance your experience with Photoshop!

Actions

Normally, when you alter an image in Photoshop, you take a series of steps to get your image from its raw, unadulterated form, to the final, polished masterpiece. If you manipulate your images often, you’ll find yourself taking the same steps for different images, over and over. This is where actions come in – steps are recorded in sequence, and when an action is played, all the steps are carried out on your image of choice – reducing repetitive tasks like framing pictures or changing skin tone to one click.

50 Photoshop Postwork Actions

This is a great pack of actions that alters the tone of your image. The effects that it produces replicates many of the popular tones seen in magazine photo shoots and professional images, and allows the recreational photographer to achieve better results when post processing.

Photographer’s Toolkit

Another task that photographers have to carry out constantly is digitally framing their pictures. While the process itself is simple, it gets tedious and repetitive when there are dozens of pictures to go through. Luckily, Photographer’s Toolkit produces a myriad of frames for your choosing, and applicable at the click of your mouse.

Brushes

Just about any brush you can think of can be found on the internet. Whatever you need- whether it is a blood splatter, a pair of wings, or even eyelashes- is just a Google search away. Here, I’m going to pinpoint a few brush sets that I like, but keep in mind that there are literally thousands more brush sets out there.

Urban Scrawl Photoshop Brushes

This brush set is perfect for adding a bit of that hand-drawn feel to your projects. I personally adore this set because, while vector or splatter packs are a dime a dozen, this set is truly unique.

Real Smoke

This gorgeous brush set is another example of how anything you can think of has probably been made into a brush. The sample brushes pictured above are just a small selection of the ones in the actual set (there are actually about three times as many). Perfect for adding a bit of mystery and allure to photo manipulations, the variety of brushes in this set makes it useful in many situations, and definitely a set worth adding to your arsenal of Photoshop tools.

Plug-Ins

Plug-ins are a bit like actions in that they simplify the process of manipulating pictures, but they’re a bit more customizable than actions, which produce the same results every time. Think of, for example, how the Gaussian Blur filter allows you to adjust the extent of the blur you want. Plug-ins are like that – they’re essentially filters that change the way your pictures look. Unfortunately, most plug-ins are not free, but the effects they produce can be replicated by hand through a much longer process.

Xero Plug-in Pack

This plugin pack includes about twenty different plug-ins that allow you to do everything from make a picture foggy, to produce a lithograph effect on your picture. All of the plug-ins are adjustable, so you can play with the extent of the transformation. The image above demonstrates the effects of a few of my favorite plug-ins; clockwise from the top, they are: Titanium, Artworkx, Artifax, and Seasons.

Now that I’ve introduced you to just a few of the Photoshop resources on the internet, I hope you’re feeling a bit more artistically inspired by the extent of Photoshop’s adaptability. If you feel like you need to browse a few more brush sets or action packs, websites like deviantArt and Photoshop Tutorials house hundreds, even thousands more resources for you to peruse.

Do you have any trusted sources for Photoshop addons? What are your favorite brushes/actions/plug-ins? Let us know in the comments!

5 MORE Free Microsoft Products & Why They Are The Best

Angelina — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:55 +0000

Although there are plenty of free software floating around on the web, not all freeware are created equal. There is such a large disparity in quality between freeware from different companies that sometimes we must turn towards established, trusted companies, if just to make sure the software comes from a credible source.

Although Microsoft isn’t a company that people would usually associate with freeware, there are a surprisingly robust selection of free Microsoft products. The following list covers the cream of the crop products that truly stand out among their free and paid counterparts. This is part two to Mahendra’s part one on free Microsoft products, which you can read here.

1. Microsoft Security Essentials

I work for a technology center that routinely diagnoses and removes viruses from its customers’ computers. While we use a hoard of different antivirus and malware scanners to eradicate viruses, none has been as surprisingly effective as Microsoft Security Essentials. One particular day in our office, Microsoft Security Essentials picked up sixteen entries that neither Panda Activescan nor AVG antivirus had found. In fact, it was so popular in our office that it became the default antivirus that we install on reformatted computers before they go back to their clients.

