TechieSouls » Gadgets

Fileinspect.com – the Windows Process Library with a Different Approach

MOin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:15:02 +0000

Not many people can say what exactly each process does when they take a quick look at the Windows Task Manager. An average computer user will recognize some of the processes, but will need to Google others to find out what they do. This can be especially difficult if some processes are run by malware.

Even fewer people know how to fix process-related errors. There is a number of websites that offer generic processes descriptions, that are usually automatically generated and, to tell you the truth, aren’t of much help if you are trying to fix errors. So, you have to Google again, ask questions on forums, etc. – basically, you are forced to spend a lot of time researching.

File Inspect Library Beta is a new Windows process library that has a different approach.

Its developers try to not only provide general process descriptions, but also offer tips and fixes for possible problems. For example, if you go to www.fileinspect.com and do a search for Windows Service Host Process, svchost.exe, you will find a thorough article that explains what is svchost.exe, what it does, and how to fix svchost 100% CPU usage.

Users can contribute to the website by rating processes (safe-unsafe-dangerous) and leaving comments, asking questions, and suggesting possible fixes for process-related errors.

Another useful thing about this site is that Vista and Windows 7 users can download a small free tool called Fileinspect Sidebar Gadget.

This sidebar tool will display the most resource-heavy processes running on your system, which is quite handy if you don’t want to have the Task Manager opened all the time, but would still like to know what’s going on. If you click on the magnifying glass sign next to the process name, you will be able to read a detailed process description. Very handy!

The site is still in Beta and processes descriptions are still being added. Also not all processes have a detailed article describing them – most of descriptions are still pretty generic. But it’s clear that Fileinspect.com developers are going for a different, more personal and helpful approach.

This guest post is written by Liz Vasileva. Liz is a technology writer. She loves everything to do with computers, classical music, opera, and travelling. She blogs at www.auslogics.com/en/blog

Process Explorer: See Whats Killing Your Computer Resources If you are using vista you must noticed that in...
How to : Create System Repair Disc in Windows 7 to Fix System Errors in Future If you are using Windows 7 RC or beta version...
Statuzer – Another Windows Desktop Client for Twitter with Music Support If I tell the truth I see another new twitter...

12 Most Wicked Looking External Hard Drives Available In the Market

MOin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:12:48 +0000

A few weeks ago I bought an external hard drive and my first preference was the best ratio between outlook and performance because external hard drives lay out on your desk and gets the maximum exposure around your working space.

Today I am going to mention all the external hard drives I found during my HD hunt. If you are looking to buy a good looking external hard drive then this post will help you to make a good decision and you don’t need to search any more for a perfect suitable external storage device for yourself because I am pretty sure you are going to find one from my ’12 most good looking external hard drives’ collection.

For the curious ones: which hard drive did I buy from the following collection? I bought ‘Western Digital My Book Studio Edition’ because the features it offers suits me best and I love the way it looks.

1. Hitachi [re]Drive

Energy-efficient external hard drive uses less power

Eco-friendly ingredients and packaging

Automatically powers on or off with your computer

Simple plug n play add-on storage

Turbo USB 2.0* interface, up to 25% faster than USB 2.0

Also compatible with USB 2.0, 1.1

Award-winning Fabrik backup software, including 2GB free online backup

Friendly, free unlimited technical support

PC and Mac compatible

2. Transcend StoreJet 35 U

Works with all 3.5″ SATA hard drives

Two connection options: eSATA or USB2.0

eSATA for maximum performance up to 3.0Gb/s

USB2.0 interface assures universal compatibility

Silent 80mm cooling fan reduces risk of HDD failure

External power adapter and eSATA cable included

Includes StoreJet?elite backup software

Hot-swappable / Plug and Play

Stylish aluminum housing

Anti-slip vertical stand

LED indicator light

3. iOmega eGo™ Midnight Blue

Rugged-Perfect for travel environments, the Drop Guard^TM feature protects the drive when dropped up to 51″ (40% above the industry average!)

