This practice has been a little controversial because some people believe that it can sometimes feel a little bit like spam.  Therefore, you have to be careful on what you are auto-posting, and how much.  If you do it right, then it can definitely help with your productivity.

Here are ways to automate your accounts on the top social networking sites, so that you can enjoy other aspects of your life.

Twitter

MakeTechEasier has an article, “5 Easy Ways to Schedule Your Tweets,” that details five services for Twitter that allows you to schedule your tweets.

Facebook and LinkedIn (HootSuite)

HootSuite, already featured as an auto-scheduler for Twitter, is the ultimate way to auto schedule your posts in just one central location. It is a web-based application that provides a way for you to manage your different social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc.).

When you are ready to schedule your posts (or tweets), you just have to type it and change the date and time. The neat thing about HootSuite is that you are able to pick-and-choose which accounts these scheduled posts will go to. It can go to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. It’s very easy and quick, and you don’t have to recheck to ensure that the date you chose is still correct.

Posterous

Posterous now provides its users a way to schedule tweets. When you are creating a new post via the web or the bookmarklet, you now see a check box called, “Schedule this post for the future.” When you check it, you are given instruction to enter the number of days or weeks that you want the post to appear. The only thing that I don’t like is that I prefer a way to enter a time and date. You actually can enter it, but the instructions a little misleading.

If you edit your post, you will see the date and time. The post is marked private until it is published.

When it’s scheduled the way you want, then you will see a little clock icon next to the post. Definitely something that many people have been looking for.

Tumblr

Tumblr provides an easy for you to share anything. It helps anyone, regardless of his/her interest, be able to setup a blog quickly and seamlessly. Tumblr is easy to customize to make it look and work the way that you want.

Like Posterous, if you try to post something using the bookmarklet, it is a little misleading. I placed the date and time as shown below. However, when I went to edit the post, the date and time was completely different than what I placed.

In this area, you are able to set the actual date and time that you want to use.  As Posterous, Tumblr needs to work on the way they schedule their posts.

What kind of application do you use to schedule your posts? Do you think it’s a good idea for people to do that?

The post How to Automate Your Social Media Life appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

1. Find a domain and hosting provider

If you did not have your own domain, then you will need to find a domain provider. Find one that also has hosting plans (we recommend Hostgator), so you don’t have to look around for another service.

2. Setup the WordPress database

Create a new database for your WordPress. If you use a Macbook, then you can use this guide to install and test WordPress. If you need a more general guide, then check out the one the WordPress team put together. Some of the services actually have a way for you to press one button, and they will install WordPress for you. With the popularity of WordPress, many of them should be jumping on the bandwagon.

3. Export your blog out of Blogger

You always want to protect your blog, just in case something doesn’t go right. Therefore, I recommend exporting your Blogger blog, if something doesn’t go right. You do this by logging onto Blogger, and you go to your blog’s settings, you will see Basic tab. You will see the Export blog link.

When you click the link, you will be able to download your blog after pressing the Download Blog button.

4. Import your blog into your self-hosted WordPress

After exporting your Blogger blog, log into WordPress.  Click on Tools -> Import. All the blogging platforms that can be imported into WordPress are shown. Click on the Blogger link.

Press the Authorize button to start importing your posts, comments, and users from Blogger into WordPress.

You will be taken to a Google window where you have to press the Grant Access button

You will see all your Blogger blogs. Select the one you want to import, and press the Import button.

After your Blogger posts and comments are imported into WordPress, you will be able to import the authors by pressing the Set Authors button.

You can map your Blogger name to your WordPress one.  If there is a new author, then there is an add users link that will allow you to create a user in WordPress that you can map to the new Blogger one.

Have you imported your Blogger blog into a self-hosted WordPress? How did it go for you?

The post How to Migrate From Blogger.com to Self-Hosted WordPress appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Using the Web Site

When you log in, you will see a search page like you would see for any search engine. It has the current trending topics, if you wanted to check out what is popular on Twitter.

When you search for something, then the search results are shown in the image below. On the left-hand corner, you can decide what timeline you want to choose from. Also, you can select if you want to search the web, photos, or actual tweets. However, viewing the web allows you to view the tweets as well because the listing has the tweet below.

If you decide to log in with your Twitter user ID and password, you will see a home page that shows all of the things that you have posted on social media networks, how many times people have tweeted the same link, and information, like your web site, that Twitter account is associated with.

On March 3rd, Topsy introduced alerts. You can get search results right to your inbox.

Adding a Topsy Button To Your WordPress Site

Like Tweetmeme, Topsy allows you to place a retweet button on your site. If you are using a WordPress site, there are two ways to add their button on your site: WordPress plugin and Javascript version.

The Topsy WordPress plugin is easy to install. After installing the plugin, you will go to Settings to customize the button. One thing that I like about Topsy, that I haven’t seen with other retweet buttons is that it gives you a wide range of options on where to display the retweet button. If you don’t want it on all your pages, then you can pick-and-choose which ones you want to place them on. You can also add your own CSS.

I like the fact that you can change the color scheme to fit your site/blog. Also, that if you delete or update your blog, you are able to notify Topsy, and they will be sure to reflect that on their end. Very useful.

The trackback feature is pretty nifty because you can create trackbacks if someone leaves a comment. Not sure if I like this “Only create trackback comments from influential tweeters.“ How can they know that? If I have a technology-type site/blog, the people I find influential are going to be different if I had a fashion site/blog. This is what it states on their site: “On our website, roughly the top 0.2% most influential of all Twitter users are tagged “Highly Influential”, and “Influential” tags appear for the top 0.5% most influential Twitter users.” I would love to hear from Topsy creators to figure out their calculation.

Topsy is an interesting search engine and application. I like the layout and the search display on their web site. It’s also great that they have a user profile that allows you to see how your tweets are doing. However, with Google and Yahoo! partnering up with Twitter and having tweets as part of their search results, Topsy has to find a way to keep things interesting. Their WordPress plugin is one of the most flexible ones that I have seen when it comes to retweeting buttons. However, this “influential” tweeter trackback feature kind of threw me off. Overall, Topsy has potential.

Have you used Topsy retweet button on your site?

The post How To Integrate Topsy Into Your WordPress Site appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Create a Group Blog

When you log into Posterous, you want to click on the Manage link. Click the Create a new posterous… link to develop a new Posterous blog.

Enter the desired group’s Site Name and Address. After choosing one, click the Check for availability link to ensure that no one has chosen it. If it’s available, you will get a note saying that the “Cool, this site address is good to go.” Press the Create New Site button to finish setting it up.

Create a Group Profile

There are different tabs to set up your group blog. The first tab you want to check out is the Group Profile. After clicking it, you will see that this is where you will setup your group profile.

This will allow you to have a different name, photo, bio, and autoposting to social networking sites for your group than for you, individually.

Add all the social networking sites that you want to automatically post your Posterous blog posts to. A new feature that the Posterous team added after our first post is the ability to pick and choose which sites you want to automatically be sent to when you are creating a new post.

Add Contributors

Next, head over to the Contributors tab. In here, you will be able to invite the people you want to be able to post to the group blog. The great thing about this is that you are able to have your group blog double as an email list to anyone listed in this Contributors tab.

Press the Add contributors button. Posterous gives you the ability to import email address from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Windows Live.  Press the Add Contributors button. Your requests will be sent. The person will receive an email with a link that will allow them to add them to the group blog.

