Change file types in Vista - Using Types

Have you noticed that the functionality to associate file types with a program has been dropped in Vista from the explorer menu "Tools" > "File Types". Well there is a way to give you back the control that you are used to with a program called Types. It is a is a free and lightweight configuration utility for Windows Vista and XP that allows you to edit program associations, icons, context menus and other properties of various file types displayed in Windows Explorer programs in Vista. You can still use Vista to change what programs open which file extensions. For example by clicking on "Start" > "Default Programs", or by right clicking on a file and clicking "Properties" and on then by clicking on "Change" on the "General" tab. Types however allows you to full control of editing file types and context menus and many other properties. It is definitely worth a look at and is in my mind ones of the most powerful freeware file extension managers out there as changes are made instantly with a quick refresh click. It is definitely an improvement on the inbuilt Windows file extension management options.

http://types.sourceforge.net/

Google Chrome - New Google Browser

Google have released a new browser called Google Chrome. The best description I have found of the new browser in in Wikipedia. At the same time Mozilla have released Firefox 3.1 Alpha 2 and Microsoft have released IE 8 Beta. I have been on a bit of a downloading spree lately getting the latest versions of the browsers and and testing each of them. As always my favorite if Firefox simply because of the extensions that it offers and as a web developer I cannot live without the Web Developer toolbar and Firebug. But let me not get led astray. Google have a browser now and although it is in beta stage is is very quick when loading pages that rely on JavaScript and AJAX. I have tested it on a number of websites that use allot of AJAX and the browser works very nicely as it has been designed to. I have read a number of reviews that back this up http://null-logic.net/blog/2008/09/02/javascript-performance-comparison-with-chrome/ for one and http://goit-postal.blogspot.com/2008/09/chrome-first-little-test-with-highly.html . Google Chrome is defiantly a browser that will in the future go head to head with IE, FireFox , Safari and Opera however at the moment it is only early days so it is way to early to tell the extent that this browser will take a share of the market. For the moment I will be sticking to FireFox however I have noticed that it does perform better with allot of the Google apps that I use so I may find myself switching between the two when preforming different types of browsing. Interesting features that it offers is that you can browse incognito. This means that pages you view in this window won't appear in your browser history or search history, and they won't leave other traces, like cookies, on your computer after you close the incognito window. Any files you download or bookmarks you create will be preserved. Another feature that it offers is that if a tab crashes then the whole browser does not crash only the tab with the problem will close. Other new features include a new JavaScript Engine called V8 is in use, better performance through compiled JavaScript as it is compiled into machine code and not necessarily always interpreted. New JavaScript VM which has a better garbage collection included to preserve memory and browser tabs or new browser windows run in dedicated threads. I am still finding out more information about the browser as it is only new so if anyone has any interesting points to raise about the browser please post your findings and opinions of Chrome.

Google alerts to build back links to website

Building back links is essential for your website to rank high in the search engines. Finding relevant websites to request back links from can take time and research. I have found a great way though to located relevant websites to build these back links from which is free. If you have a Google account then you can setup Google alerts to send you links to websites and blogs that have published freshly content that matches the keywords that you are looking for. To do this visit http://www.google.com/alerts and enter the keywords and interested in and your email address and you will be sent alerts of and new web page that publishes content that contains those specified keywords. You can visit each of these websites, that Google alerts has provided you a link to, check that this website is relevant and if they offer the ability to publish press releases or links on their website, then offer them as link to your website. This can be added in the form of a link swap on their links page, a link embedded in some content that you provide the website that links back to you website or a back link in a comment on one of their blog post s’. Make sure that you leave relatively quality comments on blog posts though or you will find that they will not publish your comments.

I have found that this is a great way for me to build back links to my website as on a daily basis I am provided with a list of websites that have published content that related to my keywords. Over time also you get to see which websites are the ones that publish content the most that relate to your keywords so you can work out whether it is worth forming a relationship with these websites to add a permanent link to you site. If anyone else has any great ways of building back links please leave a comment.

