I Love Free Software

Free System Cleaner to Remove Old, Unused Files: Weed Killer
Make Ringtones for iPhone, Android, Blackberry Devices: RingTone Maker
Create Fake Magazine Covers with your Photos: Magazine Cover Creator
Customize your Favorite Websites with Stylebot Chrome Extension
3 Calculator Plugins For Firefox
Free Audio CD Burner: Astroburn Audio
Use Android Phone as Wi-Fi Hotspot: BEETmobile Free App

Free System Cleaner to Remove Old, Unused Files: Weed Killer

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Weed Killer is a free system cleaner application which you can use in order to have a computer system checked for any files and folders which might be aged, which weren’t accessed in a long time and which are no longer needed or used by either you or the system. With time Windows systems have been known to slow down, and aged files and folders are part of the reason why that happens, with Weed Killer you can help keep your system working faster.

What you see above is pretty much everything that you will see from Weed Killer. This is the default interface where you can choose various different settings that Weed Killer will use in it’s quest for aged files and folders. Before you get to the Weed Killer settings, you will have to install the application. Tricky thing with installation would be choosing the correct install download. The main link on the home page offers the source version, which cannot work without some advanced compiling skills. Make sure that you find the installer version which offers the very familiar windows installer.

Delete and prune old computer files with Weed Killer

Weed Killer is not an application which you can see in action, it will actually work in the background after you make all the necessary configurations for file and folder detection, which ones will be detected and which ones won’t. This is done by playing around with various different search parameters, see the image below.

These settings here are where you can actually determine which files will be selected during the scan, and you can do that by entering the number of Age Metric Units that needs to pass before a file becomes regarded as junk and is deleted by Weed Killer. Age Metric is just a fancy way of saying the time frame after which the file is considered to be out dated. Other important portions of available scan parameters wold be:

Inactivity setting – choose what makes a file old, date of creation, last opened or last modified.
Time frame needed to pass before the inactivity parameter becomes true – days, months, years
Aggressive removal – removes read-only files also
Look for and remove empty folders

and many more, like you can see from the image above. All of these program configurations are made in the Weed Killer Manager. Think of the manager as the configuration front end, which will only generate the necessary files for Weed Killer Worker, which is the actual app that does the cleaning.

Weed Killer is intended more for cleaning large computer systems like the ones found in big companies. That’s why using it might seem a bit more confusing than what you would expect from a simple cleaning application. With Weed Killer expert can create the necessary configuration files, save them, and then simply pass it on to someone assigned for system maintenance to run the configuration and clean the entire system from old files and folders, junk and anything else that might have accumulated with time, all that for free, try Weed Killer and see how it goes.

Free System Cleaner to Remove Old, Unused Files: Weed Killer was originally published at I Love Free Software

Make Ringtones for iPhone, Android, Blackberry Devices: RingTone Maker

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 12:30 PM PDT

RingTone Maker is a free software that enables you make ringtones for your phone from your favourite mp3 files. The program is essentially designed to make ringtones for iPhones but can be used to make ringtones for all types of phones including those running Android, Symbian and Blackberry. The program enables you to select a thirty second section of a song with a ringtone cutter which converts the selected section to an mp3 ringtone.

Features of this free ringtone maker

Supports drag and drop.
Easy to use. Make ringtones in 5 easy steps.
Flexibility. Ability to create ring tone in formats compatible with different devices.

How to use this software efficiently to make ringtones for free?

The interface is simple yet very elegant. You don’t get the usual menu bar and stuff but you can do without one. All you get is a title bar, a working area in the centre and a status bar at the bottom. The status bar at the bottom shows the active window and which step is currently being carried out .

The first step involves adding the song. Songs are added via drag and drop or by clicking on the interface and browsing for files. Unfortunately, drag and drop is enabled only on the enclosed section. Once you have added the song, you can now select which part of the song you want converted. The section of the song enclosed in two orange bars is what is converted and must not be more than thirty seconds apart. You can listen to the song as you select by hitting the play button besides the song title.

The final step involves selecting a phone type. Options include iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Windows and "Others". Select the appropriate option and click Next to continue. It prompts you to select a destination folder for the ringtone. The desktop is selected as the default. Other options include selecting the source folder as the destination folder or browsing the desired folder. The next step involves the actual ringtone being created. A progress bar takes you through the conversion process and later gives way to a confirmation message informing you of your success. The conversion process takes only a few seconds to complete. From here you have the option of creating a new ringtone or browse the destination folder. Help is available via the help button at the top right corner of the interface besides the window control buttons.

