Random-Tech

25 Pieces of Freeware

2007-05-24T15:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of some of my favorite freeware applications that I've compiled over the last few weeks. I seem to use these applications on an almost continuous basis. Let me know if there are any applications that make your computing experience better or easier.

Without further ado, here the are: categorized, but in no particular order.

System Tools

Launchy - Open applications, documents, and websites by typing the name, or a portion of it... and more! Link
StrokeIt - Global mouse gestures that can execute hotkeys or system commands. Link
Samurize - Offers a wide variety of desktop overlays. I use it to display my current TODO.txt list on my desktop. I wrote a tutorial on how to do this. Link
Synergy - use a keyboard and mouse over a network. Link
Bulk Rename Utility - Quickly rename files in a given folder using a wide variety of techniques, including regular expressions. Link
Avast Anti-Virus - Excellent free anti-virus software. Link
Alcohol 52% - Create and mount CD images on virtual CD/DVD drives. Link
Visual Subset - Create virtual drives of your commonly used folders. Link

Customization

Folder Marker - Changes individual folder icons, for both aesthetics and easy locating. Link
Taskbar Shuffle - Drag programs around on the taskbar, middle click them to close (just like tabs in Firefox). Link
Send to Toys - Customize the choices in the Send-To portion of the context menu (including sending the filename to the clipboard). Link

Media

Tigo Tago - Modify ID3 tags for MP3s in a spreadsheet-like environment. Link
Virtual VCR - Excellent program for video input. Link
Media Player Classic - A great lightweight video/dvd player. Link
Quicktime Alternative - Installs codecs to play MOV files in Media Player Classic. Link
FlashMute - Mute all sounds from your browser. Link

Editing

MWSnap - Screenshot/Color Grabber program with global hotkeys and lots of extra features (adding mouse cursors or effects to screen captures). Link
Virtual Dub - Linear video editing, converting application. Link
Audacity - Audio editing program with lots of features. Link

Communications

Zoomit - Sysinternal's Handy demonstration/presentation software, zoom in on the screen, doodle on it, or overlay with a countdown timer. Link
Google Talk - my new favorite way to instant message, with a neat, clean UI. Link
Firefox - the crown jewel of the open source community (kinda depressing really), its strength is in the extensions: check out my list. Link
RSSOwl - powerful standalone RSS reader. Link

PDF

Foxit Reader - Excellent replacement for Adobe Reader, especially since it opens almost instantly. Link
doPDF - Free PDF writer/converter. Link

Tags: Software, Freeware, Top

DiggReSS: New Features!

2007-04-30T15:16:00.000-04:00

I spent a few minutes today adding two features to DiggReSS:

The ability to filter the feed based on minimum and maximum numbers of Diggs
The option to embed videos from Google Video, YouTube, and Metacafe directly in the feed (I have tested this in RSSOwl and Google Reader thus far).

Let me know how you like these new features!

Link: DiggReSS

Tags: Digg API, DiggReSS, RSS Feeds

Random App: PrintLink 0.1

2007-04-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

PrintLink is a Firefox extension that adds a hotkey (Ctrl+Shift+V) to Firefox. This shortcut opens the printer-friendly version of a page (if it exists).

PrintLink is coded to be as adaptive as possible in finding the link and redirecting the current page. However, if it is unable to find such a page or it is horribly mired in Javascript (e.g. CNN uses a service called Clickability which requires a "partnerID"), it will simply execute the link or the onClick Javascript.

In short: this extension will hopefully open the print view of a given website in the same tab or worst case: in a popup.

Let me know if you have any bugs / problems / comments / suggestions either in the comments or at: randomtechprojects at gmail.com

Project Page (details): Link
Install (Firefox 2.*): Link

Desktop Tower Defense Cheat Sheet: Updated

2007-04-25T00:43:00.000-04:00

I put together a page tonight as a better / expanded version of the original cheat sheet. It now has a full featured tower calculator that automatically updates as the number of towers / current level is changed.

It still has a full listing of the creeps and their associated value, health, speed, and type. The primary changes are in the format and coolness coefficient.

