Tweet

Following steps show a simple way to record calls with Gtalk or other chatting programs (Yahoo Messenger, Skype) without installing and using third-party software:

1) Plug headphone to your PC, right click on Volume icon and choose "Recording devices" from pop-up menu

2) The Sound dialog appears, choose "Stereo Mix" from the list. If you cannot find it,  right click on empty space of the list of devices and choose "Show Disabled Devices"


3) Right click on "Stereo Mix" and choose "Enable"


4) Click Properties in Playback tab of Sound Dialog to open "Speaker Properties" dialog


5) Go to Level tab, maximize the volume level and click OK


6) Open Sound Recorder program in Programs > Accessories > Entertainment. When you make a call with Gtalk or other chatting programs, click Start to record. Click Stop if you want to stop recording and finally save the file for later use.

Tweet

Here is a list of good programs for Mac OS:

1. Office software iWork: Pages, Keynote, Number

Pages

Pages is a good alternative of Microsoft Word on OS X. With Pages, you can add comments for paragraphs or sentences. Pages also supports a lot of beautiful templates.
Download Pages (9.99 USD)

Keynote

This is "Powerpoint" program from Apple. It provides many beautiful effects for presenting.
Note: Keynotes effects may not work well after being converted to Powerpoint.
If you have iPhone, you can use remote control with Keynote Remote app.
Download Keynote (9,99 USD)

Numbers

It is similar to Microsoft Excel. It supports many kinds of graphs.
Download Numbers (9,99 USD)

All software in iWork are integrated with iCloud. You can edit files with iPad and iPhone.

Of course, you can download the famous Microsoft Office for Mac OS (148,99 USD).

2. Note software - Evernote

It is the best cross-platform app for taking notes. The notes can be syned and edited on iOS, Windows Phone, Android, Blackberry OS. With Evernote, you can attach photos and audio files easily.
Download Evernote (free)

3. Task management - Wuderlist

Wunderlist 2.0 has good interface and data sync. You won't miss a task again because tasks are synced seamlessly to iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Android or Blackberry OS devices. With labels, folder, list, you can manage tasks easily with Wunderlist.
Download Wunderlist (free)

4. Chatting software - Adium

Adium supports many kinds of chatting accounts (Yahoo, Facebook, AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, ...) and therefore you don't need to download many apps to your computer. It also has a easy-to-use and beautiful interface. All emoticons of Yahoo Messenger can be displayed with Adium.
Download Adium (free)

5. Download management software - iGetter

A must-have app for OS X because it downloads apps, games and video very well. You can also use this app in web browsers. It also allows users to select Internet network to optimize download speed.
With the free software, you may need to wait about 10s every time you run it.
Download iGetter (free)

6. Searching - Alfred

You may use Spotlight to run an app. However, Alfred is a better app to find and run application on your Mac. You can input any query (such as ph for photoshop) in to Alfred to find app. It also supports searching on Google, Amazon or Wikipedia in a simple way.
Download Alfred (free)

7. Cloud service software - Google Drive, Dropbox, SugarSync, SkyDrive (free)

With these services, you can store, view and edit files on any devices. On OS X, Dropbox runs very well and it is integrated with gallery on iOS. When you capture an image on iPhone, the image will be sent directly to Dropbox and you can view on Mac easily.
Download Google Drive
Download Dropbox
Download SugerSync
Download SkyDrive

8. AppDelete

You can remove any app with AppDelete. It can find and delete any files related to the removed app. To delete an app, just drag-drop it to AppDelete icon.
Download AppDelete (3,99 USD)

9. Photo editor - Photoshop, GIMP, Paint FX

Photoshop CS6 and GIMP are 2 powerful software for editing photos. You can also use Paint FX for some basic photo editing functions.
Download GIMP (free)
Download Paint FX (2,99 USD)
Download Photoshop CS6 (700 USD)

10. Feed reading - MixTab

There are many good news reading apps out there (Reader, Feeds, FeedBoard, ...). I prefer MixTab due to its beautiful interface. It manages information with tabs and fully suports trackpad on mac and therefore you can read news easily. You can also share news via Twitter or Email.
Download MixTab (free)

11. SopCast

If you want to watch sports, use SopCast. It is stable and provides high quality videos.
Download SopCast (free)

If you think more apps should be added to this list (e.g. Parallels), please add in the comment.

(tinhte.vn)

Tweet

Ann Video Converter is a good software to convert video between formats. It supports all popular video formats (WMV, MPEG, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DVD, VCD, SVCD, MOV RM, MP4, RMVB...). You can also convert your video to a MP3 file with this software.

Ann Video Converter also supports some simple video editing functions (cut, crop, watermark, change brightness, add title, ...). It costs 39USD but now you can get it for free.

First, go to http://www.annvideo.com/promotion.htm and copy the Register Code:

Then, click "Get it Free" and "Download Now" in the next page. After installing the program, you can activate it with the Register Code above.

And enjoy

Tweet

PC Tools Privacy Guardian is a security software that can clear browsing history, cookies, passwords, temp files, ... It costs 19.99USD to use for one year (maximum 3 personal computers). However, you can get the latest version for free:


Company: PC Tools (Symantec)
License: free from PC Tools
Size: 15.9MB/Windows XP/Vista/7/8

To register a free license, go to http://www.pctools.com/privacy-guardian/offer/ and input your name, address and email.


Check your email from  do-not-reply@pctools.com with title PC Tools Privacy Guardian License Information.

Save License name and License code to activate the software later. Click on the link to download the latest version. In the installation progress, input License information into the dialog "Before we get started..."

