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!

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

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

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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!

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

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 expiry date of Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

To learn how to get Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Key, go here.

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This week, with the start of Build Windows developers conference, we promised to cover every new feature of Windows 8. Now that the week has come to an end, it’s time to revisit all the guides, tips, features, and hacks that we have covered so far. You will discover plenty of new and useful Windows 8 features in this post, so grab a cup of coffee and sit back, it’s going to be a long read. Also, do give us feedback on what you think about the new Metro interface of Windows 8, like it or hate it?

Editor’s Note: This is a roundup of all the coverage we have done on Windows 8 so far. As more hidden features and tweaks are found, we will continue to update this post to keep you apprised at all times.

Guides

• How To Install Windows 8 On VirtualBox
  The complete guide to installing Windows 8 on VirtualBox with correct settings. It works on both Windows and Mac.
• What’s New In Windows 8 Desktop, Start Search, And Start Menu
  Learn about the brand new Windows 8 Desktop, Metro inspired Start Search and Start Menu.
• The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Explorer, New Ribbon Tools And Options
  The Windows Explorer gets a Ribbon treatment that gives quick access to common options. Learn more about the new features of Ribbon Explorer.
• The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Task Manager, New Features And Options
  The Task Manager has been totally revamped. It is better than ever with new features and options.
• The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Metro Control Panel
  Metro is everywhere, including Control Panel. The eye-candy is not the only thing Microsoft has been working on. We dive deep into the new features.
• How To Refresh Or Reset Your Windows 8 PC [Complete Guide]
  You will find two new options in Windows 8, both of which serve a very important purpose; Refresh and Reset. These options have been applauded by everyone, we test them in details.
• All About Windows 8 FileName Collisions And Copy/Move Dialog Box
  The brand new Filename Collisions dialog makes it easier for users to select which files to move or keep. The Copy/Move dialog box helps users easily check the transfer speed and pause it at any time.
• The Complete Guide To File History Backup
  Superior alternative to Previous Versions feature, File History is Windows 8 native file backup and restore utility. We explore its features and options.
• The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Startup Menu
  The Windows Startup Menu, also called Boot Menu gets Metro treatment in Windows 8. We check out every option to find out what’s new.
• Sync Windows 8 User Settings Between PCs & Tablets via Windows Live ID
  Syncing is now possible in Windows 8, provided you have Windows Live ID. Once you set up a Windows account using Windows Live email address, you can sync PC settings with other computers running Windows 8 under the same Windows Live ID.
• Quick Overview Of Windows Lock Screen
  The Lock Screen can now display application notifications, status badge, battery, network status, and more. We did a quick overview of the lock screen to find out what makes it unique.

Features For Everyday Use

• Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcuts [With Screenshots]
  Check out some new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8.
• Windows 8 Jump Lists Comes With Better Privacy Options
  You can now prevent Windows from showing Jump Lists Recent Items history.
• Windows 8: Extended Wallpaper And Taskbar Across Dual Monitors
  If you love working on dual monitors setup, you will love the new extended taskbar and wallpaper.
• New Memory Power Management Options In Windows 8
  Windows 8 makes full efficient use of energy. Check out some new advanced power management options.

How-Tos, Tips, And Hacks

• How To Install Windows 8 From USB Drive
• Get Windows 7 Start Menu, Explorer And Task Manager In Windows 8
• Windows 8 Start Menu Toggle – Enable/Disable Metro
• Disable Metro Features While Keeping Ribbon Explorer In Windows 8
• How To Automatically Login To Windows 8 [Direct Logon]
• How To Restart, Log Off, Sleep, And Shutdown Windows 8
• How To Enable 64-bit Mode In Internet Explorer 10 On Windows 8
• Use PIN Code To Login To Windows 8 With PIN Logon Credential Provider
• How To Enable Windows 8 Hibernate Option
• How To Keep Ribbon Minimized In Windows 8 Explorer
• How To Share Files Between Windows 7 And Windows 8 In Dual Boot
• How To Change Windows 8 Start Menu Background Colors
• How To Enable Safe Mode
• How To Uninstall Windows 8
• Toggle Windows 8 Start Menu Without Rebooting Your Computer
• Tweak And Customize Windows 8 Using Metro UI Tweaker
• How To Increase Number Of App Tile Rows In Windows 8 Start Menu

By no means does this list end here. We will continue to add more features, tips, hacks, and how-to guides as we discover them. Note that all the articles we have covered so far are for Windows 8 Developer Preview which was released on the first day of Build Windows Conference. Some features are bound to change by the time the final Windows 8 release comes out next year. We will update the articles where needed.

