<![CDATA[Feed - OnSoftware]]> <![CDATA[How to use Google Talk]]> Even though it's an old app, Google Talk continues to be a really popular app. It's no wonder - it's reliable, easy to use and much simpler than some of the more flashy IMs out there. If you're just getting started with the app, or you have a few doubts, we've answered the top questions about Google Talk below. Take a look...

How to sign up

This couldn't be easier. You need a Google Account, which you can get here. If you have an email address that ends with gmail.com, googlemail.com or you've got a personalized Google domain, then you don't need to do anything - your login details are also your Google Talk login information.

Then, download and install the Google Talk desktop client. The installation process is very easy, and when you see the login screen appear, just enter the login details mentioned above. That's it! As soon as you see the main interface appear, you're free to start chatting!

How to add contacts

The most basic aspect of having Google Talk is having somebody to chat to! A certain number of contacts will be imported from your Gmail account, if you have one. If you haven't used chat before, these are likely to be the people you communicate with most often. If you want to add new contacts, it couldn't be easier. At the bottom left of the interface, there's a little button marked Add. Click that and enter the email addresses of the people you want to talk to - just remember that they must be @gmail.com addresses. You'll also be given the option of checking your Gmail contacts to find new chat buddies. Google Talk will mail the person you've added, and once they've approved, you're good to chat!

How to go mobile

If you'd also like to use Google Talk on your mobile device, you won't have a problem. There are versions of the chat app available for lots of mobile operating systems, including Android (on Android, Google Talk normally comes pre-installed), iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile, and using them is just as simple as on the desktop. Simply install and login using exactly the same login details as on the desktop. Just remember that Google Talk for mobile uses data, so be careful if you're not on WIFI or a fixed data plan!

How to block contacts

Ok, so it's not the nicest thing to think about, but sometimes you'll need to block people on Google Talk. Blocking a person will mean that you never see them online, and they will never see you online - in other words, you disappear from their contact list, and vice versa. To do this, hover over the contact's picture, and wait until the secondary menu appears. Click on the little triangle and pick block. After confirming, the person will disappear. If you ever want to unblock a person, click Settings > Blocked. Then click on the contact's name and the Unblock button will become accessible.

How to make video calls

Unfortunately, you can't make video calls in the desktop version of Google Talk, but don't despair. As long as you have a webcam and a browser, and you download Google Voice and Video, you can make video calls inside your Gmail account. It's only a small download, and you'll be making video calls before you know it. It might seem strange that Google Talk limits itself in the area of video calls, but as I mentioned in my review, it really doesn't seem to be Google's top priority at the moment. It's a functional app, and many users are happy to use it, but it seems clear that Google is trying to push users towards using the app within Gmail or Google +, if at all. This is a pity, but for every IM app that isn't performing to it's maximum potential, there are dozens to take its place. ]]> <![CDATA[How to: move text in Word 2010 using the Spike]]> Copy and paste is one of the most-used functions in Microsoft Word. In Word 2010, though, there’s a function called the Spike that might be even more useful for moving text and pictures around a document. The Spike is an extended clipboard feature of Word 2010. It allows you to remove two or more items from different parts of a document and reinsert them as a group in a new location in the document. This can be very handy for editing large documents, piecing together research projects, arranging agendas, compiling reports and more.

How it works:

1. Select the text, image or graphic you want to move and hit Ctrl+F3 (or Command+F3 on Mac OS) 2. Do the same for all of the elements you want to move and they will be added to the Spike (you won’t see this – it happens behind the scenes like copy and paste). 3. Now place the cursor where you want to insert the contents of the spike and hold Ctrl+Shift+F3 (Command+Shift+F3 on Mac). The elements will be pasted in the same order in which you spiked them!]]> <![CDATA[Uninstall Windows Live Messenger with Revo Uninstaller]]> A while back, we showed you how to uninstall Windows Live Messenger 2011. However, if you are are still having problems uninstalling it or finding that components are left behind, there is another solution. Here is a very simple step-by-step guide about how to completely uninstall Windows Live Messenger 2011 using Revo Uninstaller. Note that this method works for any version of Windows Live Messenger although older versions may not be listed on your system as "Windows Live Essentials". 1. Download and install Revo Uninstaller. 2. Open Revo Uninstaller and select "Windows Live Essentials". 3. Click "Yes" when prompted:

4. Select the "Moderate Uninstall Mode". Advanced can also be used but isn't necessary:

5. Revo Uninstaller will then detect which elements need removing.

6. At this stage, Windows Live Messenger may intercept the installation. If you want to remove the entire Windows Live Suite, select all the checkboxes. If you only want to remove Windows Live Messenger, just select that.

