Best Android games 2014
9/14/2014
While the 'free-to-play' market has taken a bit of a beating of late due to gamers falling out of love with the use of in-app payments, the world of mobile gaming is still an exciting one.
Whether you want games that will last the length of a commute, or want to be lost in a port of GTA where you spend hours mowing down pedestrians and making money out of murder, there is a game on here for you.
This constantly updated list is a mixture of free and paid for games, and also that one in between - some in-app payments aren't really that bad. Honest! If by the end you think we have missed something special off of the list, let us know and we will see if it is worthy of inclusion further down the line.
1. Dots (free)
Proving the notion that simpler is better on mobile, Dots is stupidly, almost patronisingly simple, with players just drawing lines between coloured dots. Link them up and, as coloured things tend to do in games, they disappear, So more fall in. And it carries on like this, getting more and more compulsive as you chase bigger and better dot combos.
2. The Simpsons Tapped Out (free)
EA's game based on the inhabitants of Springfield is surprising in a few ways. It's free, which is quite the thing, plus, although what many would deride as a 'freemium' game, it's more than possible to keep it going in the background, pottering away, slowly unlocking all of its content for free. Free-to-play done right, for once.
3. Angry Birds Space (free)
Developer Rovio has done quite a lot of aggressive whoring of the Angry Birds franchise, but this space-based fork of the simplistic physics game series is really worth a try. For one, it introduces some new play concepts, with the planet-based levels requiring different tactics, plus the puzzles generally need a bit more of a thoughtful approach than the chuck-it-and-see of the originals.
4. Badland (free)
Has a bit of an 'indie' vibe about it this one, with Badland offering a weird, dark and gloomy world, in which you fly about in control of a... blob thing. Your blob gets bigger and smaller, splits into loads of mini clones, and generally baffles you about what might lie around the next corner. We like a bit of a surprise, and this is full of them.
5. Stick Cricket (free)
Stick Cricket is a fantastically simple little game that reduces cricket to its core values - you just smash every ball as hard as you can. There's no worrying about field positioning, just a bat and a ball coming at you very quickly. Initially it seems impossible to do anything other than make a complete mess of things and having your little man smashed upside-down, but it soon clicks.
6. Monument Valley (£2.49, $3.99, $AU4.90)
A very, very pretty game, this. Monument Valley is based around the weird sort of impossible geometric shapes popularised by artist M. C. Escher, with its colourful maps bending and rotating in ways that appear to defy the laws of nature. You walk on walls, flip them, turn them into floors, avoid crows and marvel at how beautiful it all looks. A short game with only 10 multi-layered levels, but a joyful ride.
7. PewPew (free)
The developer calls this a "multidirectional shoot them up" presumably because describing it as a "Geometry Wars clone" might have got him in a bit of legal trouble. Regardless of its origin, it's a superb shooter with some bizarre game modes and controls that work exceptionally well on touch devices.
8. Super Bit dash (free)
One of the best examples of the new wave of retro-inspired platformers, Super Bit Dash is a scrolling platformer where you don't control the scroll -- but you do have a say in the jumping. It's a case of learning the levels and playing them again and again and again, until you have the required muscle memory to smash through without thinking about it.
Nanu Android App Provides Free Calls To Any Phone or Landline even in 2G
9/07/2014
“Nanu” – The name is revolution to communication apps in the Google Play Store. If you explore “Communications” category of Android apps, you will find hundreds of free callings apps there.
Then what is making Nanu so much popular that within a month it have crossed over 100,000 downloads? Is there something special about this new voice calling app? Is it offering something tempting that I am missing?
Well, Yes. There are few things special about the new voice calling app “Nanu” and it is offering something that you don’t want to miss – Free Calls. No, no! Don’t confuse these Nanu provided free calls with the free calls provided by other apps like Skype and Viber because they provides it from their app to app like from Skype to Skype or Viber to Viber, you can do unlimited free calls but Nanu is allowing you to make free calls from Nanu to non-nanu users too. 
That means, you can make free calls from Nanu app to any phone or landline. Moreover, as like Skype or Viber, it don’t need an expensive and fast 3G connection, you can make calls in your normal 2G internet too, without any problem. Plus, Nanu sounds crisper and clearer.
The app is free to download and install. There is nothing like in app purchase or upgrade for the app. However, it is new app (launched in August). So, it have some features limitations. Like, they are currently providing only 15 minutes of free nanu to non-nanu users calls to first 1 million users who download Nanu. And, that too certain countries.
