Tech Worth | iPhone Blog News, Apple, Microsoft, Google News

5 Best Tools for Online Freedom at Work

2009-09-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 7/29/09

Guest post by Dav.

How can you get online freedom at work places? Usually work environments are restrictive and keep tab on your online activities. While at work, IT guys try to prevent you from indulging in online activities deemed "un-productive". There are number of web tools that allow easy access to blocked stuff without coming under IT department radar (hopefully).

Get Online Freedom at Work

Access your email, webpage, read ebooks and even Twitter at work using the following:

1. Read ebooks at Work - If you love reading ebooks, then head over to 'Read at Work' website. You can read ebooks without drawing any suspicious attention or getting caught. It allows you to access ebooks in the form and look of Microsoft Powerpoint (Powerpont!). While you enjoy reading ebooks others will think "you are working damn hard on your next presentation". Keep everyone happy and away while you read ebooks of different types like: black comedy, classics, short stories etc.

2. Twitter at Work - Can't get off Twitter addiction at work? You can Twitter with ease within Microsoft Excel spreadsheet window without catching anyone's eye. SpreadTweet is an Adobe Air based application that allows you to use Twitter disguised as a spreadsheet. You can try the online version or install the offline version depending on the Microsoft Office version you are using among: Office OSX, Office 2003 and Office 2007 (Windows).

3. Share favorite webpages - Just found an interesting webpage you want to share with a co-worker? Instead of sending webpage link, why not send the whole webpage via email using Email the Web. Enter webpage URL, sign in using Google account, preview the webpage and quickly send it to your friends.

4. Open Gmail at work - Gmail addicts love to try different methods to access email at work while IT guys try hard to block every such method. Among various ways to access Gmail at work, using iGoogle is the easiest. Go to iGoogle homepage, login to see Gmail messages in a small box on the right side.

5. Instant Messenging at Work - There are number of web based ways to access instant messengers like Meebo. However, such websites are most likely blocked by IT guys in the office. You can try newer (and fairly unknown to IT guys) web based messenger access service like webuzz.im. It is JavaScript based online web instant messenger that helps you chat with your friends on Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger or AIM.

This is a guest post by Dav from TechF5 Refreshing Tech which features handy tips, tricks, guides and tutorials on basic computing like how to translate & save Wikipedia articles? You can also write a guest article and share your favorite tools.

New Macs Have Been Rolling Off Assembly Line For Weeks: Report

2009-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

via Apple Forums & iPhone Forums, Mods, Hacks, News, Themes, Downloads, and more! | ModMyi.com - 4,711,751,911 by pauldanielash on 9/24/09

image via Apple

The rumored redesign of the iMac and MacBook is apparently a reality... at least according to a report in AppleInsider. The website's informants assert that the designs were finalized in September and have been coming out of Apple's Taiwan factory for at least two weeks.

The modifications are still shrouded in secrecy, but persistent indications from AppleInsider's informants indicate an industrial design akin to the new 24" LED CInema Display, and the possible inclusion of Blu-Ray technology, something Apple has long avoided for the high licensing costs, as well as unidentified new "semi-professional" audio-video capabilities.

Since the product is apparently ready to ship, the informants indicate that release could be imminent, waiting only for Apple Marketing to kick it off. So, if this report is true, it's probably reasonable to expect an announcement anytime from this afternoon through the middle of next month.

TomTom Releases Offical Price of TomTom Car Kit

2009-09-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

via Apple iPhone School by Brooke on 9/24/09

We have been keeping you up-to-date on the TomTom Car Kit since it was first announced (which was only a month ago but wow, does it seem like a lot longer than that!). Today TomTom has released the "real" price of the car kit. It seems that the incorrect pricing information was put on the Application's App Store page so, they have released a press statement with the correct details (see full press statement below). The Car Kit will cost £99.99 (not including the TomTom application).

What I find interesting is that the statement says that the car kit will be compatible with the 2G iPhone. This is interesting because the TomTom applications can only be installed on an iPhone 3G and 3GS. I am also interested to know if they will still have a package deal that will include the Car Kit and the TomTom app at a discounted price… say $150.00 for both.

The statement does say that the Car Kit is still planning to be released in October, a delay from it's original release date of "sometime this summer."

Press Statement:

TomTom unveils the price of the TomTom car kit for the iPhone

London, 24 September 2009 – TomTom announces today that the TomTom car kit for the iPhone will have a recommended retail price of £99.99

The TomTom car kit will be available this October and will be sold separately from the TomTom app. It will be compatible with the iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS.

All further details on the car kit will be made available soon.

Original article HERE.

PushGmail – Gmail Push Notifications iPhone App

2009-09-24T20:23:00.001-07:00

via Top iPhone Resource by shriya on 9/24/09

Google just announced Push for Gmail for iPhone and a few other mobile platforms through Google Sync. This brings your Gmail messages to your iPhone instantly through Apple's Push servers instead of the usual pull method which is a drain on the battery.

We have reviewed a few Gmail Push apps – GPush and PushMail. Boy, it's getting really confusing.

PushGmail Features

PushGmail has a simple interface where you enter your Gmail user name and password. You get to turn on the option to 'Launch Mail App'.

In the iPhone's Settings –> Notifications to set up notifications by Badge, Sound and Alert. The earlier option to 'Launch Mail App' might have gotten you wondering. This is because PushGmail comes with a built-in native Gmail browser.

In my testing in the last 2 days, it works flawlessly! As you can see, I am even trying it as a replacement for the regular Mail app in my iPhone dock.

If you are looking for reliable Push notifications for Gmail messages without having to jump through hoops, PushGmail could be the one you need.

Also, the future versions are slated to have support for multiple Gmail accounts. Also, ability to setup filters for notifications is coming. That will be huge as I don't want to see a notification for every single one but just my important emails.

For $0.99, with no future subscription costs PushGmail offers a very promising app here.

Screenshots

Rating: 4 stars
Availability: App Store [iTunes link]
Price: $0.99

Benefits of Home Networking

2009-09-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 7/28/09

Guest post by Amit Bhawani

Why Home Networking? The concept of the Personal Computer has become popular since the Third Generation of Computers proliferated in the consumer market. Since then, computers have become part and parcel of almost every home. In fact, at present, there are many homes housing more than one computer, one for each member of the household. At this point, having these computers connected in a home network or a home area network (HAN) using a home networking solution has numerous advantages.

Photo by Travelin Librarian (under CC)

Home Networking Advantages

A home network is a residence-based local area network and it connects multiple computers within the vicinity of the residential area. The simplest of home networks usually connect two or more computing devices so that files, printers, scanners etc. can be shared between these along with a single Internet connection. For increased functionality a server may also be added.

One of the major advantages of home networking in a house with multiple computers is that Internet access can be provided to all the connected computers with the help of a home networking setup in spite of there being only one computer that is physically connected to the Internet via a modem. This is one of the main benefits for which homes with several computers look towards home networking.

Image by kenchanayao (released under CC)

File sharing is another such advantage provided by home networking, providing an extremely effective storage solution. In most home computers, there is a build-up of old files over long periods of time. When new files must be created and stored, it may so happen that there is not enough space on the hard disk of a certain computer which contains too many of such old files. An effective way of dealing with such a situation is to transfer files from the computer to any of the other computers connected in the home network which have adequate memory space. In fact, one computer can be designated the "file server" which stores all these files and every time the file needs to be accessed, the networked computer just has to connect to the file server and retrieve it. As there is only one storage location, data handling is simpler and disk space is saved. Information exchange also provides a big boost to multiplayer gaming and easier file printing by printer sharing.

Home networking generally needs a manual setup. Connecting cables physically interconnect the computers in the home networking setup while hubs, routers or switches interconnect the connected computers to allow file sharing. These devices are therefore information 'distributors'.

This guest article was written by Amit Bhawani who blogs different How to Guides. You can also write a guest article and share your tips and tools.

How to Change Your iPhone Desktop/SMS Background

2009-09-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

via iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users by iPhone Fan on 9/21/09

I always get some interesting news and tips from the fantastic readership out there. These tips always lead to post ideas and today we're going to tackle how to change your iPhone's desktop/SMS background. It will require a jailbroken iPhone. Let's get started!

How to Change your iPhone Desktop/SMS Backgroud: Use the Desktop/SMS Background App

No, you're not seeing double. Recently a new app was released in Cydia called Desktop/SMS Background. What does it do? Well, it lets you add a background wallpaper to your desktop and SMS background–WITHOUT the installation of Winterboard!

If you recall, I previously wrote about how to speed up your jailbroken iPhone. The solution was to uninstall Winterboard. Now, for people using an iPhone 3GS like myself, I must admit even after being jailbroken, the phone is still blazing fast. However, any jailbreak will slightly bog down your iPhone if you have Winterboard installed.

1. Launch Cydia and search for "Desktop/SMS Background". Install.
2. Go to Settings–Wallpaper–choose any photo.
3. You'll immediately notice two "i" icons in the upper left and right of the chosen image.
Tap the left "i" icon: set your SMS background
Tap the right "i" icon: set your homescreen background.
4. To remove? Easy. Just hold down for a couple seconds then let go. The chose wallpaper will be removed.

If you're not into the whole iPhone themes and custom icons etc, but want to jazz up your jailbroken iPhone with some minimalist style, setting up a wallpaper for your homescreen and SMS background will brighten up your day (click here on how to create your own lockscreen). Give it a shot!

Thanks to Roger L. for emailing us the heads up!

Picture Gallery:

GoogleSync Delivers Push Gmail for iPhone!

2009-09-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

via iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users by X1Zero on 9/22/09

Google has finally released Push capabilities for the iPhone and Gmail. The new function allows you to sync either your email, contacts or calendars, or a combination of the three.

This is great for Gmail users who have been waiting for an integrated Gmail Push service without having to download an apps or pay for Apple's MobileMe service.

However, there is one thing to note. The new Push Gmail service is powered by Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (cringe) and the iPhone can only support one Exchange account at a time. What this means is if you are already using an Exchange ActiveSync account, you will not be able to use the Gmail Push service seamlessly. Also, if you have multiple Gmail accounts, you will only be able to choose one account to use with ActiveSync.

Nevertheless, it is great to see some kind of push email functionality finally integrated.

To check out it out, visit m.google.com/sync from your computer.

The Setup

If you want to get up and running ASAP, follow Google's steps below:

1. Open the Settings application on your iPhone home screen.
2. Navigate to Mail, Contacts, Calendars
3. Tap Add Account…
4. Select Microsoft Exchange

Enter Account Info

5. In the Email field, enter your full Google Account email address
6. Leave the Domain field blank
7. Enter your full Google Account email address as the Username
8. Enter your Google Account password as the Password
9. Tap Next at the top of your screen
9a. Choose Accept if the Unable to Verify Certificate dialog appears
10. A new Server field will appear. Enter m.google.com
11. Press Next at the top of your screen again

12. Select the Google services you want to sync

13. Unless you want to delete all the existing Contacts and Calendars on your phone, select the Keep on my iPhone option when prompted. This will also allow you to keep syncing with your computer via iTunes.

If you want to sync only the My Contacts group, you must choose to Delete Existing Contacts during the Google Sync install when prompted. If you choose to keep existing contacts, it will sync the contents of the "All Contacts" group instead.

Next learn how to choose which calendars to sync, if you'd like to enable multiple calendars.

Things you can do from here:

Subscribe to iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users using Google Reader
Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

App Review: PocketPlayer for iPhone

2009-09-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

via iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users by X1Zero on 9/23/09

You know when you have your iPhone in your pocket and you want to see what song is playing or use the iPod navigation, you have to take the iPhone out and fumble around? Well a new iPhone app called PocketPlayer seeks to change all that.

PocketPlayer by Gi-Co

PocketPlayer enables truly blind iPhone navigation, at least for the iPod part of your iPhone.

PocketPlayer replaces the typical iPod functions pause, play, forward, back, and volume adjustment with gesture controls. The obvious benefit of this is if your iPhone is in your pocket and you either cannot or do not want to take it out but want to change the song. With PocketPlayer, all you do is put your hand into your pocket, do a gesture on the screen and you're done!

Gestures

PocketPlayer supports the following gestures:

Double-tap the screen to pause/play
Swipe left to right to go to the next song
Swipe right to left to restart the current song or go back one song
Swipe top to bottom to decrease the volume
Swipe bottom to top to increase the volume

The gestures are generally easy to use but will take getting used to. This is especially true when the iPhone is in your pocket, and make sure that you don't mix up your rights and lefts when using the gesture controls. PocketPlayer also includes a neat "BIBP mode" (Battery and Image Burning Protection) that puts on a black screen so to conserve your LCD and battery life.

The app also comes with a few customization options such as adjusting the touch sensitivity, modifying the background color of the jeans and modifying the player color (mine in the images is called "Black Edition").

PocketPlayer vs Apple iPhone Headphones

While PocketPlayer is a great app to use with your iPod, I just could not help to realize that the included in-line mic on the iPhone headphones practically replaces all functions of this app. The in-line mic on the iPhone 3G (with atleast 3.0 firmware) for example can do the following:

Click once to pause/play
Double-click to go to the next song
Triple click to restart the current song or go back one song

If you want volume control, you will have to buy the new iPhone headphones or if you have an iPhone 3GS, those headphones are already included. This in-line mic does the following:

Click once to pause/play
Double-click to go to the next song
Triple click to restart the current song or go back one song
Click the volume down button once to decrease the volume
Click the volume up button once to increase the volume

I would say that an iPhone 3G user with the iPhone 3G in-line mic headphones would partially benefit from the app because of the inclusion of gesture volume controls. However if you are an iPhone 3GS user using the iPhone 3GS in-line mic headphones, that user would not really benefit from this app at all since everything that the app can do can be done from the in-line mic controller. Even the BIBP mode mentioned above can be replaced by simply tapping the sleep/wake button once.

Non-Apple headphone users

The real user benefit with this app is for those users who are not using Apple iPhone headphones or any kind of headphone with an in-line mic for controls. In that case, this app is a fantastic tool and gives you a convenient method to manage your iPod music controls.

Overall, PocketPlayer provides an interesting take on the controls of your iPod music player. The gesture controls work perfectly and the app is convenient if your iPhone is in your pocket or you happen to have headphones that are not the Apple iPhone headphones with the in-line mic. But if you have either the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS headphones, PocketPlayer is mostly unnecessary and keeps your hands out of your pocket.

PocketPlayer is scored a 3.5 out of 5.

PocketPlayer is available in the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Apple Stores Oakridge Mall and Fairview Pointe Claire Open Saturday

2009-09-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

via iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users by iPhone Fan on 9/23/09

Vancouver Gets Another Apple Store at Oakridge Mall

If you haven't heard by now, Vancouver is getting its second Apple Retail Store, and it opens this Saturday at Oakridge Mall. The first Apple Store in Vancouver opened downtown at Pacific Centre.

This new location is eagerly anticipated by myself and others included because of…FREE PARKING! Parking in Downtown Vancouver can get costly when you're having a marathon "visit" at the Apple Store to look around.

Apple Store Fairview Pointe Claire Opens in Montreal

Apple's not finished with its retail grand openings this weekend just yet. Quebec is getting its third retail location in Pointe-Claire. There's no word when Quebec City will get a retail location. This location plus Oakridge above will mark the 13th and 14th Apple Stores in Canada. J'aime Apple, mes amis!

Free T-Shirts For the First 1000 Store Visitors

Looks like this is becoming an Apple tradition to give away t-shirts to the first 1000 customers. But like the Rideau location, Pacific Centre, and the Winnipeg Apple Store (slurpees FTW), once again you can line up for some free swag. So if you're in Vancouver or Pointe-Claire this Saturday, get up early and be prepared to stand in line for these grand openings!

Grand Opening: 9:30am – 6:00pm
Apple Store Oakridge Centre
650 West 41st Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5Z 2M9
(778) 373-4500

Grand Opening: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Apple Store Pointe-Claire
6801, Transcanada Highway
Pointe-Claire, QC H9R 5J2
(514) 630-8800

Who's going to be lining up this Saturday?

PS – Winner of our SimplyTweet contest: Richard Wong

Starbucks Card Mobile – Pay From your iPhone or iPod Touch

2009-09-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

via Apple iPhone School by Brooke on 9/23/09

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

Today Starbucks released their official application, myStarbucks however they also released Starbucks Card Mobile. At first I thought the app looked slightly uneventful but then I took a closer look.

Starbucks Card Mobile allows you to view the remaining balance on your Starbucks card, reload your Starbucks card, view your recent transaction and… get this… allows you to pay using your Starbucks card right from your iPhone or iPod touch.

The "pay from your device" features is still in the testing phases but is available in 16 locations throughout Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and San Jose California and Seattle, Washington. Apparently your iPhone or iPod touch will display a barcode that you use just like your Starbucks Card to make purchases (see screenshots below).

Honestly, I'm not sure I want to be handing my iPhone back and forth at the drive through but… a very cool concept none the less.

If you live in any of those areas and get a chance to check out the "pay from your device" feature… totally let us know in the comments.

Note: Starbucks is also running a limited time offer in which you get a bonus $5.00 when you load $25.00 onto the Starbucks Mobile Card (see details below).

The 16 test locations include:
San Jose
5180 Stevens Creek Blvd
San Jose, CA 95129

Cupertino, CA
20520 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014

Mountain View, CA
Mountain View
1037-C EI Monte Ave
Mountain View, CA 94040

Shoreline & Pear
1390 Pear Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94043

Castro @ High School
750 Castro St.
Mountain View, CA 94041

Miramonte & Cuesta
809A Cuesta Blvd
Mountain View, CA 94040

Charleston & Independence
2410 Charleston Ave
Mountain View, CA 94043

Sunnyvale, CA
1685-87 Hollenbeck Road
Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Seattle, WA
Key Tower
700 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104

Columbia Center
701 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104

1st Interstate/Wells Fargo
701 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104

7th & Stewart
1700 7th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

7th & Pike
1524 7th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

University Village II
2650 NE 49th St
Seattle, WA 98105

Madison Park
4000 East Madison Ave
Seattle, WA 98112

ScreenShots

App Store Description:

YOUR STARBUCKS CARD IS NOW ON YOUR iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH
You already know the Starbucks Card is the fastest most convenient way to pay at Starbucks. Our new Starbucks Card Mobile is the perfect companion to your Starbucks Card. With Starbucks Card Mobile, you can check your balance, reload your card, view transactions and in 16 select Starbucks stores in Silicon Valley and Seattle you can actually pay with your Starbucks Card using your iPhone or iPod Touch.

BONUS $5 ON YOUR FIRST VISA CARD RELOAD WITH STARBUCKS CARD MOBILE
Take advantage of an exciting reload offer: Get a $5 dollar bonus on your Starbucks Card Mobile account the first time you reload $25 with your Visa Card on Starbucks Card Mobile (for a limited time)

LEAVE YOUR WALLET AT HOME
In select locations (currently Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA) we're testing a mobile payment feature. In 16 stores you can pay with your Starbucks Card using only your iPhone / iPod Touch and this application. Your iPhone / iPod Touch will display a barcode that you use just like your Starbucks Card to make purchases. It's fast. It's easy. And it's a revolution in mobile payment.

FEATURES
Check your Starbucks Card balance
Reload your Starbucks Card with a major credit card
View your transaction history
Pay with your iPhone or iPod Touch at 16 stores located in Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA. Participating stores are listed in the application.

USER NOTES
Application supports U.S. Starbucks Cards only, including Gold cards
Starbucks Duetto Cards and Starbucks Store Credit Cards are not supported.
Starbucks Card Mobile supports your personal Starbucks Cards. Cards may only be loaded onto one device at a time. If you wish to reload a friend or family members' Starbucks Card, please visit HYPERLINK "http://www.starbucks.com/card" www.starbucks.com/card.

Starbucks Official Application Hits the App Store

2009-09-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

via Apple iPhone School by Brooke on 9/23/09

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

Starbucks has finally released an official application titled myStarbucks! The app's features include;

• Store Locator: Display the closest stores, directions, store hours and amenities—find stores with a drive through, oven warmed food, and more!
• Drink Builder: Create and share your perfect Starbucks® beverages
• Food Menu: Browse the menu and see detailed nutritional info and ingredients
• Coffee Menu: Explore every Starbucks® whole bean coffee
• myStarbucks: Save all of your favorites for quick recall and sharing

There are a few things I really like about this application and one feature that is missing. I love that you can quickly locate nearby stores as well as view all the details about them (that way you know if they are open, if they have a drive through… etc). I also like that you can create favorite drinks for both you are your friends. This is awesome for those Starbucks runs where you are picking something up for a few people in the office or a friend. No need to ask them what they want (again!)… you already have it entered into your iPhone, exactly how they like it! Another cool feature is the ability to invite a friend to Starbucks. Once you have chosen a specific Starbucks location, you can choose to invite a friend from your Contact list to that Starbucks. It gives you a nice template (that can be emailed or text) that includes the store location and a blank space where you can enter the time.

The most obvious feature that the application is missing is the ability to send your order to a store. As far as I can tell, there is no way to do so. It would be awesome, if on your way to Starbucks, you could send in all your drink orders and they could get started on them (or have it done) by the time you get there!

Other than that… I like the app, but I'm totally addicted to Starbucks so I might be slightly bias. Though, I will say that the app doesn't quite live up to the Starbucks Concept App from back in the day.

ScreenShots

App Store Description:

Finally, the official iPhone application from Starbucks! Want to find a store that's open, with a drive through? Now you can do that and more with myStarbucks. Explore our whole bean coffees, find nutrition information, and build your own perfect drinks. Want to share? You can send your drink to friends by email, SMS, or directly to their iPhone or iPod® touch.

FEATURES
• Store Locator: Display the closest stores, directions, store hours and amenities—find stores with a drive through, oven warmed food, and more!
• Drink Builder: Create and share your perfect Starbucks® beverages
• Food Menu: Browse the menu and see detailed nutritional info and ingredients
• Coffee Menu: Explore every Starbucks® whole bean coffee
• myStarbucks: Save all of your favorites for quick recall and sharing

And this is just version 1.0 – we will be adding new and exciting features in future releases. Want to join the conversation? Go to www.mystarbucksidea.com to contribute your opinion on what Starbucks should do next.

Snapture Giving Free App Store Upgrade to Jailbreak Customers

2009-09-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

via Apple iPhone School by Brooke on 9/23/09

Available In: App Store

Price: $1.99

The CEO of Snapture Labs, the developers of the very cool camera application Snapture, has released a letter to jailbreak customers. A couple days ago we informed you that Snapture (formally a jailbroke application) had made it's way to the App Store. This left many of us wondering where those of us who purchased it as a jailbroke app stood. Well, the company has decided to address the issue giving everyone who purchased Snapture as a jailbroke app a free upgrade to the App Store version of the app. Below is the letter from the CEO with specifics of how and when you can receive the upgrade.

Thanks to Kevin for the tip!

Dear Snapture Jailbreak Customers,

I'm sure you have been following Snapture's tremendous success on AppStore so far. We've shot up to #12 on the AppStore rankings in under 48hrs, and have gotten overwhelmingly great reviews from some of the biggest tech blogs, including Gizmodo, Wired and CNET. None of this could have been possible without the support of our loyal jailbreak users – so please accept our utmost gratitude.

Despite our great success, some of our most loyal jailbreak customers were left wondering what is going to happen to their Snapture licenses moving forward. We heard you through email, twitter and blogs of how you felt that we had left you in the cold. Let me assure you that we never forgot about you guys. It's simply taken a couple of extra days to get our systems online for the impending migration which we are now prepared to rollout.

