Blaze Media Pro is a a handy software which allows playback, editing and conversion of many different audio/video file types. It's user interface intergrates a media player, converter, editor and a burner. Blaze MP is a lightweight application and does not consume a lot of PC resources. Plus, we found that the file conversion times are above the norm. This is a must download for everyone who uses their PC to view and edit audio video files. (you can say goodbye to VCD cutter and crap once you download this)

Audio Capabilities

• Audio editing, converter (MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, etc.), CD ripper, and merging
• Convert bitrate and compression for audio formats, such as converting a MP3 from 128 kbps to 64 kbps. The software can adjust to lower as well as higher bitrates.
• Provides a solution to convert DRM protected WMA files, convert protected AAC and M4P files, and convert OMA to MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG
• Advanced audio CD burning from WAV, MP3, WMA, and OGG formats. Powerful, yet easy to use feature to burn CDs
• Extract and save audio content of video files to sound files Apply sound effects to audio files
• Use the software's audio editing feature to record MIDI files, providing a solution to convert MIDI to MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, etc. The same can be used to convert DVD audio to MP3, WAV, WMA, or OGG.
• Copy music CDs (copy audio CDs)
• Record from line-in (cassette, LP, etc.), streaming audio, or any other source available on your system
• All-in-one MP3 software solution (MP3 converter, MP3 encoder, MP3 decoder, MP3 ripper, CD burner, MP3 editor, MP3 recorder, MP3 player, and more).
• MusicID audio recognition
• Music Lyrics Search
• Audio tag editing (ID3 tag editing and other meta data), and FreeDB support
• Highly customizable, configurable, and user-friendly interface

Video Capabilities

• Batch Video Converter for AVI, MPG, WMV, MOV, and more Convert AVI, MPG, and WMV video to Flash
• Video CD (VCD/SVCD) burner
• Video DVD Burner
• Powerful digital video editing software for all popular video formats and an extensive list of video editing filters, effects, and video editing operations. The software's movie/video editing feature supports AVI, MPG (MPEG-1 and MPEG-2), WMV, and more
• Compress video files, including AVI, MPEG, and WMV Video creator (make a video from a sequence of image and audio files)
• Video combining, and extraction
• Video joiner for AVI, MPEG, WMV
• All-in-one MPEG software solution (MPEG encoder, MPEG decoder, MPEG editor, MPEG VCD Burner, MPEG Converter, and more)
• Batch video processing
• Video capture
• Media management
• Extract video frames to image files in batch mode. Supported formats include BMP, EMF, GIF, J2K, JPG, PCX, PNG, RAS, TGA, TIF, and WMF
• Insert images into existing video files or create new videos from a collection of image files
• Create video files from still frame images and other videos Add audio to video files, replace existing audio in video files, delete audio from video files
• Convert between PAL and NTSC video standards using the software's video converter feature
• Add over 30 effects and color adjustment operations to your video for powerful enhancement and alternation
• Video editing is available for AVI (uncompressed), AVI (compressed using any available codec), MPEG-1, MPEG-2, WMV, and ASF
• You can use a comprehensive set of video editing operations: crop, delete frame, delete selection (video and/or audio), resize, rotate, mirror, flip, trim, adjust audio volume, and much more
• Click supported conversions to see even more possibilities Combination Audio and Video Capabilities
• ISO burner feature included with the Data CD/DVD burner Create ISO files from CD/DVD layout
• Insert audio files, such as WAV, WMA, and MP3, into video files
• Extract audio from video files using the video editing feature or Extract Audio Content feature

Supported Conversions

• CD to WAV, CD to MP3, CD to WMA, and CD to OGG
• WAV, WMA, OGG, AIFF, VOX, MP2, MPC/+, G.72x, AU, and RAW to MP3
• MP3, WMA, OGG, AIFF, VOX, MP2, MPC/+, G.72x, AU, and RAW to WAV
• MP3, OGG, WAV, AIFF, VOX, MP2, MPC/+, G.72x, AU, and RAW to WMA
• MP3, WMA, OGG, AIFF, VOX, MP2, MPC/+, G.72x, AU, and RAW to OGG
• WAV/MP3/WMA/OGG to audio CD burning
• WAV/MP3 Compression
• Two-way video conversions among MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, WMV, ASF, MOV, Multi-Page TIFF, and FLIC
• MPEG conversion options available for VCD, SVCD, and DVD compliant output
• Configurable Interface
• Intuitive design
• Complete drag and drop features
• Highly customizable options and settings

Read comments for download links and more information.

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How many times have you tried installing FireFox in your office computer and got screwed by user account limitations? How many times have you tried installing messenger at your institution's computer lab and got humiliated by the administrator? Well, with portable applications, you can use your favorite applications anywhere. Just extract them to the hard disk or your flash drive, double click the main exe and you are good to go! There is absolutely no need to install and no private information or registry entries are left in the public computers. Portable versions of FireFox, Messenger, 7-Zip and many more have been developed.

Portable FireFox

Mozilla FireFox is a feature rich, easy to use, fast and efficient web browser which makes Internet Explorer a piece of shit. Tabbed browsing, in built pop up blocker, phishing filter, Live bookmarks, improved security features and faster web page loading times make FireFox a must have for every PC user.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! No personal information is left behind after you run it so you will never have to worry about security.

Download Portable FireFox 2.0.0.2

Portable ThunderBird

Mozilla ThunderBird is an outlook like e-mail client and a feed reader. Easy to use interface, RSS support, Junk mail and Phishing filters, automatic updates and advanced security are some of the notable features of this application. With Portable thunderbird you'll be able to carry your POP3/IMAP mail accounts, adress books, RSS feeds and account settings, everywhere you go.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! No personal information is left behind after you run it so you will never have to worry about security.

