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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Web services

Easily restore Windows services to default settings with a web app


I don't know how they manage to do it, but they do. Every now and then a customer drops off a system for repair and things that a home user should ever need to monkey with - things like TCP/IP settings, registry entries, Windows services - have been mangled beyond recognition.

Services in particular can be a big pain to reset, simply because of how many their are. Fortunately, there's an incredibly handy web app which makes the process a whole lot easier.

Serviceseditor.com supports Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Click the appropriate version, and you're presented with a comprehensive list of radio buttons covering all the built-in services. Scroll through the list and toggle any values you don't want set to the default Microsoft settings and press the submit button. You'll receive a .reg file which you can then merge with the Windows registry.

It's quite a bit faster than clicking through services.msc manually to get things back to normal and (obviously) doesn't even require an install. Slick!

Filed under: Business, Internet, Productivity, Web services

Managing staff holidays online with WhosOff

whosoff staff holiday managementWhosOff takes some of the stress and mess that can occur when managing staff holidays. It's a free service that is pretty easy to set up, unless you have a few hundred employees to manage.

When staff names are entered into the online system together with their vacation entitlements, its WhosOff turn to work. Managers and staff are sent notifications by email when employees request leave dates, Managers then jump into the system and can either approve or decline the requests.

WhosOff can also track sickness, national holidays, and does use SSL to ensure the security of the website.

Gallery: whosoff

Filed under: Design, Developer, Internet, Utilities, News, Productivity, Freeware, Social Software

Toggl, free web-based time-tracking

togglSo you use basecamp for project management or Google's apps, or something else, but how do you track your time on a project? basecamp offers time-tracking, but you have to pay a bit for that feature. Any cheapskates out there who like to get something for nothing, even if it means remembering yet another logon to yet another website? Many of us would jump at the chance, it isn't like any of us have a problem with web accounts, how many do you have again?

Toggl is an excellent solution, offered in a completely savvy web 2.0 interface that gets you where you want to go. The site tracks time and lets you hit a toggl (whoa, go figure) button to start and stop your "billable hours" timer. I was a bit wary at first that toggl wouldn't offer a way to change the time it had recorded, leave you stranded with pushing the button every 108 minutes until you got the right amount of time, but my worries were completely unfounded. I was ready for something much harder than clicking on the box and reentering my own length of time.

If you think pie is easy, toggl is easier. Complete with a reporting feature and multiple projects, toggl's goodness clocks in (pun somewhat intended) at the right price of free. As you know, our motto here is one more happy cheapskate, or wait, I don't think we actually have a motto. I'll have to get back to you on that. meanwhile check out toggl, and you will never wonder if you charged your client enough for the hours you spent on that killer project.

Add "toggl" to your spell-checker, jack, and you won't be disappointed.

Filed under: Business, Fun, Internet, Productivity, Web services

Task tracking with HiTask

hitask gets stuff done with a little fun?

HiTask is an online based task management tool that collects tasks, groups them and applies colored tags so users can easily review them. The HiTask interface is built with an easy to use drag and drop calendar to schedule items and reshuffle or prioritize them as needed. Tasks can also be rearranged in groups or projects for added organization.

The scheduling of meetings, reminders or notes can be setup by dragging and dropping their instance onto a calendar and dragging instances down based on how much time is required. Colors can be assigned to tasks to highlight important tasks or categorize them. HiTask can also be used in a team environment by inviting members and easily assigning those tasks by dragging them onto the individual's name.

The interface is very clean, and it's simple to use, there is no learning curve here that's for sure, and the drag and drop feature makes it easy to organize. Now, is it fun? I wouldn't call it fun, but it is pleasant to use. If the free plan isnt enough for you, there is also a Premium account available for $12 U.S. per year that allows for unlimited everything.


[via mashable]

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Utilities, Web services

Project Time management online with timeXchange

project time management

timeXchange is an online peer-to-peer application that lets users record and report time and expenses, collect and approve team reporting, and protect and control data online. Its important for any worker to keep track of time in order to ensure work schedule and budgets are met. There are many great time management solutions availble, from online solutions, desktop software, to the basic Excel Spreadsheet route but timeXchange has some interesting features that are worth taking a look at.

When setting up a new project, you can choose who gets reports. These reports get sent complete with your hours and tasks listed, making them easier to track and analyze data. timeXchange helps out with collecting and approving timesheets which can be then viewed and analyzed and data exported to other applications. Security is a big concern for timeXchange. Encrypted data and reporting are stored on secure servers, and only those with permissions can access it.

Like any new application, this one takes a while to get used to, and there is a ton to set up, but it seems like this could be a strong player in the time management arena. Other online time management applications are TaskAnyone, ProWorkflow, Tick, Zoho Projects and Basecamp.

[eHub]

Filed under: Internet, Social Software

Mailing list etiquette: Best practices for creating, maintaining and participating

Mailing list etiquette - best practices for creating, maintaining and participatingMailing lists are an essential community and support tool, and I myself participate in a good handful ranging from beta tests to individual app support and even simple enthusiast chatting on one topic or another. In my experience, I've found that a number of things do and don't work from both a management and participant side, and I thought it would be helpful to start a discussion about these best practices to see if I'm on the mark, or if you readers have other ideas that should make the cut.

Following are two sets of mailing list etiquette that I've put together. One for those creating and managing lists, and another for those participating on them. If we can all agree on at least a few, may they be written in digital stone for future generations to benefit from.