7. You will then see both Revo Uninstaller and Windows Live Essentials uninstaller working in tandem:

8. Windows Live Essentials uninstaller will then inform you that the process is done but do not click Restart Now. Click Restart Later

9. Revo Uninstaller will then continue the uninstallation process.

10. It will then display the left over Registry items which need to be removed. I have drilled down to reveal the location of the files but it's sufficient to just to click "Select All". It is then very important that you click "Delete" before clicking "Next". If you don't delete the files before clicking next, they will remain in your Registry and the whole process will have to be repeated (meaning you'll probably have to re-install Windows Live Messenger again).

Windows Live Messenger is now completely uninstalled.

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft Flight Beta first impressions]]>
Too much input may cause an out-of-control situation!
Microsoft Flight, the latest in the long running simulator series, will be released as a free to play download on February 29. We had an opportunity to play with the closed beta to see what's changed with this iconic game.

If you sign in with a Windows Live account, you get additional content, but from the off there is plenty to do in  Microsoft Flight. Setting off in an exclusive light aircraft, the Icon A5, you will be given a series missions around the island of Hawaii.

Getting Started

Microsoft Flight is easy to play right from the start. The tutorials are excellent, and they don't assume you have any experience. Simulator purists might dislike this new casual feel, but realism can be increased whenever you want. When it's released, you'll be able to buy more planes and scenery, but to start with all the activity centers around Hawaii. Every mission you complete earns you experience points, which open up more things to do. If you're signed into LIVE, you'll get a Pilot Profile which displays your achievements.

Relaxing gameplay

Like Nintendo's PilotWings, Microsoft Flight is a gentle game. For example, your second mission will see you landing your instructor next to a yacht so she can play ukulele at a wedding! This chilled lifestyle feel reminds me of an even more laid back Test Drive Unlimited (which shares Hawaii as its location). Enjoying the scenery and simple flight is essential, and made easier by the attractive island and beautiful skies.

Increasing the realism and changing the flight conditions can make it significantly more exciting. Darkness, fog, rain or wind make accurate flight more difficult and you can get extra points in many missions by doing acrobatic maneuvers. In free flight mode, you are limited only by your fuel tanks, but they do take a long time to empty! The two planes included in the beta test are small and easy to fly - we'll have to see what Microsoft studios have in mind as far as jumbo jet flying goes! Microsoft Flight is the most accessible version flight simulator yet. It looks great and is easy to pick up and play. Whether it can recapture fans of the original series, which was anything but casual, is yet to be seen. Check out the demo for 2007's Flight Simulator X (FSX) for a comparison.]]> <![CDATA[Hands on: Chrome Beta for Android 4.0]]> The desktop version of Chrome is one of my favorite browsers. Considering that I'm entrenched in Google with Google+, Gmail, Google Music, and my Android phone running 2.3.4 (Gingerbread represent!); it's nice to have everything connected. On Android devices, depending on the hardware maker, the stock browser is bad. Meaning almost worthless to view anything. My 4G LTE connection doesn't even help. Third party browsers like Dolphin Browser HD are great alternatives, but even they have loading issues. Now Google has Chrome in Beta, I'm very interested if the speed of the desktop program can be matched on Android 4.0. Even in beta, Chrome is almost perfect. As I said in my review, Chrome is fast. Much faster than any other browser that I've used before. Sites load incredibly fast. Text heavy sites are no problem and even new sites that are primarily images have only a small delay. I looked at services and sites that I regularly use to find out if Chrome could access everything that I normally browsed when I used desktop Chrome. I use Google Music over iTunes, so tried to load Google Music through the browser instead of the app. I found that while the mobile version loads Google Music, it will not play a song. I attempted through Wi-Fi and the 4G LTE connection of the Galaxy Nexus and there was no success. That was disappointing, but the Google Music app is actually better organized than browsing through the mobile Google Music site. I also tested YouTube by searching for videos through the mobile and desktop versions. I found that Chrome doesn't support Flash. Even though Chrome will happily attempt to load a YouTube video on a web site, it will freeze the browser. The desktop version of YouTube also has this problem, bypassed by using the m.Youtube.com mobile site. Mobile YouTube also works like the dedicated app, but discovering the lack of in-page video was disappointing. Browsing sites is the greatest experience on Chrome. Connecting to your Google account and synced with desktop Chrome makes an almost seamless experience. Chrome has a "hidden" menu that contains the core of your Google presence. You can find a lot more options for search, apps, and notifications. The seamless nature of the menus bypass the dedicated apps for Google. Almost all Google mobile apps can be accessed through Chrome.

