The Fiery Source » Downloads

How to: Overclock and Amplify a Linksys Wi-Fi Router

Bob — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:51:54 +0000

The Linksys WRT54GL WI-fI router is a dream to upgrade, it’s capable of running third-party firmware and boosting up its signal. Over at Instructable a user shows how to go all out on the router with extended antennas, fan-cooled overclocking, and the DD-WRT interface.

This hack is really meant for the person who likes to tinker with electronics and not afraid to open the blue box or install heatsinks. Author NostalgicStone gives you ample warnings before jumping into this hack, and for very good reason: there are risks involved. Not to mention there is the PC fan running on top of the router for additional cooling, if you have to keep it in plain view it can be an ugly sight. That’s right you guessed it, this hack is meant for that person who lacks Wi-Fi in particular areas of the house, or maybe a small motel where you need a larger signal footprint.

Check out the link for the full step by step guide. Please share any similar router upgrades you’ve performed or have seen in the comments.

[Check out the Guide here over at Instructables] via Lifehacker

Powerful and Free Audio Editor Strips Audio from YouTube and Video Files

Bob — Sun, 09 May 2010 10:32:18 +0000

Windows Only: The latest update to Free Audio Editor is choker block full of extra and helpful features. This handy application can download YouTube videos, then strips the audio from those files and convert them to MP3, MP2, WAV and a few other types .

All you have to do is enter a URL, it downloads the YouTube video in FLV, then strips the audio from the file. Striping audio from normal videos, such as those in AVI format can be done as well.

The newest version of Free Audio Editor remains a great choice for getting basic audio work done, and offers nice features such as CD ripping/burning, text-to-speech conversion, and audio editing. While open-source audio editing program Audacity is in the same league, Free Audio Editor’s updates give it a different use case for those grabbing what they can from the web.

Free Audio Editor is freeware for Windows only. There is a Deluxe version which sells $29.99 and unlocks a few features, but the basic version will get you a long ways down the road.

Free Audio Editor

The Best Free Apps Worthy of Downloading

Bob — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:54:05 +0000

Knowing our 30 Recommended Software Downloads for Free article was now a year old, we decided to give it an upgrade. After we got started I didn’t fully realize just how many applications we had tested throughout the year, and how many had made the cut until I started putting this list together.

When we finished compiling all the notes the list was hugh, after pondering for a week what to cut I decided there was simply to many to cut it back down to 30 software programs. Therefore the upgrade got tossed, and a new article listing what we feel are the best software applications that deserve to be on your machine is here.

We’ve picked out the best free software programs that we could think of, so there’s no need to spend dollars to get quality applications and utility software. Whether you’re looking for free anti-virus software, or free Office software, you’ll find it here. This is not the complete list, so if your favorite got overlooked please tell us about it in the comments.

