We are living in a world which encourages proprietary software culture. Most of us are used to using only proprietary software on our computers. Students are being taught to use it and they are partially or completely unaware of free software and benefits it provides. However, what does the proprietary software actually provide? It adds malicious features on our computers such as spying on the users, restricting the users, imposed upgrades,  and more.

I am not forgetting the fact that sometimes proprietary software will be powerful and reliable. But it does not respect the users’ freedom. Software can be said to serve its users only if it respects their freedom.

Birth of Proprietary Software

Before starting the golden era of Information Technology, computer manufacturers aimed only for hardware innovation and didn’t consider software as a business asset. Since most of the users of computers were scientists and technicians who could modify the software themselves, hardware was distributed with software installed in it. It is funny to commemorate the words of Thomas J. Watson here:

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers”

Yes, this machine was supposed to be handled only by scientists and technicians at that time. Because there was no big standardization of hardware, computers architecture was different from each other. So, software for one machine would not be compatible with another one. Today programmers expertise in a programming language or group of languages but at that time programmers used to expertise in an architecture or family of architectures.

Later high level programming languages were introduced which were compatible for almost every kind of computers. So even less efficient hardware design could work better. This led to a decline in profit margin for the hardware manufacturers who brought innovations in design and who considered hardware as their only business assets. They treated selling software as an essential part of hardware sales which made manufacturers enforce a strict copyright on the software.

Richard Stallman once said:

“The rule made by the owners of proprietary software was, “If you share with your neighbor, you are a pirate. If you want any changes, beg us to make them.”

There starts the era of proprietary software.

Why you should uninstall Proprietary Software: a Case Study

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

In 1996, Microsoft released two versions of its operating system: Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server. Windows NT Server cost $800 more than that of Workstation. According to Microsoft, those Server and Workstation versions were “two very different products intended for two very different functions.”

The NT Workstation restricts users to use a maximum of 10 simultaneous TCP/IP connections, whereas the Server version allowed for unlimited connections. Since both versions seemed very similar, O’Reilly studied and analyzed the difference between them. He found that the kernel and every binary file included in both versions were identical, except that the Workstation was added with anti-features. An anti-feature is a function that disables certain functions in a program. In this case, anti-features restricted it to 10 connections if it was a Workstation and provided unlimited access if it was a Server. Truly, it is really harder to add an anti-feature to limit and restrict functionality rather than to leave them unrestricted.

This is not an individual and a one-off case. When closed-source software vendors release new versions and claim that they made improvements in the programs and security, users are forced to believe it, since the source code is not provided. Think about that… you are paying more money for the same program that you’ve already installed in your computers!

This is just one reason to stop the usage of proprietary software. It also provides plenty of other threats to our computers and the whole society.

Let’s put our hand together and let’s take a pledge for a better world. Support free software movement by taking small steps. Uninstall proprietary software and start to use free software. Spread the idea of freedom.

=== About the author ===

Shahzad Saeed is an open source enthusiast and has written a complete guide for those who are interested in switching from proprietary software to free software. He is also the author of the upcoming ebook Google Summer of Code guide which guides student for participating in the open source program, GSoC.

The web is not as beautiful, as it was 10 years back.

It is certainly rich in information but no longer beautiful, thanks to all those widgets, advertisements, plugins and social media buttons plastered across each and every website you come across.

Organizing information is another big, big problem. Bookmarking is so 2007, it just doesn’t work anymore. Reading and accumulating information gets really troublesome, when you are running sort of time and hurrying through the finer details of a story.

Evernote’s Clearly changes all this.

Clearly (nice name) provides a simple way to read only the text version of a webpage, right inside Google Chrome. No advertisements, no banners, no buttons just the content, you and your browser. Following is an example of how clear a webpage becomes, once you hit the magical Clearlybutton:

Clearly comes with three preset themes to choose from, so if you are fond of reading articles on dark backgrounds and green text, you can always create your customized reading environment. The advantage of turning a webpage into its text only version is that you can read a lot faster, without getting distracted by nearby ads. Furthermore, it is super easy to copy excerpts, scroll, use the real meatand be done with it.

There are tons of other distraction free reading tools out there but Clearly has a unique offering. You can clip an article directly to one of your Evernote notebooks, or assign a unique tag to it. That way, the URL of the webpage is saved to your Evernote account, which can later be synched with the desktop client. The benefit here is that you can quickly bookmark important stories without getting lost among a pile of 2 dozen news items.

If you launch Clearly on a multi-page article, it will automatically turn it into a single page, so you can read the entire story at one place without having to click, click and click ….. all the way to the 10th page.

As of now, Clearly supports only Google Chrome while extensions for other browsers is a work in progress. Clearly wont let you save images or files but it is indeed a better alternative of Readability. Watch the following video to see Clearly in action:

If you are someone like me, you might download a lot of images, music and video from the internet. However, over the course of time you might have downloaded tons of duplicates. In the past we have told you about several software which find duplicate files fast free and also allow you to find and delete duplicate files from your hard drive, however, lot of time has past since then and I had the changes to use another software specifically to find and delete duplicate images and pictures.

VisiPics is a simple duplicate image finder which works very well to find duplicate images. It allows you to scan through various folders and sub-folders to find duplicate images and delete them from a single interface. The best part is that it allows you to preview those images before you can actually delete them.

Once you have downloaded VisiPics you can launch it and select the folders you want to run duplicate checks on. Once you have selected the folders you can set the comparison filter for the images. There are three different filters available: Strict, Basic, Loose. Running the Loose filtering allows for greater comparison and a chance to find more duplicate images.

After you have changed the settings for finding duplicate images click on the play button and it will start scanning the folders and then running duplicate checks. The duplicate checks might take a while depending on how many images it has to compare and the type of filtering you chose.

Once the comparison is over VisiPics will show you the duplicate images in the left hand side container, you can hover over the images and see their preview and then mark the images by clicking on the image. Once you have scanned and marked the images which are duplicate you can either move them, rename them or delete them using the buttons in the right hand side container. You can continue browsing more duplicate images by clicking on the page links at the bottom of the left hand side container.

Overall, I have used VisiPics and have claimed over 1GB of space by deleting duplicate images, this is definitely a great software to compare and remove duplicate images from your hard drive.

Techie Buzz Ratings: 4.5/5

Download Link: Download VisiPics

AV RingtoneMax  -    For Windows

This is a simple yet powerful ringtone-maker for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. It has a simple and intuitive interface and comes with simple instructions that are easy for anyone to follow. You can choose any non-DRM music file or other audio file from your computer and open it inside the software for editing. You will be presented with a waveform view to make it easier for you to choose which part you want as your ringtone. You can mix up two tracks and also apply some of the built in effects and fades. Then you can save it in a variety of formats like — OGG, WAV, CDA, MP3, WMA, AAC, M4A and MP4. You can then send the ringtone to your phone from within the software via Bluetooth or save it on your computer for transferring another way. You can even record your own custom ringtone using this software and a microphone.

AVCWare Ringtone Maker  -    For Windows

AVCWare is another powerful yet simple ringtone-maker for Windows and it works on XP, Vista and Windows 7. It has a simple and clutter-free interface. You choose the source audio file on top, below it is a slider area for choosing which part you want as your ringtone. Below that are start and end point buttons with precise time boxes right below them. The playback controls are large and right beneath the slider as well. You can choose to fade the sound in and out and then choose from several audio formats for saving your ringtone. This software can handle most common audio and video formats and converts them all in to ringtones.

Ringtone Architect  For Your Android Phone

 

Ringtone Architect, is one of the simplest ringtone making apps that you can find for your Android device. It has a simple user interface that has all the basic elements that you need to make a ringtone without any extras to confuse you. Perfect for beginners who just want to cut out one part of their favorite tune and make it their ringtone. Ringtone Architect requires Android 1.6 and above, which almost every Android phone currently in use.