Opinion

The idea behind the program is great and so is the implementation which helps you to make ringtones right from your desktop. The interface is simple, well arranged and aesthetically perfect. It is quite unusual that the drag and drop feature is only enabled on part of the interface. Audio quality and name of the ringtone are just like the original. The program is very easy to use and consumes minimal system resources.

Verdict

RingTone Maker is a great tool for anyone looking to get rid of the boring and old fashioned proprietary ringtones.

No related posts.

Make Ringtones for iPhone, Android, Blackberry Devices: RingTone Maker was originally published at I Love Free Software

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your Photos: Magazine Cover Creator

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Magazine Cover Creator is a free application where you can create magazine covers with you on the front page. To run Magazine Cover Creator you’re gonna have to have Adobe’s Air runtime installed on your system. So if you don’t have it installed, and you’re not willing to install it, then you might want to consider looking for alternative magazine cover creators.

This is the default window which waits for you after you start Magazine Cover Creator for the first time. On the right you can see the default cover pic with some default text. Each one of these magazine elements can be edited, and you can easily create a cover with your face on it, to joke around with friends on Facebook for example.

Similar software: Worthless Text Editor.

Create a fake magazine cover with Cover Creator

All those who thought that Magazine Cover Creator is a legitimate application will be disappointed to find out that it’s actually just for joking around. You can come to that conclusion during application download, seeing how it’s only 200kb in size. Majority of professional cover editors will need to have at least a few megabytes in size, because they need to pack quite a number of tools and features.

First step in creating your very own fake magazine cover would be to replace the default image of the pretty lady. We’ve decided to go with a koala, and we’ve added it by simply dragging and dropping it onto the Cover Creator work area. Image was automatically positioned with the koala in the center of the screen, which might mean that Magazine Cover Creator comes with automatic image alignment, but it could also just be a coincidence.

The last step in the creation of a fake magazine cover would be to change the text. On the image above we changed the magazine text, and also the title and trailing text of the main cover story. Other useful things that can be changed would be the text orientation and text color. With these options you can create very convincing fake magazine covers, where you can put photos of you or your friends, and then share it with everyone online and even offline.

With only the Print option available, all those interested in getting their hands on actual image which can be shared online might be a little bit tricky. One way of doing it would be by creating a screenshot of the created magazine, or to print the cover to a PDF document, which might be more problematic.

It’s a real shame that there’s no easy way of how to extract images from Magazine Cover Creator, because a lot of people would like to share their creation in digital form, on social networks. You can print the image and show off to your friends the old fashioned way of actually giving them a piece of paper with your fake magazine cover.

You can also check out postermywall for making free posters and collages.

Magazine Cover Creator is a great fake cover creator, very simple to use and created fake covers look rather realistic. Make sure to give this free fake cover creator a try if you’re looking to have a few laughs.

No related posts.

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your Photos: Magazine Cover Creator was originally published at I Love Free Software

Customize your Favorite Websites with Stylebot Chrome Extension

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Stylebot is an add-on for users of what can be safely called the world's most popular internet browser-Google Chrome. It allows users to edit a webpage, in terms of stylistic elements, that uses advanced CSS functionality. A number of websites use these advanced functionalities and the users can edit individual elements on the websites to personalize their browsing experience.

Features of this Google Chrome extension:

Stylebot incorporates easy-to-use functionality in a lightweight package. The most important features of this Chrome add-on are as follows:

Ease of use - The Chrome extension is designed to aid those users who are not familiar with web development and design. As a result of this goal, it is very easy to use.
Access – The Chrome extension can be accessed on any website that allows it to be used. On other websites, it is hidden away.
Lightweight – Stylebot is a relatively small add-on (a few hundred KBs), especially when compared to other add-ons available for Google's browser. As a result, it doesn't use up much space on the client machine.
Quick – All changes are reflected immediately on the website that are being edited.
Saving for later use – Any changes that one makes to a website are persistently saved, which means that it doesn't have to be re-applied every time the website is visited.
Publishing – A user can choose to publish their personal styles which can be downloaded from stylebot. For uninitiated users, this is a great way to learn and edit by example.

