BurnAware the Best Free Burning DVD Software Program

There are no shortages of good commercial burning software (e.g. Nero). But, really, how often does the average computer user need all that extra and intricate editing tools. In my experience, most users just want a simple way to burn files on to a CD or DVD. These can be either data files or video files or what have you. For simple jobs, I highly recommend BurnAware Free Edition. It does'nt have all those bells and whistles found in commercial burning software but, what it does, it does well. What I found particularly useful is its ability to burning video files (e.g. VOB, IFO, BPU...etc.). It has a clean interface making it very easy to use. Best of all it's free.

Speedup Your Browser

Believe it or not, there are simply things you can do to speed up your browser. The default settigs on most browsers are not optimized for fast internet connections (e.g. dsl, cable or satellite). This article details how you can change those settings to speedup your browser. In this article, I will cover Internet Explorer 7.0, Mozilla Firefox and Opera 9.6. I can not empathize enough that you should create a restore point if something goes wrong you can undo any changes.

Internet Explorer 7.0

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7.0 is a vast improvement from version 6.0; however, they left the default maximum number of connections per server to a measly 2. Theoretically, the more connections a browser has with a server, the faster the rendering of the webpage. However, there are limits and too many connections can be counterproductive. If you have a fast internet connection (i.e. dsl, cable or satellite), you can increase the maximum number of connections to a more reasonable 8. If you have fast cable or satellite, you can even bump that up t o 10. In order to change the default setting, you will need a single free third party program called “IE7 Pro.” I love this little program. Its adds so many more features to IE 7, including: ad blocking, proxy settings, mouse gestures and many more fun things. For more info about the problem, read Lifehacker’s piece on the program.

1. Download IE7 Pro and install it.
2. Once installed, start Internet Explorer.
3. On the menu bar, click on “Tools.”
4. Scroll down and select “IE7Pro Preference.”
5. On the left column, select “IE Settings.”
6. Under “Max connections to server,” increase the number to 8 or 10.
7. Click [OK] and you are finished. Enjoy faster browsing.

Firefox 3.0x

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 requires a little more work in order to speed it up but don’t be intimidated. There is no third party software or add-on you need in order to make the necessary changes.

1. Start Firefox and, in the address bar, type “about:config” without the exclamation marks.
2. Next, click [I’ll be careful, I promise!].
3. In the “Filter box” enter “network.http.max-connections” without the exclamation marks.
4. Right click the entry and select “Modify.”
5. In the new dialog box enter “40” and click [OK].
6. Next, right click “network.http.max-connections-per-server” and select “Modify.”
7. In the new dialog box enter “32” and click [OK].
8. Next, right click “network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-poxy” and select “Modify.”
9. In the new dialog box enter “16” and click [OK].
10. Right click “network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server” and select “Modify.”
11. In the new dialog box enter “8” and click [OK].
12. Right click “network.http.pipelining” and select “Toggle.” The entry should change from “false” to “true.” (see note at the end of this article)
13. Restart Firefox.

Opera 9.6

Opera 9.6 is one of the best browser I have tested. It’s fast and feature rich. Many of the features found in Firefox and IE have long been available in Opera, such as: mouse gestures, tabs, integrated RSS reader, integrated e-mail and the list goes on. There are some minor tweaks you can make to speed up this already blazing fast browser.

1. In the menu bar, click on “Tools” and scroll down to “Preferences….”
2. Click on the “Advanced” tab.
3. In the left column, select “Network.”
4. In “Max connections to server,” select “16.”
5. In “Max total connections,” select “32.”
6. Next, in the left column, select “History.”
7. In “Check documents,” change the default to “Every 10 minutes.”
8. In “Check images,” change the default to “Every 5 hours.”
9. Click [OK] and restart Opera.

Note: For those curious about pipelining and how it speeds up your browser, read this article written by Mozilla.

Fed slashes rates - Jan. 22, 2008

Fed slashes rates - Jan. 22, 2008

Today, in response to growing concern that the United States' economy is heading towards a recession, the Federal Reserve lowered 2 key interest rates, the federal funds rate and the discount rate, both by three-quarters of a point. This is the first major cut made by the Federal Reserve for the year of 2008.

The interest rate cuts did manage to stave off a large drop in the U.S. Stock Market, where the Dow Jones Industrial dropped 400 points before the rate cuts were announced. The rate cuts will not be enough for the U.S. economy to recover. However, in combination with the propose tax rebate and other initiatives called by President George Bush to revitalize the economy might be enough to save it.

Netflix Now Offers Subscribers Unlimited Streaming of Movies and TV Shows

Netflix Now Offers Subscribers Unlimited Streaming of Movies and TV Shows on Their PCs for Same Monthly Fee

Several months ago, Netflix started offering to their customers free their "Watch Now" service. With the "Watch Now" services, customers could watch streaming video on their PC's. The selection was limited to older and B-rated movies and T.V. shows. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful addition to Netflix online DVD rental service. At the time, customers received a limited number of hours for the streaming video service based on their online DVD rental plan they were enrolled in. For example, customers on Netflix's unlimited 3 DVD at a time plan, which costs $16.99, received 17 hours of free streaming video. That was then.

Now, Netflix is offering unlimited access to their video streaming service to all their customers enrolled in their unlimited DVD rental plan. Translation, customers can watch as many hours as they like for free. Customers belonging to Netflix's limited 1 DVD at a time with 2 DVD maximum per month plan are not eligible for this offer. The one thing which would make this offer even sweeter is if Netflix offer a greater selection of content. I expect Netflix to do so soon.