1. 7-Zip performs all the archiving and extracting power you need, an excellent compression tool.
2. AbiWord a word processor thats compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.
3. AdBlock Plus (see also: 50 Recommended Firefox Extensions)
4. Adium an instant messaging app for Mac OS X that can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, and more.
5. Avast! (see also: Best Free Antivirus Software)
6. AVG (see also: AVG 9 Free is Now Available for Download)
7. Audacity is a free sound editing and recording application
8. AutoHotkey a free utility thats unleashes the full potential of your keyboard, joystick, and mouse.
9. Blender (see also: Here’s your Chance to Learn Blender with free e-book)
10. Boxee if you want to get rid of that cable bill this is how you do it
11. CCleaner one of the best file and registry cleanup tools around.
12. CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs.
13. Defraggler (see also: Seven Best Disk Defragmenters)
14. Digsby manage all your IM, email, and social network accounts from one application.
15. Dropbox is more than just File Syncing
16. Eclipse IDE an open source community, where projects are focused on building an platform.
17. Evernote an sophisticated app for putting notes, thoughts, ideas, all in one place.
18. FileZilla a cross-platform FTP client that supports secure file transfer, and the only one I use.
19. Firefox an excellent free browser that provides a secure and friendly browsing experience.
20. foobar2000 an advanced audio player for the Windows platform
21. Foxit Reader a very nice lightweight alternative to Adobe’s Acrobat PDF reader
22. GIMP this software does most of what Photoshop does except it’s free.
23. Gmail my account gets less spam than any other I use, I love it.
24. Google Chrome another excellent free browser that provides a secure and friendly browsing experience.
25. Google Pack one-stop software package of a wide range of essential PC programs.
26. HandBrake a multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.
27. ImgBurn a CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application and supports all windows versions.
28. iTunes this popular desktop media player needs no introduction
29. Juice is an excellent podcasting client.
30. KeePass is free, open source, light-weight and easy-to-use password manager.
31. Launchy helps you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and your file manager.
32. OpenOffice.org full featured alternative to Microsoft’s office suite, a prized application for sure
33. Opera another excellent free browser that provides a fast secure and friendly browsing experience.
34. MediaMonkey a Media Jukebox, Music Manager, CD Ripper & Converter
35. Media Player Classic supports many different audio and video file formats.
36. Microsoft Security Essentials (see also: Microsoft Security Essentials First Look and Impressive)
37. Mozilla Thunderbird powerful, simple and lightweight email and news application.
38. Notepad++ fully featured text editor that supports around 50 different programming languages.
39. Paint.NET a image and photo editing software for Windows, another excellent Photoshop Alternative
40. PDFCreator can encrypt PDFs and protects you articles from being altered or printed by third parties.
41. Picasa a application that lets you organize and share your digital photos.
42. Pidgin a instant messenger allowing you to use Yahoo IM, AIM, Google talk, MSN and others at one time.
43. PuTTY a free SSH and telnet client for Windows
44. Rainmeter a desktop customization platform, set up a killer desktop without a line of code.
45. Revo Uninstaller a fast and powerful alternative to “Windows Add or Remove Programs” applet!
46. RSSOwl is a solid cross-platform RSS client
47. Skype allows you to make phone calls from your computer
48. SpyBot Search & Destroy a spyware detection and removal program.
49. Songbird (see also: Songbird 1.4.2 Released, Brings New Features)
50. Sumatra PDF is a blazing fast alternative for Adobe Reader and my favorite
51. TeamViewer remote access and remote desktop sharing that works behind any firewall or NAT proxy
52. TeraCopy is one of the best known alternative file copiers on the planet.
53. Transmission is the most popular BitTorrent client for OS X on the planet
54. TrueCrypt open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux
55. Ubuntu (Ubuntu 9.10 ‘Karmic Koala’ Final and Released, and Ubuntu Pocket Guide Available for Free)
56. µTorrent is the most popular BitTorrent P2P application for windows.
57. UltraVNC control another PC remotely via Internet or network
58. VirtualBox is a cross-platform virtualization application that is extremely feature rich
59. VLC is a media player that supports many different audio and video file formats.
60. Winamp this alternative to windows media player has tons of plug-ins and skins.
61. Windows Live Writer software for blog posting and a favorite with many pros
62. WinSCP a free open source SFTP and FTP client for Windows
63. XBMC a complete media center solution for Windows, OSX, Linux, and XBOX

Repair Common Hardware Problems with Computer Repair Flowchart

Bob — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:46:31 +0000

These days computer hardware malfunctions are a lot less common than what they used to be when I first stated playing with them. There is definitely a lot fewer fewer variables to consider when troubleshoot PC hardware nowadays. The trick is to eliminate all possibilities whenever possible before you start purchasing replacement parts.

One of the easiest ways to troubleshoot your machine is to use a flowchart. This way you can track your troubleshooting efforts with ease, and if you really not sure whats going on the flowchart can keep you on the right path. Morris Rosenthal created some detailed flowcharts just for this occasion, everything from hard drive failure to DVD troubleshooting to modem failure is in these charts.

Whats really cool about his web site is the charts are interactive, so clicking on a diamond jumps you to the text for each decision step. These diagnostic flowcharts offer an easy way to diagnose and repair issues whether your a beginner or a seasoned hardware savvy geek.

Alternatively, you can purchase his book from Amazon here for $13.45

Get the Computer Repair Diagnostic Flowcharts here

Network Troubleshooting

Power Supply Diagnostics

CPU, RAM and Motherboard Troubleshooting

Hard Drive Failure

CD and DVD Troubleshooting

[via Boing Boing]

The Fiery Source » Downloads

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