PenOffice 3.1 adds tablet PC handwriting support to OpenOffice.org 3.0
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, OpenOffice.org, Commercial
There's also a new configuration manager, a new configuration manager, and a new scripting engine among other things.
PenOffice allows you to draw anywhere on the screen in order to enter text in a document or other text field. You can also draw on your screen as a virtual scratchpad and save notes or drawings as PNG, JPEG, or BMP files. The program supports handwiriting in 9 languages including English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. It has a dictionary of about 100,000 words, as well as a user customizable dictionary.
A license costs $59.95, but there's a 30 day free trial available.
[via GottaBeMobile]
PenOffice 3.1 adds tablet PC handwriting support to OpenOffice.org 3.0 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments16 Mac/Linux downloads for Data Privacy Day 2009
Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities, Macintosh, Lists
As Lee has already noted, today is Data Privacy Day. Since Lee has already covered Windows users, I'm offering up my list of privacy tools, utilities and practices for Mac OS X and Linux (various distributions).
As always, please leave additional suggestions in the comments.
File/Disk Encryption Tools
- FileVault(Mac) - Mac OS X's built-in encryption tool, FileVault (access it by going to System Preferences, selecting Security and clickin on the FileVault tab in OS X 10.5 Leopard) isn't a completely robust encryption service (it encrypts your home folders, not the entire disk) - but it is easy to use and effective in protecting your home folder data.
- TrueCrypt(Mac and Linux) - TrueCrypt is a cross-platform app (it works with Windows too) that will encrypt your entire drive.
- dm-crypt (Linux) - dm-crypt, the successor to cryptoloop, supports encrypting whole disks, partitions, logical volumes and files. TrueCrypt is going to be easier to use, but dm-crypt might be the better solution depending on your needs and file system.
Instant Messaging
- Adium (Mac) - Adium, the best IM client available for the Mac supports OTREcryption, so you can be sure your conversations are encrypted both ways.
- Kopete(Linux) - Kopte, KDE's instant messenger has an OTR Pluging available for encrypting conversations.
Continue reading 16 Mac/Linux downloads for Data Privacy Day 2009
16 Mac/Linux downloads for Data Privacy Day 2009 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsAutomatically download TV episodes with Feed My Torrents
Filed under: Internet, Video, Web services, P2P, web 2.0
Sign up for an account and you can also create your own personal feeds - useful for starting download remotely with minimal fuss. Just point your rss-enabled torrent client to your FeedMyTorrents combined feed, and it'll automatically begin downloading any torrents you add via the Personal Feed manager.
Automatically download TV episodes with Feed My Torrents originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWorkbench rant: software annoyances I can do without
Filed under: Fun, Blogging, Humor
Bloated drivers.
Ok, fellas, what's the deal? Why do OEMs feel the need to cram drivers for every OS into a single, massive file? Even better, they pack them as an exe inside a zip so LoadScout doesn't do me any good. All I want is 300k of stuff for 32-bit Windows XP, and I'm stuck waiting while you let an encyclopedic archive for all platforms trickle down to me at 14K/s?
I hate you. I'm going to start paying for your hardware by mailing you a nickel every day for four years.
Continue reading Workbench rant: software annoyances I can do without
Workbench rant: software annoyances I can do without originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments3 movie studios to launch subscription based VOD web site
But here's where things get interesting. The three studios, which are working together under the name Studio 3 Networks, plan to launch a subscription based web site that will stream on-demand movies starting in May. At launch, movies including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Iron Man, Pink Panther 2, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail will be available.
In other words, the new epix web site will be a lot like Hulu, except the films will be more current and viewers will have to pay to watch them. So umm, it won't be that much like Hulu at all. But it does raise an interesting question - if Studio 3 Networks doesn't manage to sign a broadcast carriage, could the group still make money on a subscription based web site? Sure, people are used to getting online video for free, but personally I'd rather pay a nominal monthly fee to watch on-demand movies from a site like epix than pay an arm and a leg to subscribe to a cable channel on top of a monthly cable bill. Or at least, I would if epix had films from more than three studios.
In related news, while looking for any sort of publicity photos of epix, I discovered that epix.com, epix.net, and epix.tv among other web domains are already registered. So it's not clear exactly what the URL of the new page will be.