Customize Your Group Blog

Go to the Settings tab, you will be able to change the theme of your Posterous group blog by pressing Theme and customize my site button. If you want to add the Retweet button, then click the More Theme Options>> link, which will give the check box to add that. If you want to further customize your Posterous group blog, and you know CSS and HTML, you can do so, by clicking the write your own CSS/HTML link.

When you press the button, you are able to modify the header color, text, and image. Also, you can add the retweet the button in this area as well. After you make all the modifications that you need to do, then press the Update button.

Start Posting

Since the last time we wrote about Posterous, they have added other ways to post other than email, bookmarklet, or web.

You are now able to post via your mobile phone or their new service Post.Ly. Post.Ly provides a way for you to post all types of things (e.g. images, videos, etc.) to Twitter. Additionally, because it’s Posterous, you can also have it post to your group blog.

New Features Added To Aid Groups

A new feature on this tab is the ability to integrate Feedburner with Posterous. All you have to do is add the link to the feedburner feed that you set up.

If this group blog is going to be for a family, or a group who wants to keep their posts private, then you can modify the privacy by password protecting your site.

Posterous has also added instructions on how to integrate Posterous with Google Buzz.

Have you created a group blog using Posterous? Tell us about it.

The post How to Create a Group Blog In Posterous appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Download the Software

When you go to the site, you will see a Download Now button that you will need to press. After you download the software, double-click the pulpTunes icon. A startup message will appear with some basic instructions on how to quickly launch the app. If you decide you no longer want to see that message, check the Don’t show this again at startup check box. I would leave this to come up when the app launches because it provides useful information that you might forget. For instance, what to do if you are unable to launch pulpTunes with your browser.

Check the Settings

The next thing you want to do is check the app’s settings. Regardless of what system (i.e. Windows, Mac, or LInux) you are on, you will see the pulpTunes’ icon on the system tray.

If you click on the icon, you will see a box with options. If you check out the Settings link, it defaults on the General tab. You can set up the automatic playing, the iTunes library file location, and your preferred language.

If you click on the Advanced tab, then you can change the server port, timeout time, and turning on/off logs. It’s a very simple process to customize pulpTunes to your liking.

Manage User Accounts

If you want to add more security to your music collection, or restrict who has access, then you would want to enable user accounts that is under User Management. When you first come in, you will need to create an Administrator account. This will be the way to control all access on pulpTunes.

When you open the pulpTunes’ site again, you will see a login link where you can set up the user groups and customize their access. You can restrict the ability to rate songs, view your playlists, and/or have access to pulpTunes.

After creating the user groups, you can go to the Accounts tab, and create your user accounts. Note: You have to place users into user groups, so always start with the Groups tab.

Time to Check it Out

After customizing pulpTunes to your liking, it’s time to check it out. You are able to test it by clicking the Test Locally link before launching it. I recommend that you do that. One thing about pulpTunes that is interesting is that you don’t need to have iTunes open in order to run the app. You are able to run searches, check out your playlists, and even select a certain genre.

Overall, pulpTunes is a quick and easy app that will give you access to your music without needing to download iTunes or buy a MP3 player. You might have to do some tweaking to your firewall settings in order to allow the app to run seamlessly. However, after doing that, you will be pumping to your music in no time.

The post How to Access Your iTunes Music From Anywhere appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Try resetting your password

The first thing you should try to do if your email account has been hacked is to reset your password. When you first enter the site, click the link that will take you to the area where you can reset it.

Hotmail: Forgot your password?

1. Enter your Windows Live ID and CAPTCHA
2. Click the radio button next to the email address you want your temporary password sent to. You are given a choice of your Hotmail email address (doesn’t make any sense if that is the account I can’t login to) or alternate email address (if you have entered one).
3. Password reset instructions are sent to your alternate e-mail address
4. Click or copy+paste the link into your web browser
5. Enter your Windows Live ID, type in your new password and confirm it
6. Check the Make my password expire every 72 days check boxes, so it forces you to always change your password
7. Press the Continue button. Sign in with your new login credentials

Yahoo: I can’t access my account

1. Click the I forgot my password or My password doesn’t work radio button, and press the Next button
2. Enter your Yahoo! ID and CAPTCHA



3. Enter your alternate email (if you added one), your mobile phone number (if you use your smartphone), or click the I can’t access any of the above radio button
4. Press the Next button



5. If you select alternate email address, then password reset instructions are sent
6. If you select mobile phone, then a code will be sent that you will have to type in the next screen
7. If you select I can’t access any of the above, then you will have to answer two personalized questions that you chose when you created the account
8. Type in your new password and confirm it
9. Press the Next Button

Gmail: Can’t access your account? link.

1. Click the I forgot my password or My password doesn’t seem to be working radio button
2. Enter your User ID and captcha
3. Answer the personalized question that you chose when you created the account
4. Type in your new password and confirm it
5. Press the Reset Password button

Check your security options

Regardless of which email provider you are using, you should ensure that you have an alternate email address and security questions. You will need to log into your email account. There will be a link to check your account settings. In this area, you will be able to change your password, add an alternate email address, and check your security questions. Note: Please remember that a confirmation email will be sent to your alternate email address. You will need to confirm that is your account.

Please ensure that you are not choosing security questions that anyone who has an idea of you will figure out. You want to select the ones that will be hard for even your own mother to come up with.

Yahoo! has the additional security where you can add a sign-in seal. This seal is a word or an image that you have chosen that lets you know that you are actually on your sign-on page. These are the steps to add one:

1. On any Yahoo! sign-on page, click the Create your sign-on seal link



2. Choose Create a text seal or Upload an image
3. If you choose text, then create a message that only you will know
4. If you choose an image, upload one and select the color scheme
5. After you preview your text or image seal, press the Save This Seal button



6. It should now appear on the Yahoo! sign-on page

However, the sign-on seal is only for the computer you are currently on. Yahoo! should think about having the sign-on seal appear regardless of the computer you are on. Financial institutions have used sign-on seals as an additional security layer for years, and it doesn’t have to be specifically on one computer.

I can’t get access to my email account at all

There are times that you still can’t get into your email account. Maybe the person who hacked into your account already moved quickly and changed your password, alternate email address, and security quetions. What can you do then? You will have to work with your email provider’s Customer Support to get the problem resolved.

For Hotmail, you have go through numerous prompts before you able to access their Customer Support to fill out a form:

1. Click the Help Central link
2. Click any of the questions in the FAQs list
3. In the lower-right hand corner, click the Get More Help link
4. Click the Get Support link to get to the form

For Yahoo! Mail, it’s a little misleading if you try to use the My account may have been compromised option when resetting your password. The best way is to go directly to Yahoo! Help, and click the Report Abuse link. You will be taken to the form where you can have someone from Yahoo to contact you.

For Gmail, it’s very quick and simple to get some assistance.  Click the My account has been compromised radio button. A link to the account recovery form will appear.

Out of all three services, Yahoo! seems to provide the most security, and make it easier for you to get access to your email account, if you need to. Hotmail seems to be a little difficult to navigate, and Gmail is a little too easy for anyone to get into your email.

The post How to Gain Access to Your Hacked Email Account appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

1. Seesmic Desktop

Seesmic Desktop is one of two Adobe Air apps that help you keep on top of your Twitter and Facebook accounts. It supports Twitter lists, so you can keep up with your own, and the ones you are following. Another great feature of this application is that you can add the URL shortener and/or image sharing applications that you usually use. Seesmic bought Ping.fm late last year, so soon you will be able to update more than 50 social media sites in an instant. It is definitely a must-have Adobe Air app to have.

