Tour Wrist

Tour Wrist is a favorite of Macworld 2012. The application allows you to view panoramic views of various locations, all on your iPad and iPhone. From a hotel tour to being atop the Grand Canyon, Tour Wrist is a very fun application that shows a lot of potential as well. You can also add to Tour Wrist with your own content, making it an ever-evolving app with fresh information and panoramic views. Tour Wrist offers beautiful images that can be shared on various social networking websites. Best of all, Tour Wrist for iPhone and iPad is free on App Store.

iStopMotion<

Stop Motion is a video making past time for many people. Now, this fun video art is available on an iPad with iStopMotion. The application offers you with the landscape for creating the stop animation movie. iStopMotion movies can be saved on your camera roll and can also be posted to YouTube. The features that iStopMotion offers includes an overlay, which makes it easy to have a clean transition from your previous frame. iStopMotion is available for $5, and is available for iPad and iPhone models. The iPhone model does not have the overlay feature.

PocketInformantHD

PocketInformantHD is the application that allows you to see all that you have to do for the day, in one place. The application, different from other applications, pulls information from all parts of your iPad. This makes it your information hub, your mobile informant, for everything you have to get done. From your iPad contacts to the calendar events in your iCal, everything you need to find is found in PocketInformantHD. The application allows for various calendar views as well as Google Calendar support. PocketInformantHD is available for $14.99 on the App Store. PocketInformantHD is available for iPad devices only.

MacPractice Clipboard

MacPractice Clipboard won’t be on my device, but it’s something I feel we should all find ourselves using sometime soon. MacPractice Clipboard makes you only have to fill out the new information needed, instead of filling out long forms. There are some issues that should be considered, including medical privacy and iPad availability. Once MacPractice Clipboard goes public, we can see the developer of the app to be a big name in app development. The medical industry going digital could be as much of an issue as the educational sector doing so. This application is one I’m quite excited about.

Appetites

Not a lot of recipe applications these days seem to be the complete fit for the aspiring chef in us all. Some offer great instructions but horrible choices. Others offer amazing recipes, but you may feel lost past step three. Appetites for iPhone hopes to offer great recipes, at dead simple step-by-step instructions that are almost fool proof. Take it as if Appetities is your inexpensive cooking class you can take anywhere. The application offers informative videos that make each recipe a breeze. If you want additional recipes, more are available that range from $0.99 to $1.99. Appetites costs $4.99.

Splashtop Presenter

If you have ever found yourself having to present a presentation, there are many instances that can go wrong. From a malfunction to multimedia not being supported on the system, powerpoints can sometimes not go well. However, without a clicker, one of the most hangups about presentations has to continually click for the next slide. Splashtop offers many features that create an interactive and easy presentation. You can control the slides; annotate each slide, and more with Splashtop. All you have to be is under the same WiFi signal. Splashtop is capable with Keynote, Microsoft PowerPoint, and more. Splashtop Presenter is available for the iPad at $19.99 on the App Store.

Abvio – Cyclemeter, Runmeter, Walkmeter

Abvio showed off three applications at Macworld 2012 this year. The first is Cyclemeter, allowing you to track the distance and time of your bicycle ride. You can find out speed and calories burnt from your bike ride, in the application as well. If you want to know how well you are doing, Cyclemeter can give audio announcements as you go on with your work out. You can view and improve your previous stats and even share on social networking websites, making it perfect for noting your progress.

Runmeter offers the same features as Cyclemeter, with a focus on running. Whether you are getting in shape or preparing for a marathon, Runmeter can be the application that helps with creating a worthwhile running experience. Walkmeter, with a focus on walking, allows you to view your stats focused on walking as well. All applications have the ability to see the map of your run as well. The Abvio applications are each available for $4.99 on the App Store. They all have support for iPhone and iPad.

Game Your Video

Very few people find video editing to be fun. Most individuals find it to be a process of video making that they’d rather live without. While there are many applications out there that promise easy editing, or even editing your video for you, very few make well on that promise. Game Your Video hopes to change the reputation that mobile video editing applications are bad. Game Your Video allows you to add the effects as you watch the video. You can spice up the video, add slow motion, and add filters to create a great product. Game Your Video is available for $0.99 and is compatible with iPhone and iPad.

1. Installing Stay Focused

It’s really as simple as downloading the plugin and giving it permission to access your browsing activity. Click “Install” and it will load to your Google Chrome browser.

2. Determine Your Distractions

In order for you to really stay focused, you will first need to determine what sites actually distract you. There are some obvious ones, like Facebook and Twitter that you could knock off right away but I bet there are some others you aren’t even aware of. The best way I have found to determine distractions, is to track them with RescueTime. This tool has helped me to regain my day and recognize sites and activities that were taking away from my productivity. The arrows show you where I have been spending unproductive time, so those are the sites I would choose to block in the next step.

 3.  Set Limits

Now that you have determined the root cause of your distractions, you can begin the process of setting the limits for those sites. Navigate to the sites you identify as a distraction for you, and do the following for each; Go to the top, right corner of your Google Chrome toolbar, you will see a blue circle (Is it me, or does it look like an eyeball??) Clicking on it will open the site settings window.

As you can see, I spend a lot of time on Twitter reading articles and promoting material. That’s not a bad thing, since it’s required for my job and important for my blog, but on days when I have a task list longer than the hours in the day, I need limits to help me stay on task. By default, Stay Focused allows you 10 minutes to browse the sites you add to your blocked list, which is plenty of time to send a few Tweets and read a few posts without eating up any of your productivity. You can change the amount of time you are allotted by right clicking the Stay Focused icon. When you navigate to the site, you will notice the icon has turned from blue to red. If you open it, you will see the remaining time you have to visit that site. It doesn’t have to be used all at once, so you may feel less likely to cheat if you break it up and do a little all day.

4. Settings & Options

Your not always working, so you can adjust the settings to only limit or block sites during your designated work hours. Right click on the Stay Focused icon, and scroll down to “Active Days” and mark the boxes you want the settings to be active. Note that you can’t tun it off for the current day, so make sure you turn off the weekends ahead of time!

Next, you will want to set the hours you want to block out distraction for each day. In the same window, scroll to “Active Hours” and set your workday hours in the boxes. Note that any changes you make to the hours, won’t take effect for 24 hours. The delay in changes will take away the temptation to stretch the time you are allowed to browse.

If you’re allowing yourself too much browsing time within your limits, your still not going to get anything done. Some of you might need to enable the Nuclear setting! It will block every site except for specifically allowed sites for a specified period of time. To enable it, scroll to “The Nuclear Option” and enable the settings you want. Again, there is no way to cancel this once it is enabled.

If you made a resolution to be more organized and productive in 2012, give this a try and see if it helps you to Stay Focused!

