Mobile search is hotter than ever, which means that local searches will be taken along for the ride. There is a lot of excitement around it and suggestions are being put forward as to how websites can dominate local and mobile search. But when you look closely, SEO strategies for mobile devices aren’t really that different from conducting a strategy to dominate traditional search.

While it is true that mobile searches are more likely to display local results than other forms of content, this trend might be exaggerated. It should be noted that a significant portion of searches on desktop computers have local intent as well. As the functionalities of mobile devices get improved, users will start using mobile internet the same way they do a traditional PC.

A significant percentage of individuals already have Blackberries, iPhones, and devices that run on Android. The increasing screen size, battery life, readability, and multimedia capacity of these smart phones are not “unique”. Instead, the mobile industry is moving forwards feature parity with the desktop. Recent research studies conducted by Doubleclick also shows that search behaviors are becoming similar.

For example, queries in both devices are similar, clicks are the same, and the click-through rate is almost identical. Even the gap in conversion rate statistics is beginning to close. These concerns are not raised to make you ignore the challenges presented by mobile SEO. Rather, it is to make you aware that your SEO strategy should not be needlessly complicated. Among the trends that are being observed today includes the following:

• More Queries – the mobile search industry is growing at an astronomical pace. A lot more searches are being conducted while people are on the go. Overall, this presents a lot of good opportunities for SEO marketers.
• Mobile Focus is a Possibility – Yelp lets you make your mobile search preference known. That is, the displayed results you’ll get will be more local than general.
• Similar SERPs – if you are searching for local information, it is now very likely to find the same set of SERP on your desktop computer (or laptop) and smart phone.
• Limited Need for an Individual Mobile Website – just recently, search specialists were saying that creating a separate mobile site will help you rank better in mobile searches. But the need for this may soon disappear because of the reasons stated above. Also, trying to create a separate site raises concerns about technical and site duplication issues.
• Draw of Apps – although it isn’t clear whether people will continue to be obsessed with smart phone apps, it is pretty obvious right now that the industry is being driven by it. Apps can be used to promote brands and products/services effectively.
• Importance of Separate Ad Strategy – unlike organic search, PPC results dramatically differ depending on the device in question. Right now, both costs per click and conversion rate are low but the latter is projected to increase.

Finally, another trend in SEO is geography. Both traditional and mobile search are giving more importance to geography in order to provide more targeted results to the searcher.

Rachel Allen is a California native and SEM enthusiast. She currently runs social media for a San Diego Tree Service as well as a Los Angeles Laser Hair Removal Clinic.

Editors Note: This article is contributed by our guest writer Lee Harth. Lee loves quotes, words, music, photography, rugby league, camping and time out with his beautiful children. Find him at his website or twitter for more details.

If you would like to start writing here, you can find more details and sign-up info over this page.

3D TV and the Future
The dazzling 3D realism of the sci -fi world depicted in Avatar was a memory that will stay with me for a long time. The depth and added dimension that 3D which made you feel like you’re part of the on-screen action, and made characters seem more real. A good 3D movie is a mind blowing experience and Avatar was just that on the big screen.

Avatar Trailer in HD

3D TV is going to be a viable option in the near future. Prices for 3D TVs are going to come down rapidly and moving forward, the technology will just be a standard part of television sets. Digital TV has corrected a lot of problems in terms of production and distribution of 3-D content.

3-D is an enhancement and when a filmmaker decides that it adds to the experience. He will use it not just for children and horror movies which are the easiest ones to use it on but even romance and comedies will have 3d experience added to them.

Upcoming Movies in 3D

• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Justin Bieber Never Say Never
• Cabin In The Woods
• Nutcracker
• Tron Legacy
• Sanctum
• Gulliver’s Travels

Television manufacturers are viewing these developments as the next big thing for the industry, and expect it to boost sales and interest as much as color TVs did to black and white entertainment decades ago.

You’re going to see more competition and prices coming down and see refinements in how the glasses work and probably improvements in the technology in the glasses. A possibility of 3D without glasses within five years.

3d TV Without Glasses

The new process for 3D in the cinema uses a special screen and polarized glasses. In this system images for the left and right eye are rapidly alternated, and the glasses pick up the appropriate image for each eye. A similar technique has now been introduced for high definition LCD televisions by LG Electronics in South Korea and Hyundai in Japan. The system, known as X-Pol, projects the different images in the even and odd horizontal lines of the video, and the polarized glasses sort it all out for the viewer.Separate images for the left and right eyes are recorded with full-HD quality and alternately played at high speed. By watching these images through special LCD glasses that are timed to open and close the right and left lenses in synchronization with the alternating images, the viewer is treated to exciting 3D realism.

Left Right Eye Explained

Let us know what is your thoughts about 3D TV Technologies.

There are times when you badly want to have your entire collection of music along with you. Yes, there are premium services like AudioBox.fm, but that requires you to spend you money and bandwidth to upload those audio collections.

Have you heard about Audiogalaxy? Audiogalaxy is a cloud based music player that allows you to stream your entire or selected audio collection from your home to anywhere.

Audiogalaxy requires a small part of software to be installed to the computer which would act as a server for your audio files. It can not only stream the audio files to your browser; it also stream your audio to many type of mobile devices like Android, iPhone and iPad.

Audiogalaxy is free at the moment and the apps are available for free on the respective platforms. Search for Audiogalaxy on Android Market Place or Apple App Store.

Major Features:

• Seriously fast streaming even on 3G or Edge
• No need to to copy, sync or upload anything
• Search entire collection of music
• Create and manage playlists
• Your music collection is anywhere
• Artist metadata display including artist and album covers
• Unique metadata repairing system, it can repair/detect the names of unknown song files

So, how does this work ?

It’s pretty simple actually, just sign up on Audiogalaxy.com from the Mac or PC where you keep all of your music files, and it will guide you through a quick installation process.

