I Love Free Software

How To Use Android Phone As PC Speakers
Pixect App For Chrome Browser: Take Photos from Webcam and Edit
Add Watermarks, Text, And Resize Photos Using Mido
Real Piano: Android Piano App
Boss Rush: Free Action Shooting Game Online
Free Password Protected Storage For Your Sensitive Information
Perfect Alarm Clock: Free Alarm Clock Software
Convert Excel, CSV, ODS to PDF, HTML, TXT: Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools
Skimzee: Online Social Search Service
How To Run Android On Windows PC

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Here, is a quick tutorial to use Android phone as PC speakers. Many a times it happens that you want to listen the sound played on your desktop which doesn't have the speakers connected to it. Also, there are situations when your laptop inbuilt speakers stops working and you want to listen to the audio or video being played on your laptop.

For this, you now use your Android speakers as external speakers by wirelessly connecting your Android phone with your PC. For this, we will be using SoundWire app for Android. SoundWire app allows you to wirelessly connect your Android phone via PC and use Android speakers as PC speakers to play sound from PC to Android. The app works great on Android phones.

Steps To Use Android Phone As PC Speakers:

Step1: Download and install SoundWire app on your Android phone from Google Play Store. You can even scan the QR Code below to get the direct download link of the app.

Step2: Download and install SoundWire PC client for your Windows PC. Select the appropriate one according to the operating system you are using; Windows 7 or Windows XP.

Step3: The PC client will be downloaded in the Zip format. Unzip the PC client file using unzip software and then launch the SoundWire PC Client.

Step4: Connect your Android phone and Windows PC on a same Wi-Fi network.

Step5: Launch SoundWire app on your Android phone. You will be prompted to enter the server address.

Step6: Copy the server address from the PC client of the app and then enter it into the app on your Android phone.

Step7: Tap on the SoundWire app icon and to connect it via PC client.

Step8: The Android app will then start communicating with PC client installed and get connected.

Step9: Now, play a song in windows media player or any other media player on your Windows PC to start listening to them on your Android speakers.

You can also use Android phone as PC mic. Also, use Android phone as Wi-Fi hotspot for your PC and other Wi-Fi supported devices.

While listening to the audio on your Android device, there can be a slight breakage in the audio due to some network lag. Also, you should adjust the buffer size in the settings menu of the app for low latency.

I truly like the app, as you can make your work easier by playing music on your PC and listening it on your Android sitting anywhere far from your PC. SoundWire app is simple and easy to setup and use.

How To Use Android Phone As PC Speakers was originally published at I Love Free Software

Pixect App For Chrome Browser: Take Photos from Webcam and Edit

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:00 PM PDT

Pixect is a free Chrome app to take picture from webcam and give effects to it on Windows PC. This Chrome app allows you to take photo from your desktop or laptop webcam and then give different photo effects to that photo on your Google Chrome browser.

The app directs you to the online webpage which takes the help of your desktop or laptop camera to take the picture and give multiple photo effects to it. In addition to it, the Chrome app also allows you to save and share your masterpiece. You can easily save the image file on your computer storage or upload the image file directly to your Facebook account.

Pixect is one of the popular Chrome app in Chrome Web Store to give multiple effects to photos on Chrome browser. This Chrome app even provides multiple types of camera shots to take with your PC web camera. Now, you don't need any photo editing software to give photo effects to the images. Just click the image from your PC webcam, give effects to the image, and upload the image to your Facebook account in real-time.

You should use Pixect Chrome app when you don't have any images saved in your PC hard drive and you want to upload images to your Facebook account or share your images via email or any other medium. Also, when you have bought a new computer and you don't have any photo editing software installed, you can easily use this Chrome app to give multiple effects to photos online on your Chrome browser.

Features Of Pixect Chrome App:

Take pictures from PC webcam and then give effects to the images in real-time.
Multiple photo effects available.
Save the image on your desktop or laptop.
Upload the photo on your Facebook account.
Take multiple shots.
Flip the image horizontally and vertically.
Works online on your Chrome browser.
Easy to use Chrome app.

Install Pixect Chrome App:

Click here to download and install Pixect Chrome app from Chrome Web Store.

Pixect Chrome app makes your photo upload possible by adding effects to it on your Google Chrome browser. Now, add photos to your Facebook photo album by taking pictures from your PC camera and giving them smart effects in real-time.

You can check out ImageBot online photo editor reviewed by us. Also, check out Chrome screen capture extensions reviewed by us.

