Create An iPod AudioBook From Multiple MP3 Files

If you have ever tried to download a free audio book, you will know that it is usually split into multiple MP3 files; and even though you can import these multiple MP3 files into your iTunes, it ruins all the fun. You have to switch from one file to another and you always have to remember where you stopped. But, now you can get all the cool features of the iPod audio book format by merging multiple mp3 files together and creating an iPod compatible audio book.

To do so, simply download this free converter, choose the files you want to merge and click submit. It will take a few minutes but will provide you with a single audio book file for seamless listening. You would no longer have to remember which file you stopped on because when listening to an audio book, iPod automatically remembers your last position.

You can also use this to convert each MP3 file into a separate audiobook file. During the conversion, you will be opted to add tags to the file such as author name, genre and so on.

How to Create Bootable USB Drive

This tutorial will help you in creating a bootable USB drive of Windows which you can use to install Vista or 7 in any system. It might become very useful when you don't have access to DVD drive.

1. First format your USB drive in NTFS file system. You can do it by attaching your USB drive to your system and then format it from My Computer window.

2. Now open Command Prompt window from Start menu. Right-click on Command Prompt entry in start menu and select "Run as administrator" option.

3. Now type diskpart in Command Prompt window and press Enter. It'll launch DiskPart program:

4. Now provide following command:

list volume

It'll show a list of all drives in your system. Look for your USB drive entry. As in the below screenshot, the USB drive is "G" which you can determine from its "Type" entry.

Now you have to select the USB drive volume by providing select volume no. command. Since in our case volume no. of USB drive is "Volume 4", the command would be:

select volume 4

Now we have to make this drive active. So provide active command:

active

Now exit from DiskPart using exit command.

5. Now we need to create Boot sector on USB drive. We'll use "bootsect.exe" utility for this task. You can find this utility in Windows Vista setup disk. It'll be present in "Boot" directory.

Now provide following command in Command Prompt:

bootsect /nt60 G:

Here G is drive letter of USB drive. Replace it with the correct drive letter if your system has some other letter for USB drive.

6. At last, copy all files/folders from Vista Setup DVD to your USB drive and you have done.

Now you can boot using your USB drive and can install Windows Vista in any system.

Thanks to Dave Glover

Scan Files Online In 24 Antivirus Engines From One Place

Desktop virus scanners are not the only software that will help you scan files that you download, there are several online antivirus engines that will let you upload a file and scan it to see if it contains any virus or spywares.

No Virus Thanks also provides with a easy way to scan files for viruses, however the unique thing about this service is that, once you upload a file it will scan it against 24 Online Antivirus engines simultaneously.

Another interesting feature of this online antivirus engine is that it also allows you to scan files by providing a URL, so if you have suspicions about a software you want to download, you can first scan it and check to see if it is clean, before even download it.

The maximum size of file you can scan using this engine is 20MB, however it can come in pretty handy to scan suspicious files.

[via Life Rocks]

Fix a dual boot Windows Vista or Windows 7 and Linux problem

How do you fix a dual boot system if you had to reinstall Windows Vista and you can no longer boot to Fedora Core 6 (FC6) or Fedora Linux ? Nobody wants to reinstall FC 6 or Fedora Linux again!

Almost all versions of Microsoft Windows (including XP, Vista and old versions) overwrite GRUB bootloader in MBR (master boot record). As a result Windows boot loader becomes a new boot loader and GRUB will not appear on screen (you will not able to see GRUB menu options).

But don't worry you can easily fix the problem. Following instuctions are Fedora Linux only and should work with RHEL / CentOS too:

Step #1: Boot from Fedora Core Linux 1st CD or DVD
Set BIOS to boot from CD/DVD rom. At boot: prompt type command linux rescue

boot: linux rescue

Just follow on screen instructions, when prompted let installer search Linux installation. If the search operation is successful, your old Linux installation will be available at special directory called /mnt/sysimage.

Step #2: Prepare system for GRUB reinstallation
Type the following commands at shell prompt:

# chroot /mnt/sysimage

# cd /boot/grub

chroot command allows to run rest of all *COMMAND* with root directory set to NEWROOT called /mnt/sysimage. Without chroot environment you will not able to restore GRUB on Fedora Core 6.

Step #3: Find out your GRUB bootloader installation location
If you have only one IDE hard disk default should be /dev/hda. You can use any of the following command to determine your device name:

# grep '#boot' grub.conf

Output:

#boot=/dev/sda

Above output clearly point out that /dev/sda device where my GRUB bootloader was previously installed.

You can also try out fdisk -l command to list partitions and disk information:

# fdisk -l

Step #4: Reinstall GRUB
Use grub-install command to install GRUB on your drive /dev/sda

# grub-install /dev/sda

Please note that if above command returned any error return with --recheck option to probe a device map even if it already exists

# grub-install --recheck /dev/sda

Step #5: Reboot system
Exit from chrooted environment and reboot Linux:

# sync;sync;exit;exit

# reboot

Now GRUB will be able to boot both Windows Vista / Windows 7 and Fedora Core 6.