Read more →

Filed under: Design, Windows, Macintosh, Productivity, Adobe, Imaging Tips

Photoshop CS3 does memory management right - DLS Imaging Tip

Imaging Tip: Photoshop CS3 does memory management right
I've been tinkering around with the Mac version of that new Photoshop CS3 beta Adobe unleashed, and I have to say that so far it feels like a more significant and worthy upgrade than CS2. Adobe has packed a lot of new goodies in CS3 which we'll be covering in our Imaging Tip series, and today's tip praises the return of true memory management to Photoshop.

As you can see, the Performance tab of PS CS3's updated Preferences display brings back complete control over how much RAM Photoshop gets to play with, and the scratch disk UI has received the steroid treatment as well. These are both great improvements for fine-tuning Photoshop's performance, especially for those either on older, slower systems or those blessed with desktop powerhouses.

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, Productivity, Web services, Google, Social Software, Unix

Google issues updates and fixes to Google Reader

Google issues updates and fixes to Google Reader
Since I'm a card-carrying Google Reader convert, I've been loosely following the discussions in its Google Group. I'm constantly impressed with how active some of their engineers like Chris and Mihai are in the conversation, and just the other day they announced some small but much-requested updates and bug fixes to Reader, including:
  • First and foremost: An "Add to folder" menu after using the subscribe bookmarklet, the Firefox 2.0 subscribe button and the "Add to Google" button
  • The "Feed actions..." menu lets you rename the feed and change its folders
  • Some IE 7 display bugs have been fixed
  • Some IE 6 display bugs have been fixed
  • OPML import should be more tolerant of invalid characters
  • The filtering that can be done in the settings page now handles multiple terms (separate them with spaces)
  • The settings page should display faster when you have lots of subscriptions
Nothing major, though that 'Add to folder' button is a God-send (Google-send?) for adding new subscriptions and easily filing them away without breaking one's workflow.

Filed under: Developer, Utilities, News, Productivity, Open Source

phpMyAdmin 2.9.0.2 is available

phpMyAdmin phpMyAdmin is one of the best and most heavily used (at least on my desk) MySQL management tools. It makes everything you do in MySQL simple, and can be either desktop or web-based. Even LAMP installs have a portable, USB drive friendly version, which is one of my favorites. Sure, I love SQLyog, MySQL Administrator and other desktop based clients too, but none is as versatile and useful as phpMyAdmin. 2.9.0.2 is a setup script distribution that addresses issue in 2.9.0.1, so nothing majorly new here, but you can download it, so we are all over it. Security fixes and bug fixes are good things.

Filed under: Business, Finance, Internet, Productivity, Web services

Keep track of bills with billQ

billq online billing managementWhat's worse then bills? Getting more bills with interest charges and the possibility for bad credit! If bills seem to get lost, fall under your desk, get eaten by animals, or just plain slip your mind, why not try out billQ. It's a web based application that tracks bills. billQ keeps you notified of how much you have to pay, and when you have to pay it.

billQ is a free web based application, that requires registration with only an email address and user name. Think it's not secure? Think again. billQ requires no sharing of information, account numbers or any real name for a company who's bill you are tracking payment for. Setting up a bill to track simply requires a name, amount, and a date. From there, you can give it a one-time, or a recurring payment status. To make things easier, billQ has added in billing groups. Members can be set up for a special group, and have the ability to view the changes made to a bill. Which can come in handy if payments are being rotated and shared for a particular service. Bill information is easily edited once inputted, and reminders are sent out to Email or SMS. For added convenience for Mac OSX users, billQ has developed a widget where you can quickly view all incoming bills, mark a bill as paid, and track bills. billQ seems like a great little application that helps you stay on top of those ugly bills.

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Windows Mobile, Productivity, Microsoft

Avocent: Remote server management via PDA

remote management softwareAvocent has produced a software application that will allow you to manage a Windows server remotely from your BlackBerry or any other Windows Mobile 5.0 enabled device. I have tried several free software packages for this exact purpose and none of them really worked great, but granted Avocent was not one of them. This was before Windows 5.0 came out, so perhaps the native mobile operating system has a lot to do with it. This is a great idea for mobile IT professionals who would need to access a server on the go, such as in the back of a warehouse on a wireless connection. Technically you could take a call and reset a password on the server, all from a nearby Starbucks if you wanted to. Very powerful software indeed. Yes, I said a Blackberry Bliss latte. That's right, with whip no foam. Ahh, the refreshing taste of good software. Nothing like it.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Symbian, Palm, Productivity, Web services, Social Software

activeCollab - web-based, open source collaboration and project management

activeCollab - web-based, open source collaboration and project management

Web-based project management seems to be all the rage lately, and activeCollab is a great example. A 100% free and open source project that is under 'heavy development', activeCollab 0.6 offers what seems to be the now-standard array of messages, tasks, projects, milestones and documents, along with a tagging system and per-user project permissions. activeCollab's site even includes a list of upcoming features and offers screenshots of a forthcoming 0.7 feature: a much-updated files section.

Of course, this app offers a few advantages over popular web-based project management solutions like Basecamp, including the fact that you can host activeCollab yourself, on your own domain.

If you're interested in learning more about everything activeCollab offers, they offer a helpful screencast and writeup to get you more up to speed without having to install and tinker with it yourself. I personally haven't used this yet, but my web host recently added it as a one-click install, so I'll post a review in a week or so once I move my sites over and have time to get things up and running. In the meantime, why not check out activeCollab for yourself?

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

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 ...

View more Time Wasters

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