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четверг, 23 июня 2011 г.

1st Review of Mine - 4shared Sync


As far as I've decided to start my blog, using the sort of personal experience in software development, it took me, hmm, well, I say, about 2 hours, to figure out what I should write about first. Finally, I’ve decided to write about some new soft on the market, since the blog is also new.

Having googled the software news, I’ve noticed one interesting tendency: the most essential apps, offered by reputable IT companies, are oriented on 2 major aspects, convenience of access to certain services and security of users’ data.

Thus, the service I was planning to write about, should have definitely covered both of these aspects, and, fortunately,I have found one new product - 4shared Sync.

To start with, I’ve checked – What is 4shared Sync?

In fact, the positive thing was that the author of the app – 4shared*
    ( *as Google says: 4shared is a large online storage facility, where Internet users store their text, audio, video, photo, and other files and share them, if they wish, with other people.) has managed to describe, what the app is about in a rather concise way.

If we are at least a bit alike in our tastes with you, you’ve, probably, also encountered long-long descriptions of the soft or a particular app in your life for many times, when having perused 5 -10 abstracts of text you can ask only 1 single question: WHAT???? In this respect, 4shared Sync has the 1st pro – you can get what it is quickly.

As I’ve understood: 4shared Sync – is a useful app to synchronize your files, initially stored on different PCs or laptops with their back-up stored at 4shared.com. Ok, got it!

Next step: I’ve downloaded and installed the app – good news, it’s not too large in size, so the download process didn’t take long! One pro more. Done!

Interface: well, to those users, who prefer bright and colourful app interface with thousands of images, 4shared Sync might possess a con. Its interface is rather plain. Yet, from my personal experience, the quicker you can grasp all the buttons and titles in the app interface, the more convenient the app is. So, for me, it’s rather a pro. Besides, the chosen color scheme is neutral -blue, which is also good, as it doesn’t disturb you from work. So, interface- checked!

Functionality:

1. As I hadn’t had a 4shared account before, I’ve signed up with the service to check, whether my files would be really backed-up. Haha, that was a shock, but I’ve been given 15GB free storage space! Pro-Pro-Pro!









2. Have chosen the standard installation type, as recommended.







3. Then, I’ve chosen the path to “My 4shared” folder, and copied a few photos from my PC there. Fascinating, it took a sec, or smth, for the photos to appear at my 4shared account. Nicee!! 




 
4. Have installed 4shared Sync on my laptop, to check, if the photos from my PC would appear. Clicked “Synchronize” and pa-dam!!! They are now everywhere!!!))) haha, it’s like the most essential photos of mine have been chosen, to store them everywhere))))




5. Final. Have installed the app at work on my PC. Pa-da-dam! Those 4 photos are now at my office, too)lol

Sitemap Writer Pro Review (SoftwareReviewBoffin)

(SoftwareReviewBoffin.com)

A sitemap is a map of a website that shows the web pages and how they are linked or related. Sitemaps are usually provided so that visitors can easily navigate through your site. Search engines also use sitemaps to index your site. The sitemap's format when submitted to search engines is a bit different. Usually an XML tree structure is used inside these sitemap files.
Sitemap Writer Pro enables you to build and manage your own XML maps for your website without any knowledge of XML required. The program features a rather plain interface in which you may feel a bit lost at first but a quick glance at the complete help section solves the issue. You can import all your URLs from a .txt file, insert them manually or even have the program crawl your site to extract all of them. Sitemap Writer includes a wide range of tools to handle these URLs, such as copying, pasting or finding duplicates, amongst others. The program also allows you to export them directly to HTML.

Other interesting options featured in Sitemap Writer are, for example, a search engine notification tool and a built-in FTP client to upload your XML sitemap right away. Even if the program looks quite unfriendly at the beginning, it is certainly worth the effort to learn how to use it.
It includes built in site crawlers for adding URLs into the XML sitemap, FTP manager, search engine notification tools for Yahoo!, Google, Ask.com, Live.com and Moreover.com, a sitemap index file editor, HTML site map export tool and the Google CodeSearch sitemap export tool. The generated sitemap version is 0.90. Sitemap Writer Pro can convert HTML sitemaps and RSS 2.0 feeds to XML sitemap. It incorporates full conformity with the sitemap protocol.

