As great a tool as the Internet is, not being able to have access to certain information in certain sites because of server problems, limited Internet access or whatever can really be frustrating. So if you are looking for a way to stay connected to the Internet even when you are not connected, you might find this useful.

HTTrack is an offline browser utility that allows you to download a website from the Internet to a local directory, building recursively all directories, getting html, images, and other files from the server to your computer.

The fact that it arranges the original site’s relative link-structure makes this software a really useful tool. All you have to do is to simply open a page of the “mirrored” website in your browser, and you can browse the site from link to link, as if you were viewing it online. It can also update an existing mirrored site, and resume interrupted downloads. It is fully configurable, and has an integrated help system.

If you have limited Internet access then this software is for you but if you have unlimited access to the Internet you may not really find it useful. But you can use it as backup for your favorite sites so that you can access necessary information whether you are connected or not, whether your server is down or not.

WinHTTrack is the Windows 98/NT/2000/XP release of HTTrack, and WebHTTrack the Linux/Unix/BSD release. Check out the download page.

Now that Microsoft has finalized the code of Microsoft Office 2007 at last, corporate customers will be able to get their hands on Office Small Business 2007 soon.

The rest of us will have to wait until early next year to buy a boxed version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and the other members of the Office 2007 family. The consumer editions of Microsoft Office 2007 will hit the stores early next year, in step with the Vista operating system.

Some of the major changes in Office 2007 include the fact that major programs each organize features into tabs rather than drop-down menus and dialog boxes and New XML-based files, which squeeze more data into fewer kilobytes have been added. It is worthy of note that you won’t be able to open a file in the new format immediately when using earlier versions of the programs. This will make sharing work with people without the new version [those who haven’t upgraded] difficult. (more…)

In the world of freeware and shareware there are not many programs that deliver exactly what they promise but this simple freeware really sets itself apart as it does exactly what it is supposed to do.

SendToAny is a simple freeware that extends the Windows Explorer ‘Send To’ context menu with all known links. This is accomplished by synchronizing the Send To Menu with the Start Menu, Desktop and Quick Launch Menu. It allows any file to be sent to any application, regardless of file-type association, or an applications’ registration status.

One other thing I love about this program is that it resolves all types of links, including Microsoft Installer (MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, etc), which are normally invisible to the Send To menu.

As great as this program is I think it will be better if more options are introduced.
Want to check it out? Click Here!

Google has refreshed the design of the recent 4.5 release of Google Desktop. To my mind now it’s better, faster and more personalized. In later versions of Google Desktop gadgets are floating on the desktop and the Sidebar has a definitely new look.

The new Sidebar is transparent, so it fits seamlessly with your desktop environment. Gadgets that fought for attention now look right at home, and content-heavy gadgets get new frames and icons that make it easier to tell them apart. All of this leads to a better place to find your email, news, feeds, stock prices, weather and other essential information. And this version is compatible with all of the latest software including Microsoft Vista, Office 2007 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0.

via googledesktop

You can download and try the new Sidebar in Google Desktop now right from here.

First we had the podsafe music network, Podshow now we have this. Music which is from unsigned bands which is licensed especially for podcasting. But the trend is growing. Most music producers are happy with the idea that in order to sell music you have to give lots away. It seems that the days of bloated greedy record companies are numbered. And not very big numbers either…

File sharing and MP3 network MP34U is trying hard to be an alternative to the traditional music business and succeeding to a certain extent. You’ve got signed and unsigned bands side by side, ratings and chart positions, well known and less well known artists. The “sources” look for and find the best free and legal MP3s out there on the Net. These countless billions (well lots anyway) are then voted on, and you get the results. So you know that the stuff which rises to the top is popular. It might even be good, the odds are with you on that one.

Visit the asylum here.

I found a really cool resource on the web, which if you are a fan of old blues masters is actually something of a gold mine. Lots of the recordings of the old blues musicians have fallen into the public domain, being really old and all that. The problem with media that has fallen into the public domain is that it is pretty hard to find.

Luckily there is a new kind of movement on the Net where clever and resourceful people find out stuff which is public domain now and collect it together. This is one such resource.

Here you can find such brilliant old stuff as Leadbelly’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”, Blind Willie Johnson singing “Praise God I’m Satisfied”, and Lottie Kimbough with “Wayward Girl Blues”. Oh yeah and I really love Memphis Minnie’s “Where is My Good Man At?”. Very cool.

Join the fun at PublicDomain4U.

If you spend long periods of time at your computer, you have a pretty good chance of developing a repetitive strain injury over time.This can show in ways such as a backpain, sore fingers or eyestrain. So whats the way to avoid all this or help yourself out if you’re already affected? Spend less time at your computer! Too much to ask for? Then at least take regular breaks!

Try out RSIGuard to help you achieve this, it schedules regular reminders for you to take a break. It can show exercises and stretches, which can optionally be disabled. In fact everything about this program is very configurable.It also has tracking and reporting of statistics to help you know how you’re doing. If you find yourself ignoring the breaks you can make them harder or even impossible to ignore.

I highly recommend this program as i think its designed well and does what it does well. Although being reminded to take a break can be a little irritating at times, but isn’t that the whole point? (but not as irritating as developing aches and pains, so it’s worth it in the long run).

Check it out here for more info and a trial

You know what’s really weird about the concept of backing up the entire Internet? Where on earth would you put it all?

I don’t know how it works, but over at www.archive.org they have a thing called the Internet Wayback Machine. You can put in a URL and it will take you back to what that page looked like in 1996. It must be vestigial logs from the hosting sites or something, I don’t see how it can work, but it does. I can verify I went back to a lot of my old websites that are LONG gone and there they were, graphics and all.

That’s not even possible, is it?

Mind boggling. Go boggle your own mind at The Internet Wayback Machine.

At the end of last week my Skype-client have told me that there’s a new BETA version (for Windows users) available… I was too busy that time to download and look at it but now time have come! So, what’s inside Skype 3.0 (Beta version)? First of all there are lots on new and very interesting functions (like skypecasts (which were available in the 2.6 Beta already), public chats etc.).

So, lets start with those skypecasts:

In Skype 3.0, you can browse the current Skypecasts straight in Skype on the Live tab. When you decide to join or host one, the Skypecast itself will run within a separate tab where you have all the host or participant controls to ask for mike, see who’s the host and do all those other things you need to do in a Skypecast. So there won’t be no more of those clunky pop-up browser windows. To join Skypecast just click the link and talk (or just listen to the conversation). Every Skypecast have all ‘statistic’ you need to know (subject, who’s hosting it, number of participants right now). One more thing about the host: one who organized the whole talk have more rights and can vary a few things, for ex. They can cut somebody short so you won’t be able to talk, just listening to the conversation. Also he can set a chat time (how long the conversation will take place). There’s a 5 hours limit (maximum). For that time chat will be available even if there’s no one is talking. After that chat will be deleted (only if there’s no one inside, if there’s at least one person it still will ‘live’). (more…)

It finally happens! Sun Microsystems Inc. said on Monday that it will make its Java software available for free by giving it to the open-source community. Though company will continue to sell and support standardized versions of the product.

The main cause of that action is to make that ‘sunny’ software more widely available (company still is striving to return to consistent profitability). Several key components of Java are already available for free download and the rest will be released in 2007. ‘Altogether it will put some 6 million lines of Java code into the public domain, making it one of the largest such grants to date’. That what Reuters have told us : )

As you’re all know Java software lets developers write one set of code for programs that work on different types of computers and operating systems. (more…)