Download Portable ThunderBird 1.5.0.9

GAIM Portable

GAIM is an instant messagin application which can integrate services from multiple instant messaging networks. For example, you can use GAIM to connect to your Yahoo messenger contact and AOL contacts at the same time. The all in one integrated interface supports AOL, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and Jabber accounts and contact lists.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! All your IM settings and buddy lists are self-contained, so it leaves no personal information behind on the machine you run it on.

Download GAIM Portable 2.0 (B5)

Portable VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player (formerly known as VideoLan Client) is a versatile media player application which can play a wide range of audio and video file formats including (but not limited to) MP4, DivX, MP3 and DVD. It even supports some internet streaming protocols allowing you to watch live or interactive streaming content anywhere.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract place it on your USB, iPOD, Memory stick or external hard drive and run from anywhere!

Download Portable VLC Media Player 0.8.6a

Portable OpenOffice.Org

OpenOffice.org is the open source alternative to Microsoft Office suite. Although MS office outperforms OpenOffice in terms of features and user friendlyness, OpenOffice is a good alternative if you seek a lightweight office automation suite with fairly good features. OpenOffice.org suite contains the following applications:

• Writer – a word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
• Calc - A powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
• Impress – the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
• Draw – lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
• Base – lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within OpenOffice.org
• Math – lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.

In short, there is an alternative for every app that comes with MS office suite.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract place it on your USB, iPOD, Memory stick or external hard drive and run from anywhere!

Download OpenOffice.org Portable 2.0.4

Portable SunBird

Mozilla SunBird is an open source, cross platform calendar and personal task management software which is developed by the creators of Mozilla FireFox.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! No personal information is left behind after you run it so you will never have to worry about security.

Download Portable SunBird 0.3

Portable 7-Zip

7-Zip is a compression utility for Windows such as WinZip and WinRAR. It supports most archive file formats including (but not limited to) RAR and ZIP. It even features it's own 7Z file format which has better compression ration than that of RAR and Zip. Some of the notable features of 7-Zip:

• High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
• Supported formats:
  • Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
  • Unpacking only: RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS
• For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
• Self-extracting capability for 7z format
• Powerful File Manager

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. You can take your file archiver with you and work with your compressed 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR files and more on the go.

Download 7-Zip Portable 4.43 (R2)

OperaUSB

Opera is another popular web browser which has great features (we think that FireFox is better, but that doesnt mean Opera is shit). It has all the standard web browser features such as RSS compatibility, download manager, bookmarks manager, tabbed browsing and more.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. It leaves no personal information behind and does not write to the system registry.

OperaUSB is available for use with USB flash drives, hard drives and all SmartDrives using U3 technology.

Download Opera 9.1 for USB

Download Opera 9.1 for U3-USB

Windows Live Messenger : Khalid Edition

Windows Live Messenger Khalid Edition is a Live Messenger clone which supports all features that are supported by WLM, features the same UI (with minor differences such as icons) and above all, it doesnt require administrator rights to install.

You can install this using the setup program as it works will most limited user accounts. Similarly, you can install this to your home PC and just copy the installation directory to your flash drive or external hard drive. You can then double click the main exe and run the program from anywhere, anytime.

Download Windows Live Messenger Khalid Edition 5.0 (CNET Download.com Download)

EnJoY!

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Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) is the world's most used instant messaging client. Version 8.1 ended a long beta testing phase and the final build was recently released to the public. Although this is a free application, it is ad supported. That means you get text advertisements in chat windows and animating GIF images (annoying) in the main program window. Dont worry there are patches to get rid of these ads; keep reading this article.

Notable new features in WLM

• Yahoo messenger integration
• Easy to use, feature rich user interface which allows one click instantt messaging
• Voice calling / Voice chat
• Video conversations
• File sharing options
• Text Messaging (unfortunately, no Srilankan networks are supported. But most major networks in the US and UK are supported)
• Two way adress book
• Windows Live Alerts, Windows Live Spaces integration.
• Plus many more

Get Windows Live Messenger 8.1.0178: Download Now! (Direct Download)

Patches and Hacks

WLM is created and maintained by Microsoft. Every MIcrosoft software comes with a certain amount of junk and bloatware. WLM is no exception. Ads that eat up RAM and annoy the user, unwanted buttons and panes are to name a few. Fortunately, Mess.be and Apatch have come up with patches to remove junk and to enhance Windows Live Messenger. You can use any of the patches incuded below to mod messenger to your liking. To prevent compatibility issues, we suggest you not use both patches at the same time. Out of the two listed below, our favorite is the mess patch. But that doesnt mean A-Patch is bad.

Mess Patch

This patch is a favorite among WLM users. It's been around for quite a while and is now in generation 5.It contains a whopping 35 features, fixes and hacks for WLM incuing ad removal, nudge protection disable, polygamy support and many more!

Download Mess Patch for WLM 8.1.0178

Patch homepage

A-Patch

A-Patch, developed by apatch.org, is another handy patch which contains a total of 71 tweaks, hacks and mods. Some of the notable features of this patch are ad removal, idle status modification, polygamy support and user interface customizations.

Download A-Patch for WLM 8.1.0178

Patch homepage

EnJoY!

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This download is for the lazy asses who dont want to download AutoPatcher :p Here is an application that will download updates without having to browse the MS download center manually.

Features

• One click download of critical updates
• Automatic highlighting of already downloaded updates.
• Minimize to tray.
• Adding links to original KB article in UL files.
• Option to create sub-directory per UL.
• Proxy support.
• Remove previous updates.
• Command-line options for 3rd party integration.