With only 6 minutes, this software can free more than 1.4GB space for your PC.
(ref: xhtt.com.vn)

Tweet

Some Windows users don't want to move to Linux because they cannot run their favourite Windows programs. However, "PlayonLinux" (http://www.playonlinux.com) provides us a great solution to install and run Windows programs on Linux as native Linux programs, i.e. program icons are placed on the desktop. PlayonLinux is developed based on Wine with a simple interface for installing/removing applications. On Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Linux Mint...,  you can install PlayonLinux in Software Center/Manager. A simpler way is to open Terminal and run the command:

sudo apt-get install playonlinux

Run PlayonLinux, you can see its interface:


PlayonLinux installs each application to a virtual drive stored in ".playonlinux/wineprefix". In Configure, you can find virtual drives on the left and each virtual drive has it own settings, registry and frameworks.
You can install more frameworks,  such as .NET, DirectX, Adobe/Air, in "Install packages" tab.
You can also set Render engine in Display tab.

To install a new Windows application, click Install button and follow steps:
1)  choose an app
2) install
3) specify a new virtual drive or select from available ones
4) choose setup file to install
5) create shortcut for this app
That's it!



If you encounter problems with heavy apps or games, you can find more information at http://appdb.winehq.org/

You can play some heavy Windows games e.g. Diablo III and Skyrim on Linux:


(ref: tinhte.vn)

Tweet

1. CursorFX:

http://www.stardock.com/products/cursorfx/downloads.asp
- 13 categories of cursors

- quickly change to the default cursor with "Ctrl + Shift + C"

- many effects and sounds for mouse actions

- easy to change size and color of cursors in "Settings"

2. RealWorld Cursor Editor:

http://www.rw-designer.com/cursor-maker

- generating cursor files (.cur or .ani) from images (GIF, PNG, BMP, JPG)
- many tools for drawing and editing
- compatible with all Windows versions

3. AniTuner:

http://www.gdgsoft.com/anituner/
- easy to create, edit and covert .ani files
- simple and easy-to-use interface
- you can preview and export to different file formats (Animated GIF, Adobe Flash, Clip AVI, Bipmap Strip)
- compatible with all Windows versions

4. Change Cursor:

http://www.rw-designer.com/change-cursor
- the default cursor can be replaced with any .cur or .ani files on your computers
- thousands of free cursors from the web to select
- you can change cursor directly in the software
- supporting 32 and 64-bit Windows

5. DotMouse:

http://download.cnet.com/DotMouse/3000-2317_4 10068477.html?tag=main;dropDownForm
- you can create new mouse cursors from GIF images      
- 20 free built-in cursors

Tweet

One of annoying problems that MacOS users may face is MacOS cannot read NTFS USB drive and, therefore, it’s rather difficult to transfer data between Windows and MacOS. To write data to NTFS USB in MacOS, we need to use some commercial programs such as Paragon NTFS. If we format USB with HFS+ of MacOS, Windows cannot read them and we need to install MacDrive program. To solve this problem, you can format your USB drive with exFat (Extended File Allocation Table) so that it can be read and written by both MacOS (MacOS 10.6 or later) and Windows.

Format with exFAT in Windows

exFAT is recommended to use for USB drive but it can also be used with your portable hard disk. In MacOS, to format with exFAT, in Disk Utility, Erase your drive with exFAT.

Format with exFAT in MacOS

Note: some devices (e.g. TV) cannot read exFAT format, check your devices before formatting.

Tweet

Following tips will help you use Google Drive with both PC and web browser more efficiently.

Add Google Drive to “Send To”

You can add Google Drive to Send To context menu so that you can send files to Google Drive more easily. First, run Windows Explorer and input APPDATA%/Microsoft/Windows/SendTo in the address bar. Then, right click on Google Drive folder in Favorites and drag it to Send To folder. Finally, choose Copy Here in the context menu.

Note: if you drag and drop using left mouse button, only a shortcut is created in Send To instead of content.

Encrypt sensitive files

Google Drive is good place to store important files. However, we should be careful with files containing sensitive information. Hence, before uploading these files, make sure that you encrypt them with a password. If your files are stolen, they cannot be read.

There are many methods to encrypt files. One of simplest ways is to create a encrypted file store. You can use a free program (e.g., 7-Zip) which supports encryption and saves to a file store (e.g., .7z). Remember your password or save it in a safe place.

You can also use BoxCryptor application to create a encrypted drive to store your files. To sync with Google Drive, you need BoxCryptor and a password to access.

Change location of folders

You can move folders to Google Drive to sync user data among computers. To change location of documents, images, video and sub-folders, right click on the folder and choose Properties. Now you can change the location in Location tab.

Empty Trash

You can access to Trash of Google Drive to empty or delete files permanently by clicking on More > Trash on Google Drive web.

Restore previous versions

Google Drive stores previous versions in 30 days or 100 modifying times. You can access to previous versions by right clicking on a file on web and choosing Manage Revisions. You also can delete previous versions to free space.

Tweet

After some simple steps, you can use Office 365 services (email, calendar, SharePoint Team Sites, Unified Communication US, …) from your iPhone. 

Your can find email settings of Office 365 in Outlook > Outlook Web App > Options > See All Options > Account > My Account > Settings for POP, IMAP, and SMTP… These settings are important to connect your iPhone to Office 365. You can also change security settings, such as pin lock, mobile security, encryption and remote wipe, in Mail > Option > My Organization.

The Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync in iOS which is used to push email, calendar and contacts can be used to connect iPhone to Office 365 and to sync calendar, email and contacts between iPhone and Office 365.

First, in iPhone, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account. Choose Microsoft Exchange in the next screen and, then, input your email, name and password. The Domain box is left blank.

Next, iPhone with get necessary server information from Exchange Online server. If it fails to retrieve this information, you need to input server information of Exchange Server which can be found in your Office 365 Account page manually. Finally, you can choose which contents you want to sync with Office 365.