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Just when you thought -- "I wonder what Google could possibly develop next?" -- the company busts out a new layer for Google Earth which gives users the ability to browse the day's New York Times headlines by region.

In all honesty, the feature is a great idea, and we're sure the company has some work to do (hopefully adding support for other news outlets), but it comes off as "half-assed" for now with New York (what a surprise!) getting the most NY Times markers. California, Mexico, Michigan, and a few other places get a marker too, and as you can see in the picture, the NY Times provides Google with the most important of news stories. Oh well, it'll probably get a lot better.

Other Google Earth improvements in version 4.2 include a simpler GUI, high-res photos of terrain, the ability to explore stars and constellations, and more.

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If you've got about a dozen MP3s or other digital music files on your computer, odds are you don't have too much trouble keeping them organized. But if you've got a few thousand, it can be hard to find what you're looking for unless each track is properly named and tagged. While popular music players like Windows Media Player, iTunes, Foobar2000 and Media Monkey will check online databases to find the appropriate metadata for songs you download or rip from a CD, sometimes mistakes occur. TagScanner can help clean up the mess.

TagScanner is a free Windows application that gives you a variety of tools for organizing your digital music collection. You can import tag information from freedb.org, Amazon, or TrackType.org. you can also generate tags from files and foldernames, or rename your files based on tag information. The application supports a wide variety of formats:

* MP3, OGG, Musepack, Monkey Audio, FLAC, AAC, OptimFROG, SPEEX, WavePack, TrueAudio, WMA, MP4 audio files
* ID3 1.0/1.1/1.2/2/2.3/2.4, APE v1 and v2, WMA, MP4, and Vortbis tags, comments, and metadata

There's also a playlist editor and support for exporting playlists as HTML, Excel, and CSV files. And to top things off, there's a rudimentary audio player built right into TagScanner so you can listen to tracks while you're organizing them.

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Amic Email Backup is another new email backup solution, designed for ease-of-use and offering support for a wide variety of email accounts, such as Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora, IncrediMail, Opera Mail, and more.

Amic Email Backup not only saves the text of the emails themselves, but the address books, settings, news accounts, message rules, blocked senders lists and signatures.

The program has two modes: Wizard and Standard mode. Obviously, the Wizard mode will walk you through creating, restoring, and/or scheduling your backup. Standard mode is for the tweakers and the customizers. The email backup can also be moved from one computer to another, handy if you're moving all of your information to a new computer.

In all, Amic Email Backup is a nice, and affordable (read: free) entry into the realm of automated email backup, though there wasn't much in the program that made us sit up and take notice. In other words, it's not the kind of thing that wars are started over, and not the kind of thing that makes us want to do cartwheels. But if you're looking for a free and simple email backup solution, believe us, you can do worse.

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If you happen to buy or sell on eBay frequently, the Lauge custom browser is an interesting tool you'll want to check out.

Lauge sports a ton of functionality that makes using eBay less bothersome. The search tab provides a handy tree view of all eBay categories and makes navigation around the site a snap; favorite your go-to categories to access them quickly later. It also includes a simple keyword search and seller search with results filtering options.

Once you've selected a category to browse, Lauge activates the gallery view which provides a thumbnailed view of all eBay gallery items. It's a great visual tool for separating the wheat from the chaff in a hurry. Item listings can be sorted in the same ways as on eBay's site, and you can fully customize which columns you'd like displayed in the results pane. Some options, like item condition (which would be truly useful) don't yet display, though that may have more to do with sellers not specifying it in the first place.

Lauge also handles tabbed browsing, making it easy to switch back and forth between items or categories. On the downside, the panes aren't resizable which can make the item view a bit cramped. Clicking the orange "eject" button will open a full screen view that remedies the situation and lets you view the item in detail as you would on eBay.

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You can use Windows Explorer to sort files by name, size, file type, or date modified. But for some reason Microsoft doesn't give you the option to sort by file extension. CPExt does.

In order to install CPExt, you need to download and unzip the installer to a temporary folder. Right click on the file marked CPExt.inf and select install. Once you reboot your system you'll be able to add an Ext column by right-clicking on a column in Windows Explorer and choosing "more" from the drop down menu. And then you can proceed to systematically delete every EXE file on your hard drive and make your computer practically unusable. So umm... proceed with caution.

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While computer work tends to not be physically risky, that doesn't mean you should assume it's not impacting your health. Carpal tunnel and Computer Vision Syndrome are no laughing matter, and it's important to take steps to avoid them.

EyeDefender helps by starting breaks at intervals of your choosing (you choose the length of the break as well). To rest your eyes you can choose either your default screensaver, an image, or the visual training mode. The training mode is a bit reminiscent of the relaxation portion of Flash Focus for the Nintendo DS.

If you stick to the schedule you set up, EyeDefender breaks will also help prevent repetetive strain injuries. Like anything designed to help your quest for improved health, you've got to stick with it to see benefits.

For web workers that have a hard time tearing themselves away from their screen, EyeDefender is a handy application with tremendous potential benefits. It's free for non-commercial private use and runs on Windows only.

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Need wiki when you have no internet? This software is for you!

Wikipedia is a great source of information, and it's getting bigger every day. If you're like me, you'd be hard pressed to go a day without looking something up on Wikipedia. But sometimes you might not have Internet access -- devastating, I know! -- and you still need to know whether there's a grammatically correct sentence made up entirely of the word "buffalo." Well, it's a good thing there's Wikitaxi, an offline Wikipedia app.

With Wikitaxi, you can snag the entire database of Wikipedia -- or, if you're pressed for bandwidth, the Simple English version is a lot smaller -- and read it offline on your Windows machine. It comes with a separate importer app that you can point at a database, and then you can use the main Wikitaxi app to run searches on it. Those clever people at Lifehacker suggest that you carry it around on a USB drive: then you can prove that buffalo thing to your friends at a moment's notice!

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While I know there are plenty of good replacements out there for Windows Explorer, I'm not ready to jump ship just yet. I don't really need any really advanced functionality, but there are a few things I'd like to add. Vista-style breadcrumbs and tabbed browsing, for example.

QuizoApps has coded two small extensions that do the job quite well with a minimal impact on resources. Both addons are activated by clicking view -> toolbars in any Explorer window.

The Breadcrumbs addon (QtAddressBar) is extremely responsive and even displays links to subfolders (you can see the arrow off the Adobe folder above).

Brad blogged about using QTTabBar to add an up button in Vista a while back, but it also adds several other tabbed browsing functions. You can create groups to open several tabs at once, clone a tab, merge tabs from another window, undo tab closing, use hotkeys, and it even includes enhanced replacements for Explorer's standard buttons. It even maintains a list of recently closed folders for quick resurrection.

Customization offers tons of enhancements, like grid lines, alternating row colors, minimizing to tray, and a lot more. If you want, QTTabBar will restore your tab previous tab layout on launch - I use it to keep the Control Panel and my Printers close at hand.

These are two great addons for any Windows XP. .NET 2.0 Framework is required.

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AVG Antivirus has been an up and coming virus scanner for many years. Its free version is one of the most downloaded files on the Internet in the Computer Security sector. The new interface is clean and intuitive while still remaining useful.

AVG went through a re-write of their virus scanning engine and included two of their stand alone products with AVG Antivirus as well. AVG Antispyware and AVG Antirootkit were both integrated with the virus scanner. Also revamped is the way AVG Antivirus uses the hardware within your computer. It has been changed to make better use of the multiple cores which are common in todays computers. This should speed up scanning as well as reduce slowdowns.
Ease of Use:

Though AVG Antivirus is mostly a hands-off program, there may be some instances when you may need to configure some advanced options. For 99% of the population though, the default options will be more than sufficient.

The menus within AVG Antivirus are very simple and offer all the options and information needed to keep your system safe from Internet threats.

Effectiveness:

AVG Antivirus is one of the most complete programs we have found to date. It includes many new options to make it one of the most effective virus scanners on the market. It is still plagued by horrible slowdowns at times. Even things so simple as just typing an IM can be stopped for several seconds for some reason. If you can get passed the occasional slowdowns of your computer, the scanning functionality of AVG Antivirus 8 is top of the line. With the rewrite of the scanning engine, AVG includes multi-processor support. That dual core processor you bought is actually going to start getting a workout now. AVG also includes support for Windows Vista and the 64 bit versions of Windows XP and Vista.

Updates:

AVG Checks for updates every 4 hours by default. You can change this to any interval you wish. The updates section of AVG Antivirus also shows you which virus database version you have, as well as when the last update was. It also tells you when the next update is scheduled. All of this information is also displayed on the main menu screen so that you always have the information at your fingertips.

Feature Set:

AVG Technologies, formerly Grisoft, has gone above and beyond with the new release of AVG Antivirus. Included with the virus scanner, are a rootkit scanner, spyware scanner, an on-access scanner called Resident Shield, email scanner and a link scanning browser plug-in. There is also a portion of AVG Antivirus called Web Shield. Web Shield is a chopped down firewall application that scans standard web ports for any threats encountered while browsing the web. It also includes protection for MSN Messenger and ICQ.

Ease of Installation:

Installing AVG Antivirus 8 was easy and only took about 10 minutes including downloading the additional updates required after installation finished. We had no issues or errors during the install.

Help/Support:

With the name change from Grisoft to AVG Technologies, the support site was updated and saw many improvements over the old design. Support offerings included with AVG Antivirus 8 are a FAQs, email support, phone-based technical support, as well as an inclusive support section within the program itself.

Summary:

Version 8 of AVG Antivirus is a definite improvement over version 7.5. The scanning features have been sped up and the new interface is a clean and modern take on a time-tested product.

