SyncEXPERT

A new free tool that computes MD5, SHA-1, CRC-32, SHA-512 (etc) hashes has been added to the a href=”http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/free-md5-sum-tools.shtml” target=”_top”Free MD5 Checksum or Hashing Utilities/a page. This one adds a tab to the file properties window in Windows explorer. (One of the uses of such a tool is that you can use it to verify that a file you downloaded is not corrupted.) Read more about it or check it out.

I’m a propeller head - or at least, I used to be one until I traded in my cap for a marketeer’s (sic) fez. My techie colleagues have been mostly forgiving of my decision to “sell out” on my former role as a technical support engineer. They have mercifully opted to forgo making references to cliches such as, “I’m not in marketing, I work for a living!” when I ask them how their jobs are going. Still, I know that with my new title, I am less likely to be engaged in the kind of cool water-cooler-type conversations that take place when smart people are taking a break. This unintended consequence of my professional transition from technical geek to technically meek is the reason why I think my presence generates a Seinfeldian “Hello Frosty” reaction whenever I insert myself unceremoniously into such a conversation. I understand where you’re coming from: “It’s not personal, it’s just technical stuff.” Just like teens who want nothing to do with their parents, techies want to talk tech with other techies - not with marketing techie wannabes. Inside, however, my inner geek is crying out for respect: “Wait, I was just about to crack a joke that involves a C-shell command on AIX…”

This segueway brings me (somewhat awkwardly, I’ll admit) to my role as Shameless Promoter Of Things That Benefit My Employer (a role that comes with the fez rental). Microsoft is allowing people to vote on the topics that will be used for several BoFs (Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, if you’re still working on that propeller hat) that will be held at the Microsoft TechEd North America 2008 Developers conference and frankly, we’d like for you to vote for ours.

To vote, go to https://www.msteched.com/dev/voting.aspx. Be sure to scroll about halfway down the list until you will see our entry, Making Sense of All: Heterogeneous Data Access on the .NET Framework 3.5 with an appropriate checkbox, which we’d like for you to check before you submit your selections (I can’t assume everyone knows how to vote since the Florida Election Debacle of 2000). More information on the topic, if you’re really not going to click above and vote:

In this BoF, we’ll peel back the layers on data access from the .NET platform. We’ll look at the common problems facing today’s applications with a particular emphasis on applications in a multi-faceted, heterogeneous application environment. With all the options now available, including the Data Access Application Blocks, LINQ, Entity Framework and vanilla ADO.NET which is the one for you? Come armed with your questions, ideas and burning issues and we can promise a lively discussion!

If our topic is among the most popular topics voted on, then my esteemed, suitably credentialed, and technically astute colleague Jonathan Bruce will be there to run the show and keep things technically interesting for the smart folks. And if that isn’t incentive enough to vote for this and attend, then consider that I might even make it which means that should you show up, you will have a chance to crack an inside joke that relies on geek humor and watch me struggle to get it and try to fit in.

I can guarantee that feeling smug about your tech cred will never feel so good.

Information: website
Size: 3.23 MB
MediaFire: Download
License: Open Source

MD5: 31B74180D44EDAF5EC4554808E333BD9

Infra Recorder is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration.

Features:
- Create custom data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images.
- Supports recording to dual-layer DVDs.
- Blank (erase) rewritable discs using four different methods.
- Record disc images (ISO and BIN/CUE).
- Fixate discs (write lead-out information to prevent further data from being added to the disc).
- Scan the SCSI/IDE bus for devices and collect information about their capabilities.
- Create disc copies, on the fly and using a temporary disc image.
- Import session data from multi-session discs and add more sessions to them.
- Display disc information.
- Save audio and data tracks to files (.wav, .wma, .ogg, .mp3 and .iso).

Source: winAddons

If you’re looking for a pair of shoes that will exactly match the color of a favorite handbag, or love a designer’s style and want something similar but cheaper, check out Like.com’s Likethis visual search tool. It will help you find women’s handbags, shoes and dresses based on a photo you upload, and will match by style, color or pattern, with the results sent in a few minutes via email.

I ran a quick search on a beautiful pair of men’s dress shoes from Prada, and it found strikingly similar choices from Jos A. Bank, Cole Haan, and Sherman Brothers — all of which were priced $600 less than the designer Italian kicks. You can even upload photos from your iPhone, making it easy to see if you can’t find something similar for less money while window shopping. For other products, the “visual search” button did a pretty good job of turning up related results for other products like men’s suits already in the Like.com catalog.

Source: Life Hacker