What are our plans?
Clear and simple, we're offering every Snapture jailbreak customer a Free upgrade to the new Snapture on AppStore.

How are we going to do this?
The process is straightforward, but it does require a bit of work on your side.

Steps to obtain Free upgrade to Snapture AppStore:
http://snapturelabs.com/udidform/index.php

This free upgrade will be offered for 1 week only – we plan to have a refund marathon session once we receive everyone's requests. Again, please be very patient with us as it is an extremely tedious and manual process dealing with Paypal and Google Checkout.

Thanks again for your constant support. We look forward to continue serving you in AppStore.

Regards,
Bowei Gai

See the full article and answers to some Fequently Asked Questions HERE.

Quick App: RedLaser Barcode Scanner for iPhone

2009-09-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

via The iPhone Blog by Rene Ritchie on 9/23/09

RedLaser [$1.99 - iTunes link ] scans barcodes, identifies the item your scanning, and then presents Google Product Search and Amazon shopping results for that item.

Sound familiar? It should, it was one of the few things we really lusted after when Google demoed the original Android G1 almost a year ago. Go into Barnes & Noble, see a book you like, snap the barcode, and instant price comparison. Boom. You can decide whether you need to buy it immediately or if you prefer to to order it and wait a little.

Both the iPhone 2G and 3G lacked the autofocus and short range macro clarity for that task, and while the iPhone 3GS made up for that in large degree, RedLaser is going the extra mile and enabling barcode scanning without using the autofocus. So, yes, it works fine on all generations of iPhone.

Doesn't sound like it was easy — Apple rejected the application's use of the camera 6 times before iPhone 3.1 rolled around and they got the big, green light to start scanning. It will no doubt be appreciated by users.

The features break down as follows:

Scans UPC, EAN, and UPC-E
You can email a list of products
Automatically localized for currency (USD, EUR, GBP) and regionalized Amazon stores (.com/.co.uk/.de/.co.jp/.fr/.ca/.cn)

In our tests, it worked well (though getting our hands to hold the iPhone steady enough was a challenge — need to cut down coffee intake!). If you try it out, let us know what you think!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Quick App: RedLaser Barcode Scanner for iPhone

Wednesday Crazy Rumor: Could We See an iPhone on Verizon by the Holidays?

2009-09-23T19:11:00.001-07:00

>via The iPhone Blog by Rene Ritchie on 9/23/09

Could we see a combination CDMA/HSPA iPhone hit Verizon before the holidays? No, we don't think so either, but that's the rumor we're hearing again.

Of course, we're no stranger to iPhone on Verizon rumors, whether they be wishful thinking or the result of ongoing, longterm Apple/carrier negotiations that may or may not ever amount to anything, it's ironic that rumors about America's most reliable network are almost always anything but…

Given the limited remaining lifespan on CDMA (Verizon's going LTE for 4G) and market (primarily the US — even Bell and Telus in Canada are going HSPA), it just seems like such an un-Apple-like thing to do. Then again, Verizon's customer base is no doubt a huge temptation for Apple. Given how many iPhones they sell on AT&T, if they hit Verizon, we can only imagine the market share shift. (Not to mention the load balancing of network traffic that would hopefully follow).

Again, we're not getting our hopes up. We don't think we'll see an iPhone on Verizon any time soon, especially not before the holidays. Let's face it, it's almost October already and the window to effectively launch and market the iPhone on a new US network by then is rapidly diminishing from slim to none.

But, if you want to sound off anyway about how much you want a an iPhone world-phone on Verizon, hit the comments.

[Thanks tipster!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Wednesday Crazy Rumor: Could We See an iPhone on Verizon by the Holidays?

USB Implementors Forum on iTunes Sync: Apple’s Right, Palm’s Wrong

2009-09-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

via The iPhone Blog by Rene Ritchie on 9/22/09

Looks like the USB Implementers Forum has taken Apple's side over Palm's in their ongoing war of USB locking vs. USB spoofing. Digital Daily (via MacRumors) has the deets:

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the industry group that oversees the Universal Serial Bus standard, has finally responded to Palm's (PALM) claim that Apple (AAPL) is "hampering competition" by repeatedly disabling the Palm Pre's ability to sync with iTunes–and it's not looking good for Palm. In a letter submitted to Apple and Palm today, the group dismissed Palm's claim that Apple has violated its USB-IF Membership Agreement. Worse, it took issue with Palm's alleged use of Apple's Vendor Identification Number (VID), which it says violates USB-IF policy.

Palm's response?

"We engaged with the USB-IF because we believe consumers should have freedom and choice in how and where they use the non-rights managed media they already own. We are reviewing the letter from the USB-IF and will respond as appropriate."

We've already weighed in on the situation in general (we think Palm has more important things to spend their limited funds and resources on), and PreCentral.net has posted up the whole sordid history along with their take, but what do you think? Is the USB-IF making the right call?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

USB Implementors Forum on iTunes Sync: Apple's Right, Palm's Wrong

9 Best WordPress Security Plugins

2009-09-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 7/27/09

Guest post by Srikanth.

Do you know the best security plugins for WordPress? WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms; though it comes packed with security features, hackers always looking for vulnerabilities to hack into your blog.

In order to eliminate attacks if not minimize them, here are some of the top WordPress security plugins which will help you in this regard.

1. WP Security Scan
This plugin will scan your entire WordPress installation and will suggest you regarding security vulnerabilities like passwords, database security, file permissions, admin security. It will also hide the version of your WordPress and remove the META tag from the core such that hacking to your WordPress installation would be hard.

2. Secure WordPress
It will help secure WordPress installation by removing miscellaneous items after the installation process which may aid hackers. It will remove error information from the login-page and also remove or change the WP-version data but leave it unchanged in the admin area. It is suggested to remove any unwanted information to the non-admin for security reasons so it will remove update information about plugins, themes and core update information. Secure WordPress will add a blank index.html to the plug-in directory such that if anyone is trying to view the contents of the directory they will be viewing a blank page instead of the contents.

3. WordPress Database Backup
This is the first plug-in to be installed soon after you complete WordPress installation. It will help you backup all your core data and other content of your choice to the destination your choose: hard disk, email or remote server. In the event of crash either by your fault or from hackers, you can restore your WordPress blog from the backup file easily. It is recommended that you use this plug-in for WordPress version 2.0.3 or later.

4. Force SSL
Having a secure SSL connection to communicate with your users is beneficial. To enable this, your site must be SSL enabled first. To implement this, you need to buy the SSL certificate. By installing this plug-in it will force your user browser to connect to your site via a SSL connection. This eliminates any third party attacks between the connection and all the data that is transmitted to and from the site will be encrypted for better security.

5. Chap Secure Login
If you are not having a secure connection like SSL to protect your password , then you can use this plug-in for encrypting passwords. It will use the Chap protocol to hide the passwords and transmit it encrypted. The only information that is transmitted unencrypted is your username. Protecting password will give full security because password leaks will enable the hacker the gain full control of your WordPress blog.

6. Anonymous WordPress Plugin
All the WordPress versions 2.3 and above have the feature to get automatic updates for plugins. During this process it will send some of your information like your blog's URL, version number, list of installed plugins and activated plugins to Wordpress.org. This information could be of potential use for hackers. So to avoid this, installing Anonymous WordPress plug-in is a feasible option. It will strip off your blog's URL and version number and empty the activated plugins list. This plug-in is compatible with WordPress 2.3 and above.

7. Login Encrypt
This will help encrypt the login information using the complex DES and RSA combination. It uses the JavaScript appended and encrypted the password of the user and generates a unique DES key. And by using this key, user can have secure login each time they login to your blog.

8. Admin SSL
This plug-in will work with both the private and shared SSL connections and it will force a SSL connection in every page where password can or has to be entered. It is very helpful to protect the admin area, posts and all the pages of your WordPress installation and secure the login page. This plug-in works on WordPress 2.2 to 2.7.

9. AskApache Password Protect
It will block the bots and creates a safe wall for any vulnerability your WordPress blog may have. It will protect your password as well as your WordPress directories like the wp-includes, wp-content, etc. It is like placing your WordPress blog behind a security wall.

Guest blogger Srikanth writes on Tech Inspiration blog about tips, gadgets, and technology. You can also write a guest articles and share more useful tools you like.

iTunes 9.0.1 Now available

2009-09-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

via Apple Forums & iPhone Forums, Mods, Hacks, News, Themes, Downloads, and more! | ModMyi.com - 4,711,751,911 by Melech518 on 9/22/09

iTunes 9.0.1 is now available for download.

Quote:

iTunes 9.0.1 provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.
iTunes 9 comes with many new features and improvements, including:

• An improved look and feel, including a new Column Browser for easily browsing your artists or albums, movies, TV shows, and more.

• iTunes Store has a brand new look, with improved navigation for quick and easy exploration.

• iTunes LP and iTunes Extras create unique experiences that feature exclusive interviews, videos, photos, and more — available with select album and movie purchases on the iTunes Store.

• Home Sharing helps you manage your family's iTunes collection between computers in your home. iTunes can automatically transfer new purchases, or you can choose just the items you want.

• Genius Mixes are created for you by iTunes and play songs from your library that go great together.

• iPod and iPhone syncing now allows you to organize your iPhone and iPod touch home screens directly in iTunes. Syncing is now also more flexible, allowing you to sync individual artists, genres, or TV show and Podcast episodes.

• iTunes U items are now organized into their own section in your iTunes library.

• Sync with iPod nano (5th generation), iPod classic (Fall 2009), and iPod touch (Fall 2009).

• iTunes 9 also includes many other improvements, such as HE-AAC encoding and playback, more flexibility with Smart Playlists rules, simpler organization of your media files inside an iTunes Media folder, and more.

Will not affect Jailbreaking .

Microsoft Courier Multitouch Tablet Unveiled

2009-09-23T00:40:00.000-07:00

via Redmond Pie by Taimur Asad on 9/22/09

Gizmodo today took the wraps off the new "secret" Tablet PC concept that Microsoft has been working on. Currently called as Courier, it boasts off dual 7-inch multitouch capable screens which is designed to work with both multiple fingers-input and stylus.

Image Credit: Gizmodo

Courier is a real device, and we've heard that it's in the "late prototype" stage of development. It's not a tablet, it's a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They're connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.
Courier which is said to be in its late prototyping stages looks incredible already! I hope Microsoft drops this before the rumored Apple tablet which is taking forever to happen. If Courier works as it is demonstrated in the video above then I'm surely sold to it. Let us know what do you think about it and whether or not you will prefer it over the rumored single-screen iPhone-like multitouch capable tablet which Apple is said to be working on.

New iPhone Ads Shows Off Over 75,000 Apps for Just About Anything

2009-09-23T00:33:00.001-07:00

via Redmond Pie by Skipper on 9/22/09

Apple has released three new ads promoting its Apps for iPhone. With over 75,000 apps in its sleeve, Apple, beyond any doubt, has the largest number of Apps in its App Store. There is an App for almost anything that you can think off, regardless of gender and age group. Some examples among the all kinds of apps being promoted in these ads are: catching a flight, getting on a train, dinning-in & dinning-out, budgeting your money, investing your money, planning to shop, loving nature, learning a language, finding a movie, finding a place, finding a parking, reading lovers, passing time and even for the small kids learning alphabets.

iPhone Apps shown in the new ads are as follows:

The biggest inventory of apps in its store gives Apple huge edge over all other major mobile platforms like Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

iREB : Fix "16xx" and "21" error during a restore in iTunes | Mac and Windows

2009-09-23T00:32:00.001-07:00

via iHackintosh by Vinay on 9/22/09

iREB a small handy utility for Windows and Mac that can solve the mistakes "16xx" and "21″ from iTunes that are displayed after a reset or a firmware downgrade. iREB is developed by iH8sn0w, and today he released a new update for iREB. The application is only compatible with EDGE iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 1G and can be downloaded from here. The tool is available for both Windows and Mac operating system, we advised...

