EZ Hacks: programs

If you want to access your feeds from any computer you use even the public ones and you prefer a desktop solution over online alternatives and FeedDemon is your favorite feedcacher, here is how you can configure it to use it as a portable software.

First install FeedDemon to your USB drive. Open it, then from “file / manage cache” change the cache folder to somewhere in your USB.

For the second part, open regedit (win+r –> regedit), search for Bradbury. Right click / extract / save the file in your USB.

Whenever you want to use it on different computer click on click that reg file first. It will insert your settings to the new computer (thus your cache will be in your USB, as long as the drive letter for your USB is the same as the first computer you created the reg file).
You can also create a couple of registry settings each with a different drive letter by editing the reg file with notepad.

If all these steps seems complicated and you prefer an easier solution you can download this little application I created to do all this steps for you.

You can either type the folder path of your cache or you can select it by using “choose cache folder” button. Then you just have to click “add to registry” button. After you finish your session, you can also delete all registry settings created by FeedDemon by using “clean registry settings” button.

FeedDemon , portable , programs

How to Convert Videos with VirtualDub

There are hundreds of video converters you can find on the Internet. Some of them are paid and some are free (freeware and open source). VirtualDub is among the powerful and free video processing programs. Although by using filters you can do almost all the manipulations you can find on paid programs, in this article I just want to show how to convert videos.
First step is to download VirtualDub. Then drag and drop your video file onto VirtualDub. Select audio / full processing mode / compression / lame mp3 / 48000Hz, 128kbps /

then select video / filters / add / resize (select your preferred aspect ration – 4:3), (codec friendly sizing – multiples of 4) / then again video / compression – select x264 /

file / save as avi.

If you do not have x264 codec download and install KLite codec pack first.

programs , video

System Explorer: Free Full Featured Task Manager

I previously post a list of free and advanced task manager replacements. Here is my favorite one on that list: System Explorer. It has a lot of features that are missing on the default task managers, some of them being:
* Detailed information about Tasks, Processes, Startups, IE Add-ons, Uninstallers, Windows, Services, Drivers, Connections and Opened Files
* Easy check of suspicious files via VirusTotal service.
* Easy search details about file/process via online databases
* Easy access to System Utilities
* Performance graphs for monitoring usage of system resources in time
* Action History for monitoring processes activities
* Making of System Snapshots for easy finding of system changes.
* Multiple language support (English, Espanol, Deutsch, Portuguese, Japanese)

download (it has a portable version too)

For old time sake here is a screenshot from my old XP.

Look closely for total process number and memory usage.

programs , task manager

Digsby Hacks For Better Look

Personally I am not a big fan of custom themes, I usually use the default ones, and it is same with Digsby too, but if you want something different you can there are lots of custom stuff in Digsbies to download like skins, conversation themes and emoticons sets.

Some of them: