Tech Spikes http://www.techspikes.com Get the latest TechBeat! Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:01:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 TechSpikeshttp://feedburner.google.com I’ve quit Foursquare and here’s why http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/o7nol5aeBcI/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/05/ive-quit-foursquare-and-heres-why/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 14:03:41 +0000 Narayanan Hariharan http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4930

Foursquare as most of you might already know is a geo location-based social networking website where users ‘check-in’ at venues using text messaging, mobile web or mobile apps and has been tagged as the next best thing on Social Media after Twitter and I have no doubts that it probably is. I signed up with Foursquare a little over 3 months back and as on date, I’m a Mayor of 15 places, checked in 319 times and proud owner of 11 Badges with over 160 friends.

A lot of people may ask, if that’s the case, why would I quit Foursquare and then decide to write about it? Here’s why.

Many double/wrong entries:

Foursquare Chennai Central

The above screenshot is a search for the biggest railway station in Chennai – called Central Railway Station or Chennai Central Railway Station. As you can see, there are 3 different options.

Another example of multiple entries is Subway, the health-eating joint in Nungambakkam, Chennai

Again 3 search options (the 4th search result is a different location) – however, the first result has the road name wrong, the second has the pin code wrong and the third has the road name wrong again.

Foursquare team does not respond to user requests:

Anyone who was serious about using Foursquare and familiar with this location would want to set this right. So that’s what I set out to do. Since I did not know about the super user concept, I did a bit of searching on their website and found their email id and contacted them. Here is the screenshot of my email to them. Click on the screenshot for a bigger image.

Its a month since my email and I haven’t got a response yet. I guess I can safely assume that they don’t care about feedback, customer support/care. I’ve tried contacting Foursquare on Twitter many times in the past 3+ months but they don’t respond there as well.

Too many wannabe users:

Foursquare is definitely not the first internet app who haven’t responded to me so I decided to give them the benefit of doubt and continued using/checking into Foursquare. I realised in due course that I was repeatedly being ousted as Mayor from a couple of locations and these were places where I used to check-in multiple times a day. While that got me suspicious, I did not take much heed. However, something that happened 3 days back was the last straw. On Sunday (May 16th), I was ousted as the Mayor of ICICI Bank. It is common knowledge that ICICI Bank, India’s biggest private bank is closed on Sundays and no one in his right senses would go to a private bank on a Sunday. That being the case, how is it then possible that I was ousted on a Sunday?

I realised then that there are many wannabe users on Foursquare who in their quest to become Mayors, check in at places even if they don’t really go there. I assume again that many would have noticed such wannabe users in all cities/locations.

I know Foursquare is an awesome app but the Foursquare team should realise that the app is as strong as its weakest link – its users. Foursquare should bring about better monitoring/moderating systems to ensure that the system is clean. Replying to genuine emails and using the genuine crowd to weed away the bad ones could be a start. Also, when you are present on Twitter/provide your email id on your website, users/public WILL expect you to respond to their queries. Not responding is a big no no.

For now, I’ve quit Foursquare – I still haven’t deleted my account yet, I’m not sure if that’s possible so you can call it a long long sabbatical. I’d love to get back on Foursquare if and only if they sort themselves out.

Till then, Goodbye Foursquare!

I’ve quit Foursquare and here’s why is a post from Tech Spikes

I’ve quit Foursquare and here’s why is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

Foursquare as most of you might already know is a geo location-based social networking website where users ‘check-in’ at venues using text messaging, mobile web or mobile apps and has been tagged as the next best thing on Social Media after Twitter and I have no doubts that it probably is. I signed up with Foursquare a little over 3 months back and as on date, I’m a Mayor of 15 places, checked in 319 times and proud owner of 11 Badges with over 160 friends.

A lot of people may ask, if that’s the case, why would I quit Foursquare and then decide to write about it? Here’s why.

Many double/wrong entries:

Foursquare Chennai Central

The above screenshot is a search for the biggest railway station in Chennai – called Central Railway Station or Chennai Central Railway Station. As you can see, there are 3 different options.

