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Microsoft coverage now on Download Squad! (The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog)
Ryan Carter and Jason Clarke haven't disappeared -- they've just moved sideways a little. Ryan and Jason's all-out coverage of Microsoft is now part of Download Squad, our blog about all kinds of software and online services.
You can roll your Download Squad experience in several different ways:
BOOKMARKS
Main blog:
http://www.downloadsquad.com
The Microsoft category:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/microsoft/
All Ryan Carter all the time:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/bloggers/ryan-carter/
All Jason Clarke all the time:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/bloggers/jason-clarke/
RSS FEEDS
Main blog:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/rss.xml
The Microsoft category feed:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/microsoft/rss.xml
The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog will remain exactly where it is, with its tremendous archive of blog entries. Use it as a reference point, and point your browser/newsreader to Download Squad for the continuous Microsoft updating you've come to expect. Thanks for reading!Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Google Coverage now on Download Squad! (The Unofficial Google Weblog)
Wondering where your morning fix of Chris Gilmer is? We wanted to expose Chris's obsessive coverage of "everything Google" to a larger audience, and we asked him to join the Download Squad team. Are you familiar with Download Squad? It is our blog about the user experience in all kinds of software and online services. Chris accepted our offer, so as of today you will find his posts on Download Squad. You can roll your Download Squad experience in several different ways:
BOOKMARKS
Main blog:
http://www.downloadsquad.com
The Google category:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/
All Chris all the time:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/bloggers/chris-gilmer/
RSS FEEDS
Main blog:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/rss.xml
The Google category feed:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/rss.xml
The Unofficial Google Weblog will remain exactly where it is, with its tremendous archive of blog entries. Use it as a reference point, and point your browser/newsreader to Download Squad for the continuous Google updating you've come to expect. Thanks for reading!
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
bitRipper offers one-click DVD ripping (Download Squad)
Filed under: Video, Windows, Freeware
Want to convert your DVD into a video file that you can play on any computer, but don't feel like fussing with complicated DVD ripping software? It doesn't get much simpler than bitRipper. All you need to do is pop a DVD into your optical disc drive, fire up bitRipper, and click the Start ripping button. That's it.
Of course, you can click the settings tab to access more advanced features. For instance, you can change the audio or video codecs or adjust the bit rate, aspect ratio, or video resolution. At the very least, I'd recommend configuring the audio. The default settings use a ridiculously low bitrate that sounds just awful.
For some reason, when I tried ripping a video using the LAME audio codec, the audio and video were out of sync, but when I tried again using the Fraunhofer codec all was right with the world.
[via MakeUseOf]
>bitRipper offers one-click DVD ripping originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsZune music player heading to Windows Mobile (Download Squad)
Filed under: Audio, OS Updates, Video, Windows Mobile, Microsoft
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has all but confirmed that Microsoft is working on an iPhone competitor with a Zune phone. That's not to say that Microsoft will build and sell the hardware. But in an interview with CIO Magazine, Ballmer stated that the Zune isn't just hardware, it's also software. And that the Zune software will be ported to run on other devices including PCs and Windows Mobile devices..In other words, future cellphones running Windows Mobile could ship with Zune-style media player software instead of the mobile versio nof Windows Media Player. It's also possible we could see devices where the default look and feel of the devices is built to suit the Zune UI rather than the typical Windows Mobile interface with its old fashioned start menu paradigm.
And before you ask, the image is from wmpoweruser, and I'm pretty sure it's a mockup created by combining the Zune and Windows Mobile user interfaces. Ballmer may be willing to talk about the future of the Zune software, but to the best of my knowledge Microsoft has yet to release a screenshot.
[via Engadget]
>Zune music player heading to Windows Mobile originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWindows Pager creates Linux-like virtual desktops in Windows (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Open Source
There are plenty of applications that will let Windows users work in virtual desktops. And Windows Pager is one of them. But it has a few nice features that make it worth checking out. First of all, like Desktops and VirtuaWin, Windows Pager lets you create several virtual desktops, which lets you open and arrange programs in different workspaces and then flip back and forth between them as needed.
Windows Pager also creates 4 little icons in the Windows taskbar that indicate what's going on in each desktop. You can right click on the edge of any program window or on the taskbar icon for a program to move it from one desktop to another or to mark it as something that should be visible in each workspace.
The open source program can be run as an executable file (no installation necessary), which means you can throw it on a USB flash drive and use it on any computer. It also weighs in at just over 500KB, so it won't take up much space at all on that flash drive.
The download link for Windows Pager wasn't working when I tried it this afternoon, so you may want to download the app from Download.com instead.
[via TechnoSpot]
>Windows Pager creates Linux-like virtual desktops in Windows originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWindows Mobile 7 delayed: Coming in second half of 2009 (Download Squad)
Filed under: OS Updates, Windows Mobile, Microsoft
T-Mobile and Google are announcing the availability of the first mobile phone running the new Google Android software today. But if you're holding out for the next generation of Windows Mobile devices, it looks like you might have to wait a while. CNet is reporting that Windows Mobile 7, which had widely been expected to ship early next year, will not be available until the second half of 2009.The news comes from Microsoft partners, not the company itself. But a delay could seriously hurt Microsoft's mobile market share. The company faces increasing competition from Apple, Google, and Research in Motion.
