convertible

Convert Flash vids to MP3s with FLV to MP3 Free Converter

Video-hosting sites like YouTube are also a great source of free tunes. Even if the audio quality isn't usually the best, at least you can hear the song you're searching for, maybe with a video of a turntable spinning the vinyl original. You can save the YouTube vid, but to play the tune on your MP3 player or add it to your MP3 collection, you'll need to extract the audio. That's easy to do, though: Just convert Flash videos saved from YouTube and other sites into MP3s. Generally speaking, you have two choices: 1) an all-in-one … Read more

One video for all with GOM Video Converter

GOM's latest version already supports the expected list of common formats: AVIs, MP4s, WMVs, etc. If you're not sure which format to use, GOM Video Converter includes presets for the current line of popular portable gadgets, consoles and more so that no Sony, Microsoft, Samsung, or Apple device gets left behind.

Installation takes some more input than standard processes, mostly involving user confirmation of installing certain codecs. Personally, we felt that it's odd to ask for such confirmations as codecs don't really take that much space anyways and the odds of a typical user knowing which … Read more

Eating your own, Microsoft style

Eat your own, or somebody else will. That's the new mantra in the device world.

Here's what Apple said this week on that topic.

In terms of cannibalization and how we think about this, I see cannibalization as a huge opportunity for us. One, our base philosophy is to never fear cannibalization. If we do, somebody else will just cannibalize it and so we never fear it. --Tim Cook.

This was said in response to an analyst's question during the company's first-quarter earnings conference call. Earlier in the call, Apple, in its prepared remarks, said that … Read more

Convert audio and video files and more with Converter Plus

If you wanted to load the "Green Acres" theme song to your MP3 player, how would you do it? You could search for an MP3, but we suggest you make your own with Converter Plus, a versatile audio and video converter that, among other accomplishments, can convert video files into MP3s. That sounds sort of un-special, we know, but it's a lot less common than you'd think. And besides it's just one of Converter Plus's capabilities, which include not just converting audio and video files from one format to another, but also downloading video … Read more

Advanced Word to Pdf Converter isn't and didn't

Advanced Word to Pdf Converter Free promises to convert Word documents (DOC, DOCX, and DOCM) as well as text and rich-text documents into searchable PDFs, as the name suggests, for free. We assume it's intended for users who lack Word, since Word can save Word, text, and rich-text documents directly as PDFs. And "free" in this case means it's a restricted version of a premium tool. That wouldn't matter so much if it actually converted files in its default mode, without the paid version's settings and options. Unfortunately, it didn't.

Advanced Word to … Read more

Convert AVI files to MP4s with AVI to MP4 Converter

AVI has been around a long time, and there's a lot of video saved in the format. Some devices, including mobile devices, have limited media file compatibility and won't play AVIs. For many users, the simplest solution is to convert the AVI files to MP4 files. AVI to MP4 Converter from A Software Plus is a free utility that can do the job with a minimum of fuss. It converts AVI and similar formats like DivX and Xvid, singly or in batches. We tried it in Windows 7 Home Premium SP1.

AVI to MP4 Converter's user interface … Read more

Convert video formats with Any Video Converter Professional

Any Video Converter Professional makes it very easy to convert video files one by one or in batches, to and from just about any video format you can play. With one of the largest and most diverse Profiles menus we've seen, chances are good that this premium video conversion utility has a profile just for your device. It's a simple matter of choosing the files you want to convert, selecting the device you want to play them on, and letting Any Video Converter do the rest. Any Video Converter also extracts audio from video files, which is something … Read more

Convert 3GP files to MP3s with 3GP to MP3 Converter Plus

Many cell phones save recorded video and audio in 3GP container files, and not just phones on 3G networks; many on 2G networks do, too. While plenty of media players (such as VLC) can play 3GP files, a lot of people prefer to convert their recorded audio to MP3s for maximum versatility, as it's much easier to share MP3s and use them with other programs. Shiver's 3GP to MP3 Converter Plus freeware simplifies the task. It can convert even large 3GP files into MP3s without reducing quality.

This program's appearance is plain; it's hard to imagine … Read more

Microsoft blazes trail to next PC

PC makers take note. Microsoft is pioneering the next PC.

Surface Pro makes a good case as the template for the new PC for a couple of simple reasons: Microsoft put the device's electronics behind the glass, not under the keyboard, and the device uses a real processor.

Let's address the electronics first. Most of the newfangled laptops I saw at CES were convertibles. That is, the displays are not detachable because the core electronics are under the keyboard, just like your father's laptop.

And most of them were unimpressive. The mechanics necessary to flip and/or … Read more