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Filed under: OS Updates, Microsoft, Beta

Windows 7 Beta gets official this Friday

by Lee Mathews Jan 8th 2009

During his keynote address at CES tonight, Steve Ballmer made it official. The Windows 7 public beta will be made available for download on Friday, January 9th, 2009.

If you've been leery of downloading the version that's been all over the torrent trackers since last week, get your download manager ready and keep your browser tuned to Microsoft's Windows 7 page for the genuine article. Technet, MSDN, and TechBeta members have already been given access.

I've had my share of problems with the leaked version and am hoping that the official release is either a slightly newer build or at least free of the issues that I've had so far. Internet Eplorer 8 hasn't been working 100%, and Explorer itself has stopped responding repeatedly when I've tried to extract large zip archive or move multiple large files onto my flash drive.

Tags: beta, CES, windows, windows-7

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Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Mozilla, Freeware, Browsers

Monitor websites in Firefox with Pingdom's Mr. Uptime

by Lee Mathews Jan 7th 2009


There are plenty of ways to be notified when a site comes back online, like previously mentioned Ding, It's Up and Notify Me. If you're a Firefox user, you may as well use an extension that's powered by the granddaddy of monitoring services, Pingdom's Mr. Uptime.

When you encounter a supported error on a page whlie browsing, the Mr. Uptime toolbar is displayed to allow you to monitor the current page.

Sites are monitored in the background while you continue surfing. Checks can be based on HTTP status messages or keywords on the page, and you can specify the length of time you want a site monitored. When a site comes back online, Mr. Uptime can either notify you or simply open the page in a new tab automatically.

You can find the addon in Mozilla's directory, or on the Pingdom website. It's now fully Firefox 3 compatible.

[ via LifeHacker ]

Tags: addons, firefox, monitoring, ping, uptime

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Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters, Web

Put on your thinking cap for Factory Balls 2 - Time Waster

Time Wasterby Lee Mathews Jan 7th 2009


Factory Balls 2 is a highly enjoyable, experimentation-based puzzler. It's a Flash game, so just about everyone can give it a shot.

Each stage presents you with a box showing the completed design you need to create. You're given an array of tools to do it - all that's left is to figure out the correct sequence. Your supply of balls is limited, though, so plot your moves carefully. Once you run out of balls, you're done.

Some of the patterns are quite simple. Half orange, half yellow? No problem.

Others, not so much. Big white eyes with black pupils overlayed on short green grass with tall brown grass on the bottom? Somehow I think I'll be giving this one another try after I've had some more coffee. I'm at level 13 now, and rapidly running out of blanks.

How far did you make it? Post a comment!

Tags: games, puzzle, time-waster

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Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Open Source, P2P, Windows x64

Open Source Free Download Manager v3 adds tons of new features

Windowsby Lee Mathews Jan 7th 2009


Free Download Manager has released version 3 of their application, and the new version sports several new features that make it an excellent option handling all your download duties.

The new release can now manage torrents as well as download and convert Flash video from sites like YouTube. A remote control feature has also been added, enabling web management of your downloads (like uTorrent's WebUI). FDM also allows you to preview certain files and can download partial contents of zip files.

At about 18mb installed, it's not as lightweight as rolling uTorrent, DownThemAll, and any one of the YouTube downloaders out there, but it's an excellent all-in-one option for people that like to keep things simple.

A full list of features is available on the FDM web site. It's released under the GPL and you can choose between the full version or the lite, which lacks the torrent, video conversion, upload, and language plugins (though you can install them later if you choose).

There's no portable download on FDM's site, but Portable Freeware Collection has one available.

Tags: download, download-manager, flv, torrent, youtube

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Vista to Windows 7 upgrade date and details revealed

by Lee Mathews Jan 7th 2009

For everyone wanting a free upgrade to Windows 7, Microsoft finally has an answer. Unfortunately, it probably isn't the answer you wanted to hear.