Related Articles:

1. Windows 8 Week: Our Detailed Coverage On Windows 8 Consumer Preview
2. Download Windows 8 Developer Build Now, We Will Keep You Posted On What’s New
3. I’m A WP7 – Social Networking App Exclusive To Windows Phone 7 Users

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.

Related Articles:

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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

Related Articles:

1. How To Keep Ribbon Minimized In Windows 8 Explorer
2. Windows 8 Start Menu Toggle – Enable / Disable Metro UI Start Screen
3. STDU Explorer Brings Windows 8 Ribbon Based Explorer To Windows 7

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 series on detailed coverage of Windows 8 New Features and Improvements.

1. How To Install Windows 8 On VirtualBox (Currently Viewing)
2. What’s New In Windows 8 Desktop, Start Search, And Start Menu
3. The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Explorer, New Ribbon Tools And Options
4. The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Task Manager, New Features And Options
5. Windows 8 PC Settings [Complete Guide]
6. How To Refresh Or Reset Your Windows 8 PC [Complete Guide]
7. All About Windows 8 FileName Collisions And Copy/Move Dialog Box
8. The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Startup Menu
9. Sync Windows 8 User Settings Between PCs & Tablets via Windows Live ID
10. Quick Overview Of Windows Lock Screen
11. The Complete Guide To Windows 8 File History Backup 

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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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!

Related Articles:

1. Windows 8 Start Menu Toggle – Enable / Disable Metro UI Start Screen
2. Process Explorer – Alternative To Windows Task Manager And Resource Monitor
3. Customize Windows 7 Task Manager Colors With Task Manager Modder

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

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3. My Drive Icon – Change Windows Drive Icons

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]

Related Articles:

1. Use Apple Magic Mouse On Windows 7
2. Computer Customizer Adds Control Panel Items In My Computer [Windows 7]
3. The Complete Guide To Windows 8 Metro Control Panel

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.

Related Articles:

1. Your Feedback On Paid Apps And The Final Verdict
2. Turbodo: Create Universal Mac Shortcuts To Open Files & Apps [Paid]
3. Free/Paid Ways To Unlock Your WP7 Mango Phone & Problems You Might Face

Are you a geek who loves to develop applications? Do you want to develop some apps this summer but are out of ideas? Why not develop applications based on our ideas and earn some bucks  (lots of them) along the way?

After years of covering applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux, we are looking to releasing some of our own. There are problems for which no solution exists yet and we are aiming to release applications to solve them. The applications will be available to everyone for free.

AddictiveTips is looking for talented application developers for Windows only. You must have strong knowledge of Windows 7 with good design experience. We want to start with Windows and move to other platforms later.

Do you think you are the perfect fit for this job? Please send us an introduction with a link to your developed application(s) at jobs@addictivetips.com.

More information will be provided via email.

Stay Addicted!

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It sounds all exciting until you hear that the process is long, especially when you are not registered with any of the online drives that it supports. What the tool does is to connect online drives with your local drives. It sounds simple until you try it yourself. If you are comparing 4 online storage services, you will have to register with each one of them, unless you already have an account with them, in which case simply login by clicking “Connect the drive for me” button. It will automatically map the online drives to your local drives. Ofcourse, the application takes care of all steps but it can become tiresome. Can you trade “tiresome process” with “difficult decision of selecting a cloud service”? This is question you need to ask yourself before giving Online Drive Benchmark a try.

Now back to the review. Once you launch the application, all supported online drives will be shown on the main interface. For now, it only supports Strato HiDrive (if available in your location), Trend Micro SafeSync, Box.net, DriveHQ, and Filesanywhere.

But wait, what about your favorite online drive? What about Dropbox, SugerSync, Spideroak, Mozy,  ZumoDrive, iDrive, etc? The developers have provided a detailed reason on the homepage, in a nutshell these online drives are untestable because they do not provide any tool to obtain proper information. You should read the “Why is my favorite online drive missing?” section to understand the reasoning but the developers have promised that they are still looking to add them in the future.

