QuickBooks Pro 2009 Free Today Only, Normally $199 [Deals]
Finance software maker Intuit is offering a free-today-only deal for small businesses who could put a copy of QuickBooks to good use: Visit your local Staples store today only, December 22, to get the normally-$199 QuickBooks Pro 2009 for free. At the store itself you'll only get $40 off, but then there's a $159 mail-in rebate. You can also get the deal online—the promotion appears on the Staples.com homepage. The Small Biz Trends blog confirmed the discount. Thanks, Tamar!
Bypass Network Blocks with Remote Desktop [Tip Testers]
Reader Bryan uses remote desktop to bypass network blocks at his work sites to get to Gmail and write his blog. Bryan writes:
In a world of virtual communication, having personal email, Twitter, and access to blogs, etc is critical and necessary for many of us. Therefore, it becomes a nuisance when our employers block us from the sites that we love and hold so close to our virtual-loving-hearts. Many of my client's networks do not allow me to access my non-work related email (Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.), Twitter, and Blogger. Google Reader is also blocked at several.
For this reason, I have set up a Remote Desktop connection on my home computer which I use as a proxy-ish means to access my Gmail and other sites from these clients. I use my Vista sidebar Remote Desktop connection gadget to click and log in to my home computer from my work laptop and have access to all that I need in a little minimize-able window on my desktop. I recommend this for anyone who has that tight network administrator who has blocked all your favorite sites.
Check out a screenshot of Bryan's setup above. He gives us a few links on how to set this up on your own:
- How To Set up Remote Desktop on Windows Vista [Microsoft]
- How To Set up Remote Desktop on Windows XP [Microsoft]
- Five Best Remote Desktop Platforms According to Lifehacker Readers
Congrats to Bryan for snagging a signed copy of Upgrade Your Life! Tell us your best time saver of 2008 to win your own.
Pidgin 2.5.3 Released, Smashes Bugs [Pidgin]
Popular cross-platform instant messaging application Pidgin released an update boasting a boatload of bug fixes that should improve the stability and day-to-day operation of Pidgin. If you want to see the entire list of changes in the most popular IM app on the block, you can find the entire changelog here.
PDF Download Add-On Available for Internet Explorer [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: PDF Download, the previously mentioned Firefox extension that improves web-page-to-PDF saving, is out with a version for Internet Explorer.
Along with the features offered in the Firefox extension, the newest version for both browsers adds control over the margins of any PDFs you create from your browser. A screenshot at the developers' page shows Evernote functionality, but I couldn't find the option in my installation. Firefox users have a wider range of PDF tools than Internet Explorer through the add-on community, of course, so the Internet Explorer extension is a valuable tool for anyone who feels chained to a slow-loading, multi-nagging Adobe Acrobat installation.
PDF Download is a free download for Firefox (all platforms) and Internet Explorer (Windows only).
GMDesk Puts Multiple Google Apps in One Window [Featured Download]
Windows/Mac/Linux (Adobe AIR): GMDesk is a single-window frame that can hot-switch between Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and other G-apps, but it could use a few tweaks to make it truly convenient.
The whole idea of apps like GMDesk is to get your web-based productivity tools onto your desktop, without the need for a browser, as with Mozilla's Prism, which we've explained in terms of distraction-free webapps. GMDesk does put all of the majorly helpful Google apps into a single window shell, lets you switch between them hotkeys (Ctrl+1 for Gmail, Ctrl+2 for Calendar, etc.), and switch to domain-hosted Google Apps versions of those webapps instead, which alone might make GMDesk worth it for anyone working both a personal and work-related Gmail account.
But GMDesk, last updated in June, lacks for customization options. You can't, as far as I can tell, change the hotkey switches. More frustrating, though, is the inability to change the font and text sizes on your apps. Google Calendar and Reader start off in decent sizes, but most serious users are going to get frustrated with Gmail and Docs pretty quickly, unless they're using their system's built-in magnification tools, and then that's kind of a pain. Maps has its own zooming capabilities, so that's pretty much a wash, and Picasa Web Albums kinds of sticks out for not being an everyday-use tool.
Still, if you're a Google app fiend and would like to keep them separated from your main browser window, GMDesk might be a step up. It's a free download, requires the Adobe AIR platform to run.
Google Docs Gadget Offers Drag-and-Drop Uploading [Google Docs]
Google releases a desktop gadget for Google Docs that lets you drag and drop spreadsheets, presentation, and word processing files onto it to upload it to your account.
You'll need to be running Google Desktop to get the gadget (available for Windows and Linux only), which lists all your account's documents for quick access to your files. Along with the recently-launched Gmail gadget, this one's making Google Desktop gadgets worth another look.
Make an Origami Reindeer [How To]
What better way to spend a slow pre-holiday morning at the office than folding your own army of reindeer.