2. aSnippet

aSnippet is a great way to store snippets of code while sharing it with others. If you create an account, you are able to add other users and chat with them while using the Adobe Air app. It’s great because if you are stuck trying to figure something out with your code, you can use social networking to find the answer. Also, it supports various programming languages, so it provides versatility.

3. Klok

Klok helps you keep track of where your time goes. It can be used for personal, business, or both. You are able to create multiple projects, and within these projects, you can further break them down into sub-projects. It automatically keeps track of your time by pressing the Start/Stop buttons. The reports are a good way for you to view what areas need improvement.

4. Ora Time and Expense

Ora Time and Expense helps you manage your time and create invoices. This is a great Adobe Air app that has a variety of reports that you can use to see where your time has gone. It works with Projects and Types, which are similar to sub-projects. In addition to managing your time, it also gives you a way to track your expenses. A great app that provides a variety of functionality.

5. GmD

GmD brings all the Google applications (i.e. Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Reader, and Picasa) in a standalone application. The Adobe Air app also allows you to add another Google app rather than the regular ones by adding the link. It would be great if the developers would allow the different Google applications to be viewed at once.

6. Snackr

Snackr is a RSS ticker that allows you to see the RSS feeds that you are subscribed to. There are four ways to pull in RSS feeds:
1. Google Reader
2. Import OMPL file
3. Snackr suggested feeds
4. Manually enter feeds.

It’s a great way to view your RSS feeds without having to log into any application.

7. Flickroom (Update: No longer exists)

Flickroom is an Adobe Air standalone app that allows you to view photos on Flickr beautifully. One of the great things about this application is that you do not have to authorize it to your Flickr account, if you choose not to. This is something many other Flickr apps do not give an option for. You can view your photos in three ways (i.e. Grid, Filmstrip, or Map). It has a search function very similar to the one on the Flickr site. It’s a great application for photo lovers.

8. uvLayer

uvLayer allows users to discover, share, and watch videos throughout the webosphere. You can add RSS feeds from various sources, even other users’. The format is great because you can drag the different video windows around, so you can organize it any way you want.

9. Polaris (Update: No longer exists)

Polaris provides a way for you to view your Google Analytics right on your desktop. There used to be a Google Analytics Adobe Air app, but unfortunately, the links no longer work. Therefore, Polaris is a good alternative to use. You are given all the options you would get if you were on the Google Analytics site. Polaris also offers various reports that you can use to check how well your site/blog traffic is. It would be great if you could view different views of your web traffic at the same time. However, just being able to view Google Analytics on your desktop is useful already.

10. inPreso Screens

inPreso Screens is an Adobe Air app that allows you to create mock-ups for web site and blogs. It has tons of different tools that you can use to aid you in creating a design that will improve usability with users. There is a premium version that will provide you access to additional tools. However, the free version has an abundance of features that you can easily create a great mock-up.

As I stated before, there are new Adobe Air apps popping up every day, so this list will probably change, if the developers do not upgrade their applications to the newest and latest features. If you want to view more, you can go to Adobe Marketplace to search and find other Adobe Air apps.

Which are the Adobe Air apps you can’t live without?

The post 10 Best Free Adobe Air Apps to Have on Your System appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Modify the .htaccess File

The best way to do this is by modifying your .htaccess file. It should be in the main directory of web site.  Open it using your Text Editor to add the following code:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?yourdomain.com(/)?.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(gif|jpe?g|png|bmp)$ [F,NC]

RewriteCond will allow the sites (your own site URL should be here) that are able to use the images on your site. If you want to allow search engines the ability to have your images show up in the Image Search function, then add the following code:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !google. [NC]
 
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !msn. [NC]
 
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !yahoo. [NC]

You should probably think of adding your RSS feed as well, so your images are displayed on your RSS.

RewriteRule are the files that you do not want people hotlinking.

Use PHP Code

If you prefer using PHP instead. Create a new PHP file, and the following code will allow you to do the same thing as modifying the .htccess file:

<?php
$dir='secret-unknown-name-here/';
if ((!$file=realpath($dir.$_GET['file']))
    || strpos($file,realpath($dir))!==0 || substr($file,-4)=='.php'){
  header('HTTP/1.0 404 Not Found');
  exit();
}
$ref=$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
if (strpos($ref,'http://www.yoursite.com/')===0 || strpos($ref,'http')!==0){
  $mime=array(
    'jpg'=&gt;'image/jpeg',
    'png'=&gt;'image/png',
    'bmp'=&gt;’image/bmp',
  );
  $stat=stat($file);
  header('Content-Type: '.$mime[substr($file,-3)]);
  header('Content-Length: '.$stat[7]);
  header('Last-Modified: '.gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s',$stat[9]).' GMT');
  readfile($file);
  exit();
}
header('Pragma: no-cache');
header('Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate');
include($file.'.php');
?>

The first thing to do is replace ”secret-unknown-name-here” with something that no one but who you want to give access to will be able to guess. Please ensure that you create a directory of the same name.  Where it says, “http://www.yoursite.com/,” replace that with your own web site’s URL. Add the image extensions that you don’t want to allow hotlinking where you see jpg, png, and bmp. Any files that you don’t want to allow hotlinking, place it in the secret directory.

The best and easiest way to prevent people from hotlinking your images is by modifying the .htaccess file. It’s quick and simple compared to coding it the PHP method. However, whatever way is up to you. On the other hand, hotlinking can be wonderful for search engine optimization (SEO), so you might not want to be too strict on this if you are practicing SEO. However, it’s really up to you how you handle hotlinking and this will help you do it.

Editor’s note: The above method works if and only if the images are hosted on your own server. If you are using third party services like Amazon S3, the above methods will not work.

Image credit: Zemalf

The post Two Simples Codes to Prevent People from Hotlinking Your Images appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

In December, Facebook introduced a new facet to their privacy settings. They would default them to be viewed by everyone, which means that anyone with a Facebook account can view your settings. It caused a huge uproar by some people, but I wasn’t one of them. I had come to realize awhile back that Facebook gave its users some of the best control over their accounts than any other social networking site. However, many people had no clue about it. I would tell people about how I had people on different lists that allowed me to decide what information I wanted groups of people to see. They didn’t even know the feature existed. If you want to change yours, here is a guide to get you up to speed on how to change your Facebook privacy settings.

First Step: Put people on lists

Facebook lists provide a way for users to group their friends for two reasons: to organize your friends and to have more control of your privacy by using these lists. I haven’t seen any restrictions on the amounts of lists that you can create. Additionally, you can place a friend in multiple lists, if you desired. Therefore, it provides Facebook users flexibility and ultimate control of their friends. It is also very user friendly andy easy to create, modify, or delete lists that it doesn’t take a Facebook expert to work with them. To create a list, login to Facebook. After you have successfully logged in, click on the Friends link above. Press the Create List button. Enter the name you wish to call your list, and you can enter the friends you want to add to that list.

To modify, you press the Edit List button, and you are sent to the same window where you can modify the name and/or people in that list. You can also delete the list by pressing the Delete List button. Another way to add or remove friends from a list is by clicking the list arrow next to their name. A pop-up window opens up, and you can choose as many list as you want to add them to. Very quick and painless.