How to Hide Files using Image

Do you wonder how you can easily hide your files without using any softwares that no one will be able to detect it? This is not your ordinary "invisible trick". This trick will hide your file inside a image. Impossible?... follow this simple procedure to know how.

• First, compress your files using Winrar
• Look for your desired image where you will hide your files.
• Launch your command line window by going into start --> Run then type CMD
• On your your command prompt assuming that your files and image is on drive C:, type the following command.

C:\copy /b image.jpg + file.rar new.jpg

This will concatenate or join the file and image into a new file (new.jpg). It will also merged the size of the image and the file.

Now, how you can access your files. To access your files just simply open it (new.jpg) on your Winrar program and it will show all your hidden files.

Congratulations your files are now perfectly safe and hidden.

Click2Try Lets You Test Applications Before Downloading

Ever wish you could test out an application or even an operating system without taking the time to download and install it first? It turns out you can. Click2try is a web site that lets you take about around 50 desktop applications and 3 Linux distributions for a spin from the comfort of your web browser.

You'll need Java and a relatively modern browser in order to run the applications. Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Google Chrome all work. You can try any application for free without registering. If you want to save your sessions you'll need to sign up for a free account. You can also purchase a subscription if you want to access an application for an extended period of time or run more than one application at a time.

Click2try's catalog includes Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and CentOS Linux distributions and applications including Chandler, Filezilla, OxygenOffice, WordPress, Drupla, and Joomla.

Click2Try [via Download Squad]

Launchy ~ Just A Few Keystrokes

Launchy, a freeware has a tiny footprint but is extremely effectual. It is meant to aid users who have many software and applications installed in their system. The software helps such users to open their programs easily without lags. The software is a stunner with curved frame and transparent edges.

The use of this software ensures that how many ever programs you install on your computer your desktop is not overcrowded with shortcut-icons. It is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista OS and Linux OS. You can make Launchy run on Win 2000 by downloading a dll file and unzipping this dll file to the launchy directory.

Launchy is thus a program that single handedly performs the functions of your start menu and file manager and lets you forget your desktop shortcut icons. Launchy forms an index of the start menu and helps you launch project files, documents, bookmarks folders and more with simple keystrokes. This saves you from the trouble of browsing the programs list on the start menu for locating a desired program.

Once it has been launched it works stashed away in the background. The program launchy can be called for assistance and made visible by hitting Alt+spacebar. Type the initial few letters of the program name and Launchy will proffer you many matches. Hit enter when the program you wish to open is displayed. Hitting the same keys again or hitting escape button will close the program. Alternatively Launchy will also operate on startup.

Launchy is by far the most excellent program launcher released in recent times.

[Download Launchy]

Backup Your MySQL Database To Email With Backup2Mail

Backup2Mail automatically creates regular backups of your database and sends them to your mailbox on a given schedule, the script is PHP based so you can install in on any blog or website.

The author of the script also has a set of instructions to get you started, however you will need to have the ability to setup cron jobs to schedule database backups to be emailed out to you on a regular basis.

Definitely a must have script for webmasters who care about their data and want to be prepared for any unforeseen disasters lurking around the corner.

Download Backup2Mail [via Ghacks Tech News]

Create and Share UML Diagrams Online

If you have ever drawn a class diagram, you would know that it is not an easy job. Dragging lines and boxes, and organizing them makes it an arduous task. However, now there is a great web application that allows you to create UML (Unified Modelling Language) diagrams without drawing a single line.

Yuml is a free web app that allows you to create Class diagrams or Case diagrams by simply typing your diagram in shorthand. For example, just type [User]-(Login) in the text box and click submit to generate the diagram. To edit the diagram, just change the text and your diagram will be re-drawn. You can save your diagram as a PNG or JPG image or even download it as a PDF. You can also get a link to embed the image into your blog or wiki. Yuml also has simple and straight-forward guidelines about using the syntax and formatting the diagram that can help you in creating diagrams without any hassle.

If you think these diagrams are kinda plain, you can also add colors to them. Just typing [Customer{bg:orange}] would make the Customer box orange in color. Yuml also provides an option to add sticky notes to your diagrams. A number of samples are also provided to outline different Yuml features and guidelines. Yuml is free to use but universities and businesses can also buy a private license to install it on their computers.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker 2 For Windows 7 & Vista

The Ultimate Windows Tweaker which was earlier available for Windows Vista only has now been updated to work to version 2 and will work with both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

The freeware utility for windows allows users to tweak and optimize several settings in windows, which are usually hidden deep and not easy to find.

The tweaker detects whether you have Windows 7 or Windows Vista installed and accordingly offers you the relevant tweaks only.

New Features in version 2 include:

• Revamped UI similar to Windows 7/Vista UI controls.
• Improved: Optmize services, enable/disable services and start/stop as well instantly.
• New information is added to the system information page.
• New information added to personalization page.
• More options available for UAC, System performance, security settings and Internet explorer page.
• Additional tweaks are added

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a portable software so you can use it anywhere.

