Software on Lin's Blog

How to Quickly Count Items in Different Ranges with Excel

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 02:42:37 +0000

When analyzing data, you often need to split values into different ranges so you can see how they are distributed. For example, you might group students into 80-100 points, 60-80 points, and failing, then count how many students fall into each group for analysis. That’s where the FREQUENCY function in Excel (or Google Sheets) comes in very handy!

Struggling to Record GIFs? Let LICEcap Help You!

Sat, 21 Jan 2017 23:59:09 +0000

The GIF format nearly disappeared for a while, but recently, with the rise of Facebook and Twitter, more and more people use GIFs to make animations or as stickers in Messenger. I use them for the tutorial videos in my blog posts. GIFs have the advantages of small files and quick loading on web pages. For certain rough motions, GIFs work very well for tutorials. Today I want to share LICEcap, which can record your screen to make GIF files. It supports Mac and Windows and has a simple interface. All the recent GIFs on my blog were recorded with LICEcap.

Tired of Typing File Paths? Let the Sublime Text Package AutoFileName Solve It for You!

Sun, 08 Jan 2017 00:51:48 +0000

Among the things I hate most when writing code, typing file paths is definitely near the top. Every time I need to type a file path, such as loading a JS or CSS file in HTML, or opening a file in Python, I have to switch to Finder to copy the file name. But if you are a Sublime Text fan like me, using it for every programming language, then let AutoFileName be your helper!

Homebrew - Error: Unknown command: cask

Fri, 23 Dec 2016 02:11:29 +0000

If you’re a Mac developer, you’re surely familiar with Homebrew, and you’ve probably used brew-cask to install apps. Today, when I tried to install a program with brew cask, I kept getting the error “Error: Unknown command: cask” every time I ran brew cask install xxx, even though I had confirmed that brew cask was installed successfully. After searching the issues, I learned that this seems to be a bug in an older version, which has since been fixed.

WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe: A Powerful and Easy-to-Use Video Conversion Tool!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:26:36 +0000

WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe is the first paid software I’ve written about. Its main job is video conversion, and one feature I personally think is pretty nice is that it can download videos from YouTube~ But to be honest, before writing this post my thinking was: “Conversion software? There’s tons of free stuff like that online—who would dare charge money for it?” But… when I actually used this software, I found it wasn’t as ordinary as I’d imagined XD

How to Turn a Video into Music: Extracting the Audio Track with MediaCoder

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:30:56 +0000

This post shows you how to turn a “video” into “music.” Often you might download a great music video from a video-sharing site (for example, YouTube), but the file is in a video format such as MP4 or FLV. In that case, you can use the audio track extraction feature built into MediaCoder to convert the video into an audio file!

FastestTube: A YouTube Video Downloader for Chrome, Firefox, and IE with Built-in Conversion

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:00:24 +0000

FastestTube is a Chrome extension that lets you grab YouTube videos. Its big feature is built-in conversion. Most YouTube downloaders on the market can only save videos in FLV format, but FastestTube can save MP4 as well as FLV. You can send the MP4 straight to your phone or iPad and watch it there, without an extra conversion step.

Calibre: Convert, Edit, and Read E-books in One Place, and Send Them to Your Kindle

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:00:03 +0000

If you read e-books, I’d like to recommend a program called Calibre. If you read on your computer, you probably don’t need to convert anything. But many people read on e-book readers like the Kindle or Nook, and for them, Calibre is essential. The Kindle doesn’t support the EPUB format. It only supports formats like AZW, MOBI, and PDF. If the book you have is in EPUB format, you can’t read it directly on a Kindle. Most books from the well-known e-book site Haodu are in EPUB format, and that’s where Calibre comes in to convert them for you.

Send to Kindle: A Chrome Extension for Sending Web Pages to Your Kindle

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:00:09 +0000

Send to Kindle is a Chrome extension that every Kindle user should install!! You often come across interesting articles or tutorials online. Some people bookmark them, others export them to PDF. If you have a Kindle, you have one more option: send the page to your Kindle. That’s exactly what the Send to Kindle extension does.

[Chrome Plugins] Save as PDF: Save a Web Page as a PDF to Keep It

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 10:46:51 +0000

Sometimes you bookmark content you like, but if the site goes down or the article is removed, the bookmark is useless and you can no longer read the article. In that case, saving it as a PDF is a good choice. PDFs are also a great fit when you want to read offline~

Notepad++: My Top-Recommended Text Editor, with Syntax Highlighting and Multiple Encodings

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:00:33 +0000

Almost everyone who writes programs or web pages uses a text editor, because sometimes you just want to open a file to look at its code, and opening it in Dreamweaver or Visual Studio takes too long. Some people use the Notepad that comes with Windows, or Vim, which is famous on Linux. Others install a text editor they find online. Today’s pick, Notepad++, is a very well-known and powerful text editor.

MediaCoder: Free Video Converter with GPGPU Support

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:00:45 +0000

MediaCoder is a very handy video converter. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac, and it’s free. But those aren’t the main point. The real highlight is that it can use the GPU (graphics card) to do the conversion work. This technique is called GPGPU. With it, you’re much less likely to run into the problem of CPU usage spiking past 100% and the computer crashing during conversion, and conversion is ridiculously fast. I often convert videos while playing online games, and everything runs smoothly.

Opera Unite: Easily Set Up File Sharing, Instant Messaging, and Cloud Music!