Microsoft could offer some new features to Windows Mobile 6 users this year, including an improved web browser and better support for online Flash content.
>Windows Mobile 7 delayed: Coming in second half of 2009 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWindows Mobile 6.5 coming next year? (Download Squad)
Filed under: OS Updates, Windows Mobile, Microsoft
Something odd is going on in the world of Windows Mobile development. Last I'd heard Microsoft was working on a new product called Windows Mobile 7 that would be due out in the second half of 2009. But Motorola's CEO of mobile devices Sanjay Jha mentioned something interesting during an earnings call today. He said phones based on Windows Mobile 6.5 will be available during the second half of 2009. He also mentioned that Motorola would have an Android-based phone by next year's holiday season, but that's another story.So what's this Windows Mobile 6.5? Is it an incremental upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1? Or is it just another name for Windows Mobile 7? Based on leaked screenshots, we know that Microsoft is certainly working on something new in the mobile space. But it's not clear whether Jha's comments mean that Windows Mobile 7 has been pushed back, or if Microsoft will release the next OS on schedule, but call it Windows Mobile 6.5 instead, which would seem to imply that it will be an incremental upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1, not a revolutionary new mobile OS.
[via CoolSmartPhone]
>Windows Mobile 6.5 coming next year? originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWindows 7 Beta to ship in early January (Download Squad)
Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Beta
A number of sources were reporting a mysterious Windows 7 Beta download link that appeared on Microsoft's Windows 7 page. Of course, it would be fairly easy to screenshot a page, make a few edits, and post the doctored image as "proof," so I took the news with a grain of salt.Now there's slightly more trustworthy evidence. The Microsoft Action Pack Subscription page, which Rafael Rivera of Within Windows captured, apparently had a similar link posted (which is now absent).
CES is also on the way, and Steve Ballmer is set to deliver his keynote speech on January 7th. It only makes sense for Windows 7 to be the star of the show, and CNET's Ed Bott is certain that the Beta will be made available shortly after Ballmer's demo.
Of course, builds 6801 and 6956 are all over the major torrent trackers, so it's safe to say you can easily get your hands on them there if you'd rather not wait.
[ via Within Windows ]
>Windows 7 Beta to ship in early January originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsUpload files to 100+ hosts from your Windows desktop (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Freeware, P2P
If you're a frequent uploader of files, Zoom's File & Image Uploader is well worth a download.It supports more than 70 file hosting services, including popular options like Mediafire, Megaupload, Rapidshare, Sendspace and 23 image hosts like Imageshack and Tinypic. Multi-server options like Rapidspread and MassMirror are also included.
When adding files to your queue, you can select image or file hosts. Choose a host, and FUP will display key information about the service like maximum file size, duration of storage, and acceptable file types. Multiple files can be queued during a single add action, as long as they're all headed to the same host.
Parallel uploading is supported up to a maximum of eight at a time. When uploads complete, FUP displays links to your files and embed codes. Want to verify things? Right click and choose "open in IE" to view your upload in your default browser.
File & Image Uploader is a free download for Windows only, and it's a great tool for anyone who uses file hosting services on a regular basis.
>Upload files to 100+ hosts from your Windows desktop originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsTwo utilities for taking simple screenshots in Windows (Download Squad)
Filed under: Design, Utilities, Windows, Freeware
As a software blogger, I probably take more screenshots of programs running on my computer in a week than most people will take in a year. So I'm always on the lookout for a good screen capture utility. This morning I ran across two.
Greenshot is a light weight screen capture utility for Windows that comes as a small executable file (no installation required). Just fire up the program and a little green frog icon will show up in your system tray. Right click on the icon and you'll see options to capture a window, the full screen, or a region. Once you capture an image, the Greenshot Image Editor will open up, allowing you to annotate the image with text and drawings.
Screen Capturer is a somewhat heavier duty utility which does require an installation. But you can choose to capture images to the Windows clipboard or save images as BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, or TIFF formats. You can also capture videos as Windows Media Video animations.
Both programs are free, although Screen Capturer does require you to submit your email address for a registration code. And both applications let you use keyboard shortcuts to grab screenshots.
[via Lifehacker and Life Rocks 2.0]
>Two utilities for taking simple screenshots in Windows originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsTry Internet Explorer Mobile 6 on your desktop (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Microsoft, Browsers
The Windows Mobile team has publicly released Internet Explorer Mobile 6. There's just one catch: You can't run it on your Windows Mobile phone yet. Instead, the download lets you run Windows Mobile 6.1.4 on your Windows system in an emulator. So if you want to get a feel for how the new browser, which is based on Internet Explorer 6, will work, you can take it for a spin. If all you're waiting for a mobile version so that you can actually view full web pages on your Windows Mobile phone or PDA, it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer.
This is the second time in the last few weeks that we've seen a software developer preview a mobile browser by releasing a desktop-only demo. But while Mozilla released a relatively light weight desktop version of Fennec, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 demo includes a full Windows Mobile emulator, which makes the installer file weigh in at 200+ MB.
That said, Internet Explorer Mobile 6 is a huge improvement over past versions of Pocket Internet Explorer. Like Safari for the iPhone, you can view full web pages the way they would look in a desktop browser and then zoom in tight for a better reading experience. Web pages did take a fairly long time to load, but it's not clear if that's the browser's fault or the fact that it's connecting to the internet through an ActiveSync connection with my laptop.
