Friedbeef’s Tech

Yes I’ve STOPPED using Firefox!

Well not quite… I’ve actually been using the Flock Browser (which is based on the open-source Firefox engine) for the past 3 months now, and I haven’t looked back since!

Why Flock?

1. Flock is the iPod of browsers

It just works!  That’s true for the iPod, and that’s true for this browser.  Not that Firefox is difficult to use…but Flock tweaks the interface ever so slightly that the line between browser and web services fade away.  Email, RSS, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter… everything completely integrated into the browser user interface.   Try it to believe it.  

2. Firefox extensions = Flock extensions

One thing I loved about Firefox was its extensibility which I grew dependant on.  When I switched to Flock, I compromised nothing - I was able to install ALL my Firefox extensions directly into Flock without hassle.  Note: I’m sure there are some extensions which are not 100% compatible but these cases seem to be few and far between).

3. Flock Feed reader whips Live Bookmarks

I first started using RSS with Live bookmarks, so I am pretty fond of it.  Even so, I have to say that the Flock reader completely blows Firefox Live bookmarks absolutely  right out of the water!  It’s extremely simple to use, yet pretty powerful when you get down to it.

4. Faster, simultaneous search

The search box located at the top right hand corner which made Firefox such a joy to use has been tweaked in Flock so you have the option of searching through multiple search engines, and favourite sites simultaneously as you type! 

5. It’s not Internet Explorer

No, this last reason is not aimed at Firefox users, it’s aimed at the 62% of users which still use IE.  The user experience of Flock vs Firefox is a significant one, but if you’re an IE user moving to Flock… trust me - the user experience is so much better that you will want to lick the screen.

Would you like to try Flock?  Tell us in the comments and take our poll!

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How do you find out where exactly a phone number is originating from?  tp2location is a free service which lets you track down locations of a phone number right down to the region within a country - and even shows you a Google map to boot! 

If you’ve ever wanted to check up on a number before you dial long distance - this is the service to use :)

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Most PC users have had the unfortunate experience of having their data corrupted in some form or another. 

Unstoppable Copier is an excellent free tool which allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, physical damage, or those which just give errors when reading data.

The program will attempt to recover every readable piece of a file and put the pieces together. Using this method most types of files can be made useable even if some parts were not recoverable in the end!

One of my favourite aspects of this piece of freeware is that you can just run it without having to install anything, which means you only need to run it when you need it, and you can carry it around in a thumb drive.

Other top notch features include the ability to:

• Set a maximum number of retries (so the tool knows when to give up trying to copy the file if it’s too far gone.
• Resume partial files, so that if a file is part way through a copy operation, it will continue on from where it was previously up to.
• Copy undamaged files first, so that the program leaves all files with errors until after all uncorrupted files have been transferred - then comes back to transfer them. 
• Auto Skip Damaged Files, in case you want to maintain perfect data integrity so that if a file is damaged - it is not copied.

Keep this tool handy, it can be a lifesaver!

What other tools do you use for data recovery?  Let us know in the comments!

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