Customize Windows 7 Power Button Action

The “Shut Down” button in Windows 7 can be customized with another action, if you use shut down action very rarely, but you more often restart it or put it on hibernate.

To change the action of shutdown button, Right click the Start Button, go to Properties and choose the „Power Boot Action” to do whatever you want, from the given options. It will give you a drop down list amongst following option to select from.

• Switch user
• Log off
• Lock
• Restart
• Sleep
• Hibernate
• Shutdown

Now the button at Start Menu would change and perform the action as selected.

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Free E-Reader Blio Announces September 28th Launch Date

The battle of the e-readers is about to get a new contestant. K-NFB just announced that their anticipated Blio e-reading program will launch on September 28th for Windows. Android and iOS systems (iPhone, iPad, etc) will follow soon thereafter. Blio has several key selling points. Downloading the reader itself is free, and K-NFB has promised that there will be a million free titles available at the time of launch. Blio is a full color reader and can fully preserve a book’s layout and format, allowing you to read it the same way it was printed or to restructure it for easier access on mobile devices. The e-reader supports note-taking, embedded multimedia, and allows you to freely move your titles from one device to another via a virtual library. It will feature text to speech technology from Nuance, the makers of the Dragon Dictation App we loved. Ray Kurzweil, founder of K-NFB, is wagering that Blio’s advantages will propel it into a fiercely competitive market that is already packed with e-readers.

As we’ve seen in our previous reviews of the technology (here and here), Blio certainly has enough bells and whistles to make it a success. Full color pages that turn in 3D and textbooks with embedded videos are both pretty impressive. However, in the battle of digital reading Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBooks, and the Sony Reader have all been successful and are all (generally) based on their own hardware. Blio doesn’t have a dedicated hardware platform, and it’s unclear whether that will ultimately help or hinder it.

K-NFB has worked hard to secure support on the publishing side of their enterprise. They are partnered with Baker & Taylor, the world’s largest book distributor, and have secured more than 100 publishers to add titles to their library. Publishers include all the biggest names: Hachette, Harper Collins, Penguin, MacMillan, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Yet the same names regularly make their titles available through the other e-readers as well. It will be interesting to see if publishers prefer the Blio platform because it can preserve their original formatting. No word yet on pricing agreements, which would be the other, and larger, consideration for securing publisher support.

Singularity Hub could be seen as biased towards Ray Kurzweil and his work, so I’m trying hard to come up with some fair and balanced criticisms for Blio. Certainly its late arrival to the e-reader race could be a negative, as could its lack of dedicated hardware. Textbooks won’t be available at first, and there is already strong competition there too, as we’ve recently seen.

But all of these are business considerations. When it comes to the platform itself I’m mostly positive. Blio is free, there will be a large library of free titles (Baker & Taylor have promised another 10,000 sometime after launch), and you can move your titles from device to device without paying. To me that means investing in the new reader when it comes out will be very low-risk. I still have questions about loading speeds, pricing & availability for pay-to-read titles, and usability. There’s no guarantee that Blio will be the next big e-reader…but I am very likely to try it out, especially once they make it available for iPhones.

[image credits: K-NFB]

[source: Blio Press Release via BusinessWire, Blio Twitter Feed]

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Wortmann announces Windows 7-powered 10-inch tablet PC

Wortmann is jumping onto the tablet train too and will later this month be releasing the Terra Pad 1050, a 850 grams tablet PC based on Intel's Pine Trail platform which runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

The mobile device has a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) multi-touch screen, a 1.66 GHz Atom N455 processor, GMA 3150 integrated graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 32GB solid state drive, a webcam, WiFi (3G is optional), and two USB ports.

The Terra Pad 1050 has a base price tag of €529 and will be backed by a two-year warranty.

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PhotoJoy – An Amazing Tool to Customize Your Desktop

PhotoJoy offers you brand-new ways to display and enjoy your personal photos on your computer desktop. PhotoJoy displays your photos within PhotoToy Widgets, animated 3D Photo Screensavers, and Wallpaper Collages, all made up of 3D graphics, modern images and designs, and beautiful scenery.

PhotoJoy makes viewing all of your personal photos a real pleasure. We all have many digital photos stored on our computer that are easily forgotten with time. The best part about PhotoJoy is that it brings your photos back to life by displaying them on your desktop in unique ways, so you can enjoy them every day. You may also select professional photos from flickr.com and see them within the PhotoJoy features that are on your desktop. This capability will be available with additional photo-hosting sites in the future.