Second Step: Check your profile privacy settings

After placing everyone into lists, you want to modify your privacy settings. To do so, go to Settings and then Privacy Settings. In the Privacy Settings window, go to Profile Information. Profile Information is where you can control what people can see on your profile. The default provided to Facebook users are:

If you are fine choosing one of the first four, then you are done. However, you can also customize who can view your profile information. This is where the lists you created in the first step come in handy. When you choose Custom, then you can select the people and networks (only the ones you are in) can view this part of your profile.  You can also hide your profile from a specific friend or friend list.

In this area, you can also modify the privacy settings for your photo albums. If you go to Photo Albums, and press the Edit Settings, you can modify the settings for each individual photo album.

The choices are similar to the rest of the privacy settings where you can also customize it, if you choose to.

Step Three: Check your contact privacy settings

In the Contact Information window, you are able to control who sees your contact information.  Modify each privacy setting in the same way that you did for your profile information. As in Step Two, you can also customize the privacy setting to your liking.

Step Four: Check what applications and web sites have access to what information

You should always check what information applications and web sites have access to. Also, what kind of information your friends can provide about you. There is a quick guide that you can access if you press the Learn More button. If you want to modify what information your friends can share about you with third-party applications and web sites, press the Edit Settings buttons in the What your friends can share about you section. I suggest sharing as little information as possible, but it’s whatever your preference is.

In the Blocked Applications area, you can block certain applications that you don’t want them to have access to your information whatsoever. You can also ignore application requests from specific friends.  Currently, you can only do it by typing an individual’s name. It would be nice if Facebook added the capability of ignoring an entire friend list.

Step Five: Control who can search you

You can control who can search for your Facebook profile by going to the Search area. You can select from five choices: Everyone, Friends and Networks, Friends of Friends, and Only Friends. You can modify if search engines can pull items that you post that you label to be viewed by Everyone.

Step Six: Block people who you don’t want access to any of your information

In the Block area, you can block certain people who you don’t want them to have access to your Facebook information. Note that if you have checked the Public Search Results check box, blocked people can still view your information through a search engine.  Therefore, you should be weary as to what you have labeled for everyone to view.

Step Seven: Remember your privacy setting when posting items

If you use the Facebook bookmarklet or directly post from the site, remember to always check the privacy setting on the item your posting. On the lower-right hand corner, you will see a lock icon. If you click on it, you can modify who can view that item. One neat thing is that you can also customize the view to the way you see fit.

Facebook provides a way to control who can view the information the way you choose to. You should now be able to modify your privacy settings with no issues.

The post Seven Steps to Take Control of Your Privacy on Facebook appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

You will be forwarded to the tool where you can customize your photo collage. In this tool, you can add photos, crop a photo, or delete one. Note: The number of photos that you can add (up to 30 photos) depends on which template you select. You can also choose the background color and/or image for your photo collage. If you want to choose a HTML color that isn’t already listed, then you can always enter the code.

After pressing the Save button, Photovisi will provide you a link to download your photo collage. The photo collage is in a JPEG format and it’s a standard desktop size (i.e. 1024 x 786). You are also given an option to use the Photovisi Online Store to create different keepsakes, such as mugs, mousepad, magnet, etc., using your photo collage.

Photovisi is a useful tool to create quick photo collages that can be used as wallpaper or to create keepsakes. It’s user friendly and accessible from any location. I like that you don’t need to create an account to create a photo collage. Also, Photovisi makes the creation time quick and painless. It wasn’t as long as I thought it would take.

It would help if it integrated with photo management sites, like Flickr, Picasa, etc. In this way, users would be able to access their images from anywhere without having the images on their hard drive. Also, it would be nice if they allowed you to select the size and image format that you wanted to download the photo collage as. For instance, my PC laptop’s screen resolution is 1920 x 1200 px. Therefore, the image clarity would not be as clear as if my screen resolution was lower.

Photovisi definitely has a good start to being a great photo collage tool. Additionally, it’s a smart move they link your creation to their online store, so people are given the option to print their creation on an everyday item. Photovisi is a photo collage tool to save and watch how it evolves.

The post Create a Photo Collage for Print or Wallpaper Using Photovisi appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

In 2009, we saw the Twitter fail whale way too many times. There were several attacks that crippled Twitter and had many of its users (me included) wondering if they would ever be able to access their accounts again. In its 2010 Threat Predictions report, McAfee has predicted that social networking sites, like Twitter, and third-party applications will be the major victims of cyber threats. Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, released a statement,

“ Over the past decade, we’ve seen a tremendous improvement in the ability to successfully monitor, uncover, and stop cyber crime. We’re now facing emerging threats from the explosive growth of social networking sites, the exploitation of popular applications and more advanced techniques used by cyber criminals.”

Some of Twitter’s third-party applications; for instance, Bit.ly and Tinyurl provide users a way to shorten their URLs, so their tweets can fit in the 140 characters window. McAfee says that these abbreviated URLs can help people and services attempting to do a cybercrime against Twitter. People have become more trusting clicking on URLs shortened by these services, so they will not be as apprehensive to click on them. Here are a few ways you can protect your Twitter account from any security threats:

Password Management

1. Don’t Tell Anyone Your Password – Your password gives instant access to your private information. Therefore, never give anyone your password. Even if people from Twitter contact you claiming they need your username and password, do not give it to them. Only you should know your password.

2. Change Your Password Regularly – People usually get stuck using the same password for months and months, even years It is good practice to change your password every 60-90 days. Mark it on a calendar and send yourself a reminder so you don’t forget.

3. Have a Strong Password – Passwords are usually thought up from something dear to a person’s heart. Therefore, you should have a strong password that will make it hard for anyone to guess. Here is a good guideline for password creation:

• Include numbers, symbols, upper and lowercase letters in passwords
• Password length should be around 12 to 14 characters
• If the system is case sensitive use capital and lower-case letters
• Password should be easy to remember for the user

Backup Your Tweets

There are several services that provide a way for you to backup your tweets. This helps, so that if you do fall victim to a cybercrime, there is a way to recover all of your tweets. Here are three backup services that you can use:

1. TweetBackup
2. BackupMyTweets
3. Backupify

Regularly Check What Services Are Connected to Your Twitter Account

McAfee said in their 2010 Threat Prediction Report that third-party applications will be one of the main reasons for security threats. Therefore, review which applications are connected to your Twitter account. If you haven’t used one in awhile, remove the connection. You can always reconnect it, if needed. Login to Twitter, Settings, go to Connections, and Revoke Access.

Block and Report Spammers

Spam accounts on Twitter usually have repetitive tweets saying the same thing, and trying to sell a product or service. If you get contacted by a spammer, you can block and report them to Twitter. In the sidebar, there is an “Actions” area. You will see a link “Report to Spam.” This will notify the Twitter team about the Twitter account, and let them start investigating it.

Preview Shortened URLs Before Clicking

There are several services that will allow you to preview abbreviated URLs. Freenuts has a list of ten web sites that you can use to expand shortened URLs. There are two Firefox add-ons that will let you preview the contents before actually clicking on it:

• LongURL Mobile Expander
• Long URL Please

If you use, standalone service Tweetdeck, they have a feature that allows you to preview shortened URLs before you click on it.

What are some ways that you are protecting your tweets from attackers?

The post 5 Ways to Protect Your Twitter Account from Cyber Attacks appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

I recommend that before you begin, you familiarize yourself with the WordPress file structure by analyzing as many WordPress themes as you can (Note: You need to have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS.)

