The Most Relevant Video Search Engine That Would Indexed

If you enjoy exploring video content on the web, you'll absolutely love Truveo - an extremely impressive and powerful video search service from AOL that helps you find video content from all other video sharing websites (like YouTube, blip.tv), content portals (like CNet, iVillage) and most mainstream media websites (like CNBC, ABC News, BBC, etc).

Truveo provides an amazing array of options (like Google advance search operators) to further refine the video search results. For instance, you can limit the search results based on categories (like Technology), source of video or even the relative importance of the video (like most viewed, rated, recent).
Every search results page comes with an RSS feed, a feature that's missing even in the popular YouTube. And if you are in a mood to browse videos not search, Truveo is again useful - all the viral videos, TV shows, breaking news videos, movie clips, music videos and sports videos are neatly organized in categories.
With Truveo in town, there's little reason for you to use any other video search engine. Competitors include uLinkx and Blinkx.

Continue Reading... Labels: Video Search, Youtube

Add Rating To Your Blog Posts for Instant Feedback from Visitors

Blogs that are on Blogger, WordPress or TypePad can now add the wonderful outbrain star ratings widget to their blog posts.
This ratings widget has been under a closed beta for some time but they finally made a public release today.

It's light, requires no registration and very intuitive - visitors can hover the mouse over the five stars and click any of them to rate your current blog post.
Even if you have a regular website that's not a blog, this ratings widget can be installed on your site as well.
You need such a rating widget to get feedback from all those reader who are subscribed to your blog aren't contributing to the discussion because they are probably too lazy to write a comment.
Give them a system like this ratings widget that requires no effort and they'll be happy to say if enjoyed or disliked reading your blog post.
Get Ratings Widget here. Developer Blog is here. If you are using Windows Live Writer to insert ratings in your blog posts, make sure you remove the link breaks from javascript else this may not work.

Continue Reading... Labels: Blog Rating, FeedBack

How To Make PowerPoint Presentations Out of Google Docs

Before you upload PowerPoint PPT files to Google Presentations for editing, make sure you know that the opposite is not possible yet.
Unlike other members of the Google Docs family, Google Presentations doesn't have an export function so you cannot download your edited PowerPoint slideshows out of Google Presentations in PPT, PDF or any other popular formats.
Google Docs does allow you to download the presentations as a ZIP, which is a mix of HTML, CSS and JPGs, but again that's not a very useful or convenient format.
Considering that PPT is such a universally accepted presentation format, it is quite safe to assume that PowerPoint export feature will meet Google Presentations very soon.
But if you are getting desperate to get those PowerPoint slides out of Google Docs now itself because the boss wants them, the good old Print Screen key can be your friend.
Open the Google Presentation file in the browser that you want to import back into PowerPoint - then hit the "Start Presentation" link on the top left (or hit Ctrl+F5) to play the slideshow in a new window. As the slides progress in the browser, hit the Print Screen key each time, add a new slide in PowerPoint and insert the clipboard contents by pressing Ctrl+V.
It's not the most practical solution because the slides are now still images and therefore non-editable - but then something is better than nothing.
The print screen technique can also be used for sharing presentations created in Google Docs on any of the PowerPoint hosting services like SlideShare, Scribd and more.

Update: This hack is not required anymore as you can now easily export PPT files from Google Docs.

Continue Reading... Labels: Google Docs, Power Point

Modify PDF Documents without Adobe Acrobat

Since Adobe PDF is an output format, you cannot edit or recreate the PDF file unless the source documents are available.
Agree, Adobe Acrobat does allow you apply numerous modifications to your existing PDF documents (like editing text, changing font attributes, inserting images and more), Acrobat is an extremely expensive software.
If you are on a budget and wish to edit PDF documents without Acrobat, the easiest option is to make edits in the original document itself and recreate the PDF using Google Docs or any of the free PDF writers.
When that is is not an option because you don't have the PDF source files, the PDFill PDF Editor (link) can help you manipulate PDF documents though it may work with password protected PDFs.

The PDF Editor is freeware and lets you make basic changes to PDF files - you can reorder the sequence of pages, crop a PDF page, add text information in header and footer, add image stamps or even merge multiple PDFs into one.
PDFill PDF editor is still limited like it won't let you edit that phone number or address in the PDF - another option is to download a trial version of Adobe Acrobat Professional - it works like a charm for 30 days.
More PDF Stories: Extract Text from PDF with Gmail, Adobe Acrobat Alternatives

Continue Reading... Labels: Adobe Acrobat, PDF Doc

Google Search Engine Reducing Page Rank of Websites Who Sell Paid Text Links

Matt Cutts has long been giving strong but indirect hints that selling text links ads (without using nofollow) or writing sponsored product reviews could harm the rankings of your blog or website in Google search results.
Google is not against text link advertising, they just don't want sites to pass link juice to advertisers. Read Matt's take on the issue:

You want my links for traffic.. totally fine..just don't make it so they affect search engines..so that's why we say use nofollow..or use a redirect which is through robots.txt
Paid links that affect search engines (whether paid text links or a paid review) can cause a site to lose trust in Google.

