I Love Free Software

Integrate Cloud Apps in One Place with Hojoki
Site Update Monitor Add on for Firefox: AlertBox
Experience New Way of Web Search and Browse with Yahoo Axis
How to Map Google Drive as a Hard Drive in Windows?
Search, Watch and Download Videos, Movies, TV Episodes with WonTube
Test drive Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich on PC
5 Free Firefox Plugins to Download YouTube Videos

Integrate Cloud Apps in One Place with Hojoki

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Hojoki is an integrated software for making all your cloud based software accessible from a common space. It houses the shortcut links to all your favourite applications, making it possible for you to access your applications easily and conveniently.

Be it Twitter or Facebook, it becomes difficult to reach out for every application from a separate portal. With Hojoki, you get the advantage of receiving information and using it according to your own convenience.

Features of the Software

The ability to launch all your favourite cloud based applications work from a single source.
The software is browser based. You need to login with your User-Name and Password directly on to the Hojoki website, to make use of the software.
Unlike many other cloud integrating software, it does not require you to create a separate web account for the website.
Define what can be shared in each of the projects.
Much more convenient usage of all the cloud based apps.
Special features of Magic Filtering and Magic Search. Magic Filtering makes use of the auto-suggest feature while Magic filtering filters the essential elements like Newsfeeds.
Real time notifications of the updates.
A wide range of themes to choose from.

Working of the Software

Hojoki is cloud based software. You need to login through your Email ID or your social networking ID. After logging in; you need to select your applications. Various applications; which are frequently used by people, are listed. After selecting the application, details of your account for that software are asked. The details entered by you are stored and you get real-time updating of the latest happenings. A workspace is created for you. You can send invites to people, add them and complete your workspace. The software works particularly well for Google Docs, Twitter and Facebook; where real time updating becomes a must.

However, call it a server glitch or a software bug; the software sometimes fails to open your application. A blank page gets opened and loading tab shows done. It's a minor technical glitch I presumed but the error does reappear quite often than not!

The Final Verdict

Hojoki is a brilliantly developed cloud integrating software. Not only does it allow you to launch your favorite applications from a common podium; it combines specialized features to present itself as, an excellent interactive software. It's worth giving a try, if you make use of a host of cloud based applications.

Integrate Cloud Apps in One Place with Hojoki was originally published at I Love Free Software

Site Update Monitor Add on for Firefox: AlertBox

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT

AlertBox is a Mozilla Firefox add on that monitors site update for any change in both text and images. AlertBox saves you the trouble of checking for updates on a website every now and then.

Features of this site update monitor add-on:

Set alerts for changes on any website.
Powerful function to be able to identify and select content you want to monitor.
Set specific rules to make sure you are informed of important changes only.
The program checks for updates in the background and does not interfere with other programs.
Mange alerts easily from Inbox.
Create audio, popup and email alerts.
View website history as a timeline.

How to use this free site update monitor

Installation is very easy. Click on the Add to Firefox button. A popup menu requests you to confirm whether you want to allow the add-on to be installed. Click Allow and wait for the download to complete. Once again Mozilla asks for you consent before installing the add on. Once installation is complete you have to restart your browser if you wish to use AlertBox immediately. The AlertBox button appears just after the bookmarks icon.

To setup an alert, click on the AlertBox button. The add on opens an interface above the active tab. The interface issues clear instructions on what you need to do to create an alert. Enter an alert name on the textbox and choose a timer which trigger the add on to check for updates when the period elapses. Select the section of the website you would like monitored by moving your mouse until the section of the website is enclosed with a black rectangle and the enclosed text is displayed on AlertBox's interface. Once you are satisfied you captured the correct area, click Add Alert or click Add Alert and Close to close the interface after the alert has been added. On the same interface, you can view all alerts you have added by clicking Show my Alerts. Click Close to close the AlertBox interface without saving changes. More advanced options can be viewed by checking the Advanced View checkbox.

Right clicking on the AlertBox button opens a context menu. The menu allows you to suspend AlertBox service, check for updates on all alerts set and show and hide AlertBox.

Pros

Simple and easy to use
Very efficient

Cons

Causes Firefox to hang-I don’t know if it had something to do with the version 13.0 I was using.

Verdict

AlertBox works very well and is definitely above the competition and lets you effectively monitor site update.

No related posts.

Site Update Monitor Add on for Firefox: AlertBox was originally published at I Love Free Software

Experience New Way of Web Search and Browse with Yahoo Axis

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT

According to Yahoo, Yahoo Axis is a new and innovative way of how you can search and browse the internet. The basic difference between Axis search and regular Yahoo searches is that with Axis you are being presented with search results as you type. Now you’re thinking we already have that, yes but with Axis you can do this inside a special browser window, without leaving the main page and it’s available for your desktop, as well as iPad and iPhone.