Country list for nanu to non-nanu landline:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea South, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela
Country list for nanu to non-nanu mobile:
Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, USA.
Nanu-to-Nanu calls are free and unlimited everywhere. You can even talk to your abroad friend for hours without paying a single penny for the call you have made.
They earn through (clean and uncluttered) advertisements that appears in Nanu app. Those advertisements pays for the free calls you made. So, spread your word about this app to your friends. As their user base increase, they will earn more revenue and then they will be able to provide you more free nanu to non-nanu landline and mobile calls.
Whenever you call, Nanu automatically detects whether the person is on Nanu or not so that, if he/she is on Nanu, you call him/her directly from the app for free.
By the end of year, Nanu developers are coming with iOS and Windows version of this super-cool app and at that time, text-message feature will be made available to you. So, stay connected with the app, more fun are coming on your way.
Block Unwanted Calls and Texts on Android With Mr. Number
8/23/2014
There are a lot of jerks around whose only job is to annoy and irritate other people. They want to destroy your peace. If you have a phone then you must have got atleast one such call or text from unknown number who want to irritate you.
We get a lot of spam calls and messages daily. They keep on ringing us during our work hours, home or even at night when we are sleeping. Is there any way out to stop them? Fortunately, yes. We have some services that help you to block unwanted calls and text messages.
Mr. Number is such an Android app that helps Android users to block unwanted, spamcalls and text messages. It can even allow you to send messages for free and can give you alert when your sent messages has delivered.
Mr. Number – Block calls, text
Mr. Number is developed by WhitePages and is available for free on the app store. It can help you block unwanted calls, texts, identify and stop spam. You can even lookup for unknown phone numbers in it.
How to Block Calls using Mr. Number
First you need to download and install Mr. Number Android app on your Android device. Go to the ‘Blacklist tab’, here you can block numbers. You can also place some exceptions if you want.
There are a number of categories like suspected spam, enter a number, all numbers beginning with, all numbers in my contacts, all private/blocked numbers, choose from contacts etc.
You can also lookup for the unknown numbers with a little fees. This will enable automatic caller ID. Whenever you get call from an unknown number, it will show that caller’s real name. With the ‘Reverse Lookup’ feature, it allows you to look up for any number without any fees.
You can also report number as spam or block it using ‘Reverse Lookup’. First 20 Lookups are free, additional you can purchase 20 for 99 cents.
In the ‘history tab’, you can see all your call history. You will see ‘green thumbs up’ and ‘red thumbs down’ sign for the accepted and rejected calls respectively.
In the ‘settings tab’, you can turn the call block on or off anytime.
Get the App
Monitor Your Mobile Data Usage with 3G Watchdog
8/23/2014
Do you think you run out of your mobile data most of the times? If yes, then here is a way out which can give you insights into your data or internet usage.
If you run on a tighter data allowance then you fee utmost need to know about your data usage. This will help you to decide your download capacity in rest of the validity period.
With 3G Watchdog Android app you can keep an eye on where you mobile data is going, how much you have consumed and how much still left with you.
3G Watchdog
3G Watchdog is an Android tool available for free developed by Richard Gruet. A simple and interactive app to help you monitor your 4G/3G/Edge/GPRS data usage.
This app was specially designed for those users who feel immense need of tracking their data. You can receive notifications when users are using up all their data allowances and even it can block internet when your data limit is almost reached. This way you won’t use waste your balance in internet usage.
You can see in the image below how 3G Watchdog gives you warning when you are close to your data limit. It is also showing real-time traffic stats.
Some users complained about some problems they were facing while using this app but in recent updates all of these problems have been fixed. So, you can install it comfortably to watch your data usage.
Get the Android app
Computer Tips & Tricks EveryOne should Know
8/17/2014
Many hardcore computer users might think themselves above learning new tricks, but there's always new things to learn that will help improve your skills. Our bet: you will find at least one useful thing here that you didn't know before.
Inspired and with the help of this AskReddit discussion, we’ve compiled some of the most handy computer tricks you might not be taking advantage of. Our ultimate goal is to help you become more productive by shaving valuable seconds off your workflow. Of course, you can always pass along these tips to your not-so-savvy friends and family members to help them become better PC users as well.
General Tricks
Windows hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings, which makes it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings. Note: Don't try this on Windows Vista 64-bit as it's known to cause a reboot loop.
