Boxee fans – it’s over. There may be more fun to have with the Boxee Box, but Boxee on the desktop isn’t coming back. It’s time to find something else if you have a computer hooked up to your television.

We should have seen it coming. There was an entire year between updates for desktop users, during which things continued to break. Certain shows stopped working, apps slowed down or broke entirely and new features appeared only on the Boxee Box. We put up with it. We loved Boxee, and wanted it to keep growing the way it did back in 2009 and 2010. We watched some shows in our browser, and used Navi X to fill in the gaps. Apps still worked, for the most part, and local playback was still decent.

During the summer of 2011 we were told we’d get an update in autumn. Months went by, autumn wound down; Boxee users grew impatient. Then, right around Christmas, Boxee released a new, bug-ridden version for Linux, Mac and Windows only to also announce this was the final desktop version ever to be released: developers will from now on focus only on the Boxee Box and software for other set-top devices.

This makes sense. Boxee is a small company, and can’t spend money developing its program for every platform under the sun. Other than consumer devices Boxee doesn’t have much of a revenue stream, and millions of dollars in venture capital means Boxee needs to be profitable, soon.

So the desktop version’s decline was inevitable. Still, a total lack of updates leaves me feeling betrayed. I, and the large number of Boxee early adopters, sincerely felt like we were part of the team. We tested the software, provided feedback and helped promote the platform. Boxee kept releasing clever hacks to keep Hulu working for free, and promised they would always do that.

Those days are long gone, and it’s time for all desktop Boxee users to buy a box or find a new home.

Story Of A Boxee User

I’m what you might call a Boxee fanboy. I’ve been using the program since its alpha release, and spent a great deal of time telling my friends and family they should be using it instead of cable. I wrote an excessively glowing review of Boxee’s beta back in early 2010, and a series of follow-up articles after that. Boxee was the recreational program I used more than anything else.

If anyone should be excited about the current release of Boxee, it’s me. I’ve forgiven its shortcomings many times, looking back, because I always believed things would keep getting better.

Not this time. The 1.5 release of Boxee for the desktop is buggy and frustrating. Most of the online shows I tried to watch didn’t work or didn’t launch in full screen. Support for Netflix, Hulu and more are dropped from the desktop version, meaning I need to turn to NaviX to watch many movies and shows. And a variety of apps simply don’t work any more.

I could say more, but it’s all been said in the Boxee forum, where users are openly discussing what program to switch to. None of these bugs would be a huge problem if updates were coming. The problem is they’re not. So it’s time to find something new.

Why Not Buy A Box?

So why don’t I support the program I love by buying a Boxee Box? Because I have a computer hooked up to my TV, which I use for a lot more than just media. I play games on it with a couple of joysticks, share files from it to my other computers and use it to test lots of different software.

Why not add a Boxee Box as well? Because I don’t want to take up more space with an unnecessary device. I’d be more than happy to pay for the privilege to use Boxee on my computer, and I think I’m not alone. At it’s best, Boxee worked better than anything out there. But I don’t want another device cluttering up my living room.

Boxee claims people like me are around for now, but won’t be for long: people are finding dedicated boxes to be better for the job. That may be the case. I get it. But if Boxee can’t support its desktop users anymore, how do I know they’ll keep supporting their box users? It’s not a completely fair question, but I can’t be the only person asking it.

What To Use Instead

After seeing how awful the new Boxee is, last night I bit the bullet and installed XBMC. And I’m telling you: I should have done that months ago.I got my favorite plugins, Reddit TV and Navi X, working in no time. I found a plugin for streaming shows from CBS, NBC and all the major networks, and it works flawlessly in a way Boxee hasn’t for years.

Yes, it’s not as well organized. Yes, the interface is harder to use. But it works, and it’s actively being maintained. Check out XBMC or read our most recent review.

A program I want to check out, but haven’t yet, is Plex. Since our last review Plex was updated to run on Windows natively, and I can’t wait to try it out. Feel free to let me know your thoughts about Plex below.

Conclusion

The Boxee team said it all: “We would not be where we are today without you. But we can’t stay here.”

I understand the sentiment, but will miss Boxee. You did web video well before you needed to make money, and standing up to big companies and hacking to keep stuff working is what made that great. Oh well, there are lots of new programs to try out with lots of clever programmers.

Can you think of something else I need to play with? Give me your thoughts in the comments below, because this recovering Boxee user needs ideas. I’ll be hanging out with you guys below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Boxee fans – it’s over. There may be more fun to have with the Boxee Box, but Boxee on the desktop isn’t coming back. It’s time to find something else if you have a computer hooked up to your television.

We should have seen it coming. There was an entire year between updates for desktop users, during which things continued to break. Certain shows stopped working, apps slowed down or broke entirely and new features appeared only on the Boxee Box. We put up with it. We loved Boxee, and wanted it to keep growing the way it did back in 2009 and 2010. We watched some shows in our browser, and used Navi X to fill in the gaps. Apps still worked, for the most part, and local playback was still decent.

During the summer of 2011 we were told we’d get an update in autumn. Months went by, autumn wound down; Boxee users grew impatient. Then, right around Christmas, Boxee released a new, bug-ridden version for Linux, Mac and Windows only to also announce this was the final desktop version ever to be released: developers will from now on focus only on the Boxee Box and software for other set-top devices.

This makes sense. Boxee is a small company, and can’t spend money developing its program for every platform under the sun. Other than consumer devices Boxee doesn’t have much of a revenue stream, and millions of dollars in venture capital means Boxee needs to be profitable, soon.

So the desktop version’s decline was inevitable. Still, a total lack of updates leaves me feeling betrayed. I, and the large number of Boxee early adopters, sincerely felt like we were part of the team. We tested the software, provided feedback and helped promote the platform. Boxee kept releasing clever hacks to keep Hulu working for free, and promised they would always do that.

Those days are long gone, and it’s time for all desktop Boxee users to buy a box or find a new home.

Story Of A Boxee User

I’m what you might call a Boxee fanboy. I’ve been using the program since its alpha release, and spent a great deal of time telling my friends and family they should be using it instead of cable. I wrote an excessively glowing review of Boxee’s beta back in early 2010, and a series of follow-up articles after that. Boxee was the recreational program I used more than anything else.

If anyone should be excited about the current release of Boxee, it’s me. I’ve forgiven its shortcomings many times, looking back, because I always believed things would keep getting better.

Not this time. The 1.5 release of Boxee for the desktop is buggy and frustrating. Most of the online shows I tried to watch didn’t work or didn’t launch in full screen. Support for Netflix, Hulu and more are dropped from the desktop version, meaning I need to turn to NaviX to watch many movies and shows. And a variety of apps simply don’t work any more.

I could say more, but it’s all been said in the Boxee forum, where users are openly discussing what program to switch to. None of these bugs would be a huge problem if updates were coming. The problem is they’re not. So it’s time to find something new.

