Transform your XP Computer to a Modern Look

I am sure most of us are very tired looking at the clouds and cartoon-like look of Windows XP. Today we are going to look at a couple of free all in one transformation packs to give XP a modern look.

After using Vista and now Windows 7, when you go back and look at the original XP appearance it definitely shows its age.

Vista Transformation Pack

You can easily add new life to the user interface of XP with the Vista Transformation Pack.

In Express Mode you can choose the features for your user account where they show the amount of system resources required.

The amount of time it takes to apply the settings will depend on the power of your computer and amount of features installed.

When everything is set up a restart is required.

After restarting the Welcome Center appears where you can make adjustments to the configuration and other settings.

Go into the Appearance section to get the Windows Aero look.

XP now has the Vista Sidebar, Start Menu, Icons and more that you can customize to your liking. This does take up more system resources for all the features to run smoothly but it’s pretty true to the Vista look and feel.

Download the Vista Transformation Pack

Seven Transformation Pack

Like the Vista pack above, the Seven Transformation Pack will convert your XP based system to look and feel like Windows 7. Installation is very similar to the Vista pack with being able to select which features will be included in Express Mode.

Again like the Vista pack you will get the look and feel of Windows 7 including icons and menu layouts … this is a shot of Windows Explorer.

Here is a shot of the full desktop with Windows 7 start menu.

Download Seven Transformation Pack

Tweak Windows 7 with Xdn

As we write our guide on Windows 7 we will keep educating you on features but if you want to change lot of settings quickly, Xdn is a good option to tweak windows 7 features like you want it. Right from UAC to taking ownership of other users files.

Xdn utility we had talked in terms of Vista and the same application can tweak your windows 7 also. Here are all the features of Windows 7 that can be tweaked.

Change UAC settings

Enable or Disable Hibernation

Removing Shortcut icons

Remove Send to and Add copy to, move to folder context menu

Disable / Enable ATI Catatlyst Controller

Take ownership of Other users files and folders

Make views stick

This will be a good start for you to tweak windows 7 and play with this tool. We are builiding our next tweaking guide for you which should come out soon. Till then keep playing with XDN

Filing a DMCA Complaint to Google Gets Easy

Sites hosted on Google’s own blogger platform are probably the worst offenders when it comes to content plagiarism.

Some may say that WordPress, Tumblr and a dozen other services also offer free blogs but Blogger seems to be the most preferred choice for creating splogs as there are people who have this impression that Google favors blogspot.com blogs is search results.

There could be other reasons as well but if you ever discover a blogspot blog copying content from your website without attribution, you can file a DMCA complaint to Google and they will comply (read my experience) but this process can be a bit tedious as Google would only accept DMCA takedown notices that are sent via fax or snail mail.

Well, not anymore. If you don’t have a fax machine and aren’t inclined to spend money on a web based fax service, here’s some good news. Google has dropped the fax or mail requirement for Blogger and you can now submit DMCA complaints to Google online via an online form.

This “facility” is available only for filing DMCA notices against Blogger blogs but you’ll still have to take the fax or paper mail approach for reporting copyright infringement on other Google sites like Google Base, Orkut, AdSense and so on. Hat tip Nikhil Pahwa.

f you want to copy or extract the text from your PDF files without using any Adobe reader, then below is a free utility and an online tool to do this

If you want to copy or extract the text from your PDF files without using any Adobe reader, then below is a free utility and an online tool to do this easily.

Ease Pdf to Text Extractor is a free software designed to extract text from Adobe PDF files without the need of Adobe Acrobat software. It processes at very high speed and you can convert multiple PDF files to text files at one time.

Download Ease Pdf to Text Extractor

PDFTextOnline does the same task as above but online. It converts PDF text quickly and accurately in your browser without requiring any software download.

• Handles all fonts and languages (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and more)
• Provides easy access to form data, document properties, and bookmarks

Hack Internet Explorer 8, Move Menu Bar Above Address Bar

How do I bring back IE8 menu bar to the top of the window? How to Move the Menu Bar Above the Address Bar in IE8? The decision to move the address bar doesn’t make any sense, if it is for cosmetic changes just to prove IE7 and different from IE8, then by all means this is the biggest failure.

Below is a simple tutorial on how to move the menu bar below the address bar, just like good old IE7.

1. Open up Notepad (or right-click the desktop, mouseover New and select Text Document).

2. Copy and paste the following into the new text document:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser]
“ITBar7Position”=dword:00000001

3. Save the document as ie8_menubar_above_address.reg.

4. Double-click the new file to merge it into the Registry.

5. Continue through the UAC prompt and confirm that you wish to perform the action.

6. Restart you computer (or simply stop and start Explorer.exe from the Task Manager).