Once installed, Audiogalaxy automatically finds all of the music files on your computer and displays them in your Audiogalaxy music list. Having said that, make sure you install Audiogalaxy on one computer and need to leave that computer ON (not on sleep mode or hibernate).

Then, just sign in to Audiogalaxy.com from other computers to access your music or access them from Mobile device apps.

But I am really missing the last.fm integration with this amazing application.

This app has been personally tested by me on these situations:

• Stream my music collection at my office from my home using office Wi-Fi, at home is using a 3G modem only
• Stream in my car using both 3G and EDGE, driving at 100km
• Device used for testing both car and office are Android, iPad and iPhone

The Pros:

• You latest music collection anywhere, on your vacation or perhaps in a train
• High speed streaming with almost no lag even at EDGE
• Free service
• HTML 5 based web player and multiple apps for smartphones
• Playlist management
• Artist metadata
• A player in the cloud service
• Multiple device access to the music on demand

The Cons:

• Requires the host computer to be online and powered on all the time (power consumption)
• Less mobile device platform support. Should support Blackberry, Windows, HP Palm and Nokia smartphone platforms.
• Playlist management could be better
• Last.fm integration is missing

Get down to the visuals:

Audiogalaxy – The cloud based web player.

Audiogalaxy – streaming music through iPhone

Bottom Line:

Audiogalaxy is an excellent service bring all your music collection everywhere as long there are some sort of data connection available. Sign up today and enjoy this service for free.

What are your thoughts of this application? Do let me know.

If you haven’t noticed, I have actually done a big review of HTC Desire (Android 2.1 OS). So that lead me to understand some Android applications as well. One of the benefit of having HTC Desire is, there are some preloaded Android apps so that you don’t have to download them separately. So I’m going to introduce you with some smart and efficient applications which will boost the productivity of your new Android Phone. Having said that, all of the applications I’m going to mention are tested on Android 2.1 OS. Almost all of these applications are free unless stated otherwise.

How to download these applications? Just find the “Market” icon on your phone and search for the application name. Now to make the most convenient way of installing these applications you should install “Barcode Scanner (open this link from your phone browser)” from the Android “Market” first (See below).

There are 2 ways to install the applications from this page.

1. Follow the link under each product using your Android Phone browser (Data charges may apply)
2. Scan the QrCode from your laptop or desktop screen using “Barcode Scanner“

Not got a laptop or desktop? Visit Broadband Genie for Laptop Deals

Let’s get down to the list shall we..

Barcode Scanner

My Rating ★★★★¾ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Scan barcodes on CDs, books, and other products, then look up prices and reviews, or search for a word in a book and find where it occurs. You can also scan QR Codes containing URLs, contact info, calendar events, etc. A must have for any Android user.

PicSay Photo Editor (Free)

My Rating ★★★★☆ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Powerful and award winning photo editor. Color-correct your pictures and add word balloons, titles, graphics, and effects like distortion. All in a fun, intuitive, and easy-to-use interface.. A must have for any Android user.

ActionComplete

My Rating ★★★¾☆ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

ActionComplete is a high-tech to-do list for your Droid phone. It makes it easy to organize your tasks and appointments. You can even set reminders that will pop up based on where you are, allowing you to remind yourself of certain tasks at the office, others at the home, and so on. A nice productivity application for any Android user.

Ringdroid

My Rating ★★★★☆ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

This application is actually really cool. It lets you manipulate song tracks, so that you can use songs from your music library as ring-tones. What’s great about that? Well say you want the ring-tone to start 1min 30secs into the song, and last for 20 seconds (chorus maybe?), this application makes life easy for you.

• Supports MP3, WAV, AAC, MP4, 3GPP and AMR files.
• Song editing
• Create ring-tones from edited song

A nice ringtone editing application for any Android user.

Uninstaller

My Rating ★★★★½ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Fastest and simplest uninstall tool on android!
Features:

• Remove user application easily by single click!
• Display application name,version,install time and size
• Search application by name
• Various sort mode
• Ignore system applications that can not be uninstalled

A very useful application when you’ve too many applications to uninstall.

Astro File Manager

My Rating ★★★★¼ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

ASTRO File Manager is a very powerful file manager for Android. It really is a must on your Android device when it comes to managing files on your microSD card. It’s packed with features, and here’s some of them:

• Download any file with browser
• Browse / create / extract zip files
• Back up and restore public applications to the SD card
• Create shortcuts
• Send files as attachments
• Thumbnails
• Multiselect
• Search
• Image, Text, HTML Viewers

A very fast file manager, a must have for Android devices.

Twicca Beta

My Rating ★★★★½ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

twicca is twitter Client for Android that you won’t be able to stop using.
Includes:

• Notification
• Auto pager
• Search
• Post with photo/video upload
• Geotag
• Saved search
• Recent hash tags
• View Conversation
• Lists
• Retweet
• Trends
• Color label
• Excellent Widgets

I’ve tested all the twitter applications for Android but this is my favorite and once you start using this one there is no going back to any other.

aCar (Productivity)

My Rating ★★★★¼ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Track the maintenance, fill up, fuel mileage & expenses of your car. Service reminders (e.g. Engine Oil) & useful statistics, charts & reports; plus backup/restore & export/import to/from various sources.

A productive application to maintain your car history using your Android phone.

FxCamera

My Rating ★★★★¾ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

FxCamera enables you to take a picture with various effects.
- ToyCam
- Polandroid
- Fisheye
- SymmetriCam
- Warhol
- Normal

A very nice add-on  for your phone camera with additional effects.

Tip Calculator

My Rating ★★★★¼ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Simple tip calculator which allows you to split your bill. Switch between basic and advanced views with the tab.

Simple yet effective tool while hanging out with a group of friends.

Bonus Apps:

Gowalla

My Rating ★★★★☆ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Gowalla is the easiest way to share places you go with friends. Download the app to discover eateries, coffeehouses, hotspots, hangouts, shops, landmarks, parks, museums and more.
Share your experiences through Gowalla with friends on Facebook and Twitter, then stamp your passport to earn rewards at the places you visit.

