Smart Defrag doesn’t just use simple defragmentation. It also streamlines your file system, places the frequently used files and directories into the fastest area of the disk, enabling your computer to run at top speed with the most stability.

It works automatically and quietly in the background, so it continually and constantly keeps your computer fragment-free.

Smart Defrag is a free defragging tool and worth investigating. It’s also rather fast. The answer is to defragment your drive. This will move files in to one continuous block and rearrange the space so that it ends up located in one big block of space. It means your files and applications launch much more quickly.

DOWNLOAD HERE [1.75MB] | WEBSITE: http://www.iobit.com

How do i enable it? Well in Windows 7, it’s very easy. One of the features that i like about Windows 7 is it’s search function. The search function on Windows 7 works just like MacOSX.

All you have to do is, hit on the windows logo (start button) and type in “gadgets” (without the quotes of course) and just click on “Desktop Gadgets“.

Now you’ll be able to see a list of ten pre-installed gadgets ready for use. To use it, just double click on the gadget. To get rid of a gadget, just hover your mouse on the gadget on your desktop and click “x” just like any other Windows application.

Not the gadget you’re looking for? Well don’t worry, those are the default gadgets. You can download more gadgets from the official Microsoft website here. Personally, i’m the type who don’t really like gadgets on my desktop. I like my desktop clean. So for those who love gadgets, have fun with them. Just make sure you don’t download anything from an untrusted source.

A dual-layer DVD is similar to your normal DVD only that it has twice as much storage space. Well for my case, i’m not going to buy a dual-layer DVD but i’m going to share with you on how to run an ISO file from your hard disk instead.

Running an ISO file on your hard disk without any CD or DVD is called “Mounting”. The freeware utility from Microsoft to mount ISO Images doesn’t work in Windows 7 or Vista. Thankfully there’s another utility that does.

The utility that we will use is called Virtual Clone Drive. This utility will let you mount .ISO, .CCD, .DVD, .IMG, .UDF and .BIN files. Download the utility and start the setup process. Select Yes or OK at the hardware prompt and continue. You might have to restart your computer. Now you should be able to mount any ISO image by just double-clicking on the file. You can also right-click on the cd-rom drive to mount or unmount an image.

This freeware is working fine on my Windows 7 (32-Bit) and i’m pretty sure that it will work on 64-Bit, Windows Vista and of course Windows XP. This freeware is very useful and of course saves you the money from buying those Dual-Layered DVD’s!

After browsing through, i found that none of it makes sense as all the installed programs are all less than 500Mb each and he lost about 100Gb of free space.

Then i installed a software which allows me to see which files and folders are actually taking up the most space. I will let you know about this software on another post. Anyway, i was surprised to see that the temp files stored in Windows are actually taking up the 100Gb space! I knew that temp files take up space but i never knew that it could actually take up to a 100Gb.

Now that i knew it’s actually the temp files, all i need to do is download a software called “Temp File Cleaner 3.0.4“. This handy little utility quickly targets and eliminates temporary files accumulated by Windows on any drive. Scans all accessible user accounts, deletes temporary Internet files, cookies, browser history, recent files list, Windows temp folders, Windows prefetch, Windows update uninstall files, empties the Recycle Bin, and more. All removal options can be easily configured from the settings page.

The process is not stopped by locked files, and will reset permissions if necessary. There is no need to install, there is a single executable that can be run from anywhere. A detailed help file describes all of the paths being cleaned, and how to configure various options.

Everyday i learn something new, i now see with my own eyes that cleaning temp files on Windows really does help to free up your hard disk space. You can also delete these files and folders manually. It’s located under “C:\Windows\temp” and just delete everything there.

The add-on is called, “Adblock Plus“. It is by far one of the best ad-blocking tools available out there. Everything that i share with my readers, i am using it too so rest assured that it is safe and effective. Adblock Plus allows you to regain control of the internet and view the web the way you want to.

The add-on is supported by over forty filter subscriptions in dozens of languages which automatically configure it for purposes ranging from removing online advertising to blocking all known malware domains. Adblock Plus also allows you to customize your filters with the assistance of a variety of useful features, including a context option for images, a block tab for Flash and Java objects, and a list of blockable items to remove scripts and stylesheets.

