PowerResizer Extends Windows 7 Aero Snap Windows

Even though Windows 7 native application window docking and snapping features are arguably great, we often experience some specific annoyances. For instance, Windows 7 Aero Snap lets you quickly open two application windows side-by-side for doing comparisons, keeping tab on two active processes, etc, but it is unable to automatically adjust size and positions of windows when you resize any of the opened window. Similarly, Windows 7 Aero Snap doesn’t support docking windows at top and bottom of the screen. PowerResizer is an open source application that extends the functions of Windows 7 Aero Snap without replacing any of its original functions. The application works in conjunction with Aero Snap to let you easily manage multiple active windows without having to manually adjust them at different sides of the screen.
Just like previously covered GhostWin, it can make windows transparent when they are being resized and dragged. You can enable/disable the provided windows management features and windows transparency from system tray options.

To see underlying windows while dragging and resizing applications, select Enable Power Resizer followed by Make windows transparent option. In addition to change opacity level of window, you can resize any of the docked window without having to adjust the size of other window, as it has the ability to automtically resize docked windows to fit your screen.

When enabled, you can dock windows at any side of the screen. When you drag window in downward direction, it will dock the window at bottom of the screen while leaving space to dock window above it

PowerResizer is an open source application that works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
Download PowerResizer

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Sage Thumbs - Preview And Convert Pictures From Windows Context Menu

SageThumbs is a Windows shell extension which adds a number of useful image-related options to Windows right-click context menu, such as, previewing image in context menu (which is a similar functionality to the previously reviewed FastPreview), extended information information tips, supporting 162 image formats (224 extensions) via GFL Library, supporting additional 26 image formats via XnView plugins (if installed), and providing option to send image or thumbnail by email. You can also convert images between popular formats such as JPG, BMP and PNG in two clicks.
As SageThumbs is a shell extension, it integrates directly with Windows and adds multiple new features. For example, you can get an instant preview of an image in Windows right-click context menu (see screenshot below). Other extra features include, an option to set the selected photo as the wallpaper (stretched, titled, or centered) and conversion for images between PNG, JPG and BMP formats.

You can also click SageThumbs Options from right-click menu to select your desired settings. From here, you can enable/disable context menu in Explore, thumbnails in Explorer, use thumbnails as icons or cache, prefer image files embedded as thumbnails and set a custom size for them, and add support for additional file types.

After installation, SageThumbs also display more details in image tips (as shown in the below image). The additional information includes, resolution DPI, colors (bits), compression format, and modification date.

SageThumbs is open source and works on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Download SageThumbs

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Graph Made Easy - Make Beautiful and Attractive Graphs

Graph presents one of the best way to summarize and analyze huge data sets, but sometimes it’s not as easy to plot data on the graphs as doing data entries. Since creating graph of each data set present in data sheet often requires mapping all the related data fields and then choosing the best graph type to represent the extracted data values in a way that can be easily understood by the target audience, many of us choose to depict relationships among data in tabular form instead of plotting them on graphs.
Back in March, we covered free version of Graph Made Easy which somewhat automates the process of creating basic charts and graphs. Back then, Graph Made Easy had two versions. The free version was a stripped down feature-rich version of paid standard version. Now standard version has gone totally free, having absolutely no strings attached. It has also been updated with few small yet useful improvements and graph options, which includes, high quality graphs, graph color schemes and layouts, customizable graph themes, curved lines and line point shape options, Format Painter like functionality along with options to apply defined opacity level over different graph elements.
Just like previous version, it asks you to choose type of graph you want to create and X Axis values, such as, Date and Numbers. A click on New Graph will create a new workspace for you. You can start off with entering graph data by clicking button present underneath New in toolbar. Depending upon the chart type, it asks you to enter the graph data. Graph Made Easy creates your charts and graphs in real-time. For instance, if you select Pie chart, it will start creating chart and legend list as soon as you enter slice values in data entry form.

The chart legend can easily be edited. Just right-click on legend box to bring up its editor. Under Items tab, change the slice name and number. It also lets you selectively hide the chart legend data. For further customization, you can change legend’s font, border and layout from respective tabs.

Chart color, shading, pattern fill is one of the feature that was missing in previous version. Now you can adjust chart shades, apply effects, change opacity, tweak with shading styles, check between different contrast values, etc. It must be noted that you will get to see a whole of different theme presets and options with each chart type.