Image credit: Education by Big Stock Photo

1. iXpense Lite

iXpense Lite is one of the best available apps for the iPhone if you are looking forward to saving some money and keeping a record of your receipts and expenses on-the-go.

iXpense Lite allows users to store up to 100 expense records, which can easily be created in a touch on-the-go.

You can also notify iXpense Lite to remind you of your upcoming bills so you pay them on the date and never have to worry about giving the penalty for late payment. The user can also store receipts by either manually entering the data, or by capturing a photo of the receipt.

One of the best features of the app is the expense summary that can be created to show your monthly average expense, average expense per day and top expense of the month.

Multi-currency support makes it easier for users to keep records in their local currency. All of this personal data can be password protected for privacy.

iXpense Lite

2. Spending

Spending uses an easy-to use, user-friendly interface for data logging all your expense records that can be made easily in a few taps.

Just use the “Add Income” and “Add Expense” button to add your income earned or expense to your daily report. At the end of the month, you can get a summary of your past expenses and income earned to know just how much you spend and how much you earned and how much you were left with.

Spending also has an auto-generating recurring expense and income entries (such as electricity bills, rent, etc). The app also supports multiple currencies.

Spending

3. Expensify

Expensify is rated as one of the best apps available if you are looking for a FREE expense management app for the iPhone.

Expensify makes the whole process of expense management a piece of cake by allowing the users to sync the app with their credit cards and bank accounts, after which the app will automatically track purchases as they happen – and automatically track expenses.

For any other purchase, you can use the in-built function in Expensify to take a snapshot of the receipt after which the app will automatically act as a receipt scanner.

A manual system is also present inside the app to add any other expenses for which are not tracked or do not come with a receipt of sale/purchase.

The expense report can be emailed to the user if he/she wants by providing an e-mail address.

Expensify

4. Pocket Expense Lite

Pocket Expense Lite is a great free and easy to use finance and expense tracking app available for the iPhone. You can easily enter your accounts inside the Pocket Expense Lite and keep a track on the accounts, and even get a statistic report for daily/weekly/monthly or yearly expense report.

Let Pocket Expense Lite know when you have to pay your bills and the app will automatically remind you. It also comes with an auto-generating ability for recurring bills and payments.

The password protection feature allows users to password protect their data and even allows them to backup their data and restore the data over WiFi.

Pocket Expense Lite

5. Fresh Xpense Capture

Fresh Xpense Capture is an app that allows users to quickly capture expenses and photos of receipts and send them to your account on Xpenser.com

All of this can be done offline and does not even require an active Internet connection, as you can easily capture expenses, receipts and mileage anytime using your iPhone.

You can use the online Xpenser.com website to manage your expense PDF report.

Fresh Xpense Capture

These five apps available for the iPhone will help you massively as you keep a track of your expense and try and save more money. In addition, as the apps are on the iPhone you can enter the data on the go and never worry about loosing your receipts.

Image credit: Budgeting Your Money by Big Stock Photo

Hardware Capabilities

Microsoft Windows 7 Phone hasn’t done much in the department of hardware, and the other two competitors – iOS and Android – have far surpassed anything Microsoft came up with on that phone. Apple’s iOS has dual-core compatibility, for example, and so does Android. In fact, Android goes a step further, allowing for peripheral memory like microSD. Windows 7 Phone had none of this, and both will be integrated in Windows 8. That will put it ahead of iOS and right on par with Android. This basically means that you’ll be able to see smoother video playback and great response time, as well as the possibility for additional memory.

Mobile Payment

The latest craze with QR codes is making Microsoft hop in on the action and integrate mobile payment capabilities, but this time without any “Wallet” applications. Instead, Microsoft wants to play by the rules and integrate a carrier-based wallet system that will allow a carrier to brand it as much as it wants. In theory, this will be better than any other mobile payment feature out there so far.

Desktop Portability

There’s good news for aspiring Windows 8 Phone developers: The application programming interface (API) in Windows 8 Phone will be similar to that of the desktop environment, allowing for easy portability within desktop and phone environments. For users, this means that some of your desktop apps in Windows will be able to run on your Windows Phone, as long as they don’t use third-party frameworks that are not compatible with the phone itself. A developer can integrate a mobile and desktop running version into the same application without having to create a separate project. This obviously would work well for those who don’t make such bulky apps.

How Many Apps?

Many people ask me, “But how many apps will Windows 8 have?” That obviously can’t be controlled by Microsoft, since it’s up to third-party developers to create apps, but Microsoft says that they’ll have 100,000 apps on market by the time they release Windows 8 Phone. Let’s see if they keep their word.

Opinions? Questions? Rants? Let it out in the comments section!

The Script

Using a Bash script is the easiest way to clear your history. You can have it do nearly anything you could want. Since the point is to clear your recent items, we’ll make a script that will delete the files.

To do this, open gedit and use the following commands to create the script:

#!/bin/bash 
## Clear recently accessed files
rm -f ~/.recently-used.xbel
rm -f ~/.recently-used.xbel.*
rm -f ~/.local/share/recently-used.xbel
rm -f ~/.local/share/recently-used.xbel.*

This is very simple and removes the recently used items from most GTK-based programs. If you want to go another step and remove thumbnails as well, that’s just one line of code away. Just add:

rm -rf ~/.thumbnails/*

Once you have that done, it should look like this:

Now, just save the file as something like clearhistory.sh. The .sh extension signifies that it is a shell script. To make it executable, right-click on the file and open the “Properties” window. In the Permissions tab, check to box next to where it says “Allow executing file as program“.

Click “Close”, and you’re done.

Placing The Script

If you only want this available to you, on demand, you can either keep it as a file or put the file somewhere safe and keep it as a menu entry. If you want to keep the script itself hidden, create a hidden folder in your home folder like .MyScripts. Be sure to start the folder name with a period to make it hidden by default. Put the file in there.

TIP: You can show/hide hidden folders like these by pressing CTRL+H in Nautilus.

To create a menu entry for it, open your applications menu and find the Main Menu program.

Click on the Category or menu folder you want it to be in on the left, click New Entry and fill in the information. It can be ran either as an application or from the terminal. You can choose this from the first drop-down menu. It does the same thing either way, except you will see a terminal window flash if you select Application in Terminal. You can also give it an icon by clicking on the launcher icon in the upper-left corner of the window.

Now, type in the path to where you put the file. If it is located somewhere in your home folder, you can start the path with “~” like ~/.MyScripts/clearhistory.sh. You can also add a comment to the launcher so you can remember exactly what it does. The comment is displayed as a tooltip where it applies. When you are finished, it should look something like this:

Click OK to close and save the new menu item, and you can close the menu editor. Now, it will be available to you in the application menu. That means you can also add it to your favorites if you want it to be even easier to get to.