Pixect App For Chrome Browser: Take Photos from Webcam and Edit was originally published at I Love Free Software

Add Watermarks, Text, And Resize Photos Using Mido

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:00 PM PDT

Mido is a free and very lightweight image watermarking application, which can be used to either add watermarks or text to your own photos. Let it be your vacation photos or any other images that you might need watermarking in order to prevent theft or illegal use. We weren’t kidding when we said that Mido is a small application, with just a few hundred kilobytes in size. As this free photo watermarking utility is perfect for older machines which cannot run large and cumbersome graphics editing tool, which are usefully used to create watermarks.

You would also love to try out some other similar software like Images Mixer, Add Watermarks to Images, Prot-On.

Interface of Mido is very simple, the settings sidebar which can be seen on the image above, this sidebar isn’t even open by default, and before you’ll be able to add watermarks, you need to activate it by clicking on Settings button which you will find in the top right corner.

Key features of Mido to Add Watermarks:

Small size and very lightweight with a quick and fast installation
Batch image watermarking to add watermarks to several images at once
Add either text or image watermarks to image formats like BMP, JPG, PNG
Change text font type, color, location, size to make it fit with images better
Resize photos while adding watermarks to them.

Images and text can also be used side by side, if you so decide, or you can turn off text all completely and only have images as your watermark. Batch watermarking is what’s the best feature of Mido, which could potentially save you a lot of effort and time taken; if you have to add watermarks to a large number of photos at once.

How to Add Watermarks to Images and Pictures with Mido:

Before any kind of watermarking is possible, you first have to import images and photos into Mido. They can be opened one by one, or you can open entire folders at once.

When you open up only one image, watermarks are only gonna be applied to it, and when entire folders are opened, by selecting the Open Folder option at the top of the application window, the watermarks are gonna be applied to all the images which reside inside the folder. Click on Text, Image and Other options to open up all the different options associated with each one of them.

Text only watermark can be added by typing the text in the Text field under the Text option in the right sidebar. Fiddle around with the color of the text, size and location, 9 different locations are available for the watermark. Make sure that the selected watermark image is small, because it cannot be resized inside Mido. By deselecting the Keep Original Size option, you can also resize the photos which are being watermarked. Also, check out our featured post on free software to add watermark to images.

Conclusion

Mido is a very small, but also a very powerful tool which you can use in order to easily add watermarks to your own photos. Like this you can easily add the time and date of when a picture was taken, or add information about what can be seen on the image. This Application is free and it’s less than half a megabyte in size, free download.

Add Watermarks, Text, And Resize Photos Using Mido was originally published at I Love Free Software

Real Piano: Android Piano App

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT

Real Piano is a free Android Piano app to play piano on Android. This Android Piano app provides a simple piano keyboard. You can easily play piano with two keyboard types which include keyboard with less keys for cell phones and keyboard with more keys for tablets.

Also, this Android Piano app allows you to play with hold and unhold option. Enabling hold button creates a 3D sound and disabling the hold button disables the 3D or surround sound. To change the sound type, you can select from multiple instruments in order to get different sound effect on Android. Real Piano app is not very popular in Google Play Store, but works very well. The app also allows you to record the sound and play it later at any point of time. This gives you the feeling as if you are playing some electric piano instrument.

The good part of this Android Piano app is that, it works with almost all screen resolutions which include cell phones and tablets. Also, the sound output of the piano app sounds similar to real piano instrument.

This Android Piano app is useful for the beginners who want to learn to play piano. Beginners don't have to spend their money on buying the expensive piano instrument. Just install the free version of Real Piano app and get ready to learn piano on your Android.

Features Of Android Piano App:

Play piano on Android.
Provides two keyboard types to play on cell phones and tablets.
Enable/disable hold button to activate 3D or surround sound.
Allow the app to record the piano sound.
Multiple instrument sound which includes grand piano, electric piano, synth, organ, acoustic guitar, and more.
High quality piano sound.
Simple user interface.

Install Real Piano App:

Hit here to download and install Real Piano app from Google Play Store. You can even scan the QR Code below. Real Piano converts your Android to piano instrument which allows you to play piano with ease. Start an easy tutorial to play piano with your Android phone. Also, the app supports all Android firmware version starting from 2.1 and up. You can also check out similar My Piano app and Perfect Piano app for Android.

Real Piano: Android Piano App was originally published at I Love Free Software

Boss Rush: Free Action Shooting Game Online

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:00 PM PDT

Boss Rush is a different kind of action shooting game which is free to play online. Experience how it feels to be a boss and defeat the enemy ships for a change. You can also play this game with your friend on the same computer.

