Tech Stuff

XMarks

15 years
by in Websites

I’ve been trying out a little application/website for syncing bookmarks between browsers:

http://www.xmarks.com/

It has some promise and I love the fact that it is cross browser and cross-platform. So you can sync bookmarks between Chrome on your Windows PC and Firefox on your Linux box. I also like that your bookmarks are backed up ‘in the cloud’. So you can get a new computer up and running quickly by installing xmarks or you can access your bookmarks online from a friends computer even if they don’t have it installed. You can also share your bookmarks and write reviews for other xmarks users.

The only gotcha so far seems to be the ability to sort bookmarks via the web interface. You have to work around it by syncing all your bookmarks from various computers, sorting them using a browser like Firefox and then syncing again.
It’s also quite confusing which source acts as the master. Like if I rename a bookmark locally and then sync, it seems to create 2 bookmarks on the web gui – one with the old name and one with the new name.

But if you can work around these quirks, it is an excellent little app. It would be fantastic to combine this with a password manager such as keepass so you can get access to your bookmarks and login details where-ever and whenever you need them.

Update: Xmarks is being discontinued now that both Chrome and Firefox are building in bookmark synchronisation features and the Xmarks team have not been able to find a suitable business plan to monetize having a load of bookmarks data.  Read more about it in their blog here: http://blog.xmarks.com/?p=1886

http://trick.ly/

15 years
by in Tech Stuff, Websites

This site is a url shortener with a twist.

You can shorten a url but also give it a question and an answer.  You can send everyone the link.  But only the insiders who can answer the question correctly, get the link.

Kinda interesting way to share semi-private links over the internet.  Even via blogs.

Cleaning up hard drive tips

15 years
by in Tech Stuff

Below are some tips and ideas on clearing out you hard drive and making your computer run smoother.

1.  Uninstall Windows components and Programs you no longer need/want.

  1. Open your Control Panel (select Start > Settings -> Control Panel)
  2. Open Add or Remove Programs
  3. Go through the list of applications and uninstall any applications that you want to remove.
  4. Click the Add/Remove Windows Components button
  5. Select the components you want to remove and press OK

2.  Clear out program files that get left behind:

Sometimes the uninstall programs aren’t perfect and they leave behind bits and pieces.  Look through c:program files and see if there are any folders or programs that you don’t recognise or don’t want.  I don’t suggest you delete these immediately.  Move them to a temporary folder called something like ‘delete in 1 week if not needed’.  You may not recognise the name of the folder but it may be used for some program that you use regularly – it’s best to keep a backup for a while just in case.

3.  Run ccleaner and spybot.

Download, install and run these apps from the following websites:
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
http://www.safer-networking.org/mirrors/

CCleaner is a great program for removing temporary files like temporary internet files etc and spy bot is a great program for scanning for and removing spyware and adware that can dramatically slow down your pc. Running these is pretty straight forward.  I’d recommend keeping these both up-to-date and running ccleaner at least fortnightly and Spy Bot monthly.

4.  Search for large files.

  1. Start -> Search -> Files and folders.
  2. In the sidebar, click ‘what size is it’ and select ‘Specify size (in KB)’.
  3. Enter a value of around 10,000 or higher and search your whole hard drive.
  4. Review the files in this list (there may be a lot) and see if there’s any here that should be removed.

5.  Defrag your hard drive.
This will recover some space, but not a great deal but it will also help you computer find and load files faster.

  1. Right click on ‘My Computer’ and choose manage.
  2. Choose ‘Disk Defragementer’.  Then select your main hard drive and click ‘defragment’.

6.  Consider a fresh install.
It sounds dramatic but often the best way to clear things out is to backup EVERYTHING , format your hard drive and start again with a clean slate.  Don’t take this option likely.  Do some research and (I’ll say it again) back everything up.  This can cause problems if you’re not experienced with re-installing software or you don’t have anything to back up all of you data onto but it’s worth considering.   If you’re buying a new computer or new hard drive then this is a great time to consider this option.

7.  Consider a second hard drive:
They don’t cost that much and if there’s nothing you can find to delete then this is the next logical step.

8.  If you don’t have at least 2gig of ram, consider some more.
Ram is temporary memory that you computer uses when it is thinking.  If you computer doesn’t have enough RAM it uses hard drive space to make up for the deficit.
Ram prices vary greatly depending on the type or ram your machine will take and how much of it you need.   But generally you can upgrade your ram for less than $100.

I hope this helps you out.

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