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:56:26 +0000

Opera Unite is a special feature built into the Opera browser. With Opera Unite, even if you know nothing about computers, you can set up a simple cloud service. Sometimes you have a great song you want to share with a friend. Besides the usual ways of sending files, like instant messaging, MSN, or email, you can also try the built-in Media Player in Opera Unite. Just send your friend the URL, and they can listen to the music right in their browser! You can also set up a WebCam so you can check on things at home while you’re away. Opera Unite has built-in features like that too. In short, Opera Unite is a great service. Normally, to build a website, you have to apply for a domain name and hosting space, and you need basic computer skills. But with Opera Unite, none of that is needed! Your computer is the server, and Opera automatically assigns the domain name.

Doomi: An Adobe AIR-Based ToDoList App to Help You Plan Your Schedule

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:25:38 +0000

Doomi is an application built on Adobe AIR technology that helps you create a ToDoList, which is basically a memo list. There are many programs similar to Doomi. For example, Google Desktop has widgets with this kind of function, and even iOS 5 plans to include a built-in ToDoList app called Reminders. What makes Doomi stand out is its intuitive, good-looking interface. You hardly need any tutorial; as soon as you see the interface, you know how to use it. Also, you need to install Adobe AIR before you can use Doomi.

[iOS App] SyncSpace: A Handy Synced Whiteboard and Handwritten Note App

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:11:13 +0000

Several years ago, I remember reading in a magazine about so-called “distance learning,” which uses information technology so that students can take classes without going to school. SyncSpace, the app I’m introducing today, is quite similar to distance learning. It’s an app made exclusively for iPad, and its main function is a synced whiteboard! Over the internet, it lets many iPads sync with each other. For example, if you write an A on your screen, other users who have joined the same whiteboard will see an A appear on their iPads. This can be used in many places, such as the distance learning I just mentioned. Or, say you’re a business owner who suddenly comes up with an idea while on a business trip. You can use SyncSpace to jot it down right away, then sync it back to the office.

Poedit: A Handy Helper for Multilingual (GNU Gettext) Work

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:00:50 +0000

Today I want to introduce a very handy tool for making multilingual software: Poedit. I think many people have come across the term “Chinese localization” online, right? In short, Poedit is a program that helps you with localization work. In Taiwan this kind of work is called “Chinese localization,” but in other countries it could be called “English localization” or “Japanese localization,” so the general term for all of these is “multilingualization”~

doPDF: Easily Convert Documents and Web Pages to PDF

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:00:42 +0000

Sometimes we want to convert a Word document into PDF format, or we come across something funny or useful online that we want to keep. That’s when you’ll use doPDF! Unlike ordinary conversion software, which requires opening a main program, doPDF works through “printing.” Normally, when you print a file, you get a physical document, but with doPDF, “printing” produces a PDF file instead.

[Android] Zhengdian Toolbox – Battery, Data Usage, App Lock, App Management, and More Essential Tools in One Install!

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:42:27 +0000

Zhengdian Toolbox really is handy! It bundles the features that most Android users need, including data usage, app lock, and app management, and you can put its widget on your home screen for quick management. Things that would normally require installing a bunch of separate apps, it handles all at once! This is very convenient for people who just got an Android phone, since they don’t need to download a pile of apps to get the everyday features working~ And even though it packs in so many features, the app itself is only about 2 MB.

Starting 8/1, Google Drops Support for Old Browsers. Are You Still Using IE6 or Firefox 3.5?

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:31:14 +0000

According to the latest news on Google’s official blog (see this page), Google plans to stop fully supporting old browsers starting on 8/1. The reason is that these older browsers don’t support the latest technologies well. For example, HTML5 and CSS3 aren’t supported, and they may run JavaScript too slowly. As a result, Google’s services (Gmail, Google Reader, and so on) run into many problems on old browsers, so Google has decided to stop supporting them.

PHP Documentation for Chrome - Look Up PHP Docs Quickly

Sun, 29 May 2011 11:26:01 +0000

PHP is a fairly easy language to learn. It isn’t difficult in itself, and there are plenty of resources for it. In particular, the official PHP website provides a reference of PHP functions, where you can look up any PHP function. It’s quite similar to Microsoft’s MSDN. Today I want to introduce a Chrome extension that puts the search feature of the official PHP docs into your browser, so you can look up PHP functions more conveniently~

What Is the Intel AppUp Developer Program (IADP)? And How to Apply for an Account

Fri, 27 May 2011 20:31:08 +0000

Software stores have been catching on lately. Apple has the App Store, Google has the Android Market and the Chrome Web Store. But none of these stores are exclusively for Windows. The App Store, for example, is for iOS. And now, even Intel couldn’t hold back, launching the Intel AppUp Developer Program (hereafter IADP). Intel AppUp is different from the others. It’s a software store made specifically for the “Windows” and “MeeGo” operating systems. Through AppUp, programmers can turn their ideas into products and upload them there. If the idea is good, getting rich isn’t hard! The most important thing is that IADP is currently free. Normally, software stores charge an annual fee. AppUp was going to charge too, at 99 US dollars a year. But since IADP is brand new, Intel generously offered a free first year. Right now, IADP members are still free, but I don’t know when this offer will end.

