Use Siphs to Share Webpages

Siphs is a free online tool that lets you share webpages with your friends. After you sign up at Siphs, you can begin sharing websites with others, whether or not they are Siphs members. To share a site, you can first highlight some text on the page, selecting a snippet of the relevant content you are sharing, then click on the "send via siphs" browser toolbar button. A pop-up window will appear, where you will enter in your friend’s email address. If you have emailed that person before, their email address will come up automatically as you type. You can even set up groups in Siphs in order to share content with multiple people simultaneously. The email recipients will receive an email contains the snippet of text you copied, along with a link to the webpage. Although the ability to send a page via email is built-in to most web browsers, the beauty of using Siphs is that you never have to open your email client or copy-and-paste a link. Additionally, Siphs will keep track of all the links you’ve sent and received through your Siphs account, so you’ll never have to go digging through your inbox to find that interesting article you received many weeks ago.

A few days ago, Siphs also started offering a new feature - link blogs.  A Siphs link blog is a collection of links to articles and videos, along with your commentary posted publicly for the rest of the world to see. To create a post, just click on your “send via siphs” button and select the option to make the post public.  The Siphs link-blogging tool also allows you to fully customize the right hand column. You can embed any widgets or add any custom html code you want. For example, if you have third-party ad code, such at Google Ads or Yahoo ads, you can add it to you link blog and make money. I think Siphs just one-upped Tumblr, what do you think?

UPDATE: The Link Blog feature requires an invite right now. I have 5 available. First 5 to comment get one. (After I get home from my Labor Day BBQ!)

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Opera Mini is a portable version of the Opera browser which has been optimized for mobile phones. Considerably better than the majority of mobile handset’s built-in browsers, the Opera Mini browser has long been a popular download for mobile users. Now, Opera has just released the Opera Mini 4 beta, which brings Mini fans a feature-rich new version. The beta version offers fast surfing of the "full internet," which I assume is something like Apple’s "real internet." With Opera Mini 4 beta, when you go to a web page, Opera Mini will show you the overview of the page, then suggest where to begin reading. Then, Opera Mini zooms quickly in on the web page and focuses on the content you want to read. (Sounds a lot like the iPhone…nice! ) The text and images fit properly on the pages, so there’s less scrolling. And Opera Mini will dynamically change the size of text and images, making it more convenient to read webpages. Another iPhone-like feature is "Landscape" mode. Although the phone won’t automatically switch over to Landscape mode when the phone is tilted like the iPhone does, all you have to do is hit * # switch to Landscape mode. Other great features include a start page with several search engines to choose from, the ability to add your own search engines (Note: you will have to add Google!), a virtual mouse, so you can easily scroll in any direction, keypad scrolling, a "fit to width" feature, and tools and support for web designers.

I loaded Opera Mini 4 beta on my T-Mobile Blackberry Pearl to test it out. Initially I had trouble because after installation, it would not open. However, after a little research, I found this link that explains how Blackberrys have to be configured:

A specific setting is required to enable Opera Mini to access the Internet on a T-Mobile Blackberry:

From your Blackberry homescreen, go to Options, then Advanced Options, then TCP. Under APN, enter "wap.voicestream.com". Leave Username and Password blank.

A specific setting is required to enable Opera Mini to access the Internet on a Cingular Blackberry:

From your Blackberry homescreen, go to Options, then Advanced Options, then TCP. Under APN, enter "wap.cingular". Also enter Username for APN: "WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM" (all uppercase) and Password for APN: "CINGULAR1" (all uppercase).

The next problem I ran into was using Landscape mode. According to some comments on the Opera Mini blog, Landscape mode is not supported on Blackberry devices. Bummer.

Still, the Opera Mini browser makes for a nice alternative to the Blackberry’s built-in browser and is definitely worth the download.

There is a lot of interest in environmental responsibility these days: debates on global warming, hybrid cars, recycling, buying environmentally friendly products, conserving energy, reducing waste, etc., etc. Additionally, there has been a growing area of discussion on the subject of "green computing." What exactly is green computing? Mostly, it’s the practice of using computing resources efficiently. With today’s powerful systems, not to mention the myriads of peripheral devices, the home office is an area of the house where energy is wasted and lost. If you’re interested in ways to reduce your power consumption, here are ways you can go "green" at home:

1. Buy "Energy Star" labeled monitors, desktops, laptops, and printers . The "Energy Star" devices can be programmed to "power-down" to a low power state when they are not in use, helping you save energy and run cooler which helps them last even longer. The Energy Star specification for computers was revised on October 20, 2006 and goes into effect July 20, 2007. The specification includes new performance requirements to qualify for the Energy Star rating for desktop and notebook computers, workstations, integrated computers, desktop-derived servers and game consoles. Now you can feel good about that upgrade!