Recuva - Restore files that you have deleted

Recuva (pronounced "recover") is a freeware Windows utility that can be used to restore files that you have deleted from your computer. It comes from the makers of CCleaner so you can trust the product developers. It can be used to retrieve files that have been deleted from memory cards, mp3 players as well as the recycle bin. If you have been hit with a virus that has deleted files then you can use the program to locate the files that have been deleted and restore them to their original location. I have only just started playing with the program and ran a few tests and it seems to work quite well. The interface is quite easy to use so it can be used by all levels of computer users with a relatively good understanding of a computers file system. It is in beta phase so it may have some bugs, but I am yet to find any. If you have deleted a file or need to recover lost data then give it a try. You can find it at http://www.recuva.com/.

Reader for iPhone by Google

There is now a even better version of XHTML version of Reader by Google for mobile devices available at http://www.google.com/reader/i/ .This version is aimed at the iPhone as it is aimed at mobile phones with advanced browsers. It is designed to offer many of the same features as the desktop, while making it quick and easy to act on items. You can scan the headlines for news items that catch your eye and then click to expand the headline. You still have all of the available features such as staring, sharing, and keeping unread are done in place. Check it out at http://www.google.com/reader/i/.

Twitter - another web 2.0 fad?

Twitter, another Web 2.0, hyped up buzzword, or is it. I had reluctantly been watching it for a while then decided that I would have to check it out seeing though I am a web developer and it could possibly have some positive implications on my work. Let me explain, for those that don't know. Twitter is a micro blogging tool that allows you to write 140 characters at any given time of day or night for any given reason. You can do this via web widget, browser, SMS or one of many other methods.

When I first heard about Twitter, I simply couldn't see why anyone would use it. Now, after using it for about a month, I most definitely can see how and why it can benefit businesses or individuals. I can now follow other web developers and see what they are doing as well as companies that I am interested in (i.e Apple etc) via their company employee's or via a website that follows a particular topic. See check my profile to see the feed that the Twitter is providing me with everyday. http://www.twitter.com/subske . By following people, businesses or what ever maintains the twitter account, I get some inside information about what they are thinking, writing, doing etc. It inspires me to keep working on and can be interesting at the same time to find out what people are doing online everyday.

I can also see that for businesses it can be used as a communication tool to let others know what their business is doing and where they are tracking with each item that the business is working on. In a way you can build hype up around products that you are launching and use it to promote things that are in the pipeline. I can understand why allot of large businesses would be scared of this however smaller businesses can now build up hype about what they are bringing out and provide their customers a feed of information about anything they propose.

Finally, one other thing you can do with the tool is to embed your twitter feed into your website or blog. It can be used to generate addtional content on your web page or blog for the search engines to run over, as they tend to love fresh content. I will probably be implementing my Twitter feed on my blog pretty soon, I just want to use it for a bit longer before I do so.

Free Top Level Domains

If you are looking at acquiring a top level domain for your website then before you make a purchase I should highlight that you actually have a couple of other free domain registration options. Firstly there is the .tk domain which is quite old which can be registered at http://www.dot.tk/. Then there is a new top level one which I have just found named .co.cc which you can register at http://www.co.cc/. The dot .co.cc seems to be fairly new so jump onto it as you can pickup quiet a nice domain name for free at the moment. I have just registered three new domains there which are the following, http://www.munchit.co.cc/, http://www.tdixon.co.cc/ and http://www.subske.co.cc/. I was going to keep going and register more but decided that I should leave some for the rest of us out there. If anyone else has any ideas about free domains out there please leave a post so that we can have some sort of list here of the free domains available out there. I would also be interested in anyone who has setup a website with one of these domains to leave a post with their URL so I can check out what people are using these domains for. Happy domain registering.

Link Tiger - Broken link finder

Link Tiger is an easy to use broken link finder that can be used for free if maintaining a single website with no more than 1000 links contained throughout your website. As a website developer it can also be used to maintain more than one site with more links however a licence fee is required in this case. Link Tiger allows you to locate the broken links on your website so that they can be fixed before the customer has time to see it. From my experience with the product it is very easy to use with the summary page providing you with a list of broken links on your website that is really easy read. The page then provides you with the ability to click on the broken link item listed while the software locates and highlights the broken link on the page, so that there is no searching through the page trying to find the link. It is a very useful online service that I recommend that you use if you are concerned about having broken links throughout your website. Broken links can have an effect on your search engine rankings as well as be a bit of a turn off for your website visitors so it is important that you fix them if they appear on your website.

http://www.linkfinder.com/