I Love Free Software

Assign Mouse Gestures to Automate Windows Tasks with ClickyMouse
View 3D Map of the Earth from Desktop: NASA World Wind
Free File Viewer Browser Extension for Chrome, Firefox, Maxthon
Track Accounts of Multiple Banks in One Place: Yodlee Moneycenter
Lock Screen and Hide Windows Desktop using ScreenBlur
Recover Lost Instant Messenger Passwords with Messenger Key
Desktop Manager to Group Open Program Windows: WindowBox
Improve Typing Speed with Typing Stats Firefox Addon

Assign Mouse Gestures to Automate Windows Tasks with ClickyMouse

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:00 PM PDT

ClickyMouse is a software that you can use in order to automate Windows tasks and assign the task that you automate to certain mouse gestures. The technical term to what ClickyMouse has to offer would be macro command recording, and this feature which ClickyMouse is offering can come in handy in a number of different situations, for example if you want to access your application more quickly without even clicking your mouse, if you’re to lazy to do even that ;).

Macro recording is offered by Word for example, there you can record a task that you need to repeat over and over again so that you don’t have to do it, just set the program and it will execute that action, ClickyMouse works on the same principles, only it’s introduces the mouse and puts it in the role of the trigger for a pre-recorded command.

How does ClickyMouse work exactly

Default screen that waits for you which is shown on the image above shows that the program comes with some default Macros that you can use and test out some of the program basics. These macro commands are not something too complex, the one that we’re gonna show the working of would be Notepad activation.

After selecting the command that you want from the list, on the bottom part of the program area you will be presented with Macro properties, triggers and text options. For now just select the Trigger tab. In the Mouse Event tab Mouse is moved to the screen corner should be selected and on the window below that select which corner will activate the command. The corner that you pick will be where the command will be executed after you set your mouse pointer into it, we tried it and it really works.

As the warning on the image above says, macro commands will by default have the same trigger set, so you will get a list of programs or actions that you can choose to run, if you want just one, to run Notepad like we did on the image above, you’re gonna have to set triggers of all the commands to None.

Some cool ways that you can activate a certain command are:

Shake Mouse vertically or horizonatlly
Hold mouse button down
Mouse wheel
Mouse is moved to screen edge

Recording a command with ClickyMouse

Having cool ways to make things happen with your mouse is nothing if you don’t know how to create the command that you want. To do that click on the Record New Macro button, and then select Record Now on the pop up window that appears, ClickyMouse will then minimize to tray, leaving only this:

Everything that you do on your desktop until you click on Stop will be recorded and you’ll be able to run that action with the help of your mouse. What we tested is the free version of ClickyMouse, there are also paid versions, but the free one worked wonders for us, and if you are not too demanding user, it will surely do the same thing for you, visit the developer website for more info.

Assign Mouse Gestures to Automate Windows Tasks with ClickyMouse was originally published at I Love Free Software

View 3D Map of the Earth from Desktop: NASA World Wind

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:30 PM PDT

NASA World Wind is an open source program that lets you see the map of the Earth by zooming from satellite altitude. The software lets you visit any place on earth on 3D from the comfort of your computer.

Features

The 3D Engine allows users to zoom on any place on earth from a satellite by leveraging high-resolution LandSat 7 imagery and elevation data from SRTM. The 3D engine has been made very easy to use to make it accessible to everyone. One can control the whole application with just two mouse buttons.

Blue Marble which is a true colour image of the earth from the NASA Observatory has been used in the application. Coupled with data from various satellites, the Blue Marble can be clearly seen at a resolution of 1km per pixel.

Check out Celestia a free software to explore stars, galaxies, and thousands of planets.

Once you zoom past the Blue Marble, LandSat 7 provides a seamless mosaic which is very detailed. LandSat 7 consist of images of an astounding 15m per pixel resolution shot in a period of 4 years between 1999 and 2003. Users can easily browse through these pictures and you do not have to worry about updates which are automatically downloaded to the program. Boasting of this impressive resolution, LandSat 7 allows you to view your location and many other things in the vicinity. The program also keeps a compressed copy of any LandSat 7 images you have viewed in case you need to refer them later.