Another example of multiple entries is Subway, the health-eating joint in Nungambakkam, Chennai

Again 3 search options (the 4th search result is a different location) – however, the first result has the road name wrong, the second has the pin code wrong and the third has the road name wrong again.

Foursquare team does not respond to user requests:

Anyone who was serious about using Foursquare and familiar with this location would want to set this right. So that’s what I set out to do. Since I did not know about the super user concept, I did a bit of searching on their website and found their email id and contacted them. Here is the screenshot of my email to them. Click on the screenshot for a bigger image.

Its a month since my email and I haven’t got a response yet. I guess I can safely assume that they don’t care about feedback, customer support/care. I’ve tried contacting Foursquare on Twitter many times in the past 3+ months but they don’t respond there as well.

Too many wannabe users:

Foursquare is definitely not the first internet app who haven’t responded to me so I decided to give them the benefit of doubt and continued using/checking into Foursquare. I realised in due course that I was repeatedly being ousted as Mayor from a couple of locations and these were places where I used to check-in multiple times a day. While that got me suspicious, I did not take much heed. However, something that happened 3 days back was the last straw. On Sunday (May 16th), I was ousted as the Mayor of ICICI Bank. It is common knowledge that ICICI Bank, India’s biggest private bank is closed on Sundays and no one in his right senses would go to a private bank on a Sunday. That being the case, how is it then possible that I was ousted on a Sunday?

I realised then that there are many wannabe users on Foursquare who in their quest to become Mayors, check in at places even if they don’t really go there. I assume again that many would have noticed such wannabe users in all cities/locations.

I know Foursquare is an awesome app but the Foursquare team should realise that the app is as strong as its weakest link – its users. Foursquare should bring about better monitoring/moderating systems to ensure that the system is clean. Replying to genuine emails and using the genuine crowd to weed away the bad ones could be a start. Also, when you are present on Twitter/provide your email id on your website, users/public WILL expect you to respond to their queries. Not responding is a big no no.

For now, I’ve quit Foursquare – I still haven’t deleted my account yet, I’m not sure if that’s possible so you can call it a long long sabbatical. I’d love to get back on Foursquare if and only if they sort themselves out.

Till then, Goodbye Foursquare!

I’ve quit Foursquare and here’s why is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/05/ive-quit-foursquare-and-heres-why/feed/ 10 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/05/ive-quit-foursquare-and-heres-why/ Turn Off the Lights – Dim Webpages And Highlight Videos in Chrome http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/npVvL5Xs0uo/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/turn-off-the-lights-chrome-extension/#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:30:33 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4926

Videoholics are dime a dozen these days. Who doesn’t watch Youtube like they used to watch TV?
The only thing is, there are hundreds of distractions on the webpage serving the videos.

Imagine if you were watching a movie and there were boxes on the sides that showed you related movies and information about the actors.
Sure, it would be interesting, but it is distracting!

Turn Off The Lights solves the problem.

Chrome Extension to Dim Everything But the Video

Turn Off The Lights is an extension for Chrome that dims all of the webpage but the video you’re watching, so that you aren’t distracted by the disturbing and irritating elements of the webpage.

Also, with this extension, you can select the background color, and the opacity of the background. So if you want, you can adjust the default setting of black and an 80% opacity with a bright red and a 100% opacity if you so desire (though that would probably be more distracting than ever)

To enable the dimming, simply click the bulb icon that appears next to the video title after installing the extension.

Turn Off the Lights Settings

Site Compatibility?

This extension will work with any site that has embedded video. I’m yet to find one that doesn’t work with it.

Download Turn Off the Lights

You can download Turn Off the Lights from here.

Turn Off the Lights – Dim Webpages And Highlight Videos in Chrome is a post from Tech Spikes

Turn Off the Lights – Dim Webpages And Highlight Videos in Chrome is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

Videoholics are dime a dozen these days. Who doesn’t watch Youtube like they used to watch TV?
The only thing is, there are hundreds of distractions on the webpage serving the videos.

Imagine if you were watching a movie and there were boxes on the sides that showed you related movies and information about the actors.
Sure, it would be interesting, but it is distracting!

Turn Off The Lights solves the problem.

