Mrs. Mecombers Scrapbook A blog about computers, sofware, programs, downloads, tips, and tweaks-- for the average user. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 47 3240

Articles from Mrs. Mecombers Scrapbook

Pot Calling the Kettle Black 2007-12-20 17:56:00 I was blog surfing this afternoon and when I tried to view one blog, up came this message:You've reached this page because the site you were trying to visit now blocks the FireFox browser.The Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm, the Mozilla Corporation, has allowed and endorsed Ad Block Plus, a plug-in that blocks advertisement on web sites and also prevents site owners from blocking people using it. Software that blocks all advertisement is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers. Numerous web sites exist in order to provide quality content in exchange for displaying ads. Accessing the content while blocking the ads, therefore would be no less than stealing. Millions of hard working people are being robbed of their time and effort by this type of software. Many site owners therefore install scripts that prevent people using ad blocking software from accessing their site. That is their right as the site owner to insist that the use of their resources acc ...

Another Free PDF Viewer 2007-12-16 20:27:00 PDF-XChange ViewerThis is another quality PDF viewer I've found. As I have said before, I can't stand that bloatware Adobe Acrobat. I am very happy with my Foxit Reader. PDF-XChange Viewer claims it is more functional than Foxit, but I really didn't notice much difference. Nonetheless, it is another alternative PDF viewer, and for that I am glad.The download was lengthy (for my DSL connection, anyway-- I waited almost 10 minutes). The program runs well. Check it out if you are looking to be free from Adobe.A backup software is the only reasonable solution to the risks associated with online file sharing. Many think of a data recovery group being just as effective. However, the perfect computer backup solution requires the presence of a data recovery software nevertheless. ...

A Worthy Replacement for Notepad 2007-12-16 20:23:00 MetaPad 3.51Working with html code everyday, I have grown frustrated with Microsoft's Notepad. It is still so un-functional. Has Microsoft even touched Notepad since 1991?!So, I've had my eyes peeled for a replacement. I've tried a few, but they were either too large or still not what I was looking for. I just downloaded a little program called MetaPad that I think will be my Notepad replacement from now on.It's more functional, it has more settings, and the word wrap works so much better! I'm pleased with it! It's tiny, it's simple, it works, and it's free!If you're looking for a suitable replacement, you might like MetaPad. ...

Amic Email Backup Program 2007-12-16 20:18:00 Amic Email BackupI am very impressed with this program. This is a speedy, handy little program that will backup all your emails, whether it be Opera Mail, Eudora mail, Thunderbird, or the ubiquitous Outlook Express. It will backup all your emails and settings with the click of the mouse. It stores the information in a small file and keeps it in the My Documents folder. You can move it to a safe place (like a flash drive separate from your computer's hard drive) in case of a computer crash or reformat. I love that you can schedule it to backup automatically (I have mine set to every 2 days but you can backup every month or two or three).When the day comes and you need to restore, you click on your stored file, and Amic begins. The process of restoring your email is another simple click away. Very nice!This is a great program. If you have important email and loathe copying all that email manually to storage, this program does it in seconds. Plus, it's free! ...

How To Customize Your Header in Blogger- a Thorough Guide 2007-12-15 15:42:00 A customized header is not difficult. You just need to know what you are doing. Because templates vary, header widths and heights vary. You're going to have to find your templates' allowance for the header width and height and make a header the same size-- or-- make a header and adjust your template's width and height measurements.Neither one is difficult. However, if you are brand-new at this and are worried you'll wreck your template, you can back up your template by downloading it to your computer (and uploading it if you want to revert back to it). If you don't know how to backup your template, go here for a quick tutorial.I am assuming that you 1) have a new header already made and 2) that this new header is in the dimensions according to your template. For example, if your template has an existing header that is 950px wide and 167px high, you need a header that is 950px wide and 167px high. 3) your new header is already uploaded to a photohosting website.Another thing is... ...