Downloading and installation:

This add-on, like every other Google Chrome add-on, is available for download from their Chrome Store which can be accessed from the default home page. Otherwise, it can be downloaded from here.

It is a small download, only a few hundred kilobytes in size, and integrates seamlessly with the browser without the user even realizing it. An agreement is required for allowing the extension to access all browsing data but that is only because the extension is expected to run on all tabs. It doesn't access any surfing data otherwise, which is good news for those who are paranoid about privacy.

Interface and working:

The interface is very simple. When a page allows usage of the extension, the CSS icon can be clicked to activate the extension. When that is done, the extension figures out which of the elements on the webpage can be modified and highlights them using a green box. The various modifications that are available include modifications to text, color, background properties, borders, etc. It even includes an option that lets the user hide certain elements on the page. This can come in particularly handy at times. The modification comes in two flavors. The above mentioned properties can be viewed in 'Basic' mode. In 'Advanced mode', which is meant for advanced users, the user can modify the CSS code itself to add more functionality.

Verdict:

Stylebot is a must-have extension if one likes to tinker with web design or simply wants to have each page to their particular tastes. Pink and red themed, if one so pleases.

Customize your Favorite Websites with Stylebot Chrome Extension was originally published at I Love Free Software

3 Calculator Plugins For Firefox

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT

Here, are 3 free calculator plugins for Firefox. Your Windows operating system already have a calculator which performs basic calculation. With Firefox calculator plugins, you can easily do calculations on your Firefox browser.

Firefox Add-ONS store has many calculator plugins. In this article, we will discuss about 3 free calculator plugins which include Status-bar scientific calculator; one of the advanced calculator plugin for Firefox, Basic calculator plugin, and Calculator which includes simple and advanced calculations.

Status-bar Scientific Calculator:

Status-bar Scientific Calculator is a free add-on for Firefox which provides scientific calculator on Firefox browser. This calculator plugin is a nice and simple Firefox plugin to enable calculator on Firefox browser. The plugin is called Status-bar scientific calculator as you can perform calculation in the "Add-on" bar on your Firefox browser. On installing this plugin, you will find a search bar like calculator on the add-on bar of the browser. Enter the values in the calculator bar, press "enter" key and perform the calculations on your browser. Click on calculator icon to access settings of calculator. Now you don't have to switch to your PC calculator as you can do them all in your Firefox browser.

Basic Calculator:

Basic Calculator is a free Firefox plugin to enable a simple calculator on Firefox browser. This Firefox calculator plugin displays a small calculator to do basic calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and more. After installing this calculator plugin on your Firefox browser, you have to use calculator keyboard instead your PC keyboard. To launch the calculator, press Shift+Alt+Z from your computer keyboard or you can head to adds-on bar of your Firefox browser and then launch the calculator. To close the calculator, press Shift+Alt+X keys from your PC keyboard.

Calculator:

Calculator is a free Firefox plugin to enable an advanced calculator on Firefox browser. The calculator plugin provides number keys to do simple or basic calculations. The calculator plugin also has logarithm keys to make some advanced calculation on Firefox. To launch the calculator, you need to head to tools menu and then calculator options (Firefox?Tools?Options). Launch the calculator and adjust the screen size according the calculator if you have launched the calculator plugin in side bar. To close the calculator, click on "Close" button and close the calculator running on your Firefox browser.

If you use Chrome browser, then check out Calculator extensions and apps for Google Chrome.

No related posts.

3 Calculator Plugins For Firefox was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Audio CD Burner: Astroburn Audio

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Astroburn Audio is an addition to the recently reviewed Astroburn Lite free burner application. Astroburn Audio is also a burning utility, only with Audio you can burn Audio CDs. In our last review of Astoburn Lite, we complained that there is no option for creating DVD, Video and of course Audio CDs. It seems that we were wrong, and that Astroburn can really be used for other, more specific burning tasks.

An annoyance for all those who are already using Astroburn Lite and would now like to use Astroburn Audio is that Audio requires an additional installation, and that there is no integration between the two programs, or should I say modules, because like you can see from the screenshot above, Astroburn Audio looks pretty much the same to Astroburn Lite, so switching to Audio shouldn’t be too much of a shock for the users of the Lite version.

Similar software: MC Burner, Cyberlink Power2Go, 5 Free Blu Ray Burners.

