Miscellaneous

I received my first BlackBerry about a month ago and have since then praised it for its simplicity and usability. I was very excited when I discovered that there is a slew of free programs for my BlackBerry. Since most of us don't have the time to roam the internet in search of free software to make our lives simpler, I've decided to post the 7 free applications that you can download right now to your BlackBerry. Below you will find this wonderful list of free applications with a brief description. If you have know of any other free BlackBerry software don't hesitate to comment on the post or send me an email.

I'll update the page as new entries are made.

1. Google Mobile - Maps - Use your phone to find out where you are and how to get to your destinations.

iColor Folder allows you to easily color code folders in your computer. Once installed you can right-click on any folder and assign a color to it. I have been using the software for some time now and find it very useful. I color the folders I use most often red so that they automatically grab my attention when browsing that directory, this really helps when you've got 60 folders in My Documents directory like I do. If you'd like to use the software you can download and try it for yourself. Comments/suggestions welcome.

I have found that in the course of fixing friends computers, updating their software, and introducing them to new programs, I usually use specific programs for certain functions. As a result of that I went and created a list of Memory Key Essentials - below I will list all of the essential programs that I carry in my memory key at all times. Right now I'm using two 256MB memory keys, but I'll only list the essential programs that will take up only one 64MB memory key (all programs listed are FREE). As a convenience I have added an self extract file that you can easily copy over to your memory key so that you don't have to go hunting for each program individually. The self-extract archive is about 56MB. If you have any comments/suggestions please let me know.

I have about 50 DVD's that I have purchased over time, that's close to $1,000 worth in just movies (assuming $20 per movie) I would like to know, that in case my DVD gets scratched or damaged, I have a backup of that movie somewhere. I have been using DVD Shrink now for a little over a year, it is an excellent piece of software, it's easy to use and FREE! The great thing about it is that you can go through the whole process of backing up your DVD with one piece of software. (Note: I have found that the newer movies I have bought cannot be decrypted by DVD Shrink, this is a result of new copy protection methods employed by the movie industry, I will cover another piece of software that does just that in another tutorial - either way DVD Shrink is great for DVD's with the old encryption method). Follow the steps below to backup your precious DVD's. As always comments/suggestions are welcome.

"The IE cumulative August 2006 security update is now available via Windows Update. Alternatively, you can receive this and all other Microsoft updates via the new Microsoft Update and I encourage you to upgrade to Microsoft Update if you haven’t already.

I ran into this excellent post by Road to Know Where that lists all of Microsoft's free software on one page. 150 Free Programs! Below I'll list some of my favorites from the post. If you need any help with any of these please let me know.

Note: Some of the programs require that you have a valid Windows installation.

I've been using Picassa for a while now and find that every time I use Picassa I run into a feature I didn't know it had. With Picassa you have the capability of creating picture collages from the pictures you have stored in your computer. There are several types of collages that you can create;

Picture Pile - Places all of the pictures you selected in a pile one on top another, really neat effect.

Picture Grid - Creates a grid of your pictures on one sheet.

Contact Sheet - Similar to the grid, but pictures have spaces between each other. This one is great if you would like to print your pictures for presentation.

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<<< UPDATE NOTICE: Due to the overwhelming amount of comments and the fact that this article was written over 8 months ago, I decided it was time to update it with the latest tools, websites, and tips available to download videos from the internet >>>

It's been close to 8 months since I published this article, since then the integration of YouTube and Google Videohas been completed, YouTube is pretty much the one stop shop for videos online. In case you are interested in videos from social sites like MySpace, Facebook, and others, the tips listed below will help you quickly and easily get that content on your computer.

Site #1 - iDesktop.tv

You can download any video on YouTube using iDesktop.tv, you simply go to the site and click on the download link. You are given the option to download that video in multiple formats, MPEG, MOV, AVI, and many others.