GoogleSync Brings Push Gmail to iPhone – At Last!

2009-09-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

via The iPhone Blog by Rene Ritchie on 9/22/09

Google's official mobile blog has just (and finally!) announced Push Gmail support for the iPhone!

Integrated into their existing GoogleSync service, which up until today supported only contacts and calendar:

Using Google Sync, you can now get your Gmail messages pushed directly to your phone. Having an over-the-air, always-on connection means that your inbox is up to date, no matter where you are or what you're doing. Sync works with your phone's native email application so there's no additional software needed. Only interested in syncing your Gmail, but not your Calendar? Google Sync allows you to sync just your Contacts, Calendar, or Gmail, or any combination of the three.

One big caveat remains, however. GoogleSync is powered by Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and most devices — including the iPhone — can only handle one (1) EAS account at a time. So, if you're already using Exchange ActiveSync for your corporate email, that slot is taken and GoogleSync is useless to you.

For everyone else — joy! And if you try it out, let us know how it works for you!

[Thanks to mattshall for the head's up!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

GoogleSync Brings Push Gmail to iPhone – At Last!

Kid Finds Porn in Apple Store & Angry Mom Complains

2009-09-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

via The iPhone Blog by Jeremy Sikora on 9/22/09

Porn and iPhone, it is out there and every once in a while you may even find porn in there. In an Apple Retail Store on one of the iPhone and iPod Touch demos, that is.

That's exactly what happened just the other day as a mother found her 10 year old girl mesmerized by some X-rated content on one of the Apple Store demo devices:

"I called to complain and was told matter of factly by staff this happens a lot as people come in and download it for a laugh, I don't find it funny and all my friends think it's disgusting, but Apple say there is nothing they can do to stop it."

Apple does a fantastic job of keeping smut out of iTunes and their App Store, surely they can figure something out for their real-world stores.

[Via Cult of Mac]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Kid Finds Porn in Apple Store & Angry Mom Complains

iPhone OS 3.2 — What Do You Want and When Do You Want It?

2009-09-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

via The iPhone Blog by Rene Ritchie on 9/22/09

Apple is no doubt already hard at work on iPhone OS 3.2, the second minor update to the third major release of their mobile platform. Sure, we got iPhone 3.1 just over two weeks ago on Sept. 9, but looking back, we should expect to see the first beta versions of 3.2 sooner rather than later.

By way of comparison, iPhone 2.1 was released on Sept. 12, 2008. iPhone 2.2 Beta 1 was released on Sept. 25, with some tweaks to App Store and Safari's UI. iPhone 2.1 Beta 2 dropped on Oct. 24, with Google Street View, SDK support for line-in audio, and direct podcast downloads and streaming. The final iPhone 2.2 firmware was released on Nov. 21, and both Google Street View and the ability to get podcasts on-device were great enhancements.

So, it's not unreasonable to imagine 3.2 Beta 1 could show up before the end of the month, with a final release before the holidays.

Since we've already gotten direct TV and Movie downloads (over Wi-Fi), there may not be an analogous improvement to iPod and iTunes this time around. Subscribing to podcasts on device, however, where a push notification alerts you when a new episode is available and you're on Wi-Fi to download it, is something we'd adore. iTunes LP and iTunes Extras support would also be dandy give their introduction in iTunes 9.

Likewise, Google Voice and Google Latitude having been rejected/held-for-study by the App Store, we may not get a Maps app update either (though Apple baking Latitude into the existing Maps app, Google-willing, could be a great compromise solution). We won't hold our breath for push Gmail either (not GoogleSync, we mean built-in, doesn't use up your only ActiveSync slot, genuine push email like MobileMe and Yahoo!)…

Enabling 720p TV-out from the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 would be a great, and competitive addition, especially with a souped up dock-to-HDMI video cable to go with it.

We have our ongoing (though admittedly greatly reduced since 3.0) wish-list: better support for Bluetooth controls (AVRCP), APIs to allow apps to interact with the calendar, some form of background support for streaming audio, turn-by-turn, and other apps that cry out for it, Mobile iChat, remote backup and restore, iTunes music and video streaming, file system access for document handling, etc.

(Yes, we left out bug fixes, as we hope Apple sees those as urgent enough to address in an iPhone 3.1.1 release much, much sooner).

But what do you want to see Apple prioritize for iPhone 3.2?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone OS 3.2 — What Do You Want and When Do You Want It?

Apple Releases iTunes 9.0.1 Update

2009-09-22T19:04:00.001-07:00

via The iPhone Blog by Rene Ritchie on 9/22/09

Apple today released iTunes 9.0.1, a minor point update to their iTunes 9 media hub and sync solution. Weighing in at 89.8MB, as befits its .0.1 nature, the changes read like a who's who of bug fixes, including:

Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

Hit up Apple Software Update to grab it and when you do, let us know if it fixes what's been ailing you…

(And let's hope iPhone 3.1.1 is on its way soon to do likewise!)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Releases iTunes 9.0.1 Update

Rogers/Fido SMS Says: Update to OS 3.1

2009-09-22T08:47:00.003-07:00

via iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users by iPhone Fan on 9/22/09

Usually we get the occasional Roger/Fido spam in our email inboxes, but it's not uncommon to get a text message too. The latest Rogers/Fido text that Canadian iPhone users have been receiving from coast to coast involves updating to OS 3.1.

Should I Update My iPhone to OS 3.1?

Now this may seem repetitive, but you should only update to OS 3.1 if you don't care about jailbreaking your iPhone. For those who want to update to 3.1 using an iPhone 2G/3G, you can now do so using the latest PwnageTool 3.1.

For iPhone 3GS users that want to jailbreak, we are still stuck on 3.0/3.0.1. Instructions from the iPhone Dev Team are to NOT update to 3.1 directly via iTunes (you should know this by now for all firmware updates; make sure your ECID SHSH is backed up) until PwnageTool is released for the iPhone 3GS.

Anyways, I received the following SMS from Rogers the other day; my buddy Greg received the one from Fido:

Anyone else receive their "update to OS 3.1″ text message from Rogers/Fido? For those without texting plans, I hope it didn't cost you money to receive!

Canadian Apple Stores Receive iPhone Activation Centers

2009-09-22T08:47:00.001-07:00

via iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users by X1Zero on 9/22/09

Apple Stores across Canada will finally be receiving the much talked about "iPhone Activation Centers" that have been popping up across USA-based Apple Stores.

iPhone Activation Center

These new activation centers will be a dedicated zone in which Apple customers or just strictly iPhone buyers can discuss, purchase and activate an iPhone just as you would at a typical Rogers/Fido store. The only difference, and it's a big difference, is this point of sale will have the legendary Apple pizazz attached to it.

The new iPhone Activation Centers will include 2 – 5 computer stations depending on the size of the store and will be located at the front right side of the store entrance. A new class of employee, called "iPhone Experts", will be managing this area and speaking with customers. This new employee position will have different colored shirts and lanyards from the other store employees so to ensure customers can easily spot the "iPhone Expert".

The experience provided at these activation centers will be similar to the one provided to customers that have purchased Apples "One-to-One" program. In other words, the experience will be personal and laid back, especially considering that people will be dealing with contract commitments and personal identification information.

Apple is announcing the iPhone Activation Center as being "the best place to buy an iPhone".

The Process

The process works on a reservation system in which you reserve your iPhone online, visit your chosen Apple Store and complete the activation. The core process is similar to what a customer would receive from a Rogers/Fido store except there will be no hard sell or pressure.

The process behind the new activation centers have one key component; the inventory level of the specific Apple Store is directly integrated into the ordering process. This means that when you are reserving the iPhone model online, it is guaranteed to be in the store. Out of stock models will not be selectable through the online portal, so you will know exactly what is and what is not in stock.

The system is also intelligent enough to set aside a number of iPhone models that will be available in-store exclusively for those customers who happen to walk in and want an iPhone.

Reservations

When you begin the reservation process at Apple.ca, you will go through four steps:

1.) Select the type of plan or just the device alone

2.) Choose the carrier (Rogers or Fido)

3.) Choose the Apple Store, date and time for your personal shopping session (if contract plan chosen) or choose the date and time for when you will pick up just the decide (no personal shopping session involved)

4.) Sign in with (or create) your AppleID

Note: Date and time choice will not be same day. You must choose the next day from a 3-day list.

After you complete the reservation, you will receive an email summarizing your details and also a list of what personal identification is required to set up the plan (if the contract plan option was chosen instead of just the device).

The summary email will also have a free trial of Apple's MobileMe service. Customers who opt for the service can have their iPhone potential completely setup with notes, calendar events and contacts when they leave the store. This experience is something not offered by Rogers or Fido.

The Best Place to Buy an iPhone

The move to these dedication in-store iPhone centers is focused on Apple's retail goals of selling more iPhones than Mac computers. The iPhone is their most successful platform and these activation centers is a push toward that goal.

While buying an iPhone at an Apple Store and experiencing the unique personal customer service is fantastic, the unfortunate part is that there are only 13 Apple Stores in Canada. In Vancouver there will be two stores, Pacific Centre and Oakridge malls, which makes travel to an Apple Store relatively easy from all over Vancouver, the lower mainland and cities well outside Vancouver. However some provinces, like Manitoba for example, have only one Apple Store. This makes getting to the location very difficult unless you live near by.

So while the new iPhone Activation Centers are a great move for both Apple and customers alike, there is only a fraction of Apple Stores in Canada when compared to Rogers/Fido points of sale. However, if you are looking for a guaranteed iPhone with a great customer service experience, the trip to your local, or distant Apple Store, could be worth it.

For Vancouver, it is believed that the iPhone Activation Center will be available starting October 1 at the Vancouver Pacific Centre store and available on opening day of the new Oakridge mall location.

Look for the iPhone Activation Center coming soon to your Apple Store.

Enable MMS on iPhone 3.1 via AT&T

2009-09-22T04:54:00.001-07:00

via Redmond Pie by Taimur Asad on 9/21/09

MMS functionality for AT&T customers of iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS running iPhone firmware 3.1 is set to launch officially on September 25th. Aaron Krill has posted a nice little trick to enable this functionality right now before the official launch on 25th.

The following step-by-step guide will help you enable MMS functionality on iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS running firmware 3.1 on AT&T network:

Step 1: Download and install the latest version of iTunes if you haven't already.

Step 2: Make sure iTunes is closed before following the steps below:

Windows 7 & Windows Vista:

Click on "Start" and type "Command Prompt" in search and then press enter.
Goto \Program Files\iTunes\ directory by typing "cd C:\Program Files\iTunes\" in Command prompt and press enter. For those of you who are on x64 version of Windows should type this instead: "cd C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\"
Now type "iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1" in the Command Prompt and press enter.

Mac OS X:

Start the "Terminal" app by navigation to Applications –> Utilities. Or just type "Terminal" in spotlight search and hit enter.
Now type this command and press enter: "defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE"

Step 3: Download the modified .IPCC file (ATT_US.ipcc). Download link given below.

Step 4: Now connect your iPhone with your computer and start iTunes.

Step 5: Now press and hold left "alt" button ("Shift" button on Windows) on the keyboard and then click on "Check for Update" in iTunes and then release the "Shift" button.

Step 6: Select the .IPCC file which you downloaded in Step 3 and update your iPhone.

Step 7: Once the update is done, reboot your iPhone.

You should now have fully working MMS on your iPhone 3G and 3GS with visual voicemail.

Disclaimer: This guide is for testing & educational purposes only. I'm not responsible for any loss of important data or malfunctioning of your iPhone.

Download iTunes
Download .IPCC file to enable MMS

28 Free Online File Format Conversion Tools

2009-08-02T22:09:00.003-07:00

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 7/30/09

Guest post by Srikanth.

