Tiny bytes of tech
Ever heard of a Bin or Cue file? Maybe not! What about ISO? That’s definitely more common, but what are you supposed to do with these files? Most of the time Bin, Cue and ISO files are actually virtual CDs or DVDs that have been transformed into “images” that can be either burned back to media or run from your computer. You can learn more on how to open them here.
Guess what!? WindowBlinds now supports Windows 7 skinning! Sweet! This program is pretty awesome and I’ve been using it for years on my XP box. It basically lets you completely change the look of Windows, including everything from the Start button to context menus and backgrounds. It’s not free, but if you like to customize the look of Windows 7, Vista, or XP, it might be worth the $20!
Tweetwall is an interesting new service that lets you create a stream of tweets based on hashtags, usernames, and keywords. It’s cool because right now you can only create a real-time list of tweets on Twitter by perform a search on one keyword. Here you can add several keywords, several usernames, and multiple hashtags and Tweetwall will combine all those into one single stream, or “tweetwall”. You can then share it with anyone.
If you ever looked for video game through a regular Internet search engine, you realized that the results can be quite numerous. Instead of using something like Google or Yahoo, why not use a search site that covers only video games?
Gamepublic.com is designed with exactly this angle in mind. Simply type in your search terms and choose a platform (PS2, XBOX, PC, etc.), or leave the All Platforms default for a broader search. Your results will include items like reviews, cheat codes, and links to other websites. If you are the gaming type, this website is worth a test drive.
Did someone just email you a XLSX file? Not sure what it is or how to open it? Well, unless you live on the moon, you probably know it’s an Excel file, just from version 2007 or higher. However, you do not need Excel 2007 installed in order to open an XLSX file. Check out this post on the different ways to open the file for free.
I have to admit, there are a few Facebook apps that I really like and use quite often! However, there are also those many, many apps that I installed because someone sent me an invitation or I was just too stupid to try it. Either way, those apps can become really annoying really fast with their useless notifications and emails. Read this post on how to remove any unwanted Facebook apps!
If you’ve ever watched a financial TV channel like CNBC, you’ve probably noticed that little stock and news ticker at the bottom of the screen right? It’s pretty cool! It’s got all the latest news, plus you can quickly see how the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are doing.
Free Stocks Ticker is a small little Windows app that adds scrolling RSS headlines and financial quotes to the bottom of your desktop! It’s customizable and free! Way cool!
Going to take your kids to a theme park soon? if so, you might want to check out the very cool Theme Park Maps website! As you might have been able to tell from the name, the site finds and scans as many theme park maps as it possibly can! So next time you go to Six Flags, plan it out beforehand by downloading the theme park map!
Google and Microsoft are on a spree lately in terms of search engine news and features. In answer to cool and interesting new features in Bing, Google is showing that they will not be out-done!
Google Swirl is new labs feature that groups similar images into a fun-looking swirl of images. So if you search for Washington, you’ll get images of the white house, the Washington Monument, etc. Click on one of those and a swirl of related images will pop into view!
Looking for an official Google blog? Google has so many products and services and just about every last one of them has a blog too! Luckily, you can easily find the official ones by visiting the Google Blog Directory. Here you will find everything from the main Google blog to the Mac blog, Chrome blog, AdSense blog, Docs, blog and tons more!