Use Problem Steps Recorder This handy tool automatically records any mouse clicks and takes screenshots for you. If you need tech assistance with your computer, go to Run by typing Windows + R, and then type "psr." Use the tool and by the time you are finished, you can send this information, neatly compiled automatically, to the person helping you with the issue. It will make the process of finding the problem much easier for them, which means you will be able to get your system up and running faster.
Find/Delete large files wasting space A handy tool called WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics) can be used to easily find which files and folders are taking up the most space on your drive. From there, you can delete them and open up a ton of storage space.
Reduce the number of programs running at startup If your PC is taking too long to boot, it’s probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. Reducing this is easy, it will make your PC launch noticeably faster and lighter upon first load. To change the items running at startup, go to Run using the hotkey Windows key + R, and type "msconfig." A small window will appear (see the screenshot below), select the Startup tab. From here you will be able to turn off many startup programs, which can shave several seconds (or minutes) off your boot time. (Note Windows 8 has moved this functionality to the Task Manager). Try to make sure you research what you are turning off as some processes might be needed by third party programs or drivers you have installed.
Cloud backup important files If you’re working on a critical paper for school, work, or any other major project, make sure you are backing up the file not just locally. You can use services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solution which will do the legwork for you on the background. Of course, you can also throw the files on a thumb drive or external HDD just to be safe but backing up to the cloud can be done seamlessly which is twice the advantage.
Typing Tricks
Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing CTRL + BKSP will delete the entire word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up a whole word.
Move Cursor to beginning of the next or previous word Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed of the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use CTRL + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use CTRL + Right Arrow. In OS X you can accomplish the same using the Option key.
Making sub and superscript text If you need to make sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press CTRL + = for subscript and CTRL + SHIFT + = for superscript.
Paste plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually copy any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press CTRL + Shift + V instead of the standard CTRL + V, and the system will paste unformatted text.
Note that many programs follow this parameter (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but not all, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook. For those there's a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1) CTRL + ALT + V will show a 'paste special' dialog box. 2) CTRL + Spacebar will remove formatting in already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Copy only active window to clipboard Normally, the Print Screen key copies the entire display (or two displays if you got them), ALT + Print Screen only copies the currently active window to the clipboard. Whether taking a screenshot to diagnose a problem, or just because you want to show something to a friend, this will come in handy.
Fix those little mistakes Did you know you can undo almost any action? CTRL + Z is the ultimate hot key, and for sure you knew about it already, however note that undo doesn’t just apply to typing. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you can hit CTRL + Z to bring it right back to where it was. In Chrome and Firefox you can also undo closing a tab using CTRL + SHIFT + T.
Cycle through open windows Pressing ALT+TAB allows you to cycle through currently open windows. This makes switching back and forth between running processes quick and painless. If you want a more stylish method of cycling through open programs, Windows + TAB will do the job for you.
Interrupt all processes CTRL + ALT + Delete is one of the most common PC shortcuts, and one almost everyone is familiar with. The important thing to note is that it interrupts all processes, including the one that is bogging down your system, which can mean the difference between needing to restart or not.
Close the current program Typing ALT + F4 will close the program that is running. This is useful as it saves you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People will often use this as a joke, telling you to press ALT + F4 to fix a problem. Don’t fall for it unless you want to close what you are doing.
Minimize all windows Sometimes you have a bunch of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you can get to the desktop. Simply pressing Windows + D will minimize everything you have up, which will save you some time pressing the minimize button for each window. It should be noted that Windows + M offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so Windows + D is the more favorable approach.
Open the task manager directly If you want to bypass the interrupt that happens when pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and jump right to the task manager, typing CTRL + Shift + ESC launches it directly.
Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the way to that X button? Press CTRL + W and the current window will close. (Don’t do it now, or you will miss the rest of the tricks!)
Bring up the system information window This is so much quicker than digging this out the traditional way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the System Information panel will be ready to go. This might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you will ever find, so enjoy it!
Better multiple monitor control There are several useful keyboard shortcuts for controlling open windows on multiple monitors. Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor. Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows will cause the window to jump to the other monitor. Lastly, pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly set up a second display or projector.
Web Browsing Tricks
Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by simply click CTRL + Enter after you type the name of the site. Need .net instead of .com, press CTRL + Shift + Enter instead.