Why Not Buy A Box?

So why don’t I support the program I love by buying a Boxee Box? Because I have a computer hooked up to my TV, which I use for a lot more than just media. I play games on it with a couple of joysticks, share files from it to my other computers and use it to test lots of different software.

Why not add a Boxee Box as well? Because I don’t want to take up more space with an unnecessary device. I’d be more than happy to pay for the privilege to use Boxee on my computer, and I think I’m not alone. At it’s best, Boxee worked better than anything out there. But I don’t want another device cluttering up my living room.

Boxee claims people like me are around for now, but won’t be for long: people are finding dedicated boxes to be better for the job. That may be the case. I get it. But if Boxee can’t support its desktop users anymore, how do I know they’ll keep supporting their box users? It’s not a completely fair question, but I can’t be the only person asking it.

What To Use Instead

After seeing how awful the new Boxee is, last night I bit the bullet and installed XBMC. And I’m telling you: I should have done that months ago.I got my favorite plugins, Reddit TV and Navi X, working in no time. I found a plugin for streaming shows from CBS, NBC and all the major networks, and it works flawlessly in a way Boxee hasn’t for years.

Yes, it’s not as well organized. Yes, the interface is harder to use. But it works, and it’s actively being maintained. Check out XBMC or read our most recent review.

A program I want to check out, but haven’t yet, is Plex. Since our last review Plex was updated to run on Windows natively, and I can’t wait to try it out. Feel free to let me know your thoughts about Plex below.

Conclusion

The Boxee team said it all: “We would not be where we are today without you. But we can’t stay here.”

I understand the sentiment, but will miss Boxee. You did web video well before you needed to make money, and standing up to big companies and hacking to keep stuff working is what made that great. Oh well, there are lots of new programs to try out with lots of clever programmers.

Can you think of something else I need to play with? Give me your thoughts in the comments below, because this recovering Boxee user needs ideas. I’ll be hanging out with you guys below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/boxee-logo-300x300.jpg?323f2c" alt="" />If you are a user of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/boxee/">Boxee on your home computer, I have some good news and some bad news. I will start with the good news, after all, we all enjoy the happy stuff. They have issued a major overhaul to the service with their latest update. It changes nearly everything about the user interface. The home screen is new, the main menu is new, they added rotten tomatoes ratings, and so much more. If you want a complete rundown on everything that is changed, check out the href="http://boxee.zendesk.com/entries/20793886-release-notes-for-1-5-desktop-client">official release notes. For href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/boxee/">Boxee users, this update is awesome.

Now, while this update is great, I also mentioned bad news which is that this will be the last update for the computer based href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/boxee/">Boxee. They believe that the set-top box is the future, and they are going to abandon their desktop interface. This update is great, but as issues arise in the future, there won’t be much that can be done.

“People will continue to watch a lot of video on their computer, but it is more likely to be a laptop than a home-theater PC and probably through a browser rather than downloaded software” the developer explained.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/boxee1.png?323f2c" alt="" width="563" height="247" />

They plan to host the new version on their website through January. After that, you will have to seek other mirrors to download the application.

What do you think?  Is the set-top box the way of the future and is Boxee right to abandon the desktop interface?  Or are they making a big mistake?  Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: href="http://www.techspot.com/news/46798-boxee-15-improves-user-interface-is-the-last-version-for-pc.html" rel="nofollow">TechSpot

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Textfree-Unlimited-Send-Text-Messages-SMS-FreeLarge.jpg?323f2c" alt="send free text messages" />One of my biggest pet peeves is having to constantly check through text messages while I’m on my desktop or laptop at my desk. I’ve always thought it was be so much easier to have texts forward to one of my instant messengers, but a concept like that doesn’t exactly exist (or at least not to my knowledge). We’ve shed light before on how you can href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/replace-mobile-text-messaging-plan-3-apps/">replace your texting plan with a few free apps, but href="http://www.pinger.com/textfree/">Textfree from href="http://www.pinger.com/">Pinger really goes a step beyond that.

Textfree is available for both the href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textfree-voice-free-text-calls/id399355755">iOS and href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.pinger.textfree&hl=en">Android platform. Both applications are completely free. I’ve got it installed on my iPod touch and it works just like any iPhone texting plan should.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/textfree1.png?323f2c" alt="send free text messages" width="320" height="480" />

Textfree usage and features are outlined on the application download pages, and there really isn’t much that is too unique or special about the app. It simply works. Download the app and you are able to choose from a few numbers. With that number, you can send and receive an unlimited number of texts. With a subscription, you can even use this number to send calls from. One huge feature that I really enjoy is that you’re able to send picture messages, something most other similar applications won’t allow you to do.

With a paid subscription, you can also hide ads. Textfree comes with a lot of configurable settings. You can add a signature, change your tones, and set email notification preferences. It’s very extensive and is definitely my recommended app of the niche.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/textfree2.png?323f2c" alt="send free text messages" width="320" height="480" />

The feature that has me completely sold on Textfree has not much to do with their iOS app at all though. Textfree has a web version of this application. With Textfree Web, you can sign up for a brand new Textfree texting number or login to your existing Textfree account and go from car to desk like nothing ever even changed!

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/textfreeweb.png?323f2c" alt="send text messages free" width="580" height="378" />

Once logged in, sending texts from your desktop is just as easy as it was from your mobile app. It’s a whole different approach when compared to the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-sites-to-send-free-text-messages-to-cell-phones-sms/">10 other sites to send texts from that we’ve reviewed because of the synchronization between desktop and mobile. You have your own dedicated number, also. It’s more like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-cool-google-voice/">Google Voice than anything else.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/textfreeweb2.png?323f2c" alt="send text messages free" width="580" height="440" />

The interface is a lot like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-reasons-online-meebo-instant-messenger/">Meebo and it truly behaves no differently than a web-based instant messaging client. This is the perfectly solution to simple and synchronized, desk-and-mobile texting and I can promise that it’ll eventually find way into your list of never-to-be-closed tabs in your browser. Not to mention, 100% free? Count me in, please.

Textfree (or at least the iOS version) does come with a few small bugs. When switching to the mobile version from the web version, sometimes you’ll see duplicates of the same message being sent. You also won’t see your own replies to messages from your desktop on your mobile client. It makes conversation histories close to useless. Every now and then, your app might freeze due to loading the huge amount of “new” messages if you’re switching back to mobile from the web. These are annoying, but a small price to pay for all of this functionality.

If you’re looking for a slimmed down, simpler version of some of Textfree’s features then check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/gizmosms-send-free-sms-messages-mobile/">GizmoSMS.

