Google Sidewiki

Google Sidewiki is the latest addition to Google's tools and services. As a product just released to the world, it is too early to tell whether it will be a success. As an idea though, it is just the thing we the internet users have been looking for. It is quite literally an unbiased review/comment section for every web page on the internet. A consumer need not search the internet for reviews of a particular website. Instead, with Google Sidewiki, he need only click the Sidewiki icon on his Google toolbar to instantly see unbiased reviews of the website he is viewing.


Being an avid internet user, I can say that Google Sidewiki will be used to review not just websites, but the products on the websites too. In fact this is the purpose of such a review/comment section. I myself totally depend on reviews when buying any product. The collective human knowledge gives me the big picture about any product that I want to buy. My decisions based on unbiased reviews on the internet have never gone wrong enabling me to make the best decision possible. Such is the power of the internet. Google Sidewiki now brings that power even closer and more accessible to the average user, and I applaud Google for their clairvoyance in this respect. Since it is still new, the reviews are not sufficient to make informed decisions about products; but once people start depending on Google Sidewiki (which will inevitably happen) the reviews will be in sufficient amounts to make informed decisions using Sidewiki alone.

Google Reader

I am a follower of the official Gmail blog. It started when I saw a Gmail post on the Gmail site (before you login) and decided to follow it. I must say, they don't post drivel on that blog. It's all pretty useful stuff. So I pretty much frequented the Gmail blog and learned new useful stuff about my Gmail with every new post they posted there. That was also where I learned about Google Calendar and recently about Google Reader. This is the direct link to the post: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/find-great-stuff-to-read-in-google.html. I must say that I am now hooked to Google Reader and I can't believe that I lived without this useful tool for so long.

Google Reader is a web based feed reader. Basically, this means that a feed enabled website (most websites) can be viewed through this reader as posts whenever there is an update on the website. There are a bunch of websites that I check everyday for my hobbies, entertainment and latest news. Not all these websites have updates everyday nor are most of these updates interesting to me. Before Google Reader, I would visit each of these websites everyday in search of the latest updates. Most times I would just forget about one particular website and by the time I visit it next, I have already missed several posts which are no longer relevant for today. Even if they are not time dependent, I would feel lazy to go back read each and every post that I missed. Google Reader has simplified this process by bringing all the updates to all my favourite websites to one place. I can read the new post directly in Google Reader or I can click the link and go to the website to read it. To me, it is the most useful tool since the advent of email and I would never have known about it unless I read the Gmail blog (which is now one of my many Google Reader subscriptions).

Google Reader even enables me to read posts/updates on websites that are months old. Nothing downloads to your computer because everything just loads as you scroll down to older posts...and it just keeps going. I bet that it is possible to scroll down to the very first post of any website. I find Google Reader particularly useful for reading blogs, and webcomics. Below is a screenshot of my subscriptions.


Notice that the boston.com's "The Big Picture" is a feed that is not updated everyday; but when they do post(usually thrice a week), it is not a post to miss. I also find it useful to follow webcomics which I am a fan of. Some comics update everyday while others update only once a week. So instead of wasting time (I consider reading comics a waste of time) everyday checking the websites to see if there is an update, I just check my Google Reader to see if there are any new updates on the websites. Since the essence of the comic is in the post itself, there is no need to visit the website because I can just read the comic from Google Reader itself.


A word of caution though. When you first sign up for Google Reader, you will be given the option to subscribe to a bunch of "recommended websites" which I maintain are crap. Not only are they useless, they would intimidate you with hundreds of unread posts which you might be compelled to read, get frustrated with the volume and ditch Google Reader as a result. Just start with a clean slate go to your favourite website (eg. abstrusegoose.com) and click the following icon:In other websites, there might not be an icon. It might just say "RSS", "RSS feed" or "Atom feed". So long as you are able to subscribe to the feeds, you can add it to Google Reader. Click the Google icon:If it does not appear, just choose Google from the list of readers. It will then give you the option of adding it to your Google homepage or Google reader. Choose Google Reader and you are all set! Try Google Reader on a few webcomics (it's the best way to test it out) to start off and then decide whether to make Google Reader a part of your life.