Automatically Clear Your History

If you would rather have your history items cleared automatically, place the script in ~/.config/autostart. Everything in this folder will run automatically every time you login. This takes the effort out of the process. However, if you only put it here, it will not be cleared in the middle of any session, so if you want to still be able to do it manually, you can have the menu entry point to the script in the autostart folder.

Another thing to note is that this will only work for the current user. If you have multiple user accounts you want to do this with, you would have to place the file and menu entry in the same way in any other accounts you want it available in. Or, you can have it done automatically at shutdown, which can easily clear the history system-wide.

System-wide On Shutdown

This part is a little more involved, but it can also simplify the process if you want to use it on multiple accounts. To start, open the Run command by pressing ALT+F2 and type:

gksudo gedit /etc/init.d/clearallhistory.sh

This will open gedit as root so you can save the file to the system directory. You can also name the file something other than clearallhistory.sh if you like, but remember to keep the .sh extension. You can copy the code from the original script and change it from there by changing ~/ to /home/*/ like this:

#!/bin/bash
## Clear recently accessed files and thumbnails
rm -f /home/*/.recently-used.xbel
rm -f /home/*/.recently-used.xbel.*
rm -f /home/*/.local/share/recently-used.xbel
rm -f /home/*/.local/share/recently-used.xbel.*
rm -rf /home/*/.thumbnails/*

The asterisk (*) is used as a wildcard, so it will follow all paths in the /home/ folder to remove the history files. Once you have the code in place, save and close.

Now, you need to open the terminal to do the rest of this part. First, you need to make the script executable. Since it’s in the system directory, you can’t do it as a standard user, so that is why the terminal is being used here. Type the command:

sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/clearallhistory.sh

This will set the script as executable and you can continue. Now you need to link it to the proper places by using these commands:

sudo ln -sf /etc/init.d/clearallhistory.sh /etc/rc0.d/S10clearallhistory.sh
sudo ln -sf /etc/init.d/clearallhistory.sh /etc/rc6.d/S10clearallhistory.sh

This puts a link to the file in the folders of things that are automatically ran on shutdown and restart. You will notice that in the rc0.d and rc6.d folders, the file name starts with “S10″. This is because the scripts in this folder are ran in order of their filenames. The lower the number, the earlier it is ran. By default, Ubuntu ships with scripts starting at S20 in these folders.

If you decide to edit this script in the future, you will only need to do so to /etc/init.d/clearallhistory.sh because the other two locations are only linked to this one.

Specific Users On Shutdown

If you don’t want the history cleared from all accounts on shutdown, you will still use the above process, but you will need to change the script a bit. Instead of using the * wildcard, you will need to create a new command for each user you want cleaned. Each command should look something like this:

rm -f /home/josh/.recently-used.xbel
rm -f /home/amanda/.recently-used.xbel

This should be repeated for every command you want ran on each account you want it ran on.

Conclusion

Whatever your reason for wanting a clean history on your computer, this will make it work for you. If you followed the entire process, you should now have the script in the autostart folder in your profile, in the application menu, and in the shutdown/restart scripts folders.

Does this work for you, or do you want another method? Maybe you already have another method. Let us know what you have to say in the comments.

Most of the photo editing apps just don’t seem complete enough. Filterstorm is the exception to that rule. It has more options than I would probably ever use, and is definitely the most complete photo-editing I have seen for iOS, to the point that I think my daughter, a photography student, would be able to make great use of it.

Right out of the box, Filterstorm gives you more options than you’d have with other photo editing apps. Instead of just offering you options to import photos from your iOS device, it also allows you to paste in a copied photo. When you’re done, you can close it out, as it doesn’t automatically close after you export it. In the settings icon with an exclamation point on it, is the EXIF metadata, showing all the particulars of how the photo was originally taken.

After choosing the desired image, going to the Canvas tab allows for the standard cropping and scaling options, as we all as rotate, flip, and straighten. Additionally, pictures can also be scaled to fit a particular size. This was a 4 x 6 shot that I was scaling to fit a 5 x 7 frame.

Additionally, you can set a background canvas color and size, and also apply borders. I initially applied a white border here and had it add the text. I could have added that to the bottom or the top, and could also choose the size and color.

Right about now, you’re thinking many photo-editing aps do all this. And yes some of them do, but this part of the process is where Filterstorm seems to go the extra mile. Instead of just adjusting the brightness and contrast, you can apply it to only half the screen initially so that you can get a side-by-side comparison. Additionally, you can apply this to the whole image, or to a mask that you set up. In fact, most of the filters can be applied in a mask.

There are so many more filters that can be applied and/or adjusted than just brightness and contrast. Non-photographers won’t have a use for all of them, as it’s similar to the options in Photoshop. I eventually brightened the photo, adjusted the contrast, sharpened the image, and played around with the hue and saturation.

Text can be added to an image as well, with an infinite number of options. You can set the color and the font, and can also set the transparency of the text. Unlike some apps, the color options are infinite, as they can be applied in RGB or off a color wheel, instead of just having a certain number of colors to choose from. Just like with the other filters, the text can also be applied in a mask.

Initially I got a little discouraged with the text, as I couldn’t find an “undo.” I couldn’t find a way to take the text out once I’d added it and saved it. What I was missing is this menu option that looks like a clock face. It allows you to step back to different points in your processing, whether it’s to jump back one step or two steps, or to go all the way back to the beginning.

The exporting options go further than other apps do as well. While you can export to your photo library and email, you can also export to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, FTP, SFTP, and Dropbox. You can set and save the export options to automate the process more, as you are most likely always exporting to the same places.

In fact, you can automate much of the processing in Filterstorm. This is great for doing batches of photos. However, doing this takes away the fun of playing with the photos and discovering new options. In the meantime, I’m deleting all the other photo apps I have on my iPhone and iPad, as this one does it all, or at least all that I need.

Filterstorm

1. XBox Will Move More Into Streaming Video and TV Entertainment

Microsoft has been striking deals left and right to improve its XBox Live service and implement the ability to view TV shows and films through its interface. So far, Microsoft has managed to pull Netflix and Hulu in, giving a “nearly complete” streaming experience on the device that people once used chiefly to play games. The XBox Live update also allowed a more complete entertainment-based interface that allows you to navigate the web through the Kinect or your smart phone. Here’s a video preview of XBox Live’s Kinect update:

2. Windows 8 ARM-Based Tablets

This is a rather controversial move for Microsoft, especially since Windows tablet fans were used to the power-hungry non-ARM devices. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for many others, that’s about to change, and Microsoft will be releasing Windows 8 within ARM-based tablets. The Metro interface and other low-power applications will help compensate for the lack of electrical power usage that normally would drain the battery in 2 hours. There’s a handful of people who are patiently awaiting this change and hoping to get their hands on one of these tablets, while others believe that Microsoft is too late in the game since Apple has already released a highly superior iOS tablet: the iPad. Likewise, Microsoft is going to have to re-enter the tablet market making sure that everything works up to snuff. Otherwise, the overwhelming amount of competition will devour any hope it had of making a comeback.