If you’re on desktop, when you install Axis inside your browser, it will change your homepage, and add a toolbar at the bottom of your browser window, like the one that you can see above. Yahoo Axis is installed as a browser plugin, if you are using it on desktop, or as an app if you’re on iPad or iPhone. Installation is available for all the 4 major browsers, IE, Firefox, Opera and Chrome, and it’s pretty straightforward.

How to use Yahoo Axis?

If you’re wondering what it is that makes Yahoo Axis different from everything that’s available now, when you click on the bottom part of your browser window and when the toolbar expands, everything will become clear:

Search engine used in the search field that’s present at the top of the Axis window is of course Yahoo. As you start typing in a search term results will be presented to you immediately in the right side of the screen:

The results are accompanied with site screenshots, as you can see on the image above. The red arrows on the image are pointing to page turners, which you can use to go through all the results. When a web page is opened, Yahoo Axis is still present and now you’ll be offered with an option to add the website that you have opened to Favorites on your Yahoo Axis homepage and you also get a small button on the side of your screen which you can use to switch directly to the next result in your search result list:

Great thing about Yahoo Axis is that it allows you to search something without even leaving the website that you originally were on. When you find something that you need clarifying simply start typing in the search field in the Axis toolbar and results for your term will be shown.

Share Yahoo Axis across devices and share results on homepage

This search and browse hybrid which Yahoo Axis certainly is can also be used on iPad and iPhone, and there’s even an option, if all of your devices are networked together, to share what you do on one device and continue your work on a different device, for example you can continue a search from your desktop computer inside your iPad. Simply click on the Continue From Device menu and choose from where you wish to continue.

If you have a Yahoo account you can also share results on your Yahoo homepage and that way share them with others. Yahoo Axis is definitely something new, and it’s interesting to see how it’ll be received with the general public. Drawback is that there are no Android apps at the moment, just iOS. Give Yahoo Axis a try if you’re looking for something new to spice up your browsing.

Experience New Way of Web Search and Browse with Yahoo Axis was originally published at I Love Free Software

How to Map Google Drive as a Hard Drive in Windows?

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 09:30 AM PDT

The buzz is around with the Google Drive being one of the trendiest launches for the Google users to store files and docs online. Did you know that you could actually map Google drive on your Hard Drive and use it directly from there?

Well yes it is possible you can do the mapping yourself and make use of the Google drive much easier and manage your online shared files with ease. On a Windows 7 or a Vista Platform the drive once mapped appears in the Favorites folder, whereas on a XP powered operating system the Drive comes up in the My Documents folder. Overall the shortcuts are pretty easy to use whereby in case you assign a specific drive letter for your Google Drive Account it will become much more convenient to access your Google Drive Account.

For those techies out there who are well averse with the use of the command prompt can use the DOS command: subset. You may even use a small program named the ''Visual Subst'' that makes it much more convenient for you to create a drive association. Visual subst comes with a GUI interface which is used as a subst command. Following the tutorial below you can carry out the entire process of mapping your drive.

How to Map Google Drive as a Hard Drive in Windows:

The first step is to download Virtual Subst

The next step is to assign a drive letter to your Google Drive account and locate the path for your drive on your computer. For Windows XP the drive path is C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\My Documents\Google Drive whereas for your Windows 7 or Vista powered machines the path would be C:\Users\[Username]\Google Drive. You may even locate the drive yourself through the search option on the right side.

Before you click on the green colored plus button ensure that you have checked the option of Apply Virtual Drives on Windows Startup.
Once you are done associating, you would find the virtual drive appearing in the Virtual Subst list.

This is all you need to do in order to map Google Drive on your system. You can access your Google Drive right from your Windows Explorer where the Drive would appear in the name which you have associated it to. You can delete your Google Drive any time you wish to by opening the Visual Subst, selecting the virtual drive and clicking on the Red Cross appearing in the window.

How to Map Google Drive as a Hard Drive in Windows? was originally published at I Love Free Software

Search, Watch and Download Videos, Movies, TV Episodes with WonTube

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT

Wontube is a website which collects and sorts videos and music files from various platforms and makes it easy to search for them and download them. The site aggregates videos from a number of other platforms like Hulu, YouTube and Vevo. It saves you from the time-consuming job of visiting separate sites for different kinds of video and music files. All these video and music files are available in a single place, i.e. Wontube.com. One can search for any video or music file using the search option which will return you results from a number of platforms in a concise form. One could also check out the hottest and the most popular videos and music files.

Appearance Of The Website

The site is basically divided into two parts the Video part and the Music part. When you open the site you will be automatically led to the Video section. You will find a large and spacious search option to your right. The Video section is further divided into four categories Movie, TV (i.e. television videos), MV (i.e. music videos) and YouTube.

