Month: April 2007

After browsing blogs for a while you may have noticed that most of them display a little orange logo linked to something called RSS feed. But do you really know what RSS is?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, although sometimes it’s also referred to as Rich Site Summary. In short, the RSS standard is used to check if a website has been updated and if so, present the new content conveniently laid out to the user. In this way, if you subscribe to the RSS feed of your favorite blog, you don’t need to visit it everyday to check if there are any new posts or not; RSS will do it for you.

Now that you know what an RSS feed is you may be wondering how to subscribe to them. The answer to this question has two main options: either you install an RSS desktop reader or you sign up with any of the various online readers available. Both are perfectly valid solutions and will work fine for you, being the choice between desktop or online apps just a question of personal preference.

Softonic features a whole category devoted to RSS, where you’ll find free desktop RSS readers such as Abilon, Awasu, RSSOwl or FireANT, this latter being capable of managing also audio and video. However, if you’re more of the online inclination, we recommend using Google Reader, Netvibes or Bloglines.

One last tip: you can also create your own RSS feeds to deliver content from your personal website. Most blogging services like Blogger and WordPress already offer support for RSS. If you’re looking for advanced functionalities, you can take a look at FeedBurner, an online service for RSS creation and management. Of course, you can also use desktop software for these purposes: RSS Wizard, FeedForAll and RSS Builder are just three of the many apps available on Softonic.

Adobe has revealed that it plans to open up its Flex platform, allowing developers to access the platform under an open source licence. Flex is a solution that allows programmers to develop interactive Flash applications in a more refined manner than simply using the Flash GUI and ActionScript. Under this new arrangement, Adobe will make Flex’s source code available to everyone in line with platforms such as .Net and J2EE.

Although it’s been a long time coming, this represents a big step forward for Adobe, who was perhaps getting a little twitchy about the impact that new open source technology, such as AJAX and Ruby was having on the world of Flash development. By allowing developers to access the code improvements can be made to Flex that will benefit the user community as a whole, and the burden on Adobe’s in-house team will be eased.

Many within the Web development community will argue that Adobe still isn’t doing enough to open its technology to the masses. Maybe not, but it’s definitely a refreshing move, and it’s a good indicator that the company is committed to the needs of hardcore application developers rather than just designers who want to do a bit of programming on the side. Flex could be a very important tool for the future of Flash-based site creation and by building an open source community the platform should go from strength-to-strength. Now, Adobe, how about opening up the Flash runtime environment itself?

When it comes to dealing with compressed archive files, there’s a wide range of applications available. But if what you need is a file compressor with security features, then your best choice is SecureZIP. This free tool can manage compressed data in a variety of formats and also create self-executable archives. Plus it adds encryption capabilites and support for digital certificates so that your files not only take less space, but are also protected from prying eyes.

If you’ve ever thought there must be a better way to organise Windows, then you might find Desktop Sidebar the answer you’ve been waiting for. Desktop Sidebar is a simple but powerful toolbar that integrates with Windows main features, Outlook and offers a whole lot more. If you’ve not been impressed by Yahoo! Widget Engine or Google Toolbar, then it’s definitely worth a try.

One of Desktop Sidebar’s strongest features is its integration with Outlook. It provides instant shortcuts to email overviews, previews, notes and calendar entries. It also provides customisable news headline feeds, access to search engines and even Windows Media Player/Winamp controls. It’s particularly useful if you’ve got several email accounts, as you can set it up to check multiple IMAP and POP accounts including Hotmail. You may find yourself saving a lot of time with this feature alone although unfortunately, it does not seem to support integration with Thunderbird as yet.

Other pre-installed components include the stats bar which shows how much RAM and CPU throughput your PC is experiencing at any one time. This can however get increasingly annoying as the status bars shoot up and down but it can easily be deactivated in the ‘Settings’ tab. Desktop Toolbar need not be intrusive either – it can be displayed permanently on your desktop or set to auto-hide itself when not in use.

Continue reading “Get tooled-up with Desktop Sidebar”

Hit or fold? There’s an incredible number of card games for your PC, from playground favorites Marvel or Magic, to casino classics, like Poker, Rummy or Craps. Even though a lot of these can be played online in private games rooms, you can still enjoy a good card game without betting away your savings or spending a week in Las Vegas though.

We picked out 10 card games you can play on your PC, alone or online with other human or AI opponents. Depending on whether you’re into more traditional games or if you want to try out something new you should check out the following list. We’ve selected the best and most downloaded card games. Let us know if there’s one of these you like most or if you have a special card trick up your sleeve.

1. Marvel Trading Card Game – Card based strategy with all the Marvel superheros
2. Prime Poker – Texas Hold’em, 7 Card Stud, Omaha, this poker game has them all
3. Dream Vacation Solitaire – Play solitaire in an exotic surrounding
4. MTG Studio – Create your own deck of cards for Magic The Gathering
5. 32 Cards World Cup Edition – Can your team win the World Cup?
6. Slingo Quest – 60 exciting and original card games
7. Poker Supertars – Beat the pros at poker
8. Rummy 500 – Score more points than your opponent
9. Piquet – A game of declaring and pulling tricks
10. Telltale Texas Hold’Em – A poker session with some odd 3D characters

Want to watch your whole Internet video collection on TV and don’t know how? The answer is Sothink Movie DVD Maker. This free application enables you to easily convert video files and burn them to DVD. It supports the most popular video formats and features also advanced video editing tools. Probably the cheapest and easiest way to enjoy your favorite videos on your home DVD player!

There are many ways to spice up your photo collection but perhaps one of the most impressive is to make them 3 Dimensional. Giving your photos a 3D look can be useful for a number of reasons. Maybe you’d like to breathe new life into an old photo collection or maybe you’re working on a presentation and want to give it an original touch? Whatever your reasons, there are several programs out there that can bring a new dimension to your photos in a few clicks.

One of the most popular is PhotoPlus probably because it allows you to create many effects in just one package. This free program offers everything from reducing red eye, adjusting contrast and of course 3D effects through its ‘Layer Manager’. However, because it’s not a dedicated 3D photo program, the results can look somewhat artificial and unconvincing.

For better results, you’re probably better using 3D Photo Builder Professional which creates 3D panoramic shots with your photos. The program makes an analysis of your photo borders and then ‘stitches’ them together to create the panoramas. You can even pan and zoom the 3D shots as well as send them by e-mail. Because this is a dedicated 3D imaging program, the results are considerably more realistic than with PhotoPlus.

Continue reading “Go 3D with your photos”