CloudingClarity

Photo Story 3

Posted on 25. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a software existed that could compile your photos into an exciting slideshow video, complete with panning and zoom special effects? Wouldn’t it be even better if this program were easy to use and it didn’t cost a dime. Microsoft Photo Story 3 is this software. Within minutes you can add photos, crop, add music, a select transitions, and vuala, you are done. Photo Story 3 even outputs your slideshow to a WMV format so that it can be watched from any computer and many hand-held devices. While there are many more powerful slideshow creating applications available, few are as easy to use and affordable as Photo Story 3. Also, most free applications lack the pan and zoom effect. This features can bring still, boring photos to life. If you enjoy media or need to create a semi-professional slideshow on the fly, Photo Story 3 is for you. Click on the link below and give it a try. If you like it, or not, share your thoughts. Are there any slideshow creating programs that you prefer?

Photo Story 3

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YamiPod

Posted on 23. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Have you ever attempted to remove songs from your iPod, only to find out that iTunes does not allow this operation? You can copy songs to your iPod, but not the other way around unless your are a determined geek. I had never noticed the restriction until one day my computer crashed. Of course to recover my PC I had to reformat everything, leaving me without any of my music. I am not the type of person to keep a lot of songs on my PC, yet I do like to have my favorites just in case my iPod should become lost or, dare I say it, break. YamiPod is a free application which will help you easily copy the songs off of your iPod and place them on your computer. The small application is a quick download and works with most iPods. I have an iPod Video and I have never had any problems using YamiPod.

YamiPod

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Network Connection Sharing

Posted on 22. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Do you own a game console that can connect to the internet? Does it require you to plug in an Ethernet cable or else purchase a wireless adapter? This was the situation I had with my Playstation 2 and XBox 360, yes I was reluctant to spend the money for the wireless adapter. After some research, I came up with the next best thing! I took advantage of “internet connection sharing.” You can perform this action with any Windows XP computer or newer as long as it has both a wireless and a wired network cards. Internet connection sharing is a simple to perform operation that can save you money. Alternatively it can save you from cords running all over your house.

Here are the steps:
1. Open “My Network Places” (It is usually on the desktop or in the “start” menu)
2. Once “My Network Places” opens, click on “view network connections,” which can be found in the box to the left of the screen
3. Right click on “Wireless” and click on “properties”
4. Toward the top right of the window you will see a tab that says “Advanced.” Click on this Tab.
5. In the middle of the window you will see a section called “Internet Connection Sharing” and below it are 2 boxes which are most likely unchecked 6. Check both boxes. Then click on “Settings” which will be located just below the last box you checked
7. Now you will see a bunch of unchecked boxes. Check each box. As you check each box, a window will open up that will requires you to simply click “OK” at the bottom on the window.
8. Now restart your computer that will be doing the sharing
9. Plug in the device you would like to share your computers wireless connection by hooking an Ethernet cable between the two. Be sure the device is turned off that will be sharing the connection. Turn it on and you will most likely see two connection icons on the bottom right of your screen (taskbar).

These steps were all it took to get up my laptop to share to my XBox 360. If it doesn’t work for you, it may be due to your firewall settings or anti virus software. I use AVG Free and it has given me no problems.

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Virtual Dub

Posted on 19. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Virtual Dub is a very powerful, open source, video editor. Virtual Dub has many features which include the ability to omit sections of video or fuse separate video clips together. While Virtual Dub has a wide range of features, I have found two to be particularly useful. The first, is its ability to capture DV camcorder footage quickly and easily. The second is that it can be used to convert video from one format to another. There are many instances that conversion is necessary. For example, lets say that you just got done capturing a two hour long video off your DV camcorder, you can use Virtual Dub to convert that same video to WMV or DIVX. Doing so will conpress the 20BG video so that it only takes up a 500 MB or so. Capturing raw video is the only way to get good quality, yet it must be converted to a manageable file size before you can place it on DVD. I have only described a couple simple tasks which Virtual Dub can perform. It is capable of much more. If you have never manipulated video before, do not be afraid to give Virtual Dub a try. It has an easy to use interface that is quite intuitive.

Virtual Dub

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PortableApps

Posted on 19. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Imagine carrying all of your favorite applications wherever you go. Simply being able to plugg in your USB drive and accessing your important files and the programs needed to run them. PortableApps suite makes what seems to be a fantasy, a reality. Essentially PotableApps takes most well-known open source applications such as Gimp (photo editor), Open Office (similar to office), and Firefox (web browser), and makes them standalone applications. Standalone applications are able to run directly off of a USB drive without first installing files on the host computer. Adding to the usefulness, PortableApps even loads a menu interface into the taskbar so you can easily access your programs. The suite is fully customizable. You can install the standard suite on your USB drive or you can install a bare-bones package, allowing you chose what you want. I have found it to be very functional. One way that I use it is to carry my documents and applications from work, to home, to my fiance’s house. Sure beats lugging my laptop everywhere I go! Another use I have found is keeping my computer free from clutter. Many apps, such as Gimp, are not something that I need on a daily basis. So I reach for my USB drive when I need them, otherwise my computer runs as speedily as it did when I took it out of the box. If you don’t already use PortableApps, check it out. With the wide variety of applications, chances are you will find a program to perform any function you would like. If you do use ProtableApps, what are your favorite applications? What was your experience?

PortableApps

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