Google recently released the final version of Google Chrome 2.The browser is faster than some of its close competitors like Firefox and Internet explorer 8 ,but still lacks the support for addons . Though there are some user scripts for enabling extra features like ad blocking ,spell check ,page rank check etc. ,its pretty difficult to get them installed . Meanwhile , we found a developer version of Google Chrome 3 that has support for installing addons . This release has more than 16 major fixes from Chrome version 2 .Download Google Chrome 3 .

Google Chrome 3

Apart from the support for addons, Google Chrome 3 also adds automatic spell checker for misspelled words. The new HTML tags like <video> introduced in HTML 5 has been included into Google chrome 3. By using this feature, developers would be able to insert videos directly into webpages instead of calling a web players using embed tag. Firefox 3.5 ,Opera 10 alpha and safari 4.5 are the only  known browsers currently supporting video tag. So by the final release of version 3 ,Google Chrome would be a close competitor for Firefox browser .

Download Google Chrome 3 .

Microsoft was recently in news for testing an internal search engine concept Kumo . But as per the latest news ,today they have announced that they are rebranding live search to Bing.com .So it seems that Kumo was just a code name for Bing search .Bingo is more customer oriented as per the screenshots and videos posted by Bingo team . The service is scheduled to be opened from June 3 onwards .
Btw ,Microsoft search is still pathetic for this blog .Even the search term www.techknowl.com results Cisco.com in Live search . So I will be more looking for a  change in their basic search algorithm .

Icon files (ICO) are most commonly used in software programs for creating interface , shortcuts etc. They can also be used for creating favicons in websites .Finding a suitable ICO file is very difficult task ,or we need to convert an image in other formats like JPEG ,PNG ,PSD etc. to icon format . Last year we posted an article on adding a favicon in Blogger . RentASoft image converter is a free application that could be used to aid this article by creating icon files from PNG ,JPEG and PSD formats. Here we also discuss some online services and plugins (photoshop) for easy image to  ICO conversion .

RentASoft image converter .

RentASoft image converter can convert between more than 14  image formats including those mentioned above . Just right click on the target image and click on convert image to > ,then the above window appears . Select ICO >icon size and convert .

Download RentASoft image converter and convert  JPEG ,PNG PSD files to icons .

Convert JPEG ,PNG PSD to ICO online .

Convertico is a free online service that lets you to convert almost all image formats including JPEG,GIF and PNG into ico format .
Visit convertico .

ICO plugin for photoshop .

Here is a free photoshop plugin which can work within photoshop/paintshop to generate good looking icons from JPEG ,PNG and PSD formats .

Download ico photoshop plugin .

PowerDVD is one of the most successful product of Cyberlink ,a global leader in home digital entrainment .PowerDVD 9 plays Blue-Ray discs ,DVD and HD video and audio formats in full depth and clarity . Popular sound enhancement video enhancement profiles like Dolby ,SRS ,DTS etc. aids the multimedia experience and produce unbelievable sound and video experience in compatible PCs .If you are spending some thousand bucks for your sound card and music system, a supporting media player is highly recommended .PowerDVD 9 is an exact candidate for this and is available in different packages as per the requirement of the customer .PowerDVD 9 Ultra is the top end product in this series and is available for around 99 USD .Though the prices seems to be high ,its worth if you have good multimedia arrangement . You can download a free 30 day trial version PowerDVD 9 here .

PowerDVD 9 free version

PowerDVD 9 features :

Blue-ray support in PowerDVD was introduced from version 8 onwards .
PowerDVD 9 plays HD video formats like AVCHD, AVCREC, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), MPEG-2 HD and WMV-HD etc .
PowerDVD 9 has HDMI 1.3 support that can be used to transfer upto 8 channels of audio through a single cable.
Animated navigation menu for DVD media .
Plays almost all audio and video formats .

PowerDVD has multiple audio and video setting that user can choose on the basis of their audio and video configuration .Dolby ,SRS and DTS modes can be selected on the basis of number of speakers ,room specs and type of audio device .A video card is highly recommended when using PowerDVD 9 .

PowerDVD 9 versions

PowerDVD 9 Ultra -95USD
PowerDVD 9 Deluxe -70USD (No support for Blue-ray Discs)
PowerDVD 9 standard -50USD(No support for Blue-ray Discs,MPEG-4 AVC (H.264))

Some features in lower series of PowerDVD 9 can be enhanced using advanced audio Packs which can be purchased separately .

Download PowerDVD 9 free .

After the release of Windows Vista SP2 RC on March, Microsoft Today released Windows Vista SP2 final for public .There are so many changes , but the major one is the native support for Blue-ray reading and burning . Official Windows Vista SP2 final update will rolled out through Windows update service . And for people without internet connection ,there is a standalone installer available in Microsoft website . Torrent files for Windows Vista SP2 final are also available .

Windows Vista SP2 final

Windows Vista SP2 final features :

Windows Vista DVD burner can now read and burn Blue-Ray discs without the support of external plugins .
Windows Vista SP2 has improved power efficiency upto 10 %  .
Full security integration with third part security softwares .
Improvements in file copy speed though USB ,shared networks and other means .
Windows Vista SP2 sidebar now consumes less memory than in Vista SP1
Numerous bug fixes as per the feedback received from public .
Windows search 4 for improved system wide search and indexing .
Improvements for Windows media center .
Windows Vista SP2 final supports new multicore processors .
Support for Bluetooth 2.1 and Windows Connect Now WiFi configuration .

Download Windows Vista final standalone full installer(348 MB) .

Note:Uninstall earlier versions of Windows Vista SP2 (RC or beta) before installing SP2 final .

WMA is stands for Windows media audio and as the name indicates its developed by Microsoft from Windows based computes .You might have noticed this extension while ripping CDs via Windows media player.Latest WMA codecs now supports multiple channel and loseless audio compressions .But still WMA playback is limited to some devices . And for others we need a converter to popular formats like Mp3 .

Switch free WMA to mp3 converter Windows  :

Switch is a free audio converter for Windows which converts between 13 file formats including mp3 ,flac ,wma and ogg .

Open the required wma file >select output file as MP3 and convert . Switch supports batch conversion and custom bit rate settings .

Download Switch wma to Mp3 converter .