ie8 fix

archiving

Featured Freeware: ALZip

If you're looking for one tool that can handle a myriad of compression methods, from RAR and ZIP to TAR and TGZ and nearly 30 other formats, ALZip just might be for you. In fact, archive format support is ALZip's forte. It'll even open ISO and other CD images. All the usual archive application options are here, as well: context menu additions, password protections, virus scanner integration, and assistance in creating self-extracting archives.

The interface looks modern and is well-designed, with archive contents displayed as icons, in a list, or in a detailed spreadsheet-style grid. There are … Read more

WinZip 12 adds lossless JPEG compression

Although it's ancient in Internet years, WinZip is still up and kicking. Among the various improvements and tweaks, the latest upgrade to Version 12 includes one massive reinvigorating feature: the WinZip folks have figured out how to compress JPEGs without sacrificing image quality.

The details on exactly how this is done remain a secret for now, although WinZip has promised to open up its compression algorithms as they've done in the past. On the user end of things, this means that ZIP files containing JPEGs will be more than just bundles of your photos--the archives will actually be … Read more

Google raising newspaper morgues from the dead

Updated 2:57 p.m. PDT with Google's commentary about ad revenue sharing and other details. Also, my colleague Rafe Needleman covered Google's launch of the newspaper digitization work at TechCrunch.

Google is making searchable, digital copies of old newspapers available online through partnerships with their publishers, the company said Monday.

Under the ad-supported effort, Google will digitize millions of pages of news archives, including photos, articles, headlines, and advertisements, Google said.

"Around the globe, we estimate that there are billions of news pages containing every story ever written. And it's our goal to help readers … Read more

Featured Freeware: RarZilla

When all you've got is a hammer, every problem looks suspiciously like a nail. RarZilla is a great little utility for automatically "unraring" RAR archives, but it's incompatible with any other archive format. Depending on what you're looking for, the program--which is also available in a portable version--is either just the tool you need or woefully inadequate.

The program does a wonderful job of unzipping--sorry, unraring--RARs, and it provides three methods for achieving that lofty goal. You can select the "RarZilla!" option from the context menu associated with any RAR file in … Read more

Featured Freeware: IZArc

I haven't touched WinZip or WinRAR in more than a year thanks to the lightweight archiving utility 7-Zip, and IZArc looks to be another excellent archiving alternative. It modestly bills itself as the ultimate archiving utility--I'm not so sure about that ''ultimate'' bit. Nevertheless, IZArc is definitely one of the best archivers out there. Compatible with a huge number of archive formats, all the major are represented, as well as 7-Zip's 7z, ISO, BH (Black Hole), and TAR, among others. It can create archives for many of the formats it can read, too, including 7z and TAR. … Read more

Iterasi getting public RSS feeds and widgets

Web page archiving tool Iterasi is getting a small but important update Tuesday morning. Users can now share their stream of archived pages with others as an RSS feed, letting anyone view their saved items either directly in their browser or in a feed-capturing tool like Google Reader or desktop e-mail clients.

Also being introduced is a new widget that can be tacked onto your blog or favorite start page like iGoogle or My Yahoo. It will display a reverse chronological stream of the latest pages you've tucked away. Each item is just a thumbnail, but when users click on it they'll be taken to the fully archived version of the page, complete with working links. It's the same basic experience seen when the service launched its sharing feature.

"What's surprising is how many of our users were asking for RSS feeds," Iterasi CEO Pete Grillo told me. Grillo acknowledged that the current Iterasi user base is a bit on the early-adopter side, and he thinks the widgets will help open the service up to a wider audience.

He also expects more people to jump onboard as the platform expands to include Mac users, which should be happening in the next few weeks--right around the time the long-awaited auto-archiving feature makes its way into users hands. "We're close to having it ready," Grillo said "and RSS is going to make it far more useful than we originally intended." Once in place users, will be able to schedule when they want the service to take snapshots of their favorite pages. It will continue to do so as long as the computer where the extension is installed is running.

I've embedded an example of the new widget after the break. It'll continue to update as more pages are saved.

Read more

Featured Freeware: 7-Zip

It's easy for Windows users to forget that WinZip isn't the only file-compression utility in the world, nor is WinRAR its only replacement. Like its better-known competitors, the free 7-Zip unpacks a host of archive formats, including ZIP, TAR, GZ, and its own 7Z format. Unlike the competition, though, it can create TAR and GZ archives, which are commonly used on Unix and Linux systems. Even though it's small, there's an even smaller portable version, too.

The program's ability to shrink files was stunning. 7Z archives tested up to 40 percent smaller then their ZIP … Read more

The Real Deal podcast archive

Here's the back-catalog of The Real Deal podcast episodes.

The Real Deal 110: Vista Road Test Rafe talks about the Windows Vista machine he built from scratch. Then Tom and Rafe both talk about their varying experiences with Vista. Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 04:15 PM The Real Deal 109: Video Toolkit Tom and Rafe share their favorite ways to shoot, edit, convert, and post videos. Date: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 04:08 PM The Real Deal 108: Cloud computing What is this cloud computing buzzword-mongers are buzzing about? How does it work? Will it replace regular old … Read more

Security Bites podcast archive

Here's a recap of some of the previous Security Bites podcasts you may have missed.

Security Bites Podcast 100: Google Docs claimed by spammers Guest: Matt Sergeant, senior antispam technologist for MessageLabs. Date: May 23, 2008 Security Bites Podcast 99: Fujitsu gives biometrics a hand Guest: Joel Hagberg, vice president of marketing and business development at Fujitsu Computer Products of America. Date: May 16, 2008 Security Bites Podcast 98: The good (and bad) news about electronic votingGuest: Brian Chess, chief scientist at Fortify. Date: May 9, 2008 Security Bites podcast 97: SQL-injections hit the WebGuest: Jeremiah Grossman, … Read more

Dialed In podcast archive

Here's the back-catalog of Dialed In podcast episodes.

Dialed In 30: T-Mobile (finally) gives us 3G Actually, we're not getting in San Francisco but T-Mobile has switched on its 3G network for the lucky residents of New York City. We cut through the hype to tell you the story on this long-awaited event. We also tell you about AT&T new Mobile TV service and we wade through waves of cell phone rumors. Date: May 8, 2008 Dialed In 29: iPhone heads to Canada Amidst the 3G iPhone rumors, our Canadian brethren finally gets the news that … Read more