Link

Tags: Desktop Tower Defense, Cheat Sheet, Strategy Guide

Diggress: Updated

2007-04-21T14:39:00.000-04:00

The Digg API is now officially released. It is so nice to finally have the documentation for something that I've been trying to use for about two months now. It has clued me in on a several features that I had been craving in my DiggReSS feed (which is finally resurrected after about a month of being dead).

DiggReSS is my alternative Digg RSS feed. It links directly to the article in question while providing several other article related links (the Digg page and various mirrors).

DiggReSS in RSSOwl

As of this morning DiggReSS has the ability to choose individual topics (e.g. Apple or Playable Web Games). I also implemented a caching system which will store the feed on my server with a timestamp. This way it will request updates at most once every five minutes and is thus much kinder to the Digg server (mmh… irony).

Note to API users:
If you're using PHP, make sure that you have ini_set('user_agent', 'APPLICATION NAME'); somewhere in your application, otherwise the Digg API will simply return a blank page.

DiggReSS: Link
Digg API Documentation: Link

Tags: DiggReSS, Digg, API, PHP

Desktop Tower Defense Stat Sheet

2007-04-13T10:19:00.000-04:00

--- UPDATED ---
now in html and javascript: Link

Desktop Tower Defense has become a bit of an obsession lately. It is a game of strategy, timing, and now: statistical analysis. If you haven't played it, I suggest that you avoid it like the plague. If you're hopelessly entangled with it, then continue reading.

To determine the best use of gold I tossed together a webpage with information about the Creeps and Towers.

Creeps: type, health, speed, value, count, total gold per level, and total gold to that point
Towers: Cost at level, upgrade cost, sell value, damage, range, speed.

I also included a "Quick" and "Advanced" Tower Calculator. It will help you determine how many of a particular kind of tower you can buy at a particular level.

Links:
The Sheet (now in html and Javascript): Link
Game: Desktop Tower Defense

Tags: Desktop Tower Defense, Games, Entertainment

NASA Funding

2007-04-10T17:09:00.000-04:00

The 5th person (the creator of MS Word) has now paid his way into space. This twenty million dollar per head thrill has brought Russia around 100 million dollars in the last few years. My first thought with that realization was: "why isn't NASA doing that"? They need funding after all:

(AP) -- The chairman of the U.S. House science committee said Thursday that NASA is headed for "a train wreck" if the space agency isn't better funded to finish building the international space station and develop the next-generation spacecraft. Link

Tossing the rich and famous into space would solve two of the problems NASA currently faces: the funding issue and the fact that nobody is all that excited about space travel anymore. A handful of exciting commercials, a dash of press conferences with the returned astronauts, and other PR tricks would go a long way to revitalizing American interest in the space program.

It is just a thought, and there is probably some legislation against it, but it would be better to keep those dollars in America.

Tags: NASA, Space, Russia, Funding

Digital Truth: A Consensus

2007-03-22T19:26:00.000-04:00

In this modern age of the Interwebs/Internets/The Great Series of Tubes, truth is a consensus, rather than an absolute. I don't entirely blame this era of the Post-Modern "well if it works for you" mentality, but is allowing the largely uninformed world the ability to decide the truth of something for everyone else the best thing? I'm not talking about spiritual truth and the issue of whether or not you're going to burn in a lake of fire for all eternity, but the simple expression of measurable, documentable, day to day, facts.

Historically speaking, personal testimony in the form of journals and diaries is one of the key sources when researching an event. However, through blogs, every single current event has hundreds of people recording the incident. The problem is they probably weren't all present and that they tend to draw their content from one another. The problem is with the documentation of fact.

Wikipedia is a glorious resource, but it is still only a consensus. While it may be better than only allowing the "victor" to write the history, it will never give an unbiased account of well, anything. The problem is that people like truth that agrees with their opinion of what truth should be.

Social media and social bookmarking perpetuate this problem. Things that people agree with are promoted and things people disagree with are routinely buried as "inaccurate" or "this is lame" (at least on Digg). I've written recently about how newspapers as a whole don't place much value on social bookmarking, but are they correct to do so on an epistemological (study of truth/knowledge) level as well?