Jump to address bar There are a number of ways to jump right to the address bar from anywhere in browser. Pressing CTRL + L, F6, and ALT + D all accomplish this goal.
Bring back a closed tab We covered this already, but it's super useful. Accidentally closed a tab? Simply press CTRL + Shift + T to reopen the most recently closed tab and get back to what you were doing.
Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer (of course!). Pressing CTRL + Shift + N will launch a new private in Chrome, CTRL + Shift + P will do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Cycle through open tabs Pressing CTRL + TAB while in a browser will flip between each one. This can be much faster than moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. CTRL + NUM (1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to certain tab in that numeric order.
File Management Tricks
Rename a file quickly Right-clicking and selecting rename is not very efficient. Instead, simply press F2 while a file is selected to change its name. To alter the name of another file, type TAB without deselecting the current file.
Rename files sequentially in Windows You actually don’t need to download any programs to perform a batch file rename in Windows. Instead, you can select all the files you want to change, right-click the first one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in the name. This will automatically change all the other files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2), and so on.
Select multiple files using the keyboard To select a bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press Shift + down arrow to select a single file or Shift + Page Down to select a large group of files at one time.
Security Tips
Run programs on an infected PC Often times, malware will prevent a computer from running certain programs. Changing the name of the .exe file can often override this. If that doesn’t work, changing the extension to .com is another useful alternative, and the program will still be able to run in spite of the extension change.
Read installers Even major programs can install toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software during installation. Take a few seconds to read each step to make sure you are not agreeing to install something other than the program you were actually seeking. Far too often people just push next over and over, and end up with a browser covered in various search bars that just aren't needed. In the worst of scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.
Lock your computer if you get up Sick of your "friends" going onto your computer at work or home and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on your behalf? It’s certainly an annoyance, but an easy one to prevent. Windows + L will lock your system right away, requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in again.
Program-Specific Tricks
Photoshop: Drag the marquee without losing the ability to size it The marquee tool is, at its most basic level, designed for selecting a part of an image. It’s used constantly in Photoshop, and there is a handy trick many users miss. While dragging it around, you can press space, which will allow you to size it while moving it. This saves time by letting your perform two key functions at the same time.
Steam: Move games to another drive or partition By default, Steam installs all games to the same HDD or partition, but what happens if that fills up? The solution: download Steamtool Library Manager. It makes it easy to move games to another hard drive without messing with the functionality of Steam.
VLC: Fix unsynced audio and subtitles In the popular media player VLC, if your audio loses sync with the video or subtitles, there is an easy way to fix this. Simply pressing J or K will move the audio forward or backwards. Similarly, to sync the subtitles you can press H or G.
The combination of using these tips and tricks on a daily basis will most certainly make your computer life much more enjoyable, or at least more practical. And so, did you learn a thing or two that you didn't know before?
Inspired and with the help of this AskReddit discussion, we’ve compiled some of the most handy computer tricks you might not be taking advantage of. Our ultimate goal is to help you become more productive by shaving valuable seconds off your workflow. Of course, you can always pass along these tips to your not-so-savvy friends and family members to help them become better PC users as well.
General Tricks
Windows hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings, which makes it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings. Note: Don't try this on Windows Vista 64-bit as it's known to cause a reboot loop.
Use Problem Steps Recorder This handy tool automatically records any mouse clicks and takes screenshots for you. If you need tech assistance with your computer, go to Run by typing Windows + R, and then type "psr." Use the tool and by the time you are finished, you can send this information, neatly compiled automatically, to the person helping you with the issue. It will make the process of finding the problem much easier for them, which means you will be able to get your system up and running faster.
Find/Delete large files wasting space A handy tool called WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics) can be used to easily find which files and folders are taking up the most space on your drive. From there, you can delete them and open up a ton of storage space.
Reduce the number of programs running at startup If your PC is taking too long to boot, it’s probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. Reducing this is easy, it will make your PC launch noticeably faster and lighter upon first load. To change the items running at startup, go to Run using the hotkey Windows key + R, and type "msconfig." A small window will appear (see the screenshot below), select the Startup tab. From here you will be able to turn off many startup programs, which can shave several seconds (or minutes) off your boot time. (Note Windows 8 has moved this functionality to the Task Manager). Try to make sure you research what you are turning off as some processes might be needed by third party programs or drivers you have installed.
