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If you found this post via Google, you’re probably a smoking hot chick, if you are a dude, no offense. Recent privacy changes in Facebook has caused a stir in the blogosphere and on Facebook as hotties continue to dozens of Facebook requests a day. Digging further, you probably discovered that your profile picture was no longer private and available for anyone who searched for you. Apparently this was one of the few subtle changes to Facebook’s privacy settings made recently, Facebook is looking to make more information public, privacy settings are now highly customizable allowing virtually any information in your profile to be set to be visible to the public. For now, based on the Facebook Help Centre: A basic set of information is publicly available, meaning it’s visible to anyone that’s able to navigate to your profile, applications you use on Facebook, and websites you connect with via Facebook. This information includes your name, profile picture, gender, current city, networks, friend list, and Pages. Any additional information (eg., photos or videos) will only be exposed if your privacy settings allow it. Apart from the above information, which you have no control over customizing anymore, note that any comment or status update made is considered in the search results, so you need to proceed with caution when you have something to say. If you can’t live with the fact that your profile picture can now be accessed by 350 million people, your best bet would be to remove it. Related posts:Facebook Looking to Bloat 350 Million Users’ Computers I login to my Facebook profile to find the first... Tired of Facebook chat only on Facebook? A few months ago Facebook launched their Facebook Chat... How to Backup Your Firefox Profile If you are a frequent surfer, your browser handles a...
The GIF file format is virtually responsible for an entire new dimension of graphical stupidity. GIF files are mini, animated, low quality images that usually portray a meaningless and funny/disgusting/lame story/joke/message meant to make forum or gaming user profiles look cool. More useful purposes of GIF files include on screen tutorials of how to perform a task on your computer and the beloved animated banners you see flashing on numerous websites (yeah, look who’s talking right?). GIF files can also be converted from static images or from a video file and maybe too large for use as avatars/profile images due to the size limitation most membership websites set on these images. In this case, your best option would be to resize the image. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s state of the art (note: italics imply sarcasm) Paint tool as well as several other popular imaging tools tend to break the animation when GIF files are resized rendering the, I repeat meaningless and funny/disgusting/lame story/joke/message, useless. To make sure this calamity doesn’t happen, GIFWorks.com provides a free, web based editor tool that allows you to seamlessly resize GIF images to you preferred size maintaining the original animation and quality of the image. All you need to is select File > Open Image, once the file is uploaded, choose Edit > Resize, select your desired size and downloaded the modified image. Another alternative solution, which is also a free, web based image editor is the Blibs editor tool. If you are aware of any other solutions, please share it in the comments. Related posts:How to Find Out Which Program Opens a File Type Ever downloaded a file online in some weird format without... How to Split Animated GIFs into Frames GIF images are the image files you see that usually... Accidentally Permanently Deleted a File? Well, depending on your deleting habits you might have experienced...
The Internet has enabled us to do a lot of things instantly and remotely, and having a real, live discussion whether it is with business clients or a group of friends is no exception. There are plenty of tools that can be downloaded that helps you do this job. For one-on-one video chat, popular messaging client Windows Live Messenger should provide a great interface to have a video chat with. Oovoo (Windows, Mac) is another paid service that allows simultaneous video chat with up to 6 people for $0.1/min per participant. (this service was free until recently). Downloading third party software however, can be a drag a and a real hassle depending on your computer habits and how lazy you are to install another software. If you want to ski passed all that, Tokbox is a great, free web based service that lets you video chat with up to 20 people at once! Registration is pretty simple (first time I’ve seen an age field from 1 to 120) and the prime feature the service provides is pretty much the single task of video conferencing. It provides an interface to easily invite users from other social networks and services like Facebook, Google and Windows Live. If you prefer using a desktop client, Tokbox also has an Adobe AIR client (i.e. it is cross-platform) to answer video calls as well. Another impressive, alternative solution is 6rounds an innovative service that offers similar features, however it is an extension of Tokbox virtually, as it is not exclusively for video conferencing but more of a meeting place where more interaction can take place between participants at a ‘meeting’. If you have any other great alternative solutions, please share it in the comments. Related posts:AVS Video Tools Review Company – Online Media Technologies Operating Systems – Windows (all)... Is Free Software taking over? When it comes to software it would be fitting to... 10 Software I found useful in 2008 A typical December 31st post well, lets get to it....
DirectX is pretty much a driver for your Windows display and would usually matter for high graphic applications like games. Certain applications require a particular version of DirectX to run. DirectX has long been standing in version 9.0c until being recently updated to version 10 and then to 11 in quick succession so my guess would be you are using version 9.0c if you are not a hard core gamer. To verify this of course, you need to perform the following steps: Go to Start > Run > “dxdiag” In the “system” tab, at the bottom you will find the DirectX version. Related posts:Registry Tweak – Enabling/Disabling the Shutdown capability Here is a registry tweak which you could use to... Registry Tweak – Enabling/Disabling the Display properties Here is a registry tweak which you could use to... Registry Tweak – Enabling/Disabling the Folder Options Here is a registry tweak which you could use to...