2. Bing Maps

Bing Maps is Microsoft’s version of the popular Google Maps. While the latter remains an integral part of many people’s lives, Bing Maps is an alternative that is, perhaps even more efficient. The first great thing about Bing Maps is that the front page of the website features both a To and From box. I typed in two places of interest (just to test how well Bing Maps was able to pin down their addresses) and surprisingly, Bing Maps loaded both these places immediately, and accurately. On the other hand, when I tried the same search on Google Maps, not only did the search take longer, but the addresses that Google picked were wrong!

Some additional features of Bing Maps that may prove useful are: the option to pick a route by the least amount of traffic, and the ability to send your directions to either an email, a mobile phone, or to your GPS. While I wasn’t able to test whether I could actually put my directions into a GPS system, seeing as I don’t own one, just the fact that this option exists makes Bing a viable alternative to Google Maps in my mind.

3. Windows Live Photo Gallery

Windows Live Photo Gallery is a free Microsoft product that can definitely give Picasa a run for its money. Although I prefer Picasa’s interface and organization a bit more, Windows Live Photo Gallery has the same basic features like cropping, people tagging, and simple editing. WL Photo Gallery’s exposure and color adjusting features are a bit more comprehensive than that of Picasa, but it lacks Picasa’s host of filters. As far as plug-ins go, WL Photo Gallery supports much of the same functionality that Picasa does, such as Facebook, youTube, and Flickr upload.

The main reason I love WL Photo Gallery is for its Facebook Upload plug-in. Whereas Picasa’s Facebook plug-in simply puts your photos and the associated captions in an album, WL Photo Gallery uploads your tags as well, which means that you can kill two birds with one stone! Upon upload, WL Photo Gallery pulls out the names you’ve tagged your pictures with, and compares them to the names of your friends, and automatically uploads these tags to Facebook.

For those names that WL Photo Gallery can’t match up, it lets you select the friend that goes with each tag. In the end, if you like having your pictures on your computer tagged, you won’t have to redo all of your hard work when you have to upload your pictures.

4. Process Explorer

To put it simply, Process Monitor is a bit like Task Monitor on steroids. If you ever feel the need to know exactly what is running on your computer, down to the last thread, then Process Monitor is your program. You can trace each program down to the individual processes and files that the program is using. You can also monitor your CPU usage, as well as the CPU usage history. Process Monitor tracks every last minute detail about the memory usage and running operations on your computer, so if you ever feel like learning a bit more about how the programs on your computer works, consider trying Process Explorer.

5. Paint.NET

Although Paint.NET isn’t technically a Microsoft program, it was originally mentored by Microsoft, and intended to replace Microsoft Paint. Now, Paint.NET is still maintained by some of the alumni, and has flourished into a commendable program that rivals Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro. It was designed with speed in mind, so users tired of Photoshop’s laggy rendering and slow startup, or looking for a image editor for their netbook, may find Paint.NET the alternative they have been looking for. Like for Photoshop, Paint.NET also has an extensive list of plug-ins available to further add on to its capabilities.

Although many people seem to think that Microsoft only develops paid products, it is quite the contrary. There is a hoard of free Microsoft products for the public that not only bolster Windows’s features, but also act as viable competitors to many popular programs such as Picasa and Google Maps. Now that we’ve introduced you to a few of these products, try them out, and let us know how they compare!

5 Online Tools To Help You Keep Your New Year Resolutions

Angelina — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:31:35 +0000

Now that Christmas is over, it’s time to start thinking about New Years resolutions ideas. For most people, that means making a list of goals that will hopefully last two or three months, before they are forgotten entirely. Personally, this has happened so many times that I’m starting to believe that New Years resolutions are meant to be ridiculously difficult to achieve, and never actually accomplished.

Not so this year, however. This year, one of my most important New Years Resolutions is to actually KEEP my resolutions, but in order to do that, I’ll need a few tools to keep me reminded of my goals.

Perhaps you need a bit of inspiration to start your resolution-making for next year too? If so, read on for 5 great tools to help you do just that!

43Things

43 Things is a site meant for keeping track of life goals, although it does have a section specifically for resolutions. Honestly, I found the site to be a bit confusing to navigate at first. When you sign up, you can immediately start to add goals for yourself, but keep in mind, you have a maximum of 43 goals.