Internet Explorer Mobile 6 also features Flash Lite 3.1 and the Javascript v5.7 engine from Internet Explorer 8, which means you can watch Flash content from sites like YouTube and render Javascript-heavy pages like Google Docs.
My only real complaint with Internet Explorer Mobile 6 is that there's still no support for tabbed browsing.
[via Windows Mobile team Blog]
>Try Internet Explorer Mobile 6 on your desktop originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSpeed up browsing on low-speed connections with Toonel.net (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Productivity, Web services, Freeware, How-Tos, Unix, Browsers
If you frequently find yourself browsing on a low-bandwidth connection, you can potentially speed up your browsing experience by using the compressing proxy server at Toonel.net. The concept is simple: install their application on your computer (versions are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Sun Solaris, and even Windows Mobile and Symbian), then set your proxy settings to point to your localhost IP address on port 8080 (127.0.0.1:8080). Once you do, all of your web traffic is routed through Toonel.net's server, which compresses it before it gets to you.The compression used is lossless, which is required to ensure the pages show up as expected, though there are image-specific options that allow you to change the compression that is applied to JPEG and GIF images. This is likely only worthwhile on a very slow network, since it takes the server a bit of time to recompress images before your browser can download them, but could be handy on a struggling network.
I wouldn't recommend running Toonel.net full-time, or even at all if you're always on a broadband connection, but if you find yourself struggling with a lack of bandwidth, this is a great trick to have in your back pocket.
[via TechRadar]
>Speed up browsing on low-speed connections with Toonel.net originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSoftMaker releases free office apps for Windows and Linux (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows, Linux, Windows Mobile, Office, Commercial, Beta
SoftMaker has released two free and one kind of free office applications. First up, now that SoftMaker 2008 is available for Windows and Windows Mobile, the company has decided to offer the older SoftMaker Office 2006 Windows applications for free.
Like the current version of SoftMaker Office, which sells for about $80, the 2006 edition includes a word processor and spreadsheet application. SoftMaker office 2006 does not include SoftMaker Presentations, the PowerPoint-like presentation app that comes with the newer version. But while the older office suite might not have all the bells and whistles of the new version, the programs are pretty robust and they do support Office 2007 documents.
Softmaker is also giving away the free TextMaker Viewer 2008 application for Windows which lets you open, view, and print text-based documents including Word, OpenDocument, and RTF files.
Last, but not least, SoftMaker is beta testing the Linux version of SoftMaker office 2008 for Linux. You can request a registration key online and then download an RPM, DEB, or TGZ installer. I took the office suite for a spin on Ubuntu 8.04 and installation was as smooth as could be. I did find that PlanMaker, the spreadsheet application didn't recognize comments inserted in an Excel document I tried opening. But most functions seem to work as expected. If you're looking for an alternative to OpenOffice.org, SoftMaker Office might be worth checking out. The Linux beta expires on October 31st, after which there will either be a new beta or the office suite will be available for purchase.
The company also makes Office applications for Windows Mobile and Windows CE devices. But there are no freebies available at the moment. A full license for the Windows Mobile version will set you back $90.
>SoftMaker releases free office apps for Windows and Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSeeqPod to release Windows Mobile music player (Download Squad)
Filed under: Audio, Windows Mobile, Search, web 2.0, Mobile, Web
SeeqPod offers a web-based music search engine and media player. The service lives in a gray area of the internet because it offers the ability to find and play songs and videos that have been illegally uploaded to the internet without the copyright holder's permission. But SeeqPod doesn't actually host any of the files.Now SeeqPod is hoping to graduate from a web-only service by offering a Windows Mobile application.
SeeqPod Mobile will let users search the web for songs that can be streamed to your mobile phone using a built in media player. The program includes a choice of skins and will work with Windows Mobile 6.0 or newer devces with a variety of screen sizes. Unlike the web application, SeeqPod will cost you $15, although the company will be selling the app for $10 at launch.
The company will also attempt to make a few bucks by including links for purchasing songs in the search results.
[via ReadWriteWeb]
>SeeqPod to release Windows Mobile music player originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsScummVM 0.12.0: Now with GameCube and Wii support (Download Squad)
Filed under: Fun, Games, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Freeware, Open Source, iPhone
The developers behind ScummVM, the open source tool that lets you run classic DOS games like The Secret of Monkey Island and Sam & Max Hit the Road are back with version 0.12.0. The update brings support for 5 new games including additional games in the Legend of Kyrandia series. The new version also adds support for new platforms including the Nintendo GameCube and Wii and the PlayStation2 version is now up to date after a period of stalled development. ScummVM is available for Windows, Linux, OS X, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Solaris, BeOS, AmigaOS 4, and a bunch of game systems including the Dreamcast and PlayStation Portable. Many of the games that run on the platform are still protected under copyright which means you should have a legally paid for copy if you want to run them. But there ar a handful of free games available at the ScummVM homepage as well.
>ScummVM 0.12.0: Now with GameCube and Wii support originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSUPER video player and encoder releases 2009 version (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Video, Windows, Freeware
The powerful, versatile, and free video encoding and playback app SUPER has released a new version that adds tons of new functionality to the already powerful application.If you're not familiar with the program, it's based on Open Source projects like FFMpeg, libavcodec, MPlayer, and MEncoder and can play or convert just about any video file - even to formats for the Nintendo DS and PSP.