PhotoJoy does all the work for you – just sit back and relax, and see your favorite photos in a whole new light. Give PhotoJoy a try to see what it’s really capable of! 

Visit PhotoJoy to download.

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Clickfree Wireless backup drive up for grabs in the US

Clickfree's latest backup solution, which is claimed to be the "world's first backup product that backs up every PC and Mac without having to be plugged into the computers," has become available in the US and can be purchased from its maker's site for $180.

The Clickfree Wireless packs a 500GB hard drive, has a USB 2.0 interface and utilizes the BackupLink technology to automatically backup data from multiple systems (Windows or Mac OS-based) that are connected to a specific router. This device does not require any software installation on the backed-up PCs so even less technical users can have it set up quickly and easily. 

Those interested can get the Clickfree Wireless via this page .

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Get ShineSoft DVD Ripper Free License Now!

DVD Ripper is an easy and powerful tool with high speed for ripping which normally cost around 29.95$.Now you can get the software for free as part of Thanksgiving Day Giveaway by ShineSoft. It converts DVD to many other formats (such as HD video, AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, DIVX, Xvid, FLV, 3GP) and supports DVD – 9, DVD – 5, DVD folder, IFO file and ISO file. It also extracts audio from the DVD movie to convert it to MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AC3, OGG, AIFF, M4A, etc. Besides, it is a excellent editing tool. You can cut the segments from the movie to merge them into a complete video, and it will help you to capture pictures from the movie, set the language of subtitle and audio track, customize parameters for video and audio, etc. And it rip the DVD with nice quality and high speed, so you will enjoy much more from the software.

Key Features:

• Shinesoft DVD Ripper Support DVD-9, DVD-5, DVD folder, IFO file, ISO file.
• Rip DVD to HD video.
• Rip DVD to AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, DivX, XviD, FLV, 3GP, MOV, RM, etc.
• Extract audio from DVD to MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AC3, OGG, AIFF, M4A, MP2, RA, AU.
• Preview movies before conversion.
• Merge two or more chapters into one file.
• Split one chapter into several pieces.
• Clip segments from movies.
• Snapshot images when preview.
• Rip DVD to several formats at one time.
• Shinesoft DVD Ripper Customize video size, video quality, video bit rate, audio channel, audio quality, audio frequency, audio bit rate, etc.

System Reqirements:

• Microsoft Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/Me/windows 7
• Intel or AMD of compatible processors at 1GHz minimum
• 256MB RAM (512MB or above recommended)
• Free hard disk 30MB space for installation
• Display graphics minimum resolution of 800*600 32-bit color RAM 128 MB
• DVD-ROM drive 

How to get the offer:

Download ShineSoft DVD Ripper (Windows edition):

http://www.audiotoolsfactory.com/download/dvd-ripper-ultimate.exe

 Support: sales@audiotoolsfactory.com
Register Code: 0001-91-CE-EE-44-45-4C
Products Introduction：
http://www.audiotoolsfactory.com/dvd-ripper.html
http://www.audiotoolsfactory.com/



Please remember, only the users who register it from 1^st Nov., 2010 to 30^th Nov., 2010 will get license key.

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Opera Mobile 10.1 Beta Now Available for Android Users

Opera Mobile 10.1 is now available for Android users in beta format via Android Market, the official applications storefront for Android users. While Opera Mini has been available for Android for quite some time now, Opera Mobile offers a more complete browsing environment with text and graphics that are natively rendered on Android devices rather than on a server like on Opera Mini. Opera Mobile supports pinch to zoom, a feature that was lacking in the Mini edition, and YouTube playback.

The browser doesn’t quite support full hardware acceleration yet according to an early review on Android Police. According to the Android-centric blog, because Opera doesn’t make use of the Webkit engine, some content may not display as intended on Opera Mobile. Another issue is rendering speed, which is on-par with the newly unveiled Firefox beta edition for Android, but is slower than the native Android browser.

The conclusion that Android Police came away with isn’t entirely positive, but isn’t entirely negative either.

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Get MacX Video Converter Pro License Key

MacX Video Converter Pro is a professional high quality video converter that is built with 420+ Audio/Video codecs and provides multi-track HD video support.
The program can convert video among various popular formats including MKV, M2TS, AVCHD, H.264/AVC, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, FLV, 3GP and can also create VOB file from various video segments/parts.