How to get it:

Download Windows Updates Downloader 2.25: Download Now!

You can find pre configured updates lists and alternate download location from this site.

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NOD32 is a powerful antivirus software which can match the features of indistry leaders such as Symantec and Mcafee any time.

Integrated, Real-Time Protection against viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, phishing, and hackers. Best detection, fastest performance & smallest footprint. NOD32 Antivirus System provides well balanced, state-of-the-art protection against threats endangering your PC and enterprise systems running various platforms from Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME / NT / 2000 / 2003 / XP, through a number of UNIX/Linux, Novell, MS DOS operating systems to Microsoft Exchange Server, Lotus Domino and other mail servers.

Users of Microsoft® Windows® can experience the power and elegance of NOD32's ThreatSense Technology with ease and comfort. Our single optimized engine offers the best protection from viruses, spyware, adware, phishing attacks, and more. Keep tomorrow's threats at bay with our proactive detection technology. And it has the smallest footprint and fastest performance - bar none. The fourth generation of the NOD32 Antivirus System features a fully integrated software suite characterized by an unprecedented detection track record, the fastest scanning rates and extremely low utilization of system resources. NOD32's detection efficiency combined with 2-50 times faster hard disk scanning rate earned the product many international prestigious awards.

Read full article / Download Links

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If Bill Gates ever visited Pettah, he would commit suicide after seeing his precious intellectual property being sold for Rs 80 ($0.08). As in many developing countries, software piracy rate in Srilanka is extremely high. In fact, not even 1% of home computer users in Srilanka use legitimate software.

The main reason for this is unreasonable pricing in a market where pirated copies are readily available.

For example, newly released Windows Vista costs LKR 40000. This pricing is totally unrealistic for a country with a small economy such as Srilanka. Majority of the PC users will go for a pirated copy which sells at LKR 80-250 or download it from the internet rather than paying a colossal amount of money to buy the original software. Earlier it was promised by MS and other software giants that the developing countries will be given special pricing schemes as a method of promoting legitimate software use. So far this has not happened. Before urging the government to implement laws against piracy (which Microsoft has been trying to do during last few years) or running massive awareness campaigns to highlight the benefits of legitimate software, companies should address the main problem; price. Otherwise, they will never win the battle against piracy.

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Download Accelerator Plus is the most used download management program in the world. It's been around since late 1990's and has improved over the years to become one of the most reliable, efficient and feature rich download clients in the world. Easy to use interface, seamless broswer integration, ligh resource consumption and download speed boosts up to 300% are the most notable features of DAP.

General features

• Preview pane – Preview downloads of Music and Video files
• Download list - Advanced management of downloads queues, priorities and statuses
• File Information pane – Advanced information of downloaded files and sources
• Completed downloads list – Separate list of completed downloads
• DAP Drive integration – Save downloads and Upload files to DAP Drive web storage
• Media Center Tab – Conveniently manage your media files
• Superior Usability – New interface with flexible design options
• Integrates with all browsers – Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, Mozilla/Firefox

DAP registered version features

• Zip Extract - download & extract specific files from zip archive
• Removal of the Banner Advertisement within the application
• DAP Skin Selection
• Management of site passwords and other relevant info (unlimited)
• Tray icon minimization while downloading
• Prioritized technical support
• Extreme acceleration speed - for faster download rate

Read full article / Download Links

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Cyberlink PowerDVD is one of the best media players around. Superior video quality, high clarity sound, wide range of file format support and support for many audio video technologies makes PowerDVD a must have application for every PC.

Supported video formats: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-2 HD (high-definition MPEG-2), DVD-Video, Mini-DVD, MPEG-4 ASP (like XviD and DivX, including DivX Pro), MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), WMV-HD, DVD-VR, DVD+VR

Supported audio formats: WAV, MP3, AAC, DVD-Audio, LPCM, MLP Lossless, Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Digital EX, DTS 5.1, DTS Neo:6, DTS 96/24, DTS-ES Discrete

Video Playback

• InterActual Support
• Software Video Deinterlacing - ensures a smoother and clearer video image on progressive displays
• Dynamic Range Compression and SRS - offers modes suited to Quiet, Noisy and Normal listening environments
• A-B Repeat loops a scene set by users
• 9X Digital Zoom
• Closed captioning support provides closed captioning for the hearing impaired
• Dual Captions/Subtitles Display - supports the viewing of two subtitle languages at the same time
• Video Bookmarks enable quick access to a user's favorite movie scenes
• Resume playback - allows users to play a DVD from the last scene prior to stopping
• Screen snapshots can be captured with a user-defined aspect ratio
• External subtitle support allows playback via AVI, DivX and WMV files
• Supports SRT, SUB, SSA, ASS, PSB, and SMI extensions)
• On-screen display (OSD) lets users define where video information is located
• Changeable skins let users change the look of their control panel
• Low Frequency Effects (LFE) mixes the LFE channel (base) with front speaker channels
• Dolby Pro Logic IIx - 2.0 - 5.1 => 7.1 audio-channels expansion technology (upsample anything from 2.0 to 7.1 surround sound)
• "CyberLink Headphone" - Virtual surround sound on 2-channel (stereo) headphones
• "CyberLink Virtual Speaker" Virtual surround sound on 2-channel (stereo) speakers

Music Playback

• Karaoke mode - dampens music tracks to allow users to sing along with their Karaoke discs
• Audio pitch scaling - feature letting users adjust the pitch of video or audio files for fun
• Audio equalizer presets add atmospheric effects with presets like techno, blues
• Audio visualizations - provides onscreen image effects while playing music

Read comments for download links.