Myxer Ringtones  For Your iPhone

Myxer’s ringtone making app for the iPhone is a simple tool with some interesting extra features. Like with other ringtone makers, you can easily make ringtones from any song within your library with Myxer Ringtones and as an added bonus, you can also choose from Myxers own catalogue of free’ popular tunes. The catalogue tunes are fully customizable too. And when you choose which part to make your ringtone, Myxer chimes in with some suggestions based on what other Myxer users have chosen for the same track.

Melofania.com  -  Online Ringtone Maker

Melofania is one of the fastest and simplest online ringtone makers that you can use. It gives you clearly defined instructions and lets your create your ringtone in three easy steps. First you upload the source track, which happens quite fast. Then you choose the section you want as your ringtone (the maximum length is 30 seconds for this). Once that is done, you choose to download in either Mp3 or M4R (iPhone) format. That’s it — you’re done! And as an online tool, it can be used from any computer running any OS that has a modern Internet browser.

Video2Ringtone.com  -  Online Ringtone Maker

This is a clever website that takes audio from YouTube videos and turns them in to ringtones. Sometimes it is easier to find what you want as your ringtone in a YouTube video. And now you can take the video link and paste it inside the website. Then you wait for the video to load inside the website’s special player. Once it’s fully loaded, you can select the part you want and use it as your ringtone. It is simple, fast and easy enough for anyone and everyone to enjoy.

Thus, if you are looking for easy ways to make custom ringtones, there are plenty of free options no matter what device you are working on. So go ahead and create the ringtone you have always wanted.

==== About the author ====

Arthur Proksa is second year engineering student from Czech Republic. He is interested in computers, gadgets  and gaming.

Blogging is not just for teenagers nowadays. Everyone from stay at home parents to corporate moguls have blogs, and being able to blog from a mobile device is a must for those on the go. Having an iPhone is great for accessing the web and making notes, but managing and posting to a blog can sometimes be difficult. Here are some great iPhone apps to make blogging simpler:

1. WordPress and TypePad
Millions of users work with WordPress of TypePad blogs, and both platforms have introduced official iPhone apps. Whichever one you choose will depend on which site you support, but both have received good reviews. From them, you can create and publish new posts, upload pictures, manage comments, and check out other blogs in your network, making it easy to leave the computer without leaving behind your social network.

2. Facebook
The social media giant has an official app now. Although Facebook may not be the first thing that pops into mind when you think “blogging,” but it is an essential resource for advertising your blog and keeping up with friends, organizations, and current events. The app allows you to view and upload photos, as well as post to your own wall and your friends’. With all that writing and updating, who’s to say you aren’t blogging?

3. iBlogger
If you are connected to multiple blogs on various platforms, iBlogger is the perfect iPhone app for you. It supports all the basic platforms, as well as Xanga, Moveable Type, and Expression Engine. It includes a link button that automatically inserts your link with HTML code and anchor text, and uses the iPhone GPS to link your blog post to wherever you’re writing it.

4. Squarespace
What makes this platform great is the ability to import content from a WordPress, Moveable Type, Blogger, or TypePad blog. It’s free, too, and let’s you manage content, comments, and more.

5. Photobucket Mobile
Great photos make any blog stronger. So why not have your photos at hand to add to your blogs? The mobile app for Photobucket makes it possible to add photos to your posts that may not be on your iPhone, extending your mobile network and abilities.

6. Simplenote
For jotting down ideas on the run, try out this free, simple app. It even syncs with your computer for easy reference later. Great for the spontaneous inspiration.

==== About the Author ====

Namit Gupta, a hardcore technology lover who is always interested in learning something new and interesting and sharing it with others. His main focus lies in the web technology and is striving to make a fortune on Internet. He blogs about technology tips and tricks at Theitechblog.

Apart from speed and robustness, one of the best features of Google Chrome over any other browser is cloud sync. Your bookmarks, saved passwords, extensions, preferences, auto fill options and themes are automatically backed up to your Google account, so you can quickly restore them on any other computer.   If you browse the web in your office computer and make changes to bookmarks, settings or change a password, the changes will automatically reflect in your home computer.

