Boost Firefox in Single Click with SpeedyFox
Mozilla Firefox is the most well know and also most used web browser today. The new Mozilla Firefox 3 has started to use sqlite database so that it loads the saved data such as URLs, history, bookmarks and etc much faster compared to the older version of Firefox. Although sqlite database is fast locally, but just like any other database which can and has to be optimized for it to perform better and faster. If you have no idea on how to edit and optimize the Firefox sqlite database, you can use SpeedyFox.
SpeedyFox is a free and portable tool that lets you boost firefox startup time in up to 3 times, speed up browsing history and give quicker operation with cookies with only a single click. Don’t get us wrong, Firefox is a very fast browser but the fragmentation of profile databases can cause it to slow down and hangs with a high cpu usage.
SpeedyFox doesn’t require installation. Just download, run it and it will auto detect and load your default Firefox profile. Clicking the Speed Up My Firefox button will automate the defrag of the databases. You can also specify custom location if you have a portable Firefox. Currently SpeedyFox is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 but a Mac version is in the works.
Learn About Windows Tips, Tricks and Secrets from WinTricks
There are many tips and tricks as well as secrets which some are useful and some for fun such as easter eggs. Easter eggs are hidden secrets where the developer includes a fun eye candy feature where it doesn’t create anything useful but just for fun. There are information on Windows and software tips and tricks being posted everywhere on the Internet and searching for each one of them is tough because you will end up finding duplicate tips. The easier way to learn about Windows and software tips & tricks, you can download WinTricks.
WinTricks is one of the largest and most up-to-date programs for Windows tips, tricks, and secrets available today! WinTricks includes tips/tricks for all versions of Windows, plus the Registry, Desktop, AOL, Laptop, Internet, and more. You will find that this program is easy to navigate with complete instructions on all of our Tips and Tricks. The latest release includes new Tips/Tricks for 7, Mozilla Firefox and more. Also includes a new interface, a Favorites feature and minor bug fixes
Basically after installing WinTricks, it opens a Windows help file with all the tips and tricks compiled into the database. It has a few category for you to choose from and you can also search based on keywords. The tip ans tricks ranges from Windows 95 up to the latest Windows 7. Learning computer tips and tricks can’t get any easier than this.
Manage Google Calender From Desktop with GMinder
Google has a free service called Google Calendar where it allows you to manage your time by creating events and notifications. The Google Calender uses AJAX which is very fast and everything seems to take effect instantly without refreshing the page. However if you would prefer a desktop application to manage your Google Calender account right from your desktop without opening your browser and manually logging in, then you can give GMinder a try.
GMinder is a reminder program that waits in your system tray and alerts you when you have an upcoming Google Calendar event. GMinder supports multiple calendars and allows you to configure how you want to be alerted. Since it downloads your events, it works offline and enables you to preview your agenda of events. New events can be added to your Google Calendars using a Quick Add feature.
After installation, first you will need to provide GMinder your Google Calender username and password. Then click the Download button which will sync GMinder with your web based Google Calender. Now all your events will be displayed on screen and
Gminder by default refreshes every 10 minutes to look for any changes on your Google Calender. It also preloads 31 days in advanced which can be configured at a longer or shorter period. When an event is starting soon, GMinder will show a reminder window when an event will start and also plays a sound.
Edit and Backup Windows Environment Variables
Environment variables have long been used in computer operating systems and are present in Unix, DOS, and Windows. Environment variables are strings that contain information such as drive, path, or file name. They control the behavior of various programs. For example, the TEMP environment variable specifies the location in which programs place temporary files. You can create edit, delete or create new environment variables in Windows from Control Panel > System > Advanced system settings > and click on the Environment Variables button.
If for some reason you need to edit Windows Environment Variables, you might want to consider Rapid Environment Editor. It includes easy to use GUI and replaces small and inconvenient Windows edit box.
Rapid Environment Editor Features:
* Shows environment variables and values as an editable tree.