Try out Textfree. Let us know in the comments if you use any other messaging app.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/deals.jpg?323f2c" alt="" />Newegg has the Patriot Extreme Performance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1600 Desktop Memory (PGD316G1600ELQK) for $58.99 and free shipping

For more fresh hot deals, visit our href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/hot-tech-deals/">Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.

1. href="http://www.techbargains.com/jumpa.cfm?clkSubId=ZZ0AT1A99279647A0&afsrc=1&id=488&arg=N82E16820220609&source=makeuseof">Patriot Extreme Performance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1600 Desktop Memory $58.99 (reduced from $88)and free shipping.
2. href="http://www.techbargains.com/jumpa.cfm?clkSubId=ZZ0AT5A99279656A0&afsrc=1&id=7521&arg=150720438533&source=makeuseof">Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 14MP 16X Digital Camera (720p HD Video) $129.99 (reduced from $249) and free shipping.
3. href="http://www.techbargains.com/jumpa.cfm?clkSubId=ZZ0AT6A99279644A0&afsrc=1&id=488&arg=N82E16838152014&source=makeuseof">Xerox DocuMate 515 Simplex Sheet-Fed/Flatbed Color Scanner (15ppm, 50pg ADF) $179.99 and $2.99 shipping.
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/books.jpg" alt="desktop ebook reader" />Do some reading on your computer. Whether you’re looking for free access to classic works of literature or desktop access to your current Kindle, Kobo or Nook books, there is a wide variety of eBook readers out there so you can read on your computer. Reading on a computer isn’t without its advantages. The screen is big, so you can make the font as big as you want; perfect if you have vision problems.

More than anything, though, reading on a computer is nice because it’s a device you already have. Buying expensive hardware just to do one thing can be pricey, especially when computers can do pretty much everything those devices can (and more).  As Mark once asked href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/who-needs-the-amazon-kindle-when-you-have-a-netbook/">who needs the Kindle if you have a netbook?

Here’s a list of what I think are the best desktop eReaders out there. Be sure to check out the comments below to find out what software your fellow readers recommend.

Calibre: The Ultimate eBook Software

Sometimes called the iTunes of eBooks, Calibre is the ultimate way to manage your collection on a desktop computer. It’s compatible with seemingly every known ebook format on the planet, and supports sending books to a wide variety of handheld ereaders and smartphones.

This program does too much for me to describe here, so find out all about Calibre in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-open-book-managing-ebooks-calibre/">Open Book: Managing Your eBooks With Calibre, a free MakeUseOf download. This eBook, by Lachlan Roy, outlines pretty much everything you need to know.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/openbook-3page.png" alt="Calibre eBook Reader" width="580" height="270" />

Know this too, though – Calibre features a full-featured eBook reader as well as collection management. So if you want to manage and read your eBooks, Calibre is all you need.

Google Books

Prefer using something in your browser? That makes sense. You might not be able to install software on your work computer, or you might switch computers regularly. Whatever your reason, you should check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/find-beautiful-free-ebooks-googles-shop/">Google Books, which gives you access to an eBook reader in your browser.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/google-bestofthefree.png" alt="Google ebook reader" width="577" height="258" />

Google’s store offers thousands of titles for sale, and a wide variety of free books as well. A minimalist reader in your browser stays out of your way so you can do what you want to do – read.

Firefox EPUB Extension

Do you want to read in your browser, but have already downloaded the EPUB files you want to read? You’re in luck! href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/epubreader-read-epub-ebooks/">A Firefox extension for reading EPUB files works really well, and is free to install right now. You’ll need to be using Firefox, of course, but it’s a great lightweight eBook reader some may love.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/dir/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Optimized-epub.jpg" alt="Firefox ebook reader epub" width="571" height="528" />

Magic Scroll

Upload your EPUB file so you can read it in your browser. href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/magic-scroll-beautiful-online-html5-epub-book-reader/">MagicScroll is a great web-based eBook reader, featuring a very minimal interface and intuitive keyboard shortcuts. Reading with this software is a pleasure, so I suggest you check it out if the other programs aren’t to your taste.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/magicscroll-reading.png" alt="magicscroll ebook reader" width="580" height="254" />

Kindle

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/kindle_ebook_reader.jpg" alt="Kindle ebook reader" width="496" height="397" />

Do you already own a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/kindle/">Kindle eReader, or make use of the Kindle app on your smartphone? Make sue you install the href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_352814002_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=1A8JHVFYDJA9T39WMXZP&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=1279039382&pf_rd_i=1000426311">Kindle software for your desktop computer, then. You’ll be able to read your Kindle eBooks on your desktop. Best of all, your pages and bookmarks will stay in sync with your device.

Kobo

Own a Kobo instead of a Kindle? Me too! Good news: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/kobo-thousands-free-books-computer-smartphone/">Kobo’s desktop software gives you access to thousands of free eBooks, and it’s free to download.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/kobo-browsefree.png" alt="kobo ebook reader" width="578" height="322" />

You can manage the books on your Kobo account, which can wirelessly sync with your device. Even if you don’t own a Kobo, however, this software is worth checking out.

Nook

Are you a Nook user? You should check out the href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/free-nook-apps/379002321/">Nook software then. Like the above two programs, this eBook reader gives you access to books you’ve purchased at its respective store, and syncs. Check it out!

Conclusion

There you have it – the six best desktop eBook readers for your computer at home or work. Disagree with the list? Let me know, because I’m always willing to learn. I’ll be in the comments below, waiting to hear from you.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/transformice.jpg" alt="transformice" />It took nearly two months for a friend to convince me to give href="http://www.transformice.com/">Transformice a shot. The game looked too childish, uninteresting, and casual. After finally giving the game a fair chance, I’ve been disappointed that I didn’t listen two months sooner. This is one of the most unique browser games that you’re going to find.

It’s hard to put Transformice into a genre. It’s a strategy game, but it’s something more than that. Transformice is the most individual team-based game I’ve played. That’s weird, I know. It’s also the only game that I can think of where trolling is almost integrated within the gameplay.

On any given school night, Transformice touches over 10,000 players online. I say school night because this game is targeted more towards a younger audience. The objective of Transformice is to proceed through each map and collect the cheese. After collecting the cheese, you must bring it back to the mouse hole. By collecting cheese, you gather points towards becoming the next Shaman. The Shaman is the designated mouse who builds and casts objects so that their fellow mice can more easily get to the cheese. Shamans are rewarded for the number of mice they are able to save and help bring back the cheese.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/500x_transformice_Transformice-s500x285-116489-580.jpg" alt="transformice" />

Gameplay

As a Mouse, Transformice can be played using only one hand. You’re a mouse, but you don’t need your mouse! The left and right directional keys move you across the map. Up jumps, and down ducks.

As a Shaman, things begin to get tricky. You can click on your list of objects (using your cursor) and drag them to the screen. Using the mousewheel will allow you to rotate your object. To place them, left click and hold. That’s not all though: there is object anchoring. To anchor an object, you press a certain key after clicking the object.