3 movie studios to launch subscription based VOD web site originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFeedDemon to add Google Reader synchronization
Filed under: Windows, Google, Beta, Web
The new build with Google Reader support isn't publicly available yet, but developer Nick Bradbury posted a link to a Flickr image of the next version of FeedDemon yesterday. Google Reader integration isn't the only new feature in store for FeedDemon 2.8. The currently available release candidate already includes enhanced support for Twitter feeds.
If you can't wait for FeedDemon 2.8 RC3, you can try RSS Bandit, which already allows users to synchronize their feeds with Google Reader.
[via Digital Inspiration]
FeedDemon to add Google Reader synchronization originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments20 Great Windows downloads for Data Privacy Day 2009!
Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities
Today marks the second "celebration" of Data Privacy Day, an event put together by the good folks at Intel and other groups including the EU, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.The goal is to increase awareness of privacy practices and rights and create discussion. It only seems appropriate for DownloadSquad to provide some links to applications that have been created with privacy protection in mind.
Here's my list - feel free to chime in with your own additions in the comments!
File and Disk Encryption Tools:
Continue reading 20 Great Windows downloads for Data Privacy Day 2009!
20 Great Windows downloads for Data Privacy Day 2009! originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsUpdate Notifier installs updated Firefox addons automatically
Filed under: Browsers
Firefox has an annoying habit of asking you whether you want to update your browser plugins when new versions are released. I mean sure, it's nice to have the latest version of any add-on, complete with new features or bug fixes. But because Firefox won't boot until you either click a button to apply the updates or to skip the process, this little feature can unnecessarily slow you down.Fortunately, and at least a little ironically, there's a plugin that will let your browser automatically download and install any updates without any user intervention required. Update Notifier is a customizeable add-on for Firefox that can check for plugin updates either before your browser loads, or after it's already started. If you want, you can even have it automatically restart your browser after applying any new upates in order for the changes to take effect.
You can also use Update Notifier to adjust how frequently Firefox checks for updates, and to turn notifications of new updates on or off.
[via CyberNet]
Update Notifier installs updated Firefox addons automatically originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMuxtape is back, with a little help from some friends
Filed under: Audio, web 2.0, Web
Yes, this sounds a lot lamer than the old Muxtape, at first blush. It's not that bleak, though, as the first dozen or so artists helping to kick off the new service rock pretty hard. Perhaps you've heard of Of Montreal? Amanda Palmer? How about the golden boy of mashups, Girl Talk? Well, they're on the new Muxtape, and the future looks bright for Internet indie kids if the service keeps growing in that direction.
Muxtape is back, with a little help from some friends originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsGoogle Gears comes to Gmail
Filed under: E-mail, Google, Beta
Yea, verily, Google brought Gears to Gmail today, meaning you can (finally) go through downloaded emails without a handy internet connection. There are caveats: spellcheck won't work, can't add attachments, pretty much anything that would require a connection won't be there. Reading, responding, starring and labeling do work, however, which is very cool. But hey, don't take my word for it. See the pretty movie Google made to explain it all below.UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments, this is US and UK only (for now). Also, I should point out that you'll find the feature in Gmail labs -- it isn't yet part of the standard feature set. Google states users should see this by the end of the week.
Via TechCrunch
Google Gears comes to Gmail originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsHow to add a Boxee icon to Windows Media Center
Update: Turns out Boxee for Windows is still in private alpha. See the comments below.
I've got two good pieces of news regarding media center application Boxee. First up, it looks like the Windows version of the app has come out of private alpha and is now available for anyone to download. Second, a third party developer has come up with a nifty trick for getting Boxee to work with Windows Media Center.
Windows Vista Media Center does a great job of letting you watch and record live TV, but it kind of stinks when it comes to web video. Boxee, on the other hand, provides an awesome interface for accessing web video from Hulu, CBS, and the BBC iPlayer without a web browser. But it doesn't do live TV.
The folks at Missing Remote, along with media center developer Andrew Cherry came up with a solution: a way to use the two apps together almost seamlessly. Basically you just download and run a script and a Boxee icon will show up in Windows Media Center. By default it hangs out in the Pictures and Video area, but you can move it to the TV and Movies section if you like.