Download Ultimate Windows Tweaker 2 [via TechNet]

Handy XML Editor

XML is a markup language that is very widely used by programmers and applications alike. Though you do not require any special editors to create XML files you still get many more benefits by using one.

Greg's XML Editor is a lightweight XML editor with syntax highlighting, syntax validation, XSD schema validation and XSL transformation.

Greg's Xml Editor allows user to create, open and save XML, XSD and XSLT documents, providing features as:

• Syntax highlighting
• Line numbering
• Folding-unfolding of XML tags
• Syntax validation on-the-fly
• XML schema validation on-the-fly
• XSLT transformation
• Drag & drop files

Download Greg's XML Editor

Find Out Who Is Using Your WiFi Connection

Many users do not secure their WiFi connection, in turn leaving it open for free public access, there are several reasons why you may want to secure your wireless connection, however if you don't, do you want to know who is logged on to your network?

Well you can easily do that by visiting your router admin page, but not many users are that tech savvy to do that.

Zamzom wireless network tool is a handy freeware that will allow you to find out who is using your WiFi connection, however the tool is pretty basic, but if you see too many unauthorized users, you can always visit your router admin panel to boot the users out of there.

Download Zamzom Wireless Network Tool [via Addictive Tips]

Office 2010 – Technical Preview Waitlist Registration now open

According to a Tech Net blog post Microsoft has once again opened it's doors for users to register themselves to participate in the Technical Preview testing.

Office 2010 Technical preview will be available to only a limited amount of users, so if you did not get a chance to register last time around, go ahead and do it now.

We are pretty sure that the registrations will be filled up as hot cakes, so go ahead and register for Office 2010 Technical preview.

Recover Google Accounts Password Through SMS Text Message

No matter how good you are at remembering things, there are times when you can forget your password, many websites though have a feature that will help you reset/retrieve you forgotten passwords.

Gmail too has an option to retrieve forgotten passwords by asking a series of questions, however they have now added a new option to recover your password through a SMS text message.

To make use of this feature you will have to sign-in to your Google Account and select 'Change Password Recovery Options,' enter your cell phone number and click 'Save.'

Tip: Recover your password via text message [Official Gmail Blog]

Hidden File Scanner

Hidden files are scattered across your computer and trying to find all hidden files may turn out to be pretty cumbersome.
A useful freeware called Hidden file scanner come in pretty handy here, by allowing you to scan your computer and find hidden files that are scattered across in various folders and drives.

Once Hidden Files scans your computer it will show you a list of hidden files that exist on your computer, you can either delete them or unhide them with ease.

Download Hidden File Scanner

Download Yahoo Messenger 10 (10.0.0.331) Pre-Alpha Version

Here is real Yahoo Messenger 10, However this is not even in alpha stage but pre-alpha version released for internal testing. The complete build string is Yahoo Messenger 10.0.0.331. Yahoo Messenger 10.0.0.331 Pre-Alpha is leaked version and clean from Viruses & Trojans.

Not many new features can be found in this Pre-alpha version of Yahoo Messenger 10 but there are few major changes which you can easily spot after installing, check out below tentative list.

Features & Changes in Yahoo Messenger 10

1. Multilanguage Support

2. Changes in Main window, Contact & Y! Update Tab

3. Manage Updates I Broadcast option

4. Access to My Pingbox

Screenshots of Yahoo Messenger 10.0.0.331 Pre-Alpha

Download Yahoo Messenger 10.0.0.331 Pre-Alpha

Source: blogsdna

Backup And Restore Your Windows XP and Vista System Drivers

Open source freeware, don't you just love free software? DriverBackup is a fast and user-friendly free tool for backing up your computer drivers, restore corrupt drivers and more. Based on my own experience the software is useful for those that:

• Bought a secondhand computer or laptop without the installation CDs
• Lost your CD driver or the CD is not readable anymore.
• Too lazy to insert all the CDs one by one, simply restore the driver after formatting the computer.
• Updating to a newer driver, need a backup copy of the older driver in case the newer driver is not compatible.
• Mass installation of drivers on computers in a library, computer lab or cybercafe. One click installs all the required drivers.

The possibility is unlimited. I guess this tool is useful for those that don't have the original CD. Backing up your system drivers in Windows is only a click away, same goes with restoring it. If DriverBackup is not to your liking, do try the following alternatives.

• DriverMax
• DoubleDriver
• Driver Magician Lite

Wikipedia As A Printed Book

Wikipedia provides users with a wealth of information and is regularly updated to add more and more information everyday, however can you fathom reading wikipedia as a printed book?

Well looking at the sheer size of the book, we would rather use the internet to do all the reading, take a look at the size of a printed book from Wikipedia.

The book has around 5000 pages and also packs in 400+ featured articles from Wikipedia. Would you be interested in reading the printed Wikipedia book?