Official application from Gowalla.com.

Foursquare

My Rating ★★★★☆ 

Install using Android Market link (only browse with your Android phone)

QrCode: (Scan this from your laptop and desktop screen using phone’s Barcode Scanner application)

Foursquare helps you find new ways to explore your city. See where your friends are, learn about the places they frequent and unlock rewards as you travel.
See foursquare.com for more info.
Latest Release: Check Preferences -> Changelog for details!

Official application from Foursquare.

There you have the 10+ Applications you need to get started with your brand new Andriod phone. Do you have a suggestion of a nice and useful app? Feel free to suggest.

Advanced Task Killer application is not good to use with Android OS. Found out why?

As you have noticed I haven’t added some applications like official Facebook, official Twitter application, QuickOffice, PDF Viewer which are already included with my HTC Desire.

Windows 7 is, finally, a great operating system.

Every version of Windows, has many services enabled, while many optimizing tweaks are not enabled by default. The reason this is so is because the installation is designed to support a very generic set of devices and hardware. The cool part of using Windows is the ability to fine tune it to your needs. Some call this tuning process “Hacking”, others called it “Tweaking”. I’m not really that worried about the name, instead I prefer focusing on the content…

Before I get all technical, it’s important that you check your hardware and choose the edition of Windows 7 that best suits your system:

Choose Windows 7 32-bit if you have:

• 3GB or less system memory
• Dual core or single core processor
• Built in graphic card
• 250GB or less hard drive

Choose Windows 7 64-bit if you have:

• 4GB or more system memory
• i7, Dual core or Quad Core processor
• Dedicated PCI express graphic cards such as Nvidia or ATI
• 250GB or larger hard drive

Now that that’s out of the way – on we go to the good stuff…

1.0 Disable Unwanted Services

Windows 7 enables services that aren’t necessarily required by default. You can relieve a huge amount of system resources by disabling these services or setting them to “Manual mode”. Configuring a service to this setting means, it doesn’t start automatically, but rather only when it is required.

How to Disable services:

1. Access the “Start Menu“
2. Type in “services.msc” in the search line and press “Enter“. (Alternately you can open the “Control Panel“, locate the “Administrative Tools” icon and click on “Services“.)
3. Go to a service property page to set it to Automatic/Manual or Disabled. Right click on the service name and choose “Properties” to access the properties screen.
   Use the screenshot below as a reference:
   

Safe Services Configuration

The configuration listed below lists a range of services you can disable to relieve system resources and yet it should provide a great experience for 95% of users. There should be little or no side effects to configuring your machine this way.

What you can disable:

1. Application Experience
2. Computer Browser (Disable this if you’re not joining any network)
3. Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (Disable this if you don’t want the aero effects)
4. Diagnostic Policy Service
5. Distributed Link Tracking Client
6. IP Helper
7. Offline Files
8. Portable Device Enumerator Service
9. Print Spooler (Disable this if you do not have a printer)
10. Protected Storage
11. Remote Registry (Disable it for more Security)
12. Secondary Logon
13. Security Center
14. Server (Disable if you’re not running on any network or intranet)
15. Tablet PC Input Service
16. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
17. Themes (Disable if you do not want aero and good visual appearance
18. Windows Error Reporting Service
19. Windows Media Center Service Launcher
20. Windows Search (Disable it if you hardly use Windows Search feature)
21. Windows Time (Disable this if you are not synchronizing system time with Internet time automatically)

Alternative method:

Another method for getting this done is by using the Game Booster freeware. It allows you to enable and disable using a single click.

~

2.0 Disable Unwanted Start-up Applications

Certain application put start up items on the Windows registry and start-up folder every time you install them. These programs are eventually hidden and they get started every time you start Windows. It’s not a bad idea to remove some of these because they aren’t really required to load during your boot-up. Disabling these applications decreases Windows’ desktop loading time.

Using MSCONFIG:

1. Go to start menu and in the search box type ” MSCONFIG”, press Enter. The Windows system configuration tool will open. It might ask you for Administrator password before continue.
2. Click on the 4th tab “Startup“, review each of the applications, decide which one to start at boot time and which one not needed to be started.
3. Click on the Check Boxes to enable to disable any startup application
4. Press Apply, MSCONFIG might ask you to pre-boot your computer.
   

Using a freeware Windows 7 customization tool EnhanceMySeven:

1. Get the freeware EnhanceMySeven
2. Install and open the application, Click on the “Startup items”Icon.
3. It will list all the programs set to run on Windows start up. Use the check boxes on the right to Enable or Disable any programs.

   

4. EnhanceMySeven provides much more functionality than just managing startup programs, but use it with caution.

3.0 Boost Windows 7 Boot

Using MSCONFIG:

1. Go to the “Start Menu“, type “MSCONFIG ” in the search box and press Enter. The Windows system configuration tool will start. It might ask you for Administrator password before continue.
2. Click the “Boot” (2nd) tab
3. Click “Advanced Options” button
4. Select the number of processors you have and the amount of memory available. For example, if you’re using a Dual Core processor then you should select “2″ from processors drop down menu, if you have a Quad Core processor, you should select “4″ from the processor drop down menu, etc.
5. Now Press “Ok“, then “Apply“, MSCONFIG might ask you to re-boot your computer.
   

4.0 Disable Visual Effects and Windows Aero

Windows 7 comes with a wide range of visual effects which actually require a lot of system resources. If you prefer a fast and responsive machine you might want to free up the resources used by these visual effects.

1. Right click on “Computer” and choose “Properties“.
2. Click on “Advanced System Settings” from the left pane to open up the “System Properties” window.
3. Select the “Advanced” tab.
4. Under “Performance” click “Settings“.
5. Choose “Custom Options“.
6. Uncheck all the options except the last 4 in the list.
7. Apply and reboot the system to bring the changes into effect.
   You will notice the significant difference in speed
   

5.0 Disable Search Indexing

Windows 7 comes with a search indexing feature but I’ve noticed I never actually use it. It takes up quite an amount of Windows system resources. Here’s how to disable it:

1. Right-click the “Computer” icon in the desktop and select “Manage”.
2. Click “Services and Applications” in the “Computer Management” window.
3. Click on “Services”.
4. Look for “Windows Search” in the list that appears.
5. Right-click the service and select “Properties“
6. Change the start-up type option to “Disabled” from the drop-down menu.