When you click the icon, Windows Media Center will be minimized and Boxee will launch. When you exit Boxee, Windows Media Center should come to the forefront. If it doesn't (as was the case several times during my test), just hit the green button on your media center remote control, assuming you have a media center remote control.
This solution isn't perfect. For starters, you have to make sure to exit Boxee when you're done, because if you don't your Boxee videos could keep playing in the background while you're using Windows Media Center. And because this is just a way to launch Boxee, not to actually make it part of Windows Media Center, it won't work with media extenders like the Xbox 360.
You can check out a video of Boxee working with Windows Media Center after the break.
[via eHomeUpgrade]
Continue reading How to add a Boxee icon to Windows Media Center
How to add a Boxee icon to Windows Media Center originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFind out how web sites are watching you with Ghostery
Filed under: Internet, Browsers
Ghostery is a plugin for Firefox that alerts you when you visit a web site using "web bugs," which are basically scripts that track your information for one reason or another. Ghostery currently tracks more than 100 different types of web bugs, and alerts you if a web page is using scripts from sites like Sitemeter, Amazon, or PollDaddy by displaying a purple window with a list of bugs on top of the web page you're visiting.The alert bubble disappears after about 15 seconds. Or if you'd rather not see the pop up every time you visit a new web site, you can right click on the Ghostery icon in the Firefox status bar and suspend the service until you want to use it again.
Not every item that's classified as a "web bug" is necessarily malicious. In fact, most are simply the tools that web publishers use to place advertising on their site, or enable other features like third party commenting system Disqus. But normally many of these scripts are hidden. And if you want to know what kind of scripts on any web page are tracking you, Ghostery can help you find out.
Find out how web sites are watching you with Ghostery originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsJinni wants to help you find movies you'll like
There are two things that make Jinni really stand out from other movie search tools though. First, once you find a movie you like, you can click a button to discover "more like it." While the engine which determines that if you like Iron Man you might also like X-Men isn't perfect, it is pretty good.
Second, instead of just typing a movie title in the search bar, you can also start entering search queries like "sci fi distopia," or "romantic tragedy." Thumbnail results are sized according to relevenace to your search terms. You can also click the Story Tuners button to adjust your search using criteria like little or well known; light or serious.
Jinni doesn't currently let you watch, buy, or download movies directly from its page. But the service does provide links to rent or buy the movie from Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon, Movielink or other sites, including Hulu.
Jinni is currently in private beta testing, but I received an email with an invite just a few seconds after entering requesting one.
[via ReadWriteWeb]
Jinni wants to help you find movies you'll like originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFixUp Restrictions helps undo malware modifications
Filed under: Security, Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64
FixUp Restrictions by Sotware Dragon is a handy little application that is designed to help undo some of the annoying effects of a malware infection.When launched, it will scan your system to see what - if any - restrictions are in effect and allow you to remove them by checking the corresponding boxes.
Granted, a lot of these repairs may already be handled by your favorite malware cleanup application, but it never hurts to have another tool handy to sort things out after a nasty infection.
The common ask.com toolbar annoyance does appear during the install, so make sure to uncheck all the boxes if you'd rather not allow it to load.
If you'd prefer to avoid the hassle altogether, just extract the .exe using an archive application like 7-zip and run Fixup.exe instead. Copy the folder to your USB flash drive to run it as a portable app.
Search for fixup on the Software Dragon page to find the download, or use the direct link on the screenshot in this post.
FixUp Restrictions helps undo malware modifications originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFresh install of XP, now what?
Filed under: Windows, Microsoft
I had the mothership send me a Dell Latitude so I can finally quit angering Parallels on my Mac (which is down to about 2GB of HD space anyway), and it's about as clean an install as any "corporate" computer will get. For example, since our parent company is publicly traded, the rules insist AV software be included. I'm running GuardianEdge for disk encryption (so those Yahoos don't steal my sekrits), McAfee for AV, PowerDVD and Office 2003. The machine came pre-installed with the latest AOL client (naturally -- and it's really quite useful if you work here) but also with Firefox, which is nice. I had to manually install Flash, which shows how stripped-down the machine is.So now I'm staring at a pretty clean machine, all things considered. What are the top 3 things you readers would suggest I install next?
