Another small, miniscule part of the world that we take for granted, having a couple of speakers next to our computer, built into our screen, connected to a radio.

They are normal for us, but they actually have a big job.

Whether it be a couple of kids, goofing around with garage band, to professional musicians re-listening to their last tunes before they hit the radio. They aid gamers in all possible ways; where their enemy is coming, how many bullets he's shot, even what kind of gun he has. They let us know somebody’s hopped onto MSN messenger, they even tell us the time.

Without them, we would be screwed. Honestly. Can you watch a movie without sound? Can you speak to your friends on your new hiptop slide without speakers? Can you even play counter strike without them? The answer is no. Speakers complete it.

They give me the chance to hear what the world has to say; For that I’m grateful.

It’s a little device that allows your stereo to play through your computer in order to record sound files.  You don’t have to have a certain kind of connector because it comes with all the cables you could possibly need.  Have strange wires connecting your stereo to its speakers instead of standard audio jacks?  Never fear, you can hook it up through the headphone jack instead.  It draws power through the USB cable that hooks into your computer, so it also doesn’t need batteries or a power outlet nearby.

My cassettes have been gathering dust for the longest time (mostly because even though I have a cassette player on my stereo at home, I do most of my music-listening in the car) and now that I don’t even have a cassette player in my car, I listen to them even less.  Now that I have this, I can record them all to mp3 files and put them either on a CD or on my iPod and I won’t need to worry about them falling apart ever again.

I recorded my first cassette yesterday and it was a bit frustrating at first...because, as it turns out, my audio settings on the computer weren’t correct so I wasn’t hearing any sound.  Once we figured that out, it was perfect.  The software that comes with the device has various noise cleaning options that can remove tape hiss and make the recordings sound like they came from a CD.  I’m seriously in love with this thing.

There are stereos out there that let you do the same thing, but those tend to cost $100 or more and you have to buy a whole new stereo.  This is a much better bargain.  It's available at Thinkgeek.com as well as Amazon.com - and it should run you about $49.  That's just a fraction of the cost you'd pay if you had to repurchase all of that music.  It's a great bargain all-around.

What does it do?

It does allot but what I use it for is to convert all my music media to one format. (mp3) so thatItunes will accept it and make It all work as it should.
It is super lightweight. Very basic but very powerful. You can select a whole folder pick what you want it to convert to and walk away. It's very fast and you loose 0% quality they really sound great!
Once its all said and done Itunes accepts your files with ease! It will even keep your old files but make a uniformed version for use elsewhere.
It has a trial version, and as far as I have seen its free forever, and converts music fine. Not sure what features the paid version offers. I can say that this thing is made well so there probably great!
To get a copy of this awesome little tool head on over to dBpoweramp.

So without further ado (thanks Jesse), I present to you:

Yeah, I know this is a no-brainer and is listed on just about every single freeware list on earth. But think about it... I used to use Internet Explorer until this came around and after switching I refuse to go back. I've also tried out Safari, Opera, K-Melon, and yes even Google Chrome.

The thing I like most about Firefox is that it comes across as versatile while allowing me to customize to my hearts content through the use of add-ons. So take a moment and install the latest version of Firefox, because the next part of this list will be the Add-Ons that I have installed which make my browser an elite and powerful program.

Download Latest Version of Firefox

Now, let's work on the essential Firefox Extensions. These are the same ones that I have installed by default and are the very same ones I simply cannot live without. Your tastes may vary, of course, but again we're focusing on the things that I have personally installed and refuse to live without.

Firefox Extensions:

404: File Is Not Found? Now It Will Be!

Download

I wish this extension was around about ten years ago... so what does this do? Well, when you hit a page that throws you a 404 error (file not found) it pops up a dialog in Firefox asking if you want it to check Archive.org to see if they have a cached version of it on their servers. So essentially, if the site or page is missing today, there may be a good chance that it wasn't missing awhile ago and there is an archived copy of it.

Very useful indeed.

Adblock Plus!

Download

This is a staple for me, and pretty much a god-send. Does essentially what it says: Blocks popups, pop unders, and even advertising banners (if you tell it to be totalitarian about things).

AutoAuth

Download

AutoAuth automatically submits HTTP authentication dialogs when you've chosen to have the browser save your login information. (If you've already told the browser what your username and password are, and you've told it to remember that username and password, why not just have it automatically submit it instead of asking you each time?)

If you don't have a username and password saved for a subdomain (e.g., foo.bar.com), AutoAuth will give you a list of suggestions for that domain, based on other saved usernames and passwords for similar subdomains (e.g., bar.com or *.bar.com). Just choose which username to use from the list, and hit the Autofill button. [This feature is only available in Firefox 2.]