6.0 Disable the UAC feature

Although this feature is meant for security it can be a real nuisance sometimes. Here’s how to disable the User Account Control (UAC) Feature in Windows 7:

1. From the Control Panel open the “User Accounts and Family Safety > User Account“.
2. Click the “User Account Control” settings link.
3. Drag the Slider towards “Never Notify”.
4. Click “OK” and Re-boot.

7.0 Choose High Performance Power Plan

The Power settings in Windows 7 are set for balanced power consumption by the hardware. “Balanced” is not the same as “Optimal”…

1. Double click the “Power Options” in the control panel.
2. Click the down arrow showing “Show Additional Plans” to show the “High Performance” power plan
3. Select the “High Performance” plan.

8.0 Enable and Use Hibernate or Sleep Mode

When entering Hibernation your computer writes the contents of your system memory to a permanent storage medium (nearly always a hard drive). This allows the computer to power-off yet retain the current usage state. Once the computer is turned back on the memory is refreshed with the hibernation data allowing you to resume working from the past session. Documents, applications and the desktop state are presented as they were when you entered Hibernation.

The feature is primarily designed for laptop users because it’s a very handy power-saving feature that extends battery life when your computer is idle. However, desktop users may also find this mode handy as it allows you to save power and resume your session very quickly.

Hibernation might not be activated by default on some computers, so you’ll need to manually enable it:

1. Go to Start Menu, Type “CMD” in the search box
2. Right click on CMD, Select “Run As Administrator”
   
   
3. At the Command console, type ” powercfg /hibernate on”
   
4. Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options and click ” Change Plan Settings” on your currently selected plan.
5. Click ” Advanced Power Settings“.
6. Scroll down to “Allow Hybrid Sleep” and select “Off“
7. Click OK
   
8. You should now see the Hibernate option in your Shut down menu.

9.0 Optimize your Anti-Virus settings

Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware software can contribute to performance slowdowns. So much so that some users decide to go without real-time security software (not recommended for most users!).

A good way to achieve a sensible balance between protection and speed is to use an efficient anti-virus package that has a low resource footprint.

Most Anti-virus software comes configured for real-time scanning. Here are some tips to customize it for performance:

1. Select scan by executable extentions
2. Set no real-time scan for archives and big files.
3. Set the Heuristic scan mode to low level
4. Set the scan mode to “active” only when open any executable

These tips should be able to apply on almost any well known Anti-virus packages.

10.0 Turn off Unused Windows Features

There are many features in Windows 7 that most of us don’t use very often. Disabling them will really help in speeding things up:

1. Open “Programs and Features” from the Control Panel.
2. Click “Turn Windows features on or off” from the left pane.
3. Uncheck all the features you don’t use in Windows 7.
4. Restart the system for the changes to take effect.
   

11.0 Use the Tweak Power Tools

Many tweak and power tools already support Windows 7. Here are the best of them:

7Stacks

7stacks is an easy to use free app that lets Windows 7 (and Vista and XP) users have “stacks” of icons in their Taskbar (Win 7) or QuickLaunch Toolbar (Vista & XP). By using stacks, users can reduce icon clutter, and combine a group of related icons into a single icon.

For instance, if you use application suites such as Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or Adobe CS4, you can have all the suite’s icons combined into one icon!

You can also use it to browse and access documents within a folder very quickly. Usually when you want to edit a series of frequently used documents you’d have to either launch the app, and go to File|Open, or open the (My) Computer icon and go into your (My) Documents folder and pick the file you want. With 7stacks you just create a stack to the document’s folder and open it with a couple of clicks.

~

Enhance MySe7en

Make your Windows 7 faster and even more responsive with EnhanceMySe7en

This program offers tools that take care of the registry, disk space and defragmentation, installed software, HDD temperature and other things related to system’s health.

The clean and easy interface grants you access to a comprehensive set of powerful and well classified tools, settings and tweaks.

~

Ultimate Windows Tweaker

The Ultimate Windows Tweaker offers some basic tweaking tools. For example in enables you to add more options to your context menu, or to customize Windows Explorer. It’s a simple tool, but can come in very handy at times.

~

XdN Tweaker

A very simple tool – if you want to customize a few settings only this is a good choice. Enables you to customize your explorer context menus too.

~

TweakNow PowerPack 2009

TweakNow PowerPack is a fully-integrated suite of utilities that lets you fine-tune every aspect of your computer’s operating system and Web browser.
The Registry Cleaner module provides you with a safe and simple way to clean your Windows Registry.

To keep your computer at top performance we recommend you clean your registry at least once a month.

For tweak lovers the suite’s Windows Secret section provides access to over 100 hidden Windows settings. Using modules included in this section you can easily customize your Windows like a bona-fide geek.

The Virtual Desktop module lets you run as many as four custom-designed desktop configurations simultaneously allowing you to tailor your computer screen to your mood and your work requirements.

Last but not least the suite also gives you a complete picture of all the aspects of your computer’s hardware, including detailed information about your motherboard, processor, video card, memory, hard disk and network.

~

That’s all for now!

This is quite a long post but I think it pretty much sums up every tips, tools and tweaks you’ll ever need to enhance the performance of your Windows 7.

Heavy gamers might find other more tailored lists out there but my intention was addressing the needs of most average users. Feel free to share any further tips and tweaks you’re familiar with and let me know what else I could add here to make this list even better.

Have fun tweaking but always remember to backup before making any crucial changes to your system.