Have you always envied the boss in regular games? You always thought boss has many weapons and is hard to beat? Now here's a chance to be the boss and experience the difficulty in bringing down an enemy ship.

Play Like A Boss:

In every regular game, you cross all the obstacles, shoot every enemy on the way, collect some upgrades, and finally you have an one to one fight with a boss. The boss is always mighty and equipped with good weapons. I have always envied the bosses, waiting at the end of each level to make it difficult to reach the next level. If you can't defeat them, then you have to play all over again or from the last checkpoint. Some of the good classic games that have tough bosses are: Contra, Super Contra, Jungle Book, and Mario Forever.

This game which you are going to play is quite different from other conventional games. You are the boss with a mighty look and powerful weapons. Now your task is to destroy the small ships; show no mercy.

Features of this Online Shooting Game:

As soon as you start playing you will be given training on how to use the boss ship and the weapons. Then you are given small tasks to complete and the difficulty increases as you go to higher levels. Then come out of the game and your main screen will look as shown in above screenshot.

Play: Click play and you are given a choice to choose a different boss. Every boss has different stages to play. Only one boss mode is locked for those who have supported the game with money. Rest all levels can be unlocked by completing the lower levels. You can also choose the difficulty level from : Normal, Hard, and Sparta.

Survival: Survival mode is unlocked after completing certain levels of the game. In this mode you have to just survive the attacks from your opponent.
Versus: In versus mode you can play with your friends on the same computer. The person who takes the role of boss will have to defend the ship as well as shoot the enemy. The person who takes the role of command ship has to just move the ship and kill the boss; as it can automatically shoot.
Options: In options tab you can toggle the background music, sound effects, and graphics quality.
Bonus: In bonus tab you can add effects to your ship. The bonuses are collected while playing the game and they can be added later.
Cheats: Cheats are also reserved for people who have contributed or supported the game.

The graphics and sound effects are very good. You can watch this small YouTube video below to experience the graphics and sound effects.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This shooting game is fun to play and the levels doesn't last more than 2 minutes. If you start playing with the tutorial, I'm sure you will keep playing the game for hours.

Take the role of the boss whom you have hated all the time. Click here to Play Boss Rush Online.

Boss Rush: Free Action Shooting Game Online was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Password Protected Storage For Your Sensitive Information

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Secure Notes is a free software that offers a password protected storage to store and protect your sensitive information. You can use this password protected storage in order to manage, store and password protect important data like login information, contacts or texts that you don’t want other people to see. With Secure Notes you’ll also be able to encrypt data which you decide to store there, so that chances for someone to come snooping around and invading your privacy are brought to a minimum.

This free data protection and encryption tool can be used on both Windows and Mac, and it’s also a standalone application which doesn’t require installation. To reach the default interface which can be seen on the image above, you’re first gonna have to enter the default password, which is 12345678. Default password is given to you at the login window.

Key Features of Secure Notes that offers Password Protected Storage:

Store and password protect information and data in just a few clicks.
Change passwords for protected files easily in case of security breaches.
Easy export of all the data encrypted in Secure Notes to a .TXT file.
Categorize stores data in any way you want – create groups manually.

You may also check out some other similar software like Klonsoft, Clotho, and Axcrypt reviewed by us.

Each piece of data that you want to store and encrypt with the help of Secure Notes is gonna be saved in the form of a “note”. Image above is the main page of Secure Notes where all of the saved notes are gonna be listed and where they can be accessed. Before they can be accessed, the notes first have to be created, here’s how.

How to password protect and encrypt data with Secure Notes:

Start using Secure Notes by changing the default password, which is like we already mentioned 12345678. Do this by clicking on the Change password button at the bottom of the main window.

Once that you enter a new password, if there were files stored already, they are all gonna have to be re-encrypted, so it might take some time for the password to be changed. With the password changed, you can now start adding notes, click on the Add note button and the window for adding a note is gonna appear, like the one you can see on the above image. Fill in the name of the Note and of course the data and information that you want to be stored there.

Created notes can be edited, additionally if you for example register new accounts and would like to add them to a note which you’ve designated for storing and protecting online account information. There’s no limitations as to the size of the text that can be added to a note, so in theory you can even store entire novels there and keep them safe.

