Cool Tech

Download MP3 For Free, Right From Your Desktop Posted by: Damien on January 13th, 2010 Downloading MP3 from the Web is never an easy task. You have to search Google for your favorite song, find the correct site that comes with a proper download link and also constantly in fear that RIAA will come knocking your door. While we have covered 5 useful sites to download free and legal MP3, they are hardly your favorite pop songs that you hear in the radio. Now, what if you can search for the songs you like, listen to a preview of it and download them for free, right from your desktop. Sound great, isn’t it? Super MP3 Download is one great software (for Windows) that allows you to do what you love best: download MP3 for free. And yes, you can find the Top 40 Hits here, and songs from many other genres and categories. In fact, there are more than 100 million songs available for you to search (and download), so there is a very high chance of you finding the songs you want. via Download MP3 For Free, Right From Your Desktop – Make Tech Easier.

10 Web Browsers You Probably Haven’t Heard Of January 10th, 2010 by Cameron Chapman Firefox. Internet Explorer. Chrome. Safari. Opera. We’ve pretty much all heard of them by now. They’ve been fighting for market share for the past few years (Internet Explorer has been fighting for it for a lot longer than that), and it’s unlikely any of them will ever come out the absolute winner. They try to be all things to all people. And that’s great. Except… What if you’re looking for a browser that does just the things you want to do online? What if you’re sick of all the browser-war hubub and want something that’s truly unique and different (and, maybe, works better than the mainstream options)? What then?

10 Web Browsers You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Well, there’s good news. There are more than a dozen excellent alternative browsers out there if you’re looking for something distinctive. Below are ten such web browsers, along with why you might want to consider using them. via 10 Web Browsers You Probably Haven’t Heard Of.

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No, Seriously, a Working Star Trek Phaser With DIY Instructions The good news: this Star Trek phaser mod has legitimate blow-em-up functionality and pewpew sound. The best news: you can build one of your very own. The full tutorial can be found at Laser Pointer Forums, a site I'll obviously be visiting with far more frequency in the future. In the meantime, I';m going to keep watching this video, imagining Romulan sentries in the place of big black balloons. [Laser Pointer Forums, thanks Jay!] via No, Seriously, a Working Star Trek Phaser With DIY Instructions - phaser - Gizmodo.

Your Passwords Aren't As Secure As You Think; Here's How to Fix That If you allow applications to save your passwords, anyone with physical access to your PC can decode them unless you're properly encrypting them—and chances are pretty good you're not. Let's walk through the right and wrong ways to store your passwords.

For the purpose of this article, we'll assume that the people you allow into your house are trustworthy enough not to hack your passwords, and your laptop has been stolen instead—but the tips here should apply to either scenario. Regardless of how you choose to save your passwords, you should make sure to use great passwords and even stronger answers for security questions. via Your Passwords Aren't As Secure As You Think; Here's How to Fix That - Passwords - Lifehacker.

Ultimate Guide To Using WordPress For A Portfolio * By Cameron Chapman * April 29th, 2009 WordPress is often thought of as just a blogging platform. But it’s capable of so much more. Even WordPress’ documentation includes an entire section on using WordPress as a content management system. Because WordPress is such an easy-to-use platform, it makes sense to consider using it as a platform to build just about any kind of website, a portfolio website included. Whether you’re a photographer, graphic designer, Web designer or any other kind of visual artist, WordPress makes an excellent starting point for developing your online portfolio. And with the wealth of plug-ins and ready-made themes available, you can usually get a perfectly presentable website up and running in a matter of hours. via Ultimate Guide To Using WordPress For A Portfolio - Smashing Magazine.

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Smashing Highlights 2009 * By Smashing Editorial * December 29th, 2009 2009 was a very successful year for Smashing Magazine. It was a year of ambitious goals and an intense time schedule, which brought many changes over the past year. In 2009 we published more posts than ever (on average, 8 posts per week). We broadened our areas of interest: for instance, we explored freelancing and the business side of web development, but also tackled user interface design and mobile web design. We also discovered new formats, such as the “Global Web Design” series and Q&A-Sessions — unfortunately, the latter (the Ask SM series with Chris Coyier) lasted only a couple of months. Smashing-128 in Smashing Highlights 2009 None of this would have been possible without the tremendous support of our authors, contributors, and editorial staff. We express sincere gratitude to them for all the ideas and hard work they’ve put into articles published here on Smashing Magazine. We also want to thank you, the readers, for your attention, criticism, ideas, suggestions, emails, tweets, and links over the past year. Smashing Magazine is driven by your support which is why we are always listening to you and we truly appreciate every message we receive. We have tried our best to improve the quality of our articles so as to increase their value for designers and developers. In this post, we’ll review what has happened on Smashing Magazine over the past year: smashing highlights, setbacks, and small sensations of 2009 — which we present in a month by month timeline. You can compare the highlights of 2009 with those of 2008 or 2007 (which, by the way, include links to some really useful articles). via Smashing Highlights 2009 - Smashing Magazine.

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Wonderwall.

Stargate Studios Shows Off Greenscreen Effects by Scott Beale on December 17, 2009 Stargate Studios shows off some of their amazing greenscreen visual effects in their demo reel, some of which you wouldn’t expect to be scenes that were artificially created. via Stargate Studios Shows Off Greenscreen Effects.

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Video: Hands-on with Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris By Will Park on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 12:52 PM PST In Android, Devices, HTC, Hottest Hardware, New Hardware, Reviews, Verizon, Videos htc droid eris verizon hands on 00 Video: Hands on with Verizons HTC Droid Eris via Video: Hands-on with Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris.

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Industrial Design: 80+ Awesome Product Designs December 11, 2009 – by Tony One thing that amazes me most about industrial designers is how they can take an idea like a telephone or a watch and enhance it with all kinds of creative elements and bring them to the next level. These designers can make these product designs look like they are straight out of a James Bond movie. If you need some inspiration for your own designs, checking out this article will be well worth your time. Hope these designs will help you. Enjoy! via Industrial Design: 80+ Awesome Product Designs | designrfix.com.