The following file conversion sites allows you to convert files of the most common and frequently used file formats. They support almost all kinds of file formats with regard to audio, video, document and image.

Multiple File Format Conversion

1) Zamzar.com - Performs online file conversion in a fast and easy manner. No need of registration and it sends the converted files right to your email inbox.

2) Media-Convert – This website includes online file conversion along with a variety of options. Provides local file conversion, conversion from URL, file hosting, website screenshot and sending the converted file to mobile. It also provides a host of advanced settings while converting files.

3) Youconvertit – Allows you to convert all kinds of media files including archives. Allows you to choose more than one input file at a time for conversion.

Video File Format Conversion

4) Vixy – This website contains an online FLV converter. It allows you to convert a flash video or an FLV file to MPEG4 (AVI/MOV/MP4/MP3/3GP) file online. This application is open source.

5) Converttube - It allows you to directly download videos from the internet to a mobile, PC, iPod or PSP. It also provides various options for the output format of the file.

6) Vidtomp3 - This online tool allows you to convert video, music video, Mega Video, MySpace video, Google Video or YouTube video into mp3 format for your mp3 player or mobile phones.

7) Cellsea - An online video converter tool to convert video files in the required format.

8) Media Converter - A web based video conversion utility that supports conversion of files even from YouTube. This tool facilitates uploading a media file directly from web portals.

9) Movavi - This online video converter tool helps to convert multiple files. The maximum file size it allows is 100 MB. This tool has a special option of merging all the video files into a large movie.

Image File Format Conversion

10) Converticon - The online application allows you to convert ICO, PNG, GIF, and JPEG formats to a better quality PNG or ICO files. The interface is simple and easy to use.

11) Vector Magic - This website converts bitmap images to clean vector art, using auto-tracing software. It allows you to save time and get your images ready to cut, embroider or print.

12) ConvertICO – This tool facilitates conversion of ICO files to PNG files and PNG files to ICO files. You can upload files either by specifying a URL or by browsing a file that is on your PC.

13) Image Converter - This online tool converts one image format into another image format. Some of the image formats which it supports for conversion are bmp, dib, epi, eps, gif, jpc, jpeg, pcd, pcx, pdb, pgm, pict, png, tga and so on.

14) Image Optimizer - This online tool not only helps us to convert image files from one format to another but also helps us to optimize images to load quickly. The maximum limit for file size is 300 KB.

PDF File Conversion Tools

15) Expresspdf - This website provides online tools for exclusively converting Web pages, Microsoft Word documents and Microsoft Excel documents to PDF documents.

16) Pdfonline - This website provides a variety of online tools to work with PDF files exclusively. Merging two PDF files, Doc file to PDF, PDF to Word, Web to PDF and PDF service for iPhone are some of the tools provided here.

17) Pdftoword - This online tool helps us convert PDF documents to DOC or RTF files accurately. It also allows us to re-use the PDF content in Excel, Open Office, Microsoft Word and Word Perfect. This conversion tool tries to maintain the formatting and image fidelity of the page to the maximum extent.

18) Htm2pdf - This online tool facilitates you to convert HTML files to PDF files in just one click. There are two options for conversion, one of them is conversion of web pages and the other one is converting raw HTML code.

19) Neevia - This online converter allows you to create PDF documents or image documents from the most commonly and frequently used file formats. The upload limit per file is 1 MB.

20) Freepdfconvert - This online and interactive PDF converter and document creator is quick and reliable. Converts web pages, graphic images, MS-Office, Open Office,Vector graphic file formats and other file formats to PDF.

21) Kinati to PDF converter – The PDF converter here allows conversions for all kinds of users, from an executive professional to a student. Allows to upload a document up-to 15 MB.

22) Lettos - This is an online conversion tool used to convert files from DOC, XLS and PPT to PDF format.

23) Pdf-O-Matic - A simple, fast and reliable tool to convert Web pages into PDF documents. It creates a PDF document within seconds, once you specify a URL inside the provided field on the website.

24) PDF4u - This site provides an online service to convert Word, PowerPoint, and Postscript documents to PDF. The conversion is done in three easy steps. The file size should be 30K or less to avail the free service.

25) Primo Online – Online service that provides a super fast way of converting documents and images to PDF files. Supports conversion of more than 300 file formats.

26) PS to PDF Converter – Converts a Post-script compatible file to a PDF compatible file. This application is suitable for light and moderate users.

27) RSS2PDF Converter - This online tool allows us to convert a web page or online RSS into a PDF document.

28) Text2Pdf - Converts any given text into a Portable Document Format(PDF) file. Contains a large text area to copy the text. This tools is based on Sanface software.

Guest blogger Srikanth writes on Tech Inspiration blog about tips, gadgets, and technology. You can also write a guest article and share your favorite tools.

How to Clean a Dirty CD

2009-08-02T22:07:00.001-07:00

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 7/23/09

Guest post by Amit Bhawani.

Do you know how to clean a CD? Every time you keep your CD outside the pouch, there is a high possibility that the CD could get dirty, smudged or fingerprinted. And the problem with most of you is that you want to clean it but you don't know how to clean it in such a dirty condition.

Photo by Violets and Handshakes (under CC)

Cleaning Dirty CDs

For all those who want to clean a dirty CD with minimum effort in the cheapest way, follow the process with simple steps given below in order.

Find yourself a container (a medium sized one which is good enough to submerge a disk in it)
Squeeze into the container a table spoon of liquid soap or window cleaning solution. You can also use all-natural cleaning liquid made out of distilled water.
Now pour clean water into the container and fill it. Now the water should become soapy once it gets mixed with the cleaning solution added whatsoever.
Now put the dirty disk into the container filled with soapy water. Leave it there for about a minute or two.
Now remove the disk from the soapy water container and rinse it with running warm water.
Repeat the process if the disk is still a bit dirty. In case the smudges on the disk are stubborn, you can use a soft cloth to rub soap on those parts.
Finally shake off the excess water and let the disk to dry naturally. Do not use any artificial blower or hair drier.

Now you have your shiny good as new CD which can be easily run on your computer and there are less chances of getting data copy errors on running it.

This guest article was written by Amit Bhawani who writes different articles on How to Clean Anything. You can also write a guest article and share your tips and tools.

WARNING: Use this technique at your OWN RISK. If you have important stored data, seek professional help to clean your CD. We take no responsibility for data loss or CD damage.

10 Best Firefox Extensions to Manage Tabs

2009-08-02T22:06:00.003-07:00

10 Best Firefox Extensions to Manage Tabs

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 5/26/09

Guest Article by Himanshu
Even though Firefox was not the first browser that supported tabs, no other browser can even come close to Firefox when we talk about the tab management. There are innumerable extensions for your Firefox tabs, but extensions below can really help you save your time managing tabs. Here are my picks…

Fox Tab - Browse in 3D
If you are a fan of Apple's Cover Flow then you'll love this extension. With 5 layouts, you can flip between tabs and manage your tabs in 3D. It'll definitely add 5 stars to your tab experience in Firefox.

Colorful Tabs - Mix Colors
As the name suggests this extension will color your tab titles in different colors. This may help you distinguish between the tabs and group them as you want. This should not be confused with new IE 8's color coded tabs, but still it can be very useful extension.

Firefox Showcase - Search and manage your tabs
This is a must-install Firefox extension that I'd suggest. This Firefox extension will show you opened tabs and windows as a thumbnail preview in a single window. Not just that, you can also search for tabs and group their thumbnails as you like.

Tab Renamizer - Rename your tabs
Tabs in Firefox always have title as page's title. You may have opened up some websites that you wouldn't like everyone to see if it has some obscure title. Just use Tab Renamizer extension and rename the title of the tab to some other website's title like Google, Yahoo etc.

New Tab Homepage - Choose your home
Are you Google-holic? New Tab homepage can be very useful extension if you have to Google around your queries every now and then. You can set the preferences so that whenever you open a new tab a default website (Google etc) will open.

Duplicate Tab - Clone your tabs
Ok now consider this. You are chatting on Gmail on one Tab and on other you want to check your mail. Duplicate tab will clone your tab so that you don't have to open a tab again for checking mail. It'll retain the history of the tab too.

Basics - Add new tab Button like IE
Not everyone knows the easy shortcut CTRL + T to open a new Tab. You can always customize your toolbar and add new tab button there but you'll really find it very easy to open a tab with Basics extension.

Tab Popup - See tabs thumbnail preview
If you've ever used Opera then you must be knowing about thumbnail previewing of Tabs when you hover your mouse pointer on the tab title. Tab popup does the same thing. It's a very useful extension if one of your tabs is loading and you want to see if it's done or not.

Close and Forget - Delete tab history
As the name suggest, Close and Forget extension deletes the history of your Tab once you close it. Let say you are checking your mail and want to logout and erase all your history as soon as you close the tab, then you should really install this useful extension.

Too Many Tabs - Extra rows
This is an excellent extension. With Too many Tabs you can not only rearrange and group your tabs by dragging and dropping but also you can set apart idle and inactive tabs in a separate row and free your memory. You can also color or pin your tabs for future use.

Guest author Himanshu blogs on Whibb about SEO, blogging tips, latest tech news, reviews, hacks, and software tricks. Follow him on Twitter on @whibb. If you have some tips to share, you too can write a guest article on QOT.

Related Posts

Top 14 Open Source Applications for Windows

2009-08-02T22:06:00.001-07:00

Top 14 Open Source Applications for Windows

via Quick Online Tips by QuickOnlineTips on 6/2/09

Guest Post by Abhimanyu
Open Source Foundation and people involved with it have developed some of the most used applications on the web and on Windows platform without expecting anything in return. Here are the top 10 open source applications on Windows which we use daily without probably even realizing that they are open source.

Photo by flod

1. Mozilla Firefox: Mozilla Firefox is considered to be the most popular open source application and browser today. According to a statistics by W3School, Firefox is used by 47.1% of internet users while Internet Explorer 28%. Firefox holds a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. From 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008 - 8,002,530 people downloaded Firefox 3.

2. Mozilla Thunderbird: Yet another Open Source application from Mozilla. Thunderbird is a desktop email client with loads of features and strong spam filtering.

3. Open Office: Open Office is an Open Source alternative for Microsoft Office. It comes with great features including support for DOC and XLS files. The Open Office Suite pack has applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It saves all your data and files in International Open Standard Format and also comes with the ability to read and write files from other standard office software packages.

4. GIMP: GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program can easily replace professional graphics application Adobe Photoshop. GIMP is the best ever open source graphics designing application with loads of features. Also it has the ability to open and edit Photoshop PSD files.

5. Pidgin: Pidgin is an Open Source instant messenger. It supports other IMs as well. You can chat with users of almost all leading IMs like MSN, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, GTalk, ICQ etc. Previously it was known as GAIM.

6. VLC Media Player: It's a cross platform Open Source media player and server. It supports a huge range of audio and video formats like MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX, MP3, OGG, AAC, DVDs, Audio CDs, VCD and many more. VLC has support for streaming media protocol as well.

7. ClamWIN: ClamWin is an Open Source GPL virus scanner for Windows. It has following features …

High detection rates for viruses and spyware;
Scheduler for Scanning.
Auto downloader for regular Virus Definition Update.
It's a standalone virus scanner application and you can integrate with Microsoft Windows Explorer just by right clicking it.
Available with Outlook Add-on to scan emails and attachments.

8. 7-Zip: 7-ZIP is Open Source compression utility with support for all popular compression formats. The 7Z format compression has the best compression ratio compared to popular applications like WinZip, WinRAR.

9. Media Coder: It's an Open Source batch media transcoder for almost all popular media formats. It can covert both audio and video formats with batch processing support. Media Coder comes with multi-threading design and is optimized for multicore CPUs.