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Dialog GSM is the dominant mobile phone operator in Srilanka with over 60% of market share. The company offers many different postpaid/prepaid packages, value added services, infotainment services and more. This post aims to discuss problems faced with their billing system and how Dialog responded to miscalculations.

Dialog billing system is designed and managed by Millennium IT (MIT), which is a highly reputed IT firm in Srilanka. It's needless to say that Dialog billing system is a highly complex application as it has to bill calls of 3 million+ customers. As with any software system, it's not perfect. The following experience was sent to us by one of our readers.

"I purchased a Dialog Super 503 package along with a Super 101 package back in 2004. It was a really cool package coz outgoing between the two connection was Rs 0.50 any time of the day! That was a damn cheap price at that time (and it still is today) so I went for it without hesitation. I normally don’t check my bill through phone. But suddenly I got a message from 8896 saying that my credit limit has exceeded and that my connection was liable for automatic disconnection #@#&@*. Guess what, all my calls to Super 101, which were supposed to be Rs 0.50 were billed as 'Dialog to Non Dialog' outgoing and were charged at Rs 10 per min peak and Rs 5 per min off peak . I contacted Dialog customer care and was told to lodge a complaint. I lodged a complaint and I was told that they would get back to me once they figure out what the problem was. I had to pay a colossal amount for the first month but I was assured by Dialog that any excess amount would be waived off in next bill. After around a month customer care contacted me and guess what, my call records were fixed! All the excess payments were waived off and they apologized for the inconvenience caused. A rare bug in the billing system detected my super 101 as a non Dialog number it seems. Overall I think Dialog handled the issue in a professional manner and there was no lasting harm done. I've been using dialog since then and have never run into that problem again."

Have you had similar experiences? Discuss them here.

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All episodes of Mr, Bean, the world famous British sitcom starring Rowan Atkinson can now be downloaded right into your PC. This DVDrip contains all episodes (all featuring DVD Quality video and CD Quality sound) and you can download them using a BitTorrent client such as uTorrent. Since the episodes are divided into 300MB files, you can choose and download only the episodes you haven't watched. (But we believe that all episodes of this series is a must have for everyone, it's simply hilarious).

Following Episodes are included:

Includes all 14 episodes plus some bonus content.

• Blind Date
• The Bus Stop
• The Library
• Torville And Dean
• Mr Bean
• Do-It-Yourself Mr Bean
• Back To School Mr Bean
• Tee Off, Mr Bean
• Goodnight Mr Bean
• Hair By Mr Bean Of London
• The Return Of Mr Bean
• The Curse Of Mr Bean
• Mr Bean Goes To Town
• Mr Bean Rides Again
• The Trouble With Mr Bean
• Merry Christmas Mr Bean
• Mr Bean In Room 426
• Mind The Baby Mr Bean

EnJoY!

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Gmail, Google's revolutionary free e-mail service now accepts signup request from anyone. It's no longer invitation based and one can simply login to www.gmail.com, fill a form and signup for a new Gmail account. Here are a few tools and plugins which will be useful if you are a Gmail user.

• Gmail adress book exporter: Export your Gmail contact to multiple output formats and use them with other applications such as Outlook 2007. (Requires Java Runtime)
• Gmail icon generator - Create a cool graphic which includes your e-mail address and Google logo. This also minimizes exposure to spam.
• Disable Gmail Ads - A custom CSS Stylesheet which disables Gmail text ads.
• Google Talk - Instant messenger from Google. Use your Gmail username and password to login.
• GMail RSS Feeds - Retrieve notifications of new mail through RSS feed. (PHP Script)
• Gmail Notifier- Receive notifications in your desktop when you receive mail. Official product by Google.
• Gmail Notifier FireFox Extension- Install an icon on your FireFox toolbar that displays new messages in Gmail account.
• GMNotifier - A more configurable and feature rich version (unofficial). Requires .NET Framework.
• Gmailit - Send the current page you are viewing to someone using Gmail.
• Gmail-to - Double clicking a mailto: (email hyperlink) link automatically loads Gmail.
• gExodus - Import email from other sources to Gmail.
• Gmail-to- Compose email from any page.
• GTray - Another Gmail notification application similar to Gmail notifier.
• Gmail Mobile- Check Gmail from any mobile phone via http://m.gmail.com
• GMail Drive Shell Extension - Save and retrieve files stored in your Gmail account directly from a explorer shell extension. (You can use your storage space as a virtual drive)
• Gmail as Backup - Backup your critical data to the Gmail storage space (PHP Script).
• GFile - More user friendly script for 'Gmail as Backup'.
• Google Toolbar - Allows one click Gmail search plus many more features.
• Gmail Search Extension - Search Gmail through the Firefox search bar.(Firefox Extension)
• Gmail Tray - Search Gmail from Windows Taskbar.
• G2G Share - Share files in your Gmail account.
• GSuite - Access and use Gmail from a mini browser in System Tray.
• gmail copy - Copy files and retrieve files from Gmail using a command line utility.
• Gmail Image Viewer (beta) - View inline image attachments (Internet Explorer add on)
• Gmail Gems - A cool blog which includes many tips and tricks that help use Gmail effectively and efficiently.
• Picasa integration - use Picasa (Google's Photo Editor) to attach and send photos from your Gmail account
• Gmail as a journal - Use Gmail account as your journal. Set different labels to distinguish between mails and journal entries.
• Skin Gmail - Use a custom .CSS Stylesheet within FireFox to change the look and feel of Gmail.

EnJoY! 