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SMRT) data is combined with LandSat 7 images used to create an awesome view of the Earth. It also enables users to quickly move from one position of the earth to another in any direction.

Animations created by Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC) are able to replicate phenomenon like hurricanes and other seasonal changes occurring all around the world. These animations are integrated into World Wind and can be easily painted of any area of the world experiencing such events to view map of the Earth right from your PC.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) produces data updated on a daily basis. MODIS keeps a records of fires, storms, dust, smoke and volcanic activity which are colour coded onto the globe. Images are then published at a resolution of 250m per pixel and are updated on a daily basis.

Place names contains a database of all cities, towns, counties, capitals and important landmarks. The names of these items populate the image dynamically as you continue to zoom in on your desired location. Visual tools allow users to experience features such as longitude, latitudes and other coordinates. Landmark sets allow the user to view actual 3D models of important landmarks.

You can also check out Marble free software which offers different style maps.

How to use it to view Map of the Earth

The interface is intuitive and very simple.

Viewing angles are changed by dragging the right mouse key or using the combination of alternate gaming keys, W, A, S and D. Zooming can be done via the mouse wheel or by the numeric keys 7 and 1 for zooming in and out respectively. Views are rested by the spacebar or the number 5 key. Angles of elevation can be manipulated by using any of the numeric keys from 1 to 10 and zero for no elevation. Functions are mapped as hotkeys for many of the common functions like location search, longitude and latitude views, position information and scientific visualization studio. Users also have a chance to view other planets besides the earth. Images are available for Jupiter, Venus, Mars and the Moon.

Opinion

The program is quite impressive as you can watch Map of the Earth and praise the creation of nature. However, all is not well, it consumes quite an amount of system memory and requires very good internet connection to get all pictures and data for viewing.

Verdict

NASA World Wind is a great software that offers an experience like no other but still needs work.

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View 3D Map of the Earth from Desktop: NASA World Wind was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free File Viewer Browser Extension for Chrome, Firefox, Maxthon

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Docs Online Viewer is free of cost and is very helpful file viewer program supporting several formats. There are many websites, which contain various documents of different formats such as doc, pdf, csv, odt, ppt, xls and many more. Normally, to view these files you need to have some kind of software that can read these files for you like Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat reader etc. To read different kinds of file formats online can be done with the help of Google Docs or by Zoho Viewer. Reading different file formats on browser requires add-ons from Adobe, Microsoft etc. To reduce the extra add-ons for reading each file can be done using the Docs Online Viewer.

Download and Installation:

Docs Online Viewer script is available for various browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Maxthon, and for GreaseMonkey. There are two ways to install Docs Online Viewer, for your Firefox browser which is by using the GreaseMonkey script or by Firefox add-on. You must choose any one of the method but not both. To install Docs Online Viewer on your Google Chrome browser, you can do it by using the GreaseMonkey script. The add-on for the Chrome is still unavailable, but it will be available very soon (according to the website). The add-on method is the simplest one for Firefox. Use the below link to go to the Firefox add-on section and click on the Add to Firefox button. After downloading the particular file, you need to click on the install button to finish the downloading. After the restart of your browser, the Docs Online Viewer will be available for use.

Browser requirement:

Latest browser of Firefox i.e. version 12.0 or above can be used to install this software using the GreaseMonkey. Opera and Google chrome browser may have a little bit of issues.

Benefits of online file viewer:

As we have already discussed that using the Docs Online Viewer you can view files of different file formats lets see some screenshots to get a clear picture. If any website contains any doc files or pdf file or any such kind of files you will notice an icon beside the link. Move your mouse on that icon, and click on it to open the corresponding file on Google doc or Zoho viewer. Since, the Docs Online Viewer uses Google Doc and Zoho Viewer API in developing this tool any one of them can be used to display the file.

Opening non-document file is also possible with Docs Online Viewer. The procedure is same as above but in this case the zip file will show all the files, which it contains so that you can view those files before downloading it. From Google Doc, you can then select the particular file you want to download.

You can also check out other online document viewers.

Conclusion:

It's very easy to install and use Docs Online Viewer. The major benefit of this file viewer add-on is that using this you can enjoy stable, faster and secure browsing experience. On any browser, adding lots of add-ons can have a negative impact on the performance; this tool can help you to solve this problem considerably. There are lots of vulnerable zip and rar files using this tool and you can look into those file, which save you from any harm from the web. Use this once and you won't be disappointed with it.

