Information Addicts

Millions of files are downloaded worldwide everyday over the internet, and many people use either Firefox or Internet Explorer to get the job done . But using these programs can be rather limiting, slow and tedious at times.
In my opinion there are 2 download managers that are miles ahead of the competition, and they are Free Download Manager and Orbit.
My personal favorite is Free Download Manager but alot of users like Orbit because it is simple to use and has many powerful features to boot.

Take a look below at some of the features of these great applications, download them, try them, and let me know which one you like best.

Free Download Manager
As I wrote before this is my all time favorite download manager, in terms of features there is very little that this software can’t do.
1. Free Download Manager is compatible with Firefox, Internet Explorer and various other browsers. It has many features and I recommend that you first read the helpful guide, to get started. Once you have learned the basics, which wont take long to learn the world is your oyster, well the internet is anyway :).

2. With FDM (Freedownloard Manager) you can easily download files, whole web sites from any remote server via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and even using BitTorrent protocol.

3. One of the reasons I really like this application is the Flash Video Download option. Simply go to your favorite video website, whether it is YouTube, Google video etc, find the video you want to download, then go to FDM, click on the Flash Video Download tab, click on the Add download button (the round blue icon on the top right with the cross on it,) and FDM will automatically download the video file. But it doesn’t stop there. You can choose to save it in AVI, FLV, WMV, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4 format, and even choose the bitrate (which will affect the quality of the video.) You can also preview the audio/video files before download is completed and convert the file format after download.

4. FDM can connect to the Internet at a scheduled time, download the files you want, and when its finished disconnect or shut down your computer.

5. FDM works in 3 different modes – depending on your usage you can set it to light, medium or heavy. By default, it is set to light mode which is ideal if you want to download some files, browse the internet and also use different applications all at the same time.

6. HTML Spider. This is a really handy tool if you want to download whole web pages, whole web sites, images from any website, or CSS files. It can also be adjusted to download files with specified extensions only.

7. Portable Mode, if you want to use Free Download Manager on different computers, you can easily create a portable version and avoid the need to install and configure the program on each computer.

8. The Opinions tab, before you download a file you can click to see if anyone else has downloaded that particular file, this enables you to know whether the file or download is malicious. If you have downloaded a file and know it is safe you can post your opinion to let everyone else know that it is safe to download.

I could go on and on about this application but to truly appreciate it you need to download it yourself and try it, after all it is free. Click here to download Free Download Manager.

(more…)

Popularity: 23% [?]

You probably know that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a convenient and more productive way to view your favorite websites (for more info on RSS click here.)
If you’re anything like me, then chances are you will have dozens of RSS feeds that you view every day, via a feed reader.
There are many feed readers available, Netvibes, (which is the one I love to use) is just one of them.

The other night I decided to do a search on the Internet to see if there were any other ways that you can make use of RSS feeds, and guess what? There is, take a look below at what I found, there are some fantastic websites that make excellent use of RSS feeds.

The first website I came across was called Feed Journal, which allows you to subscribe to your favorite feeds and then convert them into a PDF file, which is designed to mimic a printable news paper, and it looks quite cool.

Whats the point of this you may ask? If you haven’t time to read your feeds straight away, you could save the PDF file to a Flash drive, or any other media, to read later offline, or on any other PC. You could also print out the PDF document to read during the day, rather than having to stare at a computer screen,which is easier on your eyes. I found Feed Journal rather fun and easy to use. You have the option to add or delete any RSS feed, choose as many columns as you wish, I chose 4 and then Feed Journal instantly converted the feeds into a newspaper style document. Click here to take a look, its excellent for long or news articles.

Next on the list is a website called SendMeRSS which simply forwards your feeds to your email. This a great idea for anyone who prefers to follow up their RSS feeds via email, or who maybe unable to access a feed reader. SendMeRSS will check for updates around every two hours, so whenever something new gets published you will instantly receive an email.
SendMeRSS is compatible with most webmail services, Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, Fastmail, etc. You can also subscribe and read feeds from your mobile phone or PDA. Click here to go to the website.

