Mitchelaneous

Archive for Resources

Use Paint.NET to Edit and Create Icons

Logo3I had an idea to customize a few of my default Vista icons, but had no way of doing so.  I had the icon files, but no way to edit them.  So after doing some browsing around I did come up with a solution to my icon editing woes.

First Step?  Get Paint.NET!

First step was to pickup Paint.NET.  This is an awesome free image editor with all the bells and whistles of your hundred-dollar programs. 

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It  features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help,  tutorials, and plugins.

Grab the Paint.NET ICO Plugin

Well worth having, just as a backup image editor if nothing else.  Since Paint.net does not have .ico support built in by default, I picked up this plugin  from Evan’s Web Site.  To use it, all you need to do is unzip and then put it in the “FileTypes” folder in the Paint.NET directory.

Startup Paint.NET and try dragging and dropping an .ico icon onto the canvas.  Thanks to this neat plugin, it will open just as any other image would open.  With saving as an .ico, I had a few errors at times but doing it again or changing the name of the file seems to have helped.

So there is a totally free way to edit and create custom desktop icons for your next design project or desktop redecoration.

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Turn Search Results into RSS Feeds

FeedMySearch is offering a new service that is sure to please some of us out there who keep an eye on search results.  Using their web site you can turn your Google searches into tiny RSS feeds.  This is helpful when it comes to getting instant updates whenever a new result appears on Google.  Another perk about this would be that you only get what is new when it comes to your search item.

feed-my-search

To use it, all you do is type in your keyword into the search box, then select from these types of searches:  web, news, video, blogs, local, books and patent.  Hit the “Feed my Search!” button and away you go.  Next you are given a preview of the search results and you can subscribe using a variety of different services or just grab the RSS feed itself.

If you spend a lot of time watching Google and how the results come up, FeedMySearch promises to save you time giving you the latest results instantly.

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Pixojo - Wallpaper Pushing Social Stream?

Desktop Backgrounds
In the search for some new desktop wallpaper? If your a fan of finding new wallpaper or you want to release your recent creation to the world, Pixojo is a great place to do both. This is a new (yet highly awesome) resource that has a lot of potential when it comes to finding and sharing the best wallpaper from around the Web.

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Super Mario Icons in Action!

Browsing around Deviant Art I found some of the best looking Super Mario icons I have seen in a long long time.  With all the Super Smash Bros Brawl I’ve been playing in the past few weeks - looks like Nintendo is invading my desktop too.

Super_Mario_Icons_by_ph03nyX

Another awesome detail about these icons are they were all designed by hand by a fantastic Deviant Art artist, ph03nyXDownload them for yourself and make your own desktop look like the Mushroom Kingdom!

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Saving Links for Later

A few weeks back on Firefox Facts I shared with all my technique for saving links to read later. The general idea is to create a “temp” folder in my browser - keep it on my bookmarks bar and then drag URLs into it as I need to. I think I have found a system that beats that hands down.

Instapaper - Save Links for Later

I have been using Instapaper for the past few days and I love it. No goofy Web 2.0 useless and mind-numbing features I don’t want or need. I just hit one bookmarklet that says, “read later” and it is saved for me. Later on when I have time to read just login to Instapaper.com and you are good to go from anywhere.

If you have any questions out the service, the FAQ is pretty in depth and also I want to toss a big thanks to the creator too.

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Wallpaper Deal from Vladstudio.com

Right now Vladstudio.com is having a special Valentine’s Day deal. You can just $19.99 (usual price is $29.99) to get a lifetime membership to the site. I have always been a big fan of this site - but didn’t use it much since the free stuff is rather limited.

VladStudio Wallpaper Screenshot

With a paid membership though you get higher quality wallpaper and the usual watermark is removed. I am a big believer in supporting people who bring you excellent content for almost nothing and with a deal like this, how could you turn it down?

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