The main reasons to choose this program are:
  • Can export sitemap to HTML
  • Includes FTP client
  • Integrated Crawler
Provide information about your site to all search engines, create xml sitemaps, update them, edit them and much more with Sitemap Writer Pro. Help people discover more of your website by placing it in the most popular search engines. With the help of this exclusive tool, you can automate the generation of sitemaps for your websites, updating them time and again, editing them, uploading them to web servers and submitting them to all search engines like Google, Yahoo, Ask.com and MSN. The easy to use features of the utility mean that you do not need the knowledge of XML syntax. Instead you just use the crawler or enter the URL. It also supports an Integrated Crawler that will crawl your site and add all your URL into sitemap file, gzip compression, Sitemap index editor, enables URL parameters to change with a right click, allows merging different sitemaps, and much more. 

Sitemap Writer Pro is designed for: WinXP, Windows2000, Windows2003, Windows Vista Starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Home Basic x64, Windows Vista Home Premium x64, Windows Vista Business x64, Windows Vista Enterprise x64, Windows Vista Ultimate x64. Languages: English, Spanish and Russian. Sitemap Writer Pro has the following requirements: Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1

BeBook - Live review (ITReviews)

(ITReviews.co.uk)

A budget Android tablet with some very good features (22/06/2011)

BeBook has made a name for itself producing e-readers, but for the first time it has branched out with an Android tablet. The BeBook Live comes at a mid-range price, with some surprisingly good specifications.

Surprisingly good spec

Considering it has a price not far over £200, the BeBook Live is a surprisingly well specified tablet. It can't compete with the likes of the HTC Flyer or Samsung Galaxy Tab, which are its high end 7in competition, but it does have some definite plus points.
We especially like the 1GHz processor, which helps ensure the tablet zips along quite nicely. And the capacitive screen is very responsive to finger touch. We also like the presence of an HDMI port with Full HD 1080p output, and the fact that there is 4GB of built-in storage. We do wish a HDMI cable had been included in the package, though.

Where's the catch?

Of course, some compromises have had to be made in order to hit the price. Probably the most significant of these is the fact that the screen has a resolution of just 600x800 pixels. This means web page text can appear a bit fuzzy. A higher resolution would have been more suitable for e-book reading too.


Some people will be nonplussed that there's no SIM support - though the Wi-Fi will keep you connected when you're in range of a network. Others will bemoan the absence of GPS. Still more will find fault with the build quality, which is not up to the standard set by HTC or Samsung. But the BeBook Live is not a flimsy object. It weighs a solid 426g (in comparison with the Samsung Galaxy Tab's 385g and the HTC Flyer's 420g).

But is it an e-book reader? 

People will inevitably ask about the e-book reading potential of the BeBook Live. It runs Android 2.2, has a colour screen, and offers the Android Market. So you can do the things you'd expect to be able to do with an Android tablet.
In addition, it comes with a couple of e-book reader apps. FBReader is an old favourite freebie, while Aldiko is an ad-supported freebie which can handle free and paid-for e-books in EPUB, PDF and Adobe DRM. Downloading for either is easy, and the latter even has a visual bookshelf as its main screen and lots of free, out-of-copyright classics for download. It's a pity BeBook couldn't have included a library of such works on a microSD card, just to boost the e-book reading appeal of the BeBook Live.

BeBook - Live features - Verdict

 

The BeBook Live is a good value tablet with some strong features. It's a pity about the low screen resolution, but then again a higher resolution would have meant a higher price.

BEST POINT: Fast processor and some decent specs for the price.

WORST POINT: Low-resolution screen isn't ideal for e-books.

RATING: 4/5