Pingie allows you to send RSS feeds to your mobile phone for free. You simply enter your mobile number, the feed address, hit submit and Pingie will forward it to your phone. Your RSS feed is then displayed as a SMS (text) message. There is nothing to install, but it only works in the US at the moment.

FeedBlendr, instead of having multiple feeds strewn all over the place, with FeedBlendr you can combine them into one. Again this is a very simple website to use, just give your blended feed a title and enter each RSS address, podcast, or any other type of feed including videos into the boxes. FeedBlendr will automatically create just one feed link address, of which you can add to your favorite reader or even view straight from with your browser, pretty neat.

Feedoor is very similar to FeedBlendr, the main difference is that you have to subscribe to it, which one you choose will be a personal choice.

Wigitize, this is one of my favorites as it allows you to add feeds to your blog or website. Enter the URL (web address) and Wigitize displays the feed on the right, you then have several options to change how it is shown on your blog.

Then all you do is copy the code that is created for you, and paste it somewhere on your blog or website. I have used it to create ‘My favourite websites of the month’ which is shown on the left hand side.

Feed Crier
Get the latest news, weather, blogs, and more delivered free to your instant messenger. There’s nothing to download or install, no spam, and never any spyware.

* Real time alerts when your favorite sites are updated.
* Nothing to download, nothing to install.
* Works with your existing instant messenger.
The above is taken from Feed Crier website, it works very well, give it try. Click here to go to the website.

Feedity. Have you ever visited a website and tried to add it to your RSS reader only to find out that you can’t subscribe to it, because the site doesn’t support RSS feeds? I have on many occasions, which makes it difficult to get automatic updates from the website. Feedity will take virtually any web page, and convert it into a fully formed RSS feed, which allows you to keep up to date with your favorite websites. You have the choice of a free version (which I use,) and two paid versions which give you various options such as how often the feed is updated. Its a handy tool to have, click here to go the website.

Have I missed any out? Let me know in the comments box.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Around 8 years ago I taught myself to touch type, as it always seemed to take me ages to type out a letter or an email, and to honest I hated typing. It went something like this, look for the letter on the keyboard, pause, press the key, look for the letter, pause, press, and so on, it was a painful experience I can tell you.

With the help of some Typing tutor software that I bought from Amazon I got started, and after a few weeks became a very proficient typist. I even got a job because I could type.
Overtime, I noticed that my typing had become a bit sloppy, and needed improving, so I decided to brush up on my keyboard skills.
After doing a search on Google, I was quite surprised by the amount of online Typing Tutors that came up, and after trying some, realized just how poor some of them were. So over a few weeks I tested many of them, and have listed what I consider in my humble opinion to be the top three.

Typeonline was the most complete online typing tutor that was tested. It has a very good section on health and safety, which covers RSI, your sitting posture, and other topics, it’s worth taking a look before you get started.
The site layout is simple and very easy to navigate around, and whether you are a beginner or an advanced user, Typeonline has an abundance of activities and training for you.

If you are a beginner, then Typeonline will take you right from the very start, showing you which finger corresponds to which keys, and then lead you step by step through each lesson.
For advanced users there are many lessons to choose from, and each lesson has 10 exercises which become progressively harder. The exercises are selected from a drop-down box, and there are only about a dozen words in each exercise to complete, so they don’t take very long to finish.
With Typeonline you can find out your typing speed, your accuracy percentage, and also review your mistakes.
Although Typeonline has many lessons and exercises, I felt that the exercises could have been made a little bit more fun. Don’t get me wrong, overall I highly recommend Typeonline as your first choice, because its straightforward, simple to use, and if you just want to improve your typing, you can skip the early lessons.
Click here to get started.

Powertyping, has many exercises, tests, and games, but is not quite as comprehensive as Typeonline. However, I thoroughly enjoyed using this online tutor, but Typeonline has more practice lessons.
Just like Typeonline, whether you are a beginner or advanced user there is something here for you.