WordPress.com Sidebar 1.9: – This add-on would enable you to access your WordPress account from the sidebar of your Browser. However this add-on won’t work for Self hosted blogs but if your blog is hosted on WordPress then it could save you lot of time.

WordPress Helper 1.1.1: – This extension is Fast and Very Easy to use. It gives you easy access to development Related pages of WordPress codex. It also allows you to easily switch to the back-end of your WordPress site and search for strings that are marked. Other Features of this Plug-in are the creation of website profiles, a short icon which would tell you whether a current website makes use of WordPress or not, Notification of WordPress Version Updates and Custom Preference settings.

Deepest Sender: – An Efficient blogging Client for FireFox. Instead of going to separate Blogging Platforms like WordPress, LiveJournal etc, just click the button on your toolbar and start posting. You can create multiple accounts and easily switch between them with help of Deepest Sender. Other Features of Deepest sender are WYSIWYG editor, easy editing of posts, drag and drop, save drafts, Work in Offline mode etc.

Scribefire: – Scribefire is a Fully Featured blog editor which would integrate with your FireFox Browser and allows you to post easily on your blog. It also allows uploading of images and Files to your FTP, save drafts and all other blog operations directly from your FireFox Browser. You can download this add-on here.

Zemanta: – Zemanta is a great FireFox extension which would enhance your blog by recommending relevant images, tags, categories and links as you type it. Zemanta database contains more than 10000 news sources and blogs, and helps the user find relevant images at flickr, Getty, Wikipedia and social networking sites like YouTube, facebook, twitter and much more.

easyComment 1.3: – Easy Comment is a small FireFox Extension which will help you to comment on your blogs quickly. You can create multiple profiles (name/email/URL) and the easy Comment function would automatically fill the forms for you.

Zwordpress: – Zwordpress FireFox add-on would help you manage your WordPress blog much faster with the help of keyboard shortcuts. You can manage multiple blogs with this Plugin and switch one blog to another with single click.

DashBlog: – A FireFox extension which would help you to grab videos from the web and post to your WordPress blog quickly.

Screen grab to WordPress! 0.2: – A great FireFox add-on which would help you to take screen captures and directly upload it to your WordPress blog.

Clipmarks 4.0.0: – Clipmarks lets you take clips from specific parts of articles or any other web page and post them directly to your WordPress blog eliminating the need of saving them to any other place. You can also email those clips to your friends or share them on twitter or Facebook.

Well there are more tools for Firefox and WordPress, but I personally found these useful and easy to use. Why not you share some with me? Feel free to comment and share your experience.

Article Author: Raz Barr is a Web Designer at Go-gulf , a web design company from Kuwait that provides affordable web design and development solutions.

I’ve written about the Dissatisfaction I have about Malaysian Broadband quite a while ago. It is time to update that to the new experience about the leading Wireless Internet Providers. More inevitable truth you need to know. This topic will eventually help you decide to subscribe to a wireless broadband provider. Definitely, Broadband at Malaysia seriously need to improve their quality of service and speed.

Now, here we are.. right down to the business

1. Celcom 3G

Good Things:

• 3.5G speed on advanced packages (3.2mbps only)
• Great Coverage around Malaysia. Tried the service at some Islands, Mountains and Rural Areas
• Download Speed is fairly “OK” around city areas, the advanced package performs quite well.

Bad Things:

• Uses one IP for all 3G modems
• Doesn’t work well in high floors. Example would be 14th floor and higher.
• Frequent switch between 3G and GPRS networks. It makes unwanted sign out from various Instant messenger programs.
• High latency
• 5GB Download limit restriction. After you pass the 5GB limit your speed will downgrade dramatically
• Still need to pay more down payment if you are foreigner or expat
• Almost impossible to download any Torrents or P2P, Tested using Blue Cube Modem only. Please share your own experience if it is different.

Speed:

• Download speed is 60KB to 150KB which also varies on network availability and locations

Price:
In a range of RM78 – RM99 monthly (Subscription and down payment not included). Check Celcom Broadband website about their latest packages. Don’t forget to read the Fair Usage Policy.

Who should subscribe this?
This is a great option if you travel around Malaysia quite a lot and you want to keep your internet on the go. If all you do are checking email and browsing facebook. Then you should get this.

2. Digi Broadband

Good things:

• Fastest 3.5G broadband so far (Tested with advanced package). Download and Upload speeds are way faster than any other networks
• Currently Petaling Jaya is fully covered under the network and provides maximum speed around there.
• P2P and torrent downloads are allowed

Bad things:

• They will continue to charge you even if you even stop using the line, the unused bill can reach rm1500 easily
• Less coverage area. They are expanding as we speak. It switch to EDGE networks when 3G is not available and that can be really really slow.
• Download limit at 10GB to 30GB depending on the size of the package.
• Still need to pay more down payment if you are foreigner or expat or you need to have a credit card.

Speed:

• Download speed is 70KB to 500KB, upload speed from 90KB – 250KB

Price:
In a range of RM58 – RM188 monthly (Subscription and down payment not included). Check Digi website about their latest packages. Here is their fair usage policy.

Who should subscribe this?
Ask yourself, are you a regular downloader? a developer? spend so much time on the internet? social media junkie? If it is “yes” then this is for you. DO NOT Subscribe if you travel frequently. You will end up paying mass damage.

3. Maxis 3G Broadband

Good things:

• 3.5g (7.2mbps) on advanced packages

Bad things:

• Both download and upload speed is relatively slower than Celcom
• P2P download blocked, so torrent downloads not allowed
• Download limit and restriction, if not mistaken it is 1.5GB for the smallest package and 12GB max for the higher packages
• You need to pay more down payment if you are an expatriate

Speed:

• Download speed is 30KB to 170KB which also varies on network availability and locations

Price:
In a range of RM58 – RM178 monthly (Subscription and down payment not included). Check Maxis website about their latest packages. Also never forget to read their usage policy (PDF).

Who should subscribe this?
If all you do is checking email then you might want this. Advanced package only able to browse social media sites effectively.

