Archive for the ‘Software’ Category

Run Google application without using browser – GMDesk

Are you a Google Doc frequent user?  Do you feel annoyed that whenever you want to edit your documents, you would need to open your browser?

GMDesk would be able to solve your problem.  GMDesk is an application developed for running Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Maps, without opening them up in web browsers.

You can run GMDesk just as other applications under Windows, Linux or Mac to handle your emails, calendar events, document writing etc.

GMDesk can be downloaded here.

To run GMDesk, you would need to have the latest version of Adobe AIR installed on your computer.

Billionth Download at iTunes – Try MetaMenu

Apple is giving awaying $10,000 at iTunes! This is to celebrate the Billionth Download at App Store!

To further promote this, Metamenu would like to ask you to try using their latest market defining smart remote application.  It is available for DVD on computers.

Using Metamenu, you can turn your iPhone or iPod touch into remote control unit with extra functions such as

  • Jump to scene by name
  • Discover channel that returns relevant information etc.

Click on this link to find out more about this promotion!

The SEO Toolbar

Have you installed the SEO Toolbar?

The SEO Toolbar is a must have for all webmasters.  Install it as an addon in Firefox, and you will instantly receive information of the site that you are visiting.  Information includes:

  • Google PageRank
  • Links to domain
  • Page links
  • Directory links – DMOZ, Yahoo and Best of the Web
  • Site Age
  • Monthly Uniques Visits
  • Estimated Traffic Value

If you click on the ‘i’ icon you will also see more link information.  After all, off-site SEO is about incoming links.  The toolbar brings all these information to you in a very convenient way.

It is a must-have.  Download it now!

Boot your computer with a USB Drive

You might have a healthy computer that works so well, but suddenly one day, you can’t boot it.  Windows system files corrupted, for example.

The next step you would do is to put the Windows CD and boot it up, and try to repair Windows.  But sometimes, it doesn’t give you the option of repairing it.  It might not be able to identify your existing Windows installation.

To continue fixing the problem, there are a few options.  You can either take the hard disk out of the computer case, use a USB-IDE (or USB-SATA) cable and connect to another computer to extract the files, or to boot it up in an operating system to perform file transfer.

There are lots of this kind of tools available on the internet.  I personally found this method the easiest, and would like to introduce to my readers.

Preparation – you must have the following items handy:

1. A USB drive of at least 256MB of size
2. A Windows XP installation disk
3. Download BartPE
4. Download Windows Server 2003 SP1

Step 1 – build the BartPE files using PE Builder
Make sure the Windows XP installation disk is in your optical drive.  Turn on PE Builder and search for the source.  After the search, make sure no media output is selected, and click on “Build”.  It takes a while depending on the speed of your computer, but it won’t be long.  Please see screenshot below:

(If you want to boot using a CD, then select “Burn to CD/DVD” instead.)

Step 2 – Get all the files ready

Open a new folder named “srsp1″ under the PE Builder installation directory.  Download Windows Server 2003 SP1.  It is an exe file.  Extract it using WinRar. DO NOT install.

After extracting the file, copy the file “setupldr.bin” to the “srsp1″ folder.  Then expand the file “randisk.sy_” in command prompt with this command

expand -r c:\server2003sp1\i386\ramdisk.sy_ <pebuilder>\srsp1

(where <pebuilder> is the PE Builder’s installation directory, and assuming the SP1 file is extracted under the folder C:\server2003sp1)

To save you the hassle, you can download my prepared files here.  Just extract this into a folder named “srsp1″ and put it in the installation directory.

Step 3 – Build the files into the USB drive

Use command prompt to run the following line:

pe2usb -f g:

where g: is the drive letter of the USB drive.  Please note this would FORMAT the USB drive, so make sure there is no wanted files in the USB drive.

Again this would take a while to copy all files into the drive.

When this is done, unplug the USB drive and plug this into the computer needed to be fixed.  You may need to go to BIOS to adjust the boot sequence and make sure the computer can boot with the USB drive.  If all goes well a graphical interface similar to Windows XP would be presented, where you can access all your files in the hard disk.

I have tested this and found that it works on IDE/SATA hard disks and IDE/SATA optical drives.

PS. Sorry for not updating this blog for a long time.  I have just migrated to another country, and it took me quite a while to get my internet connection (and other things) sorted.

Experience website in 3D – ExitReality Browser

Ever thought of browsing the internet in 3D?

ExitReality is a free internet plugin that allows users to browse websites in 3D. Instead of the standard 2D website, which are just flat planes with texts and images, you can now turn it into a unique 3D space.  Everything becomes a virtual world.  Meet new people and chat with them in the 3D communities!

You will also have your own 3D space or apartment (why not a house…).  You can collect 3D objects and add to your own space.  Of course, you can invite your friends to visit your “home”.  Have a party?  Not a problem, host it virtually :)

Tempted to try?  Just download from the ExitReality website and install for free!