Getting Started

Begin you begin coding up the theme, you must understand that the WP theme is just like any other HTML webpage, except that it is coded with PHP. Even so, you don’t need to be a PHP expert to do up a WP theme. My advice is:

1. First get a working pure HTML page up and running (You can easily do this with a WYSIWYG webpage editor).
2. Open the HTML webpage in a text editor and slice it up to different portion (we’ll explain more on that later)
3. Insert in the PHP code

WordPress File Structure

The basic file structure of a WordPress theme is as follows:

1. Style.css – The stylesheet holds all the formatting and styles of the theme
2. Index.php – This is the main WordPress theme file that ties all the other files together
3. Header.php – Holds all the header information. Also, if all the files were lumped together, this would be the beginning of the WordPress theme
4. Sidebar.php – It has all the code for the sidebar
5. Footer.php – Holds the footer code

Other files that you will also find in a WordPress theme are:

1. Single.php – A single blog post code
2. Comments.php – This is where you place the code to control the behavior of the blog comments
3. Page.php - Controls the behavior of your individual pages
4. Search.php – This is if you want to add search capability to your WordPress theme
5. Searchform.php – Controls the way the search box behaves
6. 404.php – Customize the landing page if your readers get an 404 error
7. Functions.php – A way to further customize your WordPress theme
8. Archives php – How to display the archive results

A simple layout of the theme

Once you have got your HTML webpage ready, you can begin to slice up using the above layout as a guide.

To begin, you can either use an existing WordPress theme as a starting point (the WordPress default theme is a good one to start with. You don’t have to code it up from scratch, just amend the necessary stuff will do). Or, if you are adventurous, you can just start coding without one.

Main Index Template (index.php)

I suggest that you begin with Index.php because this is the file that ties all of the other WordPress files together. The first step is to call the header file. This is done by adding

<?php get_header(); ?>

The next essential piece of code you should add to the main index file is to tell WordPress how to behave if there are blog posts. This is accomplished by entering

<?php if (have_posts()) : ?>
<?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>

You will then enter code on how way the page will be structured. This will vary according to how you want your page to look like. For instance, magazine-type look is going to be different than a blog-type one. After entering your code, you will have to add the following lines that will tell WordPress what will happen if there are no posts:

<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php else : ?>
<?php endif; ?>

After entering the behavior of the page, you need to call the sidebar and the footer. This is done by adding the following lines of code:

<?php get_sidebar(); ?>
<?php get_footer(); ?>

On the whole, it should look like this:

<?php get_header(); ?> <!--grab the header, part 1 of the layout-->
<?php if (have_posts()) : ?> <!--displaying the main content area, part 2 of the layout-->
<?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
Your HTML code here for displaying individual post.
<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php else : ?>
Your HTML code here when there is no post available
<?php endif; ?>
<?php get_sidebar(); ?> <!--display the sidebar, part 3 of the layout-->
<?php get_footer(); ?> <!--display the footer, part 4 of the layout-->

Stylesheet (style.css)

The cascading stylesheet includes all the formatting and styles for your WordPress theme. This will provide more flexibility to your theme instead of hardcoding them into each individual file. It is created just like any stylesheet. If you need a refresher, check out the W3 Consortium’s CSS style guide.

Header File (header.php)

The header file is like the beginning of an HTML file. Most of the time, you can just copy and paste from the default theme. The basic code that will be in the header file is as follows:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" <?php language_attributes(); ?>>
<head profile="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="<?php bloginfo('html_type'); ?>; charset=<?php bloginfo('charset'); ?>" />
<title><?php wp_title('«', true, 'right'); ?> <?php bloginfo('name'); ?></title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_url'); ?>" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="<?php bloginfo('name'); ?> RSS Feed" href="<?php bloginfo('rss2_url'); ?>" />
<link rel="pingback" href="<?php bloginfo('pingback_url'); ?>" />
<?php wp_head(); ?>
</head>
<body>

Sidebar (sidebar.php)

The sidebar is how you want the sidebar to look like. You can have more than one sidebar. However, we are creating a simple WordPress theme, so we will stick with one. People usually like placing widgets on the sidebar, so you should add code to ensure that your WordPress theme supports widgets. You can also have any standard sidebar items that you want without having to use a widget. Sidebar basic are as follows:

<div id="sidebar">
<?php if ( !function_exists('dynamic_sidebar') || !dynamic_sidebar() ) : ?>
<?php endif; ?>
</div>

The code above will check if the theme supports widget. If yes, it will load all the widget content onto the template. else, nothing will show up on the template.

To widgetize your theme, simply add the following code to your functions.php

<?php if ( function_exists('register_sidebar') )
register_sidebar(array(
'before_widget' => '<li id="%1$s" class="widget %2$s">',
'after_widget' => '</li>',
'before_title' => '<h2 class="widgettitle">',
'after_title' => '</h2>',
)); ?>

Footer (footer.php)

The footer file will close the WordPress theme. You can place anything you want in the footer. You will usually see the copyright information here. The basic code to create the footer file is:

<div id="footer" role="contentinfo">
Place whatever footer information you want to place here
</div>
<?php wp_footer(); ?>
</body>
</html>

As I stated before, if you have never created a WordPress theme, but are knowledgeable in CSS and HTML, then check out the structure of existing and various other WordPress themes, and begin creating your own WordPress theme.

The post Understanding WordPress Theme: The Basics of Creating Your Own WP Theme appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

How to Create a Twitter List

It’s very easy to create your own Twitter List. You can create up to ten lists.

• Log in to your Twitter account
• After logging in, click the New list link under the Lists area

• Enter a name, description (less than 100 characters), if you want it public or private

• There are several ways of adding people to the list

a. Go to a person’s profile
b. Go to the people you are following or are following you
c. Search for people

• Press the list icon, and select the list you want to add the person. You can add a person to multiple lists, if you choose to

Editing and Deleting Lists

• Click on the Twitter list you want to modify or delete
• If you decide to delete a twitter list, click the Delete link
• A prompt will pop-up asking if you are sure, press the Ok button

• If you want to edit a list, click the Edit link
• The window looks just like the “creating new list” window

Removing Yourself from a List

One of the concerns is that you find yourself on a list that you don’t want to be in. For instance, “Degenerates.” You can go to the creator’s profile and block him/her. This will remove you from the Twitter list.

How to Find Twitter Lists

The best way to find new and interesting Twitter Lists is by going to Listorious. Listrious is the directory of Twitter Lists. You can search by tags, the staff’s picks, and their own lists. If you have a Twitter List that you want to add to Listorious, you can just press the “Add a List” button. If you register with the site, your Twitter Lists that you created and the ones you are on will be on. You can click on the “Add to Listorious” link, and they will be added to the directory. After adding a Twitter List to Listorious, you can publicize it by tweeting it to your followers. After it’s added, people can follow your Twitter List and/or recommend someone to be added. This will be tweeted to you so you can make the decision to add him/her or not.



Follow a Twitter List

If you find a Twitter List that you want to follow, you just have to click on the Twitter List link, and press the “Follow List” button. If you want to unfollow it, just click the Unfollow link. Very simple.

How to Track Keywords in Twitter Lists

If you want to track certain keywords in a Twitter List, the best way to do this is by using ListiMonkey. First, add the Twitter list that you want to track the keywords from. For instance, @dcfemella/technology. After that, enter the keywords you want to follow. Enter your email address and the time frequency you want it sent.

Is there anything that I have left out? I love to hear it in the comments.

Image credit: Alyssa & Colin

The post How-To Guide to Twitter Lists appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

What are pingbacks and trackbacks?