Blogs really are the crux of this issue; without them would we need sites like Digg to decide "truth"? A blog can turn anyone with an Internet connection and some hosting space into an instant self proclaimed pundit:

Click to Enlarge

It is ironic that I'm attempting to wax eloquently on a topic I have no credentials to speak about. I won't pretend that these are indisputable facts, but merely my observations. That being said, this really is the "glory" of the Internet. I can expound through this site and spread my thoughts to the world (true or not) and have them arbitrarily accepted or denied. I suppose that rhetoric is just as potent on the Internet as it is on the campaign trail.

InstaPundit, Digg, Social Bookmarking, the Internet

Newspapers and Social Media

2007-03-17T15:16:00.000-04:00

Is the "power" of social media is a relative concept? Those that are involved in it, that read Digg, Reddit, Newsvine, and the ilk would certainly say it is a breakthrough in the distribution of information. However, only 22% of the Top 50 Newspapers (by circulation), have any form of social bookmarking integration aside from a simple "email this article" link.

I spent an hour or so mindlessly clicking and compiled a table of the Top 50 Newspapers in America and their level of social bookmarking integration:
Option 1: Google Spreadsheet
Option 2: PDF

In summary, every single online edition of newspaper had a link to email the article to people (except the WSJ which wanted me to pay to read it), but very few had "Digg it" buttons or similar links. The most logical explanation is that newspapers don't try to drive additional traffic from social media simply because the traffic isn't worth very much.

I don't mean that in the sense that traffic from Digg et al doesn't do anything other than leech bandwidth; such traffic simply isn't profitable. When compared to the dead tree form, online advertising is not all that profitable for newspapers despite their online distribution being nearly limitless.

Daily Newspaper Advertising Revenue 1984 – 2005
Source: State of the Media

Online Ad Revenue, 1997-2005
Source: State of the Media

The most striking aspect of these graphs is that the Online Ad Revenue graph depicts the total amount of advertising online, not merely for newspapers. This says two things about the Internet:
1) Social media doesn't really matter to the real world (yet).
2) Companies like to make money and maximize their cost to profit ratio.

When it can be easily seen that the newspaper industry makes 379% more than the total revenue from online advertising in a year ($47.4 billion vs. $12.5 billion), it's not hard to understand why they don't put more effort into driving traffic to their websites with social media.

That being said, there is some value in social media and user generated content. For the moment, big corporate media doesn't seem to care about such things, the blog-o-sphere is growing rapidly and may one day truly matter in the journalistic scheme of things.

It is rather depressing that as I sit here writing this article I am writing about my own insignificance. However, I have encountered something during my exploration of this topic that I should remember: blogging only really matters to bloggers and people that spend a significant portion of their lives on the internet.

So, I have presented my evidence of the current insignificant of the blogging and social media, especially from the perspective of corporate media, and now it's your turn to answer the question: does it really matter?

Tags: Social Media, Social Bookmarking, Media, Newspapers, Blogs

Random-App: ClipNote

2007-03-12T20:05:00.001-04:00

I spent a few minutes this afternoon and tossed together an app to make my life a bit easier. I find that I'm copying text from places and sticking it in .txt files on my desktop all too frequently.

I wrote ClipNote to simplify this task.
1) Copy the text
2) Run ClipNote (hopefully with Launchy)
3) Specify a filename and hit enter.

Download (Windows only)

Tags: ClipNote, Freeware, Lifehacking

Mario "Art"

2007-03-04T19:48:00.000-05:00

Every nerdy abode should be adorned with video game "art" of one form or another. If your area is currently lacking, you should consider creating a masterpiece out of Legos, or some other creativity inducing material.

For instance create a Lego Mario:

Here's a template to create your own: Download/View

Let me know how your nerdy pursuits turn out!

Tags: Art, Mario, Video Game Art, Legos

Windows Update Annoyances

2007-03-01T23:27:00.000-05:00

I know that Vista tips and tricks are all the rage these days, but there are still a lot of things in XP left to explore (at least for me). So when Josh showed me that you can configure the behavior of Windows Update in the Group Policy Editor, I knew I just had to tell the world. Personally, I just have them set on manual, but it’s nice to know that some of the annoyances can be removed.