GIMP: The Free Photoshop Alternative That Supports Hundreds of Plug-ins

Fri, 27 May 2011 16:01:03 +0000

GIMP is an image editing program that comes close to Photoshop, and it is open source. Although it is free software, meaning you can use it at no cost, its features are by no means inferior to the commercial Photoshop. Basic drawing tools are built in, it supports layers, and most importantly, you can extend its functionality by installing plug-ins. As far as I know, there are hundreds of plug-ins available.

[FileZilla] Saving Frequently Used FTP Sites in Site Manager for Easy Connections

Sun, 22 May 2011 08:00:22 +0000

FileZilla is an FTP client that many people use today, and one handy feature is Site Manager. Because I manage websites myself, I often need FTP. Every time I wanted to connect, I had to enter the address, username, password, and other details, which wasted a lot of time. But once I set up Site Manager, I only need to fill in the details once, and from then on I can connect directly without typing all that information again~

[Firefox 4] FireSSH: An Add-on for Making SSH Connections Directly from Firefox

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:00:40 +0000

If you use a VPS or play with Linux, you're probably no stranger to SSH. It's something every Linux user has to learn. SSH is like remote control, except it's text-based instead of graphical. Normally I use PuTTY for SSH connections. On iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and so on), I use iSSH. But what about in a browser? With the FireSSH add-on, you can make SSH connections right while you browse, without opening another program~

Firefox 4: Six Times Faster Than Firefox 3.6, with a Cleaner Interface!

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:29:21 +0000

Firefox 4 has finally joined the ranks of browsers with streamlined interfaces~ Now the three major browsers on the market, Chrome, IE, and Firefox, have all made their interfaces quite minimal. But Firefox was a bit late. A big reason I switched from Firefox to Chrome back then was that Google Chrome’s interface was fresh, stylish, and clean, which made it feel fast (a psychological bonus…). Still, Firefox has many advantages. For example, customizability! Although Chrome can install extensions, Chrome’s extension library is nowhere near the size of Firefox’s, so with Firefox you can do so much more XD

Internet Explorer 9: A New IE with Hardware Acceleration, HTML5, and Tracking Protection

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:26:41 +0000

Microsoft has finally delivered something respectable this time. There’s no denying that each Microsoft update brings some progress, but the progress has usually been small. When it comes to IE, the difference between IE7, IE8, and IE6 was really minor. Unlike Firefox and Chrome, which almost always deliver a shock with every update, IE9 is honestly a big step forward. At the very least, it’s fast enough now. Security has improved too. And the tabbed browsing, which IE8 was heavily criticized for, is now much more usable. Opening tabs in IE8 could even make it crash…

[Ubuntu] XVidCap Screen Capture - Free Screen Recorder with Multiple Formats (avi, mpeg, swf...)

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:56:06 +0000

Since I recently started writing articles about Linux, I have been paying attention to the helper tools for writing under Linux, such as screenshot and screen recording tools. On Linux, I recommend Shutter for screenshots. For screen recording, I recently found a fairly well-known one called XVidCap. I tested it myself and it works pretty well. I’m not sure whether that’s because of the software itself or because I tested it in a virtual machine, but the video quality from XVidCap isn’t very good.

The main feature of XVidCap is that it supports many formats built in. It can save directly in common formats such as avi, mpeg, and swf, without needing another program to convert them. It has two small drawbacks, though: it doesn’t support keyboard shortcuts, and it doesn’t have a Chinese interface.

Launchy - A Handy Helper for Quickly Opening Programs

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:56:13 +0000

I introduced Google Desktop to you before. It can quickly open files and programs. Launchy works in a similar way, but it focuses on quickly launching programs, so it doesn’t have as many features as Google Desktop. Google Desktop can search files and has a sidebar, while Launchy only does file search. Its file search works differently, though. You specify folders, and Launchy builds an index of the files in those folders before you search. Google Desktop indexes the files on every hard drive. The difference is that when you type a keyword, Launchy may show more accurate results, while Google Desktop may show results you don’t want.

Pietty - An SSH Client with Chinese Support (Originally Based on PuTTY)

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:55:01 +0000

PuTTY is a well-known SSH client, and it’s very easy to use. But it has a drawback: it’s in English, and when you connect over SSH with PuTTY, you can’t type Chinese characters. That’s very inconvenient for users in Taiwan, which is why Pietty was born~ In short, Pietty is PuTTY with Chinese input and a Chinese interface. Pietty also offers many helpful extras, such as transparent windows and SFTP transfers.

Google Desktop: Search Not Only Files on Your Drive, but Also Gmail!

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:05:08 +0000

Google Desktop is one of the programs I install every time I reinstall my computer. It matters to me even more than Yahoo! Messenger! Simply put, Google Desktop is a file search and management program. You can find the files you need by searching for keywords. Windows has this feature built in too, but honestly the built-in Windows search is... slow and awful. It can take me 30 seconds to get results for a file, while Google Desktop returns results in just 1 to 3 seconds! Google Desktop isn't only for searching files, either. It has a built-in sidebar where you can add small gadgets such as Google Calendar, a to-do list, news, weather, and more. You can even write your own gadgets and put them in the sidebar~

[Android] Barcode Scanner – A Handy QR Code Reader for Quickly Installing Android Apps

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:00:05 +0000

You often see people recommend Android apps online without giving a URL, just a barcode to scan for the download. That barcode is actually a QR Code, and a decoder app on Android can read the download link stored inside it. Apple Daily’s Animated News app also offers a square barcode like this. It’s also a QR Code, so you need special software to decode it into a URL.