Small and stylish solid aluminum enclosure

Preformatted and hot plug-and-play

No AC adapter needed

Compatible with PC and Mac®

USB 2.0/1.1 compatible

Transfer rate: 480 Mbits/s

4. Western Digital My Book Studio Edition

Plug and play

Automatic backup

USB 2.0 compatibility

FireWire 400 and 800 compatibility

eSATA 3 Gb/s compatibility

Formatted for Macintosh

Compact book like design

Capacity gauge

Environmentally friendly

SmartPower™ features

Designed to keep the drive inside cool

5. Maxtor One Touch 4 Plus

Automated OneTouch™ Backup

USB 2.0 or FireWire 400 interface

1TB Capacity

7200RPM, 16MB Cache Buffer

Maxtor SafetyDrill™

Sync Your Files

Easy-to-Use Interface

Maxtor DrivePass™ and Encryption

Simple Setup

6. Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable HD

USB powered for portability

Small size saves desktop space

Plug and play, ready to go out of the box

Easy to use Windows and Mac software

Internal shock sensor and ramp loading technology to help protect your drive

Simple solution for backup or increasing computer storage

7. Seagate FreeAgent Go

Available in 250GB, 320GB, or 500GB capacity

The thinnest portable drive available. Even the cables are compact

Ten different colors to suit your style and let you tell one FreeAgent™ Go from the next

Automatic backup for peace of mind

Encryption technology keeps your files safe

Easy synchronization means you always have the most current version with you

Access your files without fumbling for cables

Preloaded software means easy setup

8. Verbatim USB Portable Hard Drive

Bus powered – no AC adapter or power cords required

Includes easy-to-use backup software

Increase the storage capacity of your laptop or desktop PC

Transfer files between office and home

Store and take music, photos, and video anywhere

9. Acomdata PureDrive

Hi-Speed USB 2.0

eSATA

On-Off Switch

Mac & Pc ready

Security lock slot

Near-Silent Operation

Vertical & Horizontal Placement

Stackable

10. Cavalry Cauc Series

3.5″ hard disk drive

One touch backup

OS backup function

USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 compatible) interface

Plug & Play for Windows 2000 and newer (Pre-formatted to NTFS)

Transfer rate of 480Mbps (USB 2.0)

Hard drive activity LED

Aluminum case

11. Acomdata Enigma Ruggedized Mobile Drive

Fingerprint biometric access

Password Protect

Military-grade AES-128 encryption

Hi-Speed USB 2.0

Pc ready

Bus-powered operation

Plug and Play

12. Seagate FreeAgent Desk

Available in 500GB, 640GB, 1TB, 1.5 TB and 2TB

Sleek, modern, brushed metal design

Lay it flat or on its side, you choose

Automatic backup software makes it easy

Software encryption keeps sensitive files and folders private

Easy to sync between FreeAgent Desk and other drives

Fast data transfer with USB 2.0 interface

USB 3.0 vs FireWire 3200 This is a guest post by Daniel Shain from LaptopLogic.com...
How to : Run XP Compatible files in Windows 7 I am running Windows 7 on my basic machine from...
Avoiding the Disaster created by losing your Valuable electronic files It’s crazy, but no matter what, when we really need...

A Free Shortcut Icons Dock for Windows Desktop – Appetizer

MOin — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:24:34 +0000

Appetizer is a free small dock utility for windows desktop. You must’ve seen many dock apps by now but Appetizer is so far the most light weight and simple to use windows dock utility. You can import shortcuts from ‘Taskbar quick launch’ or you can put custom shortcuts.

You can use already available plugins with Appetizer to enhance its features also there are other good options like run a group of icons when computer starts this option is good when the application itself is not letting you start program on computer startup. You can also make a group of icons and run it at once anytime you need to, You can also control transparency and make it view vertically further more skins are also available to make appetizer look according to your visual taste.