Looking at a selection of pages, I found that Chrome has no problem loading sites. The only issue that I saw were with plugins built into sites. Those sites took a little longer to load, but not much more than a few seconds. Chrome is impressive in how well it loads both mobile and desktop version of sites. There isn't much of a difference in the speed and the browser scales the content well. The only disappointment of Chrome is that it only supports Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). I wonder why Google decided to only support their newest operating system when many are still stuck in 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread). Chrome in beta is faster than any other browser available on Android. Google is infamous for leaving things in beta, so hopefully Chrome's updates will include greater operating system support.]]> <![CDATA[Three ways to control uTorrent remotely]]> There are three simple ways to check and control uTorrent remotely: two browser-based, and a little Android app that is just as easy to use as the uTorrent desktop client. First of all, you need to open Preferences in uTorrent, click on 'Remote', then enable remote access. Give your computer a name and associated password and you're ready to go: To connect remotely, use one of the following three methods:

1: Connect with your browser by logging into uTorrent Remote. This would be much more comfortable without the silly security screen that makes you wiggle your cursor around. Once that's out of the way, simply log in with the details you chose in uTorrent's preferences, and you'll have a fully functioning uTorrent interface right in your browser.

2: Connect with your Android device. A tiny download of uTorrent Remote from the Android Market gives you a mobile friendly interface that lets you add, remove, start and stop torrents, and also check your download progress. Again, you need to log in with your uTorrent Remote Access details to get started.

3: Connect with uTorrent Control. This is a new Windows only browser add-on for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome. Once installed you will have constant access to your uTorrent client via a toolbar or Chrome button. I found this the most complicated method of the three.

As a monitor it's fine, but it doesn't make it easy to add new torrents. The integrated search can't be configured to the engine of your choice, which is annoying. By default uTorrent Control also makes itself the default search if you use the address bar, which you have to disable in preferences unless you want results from Conduit instead of Google. [Note: It is illegal in most countries to use file-sharing clients to download copyrighted materials. You should not use uTorrent for sharing or downloading files without permission of the copyright holder.]]]> <![CDATA[How to fix iOS connection error in Windows 7]]> Before iOS 5, I had no problems connecting my iPod Touch 3rd Gen or iPad 1 and 2 to my computer. Since iTunes 10.5, it sometimes didn't recognize my pair of iPads sometimes, they did't load in Windows 7, or a combination of both.