Cloud backup important files If you’re working on a critical paper for school, work, or any other major project, make sure you are backing up the file not just locally. You can use services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solution which will do the legwork for you on the background. Of course, you can also throw the files on a thumb drive or external HDD just to be safe but backing up to the cloud can be done seamlessly which is twice the advantage.
Typing Tricks
Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing CTRL + BKSP will delete the entire word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up a whole word.
Move Cursor to beginning of the next or previous word Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed of the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use CTRL + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use CTRL + Right Arrow. In OS X you can accomplish the same using the Option key.
Making sub and superscript text If you need to make sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press CTRL + = for subscript and CTRL + SHIFT + = for superscript.
Paste plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually copy any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press CTRL + Shift + V instead of the standard CTRL + V, and the system will paste unformatted text.
Note that many programs follow this parameter (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but not all, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook. For those there's a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1) CTRL + ALT + V will show a 'paste special' dialog box. 2) CTRL + Spacebar will remove formatting in already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Copy only active window to clipboard Normally, the Print Screen key copies the entire display (or two displays if you got them), ALT + Print Screen only copies the currently active window to the clipboard. Whether taking a screenshot to diagnose a problem, or just because you want to show something to a friend, this will come in handy.
Fix those little mistakes Did you know you can undo almost any action? CTRL + Z is the ultimate hot key, and for sure you knew about it already, however note that undo doesn’t just apply to typing. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you can hit CTRL + Z to bring it right back to where it was. In Chrome and Firefox you can also undo closing a tab using CTRL + SHIFT + T.
Cycle through open windows Pressing ALT+TAB allows you to cycle through currently open windows. This makes switching back and forth between running processes quick and painless. If you want a more stylish method of cycling through open programs, Windows + TAB will do the job for you.
Interrupt all processes CTRL + ALT + Delete is one of the most common PC shortcuts, and one almost everyone is familiar with. The important thing to note is that it interrupts all processes, including the one that is bogging down your system, which can mean the difference between needing to restart or not.
Close the current program Typing ALT + F4 will close the program that is running. This is useful as it saves you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People will often use this as a joke, telling you to press ALT + F4 to fix a problem. Don’t fall for it unless you want to close what you are doing.
Minimize all windows Sometimes you have a bunch of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you can get to the desktop. Simply pressing Windows + D will minimize everything you have up, which will save you some time pressing the minimize button for each window. It should be noted that Windows + M offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so Windows + D is the more favorable approach.
Open the task manager directly If you want to bypass the interrupt that happens when pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and jump right to the task manager, typing CTRL + Shift + ESC launches it directly.
Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the way to that X button? Press CTRL + W and the current window will close. (Don’t do it now, or you will miss the rest of the tricks!)
Bring up the system information window This is so much quicker than digging this out the traditional way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the System Information panel will be ready to go. This might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you will ever find, so enjoy it!
Better multiple monitor control There are several useful keyboard shortcuts for controlling open windows on multiple monitors. Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor. Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows will cause the window to jump to the other monitor. Lastly, pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly set up a second display or projector.
Web Browsing Tricks
Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by simply click CTRL + Enter after you type the name of the site. Need .net instead of .com, press CTRL + Shift + Enter instead.
Jump to address bar There are a number of ways to jump right to the address bar from anywhere in browser. Pressing CTRL + L, F6, and ALT + D all accomplish this goal.
Bring back a closed tab We covered this already, but it's super useful. Accidentally closed a tab? Simply press CTRL + Shift + T to reopen the most recently closed tab and get back to what you were doing.
Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer (of course!). Pressing CTRL + Shift + N will launch a new private in Chrome, CTRL + Shift + P will do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Cycle through open tabs Pressing CTRL + TAB while in a browser will flip between each one. This can be much faster than moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. CTRL + NUM (1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to certain tab in that numeric order.
File Management Tricks
Rename a file quickly Right-clicking and selecting rename is not very efficient. Instead, simply press F2 while a file is selected to change its name. To alter the name of another file, type TAB without deselecting the current file.
Rename files sequentially in Windows You actually don’t need to download any programs to perform a batch file rename in Windows. Instead, you can select all the files you want to change, right-click the first one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in the name. This will automatically change all the other files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2), and so on.
Select multiple files using the keyboard To select a bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press Shift + down arrow to select a single file or Shift + Page Down to select a large group of files at one time.Security Tips
Run programs on an infected PC Often times, malware will prevent a computer from running certain programs. Changing the name of the .exe file can often override this. If that doesn’t work, changing the extension to .com is another useful alternative, and the program will still be able to run in spite of the extension change.