Better Gmail 2

Download
Add useful extra features and skins to Gmail, like hierarchical labels, macros, file attachment icons, and more.

Better Gmail 2 compiles the best Greasemonkey user scripts for Gmail into a single package. All scripts copyright their original authors. Click on the script homepage in the About tab for help and more information. Only compatible with the new Gmail interface.

If you are a Gmail user like I am, you'll find this add-on invaluable. It has a settings interface which lets you further pick and choose which options you would like for it to apply to your gmail account when you log in. Some things I have enabled, others I've left out. Give this a shot and see if it suits your tastes.

GMail Notifier

Download

The original notifier for Gmail.  Supports checking multiple accounts as well as Gmail Hosted accounts. It adds a GMail icon to the bottom right corner of the browser with a little number on it. Every 15 minutes or so it checks to see if you have new mail, and if you do, displays the number of new messages.

Clicking the little icon loads GMail in a new tab (if you set it to do so). Since you need to give it your login information to check for new messages, clicking it will automatically log you into your GMail account.

Again, this is a must-have for GMail users.

BlockSite

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BlockSite is an extension, which automagically blocks websites of your choice. Additionally, this extension will disable all hyperlinks to these websites, by just displaying the link text without the clicking functionality.

Ever run into a website that you simply do not want to see again? We'll say for example YTMND.com or maybe some stupid site you stumble across... This plugin allows you to literally stop it from ever loading in your browser again. It's that simple.

Colorzilla

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Advanced Eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer and other colorful goodies.

With ColorZilla you can get a color reading from any point in your browser, quickly adjust this color and paste it into another program. You can Zoom the page you are viewing and measure distances between any two points on the page. The built-in palette browser allows choosing colors from pre-defined color sets and saving the most used colors in custom palettes. DOM spying features allow getting various information about DOM elements quickly and easily. And there's more...

If you are a designer like I am, or simply have a need to pick out colors for things, then this is uber-useful.

CustomizeGoogle

Download

CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhance Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam). All features are optional and easily configured.

GoogleGears

Download

One of the few Firefox addons that aren't locted on the actual Mozilla site. GoogleGears allows web applications interact naturally with your desktop, store data locally in a fully-searchable database, and run JavaScript in the background to improve performance.

Something I can imagine uses this right off the bat is GoogleDocs, which comes in super useful when you get an email attachment in Gmail which is a document&183; Instead of downloading it, then opening it, you can simply open it right up in GoogleDocs and edit it - then send it back with revisions.

Google Preview

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Simply put, it adds thumbnail images to search results in Google showing you what the page looks like ahead of time. While I have this installed and have had it for quite some time, this function is a 50/50 mix for me.

Check it out and see if you like it. If not, no big deal :)

Download Embedded

Download

Downloads all or selected embedded objects on a webpage. Can be used for downloading movies, mp3s, flash, quicktime, or other embedded files (although this does NOT work on video embedded in flash [ youtube, video.google.com, etc.. ]

Of course, what kind of person would I be if I didn't hook you up with something that did actually work for places like youtube?

Video Download Helper

Download

DownloadHelper is a tool for web content extraction. Its purpose is to capture video and image files from many sites.

Just surf the Web as you are used to, when DownloadHelper detects it can do something for you, the icon gets animated and a menu allows you to download files by simply clicking an item

For instance, if you go to a YouTube page, you'll be able to download the video directly on your file system. It also works with MySpace, Google videos, DailyMotion, Porkolt, iFilm, DreamHost and others.

Thank me later

DownThemAll!

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You simply cannot live without this one, and neither can I.

DownThemAll is all you can desire from a download manager: it features an advanced accelerator that increases speed up to 400% and it allows you to pause and resume downloads at any time.

DownThemAll is fast, reliable and easy-to-use! It lets you download all the links or images contained in a webpage and much more: you can refine your downloads by fully customizable criteria to get only what you really want!

DownThemAll is absolutely freeware and open-source. No Adware, no Spyware.

Fission

Download

Fission combines address bar and progress bar (Safari style). This makes the progress bar more visible and allows for a nice visual effect.

FullerScreen

Download

This extension enhances the Full Screen mode into a really full screen mode, hiding the remaining toolbars and statusbar and making them visible again when the mouse pointer hits an edge of the screen.
It also offers a slideshow mode, enabling @projection CSS rules in a document when full screen mode is turned on. Navigation between slides in implemented in the extension and a slide manager showing thumbnails for the slides is available through shift-F11.