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uTorrent, arguably the best Bit Torrent client on the net, has released a new version. This is a minor upgrade over previous version but it includes 2 new features and a lot of bug fixes over so it's a highly recommended download if you are a fan of torrents :D

Changelog:

Feature: Select upload/download speed for a torrent through the right click menu
Feature: Added encryption box to speed guide
Change: Don't check as many pieces at the same time.
Change: Misc WebUI changes.
Change: Switch to JSON for webinterface
Fix: Problem with category list in the gui when updated from the webui
Fix: WebUI not clearing state between requests.
Fix: Redirect also index.html to guest.html
Fix: Added On Now shows the time it's added, not loaded.
Fix: JSON uses " instead of '
Fix: Upnp fix
Fix: Show pause icon when checking is paused.
Fix: Fixed problems with XML parser
Fix: Don't allow two message boxes to be shown in the RSS window
Fix: Changed some window titles
Fix: Fix malformed .torrent exploit
Fix: Boss key field is now larger

How to get it:

This is a tiny piece of software (not so tiny in terms of options). It's available both as an standalone exe (double click file and run - no install) and as a installer package (traditional install and run). Both version have same functionality but installer version lets you change few options in the setup itself.

Download Standalone: Download Now! (Direct Download)

Download Installer Package: Download Now! (Direct Download)

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RSS Submit lets you submit your blog's RSS feed to over 80 feed directories on the internet in a fully automated process.It also lets you manage some of the more popular blog related services such as Technorati and FeedBurner. Just enter the URL of your RSS feed, press add, press submit and relax while RSS Submit automatically fills the forms and registers your feed in various content aggregator sites. 

The following services are supported:

• Yahoo
• MSN Search
• Fyber Search
• Bulk Feeds
• Truth Laid Bear
• Moreover
• Blog Street
• Memigo
• Feeds Farm
• Blogarama
• News Knowledge
• Blog Wise
• News Trove
• Every Feed
• Blog SE 
• Syndic8
• Boing Boing
• RSS Clipping
• Fastbuzz
• Eatonweb
• Newsmob
• 2RSS
• Feedster
• Search4RSS
• Anse
• Sourceforge
• Blog Digger
• Day Pop
• Feed-Directory
• Sarthak Blog
• Bloggernity
• Bloogz
• Technorati
• News Is Free
• Rocket Info
• Genecast
• Easy RSS
• Postami
• Topix
• Headline Spot
• Blogdex
• Feed Directory
• Pub Sub
• Blog Tree
• Findory
• Blog Catalog
• Step Newz
• WeBlogALot
• News Goblin
• News Feeds
• Feedplex
• Popdex 
• Newzfire
• Read A Blog
• Blog Pulse 
• Press Radar
• Rub Hub
• Feed 24
• FeedsForAll 
• Blog Map 
• Weblogs *
• Feed Burner *
• Blo.gs *
• BlogRolling *
• Technorati *
• NewsGator *
• Pingomatic *
• RSS Network
• Plazoo
• Feedzie
• Feed Cat
• Feed Miner
• Ice Rocket
• Sphere
• Moz Dex
• Uncle Feed
• Pluck
• RSS Locator
• News Net Plus
• Focus Look
• Blog Bunch
• Blogtastic
• Explore Blogs
• Feed Pub
• Feeds2Read
• RSS Directory
• House Of Blogs
• RSS Mad
• Blog Resource
• Feed Burner
• All Feeds
• Content Desk
• Feed See
• Blog Watch
• 4GuysFromRolla
• Gnoos
• Octora
• RSSMicro
• Feedooyoo
• Golden Feed
• RSS-Feeds-Sub
• Readafeed
• Feedage
• Rorseek
• RSS Junky

Wait, there is more good news.You can download additional plugins to enhance RSS Submit and increase the number of services it supports. If you want to promote your blog in quick time, then this is the app for you.

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FILEnetworks and DefenceNet have decided to tie up to provide better content to the viewership of both the blogs.

The tie up will allow both the blogs to provide better intergration with each other, increase user base and to share content. However it shold be noted that FILEnetworks and DefenceNet operations would still be totally independant of each other.  

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We have new RSS feeds.

Posts: http://feeds.feedburner.com/filenetworks

Comments: http://feeds.feedburner.com/filenetworkscomments

If you were a subsriber of our old feeds, we request you to update the links as displayed above. Although the old ones will continue to work, we highly recommend you upgrade to the new ones.

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Vista minimum system requirements too high for you? Dont worry, the Vista transformation pack will give your Windows XP a similar user interface to that of Vista. However, this will utilize 10-15MB more RAM from your system (for new UI components) and one must remember that it is not the real OS core. But the UI is almost the same as Vista. Even the tranparency effects are there. Popular components such as the Sidebar, New start menu and boot screen are all here!

 

Changelog in Version 0.60:

* Added additional Vista related applications:
|-thoosje's brand new Vista Sidebar
|-VisualTooltip (Taskbar thumbnail view and also have docking mode)
|-Styler with Kaye Irene's Vista Perfection X4 Styler Toolbar
|-Blaero's Start Orb (fix cutting edge start orb in msstyles)
|-Stianu89 and Blue Eyes' Vista Live Messenger RC skin
* Added applying Vista setup screen transformation in setup integration
* Added browsable System files source for uninstallation so user can restore original system files from setup CD during uninstallation
* Added display configuration for the best view of machine's display
* Added fixing file's PE checksum after resource patching to keep files more secure
* Added Launch & Maintenance Center in transformation destination in case user already have transformed the system
* Added missing modifype.exe for Windows XP operating system
* Added partially x64 support for Vista visual stuff but not for system files (experimental)
* Added option to reserved updated system files after uninstallation or not
* Added skipping system file verification patch on setup integration
* Added Skipping verification patch on setup file system integration
* Added Vista RTM system applications transformation:
|-Photo printing wizard|-Photo Printing wizard
|-Remote Desktop Connection
|-Volume Control
|-Windows Task Manager
|-System Restore
|-Connection Manager
|-Windows Update Client
|-Media Center
* Fixed bugs caused by deleting important files from integration after transformation
* Fixed Cited in important files from bugs caused by integration after transformation
* Fixed bugs in file-patching engine for uxtheme.dll and resources data
* Fixed Missing files during the installation and setup caused by integration
* Fixed resources patching failure during setup integration
* Fixed Themes uninstallation problem (Themes still exist)
* Fixed user picture's frame border disappearance in logon screen
* Fixed uxtheme.dll patching system (now I use patched files to avoid possible patching problems)
* Removed additional boot screen resources removal
* Removed manual transformation and let user decide to modify system files or not instead
* Removed un-neccessary system files operations
* Removed Unattended transformation and servicces stopping for Norton Antivirus and System Restore (obsolete)
* Updated License agreement DIALOG (users must click "I accept" radio button before clicking Next button)
* Updated System files transforming method to use PendingFileRenameOperations trick
* Updated Updating the transformation to act like never before applying the transformation
* Updated Vista RTM boot screen
* Updated Vista RTM icons
* Updated Vista RTM logon background
* Updated Vista RTM screensaver
* Updated Vista RTM sounds scheme
* Updated Vista RTM system dialogs
* Updated Vista RTM wallpapers
* Updated Visual styles
|-Changed Theme 'structure to be the same with different shellstyles
|-changed visual stylees' name to match with Vista RTM
|-Fixed CaptionButton maximized in Vertical alignment problem when WindowBlinds theme shellstyle
|-Fixed ToolbarBackground sizing mismatched from real Vista style
|-Fixed Shellstyle background color mismatch in some areas
|-Updated Frame border in Windows Aero visual style
|-Updated StartGroupToolBarButton
|-Updated TaskBandButton back to default ones
|-Updated TaskBandGroup 's backgroun and button

How to get it:

Click here to get Vista Transformation Pack: Download Now! (Direct Download)

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Doing a small business? Find it hard to manage all those accounts and shit? Accounting Express 2007 will help you do your finance and business related tasks much easier.

Features:

Save time on everyday tasks
· Create quotes and invoices; track expenses and employee time
· Enter data once and share it seamlessly with other Microsoft Office system programs
· Manage payroll and taxes with ADP’s integrated payroll service

Get a complete view of your business
· Store and organize all your customer, vendor, employee, and financial information in one place
· Get business insights with over 20 customizable reports
· Easily share your books with your accountant through Office Live

Grow your business online
· List items on eBay, track sales activity, and download and process orders
· Email invoices and get paid faster with PayPal
· Monitor your customers’ business credit in real-time through Equifax
· Share your financial data with your accountant easily through Office Live

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UltraISO lets you create,edit,convert CD/DVD images and allows you create bootable CDs or DVDs. Direct editing of the CD/DVD image (without extraction) is possible. You can create your own CD/DVD images and reuse them by burning them or mounting them.

Feature List:

• Duplicate CDs and DVDs to a ISO image.
• Create ISO images from files located on a CD/DVD-ROM or hard disk.
• Edit existing ISO files by adding, deleting, and creating files and folders.
• Create bootable CD, DVD and floppy images.
• Converts: .BIN, .IMG, .CIF, .NRG, .BWI and other less known standards to the standard ISO image.
• Supports all ISO 9660 levels and the Joliet extension.
• Optimization of ISO image file structures to save disc space.
• Capable of mounting ISOs to a virtual drive.
• Create checksums for data verification of ISOs.
• Multiple language support.
• Built in digital audio player.
• Free version: Edits ".iso" files smaller than 300Mb

Changelog from 8.6

• Supports ISZ images with segments above 4GB large
• Supports shell extension (isoshell) on 64bit Windows XP/2003/Vista
• Improved UltraBurn, can burn all supported Audio CD/VCD/SVCD/Mixed Mode CD images
• Can change all filenames in an ISO image to uppercase (Ctrl+Alt+U) or to lowercase (Ctrl+Alt+L) 
• New command-line parameters (-bin2isz) for compressing ISO images via command-line
• Includes Lame 3.97 encoder
• Fixed a bug with decoding some WMA files
• Better supports latest Nero 7.7.5.1 and 6.6.1.6
• Some minor improvements and bug fixes

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Electronic Art's Cricket simulation game makes yet another return to thePC gaming arena with a completely new batting engine, bowling engine, graphics and animations. If you are from an Asian country, you might get disappointed about the way developers treated the Asian nations (and some other minor countries) in the game. New player models and updated career records are only added to South Africa, Australia, England and Bermuda (Yes Bermuda. It is a new addition). Other countries simply retain the Cricket 2005 records and player base. But there is one more issue. Player names for countries other than above mentioned are all misspelled (how careless can developers be?). You'll have to go to player management and correct each player's name to fully enjoy the game.

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Need For Speed : Carbon is the latest installment of EA's most popular racing game franchise. It features a shitload of ultra modern cars and several different totally new race modes. It also re-introduces night time racing (which was absent in its predecessor, NFS: Most Wanted) to the series.    

More info (From the box):

"" Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of adrenaline-filled street racing as players face the ultimate test of driving skill on treacherous canyon roads.

What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you into the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. You and your crew must race in an all-out war for the city, risking everything to take over your rivals' neighborhoods one block at a time. As the police turn up the heat, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve. Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of customization giving you the power to design and tweak your crew's cars in every way using the ground-breaking new Autosculpt technology. Represent your car class, your crew, and your turf in Need for Speed Carbon, the next revolution in racing games. ""

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YouTube is home to thousands of video clips of all sorts from all around the world. Users can upload, view, comment and rate video clips using this service. We know that many of you wanted to save some of the clips that you saw on YouTube. However YouTube doesnt allow saving content to hard drive. You had to go through the painful provess of browsing and viewing clips from within web browser. Here is a nice little application which allows ripping and saving of YouTube videos to hard disk drive or removable drive.

