archive

WinRAR is a winner

WinRAR is a lightweight, flexible, and easy-to-use archiving utility that can unpack most archive formats, as well as compress to both RAR and ZIP. Free to try for 40 days ($29 for single license), WinRAR is a top dog in the compression category.

WinRAR's interface is about as simple as it gets. Start creating (or add to) an archive by dragging and dropping your files into the interface or by browsing through the Folder Tree side panel (when enabled). From there, the most common functions are laid out in the form of colorful, mostly intuitive icons along the top, … Read more

Keep track of your files with DigiCat

Between external hard drives, USB drives, laptops, desktops, CDs, DVDs, and other storage locales, it can be hard to keep track of which files are stored where. DigiCat is a simple program that allows you to quickly and easily create catalogs of disk contents, making it easy to determine where files are stored when you need them.

The program's interface is fairly intuitive, though it took us a few minutes of poking around to figure out exactly how things worked. We tried to access the Help file, but, despite the presence of a Help tab, the program had no … Read more

Save and annotate Web pages with Diigo Bookmark, Archive, Highlight and Sticky-Note

Bookmarking has come a long way since the early days of Web browsers, when saving a URL in a folder for future reference was about as exciting as it got. Now you can save not only URLs, but annotations and other information, and you can save them in the cloud for easy access wherever you go. Diigo Bookmark, Archive, Highlight and Sticky-Note is an extension for Google Chrome that makes it easy to save Web addresses, highlights, notes, and much more.

Like most Chrome extensions, Diigo installs with little fuss, appearing as an icon to the right of Chrome's … Read more

Free Zip Archiver

Even with the increasing capacity of today's hard drives and faster Internet connections, file compression tools continue to be popular. Especially those that handle more than just ZIP files. Hamster Free Zip Archiver from Hamstersoft is one such simple tool. This free program will compress files in the ZIP and 7z formats, but it is fully capable of decompressing RAR files, as well.

It's easy enough to install and use. The interface is clean and modern, and compressing files is as simple as drag and drop. If you happen to be a newbie, have no fear, clicking the … Read more

How to delete Gmail messages instead of archiving in iOS Mail

After setting up a Gmail account on your iOS device, you may have noticed the delete button has now changed to an archive button. Doing so more closely mimics the Gmail experience.

For some Gmail users, the archive feature is a welcome feature; for others the default delete functionality is preferred. Disabling archive is simple. Follow these four steps to turn off archive and restore delete.

To get started, go to Settings.

Navigate to Mail.

Select the Gmail account you want to edit.

Toggle the Archive Messages switch.

If you are a fan of the archive mentality, you may want … Read more

WinZip 16 goes social, postal

WinZip version 16 has hit the streets, bringing with it a few features aimed at keeping the venerable archiving tool in the cool crowd. Plus, with its all-new native 64-bit engine, this newest release runs just a bit smoother and faster than before.

But first things first--the guts of the program. WinZip 16 retains its large feature set, including drag-and-drop support and content-sensitive previews. It can compress images by up to 25 percent and has a "Zip from Camera" wizard, and deep context menu support enables you to perform most of WinZip's functions on the fly. However, … Read more

Was legal site rewrite a liberal plot? Not quite.

A few days ago, a conservative attorney named Leo Donofrio noticed something extremely odd about the U.S. Supreme Court opinions published on the Web site of Justia.com, a legal information startup.

The opinions weren't accurate. Donofrio, of East Brunswick, N.J., discovered that citations to a 1875 case defining a "natural-born citizen"--a phrase that has special resonance in discussions about President Obama's eligibility for the office--had been quietly removed before the 2008 elections.

Donofrio, who in 2009 tried to convince the Supreme Court that President-elect Obama was ineligible for office, quickly published his … Read more

The 404 927: Where a funny thing happened on the way to work today (podcast)

It's easy to get lost in all the new Android and Windows Phone handsets coming out soon, but CNET's Kent German, Bonnie Cha, and Nicole Lee have us covered. Today Verizon and Motorola announced their latest Droid Razr, a modern incarnation of the original Razr design with a non-bulletproof Kevlar backing and an ultraslim profile.

We also have a leaked shot of the Google Nexus Prime, a first take of the HTC Titan, and a Microsoft patent that encourages you to access touch screens through your pants. Too easy! This and more irreverent stories on today's episode of The 404 Podcast.… Read more

Creating backup images of CDs or DVDs

CDs and DVDs can store a lot of data, but over time they have a tendency to get lost or damaged. When either of these tragic events happens the data on the disc becomes unusable or impossible to recover. Follow these steps to create a digital archive of all of your software discs and never have to worry about these issues again.

First you'll need to download and install Daemon Tools. For general use the Lite version will provide all the options you'll need--and it's free! However, there is also a Pro version&… Read more

The 404 889: Where we feel an urge to back you up (podcast)

Our guest on the show today is Jason Scott, computer historian and adjunct archivist at the Internet Archives, a nonprofit founded in 1996 to save a copy of every Web page ever posted. He's also responsible for the Netscape GIF graveyard you see above. Also related: "under construction" GIFs!

We want to hear all about the 500,000 books scanned so far in the Archive warehouse, but we'll also talk to him about the Wayback Machine, a tool that lets you click through snapshots of Web sites along a timeline--check out CNET back in October 1996!

The Archive's book-scanning division is the company's foremost project with donated texts making up a big portion of the collection, but the Web site also preserves live music footage, original audio recordings, and various moving images clipped from history, like this compendium of news footage documenting various news organizations' coverage of the September 11 attacks over the course of seven days.

We have a lot of topics to discuss with Jason, including his personal project to rescue data saved on floppy discs (we'll explain what those are in the show, kids) and his personal vendetta against Wikipedia. But we only have 20 minutes for the interview, so expect to see him back on the show in the future.

The 404 Digest for Episode 889

Is this the end for books? Internet archivist seeks 1 of every book written. Rescuing floppy disks, by Jason Scott. The great failure of Wikipedia, by Jason Scott. Ticketmaster tells you where your Facebook Friends sit. CorporateTwits--Trolling goes corporate How a Tweet Led to a full steak dinner delivered to the airport. Netscape GIF Graveyard Under construction GIF Graveyard

Episode 889 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more