Two months ago, we saw that organic search rankings of a Page Rank 7 website were penalized by Google for selling text links. The ban was quickly lifted (in less than a week) after the site owner removed the paid links.

Now another instance has surfaced where Google penalized the PageRank of a site after detecting paid links.
The Stanford Daily website, which is part of Standford University, was a PR 9 website but with the recent update, Google has dropped the to PR7. The reason, you guessed it right, is paid text links.
Danny Sullivan, who discovered the drop, talked to Google about the issue and Google confirmed that PageRank scores are being lowered for some sites that sell links.
Not just PageRank, Google said that some sites that are selling links may indeed end up being dropped from its search engine or have penalties attached, to prevent them from ranking well.
Not everyone here may agree with the rules imposed by Google Government but there's no denying that Google is the single largest source of search traffic to most websites today.
By selling paid links on your site (without using nofollow), you may be making money in the short run but once the search rankings and PageRank is penalized by Google, the incoming search traffic and link selling power of your site will dilute anyway.

Continue Reading... Labels: PageRank, Paid Text Link

Signing In for a Gmail Account? Consider Google Apps Premier

Gmail Invites - This is probably the longest page on Digital Inspiration and it's still growing though Google has lifted the "invite-only" curtain from Gmail.
With ~3 GB of storage space, 20 MB attachment limit, inbuilt viewer for Office files and pretty solid spam filters, it is no surprise that Gmail is so popular especially among geeks and techies.
If you are also planning to sign up for a new Gmail account because of the above advantages, consider opting for Google Apps Premier Edition that makes Gmail even better. Read five reasons:
1. While 3 GB in free Gmail is lot of space, it can get exhausted - Google Apps gives you 25+ GB of storage space.

2. You can define a list of approved email senders and web domains - any messages from approved lists will always go to your Inbox bypassing the junk email filters. You can also block individual email senders and entire domains - messages from anyone in a blocked domain go directly to the Junk Quarantine.

3. Google guarantees a 99.9% uptime for Gmail. If things still go wrong, you can call Google's 24x7 telephone support for a solution.
4. Google Apps Premier users can hide all advertisements in Gmail that show in the right sidebar.

5. Now the top reason for using Google Apps email over Gmail - accidents do happen but with Google Apps Premier, you can recover deleted email messages from Gmail.
You read it right - If you accidentally delete an email message in GMail , you will be able to retrieve the deleted message for the next 90 days by just searching for the message in the email archive.

Unlike Gmail which is free, Google Apps Premier will cost you $50 per year. Though Google is promoting the premier edition for business users, it is a good enough for anyone who finds Gmail storage limited or wants more control - $50 could be a worthwhile investment.
[for #2 & #5, you will need to activate Postini inside Google Apps Premier.]

Continue Reading... Labels: Free Email, Gmail

Microsoft Removes WGA Validation Requirement for IE

Microsoft today released a new build of Internet Explorer 7 that installs without requiring you to validate the copy of Windows as Genuine. The new IE7 is available Windows XPSP2, x64 Server and Windows Server 2003.

Now that users running pirated copies of Windows XP can install IE7, it makes one wonder if Microsoft took this step to counter the growing popularity of alternate browser like Firefox and Opera? [Microsoft Software Piracy]
This is an update to the availability of Internet Explorer 7 and not a new version of the browser. Other than removing the WGA validation requirement, Microsoft has made some minor changes to IE browser.
For instance, the Menu bar will be turned on by default and the online Internet Explorer 7 tour has been updated to include how-to’s on new IE features like tabbed browsing.
You can download Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2 here.
Genuine Windows users, who are already running IE7, need not do anything except for downloading a new update for IE7 here that resolves a performance issue with the Phishing Filter of Internet Explorer 7.
Related: Block IE7 from Installing via Automatic Updates

Continue Reading... Labels: Microsoft WGA, Remove Windows WGA

Simple Merge Multiple RSS Feeds Into One with Yahoo! Pipes + FeedBurner

One of the very popular question in the FeedBurner FAQ is about merging XML feeds from different sources (like Blogger, WordPress, Flickr, Twitter, Jaiku) and then syndicate the entire content as one FeedBurner feed.
This is desirable because a single feed makes it extremely easy for your subscribers to track new content and updates from you.
Though FeedBurner doesn't provide any native feed mixing service, you can use the excellent Yahoo! Pipes service to combine two or more feeds and burn them into a single FeedBurner feed.
Here's a step by step guide (or you can watch the video tutorial)