Download YouTube Grabber 1.1 from this link.

How to save videos using grabber:

1. Retrieve the URL of your YouTube video file from web browser.

2. Open YouTube Grabber application.

3. Paste the video URL into Grabber.

4. Click on 'Grab'. Wait for file download to complete. The video will be saved to the same folder where Grabber executable is placed.

How to play saved files:

The standalone player (Not the flash plugin for IE and FireFox) that comes with Macromedia (Now Adobe) Flash should be able to play these files. As most people do not have Flash, we'll post a simple program which will help you play files saved using YouTube Grabber.

Download FLV Player from this link.

1. Extract the file. Provide flasha as the password when prompted.

2. Run setup to install FLV Player to your hard drive.

3. Execute FLV player and drag and drop the downloaded video file to view it.

Enjoy!

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Most of you might already have seen this video but we posted it here nevertheless. The video shows former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein being hanged and executed. The last few frames contain footage of Saddam's corpse being carried away.

Note: Video may become jerky and blurry on some occasions.

Download Video or Watch it Online

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Windows Defender is an AntiSpyware software for the Windows platform which is created, distributed and supported by Microsoft Corporation. It provides protection against Spyware, pop-ups, security threats and other potentially unwanted software via a set of real time, on demand and online detection mechanisms. Real time protection contains a number of security agents which deliver protection againt system settings modifications, Internet Explorer settings modifications, browser hijack attempts, services and drivers modifications, spyware installation and execution and windows add on modifications. 

 

How to get it:

This is available as a free download from Microsoft download center or Automatic Updates. However, this download/installation requires genuine validation. Once your PC is 'genuine' you can download this from wherever you like (from MS download center, via automatic updates, Autopatcher etc).

Download Windows Defender: Download Now! (MS Download Center Download)

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Version 11 features a host of new features which are mainly focused on user interface enhancements and online music sharing/purchasing,information retrieval etc. The interface looks cool and is in league of Windows Vista Aero UI. It only occupied 12MB of memory (with no file being played) and it loaded in few seconds in our crappiest PC which is a 256MB RAM/ 1.5Ghz P4 when we ran it for a test run. That's pretty good performance for such a powerful application. We wouldn't go through all of WMP11 features here because it would turn our blog into a Microsoft advertisement.

However there are little annoyances with this version too. Some users may dislike the new UI and this version seems a little less customizable than version 10. But there will be apps released in the future that would enable tweak it to user's liking. These are only minor problems.

This REQUIRES GENUINE VALIDATION. When you download the setup and run it, the first step in setup will instruct you to go get yourself validated :p If you say no, setup will give you the finger and quit.

Read more [Official WMP11 page]

Download Windows Media Player 11

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Mcafee has released the latest version of their corporate antivirus software; VirusScan enterprise. If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you might remember our post about VSE 8.0i. 8.5i is even more advanced that 8.0i and features several different protection mechanisms never before seen in an AntiVirus product. ViruScan Enterprise 8.5i contains a combination of AntiVirus, Firewall and IPS features which turns it into a complete security solution.  Of course this doesn't feature a star-glittering, lamer oriented, resource consuming, bloated interface as in Norton Antivirus, but don't let the looks fool you. At the heart of VirusScan enterprise 8.5i runs the Mcafee's 5100 series scanning engine which is capable of decimating more that 21000 security threats (including spyware, adware and rootkit detection) in a wide range of categories. And it doesn't occupy half the system RAM as most major security software occupy.

 

New in Version 8.5i:

-5100 Series Scan Engine

- Incremental engine component updates. Allows  engine components to be updated without updating the entire engine. The engine version, displayed in the VirusScan  Enterprise "About" dialog box, shows both the engine series and the latest incremental
update version.

- Ability to use different sets of detection definition (DAT) files at the same time. For example, the engine can access the 
anti-virus, buffer overflow, and access protection DAT files simultaneously. This provides more efficient scanning and
detection of threats.

- Detection of rootkits in memory. The on-demand scanner can be configured to scan system memory for installed rootkits. Rootkits conceal running processes and files or system data, and are a
threat if an intruder uses the rootkit to  maintain access to a system without the user’s knowledge.

- Enhanced Access Protection. This feature prevents unwanted changes by restricting access to specified ports,files and folders, shares, registry keys and values.The rules have been enhanced to expand exclusion capability and provide better protection.

- Protection levels. When you install the  product, you choose whether to enable  "Standard Protection" or "Maximum Protection" 
rules as the default.

- Enhanced On Access Spyware and Adware detection with AntiSpyware Enterprise Module.

Combine Mcafee ViruScan enterprise 8.5i with Windows Firewall and say goodbye to any other security applications on your PC. With this one around, your ass is well covered.

Read comments for more information.

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Here is the ultimate desktop enhancements collection. Cursors, Themes, Wallpapers, Sounds, Buddies, widgets and whatever-the-hell-you-want is included in this pack.  You are bound to find some cool and unusual software in this collection. For example, the Desktop Pet application is all about having virtual pet. It starts out as an egg and begins its life on your desktop. You can interact with the pet in many ways. Since the pet has AI, you will need to attend to his needs as well. And if you dont want it you can kick its ass and uninstall it. Check them out!

