If you’re looking to backup your DVD movies to your computer or view them on a mobile/tablet device, you’ll need to rip them to your computer first. When you “rip” a CD or DVD, you make a copy of the contents of the disc in the form of a data file that you can play on your computer or other devices. Here are two highly rated programs that can do this for you:
Need to crop or resize a photo but don’t have Photoshop on your computer? Picnik is an easy-to-use web-based photo editor. It allows you to rotate, crop, resize, adjust exposure, and even add text or graphics to your image. Photoshop.com also has a web-based editor that has a lot of the same features, but is a bit more sophisticated. If you want something that is even more advanced and resembles the Photoshop application, try Pixlr. All of these services are free.
When you’re explaining to someone what’s on your computer screen, sometimes words aren’t enough. Here are a few free services that allow you to easily share your screen with a friend so they can see exactly what you’re seeing. These services also offer video, audio, and text chat so you can talk while you share.
It’s a good idea to backup your computer, but how about your smartphone? If you send a lot of text messages, take photos on your phone, or have tons of apps, you may want to look into backing it up. Thankfully Gizmodo has a great roundup of backup techniques for most major smartphones.
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