To download Docs Online Viewer you can use this link.

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Free File Viewer Browser Extension for Chrome, Firefox, Maxthon was originally published at I Love Free Software

Track Accounts of Multiple Banks in One Place: Yodlee Moneycenter

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Yodlee is a well known software developer which is creating financial application for a lot of banks, and other small time companies from around the world. Recently the financial software experts over at Yodlee have started up their own online money management platform called Yodlee Moneycenter, where people can register and start managing their money to save some cash in these troubling economic times that we are in.

This service from Yodlee is very secure. Information necessary to create an account is extensive, and you will need to remember a lot of it for when you are later on logging into your account. When you do login, the interface that waits for you is shown on the image above. There’s a whole set of different online financial tools that is offered in Yodlee’s Moneycenter and everyone can benefit from using this useful financial web application.

How to create a monthly budget in Moneycenter

Budgeting is a good way of how you can get a better handle on your spending and save a few bucks. Yodlee’s Moneycenter can help you out with this, because it offers a very elegant and simple to use budget creation tool:

Access it by selecting Budget and then Budget once again from the drop down menu. Great thing about Yodlee is that since this is a well respected company, which knows how to create a safe financial application, they’re in the position to offer their customer the ability to connect their bank accounts with Yoddle budgeting so that every transaction is automatically updated in the budget sheet. To add account simply click on the Add account from the right side bar:

If you’re still not willing to share your banking information with websites like Yodlee Moneycenter, then you can just fill in the necessary budget information on your own, but be honest, because otherwise what’s the point of having a budget.

Keep track of all your finances with Yodlee Moneycenter

We immediately started talking about budgeting, but budgeting is not the only thing which Yodlee has to offer. This free online financial software can do a lot more, but for this to happen, you’re gonna have to attach your bank accounts and/or credit cards with Yodlee, so that it can see what’s going on with your account.

The idea behind the Yodlee project would be to allow the users to have one place where they can manage their entire finances, that’s why you can:

Manage transactions
Check what your current net worth is
Manage investment portfolios
Track your real estate
Manage bills

Need help with taxes? Use Yodless Moneycenter software

Yep that’s right with Yodlee next to all of the things that were previously mentioned you also get help with your Taxes. Simply click on the Tax Center tab, and you’ll be offered with various tools that you can play around with during that time of the year when taxes are due.

If you need help with finances, have a go with Yodlee Moneycenter, it costs you nothing, which is all the reason you need to go for it.

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Track Accounts of Multiple Banks in One Place: Yodlee Moneycenter was originally published at I Love Free Software

Lock Screen and Hide Windows Desktop using ScreenBlur

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Screenblur is a windows application that lets you lock screen with a password. The program can also hide the desktop or all windows, icons and gadgets. The program works on all windows operating systems after Windows XP and requires .NET framework 2.0 or higher to run on Windows XP.

Features of ScreenBlur

Lock screen with a password when you leave your computer running unattended.
Supports a number of hotkeys
Completely hide all visible items including gadgets, icons, taskbar, desktop and windows
Customize the lock screen using various options
Preview mode to test whether your password actually works
Be informed when your password is changed

How to Lock Screen?

The program comes in a zip file and requires no installation. The interface is arranged in tabs, can be resized and stays on top of all windows. To get started, you need to set a lock password. To enter a password, enter a password in the password field. In case you are worried about entering the wrong characters, you can check the Show option to display your password in plaintext. Click on the Set button to create a password. Click Lock Screen to immediately lock the screen.

The program opens a tray icon on launch. You can right click on the tray icon to access a context menu that lets you lock the screen, create a desktop blackout and access program settings. You can also lock the screen by double clicking on the tray icon. When your computer is locked, you can easily shutdown your computer by clicking the shutdown button on the lock screen. You can set the program to launch on windows start up be selecting the Start with windows option. You can automate the screen lock procedure by checking the Lock computer option and entering a time period when the screen can stay idle after which it automatically locks. Set the program to play a sound before it locks the screen be checking the Play sound option. You can choose what to do when the screen is locked from the dropdown or mute sound by checking the Mute sound checkbox.

