Apps is a big catch word these days and have been since Apple popularized the word with their iTunes App Store.  But apps aren’t just for mobile, there are desktop apps that you can download and install on your computer and web apps that run right on a web site, such as Delicious and Office 365.  One of the most popular types of web apps are conversion tools, for things like converting a file from one audio or video format to another.

There is a new web site, called Productive Web Apps, that aims to bring all of the many web apps available into one easy to use location.  You can search for apps by name or function or you can browse by new releases, featured, and categories.  If you know of, or have created an app, then you can submit it to them.

Productive Web Apps is free to use and doesn’t require any kind of sign-up.  Not all of the web apps listed are free to use, but most paid apps do offer free trials.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

These days everyone has devices – smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, etc.  That’s great, but the problem arises when something goes wrong that calls for a “factory reset”, or “hard reset” as it’s sometimes called.  Sometimes there is a clear way of doing this, but often times there isn’t.  Fortunately there is a new web site to help users out out with this.

Factory Reset has lists of instructions categorized by device type.You can also search the site by the model of the device you need to reset.  The categories are extensive – from A/V receivers to calculators to tablets, and everything else you can think of.  They have over 80 televisions, almost 90 video receivers and so much more.  The site is a wiki, so if you notice a device you own isn’t listed, you can add the reset method and help others.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Matcha is an online guide that features the latest movies to the hottest TV shows and offers better movie choices for all avid movie fans out there.  What Matcha basically does is that it links your video subscriptions from such services as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and others to recommend you video clips that you will hopefully enjoy.  It also comes with an activity feed which allows you to receive updates on the latest and newest episodes of your subscriptions.

With Matcha, you can also just use your Twitter or Facebook account instead of having to sign up for a separate account.  To sum up, Matcha definitely lives up to its guide aspect since it really offers more accurate video suggestions than a lot of longer running movie and TV guide sites out there.

Features:

• Free to use
• Link your Facebook/Twitter
• Movie guide and reviews
• Movie and video syncing
• Accurate recommendations

You can visit them at Matcha.tv.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Yesterday Dropbox, the popular file storage and sharing web site, announced they were rolling out a brand new user interface on their web site.  Dropbox provides free storage for anyone who wants to sign up for an account, as well as giving users the option to pay for additional storage if they need it.  I use it to share files with writers and my wife uses it to share homework files with her students.

The new Dropbox UI has been cleaned up and all of the tools are now in an action bar a the top of the screen.  The new bar contains the main features that most users need quick access to – download, delete, rename, move, copy, and previous versions.  Those same actions are also included in the new right-click menu.  The bar is also dynamic, meaning it changes based on what you are doing.  ”The new action bar at the top of the screen does it all. Think of it as a multi-tool that adjusts to your needs. You can use it to sort your files by name, date, size, and type. Or, if you select a file or folder, the bar will change to let you perform a variety of actions on your selection.”

There is also now a built-in photo viewer, which is something the web site has previously lacked.  You will also now see thumbnail images of all of your Dropbox photos and videos.

In addition, they have also added the ability to drag and drop files, a new search feature, and also a new series of keyboard shortcuts which can be accessed by clicking the “?” button on your keyboard.  They are also promising more new features on the way in the coming months.

Dropbox action bar

Dropbox picture viewer

Source: Dropbox Blog

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Many of you in the tech world are probably also science fans, and especially interested in astronomy.  2012 marks the start of the solar maximum, which means increasing activity of sun spots and solar flares.  What all of that means is an increase in Aurora activity.  In times of high solar activity, like what we are entering, it brings not only more aurora, but it means they are frequently visible further south than what is normal.  We tend to think of the Aurora as something generally visible in only the polar regions, but when we reach solar maximum they can become visible in places like Texas, Florida, and many other locals that aren’t used to such light shows.

While we usually focus on technology here, we do love some good astronomy, and this is a great time for it.  If you are interested in getting to see the aurora in your own backyard then there are a couple of web sites that you should keep an eye on.

The first is the NOAA Auroral Activity web site.  Here you can view maps of the northern and southern hemispheres that are updated daily to reflect current activity.  You will see the predicted auroral activity laid out in good detail so you’ll know exactly what to expect, if anything, in your area.

The second is SpaceWeather.com which lays out, in detail, what exactly is going on with the current solar activity.  Again, you can see maps showing the likelihood of aurora activity in your area.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

With the Atlantic and Pacific hurricane season getting into full-swing, and expected to produce an above average number of storms, this is a good time to look at ways to keep track of tropical weather.  If you live in an area where tropical weather can become a factor, then you definitely need to keep up-to-date on the latest developments.  That’s why today I wanted to point everyone towards some good sources of news and information about tropical storms.

The Weather Channel’s Tropical Update Center

The Weather Channel, one of the most watched and trusted TV channels, as well a trusted web site, has an excellent page that shows news for both the Atlantic and Pacific basins.  The news gives updates of the development of systems, strength of existing systems, and news of their movement.  The map also can be switched between such options as Advisories, IR Satellite, storm track, projected path, satellite images of different areas of both oceans (as well the Gulf and Caribbean), and more.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, better known as NOAA, run the National Hurricane Center.  The NHC is responsible for all reporting and investigating of tropical developments – AKA the ones who fly the planes into the storms to get readings.  They are also responsible for issuing all watches and warnings.