Appetizer comes with 2 different file structures you can either download self extracting .exe file or you can download .zip archive. With .zip Archive you don’t need to install appetizer just double click and it will be right on your desktop after then you can configure it furthermore. Appetizer weights only 970kb and is no way heavy on your computer resources.

Download Appetizer

RocketDock : Get Mac Like Dock in Windows I love how mac looks but unfortunately i dont a...
Free Theme to Make Windows Vista look like Windows 7 I noticed more than enough people haven’t installed windows 7...
Best Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets Collection If you are using Windows Vista you must be using...

Find Manual for your gadget, product or household with The Manuals Search Engine

MOin — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:07:15 +0000

Do you have some hardware or gadget which is missing its manual and you need it to make things working? If so try new search engine which helps you find manual for your product or commodity from a huge database of over 5700k manuals.

All you need to do is to write name of your gadget or product lets say you are looking for ipod manual type in your ipod model e.g ‘ipod nano manual’ then hit enter and you’ll be served with ‘google’ like search results choose any one you think is the best matching your requirements. The icon on left of each manual result indicates rather the source document is in ‘HTML’ format or ‘PDF’ format. I prefer to look for ‘PDF’ format because that’s probably the manual released by the vendor of your gadget, product or household.

Give it a try and you may come up with the manual you are looking for – The Manuals Search Engine

Search for Direct Download Links with ‘Download Any Stuff’ Search Engine If you are leech monster like me who almost every...
Track Your Backlinks And Search Engine Index With iTracker iTracker is a free php based tool which let you...
RapidShare Search Engine Addon for Firefox Rapidshare is most popular and biggest file uploading and sharing...

Plurking on the go with Plurk App for iPhone

MOin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:46:08 +0000

Just like many other famous and useful iPhone & iPod Touch apps which really makes things easier for you by letting you control over many online services on the go. Now here comes most awaited app for the one’s who use Plurk, it names Plurk on the iPhone

This app was only possible with the help of the API lwh.ryan released. This API is not official however. But this app looks very good so far and fulfil all your plurk needs and connect you to plurk world while you are moving. I was really amazed to see this app working it offers almost anything plurker may looking for.

Features:

You can view your timeline in real time means it’ll be automatically udated as soon as new plurk is received or made unread plurks have a beige tint color on them. You can also read your plurks in rich text format.

You can use the mood option also, and view each plurk invidualy to reply it or check new replies received, you can send normal and private plurks to friends and edit, delete or mute plurks as well.

You can see your own profile details and you friends profile list and their details.

Get iPhone Plurk from iTunes now

Many Reasons Why Plurk is Better Than Twitter Micro blogging is really getting famous day by day, in...
Facebook App for iPhone and iPod Touch In the storm of iPhone apps Facebook is not forgetting...
iPhone 3G Launched: The Killer is Out The second generation of iPhone called The New iPhone 3G...

LogicBUY.com: Bargains and Coupons on Laptops, Electronics, Videogames

MOin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:19:47 +0000

With the state of the economy, more consumers will be focused in saving more money than ever. There’s a new website to help you do just that: LogicBUY.com – designed to help consumers save money by publishing & sharing coupons & bargains relating to electronics, video games, and computers from popular online & in-store merchants such as Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, and Walmart.com. The website offers unique features and gives readers the power to rate, vote, comment, and review products – essentially providing platform in their buying decision.

Check out the homepage with the hottest deals & coupons

Check out the Newest Deals & Coupon section

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post & I received compensation for writing this post.

USB 3.0 vs FireWire 3200 This is a guest post by Daniel Shain from LaptopLogic.com...
Ajax Comments Plugin for WordPress I recently found a plugin for WordPress commenting system that...
StartupMeme blog is now Following Did you listened that? startupmeme.com having pr4 and rss and...

USB 3.0 vs FireWire 3200

MOin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:44:03 +0000

This is a guest post by Daniel Shain from LaptopLogic.com – visit them to read notebook reviews, find a laptop or get the latest laptop news.

