Alan Silcott
Poulsbo, WA - http://
Filed under: Design, Photo, Web services
Speechable enters the speech bubble wars
Speechable understands that a picture is worth a thousand words, and thus a picture with words must be worth exponentially more.
Speechable provides a simple method to adding speech bubbles to your photos. Just upload a photo, select one or more speech bubbles, and place them wherever you like. You can resize both the text and the bubble to better fit the picture. When you are done adding bubbles, you are given links to add the photo to your blog, website, or email it to a friend.
We could find few differences between Speechable and Kyolo: a similar service that we recently reviewed. Most notably the use of rectangular bubbles instead of elliptical. We can't help but think that the first service to add multiple bubble shapes will win the war.
Filed under: Business, Developer, Productivity, Web services, web 2.0
5pm - Project management on time (so you don't have to be)
5pm by QG | Software is a web-based project management suite that provides us the tools needed to get back on track at 8am.
The underlying features of 5pm are fairly standard in the project management world. You create projects and assign them to one or more users or groups. The project can have a deadline, a client, and a priority level. Once you have created a project you can add items such as tasks and files. Tasks can be assigned to individual team members and emails can be sent to the group when tasks are completed. etc...
To help visualize your project over the course of its life, there is a timeline feature that shows your projects and tasks in a "Gantt" style chart. In addition, there is a reporting section that can help determine who is completing their projects on time and who isn't.
Filed under: Internet, OS Updates, Utilities, Features, Windows, Office, Shareware, Freeware, Open Source, How-Tos
HELP! Windows cannot open this file
by Alan Silcott Jun 20th 2008
You've just downloaded that must have program only to realize that Windows has no idea what to do with it. After an hour of Google searching, forum posting, and being called n00b, you finally figure it out.
If only there was a guide that showed you how to get all those needed programs. We at Download Squad feel your pain and have put together a list of 10 free programs that will take care of those pesky "Windows cannot open this file" messages once and for all.
Note: See a blatant omission or oversight? Please add it to the comments. With your help, we hope to re-post a more complete list the future.
- K-Lite codec pack
File Types: DivX, XviD, AVI, Mpeg 1-4, AC3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, FLV, OGG, VOB, and tons you've never heard of.
Description: Why there are 85,000,000 different audio and video types we have no idea. What we do know is trying to install codecs one at a time generally ends in a reformat.
Thankfully, the good people from K-Lite (Koors Lite?) have bundled all the software and codecs you need into one executable. Cheers!
- Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative
File Types: RM, RA, RAM, RPM, RMVB, RPX, SMI, SMIL, RT, RP, MOV, QT, 3GP
Description: Before the days of Youtube, the Real Player and QuickTime were kings of Internet multimedia. Sure you had to deal with popups, reminders, updates, and bloatware, but that 1" video was so worth it.
Fortunately, the Real and Quicktime Alternatives removed the real in Real Player and restored the quick to QuickTime. Enjoy your 1" video!
Filed under: Fun, Games, Freeware, Time-Wasters
Kitten Cannon - Time Waster
by Alan Silcott Jun 18th 2008
The goal is simple really; shoot the kitten out of the cannon as far as possible. You can adjust the aim and velocity of the cannon, but the real distance is obtained when poor fluffy lands on a pile of explosives, or is trampolined into a balloon-bomb. Watch out for the Venus Cat-traps and death spikes that will stop fluffy DEAD in her tracks.
Some may think that there is a trivial amount of strategy involved in firing a Kitten from a cannon. Obviously they haven't reached 2,164 ft!
Filed under: Fun, Internet, Web services
Ind.ecisions: Help for life's important questions
Should we eat that last donut? Are our Scott-e-vest cargo pants as stylish as the site says? Should we give our bank account numbers to a Nigerian businessman that came across a large inheritance? Sure, common sense would definitely help here, but sometimes you need to leave these choices to a higher power. Ind.ecisions, along with Mother Nature's help, hopes to win over your, well, indecision.
Ind.ecisions gives you the option to pick 2, 3, or 6 different outcomes to your question. Then, based on radio noise generated by atmospheric conditions (don't ask), you are given a truly random outcome.
Take that magic eight ball!
BackTrack: A penetration testers toolset
by Alan Silcott Jun 17th 2008 {3 comments}
There are few job titles as misleading as that of the "Penetration Tester." Sure, saying professional computer hacker would be more direct, but have you ever noticed how hackers seem to have a dirty mind? Why else would they want to go phreaking through backdoors? Anyway, in order for hackers to umm...maximize their penetration; they need the right tools for the job. BackTrack is a bootable Linux ...
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