B creates a solid base anchor, primarily used for planks. This anchor will make the object completely solid and basically unmovable. C creates a connector anchor, which will allow you to chain together planks and other objects to each other. V will create a solid teal anchor, in which N can be attached to and make objects motorized. It is a little bit confusing, but you’re able to get used to it pretty quickly. It’s a nice variety that makes for fun building. You have objects like planks, boxes, balls, and balloons at your disposal.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/transformice_game.png" alt="transformice review" />

Being a Shaman actually requires a lot of practice and strategy. This video can help you with the basics:

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vE9oMFUhI_I" frameborder="0" width="570" height="320">

Achievements

Transformice is chock-full of achievements and unlockable goodies. There’s a sort of a prestige system, depending mostly on the amount of cheese you’ve acquired and mice you’ve saved. These are called Titles and displays, like ranks, beneath your username. There is also the Shop, where you can buy hats and other accessories to customize your mouse and stand out from the rest.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/transformice_shop.png" alt="transformice" />

After saving 1,000 mice, you’re given a Totem. Your Totem allows you to create a huge chain of objects all at once in any shape that you desire. Your Totem can be incredibly useful or very damaging in getting the mice to the cheese. It all depends on how you create it.

Tips & Tricks

Transformice is the type of game that you learn from as you go along. The longer you play, the better you’ll become. It’s that simple.

As a Shaman, there are dozens of little things that even I haven’t managed to grasp yet. As a Mouse, there is one extremely important skill for you to learn: walljumping.

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AGqMaXfA0-g" frameborder="0" width="570" height="320">Walljumping is basically an essential skill if you ever plan to play Transformice at a higher level or plan to ever get your little mouse into the hole first. It’s a trick, but it’s an integral part of this game.

Transformice can be played by href="http://www.transformice.com/">browser or standalone client ( href="http://exe.transformice.com/Transformice.exe">Windows or href="http://exe.transformice.com/Transformice.zip">Mac). This makes it easy to play at home, work, on the go, or wherever else you shouldn’t be playing it.

This game is fun for both kids and adults. I’m an adult and I’m not even ashamed to admit that I enjoy it, right? If you have kids, the in-game community is moderated and very friendly. Play it with your kids, even. We’ve got more articles on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-games-to-get-your-kids-interested-in-mathematics/">kid-friendly games also, if Transformice isn’t your thing. Let me know what you guys think of the game in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/deals.jpg" alt="" />HP has the HP Pavilion p7qe Intel Core i5-2400S Quad-Core Sandy Bridge Desktop Computer for $569.99 Free Shipping

For more fresh hot deals, visit our href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/hot-tech-deals/">Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/deals.jpg" alt="" />Dell is offering the Precision T1600 Quad-Core Xeon Desktop Computer for $739.00 (reduced from $1119.00) & free shipping. This offer ends today.

For more fresh hot deals, visit our href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/hot-tech-deals/">Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/AndroidBrowser04.png" alt="google android browser settings" border="0" />Tablets are great devices for reading and browsing websites. Using the touchpad is intuitive and convenient, and tablet screens don’t present the size limitations of mobile phones. When you browse the web using a tablet however, you will notice that many websites automatically load their mobile version. This is because the browser you are using identifies itself as a mobile based application to the websites you are visiting.

Being restricted to the mobile version of a website can be annoying since they often lack features offered by their desktop version. If you would prefer to view the desktop version of websites on your Google Android Honeycomb tablet, you will be delighted to hear that there are two simple ways to achieve this. Read on to find out how you can toggle between the desktop and mobile versions on your Honeycomb tablet.

Change The Honeycomb Browser User Agent Setting

The Honeycomb browser’s user agent is set to ‘Android’, which most websites interpret as ‘smartphone’, thus displaying the compact version of their website. To change this, you need to change the respective user agent string.

• Open the native browser on your Android Honeycomb tablet.
• Type about:debug in the address / URL bar and press Enter.
• Don’t expect anything to happen; it will probably look like nothing happened.
• Next, open the browser’s settings via the icon in the top right corner.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/AndroidBrowser02.png" alt="enter debug mode" border="0" />

• Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
• Switch to the Debug tab via the left-hand menu.
• On the right side now select UAString.
• Select Desktop.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/AndroidBrowser03.png" alt="change user string setting" border="0" />

• Click the Back button in the bottom left corner of the browser to exit settings.
• Repeat step 2 to exit debugging mode.

Note that the setting may be reset every time you reboot your device.

Interestingly, the browser on Android-based smartphones has a different user agent setting, which reads ‘Android Mobile’. This actually allows websites to differentiate between tablets and smartphones. Unfortunately, not all websites support the two different settings and surprisingly, href="http://blogs.computerworld.com/17882/android_honeycomb_browser_user_agent">this includes Google Mail.

Use A Different Browser

You may find that some mobile websites are actually more convenient than their desktop counterparts. In this case you probably don’t want to change the user agent setting since switching back and forth between different settings is quite a hassle. The alternative solution is to use a different browser which allows you to toggle easily between the desktop and mobile version of a website.

A browser I highly recommend is title="Dolphin Browser HD" href="https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser&feature=search_result">Dolphin Browser HD. To rapidly switch between the mobile and desktop versions of a website, you also need to install the title="Dolphin Desktop Toggle" href="https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.megeek.DesktopToggles&feature=search_result">Dolphin Desktop Toggle add-on. Once installed, you will find a toggle button in the right-hand menu of the browser. The right-hand menu opens when you attempt to slide the browser window to the left. Pressing the toggle button will load the respective other version of the website, if available.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/AndroidBrowser01.png" alt="toggle between mobile and desktop website version" border="0" />

Are you still undecided which tablet to get? There are at least title="5 Things To Consider Before Buying A Tablet PC" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-buying-tablet-pc/">5 Things To Consider Before Buying A Tablet PC. Maybe you would like to title="Try Google’s Android Mobile OS on Your Computer with Live CD" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/googles-android-mobile-platform-computer-live-cd/">Try Google’s Android Mobile OS on Your Computer with Live CD? And if you have made up your mind about getting an Android Tablet, be sure to review title="The 3 Best Android Tablets Available Today That A Buyer Should Check Out" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-android-tablets-today-buyer-check/">The 3 Best Android Tablets Available Today That A Buyer Should Check Out.

