AddictiveTips » Nakodari

AddictiveTips Is Hiring Tech Writers

Nakodari — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:01:04 +0000

AddictiveTips is growing and we are looking to expand by hiring experienced writers from around the world; writers who love technology and follow new trends in tech as they happen. We’re looking for writers to cover Windows 8, Linux, OS X, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and the Web. Writers must be comfortable with writing guides, tips, how-tos, reviews, hacks, and instructional articles.

Please apply if you have the following qualities:

You must have a comprehensive writing pattern that is well structured and easy to understand.
You should be able to explain a difficult process or a mundane task easily to readers.
You must learn as you write. We expect writers to be able to form and give opinions as they amass knowledge over time.
You must be creative, generating ideas for the articles yourself.
Time is often of the essence. We need someone who is fast at understanding a new concept and equally apt at writing about it.
You must be at least 18 years old.

How to apply? Send an email to jobs@addictivetips.com and include the following:

Your name and location.
A writing sample, not necessarily a blog post
Explain why you think your articles are worth being read by 100,000+ readers each day.
An overview of the topics or platforms you are familiar with, and what operating systems/devices you have access to.

So what are you waiting for? Apply now!

Read AddictiveTips Is Hiring Tech Writers by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Farewell; Leaving To Pursue New Adventures

Nakodari — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:21:42 +0000

Today is my last day at AddictiveTips.

After founding AddictiveTips and running it for a little more than 3 years, it is time for me to step down from the role of Editor-in-Chief. Aatif Khan will be the new Editor-in-Chief and Usman Javaid will be the Associate Editor – a new position to make sure the quality of articles meet the standard that readers have come to expect.

When it all started back in 2008, AddictiveTips was meant to fill a gap in the blogosphere by becoming the voice of budding developers and at the same time, helping readers discover the best tools. With every passing year, I have kept a higher goal for AddictiveTips and strived to complete it with the help of a great team. This continued persistence by the team is why AddictiveTips has become what it is today.

There is a solitary reason for why I am stepping down; I am an entrepreneur whose focus is solving problems that common users face, that was why I started AddictiveTips, to help developers and users alike. Now it’s time for me to move on to try my hand at other things, the most important being to disrupt the file sharing space with Jumpshare – a new startup that will launch in Spring 2012.

Everyone is changing the way we share files, some are making it faster, some making it easier, few supporting large files, etc, but the concept has remained unchanged for the past decade. File sharing has always been boring. We plan on changing that with Jumpshare and we promise that you will love it.

But that is not why I am here; I’m here to talk about the future of AddictiveTips.

Now that I am stepping down, let me assure you that nothing will change at AddictiveTips; the vision, the quality and the content will be what it has always been. You are going to hear from the new Editor-in-Chief shortly, and as he is bound to tell you, the quality of posts will maintain its ascent. My thanks goes out to every member of the team. I would also like to thank PressLabs for their awesome hosting. Lastly, I thank you, the readers, for being part of the AddictiveTips community.

I am sad to leave this position and will miss the days that I spent with the team but the show must go on.

Farewell!

Read Farewell; Leaving To Pursue New Adventures by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

BLDU v1.2 Can Now Lock All Bitlocker Unlocked Drives In Windows 7

Nakodari — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:30:29 +0000

Back in August, we released Bitlocker Drives Unlocker to unlock all BitLocker drives without having to unlock them one by one manually. Today, we are releasing version 1.2 of BitLocker Drives Unlocker, also called BLDU. Apart from some under the hood changes and code improvement, it includes two drive locking options; Lock and Lock All. Now you can lock all of your BitLocker drives which have been unlocked, without going through the hassle of locking them one by one using manage-bde lock command in Windows Command Prompt.

You will find the Lock options at the bottom of the main interface. Clicking Lock All will lock all unlocked drives in one go.

However, if you want to selectively lock the drives, just pick the drive from Unlocked Drives drop-down list and then click Lock to lock the drive. You can lock other unlocked drives in similar fashion.