While the "everything on one page" interface hasn't changed, a number of new encoding and play features have been added or improved, like WMV9, FLAC, and OGG support.
One downside to SUPER is the horribly constructed website. There's not a clear location for the download, so I'll save you some hassle: go to this page, press your end key and look for Download SUPER @ setup file.
[ via CyberNet ]
>SUPER video player and encoder releases 2009 version originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsRayhound: A space shooter where your only weapon is gravity (Download Squad)
Filed under: Fun, Games, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64
It seems a bit odd to call Rayhound a shooter when your ship doesn't actually have a single gun, but that's the best single-word description I can offer.Your opponents, however, have lots of firepower and they're not shy about using it. How exactly do you go about defending yourself? Use your enemies' strength against them.
Use the mouse to control your ship's movement and left-click to engage your ship's gravity field. Time it right, and you'll gain control over enemy attacks and be able to redirect them to your advantage. Hold the mouse button down to keep the field engaged to drag their fire with you and release when you're ready to strike.
The visuals are simple yet stunning, especially in later stages when enemies become more numerous.
Rayhound is a free download for Windows, and is totally portable so Linux users might also be able to give it a shot using Wine.
>Rayhound: A space shooter where your only weapon is gravity originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsPower Meter Plus provides constant laptop battery updates (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware
If you use a Windows laptop, you're probably familiar with the battery icon that hangs out in the system tray. It provides a bit of information about your battery status at a glance. But just a bit. It typically shows you if the battery is full, around half empty, or mostly empty. You have to scroll your mouse over the icon to get a more accurate reading.Or you can install Power Meter Plus. This free utility for Windows XP and earlier releases provides a detailed battery meter which is always present on your desktop. The meter is partially transparent, so you can see through it. And it lives on the right or left side of the screen. If you need to access something hiding under the power meter, just move your mouse over it and the meter will jump to the other side of the screen.
As your battery power drains, the meter will get brighter. And you can configure Power Meter Plus to show notifications when the battery reaches critical levels.
[via gHacks]
>Power Meter Plus provides constant laptop battery updates originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsPortable Snowbird is a fast single-pane file manager (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Beta, Windows x64
If you're looking for a simple, fast, portable file management application to run instead of Windows Explorer, you might want to take Snowbird for a spin.
It's less than half a meg in size and includes some features that aren't included in Windows by default. Snowbird's main window is split between a tree view on the left and folder view on the right. Like Vista, breadcrumbs appear as you navigate but there's also an up button - an omission from Vista's Explorer interface that tends to irk some people.
Snowbird also maintains a list of recently visited locations and allows you to bookmark local and networked folders. The integrated search performs well, displaying results in a popup window. Memory usage is very light, and it ran without issue on my Vista Ultimate x64 install.
Overall, there's not a ton of functionality in Snowbird, but it's certainly good enough to serve as a replacement for the Windows default.
The author's site is hosted by GeoCities, so you may want to head to the via link at Freeware Files to download it.
[ via Freeware Files ]
>Portable Snowbird is a fast single-pane file manager originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsPalm launches App Store for PalmOS, Windows Mobile apps (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Palm, Mobile
Palm has taken a cue from Apple and launched a dedicated store for PalmOS and Windows Mobile applications. Sure, there were already plenty of places to purchase and download Palm and Windows Mobile applications, but the new Palm App Store which is powered by PocketGear lets browse, search, and find applications while using your mobile device and download them with directly to your phone or PDA. The new app store has about 5,000 applications at the moment, and more than a thousand of them are free.
Palm is expected to launch a new device at CES in January that may run the next generation of the company's operating system, which to be honest is a lot more exciting than a new application that lets you download thousands of PalmOS and Windows Mobile applications, most of which have been around for ages.
>Palm launches App Store for PalmOS, Windows Mobile apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOpera Mobile 9.5 beta 2: Now with widgety goodness (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Symbian, Mobile Minute, Browsers
Opera has released the second public beta of Opera Mobile 9.5. There are two major changes since the last beta release. First, Opera Mobile 9.5 is available for Symbia UIQ as well as Windows Mobile devices. And second, the browser now supports Opera Widgets.Widgets for mobile devices don't necessarily work the same way as widgets on a full sized computer. You can't fit a bunch of widgets on a 2 or 3 inch screen at the same time the way you can with desktop widgets. So what exactly is an Opera Mobile Widget?
Basically, it's a one-click web application. Rather than launching your mobile web browser and navigating to a page, you can click a widget icon and access a web page or application designed to work well with the Opera Mobile browser. Right now there 5 widgets available, including a clock, weather app, and Twitter application. The advantage of using widgets instead of bookmarks is that you can save the icons on your home screen or in a widget directory and you can access them with a single click.
Opera Mobile 9.5 also features the ability to view the full desktop version of web pages or zoom in for a closer look, much as you can do with Safari for the iPhone or the Google Android web browser.
The browser is free while in beta. No word on when the final version will be released, but there's a good chance that it will cost about $30 when it is available. That's the price Opera typically charges for its mobile browser. Of course, if Mozilla manages to push out Firefox mobile before then, Opera might feel the need to drop the price a bit.