Key Features:

• Convert Videos to Apple Device, Media Players and YouTube.
• Make 1:1 DVD Copy
• Create Vob File from Videos
• YouTube Video Downloader and Converter on Mac
• Trim Video Segment from DVD or Video
• Capture Picture and Extract Audio from DVD and Video
• Flexible Parameter Setting to Personalize Output Video
• Multi-core CPU and Hyper Threading Supported
• Supports both Power PC and Intel Processors

How to get MacX Video Converter Pro for Free :

• Visit the Video Converter Giveaway Page: http://www.macxdvd.com/mac-video-converter-pro/
• Mac users, download the full version of MacX Video Converter Pro by click “Download for Mac” button, and use the license code: AY-DSJGNKY-6E7E777
• Windows users, download the full version of MacX HD Video Converter Pro for Windows by click “Download for Windows” button, and use the license code: BO-UMUJUMYT-FBOBXO

Note : The giveaway is only valid till Nov 15, 2010.

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Display Multiple Clocks in System Tray

Many users need to keep track of time in multiple time zones, there‟s a nice feature in Windows 7 to help users keep track of time in Multiple Time zones. The feature is multiple clocks in your system tray. This feature can display up to 3 clocks in your taskbar from 3 different Time Zones.

Click on the Clock in System tray

Next, click on the „Change date and time settings‟ to open Date and Time Window.

Click on the tab for Additional Clocks.

Here you can add up to two additional clocks .Enter time Zone and Clock Display name.

Check the „Show this clock‟ box to enable the clock.

Click OK.

Hover over the clock and it would show you Time in text for all 3 Time Zones (including the one your Local one).

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Tango Video Calls Android app Review

The Tango Video Calls Android app is a great way to talk face to face with those people that you love.

Features:

• Video chatting is getting more and more popular ever since Skype made it so common.  You will be able to use this app to have really high quality video calls with your friends and family that have either an Android phone or an iPhone.
• You can invite all of your friends and family to download the app so you can interact in a fun, new way.  They can just go to the website at tango.me in order to get more information
• You will be able to use this app with phones that have a front facing camera as well as those that don’t have it
• The video quality on the 3G phones is actually pretty good and you won’t have to worry about not being able to see the person you are talking to, the audio is lacking though
• You don’t have to use any cell minutes to use the app and you don’t have to sign up for any accounts as of now

Conclusion:

The Tango Video Calls Android app is a really cool way to do mobile video calls over your Android phone.  For now, the app is completely free so you can use it to your heart’s content.  You can actually do the video calling between both Android phones as well as iPhones.  The other cool thing about this app is that it will actually support phones that don’t have the front-facing cameras like those found on the iPhone 4.  The only issue, as you might have already noticed, is that if you have to turn the phone around to be able to see you, then you can’t really see the other person.   You can get a little creative, however, and use a mirror or something so that you can see the other caller while you are talking to them.  You will be able to toggle the buttons for muting as well as videos.  The video that is transmitted over the 3G network is pretty decent, but the audio is actually really bad unless you are going to be using headphones with each of the calls.
This app has been given decent ratings (nothing amazing) and is currently sitting at a rock solid 4 out of 5 stars by the people that ended up reviewing it.  One of the nice things about this app is that you can download it onto your phone for free.

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Check Windows Version

Windows Version tells the exact Build of OS and service Pack you are using. You can simply check it by using Winver Command. Open Run Dialog box by using Win+R and type “Winver” there without quotes. This will bring a Windows which has OS details such as Windows details.

Alternatively you can also use the Command prompt to find the information. Type “Winver” in command prompt. It would display all details in command prompt.

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Assign Keyboard Shortcuts for Programs

Application can be assigned a shortcut key in Windows 7. The application would launch when the combo of keys is pressed which you entered as the Shortcut Key for that application.
To create Shortcut key for any application in Windows 7:
1. Right-click the program icon and select Properties.
2. Select the Shortcut tab
3. Click in Shortcut key textbox
4. Enter the keyboard shortcut for that program.
5. Press OK to exit.
6. Use the Keyboard shortcut combo to launch the application.

Like the way i have used a combo of keys Ctrl+Alt+C to launch calculator application other applications can also be launched using Shortcut keys.

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Access Jump Lists with the Left Mouse Button

Jump Lists are a new feature in Windows 7 that shows recently used files for a particular application or related tasks to an application. Jumplists can be accessed by right clicking an application icon in Windows 7 taskbar.
Although it can be accessed by left clicking an application icon and while holding the mouse click dragging the icon upwards. i.e. Right click and drag the application icon upwards to access jumplists in Windows 7 using Left Mouse button.