After long way of 8 years finally news came out that “USB got its first update” and with the promised transfer speed that is ten times faster than before, race for speed has begun. Many reporters have written that this will lead to the death of the competition, but they forgot to mention that FireWire has an update of its own. FireWire 3200 recently had its specifications ratified just as USB 3.0 did, and the two will certainly be competitive. But which one is better?

USB 3.0 is capable of transferring files at an impressive 4.8Gbps (gigabits per second), which is considerably faster than FireWire’s capabilities. The USB folks have made sure that the new USB is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, and although you can’t get USB 3.0 speeds without new hardware, you will still be able to run everything just the same. The power efficiency has also been revamped so that it should be less of a draw on your laptops or other computers, and the power output has been increased from 100 milliamps to 900 milliamps to make it faster to charge devices and easier to power them through USB too.

FireWire 3200 has a maximum capability of a 3.2Gbps transfer rate, which is 1.6Gbps slower than USB 3.0. However, it should also be noted that the P2P (peer to peer) architecture can usually deliver a higher percentage of the maximum rate than the master/slave architecture of USB can. FireWire 3200 is also backwards compatible with FireWire 800, and you can even plug your new FireWire 3200 hardware into the old FireWire 800 ports and instantly get the new 3.2Gbps speed. FireWire still has an edge in power output over USB too, even after all the improvements, making it even more capable of charging items or powering them through the cables.

There’s a lot to love about both specifications. USB 3.0 certainly constitutes a huge improvement over USB 2.0, and FireWire 3200 is also a useful (if less spectacular) update over FireWire 800. Despite the extra ground made up by USB 3.0, FireWire still maintains an edge in technical categories like the power management, the compatibility with previous versions, and quite possibly even the actual transfer rate. USB has two key things going for it though – it’s cheaper and more popular – which means it’s easier to buy (for your wallet) and easier to use (for your mainstream devices). FireWire has long been supported by Apple, whereas USB has been found in most Microsoft machines, and the difference reminds me a lot of the difference between the two companies. It’s important to remember that while USB 3.0 is great, and really does work well, FireWire is pretty great and works well too. Despite Apple seeming to back off of FireWire a little bit by not including it in the new MacBook, we should expect this specification to be around for a long time still. For the right jobs and the right people, it is still the best one out there.

12 Most Wicked Looking External Hard Drives Available In the Market A few weeks ago I bought an external hard drive...
Quick Windows 7 Performance Tweak In this small and point to point post I am...

How to: Unlock / Jailbreak iPhone 2.2 Firmware

MOin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:49:13 +0000

A couple of days ago new firmware for iphone version 2.2 was released and bring a couple of changes a couple of bug fixes (still there are too many bugs so dont get surprised) some more eye candy, some new icons and 2 new features Google Street View and Podcasts.

One of my friend was able to unlock/jailbreak this new version of firmware and successfully got it working on his iphone 2G so I’ll today enlighten you with the method he described on his blog.

So here we go

1. Download this Pwned / Jailbreaked iphone 2.2 firmware from following links

http://tinyurl.com/unlock-iphone-22-sizlo-1
http://tinyurl.com/unlock-iphone-22-sizlo-2
http://tinyurl.com/unlock-iphone-22-sizlo-3b

2. Extract first part with 7zip, winrar or any compression software and you get a single file named iPhone1,1_2.2_5G77_Custom_Restore.ipsw (245mb)

3. Connect iphone to your PC and open iTunes 8 (cancel if it ask you to update your firmware to new version)

4. Back all your iPhone data like contacts, music, video and other media.

5. Hold shift and click Restore and locate the Pwned iPhone 2.2 Firmware.

6. Now wait for the process to be done.

7. Enjoy using pwned / jailbreaked iPhone 2G with firmware 2.2

This method works on PC and MAC both without any extra tools such as WuickPwn and Pwnage tool and works flawlessly without any problem. So happy jailbreaking new firmware iPhone 2.2

Thanks Saad for letting me know this easiest method.

iPhone Firmware 2.0 Download now Yes you can now download Apple Iphone’s new firmware version...
iPod Touch Firmware 2.0 Free Download Now Yesterday Apple launched iPhone 2.0 firmware and today i just...
Take ScreenShots in iPhone and iPod Touch If you are using Firmware Version 2.0 in your iPhone...