I login to my Facebook profile to find the first step toward their downfall. While apparently they want to provide their users “better security through software“, this is nothing more than a marketing stunt for Facebook to monetize their large user base. Facebook is in partnership with McAfee to offer a free 6 month subscription of McAfee Internet Security to all Facebook users. While a few years ago, during the times when McAfee dominated the security software industry, and McAfee was almost synonymous with security software, this move might have been a lot smarter. Today though, McAfee conveniently leeches a good sum of your processing power to keep you ‘protected’ which would mean several frustrated Facebook and McAfee users. While it appears to be a gracious gesture on Facebook’s part, it provides McAfee access to a potential 350 million new customers. (probably a lot less, because fortunately there are people on Facebook who have some sense). Also to make use of this offer you need to become a ‘fan’ of McAfee on their Facebook page and enter your credit card details, your card would be billed at the end of the six months unless canceled. Just a good gesture? I think not. On a more positive note, malware and online security has been a serious issue this past year, and with all the privacy concerns with Facebook lately, having an internet security tool installed can provide some sort of assurance in terms of online security. McAfee Internet Security won’t be the best solution though with better free tools available. In Facebook’s perspective, this could be the beginning of a wave of ‘giveaways’ from software tools to maybe even physical products pushed to users to make a few millions on the side (speculation of course). Comments are welcome, as always. Related posts:How to Make Your Facebook Profile Picture Private If you found this post via Google, you’re probably a... Tired of Facebook chat only on Facebook? A few months ago Facebook launched their Facebook Chat... Google Toolbar users Beware A bug was discovered in the popular Google Toolbar which...
Microsoft Word has long dominated word processing software. While their products usually suck and bring about a plethora of criticism from all over the web they are probably doing something right with their Microsoft Word word processor which is part of their bloated Microsoft Office package. Today, Microsoft Word is pretty much synonymous to word processing but the hefty price tag makes us all wonder if they are unaware that open source and free software that is just as good, exist. If you’re not prepared to pay the $100+ for Microsoft Office, specifically if you only require the word processor there are several, highly competitive free and open source alternatives that you can try out. I have highlighted the three best options IMO. OpenOffice.org We’ve previously covered OpenOffice a few times and it is hands down the best alternative to the Microsoft Office suite, the word processor in OpenOffice known as the Writer is quite comprehensive providing an extensive set of features which can be directly compared to Microsof Word, as the name suggests, OpenOffice is open source which would in some ways make it excel over Microsoft Office as it is backed by a powerful community. Another point of note is it is a cross-platform software available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Google Docs If you are tech savvy and you aren’t dead you probably would have noticed a certain trend in the latest services and products. Most software and tech companies have turned to cloud computing for the number of benefits (Google it) it provides. Google is particularly interesting in taking cloud computing to the next level as it comprises of the Internet which they’re arguably the heart of (or whatever). Google Docs is a comprehensive word processor that is tied to a Google account and provides most features of your word processor, all documents saved or opened can be accessed via the cloud. Personally, I am slowly shifting towards Google Docs and uploading all my documents. The concept is amazing to keep it short and simple, and as the web app is perfected and more features are added with time, it is only going to get better. For now one drawback I noticed is that importing documents that are more than plain text can cause it to appear buggy in the Google editor, apart from that it is pretty solid. Abiword AbiWord is another reasonable, open source desktop alternative.The fact that it is a standalone word processor and has a portable version available (thanks to PortableApps) caters to being a handy backup solution to maintain on your portable device (in case you need to use a word processor on a porn star’s computer, who are probably the only people that won’t have a reason to have a word processor installed). Abiword is also available for Mac and Linux. Unless you live in a uterus though, you will probably have an internet connection so Google docs should probably be your word processor of choice over Abiword, not to mention Abiword looks like it came from the 90’s). There are quite a few other alternatives but the above 3 are the cream of the lot and would serve your word processing needs just fine. If there is any other word processor you swear by, don’t hesitate to leave it in a comment. Related posts:British Schools to stick with older versions of Microsoft products The agency governing education technology in the UK has requested... Still Outdated With Your Word Processor? It’s been a while since Microsoft rolled out the docx... How to Create a PDF File PDF files are commonly used file formats for documents and...
Knowing the frames that are displayed per second can help you diagnose your CPU’s and display’s performance, this is specifically important if you happen to be a hardcore gamer. While several applications (mainly games) that may require the awareness of the frames per second used for diagnostics provide a command line method to have it displayed, some of them fail to incorporate this feature. In this situation, there is an alternative solution that helps you determine the FPS accurately. Fraps (Windows | Shareware) is a benchmarking tool that lets you easily find out the number of frames per second at a given time on your screen, occupying minimal screen real estate, Fraps displays the frames per second unobtrusively on the bottom corner of your screen. The statistics maybe exported and referred later. Apart from providing stats on frames used, it is also a screen capturing and recording software. It provides a user-friendly mechanism to efficiently capture screens and record gameplay/screenplay. Fraps maybe downloaded for free but has a few limitations, the free version watermarks images captured and provides only a 30 second time range for screen recording. For the purpose of measuring FPS, the free version is sufficient. Visit Site Related posts:How to Record Your Screen Activity Ever needed to capture your screen in action? You might... How to Split Animated GIFs into Frames GIF images are the image files you see that usually... Need to Pick a Color On Your Screen? If you are into any form of creating or editing...
