FREE eBook eReader software - An App for iPod Touch/ iPhone Compatible with iOS version 4.2

Post last updated: October 2014. Updated Freading 1.0 link below. Freading 2.1 doesn't support iOS 4.2 compatible devices.

"The most technologically efficient machine that man has ever invented is the book." - Northrop Frye.

You are reading this because you are a good reader and you want your old iPod or iPhone to be able to carry your best friend - the ebook ereader. But alas, you know that the iBooks app requires a minimum of iOS 7.0 whereas your iPod Touch can no longer travel the iOS road beyond its 4.2.1 limit.

Here comes our rescue partner, when I was exactly at that crossroads. Left alone to ponder over this issue with some apps that promise to deliver but fail what I really wanted - to just read books. Simple. That's it.

Finding your perfect eReader app for free for your old iOS device with 4.2.1 as the last version has become easier now.

EDIT: Freading, as on October 2014 is upgraded to 2.1 in the Apple App Store and is no longer compatible with iOS 4.2 devices. Hence, I am providing my archived version (Freading 1.0) that I use in my iPod Touch with iOS 4.2 version.

You can download the older version of Freading from here.

The app's name is Freading - Library Ideas, LLC this app comes to our rescue. It does a simple job - let's you read, peacefully. 

Supports ePub, PDF - the two of most used ebook formats. Best of all, this app comes for free!

This app is available from the iTunes Appstore, with the base version as iOS 4.0. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Let me know your thoughts and other app suggestions. Please leave your comments below.

  

Best Way To Search Fresh Recent Results In Google

If you want to search the internet using Google and if you want search results that are only recent ones - probably a week or month old, then follow this trick while searching in Google.


This trick is especially useful when using Google Maps and Products to search more relevant and also recent updates.

After the search query is typed in the Google search bar, select the Search Tools drop-down option.

Then select Any Time drop down

Now select the time frame you need to filter the search results.

There is also a 'Custom Range' feature available for you to select from. Pretty neat!

Know any other neat tricks in Google search that you think the World may not be aware of? Please do input your comments below.

3 Top Ways To Read Online Effectively By Tackling Distractions

Earlier, reading was done using the 'hard bound' or 'Paper back' books, before the advent of computers. Then, the distractions were little less - as there were no popup advertising inside a book, or a mail notification showing up in the corner of the page nor a 'related' content showing up at the end of the page before turning to the next one.

However, these are some of the common distractions faced by every one of us while a serious online reading is taking place - a silent conversation between our eyes and the computer screen that shows the content. People like us get easily distracted in this modern age - at the same time there are so many online bookstores with plethora of online textbooks and educational websites.




Here are some practical tips that will help you overcome the dreaded distractions while reading online:

1. Use Readability plugin for browsers (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox) to not to get distracted. This extension is similar to the Reader feature within Apple's Safari browser. What this does is provide you with a clutter-free version of the same article.
2. If you find any link that is part of the original article you are reading, simply do not go about reading every other hyperlink provided. Right click on the link and open it in new tab or new window to read it later - after finishing the currently reading article. (You can also 'scroll click' or 'ctrl click' on the link to open it in new tab). This way you can finish reading the original article you opened in the first place.
3. If nothing works, or you find many articles and webpages to read for the entire day - use an online bookmarking tool to bookmark your site so you can read it from any part of the world. You can also use a free app in Chrome called Quick Note to save texts and links to read later - this is a note taking app which can be used in this way also. This way you can revisit less important ones later. I use this app often. Best of most of the other note taking apps available for Google Chrome.

These are the top 3 best practices I follow to have a pleasant reading experience without getting distracted much - or by tackling the distractions in a technologically productive way.

Do you have any other tip to have a disturbance free reading experience? What do you do to read articles online without disturbances? Please share your comments below.

Written by Arun Sarathy

How to clear your clipboard using Command Prompt

Admit it - sometimes you wish Windows offered an easy way to do this - clearing the clipboard after copying a piece of text!

Well, here is a way to do that using a tiny piece of code. Just copy the code given below and follow the steps given to create your own small software to clear your clipboard.

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c "echo off | clip"

Steps:

1. Right click on the desktop.
2. Select New > Shortcut
3. Paste the code copied above. Save and exit.

You now have a shortcut which when double clicked clears your clipboard in a whoosh!!

Written by Arun Sarathy

How to charge your iPod or iPad or iPhone with USB using your computer

Life without technology is only for few and for the rest of us, a little disruption in it causes havoc!

