Big Ideas for Small Business » Tech Soup

Font Picker Previews Text Using Your Own Fonts

meridiandesign — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:55:49 +0000

from Lifehacker by The How-To Geek

Windows/Mac/Linux (Adobe Air or Flash): Font Picker is a simple application that previews your text using different typefaces to help select from the fonts installed on your own computer.

To use, simply highlight any of the example boxes and type in your own text, which will be replicated to the rest of the items. Use the check boxes to select the fonts you like, and the Clear button to remove the fonts you don’t, leaving you with a smaller list of fonts to choose from. If you’ve ever wondered what font to use in a presentation or logo, this application could be useful, especially for those of us that got stuck with the designer hat at work when it doesn’t really fit.

Font Picker is a free download for the (Windows/Mac/Linux) Adobe Air platform, or can be run in a browser without installation. If you want to find new fonts using a similar preview method, check out previously mentioned Dafont, or you can always create your own font with FontStruct.

Font Picker [via Digital Inspiration]

PlayOn Streams Media Content

meridiandesign — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:52:24 +0000

PlayOn offers streaming content from Netflix, Hulu, CNN, ESPN, CBS, and YouTube directly on your TV through your wireless home network. You pay a one-time fee which is $40 or pick a trial period of 14-days. Turn on your XBox, PS3, or HP MediaSmart TV and you’re watching content in no time. AND they’ll be compatible with the Wii in early 2009. Now this is the kind of digital conversion I can get into.

Learn more at their website >>

The Complete Guide to Speeding Up your PC’s Start-up

meridiandesign — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:49:47 +0000

from Lifehacker

Gina Trapani has written a brief and informative article on getting your PC to spin up faster. I gave it a whirl and cut my start-up time in half. Now I’m going to have to find another time to get my dishes washed.

Read the article at Lifehacker >>

Managing Bookmarks with Jeteye

meridiandesign — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:15:48 +0000

If you’re like me you find yourself using multiple computer systems in lots of locations. Even at home I have three computers I use to browse the web. Then there’s the public and university libraries, client offices, along with the home systems of friends and family. For a long time I wished there had been an easy way for me to look-up all those great sites I’d found so I could share or kill some time. So what I did was send myself emails with the links in them and save them in folders I could access via webmail. But those times are long gone.

Now I use Jeteye to access my bookmarks from any location. Here’s how they describe their product:

Build collections of super-powered bookmarks (we call them JetpaksTM) to save and share your best web searches. Whether planning a date night or researching the 2008 presidential election Jeteye lets you quickly and easily build collections of web resources on any topic. More powerful than bookmarks, specifically tailored for use with web-enabled cell phones, each Jetpak has a permanent address (aka its â€œURLâ€) that you can access anytime, anywhere, through any browser-enabled device (computer, laptop, iphone, blackberry). You (or a friend) can create Jetpaks and send super-powered links to your cell phone. If you leave your Jetpaks “public”, then the community can use your Jetpaks and, over time, we can all help make the web a little easier to navigate. For confidential information we suggest you lock your Jetpaks by making them “private”. Our built-in sharing system allows you to selectively permit access to your private Jetpaks so you can hook up a friend with your list of secret travel websites or share a confidential business proposal with a potential buyer.

This service is free and you can sign-up for an account at their website and login to view your bookmarks. However, the best way to have instant access is through a Firefox browser add-on that allows you to add, edit, view, and delete your bookmarks directly in the browser window. YEAH!

If you’re not already using Firefox, then go get it now and quit using any other browser. It’s free, fast, and has great security along with hundreds of add-ons you can use to customize your browsing experience.

So dump your Internet Explorer, Safari or AOL browser and get hooked up with Firefox and Jeteye. And check out all the other wonderful add-ons available at the Firefox website.

Happy Browsing!

Free Software for Anti-Virus & Spyware Protection

meridiandesign — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:13:38 +0000

Every few months I get an email from a client who thinks they may have a virus. The computer is running slow or freezing up. Eeek! This can spell big trouble for a small business. Of course, a slow computer can be due to other things (specifically too little RAM), but if you think you may have a virus(es) you need to deal with this before it gets out of hand.

First thing to do is get yourself some good anti-virus software and I’m not talking about Norton or McAfee. I’ve had issues with both of these allowing bad stuff to get through and onto my system. I recommend trying AVG’s free anti-virus software. It’s easy to download and install. It automatically downloads updates and runs system scans. I’ve been using it for years and have NEVER had a problem with viruses or any other digital baddies since using it. You can get it for free here:

http://free.grisoft.com/

But wait! This is not enough. You also need to protect yourself from spyware. I like Spyware Guard. Like AVG, it’s free to download. Easy to install and works well. You can get it here:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html

And now for a disclaimer: I am not a trained IT professional…just a web designer. But I can tell you that as a small business owner and a person who has their computer gear practically tied to my hip, it is in my best interest to stay protected and well-oiled. So far so good!