There is a lot of interest in environmental responsibility these days: debates on global warming, hybrid cars, recycling, buying environmentally friendly products, conserving energy, reducing waste, etc., etc. Additionally, there has been a growing area of discussion on the subject of "green computing." What exactly is green computing? Mostly, it’s the practice of using computing resources efficiently. With today’s powerful systems, not to mention the myriads of peripheral devices, the home office is an area of the house where energy is wasted and lost. If you’re interested in ways to reduce your power consumption, here are ways you can go "green" at home:

1. Buy "Energy Star" labeled monitors, desktops, laptops, and printers . The "Energy Star" devices can be programmed to "power-down" to a low power state when they are not in use, helping you save energy and run cooler which helps them last even longer. The Energy Star specification for computers was revised on October 20, 2006 and goes into effect July 20, 2007. The specification includes new performance requirements to qualify for the Energy Star rating for desktop and notebook computers, workstations, integrated computers, desktop-derived servers and game consoles. Now you can feel good about that upgrade!

2. Put laptops in "sleep" mode when not in use. The EPA has estimated that this reduces their energy use by 60 to 70 percent – and ultimately could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 5 million cars.

3. Even better, turn OFF computers and other equipment when not in use. Despite the debate over whether it’s better for your computer to be left on or shut off, the fact is it’s better for the environment to shut it off. Trust me, your computer can handle it just fine; in fact, computers were designed to be turned off and back on!

4. E-cycle used computer equipment. Find a recycler in your area. Also, Staples, the office supply retailer, has now started a recycling program. They will accept any brands of used desktop and notebook computers, monitors, printers, fax machines and all-in-one devices with a fee of $10. Smaller items like keyboards, mice and speakers are free to drop off.

5. Buy the new "Smart Strip" power strip. The Smart Strip actually senses how much power your computer peripherals use. And when the Smart Strip senses that you’ve turned your computer off, it automatically shuts off your peripherals, too, preventing them from drawing an idle current, which is the current drawn even after equipment is shut off.

If your computer crashes and all you have left of your iTunes collection are the files on your iPod, you can use these instructions (found on the Apple forums) to recover your entire iTunes library.

Recover your iTunes Library:

1. After getting your computer up and running again, re-install iTunes
2. Start with the iPod disconnected from the computer & open iTunes
3. Go into iTunes Preferences - this blocks iTunes from seeing an iPod connection; leave the preferences window up and running
4. Connect the iPod to the computer, wait about 15 seconds before continuing
5. Open "My Computer"
6. On the Tools menu, Folder Options, View tab, enable "show hidden files /folders"
7. Open the iPod icon in "My Computer"
8. Open the "iPod_Control" folder
9. Drag the folder called "Music" to somewhere on your computer’s hard drive
10. After the copy completes, right-click the new "Music" folder on your hard drive and select "Properties"
11. Clear the checkmark next to "Hidden"
12. Close that explorer window
13. Eject the iPod from the System tray "Safely Remove Hardware" icon. (This icon looks like a small gray rectangle with a green arrow floating above it.) Right-click & select ‘Safely remove..’, then click ‘Stop’ in the next window, OK in the next window, and then Close to complete the ejection.
14. Disconnect the iPod from the computer.
15. Go back to iTunes, cancel the preferences window
16. Go to the File menu, choose "Add folder to Library: and find that "Music" folder you copied over from the iPod to your PC
17. Your iTunes library should now be restored!

To recover your iTunes Playlists

1. Download this program: http://otto.homedns.org:8888/iTunes/iPodGetXML.zip
2. Put the iPod into Disk Mode or otherwise access the iPod as a drive.
3. Make sure you can see hidden files
4. Go to the drive and the iPod_Control folder and find the iTunesDB file.
5. Copy the file to your PC.
6. Put the copied iTunesDB file in the same directory as this program, then run the program. It’ll read the iTunesDB, get all the playlists, and create an XML file for each one.
7. Now just import those XML files into iTunes to recreate the playlists.

I have a Blackberry & T-Mobile, so when I found these instructions online, I decided to repost them here so I always have quick and easy access to them. These instructions came from Blackberry’s website here.

To set up a BlackBerry Internet Service account on your desktop computer, complete the following steps:

1. Perform a Register Now on the BlackBerry device. For instructions, see KB00510.
2. Go to www.my.t-mobile.com.
3. Click the Register for My T-Mobile link.
4. Enter the phone number of the BlackBerry device and click Submit. A temporary password will be sent to the BlackBerry device in a text message.
5. Go back to www.my.t-mobile.com and log in with the BlackBerry device phone number and the temporary password.
6. Click the Not your phone? link at the top right corner of the page.
7. Click the picture of your BlackBerry device.
8. Click the Set up BlackBerry Internet E-mail link near the bottom of the page.
9. Read the BlackBerry Internet Service End User Agreement and place a check mark in the box labelled I have read and understand the Legal Terms and Conditions, then click I Agree.
10. Enter the PIN and IMEI of the BlackBerry device and click OK.Note: For instructions on how to locate the PIN and IMEI on the BlackBerry device, see KB05026.

    

11. Your BlackBerry Internet Service account is now set up. You may begin adding email accounts or create a BlackBerry email address.

To set up the BlackBerry Internet Service account from your BlackBerry device, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that the BlackBerry device is connected to the wireless network. For information about network status indicators, see KB02334.
2. Perform a Register Now on the BlackBerry device. For instructions, see KB00510.
3. Click Setup Wizard and then click Email Setup.
4. Select I want to create or add an email address and click Next, then click Next again.
5. Read and decide whether to accept the legal terms.
6. If you choose to accept the legal terms, type your user name and password and click Next.
   Your account is now set up. You may begin adding email accounts or create a BlackBerry email address.

Note: You may also click the E-mail Settings icon on the BlackBerry device Home screen or type your service provider’s BlackBerry Internet Service web page address into a browser.

Hopefully, you won’t ever need to do this, but sometimes reinstalling Windows is the only way to save a truly messed up PC!

Checklist

Before you begin, make sure you have the following items:

• Your Windows XP installation CD
• A valid Product Key for Windows XP
• The CDs and serial numbers or product keys for all of the software you will need to reinstall after Windows XP has been reinstalled
• The Hardware Driver CD that came with your computer when you purchased it or another working computer with internet access so you can download any drivers you may be missing after reinstallation of XP (you will also need a CD burner or USB key to transport the downloaded drivers from the working, internet-connected PC to the one you are working on)
• Time to work on this. Plan to do this over a weekend or when you have a day to devote to the work.

Steps

1. Back up your Files. Take the time to backup all your important files by burning CDs, copying them over to another computer on your network, or uploading them to an online storage site. When you reinstall Windows, all the files will be gone, so be thorough!
2. See what Hardware and Software you have installed and make notes. Write down the hardware and software you currently have installed, then go locate the CDs for the programs/drivers so you can reinstall them after your reinstall Windows. Use Belarc Advisor, a free download, that will give you a list of the programs installed on your PC, including serial numbers. Print out the results of its scan and keep the list handy.
3. Put in the Windows CD and shut down the computer.
4. Start the computer back up  and boot from the CD. Depending on what computer you have, you may have a little message that displays as your booting that says "Press X to Boot from CD", where X is some key on your keyboard you will need to press like F1. If you can’t boot from the CD and don’t see a message, you may have to change an option in your computer’s setup program. Look for a similar message that tells you how to boot into Setup (like "Press F1 to enter Setup"). Once in Setup, look for an option to change the boot order. Change it so the CD is the first option, followed by the Hard Drive, floppy, etc.). Save the changes (depending on your computer the options for saving changes will be different, but it will say somewhere on the screen how this is done). Exit setup and restart your PC - you should be able to boot from your CD now.
5. You will soon see the setup Windows XP screen, which is just a blue background and white text. Click "Enter" to continue and "F8" to Accept the License Agreement.
6. If prompted to repair your installation, hit "Esc". On the next screen, you will want to delete the current partition where Windows is installed. With the down arrow key, highlight the partition to select it.
7. Press D to delete the partition.
8. Press L to confirm the deletion (Windows wants to make sure you are ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE, because there is no going back!)
9. Now, you will need to create a new partition, so again use the arrow keys to highlight and select the unpartitioned space.
10. Press C, then to the next question press Enter.
11. With the new partition now created, you will need to format the drive. Choose the option to "format as NTFS." Quick format is fine. Hit "F" to proceed with the format.
12. Now Windows XP will begin installing. The Setup program will now copy files to your PC.
13. When the file copy is complete, the Setup will reboot your PC.
14. When your PC reboots, you will see the message that says "Press any key to boot from CD." DO NOT PRESS A KEY!!
15. Setup will now boot from your C: drive.
16. Setup will now continue and you will need to follow the steps to enter in information like your area code, your name, your password, your time zone, etc.
17. Setup may need to reboot during this process, so let it!
18. When it’s done, you will be prompted to log in for the first time. You are now done with the XP reinstallation.
19. Use the driver CD to reinstall any missing drivers. See what’s missing by right-clicking on "My Computer" and choosing "Manage." Then click on "Device Manager" and look for any devices with an exclamation mark next to them. You may need to download the latest drivers from the internet and then install them on your PC.
20. Now, using the CDs and the printout of your software serial #s, proceed to reinstalling the software programs you need on your PC.
21. FINALLY! You are finished! Don’t forget to put some anti-virus and anti-spyware, so you don’t get into this mess again!