How To Backup Your Blogger Template 2007-12-15 15:37:00 If you plan on doing any html work in your Blogger blog, it is wise to backup your template. Here's a very quick and easy way to do it:Sign in to Blogger and go to your dashboard. For the blog you want to change, choose "Layout." This will take you to the Layouts page, showing many options. The page you automatically go to is "Page Elements." You'll see other pages, like "Fonts & Colors," "Edit HTML," and "Pick a New Template." Choose "Edit HTML."You'll see an option that says "Backup/Restore Template." Underneath, it says "Before editing your template, you may want to save a copy of it." This is what you want to do. Click the link "Download Full Template." Choose a safe place, like My Documents, to store this file on your computer's hard drive.If you make a mistake or don't like the work in your new template, you can always come back to this page and upload the file you stored. This will take you back to your template.Now, I have uploaded, downloaded, copied, and pasted a lot ...

Time Keeps On Slipping 2007-12-14 09:26:00 I've been crazy-busy this week! I can't believe the break-neck speed I've had to work at! There is a lot going on at the homestead, but I am also doing a lot of blogging, working on stuff for advertisers, and repairing templates.My New York Renovator blog template gave up the ghost over the week. I've been trying to get it back on track with a new template and header. I had to *gasp* utilize a basic Blogger template until I got my new one going. I absolutely love the three-column templates, with both sidebars off to the side. It's so organzied! While working at that, I decided to spiffy up my New York Traveler blog, also. It just took too long to load and was getting messy with all the buttons and text in the sidebars. I am very pleased with the results. Next in line is my other travel blog, New York Traveler.Net. I am not happy with the header, and the theme is just too "dark" for me. So I'll be trying to squeeze that in this weekend. We're getting a whopper of a snowstorm this ...

Going Around The World 2007-12-12 21:17:00 I'm very impressed with The World browser. It's an Internet Explorer shell. I've been using it for a while-- half a year now-- and really like it! It's got a wonderfully simple interface, a great bookmark import feature, and it's the fastest browser I have ever used. My only complaint would be that it doesn't have all my little extras that I've become accustomed to with Firefox (the Groowe toolbar, other toolbars, the AdBlock, etc), although The World does have addons and some cool skins you can download.The World knocks the socks off Firefox when it comes to speed. It must be twice or three times faster than FF.Give it a whirl if you are an adventurous type. This is how a browser should be! Now if they'll only add some sweet extensions.If you do try it, let me know. Leave a little review in the comments. ...

Security News 2007-12-09 19:26:00 I've always said to check for coupons and promo codes before you buy anything online. But always be wary of anything that comes in your email inbox. Apparently, criminals are at it again, this time with fake coupons. If you click the coupon, you are redirected to a phishing site. Your money, account information, or your identity can be stolen from you.IBM is urging online shoppers not to click on links within e-mails that appear to come from an online retailer. Instead, open a new Web browser, go to the retailer's site, navigate to special coupons or promotions and see if it's there.That's excellent advice. Please take care of what you click on. ...

Opt-Out of Catalogs 2007-12-09 19:12:00 I got in my Kim Komando newsletter a great piece of information that I thought I'd pass along. It's a website that helps you to opt-out of all those junky catalogs in your mailbox (your real mailbox, by the curb). The website is Catalog Choice. It looks heaven-sent. (You do have to register to use the system.)We get a ton of junk mail, and even then, I know we get far less than our neighbors. This is a great site to put an end to all the trash flowing through the mail system. ...

Fender Mind-Benders 2007-12-09 17:56:00 Isn't it cool to interface musical instruments and technology? My husband is a musician (and guitar freak). He says that versatility is "in," and so are "alternate tunings." He flipped when he saw someone combining the two.He's rather excited about this new development from Fender guitars with their VG Stratocaster.It's an interesting concept-- with the turn of a knob, you can have instant, alternate tunings. I'm impressed that you can even get 12-string guitars sounds from this model.Before, and with "regular" guitars, you have had to manually turn the keys at the headstock to tune the instrument as you wanted. This is why at concerts you sometimes have seen a squadron of guitars behind the singers, and why the guitarists are always changing guitars. Different tunings for different tunes.I prefer the sound of nylon strings and classical piece anyday, but my husband is what I call a Guitarzan and is up on all the latest guitar news. Outside of the invention of the electric guitar i ...

How to Add a StumbleUpon Button to your Blog 2007-12-09 15:22:00 I love StumbleUpon. It's a type of social network, but of websites, not people. Created originally as a Firefox addon, it has expanded into a whole community meetinghouse. There's a great toolbar you can download at the StumbleUpon site. You can start up an account with StumbleUpon, choose your interests, and surf websites under those topics. But it has a catch:StumbleUpon will only take you to the websites that have been submitted by StumbleUpon users.So, there are gaps. If users have not submitted a good deal of, say, travel blogs, then the surfing of your interest in travel blogs will be quite brief. I posted about this here, at my travel blog.At the StumbleUpon website, you can download the handy toolbar and learn all about it there. I'm here to show you how to install the StumbleUpon button to each and every post in your Blogger blog. If you have a different kind of blog (like Wordpress), do a Yahoo! search and you'll find a plethora of tutorials to help you there. Or you migh ...

Looking for a Program 2007-12-09 14:25:00 There are some good thoughts and a bad testimony over at The Apple Doesn't Fall Far. A friend of hers has had blog content stolen and plagiarized.So where the recording industry and big government now, for us, the little guy?Rrrrright.A few weeks ago, I'd found that someone had plagiarized my travel blog's account of our trip to Cooperstown. The creeps. What concerns me(not to downplay anything else, however) is the theft of photographs and such. I'd read that if you upload your photos to Google, then Google has permission to do with them as they please, forever. Surprise, surprise. Flickr has authority for as long as you leave your photos on their service. It's a very touchy issue. It is also skewed (still no surprises) to protect the greedy corporation and punish the little guy. How can the recording industry slam consumers like they do and yet plagiarism and theft goes unnoticed as long as we are victims?I am looking for a photo watermarking program. I have been for about six m ...

Helpful Sites For Web Building 2007-12-08 21:03:00 Here's a handy-dandy list of tools found at websites that are very helpful for web- and blog-building. It's a list I've kept tucked away for my own work, but I'll leave it with you if you promise to take good care of it. :)HTML with StyleAll About.com Web DesignCSS BasicsColor Schemer OnlineHTML Color NamesWebMonkeyBrowser-safe Web PaletteVisibone Color LabOfficial Seal GeneratorCool Text Graphics Generator Brilliant Button MakerAdam Kalsey’s Button MakerFlooble.comBetter Fonts.comFontica.comJavascript KitFree Stock PhotosFree HTML EditorsDesign MemeYou might want to bookmark this page or the links that will be helpful for your projects. I use them frequently, and in the next few posts about customizing your blog, I'll be referring to these tools from time to time. Enjoy! ...

Free Blogger Templates 2007-12-08 20:54:00 I've seen a lot of ugly templates out there in the the blogosphere. It ain't pretty. The Blogger default templates are OK... but boring. In preparation for my upcoming series on How to Customize Your Blogger Blog, I'm going to assign you a little homework. I've presenting you with a list of websites that offer free Blogger templates. There are a lot to choose from. Some are better than others, of course, and not just in style. Some are easier to use, easier to customize, and some are in other languages. Here's my list:Gecko & FlyFree Blogger SkinsBlogcrowdsFinal Sense Blogger TemplatesTemplate Panic50More Beautiful Blogger Templates from MashableFree Blogger TemplatesBlogger Templates DirectoryBlogger Templates.orgFree Blogger TemplatesI personally recommend the great choices from the first three links.Tip: if English is your first language, get a template in English.I had once downloaded and installed a template made by a Spaniard. It was a beautiful template, and I can read ...