Here’s a video demonstrating the Windows 8 tablet at CES 2012:

3. More Windows Phones

With the new “Mango” update for Windows 7 Phone in September, 2011, the mobile operating system has since attracted the attention of major phone makers like Samsung. We’re expecting, in 2012, to see an uptick in the amount of Windows phones available in a broader market. Still, as in the case of Windows tablets, Microsoft is making a comeback a bit too late, since many users are already loyal to Apple’s iPhone 4 & 4S.

4. Mobile-Ish Interfaces in Desktop Computers

Microsoft is taking a number from Apple’s “Mountain Lion” interface, which integrates mobile tablet characteristics into a desktop computer. The difference between both the Metro and Mountain Lion interface, though, is that Mountain Lion works with an external touch interface, while Microsoft is integrating the whole nine yards into your computer’s display panel. The much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system will include all touch features seen in Windows 7, but with a twist: The interface will have an uncanny resemblance to a Windows 8 tablet interface, giving you the mobile look and feel you love in tablets within your desktop environment. Watch the video below and notice the striking similarity between Windows 8′s tablet and desktop interfaces:

To solve this dilemma, there are Android applications available that can help easily clean out your phone with a couple of clicks. They may go by different names; system cleaners, history erasers or even cache cleaners. They usually do the same thing. Below are a couple of examples. It may not be a bad idea in most cases to power cycle your Android phone after you do any cleaning.

1. History Eraser

History Eraser is a very simple to use Android application that will help you eliminate a bunch of unwanted clutter. By eliminating information like your frequently called list, your Android Market searches, Gmail search history and lots of others, you can free up a good amount of usable space.

History Eraser is the only one on the list that gives you the option to do anything with SMS and MMS messages. If you are a high volume text and picture messenger, you could benefit from this feature.

2. Android System Cleaner

Android System Cleaner cleans out a bit more than just your history. There are 3 tabs to this application: Process Clean, Cache Clean and History Clean.

The Cache Clean and the History Clean will erase residual application information. The Process Clean is a little different though. If you have an application that is hanging up or even slowing down your phone, you can run this to help un-stick it. You will likely see some of the speed return to your device.

Android System Cleaner gives you the most flexibility in what you can clean out on your Android phone. If you are looking for a more full featured system cleaner, this would be it.

3. Smart Cleaner

Smart Cleaner adds even more options to clear information. On top of the history, cache and process files, you can also choose to clear Temporary Internet Files and even downloaded file caches. Being able to independently choose what you want to erase is helpful in a troubleshooting and space management scenarios.

There are not really any settings for Smart Cleaner. When you select what you want to clean and click the Clean button, Smart Cleaner does its thing. Simple is good.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the possible options to free up space on your Android phone. Regular maintenance of your Android phone will help keep it running in tip-top condition. If you have limited space and don’t want to root your Android, keeping an eye on your available space is a task you will have to get used to doing.

How do you keep your Android in tip-top shape?

intro image: Cleaning by Big Stock Photo.

Launching Launch Pad

There are two ways to launch the Launchpad. The first way is to click on the application in the dock. The Launchpad application is next to the Finder application. The second way to launch Launchpad is to take your first four fingers, place them all apart on the track pad, and then spread all four fingers together. Once launched, Launchpad is very simple to use. Simply take your first two fingers and slide the track pad from right to left to navigate the pages. Using a mouse? Simply click and drag to navigate. One of the most important component of Launchpad are the folders.

Launchpad Folders

Launchpad folders, like on iOS, are simply folders where you are able to keep related applications in one place. Creating a folder is very simple to do. All you have to do is take an application, drag it on top of the other application, and there you go. To rename the application, simply launch the folder and click on the folder’s name to edit it. To move around applications, click until it moves, then drag the application to the location or folder you choose. Want the application to be deleted from your Mac completely? Very easy to do so on Launchpad.

Goodbye Applications

Find an application that you want to delete from your Mac? It’s very easy to do through Launchpad. To do so, simply click until it moves, then click the “X” on the application’s icon. Then, you will be given a prompt warning you that the application will be completely deleted. If this is your intent, then click “Delete” to finalize it. This, even with the prompt, could have been a mistake for you. If this is the case, or if you find yourself needing the application again, the application will be available in the App Store. Even if you paid for it, as long as you are signed in under the Apple ID used when downloading.

Conclusion

As I’ve mentioned before, the usefulness of Launchpad largely depends on the user. Some people may like how you can see all of the applications in one place, allowing the dock to stay less cluttered. While more seasoned Mac users will find the need to take the initiative to launch the application makes it useless. Either way, the concept is great, but a majority of users will find use in it if only it were more centralized as a program they needed to use (as is the case with docks).

Preparation

If you are not comfortable with compiling from source code, you should probably avoid this tutorial. I have not seen any other method available to do the job.

The first thing to do is enable the source code repository. In Ubuntu, you can do this by opening your application menu and search for Software Sources. Here, all you need to do is check the box for “Source Code” and click close. This will enable the source code repositories along with some other features that will help you along the way.

Open your home directory and create a new folder. For the purpose of this tutorial, I’ll call it “nautilus-custom“. Now, it’s time to open the terminal and do the rest of the work.

Since all we did in with the Software Sources editor was enable the Source Code repository, the repository listing still needs to be updated, so run:

sudo apt-get update

Move to the “nautilus-custom” folder before downloading the source:

cd nautilus-custom

Now that it’s updated, we need to download the source code for nautilus. This part does not need to be done as root, so you won’t need to use “sudo” in the command:

apt-get source nautilus

It will download the source packages for Nautilus and you will see some text flowing. Once it is finished, you may want to check to make sure that the source package was extracted by going into the nautilus-custom folder in your file manager. There should be a folder in there called “nautilus-3.2.1″, or whatever version is current. If it is not there, right-click on the “nautilus_3.2.1.orig.tar.bz2″ file and click “Extract Here”. That will extract the source files in the “nautilus-3.2.1″ folder I mentioned.

Compiling

Back to the terminal. If you haven’t compiled anything from source before, you will need some extra packages installed to allow you to do so. Even if you have compiled from source before, you should probably run this to make sure you have everything needed to compile Nautilus.

sudo apt-get build-dep nautilus

That installs everything needed to compile Nautilus. Now that you have everything needed, it’s time to move to the source code folder. You should already be in the “nautilus-custom” folder in the terminal, so you can use:

cd nautilus-3.2.1

The folder will be named differently if it is a different version, so it could be “nautilus-3.2.5″ in the future. Change the command accordingly. The code needs to be changed slightly to move the navigation buttons to the left. You neeNautilusNav-buttonsd to open the source file for the toolbar:

gedit src/nautilus-toolbar.c

You can either scroll down to line 132 (in version 3.2.1), or search for “gtk_toolbar_insert (GTK_TOOLBAR (self->priv->toolbar), item, 0)” (without quotes). At the end of that line, it has a “0″. Change it to a “2″, as in this picture:

Save the file and close Gedit. Now, it’s time to compile and install.