10. FileZilla: FileZilla is another great Open Source application for Windows. It's a multi-platform full featured GUI Based FTP, FTPS and SFTP client. FileZilla is considered as the best available FTP client for windows.

11. Drupal: Highly flexible content management framework powering celebrity sites like MTV and Yahoo developer. Drupal bridges the divide between a content management system like Joomla and a PHP based web framework like say Symfony. My site MWolk is also running drupal as well as the WordPress themes directory.

12. µTorrent: almost all BitTorrent clients like uTorrent, Azureus etc are open source so the list will be incomplete without inclusion of one from torrent family.

13. Eclipse: One of the most powerful and versatile IDE for developers of any language. With its numerous plugins, it can be extended to do much more, not to mention it has a great community.

14. Python - I will finish the list of top open source applications by mentioning Python, the programming language. It has come a long way in the past 8 years and is now preferred web development language too along with frameworks like Django.

So this pretty much covers the list of popular and best open source application which we are using on daily basis, if you know of few more, please tell them in comments.

Guest author Abhimanyu is the owner of MWolk Media and manages MWolk and its various sections. He is a full time blogger and blogs at MWolk Blog and India Blog too. You can also write a guest article and share your tips on QOT.

Read more about Computers, Downloads, Guest Posts, Software, Tools

Write Guest Article - Showcase your site to an active community of site owners, bloggers, tech experts.

Original article: Top 14 Open Source Applications for Windows
Copyright 2009. Quick Online Tips. All Rights Reserved.

BigBoss Releases SBSettings 3.0.2 for iPhone

2009-07-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

BigBoss has released an update to his SBSettings application which lets you toggle preferences directly from the Springboard.

-----

The processes button “Free Memory” apparently has never done anything for anyone at all! I had one user report this and no one else. I found this today while installing SBSettings on a friend’s iPhone and noticing that there was no free memory after hitting the button. So none of you have ever seen how awesome this is! It is fixed now. Turns out I packaged the 3.0.1 toggle pack up poorly and the file was copied to the wrong folder.

v3.0.2 of the app changes the way the window opens slightly. It now requires at least 50 pixels of swiping before the window opens. This is to help prevent accidental opens. You can swipe left to right or right to left, it doesn’t matter. You cannot swipe down. (Let’s see if this one generates me any mail).

-----

SBSettings can be downloaded from the BigBoss Cydia repository.

Credit - http://www.iclarified.com/entry/comments.php?enid=4628

Completely Uninstall iTunes (Windows)

2009-07-24T00:30:00.000-07:00

These are instructions on how to do a clean and complete uninstall of iTunes for Windows using Revo Uninstaller.

Before you begin download Revo Uninstaller from here onto your desktop. It is also highly suggested that you make a backup of your system as this procedure will remove registry entries. You can do this by selecting Back up your computer from Start:Control Panel:System and Maintenance.

Read more

via - iClarified.com

Download Free Norton AntiVirus, Internet Security 2010 Beta

2009-07-23T23:53:00.000-07:00

Security leader Symantec now lets you download free Norton 2010 Beta products – Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010.

Remember these are “beta” pre-release versions of Norton products, made available for free download to beta software testers for public testing before the final version is released. This enables valuable feedback, bug reports and helps to develop a better quality software.

Norton Protection System is now powered with Norton Safe Web antispam engine and SONAR 2 technology that stops new and unknown threats. Norton Performance System protects your computer performance and Identity Safe is now portable. Norton Security 2010 software are now ready to protect Windows 7 running computers from all types of threats.

Download Norton Internet Security 2010 – comprehensive protection against all types of online threats.
Download Norton AntiVirus 2010 - superior protection against viruses, trojans and worms for your computer.

Via - quickonlinetips.com

5 Best WordPress Plugins to Shorten URLs

2009-07-23T23:46:00.000-07:00

Looking for Wordpress Plugins to shorten urls? Many people would like to share the URLs of web pages or an article which they find interesting with their friends. But most of the URL’s are very long and these days micro-blogging is the hot trend which allows users to post messages only up to 140 characters. Due to this, many of the URL’s will be chopped off at the end making it useless to share them. So, to solve this problem URL shortening is a feasible solution.

There are plugins available for WordPress that allow you to shorten the lengthy URLs and enable you to count the number of clicks for each shorten URL. WordPress plugins are very easy to install and use. You can include a short URL for every post in your WordPress blog so that users can easily share posts with others right from your blog.

Wordpress Url Shortening Plugins

Here-in are the five handy WordPress plugins for shortening URL’s.

1. Short URL Plug-in – This WordPress plug-in allows you to shorten the long URL’s easily and it even enables you to keep track of the short URL’s so that you can know how many times each short URL has been clicked. This feature is really useful to track downloads and other links in your blog. If you wish to reset the counter you can click on the ‘clear all’ button to zero the counter. It includes pagination of links, easier setup of htaccess (permalinks) and allows administrators to pass variables to their redirects.

2. YOURLS WordPress plug-in – This is a URL shorting service that lets you to shorten the long URL’s on your post and tweet them to the Twitter site automatically. You can configure the settings according to your needs such that you can set it to tweet when you have added a new post or page on your blog. It will send a Tweet with the title of the post and a shortened URL which will redirect to your post. It is very simple to install and works automatically after the initial configuration of the plug-in. It is also compatible with other URL shorting services like the Tinyurl.com, bit.ly is.gd, tr.im etc.

3. WP-Chunk – This WordPress plug-in will shorten the URL’s that are present in the comments field. Most of the visitors would like to add or share some other information related to the post in the comments. In that case, they just add the URL of the page that contains the related information. This WordPress plug-in will help shorten the URL’s present in the comments field so that you do not have problem when editing the comments or your blog will look just tidy with all the short URLs.

4. Pretty Link – This is another handy WordPress plug-in that allows you to shorten any web page URL’s. It will help you to track the hit count of the shortened URL’s, where each hit came from, the browser used, OS and the host. One cool feature of this plug-in is that: you can use your own domain name to shorten the URL’s.

5. Shorter Links – This WordPress plug-in will generate shorter URL of the posts on your blog so that users can easily post the link on any of the web services like Twitter, friendfeed, share it etc., When you save the post to WordPress, the shorter link that is generated can be edited into more meaningful characters. You can further configure the plug-in using the provided settings.

via : quickonlinetips.com

Skype Announces 'A Headset for Everyone'

2009-07-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Skype has announced the availability of a super-wideband audio headset 'for everyone, everywhere'.

Over the last few months, Skype engineers have been working with Freetalk to create the FREETALK Everyman Headset, a plug-and-play super-wideband audio headset which gives you great quality Skype calls.

The Everyman headset has an attractive, sturdy plastic design. It's very adjustable -- the headband adjusts to the size of your head and the flexible boom mic easily adjusts to the right place in front of your mouth. The mic folds up out of the way when you don't need it, and the earpieces fold inward when you aren't wearing the headset, taking up less space for travel and storage.

The Everyman is available in the Skype Shop for £18.51 in the UK, €19,88 in continental Europe and $22.88 in the US.

Read More

via - iClarfied

New Flying Apps Display for Apple Stores

2009-07-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

Apple has created a new flying apps window display which can be found at the Palo Alto Apple Store.

First posted by Jason Kincaid from TechCrunch, the video below shows a "giant wall of apps flying by, accompanied by a massive iPhone that briefly displays a handful of featured apps for a few seconds apiece."

Take a look below...

Read More

First Solar Powered Bluetooth Speakers

2009-07-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Devotec Industries has launched the world's first solar powered wireless Bluetooth stereo speakers.

The compact, portable 'Solar Sound' is the first portable stereo speaker to combine integrated Bluetooth technology with solar powered battery support - making them the must have travel accessory this summer. Whether by the pool or sitting out in the sun with friends, the Bluetooth connectivity allows listeners to send their music wirelessly to the speaker via their phone or MP3 player and enjoy the ease of remotely sending 'commands' between the connected device and speaker, and vice versa.

Superior sound quality is also on offer thanks to the unit's 2 x 2W speakers. Listeners can now enjoy significantly higher volume and quality stereo sound, which has historically been lacking from direct mobile or MP3 playback.

The Solar Sound is compatible with the majority of phone models, including Nokias, Blackberries and the iPhone (with use of the iPhone 3.0 software update). Plus, thanks to the included retractable headphone Solar Sound cable, any MP3 player can be connected ensuring maximum flexibility.

The environmentally inspired speakers feature an integrated 150mA solar panel - indicated via the illuminated yellow logo when charging. This supports the built in Lithium-Ion 1500mAh battery, giving eight hours continuous play at medium volume or four hours at maximum volume.

Read more

Windows 7 RTM (Release to Manufacturing) Announced

2009-07-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today at Microsoft Global Exchange Conference (MGX), Microsoft has officially announced that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are complete and are now ready for Release to Manufacturing (RTM) to the OEM’s & other Partners.

OEM’s and Microsoft Partners will get the final bits in just under two days, which means that the debate over whether or not Windows 7 Build 7600.16385.090713-1255 is indeed the RTM build will be confirmed by this coming Friday. Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will get it on 6th August, General availability on October 22nd.

Both x86 and x64 Builds of Windows 7 RTM Build 7600.16385.090713-1255 can be downloaded from here.

Congratulation to Windows 7 development team which was lead by Steven Sinofsky – President, Windows Division for completing one of the finest Windows releases ever.

Steven Sinofsky & Steve Ballmer holding gold RTM disc at MGX.

UPDATE 1: It is now confirmed that Windows 7 Build 7600.16385.090713-1255 is indeed the final RTM. Download it from here.

via - redmondpie

Download Windows Live Messenger 2009 Gift Pack

2009-07-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

On the eve of Windows Live Messenger’s (formerly MSN Messenger) 10th anniversary, Windows Live Team has released a free messenger gift pack to celebrate the 10th birthday of the world’s largest IM network. The free gift pack includes new:

Display pictures
Emotions
Winks
backgrounds and more..

[Screenshots]

Download Windows Live Messenger 2009 Gift Pack for Free

via - redmondpie

Sexiest looking iPhone App Interfaces

2009-07-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

We all know how good iPhone apps can look! Infact they are the best looking mobile apps out there – and pretty good at what they offer.

Today we’ll take a glimpse at 10 of the most sexiest iPhone apps (in no particular order) that are not only gorgeous but also the ‘Worth it’ kind:

1. Bento

Bento is an simple database management application for iPhone users from FileMaker Inc. It is basically a portable version of Bento for Mac. It helps in getting fast access to information (libraries and collections) when you are away from your computer.

It comes with 25 built-in templates for business (example issue tracking, time billing, expenses) and personal use(example diet logs, recipes, vehicle maintenance, home inventory). Otherwise, you can also create your customized templates for which a blank template is provided.

Push Fix for Unlocked iPhone 3.0

2009-07-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Just found this via Sizlopedia that there is now an app Push Fix available on Cydia to fix Push Notification Systemi on jailbroken and unlocked iPhone’s running firmware 3.0. I earlier wrote a complete guide on how to fix Push Notification System for hacktivated iPhone’s but it required longer and tedious steps (for some) to fix the issue. You can now fix Push Notification System by following three simple steps:

Step 1: Start “Cydia” on your iPhone. Touch on “Manage” tab on the bottom and then on “Sources” as seen in the screenshot below:

Step 2: Touch on “Edit” and then on “Add”. You will be prompted to enter a url source as seen in the screenshot below. Type “http://cydia.iphoneil.net” and touch on “Add Source”.

Cydia will now automatically update your sources by following a series of automated steps.

Step 3: After installation is completed. Search for “Push Fix” in Cydia and install this application. This app will automatically fix Push Notification System on your unlocked and jailbroken iPhone.

Note: Fixing Push Notification System with Push Fix app wont solve the issues that you may be having in receiving Push Notifications on your hacktivated iPhone 3.0. You don’t need to follow the steps above if you have already followed the Guide for Fixing Push Notification System on your iPhone as the Push Fix app doesn’t do anything new or different.