iTunes Wifi sync only gives you 5GB of storage, so isn't a good sync solution if you have lots of music or video. I looked through one of Apple's support pages and found that this didn't solve the problem. The second support page solution also led to a dead end. If you have tried Apple's support pages and iTunes still doesn't recognize your device, the solution is to run a registry cleaner like CCleaner. When iTunes is updated, it sometimes creates conflicts in the Windows registry, which you can fix by cleaning it: 1. Install and open CCleaner. 2. Click Registry. 3. Scan for Issues. 4. After the scan is finished, click "Fix Selected Issues." 5. Restart the computer, open iTunes, and connect the iOS device via USB. It should now be recognized.]]> <![CDATA[Humble Bundle now on Android]]> Humble Bundle Inc have released another set of games, but this time also for Android and it's a typically excellent selection. The Humble Bundle is a collection of games where you pay what you want, supporting developers and charities. This means that you can pay almost anything for the three games that are part of the sale: Osmos, EDGE, and Anomaly Warzone HD are the three games that Humble Bundle is offering. If you pay more than the average purchase price, you also get World of Goo included, one of the best indie games ever made. Additionally you get the same games on PC, Mac, and Linux as well as the soundtrack to each game. Android Minimum Requirements Anomaly Warzone Earth - Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) EDGE - Android 2.2 (Froyo) Osmos - Android 2.2 (Froyo) but there is a list of supported devices World of Goo - Android 2.2 (Froyo) You can find out the requirements on different platforms through Humble Bundle´s Android System Requirements page.
]]> <![CDATA[Reckless Racing 2 review: the best iOS racing game yet?]]> Reckless Racing 2 is released Thursday 2nd February for for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The highly-anticipated sequel to one of the most popular mobile racing games cranks the action up a gear in what is a deeper and more ‘grown up’ experience. This week we’ve been testing a preview release of Reckless Racing 2, and have loved every second of it. It boasts the same top-down Micro Machines-style gameplay as the original, only with lots more game modes, improved multiplayer and lots of upgradeable items. Reckless Racing 2 tones down the hillbilly theme of the original, and the presentation is much more polished. In fact, it feels like developer Polarbit has spent a lot of time playing Gran Turismo during development of Reckless Racing 2!
Additions such as the career mode, vehicle upgrades, racing line, and braking advice seem influenced by GT5. And that's no bad thing, of course. Screenshot of Reckless Racing 2

Highlights of Reckless Racing 2:

- Career mode with 12 different cups, each set over several races - Arcade mode with challenges set over 40 tracks - Single event mode with different kinds of races and tracks - Multiplayer with option to play all of the above modes against friends or strangers online - Superb graphics with luscious natural backdrops - Choice of five different control systems - Lots of driving aids such as auto-accelerate, steering sensitivity, racing line, mini map and pace notes

Is it the best mobile driving game?

That’s a tough one. Reckless Racing 2 is certainly a lot of fun, and its strength lies in the fact that it plays so differently to a straight racing game. If you’re a serious petrol-head, thought, you’ll probably favor Real Racing 2, Asphalt 6, or GT Racing: Motor Academy, since these are more in the traditional racing game mold. To find out more and to see more screenshots, check out our full Reckless Racing 2 review on Softonic.]]> <![CDATA[How to: Watch multiple videos at once in KMPlayer]]> KMPlayer is one of the most powerful video players for Windows. The multimedia application has a huge range of settings that help you customize your entertainment experience. One neat trick with KMPlayer is to watch multiple videos at the same time with picture-in-picture viewing. Rather than just having different player windows open, this feature embeds smaller videos over the top of a large one. So if you don’t have time to watch four movies in one night, just watch them all at the same time using KMPlayer! Watch the video tutorial or follow the steps below to enable picture-in-picture viewing in KMPlayer.
1. Download KMPlayer from Softonic and install it on your PC. Open the player and right click on the main window. Choose Options, then Preferences. 2. In the General Settings section of the Preferences menus, deselect Disallow Multiple Instances. 3. Load up your first video. This will become the one that appears in the background. 4. Pause the movie and right click on it. Go the Screen Controls option, choose On Top, then Never. 5. Open another video in a new window. Right click on this one and go to Screen Controls. Choose On Top, then Always. 6. Right-click on the video window and choose Skins, then Default Control (Auto Hide). 7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all of the videos you want to load. 8. Now maximize the first video to full screen and position all the other videos in front of it, resizing the windows as necessary. 9. You’re now ready to start enjoying the benefits of picture-in-picture viewing with KMPlayer!]]> <![CDATA[10 cool Google Chrome extensions and apps]]> Google Chrome. I've selected ten of the most interesting and useful to get you started. As you'll see, browser customization is no longer a Firefox-only affair, and Chrome makes installing apps and extensions incredibly easy, so try them out!

Evernote Web Clipper

Much easier than searching your history, and much more flexible, Evernote is an excellent way of keeping pages, links and articles you like. Evernote is like a well-organized web scrapbook, and can quickly become something you rely on. Download here.

M86 Security Secure Browsing

Have you or any of your friends ever been caught out by clicking a scam link on Facebook or elsewhere? This extension checks links on a page and tells you what is genuine and safe. Download here.

Awesome Screenshot

There are many reasons you might want to take a screenshot of a webpage, and Awesome Screenshot makes it really easy. It also features an annotate and edit function, so you can highlight or point to the important areas of the page. Download here.

Tweetdeck

This officially-supported Chrome app is great for Twitter users. Tweetdeck's great layout is probably the most efficient way of seeing your feeds, especially if you use more than one Twitter account. Download here.

LastPass

A free online password manager and form filler, LastPass can really save you time and make remembering hundreds of passwords a thing of the past. The passwords and information it keeps is encrypted on your computer and then sent to LastPass's servers, which only you can access. Download here.

Turn Off the Lights

This is a simple little extension, but it's nice if you're watching web video. Turn Off the Lights makes the space around a video go dark, giving you a cinema effect and getting rid of distractions. Download here.

Bejeweled

Need a break? Pop Cap's excellent casual game Bejeweled is a great way to kill a few minutes...or more! Play Classic or the more manic Speed mode. It looks good and is very addictive. Download here.

Facebook Notifications

Keep tabs on Facebook without having the site open. This little button shows you when you have new messages, mentions and more. Click on it to see what's going on in the drop down box. Simple and effective, the only problem with Facebook Notifications is that it will probably distract you! Download here.

Full Screen Weather

An app that sits on the quick start page, Full Screen Weather gives you a map to explore, with the current weather and forecast for wherever you're looking at. Very useful! Download here.

Biodigital Human

Here's my wildcard - install this and you'll have a great anatomically correct 3D human model to explore. You can toggle various anatomical categories, like muscles or nervous system, and every part can be clicked to reveal a full explanation. An excellent educational tool, allowing you to zoom in and around the human body. Download here.]]> <![CDATA[How to stop Google tracking you across services]]> announced an update to its terms and conditions that means from 1st March, it will now track and collate user activity across all Google products including YouTube, Gmail and Google+. According to the company, the aim of this is to unify the privacy policies for different products as well as provide a more personalized service. Google said in its announcement:
We may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience.
Specific benefits of this mean Google can deliver personalized results when you do a Google search, more relevant ads to your interests and even set reminders based on your activity. However, if you'd rather Google didn't collate or track all your activities across the various Google products that you use, there are a few simple measures you can take to stop it.
  • Sign-out of your Google account. This only works when using certain Google products. For some, such as YouTube, you can use the service without being signed-in. Obviously, this method isn't much good if you want to check your Gmail. If you want to see whether you are signed-in or not, check the top-right of your screen.
  • Create multiple Google accounts. You could create one for each product that you use so that your activities or data are limited to one account at a time. You can then sign-in with multiple accounts in one browser although for some services, you can only sign-in to one Google account per browser at any one time which could become a bit messy and annoying.
  • Customize your Google privacy settings. Google does offer a privacy customization page where you can tweak your settings for various apps. However, it isn't clear whether these will still work once the new privacy policy takes effect on March 1st.
It's worth adding that if you're not happy with the new privacy changes, you can close your Google account and take your data with you in accordance with Google's data liberation policy. To check the data that Google currently holds on you across different services, check the Google Dashboard.]]> <![CDATA[How to: Rotate a video with VLC]]> upside down! If you're using super-app VLC media player, you'll be really pleased to hear that rotating it back so you can watch it comfortably is really easy. Even better, VLC lets you rotate freely, so even if your video is at a funny angle, you're guaranteed to be able to watch it perfectly straight.

Rotating video in VLC;

  1. Open your video in VLC and pause it so you can fix it without missing anything
  2. In the menu, go to Effects and Filters > Geometry and enable the Rotate checkbox
  3. You'll then be able to rotate your video in real time, so you'll be able to spot exactly when you've managed to turn it back to where it's supposed to be!
Bear in mind that this is a temporary solution. If you want to rotate your video and save it with the correct orientation, your best bet is to use a video editor like VirtualDub or Avidemux. If you'd like a tutorial on this, let us know in the comments!]]> <![CDATA[Desktop backup alternatives to Megaupload]]> recent closure of Megaupload highlights the risks of using a cloud based service to backup and store data. Of course, backing-up your data to an external hard drive isn't without risks but there is one that's significantly reduced - the threat of losing access to your data due to sites being shutdown. We've already compiled and compared a list of other cloud backup solutions so here are five of the best desktop backup alternatives for Windows and Mac:

TimeMachine

(Mac): Apple's easy to use discreet backup solution. Constantly backsup your data without slowing down your Mac so that you can effectively "go back in time" and restore files and data. Note however that some people have found it unreliable at times - it may start-off well but may become erratic over time.

