Online Document Conversions with CometDocs

On past posts I have covered different ways to convert docs to PDF and other format’s on your Linux and Windows systems. One possible way that I have not discussed is the use of online convertors. Recently I was made aware of a site called CometDocs which is a free online document management service.

Online convertors have been around for sometime and have many good uses for quick and easy drag and drop. According to the site it is 100% free and besides the PDF conversions they also offer document sharing, transfers and storage (up to 1 GB). The site supports over 50 file types for conversions that are listed here which includes to and from PDF. For a small office or for personal use this is a nice feature. CometDocs has been providing online conversions since 2009 and only requires free registration to start using the service.

There are certain limitations imposed on free users, all of which can be removed by upgrading to a premium CometDocs account.

The limits for free users are:

3 conversions weekly per IP address
100 MB worth of daily file transfers per IP
transfer and host links are valid for 24h

Registered users have the following advantages:

15 conversions weekly per account.
100 MB worth of daily file transfers per account.
1 GB document storage limit.
Transfer and host links do not expire for stored documents.
Better control of sharing visibility.

So if your demands are low then a free account is probably all you will need. So as far as the service and how does it work?

The interface is pretty easy to use. After logging in you just click on the tab and follow the instructions.

Click on the convert tab, click the + to add or drag the file to the Clipboard and drag the file to convert box and click Convert.

Once the conversion is done you will able to retrieve it from the store tab.

For a free service I can see this as a way for a small business to aid with conversions when they are needed as another alternative, also a way to share and transfer files with other colleagues and businesses. If your needs are greater then CometDocs offers monthly pay plans with more features and more transfers and storage.

If you are looking for an online conversion or a quick and easy to use Online Document Management service then try CometDocs out and see if it is a fit for you.

FBackup 4 a free backup for Windows

As much as we hate to admit it, we need to backup our systems. If you are a systems administrator with a very limited budget you will usually find an affordable way or a home grown solution to backup your servers. Bigger shops usually will use the commercial products like Symantec NetBackup, but smaller shops the cost is big. The nice thing is this will work for your Windows 7, 8, Vista and XP system.

You get what you pay for and lose features like bare metal restores, incremental backups and various other features. Sometimes free is not always the best solution but there are some free products that offer enough to backup what you need and in some instances offer an affordable upgrade to a professional level package. One such product is FBackup.

According to the site FBackup is a free backup software for both personal and commercial use. It protects your important data by backing it up automatically to any USB/Firewire device, local or network location. The backed up data can be either compressed (using standard zip compression) or an exact copy of the original files.

It runs on Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2008/2003/2000 Server (32 and 64-bit). Download your copy from here. Some of the features are:

Automatic backups.
Backup with standard zip compression.
Exact copies of files.
Run actions before/after backup.
Easy to use.
Automatic updates.
Multiple backup destinations.
Backup plugins.
Backup open files.
Multi-language support.

So far sounds pretty good! Once you have installed FBackup and start it up you will be greeted with a getting started dialog to help you setup your first backup.

So lets add a new backup job and click on the Backup button which will start a wizard to help you select files and options. Click on New button and the wizard will ask for a name and a destination. By default the local drive is selected, but you will see there is a network option available. Choose the option best for you and move on to the next step. You will also notice there is an Advanced Mode button to allow you to customize your backups in greater detail.

Now we can select what we want to backup. You can add files and folders or use the drop down and select from one of the default plugins. The use of plugins allows custom defined backup definitions for different applications in which there are many available for download for free from here. Make your selection and click next.

Now FBackup will ask us what type of backup, Full or Mirror and if we want to encrypt the backup. Make you selections and click next. This will bring us to the final step of the wizard which will ask us if we want to schedule the backup or run it manually. Make your selection and click on save and either choose save and run or just save.

This will bring us back to the main screen in we now see our creation.

So as you can see FBackup is a very powerful and flexible backup solution for your Window servers and your personal system. Overall this is a good solution for the home user and small office solution and would recommend it. I am impressed with the features available with the product and the ease of use.

For around $50 you can upgrade to Backup4all that gives you many more options and features. A comparison between the products can be found here.

