April, 2008 - Softonic English

Alternatives to Apple’s Activity Monitor

Where can you monitor processes on your Mac? The Activity Monitor, found in Applications>Utilities. This tool, in fact, is one which I almost always keep open on my Mac. I like seeing how much CPU is being used, and what applications take up the most memory. The Activity Monitor is also great for overlooking disk usage and activity and checking data sent and received over your network.

I don’t feel it really has evolved over the latest versions of OS X, yet it hasn’t really needed to. One useful hint to know is that by simply opening up Activity Monitor you can unfreeze any blocked application. You don’t have to stick with Activity Monitor if you don’t want to. In this case try one of these five different alternatives:

Peek-a-boo – A cool process throb diagram view which shows you how processes connect to one another. Clicking on a process which show detailed info on it like CPU or memory usage.
iStat pro – A nifty little widget which includes nine different process sections. It has a sleek little interface, is very regularly updated and is accessible straight from your Dashboard. What more could you ask for.
iStat menus – Comes from the same developers as iStat pro, yet this one appears in your menu bar. Very advanced, and process windows can be organized and moved around your screen.
MenuMeters – Another menu bar process manager, yet this one won’t show you all the details, only the processes that you deem most important.
XRG – A clean interface showing detailed graphics and all processes. It can even show other elements like weather or stock data.

How to: recover lost bookmarks in Firefox

Disaster can hit your computer anytime, so you’d better be ready. This applies also to bookmarks; it’s always a good idea to have a backup copy of your bookmark collection just in case something happens. But what if you suddenly lose them and didn’t take the time to backup your bookmarks in time? Well, if you use Firefox there’s an emergency solution we just learned from OnSoftware Spain.

First of all, you need to make hidden files and folders visible in the Folder options menu. Open any Explorer window, click on Tools > Folder options, select the View tab and enable the “Show hidden files and folders” option.

Recover lost bookmarks in Firefox

Now here’s the trick: Firefox saves automatic backup copies of your bookmarks on a daily basis, without having to configure it or install any third-party extension. So simply launch Firefox, open the Bookmarks Manager, select File > Import and browse to the location where Firefox saves those copies, which is:

C:\Documents and Settings\your user name\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxx.default\bookmarkbackups

Recover lost bookmarks in Firefox

You’ll have a few versions to choose from. Just select the one that suits you best and you’re done. All your bookmarks will be safely back!

Today’s downloads for Windows, Mac and Mobile

Pocket PC:UNO is one of the most wickedly intensive card games ever created, and you can now play the game on your mobile phone. UNO Classic 2007 is a gorgeously presented recreation, with loads of characters and backgrounds to choose from. Don’t worry if you don’t know the rules because they’re very well explained here.

Windows: If you wan to add even more functionality to your Firefox browser, this extension is for you. With Auto Context you get an extra web context menu that pops up when you select any word or text, and offers a customizable selection of tasks from searching that text on Google to opening it as an URL. Auto Context can also work with other compatible extensions so that you get the most from them all.

Mac: Want to focus only on today’s work? Then the Today application for Mac should help you out. This program synchronizes perfectly with both Apple Mail and iCal to show all your tasks and events for the day. It can be opened up from the Dock or the menu bar. And if you don’t want to bother opening up iCal you can create new tasks and events straight from Today. Try it out now (I mean today)!

Firefox 3 brings a new approach to bookmarking

Firefox 3 Bookmarking If there’s one thing I really need help with in my browser, it’s bookmarking. I’m constantly discovering new and interesting sites and pages but rarely have time to organise them in any in any meaningful way. Of course, I have folders for each different subject and topic but I just don’t have the time to go through them all once I’ve decided to add them to my favourites. I just add them to the main menu until my favourites list is now just a sprawl of bizarre links ranging from cooking sites to classic YouTube videos.

That’s why I’m quite excited about the much talked about new bookmarking feature in Firefox 3. There are three main features that disorganised bookmarkers like myself will welcome – Bookmark Stars, Bookmark Tags, and Smart Bookmark Folders. The Star feature is my favourite. It’s similar to the way you can mark items with a star in Gmail. At the end of the address bar, there appears a star that once clicked on, immediately adds the page to your bookmarks – no more going to the time consuming process of the file menu and selecting “Bookmarks – Bookmark This Page”. If you double click on the star, it brings up the bookmark editor so you can easily select which folder you want to put it in or even quicker, just give it a tag (again, very similar to the way Gmail works). Tags allow you to organise bookmarks in a bunch of folders or areas rather than just one – very useful for those bookmarks which don’t fall neatly into one particular category. Finally, the Smart Folders option is a very clever way of keeping your folders always up to date and organised. By creating a keyword for a particular folder, everytime you tag a page with that word, it will be automatically added to that folder with no further action required on your part.

On the downside however, it does seem that the bookmark dialogues and menu take slightly longer to open in Firefox 3 than Firefox 2. So sometimes, you feel like whatever time you save in organising your pages, you lose in loading time. Whether this is just a bug that they will hopefully iron out in the final version or whether it’s something we’ll have to live with for now remains to be seen but for once in my life, my bookmarks make sense again and I’m rediscovering pages I’d bookmarked years ago.

Todays downloads for Windows, Mac and Mobile

Windows: If you like listening to music while working with the PC but you’ve grown tired of your MP3 collection, try Nexus Radio instead. This amazing radio player has just released its latest version, 2.2.4, which features more than 7,000 online radio stations in 38 different genres. Nexus Radio is iPhone and iPod compatible and can also record music with just a single click.

Mac: Looking to download videos straight from Safari onto your iPod? CosmoPod, a plugin for the Mac browser lets you convert videos into the iPod ready H.264 or MP4 formats in seconds. It includes an embedded player so you can preview your videos to make sure they are of adequate quality before taking them with you on your iPod.

Symbian: If you enjoy nothing more than a game of sudoku on the bus to work then get hold of Sensible Sudoku on your mobile phone. The game features a powerful sudoku engine capable of generating billions of puzzles in multiple difficulty levels. Sensible Sudoku includes a pleasant interface, elegant audio and enjoyable gameplay. Download it now for a compelling experience!

More vulnerabilities found in Apple’s Safari

Safari Could Safari be the black sheep in Apple’s software family? A recent rumor going around said that PayPal would lock Safari users out of its online payments on the claims that the Apple browser is unsafe. This links in with the announcement made back in February by PayPal’s Chief Information Officer that Safari is not safe enough for regular use of PayPal. As we pointed out Safari is not even included in the list of safe browsers on the PayPal FAQ.

PayPal have been quick to deny the rumor that Safari would be locked out though, and their corporate communications spokesman Michael Oldenburg was quoted saying “PayPal is developing features to block customers from logging into PayPal when using obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems” and he clearly says that PayPal will never block the current version of a browser.

Unfortunately for Apple, another vulnerability has been found in Safari. Researcher Juan Pablo Lopez Yacubian posted a warning on BugTraq, reported by CNET, where he said that the browser could be subject “to crashes or interactions with an attacker’s malicious site”. This is specific to Safari 3.1.1 for Windows, so users are encouraged to keep the previous version and wait for an update from Apple.

Obviously, some issues still need to be fixed on the Apple browser. I still think it’s one of the best browsers around, but Firefox seems to have the edge, both on PC and Mac. And with the high expectations over the upcoming Firefox 3, the pressure on Apple to deliver a top of the line browser is higher than ever, if they want to stay in the race.