If you already own an Android device, have a look at these resources:

• title="Best Android Apps" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/best-android-apps">Best Android Apps
• title="10+ Tricks To Try With The Google Android Operating System" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tips-tricks-google-android-operating-syste/">10+ Tricks To Try With The Google Android Operating System
• title="7 Of Google Android’s Little Annoyances & How To Fix Them" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-google-androids-annoyances-fix/">7 Of Google Android’s Little Annoyances & How To Fix Them
• title="How To Write Your First Google Android Application" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/write-google-android-application/">How To Write Your First Google Android Application
• title="A Quick Guide To Developing Android Apps With Google App Inventor" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quick-guide-developing-android-apps-google-app-inventor/">A Quick Guide To Developing Android Apps With Google App Inventor
• title="How To Install Google Android On A Windows Mobile Phone" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-install-google-android-on-a-windows-mobile-phone/">How To Install Google Android On A Windows Mobile Phone

Why did you get yourself an Android Tablet or why do you think you need one?

Image credits: title="Android Settings" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=65521246" rel="nofollow">Palto

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/0_retickr.jpg" alt="free desktop news ticker" />The primary method in which we receive our href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/news/">news is constantly changing. Have you ever noticed that? There was a time not so long ago where we relied on newspapers as our primary source of news. We have since graduated to television, the Internet, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/rss/">RSS readers, and now social media as ways to learn what is going on around the world.

What this all means, if you’re a news junkie, is that you probably spend a lot of time on Twitter and Facebook, checking your streams and news feeds for the latest happenings. Not only that, but perhaps you still rely on your favorite RSS feeds and email still to some degree. Is there a way to combine all of this information and view it in one place?

There is, and it’s a Mac OS X app called Retickr. In this article, I’ll show you how to use Retickr to receive all of your news and information and view it right on your desktop. Get ready to close some of the tabs you leave open all day in your browser.

What Is Retickr?

href="http://retickr.com/">Retickr is a social media, email, and RSS aggregator that focuses on personalized news, social sharing, and simplicity. With Retickr you can stream all of your information through an intuitive “stock ticker” that lives on your desktop and allows quick access to your Facebook, Twitter, email, and news.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/1_retickr.jpg" alt="free desktop news ticker" width="580" height="364" />

Whenever you see an interesting headline stream by, Retickr is a free desktop news ticker that allows you to quickly read a preview of the article. It also has options to view in-browser with just a single click and share news with your friends via email, tweet, or status update.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2_retickr.jpg" alt="free news ticker" width="580" height="361" />

Basically, Retickr helps you streamline your news intake so you can get news more quickly, share stories with others before they hear about them via other means, and free up some time for yourself to focus on more important things (like work!).

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/3_retickr.jpg" alt="free news ticker" width="580" height="329" />

You can select which side of your screen Retickr docks to as well as set the speed at which updates scroll by. Whether you’d like to place it at the top/bottom of your screen like a news ticker you might find on TV or you prefer a docked panel on the left or right, you can view your news in real-time right from your desktop.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/4_retickr.jpg" alt="free desktop news ticker" width="580" height="391" />

For a quick glimpse of the underlying concept behind Retickr, take a look at this short video by the app’s creators:

width="580" height="356" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/67FRkwzgeuM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="356" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/67FRkwzgeuM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

Conclusion

The Retickr app is currently available for Mac OS X, which href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retickr/id458419782?mt=12">you can find here. If you’re looking for a few practical reasons to download Retickr, I suggest you start by reading some of the interesting information over on their href="http://about.retickr.com/home/">about page.

I’m a big fan of this free desktop news ticker because I feel it provides a good balance between providing informative news and information and integrating with social in a way that most other news apps just don’t. It’s pretty intuitive and I like the idea of having control over what runs through my feed. Being that I’m a person who enjoys getting news as quickly as possible, I feel like Retickr will enable me to do that, and I’m really curious to hear what you all think about it.

How do you prefer to get your news? Do you have any cool apps to share?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-icon.png" alt="linux desktop rotator" />Rotate your Linux wallpaper whatever way you like it. Whether you want to set up a precise, well-timed “playlist” of wallpapers or show off a random assortment of your favorite pictures, href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/wall-changer/files/2.0/Gnome%202%20Version/">Wallch is the perfect program for adding some variety to your Linux computing. It even offers a real-time earth at night wallpaper.

We’ve taught you a bit about href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wallpaper/">wallpaper here at MakeUseOf. We’ve even shown you some Linux wallpaper advice where you can  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/completely-customize-kde-wallpaper-linux/">completely customize your KDE wallpaper. Not all Linux users use KDE however, and even outside of KDE, not all Linux wallpaper managers work with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1104-unity-big-leap-linux/">Ubuntu’s Unity desktop. Wallch does, but that’s not the only reason this software is worth checking out. Adding wallpaper and setting it up to show it just the way you want it is not only simple but fun. Simply put, it’s wallpaper management done right. I’d like to see this, or something similar, built into a future release of Ubuntu and other distros.

What It Does

Load Wallch for the first time and you’ll need to add some pictures. You can add individual pictures or entire folders; just click the buttons to the right of your “playlist”:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-main.png" alt="linux desktop rotator" width="580" height="344" />

Once you’ve added some pictures you can organize your collection. Remove shots that won’t work as wallpaper, or put the pictures in the order you desire. Or, if you don’t desire order, select the random option. You can set an amount of time for wallpapers to stick around, or you can randomize the timing as well.

Head over to settings (click “Edit“, then “Preferences“) to get a bit more control over the application:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-settings.png" alt="desktop rotation software" width="572" height="391" />

You’ll almost certainly want to turn off wallpaper notifications. I’ve no idea why someone would want a bubble popping up telling them their wallpaper has changed. Isn’t seeing the different wallpaper enough? Whatever.

Earth At Night!

Want something a little different? Wallch offers, as an alternative to folders full of wallpaper, a wallpaper that reflects reality. It’s a satellite image of earth showing where it is day and where it is night.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-earthaction.jpg" alt="desktop rotation software" width="580" height="220" />

The really cool part? This updates to reflect the real world. Every half hour you’ll have a slightly different picture reflecting the earth’s rotation and its effect.

Do you want to set this up? Click Edit, then click Extras. You’ll then see a simple configuration menu.

href="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-liveearth.png"> class="size-full wp-image-84548 aligncenter" title="wallch-liveearth" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-liveearth.png" alt="linux desktop rotator" width="580" height="260" />

You’ll need to press “Stop” in the main windows before you can do this, if you had a slideshow running already. Once you do that you’ll have access to one of the cooler wallpapers in existence.

Install Wallch

Ready to install? href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/wall-changer/files/2.0/Gnome%202%20Version/">Download Wallch at SourceForge. Debian and Ubuntu users will find a handy .deb file; other Linux users will need to compile source code. Hopefully packages for other Linux distros are coming soon. Heck, this program is ready to be added to repositories.

Conclusion

Wallpaper switchers aren’t exactly useful, but they can be fun. Computers can become mere workplaces, but every office needs some decoration. This software lets you customize your virtual workplace easily. I’m glad I found this one, even if I plan on mostly using the world at night wallpaper.