Grab And Drag

Download

Enables Adobe Acrobat-style grab and drag scrolling, Flick gestures, and Momentum scrolling in Firefox, Thunderbird, and Flock. Why worry about grabbing the scrollbar on the side when you can just grab the page itself and flick it up or down? This addon is my personal favorite.

  Greasemonkey

Download

Well duh. Of course I have Greasemonkey installed! Cmon! This single addon for Firefox lets you literally go hog wild with the web and change sites around to your hearts content!

Allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript. Hundreds of scripts, for a wide variety of popular sites, are already available at Download.

IE Tab

Download

Ok, let's face it. Sometimes you absolutely positively are faced with a site that requires you to use Internet Explorer. I know it's not as often as it used to be in the days of old (thank god), but there are still times when you need to.

If you are using Windows (Apple and Linux folks can sit this one out), this usually means cranking up the Internet Explorer and staring in horror as it eats your sou- I mean resources.... But this is the answer to that horror.

Using IE Tab, you can integrate only the bare requirements of the IE Engine into Firefox in an "on-demand" manner. All the IE ability (like Microsoft Windows Website Downloads) and none of the hassle that actually running Internet Explorer brings.

Cooliris (formerly Piclens)

Words really cannot explain what Cooliris does. So what I will do is ive you a basic description, followed by a video of it in action. Hands down, this is the greatest plugin I have ever seen.

Full-Screen, 3D -- Cooliris (formerly known as PicLens) transforms your browser into a visually stunning experience for searching, viewing, and sharing online photos and videos. Our "3D Wall" lets you effortlessly search and zoom your way around thousands of images, videos, news feeds, sports feeds, and more. To share stuff with friends, just drag and drop.

Extended Statusbar

Download

Adds an Opera-like statusbar that shows:

• percentage of the page loaded,
  
• number of loaded images,
  
• bytes downloaded,
  
• average download speed,
  
• load time.
  

Stumbleupon

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Think of Stumbleupon as an infinite improbability drive for your browser. You can click the button and it will randomly bring you to a website page that is in your defined interests. You can rate what it gives you with a thumbs up and thumbs down, which allows it to get to know what you like over time, thus bringing you more of what you like and less of what you don't.

This is definitely a great time waster, as well as an excellent way to be exposed to content that you normally would not have simply found through normal searching. One of my personal favorites.

Translator

Download

Don't let the simple name fool you, translator is web translation extension that allows you to translate any web page into nearly any language at the click of a button.

Currently supports the following online translation services:

• Google Translation
  
• Babelfish
  
• PROMT
  
• freetranslation.com
  
• Altavista
  
• Im translator

I have this installed and use it often, because let's face it, the Internet is not always written in your native language.

That's it just for Firefox... but of course this excludes the common things like the latest version of Flash, PDF Reader, etc that is an automatic installation.

Now it's time to move along and get to the rest of the programs that I recommend, and also have installed.

FileZilla!

Download

It's a free and open source FTP client. Over the years, this has proven to be not only the best in my opinion but also my favorite one to use. I also keep a copy on my USB Memory stick when doing random work on a computer that isn't my own laptop, because you never know when you'll need a digital swiis army knife.

Spybot Search & Destroy

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It's either this or Adaware, but in either case, spyware and other things that simply crap up your computer and make life a pain in the butt for you is a reality. Clear that stuff out of your system and keep it clean using this program.

AVG Antivirus

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Depending entirely on your personal preferences, a virus scanner is still a must. Personally I run AVG Antivirus, and haven't had an issue yet. Since anti-virus software for Windows is a must, I will not limit the recommendation to just AVG, an instead will offer a couple of leading free options to take care of this.

Alternatives to AVG:

1. Avira Antivirus: Download
   
2. Avast! Home Edition: Download
   
3. Clamwin: Download

Pidgin Instant Messenger

Download

What to do when you have friends who use YIM!, GoogleTalk, MSN, ICQ, AIM, IRC, and others? The first answer is usually to download and install all of the above seperately just to keep in touch, but I'm here to offer you an open source alternative.

Pidgin is a multi-messenger client that is lightweight and lightening fast. It allows you to connect to all of those networks in a single client, but also is stripped down so essentially all you get is a text mesenger. This means no Video or Voice functionality, of course, but in the end most people don't really need all of that bloatware to begin with. If you are looking for a multi-messenger, you may want to give this one a try - or one of the following:

Trillian: Download

Digsby: Download

OpenOffice.org

Download

The name says it all. It's an open source office suite made by Sun and features pretty much every office type program you will ever need. No need to run out and buy Microsoft Office, because this can do everything and more for free.