>Opera Mobile 9.5 beta 2: Now with widgety goodness originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOpenfire: cross-platform Jabber server (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Text, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Freeware
Openfire is an open-source Jabber (XMPP) server that provides an easy way to offer and maintain internal instant messaging (including voice and video chat) for your company or organization. There are server plugins available which can add archiving and statistics capabilities as well as message of the day and multi-user chat (MUC) bookmarks. Openfire conveniently supports LDAP and Active Directory authentication as well as SSL for encrypting communications. If you require high availability, you can enable clustering to eliminate a single point of failure. Common databases like MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and PostgreSQL are supported, or you can use Openfire's embedded database.
While the developers offer a web-based (SparkWeb) client and install-based (Spark) client, it's possible to use any IM client that supports Jabber (Adium, Pidgin, iChat, etc.). Openfire runs on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows and since it's Java based, it will require that you have a JRE installed.
>Openfire: cross-platform Jabber server originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsNews Flash: Adobe Flash coming to Windows Mobile, AIR hits 1.5 (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Windows Mobile, Adobe
Adobe is holding a developer conference this week, where the company plans to demonstrate a number of new technologies, including a version of Flash 10 that will run on devices with ARM processors, ranging from Windows Mobile phones to televisions and mobile internet devices.
Also on the docket:
Adobe AIR 1.5 will be released, with support for WebKit and Flash Player 10 An alpha version of Flash for 64-bit Linux systems will be released Preview versions of the latest versions of Adobe Flash Catalyst and Adobe Flex Builder will also be made available Conspicuously absent from the announcements? Any word on a version of Flash 10 for the iPhone.
>News Flash: Adobe Flash coming to Windows Mobile, AIR hits 1.5 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMicrosoft kills Deepfish mobile browser project (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Windows Mobile, Microsoft, Mobile Minute, Browsers
A year and a half after introducing an innovative web browser for Windows Mobile, Microsoft is killing the project. Back before there was an Opera Mini 4 or an iPhone version of Safari, the Deepfish web browser offered a way to display full desktop views of web pages on a tiny browser, allowing you to zoom in on the area you want to read. The browser was developed by the Microsfot Live Labs team and was never released to the general public. But I wouldn't be surprised if some Deepfish code has found its way into the upcoming Internet Explorer Mobile 6.
In a blog post, the developers behind Deepfish say the goal was never to build a complete browser, but rather to show that an innovative user interface could make for better mobile browsing. The team also implies that Deepfish helped inspire the development of full desktop views in other browsers like Safari, Opera Mini, and Opera Mobile.
You can check out a video shot early last year of Deepfish in action after the jump.
[via jkOnTheRun and My Today Screen]
Continue reading Microsoft kills Deepfish mobile browser project
>Microsoft kills Deepfish mobile browser project originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMedia Portal home theater PC app for Windows hits 1.0 (Download Squad)
Filed under: Audio, Video, Windows, Open Source
Open Source media center application Media Portal has been under development for 5 years. And this week the developers decided the product was stable enough to remove the beta label and launch Media Portal 1.0.
The application was initially based on the popular XBMC application designed to turn Xbox gaming consoles into media playback workhorses. But Media Portal quickly outgrew its beginnings as a Windows port of XBMC. Version 1.0 is a full featured application for accessing music, movies, pictures, weather, and other information from a full screen interface. If you have a TV tuner in your computer you can also use Media Portal to watch and record live TV.
I just installed Media Portal 1.0 on my netbook, and aside from the fact that I had to download and install Microsoft's .NET framework first, the process was pretty much a breeze. There's a one-click install option that lets you select common settings. Or more advanced users can configure the application to their heart's content.
The team is now turning its attention to Media Portal 2, which will be more modular and will may eventually incorporate new capabilities like the ability to stream media across a home network or over the internet to portable devices like cellphones. In the short run, Media Portal 2 will feature mostly backend improvements designed to make it easier to customize the application.
[via Geek Tonic]
>Media Portal home theater PC app for Windows hits 1.0 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsLivedrive provides unlimited online storage (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Beta
Livedrive is an online storage service that offers two advantages over most services in this space:
Unlimited file storage Integration with Windows Explorer
When you install Livedrive (and reboot your computer), you'll notice an L drive show up in Windows Explorer. To copy files to the service, just drag and drop them to the L drive. You can also upload and download files through a web-based interface. And once your files are online you'll be able to access them from any computer using the web client.
Thanks to the Windows Explorer integration, you could easily use LiveDrive as an offsite backup tool like Carbonite or Mozy. Just install your favorite file backup utility and point it to the L drive.
Livedrive is free while in beta, but I have a feeling the company will probably start charging a fee when the beta ends.
[via Lifehacker]
>Livedrive provides unlimited online storage originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsKeep your application installers updated with Ketarin (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware
We've covered applications that attempt to download and install the latest versions of your Windows software in the past. But Ketarin takes a different approach. You can enter a list of applications you want to track, and it will automatically check the download locations to see if there are new versions available. If there are, it will download the installer files to the directory of your choice. You can designate a single directory for all your downloads, or a different directory for each file.
The easiest way to use Ketarin is to grab the download URLs from FileHippo, a popular software download site. Ketarin will automatically detect and download the latest vesion of any app available on the site. But if you want to track an application that's not available on FileHippo you can enter the URL for the download page and establish a list of variables Ketarin should look for to determine whether there's a new version of the application available.
