PhotoshopLover.com 31 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Photoshop.1 comment so far
Here’s a fun one today. Photoshop is probably the greatest graphics manipulation programme of all time, and I’ve been personally using it for around 6 years and consider myself quite proficient at using it. There are so many features that even I don’t know all of them, let alone someone fairly new to Photoshop.
This is where the PhotoshopLover website can help. It is full of tutorials and various other resources and is somewhere I visit regularly when I need some creative inspiration.
[click here to see how I made this effect]
If you use photoshop then you may already know of the site, but even if you are completely new to it, the tuturials are explained [usually with accompanying screenshots] in a very user-friendly manner, enabling virtually anyone to create some truly stunning effects. Other features of the site include a friendly forum where you can get help from fellow Photoshoppers if you’re really stuck on something.
Google Spreadsheets 30 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Services, Spreadsheets.3 comments
Following yesterdays post about Writely.com, the Web Word Processor, I’m going to point you towards another Google web application that should help you avoid purchasing from the ‘M‘ word.
Today’s post is about Google Spreadsheets, which, you guessed it, is a web-based spreadsheet programme similar to the likes of Microsoft Excel. It works in basically the same way as Writey in the fact that you can upload various files and store them online, allowing access from many locations. You can also allow mulitple contributers and invite others to view your page which can be published online. If you want to know more then just click here to take the tour.
The only real difference is that you’ve got to sign in with your Google account, which is exactly the same as signing in to your Gmail account. Don’t worry if you haven’t got one as you can sign up pretty easily with the only info needed being your email and a password.
At the moment it’s not as sophisticated as Excel is, but if you’re just doing simple calculations then Google Spreadsheets will suffice.
Writely.com – The Web Word Processor 29 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Services, Word Processing.18 comments
Here’s something useful which could actually stop many of you from breaking the law, as opposed to a few of my previous posts which may be on the boundaries of legality. I know many people who when they’ve got their new PC have found that there wasn’t a decent word processing programme on it, and have then got themselves a copy of Microsoft Word, because that’s what everyone else uses. This is where Writely.com steps in.
Writely brands itself as “The Web Word Processor”, and that’s what it does. Instead of installing software to your PC just visit the website and do all your work there. Cool eh?
Share documents instantly & collaborate real-time.
Pick exactly who can access your documents.Edit your documents from anywhere.
Nothing to download — your browser is all you need.Store your documents securely online.
Offsite storage plus data backup every 10 seconds.Easy to use.
Clean, uncluttered screens with a familiar, desktop feel.
Signing up was simple, all I had to do was fill in my email and choose a password, and then go to my email inbox and verify it by visiting the link they sent me.
I was pointed to Writely.com by my good friend Chris who has been dealing with solicitors who insist on sending him info in word documents. Chris doesn’t have Word and doesn’t want it and so something like this is the ideal thing. By simply clicking on the upload button it is possible to upload Word documents, along with many other types of document files.
Writely is currently in beta mode and I’m sure there are some functions that will be altered at a later date such as saving to PDF [this may be part of a subsciption service, running alongside a free service], so it will be changing in the future. Oh and did I tell you that Writey is owned by Google??
One of the best features is the ability to save to either the desktop or online. I’ve had many times when I’ve had to email a document to myself just so that I could edit it at another location. This also means that if my computer breaks, gets a virus, blows up, whatever, I’ll still have access to my documents online, instead of having to try and salvage my hard-drive. It automatically saves but also keeps all the past revisions and lets you revert to these if you like [or if you've accidently deleted some important info].
Other features incude the ability to save your documents as posts on your blog, allowing others to view your documents, plus other ones that you can see by taking a tour.
Writely will work wherever you have access to the Internet via a Windows or Macintosh computer with one of these browsers:
- IE 5.5+ (Windows)
- Mozilla 1.4+, not including SeaMonkey (Mac & Windows)
- Firefox 1.5.0.6+ (Mac & Windows — except for 1.5b1 on the Mac!)
Writely is not supported, and probably won’t run on:
- IE 5 (Mac) or IE 4 (Windows)
- Netscape 4
- Opera
- Safari
- SeaMonkey
Why don’t you give it a go?
S-Video Cable 26 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Internet TV.5 comments
This is more of an update to the SopCast post, where I was telling you about getting TV on your PC, and is just a quick post to tell you how to get the image from your PC onto your actual TV.
I scoured a few forums to find out a bit more info and discovered that all I needed was an S-Video Cable [you will need to check that you actually have the correct sockets on your PC and your TV].