When the drive is locked, it will appear in the list ready to be unlocked again.

BitLocker Drives Unlocker supports both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7.

Download BitLocker Drives Unlocker

Read BLDU v1.2 Can Now Lock All Bitlocker Unlocked Drives In Windows 7 by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Your Feedback On Paid Apps And The Final Verdict

Nakodari — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:23:12 +0000

The most important question for us this year is a simple one, to cover paid apps or not? After taking feedback from our readers and discussing internally, we have all agreed to cover paid apps but only occasionally. Our primary goal has always been to find and cover free apps (for all platforms) and we will stick to it. This is our mission and an important one.

The world as we know it is moving towards App Stores and Marketplaces. Developers today have more opportunities than ever before to showcase their applications to millions of users. Those who develop great apps deserve to get paid for their time and effort. It’s natural that paid apps have better support since the developers generally put more effort into such apps, releasing constant updates to satisfy end users like you and me.

However, App Stores and Marketplaces can get cluttered too with thousands of paid apps, more than half of which are unworthy. The question now is, which apps to purchase and which ones to stay away from? With free apps, it is not much of a problem since one can always uninstall them and try another ones. But with paid apps, users are usually left in the dark. This is where we want to help by recommending the best ones to you.

A new category called “Paid Apps” will be added, replacing the Hardware category which has been barely used. AddictiveTips is a blog about software and that is what we plan to focus on.

Occasionally, we come across paid apps that are too good to miss and there are no free alternatives available. Some of these apps are extremely cheap too, with price tags ranging from $0.99 to $4.99. There are quite a lot of users out there willing to spend a few bucks on a deserving app. Covering such apps is a win-win for both developers and our readers. Once again, our primary focus will remain freeware. Paid apps will only be featured occasionally. Some readers raised the point of accepting payment to cover paid apps, this is against our blogging ethics and we will never do this.

All paid app reviews will be clearly marked as paid (within the title) so that readers who are interested only in free apps can easily skip these paid apps.

In the end, we would like to thank all for chiming in with your feedback. Remember, it is you, the readers, who determine which direction AddictiveTips goes in. Thank you!

Read Your Feedback On Paid Apps And The Final Verdict by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Windows 8 Product Key

Nakodari — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:40:57 +0000

Windows 8 installation is perhaps as simplified as that of any other Windows operating system. However, the users who are currently testing the Windows 8 may face a new dilemma when reinstalling or using the “Reset Your PC” option since no product keys were released by Microsoft with the current Windows 8 release. In this post we will provide you with the product keys for Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Check out this guide to learn about the Windows 8 Reinstall and Reset feature which allows restoring the system to a formerly saved state.

If you’re about to reinstall or reset Windows 8 ~~Consumer Preview~~ Release Preview, then you may need to enter product key released by Microsoft.

Update: The final version of Windows 8 is now available for purchase, which means the Release Preview and RTM versions of the OS will shortly become invalid, if they haven’t already.

Windows 8 Release Preview Product Key: TK8TP-9JN6P-7X7WW-RFFTV-B7QPF

~~Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J~~

~~Windows 8 Developers Preview Product key: 6RH4V-HNTWC-JQKG8-RFR3R-36498~~

~~Windows Server 8 Developers Preview product key: 4Y8N3-H7MMW-C76VJ-YD3XV-MBDKV~~

It must be noted that the product key will expire on January 16th 2013, the expiration date of Windows 8 Release Preview.

Click here for more information regarding Windows 8 in general and its installation.

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Windows 8 Jump Lists Comes With Better Privacy Options

Nakodari — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:32:10 +0000

With Windows 7 came a feature that changed the way users interacted with applications; Jump Lists. You right-click a pinned application in the taskbar to view the Jump List. The problem with Jump Lists is that you cannot control the history of all items that show up in the list. Windows 8 now allows better privacy control; you can choose to prevent Windows from showing recently opened items in the Jump Lists.