Previously before there were Firefox and add-ons, i would download all those ad-blocking, pop-up blocker softwares which doesn’t work and eventually made my PC worse.

By using add-ons, there are no complicated downloads and installations. Just make sure that the add-on you are downloading from is from a trusted source and you’ll be ok. Here are the steps to install this add-on.

Step 1: This add-on only works on Mozilla Firefox. So make sure you are using it as your default browser or it won’t work!

Step 2: Visit Adblock Plus 1.2 add-on page and click on “Add to FireFox”.

Step 3 : There will be a pop-up that prompt you weather you want to install this add-on. Click on install and restart Firefox.

Step 4 : As soon as you Firefox starts, you will see Adblock plus welcome page. Just click on subscribe and you’re done!

You will now notice that certain web pages that you used to visit will load faster and there are no more ads! You can also manually add certain ad blocks that you do not wish to see by right-clicking on a certain image and click on “Adblock Plus:Block Image”. Now, everytime you visit that page, that particular image that you just blocked, will no longer appear!

If by any case that you want to disable this add-on, simply just click on the “ABP” icon which is located at the top right hand corner of your Firefox browser and untick “Enable Adblock Plus”. It is now disabled meaning all ads will apepear as if you never installed this add-on. And you can easily enable it by ticking it again. Have Fun!

Users can now get frame-by-frame advancement, granular speed controls allowing for on-the-fly slower or faster playback, and live recording of streaming video. The toolbars are fully customizable, so you can have only the buttons you need in the interface, there’s AirTunes streaming, and there’s better integration in Gtk environments.

Along with the improvements, VLC continues to offer robust support for a wide range of video and audio formats, including OGG, MP2, MP3, MP4, DivX, HD codecs like AES3, Raw Dirac, and even support for playing back zipped files. The default interface is still a stripped down player that belies VLC’s functionality and features. Skinning can fix that quickly, but behavior can still be a bit unpredictable depending on the quality of the skin.

VLC’s open-source foundation and community ensures that it evolves quickly and often, with new features and fixes released frequently. Overall, VLC Media Player is a must-have application for its ability to open just about any type of video file you throw at it. Trust me, ever since i used VLC Media Player, i never looked back.

VLC Media Player for Windows can be downloaded here. What make’s it even better are the skins. There are tons of skins and you can download them all in one pack. You can download the skin pack here. To use the skin, simply copy & paste all the skin-pack files over to  ( C:\Program Files\VLC\skins). Then you just have to select it over at your VLC Media Player. Menu > Interface > Select Skin and you’re done!

For more information on VLC Media Player, you can visit their site at www.videolan.org. Overall, it’s a really good software and it’s FREE! Give it a try and you won’t regret it. If you have any questions, fell free to drop me a comment and i will try my best to get back to you. Have a nice day and enjoy watching movies with your new Media Player!

Most of the themes are free but it’s such a hassle to find the right template at times. I’m always on a look out for free wordpress themes that feels and look different from the rest. This time Vermillon WordPress Theme By Benoît ‘LeBen’ Burgener grabs my attention. Vermillon is a colorful blog theme based on a 12 column grid-system. The style is inspired by Helvetica, the main font used in this theme, known for its neutrality and harmony.

The first thing that attracted me was the colour. It’s simple but yet it looks elegant. But that’s not just it, after i uploaded the theme, i was impressed by the fonts used. As stated, the style is inspired by Helvetica font. You just have got to see it for yourself. To be honest, this is the first time i ever came across a free wordpress theme with such nice fonts.