Step 1: Go to the Yahoo! Pipes website and Create a new Yahoo! Pipe here.
Step 2: Drag-n-drop the "Fetch Feed" tab from the Sources tab to the main drawing panel.
Step 3: Add all the different Feed URLs in the same Fetch Feed Module (click the plus icon).
Step 4: Once you are done adding all your RSS feeds, drag the lower circle from Feed Fetch module to the Pipe Output at the bottom.
Step 5: Give some name and save this Yahoo! Pipe. Now run the pipe and you will see a new RSS feed - syndicate that feed via FeedBurner so you can even track the feed subscribers. It's all very simple - watch the video demo below:

Screencast video created using Camtasia Studio 5. [download, 2.5 MB]

Continue Reading... Labels: Multiple RSS Feeds

How to Google Adsense Plugin for Windows Live Writer

AdSense Coder is new plugin for Windows Live Writer that lets you to add Google Ads directly into your blog posts through Windows Live Writer itself. It will also wrap the Adsense code around your text using the align attribute.
You first define different Google Ad formats that you want to include in the blog posts. AdSense Coder will then add those blocks of Javascript code to your blog posts anywhere you like.
Pretty easy to use but before you download and install the Adsense plugin, here's a word of caution.
Always avoid inserting Adsense code directly in your blog posts - always do that via templates in Blogger or themes in WordPress.
The reason is simple - if Google decides to change the default Adsense code for publishers somewhere down the line, you'll have to manually edit each and every blog posts that contains the Adsense code in order to remain complaint with the Google policies.
That situation will never arise if you put the Adsense block in a central place like the template of your blog.

Continue Reading... Labels: Google Adsense

Review Audiology Magma Earbuds

When I purchased the Audiology Magma earbuds, I knew the price was right. However, I wasn't sure what level of sound quality and practicality they would provide. Read on to learn my impressions.

First of all, The Magma has decent sound quality. I'm no audiophile, but they are more than satisfactory for me. The only negative factor I could identify would be the soft bass. I think the bass should be bolder. If you are looking for analytical-quality sound, I think you should look for a higher-end product.

The Magma earbuds with the two sets of inserts 

The Magma comes with three types of ear bud inserts: small, medium, and large. The medium sized insert, which came pre-installed on the Magma, worked great for me. For an experiment, I changed an insert and found that it was very easy to get on and off. If you have the correctly sized insert installed, these earbuds stay on well. I didn't hear a lot of outside noise, but I could still understand nearby conversation. Because these earbuds stay on well and allow just enough outside sound to be audible, I believe they would be a good pair for jogging or exercising.

Just so you are fore-warned, the Magma has an annoying quirk. Its wires tangle up VERY easily. If I try to wind them up to put them in a pocket, they still come out tangled. It takes me less than a minute to untangle them, but it’s still annoying.

I bought the Audiology Magma earbuds on sale at Menard's for about $2. On Amazon.com, they are regularly priced at $15.57, including shipping and handling. I would not pay quite that much for this model, but I think anything less than $10 is a very reasonable price for the Magma.

In summary, if you are looking for earbuds that deliver high-end sound quality, the Audiology Magma earbuds are not for you. However, if you are looking for good fit with reasonable sound quality at a very affordable price and are willing to deal with it’s little quirk, I recommend them.

This table provides technical specifications for the Audiology Magma earbuds:

Frequency response	20-20000Hz
Impedance	16 Ohms
Sensitivity	102 dB
Max input power	50mW
Cord length	1.2m
Plug type	3.5mm
Driver units	13mm

Continue Reading... Labels: audiology magma earbuds review, earbuds, TechnoGadget Reviews

Give an OPML Of Your Favorite Blogs

Following the footsteps of CNET Blog 100, PC Magazine too today released their own list of 100 favorite blogs. The list includes the usual suspects but if you are new to the blogging world, this is probably a good place to quickly build your reading list.
There's something surprising here - PC Magazine decided to release a Windows based installer that will add this grand list of 100 blogs right into your Internet Explorer bookmarks.

Agree, a lot of people still use browser bookmarks to save their favorite websites but blogs are generally read and subscribed in RSS readers. PC Magazine could have released the blog list as an OPML that subscriber could import to their favorite news readers in a click.
Secondly, the PC Magazine installer will work only on Windows even though the mentioned blogs would definitely interest readers who may be on Mac and Linux.
Another surprise - Scobleizer is missing.

Continue Reading... Labels: OPML Blog, PC Magazine, XML Blog