The more you drag icon upwards the lesser transparency of Jumplist becomes. In above screenshot, case 1 shows when Jumplist invoked through right click and application icon is not dragged much upwards while case 2 shows solid Jumplist when application icon is dragged upwards completely.

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Firefox 4 Mobile Beta 2 Released

Mozilla today announced the second beta of Firefox 4 Mobile for Android and Maemo. The software has made substantial process and is now among the most attractive browsers for Android. It scores in performance and HTML 5 compliance tests. iPhone users may be jealous.

The first Firefox 4 Mobile Beta was a rather rough release and a browser that was easily trumped by other popular Android browsers such as Dolphin. However, the second beta is a different caliber and is, according to our preliminary test run the fastest mobile browser for Android. Since it is based on Firefox 4, is offers amazing HTML 5 support, which is on par with the desktop version.
The new beta has dropped in size substantially – from more than 40 MB for the installer to about 17 MB. Mozilla says that future versions will get rid of more weight. There is a new interface that is now much more integrated with Android. Firefox Sync is now supported as well, which allows you to bring your bookmarks through the cloud to the mobile browsers.
Our quick test included a test run of Sunspider on a T-Mobile G2 phone with an 800 MHz processor. The test was completed in 5637.3 ms, which compares to 7129.5 ms of the standard Android browser and 6887.4 ms for the popular Dolphin browser. At least in theory, you can also run any HTML 5 content on this browser you would run on your desktop Firefox. The browser scores 226 of 300 points in HTML5test.com, which trumps Dolphin (176) and the Android browser (176) by a substantial margin.
You can download the browser for Android or Maemo here. the Android version requires an OS version of 2.0 or higher. The required storage space is about 32 MB.

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Buffalo coming out with more hardware encryption-boasting flash drives

Buffalo Technology is currently readying the release of the RUF2-HSC-T Series of flash drives which enable enhanced data protection thanks to their built-in AES 256-bit hardware encryption system.

Set for a late November debut, the drives measure 55 x 8 x 20 mm, weight just 10 grams, have a slide-out USB (2.0) connector, are backed by a one-year warranty and will come in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, priced from $154 to $694.

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LG “Honeycomb” Tablet Release in 2011

Want some news about LG's new Android tablet powerhouse?

Last we heard from the Korean tech giant LG, it was scrapping plans for Froyo and looking forward to a more suitable version of Android for their tablets, which a senior official at the company has today clarified to mean Honeycomb, describing it as the "tablet PC-version" of the OS.

LG plans right now are to release the 8.9-inch LG Pad in the first quarter of 2011, boasting that it'll come with a dual-core Tegra 2 chip inside -- the release window is said to be for both domestic and overseas markets.

LG has not given any official statement about the devices.  Which is interesting.

It seems whoever the cited official in this piece, he was dishing details that LG doesn't want the world to know yet. LG's PR team has also pulled a tweet about this story, with no statement as to why.

We also know of the other LG Optimus Android Tablets/Slates, the Optimus One and the Optimus Chic .  Both of them feature the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, and probably will reach worldwide. The Optimus Chic is targeted at young customers, but the Optimus One is an entry-level device.

The  LG Optimus One has a 600MHz cpu plus a 3.2 inch wide HVGA screen sporting a long life battery to provide up to 450 minutes of talk time and of course a touch screen. The Optimus one also has a 3Mp camera and micro sd slot (up 32GB)

If LG is waiting for the newest version of the Android OS for their premium tablet and it's not Android 2.2 aka "froyo". So it is possible that Honeycomb may launch during the 1st/2nd quarter of next year.

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VIEWSONIC VIEWPAD 7 AND VIEWPAD 10 GET OFFICIAL US RELEASE

ViewSonic has announced US availability and pricing for the ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 10 Android tablets, a week after the 7- and 10-inch slates made their UK debut.  The ViewPad 7 runs Android 2.2 Froyo, while the ViewPad 10 gets Android 1.6 and Windows 7.

The ViewPad 7 will be available in late Q4 2010 priced at $479, while the dual-booting ViewPad 10 will drop in Q1 2011 at $629.

