Downloads+
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74 desktops to download (18 new May 2010)
+ more to come
1280 x 800
(standard laptop & newer widescreen monitor resolution)
(further below are some 1920 x 1200)
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1. Click on the desktop image you want.
2. When it opens in a new tab/window click on it again to see it full size.
3. Right click and select “Set as desktop background” or download it.
EASY
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The desktops below are 1,920 x 1,200
1,200 x 800 are the same proportion (66%)
so will fit perfectly on either.
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more to come
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These first two are for PC owners.
Macs don’t need ant-virus software unless you’re running a windows OS
in “parallels” or “boot camp”.
Links from here are 100% worry free and the recommended software tried & tested.
Avast! Home Edition Antivirus
Complete antivirus software for free
Avast! antivirus Home Edition represents the best FREE antivirus protection currently available on the market. This edition is FREE OF CHARGE for non-commercial & home use only.
I last tested AVAST a few months ago and it found 8 viruses that Norton missed. I also tested it against two other free anti-virus packages and none caught as many as AVAST.
You have to register to get a “license key” to activate the program.
They do not send you any spam.
Download & Registration page for the FREE Home Edition
Click the “DOWLOAD” and “REGISTRATION” buttons above or:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(There are video tutorials on the site as well)
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Download & Registration page with 30 languages :
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html
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REVIEWS:
CNET Download.com gives it a 5 star rating
PC World’s Winner in the security software category.
Softpedia Editors review it as EXCELLENT
“The Gadget Show” recommended to use in concert with Spybot (below)
USE “AVAST” IN CONJUNCTION WITH “SPYBOT”
Spybot – Search & Destroy
Spybot – Search & Destroy detects and removes all types of malware & spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies.
I have installed this on several computers, both my own and on friends and each time Spybot found between 20 and 200+ malware & spyware codes, from high risk TROJANS to DIALERS..
That’s not a typo by the way, Spybot found over 200 on a PC that’d been running for 6 months with only anti-virus software, about 28 of them were serious risks.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html
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Works with Vista and is available in 30 languages – all free.
BEST cross-platform MEDIA PLAYER
VLC Media player
The cross-platform open-source multimedia framework, player and server.
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac …) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
See the full features list at:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html
It can also be used as a media converter or a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on networks.
REVIEWS
I’ve used VLC for years. It’s the one player that really does play everything.
Now it even converts & streams. The fact that 77 million people have downloaded just this version says it all.
VLC 0.9 downloads: 77,436,553
at 11.00 on 5/7/09
3.8 downloads per second
FIREFOX web browser – fast, safe & smart.
Latest (Ver 3.6)
Firefox for Windows, Mac OSX & Linux, each in around 80 languages
incl. English (British) as opposed to English (US), which is the default language.
Latest version (3.6) download page (all languages):
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
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Firefox is the techies choice and the best for non-techies.
Easily customized and secure (see more below).
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“Personas for Firefox”
Instantly change the look of Firefox without wasting memory or bandwidth.
There are over 13,000 art designs to chose from!
5 million “Personas” downloaded up to 6th May and growing.
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or for Personas and other customization tools:
click on this link:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html
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(click on the example of the spotify window below to see it full size)
I typed in “jeff beck” in the search window and got a list of nearly 1,200 tracks
http://www.spotify.com/en/download/mac/
http://www.spotify.com/en/download/windows/
It’s like having a complete library of all sorts music right on your own computer it’s that fast, not like normal streamed music at all.
Even if you click forward to half way through a track it will play immediately without having to buffer.
Listen to complete original tracks or full albums, on demand, all free.
The free version has an advertising window on thr right that pops open every 3 minutes but apart from that the free version has it all.
You can also listen to radio channels on it.
BROADBAND INFO
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I got this site from a BT engineer who told me they use this site to find out details of local exchanges and specs of lines in an area as well as wholesale news and a lot more.
You can find your local exchange and when it’s going over to the 21st century network.
BT told me Clapton exchange was going over to 20 Megabit lines in Oct last year, but as Sam Knows says, it’s now March 2011:
Exchange Search
There are nearly 5600 telephone exchanges in the UK. This page allows you to find your exchange. Enter your village/town name, postcode, phone number or exchange code in the box below and click Search.
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http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php?q=E5+9NS
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Broadband Availability Checker
This checker provides a detailed breakdown of DSL, cable and wireless services available at your location. Enter at least one of the following inputs and click “Check”.
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http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php?page=availability-wholesale-availability
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To test your broadband speed – the best tester available – free.
Click on “Begin Test” only – (see pic below) – do NOT click on anything else
like “start scan” or “download now” or you’ll end up being asked to buy something.
The speed test costs nothing, is risk free and easy to do
just look for the “Begin Test” in the center
as illustrated below:
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You’ll end up with a report like this:
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For a complete test of the quality of your connection do a ping test as well
at PINGTEST
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Let it do an auto server test or select a destination yourself:
and end up with a report like this:
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h
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“SCRIBD” is your source for free books of all descriptions from humor and fiction to reference works, journals and just about every type of publication you can think of .
SCRIBD
Book, article, essay, catalogue, journal, magazine, newspaper, presentation, portfolio, report or other
for
Auto & Vehicles
Business & Marketing
Creative
Film & Music
Fun & Entertainment
Hobby & Home
Knowledge & Resources
Nature & Animals
News & Politics
Nonprofits & Activism
Religion & Philosophy
Sports
Technology & Internet
Travel & Events
Weird & Bizarre
and more…
http://issuu.com
A good alternative to Google Docs is
ZOHO
They offer a complete suite totally free
including these gadgets:
and here are a couple of reviews:
arXiv is an e-print service in the fields of physics, mathematics, non-linear science, computer science, quantitative biology and statistics. The contents of arXiv conform to Cornell University academic standards. arXiv is owned, operated and funded by Cornell University, a private not-for-profit educational institution. arXiv is also partially funded by the National Science Foundation.
All papers free to download.
Link – click on the arXix.org logo above or:
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lots more coming very soon
Clapton Neighbourhood Panel - for residents 