Read installers Even major programs can install toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software during installation. Take a few seconds to read each step to make sure you are not agreeing to install something other than the program you were actually seeking. Far too often people just push next over and over, and end up with a browser covered in various search bars that just aren't needed. In the worst of scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.
Lock your computer if you get up Sick of your "friends" going onto your computer at work or home and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on your behalf? It’s certainly an annoyance, but an easy one to prevent. Windows + L will lock your system right away, requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in again.
Program-Specific Tricks
Photoshop: Drag the marquee without losing the ability to size it The marquee tool is, at its most basic level, designed for selecting a part of an image. It’s used constantly in Photoshop, and there is a handy trick many users miss. While dragging it around, you can press space, which will allow you to size it while moving it. This saves time by letting your perform two key functions at the same time.
Steam: Move games to another drive or partition By default, Steam installs all games to the same HDD or partition, but what happens if that fills up? The solution: download Steamtool Library Manager. It makes it easy to move games to another hard drive without messing with the functionality of Steam.
VLC: Fix unsynced audio and subtitles In the popular media player VLC, if your audio loses sync with the video or subtitles, there is an easy way to fix this. Simply pressing J or K will move the audio forward or backwards. Similarly, to sync the subtitles you can press H or G.
The combination of using these tips and tricks on a daily basis will most certainly make your computer life much more enjoyable, or at least more practical. And so, did you learn a thing or two that you didn't know before?
Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages,Photos and Videos
8/17/2014
Today we will see How to Recover deleted facebook messages,Photos and Videos and much more on facebook. Basically its a Facebook Feature which not many people are aware of and hence i will be writing this tutorial to let you guys know about this amazing feature/Trick that Facebook Provides.
Many a times We Delete Messages,Photos or Vidoes from our profile which is not intentional but once we do , we can not undo it. and its gone forever.
But wait, There is a saying: Nothing is Lost, until MOM can’t find it, Likewise in this case even if you delete anything from your facebook account, you can get it back. Facebook have all your data in their archive which you can download too.
Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages,Photos and Videos
Follow the Below simple steps to Know how you can get back and have access to your deleted messages, photos,Videos and all other data of your facebook profile.
Step 1: First of all,You will have to Click here to open Facebook General account Settings.
Step 3: On the Next page you will see a Download Archive Button, Click on it and you will be prompt to enter your Password to Continue, This is a Security Step by Facebook.
Step 4: After entering your Facebook Password, Click on Submit, On the next screen you will be shown that the download link for your data will be sent to your email id which you used to create your facebook account.
Step 5: Wait for Few Minutes, check your mail. You will see a mail from facebook in your Inbox with Downloading link ready for you to download all your data.
Step 6: Now After downloading the file. Unzip it and open the folder where you will find your messages, photos, vidoes. Pokes, Friend list etc.
The Files will be in .html format so you will have to double click on the file and select your Favourite Browser to open the file, the File will open up in your browser where you will have access to all your data..
I Hope this guide will help someone or other who didn’t already know that you can actually Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages,Photos and Videos. Don’t forget to Share it with your friends if you like it and you may even Subscribe for New post, to get directly in your mail inbox.
9 Best and Coolest PhotoShop Alternatives Almost Free
8/16/2014
Photo editing is an important part of enhancing and saving our memorable moments. With just a little bit of touch up of a photo editing software can make our photos look more beautiful and charming.
Most of the people prefer Photoshop as their ultimate photo editing tool. But everyone may not find Photoshop easy to go with. You need to learn how to use it. Though those you know can do almost everything with their photos but a newbie or those who just need to modify a bit of their photos find Photoshop quite difficult.
To offer you some ease, we have come up with 9 best and coolest Photoshop alternatives. These softwares can help you enhance your photos and apply many effects. Many of these are available for free, however some of them you need to buy. Let us have a glance on their features.
1. GIMP
GIMP(GNU Image Manipulation Program) is one of the best and feature rich image editing software. It will provide all Photoshop capabilities to enhance images. It is equipped with advanced filtering, layering, stitching and many other features.
GIMP is available for free. It is available for Windows, Linux and OS X. You can do robust graphic manipulation with GIMP. The more you work with it, the better it goes for you. It is an open source software hence new features keep on adding to it constantly to make it better.
