Tag Archive | "Should"

5 Reasons Why You Should Not Give Up On Pokemon Games Even As An Adult [MUO Gaming]

Posted on 14 September 2011. Tags: , , , , , , ,

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gaming.jpg" alt="pokemon games" />Welcome to another installment of MakeUseOf Gaming, where we take a look at an interesting topic in the video game world for you to make use of. This week I will be talking about Pokemon, and why the Pokemon games are not just child’s play.

People tend to think of Pokemon as being just for kids, but as I have mentioned in a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/master-pokemon-trainer-3-websites/">previous article about Pokemon websites, I respectfully disagree. I started playing Pokemon when the first handheld games came out for the original GameBoy. I remember it being one of the very first video games that I sunk hundreds of hours into, and I remember loving every second of it.

Flash forward to today, and I am 24 years old. Pokemon Black and White have come to market recently, and while the changes to the games have been incremental, I still find myself with over 100 hours in play time in the new ones. There is not a single other video game franchise that I have come back to as much as Pokemon.

The Difficulty Of The Game

style="margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Pokemon-Black-Version-DS-_.jpg" alt="pokemon games" width="256" height="192" align="left" />Pokemon has always been able to strike the perfect balance to be easy enough for a child to play, and yet deep and challenging enough for an adult such as myself to enjoy. Right from the introduction of the game, it is geared to teach you how to play, while actually letting you play at the same time.

The very early stages of the games consist of easy battles designed to get you used to the way the game plays, but as the game progresses the battles start to get more and more challenging. Kids can have fun running around the world and collecting Pokemon and even if the very end of the game is too challenging for them it does not matter, because they will be having so much fun playing either way.

The Hidden Depth

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/screenshot3004201103361.png" alt="play pokemon games" width="479" height="320" />

There is a dirty secret underground world to Pokemon that most players will never even bother to explore. This is the competitive Pokemon scene. In this world the game is not as simple as collecting Pokemon and fighting your way to the elite four. They are worried about what kind of battles their Pokemon participate in so they can properly level them up a certain way through EVs. When I was a little kid I had no idea that any of this existed, and that is the beauty of the system; you do not need to explore any of this to have fun, but if you are looking for a deeper experience, then the option is there.

Value

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pokemon-prices.png" alt="play pokemon games" width="415" height="450" />

Pokemon games are long. It is easy to invest well over 100 hours in a Pokemon game, and considering they cost half as much as a new game for Xbox 360 or PS3, this is a great value proposition. This is of course if you buy the newest Pokemon game. If you play the older ones you can easily href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/desmume-a-free-nintendo-ds-emulator-to-play-nds-games-on-your-pc-nb/">emulate them for free, or buy a used copy for next to nothing. Any game that you can get many hours of enjoyment out of for extremely cheap is right up my alley, and Pokemon fits the bill perfectly.

Portability

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/oie_5164849oZAnasLA.jpg" alt="pokemon games" width="384" height="303" />

Who doesn’t love being able to take something they enjoy with them everywhere they go? Well since every major Pokemon release has been on a portable Nintendo platform, that is not an issue. Pokemon is perfectly made for a portable system because it is the kind of game you can pick up and play for short bursts, or sit and play for hours on end. Either way, you will feel satisfied with your experience.

Just Downright Fun

All of these others reasons are great, but the most important reason is that Pokemon is just a fun game. I don’t care if you are 12 or 60, Pokemon has something fun in it for you. You like exploring? Check. You like interesting stories? Has that too. How about collecting? No worries. Oh you like fighting? Well that’s in there too. Pretty much every important thing that makes a game fun is in Pokemon.

Conclusion

If you haven’t played a Pokemon game since you were a child, I recommend swallowing your pride and going back and playing one again. I can promise you that you will enjoy it. Even if you just put a couple of hours into one of the games for nostalgia’s sake, you will not regret it.

Do you still play Pokemon games? Are you a Pokemon hater who thinks it is just for kids? Let us know in the comments.



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5 Different uTorrent Add-Ons You Should Try Out

Posted on 03 September 2011. Tags: , , ,

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/utorrent_logo.jpg" alt="" /> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/torrent/">Torrents have become quite an interesting invention over the last few years, even though the technology has now existed for quite a while. Back in the day, using torrents was still a little tricky, as Internet connections weren’t as fast as they are today, and torrent clients weren’t as advanced or as easy to use. Specifically, and I remember this problem very well, you’d have a tough time getting some decent download rates if you didn’t have a port specified in the settings that was actually open or forwarded to your computer, if you were behind a router. However, the clients have now matured in a way where you just need to open the .torrent file, accept the torrent into the program, and wait.

The most popular torrent client, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/utorrent/">uTorrent, has been getting a lot of extra effort put into it to simplify its use while expanding its feature set. I must say that the uTorrent developers have done an excellent job to do all of this while still keeping the program lightweight. One of the newer features that you’ll find is called add-ons.

µMap

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/utorrent_umap.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="497" />

µMap is one of my favorite addons. To me it’s always been quite interesting to see where certain peers are located. There are a couple of different ways to view these maps, and you can organize them by client type, country of origin, or swarm. This way you can easily identify any trends that may be interesting to you.

This app can also show you how closely it can identify your location as well. If µMap can find you within a smaller area than you’d like, you can try to use a free VPN service to mask your actual location.

uChat

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/utorrent_uchat.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="498" />

uChat lets you chat with other people who are currently downloading the same torrent as you are. This could be a great way to kill some time while your torrent is downloading. You could also find a new online friend who shares similar interests with you, or you could learn about other torrents that you might be interested in. You’re not automatically signed into uChat when you download torrents, so you won’t be disturbed when you don’t want to be.

class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;">Skins

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/utorrent_skins.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="502" />

If you can already customize your uTorrent client with apps, why not change some visuals as well? With Skins you can easily do that! You can choose from a number of skins by simple browsing or searching via keywords. If you’re a little artsy you can even create a skin yourself.

4. Tetronimoes

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/utorrent_tetronimoes.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="498" />

So you’ve just added a new torrent to your client (such as a nice DVD collection of your favorite Linux distribution), and have nothing better to do other than to simply sit there and wait. Socializing with strangers might not be something you’d like to do either. After all, you can’t browse the web or you’ll use up bandwidth that could go to the torrent. Instead, you can go ahead and play some Tetris thanks to the Tetronimoes app. Now you can play a classic, lightweight game, and in no time at all you’ll see your torrent completely downloaded.

5. Khan Academy

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/utorrent_khanacademy.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="497" />

As a student, I find this app to be very valuable. Khan Academy offers various different college courses whose class videos can be downloaded via torrent. This can be a great advantage to anyone who wants to catch up, get ahead, and simply learn something new that could be beneficial to their work or other activity. Don’t forget to allow some space on your hard drive for this. Khan Academy offers plenty of classes, and you should expect one class worth of videos to take around 2.5GB.

These are the top 5 apps that I personally recommend. Of course, you are never obligated to completely agree with this list, so it’s always best to browse through all the available apps in your uTorrent client. You could also check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/put-utorrent-steroids-installing-extensions-windows/">this list of other apps. Personalization is always the best feature you can get out of a well-designed program. Also, don’t forget that uTorrent is available for href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/windows">Windows, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/mac">Mac, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux, so everyone can enjoy them.

Is there an app that you believe should’ve been on the top 5 list? Which app would it be and why do you think so? Let us know in the comments!



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The 3 Best Android Tablets Available Today That A Buyer Should Check Out

Posted on 16 August 2011. Tags: , , , , , , ,

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bestandroidtabthumb.jpg" alt="android tablets" />While the iPad was able to jump on the tablet market before anyone else, Android tablets from competitors are starting to flow like water. There’s now a wide variety of options available and many of them are quite mature.

There are some Android tablets that stand out from the crowd. Let’s have a look at three of them that any potential buyer should be sure to check out.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/">ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/eeepadtransformer1.jpg" alt="android tablets" width="560" height="488" />

When the Eee Pad Transformer debuted, it made a surprisingly big splash. According to some reports this tablet is the second most popular currently available behind the iPad 2, which is surprising. It’s not as if ASUS has put much effort into marketing.

The reason for its sudden popularity is the optional keyboard dock. While many tablets have docks, the Eee Pad Transformer was designed from the ground up to work with one. Once inserted into the keyboard dock this tablet operates much like a netbook. A battery is hidden in the dock, as well, extending life to between 14 and 16 hours in most situations.

One downside of this Eee Pad is a lack of support for mobile data plans, although a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gs-ltes-understanding-mobile-broadband-technology-explained/">3G version is expected sometime this month.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/eeepadtransformer-21.jpg" alt="best android tablets" width="560" height="372" />

Don’t let yourself be hung up on the dock, however – you don’t need it to make this a great device. The base tablet is excellent and it’s just $399 (the dock is an additional $150). It offers solid build quality combined with an elegant Espresso finish. While the pricing might lead one to think this is a budget option, the Eee Pad is actually on par with the competition, right down to the Tegra 2 processor.

class="vt-p" href="http://shop.lenovo.com/us/products/tablets/ideapad/">Lenovo IdeaPad K1

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/lenovoideapadk1.jpg" alt="best android tablets" width="520" height="434" />

Just released in July, the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 is the company’s first consumer Android tablet. Sex appeal is one of the K1’s greatest strengths. It’s offered with several different color options for the back panel and features a smooth design that, in my opinion, is even more attractive than the iPad 2.