The first step in compiling the source code is to configure the build:

./configure --prefix=/usr

Than to build it:

make

Since in can’t be installed while it is already running (which could cause some problems), you need to stop all nautilus processes:

sudo killall nautilus

Installing

Now to install:

sudo make install

Once it finishes, it’s time to check that it worked:

nautilus &

The navigation buttons should be on the left side like this:

To prevent problems, you should either logout and back in, or just restart the computer. If at some point you want the navigation buttons moved back to the right side, just run:

sudo apt-get --reinstall install nautilus

That will install the stock Nautilus from the Ubuntu repositories. If Nautilus gets updated with the regular software updates, you will lose the positioning, so you will need to repeat this process every time for future versions.

Conclusion

This isn’t exactly a convenient way to do this job, but hopefully it will become an option in either the standard settings or even with Ubuntu Tweak in the near future.

Did this work for you? Do you have an easier way to do it? Let us know in the comments.

If you’re one of the unlucky souls who has stumbled into this issue after an Internet Explorer 8 update, then I’ve got a few different things you can try to get your system back up and running without a full system reinstall. The first thing that you’ll need to do is locate a version of “iertutil.dll” that is applicable to your version of Internet Explorer. I’m going to act on the assumption that the vast majority of you have just attempted the upgrade to Internet Explorer 8, and you may download that file from here. It’s worked for all the systems I have restored so far.

Now, the question is how best to get this file back on your problematic system. The file itself needs to be copied into the system32 folder within your Windows folder. That is usually “C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32″

The Simplest Option

1. Burn the above file to a CD.

2. Boot into Windows, hit OK when you get the “iertutil.dll” error and then press CTRL-SHIFT-ESCAPE. This should bring up the task manager. You may continue to receive errors while doing this, but just keep clicking OK. Then click File, Run…, and type in CMD and hit Enter.

3. You should now be at a command prompt. Change to your CD drive by typing its drive letter. So to change to drive D: you would simply type “D:” and hit Enter.

4. Copy the iertutil.dll file from the CD to your hard drive by typing

copy iertutil.dll C:\windows\system32

and hit Enter. Obviously change drive letters as appropriate.

5. Reboot and the problem should be fixed.

Web Browser Option

If the above steps do not work, or the system does not have a CD drive, you should be able to run a browser from task manager, as long as you have something other than Internet Explorer installed. That is, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome both work when “iertutil.dll” is missing, although you may continue to get errors. Again, browse to this article and click this link to download the dll file. If you try to click “Save as” it will probably crash, so you will need to save to the default location and then browse to it using the command prompt as per the previous instructions.

Windows 7 Boot CD Option

If the other approaches are not workable for some reason, another option is to use a Windows 7 boot DVD and get to the recovery console. From here, you can connect a USB stick and transfer the file across in a similar fashion.

If all of the above fails or if you have any questions please post below and I will do my best to assist you. It’s a frustrating problem, and do keep in mind that in some extreme scenarios you may need to run a full system repair installation.

Image credit: Grunge Office Stamp – Error by Big Stock Photo

The new Ubuntu, Fedora and all other major Linux distributions relies heavily on upgraded hardware. Gnome 3 and Unity both used 3D hardware acceleration. It seems that with time the major Linux distributions will focus more on utilizing the best of hardware capabilities and running these OS will require good hardware configuration. But what about your good old computer that is low on RAM, disk space, cache memory? Is it time to dispose them because you do not have good operating system to run on it? No, not at all. The beauty of Linux is that it has something for everyone. And in this post we will see some really lightweight Linux operating System that can be run on your grandma’s computer (pun intended, no offense to your grandma and her computer).

1. Puppy Linux:

Like the name suggests, it is a cute little adorable puppy. This highly popular Linux distro is equally lightweight as well. It is available in various sizes with maximum up to 100 MB in total. It can be easily installed on CD and USB drive. It can be run on a computer with as low as Pentium II processor and with 128 MB ram. Amazing isn’t it? Despite of that it has most of the functionalities of a major Linux distro.

 2. SliTaz:

SliTaz perfectly fits the proverb “good things come in small packages”. With a total download size of less than 30 MB, it provides the basic functionalities of not only desktop but a server as well. A growing community is always there to provide support. The lightweight has different variants that can even ran from a computer with a memory as low as 16 MB. The maximum RAM requirement for any version is less than 200 MB. With its full features, it is ideal for low-end netbooks.

 3. Damn Small Linux:

Damn Small Linux is a mini Linux variant with a size of less less than 50 MB. Starting from a RAM size of as low as 16 MB it can be run at its full capacity on a 128 MB RAM with blazing fast speed. It can be run from a live CD, USB drive and from inside Windows (wow). It also has server capabilities with SSH/FTP and HTTPD and can be run from live CD. It comes with a decent number of application that can be needed in basic OS. When installed on hard disk, it can be used as a Debian OS.

4. Zenix:

A beautiful Debian based Linux OS Zenix requires RAM as little as 60 MB and runs flawlessly with a RAM of 128 MB. It comes with quite decent application package and its stunning killer looks give it an edge over others. Like others, it can also be run in live environment from a CD drive or a USB.

5. The Floppy Linux:

There is no Linux distro with the name “Floppy Linux”. What? Then why did I put it here? Well, Floppy Linux a category of Linux distributions that can be run from, hold your heart, a floppy drive. Yes, the same obsolete floppy drive which you saw years back and the children of this generation have seen only in books and these are the Linux OS which can be used on your grandma’s computer (literally). Providing really basic functions of an operating system, even wireless connectivity, these OS rely heavily on command line while being low on GUI part. The main “floppy linux” are:

• Mu Linux
• Fd Linux
• Basic Linux

These floppy Linux are boon for dying computer with old-age hardware and give you a reason not to throw away the decades old computer.

What do you think? Are these  Linux OS reason good enough not to throw your old-box in trash? Do let us know. Please do subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated with latest tips and tricks. Cheers :)

It now comes as a standard app with iOS 5, and if upgraded from a previous iOS, it’s just a simple download. It used to be both limiting and complicated, requiring a subscription to MobileMe, but now it just works along with iCloud, another iOS 5 freebie.