2. Adobe Photoshop Express
Another wonderful photo editor. Adobe Photoshop Express is a free software that you can use to edit images on your browser. It is also available as Android, iOS apps and Windows Phone.
It is good for simple as well as advanced editing. You can perform cropping, straightening, adjust brightness,contrast, tint, white balance, removing red eye etc. You can also remove blemishes and marks from photos with touchup feature. Its easy and interactive user interface makes it good for newbies also.
3. Paint.net
Paint.net is a photo editing software rich in advanced tools. You can open and edit multiple images with its friendly tabbed display. You can identify images by thumbnail as shown in the image below.
It is available for free for Windows only. Though it is less powerful than GIMP but is easier and newbies like it for its simplicity and ease of access. You can drag and drop images and work upon them. Use basic editing or add layers and effects.
4. Pixlr Editor
Pixlr is a free cloud based photo editing service. You can not only edit and enhance your photos but can also share them with your friends and relatives. Use it from anywhere, you just need internet connection and browser.
There are numerous selection features and enhancing tools available. With the left toolbar you can do basic editing like cropping, contrast, dodge, burn, blur, clone stamp etc. It supports text overlays and layering.
5. Apple Aperture
Apple Aperture is developed by Apple for Mac users. It is available for $79.99/£54.99. It is a brilliant alternative to Photoshop, specially for photographers. Though it lacks many features that Adobe contains like 3D, web linking etc. However, an average user does not requires these features so its good for general use.
Aperture contains many innovative enhancement tools. With its Autoenhance you get accurate exposure, brightness, vibrancy and curves.
6. PicMonkey
PicMonkey is a very powerful yet easy web-based photo editing tool that lets you to edit you photos and create powerful collages. So, you don’t required to install any additional software, you can access and use this tool directly from your web browser. All you required to have isFlash-enabled web browser.
It allows you to add special effects, stickers, text, frames, etc. You can even add your own quirky touches overlays. You can use PicMonkey for free without even registering yourself.
However, they have very affordable paid plan at just $2.75/month which will provide you an ad-free environment with tons of additional effects, textures, fonts and overlays.
7. Picasa
Picasa is a free image viewer, editor, organizer and collage maker owned by Google. It can effectively manage your image files. You can import and tag your pictures also.
Most of the people use Picasa to make collage or to give basic editing like color enhancement, cropping, straightening, removing red eye, color and contrast, saturation etc. It offers many different colors modes. You can email these images or post them on your blog. It is available for Windows and Mac.
It has a very interactive user interface that makes people at ease while working in it.
8. Acron
Acron is a beautiful image editing software available for OS X for $29.99/£20.99. A budget software with high-end features. You can perform basic as well as advanced editing with layering, non-destructive filters, curves, multiple layer selection and new shape tools.
Acron 4 is faster than its predecessors. Now edit pictures like pro with Acron.
9. Serif PhotoPlus X7
Serif PhotoPlus X7 is one of the direct competitor to Photoshop and hence a good alternative. The software is available for Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP at £79.99.
While beginners may not find it their cup of tea but its a great tool for professional photographers and editors. Many professionals are using this software and find its service wonderful at an affordable price.
Have something to add to this story? Share it with us in comments.
Capture Screenshots of Long Webpages Online using CTRLQ Screenshots
8/15/2014
For our projects, to show some method/problem, to demo anything on a website, we sometimes need to capture their screenshot and show it to our friend. It helps them to know the then-scenario of desktop screen when you’re facing problem or showing something. Thanks to PrtSc SysRq (Print Screen) button which lets us to capture screenshot of our current desktop as it is. So, whether you’re working on Windows, browsing web, pressing Print Screen button will capture your current desktop which you can paste on Image editing tools like MS-Paint and save it with a name for later reference.
The Print Screen button captures on your current desktop screen. It is okay in case of Windows because all things in Windows are in a single fold, on the screen. But, webpages are large, then can’t come in just one fold of your desktop screen. So, they are provided with vertical scroll bar to view remaining part of the webpage by moving scroll bar down. And, we many times need to capture full webpage screenshot.