Please take a look at our complete step-by-step guide on how to unlock and jailbreak (if you haven’t already):

Questions are welcome!

via - redmondpie

Improve your iPhone Signals with Signal Booster

2009-07-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sick of dropped calls on your iPhone?

Wilson Electronics, an electronics manufacturer, has recently released an iPhone signal enhancer called iBooster.

It improves the signal reception which enables a reduction in dropped calls and better audio. The iBooster can be used in cars, buildings and other areas where network coverage is weak. Due to its simple setup it can be easily moved from one place to another.

It has Wilson bi-directional SmartTechnology signal amplifier and battery charger. There is specific slip in’ cradle for the iPhone which features a pass through connector for external accessory access. The cradle is great for hands free operation either with a user’s headset or Bluetooth device. You can use the iBooster without taking off the case of your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G or iPhone.

Key Features:

Amplifier increases the data rates where signal is weak.
Receives weak signals.
Built in battery charger.
More battery life.
Pass-through iPhone connector for accessory access while iPhone is in the cradle.
Easier hands free operation through the cradle.
Installs fast.
Package includes everything required.
Pretty design.

Find In Page - Safari Bookmark for Searching Webpages

2009-07-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Find In Page (FindInPage for 2.x firmware), a Safari bookmark that allows you to search a web page, has been updated to work specifically with the 3.0 firmware. This mod does not add an icon to your SpringBoard but instead adds a bookmark in Safari. To use the Find In Page bookmark, go to a web page in Safari, then select the icon on the lower menu bar that looks like a book. This will bring up a list of your bookmarks. Just tap on the Find In Page bookmark.

Once you select the Find In Page bookmark, you will get a pop-up where you can type in the word (or words) you would like to search the page for. It will then give you a pop-up displaying how many matches it found on the page. The matches will be highlighted in yellow on the page.

If you would like to remove the bookmark, you will need to remove it in Safari like you would any other bookmark (go into your bookmarks, select Edit and then delete the bookmark). Uninstalling the Find In Page application via Cydia will not delete the bookmark out of Safari…you have to do that via Safari.

Overall, this is a handy little bookmark that works well. One thing I did notice, like in the previous version, once you have searched for the a word in a page it will keep that word highlighted even if you go back out and search for a new word. Not a huge deal, just something to note. You can get Find In Page via the BigBoss source.

Note: If you would like to have this app on the 2.x firmware, be sure you install the FindInPage app instead of the Find In Page app.

Available In: Cydia

Price: Free

ScreenShots

credit - http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppleiPhoneSchool/~3/EODnhp3KBM4/

Rackspace Cloud 1.0 for iPhone

2009-07-22T19:56:00.001-07:00

For those of you who may not have notices, our sponsor has changed it’s name from Mosso to The Rackspace Cloud. Really, Mosso was always a company running via Rackspace. You can read more about the name change here.

Now, for the iPhone related news. The Rackspace Cloud has recently announced they are releasing API’s. This gives developers the tools and info to create apps that interact with the cloud. Someone has already started developing an iPhone app. Not a lot of details were given, but a lot of screenshots were. Check out the screenshots below. The developers states in the comments on his blog that, “The plan is to submit it this week. It’s currently in the hands of a few people at Rackspace to test and verify functionality.”

Coming Soon: App Store
Price: ??

via - AppleiPhoneSchool

RedLaser - Scan Barcodes and Get Realtime Prices

2009-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

RedLaser is an application that scans the barcode of a product and then searches for that product and it’s prices.

When you open the app, you can begin by scanning an item. To do so just select the lighting icon on the lower menu bar which will open a screen where you can scan the barcode. You will need to line up the edges of the bar code within the arrows… the bar code needs to be upright. Once the edges are lined up, the arrows will turn green. Hold it still a split second longer (after the arrows are green) and it will automatically scan the barcode. It can be a little tricky at first but, after a few tries you will have it down. You can also manually take a picture of the bar code using the Camera button.

After the barcode has been scanned, you will instantly get a description of the product, a picture of the product (if available), a list of websites in which you can buy the product (including each website’s price of the product) and the ability to search Amazon for the product. If the barcode was not found, you will get a message saying, “No matching products found.”

From the main menu, you can email the entire list of products you have scanned, get help, delete products from the list of scanned items or manually enter a barcode number.

I starting testing this app by scanning some food items and I quickly got addicted. I ended up going all around scanning anything that had a bar code! I was impressed with how easily, quickly and accurately it scanned barcodes. Out of all the items I scanned, were only two in which the app did not find. I did have to rescan a few items before it found them but, overall, it worked great. One thing I would definitely like to see change is that the webpages would open inside of the application instead of opening in Safari. You can get RedLaser via the BigBoss source.

Note: This app is currently a beta.

You can found on Cydia and free

ScreenShots

Steampunk - WinterBoard Theme

2009-07-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Steampunk is a WinterBoard theme that contains 217 icons, a dock, badges, sliders, lock screen battery, lock screen background, wallpaper…etc. Due to the design of the dock, the theme looks the best with only three rows of icons or four rows of icons without the icon label’s turned off. Also, this is an Italian theme so, many of the icons need to be renamed (see list below for details). Other than that, it does contain some pretty cool icons. You can get Steampunk via the iSpazio source.

Note: The LiveClock mod works in conjunction with this theme.

To rename the icons, ssh into the Library/Themes/Steampunk by parbus/Icons folder and change the following file names:

Messaggi to Messages
Calendario to Calendar
Immagini to Photos
Mappe to Maps
Notities to Notes
Calcolatrice to Calculator
Impostazioni to Settings
Borsa to Stocks

How to Install

1. Your device must be jailbroken. (how?)
2. Make sure you have WinterBoard installed via Cydia.
2. Make sure you have the iSpazio source installed in Cydia.
3. Search for Steampunk in Cydia, run the install.
4. Open WinterBoard and activate the Steampunk Theme.

via - AppleiPhoneSchool

Acevedo Collection v1 - Wallpaper Pack

2009-07-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Acevedo Collection v1 is made up of random wallpapers…honestly, I’m not really sure why a few of them are in there but, they are. I only really like one of the wallpapers but, below are all the screenshots so you can check them out for yourself. Remember, when you install this wallpaper pack, the wallpapers are added to your stock Settings application under Wallpapers. You can get Acevedo Collection v1 via the MacCiti source.

Note: If you would like to manually delete some of the wallpapers once you install the pack, you can ssh into the Library/Wallpapers folder on your iPhone or iPod Touch and delete them from there.

Available In: Cydia

Price: Free

ScreenShots

qTweeter Update - Upload Videos to Twitter and Facebook on First Gen iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

2009-07-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

qTweeter, a Twitter application, has been updated to version 2.0. The update adds a new feature - video. The really cool part is that you can send a video tweet not only from an iPhone 3GS but also an iPhone 3G and a first gen iPhone (on the 3.0 firmware)! Very cool.

If you are on a first gen iPhone or an iPhone 3G, you will need to install Cycorder via Cydia. qTweeter uses Cycorder to record the video you will tweet (and then uses TwitVid to post the video to Twitter and Facebook… you do not have to have TwitVid installed on your iPhone for it to work). The video is posted just like any other TwitVid video in both Twitter and Facebook. I also like that qTweeter allows you to upload a previously taken video.

It worked great for me on an iPhone 3G running 3.0 however, Doug had to uninstall it from his iPhone 3GS because it put it into continuous Safe Mode.

I personally have always thought this was a cool Twitter application. For a full review of the app please see previous posts about qTweeter. You can get qTweeter via the Ste Packaging source.

More...

Pubblog.com Releases MailSteward 8.2.4

2009-07-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Pubblog.com has announced the release of MailSteward, MailSteward Lite, and MailSteward Pro, version 8.2.4. With this release there are new free versions of MailSteward. The free versions have all of the same functionality as the licensed versions, but have an upper limit of 15,000 emails per database.

MailSteward is the ultimate email archiving solution for the Mac. MailSteward archives email in a relational database for easy access and safe backup of all your email. Whether you manage a business, are an independent professional, or just a person with a lot of email, for legal reasons, business reasons, and personal reasons, it is essential to be able to safely archive and easily search your email.

* Safely archive your large volume of vital email information
* Easily access your email database with fast, sophisticated searching
* Protect your essential email data from data format obsolescence
* Get rid of duplicate emails

Read more

BigBoss to Release iPhone Wallpaper App

2009-07-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

BigBoss has announced that he will soon release a wallpaper application for the iPhone, entitled BossPaper.

The application will let you control what wallpaper shows up on your SpringBoard without the heavy performance impact that is experienced with Winterboard.

Features:
- You control which images are displayed. You can use camera roll, installed themes, or a combination of! With Winterboard, you could only install a theme and use what came with it. Now you can use images from many themes or other sources such as BossPaper packs.
- You can use your own images from the camera!
- BossPaper stops rotating images as soon as an app launches. This prevents battery and CPU drain.
- BossPaper stops rotating images as soon as the iPhone is locked. This prevents battery drain.
- BossPaper uses very little memory and CPU! It does not inject into apps only SpringBoard so you should not notice any application lag running it.
- BossPaper can use one of many transitions such as fade, water drop, page curl - you configure which one(s) you want. Configure how long the transitions last.
- BossPaper lets you control when to rotate images. You can rotate it on a timer you configure or you can rotate when an app closes, or both!
- BossPaper lets you hide icon labels so those that do not want to install Winterboard can use it without.
- BossPaper lets you dim the wallpaper.

The application will be released in Beta within the next few days. You will find it on the BigBoss Cydia repository.

Read More

via - iClarified

Download Expression Studio 3

2009-07-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today, Microsoft has finally shipped the final version of Expression Studio 3 and it can now be downloaded from Microsoft Download Center. Expression Studio 3 was announced alongside Silverlight 3 at a recently held launch event in San Francisco.

Microsoft Expression Studio opens up a new world of creative possibility. Its professional design tools give you the freedom to make your vision real—whether you’re designing for standards-based Web sites, rich desktop experiences, or Silverlight.

Expression Studio is a suite of tools which enables professional designers and developers to build rich applications for both web and Windows. The suite includes the following products/tools:

Expression Web 3 (with SuperPreview)
Expression Blend 3 + SketchFlow
Expression Design 3
Expression Encoder 3

Overview Expression Studio 3:

Check out this video below to see what’s new in Expression Studio 3?

Expression Studio 3 Overview Video

Download Expression Studio 3 (60 Days Trial)

iTypeFastR - Additional Keyboard - Now 3.0 Compatible

2009-07-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

I remember iTypeFastR, an additional keyboard, from the 2.x days (though, I don’t remember it being a paid app back then) and it seems the app has been updated to version 1.2.1 which now supports the 3.0 firmware. Once installed, you have a 21 day trial in which to test out the keyboard after that, the app must be registered for $3.99 USD.

To activate iTypeFastR, open the keyboard and select the Globe icon in the lower left corner. This will bring you to the iTypeFastR keyboard. To get back to your stock keyboard, go into the number section of the iTypeFastR keyboard and then select the Globe icon.

Personally, I just cant do it! The keyboard is just too weird but, maybe it is just the thing you are looking for. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Description of iTypeFastR:
“iTypeFastR is an app for iPhone, that adds a special keyboard. The keyboard allows you to type faster and with less typos, because on average the keys are much larger. This keyboard makes better use of the available room on the screen. Often used letters are used more then less used ones. On average, you therefor hit bigger buttons”

1.2.1 Change Log:
Functional:
- Compatibility with iPhone firmware 3.x (OS 3). This is the most important part, and was quite complicated to get fixed
- We got rid of two emoticons on the numeric screen. Many of you requested to increase the size of the spacebar and decrease that of the emoticons, so we did.