I just found this amazing, yet simple, application for my Blackberry Pearl. The app is called “ColorPearl” and it allows you to change the color of the pearl’s light on your Blackberry Pearl mobile phone. (Note from the website: The BlackBerry 8800 and Curve/8300 do not have the colored LEDs behind the trackball, so there is no way to make ColorPearl work on them.)

1. To use ColorPearl on your Blackberry Pearl, go to www.geekandproud.net/blackberry-software on your phone and scroll down to the ColorPearl application.
2. Click on the link that says “OTA install” and you will be prompted to download the application to your phone.
3. Select “Download” and wait for the download to complete.
4. Then go into the Options from the Blackberry Pearl’s main menu & you will see a new option in there for “ColorPearl.”
5. Select that option and you will then be able to pick the color you want your Pearl’s pearl to be. You can even make up your own color by typing in a custom RRGGBB combination!
6. Remember to “Save” your changes when you exit from your “Options” menu.

That’s it - your Blackberry Pearl’s Pearl will be a beautiful color now!

The software is a free download but the author would like a donation, and I’d say he deserves one.

 I found the Hymn Project’s website back in June of 2005 and was really excited to find a site devoted to the decryption of iTunes songs. I am not a big fan of DRM, and I am glad that there are people out there working to provide people with tools to exercise their Fair Use rights to music they have legally purchased. However, you should be aware that Fair Use is still a gray area of the law right now and you may be violating copyright if you choose to use the software the Hymn Project provides. This article is posted for informational purposes only.

Here is some information (below) about the Hymn Project, as stated by their website.

The purpose of the Hymn Project is to “allow you to exercise your fair-use rights under copyright law. The various software provided on this web site allows you to free your iTunes Music Store purchases (protected AAC / .m4p) from their DRM restrictions with no loss of sound quality. These songs can then be played outside of the iTunes environment, even on operating systems not supported by iTunes and on hardware not supported by Apple.”

Why use Hymn Project software?

• To decrypt your iTunes protected AAC files so that they can be played on operating systems for which no official version of iTunes exists, such as Linux.
• To use non-Apple AAC-capable hardware to play your music.
• To eliminate the five computer limit imposed by iTunes.
• To make archival backups of your music.
• As the first step in converting your music from protected AAC to MP3, Ogg, or your other favorite audio file format, for use with your non-iPod portable audio player.
• To demonstrate your belief in the principles of fair-use under copyright law.

To Use the JHymn Software to remove DRM from Protected AAC (.m4p) files:
(this info is available on their forums, here)

1. iTunes and going into Edit->Preferences, and click the Playback tab. Uncheck all three boxes.
2. Quit iTunes.
3. Download the software from the download page.
4. Unzip the main QTFairUse6 package, which works with iTunes versions through 7.3.
5. Launch QTFairUse6.exe.
6. Select “Process all protected files in iTunes library” and check all the checkboxes.
7. Click Start Conversion & wait.
8. When it’s all done, close the QTFairUse6 window.
9. Check to see that your iTunes files have been decrypted: Go to the View menu in iTunes and choose View Options and then select the “Kind” checkbox. Then, click on the top of the Kind column to sort by it. You should no longer have any songs which say “Protected AAC”.