Pingbacks and trackbacks are very similar, but other than using different communication technologies (Pingbacks use XML-RPC; Trackbacks use HTTP POST), there are only minor differences. Pingbacks are a way of keeping track of other blogs who have linked to your blog posts within their own blog posts. In order to do this, external blogs have to use your blog post’s hyperlink. Trackbacks work the same, except the blog post’s hyperlink is not placed within an external blog post. They are usually placed in an area specified for trackbacks. Additionally, pingbacks automatically will find the URLs; while trackbacks are done manually.

What are comments?

Comments are responses to a particular blog post that readers have written. Usually, comments are located right after the blog post. People have the ability to reply to one another’s comments directly on the blog without having to go to an external site.

Separating Comments and Pingbacks

If you have noticed, the MakeTechEasier comment system has separated out the pingbacks and the comments for better readability.

So how did we do it?

WordPress Plugins

There are three WordPress plugins that you can use to separate comments from pingbacks/trackbacks:

1. BM-TrackPing

What this plugin does is to strip out the trackbacks from the comment list and then add a single new comment with all the trackbacks in a list at the end. This plugin has not been updated for more than a year, so there is no guarantee that it will work well for the latest version of WordPress.

2. Separate Comments & Pings

This plugin removes pings and trackbacks from comment pages and place them in a new variable $pings. You will have to do further coding to insert the pingbacks separately.

3. Trackping Separator

Remove your pingbacks from the comments and provided you functions (to use in your theme) to list pingbacks/trackbacks separately.

Manually Changing the Code

By far, this is the best (and most effective) way to separate pingbacks/trackbacks from comments. You might get your hands dirty, but I assure you it will be easy. Just follow the instructions below:

Note: The following instructions assume that you are using WP2.7 and above. It will not work for any WP version less than 2.7

In your WordPress theme folder, download the comments.php file from the server.

Open it with a text-editor

Find the following code:

<ol class="commentlist">
    <?php wp_list_comments(); ?>
</ol>

Change the code to be as follows:

<ol class="commentlist">
    <?php wp_list_comments('type=comment'); ?>
</ol>
<ol class="commentlist">
    <?php wp_list_comments('type=pings&callback=list_pings'); ?>
</ol>

What the above code does it to first display all the comments in an ordered list, followed by all the pingbacks/trackbacks in a second ordered list. You can play around with the code to style it up or to change the order of the display.

Once you are done editing, save it.

Rename the comments.php file in the server to comments-old.php and upload this newly edited comments.php to your server theme folder. Now go to your site and see the magic happens.

The post WordPress: How to Separate Pingbacks From Comments appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

1. PrimoPDF

PrimoPDF (featured in our 2007 Best 101 Free Computer Software For Your Daily Use) is a Windows-only PDF Creator that provides many features for you to make any kind of documentation into a PDF. As with many PDF Creators, when you have a file that you need to PDF, you go to Print option, and PrimoPDF will be listed.

After you hit the Print button, you are given five options that you can choose from: Screen, eBook, Print, Prepress, and Custom. One thing that I like is that it gives a quick and useful description of the five PDF-creation options. It was also nice that they put them in chronological order from which option is best for smallest file to the biggest file.

The Custom option allows you to create a profile where you can customize the PDF settings to the way you prefer. In Document Properties, you are able to enter a title, description, and keywords for your new PDF. I am thinking that keywords is an option if you choose the Screen or eBook options.

Another great feature of PrimoPDF is the levels of PDF security that you are given. You can have password protection for viewing and modifying the PDF. If you password protect the modification part, then you can even get to granular level of what kind of printing is allowed and what changes.

Overall, PrimoPDF provides flexibility and tons of features that make it a great PDF creator.

2. PDF995

PDF995 is a PDF Creator that is very easy to use, but is supported by ads, which can be a bit much. It is also Windows only. The PDF995 printer driver and converter are separated in two EXE files. Having to download and install two different EXE files is a little tedious. It would be easier if it were in one zip file. You are given a notification after installing one of the files that lets you know that in order for the PDF creator to work, you need to install the second file. Like PrimoPDF, PDF995 is very easy to use because you just go to your Print options, and it’s there. The only frustrating thing is that the free version has a lot of ads, which I guess is the way they are able to keep the tool free. If you want to remove the ads, then you can pay to upgrade.

Also, you don’t have many options to customize your PDFs properties and privacy settings. It just basically creates the PDFs and that’s it. PDF995 gets the job done, but the ads might make you not even attempt to use it.

3. CutePDF

CutePDF is quick and easy, but it has a major flaw. One thing that CutePDF did that I liked was that it had a zipped package, so you didn’t have to download two individual EXE files. However, if you wanted, you also were given that option. During installation, you are given the option to install Ask.com and make it the default search provider. As with the others, you select CutePDF from your printer list, and press the Print button. After choosing a name for your file, and then the file dialog box disappears, and you wonder if the conversion occurred. I had to search for it to find out if it did create the PDF and where it placed it on my local drive. A prompt should be given so that you are aware if the conversion was successful or not. It’s something that the developers should think about. CutePDF does the installation in a better way than PDF995, but it needs to notify you if the PDF conversion was successful or not.

4. DoPDF

DoPDF is a multilanguage PDF converter. After selecting a document to print, DoPDF opens up a window for you to select the file destination and if you want to open it in the reader after it’s been converted. The reader is actually your default PDF reader that you currently are using. DoPDF is very simple and easy to use.  It has a way for you to know that the file has actually converted to PDF, so you aren’t keep wondering if it has or not. It doesn’t have an built-in reader, so if you currently do not have a PDF reader installed on your machine, you will have to download one.

5. PDFCreator

PDFCreator has tons of features that will aid you in converting your files. It isn’t just a PDF converter, like the others. PDFCreator provides the capability of converting your file into numerous formats.

The PDF security settings are very similar to PrimoPDF. It provides different layers of security by allowing you password-protect the PDF from being viewed and/or modified. PDFCreator has two types of encryptions, so you can encrypt your PDF to protect it even more from unwanted eyes. When converting your file to PDF, you are able to create a title and keywords. You can save it right away, or email it to whomever you choose, using your default email application.

Which is your favorite PDF creator?

The post 5 Free PDF Converters for Windows Users appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Everyone has heard of Adobe Creative Suite, which allows you to create all types of print, web, and mobile design. With it, comes a hefty price to get all the applications to have a full design studio. Additionally, if you are using a computer system that doesn’t have the software installed, then you are not able to access your files to continue designing. There is an application called Aviary that provides a way for Artists to create wonderful designs directly on the web. It also provides a way for you to interact with other artists to share and provide inspiration.

Aviary has different editors to allow a designers to create different kinds of creation. These are Image Editor (Phoenix), Color Editor (Toucan), Effects Editor (Peacock), Vector Editor (Raven), and Audio Editor (Myna). There are also two tools: Screen Capture (Talon) and Image Markup (Falcon).

The site also allows you to customize your own dashboard view if you register. On this dashboard, you have the ability to view, move, or remove the different levels (i.e. everyone’s, friends, and/or yours) of activity and creations. The sidebar can’t be removed and it has the different Aviary tools from which you can choose from. It also has the account settings, such as editing your profile. It also shows the level that you are on; for instance, I am a “Fledgling,” which seems to be a popular trend on many web sites.

Phoenix: Image Editor

The Image Editor is very similar to Photoshop or Fireworks. It allows you to work in layers and group them together. You are able to easily create layers from the other Aviary editors (i.e. Raven, and Peacock) that allows you to use the features not in Phoenix. One thing that I didn’t understand is why there was a difference between a “regular” layer and a Phoenix layer. If you click on it, it opens up a new Image Editor window. The color picker is very easy to use, and you are able to grab the colors in the image, and save it in the program. The History feature is great to see all the modifications that have been done to the image, and provide a way to remove it.