Being in the technology driven world, most of us have atleast one iPod (old or new doesn't matter), or an iPhone or iPad. One of these iProducts might be lying at our home - at least for most of us who are Apple fans. That being said, there will be times when we do not want to always plug it in to the wall socket to charge the iDevice. But when we sync or transfer content to and from an iDevice to our Windows computer how better the world would be if that time is also used to charge our iDevice!

That's where our protagonist of this story enters our world - ASUS Ai charger

What this tiny software does is simple:- 

• Install the software available from their website here.
• Just connect your iDevice.
• It starts charging.

Yes! That was indeed silly to list them down - however that's all it is to it to charge your iDevice using your Windows computer. 

Note: for Mac, it automatically charges - without any need of a third party software installation, as you might already know.

Know of any other software that does the job better than ASUS Ai Charger? Please let us know by writing in your comments below.

Written by Arun Sarathy

You Ought To Know This Little Secret Within Google Chrome Omnibox

Google Chrome – the World's widely used browser has a tiny little secret.

Searching using the Omnibox – 

which is searching using address bar is the same as searching directly on Google.com. However, if you are not a Google searcher by default, then you might be searching using AOL, Yahoo or Bing – within Google Chrome.




In Internet Explorer you attain this by changing your default search provided in the Settings. Google Chrome too allows to change your default Search Engine settings on their Settings page.

Better still, Google knows that already and has made it even simpler for you - that's exactly the little secret I was talking about. Here's how:

How to search Yahoo, Bing, AOL, YouTube or Ask in Google Chrome:

In Google Chrome if you want to search using Bing, Yahoo, but still don't want to change your default search provider, all you have to do is just this.

To search using AOL search engine within Google Chrome, just prefix the letter 'a' before you type your search text in the Google Chrome's Omnibox. This also applies for searching in Ask.

To search using Bing search engine within Google Chrome, just prefix the letter 'b' before you type your search text in the Google Chrome's Omnibox.

To search using Yahoo search engine within Google Chrome, just prefix the letter 'y' before you type your search text in the Google Chrome's Omnibox. This also applies for searching in YouTube.

Related: Search using the address bar.






Additionally, after you try the above tricks, if you'd watched closely, you would have noticed that when you prefix 'a' to search using AOL, Google not only provides AOL as one of the suggestions in their Google Autocomplete feature – but also provides options to search websites from your web browser history.

For example in my screenshot above you will notice Autocomplete suggestion to search my text within Automattic website too.

Did you like this Google Chrome Omnibox trick?

If you know of any other Google Chrome secret trick, please write them in your comments below:

--------------------------------------------

Written by +Arun Sarathy

Quick Tech Trick # 7: How to show two time zones in your MS Outlook?

Category: Windows | Outlook | Productivity

Some of us have clients or friends outside our home country, who may live in a different time zone. Planning a meeting or an appointment which should suit best for both could be a challenge in such a situation. That's when a feature in Microsoft Outlook's Calendar comes in handy. Just follow these steps:

Tools > Options > Calendar Options > Time Zones > Check the box to show and 'Additional Time Zone'.

(Alternatively, you may also simply right click on the area where time is shown within your Calendar and choose 'Change Time Zone').

Choose your required time zone > hit 'OK'. Now you will have two time zones shown in Outlook!

Posted by Arun Sarathy

Quick Tech Trick # 6: How to edit an outlook email message you've received?

Category: Windows | Productivity

This feature (example shows MS Outlook 2007) allows us to edit an email message which is an already sent one. By nature, it's not editable. However, Microsoft offers a feature through which one may edit it. This feature should not be abused though.


Here's how:

Open the email which has to be edited. Select Message tab > Actions group > Other Actions drop-down > Edit Message.

The keyboard shortcut for the above set of action is: Alt H, X, E.

Written by Arun Sarathy.

How to keep a watch on your Google AdSense revenue regularly?

Category: Blogging | Utilities

First, ensure you are using Google Chrome. Trust me, it gets better with this browser. Then install the Google Publisher Toolbar, an extension from the Google Web Store.

Now you get the point. Just click on the Google Publisher Toolbar once and it shows you:

• that day's estimated revenue, 
• the previous day's earnings, 
• this month's accumulated earnings and 
• the previous month's earnings.

It also shows the Top 5 Channels/URL Channels for today, yesterday, this week, this month and last month.

I don't know why it's called as a 'toolbar', but it does the job, well!

Quick Tech Trick # 2: Where is the 'Show Desktop' icon in Windows 7?

Category: Windows | Utility



In Windows 7, the 'Show Desktop' icon no longer exists. Instead, Windows chose to put it near your system tray (bottom right corner). Just move your mouse pointer to the bottom right-most corner.

Bam! You just 'showed your desktop' to yourself.





Written by Arun Sarathy.