In the Taskbar Properties, the Start Menu tab has been replaced with Jump Lists tab. It makes sense since the Classic Start Menu has been replaced with the new Metro UI based Start Menu. Under the new Jump Lists tab, you will find the Privacy option – Store and display recently opened items in Jump Lists. Uncheck this option and all recently opened items in the Jump List will be removed. Note that these items will not show again even if you re-enable the option.

Apart from this option, you will also find an option to Store recently opened programs. By default, the number of items displayed in the Jump Lists are 10, this number can be increased or decreased as well from under this tab.

The option to prevent Windows from showing recently opened items in the Jump Lists is a great addition to Windows 8 that gives users full control over their Jump Lists history.

Read Windows 8 Jump Lists Comes With Better Privacy Options by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Disable Metro Features While Keeping Ribbon Explorer In Windows 8

Nakodari — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:10:34 +0000

First we covered a simple Registry hack to disable Metro and bring back the Windows 7 Start Menu in Windows 8. Then, we covered a small tool called Windows 8 Start Menu Toggle which allows users to quickly change the value in the registry to switch between new metro interface and old classic interface. The problem with both these methods is that when you disable Metro, apart from disabling the Metro Start Menu, it also disabled the Ribbon Explorer and the new Task Manager. This got annoying for many users, including myself.

Some users want to disable Metro Start Screen but not the Ribbon Explorer. If you are one such user, Metro Controller is a tool for you. It can disable all new features or can disable only Metro features while keeping the Ribbon Explorer.

When any one of the above options is selected, restart your system to apply changes. In the screenshot below, you can see the old Windows 7 Start Menu and the Windows Explorer with Ribbon UI.

To enable back Metro features, click the same option and restart your system.

Note: For some users, the change might be immediate. You will have to restart Explorer or Log Off and Login back to see the changes. If you still don’t see it, then restart your system.

Download Metro Controller

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How To Install Windows 8 On VirtualBox

Nakodari — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:13:03 +0000

So you downloaded Windows 8 and now want to try it out on VirtualBox but are constantly getting errors? You are not alone. Installing Windows 8 on VirtualBox is tricky but not that hard once you get to know the basics. In this guide, we will explain the step by step procedure to installing Windows 8 on VirtualBox 4.1.2 (which is the latest version). Advanced users might want to skip the first few steps and directly go to settings.

This guide is a part of our detailed coverage of Windows 8′s new features and improvements.

Important Note: Before we begin, make sure your processor supports Virtualization Technology and is enabled. Windows 8 will not work if your processor does not support Virtualization Technology. Most processors support Virtualization Technology but the option is not enabled by default. You can enable Virtualization Technology option from the BIOS. Now let’s begin!

First grab VirtualBox (link given at the bottom of the post) and install it. You will get few Oracle permission pop-ups where you have to click Allow. Once installed, launch VirtualBox and click New. The New Virtual Machine wizard will open up, click Next.

Type the name of the Virtual Machine, we named it Windows 8, select Microsoft Windows as Operating system, and select Windows 7 as version. Important Note: Even if you are running VirtualBox on Windows 7 x64, you still have to select Windows 7 from version. Do not continue if Windows 7 (64-bit) is selected, otherwise VirtualBox will crash. When done, click Next.

We will recommend allocating at least 1GB memory if you are installing Windows 8 32-bit, and at least 3GB memory if you are installing Windows 8 64-bit. I have allocated almost 4GB of RAM as you can see in the screenshot below. When done, click Next.

VirtualBox provides options to either create a new hard disk or use an existing hard disk as a Start-up Disk. By default, it is set to Create new hard disk. Leave it as it is and click next.

In this step, make sure VDI is selected. VDI stands for VirtualBox Disk Image. Click Next.