I ordered the cable from Lindy.com, which is my usual supplier for cables and it arrived 2 days later, which would be this morning. I plugged the cable into my laptop and my 32″ TV, and then scrolled through the different AV channels, but nothing happened!! Nothing would appear. I went back onto the forums and found out that I’d also have to change a few settings on my graphics card. I right-clicked on the desktop, went to properties, then settings, then advanced, and clicked on one of the tabs which gave me the option to allow the output to a televison.
The image from my laptop screen popped up on my TV, and I was able to catch the Liverpool vs West Ham game which was being streamed through SopCast. One minor problem was that the image from my laptop seems to be too large for the TV screen and so some cropping occurs, but I’m sure this can be sorted with a bit of fiddling with the settings.
cool eh?
Tesco DVD Rental 26 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Services.4 comments
Not really a software review today but more of an internet service review. A few weeks back I signed up for Tesco DVD Rental on a whim because they were offering 2 weeks free trial. I read through the terms & conditions and there were no catches and so I went for it. As an added bonus, I’m not quite sure how, I was given 3 weeks free trial!
Tesco DVD Rental is a subscription service, whereby DVDs are sent to you in the post, you watch them, return them via freepost, and then get a new batch of DVDs sent to you. It’s the same kind of deal that Blockbuster currently operates, and continues Tesco’s expansion into other areas. You can choose between receiving 1, 2, or 3 DVDs at a time and the pricing reflects this at either £7.97, £11.47, or £13.97 a month [which undercuts Blockbuster's prices.]
Tesco DVD Rental is an entertainment paradise for a reason: there are no late fees and no due dates. So feel free to watch the minute the title’s in your hand, or take your own good time to get around to it. Our business is based on making you happy, not charging you late fees. There are no hidden costs.
Signing up was relatively easy and after filling out a few simple forms I was told to make a selection of DVDs I would like to rent. You are asked to make quite a large list of DVDs you’d like to watch and these are sent out to you when they are available, although you are allowed to add a ‘priority’ note to 3 DVDs. This does mean that half the time you don’t know which DVDs you will be getting in the post, but maybe that’s half the fun of it, although it could mean that you’ll be waiting a long time for one particular film.
If you are really into films and have the time to watch quite a few films then I’d definitely recommend joining Tesco DVD Rental, and with the average DVD rental from a shop costing £3.13 overnight, then this service comes into its own, especially as there are no late fees, as in theory you could keep the same DVD for the length of your subsciption [although I wouldn't recommend it as it'd just be cheaper to buy it.]
If you fancy trying it then sign up at least for the free trial and just cancel and return the DVDs before the end of the 2 weeks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
e107 Content Management System 25 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Website CMS.13 comments
In the old days I used to design websites from scratch, creating the graphics in Photoshop, designing the actual site in Dreamweaver, and for other aspects such as forums, install separate programmes or use 3rd party services. It did all work fine but there was often a lot of hassle. I still use this for smaller, more personal websites, but when you want something bigger then it’s time to use a Content Management System [CMS], and the one I use is e107.
e107 is an opensource content management system written in php and using the popular open source mySQL database system for content storage. It’s completely free and totally customisable, and in constant development.
- High performance file-based caching
- Integrated News system and RSS Feed handling
- Simple to use and create template system
- Valid XHTML 1.1 Output
- Powerful Forums system integrated
- Easy to use Admin system
To install e107 you will need to have your own hosting with PHP and a MySQL database [I use 1&1 Business hosting], and after downloading the software you will have to upload e107 to your webspace, set a few file permissions, and then run the installation script [this is where you will need your MySQL info].
It is very simple and simple documentation is provided to help you throughout the process. Once everything is sorted, the fun can start and e107 will come into it’s element.
For your site you can choose various themes and a huge amount of plugins which will allow you to customise your site with galleries, forums, chatrooms, etc, and all this is controlled from your admin, and that’s why it’s a Content Management System. The main benefit of e107 is your control over membership of the site. You can either give access to everyone or restrict access to cetain areas depending on the visitor’s membership, and you can also give certain authorship rights too so that many people can contribute too. Of course you can also use the admin to send emails to members, thus avoiding having to set up an external mailing list.
I feel like I can’t actually do it justice, and the only real way is for you to try it out if you get the chance. I currently use it for my football club’s website, so have a browse at it.
Special thanks to Kev for introducing me to e107 via his e107 site.