Including a link scanner and integrating AVG Antispyware and AVG AntiRootkit provides an even more effective product. An unfortunate problem that has plagued AVG products for quite some time has not been eliminated, even though AVG did a complete rewrite of the virus scanning engine. The on-access scanner still tends to slow down computers to the point where they are not usable at times. This isn't a constant factor and has been improved significantly, but you will notice it when it happens. Beyond the slowdown issue, AVG Antivirus 8 is a complete product that will help keep your computer clean and safe.

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Comodo Firewall Pro is aimed to secure your system against internal attacks such as Trojan viruses / malicious software and external attacks by hackers. Safeguard your personal data through a simple user friendly single click interface offering full immunity to attack. Comodo Firewall Pro helps you connect in a secure way to the internet and global networks.

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This editor can record and play sounds and import and export WAV, AIFF, MP3, and OGG files. Edit your sounds using cut, copy, and paste features (with unlimited undo functionality), mix tracks, or apply effects to your recordings. The program also has a built-in amplitude-envelope editor, a customizable spectrogram mode, and a frequency-analysis window for audio-analysis applications. Built-in effects include bass boost, wah wah, and noise removal, and the program also supports VST plug-in effects.

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Wordpress is one of the most popular CMS available, it is used primarily by bloggers but it can still be used as a general CMS - it is available for free from Wordpress.org. Let me start by listing the pros and cons of Wordpress.

Pros

* It's free!
* Fast and easy to installation.
* 1000's high quality themes and plugins.
* Good visual content editor.

Cons

* More suited to blogs than general websites.
* Below average SEO.
* Attracts spambots.
* Frequent patching (which can also be a good thing).

Installation
Wordpress is very easy to install - you just edit the included config file, upload the files through FTP then run the installation wizard at your domain name. Once you've done those three steps you can log in and start writing content. The only difficulty within the installation is that you must rename the config file from wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php before it will install.

The Default Theme
Wordpress Default Theme
The default theme provided with Wordpress is based on the Kubrick theme and is displayed to the left (click for full view). It is valid XHTML and CSS and is a very simple and general theme so can be suitable for many types of website.

The only major problem with this theme is that since it's the default Wordpress theme, it is already being used by 1000's of websites; if you use this theme your website will seem generic to many visitors. Read on to find out how to install a more unique theme.

Skins and Plugins
You can customize the look of your website or add an extra feature in under one minute. To install a theme or plugin all you have to do is: download a theme or plugin, upload it through FTP then turn it on in the admin panel. Easy!

At the Wordpress ThemeViewer there are roughly 3000 free themes for you to browse and download for free. They also have 100's of plugins which can: improve spam security and improve SEO among many, many, MANY other plugins. If you are looking for a theme of professional quality, you may consider purchasing a Premium WordPress Theme.

Search Engine Optimisation

* (good) Relevant page titles are used but are padded with irrelevant information such as "Wordpress Demo » Blog Archive » Page title!".
* (average) h1 and h2 tags are used quite effectively but the h1 tag is used on the website name rather than the current page title.
* (bad) By default, meta tags aren't included but they can easily be added by downloading a plugin.
* (bad) By default, the URLs are dynamic such as "/wordpress/?p=1" - the ID number is meaningless and not useful to search engines. Wordpress does offer a permalinks utility within the admin panel so you could change that URL to "/wordpress/Page_Title/" within minutes.

Note: The SEO provided by Wordpress is below average but can easily be improved by installing one of their many useful plugins.

Content Creation
Wordpress Content Editor
Creating new content in Wordpress is very easy with their visual text editor (displayed to the left) or their code based text editor. You simply write a title, write the text then choose a category to add it to and then the content instantly appears on your website.

One awesome feature in the visual text editor is an inbuilt spell checker which not only picks up spelling and grammatical errors but also gives recommendations to fix the errors.

User Interaction
There are two main interactive features offered by Wordpress; users can comment on the content and you can allow multiple authors for the website.

User comments can improve your search engine traffic and make your website more interesting in general. If you're not interested in user commenting, it can easily be turned off. Additional authors can be added easily through the user management section of the admin panel. It a user is listed as an author they have access to a limited admin panel where they can write and edit content.

Security

* Security from hackers: Wordpress is generally very secure but being so popular, people do find exploits once in a while. As long as you keep up with the latest patches (version numbers) you'll be secure enough - to keep up to date I recommend signing up to their release notification mailing list.
* Security from spam: The commenting feature included within Wordpress is appreciated by visitors but also attracts spambots. To avoid spam within your comments you can download the Akismet anti-spam plugin or use the Wordpress comment moderation options.

Conclusion
Wordpress is one of the most popular CMS available and it gained its popularity for a reason - it's a great CMS (and it's free)! While some aspects are not perfect such as SEO, they can surely be improved by a plugin developed by their huge user base.

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