Program hotkeys are configured from the Hotkeys tab. The tab allows you to set hotkeys for locking the screen, enabling or disabling lock screen and activation or deactivation of the screen lock. You need to check the enable checkbox on each combination of hotkeys to be able to use them. Screenblur can keep a log of program activities by checking the Logging option in the Misc tab. You can also allow the program to put the computer to sleep when it is locked for a predetermined period of time. The lock screen interface can be customised on the Interface tab. You can select a screen lock image from a dropdown or add your own image and immediately view it by clicking Preview. To show the shutdown button, check the show shutdown button option and choose what the program should do when the tray icon is clicked by choosing a suitable option from the dropdown.

Pros

Simple and easy to use
Customizable lock screen
Automated locking and sleep mode options

Cons

None that I could find.

Conclusion

Screenblur offers quite a convenient and superb alternative to the default lock screen utility on Windows operating systems.

No related posts.

Lock Screen and Hide Windows Desktop using ScreenBlur was originally published at I Love Free Software

Recover Lost Instant Messenger Passwords with Messenger Key

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Messenger Key is a password retrieval utility that can be used in situations when you’ve forgotten the password of your favorite instant messaging service, but the password is still saved inside the application that you’re using to connect to that service. An example would be forgetting the password to your MSN account, but still having it saved inside MSN Messenger, if you ticked the Remember password box of course. In this situation Messenger Key can help you out by sniffing your password from the email client and showing it to you.

Program is very small, and it’s very simple to use. The default window that greets you shows you which messaging application are supported, sadly only the 4 biggest ones are supported, but who knows maybe we can expect more in the future. Retrieving the password is very easy, just a few clicks away, so let’s see how it works.

Retrieving the password from MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo or ICQ

The applications from which the passwords can be retrieved can be seen on the first image above, or in the title of this paragraph, but here they are in a nice list, with some clarification when it comes to ICQ:

MSN Messenger
Google Talk
Yahoo Messenger
ICQ 2003, versions 4.X and 5.X
Older versions of ICQ 98 to 2002

The difference in the older and the newer version of ICQ would be that the older versions of this instant messaging program uses a different way of storing the password, so that’s why you should know which version you’re running before selecting a retrieval option.

Recovery process can start by clicking on File after which you will see what’s shown on the image above. This is where you can choose which messaging application you are using, from the list of the previously mentioned, and have your password recovered. We tested Messenger Key with Google Talk, and it really worked. In less than a second after clicking, in fact right after clicking on the Recover Google Talk password our Google Talk password popped up:

To recover password of other instant messengers, you need do the same thing, but do change the Recover from option to whichever application it is that you have.

How does it work, tips and conclusions

Just like web browsers, when you save a password inside Yahoo Messenger, for example, it will be stored inside a file somewhere on your computer, so that the application can use it next time that you are logging in. Messenger Key will look for these stored passwords, read them out of their files and show them to you.

Depending on the program, it might also be necessary to decrypt the password, Messenger Key can do that as well. Something that’s a wise thing to do, after you’ve recovered the password, is to change it. Even though Messenger Key is a trustworthy program, just to be on the safe side change your password and make sure that you remember it this time. If you’ve forgotten your MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk or ICQ password, try to recover it with Messenger Key, it’s very fast and easy to use, and you can have your password in minutes.

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Recover Lost Instant Messenger Passwords with Messenger Key was originally published at I Love Free Software

Desktop Manager to Group Open Program Windows: WindowBox

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT

WindowBox is a free desktop Manager that lets users group open program windows. The application allows users to add application windows on to a widget like interface for easier access and manipulation. Windows added to WindowBox can be opened, minimised, resized and even snapped simultaneously.

Features

Attach and detach windows easily
Runs on all Windows-based operating systems after Windows XP
Supports all popular instant message applications like Skype

How to use Desktop Manager WindowBox

Installation went on with no hitches. The user interface is a small window with only windows controls and add an icon. To attach programs to the WindowBox, click on the Add icon. The program immediately displays thumbnails of currently opened windows for you to choose from. Immediately windows are added, they are resized with respect to the set window size which you can manipulate by moving a tiny L-like blue marker. Click on the window you wish to attach to WindowBox. Windows can easily be removed from WindowBox by right clicking on its icon on the program and selecting Detach. To restore the windows to their original positions, click on Detach to original position.