The Movie division is further categorised by their genres and also categorised as new releases and top popular videos. It was refreshing to find Indian Cinema and Nigerian Cinema among the genres. You would also find a portion dedicated the top ten Hulu movies and the top YouTube movies. The Television Video section is categorized into full episodes, episodes and games and sports. You would find the most popular videos (shows, episodes and games) to the right of the screen.

The tvs are also categorized into different genres like action, classics, comedy, music, reality and game show, health and fiction etc. Music videos are partitioned into two sections: Charts and Browse. The charts section sorts the music videos according to maximum views under top videos and artistes. It also features the top hundred videos of YouTube for the entire week. The browse section sorts the music videos according to the genres. The YouTube section allows one to browse through the most popular, the top rated, the most discussed about the videos. Music section also includes charts of the hottest music files, iTunes top songs, iUK singles charts, etc.

Working Of The Website

When you search for a video Wontube shows a number of related videos from various platforms. Then you have to click on the desired video. The following options are shown : Play Now, Share and Download. The play now option plays the video right then. The Share option allows you to share the video in your Facebook and twitter account. To download the video you need to install the vDownloader first.

It takes quite a few minutes to download and install this downloader. Then you just need to follow instructions to download.The entire process is precise and compact and runs pretty smoothly. The process of downloading music is even simpler because it can be directly downloaded to your computer in mp3 format. The download is pretty fast and smooth and you will not be unnecessarily disturbed by pop ups and ads.

Drawbacks

The only drawback of this software is that you can only download videos which you can view. This means that if a particular video streaming site is banned in your country you will not be able to download videos from the same. It is not a torrent client and thus can only let you download video files which your country’s laws lets you view.

Final Verdict

Wontube definitely gets a thumbs up from me as it makes downloading a video or a song ultimately easy and quick. Wontube.com is the place you need to go if you want to browse and download videos and music files.

Search, Watch and Download Videos, Movies, TV Episodes with WonTube was originally published at I Love Free Software

Test drive Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich on PC

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Not so long ago Google announced the availability of the fourth incarnation of their smartphone operating system, the Android. New version of Android is called Ice Cream Sandwich, and today we’re gonna have a look at what kind of new features Android 4 ICS has to offer to its users and how the OS looks like, first hand by running it inside a virtual machine.

Image above is what you will see when you first run Android 4 ICS. If you decide to test Android yourself using the pre-made VirtualBox image, when you first run the Android you might discover that you can’t unlock the screen. That happened to us and a restart helped. Interface looks pretty scarce, but everything that you need is there. Top right corner is the menu, signal, network and battery information at the lower right corner and there’s also a clock in the middle of the screen and access to Google search at the upper left corner.

How to setup Google Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich in VirtualBox

Before we start messing around with the the latest Android let’s have a look at how you can set it up inside VirtualBox, and test it yourself. The first step would be downloading and installing a program called VirtualBox. Those of you who are not familiar with what exactly VirtualBox does, let’s just say that you can use it to install and test a whole set of operating systems with the help of it, from Windows, Linux, Mac to smartphone operating systems like the one that we’re talking about today, Andorid 4. Download page for VirtualBox would be here. The program is free and cross platform, select the OS that you have and install the program, once you do that, you should see something like this:

You will probably have an empty list here, without any operating systems listed. Next you’re gonna have to download the actual image file of Android 4. Go to this page and there you will find a download link for the necessary files which have to be imported inside VirtualBox.

Download is a bit bigger, so it might take a while if you have a slow internet connection. When the download is finished, extract the archive and you should get a bunch of files, this is normal. The most important file that you need to look for would be the Android-v4 file. This file caries the information about the Android virtual machine. Double clicking on that file will automatically create Android in the list of available operating systems shown on the image before, and in order to start it you’ll just have to click on Start.

Check out how to wirelessly transfer data between Android device and PC.

How does the menu look like, what kind of options it has?

Like I said menu can be accessed in the top right corner and you can activate it by clicking on it. Note that mouse is here used instead of a touch screen, when the OS is installed on a phone you will have the touch function.

There’s not many applications supplied in this Android ICS test machine, and you can’t install new ones from the Google Play Store. The reason for the limitation has something to do with copyright infringements, but if you are an Android application developer, you can test your own applications, that’s allowed.

You can also check out AirDroid app to control Android device from PC.

Playing around with Widgets

Next to the Apps tab, I’m sure you’ve noticed the Widgets tab at the top of the screen:

Clock that you see on the main window is a widget, and it will be possible to add new widgets by simply touch&hold them, which will allow you to place them somewhere on the screen. Screen is divided into blocks, that’s what the numbers under the Widget names represent, how many blocks will they occupy. On this image we’ve added the bookmarks widget and changed the background:

Google search and Internet browsing

Browsing the Internet works just fine, so is Google search, you can even make a search directly from the main window by selecting the Google icon at the top left corner of the screen:

Websites can be opened and browsed just fine, although when we tried YouTube it didn’t work, we’re assuming that this is just on this test image, and everything will work properly once that Android is running on an actual device.