Fresh install of XP, now what? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFirefox for Windows Mobile could hit Alpha next week
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Mozilla, Beta, Browsers, Mobile
It's been a few months since the first screenshots of Fennec running on a Windows Mobile device (shown above) showed up, which either indicates that the team has been working on the Windows Mobile version for a while, or the pictures were phony. I'm hoping for the former.
If you can't wait another week or two to try Fennec on Windows Mobile, you can always download the latest alpha version of the browser for Windows, Mac, or Linux.
[via WMExperts]
Firefox for Windows Mobile could hit Alpha next week originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsUrlbarExt makes the Firefox awesome bar even more so
Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware, Browsers
The plugin adds a bunch of icons to the right side of the bar, which let you do things like copy the URL of the site you're on with a single click, shorten the URL using TinyURL or a similar service, go up one level or all the way back to the root web page, tag or bookmark a page, or use a proxy server to surf anonymously. You can also search the page using Google or another search engine.
There are a bunch of customization options allowing you to change your default search engine, URL shortener, or adjust which icons show up in the awesome bar.
On the other hand, if you think the awesome bar is less than awesome and you just want an old fashioned URL bar, you can always disable it.
[via Lifehacker]
UrlbarExt makes the Firefox awesome bar even more so originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMicrosoft, OEMs forced to bundle Firefox, Chrome by the EU?
Filed under: Business, Microsoft, Browsers
The answer: more bloat for the end user! Yes, the European Commission is considering forcing OEMs to distribute alternative browsers with their systems. As someone who works in the retail computer business, I cringe at this news.
Don't get me wrong - I load Firefox on every system I build, if for nothing else but backup when a customer overloads IE with toolbars and rogue ActiveX controls. But that doesn't mean I'd want a government body forcing me to install software that I might not otherwise.
Let's think about this for a minute, EU guys.
Windows also includes some other things that have competitors: Wordpad, Paint, Media Player, Defender, and Remote Desktop Connection, to name a few. Does that mean that a new PC will have to include Jarte, AbiWord, Gimp, Paint.Net, WinAmp, VLC, GOM Player, Media Monkey, AdAware, SpyBot, MalwareBytes AntiMalware, Kerio, Comodo, ZoneAlarm, PC Anywhere, VNC, TeamViewer, and a slew of other apps whose functionality Microsoft has built in to Windows?
Where does it end?
And why do I get the feeling that, ultimately, the consumer is going to get the short end of the stick?
Microsoft, OEMs forced to bundle Firefox, Chrome by the EU? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsIE8 RC1 tested: the good, the bad, and how it stacks up
While it's not likely to win back power users that have moved on to browsers like Chrome or Firefox, IE8 RC1 is a definite improvement. To the average user, features like accelerators, slices, and visual search, along with the built-in privacy and safety features, will likely make RC1 an appealing option.
To see how RC1 compares to the competition, I ran it through Sunspider and Acid3. There's been plenty of debate before about how useful these tests are. At the very least, they provide a little insight about what's going on under the hood.
Acid3
As expected, the Acid test was abyssmal. RC1 failed to render the page correctly and only managed a 20 (compared to a 71 in Firefox 3.0.5 and a 77 in Chrome).
Continue reading IE8 RC1 tested: the good, the bad, and how it stacks up
IE8 RC1 tested: the good, the bad, and how it stacks up originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsClosure is an eerie, addictive platform/puzzle hybrid - Time Waster
Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters, Web
It's not as easy as picking up a light and walking around with it. You'll have to figure out where and when to place lights to navigate safely through each trial. Certain objects mirror your light around the screen and others will take it for a ride.
Occasionally you'll find instructions scrawled on the wall. They don't always provide a lot of information, but enough to keep you going. The screenshot, for example, shows the k key - which restarts a level. Wind up where it's drawn, and you'll be pressing it.
Closure is a brilliant and original game. It's highly addictive and currently rated 8.8/10 on Newgrounds.
Here's hoping you don't lose too much time playing it.
Closure is an eerie, addictive platform/puzzle hybrid - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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