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Useful Applications

There's a caveat to my last post. A mono track may well be recorded on more than one channel. If so, it'll show as stereo. I don't think that theres anyway around that one (other than by compring the channels), but I'll be pleased to be proved wrong.
 
Cheers, Arthur - I really hoped there might be a utility which would do the task automatically but it suppose I'll have to rely on my ears for now ;)
 
A word of warning.

The latest Microsoft security update (KB951748) for Windows XP is incompatible with Zone Alarm 7.x series firewall at time of posting.

Installing the update will effectively cut-off your internet access unless you change the security zone setting for internet use in Zone Alarm to medium instead of the recommended high.

I installed the update and had to run system restore to regain internet access but you can simply uninstall the update.

The problem is known at Zone Alarm so one hopes a fix will be issued soon.
 
Bit of nasty bugger that one. Its an exploit in the DNS protocol which would allow attackers to spoof huge chunks of the network.

On July 8th, technology vendors from across the industry will simultaneously release patches for their products to close a major vulnerability in the underpinnings of the Internet. While most home users will be automatically updated, it's important for all businesses to immediately update their networks. This is the largest synchronized security update in the history of the Internet, and is the result of hard work and dedication across dozens of organizations.

Earlier this year, professional security research Dan Kaminsky discovered a major issue in how Internet addresses are managed (Domain Name System, or DNS). This issue was in the design of DNS and not limited to any single product. DNS is used by every computer on the Internet to know where to find other computers. Using this issue, an attacker could easily take over portions of the Internet and redirect users to arbitrary,
and malicious, locations. For example, an attacker could target an Internet Service Provider (ISP), replacing the entire web -- all search engines, social networks, banks, and other sites -- with their own malicious content. Against corporate environments, an attacker could disrupt or monitor operations by rerouting network traffic traffic, capturing emails and other sensitive business data.
Click to expand...

http://securosis.com/publications/DNS-Executive-Overview.pdf
 
Free Firewall

Want an excellent FREE firewall and AV & malware scanner?

Check out Comodo Firewall Pro.

I've been using it for a while now, and I thorughly recommend it.

Comodo have a range of free products. There's no catch. Comodo make their money through selling SSL and code signing security products to business (they're the people who put the little padlock on your browser screen).
 
I use Comodo Firewall on two XP desktops and a Vista laptop and it's been great, recommended by me too!

It can get a bit annoying when you first install it, as the program asks you to confirm traffic requests from all your programs. Once you've approved it (providing it is safe, obviously), tick the box to "remember your answer" and it won't ask you for that task again.
 
I use it as well - but I've stuck with version 2.4. I did have the most recent version on both the family PC and my laptop, but found the firewall jammed the latter up no end (maybe because it only has as it only has 256 megs of RAM) and on the former it just annoyed me so much I downgraded again. The newest version just seems over-complicated, TBH.
 
Using zone alarm free and avg free for firewall and anti-virus.

zone alarm was quickly patched to deal with the problem caused by microsoft.

ALso using the Aero Fox theme for Firefox 3.0 - looks very smart.
(it's the free version not the pay to use one)
 
Mighty_Emperor said:
-------------
iTunes is a really useful media player and works well for burning MP3s back onto CD (handy for making compilations from your already exisitng CDs!).

I still like WinAmp mind but iTunes does it all well.

-------------
Click to expand...

Making a copy of a CD you already own,even if it's for your own use, has been illegal in the UK since 1988. That also includes making digital copys for MP3 players.
 
nch20031 said:
Making a copy of a CD you already own,even if it's for your own use, has been illegal in the UK since 1988. That also includes making digital copys for MP3 players.
Click to expand...
Never :shock:

Well. I guess the Government will have to extend the number of prisons to cater for 96% of the population :roll:
 
I was getting an intermittent problem with double vision or ghost images on my monitor.

Long story short, I decided it seemed to be temperature related.

So I applied the nozzle of my vacuum cleaner to all the external ventilation grills on the sides and back of my computer tower.

Now the grills did not look very dusty, but the treatment worked, and I now have a very sharp picture again.

So, not a useful application, but a useful appliance, the humble vac! 8)
 
WhistlingJack said:
Do you work for the BPI? ;)
Click to expand...

No thankfully not but I am supprised how few people know that making backups is breaking the law. But hey someone would really have to annoy someone to get fined for it.
 
