http://www.friedbeef.com Solving Everyday Problems With Simple Technology - Freeware, Productivity, Useful Tips & More Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:28:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of the low points of using Windows as your operating system of choice is that you have to defrag its file system once in a while to keep it running at an optimal level. This is because of the way Windows stores and delete files which ... http://www.friedbeef.com/top-8-best-windows-defrag-alternatives/ It's hard to find a faster download accelerator which works better than the Firefox extension - 'DownThemAll'.  It uses a smart download technique called ‘multipart download’ where it splits files into multiple sections which are downloaded simultaneously. This maximizes the use of bandwidth, and increases average download ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-accelerate-itunes-downloads/ I'm fortunate enough to own a DVD player which can play video files like DivX and AVI directly on my TV, but what if you just want to create a proper DVD or VCD so it would be able to run on regular players?  Avi2DVD is the ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-turn-a-video-file-divx-avi-etc-into-a-dvd/   No matter which browser you've picked for everyday use - chances are you've customized your browser to make it your own.  Here are 5 free tools which will let you backup and preserve your browser profile, so all the tweaking you've done is safe. 1. How to ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-backup-any-browser-5-tips-for-google-chrome-firefox-safari-internet-explorer-and-opera/ The issue: Picture this - You're listening to soft, soothing music... which then gets turned into ear piercing tune the moment the song changes!  The freeware solution: Rather than constantly scrambling for the volume button, you can try out 'Mp3Gain'.  This lovely piece of ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-adjust-all-your-mp3s-to-similar-volume-levels/ Everybody has had that moment of dread where you discover the file you need is corrupt, unreadable, or accidentally deleted.  Here are 5 pieces of software which can save the day.  The thing about recovery software is that they don't necessarily use the same methods to get ... http://www.friedbeef.com/5-free-solutions-for-data-recovery/ I recently switched laptops at work and I just could NOT get used to the annoying fact that my delete button has shifted so far away that its became noticeably difficult to use. Rather than try to adapt (or sprain my hand), I am using Sharpkeys, ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-remap-your-keyboard/ The issue of sending large files across has always been a hard one to tackle.  We've previously talked about uploading to services like Yousendit as viable solutions, but here's another approach you can take which may be much quicker.  PatchOnClick allows you to send and ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-create-your-own-patches-for-anything/   Press right-click inside windows and you open up a typical context menu which looks something like this... Install Lopesoft.com's FileMenuTools (free or course) and your menu will look something like this... More than just shortcuts, this neat piece of ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-give-you-right-mouse-button-super-powers/ 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 ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-recover-damaged-files/   If you liked my previous post on 5 ways to pimp Windows Explorer, you'll love this gorgeous piece of freeware.  DMEXbar is a plug-in for Windows Explorer which turns it from a clunky system to a real powerhouse.  Once installed, your Windows explorer will have ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-turn-windows-explorer-into-a-powerhouse/ Printing web pages can be very ink intensive when you've got a fancy page at hand.  Yes, there are some basic measures you can take to save ink using selective printing- but here's how you can automate the process! Greenprint is an interesting piece of freeware ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-save-ink-and-paper-when-printing/ If you've seen this error message... ...or any of these: Cannot delete file: Access is denied There has been a sharing violation. The source or destination file may be in use. ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-unlock-shared-files/ Hidden files are good for organizing files, and helping to ensure critical files don't get accidentally deleted.  Hiding them as a security measure however, is pretty much useless.  A few simple clicks in Windows is all one needs to view everything which you've hidden on your ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-really-hide-folders/ Leaving your computer on overnight is usually the easiest option when you need the computer to perform a task that takes quite a long time to complete (e.g. Downloading large files, ripping DVDs, etc.) It is however, neither energy efficient nor an environmentally friendly option to take. WinOff ... http://www.friedbeef.com/how-to-automate-turning-off-your-computer/