Run: gpedit.msc
Navigate: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
Remove: the annoyances of your choice:

Personally, I hate it when it:

Adjusts the default shut down option
Tries to auto-restart
Reminds me when I tell it not to auto-restart

Perhaps I'll have to investigate this "Vista" sometime and start posting tips about that too. Anytime someone wants to give me a copy, I'll try it out and stick up a fair review (ahem ... Mircosoft).

Tags: gpedit, Windows Update, Annoyances, Tips and Tricks

DiggReSS - An Alternative Digg Feed

2007-02-22T22:42:00.000-05:00

(DiggReSS --> Digg RSS)

One of my myriad ideas/schemes/projects has finally been "completed." Rather, by "completed", I mean that I'm ready to throw it to the wolves and see what they have to think.

I created an alternative RSS feed for Digg using their API and a bit of PHP. It is designed to streamline the "Digg Experience" and eliminate the need to come into contact with the comments section of the article. In other words: the feed links directly to the article in question.

However, should one desire to view the inanity that tends to hemorrhage from the comments, there is a link back to them with the current comment count inside of the entry body. The current Digg count (in yellow and brown!) is listed ahead of the description of the article, and the entries can be sorted by sub-category.

Also, there are links to DuggMirror, Coral Cache 8080 and 8090, and Google Cache, to ensure that the story has a chance to be read even after suffering the "Digg Effect".

To make this feed as versatile as possible, I set up a website with a form that allows for some feed customization. You can choose one of the six available categories (All (w/ videos), Technology, Science, Gaming, World Business, Sports, and Entertainment), and a number of entries (5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 100). The link is on the giant RSS Feed button and refreshes from the form via a mouse over.

This project is very much a work in progress, and so any and all constructive thoughts, comments, and suggestions are welcome.

Link

Tags: Digg, RSS, DiggReSS

Random Nerd Moment: Space Cadet Pinball

2007-02-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

Microsoft did something nice in releasing Virtual PC 2007 for free. In honor of this gesture, I decided to play around with a virtual version of XP. However, I was suddenly bored and thought of playing pinball while waiting for it. Then the thought of the cheats arose...

Here's the result (I achieved the rank of 'Admiral' before I got bored and made it TILT!):

Instructions for doing this completely useless activity yourself:
0) Start installing XP (on either your physical or virtual machine).
1) Hit Shift+F10 to bring up the command prompt
2) Navigate to c:\program files\windows nt\pinball3) Run pinball.exe
4) Type 'hidden test' and hit enter.
5) Use the mouse to drag the ball around and dominate.

Tags: Pinball, XP, Humor

Family Guy on w3schools

2007-02-20T16:12:00.000-05:00

I was looking up associative arrays for PHP (for a random project) and stumbled across a Family Guy reference on W3Schools:

Link

Perhaps it was the subject matter, or my highly caffeinated state, but I found it hilarious.

Tags: Humor, Family Guy, w3schools

Spread Firefox 2007

2007-02-18T20:12:00.000-05:00

The Official Firefox Fans Group [GCC Chapter] has a table in the Student Activity Center at Grove City College to help spread Firefox to the masses.

What is it:
Firefox is a browser that is an alternative to Internet Explorer. Despite Microsoft's improvements in the last release, it still falls short when compared to Firefox in terms of features and security. First of all... to experience it, you need to download it (click the magic button):

Proxy Setup:
- Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network -> Settings..

- Select "Manual Proxy Configuration"
HTTP Proxy: proxy.gcc.edu
Port: 8080
- Check "Use this proxy server for all protocols"

Extensions:
Extensions are one of the strongest features available in Firefox. They are user created solutions to common problems, annoyances, etc on the internet. Whether it is blocking seizure inducing advertisements or fixing your own fat fingers when typing a url, there are extensions tailored to help you beat The Internets on Legendary (sorry... terrible joke).