System speed, stability and conclusions

Even though it’s not fair to draw too much conclusions about speed and stability based on this type of a test, we can at least report that during our tests the system was quite fast, responsive and there were no crashes. Since this is Android, something similar and probably better can be expected once the system is actually used on a phone. Before upgrading or buying a phone with the new Android definitely try it inside a virtual machine, to see if you’ll like it.

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Test drive Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich on PC was originally published at I Love Free Software

5 Free Firefox Plugins to Download YouTube Videos

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Here, are 5 free Firefox YouTube Downloader plugin. These plugins let you easily download YouTube videos in Firefox. We will discuss about some popular YouTube video downloader plugins like Easy YouTube video downloader which offers multiple video formats to download, WonTube YouTube downloader; one of the most popular YouTube downloader, mp4 YouTube downloader to download mp4 videos which is compatible with iPod touch, and more.

Flash Video Downloader – YouTube Downloader:

Flash Video Downloader – YouTube Downloader is a free Firefox plugin to download YouTube videos on Firefox. This Firefox plugin is a simple and easy plugin to download YouTube videos. The plugin enables a download button in the navigation bar near the address bar of Firefox browser. Just click on the download button, select the video format and then click on download option. The video will be downloaded automatically to your computer.

The plugin offers multiple video formats to download which include FLV format, SD mp4, webm and more. The plugin even allows you to use hotkey to download YouTube videos directly on Firefox browser. You can easily customize the hotkey from settings menu of the plugin. Also, select the download folder to download the files by default in that folder every time when you download the video from YouTube.

Easy YouTube Video Downloader:

Easy YouTube Video Downloader is another Firefox plugin to download YouTube videos easily. After installing this Firefox plugin, you get a download button below the YouTube video player. Click on the download button and select the format in which you want to download the video. The video will be automatically downloaded on your Firefox browser.

Easy YouTube Video Downloader offers multiple video and audio formats to download. You can download the video formats which includes FLV format (includes multiple FLV video quality format), mp4 format (best quality), AAC format and mp3 format. The good part of this Firefox plugin is its video converter part. You can convert a video into mp3 format and then download it on your Firefox browser with Easy YouTube Video downloader plugin.

MP4 YouTube Downloader:

MP4 YouTube Downloader is a free plugin for Firefox to download YouTube videos in MP4 format. The plugin is smart enough to add download button in the toolbar near the address bar or below the embedded video player. Click on any of the download buttons to download the video in mp4 format.

The mp4 format video downloaded by the plugin is in the format which is compatible with iPod. Also, the plugin supports multiple websites, like, YouTube, Dailymotion, Facebook Video, and Vimeo. If you want to download a YouTube video to play on your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPad; then this is a must have plugin.

Download YouTube Videos HD 1080p, Megavideo, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Metacafe, etc.

Download YouTube Video HD is a free plugin to download YouTube videos in HD on Firefox browser. The plugin works in a very simple way on Firefox browser. You just have to click on the download button embedded below YouTube video player. As soon as you click on the download button, the plugin will direct you to a new webpage into a new Firefox tab. There you will see the video link with multiple video formats to download in HD. Select any one of them and download it on your computer.

The plugin allows you to download video in HD 1080p & 720p or HQ mp4, FLV, and 3GP format from YouTube. If you are downloading for Dailymotion then download the videos in HQ, mp4, and FLV and so on. Apart from this, the plugin allows you to download video from Google, Vimeo, Break, Veoh, Spike, MySpace, Facebook, and more.

WonTube YouTube To MP3 YouTube Downloader:

WonTube is one of the most popular YouTube video downloader for Firefox. You can download and install WonTube YouTube downloader as add-on in your Firefox browser too. The plugin enables a WonTube download button above the video player on YouTube. Just click the green download button, select the video quality and then download the video from YouTube with WonTube.

Along with downloading the YouTube videos, it even lets you download YouTube video as MP3. To convert the video to mp3, you just have to click on green "convert to mp3" button above the video player embedded on YouTube. WonTube plugin will convert the video to mp3 in background and then gives you the download button. Just click on the download button to download the converted mp3 on your Firefox browser.

Remember: At the time of downloading or converting the video from YouTube, the plugin will direct you to a new webpage in a new Firefox tab. You will get the download button and qualities of the video to download in new webpage opened by the plugin.

If you have Android phone with you, then you can check WonTube YouTube Downloader app for Android reviewed by us.

Also check out desktop YouTube downloaders, Chrome YouTube downloaders, and even online YouTube downloaders.

No related posts.

5 Free Firefox Plugins to Download YouTube Videos was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Monday, June 4, 2012