Flickr

Before Facebook. Before Instagram. Before Twitter. There was Flickr a photo sharing site. It was social and simple. The community were skilled and it never catered to kids or celebs but was for the amateur photographer. The best part was seeing the exif info this way you knew how to setup similar shots. The worse part was the 200 photo limit for free accounts.

Well now they raised their limit to 1 terabyte for free or about 50,000 10 mp pictures. if you upload 0.5 mp photos that is over 1.5 million pictures. Sure now cameras are 20 mp or more but it silly to upload those since staling is common on the internet and a lower mp upload is always recommended.

Great photo showing the issue.

The problem is the new forma. It is made for tablets and young people who do not read and just like photos. I want details. I want to read captions and exif detail. There is an EDIT button that will take you to http://www.flickr.com/photos/<INSERT YOUR ID>/?details=1. The ?details=1 is what I want as a default layout or at least a second choice.

I have paid for the pro account so I am a big fan of Flickr hopefully I will find a way to use this new format.

McAfee All Access 2012

McAfee All Access 2012

Got this free my normal McAfee Total Protection I first got in 2004. Generally McAfee is a great piece of computer security. Occasionally it slows down the computer but it the job and I have never had problem with threats or viruses since 2004, especially since I have never turned off my desktop. Unlike previous editions there is no limit to what device you can download it on.

Mobile Security

This is the component or phones. It gives you the ability to track, secure, and erase your phone. My Droid X is about to be two years old and I have had zero problems. Still I am using online features and download more apps than I can keep track of so it seemed like a smart idea.

McAfee Security Pin screen, it's 90210...just kidding, maybe.

Options screen

Warning Messages

It keeps warning me of three things...
Device Admin: This allows remote erasing and other remote actions. I will not turn it on because since I never have the phone away from me it may cause more problems like accidental erasure.

GPS Disabled: Yeah I never use the GPS on my phone. My city has a great 3G network and GPS would not add anything except for battery drainage.

Auto-Backup Disabled: Again this is a battery drainage issue, plus my phone came with an auto-backup that works great. So another redundant feature.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. The PC edition changes little to nothing
2. Mobile security is only noticeable when downloading apps
3. Lots of customizable functions

Cons

1. Can slow down the computer in certain cases
2. Yearly cost is ridiculous

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at:
Full Edition at McAfee.com: Free upgrade after that $99.99 a year
Mobile Componen at Google Play: Free with subscription

Side note: I hate the fact I cannot screen capture on my phone so excuse the reflections.

CamStudio Portable

CamStudio Portable

This is a screen recording app that works from a USB drive. You can define the shape of the recording area, the frame rate, and other functions. It is lightweight but the files can be large.

The small application screen very efficient.

The screen size is defined by the corner arrows you see at the four corners of the screenshot.

The CamStudio Player showing what you just recorded.

Notice a problem.

Well if you did not notice the screen size I selected was correct but it was shifted to left and up by one-third. No matter what I did to the setting it was always recording off center. It was high quality and I could adjust but still very annoying.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. Easy to use
2. Great playback
3. Lots of functions
4. Very lightweight

Cons

1. Off center recording
2. Some of the functions are not clear to a novice

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at:
PortableApps: Free

This copy I have is older, allegedly they updated so I will too soon.

AutoCAD 2010

AutoCAD

A 2D and 3D CAD(Computer-Aided Design) program that is one of best and definitely one of the most complicated. It can used to design everything from dresses to coins to skyscrapers.

Simple widget design.

The reason I am using 2010 is because that was the last year I was in college and could get it with the student discount for free.

Learning the program is simple enough but you should keep up since each version changes slightly. I started with AutoCAD 2002 and the changes are significant. Weather creating parts for a vehicle or adding layers to an HVAC system the need for good math skills becomes apparent.

The ribbon replaces the menu but using both is a better option.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. Mouse is not necessary
2. Huge files handles great
3. Many options and plug-ins available

Cons

1. Expensive
2. Hard to navigate menus
3. Help (F1) not really helpful

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at:
College: (try your local college)
AutoCAD: AutoCAD, $4,295

FireFox 5.0

FireFox 5.0

Recently I reviewed Firefox 4.01 which turned out to be a crash-crazy browser. I got the new version over a week ago and it has not crashed once while doing the same task as always.

Here it is while using Google's new search format.

Hundreds of tiny improvements have worked. But the best feature is the Do Not Track function. To quote Mozilla "...transmitting a Do Not Track HTTP header every time your data is requested from the Web." is how it works. I have been noticing that my Google ads are the same no matter what site I visit hopefully that will stop.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. Easy to use
2. It has stopped crashing

Cons

1. Is hogging more memory

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at: FireFox 5.0

Advanced Task Killer

Advanced Task Killer 1.9.6B76

An app to kill all other apps. And yes it can kill itself.

There is some controversy over this app. Apparently most phones Android 2.2 or higher are so great with managing applications this kind of app is not necessary. That said it is still good to have in case you want to end some apps immediately.

Here's why this is a 80% program...

Pros

1. Can stop most apps
2. It is customizable

Cons

1. Mostly useless, still nice to have

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at: Market Android, free

Plants vs. Zombies

Plants vs. Zombies

This is a Wi-Fi only download because the file is so larger it would clog the 3G pipeline. This is a fun little game from PopCap. The free online version was great if not short. Not much more to say but it's a beautiful game.

You need to finish some levels to get more.

The ask for a name...

...if you don't the give a gentle reminder.

 

Then start to play

Here's why this is a 80% program...

Pros

1. Easy to use
2. Great graphics

Cons

1. Time and battery waster
2. Even on Wi-Fi it took a while to download

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at: Amazon: Plants vs. Zombies (Was free, now $1.49)