Before even using the Find the iPhone app, you have to make sure it’s turned on in the Settings app, regardless of whether you are using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. In the sidebar, find iCloud, then at the bottom of all those internal apps, you will see Find My iPhone. This needs to be set to On.

Once you open up the Find My iPhone app, you will need to sign in with your Apple ID and password. If you have never used iCloud yet, you will need to set up an account that first time with your Apple ID and password, then sign in with it. You will need to use the same  Apple ID over all the devices you plan to track.

Immediately after signing in, the app locates your device, whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Hopefully you’re astute enough to know where the device in your hands is and don’t need that type of information.

This particularly comes in handy if you have more than one device, meaning any combination of iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Once you have signed into to all the devices by turning them on in the Settings and adding in your Apple ID and password, they will come up in this listing.

Now that you found your device, you can either send a message to it or lock it from unwanted hands. The message can either be all text or a sound. Additionally, you can have the device locked up remotely, or you can also completely wipe the device. However, the warning stipulates that after it’s wiped, it no longer can be located, so it should be used as a last-ditch effort.

Those with only one device don’t need to worry. They can still use Find My iPhone. If you log on to icloud.com/find on the Internet, you can use Find My iPhone, as well as other apps in iCloud. It should be noted that it won’t allow you to log on to this on an iPad and will then need to use the app.

Choosing the Find My iPhone app online, it works very much the same way as the iOS 5 app. It shows a list of your devices and where they are located, and gives you the same options from this point as well.

The Find My iPhone app has always provided peace of mind, but with the changes that have allowed it to become a native app for iOS 5, it’s now easier to use and much more universal.

You don’t have to go through the tedious form-filling process that those older online radios welcomed their users with. You can start right away by logging in with your Twitter or Facebook account.

Once you are in, you will be presented with a wall full of tracks trending across the network. The interface is quite a nice looking one with clear indications to the user about what it has to offer. As you click on any song thumbnail, it will start buffering and in time will start playing. Also the whole list (the Overall Trending for this one) will be added to the song playing queue. All you need to do now is sit back and enjoy the music. Hover over the title and you can browse through the trending tracks based on other choices.

Exploring Music

Choose the Explore tab from the left hand navigation, you will land onto the “Site of the day” section where the service promotes a site depending on popularity, freshness etc. Look out for the play button to tune in to the songs from the site.

Now notice the top navigation where other options are available to browse music on Ex.fm. The genres menu has all the common ones and also includes some less-used ones (dubstep, shoegaze etc) too.

Just like the featured website, you can extend your exploring with the featured album. Similarly, when you click on any song, the whole list (the featured album in this case) is added to the playlist.

“Tastemakers” in true sense, are the people the site thinks has a good understanding of music. And if you wish to find what they refer, scroll down the list and follow the folks of your choice.

Monthly Mixtape again is a featured section showcasing a mix created by a notable Ex.fm user (probably someone who features in the Tastemakers list) . Check out the mix if you are too lazy to go and create your own playlist.

“Latest loved” section displays a list of songs loved by users across the Ex.fm network.

A Player for Music blogs

If you are an webmaster and want your pageviews to be more musically pleasing, you can offer your visitors with embedded media player that plays the songs you loved or some randomly chosen by Ex.fm. The fact that the player has a plugin for WordPress (and support for Tumblr and Blogger) is even more satisfying. You have the options to customize the look and feel of the player to match your theme. There are badges to show off your ex.fm madness.

As I had already said, the service is quite visually pleasing. The streaming is seamless unless you have a really slow Internet connection. As the web interface enthralls you, the iPhone and Android Ex.fm apps will keep the music going even when you are on the go and the browser extensions just fill in the gap. Sharing being the new cool thing, you get one click sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Last.fm. Most of all, your music browsing experience is bound to get new dimensions. I know you are enjoying already, aren’t you? Put in your thoughts.

Why is this so?

Most older Android phones are using the USB block mode to connect to your computer. In this mode, the computer will see your phone’s SD card as a USB device and mounts it as one. The bad thing about this USB block mode is that once your SD card is mounted in the computer, it won’t be functional in the phone. Any app that depends on the SD card will fail to work during the time when your device is connected to the computer.

The Galaxy Nexus (and several other Android tablets) uses the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) which has several advantages over the USB block mode. The greatest benefit is that it allows you to use the whole (internal) partition for apps, music, media, photos, etc and not have the hardware manufacturers allocate for you the storage amount for your apps and photos.

Ubuntu doesn’t come pre-installed with support for MTP, that’s why you can’t get your computer to see the phone after you have plugged it into the USB port.

gMTP is a simple MP3 and Media player client for MTP-based device. It provides a GUI for you to mount your Galaxy Nexus and transfer files in/out of it. We will need to compile some code in the process. Follow the steps below and you will be fine.

1. Open a terminal. Install libusb-dev

sudo apt-get install libusb-dev

2. We are going to need a copy of the libmtp file. The version in the Ubuntu repo is outdated, so we need to download the latest version of libmtp here. (For your info, I am using libmtp-1.1.2.tar.gz).

3. Extract the libmtp file to your Home folder. Back to the terminal:

cd libmtp-1.1.2
./configure --prefix=/usr
make
sudo make install

This will compile and install the libmtp file.

4. Lastly, install gMTP

sudo apt-get install gmtp

Now, plug in your Galaxy Nexus and open gMTP. Press the Connect button. If successful, you should see the SD card folder of your Galaxy Nexus. You can now transfer files using the Add/Download button.

Note:

1. Even if it is connected in gMTP, your device won’t appear in the File Manager. You can manage your files transfer only in the gMTP GUI.

2. When attempting to download files from your phone, it will return an error saying the file is not found. This is because the default Download path has been to set to “/” (root) and you have no permission to write to the root folder. To change this, simply open the Preferences and change the Download path to “/home/username” or any other path that you desire.

That’s it.

Q: My Computer Has a Blue Screen (BSOD) And It’s New, What Happened?

A: The first two things that come to mind:

• Did the installed operating system come with your computer, or did you install your own? Try using the default operating system the computer came with.
• Did you install any new drivers since you purchased the computer? Try booting in safe mode (press F8 just before Windows starts loading) and rolling back your drivers.

If you did neither, attempt to reinstall the operating system on the computer. If this doesn’t work, chances are that you were shipped a computer with faulty hardware. You must return it to the entity you bought it from for a replacement. They’ll understand. This kind of thing is not as rare as you might think it is.

Q: I Can Get to All Sites Except One, And I Tried All Sorts of Browsers. What Do I Do?

A: Usually, this isn’t a browser-related issue, so I’m afraid to say that the attempt was in vain. Windows has a DNS client service, which sometimes can cache the IP address of a website’s domain name. When that IP changes, it can still try to connect to the old IP erroneously. Another possibility is that your “hosts” file is faulty, and contains an old IP address for a particular domain name.