ViewPad 7 demo:

ViewPad 10 demo:

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Samsung Nexus Two With Android 2.3

It seems that Samsung will release a new smartphone,Samsung Nexus Two which will have Android 2.3 operating system.I think that Samsung Nexus Two will have at least the same succes as Samsung Galaxy S.The November 8 want to make a surprise perhaps is not so. The Samsung Nexus Two sticks his paw under the door, and it has done in the form of a mobile phone very similar to Samsung Galaxy S. However, the interest of this new edition of the official Google Mobile does not reside only in the cacharrete but, as said in Beauty and the Beast, beauty is also inside.I like this new Samsung Nexus Two.

We refer to the operating system. The essence of a Google Phone. In this case, the version of Android. Speak of the edition 2.3, known by the name Gingerbread. Despite Froy Android 2.2 has not yet been established in the market, Google have decided to throw more coal on the locomotive, anticipating its advanced edition operating system to their advantage to get more and more open competition.I am sure that Samsung Nexus Two will have a big succes.

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FlexUPD – 6-inch Flexible Color AMOLED developed by ITRI

Using FlexUPD technology, Taiwan’s’ ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) has created a new 6-inch flexible color AMOLED.

The 1mm thick AMOLED display can show images even when folded and will feature a 5cm folding radius, accompanied by 150 units of brightness as well as “unbreakable” construction.

According to ITRO, their FlexUPD technology is the most convenient and cost effective way to produce the item for mass production.

The FlexUPD will be commercialized soon, and AUO plans to use it for flexible e-reader products “very soon”.

Just think about what this kind of technology can be used for?

ITRI is finished yet, as they are also talking up its switchable 2D/3D display, able to display both types of content simultaneously and do so without the use of those ridiculous glasses.

That tech is called i2/3DW and is set to “revitalize the [display] industry by revolutionizing the concept of 3D viewing.

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The Best Halloween Apps for your iPhone and iPad

I love Halloween and I love my iPhone and my iPad – so I asked myself the question why can two great tastes, taste great together. What I found is YES, the iPhone & iPad and Halloween are perfect for each other. Here are the Best Halloween Apps for your iPhone and iPad during this Scary Halloween Season.

Safety

Google Maps – iPhone or iPad (Recommended with iPhone or iPad with 3G)- by Google(link to apple store) Pre-Installed – Plan your trick or treating route for maximum candy collection. This works great if you’re in an unfamiliar neighborhood looking for safe routes with not too much traffic. With iPhone, you can pinpoint your location on a map so you can figure out how to get there from where you are. iPhone 4 finds your location quickly and accurately using a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular towers.

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Microsoft releases "Office for Mac 2011"

Microsoft has announced the official release of Office for Mac 2011, the latest version of its office productivity suite which dumps Entourage for Outlook and includes integration with the Office Web apps — the browser-based edition of Office that lets you work with online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote applications. Among other things, Office for Mac 2011 also brings better cross-platform compatibility, speed and performance improvements, as well as the debut of the "Ribbon" menu interface which has been a part of the Windows version since 2007.

Office 2011 comes in three different versions: Home and Student, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Messenger and costs $150 (licensed for up to 3 computers in the same household); Home and Business, which also includes the new Mac version of Outlook and retails for $280 (single user, two installs and one year tech support); and the Academic version with all four suite applications for a discounted price of $100 with a limited academic license. The suite is available to purchase today from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, MacMall, or directly as a download from Microsoft.

Interestingly, Microsoft decided to forego upgrade pricing this time, charging everyone the same regardless of whether they have a previous version or not. Check out some reviews at Mashable and PCWorld to help you decide if the new features and additions are worth the cost of buying the latest Office version for Mac.

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Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta Now Available

Monday, July 12, 2010, Microsoft unveiled the public beta of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 beta. Available on TechNet, the beta isn’t truly a “public” beta, it’s more of a release to developers. In order to download, you must either select “Developer” or an “IT Professional” job.

You can get the service pack in two ways: either through Windows Update you can download the x86 or x64 edition, or you can download the entire stand-alone ISO update. The beta service pack includes a plethora of updates that make your productivity better. There is even word of performance improvements, which Windows 7 is in no dire need of, but it’s nice to know.

In April we brought you the exclusive first look at the first leaked beta of SP1, in May, we brought you another build that was farther along in build numbers, and in June we brought you what we’re sure is this same build (we’re not entirely sure yet, waiting for confirmation).

The service pack launched today is a compilation of updates released until now. Coming in at a whopping 1.2GB.

Download the Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 Service Pack Here

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