Collection of 50 Best Looking Linux Gnome/Ubuntu Themes

MOin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:18:06 +0000

I recently installed new version of linux (Ubuntu Intrepid ibex) on my secondary computer and i wanted to customize it like i am used to customize windows. I tried a lot of gnome themes and found many beautiful and elegant looking themes which enhance your desktop with different colors, corners, buttons and scroll bar styles. I filtered some of the best looking gnome themes to share on TechieSouls. After downloading themes you have to install them, the following screenshot will guide you how to install theme in ubuntu and gnome interface. Install apply and enjoy

(you have to click on thumbnails to view larger image of screenshot)

Download Theme

Damn Small Linux only 50mb I’ve been using linux from 3 years and most of...
How to: Create Your Own Custom iPhone Themes Easily There are tons of iphone themes available for download but...
Huge Collection of Best High Quality Windows 7 Wallpapers Microsoft windows seven formerly codenamed as Blackcomb and Vienna was...

15 Most Useful and Best Portable Apps

MOin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:54:36 +0000

Portable Applications are really easy to use you do not have to install them just double click and start using. The other great use of portable apps is that you can carry them in your USB thumb drive or mobile hard disk and use them on which ever pc you want directly from your device, saves time and hiccup of installing software on pc which you are temporarily using. In this post I’ll be putting all the portable apps which I think are best and most useful keep on reading and download the one like

1. Mozilla Firefox Portable Edition

Who in the world does not know about Mozilla Firefox?! (if still there is someone who do not know, welcome to 21st century please read this ) If you are in an internet cafe or your friend’s home who do not use firefox and you badly need firefox to finish your work or browse web with your own bookmarks and saved passwords then download this portable version of firefox and copy to your USB memory stick just like you carry First Aid kit with you.
Download Mozilla Firefox Portable (ver 3.0.3)

2. Pidgin Portable

Pidgin is a very versatile instant messaging client which supports many IM platforms under one window. Now you do not have to take a lot of pieces of different messaging clients just take pidgin portable with you and chat on the go. With pidgin portable you can chat on AOL, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and Jabber networks the best benefit is that you can take your IM settings and buddy lists with you anywhere you want.
Download Pidgin Portable (ver 2.5.2)

3. KeePass Password Safe Portable

When you are using public pc all your passwords and confidential information is at risk there might be key logger or password snatcher running in the background process. With this great and little piece of software you are safe to use your passwords on any public PC. This simple software is password manager where you place all your e-mail internet and other passwords and use them safely and only you can access stored data incase you lost your usb drive no other person than owner or password keeper can access the stored data.
Download KeePass Password Safe Portable (ver 1.14)

4. ClamWin Antivirus Portable

CalmWin is a very professional and free antivirus now it comes portable to save your computer from viruses. Whenever you plug-in your USB drive into some public PC or PC which is already infected you put your USB drive and indirectly your own PC at risk to reduce the chances of data loss because of virus infection you can take CalmWin Portable antivirus on the go and before copying any data to your USB drive scan it with CalmWin antivirus just by double clicking, sounds safe.
Download CalmWin Antivirus Portable (ver 0.94)

5. Audacity Portable

Audacity is very popular and handy audio editing and mixing software. Now Audacity comes portable so you can edit and mix your song files on the go its best when you are a music fanatic and loves playing with sounds just hook it up in your ipod or music player.
Download Audacity Portable (ver 1.2.6)

6. ImgBurn Portable

Imgburn is highly stable and professional yet freeware utility to burn CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray Discs it supports many file types such as BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI. This portable version fulfil your burning needs on the go just download the package, unpack it and put into your mobile device.
Download ImgBurn Portable (ver 2.4.2)

