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Heres a cool little application that does not require installation. Just chuck it on your usb drive and lett'r rip. WildRename by Cylog Software.

Finally a better application that really is missing from Windows. Here is a multiple file rename utility with tons of customizations.

With Cylog's WildRename you now have the ability to:

• Rename a group of files all at once


• Create or undo files


• Recurse into directory tree, rename directories


• Convert filenames to lower and UPPER case


• Insert/delete letters from filenames


• Regular Expression support


• Ability to de/activate jobs

Main screen shot
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Shot #2
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Check it out, its a keeper..

Here is a nifty utility that really helps when you need to get a specific color quickly. Usually I am looking around, as we all are, on the net and find a site that has a really cool color. "What is that color?" Well, with ColorSchemer you can readily snip that color with all its data. Any of the color models, RGB, HEX, HSB or CMYK, information can be gleaned from the pointed to color.

From their website:

ColorPix is a useful little color picker that grabs the pixel under your mouse and transforms it into a number of different color formats.

You can use the built-in magnifier to zoom in on your screen, click on a color value to copy it directly to the clipboard, and even keep ColorPix on top of all other apps and out of the way.

Compact

Expanced view

An external hard drive is a hard disk drive (much like the one in your computer) that is placed externally, outside of the case. You can buy them pre-made, or purchase a hard drive and an enclosure, and make your own. They came in many sizes, are relatively inexpensive, and are well suited to perform various functions. In this article, I will detail 3 specific uses for your external hard drive.

For one reason or another, you may have chosen a computer whose storage capacity you’ve outgrown. It may be full to capacity with files and programs, and you need room to expand. So the first example is to use your external hard drive to add expandability to your computer. This is true in case all of your PC’s hard drive bays are full, and especially if you have a laptop which has only one hard drive bay.

A second example is to use your external hard drive as a shared storage drive. You can attach it to a PC, set permissions and share-ability, and start saving, and sharing various files. For example, you can share and save pictures, MP3s, and video files. By using it in this manner, you’ll be able to free up tons of space on your computer’s local hard drive, and you’ll be able to share files with everyone in your home network.

Another possible use for your external hard drive is to save important documents. For example, you can scan wills, deeds, insurance information, leases, bank account and credit information, and store them on your external hard drive. You can also take pictures of all your valuables, and keep these safe in your external hard drive for future reference. If it’s important to you, then it’s worthy of being saved in your external hard drive. You can then store this hard drive in a secure location such as a fire-proof safe, or a safety deposit box. This will surely save you tons of headaches in case of theft, or worse yet, a disaster.

There you have it. That’s 3 possible uses for your external hard drive. They’re versatile, and come in sizes that you can choose according to your specific needs. If you have a lot of files to save, then you can get a 500 GB hard drive, or larger if you wish. If you only have a few important documents to save, then maybe a 15 GB hard drive will suffice. The important thing is that it is you who can choose the size you need. It is you who can choose what its primary function will be. And if you need to, you can get more than one external hard drive. That’s what makes them so ideal.

Erick Charles has worked in the IT field for over 2 years. He is eager to share his knowledge and has created a websites geared towards the non-techie. You can visit it at http://thetechboy.com.

An Inflight USB Power Unit supplies USB appliances with basically unlimited power while we, the owners of such devices, soar into the air. While that is not the sale line from InFlight Power, it is what I would write. One thing that has always driven me up the wall is not having power in PDA, ipod, or cell phone when I need it. I know a lot of people do a lot more cell phone calling and use their PDA’s more than I do, and so I can only imagine their frustration.

While this thing is applicable to any USB appliance, most of us would be satisfied – I think – to use it merely for our cell phones (at least that is my case). All you or I need to do is purchase this rather affordable cable, which connects the passenger’s music jack, and, bingo! I power up my cell phone. Of course, it does little good for me until the pilot allows me to turn on my cell phone, but when he does, I have power! In a sense, this little $35 device has made my day. Now I just need to get a cell tower on my DC-10.

Assuming you have a USB Drive... How big is it? The funny thing is that we all want to buy the biggest, but in reality, a lot of times we don't need that big of one. So, for this poll, I'd like to know how big your USB drive is. The next poll, I'll ask how much data you really keep on it.

Here's a list of polls we've run on usbwarez.com. Feel free to check them out - cast your vote!