So, how to do this? Will you keep on pressing Print Screen, pasting every fold of webpage on paint and adjusting them through cut and paste? No! It’s very frustrating task. You can make use of some tools like Webpage Screenshot Chrome Extension, Screen Capture, etc. But if you don’t want to add more extension to your browser and make it RAM hogging then you can use a quick online tool to capture full webpage screenshot — CtrlQ Screenshots
CtrlQ Screenshots (or Screen Capture) is a free online tool that lets you to quickly capture full webpage screenshots of any webpage. All you need to do is just enter URL of your webpage and click “Capture Screenshot” button. This tool will automatically fetch the URL and take full screenshot of that webpage where the URL is pointing, don’t forget to add (http:// or https:// before webpage address).
CtrlQ Screenshots is a handy web tool that will generate high-resolution screenshot of full webpage and serve it to you as PNG image that you can download.
It firstly stores the screenshot in its server to offer downloading image to you. So, if you are expecting different screenshot of your website after doing some corrections, CtrlQ Screenshot will not able to help because if you enter your webpage’s URL the second time, it will provide you the download link of earlier webpage version.
Find CtrlQ Screenshots here – ctrlq.org/screenshots/
Mp3Louder Boost Mp3 Songs’ Sound 50 Times Higher Online (For Free)
8/14/2014
For many of us, music is everything. Even if our busy schedule gives us a single minute, we listen music in it and feel relax. Not only we are quick to select the perfect track at perfect times, we are also quick in downloading any latest song that has just come in the market from our favorite artist. But if speakers doesn’t work well, it makes everything annoying. For many of the songs, it’s impossible to enjoy their full taste without required volume level. For instance, you may want to enjoy a rock music at peak volume but your speaker doesn’t let you do so.
If your smartphone, tablet, computer’s speakers have very slow sound and you don’t currently have the budget to buy a new smartphone/tablet or good speakers then consider yourself “lucky” for saving your expenses in these things because Mp3 Louder will boost your MP3 songs’ sound 50 times higher than the highest level at any song is currently playing.
I am joking? No, absolutely not.
Mp3 Louder is a working tool that can really boost your Mp3 audio files’ volume up to 50 times higher without using any additional hardware for sound improvement.
What is Mp3 Louder?
Mp3 Louder is a free web service that allows you to increase volume level of MP3 audio files online, tweak the volume level to make the MP3 louder. You don’t need to install any browser extension to bug your browser. Moreover, you don’t even need to register yourself.
Just straightaway go to the website and you can boost sound of your MP3 audio files directly at the website.
Mp3 Louder Homepage
How Mp3 Louder Works?
Earlier it was possible only for intelligent geeks to increase sound level of Mp3 files by encoding them through tough and expensive audio editing tools. It was a time-consuming task also. And, result was just a 15-20% improvement to volume level of target Mp3 file.
Mp3 Louder is making this frustrating work easier and quick. Not only this, in comparison to that 15-20% improvement, Mp3 Louder is providing up to 50 times higher volume improvement by using “The Lame Open Source Mp3 Encoder Project”.
How to Boost Mp3 File’s Sound with Mp3 Louder?
Boosting volume level of your Mp3 files using Mp3 Louder is very easy. You are also not bound to increase audio level to a fix 50x higher volume, as per your comfort, you can choose to increase audio levels of your Mp3 audio files 3x, 5x, 8x, 11x, 15x, 20x, 30x and 50x. Hence, you have way more options to choose from.
Follow these steps to increase Mp3 files volume using Mp3 Louder
Step 1: Visit Mp3 Louder website using the following link – Mp3Louder. Scroll down to middle section of the webpage where you will find option to “select an audio file”. Click the Browse button to select desired Mp3 audio file from your computer.
Step 2: Now, you need to Select Volume Level. Default value is set to Minimal Volume Boost (x 1) which obviously will not provide any volume improvement to your song. However, clicking on this option will show you all the available options in which you can increase your sound level. Select desired value.
Step 3: Now, select channel – whether you want to increase volume of only left channel or only right channel or every channels. By default, the option is set to “every channel” value which is not required to change in most of the cases.
Step 4: Click the “Upload Now” button provided at the bottom which will upload your Mp3 file on the server and send it to get encoded by the server according to the values you have provided for volume level and channels.
Step 5: Finally, when Mp3 Louder finishes encoding your Mp3 file, it will provide show “Download Mp3 File” button to download optimized Mp3 version of your uploaded Mp3 song as per your requirements. Just click on it and your encoded song will start downloading.
Now, enjoy volume-boosted mp3 file.
Do It Yourself. Try Mp3 Louder by following this link — mp3louder