Do you find this program useful, cool or neither? Let me know in the comments below, along with any alternative programs for the job. Also feel free to post links to your favorite desktop wallpapers.

I found this program href="http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/08/wallch-wallpaper-changer-adds-unity-features/">thanks to OMG! Ubuntu, an Ubuntu blog I love to read. Thanks guys!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image21.png">When I covered class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/expand-desktop-workspace-dexpot-cool-virtual-desktop-software-windows/">Dexpot some time ago, readers Colugo and Mick were quick to point me in the direction of VirtuaWin as a lightweight, fast alternative virtual desktop software. Encouraged by their feedback, I decided to take VirtuaWin on a thorough spin.

Look & Feel

VirtuaWin can best be described as “sparse”. It has been a while since I used such a tiny application – the portable version weighs in at 145KB. If we’d still be using floppies, I’d have no trouble carrying VirtuaWin on my nerdy “great utilities” floppy. The flip side of that tiny footprint is that it has no bells and whistles; you won’t find any funky 3D-looking desktop transitions, or any other trippy graphics for that matter.

The main UI you’re going to get consists of a tiny system tray icon which represents the currently active desktop in the default 2×2 configuration:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image22.png" alt="image" width="54" height="48" border="0" />

In my case, it’s the top-left desktop.

Configuration

As you may expect, the main configuration interface looks quite utilitarian:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SNAGHTMLafab13e.png" alt="SNAGHTMLafab13e" width="354" height="531" border="0" />

You can configure the “shape” of your virtual desktop space, i.e, set how many desktops the “width” and “height” should consist of. If you decide to change the default 2×2 config, the system tray icon turns into a number rather than a visual square showing the currently active desktop.

The hotkeys tab is where all the action takes place:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image23.png" alt="image" width="389" height="479" border="0" />

The list of available actions is so long, it actually exceeds the area of the window. That’s a good example of VirtuaWin’s minimalistic approach. Out of a zillion possible actions, the application only comes with six pre-configured hotkeys. The rest is up to you. You can use VirtuaWin to make windows always-on-top, temporarily pull a window into the current desktop and then “dismiss” it back to the one it came from, and perform numerous other operations.

Performance

On my mid-range computer, switching between desktops was very fast. There was one area of noticeable lag, though: My “main” desktop had nine open windows (and thus, nine taskbar icons). When switching to another desktop, the windows would quickly disappear. They would also quickly reappear when I switched back, but the taskbar icons would take several more seconds to reappear. The lag was noticeable, with the last icons popping up on the taskbar about four seconds after I switched back to the main desktop.

As VirtuaWin doesn’t even attempt to provide any flashy graphical effects, I can’t compare it to Dexpot’s cool 3D-looking transitions. I would expect it to be ultra-snappy, and if you don’t mind the taskbar issue, it does feel quite quick. The Expect configuration tab contains several workarounds, including a couple of taskbar specific options:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SNAGHTMLb11f82d.png" alt="SNAGHTMLb11f82d" width="354" height="531" border="0" />

Playing with these options made no noticeable difference in the lag issue. One interesting option in the Expert tab is “Hide system tray icon”. I guess this one comes in handy for sneaky employees.

Usability & Extensibility

One graphical option that’s sorely lacking is a graphical display of all of your desktops and the windows they contain. I guess that’s a pretty demanding operation which doesn’t mesh well with VirtuaWin’s general minimalism. Fortunately, you can always extend and customize your VirtuaWin installation using so-called class="vt-p" href="http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/modules.php">Modules, which are basically just plug-ins.

Specifically, there’s a module called VWPreview which provides a basic graphical preview feature, along with some equally-based graphical transition effects. The effects were nothing to write home about, but the preview looked like this on my system:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image24.png" alt="image" width="580" height="331" border="0" />

That’s just one pane (I had two 24″ monitors, creating a desktop that’s a tad too wide for a screenshot), but you get the general idea.

Bottom Line

This is one for the minimalists. If there was no irritating taskbar lag, I would bill it as a higher-performance Dexpot alternative. As it is, I cannot honestly say it feels faster, at least on my own system. Both Dexpot and VirtuaWin are very capable applications, each in their own way.  Let us know what you think of VirtuaWin or if you prefer one of the alternative apps.

Is there another must-have virtual desktop application you think I should review? Or do you know of a way to make VirtuaWin feel faster? Let me know in the comments.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/kde_logo_intro.png" alt="" />One of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux‘s most popular desktop environments, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/kde/">KDE, released their latest series (version 4.7) at the end of July. This version improves on work done in previous releases by adding new features while improving performance and stability.

However, this new version does not provide a drastic change such as class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gnome-3-beta-desktop-linux/">GNOME 3, as most changes are under the hood and are not visually reflected. Needless to say, you will still see an improvement while working, but they do not fall under the aesthetics category.

Major Improvements To KWin

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/kde47_desktopeffects_options.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="508" />

class="vt-p" href="http://userbase.kde.org/KWin">KWin, the compositing window manager for KDE, has had quite a lot of work put into it in the last six months. All of this work is supposed to help make the Plasma Workspaces (the overall desktop of KDE) more portable so that it can be used on mobile platforms. This has been achieved by making use of new Qt technologies (Qt being the application framework) and adding support for OpenGL ES 2.0.

However, regular desktop users can benefit from all of this work done to KWin, as I can say that KWin’s performance has improved quite a bit. Virtually all desktop effects are now more responsive and execute more smoothly. I tend to turn on more desktop effects than I should, so this is a welcome improvement. You can also see that the options window for Desktop Effects has received a very slight makeover as well.

Updates To The Application Suite

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/kde47_digicam20.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="351" />

As with every KDE release, the KDE suite of applications has received a nice update as well. Many of the updates to these programs increase stability and performance, along with varying levels of feature changes, depending on the application. Although KDE 4.7 is, from what I’ve heard, supposed to go hand in hand with Qt 4.8, it has been working very well on my system which currently still sports Qt 4.7.

Emerging New IM Platform

KDE 4.7 also introduces a new instant messaging program, currently titled under the project name “KDE-Telepathy“. The end result of this project, once it matures, is designed to replace the current instant messaging client, Kopete. The new instant messenger is supposed to provide more features, flexibility, and overall stability and performance.

Already included is some initial desktop integration in the form of a panel widget. KDE-Telepathy isn’t installed by default, however, and may or may not even be included in your distribution’s repositories (well, at least those that include KDE 4.7). Either once distributions release a new version that includes KDE 4.7, or once the KDE-Telepathy project matures enough, will it be included in the repositories. Such a decision is placed upon each distribution for them to choose.

KMail, KOrganizer & Akonadi Improvements

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/kde47_caldav.jpg" alt="" width="323" height="580" />

Although this ultimately falls under all the other minor features that are being included, I simply had to include my personal favorite features of this new release. KDE 4.7 includes a completely reworked (but it keeps the same look) version of KMail, which works a lot better with the Akonadi resource framework. In addition, Akonadi now supports CalDav, so all of you who wanted to have more than one Google calendar included in your KOrganizer now can.