Chrome Extension to Dim Everything But the Video

Turn Off The Lights is an extension for Chrome that dims all of the webpage but the video you’re watching, so that you aren’t distracted by the disturbing and irritating elements of the webpage.

Also, with this extension, you can select the background color, and the opacity of the background. So if you want, you can adjust the default setting of black and an 80% opacity with a bright red and a 100% opacity if you so desire (though that would probably be more distracting than ever)

To enable the dimming, simply click the bulb icon that appears next to the video title after installing the extension.

Turn Off the Lights Settings

Site Compatibility?

This extension will work with any site that has embedded video. I’m yet to find one that doesn’t work with it.

Download Turn Off the Lights

You can download Turn Off the Lights from here.

Turn Off the Lights – Dim Webpages And Highlight Videos in Chrome is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/turn-off-the-lights-chrome-extension/feed/ 2 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/turn-off-the-lights-chrome-extension/ Hotmail Watcher – The Only Dedicated Notifier for Firefox http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/R_SaR6EKB-M/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/hotmail-watcher-the-only-dedicated-notifier-for-firefox/#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 07:30:07 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4922

Wow, do any of you still use Hotmail? Microsoft has been trying hard to get their email service back to the top, but that’s not going to happen.
Anyway, if you still do use Hotmail (for whatever reason), you would have noticed the sad (or not so sad) lack of dedicated Hotmail checking addons for Firefox. But there is one…

Hotmail Watcher – A Hotmail Checking Addon for Firefox

This is the only Firefox addon out there that just checks Hotmail and notifies you of new email. Simple and secure.

Here’s the developer’s description of the addon:

Watch for your new inbox Hotmail and report to you in status-bar. Check Hotmail at specific interval. Neither username nor password is need. No sensitive information storage. Safe from hacker.

In short, this addon uses the cookie set by the Hotmail website for authentication. As long as you stay logged into the web mail client, Hotmail Watcher stays logged in.

Hotmail Watcher Firefox Addon

Features

  • Checks your Hotmail inbox and provides a notification in the status bar
  • Checks your inbox at an interval of 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hour, 4 hour or manually.
  • There are three types of alerts for new mail – sound, notification window or a blinking icon
  • No possibility of a security leak in the addon itself, as it uses the cookie set by the Hotmail website
  • Logging out of the web interface will cause the extension to log out
  • Compatibility with Private Browsing mode
  • Open source

Download Hotmail Watcher

You can download and install the addon from the Mozilla Addon gallery.

The developer has also made similar addons for GMail and Yahoo mail, check them out here.
Hotmail Watcher is an experimental addon, so you have to tick “Let me install this experimental addon” before you can download it.

Verdict

This isn’t a bad addon, and it’s the only one that provides barebones Hotmail-checking functionality.
So if you use Hotmail and you just want a notifier in your browser, choose this one.

Hotmail Watcher – The Only Dedicated Notifier for Firefox is a post from Tech Spikes

Hotmail Watcher – The Only Dedicated Notifier for Firefox is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

Wow, do any of you still use Hotmail? Microsoft has been trying hard to get their email service back to the top, but that’s not going to happen.
Anyway, if you still do use Hotmail (for whatever reason), you would have noticed the sad (or not so sad) lack of dedicated Hotmail checking addons for Firefox. But there is one…

Hotmail Watcher – A Hotmail Checking Addon for Firefox

This is the only Firefox addon out there that just checks Hotmail and notifies you of new email. Simple and secure.

Here’s the developer’s description of the addon:

Watch for your new inbox Hotmail and report to you in status-bar. Check Hotmail at specific interval. Neither username nor password is need. No sensitive information storage. Safe from hacker.

In short, this addon uses the cookie set by the Hotmail website for authentication. As long as you stay logged into the web mail client, Hotmail Watcher stays logged in.

Hotmail Watcher Firefox Addon

Features

  • Checks your Hotmail inbox and provides a notification in the status bar
  • Checks your inbox at an interval of 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hour, 4 hour or manually.
  • There are three types of alerts for new mail – sound, notification window or a blinking icon
  • No possibility of a security leak in the addon itself, as it uses the cookie set by the Hotmail website
  • Logging out of the web interface will cause the extension to log out
  • Compatibility with Private Browsing mode
  • Open source

Download Hotmail Watcher

You can download and install the addon from the Mozilla Addon gallery.