Once you have selected the online drives from the main interface, you will have to set up an account for each service, connect the online drive, and finally select the local drive to connect with. If you already have account with an online drive, then you can skip the “create account” and “select local drive” section because the application will automatically set up a local drive for you, when you click Connect the drive for me and enter your login details.

After completing a long process of setting up all drives, it will show you the online drives which will be tested. Click Start Benchmark to begin benchmarking. Make sure that all other internet based activity is shut down before you begin for correct results.

It will take some time before the benchmark process is finished. You can export the final results to either CSV file or PNG image file.

Online Drive Benchmark is in beta and is developed by Ocster, the guys behind previously reviewed Ocster Backup. Being a new tool, it supports only 5 drives as for now, with more online drives promised to be added soon. It works on Windows XP, Vista, and 7. We tested it on Windows 7 x64 system.

Download Online Drive Benchmark

Related Articles:

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If you want to transcode videos from a DVD, you can always use Handbrake. But it becomes a problem if you want to transcode multiple DVDs since there is no way to automate the whole process of ripping DVDs to your local drive. This is where AutoBrake comes in. It is a simple application designed to automatically transcode video from DVDs using Handbrake.

Here is how it works; you set up AutoBrake and insert DVDs one after another. It will automatically convert videos from DVDs when inserted. All settings are pre-configured using AutoBrake.

To pre-configure AutoBrake, head over to Settings, select the source drive (DVD drive) and the destination where the transcoded video will be saved. When done, select the Quality Present, Video Codec, Audio Codec, and File Format. There are three file formats; AVI, MKV, and MP4. To increase the quality or boost audio output, select Two-Pass and Audio Booster options, respectively.

From Other tab, you will find few options already enabled, such as, Automatically rip DVD when inserted, Eject the disc when rip is complete, and Clear the HandBrake output window when starting a new DVD rip. You can choose to Start AutoBrake on Windows startup and start minimized in the system tray.

According to the developer, if your progress bar gets stuck at 99% for a very long time, simply eject the DVD. You will be shown that the transcoding has failed but this is not true, you can open the file in the destination directory which will work without any issues.

Download AutoBrake

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Upon launching the application, you will find the interface to be somewhat similar to default Windows format utility. You can enter the drive name and select drive to format. There is also an option to quickly format the drive just like you will find in Windows format utility,

Windows Format utility (left) and Any Drive Formatter (right)

There are however two problems with Any Drive Formatter. As for now, it only formats to FAT32 format and does not support NTFS. Secondly, it does not support Windows x64. We hope the developer will take notice of this and improve it further.

Download Any Drive Formatter

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Before we begin, you must know that it has a nag screen which might get annoying after a while. There is no way to remove this nag screen and you will have to wait 8 seconds before the application can start. Even though the nag screen is irritating, the application itself is very useful.

First, make sure that your Symbian phone is connected in Mass Storage Memory mode before using this application. Even though it can work over Bluetooth, it is highly recommended that you connect your phone with USB serial cable. Now launch the application and wait until it detects your device. When done, you can start using the provided tools.

There are a total of 24 tools, including Symark benchmark and Symbianize. The latter allows you to convert non-symbian volume or damaged volume into valid symbian volume. For a complete list of information on all tools, head over to the product page (link given below).

Symbian Tool works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Both 32-bit and 64-bit OS are supported.

Download SymbianTool

Related Articles:

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3. Magican: Comprehensive Tool To Clean, Optimize & Monitor Your Mac

Slurp is an extension for Firefox which imports Del.icio.us bookmarks without losing any data, i.e, it can import bookmarks with tags and notes to Firefox 4.

You just need to install the extension and head over to del.icio.us website – you will be prompted with instructions. Click Yes (see screenshot), login to del.icio.us (after you are redirected to login page) and it will import the bookmarks for you.

Once imported, you can then securely sync the bookmarks across all systems using the awesome Firefox Sync and take them with you while on the go. All imported bookmarks from Del.icio.us are saved inside del.icio.us folder in your bookmarks menu.

Unfortunately, Slurp does not have a Firefox Add-ons page yet. You can download it from Gitbhub. Please keep in mind that it only works with Firefox 4.

