You thought I had given up on blogging, didn't you? Well, you're wrong...there's just nothing to write about right now.

The latest free program I've run across is a web app called Splashup. It's in Beta right now, but it looks promising. The interface is almost identical to Gimp or Photoshop but the main difference is that it runs in a flash window, so there's nothing to install. You've got some of the normal features you'd expect to find in a photo editing program such as the ability to do layers, apply filters and change the canvas or image size. The toolbar is familiar-looking with tools like the pencil, paintbrush, gradient, lasso, smudge, crop, text, etc. You're limited in the number of filters and effects available, but for some basic editing, I could see this being handy when I don't even have the PortableApps version of Gimp available.

There seems to be some quirkiness with Splashup at least with Firefox 3.0. I am unable to click on the Edit, View and Help Menus when using Firefox. But in Internet Explorer 7.0, the menus work fine. Also, it's difficult to tell which tool you have selected when using Firefox. I wasn't even sure that I had selected a tool because 1, the cursor doesn't change and 2, the tool button on the toolbar doesn't change. But, in Internet Explorer, the tool button gets highlighted to let you know which tool you have selected. The cursor still stays the same, but at least you know which one you have selected. Another problem is that you don't get tool options such as brush type, rounded corners, etc., when using Firefox. IE, on the other hand, does show these options across the top of the screen just under the menu bar. The options are of course different depending on which tool you are using. Keyboard shortcuts are absent from both. I'm a keyboard-driven user, so it would take some getting used to.

So, if you strictly use Firefox, you should probably stay away from this web app. But, if you don't mind using Internet Explorer, then you might find Splashup handy. It doesn't look they have changed much since October 2007, but they do plan to add more features.

Splashup

Sorry, not much to blog about right now, but I wanted share a site with you that is very handy for finding and getting updates for free software.

FileHippo is separated into categories like Audio and Video, File Sharing, Browsers, etc., so it is easy to find stuff. Also they have a handy utility that can check for updates to the programs you download from their site.

FileHippo

Instructables is a web site where people post "how-to's" for solving everyday problems and other neat ideas. Most of the articles there are ways to hack items you have around your house to make them into something else. One of the ideas on the front page shows you how to modify a Lego piece into a usb device. Another shows you how to make a rain-harvesting system out of 50 gallon barrels.

It's fun to just browse this site when you're bored or looking for a way to fix a problem.

Instructables.com

PaperCut Print Logger is a free utility for tracking printer usage. Home users are probably not interested in knowing what is being printed, but companies will find this useful. As the IT Department at our company, we were given the task of finding a way to report how much people are using desktop printers. My co-worker found PaperCut and we've had it running for about a month.

The free version of this software has to be installed on the computer any printer is connected to by USB or parallel port. It also works with networked printers, you just install it on the print server. Fortunately, we have software that allows us to install programs silently, so we didn't have to inform users that we were installing it or interrupt business flow. The output is a basic log of what was printed, who printed it, how many pages were printed, was it in color and how big the file was that was printed. This information is available in an HTML format or can be downloaded as a .csv file that can later be converted to something else if needed. Logs are available in a daily or monthly format.

To view the logs, you simply go to a web page created by PaperCut Print Logger stored on each machine. Since we have administrative access to every machine, we can pull up those logs using the administrative share of the hard drive (C$). We simplified this process by creating a web page on one of our servers that lists links to all of the installations of the software.

The information is very useful, but if you have a bunch of printer logs to sort through, then you have to compile that information with Access or something like that to perform a full analysis. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do this. The non-free version has better reporting functions, but we try to save money as much as possible.

PaperCut Print Logger Free

Need to convert a bunch of files from .csv to .xls? or merge a bunch of sheets in different workbooks into one workbook? You can do all of this and more with Convert XLS by Softinterface. I was at work last week trying to find a script or something to automatically merge a bunch of .csv files into one spreadsheet and I found this little jewel.

Not only can you convert files with Convert XLS, but you can delete rows or columns from multiple files, print files, run macros, and so much more. And you can set up a list of stuff for the program to do in sequence. Let's say you want to convert some files, delete a row in those documents and then merge them. Just setup the steps and hit run. It's not quite that easy, but with trial and error, it works really well. You can also save your list of steps to use them later, which could be really handy if you have to do this kind of stuff all the time. The company also has some other utilities for Word and PDF's, but I haven't tried them yet.

The program is free, but you have the option to buy it. I haven't run into any limitations yet, so I think it's more of a donation-type thing. I guess I feel a little guilty using it without paying for it, but it's probably not gonna stop me from using it.

Convert XLS

If you are like me, then you probably download a bunch of programs to play with and after that initial test, you never touch it again. Or, you accidentally download a program with Spyware that just won't go away. In comes Revo Uninstaller. If you just use add/remove programs in windows to uninstall a program, you might not get every little piece that the program leaves behind. Most of the time, this is okay, but if you are worried about spyware or space, then using Revo Uninstaller is a big help.

When you run the program, it will show you what programs you have installed. Click on the program you wish to uninstall and click "uninstall". After that, it will give you more options for cleaning. A neat module called "Hunter Mode" lets you uninstall or stop processes on the go. If you see something that you don't like on the desktop, quick launch, system tray or an open window, just click on it and the program will identify it to give you options for removal.