The developer has also made similar addons for GMail and Yahoo mail, check them out here.
Hotmail Watcher is an experimental addon, so you have to tick “Let me install this experimental addon” before you can download it.

Verdict

This isn’t a bad addon, and it’s the only one that provides barebones Hotmail-checking functionality.
So if you use Hotmail and you just want a notifier in your browser, choose this one.

Hotmail Watcher – The Only Dedicated Notifier for Firefox is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/hotmail-watcher-the-only-dedicated-notifier-for-firefox/feed/ 1 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/hotmail-watcher-the-only-dedicated-notifier-for-firefox/ Weather Bar Brings Weather Forecasts to the Windows 7 Taskbar http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/a9smQQgI0VE/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/weather-forecasts-in-your-taskbar/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:30:23 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4920

Never thpight the Windows 7 “Superbar” could replace system tray apps or desktop widgets? Well, it can. Weather Bar is a small app that you can run and keep minimised in the new taskbar, and hovering over it or right clicking it shows you the weather forecast.

Weather Bar – Weather Forecasts in Your Superbar

This application seems to be aimed mainly at people who don’t want to clutter up their systen tray or add resource hogging widgets to their desktop or side bar.
The app in question is very simple, and runs as an ordinary program, looking like this:

Weather Bar

The fun starts when you minimise it to get it out of your way – the icon of the application changes to reflect the weather:

What’s more, right clicking on the icon brings up the context menu – which contains the weather forecast for the next four days:

The application is written in C#, and can be found here on Codeplex

Weather Bar Brings Weather Forecasts to the Windows 7 Taskbar is a post from Tech Spikes

Weather Bar Brings Weather Forecasts to the Windows 7 Taskbar is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

Never thpight the Windows 7 “Superbar” could replace system tray apps or desktop widgets? Well, it can. Weather Bar is a small app that you can run and keep minimised in the new taskbar, and hovering over it or right clicking it shows you the weather forecast.

Weather Bar – Weather Forecasts in Your Superbar

This application seems to be aimed mainly at people who don’t want to clutter up their systen tray or add resource hogging widgets to their desktop or side bar.
The app in question is very simple, and runs as an ordinary program, looking like this:

Weather Bar

The fun starts when you minimise it to get it out of your way – the icon of the application changes to reflect the weather:

What’s more, right clicking on the icon brings up the context menu – which contains the weather forecast for the next four days:

The application is written in C#, and can be found here on Codeplex

Weather Bar Brings Weather Forecasts to the Windows 7 Taskbar is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/weather-forecasts-in-your-taskbar/feed/ 0 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/weather-forecasts-in-your-taskbar/ How To Add Shortcuts To Removable Drives On Your Desktop http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/milviK2Wa6M/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/add-shortcuts-to-drives-on-desktop/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:00:42 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4918

Each time you plug in a removable drive on Wndows, you have to navigate to My Computer and locate the drive before you can access it’s contents. But wouldn’t you like to have an Ubuntu-esque desktop icon that appears as soon as a drive is connected to the computer? Here’s a small tool that can do that.

Desk Drive Adds a Desktop Shortcut for Each Removable Drive

Here’s how DeskDrive works – it’s extremely simple.
The moment you plug in a removable drive, DeskDrive automatically adds an icon on your Desktop that points to the drive.

After you unplug the removable drive from the computer, DeskDrive automatically removes the shortcut from the desktop.

Once installed, Desk Drive sits in the system tray and doesn’t interfere until you ask it to open the configuration window;

Desk Drive Screenshot

You can configure it to exclude certain drives (like your internal hard drives), and also specify the time of drive to create shortcuts for (CD ROM, Removable, Fixed, Networked, and RAM drives).

Click here for a direct download of Desk Drive

The program runs on XP and Vista (also presumably on 7)

Also check out the website for more information.