• How big is your USB Drive?


• Do you carry a USB drive with you?

Here is a nifty app that has both an installer AND a stand-alone version.. Thus it made it to this site as a review.

A little background, we do not have the internet at home and my wife has been having to go to the local library to view a home cleaning site her sister told her about.. Well, she only gets there an hour or so a week. On this particular site there is a ton of good material to make house work easier but, it takes a long time to view it much less try to remember it and maybe go back and re-view it at another date..

There has got to be away to get some pages of this site offline so she can access it with her non-connected computer.. Well there is, my friend told me about HTTrack.. WOW is this cool.

I found it was a stand-alone version and gave it a shot.. Just did a quick download and ran it.. Pointed it to the website in question and lett'r rip.. Just watched the "thermometer" bars dance and away we go.. It re-did all the paths and everything. Very slick. Got the whole site, burned it to CD, and my wife was very happy.. Got pix, all pages, everything. Very nice..

Here is a small snippet from the HTTrack site

It allows you to download a World Wide Web site from the Internet to a local directory, building recursively all directories, getting HTML, images, and other files from the server to your computer. HTTrack arranges the original site's relative link-structure. Simply open a page of the "mirrored" website in your browser, and you can browse the site from link to link, as if you were viewing it online. HTTrack can also update an existing mirrored site, and resume interrupted downloads. HTTrack is fully configurable, and has an integrated help system.

An External Hard drive can come in handy for backing up files or freeing up some disk space on your PC. The only problem is they can be pretty expensive. An easy alternative is to buy a drive enclosure for about $20 and build your own using an internal hard drive.

Building your own external hard drive enclosure can be done in as little as 5 to 10 minutes time, and without opening up your PC’s case. Not only does assembling your own external hard drive save money, it provides flexibility in choosing the connections, capacity and style that fit your needs. It is also an excellent way to make use of the older hard drives from previous computer systems.

I saved quite a bit of money when I built my external drive a few months ago. For example: I bought a 200GB internal IDE hard drive for only $60, and a USB 2.0 external hard-drive case for only $19. Comparatively, a pre-built enclosure with similar specs at Best Buy cost over $200. That makes for over $120 saved!

Laptop Hard Drives Versus Desktop

If you're shopping for all your parts, it's worthwhile to examine the options. There are three dimensions of internal drives to consider: laptop (1.8 in., 2.5 in.) and desktop (3.5 in.). Laptop hard drives are smaller and lighter, and most draw power through a USB cable. However, because laptop hard drives are physically smaller in size, they are always more expensive than a desktop hard drive and seldom offer as much storage capacities. Desktop drives of today offer capacities of up to 500GB; the down side is that they require their own external power source. In my case, I decided that the 3.5 inch hard drive was the better choice because it offered more storage capacity.

IDE Versus SATA Technology

In either case, there are two main types of hard drives: SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) and IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics). IDE drives have been around for quite a long time and are therefore much more common, and also tend to be cheaper.

On the other hand, SATA drives have become much more popular in the past few years because they can transfer data at up to six times the speed of IDE drives. However, keep in mind that for an external enclosure, the increased speed of a SATA drive is limited when the data is passed through a USB 2.0 cable because this type of connection transfers data at a slower speed.

Types of Enclosures

For an enclosure you are best off to go with an aluminum case since the aluminum enclosure will act as a heat sink to keep the drive cool. On the other hand, plastic cases will not help cool the drive as much and you will need most likely need to buy one with a fan.

USB 2.0 Versus Firewire

Most enclosures come standard with a USB 2.0 connection, but you can spring for the faster more expensive Firewire connections. Before choosing the latter, make sure you have a Firewire input on your computer ;-)

Assembling the Unit

Building the an external enclosure is relatively simple, and about the only tool you'll need is a small screwdriver.

• First, consult the hard drive manual and ensure that the jumpers are set to the “master” position.
• Next, secure the hard drive into the case.


• Following that, plug in the power cable and a data cable. Connecting the two cables to the drive is a no-brainer as these connections are shaped so they can’t be plugged in the wrong way.
• When complete, close the case and connect all external cables (Power and USB).
• Before you use the drive you may need to install the software that came with the enclosure. For the most part users running Windows XP will not need to install any software as the drive should be detected automatically.