* RapidEE doesn’t require installation and could be run as a “portable application”
* Automatically checking for invalid pathnames and filenames
* You don’t need to type long pathnames. Just choose path using File Explorer tree
* RapidEE supports drag’n'drop for reordering of variable values
* Environment variables can be backed up to the registry file (.reg)
* Skins allow you to change the look and feel of RapidEE
* If you have an administrative privileges then you can edit environment variables for any user on your computer.
* Inspector shows miscellaneous information about variables: name, type, value, short file name in the 8.3 naming convention for each long file name and vice versa.
* RapidEE is translated into number of languages
RapidEE 3.x supports Windows NT, 2000, XP & Vista. If you still use Windows 9x or ME, you will need to use RapoidEE version 2.1.
Download Rapid Environment Editor
Miro Video Converter Easily Converts Video using Phone Devices Presets
Converting video and audio is supposed to be hard with codecs and software to choose but there are many video software converters already made it very simply by selecting or answering a few questions and everything else is automated. Sometimes a user might not know what video size should be set to because too big, the file size takes too much space but if the screen is too small, it would appear with blocks on the video.
One of the easiest way to easily convert a video or audio to your phone is by using Miro Video Converter. We have previously covered Miro that is able to play DVD with twice the maximum sound, they too have a very good video converter. Basically it is able to convert ANY video to MP4, Ogg Theora or a specific phone or iPod.
All you need to do is download Miro Video Converter and install it. Then select the video file and followed by the format or devices presets. For example if you want to view the video in iPhone, then you will select iPhone from the list and Miro Video Conveter automatically determines the best option to convert to. Miro Video Converter is free and compatible with Windows.
Block and Disable Flash or SilverLight in Google Chrome to Save Bandwidth
Flash and SilverLight contents especially advertisements that gets loaded automatically on your web browser will eat up unnecessary bandwidth usage. If you have a limited bandwidth usage from your ISP, it is advisable to turn off Flash and SilverLight support to conserve your Internet usage. Not only that, by blocking flash and silverlight contents, the web page will also finish loading much faster because flash files .swf tends to be huge, by few hundred kilobytes to even megabytes depending what it is for.
In Firefox, there is a popular extension called FlashBlock that blocks out flash contents in a web page. However for Chrome, you can have a similar plugin also called FlashBlock which is able to block all, or selective flash with the embedded whitelist manager. The extension automatically blocks flash content on webpages. Each flash element is being replaced with a placeholder that allows you to load only selected elements on a given page. In general, FlashBlock helps with lowering memory usage, reducing cpu cycles, and can be used as an alternative to AdBlock.
After installing FlashBlock extension for Chrome, by default only YouTube is allowed to load the flash content. You can go to the Options page to define your whitelist or if you are on a webpage that you want to temporarily load the Flash, you can just right click on the flash window and select Allow flash (temporary). The Always selection auto adds the domain to whitelist.
Download FlashBlock for Chrome
MediaSpider Auto Crawls and Downloads Images from Google, DevianArt and 4Chan
Google Images, DevianArt and 4Chan, these websites contains a lot of images which some are free to download and some copyright. Searching for images on these sites can be tedious and one of the automated way is to use Media Spider. Media Spider automates downloading of images based on keyword or selected categories and saves to your local hard drive. It is smart enough to auto crawl by itself to multiple search result pages and downloads the pictures.
To search in Google, you will have to specify the search string and number of results to download. The size of the image can also be specified. Searching and auto downloading from DevianArt is slightly more advanced with a couple of more features. It allows you to sort the results by popularity based on time and month and selecting a category. This gives you a more refined search results. Finally, downloading from 4Chan is based only on category. Once you click the Download button, you will be prompted on where to save the images at.
When MediaSpider has finished downloading an image, it will be shown on your screen. So if MediaSpider keeps on downloading, it will be like a slide-show showing you images of the categories that you have chosen to download. MediaSpider is a very simple application that is free to use and portable which doesn’t require to install. Just download and run.