While Google Chrome’s cloud sync is perfect, the developers have added two more options under the sync belt the ability to sync open tabs and custom search engines. Before you head over to Google Chrome’s options page to enable this feature, type chrome://flags/ in the address bar and enable syncing open tabs and syncing custom search engines in Google Chrome:

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Relaunch nowto restart Google Chrome.

Now go to the options page, navigate to Personal stuffand click Customizeunder your Google Chrome sync profile. You should get the option to sync open tabs and all your custom search engines, following is an example:

I tested both the features in Google Chrome’s latest stable release (15.0.874) and it worked as advertised. This feature is a lifesaver when you have more than 20 open tabs in Google Chrome and the browser crashed or your laptop ran out of power. You can always re-open the last used tabs on the same computer but there is no way you can re-open the last used tabs on another system, running Google Chrome. With open tabs sync added to chrome, no longer you have to worry about which tabs were open in your office computer and which webpages you were reading on your home computer. Personally, I would prefer the bookmark all tabsoption over open tab sync, as Google Chrome sync is not real time yet. However, if the browser crashes or your operating system goes to sleep, this little setting might just save the day.

Another feature I am loving in the latest release of Google Chrome is the experimental smooth scrolling (activate it from Chrome://flags). Gives a feeling of scrolling in a touch device, with your mouse wheel of course!

The most interesting and highlighted feature of Windows 8 is its Metro user interface and the re-invented start menu. Windows 8, as you might know, has a refreshing multi pane start screen whose focus is to group applications and features into Metro style stacks. Rather than seeing the same old dull desktop, users can customize their start screen with the applications and features they love using. It is more of a tablet friendly interface on the top, while cloud computing features are buried within.

Fact is that Windows 8 developer preview was released for developers, so that they can develop and test their Metro style applications. As of this date, Windows 8 developer preview is not meant for general use and neither it is as stable as Windows 7 is.

If you don’t want to install Windows 8 but want to have a sneak peek on it’s UI features, try the Windows 8 UX pack for Windows7. The Windows 8 UX pack lets you preview Windows 8 visual styles, themes, wallpapers, fonts, colors and the Metro start screen, right within your existing Windows 7 installation. The visual elements will completely resemble the visual styles of Windows 8, it never hurts to give your desktop a refreshing feel once in a while.

This UX pack lets you choose either Windows 8 Aero glass or Windows 8 lite theme, the user tiles and wallpapers are automatically configured when you login. You can however, choose a different wallpaper or logon screen wallpaper but for best results, I would suggest you go with all the default options.

Here is how your Windows 7 system will look, once the Windows 8 UX pack is installed on your system:

This should not be confused with the system’s desktop, it is merely a launchpad where you can pin application shortcuts , folders or files. Similar to Windows 8 developer preview, the desktop can be accessed with the keyboard shortcut Win + E or by clicking the Desktopicon from the Windows 8 Start screen. Oops, I meant Windows 7 actually.

Here are a couple of more screenshots of my system running Windows 8 UX pack on Windows 7

The best thing regarding Windows 8 UX pack is that the program will never modify your system files and the old styles will return, the moment you uninstall it. Give this a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Remote desktop utilities are indispensable, if you often find yourself in a situation where you need immediate control of a remote computer. Maybe your mom is just beginning to learn how Windows 8 works and you don’t want to attend half a dozen phone calls in office, just to answer really basic questions. Or if your business client is not as tech savvy as you are, save yourself from the frustration of writing emailable tech support and do the stuff right from your own computer.

For a remote desktop connection to work, you need two things. An Always ONInternet connection and a remote desktop utility which will connect your computer with a remote computer via an authorization access code. There are quite a good number of remote desktop applications for Windows, Linux and MAC but most of them have the disadvantage of not supporting all platforms and operating systems. You want a single application which can provide remote support on any operating system – be that Linux, MAC or a primitive Windows computer. At the same time, you don’t want the app to be messy and bundled with tons of settings and useless features. That’s because the person on the other side is most likely to be clueless about these options and he will ring you back to know Where should I click?

The Chrome remote desktop extension by Google changes all this.