Toucan: Color Editor

Toucan allows you to create and modify different color palettes for your design. There are three areas: clipboard, image picker, and color deficiency preview. One of the great features is the amount of images you are able to use in the color editor. You can import an image from your local drive, URL, Aviary library, Flickr, Facebook, or Picasa.

When you import from any place other than your local drive, then it is pretty quick. However, when you are importing from your system, it took awhile. Overall, this is a neat feature that could help with trying to find the perfect color palette for your designs.

Peaock: Visual Editor

Peacock is the neatest tool Aviary has to offer. You are able to create different kinds of creations from scratch. It provides you so many options that it makes it easy to design anything that you want. One thing that I found very neat is that you can use your webcam to take a snapshop to use as a starting point. There are many effects to enhance your design. You are able to connect (or disconnect) different types of features on your final creation. Like Toucan, you are also able to import images from local drive, URL, Aviary library, Flickr, Facebook, or Picasa. This is amazing and it was very easy to use. Aviary also provides a video tutorial that really helps you understand how to use Peacock.

Raven: Vector Editor

Raven allows you to design artistic creation by free hand. You are able to create your own shapes or the ones that are provided. As Phoenix, you are able to create different layers and group them together. You are able to modify the fill and stroke to the shapes you create. I’m not much of artist, but if I were, I could create great designs using Raven.

Myna: Audio Editor

If you are a podcaster or musician, Myna is a ery useful audio editor. You can use QuantumTracks, if you want to have a starting point. There are three tracks that you can combine together to create your podcast (or song). It has a recorder, so you can use your voice.

If you want to import music in from your local drive, you can as well. Even if you are starting out, Myna is not hard to use.

Falcon – Image Markup

Falcon allows you to easily make changes to an existing image or start from scratch. It seems to be a light version of Phoenix, so it really isn’t needed.

Talon – Screen Capture

Talon is a Firefox-only extension that allows you to take snapshots of an item on your screen. You are able to save, copy, or edit it using one of the editors. It only works on Firefox version up to 3.5, so if you downloaded the new Firefox 3.6 beta version, you won’t be able to use it.

Aviary has a lot of features that would be useful to a variety of designers. What’s great about it is that it also has its own social networking site, so you are able to connect with other artists, and view/share work. Some of the editors, especially Phoenix, slowed down my computer a tad bit. Even so, I thought Aviary is a great web application.

The post Aviary, a Web Alternative to Adobe Creative Suite appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

1. PsyncX

PsyncX is a backup application that provides the minimal functions that you need in order to backup your system. It has a scheduler that enters a time and day that can run weekly. This scheduler can be disabled if it’s only one time that you will be backing up a folder or file.

Other options that you have are to copy or delete files after it’s been backed up. If you want to have a mirror of your system’s drive, then I wouldn’t recommend using these options. It’s very easy to use for the bare essentials in backing up your system.

2. SilverKeeper

SilverKeeper is useful for someone who wants automatic backups of their files and/or folder. When you are installing the application, it will begin backing up your files in three different ways: your entire local drive, just users’ information, or the current user. You can choose the one you want. It was very similar to antivirus softwares, and it’s one of the things that I didn’t like. I like having the option of choosing how I want my data to be backed up. If you press the Cancel button, you are taken to the SilverKeep main screen.

After selecting the files and/or folder you want to backup and the destination folder, SilverKeeper will quickly scan them. The application has a scheduler that can be set to run daily, weekly, or monthly.

It also provides a log that you can choose the size; if you want to append/remove log whenever you do another backup; and format. It has more to offer than PsyncX. However, the makers might want to rethink some of the current features (e.g. automatically backing up your system) that it has.

3. iBackup

iBackup has the features as the two backup applications above, but it also has a few that they don’t have. It has a scheduler, like SilverKeeper, allows you to set the frequency to how you prefer. Additionally, it has a log file. However, you are able to save it to a destination folder, or send it to an email account.

iBackup allows you to run scripts (*.scpt) files that you can set to run at the start at a backup process or at the end. This is useful if you want to have more control to the way you backup your data. Furthermore, for Unix lovers, iBackup allows you to use Unix commands that further lets you manage the application.

Useful backup applications that gives you tons of flexibility and control over your backups.

4. Bonkey

Bonkey has a lot of features that will make backing up your files a breeze. You can organize the window so you see your local drives, your backup drives, progress window, and audit log, which is a great feature.

Bonkey provides various location types to send your files to. The main ones included are FTP locations to your own site; SQL Server database; and Amazon S3 online storage. You can decide to encrypt your files during the file transfer, which is convenient if you have information that you want to further protect. If you don’t create an encryption key, Bonkey will generate one for you.

You are able to synchronize your backup by arranging your files in in groups in the way that you want them backed up. This depends on the following items: Time interval you want to back up your synchronization group; Target location; Backup type (e.g. complete backup or modified files only). Synchronization also has its own audit history.

An audit log provides a way for you to monitor if your files are being backup correctly. If there are any errors, it is color-coded red, so you can quickly see them and read what caused it. There is an option to either overwrite or append the audit log. You are able to send audit logs to a file and your email. If you decide to do email, you can decide to send all messages or just errors.

Bonkey is a great backup application that has tons of features to help you take care of your files.

5. JaBack

JaBack has similar features as Bonkey. It has tasks, scheduler, audit logs, and sychronization. One feature that JaBack has is that it allows the ability to use variables. These are useful for using variables to find similar files without having to know the actual filenames or their locations. There are a variety of variables that you can use in order to find and backup your files. It even has an internal syntax checker, so you can verify the variable you are entered.

JaBack has three different types of logs: output log, debut log, and activity log. Each of them provide you different types of auditing information. There is a task log list that has the logs that the application has provided.

The debug log can be emailed to wherever you want. You can have more than one email profile that you can use to send different tasks to different emails.

JaBack is a little complex to first grasp, but after you do, it is a robust, flexible backup application. Bonkey is more for a single person who wants to backup his/her Mac. However, JaBack provides a way for you to use it to backup a whole slew of Macs. If it enhances its visual UI, JaBack will have minor setbacks.

Image credit: billibala

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1. Clipomatic

Clipomatic is a simple Clipboard Manager that can hold different sets of items in your system, even when you turn it off. After installing it, you will see an icon in your system tray.

The default is ten items, but you can go to the Settings and increase the amount of items that it holds up until 64 items.

This is only text-based items.  Clipomatic doesn’t support images. However, it’s very useful if you are trying to save and retain code that you don’t want to continuously enter.

As stated above, you are able to have different sets of data that you can recall at any time. It’s a good way to group different sets of data.

Clipomatic is good if you want a simple Clipboard Manager that can copy+paste text. However, if you want to retain images and HTML code, then this isn’t the Clipboard Manager for you.

2. PasteCopy.NET

PasteCopy.NET adds a ton of functionality to a Clipboard Manager. It can hold text, images, RTF, CSV, and HTML data that can be stored as long as you want. The Clipboard Manager is multilingual, and supports data in different languages. Additionally, it provides a way for you to covert to/from .RTF, HTML, and text.