Irfanview

Download

This is my swiss army knife for converting image formats. It can open nearly any image format and convert it to nearly any other format. Also supports batch processing which makes converting whole folders a breeze.

Auslogics Defrag

Not like you needed a full explanation of why you should defragment your hard drives regularly, but there is a specific reason why I use Auslogics Defrag instead of the built in Windows Defragmenter.

Personally I think Auslogics is simply a better program for the job, and also it actually shows you what it's doing while it's doing it (which for some reason is no longer the case in Vista from XP).  I'm an old school geek and still like to see those little squares lighting up and moving around like the old days of Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 Defrag.

Give it a shot and see if you agree with me on this one.

Auslogics Registry Defrag

Download

If you thought just your hard drive could get mucked up with adding and deleting things, think again. If your computer is running slowly, another culprit may in fact be a messy registry in your operating system. So grab a copy of Auslogics Registry Defrag and so some maintenance on your computer today.

Format Factory

Download

Ok, so we've covered the swiss army knife of graphics (Irfanview) but what about video and audio conversion? I cannot tell you how many times I've been around the Internet only to see innumerable posts all over the place begging for a good and free video converter.

Since nearly all available converters cost money or simply don't work, this can spell out a ton of downloading and uninstalling for the computer user who doesn't know any better. If this is the case, then see also the prior listing about Auslogics Defragger ;)

Format Factory is my personal choice for a Video and Audio Swiss Army Knife. It converts nearly anything to anything easily (at least within useful formats) and can even rip a DVD straight to AVI format if you want.

While it is true that I also have Goldwave Pro installed, Goldwave is an audio editing program and costs money so it is excluded in this list.

Inkscape

Download

Looking to create Scalable Vector Graphics? Inkscape is what I have installed just for this purpose. What can I say other than it just gets the job done and is free :)

Gimpshop

Download

Ok, so I lied. I do not have Gimpshop installed on this computer, but not because I wouldn't recommend it. What I use for general graphics happens to be Photoshop CS3 and Paintshop Pro 8. Both programs are not free and so would not work for this list So what I *can* offer is the rough equivalent for free which happens to be Gimpshop.

There is also Paint.NET which I actually have installed too, but do not use as much as Photoshop or Paintshop.

Skype

Download

The obvious choice if you want to do Voice chat online (and if you are a Pidgin user like I am).

ZScreen

Download

ZScreen is an open-source screen capture program that allows for region/window/full-screen screenshots. It can FTP screenshots and put the URL in your clipboard in a single keystroke. It supports automatic custom naming conventions with variables. It can also interface with image editing software. It is a C.NET 2.0 program hosted on Sourceforge.net and built by BrandonZ.

Reader Submitted: FastStone (Portable Freeware Version)

uTorrent

Download

If you are going to download torrents from the internet, I suggest uTorrent. It's lightweight and feature packed. Of course, I don't condone illegal file downloading... *coughs*.

What I would recommend if you didn't mind spending money

Hands down I would recommend getting your hands on Tuneup Utilities. I have a copy of it and it works wonders for keeping the hard drive cleaned up and purring like a kitten.

Also for website creation, I would recommend Dreamweaver CS3 and Flash CS3. While there are a handful of WYSIWYG website editors out there that are free, I haven't yet found one as good as Dreamweaver. If you have the cash to spend, I would also recommend Photoshop CS3 as well.

Of course there is the alternate method of just grabbing them from a torrent online using uTorrent, but you assume all risks involved with going this route and I wouldn't recommend it.

Well, that's it (finally) for my comprehensive list of things that I have installed on my computer that I recommend to you. This list of programs comprise what I actually have installed and use on a near daily basis, so you know they have to be pretty good. I know I've excluded things like the obvious media players (Winamp and VLC) or video editing software like Audacity, but Audacity isn't installed on this computer, while Winamp and VLC are both no-brainers.

I hope you've enjoyed this list, and the programs listed here come in handy for you in your daily routine.

Till next time...

Image source

Here is the list, my personal review of some computer software programs that made our life easy.

Firefox

The Firefox Web Browser is the faster, more secure, and fully customizable way to surf the web than others.

Features:

• One-Click Bookmarking - you can search and organize Web sites quickly and easily
• Instant Web Site ID - You can avoid online scams, and suspicious transaction
• Improved Performance - You can view Web Pages faster and less memory for your computer

Yahoo Messenger

Chit Chat with your buddies and find friends in Yahoo! Yahoo Messenger is the most widely used instant messenger in the world wide web.