Another impressive feature is the user interface. Stock Honeycomb is common on Android tablets, and any changes are usually not for the best. The K1, however, adds a convenient class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/great-3d-launchers-revamp-android-phone-homescreen/">launcher widget in the middle of the home screen that lets users sort apps into specific categories like Watch (movies) or Listen (music/podcasts). This organization reminds me a lot of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-libraries-%E2%80%93-and-why-you-want-them/">libraries in Windows 7. There are a few other extras as well, such as an App Wheel that can be used as a quick-launcher for your favorite apps.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/lenovoideapadk1-2.jpg" alt="best android tablets" width="559" height="373" />

The rest of the K1’s features are standard for Android tablets. It has a Tegra 2 processor and battery life of over 8 hours, which is a bit better than average. The only potential deal-breaker is the tablet’s relatively hefty weight of 1.6 pounds. Still, the base price of $499 is attractive.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxytab/10.1/index.html">Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

 

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/samsunggalaxytab-1.jpg" alt="android tablets review" width="492" height="400" />

Apple’s iPad had no serious competition until Samsung released the Galaxy Tab in the latter half of 2010. The original was quite robust, but in response to the iPad 2 it has been redesigned significantly.

The new version, called the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, is a formidable opponent. It’s slightly lighter than Cupertino’s tablet (1.24 pounds vs. 1.35) and is approximately as thin. The design doesn’t have the punch of the K1 or the elegance of the Eee Pad, but it’s attractive in its own right and it’s lighter than either of those entries. Users can expect over eight hours of endurance from the battery. Like the other entries here, this tablet has a Tegra 2 processor.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/samsunggalaxytab-2.jpg" alt="android tablets" width="594" height="442" />

At $499, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t try to win on price alone. The Eee Pad Transformer is clearly better value, but its subdued aesthetics won’t be to everyone’s taste and it’s heavier. The K1 carries extra bulk as well. As a result, this tablet is likely the best choice for frequent fliers, road warriors, and other users who will often be using the tablet without a stand or solid piece of furniture to sit it upon.

Conclusion

In my opinion, these three tablets are the clear winners in the current Android market. The Xoom was great when it came out, but the styling is now unimpressive and the display was never great. The Acer Iconia Tab feels cheap but remains more expensive than the Eee Pad Transformer. Toshiba’s Thrive is bulky yet offers less battery life than the options above.

The market is changing rapidly, so buyers should keep a look out for the latest-and-greatest. But for now, these are truly the best Android tablets.  Do you have one of these three?  If so, how do you like it?



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The 4 Best Mixed Martial Arts Podcasts You Should Be Listening To

Posted on 11 August 2011. Tags: , , , , , ,

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/martialarts.png" alt="mixed martial arts podcast" />Mixed Martial Arts (or MMA) is considered by many to be the class="vt-p" href="http://www.cagepotato.com/worlds-fastest-growing-sport-fact-or-hype/">fastest growing sport on the planet. There are MMA gyms springing up in every city and town around the world. Many traditional martial arts gyms are switching over to MMA, and bringing in coaches from the various disciplines to teach.

As with anything that gets big, podcasts will come out of the woodwork to cover it. There are so many mixed martial arts podcasts out there that it is tough to know which ones are actually worth listening to. Fortunately, I am here to save the day, and let you know exactly which MMA podcasts do the best job of covering the sport, and have the most knowledgeable hosts.

1. class="vt-p" href="http://mmajunkie.com/misc/radio.mma">MMA Junkie Radio

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/junkie.png" alt="mixed martial arts podcast" width="310" height="429" />

This is my number one go-to MMA podcast. Hosts Gorgeous George, The Goze and John Morgan bring years of knowledge and experience to the table. They offer in-depth fight breakdowns, a massive amount of interviews with athletes and personalities that are relevant to the sport, and they have a lot of regular callers who really bring the show up to a higher level. Of course, as is the case with any radio show, some of the callers can be a little annoying, but that just adds to the entertainment, because the hosts are not afraid to poke fun at them.

The best thing about MMA Junkie Radio is that they broadcast live daily from noon to 2pm (Eastern time), and upload their podcast archives right after the show ends. Depending on how much time you have to listen to podcasts, Junkie Radio, at two hours a day, may be all you need to satisfy your MMA needs. They also offer live class="vt-p" href="http://www.ustream.tv/mmajunkieradio">Ustream video of the show, and if you live in certain areas of the country they also have a TV deal with class="vt-p" href="http://www.fightnow.com/"> Fight Now TV to broadcast their show live ( class="vt-p" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MMAjunkieRadio">podcast RSS).

2. class="vt-p" href="http://www.sherdog.com/radio">The Jordan Breen Show

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/jbs.png" alt="martial arts podcast" width="209" height="155" />

In terms of raw MMA knowledge, no one can hold a candle to Jordan Breen. He is one of the few people in the world who has seen more MMA than me. His show relies heavily on listener interaction through email, class="vt-p" href="https://twitter.com/#!/Neerbnadroj">Twitter and phone calls. People generally call in to ask Jordan about facts and opinions because he has such an incredible wealth of knowledge. He is also an entertaining guy, and is one of the few radio hosts who requires little interaction from his co host/ producer. If for some reason there are not a lot of calls or emails Jordan can talk for the entire show, seemingly without taking a breath, and never become boring.

His show is available on class="vt-p" href="http://www.sherdog.com">Sherdog on Tuesdays and Thursdays ( class="vt-p" href="http://sherdogvideos.com/breen/breen_podcast.rss">podcast RSS).

3. class="vt-p" href="http://www.sherdog.com/radio">Sherdog Radio: Beatdown

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/beatdown.png" alt="martial arts podcast" width="341" height="190" />

Beatdown is on the Sherdog Radio Network and broadcasts 3 days a week, available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Typically their podcasts do not come out as fast as MMA Junkie, so most likely the podcasts will come out late in the evening or the next day if you don’t catch it live. They are a little more sarcastic and snide than MMA Junkie, so it really depends on your preference. They offer a good amount of interviews, though not as many as MMA Junkie.

Since they record over the Internet, and not in a studio, none of their guests are face to face. The callers are a lot less of the focus than some of the other shows, but the callers they do let in generally add to the show and keep it interesting. Hosts TJ DeSantis and Jon Luther are both very knowledgeable and good at what they do.

The thing Beatdown offers that no other show does are their “Beatdown After the Bell” specials. These are live radio shows that start immediately after all major MMA events, and are usually posted the following day in podcast form ( class="vt-p" href="http://sherdogvideos.com/radio/beatdown_podcast.rss">podcast RSS).

4. class="vt-p" href="http://www.mmafighting.com/mma-hour/">The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/mmalive.png" alt="mixed martial arts podcast" width="451" height="249" />

The MMA Hour is a great radio show available from class="vt-p" href="http://www.mmafighting.com">MMAfighting. Ariel is one of the most connected people in the MMA media so the level of guests he is able to get is higher than most other shows. The problem is that the show is only on once a week, so there is not nearly as much overall content available. Still the show is incredibly well produced in both audio and video format.

Ariel also has a knack for making his guests angry, which can often lead to some pretty serious hilarity ( class="vt-p" href="http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/fanhouse/mma_audio_podcast.xml">podcast RSS) and ( class="vt-p" href="http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/fanhouse/mma_video_podcast.xml">video RSS).

Conclusion

If you love MMA these podcasts should get you through your week and then some. Between these 4 mixed martial arts podcasts alone there is around 22 hours of weekly content. If you love MMA, listen to these podcasts and impress your friends with your extensive knowledge of all things Mixed Martial Arts.

What podcasts do you enjoy for Mixed Martial Arts? Let us know in the comments.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-mixed-martial-arts-podcasts-listening/">The 4 Best Mixed Martial Arts Podcasts You Should Be Listening To is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf



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The New Features In WordPress 3.2 & Why You Should Upgrade

Posted on 06 July 2011. Tags: , , ,

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wordpress-logo-300x300.png?54167">If you haven’t noticed already from your blog dashboard, WordPress has just released version 3.2, the next major release. Quite a lot has changed, so let’s take a closer look at why you might want to upgrade. There’s a whole host of speed and UI improvements awaiting you, as well as a brand new default theme.

New Minimum Requirements

First up, WordPress has raised the bar for your server requirements, and you absolutely must be running PHP 5.2.4 and MySQL 5.0 or higher. If you’re not sure what versions you’re running, an easy way to check is to create a php file in the root of your website (any filename will do as long as it ends in .php, but for the sake of demonstration I’ll call mine phpinfo.php) – then add the following single line of code to the file:

class="wp_syntax"> class="code"> 
<?php phpinfo();?>

Save, and access the file using your browser. Directly at the top will be a line saying which version of php you have, and if you do a text search for “Client API version”, you’ll see what version of MySQL you have too.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/phpversion.jpg?54167">

Ready To Upgrade?

Having checked the minimum requirements, take a full backup of your files and database. I described href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backup-website-ssh-command-line/">how to do this via the command line before, or you can href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/2-methods-storing-wordpress-blog-backups/">try the non-techie method if you don’t have SSH access.

Bear in mind that while the majority of plugins generally don’t have an issue, if you’re using something particularly hardcore such as caching or major functionality changes then you may run into some problems. In that case your only option is to either restore from a backup or find alternative plugins. Make sure all of your plugins are up to date before proceeding with the core WordPress update through the admin panel.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wordpress-updateme.jpg?54167">

What Do To If Things Go Wrong

The first step is to try a manual installation. Download a fresh copy of the files from href="http://wordpress.org">WordPress.org and re-upload everything to your FTP server EXCEPT wp-content. If you overwrite your wp-content folder, all your uploads and pictures etc will be gone, as I found out once. Be careful! Once fully uploaded, manually visit yourdomain.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php to run the upgrade process manually on the database.