As Google Calendar supports CalDav, people can finally add all the calendars they wish to KOrganizer. One of the few things I had against KDE was the fact that I simply couldn’t use my Google calendars as I wanted to, but this issue has finally been resolved.

Conclusion

KDE 4.7 is overall a great release that you should update to whenever your distribution supports it. As it currently stands, Kubuntu has a class="vt-p" href="http://www.ubuntubuzz.com/2011/07/install-upgrade-kde-470-to-kubuntu-via.html">PPA that ships KDE 4.7, openSUSE has class="vt-p" href="http://en.opensuse.org/KDE_repositories#Upstream_release_aka._KR47_.28KDE_SC_4.7.29">numerous KDE repositories that people can choose from (“Upstream” will include KDE 4.7), and Fedora currently offers KDE 4.7 through the unstable branch of the class="vt-p" href="http://kde-redhat.sourceforge.net/">kde-redhat repository for Fedora 15. As it appears, Kubuntu 11.10, openSUSE 12.1, and Fedora 16 should all ship with KDE 4.7 when they each release.

What do you think of KDE’s latest release? What do you like or dislike about it? Let us know in the comments!

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/PhoXo1.jpg?54167" alt="" />A class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/become-a-rockstar-note-taker-with-evernote-review-100-invites/">couple of years ago, we had a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-ways-to-make-use-of-evernote/">post on the myriad uses for class="vt-p" href="http://www.evernote.com/">Evernote, which could well be an all-in-one second brain. The best part is that, unlike some of the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ditching-evernote-check-5-free-web-clipping-alternatives/">alternatives, it works on many platforms and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-to-add-your-information-to-evernote/">accepts information in numerous, different ways. Not only that, it class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-simple-applications-evernote/">works with countless third-party apps as well.

With the advent of improvements on the desktop clients, there have been inevitably many more uses today. Thus, here are a few more tips on using the  class="vt-p" href="http://www.evernote.com/about/download/">desktop clients for Evernote.

Use It As A Desktop Email Client

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-08-23h15_16.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="512" height="564" />

Since I prefer to use the webmail interface of Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail, I haven’t had the need to download class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/set-mozilla-thunderbird-autoresponses-scheduled-emails/">Mozilla Thunderbird, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/review-windows-live-mail-2011/">Windows Live Mail 2011, etc. However, once in a while, I use a desktop program that provides the convenient option of emailing, say, a screenshot, so having no mail client at all can sometimes be counterproductive.

I’ve been using the Evernote desktop client for Windows (it works on the Mac client, too) to email text, screenshots, etc. for these occasions, which at times, is a lot faster than launching Gmail in my web browser.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-08_224617.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="557" height="305" />

A tiny caveat is that Evernote posts a link to its website on the actual email, which is not a big deal, considering that it’s a free service.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-08_225549.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="542" height="393" />

Transfer Multiple Photos From iPhone/iPod Touch To Your Desktop In Seconds

I don’t know if this also applies to the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/evernote-the-killer-app-for-the-android-mobile-phone/">Android app, but with the Evernote iPhone app, it’s really a breeze to upload several photos at once to your desktop without having to pull out the USB cable, plug it in and then wait forever for iTunes to open up.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Evernote-20110708-235630.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="462" />

This is actually how I have been able to almost instantly transfer my iPod Touch screenshots to my blog posts. The Dropbox iPhone app could be used as well, as it actually works really well to upload several iPhone screenshots at a time. However, Evernote can be a great place to archive all kinds of notes and photos, in particular, temporary screenshots, whereas Dropbox seems more like the type of service you use to back up your most current work, which a quick screenshot is usually not.

Transfer Photos, PDFs, URLs, Text & Clipboard Content From Desktop To Mobile In Seconds

Whatever you have on your desktop, whether it be a PDF file, an image, an MP3 file, an URL or any text (and more if you’re an Evernote Premium subscriber) can be quickly transferred to your mobile via the Evernote desktop program. There are apps that serve this purpose specifically and do a very good job at it, like class="vt-p" href="http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/07/15/get-firefox-home-on-your-iphone/">Firefox Home, class="vt-p" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bmdgmondalbgpbiceiahbfpjddegdoci">Site To Phone, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/instapaper-beautiful-usable-scripts-apps/">Instapaper,  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-multiplatform-app-save-information-read/">Read It Later, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-files-dropbox-email-sidecloudload/">Dropbox, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/pushbrowserapp-quickly-share-links/">PushBrowserApp, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/keepitwithme-cross-device-link/">KeepItWith.Me, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pastefire-easy-copy-paste/id350159395?mt=8#">Pastefire, and class="vt-p" href="http://airlinkapp.com/">AirLink, among others.

Most of them transfer the information to the respective iPhone app, which you have to then open to get the information displaying on your mobile. The Evernote mobile apps can pretty much do the same thing, and they even display text and articles in mobile-friendly font sizes and all, just like Instapaper and Read It Later!

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Photo-Jul-09-12-27-46-AM.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="319" height="461" />

Sharing any URLs is especially useful since you can just open the mobile app, find your latest note and click on the link in the note’s body.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Photo-Jul-09-12-28-29-AM.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="461" />

Share Temporary Screenshots, Photos, & Text

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-09_010706.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="316" height="249" />

Since the desktop client offers the handy screenshot tool for both Windows and Mac, you can usually share screenshots very easily. After you’ve taken your screenshot, simply click on Share > Copy Note URL To Clipboard at the top of the note (for the Mac client, the location may differ).

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-09_011559.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="468" height="345" />

You’ll quickly be able to share a webpage with your screenshot, although it can be whatever you want, code, text, photos, etc. It’s sort of a quick and easy way to publish webpages with your images, text, etc.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-09_011645.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="417" height="355" />

If you want to change a note and make it private, you can right-click on the note in the note list and go to Share > Stop Sharing.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-09_011858.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="580" height="560" />

Dropbox’s Public folder is also a very handy way to share screenshots, but you likely need the space for current files like I mentioned before. Evernote, on the other hand, does give you 60MB for you to use every month.