You can find more instructions for using Ketarin at the CDBurnerXP help site. The application updater was designed by the maker of the free CD burning application for Windows.
via Lifehacker
>Keep your application installers updated with Ketarin originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsHow to backup your Internet Explorer settings (Download Squad)
Filed under: Security, Windows, Browsers
There are a couple of good reasons to backup your web browser settings periodically. If you want to install the browser on another computer, you can use that backup to restore your settings, history, bookmarks and other data. Or if something goes wrong with your browser on your current computer, that backup can be a life saver.
There are several good utilities for making backups of Firefox profiles. And there's at least one utility for backing up your Opera data. But what about Internet Explorer? For that, there's the creatively named Internet Explorer Backup.
The utility can backup profiles for Internet Explorer 4.0 through Internet Explorer 7. It saves Favorites, Proxy and connection settings, security zones, user customizations, and pretty much everything you see in the screenshot above. You can also schedule backup jobs to run on a regular basis.
Internet Explorer Backup is available as a free download.
[via gHacks]
>How to backup your Internet Explorer settings originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsHacked Internet Explorer Mobile 6 runs on existing cellphones (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Browsers, Mobile
Microsoft has said it does not plan to make Internet Explorer Mobile 6 available to end users as a direct download. In other words, if you want IE 6 on your mobile phone, you're going to have to buy a new phone. Because it won't run on existing devices. Instead, Microsoft will work with OEMs to load the updated browser on phones that will be released in the not too distant future.But there's good news for impatient Windows Mobile users. A member of the MoDaCo forums has built a custom ROM for the HTC Touch HD that comes with Internet Explorer 6 preloaded. In other words, it's possible to get the browser running on existing hardware. And if a hacker can do it, there's no reason we couldn't eventually see phone makers distribute the software as a download. Sure, it's not likely, but it's certainly possible.
In the meantime, if you have a Touch HD and you're looking for a browser capable of full desktop views and the same rendering engine used in Internet Explorer 6, you might want to give the potentially warranty-voiding ROM a try. If you're less adventerous you might want to settle for Opera Mobile, which is entirely legal and has the added benefit of supporting tabbed browsing.
[via Engadget]
>Hacked Internet Explorer Mobile 6 runs on existing cellphones originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsGoing Ultra - The Zero Footprint Grail (Download Squad)
Filed under: Business, Utilities, Windows, Windows Mobile, E-mail, Productivity, Open Source
In wake of the federal government's decision that they own your notebook computer plus all your flash keys and your first-born child, coupled with the costs and hassle of commercial flying, travelers are looking at alternatives to data-filled laptop computers. Besides, laptops are heavy, especially when you add in the battery, and then you have to schlep all those geeky-tchotchkes we stuff inside the bag. My eyes are a little too old to use my phone exclusively (it works for on-the-fly email and an occasional text message) but it doesn't get me quickly to web-based apps that I need for business. What to do?Enter Ultra Mobile computing. From 7" to 11" screens, with Vista or XP operating systems, 2-lb ultra portable computers are entering the business landscape. Costs range from $300 - $2000 and up (US$) and what they offer may be just what you need. The trick is to buy only what you need so it's both portable and affordable. For example, I need Word and Excel when traveling but I hardly need to load Access or Publisher so a smaller hard drive works fine - what I really want is a web browser and speedy wireless Internet with the ability to VPN. We're a Windows shop, so Outlook Web Access (browser-based) takes care of email needs.
Fundamentally just a tiny computer, an ultraportable fits into a larger purse or in your briefcase (yay! no laptop bag to stuff into the overhead compartment!). Once you struggle through choosing to install only those programs you absolutely have to have because the hard disk is going to be significantly smaller than your 160+ Gb workstation, look into the free and low-cost portable applications that take little drive space and require almost no installation so your compact hard drive doesn't get crowded.
But what about hauling all my files with me if I don't have the luxury of a VPN or I haven't figured out yet how to remote into my desktop back in the office (which I remembered to leave ON during my trip)?
The key? For your ultra-portable machine, get applications that fit on a Flash key or iPod with as close to "zero footprint" as possible. Zero footprint? These are applications that remove all temporary files/registry settings once the program has exited. If you create a document, you can move it as well to a portable storage device, like a Flash key. No trace left behind and less for the TSA to explore when they seize your computer at the border.
Continue reading Going Ultra - The Zero Footprint Grail
>Going Ultra - The Zero Footprint Grail originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsGet detailed disk info with Drive Manager (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware
If you store all of your Windows files on a single hard drive with one partition and rarely use the CD/DVD drive or USB flash disks, then please ignore the rest of this article. If on the other hand you have multiple hard drives or partitions and are constantly using removable media, you may want to check out Drive Manager.
Drive Manager will provide you with detailed information about all disks connected to your computer at a glance. The utility comes in a single executable package, so all you need to do is click and run. No installation is required.
In addition to showing you information about the size, format, and name of any disks, you can also get SMART information, or detect file system flags. For optical disk drives you can detect the types of discs that the drive can read and write as well as the maximum write speeds. You can also analyze disks.
Drive Manager also lets you hide drives so that they won't show up in Windows Explorer.