Top 5 sketch applications

Sketch Master screenshot I’ve never been a dab hand with a paintbrush – I had more fun flicking paint at kids in my class than being the next Picasso. For people like me, there’s only one thing for it and that’s to either kick me out of the classroom or give me a sketching application on the PC. There are so many sketch applications nowadays that it’s hard to know where to start, especially with an increasing number of online applications on offer. However, there are definite differences in the amount of options and control that some offline apps give you over others. One very common use for sketch apps is to turn your photos into sketches which you can then modify as Elena illustrates here. Your choice of sketch app will be largely influenced by how experienced you are with sketch applications because while some are designed for professionals, others are designed for those that don’t know their palette from their paintbrush. Here’s a selection of five of the best downloadable options:

Artweaver – Use this excellent program to create sketch versions of your photos

FotoSketcher – Fool your friends into thinking you’ve sketched paintings and photos

Sketch Master – Use effects ranging from crayon and pen to charcoal and airbrush

Intocartoon Professional – Convert photos into sketch style cartoon style drawing in seconds

AKVIS Sketch Plugin – Professional plugin for Photoshop to produce stunning sketch effects

Best Photo Booth tricks for beginners

Are you new to Photo Booth, the application that can take snapshots and short video clips using your Macs iSight camera? The application isn’t really difficult to get grips with: get yourself in the frame, choose an effect and press the shutter button to take your picture. Still, there are some simple tricks to know if you want to make full use of it. We’ve gathered a few of them together so you can feel like a true Photo Booth expert and get started making fun and original portraits of yourself.

When you select one of the distorted effects, like dent, twirl or bulge, clicking on any point in the image will change the source of distortion. Play around with it until your happy.
Want to get an image of yourself but inverted? Nothing easier. After you’ve taken you’re picture, just go to Edit>Flip Photo. If you choose ‘Auto Flip New Photos’ all new snaps will be inverted automatically.
A trick found by Tom: Use Photo Booth and your iSight camera to scan a document. Simply point it at the camera and take the picture. The document can then be saved and stored on your Mac.
Don’t want to have a countdown every time? Just keep the Alt key down while you press on the shutter button to take a snapshot immediately.
Want to get rid of the flash? Keep the Shift button down while pressing the shutter. These two key tricks can be combined.
This is pretty obvious: After you’ve taken four quick pictures, pressing on any one of them will bring it up in the Photo Booth window. Use this to check you’re happy with the sequence you’ve taken.
Another trick found in a Macworld article, is to use a Photo Booth image as an animated icon in your instant messenger, like iChat. Export your snap as a GIF, import it into your IM client, then make sure to go into your iChat preferences and check the ‘Animate Buddy Pictures’ function.

Make sure to let us know if you have any other cool Photo Booth tricks to share or what you like to use the photo application for.

How to: draw graffiti in Photoshop

Some people consider graffiti to be an artistic expression while some others believe it’s just another form of vandalism. Whatever your opinion is about it, I’m sure you’ll like this easy Photoshop tutorial with which you can learn how to apply original graffiti effects to any wall in your photos. Let’s get started!

1. First of all, graffiti must be a pixel-based image. This means you can’t draw it right on the wall with the font tool, or use pre-defined shapes. So in this first step we’ll create the graffiti image by opening a blank document, writing something on it with any cool graffiti font you have and saving it as a PNG file. In my example I also added a stroke effect to make it more realistic.

How to draw graffiti in Photoshop

2. Open the wall image and paste the graffiti image on it as a new layer.

How to draw graffiti in Photoshop

3. Now click on Edit > Transform > Perspective and apply a perspective effect to the graffiti to make it fit the wall in the most realistic way possible. If the graffiti is too large for the wall, use the Free transform tool (Edit > Free transform or Ctrl+T) to resize it. Continue reading “How to: draw graffiti in Photoshop”

Disable the desktop cleanup wizard in Windows

At some point during our lives as Windows users, we all end up getting this message:

Disable the desktop cleanup wizard in Windows

Yes, it’s the famous desktop cleanup wizard! I don’t know about you, but I personally find this feature pretty irritating. Seriously, I’m old enough to know which icons I use and which I don’t. Plus I think I have the right to keep as many of them as I want on my desktop, whether I use them or not.

So I decided to search for a solution and finally came up with a simple trick to disable the desktop cleanup wizard in Windows. Simply open the desktop Properties menu by right clicking anywhere on your desktop, go to the Desktop tab and click on the Customize Desktop button. You’ll open another window where, among other stuff, you’ll find this option: “Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days“. Simply remove the tick beside it and you’re done.