[Ubuntu] A Handy Screenshot Tool with Chinese Language Support - Shutter

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:30:25 +0000

When I write articles on Windows and need to capture the screen, I usually use FSCapture. But lately I have been writing some articles about Ubuntu, and I need to take screenshots for them. Ubuntu has a built-in screenshot function, but honestly it is very inconvenient. It doesn't save automatically, and the image format is always PNG. For someone like me who is used to FSCapture, that is hard to get used to. So I asked a netizen online whether there was any other screenshot software. A netizen nicknamed Sanmiao Wei recommended Shutter and even sent me a link (thank you~). Then I found out that the site Brother Wei sent me happens to be run by a friend of mine XDD. What a coincidence~

DNS Firewall - Block Access to Specific Websites and Quickly Edit DNS Mappings

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:46:20 +0000

DNS Firewall is a program recently written by a webmaster. Its main function is to block access to certain websites. For example, if you have kids at home and you don't want them visiting adult sites or Facebook, you enter the URLs of those two sites into the program, and then this computer can no longer connect to them! The principle behind DNS Firewall is actually very simple. It modifies the hosts file built into Windows and maps the DNS entries of the blocked sites to 127.0.0.1, which is your own computer, so the browser simply can't reach those sites xD

OpenOffice: Free, Open-Source Office Software with Word Processing, Presentations, and Spreadsheets All in One

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:00:52 +0000

Did you know that Microsoft Office isn't the only software that can handle word processing? Plenty of other programs can do the same job, and OpenOffice is one of the best of them. OpenOffice is nearly identical to Microsoft Office in function. It can handle word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, databases, and more. Most importantly, it's free. It also supports extensions, so you can install plugins that add features and make it fit your needs even better.

[Android] Dolphin HD Browser – A Browser with Tabs, Bookmark Sync, and Mouse Gestures

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:00:03 +0000

Dolphin is the browser I recommend most after using an Android phone. It has so many features that it nearly rivals a proper desktop browser. It supports tabs, RSS, and mouse gestures, and it has built-in sharing, so you can send a web page to others through Facebook, Twitter, SMS, and other services. Android's built-in browser also supports multiple tabs, but you have to press the window button to switch between them. Dolphin puts the tabs right at the top of the browser, which is convenient (though it takes up some space). Dolphin can also subscribe to RSS feeds automatically when it detects one on a page. The whole package is far beyond the built-in browser. It can also sync bookmarks with Google.

What Is a QR Code? A QR Code Tutorial (PsQrEdit)

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 15:52:31 +0000

A QR code is one type of two-dimensional barcode. All barcodes in the world fall into two categories: one-dimensional and two-dimensional. The barcodes cashiers scan when you buy things are one-dimensional. The square barcode you see on income tax forms every June is two-dimensional. A QR code is one kind of two-dimensional barcode. Its main function is to store data in the form of an image. When a machine scans it, it can read the data inside. That's a bit abstract, so here's a more down-to-earth explanation: say I wrote a self-introduction article. I could turn the article into a two-dimensional barcode and let others scan it. QR codes are also commonly seen in newspapers. For example, on Apple Daily's moving news, you can use your phone to scan the QR code and see the URL. Another common place for QR codes is high-speed rail tickets. If you've bought a high-speed rail ticket at a convenience store, you may have seen a square barcode on it. That barcode is a QR code. Just scan it at the ticket gate and you can get through~ XD

RockMelt - A Social Browser Built on Chromium (Facebook)

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:47:34 +0000

Besides the browsers we all know, like Opera, IE, Firefox, and Chrome, there's a group of less famous browsers that use one of the four browsers mentioned earlier as their core, then improve the interface or features on their own. For example: TheWorld Browser and today's RockMelt both belong to this category.

Today’s RockMelt is a social browser built on the Chromium core. You can think of Chromium as basically Chrome, with no big difference between them. What sets RockMelt apart is that it’s a social browser: it’s integrated with Facebook and Twitter, so you can use those two social tools right inside the browser. Because it’s built on Chromium, it has almost all of Chrome’s features too. For example, extensions and themes work. However, RockMelt doesn’t support sync, which is a major shortcoming.

[Chrome Extension] goo.gl URL Shortener - Shorten URLs with Google

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:47:09 +0000

Many of you have probably seen URLs in the form of goo.gl, right? This is a URL shortening service provided by Google. Sometimes you find a really funny post on a forum and want to show it to a friend. Then you have to copy its URL, but forum URLs are usually very long, and copying them takes forever.... That is when a short URL comes in handy. With the goo.gl shortener, you can turn a URL of several dozen characters into one with fewer than 10 characters. It is also useful when you want to share a file with a friend. So how do you create a goo.gl short URL? Just open the site you want to shorten, then click the button of the Chrome extension called "goo.gl URL Shortener." The "goo.gl URL Shortener" extension also lets you copy the short URL, view its information, and get a QR code.

Google Chrome 7: GPU Hardware Acceleration Support

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:30:53 +0000

Google Chrome 7 has officially launched! The main feature of Chrome 7 is GPU hardware acceleration. Besides this new feature, it also fixes some bugs from Chrome 6. The speed is said to be 60 times faster. However, hardware acceleration in Chrome 7 isn’t enabled by default. You have to use a special method to turn it on.