SuperDuper!

(Mac): SuperDuper! creates exact clones of your Mac's hard drive so you have a full backup of all your data, including permissions, user profiles and private settings. Simply select the target and destination drives and start backing up. You can specify exactly which files you want to transfer and which you'd like to omit.

Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC)

(Mac): Carbon Copy Cloner is free, simple to use and backsup only those files and folders that you want it to. Just connect your external hard drive to your Mac, CCC will automatically detect it and off you go. You can also schedule automatic backups at specific times and create disk images with it.

Norton Ghost

(PC) Norton's Anti-Virus is a nightmare but its backup solution is a much better package. Norton Ghost is probably the closest thing to Time Machine on a PC and backs-up your entire hard drive – or just selected folders – to another partition, networked drive or an external storage device. Norton Ghost can also create an exact copy of your hard drive with all the existing files, programs and settings and provides restoration points.

USB Image Tool

(PC) USB Image Tool is one of the simplest PC backup solutions you'll find. It's free, straightforward and automatically detects USB devices connected to your computer and scans them before asking you whether you'd like to create an image backup or restore a previously backed-up image. USB Image Tool can create images of USB memory sticks and MP3 players that are mounted as USB drives. [Image courtesy of OnSoftware ES]]]> <![CDATA[How to take video screenshots using UMPlayer]]> take a screenshot of a video? One of the simplest ways to do it is with UMPlayer, an excellent media player that’s a worthy alternative to the popular VLC Player. Whether you have a movie review web site and want to take some stills of a new film, or you just want a shot of your favorite movie to set as your desktop background, UMPlayer makes it dead simple.

Install UMPlayer

First, download UMPlayer from Softonic and install it on your PC. Launch the application and load a movie by dragging the file into the main interface or choose File from the Open menu.

Capture a screenshot

Go to the point of the movie you want to capture and press pause to freeze it. Now go to the Video menu, and you’ll find two screenshot options here. Select Screenshot to take a grab of what’s currently on screen, or choose Start/stop taking screenshots and UMPlayer will keep taking shots of the screen as the movie plays. Then choose this option again (or hit Shift + D) to stop the capture process.

Change output options

To find out where your screenshots have been saved go to the Options menu and select Preferences. On the General tab of the General options (which should load as the default menu) you’ll see a section called Screenshots. Here, you can change the destination folder of the saved screenshots, and enable/disable UMPlayer’s screenshot functionality. ]]> <![CDATA[How to use UltraSurf with Firefox]]> Hiding your IP address while you're browsing the internet is a good move for anyone wanting an additional level of privacy online. UltraSurf is a simple tool that's perfect for doing this when you're using Internet Explorer. It will help ensure security while you're shopping or banking by encrypting your personal information - your IP address gives information about you to third parties. UltraSurf is a great portable tool for people who don't want third parties to be able to view this information, as well as those who want to access websites that are blocked in their locale. If you prefer Firefox to Internet Explorer, though, there's an add-on just for you. It's called UltraSurf Firefox Tool. All you have to do to use UltraSurf on Firefox is download both UltraSurf and the add-on for Firefox. If you're currently running Firefox, you may need to restart befure UltraSurf will work. Besides being able to hide your IP from third parties, UltraSurf can also automatically delete cookies and browser history every time you close it, an extra level of security that users are sure to appreciate.]]> <![CDATA[iBooks Author review]]> iBooks Author and iBooks 2. iBooks Author is a Mac application and Apple's attempt at revolutionizing educational books whether they be textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books and more for iPad. With it, you can create all of the above and more via a classically easy to use Apple interface. iBooks 2 is the application you need to view publications created in iBooks Author. To get you started quickly, there are lots of Apple-designed templates that merely require you to add your own text and drag and drop images. To add interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, 3D objects and more, there are simple widgets which make things very easy indeed. The widgets are one of the outstanding features of iBooks Author. They enable you to add everything from a photo gallery to a Keynote (Keynote ’09 v5.1.1 or later) presentation and can be easily identified in your Table of Contents. You can also add a voice-over to make it easier for sight-impaired readers to read your books. To check how your book is looking, you can preview it on your iPad at any time although note that you'll need iBooks 2 installed on your iPad to do this. If you don't like the look or layout of your book, you can easily re-arrange it using the Book Navigator including the possibility of adding a cover and table of contents. In addition, you can import a chapter written in Pages or Microsoft Word and automatically create a portrait view of your book which makes it easier for readers to focus on the text. The final step is to submit your finished work to the iBookstore and hey presto, you're a self-published author. There is one drawback. Be aware that once you've issued it to the iBookstore, the terms and conditions stipulate that you can't sell it elsewhere. So you wouldn't be able to sell it on Amazon for example. However, although the exports are in iBook format, you can also export them as PDF files which any e-reader or tablet can read. Whether you would be able to then convert and upload this to Amazon is not clear because presumably iBooks Author inserts some kind of digital protection that prevents this. And presumably, any multimedia elements are excluded from PDF files so the result won't be as good as if you publish to the iBookstore. Alternatively, you can just export a pure Text version. As you'd expect from an Apple application, iBooks Author is a very stylish and easy to use application. If you've ever used Keynote to make a presentation, then you'll feel very at home with iBooks Author. Overall, iBooks Author is a superb iBook authoring package which produces stunning results with relatively little effort.]]> <![CDATA[Copy music from an iOS device without iTunes]]> iTunes is the main app for controlling iOS devices on your computer.  But when you're not near the computer that contains all your music and need to copy music from that device, iTunes can't help. Even manually managing an iOS device on another computer doesn't allow for exporting files. The solution is very simple - use Sharepod: a free program that can access any iOS device. I recently replaced my iPod 3 Gen and used Sharepod to export my entire library off my old iPod to reload through a new computer. Here's a step by step guide:

1. Connect the device to your computer with the USB cable. Sharepod will load the device.

2.Select the files you want to export and click "Copy to computer."

Sharepod gives you options of where to save and the formatting of the folders for music.

3. After completing your options, click "Ok" and Sharepod will begin exporting the files. Export times vary on the size of the library, but with patience you will have your entire library available on your computer.

Sharepod is a great free tool for music and video backups and much simpler than iTunes! I tested it with my iPod Touch 3rd Generation, iPad 1, iPad 2, and iPhone 4S and after the computer installs the initial driver, music and video files are accessible.  Sharepod can't export apps, but it can export a selection of files or backup entire music libraries.

]]> <![CDATA[Star Trek Online goes free-to-play]]> Star Trek Online goes free-to-play this morning. On its original release, Cryptic Studios' take on Star Trek had a generally lukewarm reaction. Despite the huge possibilities that the Star Trek universe offers, it felt bland and lacked character. Thankfully since then there have been lots of updates and episodic content to play through.  The Space combat was exactly what fans wanted, but down on planets, Star Trek Online felt like a bit of a grind. I was surprised by this, as Cryptic's super-hero MMORPGs are some of the best in the genre, and great fun to play.
We'll be taking another in-depth look at Star Trek Online later today when the Free to Play version is released - lets hope more fun has been injected into the game, as the camp humor of the series should be able to differentiate it from po-faced Star Wars The Old Republic! You can sign up for a free Star Trek Online account here. Cryptic Studios' other MMORPGs, City of Heroes Freedom and Champions Online Free for All are still available to play for free, and are highly recommended!]]> <![CDATA[Listen to free music on your mobile with Grooveshark]]> Grooveshark on their device thanks to the launch of a new mobile web app from the music streaming service. Grooveshark’s native apps were removed from both the Apple App Store and Android Market last year due to record label complaints. However, Grooveshark has now launched an HTML5-based music streaming service – effectively bypassing the app store owners since approval is not needed. The Grooveshark web app can be accessed through many mobile web browsers, supporting iOS, Android, BlackBerry and HP devices. To use the service, simply visit html5.grooveshark.com from your mobile and start listening. You can use the Grooveshark web app to search for and listen to a particular song or artist, or hear playlists generated by genre through the Stations section. The Popular tab lists the most searched-for tracks of the moment. The Grooveshark web app has a compact and easy-to-operate user interface, although it lacks the range of features and functionality that the short-lived native Grooveshark app had.]]>