Download Slurp

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2. Sort Unsorted Bookmarks In Firefox Directly From Bookmarks Menu
3. How To Backup Your Firefox 3 Profile, Settings, Passwords, Extensions And Bookmarks Easily

As you may be aware, we have covered countless YouTube downloaders, but Video backup Fusion takes a very fresh approach to solving a problem. Apart from downloading individual videos (like many video downloaders already do), it provides an easy interface to download all videos of a user channel in different video qualities. But that is not all. It can also list that user’s playlist with full information. Once listed, they can be easily viewed on VLC Media Player or downloaded via right-click context menu. To batch download all videos, select all of them and hit Download.

If you want to look for a user’s uploaded videos or playlist, enter the user name and hit Search. If you want to perform a general search, leave the user field as blank and hit Search. This will open a pop-up window where you can perform a general search with many supported search parameters.

For every video listed, you can see the name, date and time of upload, duration, video count, aspect ratio (if any), category, and video ID. Right-click the video and select Description to view the description in a pop-up window.

The View with VLC option did not work with my VLC Player version 1.1.7 on Windows 7 64-bit system. Not sure which version of VLC it supports because the developer has not listed anything about it.

The final step to downloading the videos is to select the format and quality before selecting the output directory. When done, hit Download and it will take care of the rest.

It is a portable application and versions for all platforms (Windows, Mac, and Linux) are available. It took around 24MB of memory on my Windows 7 64-bit system.

Download Video Backup Fusion

Related Articles:

1. Download And Organize YouTube Videos With YouTube Video Organizer
2. A Video Manager – Track And Manage YouTube, Hulu, DVD, And Other Videos
3. Video Dropper: Save & Download YouTube Videos To Your Dropbox [Web]

When it comes to tweaking the user interface of IE9, you can enable Menubar on Top, make sure Menubar is always visible, enable Links band, show small icons on toolbar, enable 3D-border, show Statusbar, use ClearType, enable CommandBar, and select maximum number of rows to show in new tab (default is set to 2).

For startup, you can select to start IE9 in Fullscreen and choose a custom homepage. For Downloads, you can select to perform a check on exe file signature, get notifications when a download is complete, select download directory, and choose the maximum number of downloads. Finally there is one security option to start IE9 in InPrivate Browsing Mode.

Did we mention that there is a bonus Tool to make Special Internet Explorer 9 Shortcuts?

Once all tweaks have been made, click Tweak IE9 Now button to apply changes. All applied customization can be reverted back easily. It works on both Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit systems, supporting both versions of Internet Explorer 9.

Download TweakIE9

Related Articles:

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2. Enable HTML 5 Video Tag In Internet Explorer
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Once the application is installed, you need to request a free license which is emailed within a minute. The application consists of nothing but a single button asking you to Block iTunes Auto Sync Now, which you have to click before before plugging in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod. Once the process is complete, you can safely plug in your iDevice without worrying about iTunes deleting your media collection.

The video below demonstrates how it works.

Sadly, Sync Blocker is not portable but gets the job done. It has been tested to work with the latest version of iTunes 10.2.1.

Download Sync Blocker

Related Articles:

1. Sync User Ratings And Play Counts Between iTunes And Windows Media Player
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The working is simple. You launch the application and configure the settings. The first option is to select the type of RAM Data to monitor – Physical Memory, Virtual Memory, or Total Memory. The warning and critical level can be changed by moving the slider for both RAM and CPU. By default, it shows RAM and CPU usage from right to left but you can change this in options. Red means critical, Orange/Yellow means Warning, and Green/Blue means Normal. However, these colors can be customized to your liking. Clicking Save will minimize the application to the system tray and show memory usage on the taskbar.

It takes only 9MB of memory, and has been tested on all resolutions. It can be launched at Windows startup without showing the options screen each time it is run. The best part is that it is hidden from Alt+Tab preview and works with different taskbar height.

The developer plans to add support for left and right positioned taskbar and auto-hide taskbar, in the next release. Multi-display support is also coming soon.

Download RAM CPU Taskbar for Windows 7

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For files it only supports Dropbox, CloudApp, Box.net, Min.us, and Droplr.

Simply right-click any image, link, or file, and select the online service from Cloud Save menu. A desktop notification will pop-up to notify you once files are uploaded.

It must be noted that it can also directly save any HTML, PHP or CSS file of a webpage to the cloud too. To test this service, I uploaded an image, a .zip file, and few other files to Dropbox. Worked like a charm!