In this step, select Fixed size or Dynamically allocated based on your needs, so that it does not eat up more virtual disk as allocated by the user. We selected Fixed size but most users prefer Dynamically allocated.

By default, VirtualBox allocates 20GB hard disk space for new machine. You can increase or decrease this amount. We would strongly recommend not to allocated less than 20GB. When done, click Next.

In the last step, you will be given a quick summary of the settings you have selected. Click Create to begin creating virtual disk file.

It will take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to create a virtual disk space, i.e, a fixed medium storage unit. Please note that it can take more than 30 minutes if you have allocated more than 20GB hard disk space for new machine.

Once the process is complete, in the final step, click Create and you will be taken to the main interface where the Virtual machine will be ready.

Now go to Settings, click System from left sidebar, and make sure that Enable IO APIC is checked in Motherboard tab. You can uncheck Enable absolute pointing device since it is not used by most users.

When done, move to Processor tab and make sure that Enable PAE/NX is checked.

Finally move to Acceleration tab and make sure both Enable VT-x/AMD-V and Enable Nested Paging are checked.

Checking all these settings are important, otherwise Windows 8 will not install on VirtualBox.

Now go to Storage from the left sidebar and click Empty under IDE Controller. Click the CD icon next to CD/DVD Drive selection box and click Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file. Now navigate to the Windows 8 developer build ISO file that you downloaded and select it. When done, click OK.

You will now be back on the main interface. Click Start to begin installation of Windows 8 and follow the on-screen instructions.

After the installation is complete, you can start using Windows 8.

The next time you run Windows 8 virtual machine inside VirtualBox, it will boot straight to the OS. We tested this on VirtualBox 4.1.2 running in Windows 7 x64 system.

Visit VirtualBox

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Get Windows 7 Start Menu, Explorer And Task Manager In Windows 8

Nakodari — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:12:37 +0000

If you are one of the first users who grabbed the latest Windows 8 developer preview, you will find that a lot has changed since Windows 7. Among the visible changes are the Start Menu, Windows Explorer Ribbon, and Task Manager, all of which have been totally revamped by Microsoft. If you are a big fan of Windows 7 and want to bring back Windows 7 Start Menu, Windows Explorer (without Ribbon), and Task Manager in Windows 8, the result is just a few clicks away since it requires a simple registry tweak.

Important Note: This tweak is for those users who are using Windows 8 Developer Preview. Windows 8 does not include Start Menu any more. There is only Start Screen which can be accessed by hitting the Windows key or moving the cursor to lower-left corner of the your screen.

Open the Run Dialog box using Win+R hotkey. Type regedit and hit Enter. This will launch the Registry Editor.

Now navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer from the left sidebar.

On the main interface, double-click RPEnabled, change the DWORD Value data to 0, and click OK.

Now restart Windows Explorer, or log off the system and login again to view the change. The Windows 8 start orb, start menu, windows explorer, and task manager will be replaced with that of Windows 7. User won’t be able to tell if you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8.

To revert back the changes, double-click RPEnabled in Registry Editor and change the value back to 1. It’s that simple. Enjoy!

Read Get Windows 7 Start Menu, Explorer And Task Manager In Windows 8 by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

How To Install Windows 8 From USB Drive

Nakodari — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:41:13 +0000

Gone are the days when installing Windows from USB was a complicated job. You don’t need to perform any such tweakings today since there are hundreds of 3rd party tools that can do the job for you. Which better tool to use than the one from Microsoft themselves. Yes, you can use the popular Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool from Microsoft to create a bootable DVD or USB device of Windows 8.

Grab Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool (link given at the bottom of the post) and install it. In the first step, select the Windows 8 ISO file that you downloaded and click Next.

In the second step, click USB device.

In the third step, select the USB drive which you want to convert into bootable Windows 8 drive and click Begin copying. The USB device must be larger than 4GB.

It will start copying the files and after some time your USB will be ready.

