HandBrake now encodes any video file, not just DVDs
Filed under: Video, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware
There are a handful of other changes as well, including a GUI for the Linux version, improved video quality, and more control over audio tracks. Queued jobs are also saved to your disk so that if Handbrake crashes, you'll be able to recover the list of queued jobs without starting from scratch.
HandBrake 0.9.3 is available for Windows, Linux, and OS X with Intel and PPC versions available for OS X 10.5.
[via TUAW]
HandBrake now encodes any video file, not just DVDs originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsNewzie RSS reader will monitor pages without RSS feeds
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Freeware
First up, Newzie has all the same basic features we loved, including color coded indicators that let you know at a glance how new an item is. But it also has one awesome new feature: the ability to monitor pages without RSS feeds. Just click the add button, select webpage, and then decide what kind of changes you want to monitor. You can get alerts when a certain keyword pops up on a page, when new images are uploaded, or when anything at all changes.
You can also create several different types of custom channels. For example, if you subscribe to several similar RSS feeds that don't publish posts very often, you can combine them into a single "bulk" feed. Or you can create a "word watchdog" feed that monitors all of your feeds for certain keywords and creates a single feed displaying articles from any other feeds that mention that keyword.
[via gHacks]
Newzie RSS reader will monitor pages without RSS feeds originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments5 Fun, casual Steam games you can give for under $20
Filed under: Fun, Games, Windows, Commercial, Holiday Gift Guide
Steam has tons of casual, fun games in its library - here's my list of five titles under $20 that are sure to provide some maddeningly addictive fun. Hardware requirements for these are fairly light, so they should run on just about anyone's desktop or laptop (provided they're running Windows).
World of Goo ($19.99). Sure, its cartoonish 2d graphics are cute, but this is one seriously smart physics puzzle game. Stack the little goo balls to build structures and reach the goal - it sounds easy, but World of Goo is as challenging as it is whimsical. Finessing your structures into doing what you want takes patience and requires some serious thinking at times. This one's a great choice for anyone who enjoys a good challenge.
Continue reading 5 Fun, casual Steam games you can give for under $20
5 Fun, casual Steam games you can give for under $20 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWorld Golf Tour - Time Waster
Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Freeware, Time-Wasters, Web
The game play is pretty much par for the course, as far as golf games go (sorry, I couldn't resist), and the course imagery is gorgeous, maybe a little too much so. As is typical in golf, there are only a few things that move: in this case the player, the ball, and the flag. Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious that these are rendered in 3D on top of a static image of the course, making them look out of place.
Worse, to achieve the beautiful effect of having photographic imagery for the game, you are confined to a set number of vantage points, many of which are fine when the ball lies in the center of them, but become very awkward when the ball is not. The terrain very obviously has undulations in it, and the ball seems to react fairly reasonably to the terrain, but you can tell that the ball's movement is somehow disconnected from the scene.
Although all of this seems like criticism, the truth is that these are compromises that are reasonable for such a beautiful free online game, if it wasn't for one fatal flaw: Flash. Unfortunately, on my reasonable speedy machine, Flash seemed to act up on every third shot, and would cause my shot meter to jump around sporadically, making it impossible to make a decent shot, never mind a good one. Now, I'm not very good at this as it is, but in one 9-hole round I had at least 8 shots completely ruined by a freezing display.
Now to be fair, World Golf Tour is still in beta, and hopefully they can iron out this very ugly divot in what is otherwise a fairly decent fairway.
You can play a skills game for free without signing up for an account, but to play a full round or to play with your friends, you'll need to sign up for an account and give away your email address and birthday. Is it worth it? I guess it depends on how much you like golf.
World Golf Tour - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsGoogle Chrome gains a bookmark manager
Filed under: Windows, Google, Freeware, Beta, Browsers
The bookmark manager allows you to import and export bookmarks in HTML format, which makes importing your bookmarks from Firefox or another web browser a snap. Of course, you run the risk of realizing just how out of date your bookmarks are when you do this, but that's another story for another day.
Google has also changed the way its pop-up manager works, by displaying the number of pop ups minimized in the corner of your screen. Google Gears and the V8 JavaScript Engine have also been updated in this release.
[via WebWare]
Google Chrome gains a bookmark manager originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsKeyboardr: no need for a mouse on this launcher-style homepage
Filed under: Web services, Search, Web
The experience of using Keyboardr is slick, but it could be better with one tricky little improvement. The list of results from each search engine seems to function as a separate element on the page, so hitting a right or left arrow takes you to the top of the adjacent list, not to the result that's directly across, as you would expect. This isn't a big deal, but it would make Keyboardr even faster if Julius could get around it. As more features are added (customization would be amazing), I'll give serious consideration to Keyboardr as my primary homepage.
Keyboardr: no need for a mouse on this launcher-style homepage originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMelt Mail provides free, disposable email forwarding
Filed under: Internet, Security, E-mail, Web services
We've looked at other disposable email services (like my list of 5 with RSS support) before. Melt Mail is a nice alternative to other disposable account services.
Many require you return to their site to check for messages, but Melt Mail lets you work with any real email address.
Melt Mail works with your existing email, setting up a temporary forward @meltmail.com. You've got four time periods to choose from - three, six, 12, or 24 hours. After that, your address expires and forwards from it to your real account cease.
Once your address has been created, you can choose to pop up a small reminder window that displays your address and an expiration countdown.
One source of concern I have with the service is the lack of a privacy statement. If you're going to use Melt Mail (or a service like this), check for one before signing up. Who's to say your real address won't end up on someone's mailing list.
Melt Mail is a slick service, I'll just stick to using it with my "registration" gMail account.
Many require you return to their site to check for messages, but Melt Mail lets you work with any real email address.
Melt Mail works with your existing email, setting up a temporary forward @meltmail.com. You've got four time periods to choose from - three, six, 12, or 24 hours. After that, your address expires and forwards from it to your real account cease.
Once your address has been created, you can choose to pop up a small reminder window that displays your address and an expiration countdown.
One source of concern I have with the service is the lack of a privacy statement. If you're going to use Melt Mail (or a service like this), check for one before signing up. Who's to say your real address won't end up on someone's mailing list.
Melt Mail is a slick service, I'll just stick to using it with my "registration" gMail account.
Melt Mail provides free, disposable email forwarding originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments3 alternative ways to get Windows updates
Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Lists
1. Windiz Updates provides an experience that's as similar to the original as its name. The twist is that this service won't work in Internet Explorer - you'll need Firefox and the Windiz addon. It doesn't collect any personal information, and IE doesn't even need to be installed on your system to use it.
It's an intelligent system and won't download old updates that have been superceded by newer ones. Windiz also won't install updates that have potential security issues. New updates with It can even provide updates for Microsoft's golden oldies like 95 and NT.
Continue reading 3 alternative ways to get Windows updates
3 alternative ways to get Windows updates originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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