So what are the benefits of GPU hardware acceleration? Simply put, once you turn it on, games you play in the browser run much faster. On some older computers, Facebook lags noticeably, and turning on GPU acceleration makes that less likely. So I recommend that friends who like browsing (Facebook~) and playing games in the browser should definitely turn this on.

[Chrome Extension] One Number: Automatically Check Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Voice for New Messages

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:15:36 +0000

This post introduces a Chrome extension called One Number. It checks Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Voice for new messages. Many similar tools exist in the Chrome Extensions gallery, but I especially like One Number because it combines Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Voice in one place. Unlike Google Mail Checker, which only checks Gmail for new mail, One Number's author, mzzt.net, is verified by Google, so you do not need to worry too much about viruses.

Simulating Internet Café and School Restore Cards with RVS 2011's Shadow System

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:25:58 +0000

What is a shadow system? I'm sure you've all seen school or internet café computers that come back perfectly clean every time they restart, with every non-default file wiped out. That's thanks to a hardware device called a restore card, which internet cafés install. The shadow system I'll introduce here gives you the same effect as a restore card without spending money on one, and it's even easier to use than a restore card. With a shadow system, you don't have to worry about viruses either. Just restart and the computer is back to normal~

In this article, the shadow system we'll introduce is Returnil Virtual System (hereafter RVS)

Let RIOT Batch Compress PNG, JPEG and Other Images to a Specified Size

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 10:00:36 +0000

If you’re a web designer, or you run your own blog, you’ve probably cared a lot about how fast your pages load, since slow loading annoys users. And if you use Wretch Photo Album, you’ve probably worried about image sizes too, right? Wretch Photo Album has space limits, and the only way to get more space is to buy VIP membership. The program I’m introducing today is called RIOT, and it’s a lifesaver for all of the people above. RIOT can batch compress images, and in my own tests the compression ratio was quite high. RIOT can also batch resize images, which is really handy for bloggers~

Microsoft Office IME 2010 - Includes New Phonetic, New Cangjie, and New Quick Input Methods

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:00:27 +0000

This version of the Microsoft 2010 IME hasn't changed the interface much. That's so people who used the Microsoft IME 2007 don't have a hard time switching over (example: my mom....). At first I thought it didn't have any new features, but after typing this post, my opinion changed. The Microsoft 2010 IME has really improved its smart word selection (which is probably why this post has fewer typos XD). The 2007 Microsoft IME used to make a lot of typos, and I never understood what Microsoft was thinking. It would often spit out really strange words = = But Microsoft Office IME 2010 doesn't have that problem. Also, Microsoft Office IME 2010 is free, so no need to worry about the BSA coming to your door one day ^^

How to Use FTP? A FileZilla Connection Tutorial

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:04:23 +0000

Looks like everyone has started school today? I actually started last week. After these few days, I feel that life at vocational high school is pretty good. The only thing is that the discipline instructor is a bit strict and the teachers are a bit nagging. But the nagging is still a good thing, since at least it means we have teachers who actually care. I had heard from my junior high teachers that once you reach high school, nobody manages you anymore, and whether you succeed or not is up to you. But from what I see now, the teachers are quite responsible, perhaps even a little too responsible 0.0 But let's leave the class stuff aside, so the instructor doesn't come over and say I was cursing my teachers online? Okay~ The main reason I'm writing this post is that today, Class 15 of the Data Processing Department had an Introduction to Computing class. The teacher said that from now on, homework must be submitted via FTP, and some supplementary materials will also need to be downloaded via FTP. So I wrote this article to show everyone how to connect using FileZilla.

Let me briefly introduce this program, FileZilla. FileZilla is an FTP client that lets you connect easily to an FTP server and upload and download files. It also has a built-in site manager that remembers the server address, username, and password for you.

VirtualBox: Free, Open-Source Virtual Machine Software - Download and Installation Guide

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:00:48 +0000

If you ask me which virtual machine program I like best, I'll tell you it's VirtualBox. The first reason is that I'm a poor student and can't afford the expensive VMware, and VirtualBox is free. But that alone wouldn't stop me from using VMware, since VMware Player is free too. The other, more important reason is that VirtualBox performs very well. It handles virtual operating systems efficiently, unlike VirtualPC, which gets really laggy = =

In this post, I’ll show you how to download and install VirtualBox. I’ll cover how to use virtual machines another time, when I have some free time.

Yam Batch Download - Batch Downloading Yam Music with Smart Naming

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:33:05 +0000

This time I want to introduce Yam Batch Download, a program I wrote myself. Its main feature is that it can batch-download music from Yam Sky, and it also names the music automatically. The reason I wanted to write this program is that almost all of my music was grabbed from Yam Sky Media Sharing using a tool called GootubeFlv. GootubeFlv is convenient, but for anyone who wants to batch-download music it's a real hassle — you have to repeat the same sequence over and over: copy the URL -> paste it into GootubeFLV -> copy the music name -> paste it into the download box -> download. It felt really tedious, so I wrote Yam Batch Download. Just paste the URLs into the program and it will download them for you and name them automatically.

VMware Workstation: The Authority on Virtual Machines, Letting Your Computer Run Two or More Operating Systems at Once

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:07:29 +0000

VMware is a program that lets your computer run two or more operating systems at the same time. It’s not like dual-booting, where you pick one at startup. You can really have many operating systems running simultaneously. Some people may wonder why anyone would run so many operating systems at once. Do you have nothing better to do? From a gaming perspective, running two operating systems at once enables a so-called dual-window setup. From a security perspective, virtual machines help security staff test for viruses. And if you’ve downloaded a program from the internet and aren’t sure whether it’s safe, VMware can help you out.

Google Chrome 5 Beta: Major V8 Engine Upgrade and Built-in Flash Player

Sat, 08 May 2010 16:46:32 +0000

It’s been several months since Google Chrome 4 came out, and Chrome 5 has finally arrived! This update brings some changes. For example, the V8 JavaScript engine has been upgraded again, which makes Chrome 5 browse much faster. I don’t find the difference very noticeable myself, but according to SunSpider tests, it’s about 30% more efficient than the previous version. Chrome 5 also extends the Google account bookmark sync feature to more settings (themes, the home page, and so on). And Chrome 5 also has the Adobe Flash Player built in. If I remember correctly, it’s the first of the three major browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome) to include a built-in Flash player. Below, I’ll walk you through the new features of Google Chrome 5 Beta.

[App Store] Opera Mini for iPhone / iPod Touch: Review & Tutorial

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:06:55 +0000

(Image taken from the official Oprea Mini website)

As everyone knows, Apple is famously ruthless with its rivals, and the latest news makes that clear. For example, none of Apple’s products support Adobe’s Flash. The reason given is that Flash eats up resources and has lots of security holes. But some people tested other smartphones with the same specs as the iPhone and found they didn’t use as many resources as Apple claimed. Meanwhile, Adobe added a Package for iPhone to its new Creative Suite 5, which lets users convert Flash files into a format that works on the iPhone / iPod Touch. Apple immediately changed the rules in the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement to ban the use of the Package for iPhone technology. It’s a clear sign that Apple doesn’t welcome Flash. But what does this have to do with Opera Mini?

Pro Tip: Using Google Chrome as a Calculator

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:25:55 +0000

Before I start, I should say that I don't know whether other people already know about this trick. I just stumbled onto it, so I'm sharing it here. If you already know it, feel free to skip this post. And please don't leave comments calling it a rehash!

I discovered this while doing some calculations. Sometimes you need to work with big numbers, and you reach for a calculator. But most calculators require pressing buttons, which is fine for short sums. For a long expression like 14896875478, though, you’d be pressing buttons for a long time, right?

ImgBurn: Free Burning Software with ISO Creation and Burning

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:53:04 +0000

You’ve probably all heard of Nero, but I bet few of you have heard of ImgBurn, a burning program. That doesn’t mean ImgBurn is inferior to Nero. In fact, it’s precisely because ImgBurn is free software that fewer people know about it. How so? Free software can’t advertise the way companies that sell paid software do. It can only spread through bloggers’ recommendations and word of mouth, so few people hear about it. ImgBurn doesn’t have as many features as Nero, but it’s very suitable for ordinary users, because its built-in features are already more than enough for regular users. Unless you’re a very professional burner (is that even a job?), ImgBurn is more than enough.

Jeremy Brand Answer Machine V1.7: An Auto-Reply Tool That Works With Any Version of Instant Messenger

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:22:32 +0000

The Jeremy Brand Answer Machine, an auto-answering program for instant messengers, is yet another program by my good friend Jeremy, as the name suggests. The biggest feature of Jeremy Brand Answer Machine is that it supports automatic replies on any version of an instant messenger. I think most people who have used an instant messenger have rarely seen an auto-reply tool for one. Usually only MSN has one. My guess is that’s because Yahoo doesn’t open up its plugin interface, so there are almost no plugins for its instant messenger. So how does Jeremy Brand Answer Machine send auto-replies? The principle is simple, somewhat like a “craftsman’s philosophy” (a plain, hands-on, brute-force approach): when the instant messenger window pops up, the program just sends a message to that window to produce the reply. And because Jeremy Brand Answer Machine doesn’t use any instant messenger API, it works with any version. Below, let me introduce the Jeremy Brand Answer Machine! ※ If you’ve read the tutorial and still can’t use it, feel free to leave a comment and ask me.

Still Using Mouse Gestures? Try the Cooler Screen Hotspots

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:28:22 +0000

If you're still using old-fashioned mouse gestures, you're behind the times! In this article I'd like to introduce a program called Screen Hotspots. It was designed by Jeremy (Cang Hai), a friend of the site owner, and it's modeled on the Screen Hotspots feature on Mac OS. Screen hotspots work a lot like mouse gestures, except that with mouse gestures you have to draw a shape with the mouse, while with screen hotspots you just move the mouse to a certain spot on the screen to run a preset action. Screen hotspots were never available on Windows before, but now Cang Hai has developed this Screen Hotspots program, so Windows users can enjoy this fun feature too!

WinRAR Tutorial: The Most Widely Used Compression Software

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:01:54 +0000

WinRAR is currently the compression software with the largest market share. Like 7-Zip, WinRAR supports many features. Besides basic compressing and extracting, it can split files into parts, recover data, encrypt data, and more. WinRAR can also create self-extracting archives, which can be opened without installing an extraction program, so they’re very convenient. The only catch is that WinRAR is commercial software. You can only use the trial for 40 days, and after that you have to pay.

Picpick Editor Tutorial (Drawing Lines, Resizing, Mosaic)

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:29:26 +0000

In this post, I’m writing a tutorial on the Picpick editor, because it’s really excellent. It has basic features like rotating, drawing lines, and resizing, as well as some more advanced ones. It’s practically comparable to GIMP! The new version of Picpick also has a completely redesigned editor interface that looks very Windows 7-like. So let me walk you through the Picpick editor.