If you’ve upgraded but you’re getting errors or a blank screen, it may be a particular plugin. Rename your plugins folder to temporarily deactivate them all, then move them back one by one to find the culprit.

So, What’s New?

Speed!

For those of us with larger sites, speed is a major issue. 3.2 brings a ton of speed improvements, most notably in the admin side of things where you’ll find yourself zipping around now. The core code has been updated too, removing unnecessary functions and optimising database queries.

Distraction Free Writing

Wow – this is actually really cool. When using the visual editor to write your post, there’s a new button on the toolbar. Click that to hide all interface elements, and jump straight into a WriteRoom-esque fullscreen distraction-free UI.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fullscreen-button.jpg?54167">

Moving the mouse will cause a minimal set of buttons to display as well as the exit fullscreen, but they soon fade to this:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/distraction-free-writing.jpg?54167">

Beautiful… and combined with the speed improvements I think this will really cause a lot of people to stop writing offline in tools such as Windows Live Writer. Fullscreen mode also works in HTML view, but the button the toolbar is labelled as simply “fullscreen”, so it’s easier to find.

New Default Theme

Twenty-Eleven is the new included theme, and it’s simple incredible. Built from the ground up to take advantage of HTML5, it now offers far more customisation than ever before, including options such as layout. It’s going to set new standards in theme design and puts many premium templates even to shame. Let’s have a closer look.

Post Formats

Built into the theme are now Tumblr-like post format options – asides, links, quotes, gallery. I haven’t had time to explore these formats in much depth, but for many these are going to be the highlight of the new theme I think.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twenty-eleven-dark.jpg?54167">

Layout & Style Options

Choose between either light or dark, sidebar on left or right or none at all, and change the default link color. You can get a dramatically unique look in seconds. The underlying look and feel of the theme is fantastically clean and tidy.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/theme-options.jpg?54167">

Random Headers

Upload more than one file to use as a header and you’ll now be able to rotate through them randomly, which is nice.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/random-images-header.jpg?54167">

For some rather odd reason, they decided to remove the sidebar from single post pages, a rather obvious oversight but one that is easily fixed by downloading a href="http://futurewebblog.com/add-sidebar-support-posts-twenty-eleven-theme/">slightly modified child theme from here.

Better Admin Toolbar

It was an interesting feature added in version 3, but to be honest I never saw much point to the admin bar. Thankfully, it’s been updated with lots more useful links on the Add New menu, so I might re-enable it.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/better-admin-bar.jpg?54167">

Should You Upgrade?

The underlying code in WordPress 3.2 has been cleaned up so that not only the backend is faster but core functions too, so for that alone it’s worth upgrading. The new default theme is such a vast improvement that hopefully it’ll prevent some of the cookie-cutter default installs I see so many of when people just can’t be bothered to customise their blog at all.

That’s all for today – if you have problems upgrading then let us know in the comments or crowd source your problem to the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/">tech support community part of MakeUseOf. I’m nearing completion of my upcoming WordPress guide too, so subscribe today to be the first one to know when that’s released, and don’t forget to check through all our previous href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/wordpress-tutorials/">WordPress tutorials. />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

/>

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/features-wordpress-32-upgrade/">The New Features In WordPress 3.2 & Why You Should Upgrade is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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    4 Hacker Software Tools Every Budding Coder Should Have

    Posted on 28 June 2011. Tags: , , , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/2642-12745437615W1311.jpg" alt="hacker software" />If you’re a computer geek, chances are you like fiddling around with things. You are, in short, a hacker. Although most hackers probably use Linux, there are some that use Windows. Maybe your business requires you to use Windows. This post covers some essential hacking and coding tools for all you Windows hackers. Why should the Linux crowd get all the fun, right?

    Before we begin, what is a hacker? Well, Wikipedia defines a hacker as “a person who heavily modifies the software or hardware of their own computer system” while Google defines a hacker as “an enthusiastic and skillful computer programmer or user“. I bet most of you here fit that second description at least.

    class="vt-p" href="http://www.jedit.org/"> jEdit

    This is less known than Notepad++. It supports many advanced features, such as syntax highlighting, which is a must if you’re a programmer. It also has features such as a built-in macro language, which allows it to be incredibly extensible. It’s written in Java, which allows it to be cross-platform.

    As a programmer, you are constantly removing code to optimize your program, to fix bugs or any number of other reasons. Sometimes, you may need it back. The so called “Kill Ring” stores deleted text, so you never have to worry.

    It supports 130 languages, including AppleScript and Objective-C, which surprised me. So even as a stranded Mac developer, it’s worth a go. It comes with a nice amount of documentation that’s easy to understand, so if you’re ever stuck, don’t worry. It’s a powerful text editor that no Windows programmer should go without.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Screenshot-2011-06-13-at-08.06.35.png" alt="hacker software" width="386" height="560" />

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Screenshot-2011-06-13-at-08.01.52.png" alt="free hacking software" width="464" height="421" />

    class="vt-p" href="http://getfirebug.com/">FireBug

    FireBug is the number one free web development tool for Firefox which allows live inspecting and editing of webpages. It is is a powerful tool for testing your websites and fixing problems without having to reload the page all the time. Similar to Safari’s built-in ‘Element Inspector’ but for Firefox. Safari is not extensible enough for a web developer, though that may change with Safari 5. For now though, Firefox is the way to go for web development and FireBug makes it even better.

    One use for FireBug is downloading page elements, such as Flash games.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Screenshot-2011-06-19-at-00.29.09.jpg" alt="free hacking software" width="560" height="350" />

    Jorge covered  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-firebug-for-browsers-other-than-firefox/">how to install Firebug on other browsers than Firefox back in 2009, and James class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/steps-road-css-mastery">also covered it in his recent CSS tutorial.

    class="vt-p" href="http://www.autohotkey.com/">AutoHotKey

    style="margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Screenshot-2011-06-13-at-08.13.46.png" alt="free hacking software" align="left" />This is like class="vt-p" href="http://www.phraseexpress.com">TextExpander for Windows, although it goes much further than that. It’s a macro utility which runs in the background and intercepts any key or mouse presses you have ordered it to. It is easily script-able and allows you to do many things, from reversing your scrolling, to auto-correcting text, to the aforementioned text substitution.

    I can have it set to substitute “@habib” with “habib@makeuseof.com“. I can set it to do it after the space, or immediately. My choice. That’s the beauty of it: everything can be tweaked. Here’s one line of code that replaces @habib with my email:

    :*:@habib::habib@makeuseof.com

    The block of text can be as long as I want. I can have pre-written email responses. For the budding coder, you can set it so that +ifelse writes out an if, else statement for you. Then just enter the condition, statements, and other elements. It’s obvious how this can speed up development substantially. In fact, with AutoHotKey, you can optimize a machine for any task, from development to gaming. If the game doesn’t allow you to choose the controls, just fire up the associated AutoHotKey script.

    Tina wrote about class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pimp-windows-autohotkey-scripts-activaid-2/">ac’tivAid, a set of useful AutoHotKey scripts, last year.

    class="vt-p" href="http://www.virtualbox.org">VirtualBox

    This is a no-brainer for web developers, especially if you run a geeky-type website, where a lot of visitors use Linux. Mac OS X can be installed, albeit without support and you’d be breaking the license, which is illegal.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Untitled.jpg" alt="hacking software" width="580" height="428" />

    Some of you may be asking why not just install Linux here and dual-boot, or even replace Windows and have all these tools available out of the box, or with a better alternative? Well, some people are required to run Windows and may not want to keep VirtualBox running all the time, while dual-booting would be a pain in the ass. These tools allow you to have some of the power and extensibility of Linux without having to give up your job, dual-booting or keeping 2 whole OS’s running. VirtualBox allows you to test your websites with other OS’s, or develop for Linux in your spare time. If you are trying to port an application, virtualization is a lifesaver.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Screenshot-2011-06-19-at-11.58.51.jpg" alt="hacker software" width="560" height="350" />

    This app has been covered many times on MakeUseOf, e.g. two posts by Jorge in class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/installing-windows-7-on-a-virtual-machine/">January and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-operating-systems-to-use-on-virtualbox/">February 2009, while Justin wrote about class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/virtualboxs-seamless-mode-combine-operating-systems-desktop/">VirtualBox’s seamless mode last year.

    What do you think of these tools? Do you have any other suggestions? Did you already know of these tools, and their uses? Are you going to consider retrying some of these programs? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!

    Image Credit:  class="vt-p" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=6884&picture=child-with-laptop">Alan Toniolo de Carvalho

    href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-hacker-software-tools-budding-coder/">4 Hacker Software Tools Every Budding Coder Should Have is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

    More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/coding/" title="coding" rel="tag">coding, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/programmer-tools/" title="programmer tools" rel="tag">programmer tools, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/programming/" title="programming" rel="tag">programming, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/virtualization/" title="virtualization" rel="tag">virtualization, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/web/" title="web" rel="tag">web, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/webmaster-tools/" title="webmaster tools" rel="tag">webmaster tools />

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    5 More Powerfully Useful Safari Extensions You Should Try

    Posted on 14 May 2011. Tags: , , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/safariicon.png" alt="safari extensions" />Almost two years ago, Apple finally set up a way for developers to create extensions for its fast and easy-to-use web browser, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/safari">Safari. You can access available extensions by clicking on Safari > Safari Extensions Gallery in the menu bar. That will take you to a href="https://extensions.apple.com/">gallery page with over three dozen extensions to choose from.

    Apple has also made it easy to install extensions. You simply click on the install button for an extension and it will automatically get embedded into your Safari browser. In most cases you don’t even have to restart Safari in order to begin using the installed programs. However, if for some reason an extension doesn’t show up or work, just restart Safari and you should be good to go.