Streaming the Internet with Roku HD

Recently I felt the need to stream Internet content and update my Toshiba 19″ Flat panel to the latest century and on a friends recommendation found the Roku 2 XD. The Roku 2 XD is one of four models, It is a stylish small form factor box that plugs in either standard RCA cables or HDMI.

Each Roku 2 XD player comes with:
IR remote
2 x AAA batteries
A/V cable
A/C Power adapter
Getting Started guide
30-day money back guarantee
90-day hardware warranty

For my installation I will be connecting using the HDMI connection. An HDMI cable does not come with the Roku2 so you have to supply one of your own. Connect the cable to the Roku and the TV and plug in the power and you are ready.

The Roku will prompt you to connect to the site and register the device. Create an account and enter in the device code prompted on the screen and the Roku will display the screen of available channels.

Now that the Roku is registered you can choose from the channels or you can activate any accounts you have like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. When you register these channels you will be required to register the device as well, which will require an internet connected device (tablet, netbook, laptop, etc…) to login and input the code the Roku displays.

Now lets get back to the Roku. Using the supplied remote you are presented with several buttons that make navigation simple and easy.

Roku Remote Buttons

A = [BACK] Return to previous screen
B = [HOME] Return to Roku Home Screen
C = [OK] Select an option from the menu
D = [UP] or [DOWN ] Move up or down; [LEFT] or [RIGHT] Move left or right
E = [REV SCAN] Rewind, scroll left one page at a time
F = [PLAY/PAUSE] Start or pause playback
G = [FWD SCAN] Fast forward, scroll right one page at a time
H = [OPTIONS] View more options
I = Quick launch button
J = Quick launch button
K = Quick launch button

The quick launch buttons will vary, mine are Netflix, Pandora and Crackle.

The menu is simple , a scrolling list of the channels is set before you. You can add by going to the channel store and selecting from a wide selection. Some are free and some are pay. You can also add other channels from Roku private channel site http://streamfree.tv/apps/roku-private-channels/.

Overall I am impressed with the Roku HD and will be adding more at my home and I recommend it for those of you look to add streaming to your TV’s

Evernote

Recently I found a piece of software that just works perfect for me in keeping track of ideas, notes and items I see but may not be near a computer or a device to write down or record that moment. In steps Evernote to the rescue.

Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your everyday life using your computer, phone, tablet and the web. It is available on all of the major phone and OS’s and is free to use. You can upgrade to premium for $45 per year, which gives you alot of extras.

You’ll get all of Evernote’s standard features, plus:

Create, save and clip 1GB of new content each month
Add up to 50MB of ideas, files and web pages to notes
Search within PDFs attached to your notes
Offline notebooks on Android, iOS and Windows Phone
Share your notebooks and allow others to edit them
Faster recognition of images containing text
Top priority support, plus live chat
Add a PIN to lock the app on iOS and Android
View a history of note versions
Choose to hide promotions and partner ads

The only OS that is not supported is Linux, but that’s not an issue and I am sure there will be a port at sometime when the demand increases, but in the meantime the web interface for Evernote will work just fine. My main target was my phone (iPhone 4), tablet (ASUS Transformer TF101) and my laptop (Windows 7). that covers all my bases when I am mobile and a great idea hits.

Installation is simple and registration is free. Evernote is available in the iTunes store, Google Play and for download from the site.

You can save websites, pictures notes and other items, which is great and convenient. For my purpose it eliminates all the text files off my desktop and transferring from device to device.

So if you are looking for a tool to add to your phone, tablet and computer look no further than Evernote.

VuePoint PDS-ST415-VP portable Scanner

Several months back I ran across a portable page hand scanner at local office store. With old computer books and genealogy I occasionally have a need to scan pages or photographs in places where a flatbed scanner or camera just won’t work.

Hand scanners have improved greatly over the years from the old hand scanners. So I took a chance on VuePoint PDS-ST415-VP scanner. Note: VuePoint has released a newer version PDS-ST415-VPS that has added 900 DPI scan resolutions.

Whats in the package:
VuePoint PDS-ST415-VP portable Scanner
Carry Case
USB Cable (not pictured)
2xAA Batteries
Installation CD (not pictured and not required to retrieve scans)

First Impressions: It is compact and nice looking.

