Archive for June, 2010
LastPass is a relatively new addition to the world of password managers. However, it started with the aim to be the best online, and the first step to that was cross platform usage. To this end, LastPass will work on Linux, OS X, and Windows. Firefox and Internet Explorer are supported, Safari support is on its way, and USB drives can be used for support without installing. Mobile support is available for $1 USD monthly, supporting Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. LastPass says iPhone support is coming, and YubiKey support is included in the monthly fee as well. Continue Reading or downloading »
LastPass
Add another name to the roster of feature rich freeware image editors: PhotoScape. Although it eats and leaks about as much memory as Firefox, this editor is perfect for those making the jump between JPEG and am-pro dSLR work. Photoscape 3.5 is a Image Editing Software product from photoscape.org, PhotoScape is a complete photo editing suite that includes image browsing/viewing, photo editing, picture page printing, photo resizing and renaming, and even RAW conversion. The photo editor includes standard editing features as well as automatic and custom adjustment options for brightness, contrast, exposure, backlight corrections and more.
Continue Reading or downloading »
Excellent Free Tolls For Tweaking Your Photos
Digital painting became a real interesting occupation once the first programs dedicated to it were released. Its advantages over traditional painting are the ability to use layers which are developed independently, unlimited undo and redo operations for the brush strokes and other operations performed or virtual color palettes consisting of millions of colors, and even more. Today’s digital painting program is called TwistedBrush and comes as a trial version free to use for 21 days. The installation kit has 11MB and the setup process is a piece of cake.
Once you finish downloading and installing the program, this trip can start. Before everything, I have to tell you a few things about the interface of this program. When starting it for the first time, TwistedBrush will display a welcome screen that can help you find your way through its interface. This screen acts like a basic help tool and can be quite useful for intermediate users, but beginners won’t get only quick hints on how to perform jobs using this program, without many details, but more specific indications. The program’s workspace has a dusty look, the item that I don’t like at all being the black and white icons. Come on, guys, was it so hard to draw some colored, nice icons for the toolbar? Leaving the menu bar and the toolbar behind, the element that takes up most space on the interface is the drawing area, having a tool control panel to its left. In the left panel you can take advantage of the paper, brush and color selection tools, adjust settings for the currently selected brush, choose your color from the easily accessible color palettes, adjust it or open the layers panel.
Until I start talking about the amazing things that can be done with TwistedBrush, I will tell you about how are your documents organized. After a few hours exploration of Twisted Brush, what immediately struck me was that the program could not only be used as a digital sketchpad and paint program. With the current functionality of Twisted Brush, it near rivals many other Paperless Animation systems on the market today. It is missing certain core functions of a paperless system, such as scanner support, and camera and compilation features. However I can see where it would be very easy to add these aspects as module features. However its inherent ability to allow a artist the ability to ink, and paint combined with TB’s unique Book and Tracing Pad feature could indeed be used as a Paperless system. Impressive considering I am sure this was never Mr. Carlino’s intention.
While most of the features of the program are indeed impressive, being in a relatively young state of production there are bound to be a few aspects that could require some attention. The beautiful thing about this however is that it is obvious Pixarra listens to their customers requests, and acts upon them! New upgraded versions of Twisted Brush seem to be released on average every 10-14 days.
The programs lack of a dockable panel structure for its tool panels was somewhat of a disappointment. However this could be because I am used to working on larger more robust programs that have a need for a large number of panels to be open at any given moment. However having the ability to have my tool panels on my second monitor and a blank sheet to work on filling my primary display would be nice.
Increased layer support would also be nice. While Twisted Brush does have layer architecture built in; it is clumsy and awkward to use properly at the moment. I am sure that with enough time it’s use would become second nature, but there are enhancements that could be made.
The Background Layer seems to lack the ability to be able to be promoted to a higher level. Because of this the user is forced to use cut and paste commands to alter the artwork on the BG layer.
As well, when you turn off the program, or navigate away from the image you are working on internally the program automatically falls back to the BG layer. It would be nice to see the program automatically remember what layer you were working on, and return you to that same layer.
Pros
This program is small, easy enough to use for most of us, and the built in content is extremely rich. It can load and save layered PSD and TIFF files, and everything comes for an extremely competitive price that you’ll have to pay if you want to continue using it after the trial period. The last thing that needs to be mentioned here is that it uses layers, and I am sure that you’ll find at least twice more goodies than I did!