    You can turn off and on extensions by clicking on Safari > Preferences > Extensions. It’s a good idea to completely uninstall any extensions you’re not using.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/extensionspreferences.png" border="0" alt="safari extensions" width="580" height="436" />

    All of the extensions described below can be found in the href="https://extensions.apple.com/">Safari Extensions Gallery.

    Duplicate Tab Button

    One of my most used Safari extensions is Thiemo’s Duplicate Tab Button. The name says it all. It simply duplicates the currently active tab and opens it in a new tab or browser window. Before using this extension I can’t count how many times I would be on a webpage and wanted to, for example, leave a comment, but at the same time refer to or check a piece of the article as I’m writing.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/doubletab.png" border="0" alt="most popular safari extensions" width="372" height="53" />

    With Duplicate Tab Button I can simply duplicate the page, move it over to my second monitor attached to my computer, and blast away with my comment. Duplicate Tab Button is a simple but powerful little tool.

    GToolbar

    If you’re a heavy Google Tools user, BBShare Networking has developed a Google toolbar, similar to the toolbar available for Firefox, that you should probably check out.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/gtoolbar.png" border="0" alt="most popular safari extensions" width="580" height="20" />

    Though it grows your Safari browser by half an inch, it provides you with icons for most all of Google’s popular tools and sites, including Google Search, YouTube, Gmail. Google Reader, Voice and a lot more. The toolbar does clutter up Safari a little, but it’s a faster way of accessing specific Google sites.

    KeySearch

    Another search tool extension is KeySearch. You use it by typing in a keyword for a designated website, such as “youtube,” followed by a topic, and then hit the Return key. KeySearch will navigate to the website and perform the topic search for you. This saves you the trouble of always using Google for searches.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/keysearch2.png" border="0" alt="most popular safari extensions" width="398" height="233" />

    What’s even more powerful about this extension is that you can create keywords for your favorite sites. So for example, to create a keyword for MakeUseOf, simply navigate to the search field of a MUO page, right- or Control-click in the search box and choose “Create keyword for this search” in the drop-down box. You will be asked to give your keyword a name, such as “muo.”

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-04-at-9.45.13-AM.png" border="0" alt="extensions for safari" width="580" height="333" />

    Now instead of first navigating to MakeUseOf.com to do a search, you simply type “muo [followed by the topic you're searching for] and hit the Return key. KeySearch will take you to MakeUseOf and do the search for you. Click on the “Edit Keywords” in the KeySearch toolbar to manage your settings.

    ResizeMe 1.0

    One of the downsides of web browsing is that you have to keep re-sizing browser windows to view the content on the page. This is especially a problem for laptops and other smaller screens.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/resizeme-1.png" border="0" alt="extensions for safari" width="340" height="52" />

    Well, the extension ResizeMe may be of some use for this problem. When you click the ResizeMe icon in your Safari toolbar, (after it’s installed of course) it will re-size the frontmost Safari window to the size you set in the preference settings for ResizeMe. These settings are located in Safari > Preferences > Extensions > ResizeMe.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/resizeme.png" border="0" alt="extensions for safari" width="462" height="244" />

    Mindful Browsing

    The Internet is a gigantic encyclopedia of information and an amusement park of entertainment, which means that sometimes it can be a huge distraction when you’re constantly visiting Facebook, Twitter, and other sites you can’t seem to tear your eyeballs from.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/blocked-site-screenshot.png" border="0" alt="safari extensions" width="400" height="348" />

    The extension, Mindful Browsing may well help you with your addiction to visiting specific sites. With Mindful Browsing you will get a warning that you blocked a designated site for certain period of time and/or days. You can ignore the warning if you want, but at least you’ll be reminded that you’re about to feed your addiction yet again. Thus the first step to tearing yourself away from Facebook for three days straight may be downloading and installing Mindful Browsing.

    So these are the top five Safari extensions I’ve recently added to my Safari browser. There are others, including the weather extension tool, Cloudy, Facebook Ads Blocker, and the social network sharing extension, YourVersion, that might also be of interest to you.

    Let us know about your favorite Safari extensions and how you use them. If you’re looking for reviews of other Safari extensions, check out these MUO articles, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-best-free-safari-browser-plugins-mac-only/">here and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/handy-extensions-safari-50-mac/">here. />
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    Read comments: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-powerfully-safari-extensions/#disqus_thread">Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here …

     

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    More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/browsing-tools/" title="browsing tools" rel="tag">browsing tools, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/safari/" title="safari" rel="tag">safari, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/safari-extensions/" title="safari extensions" rel="tag">safari extensions, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/tabs/" title="tabs" rel="tag">tabs, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/toolbars/" title="toolbars" rel="tag">toolbars />

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    The 8 Most Useful DOS Commands That You Should Memorize

    Posted on 04 May 2011. Tags: , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dosprompt.jpg" alt="dos commands" />I realize that providing a lesson on DOS commands to MUO readers is sort of like offering to teach a group of martial arts experts how to throw a punch. The thing is, there are quite a few people out there that don’t realize how easy it is to troubleshoot and fix certain computer issues using a few simple key entries. I’m not about to argue that DOS isn’t outdated. However, Windows 7 still features a command prompt window.

    We’ve covered a number of current uses for DOS, such as  playing href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-sites-find-classic-dos-games/">DOS games. I also provided some href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/batch-windows-scripting-host-tutorial/">Windows Scripting tips, which is the next generation replacing DOS commands. With that said, there’s still a place for DOS commands. So, for those of you that like the idea of typing in a few commands to avoid the hassle of several mouse clicks, I’m going to review eight of what I consider to be the most essential and helpful DOS commands that are still available in Windows 7.

    The DOS Prompt Window Is Not Missing!

    If you are one of those folks that became convinced the DOS prompt was officially wiped out with Windows 7, all you have to do is click on the Start menu, and in the “Search programs and files” field, just type “cmd” and press enter. Voila – there’s your DOS window.

    Assoc: Associated Extension

    Not sure what default program you have set up to handle ZIP, MP3 or HTML files? A quick and easy way to check for your default file associations is the “assoc” command. Just open a command prompt and type “assoc” followed by the file extension.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm1.png" alt="dos commands" width="559" height="223" />

    The response is the installed application that is currently configured to handle that file type. As you can see above, WinRAR is my ZIP file handler, MS Word handles doc files, and Chrome is set up as the default for HTML files.

    Tree: View Directory Structure

    If you’ve created a virtual spiderweb of files and directories on your computer, it can get pretty confusing to remember where everything is. Sometimes it would be nice to have a diagram showing directories and sub-directories. Using the Tree command, you can do just that.

    First, navigate to the directory you want to get the file structure of, and then type “tree > myfile.txt“. The text file can be called anything you like.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm2.png" alt="ms dos commands" width="562" height="222" />

    The command writes the entire directory structure, completed with all folders, into the text file, which you can print out for easy viewing.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm3.png" alt="ms dos commands" width="394" height="403" />

    The formatting may look a little bit funky, but if you look closely you’ll see that the directories are all there, they just might be prefaced with some weird symbols.

    File Search & Comparison

    If you ever have two text files – particularly two very large text files – the file compare (fc) command is all you need to identify and synchronize file differences.

    The usage is about as easy as it can get. Just type “fc” followed by the names of the two files.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm4.png" alt="ms dos commands" width="431" height="222" />

    The system will respond by showing the lines from both files where there are differences.  This command can become pretty handy when you’re collaborating with people and trying to sync up differences between files that several people are working on.

    If you only need to find a file on your system, and you know the name of the file, the “find” command is far faster than any point and click operation you can do. Just do a “dir” command to the directory you want to search, and then “|” followed by the name of the file.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm5.png" alt="dos prompt commands" width="431" height="222" />

    The system will respond with the directory where the file is stored.

    Network Commands

    I really don’t think there are easier ways available to do network troubleshooting than the sort of tools you get in DOS commands. For example, if you want to know your basic network setup, just do a quick “ipconfig” and you will get details like your computer IP and the default gateway (which is typically your home router IP address).

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm6.png" alt="" width="501" height="323" />

    If you’re not sure you have a good network connection, try doing a “ping” to a known IP address or a website. You’ll see it echo back with an IP address if the link is good. If you want to see all network connections currently active from your PC, type “netstat“.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm7.png" alt="" width="555" height="384" />

    This shows you all network connections from your PC. It may be a good idea to search through these carefully to make sure that there’s no surprises in the form of malware or a virus hijacking your bandwidth.

    Windows Utilities

    Finally, there are a multitude of DOS commands that are invaluable as system troubleshooting tools. For example, to view a list of active processes, just open up a command prompt and type “tasklist“.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm8.png" alt="dos prompt commands" width="525" height="358" />

    If you see any process you want to kill, just type “taskkill” follwoed by the image name.

    Nervous about whether a particular system file became corrupted after a recent virus infection? Just type “sfc /VERIFYFILE=” followed by the full path of the file.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/comm9.png" alt="dos prompt commands" width="536" height="88" />

    Windows will check to be sure it is the original. You can also scan all system files like this at once by typing “sfc /scannow”

    Finally, probably one of the most useful DOS commands available – the AT command. With “AT”, you have the ability to schedule tasks to run on a regular routine, all from a simple command prompt.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/at_command.png" alt="dos commands" width="559" height="222" />

    Setting up the AT commands can be a little tricky, so type “at help” if you need parameter help. In the command above I set up the computer to automatically archive all files in the temp directory to the archive folder. You could do similar jobs to routinely back up important files on your computer to a mapped external drive.