Features:

• Send text messages in real-time to your buddies on Yahoo or Windows Live Messenger
• Join a chat room to meet new friends while you discuss your favorite topics
• Photo Sharing - Share photos from your desktop or Flickr, then discuss them over IM while you and a friend view them together
• PC to PC calls - Make a voice call to another Yahoo! Messenger user for free
• Send text messages from Messenger to your friends mobile phones for free

Skype

No money for calls? With Skype you can chat and make free calls over the internet to other people on Skype for as long as you like, to wherever you like. You can call to mobiles using your computer. And it is absolutely free to download.

Adobe Reader

Adobe is a free software to download. This simplest of Adobe's PDF programs lets you do just about anything PDF-related (besides create new ones), including online collaboration. It includes a host of features to aid users with disabilities. Use Adobe Reader to view, search, digitally sign, verify, print, and collaborate on Adobe PDF files.

Features:

• Leverage a simplified user interface - You can view information more precisely and efficiently with the redesigned, easier to use Reader 8 interface
• More secure document workflows - Better protect documents, forms, and drawings
• Automate digital certificate administration
• Leverage existing security infrastructure

Audacity

Audacity is a free to download software you can do recording and editing of your audio interest. Audacity available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems.

Features:

• Record Live Audio
• Convert tape copies and records into digital recordings or Cds
• You can Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files
• Do can copying, cutting, splicing or mixing sounds together
• Change the beat or speed tempo of your Audio files

GIMP

The GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, is the most widely used bitmap editor in the printing industries. GIMP is a graphics, photo images, logos editor. Cropping, resizing, altering color, brightness adjusting, combing multiple images, and converting into different format files. It is often used as a free software replacement for Adobe Photoshop. But it is not designed to be Photoshop clone.

Features:

• Customizable Interface
• Photo Enhancement
• Digital Retouching

iTunes

iTunes is a software free to download. A digital music or media player introduced by Apple Inc. The program used for playing and organizing mp3, digital music, and video files. This software can connect to the iTune store via internet to purchase download music, videos, TV shows, iPod games, audio books, movie trailers, ring tones, and more.

Features:

• iPod music downloader
• Media player

AIM

Advanced Information Management (AIM). It is one of the most widely used free Instant Messenger program.

Features:

• AIM Plug-ins
  • Whimsicals - They're web applications that let you interact with your Buddies, send & receive IMs, & more all from a web browser.
  • IM fight - Fight your buddy.
  • AIM share - Blast your buddy list.
  • AIM WIMZI - Put a chat window anywhere.
  • QQ games - Fun and play with your buddies.

WinAmp

WinAmp the most famous media player after WPM. Play music, video, movie files, DVDs. Lots of Skin to choose for their new version. WinAmp offers 50 free mp3 download for downloading the software. You can also search for skins and plug-ins, access thousands of shout cast Radio stations, get free Music and Videos and search the Web using Winamp Search.

Feature:

• Offers free download of music and videos in their toolbar
• Remote Music and Video Playback and Sharing
• Play list the Best Music on the Web with Media Monitor
• Winamp Toolbar enables browser control of Winamp
• Album Art Support for Portable Devices

Thunderbird

Thunderbird is an ultimate open source desktop mail app support by mozilla. Its pluggable interface lets developers freely build extensions to make it ever more useful.

Features:

• Message tagging - Thunderbird 2 allows you to tag messages with descriptors such as to Do or Done
• Advanced Folder Views - offers a variety of ways for you to organize and display your folders, whether by favorites, recently viewed or folders containing unread messages
• Message history navigation - Show toolbar allows you to click forward and back much like in your Web browser
• Saved Research - Thunderbird has a “saved” folder allows you to store your file searched

Cover Flow is a feature that lets you browse the cover art (of the albums) of your iTunes library. You can flip through your albums by dragging the horizontal scroll bar with your mouse, spinning the mouse wheel up/down, or even your arrow keys. Heck, Cover Flow even has a full screen option; this option makes your computer screen look like a sophisticated audio player.

Search

Although I am sure most people have noticed the search box, some might not know its full capability. The search box is capable of locating results in your library for the songs name, artist, genre, album, and even the equalizer setting. And for those of you who are too lazy to click onto the search box, all you have to do is start typing the name of the song you are looking for, and iTunes will automatically highlight the closest result.