Astorburn Audio – audio CD burner

Even though audio CDs have lost majority of their userbase, with a lot of people switching to various USB players, or just their phones, there are still those who are interested in listening to music the old fashioned way on their stereos and other CD music players, and if you’re one of them, you can use Astroburn Audio in order to create your own Audio CDs.

Image above is what waits for you after you’ve decided to use Astroburn Audio to create your Audio CDs. Now to add files or entire folders onto the list of files that you need burned you now need to click on the document with the plus sign above. Supported audio files are as follows:

MP3
WMA
APE
FLAC

The first two audio formats are very popular, second of the two was developed by Microsoft, while the third and the fourth are looseless audio formats, which are the best audio formats for the creation of Audio CDs, although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with MP3s and WMAs either, FLAC and APE just offer less compressed sound quality, that’s why they are bigger in size most of the time.

Listen to music before burning, erase re-writable audio CDs

Once that you have everything setup, songs are added to the list ready to be burned, at the bottom of the screen choose the CD recorder that you plan on using, if your computer only has one, then you don’t need to click this option. Select speed, preferably a lower one otherwise the CD might not work properly, and then click on burn, wait and your Audio CD is completed.

Before you start burning, you might want to stop and listen to the song that you’ve decided to add to the list. Normally you would need to open up a media player, but not with Astroburn Audio. Simply select the song that you want to listen to, and like you can see on the image above, click on the play button. If you have audio CDs on re-writable CDs you can delete them with the help of Astroburn Audio and then burn new songs. Great tool for burning Audio CDs, download it and try it for yourself, it’s free.

Free Audio CD Burner: Astroburn Audio was originally published at I Love Free Software

Use Android Phone as Wi-Fi Hotspot: BEETmobile Free App

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Here is a quick tutorial to turn Android into Wi-Fi hotspot and share Android internet with PC and other Wi-Fi devices. Share internet from Android to PC and save few bucks on the internet connection you are paying for PC.

You can now turn your Android phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot and share internet connection with PC and other smart devices with Free BEETmobile App. BEETmobile app is not available in Google Play Store at time of writing of this article. You need to download the app from BEETmobile website itself (link at the end of the article). The app will be downloaded in apk file format on your Android or PC. You can then install the apk file on your Android and get started with the app.

We have been trying since a long time to find a good Android app that lets you use Android phone as a Wi-Fi Hotspot. However, all the apps that we tried disappointed. We did find Easy Tether Lite app that lets you share internet connection of Android with PC but your phone needs to be connected to PC via USB cable.

So, when I came across this BeetMobile app that claimed that it can turn Android phone into Wifi hotspot, I didn’t have too many hopes. I still decided to give it a try, and Voila, it works like a charm. I have been using this app since a few days now, and have even used it via traveling to share my phone internet with my laptop, and it just works. Love it!

Steps To Turn Android Into Wi-Fi Hotspot And Share Android Internet:

Step 1: Download and install BEETmobile app on your Android phone. As it is not available on Google Play Store yet, you will need to download the .apk file on your phone, and just click on the file to install it. It will install as any other Android app.

Step 2: Launch the app and tap on the start button in the app.

Step 3: After a while, the app converts your Android phone into Wi-Fi hotspot.

Step 4: Tap on the settings menu and edit the username(SSID) and password of the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Step 5: Set the timer of the internet from settings menu (if required). This lets you automatically turn off wi-fi after a fixed interval. I strongly recommend that you do this setting, as phone consumes lot of battery in wi-fi hotspot mode, and you don’t want to let this on accidentally.

Step 6: You can now search for the Wi-Fi network of your phone on some other smart device or PC. You will see Wi-Fi network with the name of the Wi-Fi which you have saved in the app. Enter the Wi-Fi password and start using the internet.

Apart from browsing internet from your Android phone, you can also check the total data used while browsing internet and even check the number of connected devices. The app also allows you to check the internet speed.

On starting the BEETmobile, the app closes Wi-Fi connection activated on your Android phone. The app shares the internet connection from the internet service running on your SIM card, be it a 2G, 3G, or 4G network.

I just love this app. Give it a try if you also want a free app to share internet connection of your Android phone with your PC.

Also check out tutorial to use Android phone as secondary PC monitor.

Use Android Phone as Wi-Fi Hotspot: BEETmobile Free App was originally published at I Love Free Software