    As you can see, there’s still plenty that you can do with the command prompt. Having these resources at your fingertips can really make it a lot easier to troubleshoot, maintain and repair computer systems.

    Were any of these commands new to you? Do you know of any other useful DOS tips? Share your insights in the comments section below. />
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    Another 6 Free iPad & iPhone Games You Should Be Playing

    Posted on 17 April 2011. Tags: , , , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ipadgaming.jpg" alt="free ipad games" />Each month we’ll be highlighting some new free iPad games releases from the iTunes App Store. So open up iTunes and make sure your iPad is charged and your wifi is working. This month, we have an eclectic mix of both old and new, clones of well-loved games and some unique fresh ideas – a little bit of something to suit everyone. Be sure to check out the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-great-ipad-games/">previous article in the series too.

    class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wackamonsta/id412115283?mt=8">WackaMonsta

    A deceptively addictive puzzle-bobble clone where you simply shoot bubbles into clusters, then they explode and fall down. Get them all before the bar at the top of the screen pushes them down to the bottom.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wacka-monster.jpg" alt="free ipad games" width="580" height="418" />

    OK, so it’s hardly original, but it’s well presented and it distracted me for a good 10 minutes. Easy to pick up and play, and playable by all ages with a good selection of levels. The game is ad-supported, but you’ll be so focused on playing you honestly don’t notice them.

    class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/neutron-capture/id413880776?mt=8">Neutron Capture

    Invented by Robert A Kraus, this game was sent to me by bedroom coder Doug Sartori for inclusion in the iPad Board Games database, but I’m shocked to say I haven’t got around to a full review of it yet. The game is a 100% free implementation of the original class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_(game)">Neutron game.

    The game itself reminds me of an ancient British game called class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_games#Fox_and_Geese">Fox And Geese, but it’s quite easy to pick up and play, and the iPad really lends itself well to these kinds of games. Basically, you have two players attempting to capture the central Neutron piece by moving it into their own zone, or surrounding it so the opponent can’t move it into theirs. Each turn, you move both the neutron piece, and one of your own pieces. The pieces move in any one direction, sliding along until they hit an obstacle. Here’s a screenshot of me about to win.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/neutron-capture.jpg" alt="ipad games" width="580" height="482" />

    Neutron Capture is a free game for the thinking-man, a must-have for any strategic board game enthusiast. Includes an AI player for those of us with no friends.

    class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/legendary-wars-free/id415658656?mt=8">Legendary Wars Free

    “Nothing lasts forever” is the motto of this game, as you send your legions into battle in this fantasy take on Tower Defense / Plants and Zombies. Mine the gems, build your army, crush your opponents. Like all good games, the concept is simple.

    The makers of Legendary Wars have tried hard to differentiate their game from the rest of these PvZ clones, and to do this they have given you more strategic control over your troops and a longer battlefield that you can scroll across. The free version is optimized only for the iPhone, but it still looks great running at 2x on my iPad. Perhaps a little shallow, and certainly not as addictive as some games out there but definitely worth a free download, I think.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/legendary-wars-free-screenshot-1.jpeg" alt="ipad games" width="480" height="320" />

    class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/european-war-2-lite-for-ipad/id420143542?mt=8">European War 2 Lite

    Yet another Risk clone, European War 2 Lite suffers from a slightly fiddly interface. In this fresh take on the classic, the idea of collecting taxes from your regions is introduced, along with building up regions and purchasing troops and support rather simply getting them each turn. It certainly offers a unique Risk-like experience.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/European-War-2-Lite.jpeg" alt="ipad games" width="480" height="360" />

    class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/helsings-fire-lite/id398969328?mt=8">Helsing’s Fire Lite

    Although I own the full version of this game too, the developers recently chose to release a lite version in the hopes of attracting new fans and I’d love you to check out too, as it’s a real star on the iOS platform.

    Helsing’s Fire is a puzzler at heart, but it’s such a unique theme that there are no comparisons I can make with other games.

    Dr Helsing and his assistant Raffton are on a mission to rid the land of things that go bump in the night. To this end, they employ the powerful Victorian force of a torch light and coloured potions. Simply touch to place the torch light and expose the beasties, and apply the correct coloured potion. It may sound ridiculous, but the execution and presentation is just so perfect. This is definitely my pick of the month.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hellsings-fire.jpg" alt="games for ipad" width="500" height="383" />

    class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadow-era/id412380301?mt=8">Shadow Era

    With incredible HD graphics on the iPad, Shadow Era is a card-battling game in the style of Magic The Gathering. I must admit, I could never really get my head around Magic and this game certainly doesn’t make anything more accessible to those new to the genre. Still, if you’re willing to put the time in to learn the cards or enjoy this style of gaming, then I’m sure you’ll appreciate the free online multiplayer mode and GameCenter integration.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/shadow-era.jpg" alt="free ipad games" width="580" height="433" />

    That’s it for this month, be sure to check out the previous article in this series and stayed tuned for more next time. If you have some suggestions for the next article or would like your free iPad or iPhone game featured, let us know in the comments. Thanks! />
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    2 New WordPress Plugins You Should Try & Understanding The Theme Structure

    Posted on 15 April 2011. Tags: , , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wordpress-logo-300x300.png" alt="new wordpress plugins" />In the first article of what I hope will become a regular feature, I’ll be highlighting some new WordPress plugins, themes, and features of WordPress that you can make use of in your own class="vt-p" title="The Various Forms Of Website Hosting Explained [Technology Explained]" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/website-hosting-technology-explained/">self-hosted WordPress blog. This week I’ll be a taking a look at a superior alternative to the often praised class="vt-p" title="3 WordPress Plug-Ins To Automate & Improve Your Blog SEO" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-wordpress-plug-ins-to-automate-improve-your-blog-seo/">All-In-One SEO; a plugin that gives you the power of a WordPress publishing system but allows you to output static HTML files for hosts that don’t support PHP; as well as showing you how to make sense of some of the template files contained in your theme directory.

    Theme Structure & Templates

    Before you read this, take a look into your WordPress theme directory and see what files it contains – notably, anything ending in .php

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ftp.png" alt="new wordpress plugins" />

    Over the years, the WordPress publishing system has developed a strong foundation for templates that allows designers to make themes that are as simple or as complex as needed. The simplest theme may only include a single index.php file, which is the absolute bare minimum. Every page on your site would then be displayed using that single default template.

    The way WordPress works is that each time a page is requested, it will search for an appropriate template file for the type of content being displayed – if none is found, it will then continue to generalise the template it’s looking for until finally it just gives up and uses index.php

    The key to customizing your wordpress theme then, is to understand the hierarchy through which WordPress will search. You can find the class="vt-p" href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Hierarchy">full hierarchy diagram on the WordPress codex site, but here’s a cut-down version I made earlier.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hierarchy-mini.png" alt="wordpress plugins" width="580" height="154" />

    For example, when a user views the archives on your site for category X posts, WordPress will first try to use a template called category-x.php, which is specific to only X category. If it can’t find one, it will generalise to category.php, which is for any category archives view. Failing that, it moves on to an even more generalised archive.php (which might also used to display monthly archives, tag archives or author archives). Most themes will include at least an archive.php, but if not WordPress will just use index.php.

    So how does this help us? Well, if you already have an archive template, but you wish to customize the way your “funny pictures” category is displayed for example, all you need to do is copy the archives.php to a new file called category-funny-pictures.php, and adjust accordingly.

    In the next article, I’ll show you exactly how you can create a special page for your “family pictures” category that includes a thumbnail of the photo.

    class="vt-p" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/static-html-output-plugin">Static HTML Output

    The truth is that WordPress is – hands-down – the easiest (free) content publishing system on the Internet. In less than 5 minutes you can have it installed, easily change the look and feel, and be loading content in. There is no other system currently available that gives you that much power with such a refined user interface and as wide-ranging open-source development community around it.

    However, not all of us can run PHP files or have access to a database server, so in that case, your only option is to use a WYSIWYG application like Dreamweaver to produce HTML files, or hand-code them. Well, no longer. What this plugin allows you do is use an class="vt-p" title="How To Install A Windows Web Server On Your PC With XAMPP" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-windows-web-server-pc-xampp/">offline installation of WordPress, or one running on a development domain somewhere, then output the entire site to static HTML files for you to simply upload!

    Why would you do this? Well, for one, you can host the site anywhere without a database – such as your Apple Mobile.me webspace. Secondly, you get a huge speed boost as the site no longer needs to access the database or parse the PHP scripts on the server side.

    The only downside is that you will lose the interactivity of your blog, such as the built-in WordPress commenting system (which relies upon a database to update the page with new comments). The plugin author suggests using a third party comments provider such as Disqus to get around this though, but be prepared for a little theme editing.

    class="vt-p" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/seo-ultimate">SEO Ultimate

    For a long time, All-In-One was the reigning king of WordPress SEO plugins, but its day has come. class="vt-p" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/seo-ultimate/">SEO Ultimate is absolutely full to the brim, feature packed with lots of SEO-related modules – but the best part is that you can deactivate any modules you don’t need by using the simple control panel.

    So besides the obvious meta keywords / title rewriting, what does this plugin offer?