Visualizer

Unless you have looked fairly deep, you may not have noticed that iTunes has a Visualization feature. For those of you who like to look at visualizations, when you've selected your song, press Ctrl + T, and it will switch to the visualization screen. Press Ctrl + T again to exit to the normal display.

Cover Art

I am sure everyone knows that you can add cover art to albums in iTunes, however, it is a fairly long process that can take a lot of your time if you don't use the convenient shortcut that Apple has provided. In the bottom left corner of iTunes, there is a box that you can simple drag images onto, and, just that like, that image is now set as the cover art for that album.

Mini-Player

Like all media players, iTunes has a mini player. This nice thing about this one is that it is very "mini". Most mini players of media players are still big enough, defeating the purpose of a mini player. The amazing thing about the iTunes mini player is that it is very small, meaning you can have it in a top corner of your screen, control it, and not have to worry about it getting in the way of your other programs. So if you are too lazy to switch to your iTunes window to change your song, then the mini player is for you.

Song Options

If you've ever wanted to make a quiet song louder (or vice versa), or wanted to cut out a slow ending or into, song options are something you will want to check out. Highlight the song you wish to edit, then press Ctrl + I, and click the Options tab. Here you can increase/decrease the volume, set a starting/ending point, and much more features solely for the selected song. Highlight multiple songs, and press Ctrl + I, to set options for all the selected songs; this beats doing this to each song individually if you are looking to edit multiple songs with the exact same changes.

Lyrics

For those of you with iPod touch's and iPhones, you will really like this feature. To access this feature, press Ctrl + I, then press the Lyrics tab. The lyrics feature is a simple feature that lets you write or paste lyrics for a song. Then, when listening to the music on your touch or iPhone, you can tap the screen and it will display the lyrics on the screen, then all you need to do is scroll down and read it. For those of you who are unable to sync notes from your computer, you can paste any text you wish into the lyrics section of a song, and you can put on a song, and then read through whatever text you added.

Locate File

If you're ever listening to a song, and want to find the audio file on your computer, for whatever reason, it is as simple as pressing Ctrl + R. This will immediately open up the folder containing the song, which is a faster method than looking for file manually, or even resorting to trial and error.

Preferences

Known in most programs as "options", preferences are something to check out for sure. To access preferences, press Ctrl + , (comma). Through preferences you can edit playback options, such as cross fade and shuffle, and simple preferences such as parental control and syncing.

Diagnostics

Diagnostics is a feature that checks important things such as your CD/DVD drive, network, connection, and iPod/iPhone connections. To access this feature, go to Help - Run Diagnostics. This feature takes literally less than a minute, and lets you know if all your drivers, etc., are working. This is good for anyone who is experiencing problems, as it can solve it fast and efficiently.

And there you have it, 10 iTunes features that you may have not been aware of. I hope this article has helped to improve your iTunes experience.

iGadget

This powerful application literally transforms the iPod into something resembling a PDA. From Outlook you can transfer your mail, notes and appointments to your iPod with the help of iGadget. Add to that list - text files, RSS feeds, weather forecasts and daily horoscopes. Want to transfer back some songs from the iPod to your PC? This piece of work can do that too. But like all good things in life, iGadget comes with a small price tag. But $15 and the download from www.purpleghost.com will turn your iPod into a personal digital assistant.

iDump

Grab this from www.codershole.com/iDump.php and you get complete control over transfer of song files from the iPod to the PC. It's no fuss software; it lets you search for the songs to transfer and you also get to choose the output name format of the songs. But the coolest thing about this application is that it is free.

iDirectionz

Some of us are inveterate travelers and someone just did us a favor by releasing an application to help us find our way around. It's the next best thing to GPS. if you are still waiting for the first GPS kit for the iPod then take this app from Verstige out for a spin. (The download is also available from Cnet.com.) Download the software, enter your source location and your destination, you get your driving directions in a text file. Transfer them to your iPod's Notes folder. This is free to use and comes handy in case you plan to get lost.

Party Pro

From this site - www.helmesinnovations.com comes the Party Pro, your personal party guide. 800 drink recipes with photos, 55 drinking games, tips for the bartender, pick-up lines for the verbally challenged and a great global database on clubs and bars (only for US and Europe cities). As their are no free lunches, this software retails for $9.99 only.

Canto Pod

If you are as fastidious about the lyrics as you are about the songs then the Canto Pod is for you. A free software (at last), it gets the lyrics of your songs on your iPod and saves them in the Contacts menu. It takes a bit of a workaround because of the slightly complicated interface, but it is well worth for its utility. The slight dampener is that it understands only English songs.