Google MP3 Search 24 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Music.5 comments
I found this a while back on Swens Blog and it has come in handy when I’ve been looking for songs by a certain artist, and haven’t wanted to buy them from iTunes or elsewhere. Ok, this is another ‘dodgy’ post, but it’s something really simple that I thought I could share with you. Google MP3 Search is actually some java script which searches through the unsecured folders and directories available of the net and finds mp3s [now updated to find wma & ogg files too] of the artist you searched for. Obviously you are not going to find their entire back catalogue on there and will normally just get a few tracks if any, but hey you can’t complain and it is good for getting a taster of a few tracks before going out and buying the music.
Basically it’s a much better way than just typing into the Google searchbox and hoping something useful will arise, although you will still get some void links filtered through.
The best thing about it is its simplicity, and it can be neatly tucked away by adding it to your ‘favorites’ or ‘bookmarks’ on your browser . I’ve just tried to insert the script into this post but have just found out that WordPress, and in particular PHP doesn’t really like javascript, so instead I’ll point you to the correct page on Swen’s Blog where he has the script running.
Click here for the Google MP3 Search
Feedreader – RSS aggregator 23 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in RSS.8 comments
I visit A LOT of blogs and websites, most of which are updated on a daily basis, if not more often, and I used to have to randomly visit from time to time to see if anything had changed, which whilst fun was also time consuming, and annoying when nothing had changed. If only there was a programme that could tell me whenever my favourite sites had updated.
This is where a feed aggregator, and in particular Feedreader, comes into play. The first step is to download Feedreader from here, and then install it. What now then? Well the vast majority of sites put out RSS feeds usually linked to icons such as 
, 
, or 
, and so visit your favourite site, copy the link from these icons, usually ending in either .rss or .xml, and then on the Feedreader programme click on ‘new’ and then ‘new feed’ and add the link. Now do this for all the sites you visit. I admit it may take a while but it’ll save you in the long run.
Feedreader is automatically configured to load at start-up, runs in the background and will check with servers to see if any of the feeds have updated, and will inform you with a simple pop-up when new articles are posted. Simple eh? [Click here for screeshots]
This may not be the most riveting programme, and ergo not a riveting review, but it is something that WILL save you time, and is something that I use. Of course, as with most things I review, it’s free!
SopCast – free internet TV 22 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Internet TV.23 comments
I’m going to start on a bit of a naughty one here because I’m not entirely sure of the legality of this programme, but I have been using it a fair bit lately, and so it’ll be included.
In their own words -
SoP is abbreviation for Streaming over P2P. Sopcast is the Streaming Direct Broadcast System based on P2P. The core is the communication protocol produced by Sopcast Team, which is named Sop://, or sop technology. Our goal is to let everyone in the world have a chance to set up their own on-line media world!
Cool eh?
I discovered SopCast by searching the internet for a programme that would stream live English Premiership matches to me… for free. In order to watch Football matches here in the UK you either have to subscribe to a satellite TV package or go to the local pub and hope they’re showing it, and so something that promised this to me would be quite a benefit. I was cautious at first and wasn’t sure if it would come up to scratch, but once I’d installed it I was very happy.
I downloaded a .zip file from here, unzipped it and ran the programme, following simple prompts, and in a few minutes I was presented with a stylish interface prompting me to login. I thought this could’ve been a stumbling block as I didn’t really want to register on something which as I’ve already mentioned could be slightly dodgy, but I was allowed to login anonymously and from there I was able to select TV channels.
There are quite a few channels on SopCast and I have to admit I’ve only looked at the sports channels, but with a simple click on the channel of choice a small screen pops up, and following about 30 seconds of buffering the picture becomes clear. A click of an icon to the bottom right of the screen transfers the channel to Windows Media Player to offer fullscreen viewing.
Some of the channels are streamed from Chinese TV, or from other nations, and if your internet connection is weak the picture quality can be reduced or won’t buffer, so I can’t guarantee that it’ll just be like watching normal TV, but at the end of the day you get access to channels you would otherwise have to pay for.
Of course the real bonus for me is the free football!! If it is something you are interested in then click here to find out which games are being televised on which channels.
The First Post 22 August, 2006
Posted by Adem in Random.6 comments
The web is full of amazing websites and programmes, and this site is for sharing them with you.
Although this blog is new, I am not new to blogging and have had another blog since May 2004, but decided to set up this one for something pretty close to my heart…. technology! You can read about this in the about section.
Well that’s the hard ‘first post’ out of the way and now for the interesting stuff. There are many useful websites and programmes on the web that have been around for a long time, and yet a lot of people don’t know about them, and so I’ll go through stuff i already know about and use, and then as I discover more things, add them to this site.