    • 404 monitor – essential if you’ve moved your blog, or are getting a lot of incorrect inbound links, this module will allow you to know exactly where and why the 404 errors are occurring so you can take the appropriate 301 action.
    • Slug optimizer – which keeps your pretty URLs to a minimum by removing useless words like “a” and “the” from them.
    • Competition researcher - a powerful tool for anyone hoping to get into a niche market, this module lets you investigate URLs or keywords to find how much competition there is.
    • Automatic Deep-Linking – If you find yourself constantly linking certain keywords back to some of your best articles, let this tool do the linking for you. Just specify the keywords you want linked, the URL and like magic it will be applied site-wide.
    • Link masking – if you’re running a successful affiliate program, but afraid of being penalised for it, then you’ll love this. With this module you can hide your affiliate links to look like http://yourdomain.com/out/url for example.

    class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/seo-ultimate-screenshot-1.png" alt="new wordpress plugins" width="480" height="357" />

    That’s all of the new WordPress plugins for now, folks. Stay tuned as next week I’ll take a look at some fabulous new themes for you to customize, and show you exactly how to put that elusive featured post thumbnail image into a custom category archives view. Comments, suggestions and feedback to the comments section below, please!

     

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    6 TV-Ready Media Center Programs You Should Check Out

    Posted on 07 April 2011. Tags: , , , , ,

    tv media centerIf you’re looking to set up a media center, you need to know what free software is out there. Choose the media center application that works best for you by comparing the best programs on the market.

    If you’re looking for a program to watch your favorite videos from the comfort of your couch, you’re going to need a good TV media center program. These programs are designed to be readable and browsable from your couch, and present you with the media on the web and on your hard drive. All vary in terms of features, and all have something to offer. One of them is right for you. This list is by no means definitive, but it does cover most of the major players.

    Browse the list, find more information. Try them all out if you have to; after all, all of these programs are free.

    XMBC

    tv media center

    It started as a media center for the original Xbox, but it’s evolved to become so much more than that. XBMC is considered by many to be the best media center out there, and it’s not hard to see why. Insanely customizable, and giving you quick access to your movies, music and TV shows, it’s simply a hard program to top. Like XBMC, but want more online content? Check out NaviX, the ultimate extension for XMBC. You’ll find lots of streaming content there, so enjoy.

    Boxee

    tv media center software

    Built using code from XBMC, Boxee can seem overwhelming at first. There are TV shows, movies and more to browse, and even an entire App store. Start using it for a while, though, and you’ll wonder how you lived without it. That’s because Boxee allows you to customize everything enough that your favorite videos on the web are only a few clicks away.

    Want to learn more? Read 5 things you should do after installing Boxee.

    Hulu Desktop

    tv media center software

    Simply put: it’s all of Hulu’s videos, from your TV. There’s really not much more to this program; you can’t add your own videos, or watch any videos that aren’t on Hulu.com. This makes it useless outside of the USA, naturally, but assuming you’re in the States and most of the shows you like are on Hulu, this can be a good program to have around. Read more about the Hulu Desktop

    Kylo

    tv media center software

    This one’s a little different. Basically a web browser built for television, Kylo is a pretty good media center in itself. Links to most of the major video sites on the web are easily accessible, and an interesting control paradigm makes for easy browsing. Sadly, Hulu is blocked, but there’s still a lot to discover here. If you want your media experience to be the web, try out Kylo.

    Moovida

    media center tv setup

    A slick user interface for browsing your own videos. While lacking in online content, Moovida is a great option for those looking to organize their desktop video collection. Lots of customization options await, so check it out!

    Enna

    tv media center

    A recent addition to the field, Linux media center Enna comes with some capabilities not seen elsewhere. Support for couchbound book reading, for example and a pretty slick photo browser as well. This exciting new application also gives you access to your local music and videos, so give it a spin.

    Record Live TV

    Like these desktop clients, but want to record live TV as well? You’re not alone, particularly if you’re paying for cable anyway. There are a number of programs you can use to accomplish this, and all are outlined in Dave’s recent article How to record TV shows to your PC. Check it out.

    Conclusion

    Know of a tv media center application I missed? Share it below; it might well be featured later. Also feel free to recommend any of the programs for the benefit of our readers, because they love to learn!

    Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers!

     

     

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    10 Important Mac Tools You Should Use But Probably Ignore

    Posted on 24 March 2011. Tags: , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/muoscreenshot316_1.png" border="0" alt="mac tools" />Although Macs are robust computers with plenty of awesome features inside Apple’s operating system itself, there are a slew of free third-party applications that should be in every Mac user’s Applications folder. These tools do all sorts of things, from cleaning out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-expanding-apple-dictionary-%E2%80%93-mac-only/">international language files you don’t need, cloning your hard drive, to providing better features for reading PDF documents.

    I’ve chosen only Mac tools that I’ve personally used over the years, including ones that don’t duplicate what pretty much already exist as part of Mac OS X. However, I’m sure there are other useful applications that MUO readers can recommend, so please do so in the comment section below. Also, you may want to look for these applications in the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/twitter-mac-apple-app-store-mac/">App Store. Downloading these apps from there means that they can be more easily updated in the future.

    id="more-67851">

    href="http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/">Monolingual

    If you want to reclaim several hundred megabytes of hard drive space, Monolingual can do that for you very quickly. It removes unnecessary language resource applications installed on your Mac. You simply check and remove the international languages you don’t need. This is especially useful if you have a MacBook Air which has a smaller amount of memory than most Macs.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Monolingual-1.3.0-en.png" border="0" alt="mac tools" width="462" height="481" />

    href="http://www.bombich.com/index.html">Carbon Copy Cloner

    With 500GB external hard drives being almost as cheap as an iPod Nano, there’s no reason not to be cloning your entire Mac hard drive. Carbon Copy Cloner can create a bootable backup of your entire Mac without you hardly lifting a finger.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ccc.jpg" border="0" alt="cool mac tools" width="580" height="495" />

    You can schedule the backup to run on a regular basis. In the event your Mac crashes, you can simply reboot from the cloned drive.

    href="http://growl.info/">Growl!

    I’ve href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/set-multiplatform-notification-system-growl/&sa=U&ei=w_x-TZ31B4v6sAOy6uD6BQ&ved=0CBIQFjAC&usg=AFQjCNHOAyjTry8BIXa8ZNvDF4m6tlPacQ">written about Growl! before. This little behind-the-scenes program can notify you about new email, Direct Message tweets, completed uploads, and lots of other activity happening in your Mac. Growl supports over a hundred different browser, chat, file sharing, multimedia, music, productivity, and download applications.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/muoscreenshot317.png" border="0" alt="Muoscreenshot317" width="527" height="447" />

    href="http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/geektool/">GeekTool

    Your desktop can be more than a place to park files and display wallpaper. With GeekTool, you can actually customize your desktop to display all kinds of information, such as the time, date, weather, or even the tweets from your Twitter contacts.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/shot30.jpg" border="0" alt="Shot30" width="580" height="362" />

    Check out the  href="http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/geektool/ecrans.php">possibilities of what this app can do. GeekTool may appear a little intimidating to Mac newbies, but href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-display-system-information-in-style-using-geektool-mac/">Jeffry’s how-to article should help you get started.

    href="http://skim-app.sourceforge.net/">Skim

    If you regularly download and read PDF documents, I definitely recommend that you ditch Apple’s Preview PDF reader and start href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/skim-alternative-pdf-reader-note-taker-mac/">using Skim. It has tens times more features for annotating documents and bookmarking pages than Preview does. It is the best free alternative PDF reader.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/01a-Quick-glance.jpg" border="0" alt="cool mac tools">

    href="http://www.blacktree.com/">Quicksilver

    Quicksilver enables you to practically keep your hands on your keyboard at all times, because if you learn how to use it, you can simply activate Quicksilver with a keyboard shortcut and type whatever application, URL, or even Address Book contact you want to launch on your desktop. You can even use Quicksilver to activate features in iTunes without bringing the music player to the forefront.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/quicksilver.png" border="0" alt="cool mac tools" width="270" height="409" />

    href="http://code.google.com/p/qsb-mac/">QuickSearchBox

    If Quicksilver is not as intuitive as you would like, you will find Google’s QuickSearchBox more user friendly. Amazingly, this search application finishes the hundred yard dash well before Apple’s own Spotlight can get off the starting line.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/qsb.png" border="0" alt="tools for mac" width="347" height="285" />

    With QuickSearchBox, you can even do Google searches from your desktop, instead of heading over first to your favorite web browser. Check out this href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-basic-actions-that-you-can-perform-with-googlequick-search-box-mac/">article for other things you can do with QuickSearchBox.

    href="http://www.edenwaith.com/products/permanent%20eraser/">Permanent Eraser

    When you throw files in the trash of any computer, those files are never fully disposed of. Bits and pieces of it, or even entire files can remain in the bowels of your hard drive. You can use Apple’s Secure Empty Trash feature to overwrite deleted files, but for more sensitive files you will want an application that provides added security.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/pe_screenshot.png" border="0" alt="tools for mac" width="480" height="209" />

    Permanent Eraser does exactly that. According to the developers, “This utility overwrites your data thirty-five times, scrambles the original file name, and truncates the file size to nothing before Permanent Eraser finally unlinks it from the system. Once your data has been erased, it can no longer be read through traditional means.” This type of application should be  a part of every Mac user’s arsenal.

    href="http://handbrake.fr/">HandBrake

    When you purchase a DVD movie, you will probably want to back it up on your computer hard drive, as you do with other important digital media. HandBrake can do that job for you.

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    HandBrake works with Mac, Linux, and Windows. Though the application’s interface looks challenging, using it is not too difficult. Check out our instructions href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-simple-steps-rip-entire-dvd-hard-drive/">here.

    href="http://www.loginox.branox.com/">Loginox

    If for some reason you want to change the classic Mac OS X screen image that appears when you log into your Mac, you can easily do that with Loginox.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/s2.jpg" border="0" alt="mac tools" width="580" />

    There are a few very geeky ways to do this, but Loginox makes it a drag and drop process. It’s a very useful tool if you want to customize that part of your Mac.