THEME FUNCTIONALITIES

- Easy access to archives & search with a slider in the header

- Special comment style for admins and authors

- Support infinite sub-page navigation

- Widget-ready

- Auto-resizing script for content images

- Ready for translation

- Languages included: French

View Demo | Download

]]> http://knoxious.com/2010/04/12/vermillon-wordpress-theme/feed/ 2 http://knoxious.com/2010/04/07/twitter-sidebar-follow-badge/ http://knoxious.com/2010/04/07/twitter-sidebar-follow-badge/#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:07:53 +0000 Knox http://knoxious.com/?p=236 These days, social networking sites on the internet have been increasingly popular. Almost everyone has signed up and joined for at least one. Social networking sites are websites or portal which allows user to share interest and activities. Just to name a few of the most popular ones are, FaceBook and Twitter.

Personally for me, i prefer twitter so much more than facebook. In fact, i deleted my facebook account months ago because i really don’t like the idea of getting my face tagged. I am sure there’s a lot of people who will agree on this one. Yes there is a way to change the settings so that only you can view the tag, but still on the person’s facebook, your face is still tagged unless you remove it manually! So that’s why i don’t like facebook at all. By the way, my mom is a facebook addict lol!

Back to the topic. I so much prefer twitter and so i’m going to show how you can have a cool “Follow Me” floating icon at the side of your website or blog. Just like the one i have on my blog. I’ve seen this around on some websites and i started searching for the easiest method on how this can be done.

It only requires you to copy and paste the codes right before the body end tag. It doesn’t matter if you’re using self-hosted wordpress, blogspot or any other CMS. All you need to do is to paste the codes.

To customize the colour of your badge, click here. Once you’re done customizing your own personal twitter badge, just click on the update code and paste it on your site or blog! Please take note that this badge will not appear in Internet Explorer 6. So for those who are still using Internet Explorer 6, kindly upgrade your web browser to the latest Internet Explorer 8 or you can always just install FireFox.

Yes if you haven’t notice, i am using the badge on my left-hand side of my site and that’s how it’s gonna  look like. If you like what you see, then use it. If you don’t like what you see, just close your eyes.

After some Googling, i narrowed down my search and the best one that i’m still using till now is, ManyCam. Manycam allows you to use your Web cam with multiple programs at the same time. Broadcast your Web cam video simultaneously on MSN Messenger, Yahoo, Skype, AIM, PalTalk, and CamFrog.

Manycam also lets you to add cool live computer generated special effects and graphics to your video. Make it appear as if your face or hand is on fire with our “fire” effect. Pretend you are underwater, or make it look as if it’s snowing inside your house. Add text, graphics, or your country’s flag to your video window and so much more!

The current latest version is ManyCam 2.4.6.3. This latest and stable version includes bug fixes and stability enhancements. It is available for both Windows and Mac. Click here to download the Windows version of ManyCam. Alternatively, you can visit their official website here

I think that this will help a number of my readers out there as they often ask me what software i use when i’m live on my webcam. So i hope this answers to your questions. And for those who do not know, i stream a live webcam of myself every once in a while, mostly at nights and on weekends. The link for my webcam can be found here. Join me on twitter and i’ll keep you guys posted as to as and when i’ll go live. Happy Mondays!

Recently, i found out about cloud computing and seriously i’m amazed at what technology can do for you nowadays. Basically, now you are able to have your own desktop that runs from your web browser! There are quite a few sites providing these services, each with their on unique Operating System.

But the one that i find which has the best interface would be iCloud. It is a desktop that follows you wherever you go. All you need is an internet connection, your preferred web browser and you’re ready to go!

Open http://os.icloud.com in your web browser, log in, and your very own desktop will emerge in seconds. The desktop is the starting point of your icloud experience. Here you’ll keep your most frequently used files and applications. To the right, you have a sidebar where you can keep small useful applications, e.g. clock, calendar, weather update etc. To the lower left you’ll find the start menu for easy access to all features in icloud.

In short, icloud is a web site that turns your web browser into an online computer. You can save your documents, upload and download images and do almost anything like what your home computer can. Registrations are free and you’re only limited to a maximum of 3GB disk space. As for me, that is more than enough but for those who needs more space, you can always sign up for their Premium service which gives you 200Gb of disk space for $39.99 for a whole year! All in all, i think this is interesting but the only thing that i cannot stand is the speed of how everything loads. It’s not slow but it’s not fast either. Give it a try and let me know what you think.