Extension Examples / Essentials:
- QuickProxy - Adds a proxy button to your status bar to easily switch it on and off.
- Linkification - turns plain text links into fully clickable ones.
- TabMixPlus - Provides an extra set of options to customize tabs.
- URLFixer - Fixes minor errors when typing urls: e.g. turns .con into .com
- IETab - able to view pages inside Firefox as they would be displayed in IE
- Adblock - Blocks ads on websites
- Adblock Filterset.G Updater - automatically updates your Adblock database to block more and more ads.
- Searchbar Autosizer - Resizes the searchbar as you type.
- PDF Download - Greets you with a prompt of what to do when you click on a PDF (Download, Open, View as HTML).

Install these extensions all at once with this installer (guaranteed to be spyware/malware/adware free... etc): Install Extensions.

Tags: Spread Firefox, Firefox, Firefox Extensions

The Machine is Us

2007-02-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

I'm not usually one for embracing either the machine or Web 2.0. However, this video is a beautiful depiction of what the internet should be.

Tags: The Machine, Web 2.0, Internet

Digging for Sanity

2007-02-06T08:41:00.000-05:00

What does this look like to you? One of the most popular sites on all of the Internets or a heavy handed attempt at collecting Google AD-ollars?

I like to start my day with a mug of coffee and the news before my first class at 8:00 am. However, when I was reading Digg this morning, I noticed a few changes I had previously missed (when did they change the UI?). The page I looked at had a new look, and it was decided an improvement except for the enormous amount of wasted space. On a whim, I switched over to IE (inside of Firefox of course) to see what exactly Digg was doing.

Thus spawned my idea. There are a lot of things I don't like about Digg. The childish comments, the advertising, and the general atmosphere that is so reminiscent of high school. However, those gripes aside, Digg does have quite a few interesting stories. To avoid those unpleasant elements, I use the RSS feed. However, that only helps me weed out the stories that I don't care about.

What we need is an alternative RSS feed. Something that looks like this (inside of RSSOwl at least):

What it has:

Article title and summary
Links directly to article.
Has a convenient Digg-it button.
Has links to mirrors inside the feed.

What it doesn't have:

Submitter name
Advertising
Comments

Tags: Digg, RSS

Technorati Tag Generator

2007-02-01T16:43:00.000-05:00

This is my first freeware app. It just takes a list of tags from your clipboard and returns a set of html links for Technorati Tags in its place. Nothing spectacular, this program is mostly just to make my life a little bit easier.

Instructions:
1) Copy your comma delimitated list of tags.
2) Run TechnoratiTagGenerator (hopefully with Launchy)
3) Paste the code block into your blog.

Download (Windows Only)

Tags: Freeware, Technorati, Tag Generator

Launchy: The Upgrade

2007-01-30T11:08:00.000-05:00

I've raved about Launchy in the past. However, I had not upgraded in a few versions, at least ,until today. Then I saw version 1.0 was out with a host of amazing features.

New features (commands in parentheses):
- Search Google / Wikipedia / IMDB / etc from launchy (google TAB search term)
- Imports Firefox Quicksearches and Bookmarks (quicksearch TAB search term)
- Built in Calculator (+ - * / and parentheses only)
- Browse folders on your desktop (driveletter:folder/path)
- Launch web-sites (type www.random-tech.com)

Download it today. Launchy is probably my favorite piece of software available today (even over Firefox and RSSOwl -- though, you should use those too).

Link

Tags: Launchy, Lifehacking, Anti Mouse Applications

Blue Screen Saver of Death

2007-01-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

One of my friends had a lovely blue screen of death today, so I pointed it out. He smacked his keyboard and started laughing at me. So, to spread the joy and horror to friends and family... check out Mark Russinovich's Blue Screen Saver of Death.

Link

Tags: Humor, Microsoft, Screen Saver

Random Rant: Cell phones

2006-12-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

I won't mince words: I hate cell phones. I have never seen an object give people such an inflated idea of their own self worth. Like a magic ring of power it tends to corrupt even the purest of heart into Cellular-Nazgul:

Fortunately, they are not inherently evil, just rude. Perhaps it is just me and my low tolerance level, but I find that:
- trying ring tones in a public place
- talking on them in restaurants
- using them on during a concert/movie/performance
are some of the rudest forms of behavior still tolerated.

