Five Best Startup Management Tools
Posted on December 14, 2009
Filed Under Collection | Tags: Window | Leave a Comment
You boot up your computer and you wait, and wait… and wait, as all sorts of programs, helper apps, widgets, and remnants of forgotten installations load. Grab one of these five popular startup managers and beat back the startup clutter.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite startup management tool for Windows. You shared what you liked best and why, and we’ve rounded up the five most popular tools. If you’ve never used a startup manager before, how would be a great time to start and trim your Windows startup routine back to a more manageable form.
Change the registration information in Windows Vista and XP
Posted on December 11, 2009
Filed Under How To | Tags: Window | 1 Comment
Bill Detwiler shows you how to change the registration information on your Windows system using a registry hack or TechRepublic’s Vista and XP Registration Changer tools. Once you’ve watched this TR Dojo video, you can find a link to the original TechRepublic article and print the tip from our TR Dojo Blog.
Google Goggles Searches by Sight
Posted on December 8, 2009
Filed Under How To | Tags: google | Leave a Comment
Among a flurry of mini mobile announcements today, Google announced a new application called Google Goggles designed to let you search Google using your Android device’s camera. Just point, shoot, and search.
The video above gives you a good idea of how it works—and how it doesn’t. In a nutshell, Goggles wants to take search beyond typing and voice recognition (both of which Google Mobile search does pretty well on most smartphones). According to the developers, Google Goggles works great with objects like business cards, paintings, landmarks, wine, books, and logos, but it’s not great with things like food, animals, and plants. It even does some small augmented reality work for businesses using your devices location awareness and compass skills.
Right now Goggles is only available for Android users, but we’d imagine they’re working on Goggles for other devices as well. If you’ve got an Android device and you give it a try, let’s hear how well it works for you in the comments.
Google Public DNS Aims to Speed Up Your Browsing
Posted on December 4, 2009
Filed Under News | Tags: google | Leave a Comment
Google today launched a new, free DNS service—called Google Public DNS—aimed at making your web browsing experience even faster. Here’s how it works:
For those of you who are unfamiliar with DNS (and it’s cool if you are—as long as DNS is working, most people never need to know what’s going on), Google offers an explanation:
Most of us aren’t familiar with DNS because it’s often handled automatically by our Internet Service Provider (ISP), but it provides an essential function for the web. You could think of it as the switchboard of the Internet, converting easy-to-remember domain names - e.g., www.google.com - into the unique Internet Protocol (IP) numbers - e.g., 74.125.45.100 - that computers use to communicate with one another.
Gmail Now Lets You Add and Send Attachments Offline
Posted on November 25, 2009
Filed Under How To | Tags: gmail | 1 Comment
Writing emails while offline can help keep you on top of things, especially while on the go. As of today, Offline Gmail allows you to add attachments to an email while you’re offline, bringing essentially the full offline experience to Gmail.
No one likes sending out the “Oops! I forgot my attachment!” email following an incomplete draft. If you work offline with regularity, Offline Gmail’s new offline attachment feature means less chance of forgetting. For those who have held off using offline access, here’s how to get things started:
If you haven’t tried offline access yet, visit the Labs tab and follow these instructions to get started:
- Select Enable next to Offline Gmail.
- Click Save Changes.
- After your browser reloads, you’ll see a new “Offline” link in the upper righthand corner of the Gmail page, next to your username. Click this link to start the offline set up process and download Gears if you don’t already have it.
If you aren’t using Offline Gmail just yet, take a closer look at what else it gets you.