4. P1 WiMAX

Good things:

• Stable speed with the Pro Package
• Desktop modem and laptop modem options
• Less latency or delay
• P2P and torrent downloads allowed

Bad things:

• Download Limit on all home packages from 5GB – 40GB
• Doesn’t play well with rough weather
• Only Pro Package works quite well
• Less coverage area for now, if no coverage; it is not usable at all

Speed:

• From 50KB – 350KB download speed. Upload speed unknown for now.

Price:
In a range of RM49 – RM199 monthly (Subscription and down payment not included). Check p1 website about their latest packages. Also check Coverage area.

Who should subscribe this?
If you are a regular downloader, developer, social media junkie, then this is for you.

5. iZZi Broadband

Good things:

• Stable line with iZZiPro desktop terminal
• Desktop modem and laptop modem options
• Less latency or delay (depending on the location)
• P2P and torrent downloads allowed
• No download limit (For now)

Bad things:

• Need to pay the entire amount upfront
• Consistency of the service get interrupted time to time
• Speed is not promising
• Doesn’t play well with rough weather
• Less coverage
• Overall performance is not satisfactory

Speed:

• Download speed from 70KB to 170KB, upload speed is 25KB to 55KB

Price:
In a range of RM890 – RM1690 yearly (Subscription and down payment not included). Check iZzi website about their latest packages. Also check Coverage area.

Who should subscribe this?
If you are a regular downloader, developer, social media junkie, then this is for you.
Well there you have it. I would love to know your experience about these Providers as well. Please feel free to share your comments, ratings and thoughts.

How would you Rate them?

Give me a shout at @Twitter/ruhanirabin if you like to. On the other hand, always stay up to date with my site by subscribing to the RSS feed. Yup, that is the fastest way.

1. Apache Tomcat – Apache Tomcat is the servlet container that is used in the official Reference Implementation for the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages (jsp) technologies.
2. Apache Web Server – Web Server, the best one around.
3. Apache2Triad – Installs a developer preconfigured environment with Apache, PHP, mySQL with control panel/PHPMyAdmin, xMail, ftp, and a Apache Web based Control Panel, etc. Power packed with new cool things like Python/Pearl mods, ASP support, SSL and so much more. Highly recommended.
4. EasyPHP – Really nice Apache install with PHP and mySQL included and configured. If you need a heavy duty Apache web development environment look at Apache2Triad.
5. FileZilla – FTP Server and client. Highly recommended.
6. Instantrails – Instant Rails is a one-stop Rails runtime solution containing Ruby, Rails, Apache, and MySQL, all preconfigured and ready to run. No installer, you simply drop it into the directory of your choice and run it.
7. Uniformserver – The Uniform Server is a WAMP package that allows you to run a server on any MS Windows OS based computer. It is small and mobile to download or move around and can also be used or setup as a production/live server. Developers also use The Uniform Server to test their applications made with either PHP, MySQL, Perl, or the Apache HTTPd Server.
8. MoWES -Run a webserver based on Apache, MySQL and PHP from an USB Stick or any other writable media (harddrive, flash cards etc.) without installation under Windows (98 to Vista).
9. Web-Dev. Server Suite – WAMP-based [Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP] web-server distribution for Windows that is fully configured and ready to run. This has every thing from a Web Application firewall to ASP.NET Host Interface. Security hardened and even includes some open source CMS software, like Joomla.
10. XAMPP – Apache, MySQL, PHP web development environment install. Takes care of most configs and setup issues so you don’t have to.
11. EFTP – FTP client/server
12. WAMP – Apache, PHP5 and MySQL server