Owning a tool that allows you to be individually contacted must mean that your words are valuable. Insufficient self worth is a problem today. Many people suffer from feeling insignificant and worthless, and cell phones can make them feel wanted and useful. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but the typical outward manifestation is unwelcome.

Legislating cell phone behavior will never happen (and banning them in cars is certainly not working). The only thing that will make a difference is some kind of appeal to human decency, and that will only go so far.

Tags: Cell Phones, Rants, Self Worth

Random Question: Most Important Data

2006-12-19T13:23:00.000-05:00

What is the most important data on your computer? Is it your list of passwords, your financial information, family pictures, or what you labor to digitally produce?

This is essentially the digital equivalent of the perennial question: "What one item would you save if your house was on fire?" If your laptop is on fire, saving data would probably be the least of your worries, but the question does bear some contemplation, at least for the purposes of backing stuff up.

Drop your answer in the comments.

Tags: Random Question, Data, Information+Age

Microsoft's Renaissance

2006-12-16T00:16:00.000-05:00

Microsoft is not an evil empire. (Insert collective gasp here.) Setting itself up to be the world's standard in software, in operating systems and office applications, was a combination of both luck and shrewdness. That feat may or may not have been possible in the face of the opposition that the company is currently facing; but for now, Microsoft is the incumbent in the mid-term software race.

Windows Vista, Office 12, and Internet Explorer 7 collectively represent a change in Microsoft's strategy. Furthermore, they reflect the fact that for the first time in the company's history there are truly viable alternatives to its products.

The amount of innovation in these products is enormous when compared with the difference in previous versions. The innovation is not skin deep either. Certainly the UI is the most visible change in each application, but that's the point of a UI. More and more features have been crammed into each new wave of the traditional Microsoft products. This is the direct result of the increasingly stiff competition they have faced in the last few years.

However, the strategy of simply encouraging or coercing users to upgrade to the latest and greatest application is simply not a viable long term plan, especially in the face of competition. The ever increasing rivalry of Open Source alternatives, such as OpenOffice and Firefox (see chart below), and other corporations like Apple, has cost Microsoft dearly.

(click to enlarge)

Until recently, Microsoft was able to simply produce the next logical version of an application via some strange bureaucratic mating ritual. However, their entire paradigm for the next generation of software changed when their products were truly challenged (at least in terms of features).

The radical changes in the most recent releases represent Microsoft awakening to the idea of user driven innovation. That is not to say that Microsoft has been asleep at the keyboard for years. Instead, with so many government institutions and businesses dependent on their software, most of the bugs need to be worked out ahead of time.

Users want to do things with software that the developers and designers cannot imagine (most often in the sense "uh, why would you want to?"). In response to this, the greatest strength of Firefox was conceived: extensions. When users can implement whatever features they want and share them with the world. However, lacking such a system, IE7 replicates many of the same base features as Firefox.

According to Bit-Tech "there's really nothing that Firefox does that Internet Explorer doesn't, in terms of functionality." This latest version of IE was simply a matter of playing catch-up with Firefox. The same could be said of Vista and OSX (as covered by Lifehacker and David Pogue at NYT )

Microsoft may or may not be out of ideas of its own. That is not the issue. It is the simple fact that the nerds of Redmond, Washington need to embrace the features of their competitors simply to continue being competitive. After thinking the same way for decades it is difficult to galvanize a corporate behemoth like Microsoft into producing new and innovative software.

The way that Microsoft has dealt with competition from Firefox and Apple is demonstrative of their plan to innovate and succeed. Microsoft is introducing features in their products that the blogosphere welcomes with something between "ho hum" and open hostility. It doesn’t especially matter what features transcend applications. The bottom line is that competition is good for the consumer.

Tags: Firefox, Microsoft, Innovation

Snakes On A Plane!

2006-12-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

The final project in my C++ programming class this semester involved making a snake game. In my "infinite" spare time (aka an extended study break), I added in some rudimentary AI. However, I prefer to call it Artificial Stupidity, because it really isn't that bright.

Download Here
(I promise that there isn't any adware/spyware/etc on here, I certainly don't know how to write it.)

Tags: Snakes On a Plane, Games, Downloads