Laptops are handy and easy to carry around, thus they are always eyed by the desperate low life thief looking for some easy pickings, and with Netbook sales soaring, it just got a notch easier. Leaving your laptop unattended even for a very brief moment can be a mistake worth a thousand dollars. Thus, a program that acts based on a car alarm system can always provide peace of mind when you are outdoors, iAlertU is an application that protects your MacBook by triggering an alarm based on sudden movements detected by the built in motion sensor. It also provides the option of triggering an alarm and a visual notification based on mouse movement and keyboard usage, the built in webcam can be configured to snap a picture to hopefully capture the thief’s face in that moment of guilt. Unfortunately there are no alternatives as sophisticated for Windows notebooks but thankfully Windows notebooks are cheaper in comparison because of their inferior looks to be frank. There are a few alternatives that are not even half as badass as IalertU but worth an install. There is LaptopLock that comprises of a fairly different concept to IalertU. LaptopLock lets you configure certain options to be executed in case your laptop gets stolen, as long as the application is active, the preferences can be executed via the Internet. Preferences include deleting or encrypting files, executing a program and displaying a message among other features. In short this program gives you the option on taking revenge on the thief (by executing a utility that allows only surfing by Internet Explorer perhaps) instead of protecting you from theft in the first place. Another solution worth mentioning is Laptop Alarm, Laptop Alarm is a tiny shareware app that sounds an alarm when the power cable or mouse is removed or if the laptop is shutdown. IMO it is completely not worth the price of 8 Euros though for such a simple app. If you have any other similar software recommendations, please do share them in the comments. Related posts:The Best Laptop Solution for Students Many high school and college students use laptops today. Laptops... Dell E6400 Laptop Review Dell recently released the new E series corporate laptops. I’ve... Try a Different Way of Surfing, Use Gestures Shortcuts make things a lot more productive while you surf,...
I am a heavy mobile user and surfer, I usually do not cover mobile related topics on Computer Realm because it’s, well, Computer Realm after all. Occasionally however if I pick up something worth notifying my readers about (like the mobile flv player post) I do share it on the site. The latest beta of Opera Mini nailed it in terms of interface and features, several improvements were implemented, including a completely re-designed interface, tabbed browsing, download manager, password manager and text selection making my Nokia E63 the ideal mobile device IMO, however key features like bookmark synchronization and RSS feeds existing in previous versions were somehow overlooked. The bookmark synchronization feature was re-introduced in the second beta while RSS still wasn’t available. Personally, I tend to subscribe and keep track of blogs via mobile as readability is easier and the smaller screen size allows blocks of text to be read in ideal quantities for effective reading. The lack of the RSS feature was a disappointment, I had resolved to installing both versions and used the previous version just for rss. I recently discovered that while the feature wasn’t available, the option to subscribe to feeds was still available. It then occurred to me that the feature was available in Opera Mini 5 as well however it was concealed as the developers have somehow failed to link to the feeds page. Using Opera Mini 4, I retrieved the feed URL which is: feed://list I bookmarked it on my speed dial and it’s pretty much just like how it used to be on the previous version. I suspect an icon would be added in the next build and maybe even a complete revamp with the reader could be possibly implemented, till then, this solution works just fine. Related posts:Opera Vs. Firefox Opera or Firefox? Confused? Going crazy over what’s better.... Opera Web Browser Review Company – Opera OS – Windows, Mac, FreeBSD, Solaris, QNX,... Opera Looking to Turn Your Local Computer into a Web Server The Internet has been set ablaze once again with news...
File sharing is pretty much passed the ‘Limewire phase’ and has now shifted towards torrents. While file sharing services like Limewire was popular, torrents were still fairly new and many were hesitant to jump on the bandwagon because..well because they were retarded, first impressions on how to use torrents can be baffling to a Limewire user, however with the Gnutella network heavily hit by viruses and fake downloads, most p2p users had no choice but to shift towards torrents. One of the first things that strikes a torrent user would be the seeds and peers attribute on a torrent file. If you’ve used torrents long enough you will realize that these numbers have a relation to the speed of the torrent. Seeds are users that have downloaded the file completely on their local machine and are sharing the file. Peers are users who are in process of downloading the file and have a partial copy of the file in their machine. Peers can be sharing as well. Based on the above definitions, the number of seeds is directly proportional to the speed of the torrent, a high number of peers can also contribute to speed if seeds are at a reasonably high level as well, a low seed count in comparison to the number of peers can result in slow download speeds. A quick look at these two numbers should give you an idea of what speed to expect from your torrent. Related posts:Does Limewire Cause Viruses? Limewire has revolutionized the World by making media illegally available... Legal Free Music Service to be launched A new service named Qtrax is to be launched providing... How to Make Utorrent Faster Utorrent is pretty much the number 1 bittorrent client (feel...