1. nLite – Build your own custom Windows disk.
2. Comodo – Firewall, Anti-virus, anti-spam, malware utilities.
3. Ewido – Blocks spyware/adware and trojans.
4. Eyeline – Professional Video Surveillance Software with multiple camera support.
5. Filseclab – Internet personal firewall
6. GPG4Win – File, email encryption and other encryption utilites, like a file shredder.
7. Hitman Lite – Hitman Pro is a freeware tool that combines a number of powerful anti-spyware programs in one integrated solution. Hitman Pro combines Ad-Aware SE, SpyBot Search & Destroy, Spy Sweeper, Spyware Doctor, CWShredder, Spyware Blaster, NOD32, Sysclean package. Most of the included programs are freeware.
8. Hotspot Shield – Hotspot Shield creates a virtual private network (VPN) between your laptop and the wireless router. This impenetrable tunnel prevents snoopers and hackers from viewing your email, instant messages, credit card information or anything else you send over a wireless network. Which means you remain anonymous and protect your privacy.
9. Kerio Firewall – Internet personal firewall. Highly recommended.
10. PowerGUI – an extensible graphical administrative console and IDE for managing systems based on Windows PowerShell. (Recommended by Reader)
11. My Lockbox – My Lockbox is a security software enabling you to password protect any folder on your computer. The protected folder (lockbox) is hidden from any user and application of your system, including Administrator and System itself. It is impossible to access the lockbox not only from the local computer, but also from the net.
12. Outpost – Firewall.
13. PGP – A free encryption software program that is the de-facto global standard for E-mail and file privacy. Pretty Good Privacy (or PGP) offers full-strength, 128-bit encryption. PGP has constantly been upgraded over the years and now offers loads of useful features, including secure file wiping; advanced keyserver searching; and seamless integration with Qualcomm’s popular Eudora E-mail client
14. Password Gorilla – Password manager.
15. Spyware Blaster – Blocks spyware/adware. Highly recommended.
16. Truecrypt – Open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP , Mac OS X, and Linux. TrueCrypt is a software system for establishing and maintaining an on-the-fly-encrypted volume (data storage device). On-the-fly encryption means that data are automatically encrypted or decrypted right before they are loaded or saved, without any user intervention. No data stored on an encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without using the correct password/keyfile(s) or correct encryption keys. Entire file system is encrypted (e.g.., file names, folder names, contents of every file, free space, meta data, etc).
17. Whisper32 – Password Manager with encryption.
18. WinPooch – Winpooch is a Windows watchdog, free and open source. Anti spyware and anti trojan, it gives a full protection against local or external attacks by scanning the activity of programs in real time. Associated with ClamWin antivirus, Winpooch keeps safe your computer against virus.
19. Zone Alarm – Internet personal firewall. Highly recommended.
20. Simple File Shredder – securely delete files
21. KeePass – password manager
22. LockNote – password manager
23. nPassword – password manager
24. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer – identify security misconfigurations
25. Spybot: Search & Destroy – anti-spyware
26. Windows Defender – anti-spyware
27. SpywareBlaster – anti-spyware
28. Spyware Terminator – anti-spyware
29. HiJack Free – system protection
30. HighJackThis – hijackers detector and remover
31. Black Box – Alternative Windows Shell. I found this to be more stable than XOBlite2. http://www.bb4win.org/news.php
32. Black Box Lean – Alternative Windows Shell.
33. Blueberry – Alternative Windows Shell in 3-D.
34. Clockwise3d – Alternative Windows Shell in 3-D.
35. Litestep – Alternative Windows Shell.
36. Project Looking Glass – 3D desktop. It reminds me of os x in three dimensions. Note: This is under development and requires lot’s of Java setup. I would not use this unless you want to test and develop and arn’t worried about your Windows installation.
37. SharpE – Alternative Windows Shell. More info and screen shots Here.
38. XOBLite – Alternative Windows Shell. Screenshot of my machine running XOBLite (blackbox) here
39. Madotate – 3D effects for Windows similar to those found in Project looking glass. This is a direct download link and is the english version.
40. Pitaschio – Pitaschio is the essential tool to use windows efficiently. Adds some interesting features.
41. RocketDock – Rocket dock is a Mac OS X like launcher complete with fisheye effect, taskbar features, and even themes well with other engines. They also have a cool icon enhancer for your desktop and file explorer with cool effects, plug-in based.
42. TaskSwicthXP – Task switcher (alt+tab) replacement.
43. Virtual Dimension – Multiple desktops in Windows. I love this app, it actually makes your desktop sessions separate and lots more cool features. Highly recommended.
44. VirtualWin – Virtual desktops in Windows.
45. Disclib – CD organizer
46. Dexpot – virtual desktops
47. DriveImage XML – create partition images
48. MozBackup – backup and restore bookmarks, etc.
49. SyncBack – system backup
50. Atomic Cock Sync – syncronize your clock
51. Citrus Alarm Clock – alarm clock
52. allSnap – make all windows snap
53. Sysinternals Tools – various system tools
54. StrokeIt – mouse gestures
55. Net Profiles – create profiles of your network settings
56. AveDesk – desktop enhancer
57. IconPhile – customize windows’s system icons
58. CursorXP Free – change mouse cursors
59. LClock – Windows Longhorn clock
60. Y‘z Dock – application launcher
61. Y‘z Shadow – shadow effect to the windows
62. Y‘z Toolbar – change the toolbar icons in Explorer and Internet Explorer
63. Taskbar Shuffle – rearrange the programs on the taskbar by dragging
64. Visual Task Tips – thumbnail preview image for each task in the taskbar
65. Badges – put badges on any folder or file
66. Folderico – change icons of the folders
67. Folder Marker – mark your folders
68. Folder2MyPC – add favourite locations to My Computer
69. Microsoft TweakUI – system settings
70. BricoPacks – shell packs
71. ShellPacks – shell packs
72. Tango Shell Patcher – shell patcher
73. XPize – GUI enhancer
74. CPU-Z – cpu information
75. CrystalCPUID – cpu information
76. Central Brain Identifier – cpu information
77. Everest – system information
78. SiSoft Sandra – system information
79. SpeedFan – hardware monitor
80. Memtest86 – memory test
81. PowerMax – HDD test
82. 3Dmark 06 – 3D game performance benchmark
83. Aquamark – performance benchmark
84. rthdribl – 3D benchmark
85. Prime 95 – cpu benchmarking
86. SuperPI – cpu benchmarking
87. CPU Rightmark – cpu overclock
88. Core Temp – cpu temperature
89. aTuner – GeForce and Radeontweaker
90. RivaTuner – video overclock
91. Nokia Monitor Test – monitor adjustmets
92. UDPixel – fix dead pixels
93. Visual Tooltips – Enhance the Windows taskbar with thumbs ans 3D effects. Check out Yod’m while you’re there for a 3D cube virtual desktop.
94. WinRoll – Lets you shade your windows like in Linux.
95. 7Zip – Zip utility with File Explorer support.
96. CabPack – compression program
97. Universal Extractor – extract files from any type of archive
98. AB Commander Lite – File explorer replacement.
99. Adaware – Spyware removal tool.
100. AlienGuise – Theme engine like Windows Blinds, by the same guys, and brought to you from Alienware computer systems.