How To Add Shortcuts To Removable Drives On Your Desktop is a post from Tech Spikes

How To Add Shortcuts To Removable Drives On Your Desktop is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

Each time you plug in a removable drive on Wndows, you have to navigate to My Computer and locate the drive before you can access it’s contents. But wouldn’t you like to have an Ubuntu-esque desktop icon that appears as soon as a drive is connected to the computer? Here’s a small tool that can do that.

Desk Drive Adds a Desktop Shortcut for Each Removable Drive

Here’s how DeskDrive works – it’s extremely simple.
The moment you plug in a removable drive, DeskDrive automatically adds an icon on your Desktop that points to the drive.

After you unplug the removable drive from the computer, DeskDrive automatically removes the shortcut from the desktop.

Once installed, Desk Drive sits in the system tray and doesn’t interfere until you ask it to open the configuration window;

Desk Drive Screenshot

You can configure it to exclude certain drives (like your internal hard drives), and also specify the time of drive to create shortcuts for (CD ROM, Removable, Fixed, Networked, and RAM drives).

Click here for a direct download of Desk Drive

The program runs on XP and Vista (also presumably on 7)

Also check out the website for more information.

How To Add Shortcuts To Removable Drives On Your Desktop is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/add-shortcuts-to-drives-on-desktop/feed/ 0 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/add-shortcuts-to-drives-on-desktop/ Pre Order Now – iPad Diamond for Only $19,999 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/cfP0jBbABsw/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/preorder-ipad-diamond/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:00:29 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4915

You’d probably have heard by now that Apple has opened pre orders for their new iPad touchscreen tablets. But if they’re not good enough for you, why don’t you try this delicious diamond studded iPad?

Made by Mervis Diamonds, this beauty comes with 11.43 carats of G/H VS2/SI1 diamonds, 64GB storage, 3G, and looks like this: (hi res)

iPad diamond studded

If you can afford it and want an iPad that’s subtly different from the others, then you should order it right away. After all, it’s only $19,999…

Compare that with Apple’s price chart:

Apple iPad price chart

Here’s what the text on the official site has to say:

This gorgeous diamond studded iPad features 11.43 carats of diamonds, hand-set in a micro-pave styling. The diamonds are graded G/H in color and VS2/SI1 in clarity. The iPad features 64 GB of memory and is 3G enabled.

Price tag: $19,999.

Very limited quantities available. Orders will be available June 1..

Click here for the official site.

Pre Order Now – iPad Diamond for Only $19,999 is a post from Tech Spikes

Pre Order Now – iPad Diamond for Only $19,999 is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

You’d probably have heard by now that Apple has opened pre orders for their new iPad touchscreen tablets. But if they’re not good enough for you, why don’t you try this delicious diamond studded iPad?

Made by Mervis Diamonds, this beauty comes with 11.43 carats of G/H VS2/SI1 diamonds, 64GB storage, 3G, and looks like this: (hi res)

iPad diamond studded

If you can afford it and want an iPad that’s subtly different from the others, then you should order it right away. After all, it’s only $19,999…

Compare that with Apple’s price chart:

Apple iPad price chart

Here’s what the text on the official site has to say:

This gorgeous diamond studded iPad features 11.43 carats of diamonds, hand-set in a micro-pave styling. The diamonds are graded G/H in color and VS2/SI1 in clarity. The iPad features 64 GB of memory and is 3G enabled.

Price tag: $19,999.

Very limited quantities available. Orders will be available June 1..

Click here for the official site.

Pre Order Now – iPad Diamond for Only $19,999 is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/preorder-ipad-diamond/feed/ 2 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/preorder-ipad-diamond/ How to Enable Mac-like Two Finger Scrolling on Windows http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/RlAJpuiGk-Y/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/enable-two-finger-scrolling-windows/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:30:38 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4909

If you’re stuck with a Windows machine and have always been jealous of how your friends with macbooks could simply swipe two fingers on their touchpad to scroll, you don’t have to feel sad anymore. There’s a program that will let you do just that!

Two Finger Scroll is a Small Windows App That Lets You Do Just That

Simply download Two Finger Scroll from the project page on Google Code.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, simply run it:

Two Finger Scroll settingsTwo Finger Scroll settings

You can set a whole lot of things in the settings box, including the speed and acceleration of the scroll. It also has a few options for tapping as well.

