Software, websites

If you have a backup of old emails coming from the Microsoft Outlook mail client, you have one or more PST files. It is my case also – I switched from Windows to Mac OS without buying the Outlook 2011. The good news is we don’t need Outlook itself for the old messages. You can read and open PST files on the Mac using the simple viewer.

If you've worked with Microsoft Word, you're familiar with the same basic pattern: type some text via keyboard, copy and paste with the mouse, type more text, move the cursor back a paragraph with the mouse, type yet more text, spell check using the mouse on the main menu etc.

Working within Microsoft Windows may not be everyone's cup of tea. Long ago, before windows and scrollbars and maximizing and minimizing, a user could only type commands into a shell to get a computer to do anything.

Many users are familiar with msconfig, the utility that lets you configure which programs and services run at bootup and login. Many applications install services and programs that run when you boot up or login into Windows; many of these behind-the-scenes programs never show their face and are unknown to users.

The Windows Task Manager is a useful little utility that gives you a lot of information about your running applications and services. It also allows you to view performance statistics, such as memory and CPU usage.

The more applications you have running simultaneously, the more you have to juggle them on your desktop; it's cumbersome and time-consuming if you're a user that constantly multi-tasks between windows. It can also become confusing if you have more than five windows open at the same time.

Multiple downloads of a large file from a single server can be frustratingly slow, as the server must divide its time among all downloaders at the other end. A better way to distribute large files is to use the BitTorrent protocol.

Apple's iTunes is fantastic at playing music and is your iPod's bestfriend--they work and play together very nicely. One of the problems with iTunes, though, is that it only does one-way transfers.

When you install your own virtual or dedicated server, you can do all necessary settings manually by editing the configuration files. You also have a better option – use the administration tools like cPanel or Plesk. These are paid commercial applications, so if your budget is limited, you can take a look at some free open source alternative. ISPConfig is a great option.

Apple iPad is nice tablet which can be used in many different ways. One of them is to use it as a webmaster tool. Using the right apps you can turn the iPad into the webmaster’s everyday helper. Apple iPad is also a great tool for the website administrators.

The title itself may be a bit cryptic for those that do not have much contact with extensions, file types and so on. Therefore, I will start off by discussing ffmpeg. There is not that much to tell, but it is always easier to understand the process if you understand its parts, so, in short, ffmpeg is a core solution, used by numerous software vendors to power video conversions.

It is no secret that home movies are rarely perfect. The images themselves can be great, but someone talking in the background did not realize you were filming or they honestly didn’t care. In this case, it is best to go with music instead of spoken words.

Whether it be creating a professional video or just adding some flare to a home video, there are times when introduction titles and closing titles are called for. Luckily, it is easy to add a title, opening credits, and closing credits with Movie Maker 2. In fact, you have many choices; including fly-ins, outline effects, and fades. The only roadblock you will run into with Movie Maker and introductory titles is the few background choices.

You are done! You have spent hours loading your video onto your computer, editing out the junk, adding good transitions and effects. Your video is now perfect and ready to be shared with family and friends, but wait! How do you go about doing that sharing? You need to export your movie. Here comes the most important question of all: what format should you export to?

If you own a digital camera, it is likely that you have a series of pictures on your camera from one single event. For example, a trip to the museum with your child may result in 40 pictures or more! All by themselves, these pictures are good, but wouldn’t you like to make them amazing? You can by creating a video slideshow. Creating a video slideshow is easy with Windows Live Movie Maker; import your pictures and then drop them into the storyboard in the order that you prefer.