Cloud Save Extension for Chrome

Related Articles:

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The extension options are laid down similar to previous extensions from the same author. From General tab you can hide icon, show favicon counter, enable transition animations, or use custom CSS to customize the look. From Theme tab, you can change the colors of background, borders, links, and buttons. The Google Bar tab has options to hide Google bar, background & border, Google links, and Google user bar. The Header bar has options to hide header, logo and search. You can also enable a custom logo from this tab. The Main tab allows you to hide Toolbar, Footer, Home, and Items. Lastly, the Navigation tab can be used to hide all navigation options available in Google Reader.

Just like previous two extension, you can import and export all settings of this extension when moving between different computers. In the screenshot below you will see that I have removed Google Bar, logo, and options that distracted me while reading daily feeds.

It must be noted that it has just been released and is in Beta stage.

Minimalist for Google Reader

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Suppose a group of friends browsing around the Android Market. Not everyone can sign in to push the apps to their devices. Therefore, the best case scenario for everyone would be to use Google Goggles or Barcode Scanner to download apps directly to their devices. Now suppose another situation where writers (like us) and users (who post on forums) want others to try out an app, we can simply post the QR code making it easier for them to download. Showing a QR code on the app page also means that you can print them too.

Droid Code is a nifty extension for Google Chrome that generates and displays QR codes on-the-fly for every Android app in the Android Market. It requires zero configuration and has no other purpose. We downloaded some apps without any issues using QR codes generated by this extension. It works surprisingly well.

Unless Google does not add QR codes by default, users have no choice but to use Droid Code extension. It is a great example of doing one thing well.

Droid Code Extension for Chrome

Related Articles:

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Sharing such a long magnet link can be difficult on Twitter and other services. This is where Mgnet.me comes in to help. It can shorten the magnet URL in just one click. As you can see in the screenshot below, the above magnet link was shortened to http://mgnet.me/ZxT. Once done, you can copy HTML code or tweet the link.

Before shortening the magnet link, you can choose to enter a custom alias, which is optional. If you are looking to create a magnet link using uTorrent, check out guide here.

Visit mgnet.me

Related Articles:

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The Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse is the successor to the original Arc Mouse with a new sleek and flexible design. The most prominent change is the use of touch to scroll instead of wheel and BlueTrack technology which allows it to be used on any surface. Check our full review (and giveaway) after the jump.

Design And Basics

The first thing you will notice about Arc Touch Mouse is the unique design. There are no buttons to switch the mouse on or off, you curve it to turn on and flatten it to turn off. This is a good thing since users who want to carry the mouse around don’t want to move that pesky little button under the mouse to switch it on or off repeatedly while travelling.

Since the design is new, it takes some time getting used to. The touch to scroll is difficult to handle in the beginning because we are using scroll wheel for almost a decade. Using it on a hard surface is easier and the grip is stronger when compared with soft surfaces. People with large hands will find it a bit challenging to use due to its small size. After playing around with it for 3 days, I am perfectly comfortable with it. Check out the size comparison below with HTC Desire HD.

The mouse runs on 2 AAA alkaline batteries which can be inserted from the bottom of the mouse.

There is a small magnet below the mouse where one can attach the USB Receiver to ensure that both the mouse and receiver are in the same place and ready to be used anytime. The USB Receiver is tiny and if you are carrying your laptop around, you can let it stay plugged in (like I do).

Microsoft Arc Touch mouse is the first travel mouse that can actually fit in all pockets due to its flat size. The design also makes it lighter than other mice.

Usability and Performance

When you first plug in the device, it will automatically install the driver. It works on Windows XP (32-bit only), Windows Vista (both 32-bit and 64-bit), and Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). The sensitivity will be a bit higher and can be changed from Mouse Properties (Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Mouse).

Don’t expect it to replace your desktop mouse. The performance and options that come with a desktop mouse can’t be found in Arc Touch. However, if all you need is some basic functionality then you can use it as a desktop mouse replacement. While testing, it worked seamlessly on different surfaces, carpet, tables, floor, and so on.

The middle click button is still there and can be used by double tapping the middle touch scroll. If you are one of those people who eat and browse at the same time, forget it. The plastic becomes slippery and difficult to use with slightly wet or oily hands. This is the second major downside, the first being too small for large hands.