You can use it to make a three finger tap mean a right-click, if you want.

Of course, if you want features like pinch-to-zoom and that kind of thing, you’ll require a complete driver replacement, and that’s a topic for another day!

[Two Finger Scroll via Lifehacker]

How to Enable Mac-like Two Finger Scrolling on Windows is a post from Tech Spikes

How to Enable Mac-like Two Finger Scrolling on Windows is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

If you’re stuck with a Windows machine and have always been jealous of how your friends with macbooks could simply swipe two fingers on their touchpad to scroll, you don’t have to feel sad anymore. There’s a program that will let you do just that!

Two Finger Scroll is a Small Windows App That Lets You Do Just That

Simply download Two Finger Scroll from the project page on Google Code.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, simply run it:

Two Finger Scroll settingsTwo Finger Scroll settings

You can set a whole lot of things in the settings box, including the speed and acceleration of the scroll. It also has a few options for tapping as well.

You can use it to make a three finger tap mean a right-click, if you want.

Of course, if you want features like pinch-to-zoom and that kind of thing, you’ll require a complete driver replacement, and that’s a topic for another day!

[Two Finger Scroll via Lifehacker]

How to Enable Mac-like Two Finger Scrolling on Windows is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/enable-two-finger-scrolling-windows/feed/ 0 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/enable-two-finger-scrolling-windows/ Uptime Robot – Get Alerts if Your Favourite Sites are Down http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/Xxx2w13RZEQ/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/uptime-robot-get-alerts-if-your-favourite-sites-are-down/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:00:29 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4904

We have previously written about tools to check if a given website is up or down.
The thing is, these tools don’t really monitor the website for downtime. They just check it once.

Uptime Robot Monitors a List of Websites for Downtime

With Uptime Robot, you can specify a number of websites and watch them for downtime.

Uptime robot requires registration, and will ask you for your email ID for activation. However, the activation process is very simple, and within minutes, you can start using the (free) service.

Once you sign in, you’ll see a dashboard where you can add websites that you want to monitor. You can add up to 50 websites, and Uptime Robot will monitor them for you.

Uptime Robot

Downtime alerts

Once you add websites to the list, Uptime Robot shows you the status of each site.

There is also a link to an RSS feed that you can subscribe to with your favorite feed reader for notification when a site on your list goes down. Uptime Robot also offers email alerts and SMS updates for site uptime.

Additionally, you can pause a status check for each site, or remove them from your list when you don’t require them any more.

Uptime Robot will ping the site every five minutes to find out its status.

Give Uptime Robot a try here.

Uptime Robot – Get Alerts if Your Favourite Sites are Down is a post from Tech Spikes

Uptime Robot – Get Alerts if Your Favourite Sites are Down is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

We have previously written about tools to check if a given website is up or down.
The thing is, these tools don’t really monitor the website for downtime. They just check it once.

Uptime Robot Monitors a List of Websites for Downtime

With Uptime Robot, you can specify a number of websites and watch them for downtime.

Uptime robot requires registration, and will ask you for your email ID for activation. However, the activation process is very simple, and within minutes, you can start using the (free) service.

Once you sign in, you’ll see a dashboard where you can add websites that you want to monitor. You can add up to 50 websites, and Uptime Robot will monitor them for you.

Uptime Robot

Downtime alerts

Once you add websites to the list, Uptime Robot shows you the status of each site.

There is also a link to an RSS feed that you can subscribe to with your favorite feed reader for notification when a site on your list goes down. Uptime Robot also offers email alerts and SMS updates for site uptime.

Additionally, you can pause a status check for each site, or remove them from your list when you don’t require them any more.

Uptime Robot will ping the site every five minutes to find out its status.

Give Uptime Robot a try here.

