Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery
Saturday, 29 December 2007 Posted at 16:14
There is nothing worse than losing an important file on your computer, especially if its that priceless family photo that you simply cant do without. Data loss is a big problem on modern computers for the simple reason that there's so much of it. Keeping track can be hard and accidental deletion of a file you need is inevitable. But when files are deleted or missing its not the be all end all, help is at hand.
Programs are available for data loss and can help bring back the files that are important to you. However choosing the right program is essential. Recently i have been trying out a great piece of software that is perfect for these situations. Here's a lowdown on the Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery suite a complete solution for data loss problem.
After installing Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery, i was presented with a nice clean user interface with large colourful buttons making it easy to navigate around the program, something which is essential with any software. So i decided to jump in and see if could find my lost data. You are given the option to select your drive destination from a list to the left and after a quick double click on one of my drives sure enough scan options are presented including standard, advanced and custom image file. As a product reviewer i think its important to test all features of a program so i tried each each scan i found it to be quite speedy, especially considering what its doing. Another point i should make is that you can scan floppy, zip and USB drives aw well as standard hard disks.
A standard scan took little time but displayed fewer results as an advanced scan which is expected. Once the scan is completed all the files that are recoverable are presented within the program and you can chose the desired file type from the left menu, another neat little feature is the ability to preview files before you recover them. This is great if you cant remember the file name or if you want to see other files that you might like back. After you have found your desired files you can go ahead and recover them.
Little tick boxes are onscreen making it easy to separate the files you want to recover from the ones you don't, If you prefer to highlight a whole bunch files you can do this too. Hitting the recover button will go and get you your files back. There are some destination options and you can output your files in a compressed format to a local drive or an FTP network drive. Putting your files to an FTP location is a great way of getting your recovered files mobile and accessible from another location.
All in all I was surprised how simple the process of getting my files back was, it literally took a couple of clicks of my mouse and a little waiting and my files were recovered. This product was not only useful but it seemed user friendly and simple to use. As products get more featured packed them seem to reflect that in there usability, Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery manages to keep the functionally's and maintain a simple recovery process with a friendly user interface. The cost is $99 per license which is great for a lifetime license and the product works with all versions of Windows including Vista.
Xbox 360 Movie Deal
Friday, 28 December 2007 Posted at 03:59
For just the next 24 hours Xbox Live members will be able to rent the blockbuster hit movie "300" for just 100 Microsoft points. At the moment the offer is for Standard definition although Microsoft clearly stated the offer was for the HD version too at this point in time the HD file is still priced at 540 points. If you want the HD version i guess you could hang it out and see if they update it.
I have never seen this movie and i am downloading it as you read this, also this will be the fist time i have used the video marketplace store so i will let you know of my experiences.
Until then have a great day!
Merry Christmas To All Our Visitors!
Tuesday, 25 December 2007 Posted at 03:40
I would like to wish all our readers and visitors a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Only a few days to go! Have a good one :)
ProCookie
Labels: merry christmas
Firefox 3 Beta 2
Thursday, 20 December 2007 Posted at 13:08 
Now available to download here:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html
Improved security features such as: protection from cross-site JSON data leaks, tighter restrictions on site-specific content using effective TLD service, better presentation of website identity and security, malware protection, stricter SSL error pages, anti-virus integration in the download manager, version checking for insecure plugins.
Improved ease of use through: better password management, easier add-on installation, new download manager with resumable downloading, full page zoom, animated tab strip, and better integration with Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
Richer personalization through: one-click bookmaking, smart bookmark folders, location bar that matches against your history and bookmarks for URLs and page titles, ability to register web applications as protocol handlers, and better customization of download actions for file types.
Improved platform features such as: new graphics and font rendering architecture, JavaScript 1.8, major changes to the HTML rendering engine to provide better CSS, float-, and table layout support, native web page form controls, colour profile management, and offline application support.
Performance improvements such as: better data reliability for user profiles, architectural improvements to speed up page rendering, over 330 memory leak fixes, a new XPCOM cycle collector to reduce entire classes of leaks, and reductions in the memory footprint.
SkypePhone Mobile - High Quality, Yet Affordable?
Posted at 04:29
You are all probably all familiar with concept of Skype, free international phone calls via VOIP technology. Now the communications's giant has struck a deal with mobile telephone network Hutchison 3G, better known as 3 Mobile.