Keep A Photo Journal

If you like to share your photos on Facebook, Flickr and Instagram, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-4-photo-sharing-websites-share-photo-everyday/">any of those class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-4-photo-sharing-websites-share-photo-everyday/">one-photo-a-day sites, then you don’t need this. For anyone else that’s interested in class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-twitter-online-private-diary/">private journaling ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/keep-a-personal-online-diary-with-penzu/">Penzu, anyone?), Evernote is a great place to start. You can already potentially use the Evernote mobile apps to record audio notes (which I think make excellent personal keepsakes) and snap photos of anything and everything so you can keep a food photo journal, travel diary, etc.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-09_032514.jpg?54167" border="0" alt="" width="580" height="446" />

Now the desktop app adds another potential journal-friendly feature: webcam notes (on Mac, I think they’re called iSight notes). I actually thought the webcam feature in Evernote was for recording webcam videos, but it just basically takes a webcam snapshot.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-09_020552.jpg?54167" border="0" alt="" width="580" height="438" />

You can be much more creative than I am here, but the idea is that you take a self-cam often (since you’re on the computer almost daily, right?) and jot down your mood or write a few thoughts à la Twitter. In a few years, your entries might bring you a good laugh or a good refresher.

Do you have any more possible uses for the Evernote Desktop Clients you wish to share?  If so, let us know in the comments!

Image credit: class="vt-p" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.evernote.com/about/learn_more/">Evernote />
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View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/PhoXo1.jpg?54167" alt="" />A class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/become-a-rockstar-note-taker-with-evernote-review-100-invites/">couple of years ago, we had a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-ways-to-make-use-of-evernote/">post on the myriad uses for class="vt-p" href="http://www.evernote.com/">Evernote, which could well be an all-in-one second brain. The best part is that, unlike some of the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ditching-evernote-check-5-free-web-clipping-alternatives/">alternatives, it works on many platforms and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-to-add-your-information-to-evernote/">accepts information in numerous, different ways. Not only that, it class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-simple-applications-evernote/">works with countless third-party apps as well.

With the advent of improvements on the desktop clients, there have been inevitably many more uses today. Thus, here are a few more tips on using the  class="vt-p" href="http://www.evernote.com/about/download/">desktop clients for Evernote.

Use It As A Desktop Email Client

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-08-23h15_16.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="512" height="564" />

Since I prefer to use the webmail interface of Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail, I haven’t had the need to download class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/set-mozilla-thunderbird-autoresponses-scheduled-emails/">Mozilla Thunderbird, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/review-windows-live-mail-2011/">Windows Live Mail 2011, etc. However, once in a while, I use a desktop program that provides the convenient option of emailing, say, a screenshot, so having no mail client at all can sometimes be counterproductive.

I’ve been using the Evernote desktop client for Windows (it works on the Mac client, too) to email text, screenshots, etc. for these occasions, which at times, is a lot faster than launching Gmail in my web browser.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-08_224617.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="557" height="305" />

A tiny caveat is that Evernote posts a link to its website on the actual email, which is not a big deal, considering that it’s a free service.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-07-08_225549.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="542" height="393" />

Transfer Multiple Photos From iPhone/iPod Touch To Your Desktop In Seconds

I don’t know if this also applies to the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/evernote-the-killer-app-for-the-android-mobile-phone/">Android app, but with the Evernote iPhone app, it’s really a breeze to upload several photos at once to your desktop without having to pull out the USB cable, plug it in and then wait forever for iTunes to open up.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Evernote-20110708-235630.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="462" />

This is actually how I have been able to almost instantly transfer my iPod Touch screenshots to my blog posts. The Dropbox iPhone app could be used as well, as it actually works really well to upload several iPhone screenshots at a time. However, Evernote can be a great place to archive all kinds of notes and photos, in particular, temporary screenshots, whereas Dropbox seems more like the type of service you use to back up your most current work, which a quick screenshot is usually not.

Transfer Photos, PDFs, URLs, Text & Clipboard Content From Desktop To Mobile In Seconds

Whatever you have on your desktop, whether it be a PDF file, an image, an MP3 file, an URL or any text (and more if you’re an Evernote Premium subscriber) can be quickly transferred to your mobile via the Evernote desktop program. There are apps that serve this purpose specifically and do a very good job at it, like class="vt-p" href="http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/07/15/get-firefox-home-on-your-iphone/">Firefox Home, class="vt-p" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bmdgmondalbgpbiceiahbfpjddegdoci">Site To Phone, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/instapaper-beautiful-usable-scripts-apps/">Instapaper,  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-multiplatform-app-save-information-read/">Read It Later, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-files-dropbox-email-sidecloudload/">Dropbox, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/pushbrowserapp-quickly-share-links/">PushBrowserApp, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/keepitwithme-cross-device-link/">KeepItWith.Me, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pastefire-easy-copy-paste/id350159395?mt=8#">Pastefire, and class="vt-p" href="http://airlinkapp.com/">AirLink, among others.

Most of them transfer the information to the respective iPhone app, which you have to then open to get the information displaying on your mobile. The Evernote mobile apps can pretty much do the same thing, and they even display text and articles in mobile-friendly font sizes and all, just like Instapaper and Read It Later!

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Photo-Jul-09-12-27-46-AM.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="319" height="461" />

Sharing any URLs is especially useful since you can just open the mobile app, find your latest note and click on the link in the note’s body.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Photo-Jul-09-12-28-29-AM.png?54167" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="461" />

Share Temporary Screenshots, Photos, & Text

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Since the desktop client offers the handy screenshot tool for both Windows and Mac, you can usually share screenshots very easily. After you’ve taken your screenshot, simply click on Share > Copy Note URL To Clipboard at the top of the note (for the Mac client, the location may differ).

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You’ll quickly be able to share a webpage with your screenshot, although it can be whatever you want, code, text, photos, etc. It’s sort of a quick and easy way to publish webpages with your images, text, etc.

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If you want to change a note and make it private, you can right-click on the note in the note list and go to Share > Stop Sharing.

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Dropbox’s Public folder is also a very handy way to share screenshots, but you likely need the space for current files like I mentioned before. Evernote, on the other hand, does give you 60MB for you to use every month.

Keep A Photo Journal

If you like to share your photos on Facebook, Flickr and Instagram, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-4-photo-sharing-websites-share-photo-everyday/">any of those class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-4-photo-sharing-websites-share-photo-everyday/">one-photo-a-day sites, then you don’t need this. For anyone else that’s interested in class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-twitter-online-private-diary/">private journaling ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/keep-a-personal-online-diary-with-penzu/">Penzu, anyone?), Evernote is a great place to start. You can already potentially use the Evernote mobile apps to record audio notes (which I think make excellent personal keepsakes) and snap photos of anything and everything so you can keep a food photo journal, travel diary, etc.

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Now the desktop app adds another potential journal-friendly feature: webcam notes (on Mac, I think they’re called iSight notes). I actually thought the webcam feature in Evernote was for recording webcam videos, but it just basically takes a webcam snapshot.

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You can be much more creative than I am here, but the idea is that you take a self-cam often (since you’re on the computer almost daily, right?) and jot down your mood or write a few thoughts à la Twitter. In a few years, your entries might bring you a good laugh or a good refresher.

Do you have any more possible uses for the Evernote Desktop Clients you wish to share?  If so, let us know in the comments!

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