Over at the how-to website wikiHow there are step by step instructions on turning a square sheet of paper into an origami masterpiece. The folds aren't too challenging, but if you've never attempted anything more daring than a paper air plane you'll want to look at the pictures carefully as you fold. Aside from impressing young relatives over the holidays with your ability to turn paper into reindeer, the only other proper application of your new found folding ability to to make an army of them to cover your desk. When asked anything of importance from now until Christmas, reply calmly in a Dilbert'esque way "Ask the reindeer." If you've got reindeer and office mayhem on the brain, check out how to turn a cardboard box into a reindeer.
Windows XP's Availability Extended Until May 2009 [Windows XP]
Presumably due to its popularity—and Vista's low adoption rates—Microsoft has extended Windows XP's life from January till May of 2009. The BBC reports that hardware firms will be able to get XP licenses delivered up until May 30, 2009, instead of January 30, the original cutoff date.
How to Reuse Nine Types of Leftovers [Food]
Trent at the Simple Dollar writes up nine ways to reuse common holiday leftovers, written in plain English rather than culinary cursive. Ham, chicken, mashed potatoes, roasts—they're all "merely an ingredient for a completely different meal"—and a pre-prepped one at that. Photo by adactio.
Sticky Screen Makes Your Start Page a Sticky Note [Start Page]
If you'd rather have a simple reminder for your browser home page than a host of gadgets and feed checkers, Sticky Screen is just about perfect.
The site doesn't require a login or plugin—it stores whatever you've typed into the lone sticky note in a browser cookie. Lean and lightweight, and pretty helpful. It'd be neat to see a multi-space remix of this site, though, with additional writing spaces and maybe other no-login features. Anyone with a knack for JavaScript up to the challenge?
Sticky Screen is free to use, doesn't require a sign-up. Sticking with iGoogle, but looking for sticky note features? Try the Web Stickies Mod.
Touch-Screen Keyboard Shown in Android "Cupcake" Video [Android]
A new video shows off the primary features of the all-touch-screen keyboard in the next update of Google's Android mobile platform, code-named Cupcake. The video shows the touch-screen keyboard running on HTC/T-Mobile's G1 handset, but other manufacturers are reportedly considering an all-touch handset to be run on Android. You'll also see the newest updates to the G1's capabilities, including video recording and, for the browser, inline finding and selective copy and paste.
Check out the video below. [via]
Video MobileConverter Formats Flicks for Small Screen [Featured Windows Download]
Windows only: BitTorrent super-host The Pirate Bay claims its ViO MobileConverter tool reduces nearly any video's size by 20 percent and converts it for mobile devices faster than anything else. Let's see about that.
Why the speed and quality test? Simply because ViO, with all the nuance of the typical Pirate Bay communication, claims this on its home page:
Converts virtually any web video format file into a file that's 100% compatible with your portable media device, compressing it up to 20% of its original size without any reduction in image quality. ViO converts your media faster than any tool on the market today.
I decided to try out ViO on converting a DiVx-formatted episode of Mad Men ("The Benefactor" from season two, in case you're a fan) for my iPod touch. I'd previously been using the free version of Freez iPod Converter, which, while somewhat wonky and rough, got the job done faster and at acceptable quality faster than anything else I'd tried. I used Robin Keir's timer to clock the conversion speed.
So! Here's the results of plugging in a 350MB, 45-minute AVI file into Freez and letting fly with the default settings (which converts to MP4):
Freez iPod Converter
Conversion time: 7 minutes, 10 seconds
Finished size: 251 MB
Quality: Good, easily watch-able, only the same quirks as were present in the original.
Screenshot:
I then ran ViO through the same process, plugging in the AVI file and asking it to convert to an MP4 for the iPhone (same video screen as iPod touch):
ViO
Conversion time: 7 minutes, 7 seconds
Finished size: 54.7 MB
Quality: Lots of pixel "ghosting" (blocky pieces left behind when scene jumps), general muddiness to multi-color scenes. Like a YouTube video that nobody selected "High Quality" or "HD" for.
Screenshot:
I then realized that ViO's "Advanced Options," tucked away by default, let you change pretty much anything and everything about the finished product, including a target file size.
So I set ViO to re-encode that video to a 251MB MP4 file, and it instantly upped the video bitrate and other features. Here's the results of that second pass:
ViO (Take Two)
Conversion time: 7 minutes 10 seconds
Finished size: 181MB
Quality: Noticeably better than the first run, with no detectable ghosting. A small bit of jerky-ness when characters are moving quickly or scenes jump-cut (especially in well-lit situations), but watch-able.
Screenshot:
So there you have it. ViO did—despite my wishes, even—make a smaller video file than Freez in the same amount of time, reducing its final size by about 30 percent with only a small amount of detectable difference. Given its more polished, somewhat easier-to-grasp interface and the huge range of devices it can convert for—HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Apple, and many more devices are covered—it's definitely worth checking out.
ViO Video MobileConverter is a free download for Windows systems only. Make sure to watch for the toolbar option if you don't want a browser add-on; it's checked for installation by default.
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