You can also browse and add goals that others have created. Each specific goal has a page of its own, complete with the average time to completion, the number of people who are trying to accomplish the same thing, tips from users who successfully completed the goal, and more.

After a goal is added to your list, you can set a reminder and the interval you would like it to be emailed to you. You can also write journal entries for each goal to document your progress.

43Things For The iPhone

43Things for the iPhone [iTunes Store link] is great as both a complement to the website and as a standalone service, though you’ll still need an account to use it. It has the same basic functionality as the website, allowing you to track the percentage completion of your goals, write entries detailing your progress, and mark goals you’ve completed. While the app has a few less features than the website (most noticeably, it is missing the community that the website has), I prefer the app over the website because the interface is much more straightforward.

Habitforge

Habitforge is a bit like 43Things, but the premise is that it takes only 21 consecutive days to form a habit. Thus, this site works particularly well for resolutions where repetition is the key to success. Examples would be “run for 30 minutes every day” or “read 10 pages of a top 100 classics book every day”. Once you add a habit, Habitforge emails you daily to ask about your progress.

You can specify what your motivation for having the goal is, and Habitforge will insert this into its daily email every three days, to remind you why exactly it is so important for you to keep working at your goal. From the website, you can see how many days are left, and the percentage of days that you completed your task.

This website is pretty new, so plenty of features (like specifying which days of the week a goal applies to) are still in the works, but as it stands Habitforge is already a very solid webapp.

Joe’s Goals

If you don’t mind a plain interface, Joe’s Goals is also a great online habit tracker, which allows you to assign point values to each goal to denote its importance. You can denote whether a goal is positive or negative (for example, ‘wasting time at work’ might be negative while ‘keep desk clean’ would be positive), and for each day, Joe’s Goals will add your point totals depending on which tasks you completed. You can then view a graph of your point totals over time. This graph can also be embedded in a variety of places, including iGoogle as a gadget.

OneNote

For those who don’t want to sign up for yet another service, OneNote, or any other notebook software is a great way to track goals. Dedicate an entire notebook to your resolutions, and make a separate section for each of your resolutions. Then, you can either fill the pages of each section with entries on how far you’ve progressed (akin to 43Things), with your grandoise plans on how to accomplish your goals, or even pictures / screenshots / other types of media to document your work.

Google Calendar

Another way to track your resolutions using the tools you most likely already have is Google Calendar. Simply make a new calendar specifically for your resolutions, and create repeating events for each resolution, on the days you want them to be observed. Then you can set GCal to remind you by email (or by SMS if you have that set up) when you need to complete a task in order to keep your resolution.

Now that I have detailed five tools to help you keep your New Year Resolutions, you have no excuse to break your resolutions this year. Give some of these methods a test, and let us know how they work for you! Or, if you have your own method to keep track of resolutions, let the rest of us in on your secret to success! Happy New Year and good luck keeping those resolutions!

Some Last Minute Tips To Tech Up Your Christmas

Angelina — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:31:54 +0000

Yes, I know. It’s the last bend before Christmas comes around, and for many of us, it marks the beginning of a mad scramble to pick up last minute presents, put up decorations, and plan get-togethers. Of course, this year, you could do the same boring thing as every other year. You could resort to the same old spherical glass ornaments in the array of solid metallic colors, and you could fall back on Freezer-Isle hors d’oeuvres.

Or you could follow the tips I’m about to give you to put together painless decorations, and….well, I can’t guarantee I will be able to help liven up your party, but I’ll give it my best shot.

Step with caution though, because some of the tips are off the top of my head, and might not have been road tested, so YMMV. Nonetheless, raise your glasses of eggnog, and cheers to high tech christmas!

Streamline Your Party

Getting people together for the holidays is usually a nightmare, as scheduling conflicts abound. Never fear, the MakeUseOf Directory has a horde of web-apps that will help you plan your party. I went through and picked out a few of my favorites.