That is it. Now restart your computer and boot from USB drive to begin installation of Windows 8. If you are worried about Windows 8 system requirement, then you will be glad to hear that according to Microsoft, the system requirement for Windows 8 will be equal or less than that of Windows 7.

Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool

Read How To Install Windows 8 From USB Drive by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Apple Magic Trackpad Control Panel Adds Trackpad Properties In Windows 7

Nakodari — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:07:30 +0000

Editor’s Note: Apple Magic Trackpad is a wonderful device that is only restricted to Mac OS X. If you plan on using it on Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit), you will have to follow the long hectic process of downloading and extracting Bootcamp patch, finding and renaming Trackpad Bin file to .exe format and finally installing the driver. Rather than following this difficult process, we have hosted the Trackpad Windows drivers for you at the bottom of the post.

Now that you have Apple Magic Trackpad running on Windows 7, you will be disappointed to know that the default Mouse properties is almost useless. In short, you cannot customize the speed or gestures of trackpad in Windows. This is where Magic Trackpad Control Panel comes in. It is a brilliant tool that allows you to set the tracking speed, double-click speed, and scrolling speed of the trackpad, and can be used to change both one finger and two finger gestures.

Under One Finger Gestures, you will find options to enable/disable Tap to Click, Dragging, Drag Lock, and Secondary Click. You can choose Bottom Right Corner or Bottom Left Corner position for Secondary Click. Under Two Finger Gestures, you will find options to enable/disable Scroll and Secondary Tab.

To start using Magic Trackpad Control Panel, first download the controlpanel1.zip file from the developer’s page and extract it. When done, open padset-0.3.exe file and then finally open the Trackpad Control Panel file in the same folder. It will launch the Magic Trackpad Control Center. When closed, it will sit in the system tray and can also be launched at system startup, with or without being minimized.

We have tested every option of this app successfully on Windows 7 64-bit OS, so we can confirm it to be working. If you face any issue, do let us know in the comments.

Download Apple Magic Trackpad Driver (32-bit)

Download Apple Magic Trackpad Driver (64-bit)

Download Magic Trackpad Control Panel

To use Apple Magic Mouse on Windows 7, read this post.

[via IntoWindows]

Read Apple Magic Trackpad Control Panel Adds Trackpad Properties In Windows 7 by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter

Ask The Readers: Do You Want Us To Cover Paid Apps?

Nakodari — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:48:33 +0000

There is one topic that we have been debating internally for a while and we need feedback from our readers for that. We would like to know what you think about AddictiveTips covering paid apps?

We are known for covering tips, and apps that are freeware. Lately, we have focused more on covering free apps since there are plenty of them around and nobody else seems to be covering them. The rate at which free apps are released every day for all platforms leaves us no choice but to cover them. However, there are some instances where there are paid apps that are worth covering too. Apps that solve some serious problems/annoyances and make life easier for users. We have been ignoring them, simply because they are not free. As a result, we have avoided covering some very nice apps.

No, we are not talking about those ridiculously high priced $40 to $200 apps. We are talking about those apps which cost anywhere from $0.99 to $4.99 or maybe as high as $9.99. We want to make sure that we are covering apps that are affordable by our reader base.

AddictiveTips is synonymous with everything free. When our readers wake up every morning to read this blog, they know that all apps that we have covered are free. No questions asked. However, they are missing a lot of must-have paid apps too which they are not aware of.

Now the most important question is, do you want us to cover paid apps? If your answer is No, please provide a reason. If Yes, then which price point are you more comfortable with? What is the highest amount you are willing the shell out for a paid app?

Drop a comment below, we would love to hear from you. We are looking forward to providing the best experience possible for everyone.

Editor’s Note: All AddictiveTips authors are on a short vacation. We will be back on 5th September, 2011. Meanwhile, we’ll keep checking your comments.

Read Ask The Readers: Do You Want Us To Cover Paid Apps? by Nakodari on AddictiveTips - Tech tips to make you smarter