After a few clicks you will find the page for beginners which shows you how to get started with the keyboard, and also which finger goes with each key.
There are 13 exercises on Powertyping, covering everything from letters to numbers and symbols, and you can repeat the exercises over and over until your heart is content.
At the end of each exercise you are automatically showed your WPM (words per minute,) any errors you have made, and also how many words you typed, which I found very informative and helpful.
The best thing I liked about PowerTyping were the games, which were fun and are aimed at improving your typing skills and speed. The games have various levels of difficulty and even background music (which can be switched off.)
Overall Powertyping was fun, informative and if you just want to brush up on your typing skills the games are a great addition.

To get started on Powertyping click here.

Peters Online Typing Course is also excellent if you just want to improve your typing skills, or you are a beginner, as it will take you step by step through the lessons in a very clear and concise manner.
Peters Online typing course starts off with ‘Principles for Effective Learning,’ then goes on to ‘Typing Ergonomics’ followed by ‘Which fingers Go Where,’ eventually leading you on to the typing lessons.

Again it doesn’t offer as many exercises as TypeOnline, but there are 18 lessons in total, which should help anyone to become a competent typist, fluent with all the keys that really matter.

Overall this site is simple to use, and whether you just need to brush up on your typing skills, or move from two-finger typing to full-blown touch typing, then Peters online typing course will help you.

Click here to go to the website.

You will find that spending a few minutes everyday on one of these tutor websites will dramatically improve your typing skills, as I say to my little girl,”Pratice makes perfect.” Have fun.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Do you sometimes wish that your computer screen was just that bit bigger or you had more screen space?
No matter how big your monitor is, by the time you open up your applications, games, music player, photo editor etc, there is never enough space to display all the windows without overlapping them. This means that some parts of the applications are hidden, making it impossible to see them all, and it gets worse the more programs you open.

I have 2 monitors attached to my PC and I still never seem to have enough screen space.

I have come up with a few solutions that will enable you to work more efficiently and give you more desktop space.

Winroll is one such solution, as this application lets you roll up any open window like a blind. You also have the option to send it to the back or make it stay on top, minimize, maximize or close all visible windows, including minimizing to the tray area.

When the window is rolled up all you are left with is just the title bar, this makes everything handy for immediate access to any of your applications. You can also move these rolled up windows to anywhere on your desktop.
Right click on a title bar and the window rolls up. Right click again and it unrolls. Hold down the alt key before clicking, and all open windows roll up.

This is a very simple but effective program and to be honest with you, only useful if your have 3 or more windows open at a time.

To download this application click here.

The next application is called Dexpot and is a brilliant solution when you need more desktop space. I love this program because it is like having 20 monitors attached to your PC, well sort of.
How does it work?
Dexpot creates up to 20 virtual desktops and each desktop can have as many applications running as you need, different background images, and also different screen resolutions, it is simply fantastic.
As an example, you could have one desktop running your favorite photo editor, another with Firefox open, and another desktop with your word processor on it. You can keep them open at all times, quickly and easily switching between different workspaces, rather than applications, via a hotkey or even use the automatic desktop slideshow that rotates all virtual desktops. Dexpot does a great job when you have a lot of applications running at once and are short of screen space, because you can keep each virtual desktop clean, simple and uncluttered, allowing you to work more efficiently.

If you are a beginner then the default options are great, however if you are a more advanced user you will find the options are nearly limitless.

For information on Dexpot and to download the application click here.

The final application has got me really excited and is called 360desktop. Why I am so excited you may ask? Read on to find out, but first I have got good news and bad news about 360desktop, and I will start with the good news first.
This application takes a new approach to virtual desktops because instead of creating and toggling between multiple desktops you have only one. However, this virtual desktop spins 360 degrees and looks unbelievable, before we go any further take a look at the video, click here.

If you have watched the video you will understand why I feel so excited about this application, as not only does it look amazing but it also brings a whole new meaning to desktop space.

Now for the bad news, as you may have gathered from the website the application hasn’t even being released yet :-(, however I have applied to be a beta tester but not heard from them yet, I will keep you updated if and when I get to test it.

I believe that when 360desktop is released, it will be one of the best desktop applications available, so keep your eyes peeled for this truly sensational program.

Do you use a better desktop application than any of the above? If you do, then let me know by leaving a comment.

Popularity: 17% [?]