Stop Paying for WinRAR: Enjoy Free Compression with 7-Zip (Full Tutorial)

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:56:34 +0000

Still paying for the expensive WinRAR? Don't be silly! 7-Zip is your best choice. 7-Zip is a compression and decompression program that supports its own distinctive 7z archive format. On top of that, it also supports the various formats WinRAR supports. And best of all, 7-Zip is free! 7-Zip also supports Traditional Chinese, so you don't need to worry about not understanding English.

Software Info

Software name: 7-Zip
Official website: http://www.7-zip.org/
Download: Xun6 | 4Shared | Box.net | Official download
Virus scan report: VirusTotal
MD5 hash: e4a15d6d60c5611156e20666d2a760fd

TeamViewer Tutorial

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:22:36 +0000

In the previous article, we introduced the TeamViewer program and showed how to make your own TeamViewer. In this article, we will show you how to use TeamViewer to make a remote connection with a friend.

Note: This site uses the official English version for the tutorial. Also, if the images are hard to see, you can click them to view the enlarged versions.

TeamViewer - Building Your Own Personalized Remote Control Program

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:21:47 +0000

TeamViewer is a very convenient remote control program. Its biggest feature is that it can get past firewall restrictions, so you can still use it even if your computer has a firewall. I think TeamViewer probably works by first connecting to its server and then connecting to the controlled computer, but that would be quite costly. In addition, TeamViewer offers a special feature: you can customize a “TeamViewer of your own.” This is a service provided on the official website, and it lets you replace the logo with your own. Amazing, right!

The IE8 Traditional Chinese Version Is Out! Six New Features to Try

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:33:44 +0000

I’m sure you’ve noticed the new sticker at the bottom of the sidebar on this site, which mentions a program called IE8. IE8 is Microsoft’s latest browser. It was originally supposed to come out together with Windows 7, but Microsoft has always liked to release its browser before the operating system, and IE7 with Vista was the same. But that’s a digression~ In this post I want to introduce Microsoft’s IE8. From my own experience, Microsoft has finally woken up this time! The features it introduces are also worth a look. Several of them aren’t even in Firefox (maybe the next Firefox update will add them). And Microsoft, which has always ignored the rules and acted like a big shot, actually follows the W3C CSS 2.1 standard. Looks like Microsoft has learned to humble itself before its users^^

FastStone Capture v5.3 - Free Screenshot Tool (With a Complete Tutorial)

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:25:03 +0000

FSCapture is a very good screenshot program. It's small but mighty, as you can see from the screenshots. This site's personal top pick for a screenshot program is also FSCapture. Besides being tiny, it supports many capture methods and has a built-in editor (though not as powerful as PicPick's editor). FSCapture can also add a watermark automatically when taking screenshots. On top of these features, FSCapture has one thing PicPick doesn't: it can name image files automatically. In PicPick, you have to name every file by hand each time you save, which is a hassle. In FSCapture v5.3, however, you can set up a file name template first.

(The latest version of PicPick now supports file name templates too.)

Google SketchUp - 3D Modeling Software

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:20:06 +0000

Google SketchUp is software that Google recently acquired. It’s aimed at architects and designers, since it lets users create 3D drawings. Its features are pretty much like AutoCAD’s, but it’s free, unlike the expensive AutoCAD. Also, it can make 3D drawings (AutoCAD might be able to as well, @@). Anyway, in short, it’s a really great program~~ (for designers). Also, according to the official Google SketchUp website, if you know the Ruby programming language, you can write your own plugins for it (too bad it’s not VB).

Note: Google SketchUp comes in two versions, one paid and one free.

Features:

Free
Supports plugins
Quickly and accurately create 3D models
Can export to 3DS, OBJ, XSI, FBX, EPS, PDF, VRML, EPX, DAE, and KMZ files

Program Info:

Software name: Google SketchUp
File size: 31.7 MB (Google SketchUp 6)
Official website: http://sketchup.google.com/
Tutorials: http://sketchup.google.com/support/?hl=zh-TW
Plugins: http://sketchup.google.com/download/plugins.html

Making Animated Buttons with PhotoImpact

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:16:27 +0000

You’re probably all familiar with PhotoImpact, the photo editing software. Did you know it has a hidden feature for making animated buttons? These are the buttons you put on a website that change their background when the mouse moves over them. I find it quite handy. However, if you have another way to make them, I’d recommend not using this one, because the generated code is very long, and it misbehaves when viewed in Firefox. Still, for people who don’t know how to make animated buttons, it’s quite convenient XD

So how do you actually make one? Read on below~~~~~~~

Freez Screen Video Capture - Free Screen Recording Software

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:11:32 +0000

Freez Screen Video Capture offers many basic screen recording features. It’s free, someone has made a Chinese-language version, and it can export files in AVI format. However, it has no built-in editor, which is a bit of a pity.

Easily Crack Disc Copy Protection with Alcohol 120 and Stop Worrying About Damaging Your Discs

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:46:03 +0000

I think many people have played games, and you probably know that many single-player games need the disc in the drive to start. If the disc gets damaged, you can’t play the game anymore, so at this point everyone probably wants to make a backup copy! But game companies, for their own interests, add copy protection, so ordinary methods can’t burn it. So… what do you do? In this post, I’ll show you step by step how to use Alcohol 120 to get around the copy protection.

