AfterTheDotNet

Best file recovery freeware for deleted files on Windows

Every now and then everyone deletes files which are not supposed to be deleted. Inexperienced users believe that once they delete a file it cannot be recovered. That is a myth.

If you have deleted a file inadvertently the first place to look for is the Recycle Bin. If you do not know how to recover files from the Recycle Bin get in touch and I will be glad to help (free of charge)!

If you are unlucky and do not find the file in the Recycle Bin (as you might have permanently deleted a file by pressing shift key when deleting the file) do not despair. There are solutions available that can help you recover the files you have deleted from your computer or the Recycle Bin. When you delete a file in a Windows based computer all the system does is mark that space on the hard disk as available for writing or storing new files. The deleted files are there on your hard disk till data is written on that part of the hard disk by newer files. Therefore there may be some files on your computer that have deleted a year back and are recoverable!

Some of the practices that assist in recovering files are

1. More empty space you have on your hard disk the better the chances of recovery as the file you have deleted would not be reused till other parts of the hard disk are used.
2. Smaller deleted files like MS Word or MS Excel documents, have a higher chance of recovery than bigger files like videos or music files.
3. Some of the TOOLS that you can use are

Read the full post containing the freewares that can be used….

Gmail for mobile 2.0 – use Gmail offline on your mobile

I’m sure a lot users use Gmail on their mobile like me. Gmail as such is one of the best email solutions one can use for personal mail and with Google for your domain the service is a viable one for small companies as well.

Gmail had an application for the java enabled mobiles but there was a demand for something faster, more robust and easier to use. Two days back the Gmail team released Gmail for mobile version 2.0 for J2ME-supported and BlackBerry phones. The new application can be downloaded from m.google.com/mail

Read more about Gmail for Mobile 2.0….

Convert PDF documents into word documents using PDFUNdo

Now you can convert PDF documents into word documents on the fly using the online service provided at PDFUNdo.net. Once you are on the website you can upload a PDF document and hit convert and the document is converted and you are presented with a link to download the MS Word file.

No registration or signup is required to use the website. When I tried the service there was an error on conversion of the document however, when I refreshed the page a link was provided to download the document.

A standalone software is also available for free which allows you to convert PDF documents into MS Word documents on your computer.

PDFUNdo has another service called PDF creator which allows you to create  professional PDF documents. There is a free download available but if you want to use the premium features you need to download the pro version of the software.

Another service that can be used to create PDF’s is PDF online.

Edit live web pages with CushyCMS

If you are a web developer I’m sure you have come across situations where the customer wants to edit content of the web pages you have developed.  Usually that is impossible to do considering that the customers have no knowledge of HTML and CSS.

A new tool called Cushy CMS allows you to give the ability to your customers to edit the pages you have designed. Cushy CMS uses style sheets to make the content editable. Some of the features are

• Allow clients to safely edit content easily.
• No software to install, no programming or programming knowledge required.
• Can be installed in a few minutes on any server (asp or php)

click here to read the full review of Cushy CMS….

YourMinis shutting of startpage services

YourMinis, a widget developer and a Webware award winner, which was bought by AOL earlier in this year has announced shutting down of their starpage service. It was decided to shut down the service so that the team can concentrate on developing widgets which can be used anywhere on the Internet. YourMinis believes that other companies like iGoogle and Netvibes are indirectly supporting YourMinis as they provide startpage service using widgets developed by YourMinis.

The users of the startpage service of YourMinis have been asked to export their feeds by October 27,2008 via email. The startpage was earlier available on the YourMinis home page but now it can be accessed at http://www.yourminis.com/start till October 27, 2008.

However YourMinis widget users do not need to panic as widgets part of the business will continue to function the way it has been. In fact it is expected it to get better so expect more as the developers would concentrate on developing widgets and making them better. For the uninitiated YourMinis was a startpage service provider. As a user you were allowed to pull content from the your favorite Internet websites using widgets to your YourMinis startpage. Therefore to know the latest on the Internet all you needed to do was go to the YourMinis startpage. You could customize the widgets used on your startpage. The service used flash as a platform making the service distinguishable from other similar services. Since the startup pages services vertical was crowded YourMinis have decided on concentrating on developing widgets which their members can use anywhere on the Internet – blog, social networking sites and websites.

Some of the features of the widgets that can be created on YourMinis are

• You can edit existing widgets or add them directly to your social networking sites like Facebook, blog, Hi5, MySpace, Yahoo widgets, igoogle, send it to a friend or copy the embedded code and use it anywhere on the Internet.
• Endless possibility of customization
• You can add RSS feeds, video feeds and podcasts to your widgets.
• Shell interface for widgets also available.
• You do not need to be a member to be able to do this. However, to make advanced changes to existing widgets (called remix) you need to be a member of YourMinis.

YourMinis believe that they can assist bigger companies can build and syndicate their widgets, while also providing them with comprehensive reporting.

The move to specialize in a particular area by YourMinis is going to be a trend in days to come as far as web 2.0 companies and startups specially small ones is concerned. The reason is the economic downturn and as I pointed out in my post yesterday the companies will have to specialize in niche areas and also look at monetizing otherwise it will be tough to survive in the future.

Fight spam with googlemail.com

Though Gmail usually does a good job as far as spam is concerned some mail does get through which is spam. Sometimes the opposite happens. The mail that is meant for me lands up in the spam folder in my Gmail account.

I was looking for options which could help me fight spam and also ensured that the mail that was meant for me was delivered to me when I saw an email from someone on the blog which had hidden@googlemail.com. What interested me was the googlemail.com domain. I thought maybe Google had a special domain for paid or premium customers.

Anyhow I searched on the Internet for googlemail.com and one of the results was a post on lifehacker. It turns out that when you sign up for gmail you get two email addresses. Example if Barack Obama was to sign up for a gmail account using the username “barack.obama”, he would have two email addresses barack.obama@gmail.com and barack.obama@googlemail.com.

There are some tricks explained to read the full post click here….

Will this recession change web 2.0? – Part 1

The question that I have been trying to answer for some days is will the global recession effect web 2.0 and the startups? One this is for sure, tougher times are ahead for the web 2.0 world and startups. It will not be easy to start a startup.

The heat of the recession is being felt as the LA times reported.

Sequoia Capital which has backed such companies as Apple, Cisco and YouTube, invited about 100 executives from its portfolio companies to give them an overview of what the global economic crisis means for Silicon Valley and their start-up dreams.

Though Sequoia capital refused to officially comment the meet it was reported in tech world across blogs (Gigaom broke the news) and news sites. It has been reported that invitees were greeted to the meeting with an image of gravestone with the message R.I.P.: Good Times.

to read the full post click here….

Digital photography tips, tutorials, gear and DIY tutorials - Photojojo

The essence of web 2.0 is sharing. Photojojo is based on this web 2.0 principle. Promoted by Amit and Kara this website amongst other things sends a bi monthly newsletter containing advice on digital photography and related issues which is gathered by the promoters from the web and other sources.

The ideas that are shared are very useful and helpful to the common man. Take a look at the last 5 articles included in their newsletter.

1. The Amazing Picture-Takin’ Geotaggin’ Solar-Powered Super Bike
2. Better Lenses for Less Money: How To Use Vintage Lenses with Your DSLR
3. The Smartest Camera Strap Ever
4. Ten Ways To Look Fabulous in Pictures
5. Photojojo’s Guide to Macrophotography

   A service provided by photojojo called Time Capsule for Flickr sends you all your photos from your Flickr account on a monthly basis.

   If you own a digital camera I would suggest subscribing to the newsletter or the RSS feed and you would find interesting reading.