Starting on July 1, 2009 any new systems purchased will be eligible for the no-charge update. In addition to purchasing the PC after that date, there are three more rules:
  • End users must purchase a new PC that is pre-installed with an eligible Windows Vista OS. Retail boxed Vista versions likely won't qualify.
  • Your computer must have a valid Windows Vista COA attached.
  • The only Windows Vista® versions eligible for the program are Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. Vista basic users are out of luck.
Oh yeah, there's one more little detail that may be important:
Participation in the program is optional, so it's ultimately up to the OEM that builds your system to allow the upgrade. In all fairness, this has been the case with every other Windows upgrade -- and almost all vendors participate.

With news like this, I'd fully expect to see the Windows 7 beta torrent become even more popular.
[ via ZDnet and TechArp ]
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Twitter hacking fiasco underscores importance of strong passwords

by Lee Mathews Jan 7th 2009 {4 comments}

It should go without saying at this point, but here it is in plain English one more time: don't use dictionary words for your password. If you're a member of the technical staff of a prominent web 2.0 entity like Twitter, you really ought to know better. Furthermore, if you're part of the security team for a site like Twitter, you should have some kind of basic measures in place to prevent brute...

BusyCal brings together calendars and syncing

Macby Nik Fletcher Jan 7th 2009 {0 comments}

I'm quite the fan of BusyMac Software's very excellent BusySync application for Mac OS X. It's always been a great (and ridiculously easily ) way to share calendars over your local network using the Mac's built-in zero-config Bonjour technology. Today at Macworld Expo, the company has announced that an all-new application, BusyCal, is coming later in the year. The application, which is marketed...

Create tilt-shifted photos with Tiltshiftmaker

by Jay Hathaway Jan 7th 2009 {2 comments}

Tilt-shifting, that spiffy photo effect that makes real people and objects look like part of a tiny toy set, has become really popular lately. Tilt-shift time lapse videos by Keith Loutit were recently featured all over the Internet, inspiring others to figure out how to achieve the effect in their own photos. You could Google a step-by-step tutorial, or you could save yourself the trouble and use...

Historical Tweets: Twitter posts from way back

by Todd Ritter Jan 6th 2009 {6 comments}

Historicaltweets.com takes us on a journey through time to see Twitter posts from historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Michael Jordan. There are categories for 1800's, various decades of the 1900's, and even Comically Old when the word "Twitter" would have fit nicely in iambic pentameter. You can submit your own ideas, choose to view a random tweet, and will soon be able to buy...

Mouseless for Firefox updates with better support for web apps

by Lee Mathews Jan 6th 2009 {0 comments}

Mouseless has been mentioned on Downloadsquad before, and it's steadily improved since Jordan Running first posted about it. The latest version offers improved support for dynamic web apps like GMail and Facebook. The number of "clickable" links has also been greatly increased and works amazingly well with complicated pages. On the Blogsmith post creation page where I'm writing this, for...

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Featured Time Waster

Grab your BFG and play Doom in your browser - Time Waster


This one really takes me back. As soon as I saw the opening screen, I could picture a dozen people crammed into my dorm room watching my roommate and I deathmatch over our awesome null modem cable.

Yes, Doom 1 has been recompiled in Flash from the original source. It plays just like I remembered the original, and could definitely become a giant Time Waster for anyone else who was hooked on Doom when it was first released.

Playing through a few levels almost made me forget how terrible the movie was (sorry, Dwayne).

There's no music, but I usually had that shut off and listened to my Discman. All the old cheat codes work as well: in case you've forgotten, IDDQD activates "degreelessness" and IDKFA will enable all weapons, keys, and ammo, and boost your armor to 200%. Not that I'm saying you'll need to cheat, but when you remember something like that after 14 years, you give it a try to see if it still works.

You'll need Flash 10 to play, and a non-PowerPC computer to run it.

By the way: if you also enjoyed Heretic (think Medieval Doom with a crossbow), you can find an updated Shockwave version of it on this site.

Thanks, Blake!

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