The great part is that Arc Touch is not a racist, it is made for both left and right handed people. So if your co-worker or friend needs to show you something and is different handed, then this mouse will do the trick.

MS Arc Touch Mouse vs. Apple Magic Mouse

I was reluctant to touch this topic because of Microsoft vs Apple fanboy flame war, but many people have asked us how they compare. In short, they don’t. Comparing Arc Touch with Magic Mouse is like comparing Turtle with Tortoise. Both are nice but have a very different purpose. Arc Touch mouse is a travel mouse (which you may use as a desktop mouse), while on the other hand, Magic Mouse is a desktop mouse (which you may use as a travel mouse, if you wish to).

Conclusion

Pros: Compact, sexy, lightweight, and an all-round winner when it comes to portability. The movement is surprisingly smooth, making it a must-have travel mouse for web designers.

Cons: Difficult to control in the beginning, small for large hands, and buttons are slippery with slightly wet and oily hands. Not good for gaming (OK, this is not a downside but still).

Giveaway Details

Microsoft has partnered with us to give away one Arc Touch mouse to a lucky reader. Sadly (very sadly), the giveaway is for US residents only due to the terms and conditions of this contest. To win the device, here is what you need to do:

Method 1: Leave a comment on our Facebook Fan page and tell us why you need this mouse. Obviously you will have to Like us before you can leave a comment.

Method 2: If you don’t use Facebook, you can tweet this post using the Tweet button at the bottom of this article.

We will select one lucky winner after 2 days (48 hours) and contact him/her directly. This post will also be updated to congratulate the winner.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and win a free Arc Touch mouse.

Update: The Giveaway has ended. The winner will be announced shortly.

Winner: The winner is Tony Peavler. Tony is a traveling teacher for the deaf and hearing impaired. Thank you for participating. More giveaways coming soon!

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3. Orbit Social Phonebook iPhone/iPod Touch Application Review

This brand new newsletter is part of our goal to make browsing and reading content more easier. If you have any feature request or bugs to report, do not hesitate to contact me at nakodari [at] addictivetips.com

Meanwhile, if you have not subscribed to our newsletter yet, you can do so easily from the Daily Newsletter signup box on the right sidebar of our website or by clicking here.

Below you can see how our email newsletter looks like.

Enjoy!

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Keep in mind that it is not a two-way sync, it can only sync one-way from Evernote to Gmail. Therefore, if an email is removed from Gmail, the note will not get removed from Evernote, you will have to remove the notebooks from Evernote to delete it from Gmail. The same goes for changes in tags. You must change them in Evernote to reflect changes in Gmail, not vice versa.

Now coming back to EvlmSync, it is an open source portable app which can be put to a USB and be used while on the go (as long as you have internet connectivity). To force EvImSync to store its configuration in the same directory where it was started from, the executable file should be renamed to “EvImSyncPortable.exe”. By default, all configurations are stored in %AppDate& folder.

Start the application and head over to File –> Configuration.

Now enter the name of Evernote Notebook that you want to sync, set the IMAP server to ‘imap.gmail.com (make sure IMAP is enabled in Gmail), enter your username / password, and select the base folder in Gmail for syncing before clicking Set Pair.

When done, click Ok. This will take you back to the main interface from where you can start sync immediately. Sadly, there is no schedule sync option. The one-way sync, however, is due to limitations in both IMAP protocol and Evernote scripting engine.

EvImSync requires .NET Framework 4 to run and works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Download EvImSync

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ClearLock is a small Windows utility which makes transparent lock possible by replacing the entire screen with a transparent layer, allowing anyone to see which windows and programs are open but restricts them from accessing the desktop.

Once ClearLock zip archive has been extracted, you will find the executable inside ‘Files ‘folder. Start ClearLock and it will ask you to enter password and reconfirm it. Once done, hit ClearLock executable again to lock Windows. Sadly, it does not replace the default Win + L hotkey but you can pin it to taskbar for quick access.

Once the desktop is locked using ClearLock, you will see the transparent desktop with a dialog box on top of it asking for password (as shown in the screenshot below). This password dialog box will vanish after a minute of inactivity, showing nothing except the desktop. Moving the mouse will show the dialog box again.

Sorry for the crappy image quality, had to take with a Mobile phone.

ClearLock works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Download ClearLock

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