Which Date Works

This app immediately stands out to me simply because there is no registration required. As you can see, the interface is very clean and eye catching. The host simply decides the details of the event, picks a few possible dates, and then emails out the notifications. The guests then pick which dates they are available as well, and the results are shown graphically on the calendar.

Pingg

If you want to be a bit more elaborate than simply sending a “come hither” email, Pingg is a great service for creating e-vites and even a custom webpage for your event. Of course, event planning sites are a dime a dozen, but Pingg’s clean design and simple interface (things I always look for in webapps) make it a good choice above more spartan looking services like invite43.

Use Google Instead

But if you’d rather not sign up for one more service just to host a party, James wrote a great article on how to plan a party with Google services.

Now once you have ensnared your unwitting guests, you need a way to keep them interested! Why not a party playlist, planned by everyone on the guest list, to make sure that the beats at least are keeping the guests appeased? Flavortunes is a great service that works just like sending out invitations, except you’re inviting the guests to suggest songs to play at the party. Unfortunately the service seems to be down at the moment, but keep it in mind for future reference.

Perhaps that is not enough involvement from the net for you. Perhaps you’d like to be a little geekier than that? You could always toss the traditional holiday party idea (it’s so conventional anyways, right?) and have a LAN party instead! Yes, a LAN party. Jack covered How to Organize An Awesome Lan Party, and trust me, if you like games as much as my crowd does, it’ll be a hit for sure.

But what about the party food? You can’t have a holiday party without decadent Christmas cake, and it HAS to match with the party theme. If you’re not having a LAN party, I can’t help you there, but if you ARE however, here are some great game-themed desserts to get your creativity going!

Starcraft

Warcraft

Halo

There’s way more inspiration out there on the web, if you care to look, but if you are not a master baker (neither am I, no worries) you could always just buy a few action figures and shove them into the frosting! Or, you can just bake a bunch of brownies, cut them into squares, pretend the squares are pixels, dip them into colored frosting, and make pixel pictures, like the following.

Fabulous, no?

Decorations

For some simple, geeky centerpieces, take red and white wire, wind them around each other, and bend one end until the wires resemble a candy cane. To mass produce these wire candy canes, start with two ridiculously long lengths of wire, and after winding them together, snip the long twist into candy cane sized pieces. Use these wire canes in any decoration that calls for candy canes.

One particularly simple candy-cane based decoration I like is created by taking a handful of the wire canes, spacing them evenly in a clear glass vase (the closer it is to the length of your cane, the better, so that the curve of the cane hits roughly the top of the glass), and then tying a length of silver ribbon in an aesthetically pleasing manner about 1/3 of the way down the top of the vase. It takes five minutes, and is one of the most elegant yet quick-fix decorations I have come across.

If you have old sticks of ram or scratched up CDs lying around, you could cut them into the shapes of petals, and hot glue them together to create ram/CD – flowers. Then, you could either attach green wire stem to your flower, with a few leaves made from either wire or more ram attached, and use these in flower-based arrangements. For example, you could take a few very tall and skinny vases like the one shown below, fill them halfway with red potpourri, and stick a few “flowers” in each.

CDs in general make particularly great ornaments because they are so reflective and so easy to come by. Just cut a few of your old CDs up in fetching shapes, tie some thread from the central holes of the CDs, and get to tree-trimming.

Christmas is almost here! What an exciting and nerve racking thought! Perhaps you were not ready for its imminent arrival, but hopefully now you’re a bit more prepared and inspired for the last sprint of the Christmas rush. In this article, I’ve covered a bit about throwing a fun, but not necessarily Christmas related party and providing the food and decorations, so I fully expect to receive dozens of invitations in my inbox tonight. Or, you could just leave us a comment with all the grisly details, and maybe a few pictures of your cake/ram flowers too! Happy Holidays!

Milpon – The Only Remember The Milk IPhone App You’ll Need

Angelina — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:01:05 +0000

Remember The Milk is one of the most popular to-do webapps on the net right now. While it has an extensive list of ways to be integrated into your daily routine, from iCal exporting to mobile syncing through iPhone, Blackberry, and Android apps, some of these features are only accessible to Pro users.