Encyclopodia

An Open Source Project from www.encyclopodia.sourceforge.net, this neat bit of software is an information repository for the pocket. Users can access information sourced from Wikipedia using the scrollwheel. It is a bit of pain for the fingers but you can bet it is good for the brain. It might not work well with some of the newer iPods but their is no harm in giving it a try. It's free.

The world of the iPod is now big and you can bet that their are many more applications on the way. We can only complain about the wait.

First of all, to design a game on the computer a person needs an active imagination in order to create different game levels, characters, and backgrounds. Level designing is the creation or mapping of game levels in a video or computer game. Especially it is important that the levels not boring or too difficult or the player will not enjoy playing, and thus the game will be a failure. A good game has levels in which the difficulty increases as you move forward and the tasks or enemies are not way too easy or hard to defeat. Also, the game should be original. Additionally, each level must have a unique environment. All levels must be winnable.

After all the levels are finished, a set of characters need to be put together. The person putting the game together must think of the characters that he or she wants in the game. It is best to sketch these characters on a piece of paper and then draw it using a computer painting program called Microsoft Paint or Adobe Photoshop. After that, the characters can then have clothing, equipment, or other items such as weapons added on top.

After designing the levels and characters, the background needs to be added. When making backgrounds, designers must ask themselves, “Does the background move or light up?” If the background moves, then a layer of frames is put together. To make a background look bright, add shading to parts of the frame. According to a computer game judge, Karrie Jacobs, “a rule of thumb about designing: a great designer is one who gets his or her inspiration from anything other than the work of his or her contemporaries” (Hiebert 9). So it is important that when you make a game you create something original. After putting levels, characters, and backgrounds together, you will have the basic look of your game.

The next step in making a game is programming. In order to make the levels, characters, and background move, game creators can program using Game Maker Language (GML). The special term for coding in GML is called “scripting.” “In a computer program, a script is a small program or sequence of instructions that is interpreted or carried out by another program rather than by the computer processor” (searchenterpriselinux.com). An example, from GML is a code which makes a character jump, is as follows:

If not(place_free(x,y,,) then

{

Gravity = 0;

}

Else

{

Gravity = 0.4

}

The two main parts of scripting are unit coding and encounter coding. Amazingly, unit coding is used for moving animals or people. When coding units it is important to remember the game user will need to push buttons in order to move the characters. This means that the unit code must be related to certain buttons on the keyboard or mouse. Fantastically, unit coding is also used when a character interacts with other characters or moves across the screen. For example, x and y coordinates can be coded into maps for a character to move in.

In order for a character to use objects such as swords or balls, you will need to script using encounter codes. If a character met another character, for example, the script code may give the options for fighting, talking, or passing by. Programming your game with unit and encounter scripts which are interesting and full of action will make the game fantastic.

Finally, sounds and music are important for creating mood in your game. One type of sound is action noise. These sound effects might happen when a character shoots a gun and at that exact moment a loud “BANG” occurs over the computer's speakers. Equally important to these sound effects are sounds which repeat over and over. Background music needs to be happening during the whole game. For example, if it was a shooting game, rock or metal music might be playing, while a game like Mario Brothers has upbeat, funny music.

After further learning and practicing, designers, programmers, and interfacers can begin to understand more and more about game making with Game Maker. There are many advantages to learning about computer technology, such as; better understanding of regular school and getting more experience in computer technology. Game Maker helps you learn math, language arts, art, and working in a team. If you want to make a more detailed game, then you should make it in a team. Kids should try making games with Game Maker.

Note: While any downloads are taking place on your device do not let the screen fall asleep! I will post additions in the comments of this article, if you have anything to add post your additions too, if you want to update your firmware, after you have jailbroken your device, make sure that you restore it first or it could get locked.

1. Downgrade Your Firmware

Decide on the software version you want to do this with. The earlier the version the more applications you can get for your device. Next, find the download for this version. I suggest 1.1.1. You can download the file here for the iPod, and here for the iPhone. After it is done downloading connect your iPod to your computer and open iTunes. Find your iPod in iTunes and then press down the Option key on a Mac and click update. You can also press the Shift key if you are on a windows computer. At this point, a dialog box opens up and you will need to select the file you downloaded earlier. Once your iPod is done downgrading it will restart. Congratulations it is now running firmware version 1.1.1.

2. Jailbreaking Your iPod

Now that your iPod is running the correct firmware you can jailbreak it! This part, while the most significant, is the easiest. Simply take your iPod and open Safari, in the address bar type in www.jailbreakme.com. Once your iPod loads the page scroll all the way down and click "Install AppSnapp." In about ten seconds it will be done installing and you will have a new icon on your home screen called "Installer." Your device is now jailbroken and you can get the applications you want.