[via gHacks]
>Get detailed disk info with Drive Manager originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFree Video Converter offers simple video editing, conversion (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Video, Windows, Freeware
There are plenty of free Windows applications that let you convert files from one format to another (for example, from MPG to H.264). And judging by its name, you'd think that Free Video Converter was just another of those apps. But the free utility also offers basic video editing capabilities.
You won't find any fades, transitions, or titles in Free Video Converter. But the program does let you make quick and dirty edits by selecting the frames of any video that you want to include or exclude. Just choose whether you want to select or deselect frames, drag your mouse over the timeline, and click the export button.
When it comes to video conversion, Free Video Converter can handle a number of popular file formats including AVI, FLV, MP4, MPG, RM, QT, and WMV using popular codecs like XviD and H.264. There are also presets for YouTube, iPod, iPhone, HDTV, and Flash videos for the web.
>Free Video Converter offers simple video editing, conversion originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFirst look at Internet Explorer Mobile 6 for Windows Mobile (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Microsoft, Browsers
Microsoft will be rolling out the first major upgrade to its mobile version of Internet Explorer since... well, practically ever. The version of Internet Explorer that ships with Windows Mobile devices is based on code from Internet Explorer 4. The new version will be based on the desktop version of Internet Explorer 6 and should be able to handle pretty much any web site you can view in IE6.
The::unwired got a handful of screenshots of Internet Explorer Mobile 6. And it looks like a pretty major upgrade. First, you can choose between desktop and mobile browsing modes. In desktop mode the browser will squeeze full web pages onto your PDA or Smartphone's small screen. In mobile mode, you'll get the mobile version of any web page that's optimized for mobile browsers.
There's certainly still room for improvement. Full desktop mode on the iPhone version of Safari or on the Opera Mini web browser manages to squeeze large pages onto small screens without the need for scrollbars. Yet Internet Explorer Mobile 6 requires a bit of side to side scrolling action.
Internet Explorer Mobile 6 is expected to be available as a free upgrade for Windows Mobile 6.1 users soon. But if you just can't wait, you might want to check out the Skyfire web browser for Windows Mobile. It's available today and supports the desktop version of Flash, which means it can handle YouTube videos and other Flash content all within the browser.
>First look at Internet Explorer Mobile 6 for Windows Mobile originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFirefox Mobile Alpha coming in "a few weeks" (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Windows Mobile, Mozilla, Mobile Minute, Browsers
Mozilla CEO says the first Alpha version of Firefox Mobile will be available in a few weeks. That's pretty exciting. But I wouldn't read too much into it at the moment.
It's not clear exactly what devices or operating systems will be supported by the early Alpha. Pre-alpha releases of the browser, code-named Fennec, are already available. But at the moment, they only run on the Nokia N810 internet tablet. The N810 is a pretty cool little device, but it's not as ubiquitous as say, Windows Mobile or Symbian powered cellphones.
Mozilla does plan to make a Windows Mobile version of Firefox Mobile available. I just don't know whether we'll see that version in a few weeks when Fennec hits alpha.
[via Gizmodo]
>Firefox Mobile Alpha coming in "a few weeks" originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFastAero adds Vista-like transparency to Windows XP (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware
FastAero is a Windows XP utility that adds a transparency effect to some program windows. The effect is similar to one of the components of the Aero Glass interface on Windows Vista: You can see through borders of some programs and more easily see what's going on behind the program window.
The utility is an executable file, which means you can unzip the program and run it without installing anything to your system. You can also decide whether to add a blur effect that partially obscures what's going on behind your window. If you disable this feature, you get a nice crisp clear, and somewhat blue look at what's behind window number 1.
The default language for FastAero is Polish, but you can change it to English by opening the config.ini file in a text editor and changing "polish" to "english."
I've never found these sorts of transparency effects to be particularly useful. There are other elements of Aero Glass that I'd much rather have on Windows XP, like the ability to see previews of running programs when you scroll your mouse over taskbar icons. For that, there's Visual ToolTip, which provides some, but not all of the functionality of that Aero Glass feature.
[via gHacks]
>FastAero adds Vista-like transparency to Windows XP originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsExtended Task manager for Windows (Download Squad)
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware
Extended Task Manager shows you everything that the built in Windows Task Manager does... and then some. This free utility offers a summary page which shows you al ist of running programs as well as a graph with your CPU usage, Page file usage, disk I/O use and network performance, among other things. And that's just in the first tab. The program has 8 separate tabs that provide detailed information about exactly what your computer is doing while you aren't paying attention (or even when you are).
The performance tab, for example, offers a more detailed look at your CPU, Memory, and Disk I/O usage and history. The graphs are similar to what you'd find in the Windows Task Manager, but the Disk I/O graph is a helpful addition. And when you mouse over any point in a graph you get details including which running processes are using the highest percentage of your resources at any given second.
[via Life Rocks 2.0]
>Extended Task manager for Windows originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBrad's favorite apps worth paying for: Pocket Informant (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Productivity, Commercial, BlackBerry, iPhone, Mobile
Yes, your PDA, cellphone, BlackBerry, or whatever it is you carry around in your pocket probably came with a calendar and contact manager. And they probably suck. Pocket Informant doesn't. This personal information management suite was originally designed as a complete replacement for the PIM applications that come with Windows Mobile. It's now available for iPhone and BlackBerry devices as well.