Required Software:

Alcohol 120 (30-day trial version) Official download | Virus scan report

A-Ray Scanner (for identifying copy protection) Box.net | Xun6 | Virus scan report

Note: Alcohol 120 is a trial version that can only be used for 30 days, so I recommend finishing the cracking work within 30 days of installation.

Have you prepared the two programs above? Now let’s learn step by step.

Firefox 3.5 Final Release: Support for More Web Technologies

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:19:14 +0000

Firefox 3.5 is finally out, and I’m rushing to download it XD. The version I’m using right now is still just an RC. So what’s different in this update?

Desktops V1.02 - Microsoft's Native Virtual Desktop Tool, Bringing Ubuntu-Style Virtual Desktops to Windows

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:57:00 +0000

Desktops is a very practical virtual desktop program. It was developed by Microsoft, so you don’t need to worry too much about compatibility. Personally, I really like using Desktops, because Desktops can open up to 4 windows at once, and the computer doesn’t slow down much. That means you can quietly write a report while chatting on instant messaging! Also, Desktops doesn’t need to be installed, so you can put it on a USB flash drive and use it anywhere.

Update (12/12): Lately, something called a boss key has become very popular. Desktops can also work as a boss key program. A boss key is a shortcut that hides whatever you shouldn’t let your boss see when he walks over to check on your work. So Desktops is also a great fit as a boss key.

7-Zip Theme Manager 1.1: Give Your 7-Zip a New Skin

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:56:03 +0000

Anyone who uses 7-Zip has probably wondered whether 7-Zip could change its skin the way Firefox and other programs do, because seeing the same look every day gets really boring~~ Today’s program, 7-Zip Theme Manager 1.1, can change 7-Zip’s look. It has many built-in themes, but the program itself is in English, so some people may not like that…………… I’ll make a Chinese version one of these days!

Program Info

Official website: http://www.7ztm.de.vu/

File size: 5.85MB

Download: Xun6 | 4Shared | Box.net | Official mirror

Virus scan report: VirusTotal

MD5 hash: 3ac366604273cdd96e1c13efe16b4780

WFlip: Simulating the Vista Window Switcher Effect

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:40:17 +0000

As everyone knows, Vista’s most famous feature is its gorgeous visual effects. The best of them is the 3D effect when switching windows. However, the 3D effects aren’t available in Home Basic. So I went online and found a program to simulate this effect on XP. That program is WFlip.

As far as I know, WFlip has only been updated up to version 050. It does have a Chinese language option, and it doesn’t need to be installed, so you can run it from a USB flash drive. Some people think WFlip slows down the system. I tested WFlip myself, and installing it doesn’t really hurt performance. WFlip uses very few system resources.

Opera: A Small Browser That Uses Few Resources

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:38:47 +0000

Opera is a browser that stands alongside Firefox and IE. Opera’s strengths are that it uses very few system resources when it starts and its files are small, so it’s great for keeping on a USB flash drive. Opera’s stability is also just as good as Firefox’s. Opera also has strong support for CSS syntax, supporting most of it, unlike IE, which doesn’t support a whole bunch of syntax.

Subscribing to RSS in Firefox - Read the News While You Browse

Wed, 27 May 2009 20:19:32 +0000
Did you know? Firefox has a great feature: you can subscribe to RSS feeds directly, with no add-on needed, and it loads quite fast. I’m not sure when this feature was introduced, I only recently discovered it :: ) Without further ado, here is how to subscribe to a website’s RSS feed with Firefox………………………….

Excel Freeze Panes Tip

Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:41 +0000

I came across this article on Brian’s Reinstall Maniac blog, so I rewrote it and posted it on my own blog (since I can’t just copy the text, XD). I hope Brian won’t mind!!

Now, let’s get to the main topic. The tutorial starts here~~

First, let me explain what “freeze panes” is! Freeze panes is a feature that a lot of people use (I didn’t know it either = =). It lets you lock the cells you specify in place, so they don’t move when the user scrolls. It’s a bit like a floating ad on a web page. Want to learn this technique? Then let Webmaster Feng walk you through it step by step.

WindMD5: A Handy Tool for Checking Whether a File Has Been Modified (with WindMD5 Tutorial)

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:28:56 +0000

MD5 isn’t really a program. It’s an encryption algorithm. The reason I say MD5 can prevent files from being modified is that it generates an MD5 code for a file. If the file has been changed (for example, by planting a Trojan), its MD5 code changes too. But generating this MD5 code isn’t something a person can do; it has to be done by a program.

Today, I’m going to recommend a program called WindMD5. It can calculate a file’s MD5 code, so you can tell whether the file has been modified. After downloading a program, I suggest using WindMD5 to check whether the file has been modified. (Some websites provide the MD5 code for their files. Compare the MD5 code you generate with the one on the website, and you’ll know whether the file has been changed.)

Windows Edit Tool: A System Tweaking Utility Every Power User and MIS Admin Needs!

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:56:00 +0000

Windows Edit Tool has many built-in tweaks that let you configure your computer’s registry settings. The features I personally like best in Windows Edit Tool are automatic logon for XP accounts and its basic optimization functions. I’ve tested these myself and they work fine, since they only make simple changes to the registry. Windows Edit Tool also has a drive-hiding feature. Put simply, if you’ve downloaded some things you’d rather keep private~ you can store them on a hidden drive so the wrong people won’t see them.