Cons
First bad thing that hit me was that TwistedBrush has a lot of keyboard shortcuts missing, which takes away a lot of the speed that can be achieved using them. The help contents is insufficient, at least, since “absent” would be too rough. Most of the interface should be polished to make it look like a program from this century, and the speed could be improved, I am sure of that.
No matter the drawbacks, I love this “twisted” program! The trial version can be used successfully to learn using the full program, since it has no limitations, you can even export your work, without any watermarks or resolution limits! Pixarra TwistedBrush is on the right path, but still has to work on some areas to become an excellent program. Let’s help it achieve that, use it without any hesitation, you can become a talented digital painter in no time!
Foobar2000 Media Player is a very very recommendable player. Foobar2000 is an advanced freeware audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include full unicode support, ReplayGain support and native support for several popular audio formats. Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. This venerable and free alternative audio player has long been appreciated by hard-core customization enthusiasts, but Foobar2000 isn’t just for early adopters or software jukebox fetishists. It doesn’t mess with fancy buttons or bright colors, instead preferring a utilitarian, straightforward user interface to let the music speak for itself.
Continue Reading or downloading »
Advanced Audio Player For The Windows Platform
Folder View is an add-on for Windows that drastically enhances the way you browse the folders on your system. Files are often scattered around many different folders on the harddisk and locations on the network. Every time you want to copy, move, open or save a file, this situation leads you to a quest through levels of folders. With Folder View, these quests are over. Folder View adds a toolbar to the Windows Explorer. With this toolbar, you can navigate to every folder you use. Every folder you like can be added, no matter where they reside: on the hard disk, a removable drive or a network. Continue Reading or downloading »
Folder View
This free program embeds itself in the system tray and offers very little beyond the capability to make and sort notes, which is perfectly fine with us. From the tray, users create a new note, which pops up as a look-alike yellow Post-it note. However, this one can have its color changed and its transparency adjusted thanks to the pull down menu at the top of the note. The size can also be adjusted on the note, but that’s the end of the formatting options. Take down all those annoying yellow reminder papers off your office wall and keep them neatly organized on your computer desktop. Simple Sticky Notes lives up to its title by providing a simple way of reminding yourself of important notes.
Continue Reading or downloading »
Free Reminder For Important Notes
If persistent spyware is bogging down your computer, you might need HijackThis. The tiny program examines vulnerable or suspect parts of your system, such as browser helper objects and certain types of Registry keys. Pressing the Scan button generates a log of dozens of items, most of which are just customizations. Don’t check off an item and hit the Fix checked button unless you’re sure it’s malware. Clicking Info on selected item tells you why the entry was flagged as suspicious, but not whether it’s actually malware. To find that out, search the Web for that item’s name or go straight to a forum, such as SpywareInfo or Computer Cops. Saving the log creates a text document you can post to these forums. Continue Reading or downloading »
Trend Micro HijackThis
Google SketchUp is an easy to learn 3D modeling program that enables you to explore the world in 3D. With just a few simple tools, you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects. And once you’ve built your models, you can place them in Google Earth, post them to the 3D Warehouse, or print hard copies. The program offers a library of building material patterns (brick, concrete, wood, glass, carpet etc.) and colors that you can use to add a realistic look to your creation.
The finished design can be exported to popular image formats, including JPG, TIF, PNG and BMP, or shared via the Google 3D warehouse. Google Sketchup does not require any 3D experience, but you should read the supplied documentation and tutorials to make full use of the software an interactive tutorial will explain the basic functionality for each selected tool. There is also a Pro version available, that offers export to 3D and raster formats.
Debut offers most including ability to record sound and video from webcamera and VCR so if you are looking for variety of features over quality of recordings this is your app of choice. Its is basically an entire video editing application which, beside recording, can also edit videos in many ways including applying watermarks, text and even adjusting video colors. Further advantages of Debut are scheduler, image capturing and saving video in most popular video formats such as avi and mp4. Continue Reading or downloading »
Debut Video Capture
Miranda IM is a multi protocol instant messenger client for Windows. Miranda IM uses very little memory and is extremely fast. It requires no installation and can be fitted on a single floppy disc. Miranda is an instant messenger client that allows you to chat with your friends. Its powerful plugin system makes Miranda IM very flexible. Only the most basic features are built in, but there are currently more than 350 free plugins available for download that allows users to extend the functionality of Miranda IM. Miranda IM is offered as freeware. You’ll give up some of the unique features of your IM programs, but Miranda IM allows you to conveniently monitor and manage many of your chat and messaging programs in one place.
Continue Reading or downloading »
(Miranda IM) Smaller, Faster, Easier IM with Support For Multiple Protocols