Dan Murphy's Blog » Software

Kindle ScreenSavers Hack

Dan — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:01:53 +0000

I love my Kindle a lot and wouldn’t change anything about it except the damn screen savers! Nothing worse then looking at some really old, ugly, dead authors or the occasional dead fish screen saver by default that Kindle has installed. Well it seems you can change this pretty easily by ‘jail breaking’ your Kindle then adding a patch that lets you just drop files to a folder using the USB cable. I found this a while back and didn’t really want to change the software that my Kindle was running, but after buying my wife one and listening to her complain about the ugly screen savers I too got annoyed.

The process is very simple go out to: Booksprung and follow the links to download the hack and follow the directions. Everything works as expected. I also found this website that has a ton of Kindle screen savers you can download .

Here are the latest versions out there but I would check MobileRead for the most recent:
kindle-jailbreak-0.4.N
kindle-ss-0.18.N

Screencast – Microsoft Expression Encoder

Dan — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:12:51 +0000

These programs are always really helpful when you need to create a quick how to visual. Also this program is free. Microsoft Expression Encoder I have used these in the past but apparently this one is rated really high so I figured I would write it down before I forgot.

Must Have iPad Apps

Dan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:33:36 +0000

Well I have been using my company issued iPad for a while now and there are a few apps that I think are great that I want to mention:

Productivity:

Evernote – Great for taking notes and syncs across all my devices
DropBox – the only way to move files around and keep things in sync
FlightTracker – this little app works with Tripit and is perfect for those of us who travel a lot
NetNewsWire – This is a Google Reader application for reading your blogs
AppsFire – This is a streaming list of all the apps that are being searched for on iTunes, great for keeping up with what is cool
SparkRadio – The end all app for music streaming, 1,000′s of channels available at your fingertips
VNC Viewer – Control other computers on your network that are running VNC, very handy for your living room media center
Atomic Web – A web browser with a adblocker built into it
Kindle – So I can read my Kindle purchases. Although I believe that a Kindle is still the better medium for reading than an iPad due to the glare and back-lighting that can cause a headache after a while
GoodReader – allows you to read any type of file on your iPad and can also make it easier to put files on your iPad without tethering it
Speedtest X HD – great for finding out how fast your internet connection really is
SportsTap – Gives you the scores and updates on all sporting events
Pandora – Great for streaming music to your iPad
Keynote – app for creating PowerPoint type presentations
Numbers – app for creating spreadsheets
Pages – app for creating documents

Games

Chopper 2 – a helicopter game that is very entertaining
Real Solitaire – what gadget is complete without solitaire?
Monkey Island – an RPG game that can destroy all your free time

iTunes Backup Disable

Dan — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:49:51 +0000

Alright with my new iPad there are some syncing issues with iTunes. It likes to pull a full backup of your device which can make syncing take hours! This simple little app allows you to turn it on and off for iTunes. Works great! Also saves me a ton of time.

Backoff

PicPick Image Capture Software

Dan — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:16:38 +0000

Will with our new work laptops running 64-bit software sometimes the old 32-bit software doesn’t work as expected. In this case it was effecting my screen capture program I typically use, Faststone. So this is another alternative that works just as well (some features are actually better) This is also free software to use and download

PicPick Website

PicPick 2.2.1 Download

Install Linux on Bootable USB

Dan — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:11:35 +0000

I needed a way to install Linux quickly and easily on a USB drive and make it bootable. I found this software which makes it really easy you just choose the distro, pick what drive you want to install it into and let it rip. This makes testing Linux even easier then using live CD’s. You can also choose which distro you would like to install or you can choose your own ISO image to install.

Website

Download here

ShowMyPC – Lightweight VNC Connection

Dan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:35:52 +0000

Ever needed to connect to a computer for a second to show something really quick but were having trouble walking anyone in your family through the screens. I typically use VNC to connect and manage the computer but the biggest problem with VNC is that you need to go to the router tables and bounce the correct ports to the correct computer. If you know anyone i my family that is almost impossible to explain. That is where this tool comes in handy.

This is great you just have them go to the ShowMyPC website click the first file to download, have them open the file accept any firewall changes and have them share out the PC. Then take the password and put it into your copy as view remote PC and you are in. It is not the fastest or prettiest connection to remote machine but easy to get going and gets a long discussion over quickly. And it is free. I have also attached the file to this post.

ShowMyPC Download

Volery – Create your own Install Package

Dan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:35:27 +0000

Wow this site may have eliminated the reason for my blog. This is a site that lets you select the applications you want to install and then downloads all the installers into a single install for easy multiple application setup. The best part is this is basically all the software that I use to run my computer! Looks like they are still in a private beta but I was able to get in and test it out, amazing and huge time saver when setting up a family computer which inevitably happens way too often!

Web Site: Volery

UPDATE: now the site is called NiNite

Windows DreamSpark – Free Software for Students

Dan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:29:20 +0000

Well looks like Windows is all about getting their software into college students hands for a very reasonable price or for free. This is their latest reach out to students DreamSpark. After supplying your .edu address and confirming it you can download any of the software that they have here and use is for free! This is great and is inline with the Student offering for Windows 7 or for Office 2007

QDir File Management

Dan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:17:58 +0000

Well I have never been a big fan of Windows explorer, but at the same time never really found a reason to change what it uses by default. Well I have started using Q-Dir to manage my file directory contents and I find it extremely easy and time saving. I guess I just got used to opening two explorer windows and dragging across the windows but this seems to be so much easier! And using the Hotkey tool I found the other day it makes it as easy as a replacement for explorer as ever!

Qdir Website