Uptime Robot – Get Alerts if Your Favourite Sites are Down is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/uptime-robot-get-alerts-if-your-favourite-sites-are-down/feed/ 1 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/uptime-robot-get-alerts-if-your-favourite-sites-are-down/ Pinta – A Great GIMP, Paint.NET Alternative http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/s27UAQamkXs/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/pinta-a-great-gimp-paint-net-alternative/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:30:22 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4901

If you’ve ever got the feeling that the GIMP is too complicated for casual image editing, then you would have looked for alternatives and found apps like Paint.NET. However, Paint.NET isn’t cross-platform, so you can’t run it on Linux or Mac.

Pinta, however, is an open source, cross-platform image editor that is inspired by Paint.NET.

Pinta – A Great Alternative to GIMP and Paint.NET

Pinta Image Editor

Pinta is aimed at casual users who find GIMP a bit too complicated for daily editing needs. It’s modeled after Paint.NET – which is also aimed at casual users.

The latest release (Pinta 0.2) has a few general improvements over the last one:

  • Command Line Open - Passing an image name at the command line will now automatically open the image in Pinta.  [Jonathan Pobst]
  • Multithreaded Adjustments/Effects - Adjustments and Effects will now use all available cpus/cores to allow for faster processing. The default is one thread per cpu/core. This can be toggled from the command line with -rt=X, where X is desired number of threads.  [Jonathan Pobst]
  • Layer Properties Live Preview - Changing values in the Layer Properties dialog will be immediately reflected on the canvas.  [Greg Lowe]
  • Translucent Colors - The color picker widget now allows for setting the desired opacity of a color.  [Joe Hillenbrand]
  • OS X Integration - When running Pinta on OS X, Pinta will now use the global menu bar.  [Juergen Obernolte]
  • Various Bug Fixes

Also, Pinta 0.2 also has a few new tools added to the toolbar:

Zoom  [Olivier Dufour]
Paint Bucket  [Jonathan Pobst]
Color Replacer  [Jonathan Pobst]
Line  [Jonathan Pobst]
Pan  [Jonathan Pobst]

You can read about these and a whole host of new features in Pinta’s release notes.

Downloading Pinta

Pinta is available for Linux, Mac and Windows. Installation on Linux is as simple as grabbing the pre-built package (for Ubuntu or SuSE) from the download section of the website and installing it via the package manager.

For Windows,
First install GTK# for Windows, and then use the installer from the download section.

For OSX,
You’ll need to install Mono for OSX before you use the installer in the download section.

Pinta is released under the MIT X11 open source license.

Pinta – A Great GIMP, Paint.NET Alternative is a post from Tech Spikes

Pinta – A Great GIMP, Paint.NET Alternative is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

If you’ve ever got the feeling that the GIMP is too complicated for casual image editing, then you would have looked for alternatives and found apps like Paint.NET. However, Paint.NET isn’t cross-platform, so you can’t run it on Linux or Mac.

Pinta, however, is an open source, cross-platform image editor that is inspired by Paint.NET.

Pinta – A Great Alternative to GIMP and Paint.NET

Pinta Image Editor

Pinta is aimed at casual users who find GIMP a bit too complicated for daily editing needs. It’s modeled after Paint.NET – which is also aimed at casual users.

The latest release (Pinta 0.2) has a few general improvements over the last one:

  • Command Line Open - Passing an image name at the command line will now automatically open the image in Pinta.  [Jonathan Pobst]
  • Multithreaded Adjustments/Effects - Adjustments and Effects will now use all available cpus/cores to allow for faster processing. The default is one thread per cpu/core. This can be toggled from the command line with -rt=X, where X is desired number of threads.  [Jonathan Pobst]
  • Layer Properties Live Preview - Changing values in the Layer Properties dialog will be immediately reflected on the canvas.  [Greg Lowe]
  • Translucent Colors - The color picker widget now allows for setting the desired opacity of a color.  [Joe Hillenbrand]
  • OS X Integration - When running Pinta on OS X, Pinta will now use the global menu bar.  [Juergen Obernolte]
  • Various Bug Fixes

Also, Pinta 0.2 also has a few new tools added to the toolbar:

Zoom  [Olivier Dufour]
Paint Bucket  [Jonathan Pobst]
Color Replacer  [Jonathan Pobst]
Line  [Jonathan Pobst]
Pan  [Jonathan Pobst]

You can read about these and a whole host of new features in Pinta’s release notes.

Downloading Pinta

Pinta is available for Linux, Mac and Windows. Installation on Linux is as simple as grabbing the pre-built package (for Ubuntu or SuSE) from the download section of the website and installing it via the package manager.

For Windows,
First install GTK# for Windows, and then use the installer from the download section.

For OSX,
You’ll need to install Mono for OSX before you use the installer in the download section.

Pinta is released under the MIT X11 open source license.

Pinta – A Great GIMP, Paint.NET Alternative is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/pinta-a-great-gimp-paint-net-alternative/feed/ 0 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/pinta-a-great-gimp-paint-net-alternative/ Downloadr – Another Flickr Bulk Downloader http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechSpikes/~3/pZliNL9M5Hc/ http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/downloadr-flickr-bulk-downloader/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:03:37 +0000 Rishabh http://www.techspikes.com/?p=4897

Previously, we wrote about Bulkr, a program that lets you download Flickr photos is bulk.

Now here’s another one – Downloadr.

Downloadr Downloads Flickr Photos in Bulk – Can Back Up All Your Photos and Favourites

Downloadr is full featured download manager for Flickr photographs. It finds and downloads the largest size of the photo that is available.
Downloadr does not require you to log into your Flickr account to browse and download photos. However, if you want to use some of the more advanced features, like a backup of all your photos, then you’ll have to sign in.

Downloadr - browse photos
Downloadr isn’t a fancy looking application – but it’s extremely functional. Browsing photos is extremely simple and efficient, and you can even read the EXIF tags on the photos:

Downloadr photo details
.

Downloadr Features

Downloadr has a whole lot of features (as listed on the website)

  • Searches photos by
    • Fulltext
    • User
    • Tags
    • Place
    • Set
    • Date
    • Interestingness
    • Group
    • Favorites
  • Automatically downloads largest avaiable size
  • Authenticates with flickr to download private photos
  • Can create a backup of all your photos with just a few clicks
  • Writes EXIF and IPTC data so titles, tags and location are preserved
  • Fully integrates support for linkr
  • Updates automatically
  • Is free!

Download Downloadr

Downloadr is free of cost and runs on Windows. You can grab a copy of it from here.

(Note that Downloadr requires the .NET framework to be installed on your computer)

Downloadr – Another Flickr Bulk Downloader is a post from Tech Spikes

Downloadr – Another Flickr Bulk Downloader is a post from Tech Spikes

]]>

Previously, we wrote about Bulkr, a program that lets you download Flickr photos is bulk.

Now here’s another one – Downloadr.

Downloadr Downloads Flickr Photos in Bulk – Can Back Up All Your Photos and Favourites

Downloadr is full featured download manager for Flickr photographs. It finds and downloads the largest size of the photo that is available.
Downloadr does not require you to log into your Flickr account to browse and download photos. However, if you want to use some of the more advanced features, like a backup of all your photos, then you’ll have to sign in.

Downloadr - browse photos
Downloadr isn’t a fancy looking application – but it’s extremely functional. Browsing photos is extremely simple and efficient, and you can even read the EXIF tags on the photos:

Downloadr photo details
.

Downloadr Features

Downloadr has a whole lot of features (as listed on the website)

  • Searches photos by
    • Fulltext
    • User
    • Tags
    • Place
    • Set
    • Date
    • Interestingness
    • Group
    • Favorites
  • Automatically downloads largest avaiable size
  • Authenticates with flickr to download private photos
  • Can create a backup of all your photos with just a few clicks
  • Writes EXIF and IPTC data so titles, tags and location are preserved
  • Fully integrates support for linkr
  • Updates automatically
  • Is free!

Download Downloadr

Downloadr is free of cost and runs on Windows. You can grab a copy of it from here.

(Note that Downloadr requires the .NET framework to be installed on your computer)

Downloadr – Another Flickr Bulk Downloader is a post from Tech Spikes

]]> http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/downloadr-flickr-bulk-downloader/feed/ 0 http://www.techspikes.com/2010/03/downloadr-flickr-bulk-downloader/