When you hover mouse pointer over the chart element, it shows the related entered data. For example, it will display slice number, value and percentage in pie chart. Some basic chart related tools are lined up in main navigation bar present in left side, including, chart markers, arrow tool, text label, lasso, and magnifier.

Chart data related tools can be accessed from Tool menu. Here, you can change canvas background, add specified color, and change size, tweak with Axis Line and Location, define data range, set gridlines and files, and set axis markers.

Graph Made Easy has a lot more features to offer. You can check complete feature list on product page. Graph Made Easy works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
Download Graph Made Easy

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PicYou – Add Effects To Photos & Upload To Facebook

Pout as much as you want or call it useless and no fun; Instagram is still just an iPhone owners club and it isn’t likely to get a web interface any time soon. Though there have been several services that let you connect your Instagram account and view the photos online, the bottom line is you still need an Instagram account to do that. PicYou is a web service that touts itself as the Instagram for the web, it allows you to upload photos either from your hard drive or from a URL, add effects to them and share them on Facebook. 

To start using the service, sign up with either your Facebook or Twitter account.  The service does not pull photos from your Facebook account; to get started you have to either upload an image by dragging & dropping it or by selecting the Upload button from the navigation bar. Alternatively you can upload an image from a URL as well. Once you’ve loaded the image, start applying effects from the horizontal scroll bar below the picture.

Once you’ve got the effect you want, add a description, tags and upload to Facebook. The service doesn’t have nearly as many effects as Instagram but you can be sure that more will follow making it a worthy web rendering of the popular iPhone app.
Visit PicYou

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Tips To Convert AVI to DVD: Find Video Converter Software

How do you take a movie that is stored on your hard drive in AVI format and burn it to disk so that you can watch it on a standard DVD player? This is an important question for most of us with digital camcorders. Even digital cameras take little movies as well as still pictures these days. You can simply burn these AVI movies to CD or DVD as files to share with friends and family who have computers, but if you want to send a movie to grandma, and she doesn't have a computer, you are stuck. With the right software, making a DVD for grandma is not too difficult.

1. Get DVD conversion software that works for you. None of it is perfect. Some AVI to DVD conversion programs might be intuitive and easy for you, but someone else may hate them and vice versa. The best way to find the right DVD conversion software is to download several evaluation copies, try them, and then buy the one that works best for you. One fantastic program is Convert Genius; this program is excellent because it allows you to work with multiple formats, not just AVI.
   However, I cannot tell you what DVD conversion software will work for you. I can only point out some likely starting places. Do a search online to explore some of the options. Here are some other titles: Adobe Premier (and Premier Elements), Magix, Nero, Pinnacle, and Roxio Easy Media Creator. I have personally tried these. I love some, and I hate some. Get recommendations from tech-savvy friends, relatives and fellow employees. You can get a free trial and decide for yourself. Do NOT go out and plop down $100 or more for the full AVI to DVD video conversion program just to try it. Once spent, that money is gone. You very likely cannot get your money back later if you decide you don't like the video conversion software.
2. Some evaluation versions of AVI to DVD are cripple-ware. Cripple-ware means that some functionality is disabled, so you can't tell whether the real thing fully works or not. Burning less than 100% of the movie to DVD is a common way to cripple a trial version. Other DVD conversion software trials expire after a short time or a limited number of uses. In a trial, expect something that has less usefulness than the full copy, but not so little that you cannot get a good evaluation. Some video conversion programs have no evaluation version. Consider these last, if at all.
3. Try some AVI to DVD video editing standard features. Most programs will lay out a timeline and then let you open up and drag media files (movies, sound files, etc.) to a timeline where you can string pieces together to create your own movie. The video conversion software should let you trim elements, overlap them, fade in and out and do other transitions, adjust sound levels, and then add chapter marks so you can jump to specific spots in the final DVD you burn, just like you can with a commercial DVD.
   Do you plan to put some still pictures in the .AVI movie you will burn to DVD? If so, please be aware that not all the software listed will do that. Does the program accommodate AVIs? If not, don't buy it. Does it handle MPG and other common formats? If not, don't bother. Do you run Windows XP? At least one program listed above requires XP. You cannot use it at all on Windows 2000.
4. Look at three things: ease of use, features, and price. If an AVI to DVD conversion program is so complex and difficult that you will never learn it well enough to actually produce anything useful, it's the wrong video editing software for you. Whatever you choose must, at minimum, have the critical features you need for your movie. If you do not intend to become an expert at creating movies, you may not need too many features. But if you cannot string together all the things you want in your movie, you should find another video conversion program. And if you would never be able to afford the video editing program, it is the wrong program for you. If this is your first attempt at burning a DVD, don't spend too much. You don't even know if you will like making your own movies. I enjoy it, but you may find it to be drudgery, and you may never use the program again.
5. Eliminate the AVI converter programs that are wrong for you, and you hopefully have a few (or at least one) AVI to DVD programs left. Choose the best balance of features and ease of use that you can afford. That is your program.
6. A word of caution: some video converter programs do a poor job of keeping picture and sound synchronized. Your movie may start out looking and sounding good, but by the time you string a significant number of large elements together, there will be a delay between picture and sound. Your movie will look like some poorly dubbed B-grade foreign flick. Also, make sure the DVD you create will actually play in a DVD player, not just in your computer.
7. I really need to point out some cool AVI converter freeware. Download and use VirtualDubMod. It is currently at SourceForge.net. Find it with a Web search. It is a free editor that can trim your movies, clean up the sound, enhance the picture, and convert to different formats. It is not the easiest thing, and you may need to go find some CODECs (Coder-Decoders) to be able to edit the particular movie format you have, but it is very powerful. And again, it is free. It may provide some features that your movie-editing program lacks.
8. I caution you one last time to be careful that you don't get ripped off. I certainly have been, and I thought I was being careful. Buy the best program you can afford.