To users who would much rather not pay $25 a year to access RTM through their iPhone, luckily, there is an alternative to RTM’s own iPhone app. Milpon is the only iPhone todo app in the iTunes store that is both free and functional for managing your RTM tasks.

When you first open the iPhone todo app, it takes you to an overview of the tasks that are due in the next week, as well as tasks that are overdue. Tasks are sorted in order of due date, in alphabetical order. The priorities of the tasks are written under the date. From here, you can complete tasks by touching the square, add tasks by clicking the (+) button in the upper right hand corner, or edit tasks by clicking their entries in the list. Doing either of the latter two will take you to a screen that looks like this:

The first line following the arrow is where you input the name of your task. Unfortunately, unlike the RTM website, you can’t add priorities and other details by using hash tags. To set a due date, click the calendar icon, which brings up a full sized calendar.

This calendar is possibly my favorite feature of Milpon. You can scroll through the months by clicking the left and right arrows by the Month and Year entry, and then pick the exact date you want by clicking the corresponding box on the calendar. This will bring you back to the main Add page, where you can set the other details like which list you want the task in, etc.

Another great thing about Milpon’s Add page is that, when you are assigning tags to a task, Milpon brings up a list of the tags that you have already created, and adds the tag you tap to the task you’re creating.

When you are done creating a task, it will be filed with all of your other tasks, where it will be viewable in three ways. The screenshot above is of Milpon’s home screen. By clicking Overview, you will see a screen like the very first screenshot above, that details all the tasks due in the next week. If you click “List,” you’ll see all of your lists, followed by the number of tasks in that list. If you click “Tag,” you’ll see a list of your tags, followed by the number of tasks that have that tag.

I find the option to sort your tasks by their tags extremely useful, because you can set contexts (such as the location that your task should be completed at) as your tags, and then sort your tasks so that they are location specific. Then, you can view all of your “@phone” tasks while you’re making calls, and call everyone in one sitting.

Since Milpon is a relatively new app, it is still undergoing active development. For example, the latest update features automatic syncing! Instead of having to manually sync like in the previous releases, Milpon now syncs when you open the app. Unfortunately this means that you’ll still have to sync manually after making changes, but that’s still better than no automated syncing at all.

You can sync manually by clicking the refresh icon in the upper left hand corner of the home screen. Syncing usually takes quite a while, which is a bit of a drawback, but you can still view and edit tasks while syncing, so that shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

I’ve been an avid fan since Milpon first launched, and it’s come a long way since its infant days. I foresee it making great progress as it gains more users, and I hope that it will become the RTM iPhone app of choice for non-Pro users.

Do you use Remember the Milk? Give Milpon a shot, and tell us what you think of it, in comparison to RTM’s own iPhone app.

Milpon

Top 8 Programs That Can Make Your Computer Run Faster

Angelina — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:00:14 +0000

It’s a common problem among computer users: after a few months, our computers become weighed down by programs and all sorts of other junk, and inevitably become sluggish. For the less tech-savvy users, this may induce thoughts like “Why is my computer so terrible?” or “I guess I could always upgrade this… what-cha-ma-callit RAM thing”.

Regular maintenance is usually required to keep a computer optimized and running at its best. Here are four programs that will make your computer faster, and four trade-offs to help make the best use out of the amount of RAM that’s installed on your computer.

MSConfig

For those who despair endlessly that their computer lags too much at start up yet don’t know how to go about fixing that, taking a look through MSConfig would be the place to start. Msconfig can by accessed by hitting Windows-R, which brings up the “Run” dialog, and typing in “msconfig”. Under the “Start Up” tab, there is a list of programs and executables that are launched when the computer starts up.

Having a lot of programs that start up when the computer boots is one of the main reasons that boot times are so long, for most PC users. Thus, the remedy would be to go through the entire list and uncheck anything that is unnecessary to have on boot up. If there are any entries you are not sure about, be sure to check them thoroughly on the internet before messing with them, as unchecking the wrong entries could potentially mess up the functionality of some of your programs.

CCleaner

CCleaner stands for “Crap Cleaner” and that is exactly what the program is great for. Over time, temporary files bog down your system, and take up unnecessary space in your harddrive. Thus, it is good PC maintenance practice to go through your computer once every while, and delete all the temp files.