Here’s the trick. Go to “C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc” and right-click the “hosts” file you see there. Remember to replace “C” with your system drive’s drive letter and “Windows” with the Windows folder that pertains to your particular version of Windows. Open your “hosts” file with notepad and have a look at it. Do you see the website that wasn’t connecting? If you do, remove its entry in the file. Make sure you don’t delete anything else except the IP address (a sequence of four numbers separated by dots) and the domain name.

If you really need the “hosts” file to have that DNS entry for some reason, hold the “Windows” key on your keyboard (next to either “Alt” key) and press “R.” Type “cmd” in that window and press “Enter.”

Once in, type

nslookup domain.com

replacing “domain.com” with the domain name you want the IP address for. Type up the IP address you find under “Addresses” in “Non-Authoritative Answer” into your “hosts” file entry in place of the old IP address. That solves the problem. Here’s what your window should look like after a lookup:

If you didn’t find an entry in your “hosts file, you should restart the “DNS Client” service. Do that by following this path (Windows 7):

Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Services.

Find “DNS Client,” right-click it, and click “Stop.” Once stopped, right-click it and click “Start.”

Don’t rule out that the website could be down temporarily. Try it at a later time. Your best bet in finding out if the site is down is to ping the IP address of the site using “ping domain.com” on your command line, replacing “domain.com” with the domain you want to ping.

Q: I Am Trying to Set Up a Homegroup. I Can Start a Homegroup on Both My Networked Computers, But Can’t Join a Computer’s Homegroup. What Do I Do?

A: First of all, do this only if both computers are connected to the same router/switch. With different routers, you might run into a subnetting issue. Second of all, you can run into problems when attempting to join the homegroup of a computer after creating one on the other one as well. Leave the homegroup on both, restart the computers, create a homegroup on one computer, and try joining it on your remaining PC. If it doesn’t see the homegroup or can’t join for some reason, try restarting the second computer again.

When all else fails, turn to Microsoft. Follow this guide.

Q: Something Makes My Computer Occupy More RAM And it Just Keeps Rising.

A: This might happen because of a virus or a memory leak within an application. I highly suggest you scan your computer for viruses before assuming a program has a memory leak. Memory leaks happen when a program continues running in an infinite loop, requesting more memory allocated for things you’re not using. It’s a bug and you should inform the developer of the application if you find out that it’s leaking. Memory leaks are very common, and can jeopardize your computer’s normal functionality.

To detect a memory leak, press “Ctrl+Shift+Esc” or “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” to access your task manager. Click the “Processes” tab and sort the items on the list by “Working Set,” with the arrow pointing down. You can do this by clicking the column name at the top of the list repeatedly. Check the numbers and note if any of them are climbing consistently. Some of them climb occasionally, but you’re looking for one that’s just rising without mercy. Your task manager window should look like this:

Once you find the bugger, right-click the item on the list and click “End Process.” Confirm the process termination. You should either discontinue using that particular program or revert to an older version you know worked OK. Perhaps it was even a fluke, and the next time you run it, the application won’t act up.

I must stress how important it is to let the application developer know of the issue.

How to Submit Your Question

If you would like to submit your question for next week’s part of the “Ask a Windows Expert” series, please send an email to windows-help [at] maketecheasier.com. Happy surfing!

Note Taking

Soho Notes 9

Soho Notes is the Mac application that not only helps organize your written notes, but also PDF notes and documents, and other multimedia. This is the perfect Mac application for organizing documents floating around the office. Its well organized folder system allows you to make a place for everything. Have a receipt or document you have to scan? Soho Notes allows you to take your scanned notes and have them added to the application as well. Soho is integrated in many parts of your Mac, so you don’t even have to have Soho notes active to make use of it.

WriteRoom

As a writer, I find myself quite distracted sometimes. Even with a quiet office, my desktop around me can be a chaotic with many open applications and windows. WriteRoom gives me that clean slate to make my writing magic. With the use of keyboard commands, you can make many of the same commands as your desktop word processor. Once done, you can add your writing into your publishing software to make appropriate additions and multimedia. You can also use custom papers, backgrounds, and more for a personalized experience.

Caboodle Express

You find yourself sent online all the time to gather research and more. Caboodle allows you to keep all of this research together in one place. All entries are easy to find through visually appealing labels. Unlike Soho Notes, Caboodle is more for the text oriented organizers. If you have multimedia or text that is related to each other, then instead of making a folder, you have a chain of other related entries for easier retrieval. When Caboodle is running and you want to take a look at a file, simply drag the file out of the app to view.

Suites and Packages

The iWork Suite

Looking for a more official option? Then the iWork suite might be for you. iWork consists of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Pages is the writing application that allows you to make documents and text based flyers. Numbers is the more graphics based application that allows you to make charts and tables for presentations. Keynote is to iWork as PowerPoint is to Microsoft Office. Keynote allows you to add animations to slides, as well as photos and notes. iWork applications all work together. You can use Numbers presentations in your Keynotes powerpoint. You can add Numbers graphs in your Pages documents.

Adobe Creative Suite

The Adobe Creative Suite is for the more artistic and visually based needs of your office and company. The Adobe Creative Suite 5 includes many applications including Photoshop, and a video editing software called Premiere Pro. Other applications include Adobe Story and After Effects. Adobe Creative Suite is a little more expensive and advanced than Apple iWork suite and Mac Microsoft Office. However, if your company is lower on funds, Adobe offers many great money saving options. This includes subscription based payments where you can purchase components by the month or at a lower price for a whole year (paid monthly).

Microsoft Office for Mac

Microsoft Office is a very well known word processing suite. Aside from the Mac based Apple iWork suite and the more expensive Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office is more affordable and available for both Windows and Mac. Microsoft Office for Mac includes Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Entourage. Microsoft Word is the word processing application. Excel is the Microsoft Office application that deals with spreadsheets. The Microsoft Powerpoint application allows you to make beautiful slideshow presentations, and Entourage is Microsoft Office’s mail application. You can create great flyers, cards, and more with Microsoft Project Gallery that comes with Microsoft Office.

Getting Things Done (To-Do)

The Hit List

The Hit List is a very visually appealing to-do application for Mac. The application allows you to see what needs to get done, based on two tabs. The first tab is for things to get done today, the other tab for future tasks. Folders on the left keep all of your to do tasks in order. Aside from the two tabs already out of the box, The Hit List allows you to also add more tabs that keep things personalized. Hit List is linked with iCal, meaning I can still make sure of my iCloud and iCal hook up too.

OmniFocus for Mac

OmniFocus is one of my favorite to do applications for Mac. OmniFocus takes all of your tasks and organizes them into a list for you. OmniFocus acts as your virtual assistant. You help OmniFocus with telling what you need to get done by providing a list of to dos. They don’t have to be organized just yet, just a random list of what needs to get done. The application organizes this into an action list. You action lists and to do tasks are all organized into referable folders. OmniFocus is even able to be linked with its iPhone app component.

