Myzips.com Software Blog

Many people believe that DOS is dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. A lot of individuals would probably be incredulous if you were to tell them that there was a version of the Disk Operating System that is still undergoing active development.

However, this case is indeed quite true. After all, there are many who would like to see command line driven systems forever deceased. Nevertheless, there is indeed a new version of this standby out there. FreeDOS (freedos.org) is made in the spirit of free software, as the name might suggest. Therefore, its development base is largely volunteer staff. On the other hand, however, this does not detract from the fact that DOS has always been a stable operating system. Indeed, it is among the most stable. Moreover, many options for modern graphical user interfaces have been added on. This makes the FreeDOS experience a positive boon for individuals who have to work with older or discarded computers and do not want to pay to have an operating system installed on them. Furthermore, many of the utilities will be of great use to individuals running commercial DOS and Windows based operating systems, and would be a welcome download for a great many consumers.

Undercover is a great little theft recovery program for the Mac by a Belgian software company called Orbicule.

After a computer is stolen the owner can activate the hidden app and set the wheels to recovery in motion. Think of it as a kind of “Lo-Jack” for your laptop. When the thieves or unlucky recipients of the stolen computer next log on to the internet, the IP address and other information is automatically sent to the rightful owners email address. The application will even utilize the Mac’s built in video camera to secretly take snap shots of who ever uses the computer after it has been stolen and send these to your email as well! For fans of spy movies and James Bond flicks, this feature alone is worth the very affordable price. Orbicule claims that 90% + of stolen Macs that had “Undercover” installed on them, have been recovered. If you’ve invested in a nice new laptop for college or work this safeguard seems like it’s at least worth a look.

The Print Shop Deluxe is an exceptional tool for desktop publishing, personalized gift making, web design, scrapbooking and other crafts.

Although I am not a technology-centric person, I do use a computer on a daily basis. The skills needed to install, run and use this program are extremely user friendly for those of us who aren’t tech savvy, but have comfortable, everyday computer knowledge. With software to help the user upload personal photos, one can easily create greeting cards, place cards, stationary, scrapbook pages, brochures, flyers, business cards and other printed material. In the past, software programs have been extremely limited in their scope and capabilities, or the graphics have been far too basic and minimal.

Print Shop Deluxe allows you to change from a wide range of graphics, and enables you to download more, if needed. You can also use your own personal photos and graphics integrated into this program. This gives the user a vast range of images from which to choose. I have used this program to create brochures and business cards for my Yoga business, as well to make personalized gift tags, holiday cards and personalized scrapbook pages for albums. The high quality of this program makes it very usable for even those lacking in creativity or artistic expression.
Print Shop Deluxe helps guide you through your choices to create a high quality product. I’m very pleased with this program, and would recommend it to anyone interested in publishing their own print materials.

I work for a company based in Idaho but I live in Texas. This type of work situation is not totally new to our day and age, but it is quickly becoming more common.

This is because of the influx of new tools that make telecommuting more effective and easier. GoToMeeting, an online meeting tool is one such tool. It allows the parties to interact over the phone and for the project instructor to access the other parties computer, or for the other party to view the presenters screen. This can be a very effective tool in a business or teaching environment. With my current job I teach a lot of people how to use various websites, like eBay etc. The customers often have a very limited understanding of how to use technology, so this allows me to first show them exactly how the technology works, and then watch them while they repeat my instructions. The only quibble I have with this software is that the teleconferencing tools are not very well designed. The price is pretty reasonable for small operations, and you can have presentations of up to fifteen people for the plan I employ, but the teleconferencing is often a problem for my customers. Overall a good product though.

Programming Languages and their Compilers.

The first challenge for anyone who is new to programming is to make a choice between the various compilers available for a particular language. This post aims to guide you to the world of compilers, so that you can make your choice easily.

1. C++: Microsoft Visual C++ Express Edition. Free & Fast + Great debugging support.

2. Python: The Python Official Compiler. Available and supported for multiple platforms.

3. Java: The official Sun Java JDK (Java Development Kit), + Multi platform.

4. Visual Basic/C# and the .NET platform: All express editions are free and best suited for anyone who is new to programming.

5. Pascal: The official Pascal compiler, supported.

I watch a lot of anime. And at first, when it came to watching downloaded files that were in FLV or AVI format (settle down, I only download them when they haven’t come out in English yet), my computer didn’t know what to do with them, until I found the CCCP.

CCCP stands for Combined Community Codec Pack. putting this on your computer guarantees you’ll be ready for just about every file type and compression ratio that people can throw your way. it’s a small, bare-bones player, which is good for me. I don’t need a playlist or to know how many times I’ve watched something or even the artist–I put most of that in the filename.I do, however, need something that won’t freeze up my computer or take up the entire screen when I play a file. The best part is that the CCCP is FREE and available in a single download from their website. Also, if you’ve ever had problems playing media files on other programs on your computer, I’ve learned by accident that sometimes applications like Windows Media Player can borrow/steal codecs from CCCP, meaning that it’ll be able to play all sorts of video types too.