Internet
Four little-known YouTube extras from the labs
YouTube is the defacto choice of video sharing and streaming on the web, but the lesser-known 4 extra neat services from YouTube labs are definitely worth checking out. These are new ideas and tools provided directly from the incubator to allow you to watch YouTube on a large screen TV, reduce the download size of video, and create a party playlist. More >
Spruce up your Home Page with iGoogle, Yahoo and MSN.
There really is no place like home. What you see when you first open your web browser is a highly personal affair. Perhaps it’s a link to your favourite search engine, Facebook page, your favourite news site or your corporate intranet. Or perhaps you like the simplistic “about:blank”. What ever your flavour, we give you the run down of the latest homepages from Google, Yahoo and MSN to make you and your browser feel at home. More >
Cross-platform Remote Desktop with TeamViewer
Supports Windows, Mac, Linux, and iPhone. TeamViewer is a completely free, simple and fast solution for remote control, desktop sharing and file transfer that works behind any firewall and NAT proxy.
Sync files across many devices with Microsoft Live Mesh
This latest beta service from Microsoft promises to allow you to synchronise files across Windows PC, Mac OS (coming soon) and mobile devices (coming soon). You’ll need a Windows Live account to access the 5GB of storage you’re provided. This appears to be Microsoft’s latest iteration of SkyDrive which we always found clunky. Things seems to have improved, a lot.
Share your WiFi connection with Connectify
Windows7 only. If you have a wireless enabled laptop this fantastic piece of completely free software will allow you to share that connection wirelessly with other devices including laptops and mobile phones. Once you’ve installed the app, you’re presented a simple Easy Setup guide which allows you to select the wireless device you want to share, and create a password for security purposes. We’ve been waiting for someone to make software to do this for a very long time now.
[Freetime Fix-Up] Increase Wireless Router Range with Tinfoil
![[Freetime Fix Up] Increase Wireless Router Range with Tinfoil](http://voato.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/WindSurfer.jpg "[Freetime Fix Up] Increase Wireless Router Range with Tinfoil")
Extend wireless router range
The speed you get out of your wireless router is hugely dependent on what’s between it, and your laptop. And, since routers are usually “Omni-directional”, meaning it radiates the signal in all directions, much of that radiation can be lost if the router is against a wall or hidden in a bookcase. You could spend up to £40 for an antenna extender but with this simple little Freetime Fix-Up you’ll be able to significantly boost the distance and quality of signal by around 5-20%. Some people have reported a doubling of router signal.
Search like a pro with Google and Bing tips you never knew about
With these little known search tips for the worlds most popular search engines Google and Bing, you’ll wonder how you survived without them. There are literally hundreds of hidden features in the Google and Bing search bars which you’ve probably never used. We’ve rounded up the best and most useful for you from the numerous sites which list all of these extended Google and Bing tips.
Synchronise Bookmarks across all browsers with Xmarks Free
Xmarks (formally Foxmarks) is a great utility for synchronising all your bookmarks across Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari. Supporting Linux, Mac OS, and Windows this is one of the best ways of syncing all those bookmarks across different platforms and browsers.
Compare your broadband speed against the neighbours
Having a slow broadband connection can be especially disheartening particularly if your neighbours are surfing at warp speed. There are lots of broadband speed test tools around on the web but not many of them give you a direct comparison against other people in your neighbourhood. This is particularly useful if you suspect your broadband speed is not as quick as it ought to be, or you’re thinking of switching ISP and just wondering what kind of speed you’ll get. More >
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