Under the Options menu, you have some other cool tools for removing junk. These tools include Autorun Manager, Windows Tools, and Junk Files Cleaner. One of the biggest reasons for a slow computer is junk that starts up with your computer. The Autorun Manager will help you identify those programs that automatically run when you turn on the computer. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell you what the programs do, but you can always google the name of the program to make sure it is not necessary.

Revo Uninstaller is a robust program that can help you clean up your computer. It will get you on your way to a healthier and more usable PC.

Revo Uninstaller

PortableApps is a program you run from your flash drive that gives you access to other portable applications that don't require you to install them on the computer you are using. Let's say you are using a friend's computer and they don't have a word processor installed on their computer but you really need to get some work done. Pop in your flash drive with PortableApps installed and start up OpenOffice.

Or maybe you work in an office that doesn't allow you to install certain programs. As long as they let you run things from a usb device, you can use PortableApps. It doesn't install anything on the computer and it doesn't leave garbage behind.

Here's the catch. Some of the programs are somewhat limited and most of the software is open source. So, you're not going to find a PortableApps version of Photoshop, but you are going to find Gimp, which is an open source (free) alternative.

A short list of available programs:

NVU and Komposer portable - a great free WYSIWYG HTML editor
GIMP portable - Photoshop-like program for manipulating images
Filezilla portable- FTP client
Mines portable- Minesweeper clone
Sudoku portable - The wildly popular puzzle game
Audacity portable - A simple audio editor and recorder
VLC Media Player portable - Plays most audio and video formats
OpenOffice portable - Compatible with most MS Office Suite programs
Firefox portable - A web browser
ClamWin portable - Antivirus on the go
Pidgin portable - Allows you to connect to your IM accounts like AOL, Yahoo and MSN at the same time!

(for a more complete list, click here)

It's more of a toy for me right now to use since I don't use other people's computers that much and I don't go to Internet cafe's. One co-worker said he uses it a lot to keep from having to install some of this software on his computer. Granted, the full version of these programs are not going to hurt your system, but as we all know, the more programs you put on your computer, the more your computer is having to work. I can see it as a time saver when I do happen to go to a friends house and am asked to fix something. Instead of downloading antivirus software or something like that, I just whip out my handy flash drive that's always with me.

PortableApps

And in case you are looking for a good deal on a USB flash drive, I found a 4GB one at Office Depot on the clearance table the other day. Or, you can go to newegg.com and find some good deals.

Today's web application is called FontStruct. If you like to dabble with desktop publishing like me or you do it for a living, you are probably always looking for cool fonts to use. Have you ever wanted to make your own? Well, now you can.

FontStruct is a free web app that lets you create fonts online to share them with the rest of the world. It has several different tools to aid you in building your font. How does it work? Well, this is where I have a difficult time with making my own font. You're given a virtual piece of graph paper and several angled tools to draw each possible letter in your font. In theory, this sounds easy and fun, but if you don't know much about typefaces, like me, then you'll have a difficult time making your own fonts, unless you intend for the font to look funny and awkward. I don't have the patience for this tool, but I wanted to share it with my readers in case any of you are interested in something like that.

When you visit the site, you'll see a short demo of the tool on the front page of the website. It will give you a better idea of how the process works. Let me know what you think of it.

FontStruct

ScribeFire is a Firefox add-in for bloggers, so I thought it would be a good one to start with. I am actually using it right now, as a matter of fact. Instead of browsing to my blog, logging in and clicking on "new post", all I have to do is click on this button on my browser and start typing. And, if I am blogging about the site I am currently looking at, then it automatically puts the web address of the page on the clipboard for me to use in links. One irritating thing I have run into so far is editing posted blogs. If you open a post that you created in ScribeFire, make a change, then publish it, a new post is created instead of updating the post. This is probably because most people don't edit their posts like I do. I'm bad about publishing a blog article before I really proof read it.

ScribeFire currently supports the following services:

• WordPress.com (http://www.wordpress.com)
• LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com)
• Windows Live Spaces (http://spaces.msn.com)
• Performancing (http://www.performancing.com)
• Jeeran (http://www.jeeran.com)
• Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com/)
• MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/)
• b2Evolution (http://b2evolution.net)
• Splinder (http://www.splinder.com/)

With ScribeFire, you can browse the internet, and start blogging about whatever you just found without switching back and forth. The default view is split screen, which splits the screen with your browser and it is resizeable. Other options for views include opening it in a separate window and in a new tab. The text editor is just like the one you probably already use with your blogging software, so there's no real learning curve. You can also use it with multiple accounts if you blog at more than one site. All of your blog features are there--notes, categories, pages, etc. And you can preview your post in the same window to make sure everything looks right. And if you're not ready to publish it, you just save it as a note and work on it later.

Some other features include ScribeFire Ads, sharing with other sites, and working with multiple posts at one time using tabs.

Click here to visit the ScribeFire page to learn more about it and download the add-in for firefox. And if you're not using Firefox, you'll need to download Firefox here to use the add-in.

ok, so, I'm pretty confident that I'm the only one who reads this blog. but, i've just had an idea about changing the direction of this blog so that there is more of a purpose than just, "here's what I did today" or "this person did this".

i'm in I.T., so I'm always looking for cool new software and websites...specifically free software and websites. my co-workers and I are always finding cool stuff and maybe other people would like to know about it too! sure, there are other people who find these before me, and there are other blogs that do this, but another perspective can't hurt. besides...like I said before, i'm probably the only one who reads this.