Design:
- We did many improvements on the landscape screen. It is much much better now
- We got rid of the ‘peel back animation’ between the keyboard to give it a more clean look - We introduced a small ‘emboss’ on all the keys to make it look slightly better

Coordinates:
- N : 3 pixels less at the bottom (coordinates file only)
because the ‘N’ was sometimes outputted when ‘space’ was meant

ScreenShots

via - AppleiPhoneSchool

Download WordPress App for Blackberry Mobile Phones

2009-07-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Now you can manage your WordPress blog from your Blackberry Mobile Phone easily. Get the Blackberry App for WordPress, its free and open source and will surely bring joy to Blackberry bloggers out there.

The Blackberry app will work with all new BlackBerry devices such as the 8700, Pearl, Curve, Bold, and Storm, with BlackBerry OS 4.2.1 or newer. The Wordpress app will work on WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress version 2.5.1 or newer. For self-hosted WordPress sites, ensure you have XML-RPC enabled on dashboard under Settings -> Writing.

Wordpress Blackberry App

Point your BlackBerry browser to http://blackberry.wordpress.org/install to install the Blackberry app for WordPress. Remember its a beta software, so is bound to have bugs, which means dont use it to manage your primary blog to avoid surprises. The app will frequently prompt when new versions are available, which you can easily upgrade. Support is available at the WordPress for Blackberry Forums.

How to Password Protect Directory Using .htaccess

2009-07-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Do you want to password protect a directory on your website? .htaccess is a powerful file which can easily password protect your files and folders in your web directories. I share this new skill I learnt while implementing it on our site.

Lets suppose you want to protect the folder 'secretfolder' located on this path on your server: home/user/domain/secretfolder

Password Protect Directory with htaccess

Step 1 – Create .htpasswd file with your desired username and password in any text editor (like Notepad) and save without the .txt extension. It is a good idea to encrypt the password for extra security. Here is a good htpasswd encryption tool to do just that – simply enter the username and password and it will generate the code for you, which you can copy and paste. For a user 'abc' and password 'abc', I got this (but it generates a new one everytime) -

abc:9476nIHW7Esgw

Step 2 – Create .htaccess file with the code below. It can be created using any text editor (like Notepad) and saved without the .txt extension. Remember to double check the location of the htpasswd file, or it will not work. You can change 'Login Details' to whatever you want displayed on the pop up alert.

AuthUserFile /home/user/domain/secretfolder/.htpasswd AuthType Basic AuthName "Login Details" Require valid-user

Step 3 – Upload both these files in the same folder which you want to protect (in this case 'secretfolder'). Now whenever anyone accesses that directory or any files in it, they will be asked for login details. You web directory is now secure.

NOTE – You might not be able to see these files on your server since they are hidden files. I use Filezilla FTP client and often use the "force showing hidden files" option to view these files. Also remember that these files can be created easily in Notepad but save without .txt extension (Save a type - choose "All Files", then you can save without any extension). If the Login window keeps popping up, most probably your login details are wrong.

OPTION - Here are some simple scripts to protect webpages, but they are only the first line of security. However, they are easier to implement as they can be simply inserted in the webpage HTML code.

WARNING: .htaccess is a very powerful file to mess with and if wrongly configured can make your site inaccessible. If you are not sure of what you are playing with, seek professional tech support from your hosting provider. Edit your .htaccess at your OWN RISK, we bear no responsibility for the same and cannot provide support.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on iPhone for FREE

2009-07-22T02:52:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter finally makes its way on the iPhone and iPod Touch! Warner Bros has released an iPhone and iPod Touch version of the popular movie and book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, much to the delight of the fans of the recently released movie of the same name. The app allows you to view official film content including official Movie Trailers, Wallpapers, Movie Synopsis, Sound Track Information, Character Information, and more.

WinterBoard Settings Utility for iPhone

2009-07-22T02:45:00.001-07:00

A new utility called WinterBoard Settings allows you to access WinterBoard through the iPhone system settings menu, according to an iSpazio report.

The utility created by David Ashman places a new item in your iPhone settings menu from which you can access Winterboard. It also adds a Springboard only switch which allows you to apply WinterBoard themes to the SpringBoard only, potentially improving the memory usage and performance of other applications.

You can install the utility by adding this repository to your Cydia Installer: http://david.ashman.com/apt

Read More

Via - .iclarified.com

Windows 7 RTM Availability

2009-07-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Brandon LeBlanc – the writer behind The Windows Team Blog has just posted more details on the availability of Windows 7 RTM bits:

Microsoft Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will be able to get their hands on Windows 7 RTM on 6th August.
Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will get it on August 16th.
Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers on 23rd August.
For Business Customers with access to Volume License Service Center (VLSC) will get their hands on the final bits on 7th August.
Retail Customers on 22nd October.

Microsoft is yet to publicly announce the final RTM Build of Windows 7. The fact that they didn’t call the latest leaked Windows 7 Build 7600.16385.090713-1255 as fake or not the final RTM makes me wonder whether Build 7600.16385.090713-1255 is indeed the final Build which Microsoft has already signed-off? Windows 7 Build 7600.16384 was previously quickly brushed off as not RTM when it was leaked on 12th July.

via - redmondpie

Windows 7 Theme for iPhone

2009-07-22T00:22:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of Windows 7 and would like to have its look and feel on your iPhone then you might want to try this Windows 7 theme which works on jailbroken iPhone. If you don’t know how to jailbreak your iPhone then you should first read the following step by step guides depending on which device you want to jailbreak:

Changes in iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 Firmware

2009-07-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

Just got this email from Apple enlightening me about the new iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 2 firmware and SDK bits which are now available for download through the iPhone Dev Center:

iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 2 and iPhone OS 3.1 beta 2 are now available on the iPhone Dev Center. These versions are for development and testing only and should be installed on devices dedicated to iPhone OS 3.1 beta software development. Please read the iPhone OS beta Pre-Install Advisory and the iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 2 release notes before downloading and installing.

Not much has changed since the last Beta which was released on 1st July 2009. Some minor changes in iPhone 3.1 includes:

According to Ars Technica developers can now work with an iPhone wirelessly (WIFI) instead of having to connect it to their development computer via USB.
TUAW is reporting that the tether hack no longer works.
According to WhenwillApple, Non-destructive video button names changed to Trim Original and Save as New Clip, this should help clear up the confusion caused by the original names Save and Save a Copy.

Those of you who have jailbroken and unlocked their iPhone with OS 3.0 should avoid to upgrade to 3.1 unless new tools are made available by Dev-Team (this warning does not apply to iPhone 2G). This version is meant for development and testing purposes only and should be installed on devices dedicated to iPhone OS 3.1 software development.

Via - redmondpie.com

iPhone | Customize Your iPhone Using WinterBoard

2009-07-21T22:12:00.001-07:00

These are instructions on how to customize your iPhone using WinterBoard.

WinterBoard is an extension for the iPhone that allows users to customize the graphics and sounds on their device. Recently, it was brought to our attention that iClarified doesn't have an WinterBoard tutorial. We apologize for the oversight and will release a few tutorials to help users with WinterBoard.

We will begin with the basic installation and usage tutorial.

Read More

Via - iclarified.com

Windows 7 Media Center and Windows Home Server PP3

2009-07-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 Beta was released last week and it brought much needed and improved Media Center integration with Windows Home Server. Power Pack 2 added the functionality of making it easier to access content stored on a Home Server from a Media Center PC, Power Pack 3 takes it a step further!

Once you have installed and configured the new Media Center Connector which ships with Power Pack 3, Windows Media Center will prompt you to install Media Center Connector:

After installation is completed, restart Media Center and you should now have a new “Home Server” tab on the Home screen of Media Center which includes the following two sub menus:

a. TV Archive

In addition to recording tv directly to the Home Server, you can now also move recordings from an existing Media Center PC to your Home Server with a click of a button. You can either move individual TV shows, a series of shows, or all the TV recordings to be automatically moved from Media Center PC to the Home Server. Moreover, you can also convert the recordings to play them back on a compatible portable device such as a Zune or a Windows Mobile phone (No support for iPhone or iPod Touch).

Katra’s Weather HD for iPhone

2009-07-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

Katra’s Weather HD is a great Winterboard theme for your iPhone Lockscreen. It will display a high quality photo of the current weather conditions on your Lockscreen.

To customize it with your town, you need to access through SSH and to edit the “configureMe.js” file in this directory: “/Library/Themes/Katra’s Weather HD.theme/Private”

You can find more details from the iSpazio Repository.

Read More

via - iclarified.com

Create a Glossy-looking Glass button in WPF

2009-07-19T03:22:00.000-07:00

Tired of the usual look of your buttons in WPF? Do you want a glossy-looking button with glass shine and glow effect as soon as you move the mouse cursor over the button?

Its just six easy steps away …

Follow the tutorial below and give a fresh look to your apps.

Tools used :

Visual Studio 2008
Expression Blend

1. Create a new WPF Application

2. Create a Canvas

Add the rectangle from the toolbar on the left:

Drag the corners of the rectangle to the appropriate dimensions that is the size you want for the button.
Click on the rectangle.
Select the 'Properties' tab on the right.
Select 'Fill' ->'No Brush'.

Select 'Stroke'->'No Brush'
In the Appearance section, change the RadiusX and RadiusY properties to 4 (to make the corners rounded).
Make the stroke thickness 0 (stroke is boundary).

Right click on the rectangle you have created.
Copy it.
Paste it twice.

Your LayoutRoot should look similar to this:

Select the rectangle as shown:

Right click it.
Select 'Group Into'->'Canvas'

3. Create the Basecoat

Rename the canvas as 'button' in the properties tab.

In the layout section section select the 'Hand' in the options for 'Cursor'

Click on the first rectangle from the top in the LayoutRoot:

Select 'Fill' –> 'Solid Color Brush'
Select the color black in the editor.

Rename the rectangle in the properties tab as 'basecoat':

4. Create the Glow

Select the second rectangle from the LayoutRoot as before
Name it 'glow' in the properties tab
Select 'Fill'-> 'Gradient Brush'->'Radial Gradient'

Click on 'Brush Transform' in the toolbox on the left :

The brush transform will be used to adjust the positioning of the gradient.

Drag the bottom of the rectangle a little to enlarge the gradient vertically:

Move your cursor around at middle of the rectangle until you see the four headed cursor.
Drag the highlight down a little:

Select 'Fill'->'Gradient Brush'->'Linear Gradient'
Click the first gradient stop and select the color you want for the glowing effect.

Select the second gradient stop.
Reduce the A value to 0 to achieve transparency.

Make the opacity 0% for now in the Appearance section:

5. Create the Glass Effect

Select the third rectangle.
Name it 'glass'.
Select 'Fill'->'Gradient Brush'->'Linear Gradient'

Select the 'Brush Transform'
Select the back of the arrow and rotate it to alter the gradient accordingly:

Move your cursor around at the top middle part of the rectangle until you see the cursor as a hand:

Drag the cursor in to the rectangle (as if pushing something into a box from the top) until you see something like this :

Select the first gradient stop.
Set A to 0

Click twice on the gradient bar at around 60% to get two gradient stops.
Get one gradient stop a few percentages lower than the other.

You can see the glassy effect in your window:

Alter the Opacity to 80%.

6. Code a little

Save your project in Blend and close it.
Open your project with Visual Studio.

Double click 'Canvas' in the xaml code of the window:

Don't get confused with the pink color. I just changed the background color for testing.

Select the 'Event' option in the properties window.
Double click on the column to the right of Mouse Enter.
Double click on the column to the right of Mouse Leave.

The double clicking caused the xaml code of the window and the method headers to be automatically generated for the events.

Enter the following code to make the glow appear only when the mouse is over the button:

        private void button_MouseEnter(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)

            glow.Opacity = 100;

        private void button_MouseLeave(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)

            glow.Opacity = 0;

And you are done

Your queries are always welcome!

via - redmondpie.com