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9 Stand-Out Real Estate Themes for WordPress

A friend of mine just earned his real estate license and now he’s in the process of setting up office online. He’s already familiar with WordPress, so he came to me and asked if I had any advice on using WordPress for a real estate website. WordPress is really the hot ticket for building real estate site right now, which is both good and bad.

On the one hand, the demand for real estate themes and plugins has encouraged innovation among developers and they’re coming up with some pretty neat tools for agents to use when managing their properties online. On the other hand, you want to make sure that your website stands out from the crowd of similarly-themed websites so that you can attract clients and impress them with your marketing skills and web savvy. For an agent, a good website shows potential clients that they have 21st century skills and can do what it takes to sell a home in this tough market.

So, in answer to his question I rounded up a list of the top WordPress themes for building a real estate website that is sure to stand out in a crowd and help you—and your listings—get noticed.

WP Pro Real Estate

WP Pro Real Estate is a clean and simple WordPress theme. According to the designer, the theme is simple to get up and running, while still allowing for complete customization through an admin panel. Wp Pro’s special features include: dynamic image resizing, built-in Google Maps, jQuery Gallery Slider for photos, custom write post panel with real estate focused custom fields already added for price, location, etc. Read up for more info about the WP-Pro Real Estate theme.

Real Estate Gold for WordPress

The Real Estate Gold WordPress theme uses a drak background to showcase listings and make your photos pop. It’s a style not often seen among real estate websites and may be a good way to stand out from the crowd. The theme comes with built-in basic real estate listing filtering for location, number of bedrooms, price range, etc. Admin extras include customization options for colors and logo set-up, pre-set custom fields for listings and a readymade contact form. Check Real Estate Gold out on themeforest.

Homeowner Real Estate Theme

The Homeowner Real Estate Theme offers 12 different styles each optimized for faster page loads. The theme includes Google maps integration with street view, custom scripts to make it easier to modify listings, a built-in photo gallery with light box effects and account management features for individual agents. Single Agent pages, the ability to control agent access, and compatibility with WordPress 3.0′s multisite features make this a good theme choice for Real Estate agencies that need to manage a multi-agent website. View more details about the Homeowner theme.

Real Agent Theme

The Real Agent Theme is another stand-out design. It’s grid-based layout is ideal for real estate websites that want the main focus to be on listings. The homepage shows off recent listings and offers a multi-Category search function that also filters by price, location and features. Additional options include easy photo gallery management with drag-drop sorting of images, Google maps with street view for close-up views on any property. The theme offers 5 color styles and several different page layouts. Visit Gorilla Themes for more details about Real Agent.

RealtorPress

RealtorPress is an “out of the box” real estate website solution for both individual realtors and real estate companies. Designed for ease of use, the theme makes it easy to add or import your real estate property list. The layout includes space for listings, blog posts, quick or advanced search options, featured listings, welcome message for the home page and several widgetized areas for agents to customize. The default theme has 10 color styles. Website owners that want to create a portal can do so by accepting free or paid property listings from users, as well as allowing users to create agent profiles on the site. Try the demo and get the details about RealtorPress.