It is incredibly simple: just navigate to the Cleaner tab in CCleaner, check everything you want to clean up (it would be best to leave the “Advanced” section alone, unless you know what those entries refer to), and then clean Analyze. You’ll then see an overview of what CCleaner is about to clean up and delete, and how much space CCleaner will free up for you. To permanently erase the temp files off your computer, simply click “Run Cleaner,” and all those temp files will be history.

Temp files aren’t the only junk files cluttering up your computer, however. Broken registry keys also pose a huge problem when it comes to useless files clogging up your system. Fortunately, CCleaner also has the ability to keep your registry clean.

To do this, use the “Registry” tab in Ccleaner. Once again, select all the entries you want CCleaner to prune, and let it do its thing. The only difference between this type of maintenance and clearing temp files is that if you accidentally delete a key that is still being used by your system, your computer can begin to function strangely. With that said, you should back up your registry settings before you give CCleaner the go ahead to torch everything. When you click “Fix Selected Issues” to delete the faulty registry entries, CCleaner will prompt you to back up your registry, and you should always click ‘yes’.

CCleaner was also discussed by Stefan in his article How To Uninstall Applications Efficiently And Remove Obsolete Files.

Revo Uninstaller

Revo Uninstaller is like the on-steroids version of your own Add and Remove Programs option in the Control Panel, but it also scans your computer for any files that the default uninstaller doesn’t catch, and deletes them. Revo’s layout is pretty much exactly the same as the Add and Remove Programs dialog, so it should be simple to navigate.

Revo also has a panel that lists all of the clean up tools that are provided with Windows systems. This menu can be accessed by clicking the Tools icon, and then the Windows Tools tab on the left.

For a more in-depth review of Revo Uninstaller, check out Jimmy’s article Revo Uninstaller Will Hunt Down Your Bloatware.

Defraggler

So once you’ve cleared all of the unnecessary files from your computer, there are now a bunch of holes where the data for those files used to be. While this may seem like no big deal to most people, having random gaps of empty space can also slow down your computer, because the rest of your files are still splintered into many different pieces, and the newly generated empty space isn’t being used efficiently. The more pieces a file is split to, the longer it takes the computer to access that file, so it makes sense to put all these pieces back together, once space has been cleared up to store whole files.

Defraggler is one of the best free defragmentation tools on the market. The visual representation of the space on the computer as pieces of files are being reunited is extremely enlightening, because most people don’t realize the extent of file splintering on their systems.

But cleaning up your computer isn’t the only thing you can do to optimize how fast your computer runs. Believe it or not, the programs you choose to perform daily actions such as chatting, or opening PDFs, can also affect your computer’s running speed.

Best Program Trade-Offs

This section discusses several alternative applications that perform more efficiently and provides your computer with the speed boost that it needs. Especially on slower computers, the difference is quite noticeable. Try it them out for yourselves!

1. Pidgin vs. AIM

If you don’t mind the spartan interface, Pidgin is a great multi-protocol IM client with a light footprint. Unfortunately it doesn’t natively support video chat, but it does have a plug-in for Skype (although you’ll need to have Skype running to use it).

2. Firefox or Chrome vs Internet Explorer

I recommend this switch not just based off memory footprint, but also because both Firefox and Chrome trump IE when it comes to customization and start-up times.

3. Foxit Reader vs Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader is notorious for its slow load times, especially when it comes to huge documents. Being a student, I regularly load 500+ page PDFs (the digital versions of my textbooks), so having to wait ages for them to load would be severely detrimental to my productivity. Foxit Reader, however, is so snappy that a 500+ page PDF loads almost instantly, and the browser integration is much smoother and faster than that of Adobe Reader. Once again, the interface is a bit more spartan, but Foxit definitely packs more features, and is a very worthy switch.

Click here for Guy’s article on more light alternatives to Adobe Reader.

4. VLC Player vs Windows Media Player

VLC is like the Pidgin of media players in that it supports a multitude of different video formats, and has a quick loading interface. Another great, recently implemented feature of VLC is that it can now be skinned to fit in with your windows theme!