Following programs are included in the collection:

• Aquarium Desktop 2006 2.0
• Bootskin 1.05
• Blog Navigator Professional v1.2.1.256
• ControlCenter v1.5.809 Enhanced
• CursorXP_Plus_1.31
• DesktopX 3.1 Enterprise
• Desktop Pet v1.00
• DirectSkin v3.0
• IconDeveloper 1.20 Professional
• IconPackager 3.10 Enhanced
• IconX 1.10 Enhanced
• Impression Creator Professional v1.0
• Keyboard Launchpad 1.00 Enhanced
• Logon Studio 1.0.64
• Multiplicity 1.02 Professional
• Natural Desktop 1.50
• ObjectBar Enhanced 1.65
• ObjectDock Plus v1.50
• RightClick 1.20 Enhanced
• SkinStudio Professional 5.0.0.1111
• Theme Manager 2005 2.20
• WebBlinds v1.06 Enhanced
• Windowblinds 5.10 Enhanced
• WindowFX 3.0 Enhanced
• WinStyles Enhanced 1.50

See sample of a customized windows desktop enhanced using WindowsBlinds (included)

Read comments for more information.

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jetAudio is one of the best media players available for the Windows platform. This one has been around for years the latest version 6.2.6 introduces a host of new features, ultimately making jetAudio  'one of a kind' media player application. Not only does it play almost every multimedia file type thats around (including DivX, OGG Vorbis, XViD and FLAC) but it offers support for ripping CDs, audio and video encoding (Mp3PRO encoding support included), audio recording (both from internal and external sources) and CD burning! In short, it's a powerhouse (but not a resource hog) and a must have application if you are a Windows user.

Plus VX version features the following additional features than the basic version:

• MP3 Encoding Extension Pack
• Sound Effect Extension Pack
• Recording Extension Pack
• Sound Extension Pack
• Tools Extension Pack
• Video Convert Extension Pack

Read comments for more information.

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Dear FILEnetworks Reader,

As you may already know, FILEnetworks Blog went offline about a week back. However we have now moved to a new location and are back online. We have recovered more than 35 of our old posts. Most of these posts include fixed links. Recovery of old posts is still in progress and we plan to finish it within this week. After that, life should be back to normal!

New Blog URLs:

• http://filenetworks.blogspot.com
• http://www.filenetworks.net

New RSS feeds:

Were you a subscriber of our RSS feed? The old feed is no longer updated. Use the new ones mentioned below:

• New posts feed: http://filenetworks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
• New comments feed: http://filenetworks.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default

Have you linked to us?

If you have linked to our site from yours, please update the link so that it will direct to either one of the new URL’s mentioned above. (The old URL is not functioning any more)

Notices:

• Post structure is changed. (Check out comments)
• Hitcounter is now visible. The same Hit Counter used in the old blog (after beta phase) has been carried on to the new one. You can view the stats at bottom of front page.
• We are no longer syndicated in kottu.org. www.kottu.org is a Srilankan Blog syndication site which is accessed by thousands of Srilankans daily. FILEnetworks content is not entirely Srilanka relevant so there is a conflict of interest. We have been desyndicated for this reason and we 100% agree with Kottu admin and support his decision on this.

Special thanks to:

• The TV & Radio Srilanka Group for informing readers about our sudden disappearance and for the continued support as a partner site.
• All the people who emailed us and expressed support.
• Kottu.org admin for keeping us syndicated for more than 2 months which greatly helped our Srilankan user base increase.

Crack on!

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These fonts will allow you to type in familiar handwriting in most Windows based word processors and office automation products.

How to get it:

The file size of this download is only 3.2MB It contains 300 different hadwriting fonts.

Get Handwriting Fonts Pack : Download Now! (Direct Download)

Install Notes:

Provide www.vastdown.com as RAR file password and extract. Install the fonts of your choice and enjoy!

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DFX is an audio enhancement plugin that will significantly enhance your Mp3 Audio files. it is available for all major Windows based audio/media players. Download this lightweight application and transform your PC into a fully functional stereo system! You can customize fidelity, ambience, 3D surround, Dynamic boost and hyperbass of your audio files to your liking.

Read comments for more information.

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Detect and repair Windows registry errors and optimize your system's performance using this application. Windows registry gets cluttered with junk, traces of removed programs and registry errors which will ultimately slow your system performance down to a crawl. Registry Mechanic will scan the registry and fix them with the click of a button. It also includes an option to optimize registry which is similar to the defragmentation of hard disk.

 Read comments for more information.

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ACDsee is a photo manager software for windows. This application will enable you view, process, edit, organize, catalog, publish and archive your images or photo collections. It currently supports over 100 image, audio, video and archive file formats. Version 9 features minor user interface improvements and performance enhancements. It also features a quickview application which is a good alternative to the 'Windows Picture and Fax Viewer'. Full RAW file support and processing, customizable folders, quick edit, visual tagging and color management feature enhancements are also noteworthy additions for version 9.

Read comments for more information.

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Intervideo WinDVD 8 has been released for the Microsoft Windows platform. WinDVD is a windows based media player application which directly competes with Cyberlink's PowerDVD.

Version 8 Improvements: (Quoted from Intervideo Web)

The Latest in High-Definition Video:

H.264, VC-1, HDV, MPEG 2 HD (1080i & 720p), WMV-HD

The Widest Range in Standard Definition Video:

DVD-Video, DivX® 6 Pro, Real® Player, 3GPP, QuickTime®, Windows Media, AVI, MPEG 4

The Most Dynamic Audio:

Dolby® Digital EX, Dolby® Pro Logic IIx, Dolby® Headphone, DTS 2.0, WAV, WMA, MP3, MPEG-4, non-protected iTunes

Top Technologies:

UPnP Client and Server, IVI Hall Effect, IVI Headphone Surround.

Read comments for more information.

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