Their website offers maps of outlooks, active storms, and marine forecasts.  There also other maps available depending on the current situation.  In addition, they offer season summaries, reports, and tracking charts.

Google Earth

Yes, Google Earth.  They have actually added weather information to keep users informed.  According to Google “You can also keep track of the current tropical storms through Google Earth, where we’ve made tropical storms part of the “default-on” Earth experience (just make sure “Places” is checked in the left Layers panel).”

They no get you stot only cover the US with Atlantic and Pacific information, but also several other areas where such weather exits, like the Indian Ocean and Tasman Sea.

“In Google Earth, you’ll find information on a storm’s intensity, heading, as well as the latest news and advisory information. Where available, we also provide links to download the historical and forecasted storm positions as a KML file. Be sure to turn on the “Clouds” layer under the “Weather” menu in the left Layers panel to visualize the magnitude of each storm.”

There are three good places started, but I am sure many more exist.  If you have, please share it in the comments below.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Dropbox claims a usage base of over 175 countries, but now they are finally adding native language support for a few of them.  They announced today the addition of French, Japanese, German and Spanish.  They have also added a translation feedback system to allow users to help out with this transition.  According to Dropbox’s Dan Wheeler “Your input helps us make sure that Dropbox is perfect for your language. Big thanks to everyone on the forums for already sending us tons of great corrections — it’s made a huge difference! We hope you enjoy.”

Dropbox has become a go-to app around here.  We use if for almost anything – even my wife distributes school lessons for her students to download.  The best part is the more you use it the more free space you are given.  Whenever people log into your account to access files or sign up for an account of their own then you re given credit.  More available languages means even more opportunity.

If you would like to read more about how they are doing the thranslation then you can read about it over on the Dropbox Tech Blog.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Thanks to an upcoming project I have recently had the need to convert Word documents I created into PDF files.  Since I already spend more than I care to mention on computer equipment and software I really didn’t want to shell out the nearly $300 for a copy of Adobe Acrobat.  So, I went searching for more economical alternatives to convert these files.  There is no shortage of free online tools and I am planning to try out a few different ones, but the first one I decided to test was doc2pdf.

doc2pdf is both a free online Word to PDF converter as well as a paid desktop app.  Since I love free (and I am sure you do also) I am only trying the free version.

To get started I navigate to the doc2pdf website and scrolled to the bottom of the page and clicked in the Convert this document box and then browsed to my file.

In the To box make sure Portable Document Format is selected and then click Convert document.  A box will open that prompts you to make some selections.  You can open the PDF with your default PDF reader, open it online with Docs Online, Zoho, Google Docs, or Vuzit, or you can save the file.

The conversion was almost instant – although, the document I tested was only one page with very little text.  It opened in my default PDF program, Foxit Reader, which allowed me to view it and also gives me the option to save it locally.

This app could not have been simpler or faster so it is definitely in the running for my product of choice in this category.  However, I still plan to test out a few other free converters I ran across in my recent search.  For now, though, this is one you can’t go wrong using.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Although you may not have heard of it, as there has been little fanfare, today marks the launch of a brand new music website called Noisey.  It is “a new music discovery platform that profiles some of the most talented new bands and local music scenes from around the world.”  The debut was made official yesterday at SXSW with a live show that featured Bun B, Ariel Pink, Yuck, JEFF The Brotherhood, Oberhofer and Dirty Beaches.

They plan to add new content to the website on a daily basis.  There are 38 artists on the site as of today’s debut.  You can scroll across all of those acts on the main page.  You can also sort music by Most Recent or Most Popular or view live shows by location, which include The USA, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and many other places.

They also feature episodes which introduce viewer to new bands.

Each episode includes five segments, including a short documentary introducing viewers to the band and the local music scene, then four segments of uninterrupted performances. Launch episodes feature The Vaccines (UK), Das Racist (US), Pictureplane (US), Austin TV (MX), Duddi Wallace (ESP), Hotel Mexico (JP), Frittenbude (DE), The Shoes (FR), Bewitched Hands (FR), 24 Hours (CN), Criolo (BR), My Disco (AU), and No Joy (CA), among others.

If you’re a music fan, and enjoy being the person who discovers the latest up and coming artists before all of your friends, then this is a cool new resource.  With the backing of Dell and Intel the site may have a very bright future.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

If you are looking for old computer games then you may want to check out Free Oldies.  They have links to hundreds of old games that have become abandonware.  Since the games have been abandoned by their authors / companies there’s no need to worry about illegal downloading.  You will find links to games in such categories as action, sports, and adventure.  You can browse through the games by category. Yu can also search by title or release year.

Be warned that, while most of the site is in English, there are parts that are in French.  There are a ton of games here, many of which you probably have never heard of, but it’s fun to browse and try them out.  Every once in a while you will find a gem that will make it worthwhile.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook