Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Choosing a Usenet Provider Wisely


Usenet has been at the forefront of World Wide Web for a decade before the latter impacted the world by storm. But it is still possible to take advantage of Usenet despite its seemingly pushed back status if you are aware of the better features of Usenet.
The right Usenet provider can offer more than you think possible to benefit you in your e-business dealings.  It is no longer limited to dial-up modems, black screens and green text today. Surprisingly Usenet is growing in popularity today as its service is handled by more efficient ISPs or Internet Service Providers and local University.
Usenet is great for heavy Internet downloads and the right Usenet provider will enable you to perform that task efficiently and satisfactorily. Hence, sourcing for the right Usenet provider is crucial.

Usenet Provider Criteria

A good Usenet provider must have a good binary retention which refers to the length of storage on files or text messages which are coded in binary. These are usually stored on your Usenet provider’s server. A longer binary retention allows you to source for your desired contents successfully as they are still available. A good Usenet provider should have a minimum 1,000 days binary retention.

Security Offering

Using Usenet is also similarly to using the Internet. There must be good security enforced on the connection between SSL and the Usenet server. This is crucial as the SSL connection is the direct link between the Usenet server and you without allowing others to intercept or pry within.
good Usenet provider should also offer good server logs. All transactions performed on the Net must be tracked and recorded for future references if necessary. A good Usenet server should be equipped with at least a 256-bit SSL encryption security that comes with good server logs.

Download Speeds

Speed is a crucial factor in most Net transactions; it is a major benefit of Usenet if it can offer fast speed download. No one likes wasting their time waiting for their download. A good Usenet provider should offer fast connections and download speeds that equal your Internet connectivity. Hence, if you have plenty of downloads to perform, go for the highest bandwidth available.
But some Usenet providers may limit your download speed as they want to prevent an overload on their servers. It could be a monthly download cap or a general cap offering. Premium Usenet providers offer no limit to the amount of downloads or its speed.

The Right Choice

You can source out many satisfactory Usenet providers from the Net; many sites have reviewed various Usenet providers for your benefit, stating their pros and cons while comparing the three main criteria of binary retention, transaction security and download speed. These are the three most important factors that can determine your e-business’ success as you manipulate your chosen Usenet connectivity.

How To Play Multiple Video Formats On Your iOS Device With No Conversion [Mac]


FlexPlayer: Free Option

FlexPlayer, a media player, is available for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone. It is a free option and you can play mutiple video formats. FlexPlayer supports DivX, VOB, MOV, AVI, Xvid and MP4 in the iTunes page.
On launching FlexPlayer, the instructions will be given to you in detail on adding the videos. In FlexPlayer, you cannot add the videos by adding them to the iTunes library. In case you do so, no video will be uploaded and added. So these instructions are very useful.

To add the videosplug-in the device. Now launch iTunes. Your device is located on the left side of the menu bar. Select the same and choose the tab ‘Apps’.
Look for ‘File sharing’ on the page. You need to scroll down to search for it. Find FlexPlayer in your list and add the videos. To do so, click ‘Add’ or drag the files in documents interface. The following shows an addition of XVID file, MOV file and AVI file.
The added videos will be immediately displayed in the FlexPlayer. The only options available are: watch the videos and delete the videos.
Check out the image below to see how an AVI looks like. Flexplayer can play all the three files without any problem.
The features are limited but the existing features function pretty well.

CineXPlayer: Paid Option

There are two versions of CineXPlayer: the iPad version and iPod/iPhone touch version. iPhone version is compatible with iPad but iPhone apps cover 1/3 of the screen along with the feature X2.
CineXPlayer provides many other features. On launching it for the first time, you will see a complete tutorial with screenshots that explain how you can add videos.
CineXPlayer follows the same method as that of the FlexPlayer. All you need to do is go to ‘Apps’ and look for CineXPlayer. Then, add the files. You can also add XVID, MOV and AVI.
The videos will be displayed as a list or thumbnails. CineXPlayer plays a background music while searching for the movies. You also get folder options and can arrange your files to make browsing easy.
The playing is not perfect. The AVI files and XVID files play sound but at times without the picture. You can close the application and re-launch it to fix the problem. MOV file plays well.
Other options provided by CineXPlayer are TV viewing, social sharing, subtitles and 3D thats needs to be downloaded. The social sharing is clumsy.
Following Window Shows This Feature
You can share with your friends the video you are watching but it is limited only to Facebook. CineXPlayergives you an option to adjust the settings as per your liking. You can make use of the add-ons to play withCineXPlayer.

5 Excellent Cloud Tools You Should Be Using


Integrate Your Offline and Online Files with ZeroPC
Do you need to store all your emails, images, photos, documents, and social posts at one place for one-stop access? If yes, then consider this cloud content finder that unifies your data from different services such asFacebook, Dropbox, Evernote, Twitter, Box.net, and Instagram.
You can even drag and drop files to this account from your PC. It is just a matter of opening an account and getting 14 GB of storage for free. And yes, its mobile version is also available for Android phones and iPads.
ZeroPC

Enjoy Digital Streaming with Pogoplug

This online tool offers 5GB of storage for your documents, videos, music, and images that you can send to it via e-mails after changing its setting. It is ideal for all those who need to stream digital files such asmusic and images from the cell phones.
Pogoplug
This is because this tool provides mobile apps for Android as well as iOS for transferring the files. You can even set the cell phone app in such a way that it adds all your digital files to your Pogoplug account automatically. And yes, it is also possible to back up your this cloud account on your computer.

Track Your Expenses with Moneytrackin

As the name suggests, this is an expense management utility via which you can keep a track of income and outlays easily. It is actually an online free app that aims at revealing your financial status. This can be a vital tool for anybody!
money trackin

Enjoy on-the-fly Transfer with sideCLOUDload

This free service allows you to transfer files to Dropbox via a direct upload or URL. This means that there is no need to download files on your mobile or on the computer. However, the file size should not be more than 25MB.
sideCLOUDload

Play Music in the Cloud with Mougg 

With free storage of 2GB and mobile apps for Android and iOS, this is a perfect tool for uploading, organizing, playing, shuffling, and searching music files in a remote cloud. Mougg also offers a music player that allows you to share the music files played on Facebook.
mougg

Pogoplug: Cloud Storage Made For Mobile


pogoplug

How to Use Pogoplug

If you are using Pogoplug for the first time, you have to create an account. The details of your pogoplug e-mail address along with the password are required for making an account. This will give you the links. Your favorite apps can be downloaded from these links.

The Required Downloads

You require two downloads: one for the desktop and another for your mobile. Click onhttps://market.android.com/details?id=com.pogoplug.android. Pogoplug can also be downloaded fromAndroid market by scanning QR code.
Desktop application can be downloaded from the Pogoplug website http://pogoplug.com/. You need to sign in with your account on the Android device as well as the computer.

How to Sync Your Files

If you are using an Android device, Pogoplug will upload your pictures automatically to Pogoplug server. The thumbnails will take some time to display. Apart from the pictures, it will not upload anything from the device. Your music, pictures and videos can be manually uploaded to the cloud storage.
syncing your files
During the process of uploading, the actual picture is uploaded. With the original picture on the cloud, your photos are always safe and you will not lose them even if a problem occurs in your mobile.
drag and drop
You can also access the files by dragging and dropping them to your desktop application.

Streaming Media

A unique feature of Pogoplug is that you can stream the synced audio & video media to your mobile device. A song which is saved in your account can be played similar to as it was on your phone. It is also applicable to the videos that are uploaded to the cloud storage.
Streaming media
You can search for music by artistsongalbum title and genre.
search music

Advantages

It uploads the video and the image automatically.
It is a simple and easy-to-use desktop application.
You can also stream media from the cloud.

Disadvantages

You can only upload pictures & videos from the Android device.

5 Tools To Download And Convert Online Videos


Xenra

This web app is very easy-to-use. It downloads the YouTube videos and converts them into various formats. It can also be used to download the entire video and extract the audio tracks.
Xenra
Using Xenra is very simple. Place a link of YouTube in address bar. Click on ‘Download Now’ button. Select the format in which you want you audio or video file. You also have the option for selecting its quality. Various other functions of download can also be controlled.
Xenra
Once these steps are completed, click on ‘Start Conversion’. The video will be downloaded to the Xenra server. It will be, then, converted into the desired format. The smooth process gives a comfortable user experience. However, the performance depends upon the video and the its selected quality.
Xenra
Once it is done, the file can be downloaded, shared and embedded.

ConvertVideoToAudio

It is not a very fast app. But it offers some exclusive file formats that are not supported by other convertors.
ConvertVideoToAudio
The website looks cluttered with lot many ads. You can only choose the format. No other settings are available. You can download the videos and convert into the formats offered. However, the quality of the video cannot be controlled.

ClipConverter

It is a very useful web app. You can use it with not only YouTube but with various video streaming websites.Audio can even be extracted or converted from various video files that are placed in your system.
To begin with, upload the video file or place the URL of the video that has to be converted.
clip converter
Now select the format in which you wish to convert the file. You have the option to download the whole video and extract the audio. You can also download certain part of your video file by specifying the start & end time. This will give you a specific snippet you want. Once it is completed, click on ‘Start’.
clip converter
You can download the video and convert it very quickly by using ClipConverter. It gives a link to download and a QR code. Various browser add-ons of ClipConverter are available for Safari, Chrome and Firefox.
clip converter

Freemake [Windows]

In case you are not comfortable with web apps and would like to use a desktop app instead, try out Freemake. Freemake downloads and converts videos for Windows.
The video links are taken from the clipboard by the software. Copy the URL of the videoClick on ‘Paste URL’. You can install the software with the settings you want. It will immediately start downloading the videos and convert them. Once it is completed, the file can be played from the app itself.
freemake
There is an option for one-click download. Turn it off. You can select the location, format and quality for all the files separately. Audio can also be extracted from videos by using this downloader.
freemake-2
You must note that you need to install .NET to use this software.

KeepTube

Though KeepTube supports only the YouTube videos but there are many different methods to use it. You cancopy the URL of the file and paste it. Another way is to select a URL and add ‘keep’ before ‘youtube’ in it.
keepyoutube
Both these methods will take you to the website of KeepTube. You can select the quality you want. You can use KeepTube to download the entire video. Videos can also be converted into MP3s.
keepyoutube
A plugin can also be downloaded for Chrome and Firefox. You must note that a Java applet is launched by the web app. In case you do not want it, try out the non-Java version.