Ease of Use: Very easy to use. Press the button to turn it on, select color or black and white and press scan to start and stop. Uploading easy, just plug in the usb and copy the files. Very easy.

Price: $99 at any office store

Cons: Have to get used to the scanning motion to get an even scan. This is not a killer as with practice makes perfect.

Overall: Wonderful addition to my tools, portable, easy to use and fills in where I need it. Add it in the laptop case and I am set to get a scan of whatever I may find.

Specifications:

Features   Portable Scanner for color images, documents, magazines
Color Options   Black
Sensor   Color Contact Image Sensor, High speed sensor
Resolution   Standard: 300 DPI (default) ; Medium: 600 DPI; High: 900 DPI
External Memory   Support microSD card up to 32GB (not included)
File Format   JPG/PDF
Approx. Scanning Length   300 DPI: 98” 600 DPI: 45”
Approx. Scanning Width   Approx. 8.27”
LCD   Scanning status display
Date and Time Setting   Yes
Auto Power Off   3 minutes
Approx. Scanning Speed   (A4 and Standard letter Size)*

Medium resolution (600 DPI) with color = 8 sec
Standard resolution (300DPI) with color = 3 sec

Approx. Minimum Capacity   High resolution: 110 scans; Medium resolution: 250 scans; Standard resolution: 850 scans
USB Port   USB 2.0 High Speed
Power Source   2xAA Alkaline Batteries
Battery Life   Approx. > 200 scans
Dimension(LxHxW)   Approx. 10.1” x 1” x 1.2”
Weight   6.9 oz. (with batteries); 5.3 oz. (without battery)
System Requirements   Windows® XP, Windows® Vista™, Windows® 7, Mac OS® 10.4 or above (direct plug-in, driver installation not required)
ABBYY® (OCR Software)   Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software included converts and exports scanned files to computer for editing text. Compatible with Windows® XP, Windows® Vista™ and Windows® 7. (Not compatible with Mac OS)
Accessories   USB Cable, 2xAA Alkaline batteries, Pouch, Cleaning cloth, Calibration paper, User’s manual Software CD

Silicondust HDHomeRun Dual

As a longtime TV card / capture user I am always looking for new products that are easy to use and work well on many OS’s. One that I have wanted to try is Silicondust’s HDHomeRun series. After much reading I decided on HDHomeRun Dual.

According to SiliconDust the HDHomeRun is a TV tuner for computers – Ethernet attached. Once connected to your home router you can access the HDHomeRun Tuners from any computer, anywhere in your home. Watch / Record TV from you Family Room / Kitchen / Garage / Backyard, anywhere you have a computer.

The HDHomeRun streams the full-quality digital stream from the broadcaster or cable provider, ensuring that you get the highest quality possible, including 720p and 1080i HDTV when available.

Now that we have the details, which are pretty impressive, let’s get to it. Included in the package is the following:

Ethernet Cable
Coaxial Cable
Power Adapter
HDHomeRun Dual
Installation CD
Quick Start Guide

Installation couldn’t be easier. Since it is a standalone device there is nothing to connect to your PC.

Connect your coaxial cable to your cable provider or your antenna
Connect Ethernet Cable
Connect the power adapter
Insert the CD and run the installation CD and follow the wizard

The setup wizard started and checked the internet for updated software and firmware and downloaded. Once the update was installed the wizard started again and I was asked for my zip code and moved along the process. The wizard was smart enough to see I was running cable and set the source to digital cable. Next the wizard ran a channel scan and the wizard was completed and data was saved.

Now at this point I can watch TV using the HDHomeRun QuickTV app, which I quickly fired up and ran into the only hiccup which is not the device’s fault but a Windows issue. I had video but no audio, which upon checking the forum I found that the issue is due to being optimized for Windows Media Player. The issue was quickly resolved by installing AC3filter.

The picture was perfect thanks to HD and better than I have had in the past with older Hauppauge WinTV PVR cards. To go further I followed the instructions for Windows Media Center and quickly was able to have TV guides and recording capabilities with minmal effort.

I was able to repeat this on two other PC’s with no issues and can happily watch and record HD TV on any of them at the sametime.

I would highly recommend purchasing HDHomeRun Dual if you want the ability to watch / record HDTV on your computers on your network or just on your PC. The price was right and the picture is fantastic.

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