3. Getting More Sources (Optional/Recommended)

This step is for people who want to do more than make their iPod an iPhone, it's for people who want their iPod/iPhone to be a combined Computer, iPod, Phone, PSP, Gameboy, NES, Playstation, virtual book reader and more. It also allows users to completely customize their device including all images and default text on it. It will allow you to change the order of the buttons on your home screen and put up to fifteen buttons into the Home Dock. Your applications come from programmer's lists called Sources. To add almost every single source of applications into your Installer's database you will only need to manually add one source. To do this open installer on your iPod and click "Sources" on the bottom right. Once your sources are opened click "edit" in the top right corner and then "add" in the bottom left.

Once you do this a dialog box should pop up. Into the box enter the following: http://blazeco.info/blaze.xml. After you do this your iPod should began a database update sequence which could take between three and ten minutes. When it is done updating your sources database your sources should automatically refresh. If they don't, close and reenter your installer and they will (this will also take a short while every time it happens, do not think it is frozen or will affect the rest of your device). You should now have a lot of sources and so many more options of what to install. Now go to sources and click edit then scroll down your list and delete any sources that are in foreign languages. Now after one last refresh your done! Congratulations!

4. Installing Applications

This is the section where you download the actual applications onto your device. They will appear as new icons on your home screen. Open up your installer and go to the "Install" section (second button from the left at the bottom), here you should see a long list of folders each of which contain applications inside. Simply choose the applications you want and then install them. If they have installed correctly, the installer should revert to the screen with many scrollable folders of options. Install up-to five or ten apps and then click your home button. Your screen should jumble up the buttons for a second and then refresh. Once it refreshes your new icons should appear. After you have done this you may return to the installer and install more programs, as many as you like! Once your screen cannot hold any more icons it will simply make a new page for them, to scroll these pages simply slide your finger to either side on your device's home screen. You have now learned how to add applications and I will list some I recommend below.

• iPhone 1.1.1 Apps for iPod

If you are on an iPod and not an iPhone this will give you a list of all the iPhone programs and, if you install them, you will get them on your iPod.

• Customize

Customize your device full description below.

• Aqwoah Keyboard (1.1.1)

This install gives your default virtual keyboard a set of beautiful 3d rounded keys with a brushed steel background. It is much easier to use, as there is more distinction.

• Gaming System Emulators

Download these emulators for things like GBA or NES to have your device be able to act like one of these and have many pre-included games and two player games such as Mario, Zelda, and more.

• Tap Tap Revolution

This is the equivalent of Guitar Hero for your device. If you actually want the flames and other affects of the actual game then download: TTR, the Guitar Hero III theme for it, and songs you like. You will then be ready to play it GHIII style.

• iPhysics

This is well known to be one of the most advanced programs for the iPod/iPhone it is a game where you play by a set of physics laws and you control it with many actions of your fingers. You can draw any shape or line, joins, hooks, rotating anchors and also control some games with your tilt sensor. Also a full featured pinball game is available for it in which the handles and spring are controlled by your fingers. (If you can't find it add iPhone Hacking and Rambling to your sources, if it blinks turn on compatibility mode in the options).

• Social Websites

Adds icons for social websites such as Facebook and Myspace to your home screen.

• BSD Subsystem

Makes your device run better and be more compatible.

• Team Wiki

Finds and makes follow along lyrics with all your songs.

• Games

There are hundreds of games for your device available even two-player games like air hockey.

There are literally thousands of options make your own list of favorites!

5. Customizing (Optional/Recommended)

To customize your device you will need to open installer and install an application called "Customize." Once you have done this you will need to also download all of the designer image sets for customize (big files might take a while). Once you have downloaded both of these open up customize in your home screen. Here you can change how your dock background looks, your icon display order, and any of the default images for your device and the apps on it simply by clicking what you want to customize (from the slider, to the icons to the battery picture, to your music buttons, AND ANY IMAGE at all) and then selecting an option from the list presented. You can also customize iPhone default sounds by clicking "System Sounds". You may also customize default text by going to SpringBoard Strings" and selecting what you want to change (anything from the "Slide to Unlock" to the "System Messages"). All of these things can be changed with my favorite program; "Customize". Your iPod is now customize and has many amazing programs on it.

You have successfully jailbroken your iPod Touch or iPhone! Enjoy your brand new device and show it off to your friends!