They have created a mobile/cell phone that lets you call or chat with any of your friends who are also on Skype anywhere in the world, anytime and because its Skype its totally free! With a dedicated Skype button you can connect to more than 246 million users on the Skype network and away you go. For as long as you like. Without paying a penny extra.
The only catch is that you top up at least £10 a month to keep everything free but that £10 is for your airtime to standard lines. I think £10 a month is a great deal considering i could ring someone from Australia and stay on the line for 3 hours and it wouldn't cost a penny. Plus i get £10 to play around with for land line and other mobile calls.
Now lets get stuck into the phone!
Camera
2.0 megapixel
Battery Standby
320 Hours Talk Time: 270 Minutes Video Talk Time: 170 Minutes
Memory
16MB internal Expandable to 1GB micro SD, comes with FREE 256mb Memory Card
MP3/Music Player
Size
Dimensions: 100 x 44 x 13.6 mm
Weight
86g
Compatible With
Google, Windows Live Messenger - coming soon, Bluetooth
So overall not bad huh? Now the price tag. I was expecting a price of something between 100-150 pounds but at only £50! its a steal! There's no other phone that offers a 2.0 megapixel camera, 256mb Memory and Bluetooth not to mention the free international calls.
I have ordered one of these and will be getting it in the post the day after boxing day, full write up on its way!
Why not Check them out here, there's also an offer on at the moment buy 2 phones for £80. Could make a great Christmas Gift, One for you and one for someone special.
Use a Windows Live Hotmail account in Outlook
Posted at 03:29
Back when i last used Microsoft Office Outlook you had to pay to download and view emails from a Windows Live Hotmail account, or just Hotmail as it used to be called.
Since BETA stages i have been using a program called Windows Live Desktop, made by the Windows Live Team that allows you to access your Hotmail accounts via your desktop for free. Its a fantastic speedy little application that also lets you add multiple POP and IMAP email accounts. Having said that it still has a lot of things missing from outlook, i preferred outlook for its choice of layouts and its great calendar features.
So to cut a long story short you can now download a tool called Outlook Connector, for Free and it will allow you to view your Windows Live Mail in versions 2007 and 2003 of Office Outlook. This is fantastic for all us Outlook enthusiasts but if your not fussed and want basic functionality with a simple clean UI you can get Windows Live Mail Desktop for free here.
Xbox 360 Movie Marketplace Hits EU
Tuesday, 11 December 2007 Posted at 05:34
Turned on my Xbox 360 this morning and hey presto! the Movie Marketplace is now Live. I have not had time to download a movie as of yet but i did check out the preview streaming feature before i had to rush out this morning. Unexpectedly it streams quite fast, in fact its almost instant and it gives you a full movie teaser. As you might expect the quality ain't all that great as its streamed, but its good enough to give you an overall of what the movies all about. Another thing i noticed is that the Marketplace blade is now theme with an advertising background for the movies (still doesn't theme to your personal background). You might not think this is all that great but over in the USA they have had some great add based themes for the new content such as movies and games. So hope this is the first of many, personally i think its great because it instantly tells me whats new and available to download, to others it might be plain annoying.
On the movies themselves we get the title, publisher, rating and running time info as well as a scrolling box displaying info about the film and who stars in it. Clicking the movie description gives you info on sound (stereo, surround ect.) the year the film was published, subtitle and language information. You have the options to download in High definition and Standard depending on the movies, some are only available in standard others only in HD or both. Then there is an option to preview which i mentioned above.Finally we get the option to see credits too, the actors names and directors an so on.
If you would like more info on pricing and terms of renting of these movies check out my post called Xbox 360 Video Marketplace In Europe.
Vista SP1 Release Candidate Going Public
Thursday, 6 December 2007 Posted at 03:00
The Windows Vista Service Pack Release Candidate 1 is now available to developers on the Microsoft website but more importantly it will be going public next week! The RC build has a few changes to previous builds.
Changes in Release Candidate 1
Download size is considerably smaller, by 30 to 50 percent depending on which language(s) you need.
Required disk space is smaller.
Cleans up to 1GB of junk files left behind compared to previous builds.
Kill Switch tool is being removed but anti-piracy technologies will remain, just not reduced functionality mode thats been annoying many valid users.
The full list of changes is available in the Microsoft white paper found here
To those who have yet to try SP1 you in for a nice speed boost thats for sure, just dont be expecting many new features.
Xbox 360 Video Marketplace In Europe
Posted at 02:26
Xbox 360 Fall Update Final Post
Saturday, 1 December 2007 Posted at 14:54