How to scrub unprotected AAC files (.m4a, either iTunes Plus or QTFairUse6-processed):

1. Get JHymn 0.9.2 from the download archive.
2. Close iTunes if it’s open.
3. Launch JHymn, and set the following options:

- Files and folders window: leave default (”~\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml”)
- CHECK Process folders recursively
- File types to process: UNCHECK .m4p UNCHECK .m4b CHECK .m4a
- *Convert locked .m4p to: .m4a
- *UNCHECK Save to a different folder (Replace old files will be greyed out)
- *Convert locked .m4b to: .m4b
- UNCHECK Skip already converted or scrubbed files
- Convert all file types to “—”
- Back up: All Modified Files
- CHECK Delete original locked files
- Back up to: leave default (”~\My Documents\My Music\Backup”)
- UNCHECK Update iTunes Music Library with unlocked and converted files
- UNCHECK If encoder isn’t specified…
- UNCHECK Add custom signature atom if it isn’t greyed out

4. Now, choose Preferences from the Edit menu, and change the following:

- iTunes Library: leave default (”~\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml”)
- iTunes Library database: leave default (”~\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl”)
- Custom signature atom: blank (empty)
- Custom signature text: blank (empty)
- Unwanted atoms: enter the following, with the curly braces, and returns after each one:
{apID}
{cprt}
{cnID}
{atID}
{plID}
{geID}
{sfID}
{akID}
{purd}
(note: some people also include {iods}, but I am not clear if it’s necessarily contains ID info, or if removing it has any consequences. Apparently, it’s different in home-ripped versus store-bought, but that’s all I know.)
*MP3 quality: standard
*MP3 audiobook quality: 40 kbps mono @ 24 kHz
*Optional HTTP proxy: blank (empty)
UNCHECK Use Naive Trust Manager
UNCHECK Reset “Don’t ask/warn me again” prompts
SELECT Don’t bug me - I’ll check for updates myself if i want to

5. Click OK.
6. Back at the main JHymn screen, click Convert and let JHymn begin converting.
7. When it’s done, quit JHymn.

DVDToiPhone is software that enables you to rip DVDs to your iPhone, even if they have copy protection. In less than an hour you can rip & load a high-quality, feature length film on your iPhone. You can store up to 12 hours of video on your 8 GB iPhone. There is a trial version that you can test before purchasing the program.

From the Company’s Website:

“Watch Hollywood movies in widescreen with stereo sound on your iPhone. No need to purchase them from iTunes, you can take your own DVDs, your friend’s or rented ones. The easiest software to rip DVD to iPhone. Enjoy movies on the gorgeous widescreen. Converts 400% faster than other products and takes all DVDs, including copyprotected. Beware: other products, like Pinnacle Mobile and Roxio Crunch, refuse to take copyprotected DVDs, this product takes all DVDs (and it’s also more affordable).

You can take blockbuster movies from DVD, but also recorded TV, downloaded Youtube content, or videos from your camcorder, and with 2 clicks convert those into a high quality compressed file, which will play on the iPhone’s built-in video player. Enjoy movies with an amazingly crisp picture and stereo CD-quality sound. New Cyberspeed technology allows up to 400% faster DVD-to-iPhone conversions. In 45 minutes you can put a feature film on your iPhone. So whatever you would’ve watched on the sofa, you can watch elsewhere instead.”

How To Use the Software:

1. Download DVDtoiphone software & install it.
2. Insert the DVD you want to convert in your computer’s DVD drive.
3. Go to the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Open DVD’ (or just click the ‘Open DVD’ button to load the DVD.)
4. Set the profile to be iPhone 480*320 mpeg-4 video, which is the default DVD video quality.
5. Configure an additional options by clicking around in the DVD’s menu to set up DVD playback as you want - select the subtitles, audio sound tracks, languages, etc., then begin to play the movie through the software by clicking the play button.
6. A window will pop up where you can rename ‘Title Name’, set ‘Save Path’ and output quality.
7. Then click the ‘Yes’ button to start ripping DVD to iPhone MP4 or iPhone H264 video from the point that the movie starts.

The Norton Removal Tool is software that can be used to remove a failed installation or a damaged Norton product.

The Norton Removal Tool is available for all the following Norton Software, including:

• A Norton product that was purchased from my Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Norton 360
• Norton 2008 product
• Norton 2007 product
• Norton 2006 product
• INorton 2005 or 2004 product
• Norton 2003 product
• Ghost or Save & Restore
• pcAnywhere or WinFax

The steps differ depending on what product you have, so click the link for your product and follow the instruction to remove the Norton software from your computer.