Things for Mac

Things is a powerful but simple application that I have been using since it became public. The application allows you to see what you have to do based on the selected tab. You have tabs for home, as well as custom made tasks. The application is synced with your iCal, along with the ability to use the iPhone app available in the App Store. Things is linked with various other parts of your Mac, including the Spotlight search feature on your Mac. If there are certain tasks for your workers to assign, Things allows you to assign these tasks within the application.

1. 10fastfingers

10fastfingers is one of the simplest websites online to test and improve your typing speed. The website has a simple user-interface so using the service is easy and simple.

You can see a list of words in the top box, with one highlighted. As you start, typing in the box below, the timer starts ticking and you have one-minute to write as many words as possible.

In the end, you are given a result with the number of words per minute you write, the keystrokes struck, correct and wrong words. You are also given a position among hundreds of thousands of people.

10fastfingers

2. Typingtest

TypingTest is an online website that allows users to test their typing speed and improve alongside if they keep on testing themselves. As the quote goes, “practice makes perfect”.

Unlike other websites, TypingTest allows users to choose the language in which they want to test, which include – English, Dutch, Espanol, etc. You can also choose the time limit (from 1 – 3 minutes) and the context of text you wish to be tested on.

You are then given the text and the timer starts when you start typing. At the end of the result you are shown the result, and also compared with the average typist and also shown how much time you save in 1 week if you type at that speed for 10 hours a week.

Typingtest

3. Learn2Type Typing Test

Typing Test allows users to exercise their typing speed, improve it, and know how much they type per minute.

You are given a context, which you have to write and click on the button that reads “Test Me”. Once you write the whole paragraph, you are shown the WPM count (Words per Minute) and your accuracy along with, if any, mistakes you made during the typing.

Typing Test

4. Speedtest

Speedtest is one of the simplest ways to test your typing speed online and improve it while you at it. Just visit the website and start typing the highlighted words – the more words you type in the time limit the more WPM (Word per minute) you have.

However, any mistake deducts your points from your overall CPM (Characters per minute).

You can even tweet your result to your friends and followers on Twitter to show them just how good you are, and to compare results.

Speedtest

5. Keybr

Keybr has one of the best web layouts online, and stands out from the rest of the crowd from the hundreds of typing test websites.

Keybr allows users to keep on typing until they eventually improve their typing speed – and while you are testing yourself, you are shown the speed at which you type and the number of errors you make.

One of the best features of the site is the graphical representation of the errors on the keyboard, which shows you what key you mistyped the most. This allows users to improve their typing speed.

The website also has a whole paragraph written below with tips and tricks to help you improve your typing speed, with the least errors.

Keybr

There you have it folks, these five online websites will help you know what your average typing speed is and can help you improve those results if you test on a regular basis.

Image credit: Typing by Big Stock Photo

Some of the hints being dropped by the Angry Birds, are the pigs playing a more prominent role in the game. Right now the role of the pigs, is to sit in the structure as the birds crash it down on top of them. Points are awarded for knocking the structure down and eliminating the pigs. Bonus points are also awarded for doing it before using the allotted number of birds.

Another new feature made just for the Facebook platform, will be leader boards. Players can compete against each other for the high score, trying to outdo each other with “Power-Ups” to earn bragging rights. Competitors will battle it out for new prizes like Gold, Silver, and Bronze crowns for the top three scores in any level. Power-ups will use one of four super charged features to help you take the lead position.

Power-Ups

Earn Power-Ups by playing the game, receiving them as a “Mystery Gift” from a friend, or purchasing them. Rovio will use the reach of  Facebook’s 800 million users to monetize it’s franchise, so all of the Power-Ups will be available to purchase in-game for $0.99 each, and will be available in limited quantities.

1. The Sling King

Sometimes just using your finger to pull the sling shot back can cause a misfire. Using the “King Sling” feature to catapult your bird at maximum speed and power, is sure to get those pesky pigs.

 2. The Sling Scope

If your aim isn’t always on target, you are going to love the “Sling Scope!” This Power-Up gives you  laser pointer accuracy to ensure you hit your target. Just line up your laser dot with your intended target and shoot.

3.  Super Seeds

Little birds can only knock down so much. With this Power-Up, you catch a “Super Seed” that feeds your bird and makes him super-sized!

4. Bird Quake

Rattle the battle! Shake the pig’s foundation, and bring them and their structure crashing to the ground.

With such buzz and excitement around the release of the Facebook Angry Birds on Valentine’s Day, I wonder if there will be more Angry Birds, or angry valentines! If you haven’t gotten your sweetheart something yet, RSVP that special someone a spot to play in the invitation only game launch.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

So, What Is The Start Menu Being Replaced With?

I don’t know for sure how to explain this to you, but at least I can show you a screenshot of how Windows 8 will look without it:

Notice the missing Start button. This is all courtesy of Microsoft, showing its final build of Windows 8 before the Consumer Preview version. In the Consumer Preview, Windows 8 will be released to the public for evaluation purposes, to see whether the public feels like the change was good, or whether they should just throw Bill Gates into the middle of the ocean.

The new interface will replace the Start button with the “Super Bar,” a version of the taskbar with the word “Super” in it. I suspect it took a whole of 3 minutes to think about that name. Either way, your “Super Bar” interface will just be the average task bar with some hover features added to it, so that when you hover the mouse on the left side of the screen, you end up with the full-fledged menu that you used to get by pressing the “Start” button. The interface redesign is arguably one of the most questionable and I can’t wait to see the public’s reaction to it.

Will The Start Button Come Back?

It’s likely that Microsoft is doing all this crooked redesigning in order to test people’s reaction; it’s also known as corporate trolling. That’s primarily why the released version is called the “Consumer Preview” and not the “Final ‘Take it or Leave it’ Build.” If enough people react adversely (i.e. complaints, seizures, laptop suddenly exploding) to the lack of the button, we’re likely to see the little button return. If Microsoft puts the button back, it’s likely to use a flat button, as opposed to a 3D orb, to match its new Metro interface.

My personal opinion: If they don’t put the button back, you’ll be seeing the same friendship that George Bush had with shoes, except this time it will be Bill Gates at the receiving end of a good rubber sole whacking. It’s up to the public, anyway, to figure this one out. Maybe someone comes up with something more creative to throw, like a tennis racket.

Don’t forget that it’s the Start button we’re talking about, not the Start menu. You’ll still have the menu, but you have to hover your mouse over to the left to access it. Talk about a way to confuse users even further!

Post your comments below, and rant along with me, if you’d like. Or, please let me know how this would, in any case, benefit the newbie who’s never used Windows before.