Chrome remote desktop allows users to get access to another computer or share their own computer with anyone else, using a secured one time authentication code. You can use the extension to provide tech support to anyone who is using Google Chrome or a Chromebook, and has the extension installed.

Here is how to get started with the Chrome remote desktop extension:

1. Install the extension, sign in with your Google account and grant extended access permissions to your computer by hitting the Continuebutton:

2. On the next page, hit Allow access

3. If you want to let your computer act as the host computer, click on Share this computer. This will launch the app in a new browser tab and you will be given a one time access verification code, as shown in the following screenshots:

To let your partner gain access to your computer, pass this one time 12 digit access verification code via email or IM (don’t tweet though). When your partner has access to your Chrome remote access code, he can click on Access a shared computer, enter the code and see your desktop in a new chrome tab on his computer.

As a remote user, you will be able to completely control the entire host computer from your remote desktop, and not just the browser where the remote desktop app is running. You can open up Windows start menu, create new files, browse through Windows explorer, install applications, delete files and folders, access the command prompt and perform any action on the remote computer. It works the same way as other remote desktop utilities work, the difference lies in the fact that this one works directly from your browser and requires one time installation only (if you are using Google Chrome sync that is).

Google says that the goal of this beta release is to demonstrate the core Chrome remote technology and get feedback from users. Additional use cases such as being able to access your own computer from another remote computer are coming soon.

[Windows Only]

These beer themed screensavers are perfect for getting into a thirsty mood for the upcoming October festivities. If you are hosting your own little Oktoberfest party, one of these on your computer screen is sure to be popular. Just be sure to  set a password on the screensaver. I don’t recommend letting drunk people operate your PC. There’s nothing worse than a PC with a spyware hangover.

• Screensaver Download Page

As many of you have learned by now, not all free screensavers are created equal. Many times, free  means that you have to install stupid toolbars, adware and other unwanted junk along with the screensaver. That’s not true of the ones at NewFreeScreensavers.com.

Once again, remember my warning about letting your buddies use the PC while drunk.  However, your crew may fall on the floor laughing, while watching what happens when a squirrel has too much to drink. (video: Drunk Squirrel)

Techie Buzz Verdict:

I’ve downloaded and installed several of the screensavers at this site and never had a problem with any of them. These screensavers are safe, totally free, and there are dozens more to check out once you visit.

Techie Buzz Rating: 3/5 (Good)

The mouse was invented to make navigation easy and perform common tasks as quickly as possible. But that was 1970, when multi-tasking was an unknown phrase.

Computers and computing have come a long way since then. Today, we have dozens of apps, browser tabs, documents, settings and other things to worry about and if your computer is without a mouse it is as good as a block of metal weighing 2.72 Kg.

Another annoying problem I encounter every single day is to copy and paste stuff from one place to another. A cool Facebook status update, Google search for a phrase, retweeting someone’s tweet, copying a link and pasting it in Microsoft Outlook, referencing to the biography of the author whose eBook I am reading the list goes on.

Click, Copy, minimize, maximize, click, paste – eyes and fingers moving like crazy. A single mistake in the sequence and you find yourself starting the loop all over again.

If you’re anything like me and need a simple way to copy and paste stuff from one application to another, try Click.to. It’s a sweet little utility for Windows which lets you copy text and files from one application and paste it on any other application. Text, photos, videos, uploads anything!

Did you copied an article on Wikipedia and want to add it to the word document you are currently editing? Do you want to bulk upload photos to your Facebook account from desktop? Do you want to copy a phrase and tweet it?

Select the text or files, hit Control C and Click.to will give you one click options to send the copied text and files to any application on your system. This is useful because you don’t have to open the target app, copy the text from the source app and paste it again on the target app. Click.to will handle all the three hassles in just one mouse click

From the program preferences, you can choose which application icons are shown on the default Click.to dialog box, that pops up whenever you hit Control + C. With Click.to, everything on your computer transforms into a hyperlink. It’s sort of hopping over from one app top another and pasting stuff on the fly. When you are editing huge segments of code and need a quick way to copy and paste codes from one file to another, Click.to will be a lifesaver!

Watch the following video to understand how Click.to works