Conclusion

Storing important information with the help of Secure Notes is very easy, and you can do it very fast. Encryption is also provided, so if someone tries to access the stored files directly, they won’t be able to bypass the protection in any way. Very strong encryption algorithm insures the safety of your data, download and try Secure Note for free and see how it goes.

Free Password Protected Storage For Your Sensitive Information was originally published at I Love Free Software

Perfect Alarm Clock: Free Alarm Clock Software

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Perfect Alarm clock is a completely free alarm clock software that provides the facility to set alarms on daily basis or weekly basis, triggering at one time. With Perfect Alarm Clock you can set your own music file as alarm tone, in fact you can set different music files for different alarms. This smart alarm clock software comes with an additional functionality to launch any of your desired application at the specified time. The UI of this free Alarm clock is user-friendly, which further makes the overall operation very simple. The below screenshot displays the basic screen of Perfect Alarm clock.

All the operations involved in setting an alarm like selecting a music file as the alarm sound, Selecting the type of alarm and alarm time, adding remarks, adding alarm to the alarm list, removing the alarm etc. are very easy and can be done in just few minutes. You can also test the music files added, and functioning of the alarms.

The memory allocation for Perfect Alarm clock is also very small, as it works in the background, without occupying any extra space on desktop with minimal usage of CPU.

Don’t forget to check out some other free alarm clock software reviewed by us.

How to set an Alarm Using this Free Alarm Clock Software:

Open the application Perfect Alarm Clock. Follow the below steps to set an alarm:

Browse any music file of your choice that you want to play as alarm tone. The browse button provides the facility of browsing the music file.
You can test the selected music file by pressing the 'Test' button.
Now, choose any of the radio button option: One time, Daily, or Weekly.
If you choose One Time then just set the date and time of alarm in the first alarm box.
If you choose Daily then set the time of alarm in second alarm box.
If you choose Weekly then set the time in second alarm box and mark the days.
After this fill the remarks box ( this is optional).
Now press the add button, and the alarm will be added to the job list.
If you want to remove the alarm then just select the alarm and click on 'Remove' button.

The below screenshot displays an example of setting a Daily alarm:

Download And Installation of this Free Alarm Clock Software:

Click here to download Perfect Alarm Clock for free. After downloading this free alarm clock software, just click on the setup, follow the instruction on the setup wizard and the installation will be done.

Note: This software requires Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 to run. If you see an error message when you run the program, it means that .NET Framework is not installed on your machine.

Final Verdict:

Perfect Alarm Clock is a very basic and straight-forward alarm clock software, which i came across. Moreover, the use of different music files with each alarm removes the situation of listening the monotonous same alarm tone all the time. You may also try Banshee Timer & Easy Timer reviewed by us.

Perfect Alarm Clock: Free Alarm Clock Software was originally published at I Love Free Software

Convert Excel, CSV, ODS to PDF, HTML, TXT: Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT

Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools is a free batch converter software that allows you to convert XLS, XLSX, CSV, TXT, ODS spreadsheet documents into XLS, XLSX, CSV, TXT, HTML, and PDF formats. It's a powerful tool which can convert all your office, and open office documents in batches.

We have previously covered article on Bytescout XLS Viewer, which is another freeware developed by Bytescout, to view XLS, XLSX, and ODS files on your computer, without installing Microsoft Excel or Open Office. Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools is another similar spreadsheet utility, using which you can convert XLS, XLSX, CSV, TXT, ODS spreadsheet documents effortlessly.

Using Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools to Convert Office Files:

Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools is very handy and easy to use. You can easily convert office files and open office documents in batches, using this powerful software. Follow these simple steps to quick start with Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools:

Run Application: Launch Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools.
Add Files: Add files you want to convert. You can add files one by one or directly select a folder which contains all the desired files. You can also select a folder which contains subfolders containing the requisite files.
Click "Next": Now click on the "Next" button.
Select Output format: Select an output format in which you want to convert the files.
Click "Start": Finally click on the "Start" button to start converting files.

You may also check out 5 best free alternatives to Microsoft Excel reviewed by us.

Supported Input formats:

TXT (tab-delimited), XLS, XLSX (Excel 2007), ODS (Open Office), CSV

Supported Output formats:

TXT (tab-delimited), XLS, XLSX (Excel 2007), CSV, HTML, PDF

System Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7 / Windows Vista / Window 2003 / Windows XP / Windows 2000
Framework: .NET Framework v2.0 or higher

The Final Verdict:

Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools is a handy and easy to use spreadsheet converter utility for batch conversion of your spreadsheet documents into other spreadsheet formats. With Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools, you can easily convert all your XLS, XLSX, CSV, TXT, ODS spreadsheet documents into any of these formats including HTML, and PDF format. Moreover, you don't even need to install Microsoft Office or Open Office on your system for this conversion.