7. Notepad++ Portable

Not any programmer, developer or webmaster can live longer on earth without Notepad++ it’s a must have app to edit a lot of types of files such as C, C++, HTML, ASP, Java, Pascal, CSS and many more in fact notepad++ is a lot more than just text editor because syntax highlighting feature and simple interface makes it special and the best of all its freeware. Portable version is a blessing you can carry it with you and edit files on the go.
Download Notepad++ Portable (ver 5.0.3)

8. GIMP Portable

Gimp is freely distributed image editor which can be used as simple paint program or professional level image retouching software. It has many features such as photo retouching, image composition, image authoring and image convertor, image renderer which makes it best free image editing software. The portable version of GIMP let do all these tasks on the go.
Download Gimp Portable (ver 2.6.1)

9. VLC Media Player Portable

The best media player on earth its VLC now portable version is here just a standalone .exe file which can run hundreds types of media files on the go. You can run various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, WMV, mp3, ogg, …) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols on the go.
Download VLC Media Player Portable (ver 0.9.4)

10. Google Chrome Portable

When firefox is on the list i wont leave chrome behind we never know if its the best internet browser of future. Still too many people are using chrome even if it’s in early beta stages. Google Chrome already proven fastest and light weight web browser. This portable version can be taken anywhere into any mobile storage device such as ipod, usb hard disk or thumb drive. Two plugins Gears 0.4.24.0 & Flash 10.0.12.36 are already installed and embed in this package.
Download Google Portable (ver 0.3.154.3)

11. Google Earth Portable

Another fun to use and informational product from google. Google earth let you fly over the globe by watching satellite pictures all the locations in fact the whole world is in 3d view you can search places hotels, restaurants, driving directions, parks, schools, hospitals, airports, retail this software is a life saver if you are out of your own country or city or any place you are not familiar with just put in your USB drive into any pc and start searching new places.
Download Google Earth Portable (ver 4.3.7191.6508)

12. Save2pc Portable

This little and free software is very useful for many little kind of jobs such as downloading videos from many video sharing websites such as youtube.com, google video, meta cafe, porntube, myspace video and many others. you can download several video files at a time you can also convert download videos for iPod, PSP, PDA, iPhone, Mobile Phone format and change format to .avi, .mpeg, .wmv Other great feature which i found useful is that you can strip audio track out of video file and save it as mp3 and wav format. This portable version of save2pc let you do all these job on the go just copy it in your usb and take hold on your videos.
Download Save2pc Portable (ver 3.43)

13. AnyTV Portable

With AnyTV Portable you have a portable TV with you totally free. AnyTV let you see over 2630+ TV channels from over 100 countries, 6910+ online videos, 4750+ Online Radio Channels all free. You can watch news, entertainment, documentaries, music, sports, shopping, languages, cartoons, learning, culture, religious channels, live cameras etc .. from all over the world. Application interface is simple and easy to use just download copy double and start watching free TV on the go.
Download AnyTV Portable (ver 2.25)

14. Tansee iPod Transfer Portable

For iPod users this is a breeze of blessing normally when an iPod user want to share songs on some pc without itunes he face a lot of desperation because there is no way you can share songs without an external software well now with this free little tool you can share songs with any one anywhere this portable app is free just download put it in your ipod and take it with you.
Download Tansee iPod Transfer Portable (ver 3.0)

15. Recuva Portable

Recuva is a free utility that let you recover deleted files from hard disks, usb drives, ipods, cameras, mp3 players, mobile phones memory cards. This portable version of recuva let you recover accidently deleted files which you may want to use again but you already hard deleted them. It also recovers files deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses or worms.
Download Recuva Portable (ver 1.20.361)

Protect Your USB Drive On The Go With Free Mxone Antivirus In the current computer era Mobile storage devices are on...
How to: Access Blocked Websites and Services On Web Are you sick of switching proxies and using online web...
Free Google Search App for iPhone & iPod Touch Google the search king also jumped into iPhone apps arena...