AgentPress Theme from StudioPress

AgentPress includes multiple page templates that can be used to create a complete real estate website from a WordPress installation. From single property templates to a custom homepage, the theme is a good solution for real estate agents that want to spend more time with their clients than with their website. Built on the popular Genesis Framework from StudioPress, the theme includes search engine optimization features, secure code, and lots of customization options. If you’re the type of real estate agent that does like to dig into the code a bit, you can take advantage of the active users forum, detailed tutorials and unlimited support. Take a look at what AgentPress has to offer.

Estate by Woo Themes

Estate is jam-packed theme with unique features design especially for a real estate website. Take advantage of advanced search that filters by property type, price, number of bedrooms, etc; a featured slider to showcase noteworthy properties; custom post types to separate properties from blog posts; multiple layout choices; Google maps; and prominent styling for “On Show” properties, which I assume is the same as Open House. Estate also includes all of the standard WooThemes features: admin panel for uploading your logo and adding analytics tracking information, auto-sizing for thumbnails and custom page templates. Visit WooThemes to learn more about Estate.

Elegant Estate for WordPress

Elegant Estate is an affordable way to turn any WordPress blog into a full-feature real estate portal. In addition to intuitive browsing for your clients, the theme also makes it easy for agents with a write panel and listings template that integrates property info, photos with automated thumbnails, Google maps and more. The admin panel also offers five color choices and an advertising panel that can be used to showcase featured listings or partnerships. Get further details about Elegant Estate.

Real Estate by Templatic

The Real Estate Theme from Templatic is a slick choice for agencies or anyone who wants to create a real estate portal website. The strategically-built site includes the ability to let agents sign up for accounts, pay to showcase listings and maintain public profile pages. Each listing offers Google maps and image slideshows automatically. The admin area offers standard customization options such as five color schemes, logo set-up, layout options for the home page and more. Visit Templatic to see the Real Estate Theme in action.

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How to create Navigation bar in Photoshop

Today I’ll show you how to create a good looking navigation bar. This tutorial is very detailed, so you will not meet problems when you will do it.

Final result

Let’s Get Started

Create new document with: 800px Width and 300px Height.


Go to Edit > Fill > Use Color #030d1a.



Let’s dublicate background layer. Go to Layer > Dublicate Layer. Rename this layer to Noise. Now go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.
Use this options and press ok.



With Rounded Rectangle tool make a fixed shape with 650px Width, 45px Height and Radius 10px.




Go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options
For Inner Glow use next options:
Blend Mode: Overlay
Opacity: 40%
Color: #000000
Size: 4px


For Gradient overlay use curent options:



Gradient:



Color #2a4060 Location 0%
Color #334e71 Location 12%
Color #263f64 Location 40%
Color #a6ccda Location 75%
Color #395374 Location 100%
Press ok.
For Stroke use this options:




Use gradient:
Color: #ffffff Location 0% Opacity 0%
Color: #ffffff Location 100% Opacity 100%
Color: #ffffff Location 0% Opacity 0%


Press OK.


Now With Pressed Ctrl key in layer menu, press on the navigation thumbnail.



Go to Layer > New > Layer. Rename layer to “Left side stroke”
Go to Edit > Fill > Use: Color #ffffff. Press ok.



Now dublicate this layer.
Layer > Dublicate Layer. With Move Tool (T), move this layer with a pixel on the right. Keep active layer “left side stroke” and click on thumbnail of the layer “life side stroke copy” for it selection. Press Delete key and change Blending Mode to Overlay.
Now we can delete layer “left side stroke copy“. If you did all this steps correctly you should get similar result:



Now we need to make a copy for  the right side of our navigation bar.
Go to Layer > Dublicate Layer. Now Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal and drag this layer to the edge of the our navigation bar.



Add text to our navigation.


For text layer use Next Blending options:




For gradient use colors: #6892d8 to #dcffff.



Hover button
Make selection for our hover effect button.



Go to Layer > New > Layer. Fill this layer with Radial gradient: Transparent to Black.



You should obtain similar result:


Modify opacity to 90% and Change Blending Mode to Soft light.



With Rectangular Marquee Tool, make selection of 1 px width and 45px height. Go to Layer > New > Layer.



Fill this layer with Liniar Gradient.
Color #ffffff location 0% Opacity 0%
Color #ffffff location 50% Opacity 100%
Color #ffffff location 0% Opacity 0%



Fill this layer with this gradient and change Blending Mode to Overlay. Repeat this steps but use black in place of white.
Do the same steps and for right side of our hover effect button.

Final result

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