    These are ten Mac tools I’ve used over the years. There are others, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-ways-to-make-use-of-evernote/">Evernote and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/skype/">Skype that I assume many Mac MUO readers are familiar with. But let us know what free Mac tools you think should be part of this list and why. />
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    15 Awesome Dual-Monitor Wallpapers You Should Check Out

    Posted on 22 March 2011. Tags: , , , ,

    class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/intro2.png" alt="dual monitor wallpaper" />Having multiple monitors can sometimes help you be a lot more productive, helping you digest more information at once, but this usually requires a bit of configuration, which you can easily achieve with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-useful-programs-that-help-manage-multiple-monitors/">these programs.

    Having more screen real estate also gives you an excuse to beautify your now extra-long desktop, which shouldn’t be too hard, as there are many resources out on the web that only collect dual-monitor wallpapers for your convenience. Among these sites are href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/dualscreenwallpaper-hot-dual-screen-wallpapers/">Dual Screen Wallpaper, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/multimonitorgroup-multiple-screen-wallpaper/">Multiple Monitor Group, etc.

    We’ll go ahead and make it even easier for you to get started exploring wallpapers for your multiple monitor setup. While you’re at it, you should also check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/use-videos-as-screensaver-or-wallpaper-windows/">how to go a step further and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-tips-improve-desktop-wallpaper/">create animated wallpapers in Windows 7, because sometimes static images just aren’t exciting enough.

    Hit the jump for some great landscape wallpapers, which I thought would be apt for dual-screen setups.

    id="more-67672">

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2489/a_place_in_the_sun.html">A Place in the Sun

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/1aPlaceSun.jpg" alt="dual monitor wallpaper" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken in the Maldives

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2489/a_place_in_the_sun.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2481/ocean_on_the_rocks.html">Ocean on the Rocks

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2oceanOnRocks.jpg" alt="free dual monitor wallpaper downloads" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken in Palm Beach, Florida

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2481/ocean_on_the_rocks.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2522/monument_valley.html">Monument Valley

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/3monumentValley.jpg" alt="free dual monitor wallpaper downloads" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken at Monument Valley, Utah

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2522/monument_valley.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2514/the_hills_of_munnar.html">The Hills of Munnar

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/4hillsMunnar.jpg" alt="free dual monitor wallpaper downloads" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken at Munnar, India

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2514/the_hills_of_munnar.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2509/uluru-ayers_rock.html">Uluru-Ayers Rock

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/5uluru.jpg" alt="free dual monitor wallpaper" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken at Uluru ““ Ayers Rock in Australia

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2509/uluru-ayers_rock.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2496/a_demain%2C_fontvieille.html">A Demain, Fontvieille

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/6fontvielle.jpg" alt="free dual monitor wallpaper" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken in Monaco

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2496/a_demain%2C_fontvieille.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2494/hachinohe_sunrise.html">Hachinohe Sunrise

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/7hachinoSunrise.jpg" alt="free dual monitor wallpaper" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken in Japan

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2494/hachinohe_sunrise.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2492/great_ocean_road.html">Great Ocean Road

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/8greatOceanRoad.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken at Victoria, Australia

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2492/great_ocean_road.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2488/calm.html">Calm

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/9calm.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken in Bavaria, Germany

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2488/calm.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2487/misty_water.html">Misty Water

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/10mistywater.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Unknown location but possibly Portugal

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2487/misty_water.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2471/jasper_from_mt._whistler.html">Jasper from Mt. Whistler

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/11jasper.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken in Alberta, Canada

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2471/jasper_from_mt._whistler.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2499/old_pier.html">Old Pier

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/12old-pier.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Unknown location

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2499/old_pier.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2461/african_sunset.html">African Sunset

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/13africansunset.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="232" />

    style="text-align: center;">Taken at Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1024

    Available at href="http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details/2461/african_sunset.html">Interfacelift

    href="http://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/611165/">Beautiful Sky

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/14beausky.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="363" />

    style="text-align: center;">Unknown location but possibly China

    Dimensions: 2560 x 1600, 1920 x 1200, 1680 x 1050

    Available at href="http://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/611165/">Desktop Nexus

    href="http://www.dualscreenwallpaper.com/index.php?act=view&id=138">Earth View

    style="text-align: left;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ee.jpg" alt="dual monitor wallpaper" width="580" height="181" />

    style="text-align: left;">Dimensions: 3360 x 1050

    Available at href="http://www.dualscreenwallpaper.com/index.php?act=view&id=138">Dual Screen Wallpaper

    For more wallpapers, be sure to pay a visit to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-resources-to-pimp-your-wallpaper/">these sites (especially href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-sites-funny-computer-wallpapers/">these top-rate sites for funny wallpapers) to find new and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-sites-to-download-very-high-resolution-wallpapers/">high-quality href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-great-places-find-free-beautiful-photo-desktop-wallpapers/">eye candy for your desktop. If you prefer to be surprised with random wallpapers from a specific RSS feed, see href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-set-a-bing-wallpaper-desktop-slideshow-in-windows-7/">this post on how to easily achieve that with Bing images in Windows 7 and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-wallpaper-changer-apps-for-linux/">Linux, though you can use any other source, of course, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/take-flickr-straight-to-your-desktop-with-interactive-wallpaper-updates/">Flickr, for which href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-simple-ways-flickr-wallpaper-downloads/">there are many ways to download wallpapers from. There’s also href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/personalize-desktop-wallpaper-social-wallcast/">Wallcast, which is a my favorite new app with a cool twist: not only does it help you create a cool collage of photos on your desktop, it also lets you easily share photos with your family and friends, whom will see your pictures right on their desktops.

    Speaking of collages and collections, be sure to see more of our very own collection of handpicked wallpapers:

    - href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-beautiful-green-grass-wallpapers-for-your-desktop/">Top 10 Green Grass Wallpapers

    - href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/15-cool-facebook-wallpaper-themes-windowsmaclinux/">15 Cool Facebook Wallpapers

    - href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-sexy-wallpapers-significant-approve/">10 Sexy Wallpapers Your Significant Other Will Approve Of

    - href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cool-windows-7-wallpapers-check/">Cool Windows 7 Wallpapers You Have To Check Out

    Now, if you perhaps want to try your hand at creating your very own wallpapers instead of hunting for others’ creations, you can start making wallpapers in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-cool-desktop-wallpapers-quickly-microsoft-word/">Microsoft Word and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-tutorials-amazing-wallpapers-gimp/">GIMP.

    Care to share your favorite or current dual-monitor wallpapers? Let us know in the comments! />
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    Why You Should Replace iCal With Virtual Daily Planner Opus Domini [Mac]

    Posted on 14 March 2011. Tags: , , , , , , ,

    class="align-left" style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;margin-top:5px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/logo.png" width="170" height="157" align="virtual daily planner" />Do you remember, before the advent of palm pilots, blackberrys and smartphones, carrying around one of those leather bound planners, to keep track of your daily schedule? href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opus-domini/id416244215?mt=12">Opus Domini [App Store Link] is the ideal solution for someone looking for a virtual version of that kind of daily planner.

    The virtual daily planner is divided into five sections, Daily Tasks, Master Tasks, Compass, Goals and Mission. Even if you don’t have a need for all sections, you can get a great deal out of this nifty little app that is impressively available for free through the Mac App Store, and could easily replace the  native Mac calendar app, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ical/">iCal.

    id="more-67081"> /> Opus Domini gives you a more fun and visually appealing way to handle your schedule, as it is made to look exactly like a physical daily planner, which you can leaf through. The way it is laid out, it transforms itself into a useful tool which you can use to stay organised, and on top of both your daily and over all work tasks.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Opus-Domini.png" alt="virtual daily planner" width="580" height="403" />

    Automatically Syncs with iCal

    If you’ve already got your entire calendar plugged into iCal, making the transition to Opus Domini is easy because it automatically syncs with the native Mac app. There is no need to do anything on your part – it automatically pulls in your appointments and events from all of your calendars, and performs a two-way sync with your default calendar. This is also useful for anyone who uses iCal to take their calendar on the go with them on their smartphone.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sync.png" alt="virtual planner" width="504" height="388" />

    Calendar Display Options

    With iCal you can take a look at your upcoming schedule by month, by day or by week. Opus Domini outdoes iCal by adding a 5 day planner and a weekend planner.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Weekend.png" alt="virtual planner" width="471" height="578" />

    Task List

    With Opus Domini, your task list is front and centre, whereas with iCal it’s little more than a side bar with a list of ToDo items, to which you ocan assign due dates, priority and an alarm to remind you when a task is due. There are two separate Opus Domini task lists. The first is a task list that is viewable by date. Click on any given date, and you will see your scheduled tasks, next to a calendar of scheduled appointments for that day.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/TaskList.png" alt="virtual planner" width="452" height="580" />

    The second task list is a Master List. This is useful for keeping a separate list of ongoing tasks that don’t have a specific due date.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/MasterTasks.png" alt="virtual planner download" width="398" height="580" />

    With Opus Domini, while there is no alarm feature, you can mark tasks as being in progress, delegated or scheduled. You can also easily reschedule all tasks for another date by ‘forwarding’ them.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/tasks.png" alt="virtual planner download" width="431" height="372" />

    Another easy way to assign a due date to a task is by dragging and droppoing tasks onto the calendar above the task list. Overdue tasks are highlighted in red.

    If you use your planner for reminders, iCal is the better option for you. If you use your planner as a way to give you a broader picture of what your tasks are, how they are being handled, and to keep you on track, Opus Domini will definitely be more appealing.