The Pocket Informant calendar is nothing short of awesome. It offers agenda, day, week, and month views that are quite frankly more useful than anything you'll find in Outlook or Google Calendar. And they just happen to fit beautifully on a small screen. You can easily see at a glance how much free and busy time you have in a day. And you can link appointments to contacts, set reminders, and show tasks from your To Do list in your calendar.
Pocket Informant's search utility also puts the built in Windows Mobile search function to shame. Results appear almost instantly, and you can find top level information like a contact's name or phone number, or results that are buried down a bit deeper like a name mentioned in a note attached to a calendar item from a year ago.
Pocket Informant for Windows Mobile costs $29.95. The BlackBerry and iPhone/iPod touch versions are each $20.
>Brad's favorite apps worth paying for: Pocket Informant originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBlackBerry OS running as an application on Windows Mobile phones (Download Squad)
Filed under: Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Beta, Mobile
Want to run BlackBerry applications without buying, you know, a BlackBerry? Soon your dream may come true. BerryReview has a first look at the BlackBerry Application Suite for Windows Mobile. The software is basically a virtual version of the BlackBerry OS that you can run as a Windows Mobile application on supported phones.
The application weighs in at about 32MB which is pretty large for a Windows Mobile application. But it will allow employees at companies that are currently tied to BlackBerry software the option of picking up Windows Mobile phones that can support BlackBerry's push email and other services.
The first release is still pretty limited. GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and video playback don't work. Neither does the ability to make phone calls. So the software clearly isn't ready for prime time yet.
[via MobileTopSoft]
>BlackBerry OS running as an application on Windows Mobile phones originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsAnti-iPhone day at Download Squad (Download Squad)
Filed under: Audio, Video, Windows Mobile, Apple, Mobile Minute
The iPhone gets a lot of attention these days, and rightly so. It's an attractive phone/media player with a beautiful interface. And Apple brought the idea of an innovative finger-friendly multi-touch display to the masses. But you know what? The iPhone isn't for everyone. There are plenty of things it can't do, or that you can do better with another device. And while the price of the phone continues to drop, you have to pay a rather pricey phone bill every month if you really want to make use of the phone. With that in mind, Download Squad brings you anti-iPhone day. Throughout the day, we'll be looking at alternatives to the iPhone. To kick things off, I wanted to review some of the posts of DLS past that have already shown that there's little you can do with an iPhone that you can't already do with a Wndows Mobile-based phone.
Program Launchers
Somewhere between the time when Steve Jobs first demoed the iPhone and the day it actually hit the shelves, third party developers decided it would be cool to create an iPhone-like interface for Windows Mobile. Probably the most interesting project is FreeStyleWM, which started out its life as WhoNeedsAniPhone.
But not every third party developer wanted to replicate the iPhone interface. Some were just inspired enough to go out and create their own easy to use, finger-friendly program launchers and other applications. Thus GoodWin and iSwish were born.
Meanwhile, before the iPhone was even threatening your pocketbook, folks were puting out software that takes Windows Mobile and makes it feel like an entirely different operating system. Over a year ago, we brought you a roundup of applications designed to make Windows Mobile look and feel a bit more like Windows XP or Vista.
Continue reading Anti-iPhone day at Download Squad
>Anti-iPhone day at Download Squad originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsAlertThingy 2 adds support for Facebook, Flickr, more services (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Social Software, web 2.0, Web
When AlertThingy launched in April of 2008, the Adobe AIR-based application was a desktop client for social networking/micro-blogging service FriendFeed. The developers eventually added support for Twitter, which started an arms race between AlertThingy and Twhirl, a Twitter client that added support for FriendFeed.
Now AlertThingy has been updated to version two, and it supports the following services:
Digg Facebook Flickr Jaiku TinyURL Tumblr Twitter You can use AlertThingy 2 to upload images to Flickr, update your status on Twitter or Facebook, post messags to Tumblr, and so on. And of course, you can see what your friends on each of those services is up to. Users can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates from blogs and news web sites.
If you prefer the classic version of AlertThingy that works with just FriendFeed, AlertThingy v1 is still available for download as well.
[via RefreshingApps]
>AlertThingy 2 adds support for Facebook, Flickr, more services originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsA look at 7 Windows 7 federated search connectors (Download Squad)
Filed under: Internet, Photo, Features, Windows, Microsoft, Beta, Search
Now that half of the known computing world has gotten their paws on the Windows 7 beta, it's high time to start tweaking and modifying Microsoft's latest OS. One feature begging to be monkeyed with is Windows Search.
Windows 7 supports a new feature called Federated Search. It's based on OpenSearch and RSS2 and enables searching of remote repositories from the Windows desktop. Microsoft embracing Open initiatives? Might there be some less-than-altruistic motivation behind this?
Better desktop searching may mean less browser-based searching, which might allow Microsoft to gain a little ground on Google. Still, the ease of creating connectors and the number of possibilties add some serious cool factor to Windows 7. They're a bit hard to find as of yet, but the popularity of the Windows 7 Beta torrent will no doubt lead to some new ones being created in the coming weeks.
The first one I encountered when running build 6801 was Long Zheng's Flickr Connectr. Though it's a man-in-the-middle solution and slightly slow at times it works well, and you can see it in action in the screen capture above. Image results can be displayed just like other files on your desktop - in list or details view, as thumbnails, or using Windows 7's content