Tag Archives: Freeware

Links from the October 25, 2012 BRCS Freeware SIG

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At the October 25th session, there was a demonstration and discussion of screen captures, image resolution, and Evernote.

Screen Capture

The Windows Snipping Tool and Irfanview were demonstrated, and other screen capture utilities were discussed. Links used for these are:

Snipping Tool Windows 7

http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/Use-Snipping-Tool-to-capture-screen-shots

http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/Snipping-Tool-frequently-asked-questions

Other free screen capture programs:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-screen-capture-tool.htm

http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categories/mmedia/FastStoneCapture.html

http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/

http://picpick.org

Vector Graphics, Image Resolution and Ask-Leo

A question about converting images from jpg to vector graphics was asked, and a Google search for an online converter resulted in trying out Vector Magic.

A practical demonstration with a simple jpg showed that this type of conversion does not give very good results.

The discussion then led to image resolution and Leo Notenboom’s posting:
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_pixels_and_dpi_and_resolution_and_picture_size_and_file_size_all_relate_to_each_other.html

Attendees were advised to sign up for the ask-leo email newsletter to get similar tips and information on their own twice a week.

Evernote

As the resolution posting came from my Evernote notebooks, there was a discussion about obtaining and using Evernote, as well as a practical demonstration of how I use Evernote.

http://evernote.com/

******

NOTE:

There will be no BRCS Freeware SIG sessions in November 2012, nor in December 2012. The next session will be January 24, 2013.

BatteryBar Utility – My Experience

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I decided this morning that I would look for a battery meter for my HP Pavilion tx1410us Vista Home Premium SP2 notebook, as the Vista built-in does not show the remaining time, only the percentage of charge remaining.

My requirements were that it be freeware / open source, and that it provide a read out of the estimated time remaining.

I went to Gizmo’s freeware and searched for battery. https://www.techsupportalert.com/ (Gizmo’s Freeware has shut down)
The first result was:

The recommendation was:

“So, here’s an excellent dedicated free Battery Meter: BatteryBar !
The free version is pre-configured, but still has most/all information one needs.

Pass the mouse over the little display and you’ll see all data it

keeps track of. Click on it and it changes from % remaining to
hours:minutes remaining, all this in a color bar : green, yellow and
red. When it’s blue, battery is charging.

go to

http://osirisdevelopment.com/index.html“

I followed the link, read the information there, checked what others had to say by searching in Google, and downloaded BatteryBar v3.3.3 Free . I scanned the downloaded file with my anti-virus software, and installed it once it showed clear. (System requirements say XP, Vista and Windows 7 supported, both 32bit and 64bit.)

Once installed it showed up as a toolbar showing the percentage of charge left , then when clicked toggled to show time remaining , just what I was looking for.

Also, when I hover over the toolbar with the mouse, more detailed information is shown such as the capacity, charge rate, and battery wear.

There is a “Pro” version, but this does just what I wanted, so I see no need to upgrade.

Recording Internet Radio – Podcasts – Media Players

Aside

Just some quick information:

Last night I was at a dinner for Boca Raton Computer Society, Inc. (BRCS) and a couple of us started talking about recording internet radio broadcasts from Argentina, also during the discussion the idea of podcasts of the same shows, as well as media players, came up. Below is what I could find with some real quick searches on Google and Ask.com, for some free and or inexpensive solutions:

Recording internet radio links: (found at ask.com by searching for “how do i record internet radio broadcasts?”

http://radio.about.com/od/recordstreamingaudio/a/blrecordinghub.htm

http://www.cnet.com/1990-7899_1-6306524-1.html

Podcasts from Argentina:

I do not speak the language so I do not know how much this link to a search on ask.com will do, but give it a try:

https://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2106&o=ffx&l=dir&q=how+do+i+find+podcasts+from+Argentina+radio+stations%3F&adt=0

Free Media Players:

VLC Media Player

Link to it’s site: http://www.videolan.org/

Gizmo’s Freeware Review (Media Players):

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-windows-media-player-replacement.htm

These should get you started. Check them out and enjoy yourself.