Open Office 3 now available

The new version of Open Office has been released, demand nearly took the site down over the last couple of days but it appears OK now. haven't upgraded yet but looks good.

http://www.openoffice.org/
 
Aleo Flash Intro Banner Maker

Here's a useful Application for us "web-heads" who run websites. blogs etc.

Aleo Flash Intro Banner Maker is reasonably priced ($40 with unlimited upgrades) and easy to use with great results. But best of all, the makers are very responsive to requests for improvements, tweaks and added content.

I thoroughly recommend it.
 
If like me you like cheap (free ideally), simple, singleminded apps that do what they say on the tin take a look here for categorised reviews of free/open source PC apps. Some real gems to be found :

http://www.techsupportalert.com/

And I know the URL sounds like one of those sites. It isnt honest :)

Highly recommend :
Defraggler - disc defragging
Easy Cleaner - registry cleaner etc
CleamMem - tiny, scheduled memory optimiser that dosent do it the usual way and actually works.
FooBar2000 - the best MP3 player IMHO if you dont want flashy graphics.

Loads more tested and rated there anyways, hope its useful :)
 
I have several large folders (8Gb+)of .flac files that don't have any ID tags. A few of the media programs have made guesses based on the file names, but what I really want is some way of labelling them quickly. (The are, at least, all by the same artist)

Can anyone suggestion an Application?
 
Transferring video tapes to DVD

I've got a stack of video tapes (VHS ones and some of the little tapes from a camcorder) and want to turn them into lovely DVDs. I've got a VCR, and the camcorder, and a PC, but no idea about how best to go about it.

Paying a company to do it would cost too much, as there are probably 20-30 tapes at least.

I know you can buy packages with software and the necessary magic connecting boxes and cables, but has anyone used them? Can you recommend one that's pretty straight-forward to use?

I don't plan to do much editing of the video itself, but would like put a title screen, chapters and a menu, and maybe some credits at the end.
 
I find this useful! :D

Tetris turns 25 this week
Tetris, the classic computer game in which players rotate a series of falling block shapes to make them interlock at the bottom of the screen, celebrates its 25th anniversary this week.
Published: 6:15AM BST 02 Jun 2009

The game was created by a 29-year-old Russian programmer called Alexey Pajitnov, who said he knew he had devised a hit game when he could not stop playing it.

Now, a quarter of a century later, the game has sold more than 70 million copies around the world and is still going strong.

It was launched commercially on Nintendo's Game Boy handheld console, with which it was given away free.

Mr Pajitnov, speaking in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, described how he came up with the idea to distract him from his less light-hearted work on a large Soviet-built Elektronika 60 computer.

He said: "I started to put together all kinds of mathematical puzzles and diversions that I had loved all my life.

"The program wasn't complicated. There was no scoring, no levels. But I started playing and I couldn't stop.

"I think that most of the classic games written in the 80s or early 90s are dead just because their authors or owners didn't care about them."

Mr Pajitnov made little money from the game until 1996 when the rights to it reverted to him from the Soviet state.

It is now a popular game on Nintendo's DS series.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -week.html

(I play a freebie version called Tetrix)

Edit: more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/ga ... y-pajitnov
 
Microsoft has updated Internet Explorer to IE8. It has several new features
- http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/int ... lcome.aspx -
but at first I just thought Ho hum, more useless decoration...

But now I really love the Accelerator! :D

Highlight some text on a web page, click the Accelerator symbol, and you get access to further information (or a map, if you highlight a place name) which opens in a separate tab. This is much quicker and simpler than going to Google or a mapping program, so you're more likely to use it to fill out information in news stories, etc.

Recommended by rynner! 8)
 
I used to design my own websites a lot. Used Dreamweaver since I'm more of a designer than a coder.
I can't afford Dreamweaver. And Microsoft Publisher has templates, which I despise. I need to be able to make my own from scratch, with something that allows me to code OR design. Does anyone know of anything, freeware or not, that I could use?
 
I used to use Nvu, which was free and open source. I think it's no longer developed, but a variant called Kompozer might still be going.
 
Thanks guys! Ironically I managed to get DreamWeaver working again on my comp but when it inevitably crashes AGAIN I will definitely be trawling through those. I have them all saved in my favourites now.
Thanks again! :)
 
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