Download Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools free.

Convert Excel, CSV, ODS to PDF, HTML, TXT: Bytescout Spreadsheet Tools was originally published at I Love Free Software

Skimzee: Online Social Search Service

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Skimzee is a very simple and free online social search platform for searching stuff over news websites, Twitter, Wikipedia, and YouTube. This Twitter search engine is a great place to explore what's happening around the globe and in what context.

The summary slider is a feature included over the website to shorten/lengthen the summary of the search results. Using this is very simple and quite fun. Skimzee online social search is focused on people, their views and events happening around. In the present section, we have placed a short review on features and options of social search engine. Have a look …

Getting Started Over Skimzee Online Social Search Service:

It's very simple with no requirement for creating an account or performing some login. You require visiting the homepage and utilizing the search box placed in the top-right section of webpage. On your first visit, Skimzee will show results for an automatically selected popular phrase/keyword.

Performing Social Search over Skimzee:

Skimzee is more like a combination of Twitter search engine, Wikipedia search engine, a news search engine and for YouTube. The procedure is very simple where the user requires following the steps placed below.

Enter the keyword in the search box and hit the enter button over keyboard.
In a few seconds, the search result will be presented to you from social channels.
Rest is an easy task where you require to click the link and view its content.

You will notice that twitter searches appear in blue, YouTube in grey, news sites in green and Wikipedia in purple. This way you'll be able to easily differentiate search-results from various online resources.

Limitations:

There are no limitations as such over Skimzee online social search engine. Yet, there a few things that can be improved:

Always, a mixed search-result is obtained and you cannot make individual searches on Skimzee. In other words, the user cannot make YouTube specific searches and same applies for Wikipedia and twitter.
A delay of few seconds while fetching the search results.

You may also check out our post on SocialMention real time social media search engine.

The Final Verdict:

The overall social search experience over Skimzee was quite good. You may say that it offers nothing extraordinary, but for sure Skimzee can fetch you some useful or interesting information. You must consider giving it a try.

* The availability of Google Chrome Browser extension and bookmark button for other web browsers allows users to get summaries of webpages being browsed.

* One must not blindly trust the twitter tweets and specially the provocative ones.

Skimzee: Online Social Search Service was originally published at I Love Free Software

How To Run Android On Windows PC

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Here, is a quick tutorial to run Android on Windows PC. Android operating system run on mobile devices and tablets. But, now we can run Android OS on Windows PC.

To do this we will be using Android ISO file and UNetbootin program. The concept of the program is to run Android ISO on Windows PC by making a bootable CD or bootable flash drive. UNetbootin helps you to create a bootable flash drive with Android ISO image file. You can then run or install Android operating system on your Windows PC.

Steps To Run Android On Windows PC:

Step 1: Download Android-X86-1.6-r2.iso file from multiple Android ISO image file setup from the webpage.

Step 2: Download and run UNetbootin exe file on your Windows PC.

Step 3: Format your flash drive.

Step 4: You will see UNetbootin window on your PC.

Step 5: Click on the bullet beside the disk image and then select Android-X86-1.6-r2.iso file from the download location which you have selected.

Step 6: Now click on "ok" button and wait for the files to get copied in the flash drive.

Step 7: Reboot your PC and then select USB flash drive as 1st booting device in booting preference menu.

Step 8: Save the BIOS settings and you will see a BIOS like window to select Android operating system.

Step 9: Now, select the appropriate option, whether you want to run Android OS or install the operating system on your PC.

Step 10: You will see Android interface on your Windows PC. You can then manage Android apps on PC.

Android Interface

The supported hardware to run this Android ISO setup are listed below:

Lenovo ThinkPad x61 Tablet
Dell Inspiron Mini Duo
ASUS Eee PC's and Laptops
Viliv S5
Viewsonic Viewpad 10
Samsung Q1U

You can even burn Android ISO file image to CD. UNetbootin helps you to save the CD's and lets you boot Android ISO file in any flash drive. I recommend you to format your flash drive before you burn Android ISO in it because, you should have enough free space in your flash drive to burn Android ISO without any hindrance.

You can check out free iPad Simulator iPadian for Windows. Also, check out BlueStacks Android Simulator for Windows.

How To Run Android On Windows PC was originally published at I Love Free Software

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