Windows on the WindowBox interface can be minimised both individually or as a group. To minimise an individual window, right click on the window and select Minimise. To minimise all windows at once, minimise WindowBox itself. All windows attached to WindowBox are anchored quite close to its interface. You can choose which window to view and which to hide by right clicking on an icon and selecting Show. This Desktop Manager allows users to close any window by right clicking on its icon and selecting End process or restart any application by selecting Restart process from the same menu. The application's tray icon allows users to open and hide the WindowBox interface and also minimise all windows simultaneously by clicking Minimize All.

You can reset WindowBox's window by selecting Reset Window or reset the resizing marker's position to the default by clicking Reset Marker. To allow the program to run at start up, check the Run at start up checkbox. By default, the application is able to keep track of windows attached during previous sessions and reattached them on start up. However, if you want the windows attached to be valid for only the current session until the program is terminated, check the Remember and load windows option. You can choose whether to arrange windows horizontally or vertically by selecting the appropriate option from the Arrange drop down and even set a maximum number of windows to be attached by entering a valid number or by selecting one from the Maximum Windows combo box. Window settings such as opacity, padding and size can be manipulated by entering valid values in the combo boxes provided.

Also checkout other free desktop managers reviewed by us.

Pros

Simple and easy to use
Effectively manage multiple windows
Allows for attachment of as many windows as possible

Cons

Some icons did not reattach after restarting process.

Conclusion

WindowBox fits the bill for a small handy desktop manager you can use to manage multiple windows simultaneously.

No related posts.

Desktop Manager to Group Open Program Windows: WindowBox was originally published at I Love Free Software

Improve Typing Speed with Typing Stats Firefox Addon

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Typing Stats is a Firefox plugin that you can use in order to improve your typing speed. Typing is something that cannon’t be learned, at least not entirely, practice is what’s most important, and the more that you type, the more better you will get at it. What Typing Stats is offering are detailed statistics which you can study to find out what exactly it is that you’re doing wrong, and how you can avoid doing these mistakes and with it improve your typing.

After you install this addon it will appear on the upper right corner of the Firefox toolbar and after clicking on its icon, you will be presented with what you see on the image above. For more serious results of your typing, you will have to use the browser as you normally would with the addon running, so that it can gather information about your typing habits. Do this for at least a few hours, or even less if you type a lot and then you will be able to see various data filled in for all the different options typing characteristics that Typing Stats keeps track of, all that’s left after that is to read them out and see what’s slowing down your typing.

How to monitor typing speed with Typing Stats

There are two main categories where typing speed and quality can be monitored, Charts and Mistakes. We’re gonna deal with Charts first, because they are used to measure how fast you are, not just when it comes to writing, but also how fast you can correct errors, 4 different skills are monitored:

Speed
Backspace
Intensity
Histogram

In each one of these you will get a chart, a graph where you will be presented with graphical presentation of your typing habits.

Each one of the previously mentioned categories has it’s own graph, Speed measures how many correct keystrokes per minute you make, Backspace measures how many characters you’ve corrected per minute. Intensity measures the total amount of characters, in other words keystrokes that you make, and last but not least, Histogram measures how much time it took between you typing a character, which is basically another way of how you can track your typing speed.

Detect which finger makes the most mistakes

By opening up the Mistakes tab, you can find something really amazing, there’s actually a detailed report on which characters you’re making mistakes the most, and also which fingers are the ones that are most problematic when it comes to missed keys:

Letters which you were making the mistake on and also letter in which you made corrections can be seen on the left side, and on the right side there’s a “schematic” of your fingers with percentage of correctness being displayed above them. After you find out which fingers are causing you the most problems for your typing, you can start practicing them more, :). Typing Stats addon is a great way of how you can monitor the quality and accuracy of your writting, it should be installed by every person who’s learning how to type faster, especially those who need it for school.

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Improve Typing Speed with Typing Stats Firefox Addon was originally published at I Love Free Software

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