    Notes & Weather

    Opus Domini has a few extra features that makes it a more visually appealing and more well rounded app to use instead of iCal. Next to the daily tasks, you have a blank page in which you can write notes, as well as add images using the drag and drop method.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/tasks.png" alt="virtual planner download" width="470" height="342" />

    Above the notes, you can keep track of the weather in any given city, setting it up in the preferences. There is, however, a small glitch with the weather feature, as it displays the temperature in Fahrenheit only, despite there being the choice between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

    Compass

    The Compass is another interesting feature that Opus Domini offers users, but it won’t necessarily appeal to just about anyone. It allows users to document Physical, Social, Mental or Spiritual items on a list, and track their progress.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Compass.jpg" width="455" height="515" />

    Here you can record tasks or goals aimed at bettering yourself in any given way. You can also add your own categories to the Compass.

    Goals & Mission

    If you’re interested in the bigger picture, you can also use Opus Domnini to keep a record of your goals, and how they are progressing.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/goals.png" width="456" height="322" />

    In addition, you can set down your mission statement, vision and values, to remind yourself of the driving force behind your work.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/mission.png" alt="virtual daily planner" width="580" height="338" />

    Opus Domini is only available for download through the href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opus-domini/id416244215?mt=12">Mac App Store, and so you have to be running Snow Leopard in order to install it.

    Would you ditch iCal in favour of Opus Domini? What do you think of its features? Let us know in the comments.

     

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    6 Inspiring & Funny Blogs You Should Read If You Are A Parent

    Posted on 04 March 2011. Tags: , , , , ,

    class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dooce-Kid-Pigtails.png" alt="blogs for parents" />If you’re a stay-at-home or a work-at-home mum or dad you’ll know that it’s always pleasant to read well-written blogs by others in similar situations. There’s something in the solidarity – knowing it’s not just you dealing with an eclectic mix of clients and walls covered in spaghetti. Somehow this knowledge can help ease the stress of parenthood and relax you with the knowledge that you’re not the only one.

    Parenting can be quite isolating at times, since you’re often stuck at home while kids sleep. So the Internet is the ideal way to quickly reach the rest of the world and regain some much-needed laughs and perspective.

    id="more-66410">

    Dooce

    href="http://dooce.com/">Dooce is, well, Dooce. There’s an extreme personality lurking behind this blog and if it’s not for you you’ll know within seconds of arriving on the site. But those who love Dooce find themselves strangely addicted. There’s a reason this blog is still massively popular 10 years down the track and I’m certain that’s more to do with the personality than the poop. And really, there’s a lot of poop.

    As far as the blog itself goes, Heather is a professional blogger and mum living in a regular household of chaos and making sure the gory details are laughed at by more than just the people within her home.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dooce.jpg" alt="blogs for parents" />

    Note I managed to find a screenshot which didn’t involve any mention of poop. I hope you’re proud.

    Theta Mom

    Not the alpha mum, or the beta mum. href="http://www.thetamom.com/">Theta Mom is a blog for those who come a little further down the super-mum ranks and can honestly think of more than a few recent screw-ups to prove their position. In other words, it’s for most of us. This blog is all about balancing work and parenting roles, offering plenty of sound advice and a few funny anecdotes. It’s built a community to support working parents and allows members to write the occasional guest post for the blog.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Theta-Mom.png" alt="blogs for parenting" />

    Baby Rabies

    href="http://www.babyrabies.com/">Baby Rabies is purely a stay-at-home-mum blog at the moment, but that’s not to say it’s not as valuable as the working parent perspectives. The writer is a 30-year-old mother of two who writes in a candid, often hilarious style about her new life as a mother. She’s the sort of person who used to be a career woman who loved her heels and Starbucks, but got an incurable bout of Baby Rabies and wound up mothering.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Baby-Rabies.jpg" alt="blogs for parenting" width="374" height="522" />

    Mushbrain

    href="http://www.mushbrain.net/">Mushbrain describes itself and the mental state of the writer and readers perfectly in one completely invented word. It’s all about the craziness of life, motherhood and the strange things you find yourself doing. Occasionally mentioning the horrible bits of parenting you wish you’d never experienced, this blog mainly laughs at how different parenting looks from the parent’s side of the picture.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Mushbrain.png" alt="blogs for parenting" />

    Dagmar’s Momsense

    href="http://dagmarbleasdale.com/">Dagmar’s Momsense is all about parenting from a frugal, green and generally sensible perspective. Dagmar rants about everyday parenting issues, such as balancing work and family. She’s a little opinionated at times, but if you’re open minded it can serve to enlighten you of new perspectives.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dagmars-Momsense.jpg" alt="parent blogs" />

    GeekDad

    href="http://www.wired.com/geekdad/">Wired’s GeekDad is much loved by geeks and dads worldwide. It blends a classy mix of geekiness with cool things you can do with your kids. There’s lots of DIY projects, games and sci-fi fanaticism.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Geekdad2.png" alt="blogs for parents" />

    If you’re looking after kids and trying to juggle freelance work or a home business alongside, these posts are for you:

    • href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-legitimate-online-self-employment-opportunities/">5 Legitimate Online Self-Employment Opportunities
    • href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-free-android-apps-mom-love/">10 Free Android Apps A Busy Mom Will Love
    • href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/paid-sponsorship-blog/">How To Get Paid Sponsorship For Your Blog
    • href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-awesome-inspiring-blogs-entrepreneurs-business-owners/">10 Awesome & Inspiring Blogs for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
    • href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/post-jobs-website-referral-payments-jobcoin/">Earn Referral Payments By Posting Relevant Job Listings On Your Website

    Obviously there’s many more blogs for parents out there. Let us know of your favourite parenting blogs in the comments! />
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    Student DOG Organizer – A Superb Digital Organizer You Should Check Out [Windows]

    Posted on 13 January 2011. Tags: , , , , , ,

    class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/intro.png" alt="digital organizer" width="150" height="150" />There are many class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/task-manager/">task managers, such as class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-easy-ways-to-manage-tasks-with-remember-the-milk/">Remember The Milk and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/toodledo-an-online-task-management-app-with-iphone-integration/">Toodledo that have been praised for helping users get things done in an class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/delicious-completely-organize-student-life/">organized fashion, but a lot of times, a task manager isn’t enough. Most likely, you need to integrate task managers with other programs, such as your class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/organized-semester-google-calendar/">calendar application. This is especially true for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gradegurus-top-ten-student-tools-2010/">students that constantly need to be organized without dying in the swamp of tasks. Finding a task manager that works without sucking the little time you’ve got (because of its complex inputting syntax or what not) may be a challenge, but not for long.

    class="vt-p" href="http://download.cnet.com/Student-Dog-Organizer/3000-20415_4-75289356.html?tag=mncol;1">Student DOG Organizer (version 2.1) is a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-downloaded-student-tools-movers-shakers/">popular download that contains a handy digital interface for organizing tasks that most students get day by day. Think of it as a digital student planner, complete with contacts, calendar, tasks, grades, notes and schedule sections.

    id="more-62685"> /> What makes this program a gem is also the Overview section, which is actually the first one, so you can see a summary of the most immediate appointments, classes, tasks and even birthdays.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/11.png" alt="digital organizer" width="580" height="390" />

    Of course, this Overview section certainly works better provided you actually fill out all sections of the application. Most sections work the way you’d expect, but the next ones are worth mentioning because they’re especially helpful.

    Notes

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/21.png" alt="free task list organizers" width="580" height="393" />

    The Notes section lets you create notes and place them in specific categories, which could be certain classes or even random notes. The best way to go about creating notes would be to first create a category and then the note, which will ask you for the note title before opening Wordpad, with the file saved according to the title you provided. If you’re not too keen on using Wordpad, you can select a different program in the Settings tab. You can either select the built-in editor (a simple WYSIWYG composing window), Microsoft Word, or use a EXE program to which you will specify the path in the next field.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/32.png" alt="free task list organizers" width="559" height="448" />

    The tooltips of the icons actually showed information in what I believe is Czech, but otherwise, the Notes section is truly a godsend as it displays links to note files on the computer while still organizing them by categories. In other words, it helps you tag documents and also automates the organizing and sorting beautifully.

    Tasks With “Tagging”

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/4.png" alt="free task list organizers" width="580" height="398" />

    The Tasks section allows you to create a simple to-do list sorted by categories. You basically just need to create categories first before creating a new to-do, much like how you do in the Notes section. You can move items up and down to prioritize them, as well as insert lines to separate items and make groups if you so wish.

    Grades

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/5.png" alt="task organizer" width="580" height="389" />

    In the Marks section, you can keep up with your grades and averages for each class to easily determine your progress in the class. Included is a list of 12 subjects that you might need to edit if you’re using the tool for college. To do that, you’ll have to go into the Settings tab and click on Edit Subjects List to alter any class.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/6.png" alt="task organizer" width="506" height="481" />

    Schedule

    You can also create a visual representation of your class schedule on the Timetable tab of the program. You can set a different color for each class and set the start and end of this schedule. In the Settings tab, you’ll also be able to choose between high school-style and college-style schedules, which differ in that high school classes run in consecutive periods while you set your own schedule in college.

    style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/7.png" alt="digital organizer" width="579" height="500" />

    The best part about Student DOG Organizer is that the program brings together what could be several different applications all in one package and so it offers a sort of dashboard where you can see an overview of everything you’ve inputted in one view. What I would love to see in this application though, is the ability to export or backup the data should my laptop ever get stolen while all my work is on it, or should I need to use another computer in a university lab and need access to my data.

    What applications or methods do you prefer to keep up with your student tasks? />
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