Another great option is the capability of exporting out of the program, if need be. Currently, the only file type that it exports to is .RTF. You are able to add categories, which are groupings of data, that you can name whatever you want. When you copy an item, PasteCopy provides a way for you to view a preview of the item. This is useful if you have many items copied and want to see what each one is. You are also capable of customizing the behavior of PasteCopy.NET by changing how you convert the files, data preview, and how it works with Windows.

One thing that they need to think about modifying in the future is the lack of right-click capability. For instance, if I want to rename the Category name, I have to click on the Category, and then go up to Edit->Edit Item. This can be frustrating to some people.

Overall, PasteCopy.NET is a neat program that definitely enhances the Clipboard Manager. Nevertheless, it needs to think about simple functionality like right-clicking.

3. Clipboard Magic

Clipboard Magic is a text-based, multilingual Clipboard Manager. It looks like a Notepad program that has clipboard capabilities. You are able to import as much as you want with no restrictions. You are able to customize Clipboard Magic by modifying the the look and behavior of the it.

You are able to organize your clips in lists. One of the neat things about the program is that you are able to append an existing list to the current one you are creating. Furthermore, you are able to import/export text files in the program.

A flaw with Clipboard Magic is that it doesn’t provide a way to format the list. Everything is free hand, which can be a problem. Also, you have to manually cut+paste into the program. It doesn’t automatically do it for you. However, it allows you to drag and drop text into the program.

4. Ditto

Ditto is a Clipboard Manager that supports many different types of files. It is a single interface that truncates copied items into rows. You are only able to import files that were created in the system. When you hit copy+paste, it automatically saves in the program. As with the previous Clipboard Managers, Ditto allows you to create groupings of clips.

One great thing about Ditto is that you are able to share clips between different systems. You just need to add the system information in the Friends tab.

Ditto even provides statistics that helps you understand how you are using the Clipboard Manager.

Ditto is no doubt a robust Clipboard Manager. It will be the best if it includes the import/export functionality found in other Clipboard Managers.

5. M8 FreeClip Board

M8 FreeClip Board is a simple Clipboard Manager. You are able to copy+paste text and images in the program. Unlike the other Clipboard Managers, M8 FreeClip Board can only hold up to 25 items. One of the best features of the Clipboard Manager is its editor. It organizes the clips in truncated rows. When you want to view a specific clip, you just hover over it with your mouse, and a preview window will display the clip.

You are also able to select specific programs to copy clips from. There is an option to enter program you do not want to capture clips from. It’s like a blacklist.

You can pick and choose buttons that will extend the functionality of the Clipboard Manager. You are able to add the capability of filling out forms, viewing clips on an Internet browser, emailing clips, and various other buttons.

To get the ability to add lists, contain more clips, and other functionality that is lacking in this Clipboard Manager, you need to upgrade. The free version provides the basics of a Clipboard Manager that you need, so it should be fine, unless you want more features.

Which is your favorite Windows Clipboard Manager?

Image credit: parpiflickr

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Lunascape is the first multilingual, triple engine browser developed in Japan. It combines the four main web browsers – Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, and Safari. This mean that it supports the three layout engines, or rendering engines, that are used to create the four browsers listed above: Trident (Internet Explorer), Gecko (FireFox), and WebKit (Chrome/Safari). Currently, it only works on Windows.

One thing that I really liked about the browser is how customizable it is. When installing it, I am able to choose the default layout engine, or rendering engine that I want to use.

This doesn’t mean that I can’t quickly change to the other engines. In the lower-left hand corner, there is a globe icon that allows me to change the browser for that web page I am viewing.

You can even associate a web page with a specific layout engine, even if it’s not the default. This is especially useful when you need to test a web site/blog on various browsers.

You can even use Lunascape as a portable browser instead of having it installed on your system.

Lunascape allows you to import bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and various others. I found it a little strange that it didn’t allow you to import bookmarks from Safari or Chrome, since Webkit is one of the inbuilt layout engines.

Lunascape comes preset with four different skins – Default, Cool, Silver, and Simple. They are equivalent to the four browsers that Lunascape has. If you don’t like any of those, you can change the web skin to the 190 different web skins that were created by users. Users can also create their own skin and upload it into the skin library that Lunascape has online. There are some great skins in the library, so don’t forget to check it out.

The plugin library is not as vast. There is only one plugin available: Twitter plugin. This allows you to have the Twitter tool in the Lunascape browser. There should be more plugins available, or allow users to use the plugins from the other browsers. Looking in the Lunascape forum, it seems that users will have the capability of using Internet Explorer and FireFox plugins in Lunascape in the next release (currently in beta). Additionally, users are also able to register add-ons that they created for the browser.

Lunascape has a great built-in RSS Reader that allows you to add a single RSS feed or import an OPML file.

There is also a RSS Ticker that scrolls at the top of the browser with your RSS feeds.

It doesn’t seem that the RSS Reader and the RSS Ticker are associated with one another, which is a bad flaw. The best way to handle this is to allow you to pick and choose which feeds in your RSS Reader you want to be in the RSS Ticker. This will eliminate the redundancy of having to add an RSS feed to two different places, and not be overwhelmed with too many items scrolling at the top of the browser. A good thing is, the RSS settings are easily customizable and allows for the ease of subscribing to RSS podcasts.

In Lunscape, you are able to search different search engines, including Google, Yahoo, Ask, Technorati, Ebay, and Amazon. This is great because you don’t need to have more than one toolbar to search the different search engines.

Lunascape has various bookmarklet that have been taken from the three layout engines that you are able to use and customize to the way you want. They are sectioned off by Trident, Gecko, and Webkit, so you know where the bookmarklet came from. It gives you the capability of customizing the browser even more than you already can.

Overall, I have to say that Lunascape is a browser that web developers should use. There are a couple of issues with the browser, but nothing that takes away its customizability and usefulness.

Lunascape

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Amaya is an open-source HTML editor created by the W3C. If you don’t already know, W3C is an international community that develops Web standards. It was founded by Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited as inventing the World Wide Web. In 1998, Amaya was invented. Since then, there have been various releases that have given more functionality to Amaya.

Amaya is the most user-friendly HTML editor that I have come across. One of its features that is very similar to Dreamweaver is that you are able to split the screen to view the visual editor and the HTML code. In this way, you are able to code while seeing the changes, or you can do the other way around. It’s a great way to learn HTML, if you don’t know already. On the sidebar, you are able to easily modify the HTML, like in Adobe Dreamweaver. Different profiles can change the way they see the sidebar displayed.

Another great feature is the CSS functionality. With the press of a button, you are able to create a CSS stylesheet. You do not have to know CSS in order to create one, which is great for people trying to learn CSS and/or if you are trying to design a stylesheet quickly. This is a great way to have your site’s formatting and style be in a different file than the HTML code. It provides a way to add flexibilty to your web site/blog. It also has a debugger to check your code for errors.

One good thing about Amaya is that it allows five different user editing profiles, so if someone wants to change the behavior of the Amaya tool, he/she can have his/her own profile that is different from someone else. In addition, Amaya runs on Linux, Mac, and/or PC, so regardless which OS you are using, you will be able to use Amaya for your coding project.

What’s can be improved on?

Amaya is a quick and neat HTMl editor. I couldn’t find any issues, except that it needs to keep up with the new technologies. For instance, it isn’t made to build smartphones apps, which I saw in other free HTML editors. It also doesn’t support Ajax, which is being used more and more.

When it comes to features, Amaya is definitely not on par with Dreamweaver, but if you are looking for a free, simple, and useful HTML editor, then Amaya is a good candidate.

Have you use Amaya before? Tell us what you like/dislike about it.

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