Carputers News and Computer Tips

Nelson Doyle, on Webupon:

Delivering the best of the best free music on the Internet is what these Top 45 Music websites are best known for and now, they are presented to music lovers the world over as an easy reference guide to bookmark.

In addition, Mashable has compiled a list of 30+ awesome streaming music sites along with a list of 30+ sites for free, legal music downloads we know you’ll enjoy.

Regardless of your choice or taste, what would life be like without music?  Getting it free is the icing on the cake!

Laura Milligan writes on the Teaching Tips blog:

Beyond Google, Wikipedia and other generic reference sites, the Internet boasts a multitude of search engines, dictionaries, reference desks and databases that have organized and archived information for quick and easy searches. In this list, we’ve compiled just 100 of our favorites, for teachers, students, hypochondriacs, procrastinators, bookworms, sports nuts and more.

If you’re an information junkie, there’s much here to be had…

Edit 08/02/2008:

Laura has also written an article listing 50 Awesome Search Engines Every Librarian Should Know About.  It is linked here because we feel that even non-librarians should find these search engines useful. 

Here’s a classic example of why - an article that makes for an interesting read.

What happened when ‘Penelope Retch’ answered her spam e-mail… What would be the experience in 10 countries when everyday people, armed with a PC and e-mail account McAfee provided for the Global S.P.A.M. Diaries project, clicked through the spam and chronicled the results?

We’ve found the best anti-spam measure (besides being very careful about giving out your email address) is a free GMail account from Google.  You can use it to check and filter almost any other email account you may have, and their spam filter is the most effective we’ve ever seen or used.

If you want to try this, but need help setting it up, contact us!  We’d be happy to help!

Actually, it has been out of beta for about a month.

IBM says:

IBM Lotus Symphony tools enable users to create, edit and share word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

This is a free office suite that, while not as feature-rich as OpenOffice, is still more than most home users will ever need. It will save in MS Office 2003 (and previous) formats. It is supported on XP and Vista, and a couple of different flavors of Linux.

Here’s the direct download link…

After you’ve installed it, setting it up to save in Microsoft Office-compatible formats is easy.  Open IBM Lotus Symphony, and select File, Preferences from the Menu Bar:

After the Preferences window opens, expand the IBM Lotus Symphony tree in the left pane by clicking the “plus-in-a-box”, and then click File Type Association as shown below:

(click image below to open enlarged in a new tab or window) 

Select Microsoft Office from the drop-down labeled Select the file types to automatically create with IBM Lotus Symphony.  Then click the Apply and OK buttons.  Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations that you create with IBM Lotus Symphony will then be saved automatically in formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt) that will allow you to share them with users of Microsoft Office.

IBM also has short online streaming video tutorials on how to use IBM Lotus Symphony Document, Presentation, and Spreadsheet applications.  The main page containing these tutorials in different downloadable formats can be found here.

The IBM Lotus Symphony Help Page has links to longer slideshow-type tutorials, reference cards, and other information. 

Curtis Franklin, Jr. wrote an IBM Lotus Symphony review (the article also reviews OpenOffice.org, Google Docs, and Zoho and includes a slideshow…) for InfoWorld that can be found here. 

Newsday’s Lou Dolinar wrote a short review as well.

The Investintech website (this company sells PDF conversion software) recently posted a good article about free MS Word alternatives - including web-based applications.   

Those of you that are running the free (and pay) versions of AVG 7.5 are probably getting messages about upgrading to version 8.0.  Virus definition updates and support for the free version of AVG 7.5 will end as of 05/31/2008. There is a free version of AVG 8.0, but it is not easy to find, and the update messages steer free users towards the pay version.

The free version of AVG 8.0 is available from this web page. Use the second link down, which will pull the file directly from AVG’s servers.

It is strongly recommended that, when installing AVG 8.0 Free, a custom (rather than default) install is selected.  We would suggest NOT installing the “Web Shield” nor the “AVG Security Toolbar”.  Users have reported better performance without having these options installed.  

As always, if you need assistance or have questions about securing and protecting your computer or network, contact us!  We’d be happy to be of assistance! 

Samer (creator of the most excellent Freewaregenius blog) did a recent comparison of many of the free applications that can be used to convert .pdf files into editable MS Word .doc files.  His verdict?  Online service Koolwire did the best job overall.

Easter Eggs in computer-speak are hidden features in software.  They can also be found on movie DVDs as well.  Some examples can be found in this Lifehacker post, this PC World magazine article, and on two websites - eggheaven.com and eeggs.com.  Happy hunting!

Edit 04/04/2008:

The IT Security website has a great article entitled The 101 Coolest Easter Eggs Hidden in Your Software, DVDs and Video Games.      

The St. Claire, Inc. Sign Builder 2.0 includes a number of web-based tools designed to facilitate the creation of custom general and safety signs.

Safety signs, ANSI signs, hazardous materials signs, or lockout tags can be created quickly and easily for free.   You do need to register with the site.  Your sign creations can then be downloaded as .pdf files.

Claus Valca’s Grand Stream Dreams blog has an excellent entry called Wallpaper Extravaganza which features a long list of sources for desktop wallpaper plus a couple of wallpaper management tools.  If you’re into desktop wallpaper and have been looking for some new sources we think you will be pleased with the choices listed. 

Edit 03/25/2008:

The PC Fastlane blog recently posted Top Free Desktop Wallpaper Sites.  From the unique and weird to the stunningly beautiful, wallpapers fit to please all can be found here.

Edit 05/19/2008:

Here are even more, courtesy of Smashing Magazine…