A free CD/DVD burning software?

Want to burn CD's or DVD's without having to pay for expensive software? Well, CDBurnerXP is the perfect alternative for you. CDBurnerXP is a free software that allows you to burn CD's, DVD's, ISO's , audio CD's, bootable CD's, as well as data verification and multi language interfaces. For the average user, it's like Nero without the cost.

CDBurnerXP even burns Blu-Ray and HD-DVD's as well. The software currently works on all the major platforms including Windows XP, Vista and 7. It has yet to come out on Linux, which I'm hoping will be soon.

I am a fan of free software that work just as well (almost always better) than paid software. I don't know why; but free software just do what you want it to. Maybe it's because their makers are altruistic and genuinely want to make a difference in the world by making software that just work. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the software is free and does the job. With the web becoming more open, it is only a matter of time before cloud computing (which are mostly free software/affordable) becomes ubiquitous allowing human knowledge to be shared by all. Overpriced junk posing as good software don't stand a chance in the new world unless they embrace the new direction the world is taking and reduce their prices to affordable levels.

An awesome free firewall for your Windows operating system

ZoneAlarm by CheckPoint has been my personal firewall for the past 4 years. Sick of the windows firewall that was as holey as Swiss cheese, I sought a reliable firewall that blocks all uninvited intrusions while enabling me to access the internet, without fear. In my search, I remember that I had to choose between ZoneAlarm's free firewall and the Comodo free firewall. For some reason, ZoneAlarm looked more attractive to me and I chose ZoneAlarm. Over the years, there have been many software that have received the "uninstall" axe from me when they did not perform to my expectations. ZoneAlarm exceeded my expectations in every form as did Avira Antivir (in my previous post).


This is the part where I give tribute to ZoneAlarm and Avira Antivir. There are thousands of software out there that do many things in the world. It is only once in a while that you come across a software that truly lifts your heart; like these two software. These software are never out of date. They are constantly being updated, work perfectly and have amazingly simple and cool interfaces. I wouldn't trade these free software even if someone gave me a fully paid Norton or McCafee Antivirus gift-wrapped on a silver platter.

It is incumbent on every individual who loves his computer to at least try out ZoneAlarm and Avira Antivir for their firewall and Antivirus needs.

A free Antivirus software

Antivirus software are considered a necessary evil in all windows computers. Necessary because if you don't have one, you will definitely have a virus in your computer before the end of the day. On the other hand, when you do have one installed, it consumes every ounce of resource your CPU can juice out. Norton and McCafee are the most common antivirus software in the world and the most notorious in scanning anything that moves in your computer thus hindering anything you do in your PC. Why these software need to scan every single byte that moves in your PC is beyond me. Norton was so terrible with their hidden firewalls and email scanners (that sent all my legit email to spam) that I would often just uninstall it and risk my computer to viruses just so that I could get some work done. That is until I found this beauty called Avira AntiVir.



This antivirus was like a godsend. It was everything that I wished an antivirus software should be. As a person who loves free software, this was the best because it is free for personal use. When I used it, I immediately felt the difference. It worked seamlessly in the background and I never notice when it scans incoming data. It was so quite in fact that I wasn't really sure that it was working and deliberately went to a "bad" website to test it out; and Avira immediately popped cautioning me that a virus was trying to enter my PC and is denying it access. That was so cool.

If that wasn't enough, the Avira virus database in Germany is updated EVERYDAY. So when the Avira on my computer searches for updates everyday, it always has a new list of viruses to download. The files are just a few kb and take less than a minute to download to my computer. Except for one popup that advertises it's paid versions (Avira AntiVir Premium and Avira Premium Security Suite) for corporations, there is no indication that the Antivirus is running on your computer (except for the taskbar icon of course).

I have always recommended Avira to everyone I meet. It is quite frankly the best free Antivirus software any individual can want. I have to assume that if their free software is so powerful and so awesome, their paid software must be PERFECT. I would recommend any company to give this Antivirus a try and see for themselves how it solves their security problems.