101. AntiVir – Anti-virus. I have been using this for awhile and it kicks ass. Beats the shit out of Norton and it’s free! Highly recommended.
102. Avast – Anti-virus applcation. Free for personal use. I have not tried this software, but it works with Kerio so it can’t be bad.
103. BartPE – Windows live cd. Now you can boot Windows from a CD-Rom and have full read/write access to NTFS volumes!.
104. Boot manager/partition manager – Partition magic like clone and boot manager.
105. DeepBurner – CD/DVD burner
106. BurnAtOnce – CD/DVD burner
107. Express Burn – CD/DVD burner
108. Zilla CD-DVD Rip‘n‘Burn – CD/DVD burner
109. ImgBurn – ISO, BIN burner
110. DVD Decrypter – DVD ripper
111. Nero CD-DVD Speed – CD/DVD info and quality test
112. Burn4Free – CD/DVD burner application, works oh so well! p.s. Run Adaware after installing to remove the spyware piece
113. CD Image – ISO ripper. Like UltraISO, create convert disk images. Supports all the main images types.
114. CD burner XP – CD Burner.
115. Console – Terminal enhancement. Ever wanted a transparent background in the command prompt window like in Linux?
116. Crap Cleaner – Cleans up Windows, internet cache, temp files, registry entries, etc. Also has a kick ass uninstaller that works and a startup editor. Highly recommended.
117. xp-AntiSpy – OS setup
118. jv16 Powertools – system utilities
119. XP SysPad – system monitoring utility
120. What‘s Running – process guard
121. Registrar Lite – registry editor
122. WinIPConfig – replacement for �ipconfig.exe� and �route.exe�
123. Unlocker – file eraser
124. Eraser – secure file eraser
125. Undelete Plus – file recovery
126. Duplicate File Finder – find all duplicate files
127. Ant Renamer – file renaming
128. ReNamer – file renaming
129. Icons From File – icos extractor
130. Chaos MD5 – MD5 generator
131. HashTab – MD5, SHA1 and CRC-32 file hashes
132. Cygwin – Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows.
133. Cygwin/x – Cygwin/x allows x11 (Linux apps) to run on Windows.
134. Daisy – Windows updater replacement that does not use IE settings.
135. DoISO – Create and burn ISO disk images.
136. Download Checker – The Update Checker will scan your computer for installed software, check the versions and then send this information to filehippo.com to see if there are any newer releases. These are then neatly displayed in your browser for you to download.
137. Explore2fs – Let’s you see and explore a Linux partition, and do file operations, from Windows. Highly recommended if you dual boot.
138. ExplorerXP – Windows File Explorer replacement.
139. FS-driver – Mount Linux Ext2/Ext3 file systems on Windows.
140. Floola – Floola is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes). Floola supports all common used iPod features including artwork, podcasts and smart playlists! It’s also able to convert audio or video incompatible with the iPod so that you can copy almost any file to it. It even allows adding youtube and myspace videos just entering the page url!
141. Free commander – File Explorer replacement. This is one of the best file explorer replacements I have ever used. Highly Recommended.
142. Mucommander – File Explorer replacement. If you liked Norton Commander you will love this.
143. ISOrecorder – ISO burn utility! Add an option to Explorer to burn .iso file to cd. HIghly Recommended.
144. IZArc – Zip utility. Opens everything and has File Explorer support.
145. Infrarecorder – CD/CDR burner.
146. Launchy – Launchy is a free windows utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes! Similar to Quicksilver on OS X and Katapult on Linux.
147. OpenVMS – Defrag and hard drive utility.
148. Partition Utilities – Partition resize, delete, create, etc…
149. Rainlendar – Very cool skinnable calendar for windows, will set events from Outlook/Exchange!
150. Registry Fix – Fixes the Windows registry.
151. Resource Hacker – Utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT, Win2000 and WinXP operating systems.
152. Samurize – Another skinnable clock, system meters, weather, email, and trash indicators as well as music playback, but with so much more – like multiple machine support! Highly recommended.
153. Skin Calc – Cool skinnable calculator.
154. Spybot – Spyware removal tool.
155. Stickies – Post it notes for your desktop.
156. StickiesforWindows – Post it notes for your desktop.
157. Synergy – Synergy is like dual monitors, a kvm switch, and vnc on speed! If you want to operate multiple machines with one keyboard and mouse, move files between them, and have both screens at your disposal this is for you. Works between platforms also!
158. Sysmetrix – Very cool skinnable clock system meters with weather, email, and trash indicators as well as music playback.
159. Task Scheduler – Task Schedule replacement.
160. Tugzip – Zip/archive application. Really nice and opens most everything including rar.
161. UBCD4Win – UBCD4Win is a bootable CD which contains software that allows you to repair/restore/diagnostic almost any computer problem. Also see Win/Linux Version.
162. UltraExplorer – File Explorer replacement.
163. Unxutils – Linux/Unix command line tools, like grep, written natively for Windows.
164. VSpeech – Voice command your Windows computer.
165. WikidPad – wikidPad is a real-time wiki. wikidPad is not a web server, or application server, or groupware solution. wikidPad is a standalone notepad like application, albeit notepad on steroids. wikidPad is like an IDE for your thoughts.
166. ZScreen – ZScreen is an open-source screen capture program that allows for region/window/full-screen screenshots. It can FTP screenshots and put the URL in your clipboard in a single keystroke. It supports automatic custom naming conventions with variables. It can also interface with image editing software. It is a C#.NET 2.0 program hosted on Sourceforge.net and built by BrandonZ (inf1ni).
167. Zipeg – Zipeg allows you to open and explore content of zip, rar and other archives, preview files and images before you extract/unzip them. Extract only the files you want. Zip thru photo archives. See image thumbnails. Zipeg allows you to decide what do you want to extract. You can choose what to extract and where to put extracted files or just drag and drop them.
168. Zipgenious – Zip utility that supports all the major archive types, zip, s7, gz, etc. Skinnable.
169. PearPC – Run Mac OS X or Linux on Windows !
170. VirtualBox – VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualizer for x86 hardware. Targeted at server, desktop and embedded use, it is now the only professional-quality virtualization solution that is also Open Source Software.

1. PortableApps – Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer via USB Flash device, iPod, or portable hard disk, and it works like a start menu. Includes Firefox, Open Office, VideoLan, to name a few.
2. Lupo PenSuite – Lupo PenSuite mashes up a familiar looking menu with a huge offering of applications. Taking a note from the LiberKey school of portable suite production, Lupo PenSuite throws everything at you but the kitchen sink.
3. Geek.Menu – Geek.Menu is a branch in the PortableApps development tree. Geek.Menu uses the same convenient installation files from PortableApps.com that the original PortableApps suite uses. The layout is similar but Geek.Menu has several key enhancements.
4. LiberKey – It might not have the polished menu found in the PortableApps suite, but its menu is functional and conveniently arranged by program type. And 250 programs packed under the hood.