5. Foobar2000 vs iTunes

The great thing about Foobar is that it is so customizable: everything from the layout of the interface to the plug-ins to extend the program’s capabilities can be tweaked. Many people worry that without iTunes, they wont’ be able to sync their iPod or iPhone, but Foobar actually has a plug-in to support iPod syncing.

Today, I’ve covered eight of the best programs for de-crapping your computer and maximizing your available RAM. Hopefully you’ve found a few of these programs to your liking, and decide to trade out your slow, sluggish apps for something a bit more snappy. Here they are again:

CCleaner – Download
Revo Uninstaller – Download
Defraggler – Download
Pidgin – Download
Firefox – Download
Chrome – Download
Foxit Reader – Download
VLC Player – Download
Foobar2000 – Download

Try out our suggestions, and let us know if they help speed up your computer a bit. If you have your own favorite programs for speeding up your computer, let us know in the comments!

Image credit: cod_gabriel

3 Reasons Why Students Should Be Using Dropbox

Angelina — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:00:33 +0000

Dropbox is an oft-covered program here at Make Use Of, and for good reason. It’s an incredibly useful app for moving files between computers, or keeping a copy of your most important files in the cloud. However, that isn’t all Dropbox is great for; it is also great for helping students keep their files as mobile as they are. There are a myriad of reasons why every student should have Dropbox in their arsenal of study tools.

Read on for just a few of them!

1. Switch Between Computers With Ease

One of the primary reasons students need laptops at school is for the sake of portability. However, with Dropbox, you could be stuck with a desktop and still be able to access your work from anywhere. I own a laptop and a netbook, so anytime I’m working on a project or an article, I drop the associated files into my Dropbox, and after it syncs, it’ll be online and ready for me to use at any other computer.

One of the most convenient features of Dropbox is that you can access your files not only from the Dropboxes synced with your account, but also from Dropbox’s website. That means you can access your files from any computer, even rental laptops at school. You won’t have to remember to bring along an USB stick ever again.

For even more convenience, you can use a syncing utility like SyncBackSE, and schedule it to run every night, syncing Dropbox with any folder on the computer containing your homework. Then, you can be sure that you’ll always have the most updated version of your essays and notes the next morning.

2. Keep Your Parents Up To Date

Maybe you don’t have release forms to sign anymore, but for (previously) underage teenagers like me, there are release forms for everything. In addition to those, I had Chinese assignments that I always had my parents spell check for me. For parents who are as technology-impaired as mine, it was always easier for me to tell them to pull a file out of a designated folder.

If you’re the type who likes writing home, now you can save money on paper and stamps by just typing out your letter and dropping it into your Dropbox. Or, you can leave your parents lists of things you need mailed to you, or nicely phrased requests for money.

3. Be Smarter About Collaborating On Projects

Until now, Google Docs was one of the go-to tools for collaborating on projects. Unfortunately though, you need to have a Gmail account in order to utilize the sharing and editing prowesses of Google Docs to their full potential. Nowadays, that might not be too hefty of a requirement, but it does mean that the adamant Yahoo and Hotmail users are out of luck, unless they wanted a completely new email account.

Luckily for them, Dropbox doesn’t require so extensive a commitment to use its features. Although those who you want to share folders with will have to sign up for an account before they can access the files, the sign up process is quick and relatively painless. If you really don’t want to deal with sign ups though, each file in the Public folder has a link associated with it that you can share with anyone you’d like.

The best part about Dropbox as a collaborative tool, is that two people can edit the same file simultaneously. In that situation, Dropbox saves two distinct copies of the same files, each with a person’s edits to ensure that both edits are preserved. Further, there is no need to have endless email chains back and forth in order to keep each other updated on the latest going-ons of the project. With Dropbox, all that your collaborators need to do is just open up the Dropbox folder, and pull out the most recent version of the file.

So today, I’ve given you a few more (hopefully) compelling reasons to use Dropbox. Personally, Dropbox has made switching between my laptop and netbook a lot less painful than it otherwise would have been. Perhaps you’ll find it will do the same for you.

Do you have any other ways of keeping your files with you on the move? Let us know by leaving a comment!