Customize Your Images Free with Majik!

Introduction:

Today, we all strive to improve the quality, or coolness or our images. There are many programs out there like Adobe's Photoshop. The problem is, these programs cost a fortune! Why not use ZBrown Technology's Majik Image Filter and do it for free! This Facebook app allows you to upload and customize your images without even leaving Facebook. Today, I'm going to walk you through the steps of uploading, then filtering your images with Majik!

Step 1:

The first thing you'll want to do is open your browser to the Majik Image Filter at http://apps.facebook.com/zbtmajik . If you are not already logged in to Facebook, you will be prompted to login. This is required, so please do so. After you are logged in, you may be prompted to add the app to your profile. Do so if you haven't already.

Step 2:

Now that you are logged in to Facebook and have added the Majik App to your profile, let get started with the fun stuff. The first thing we need to do is choose a file to be uploaded. To do this, choose the 'Browse' button.

Once you choose 'Browse', the Open File Dialog will appear. Use this to find and select the image you want to edit. After you have selected your image, choose 'Ok' or 'Open'.

Step 3:

Now we need to upload the image we chose in step 2. To do this, we need to click on the 'Upload' button towards the bottom of the window.

This may take a few minutes depending on the size and format of the image. Just be patient, it's all worth it!

Step 4:

Now that the image has been uploaded, you have been redirected to the 'What Next?' screen. This is the place where you can choose what to do with your image. For this tutorial, we are simply going to apply a filter. So, we need to choose the 'Filter Now!' link.

Step 5:

Next, you are directed to the Filtration Interface. This is where the Majik actually happens! Here, you can choose many different filters for your image and see the preview! You can, if you decide you don't want to filter it after all, choose to stay with the original by clicking on the 'Original' link in the filter bar.

For this tutorial, we are going to simply add the Emboss filter to our image. I used the Majik Image filter logo as an example. To add the filter, all we do is click the 'Emboss' link! The app does the rest!! Let's see what it looks like:

Before:

After:

Cool, huh? You can choose from any filter, so enjoy!

Finally:

The last, but most important, step is to save our freshly created filtered image. We do this by simply right clicking the image and using the browser's picture saving function. In Internet Explorer, just choose 'Save Picture As'!

Conclusion:

There are many, many things you can do to your images using the Majik Image Filter. They are adding new features everyday, so don't forget to visit often!



View Properties of your Windows System

Introduction:

The task of opening the system properties dialog is a fairly easy task, if you know where it is. The system properties dialog displays information about your Operating System, processor and memory. In this tutorial, I will guide you through the process of finding and opening this dialog.


Preparation:

Preparation isn't really needed in this tutorial. All you will need is a Windows Operating System. If you have that, your good to go!

Please note that this tutorial is based on Windows 7, but Windows XP equivalents will be noted.


Step 1:

The first step is to simply click on the Windows logo button on the task bar. ( This is the 'Start Menu' in Windows XP and earlier. ) That was pretty easy, huh?


Step 2:

Now, you'll need to find the Computer option. In Windows XP, this will be called My Computer. Once you have located it on the start menu, right click the option. This will display a context menu with several different options.


Step 3:

Once you have the context menu, choose the Properties option at the very bottom. This will be the same in all version of Windows.

Finally:

After you have clicked the Properties option, the Windows System Properties Dialog will be displayed. This will give you information like the type processor and it's speed, the version of Windows you have and it's Service Pack version and information about your system memory. In Windows Vista and 7, it includes many more details!!


Conclusion:

Many tasks that seem complex are in fact relatively easy. Once you learn the fundamentals of how computers and Operating Systems work, you will be able to perform simple tasks quickly and precisely the first time you attempt them.

Next time someone asks you to open up the System Properties Dialog, you know how to do it!!

Create an Animated .GIF Image

Introduction:

This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating you very own animated .GIF image from a series of still images using Picasion's free online tool. Animated .GIFs are great for adding cool effects to your site or blog without adding too much time to loading.

Preparation:

In order to follow this tutorial, you will need two(2) things:

• You will need 3 still images that you will combine into one to make the animation. This tool supports all the major types of images, so you don't have to worry about that.
• You will also need your browser open to http://picasion.com/. All browsers are supported.

Step 1:

Once you have the required images, and have opened your web browser to http://www.picasion.com/ , we can begin.

The first step is to upload your images. On the right side of the screen, there are 3 input fields with 'Browse' buttons beside them. Use the buttons to browse for your three images. Make sure you upload them in the order you want them to appear. (i.e. The image you upload in box 1 will be the first displayed. Box 2 will be second and box 3 will be third. )

Step 2:

After you have selected your three images in step 1, we can specify the width and speed of the animation. By default, the normal 300px width is set. You can either change this to a width that fits your needs, or leave it like this. In most cases, you will not need to change the width.

To the right of the width selection box, you'll see a speed selection box. By default, it is set to normal speed, which is not too fast, but not too slow either. You can leave it how it is, change it to one of the pre defined speeds in the box or change it to 'Advanced' so you can specify exactly how many seconds you would like it to wait before transitioning to the other images.

Step 3:

After you have the size and speed how you'd like them, you can go ahead and create the animation. Do this by clicking the 'Create animation' button towards the bottom of the screen. Please note that this may take some time, depending on your Internet connection and the size of your images. Just be patient, it will be worth it!

Finally:

After your animation is created, it will display it on the page. To save this animation, you can either right click the animation and choose 'Save Picture As' (in Internet Explorer, the wording will differ from browser to browser) and choose a location, or just click the link towards the bottom of the page.


Conclusion:

There are many easy ways to create an animated .GIF image, but with Picasion's online free utility... there aren't many ways easier than this! Please comment below and let me know if you require any more help.

Don't forget that you can have this blog delivered wireless to your Kindle devices!

"Hello World!" HTML Document

Introduction:

I decided to do this tutorial because the idea of becoming a developer, specifically a Web Developer, is growing more and more popular. This tutorial will show you how to create a basic HTML document that simply outputs "Hello World!".

Preparation:

The only thing you will need for this tutorial is a simple text editor, we will use Microsoft Windows Notepad because it is available on all Windows PCs. I must point out why I said "simple" text editor. I said this because you will need to make sure the editor does NOT format the document in any way. It must remain in plain text for the browser to be able to read it and identify the code.

Step 1:

Open Windows Notepad. Notepad can be launched from the start menu at this location: All Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad.

Step 2:

Once you have Notepad open, copy / paste the following HTML structure code. I will not go into detail about what this code does or how it works for now. If you do find yourself interested, visit the W3C Schools HTML Tutorial here. This tutorial is great for beginner and intermediate HTML developers.

<html>
<head>
<title>Hello World!</title>
</head>
<body>


</body>
</html> 

Please note that the space in between each body (highlighted above) tag is intentional. It isn't required, but makes things a lot easier for this tutorial.

Step 3:

After you have pasted the code above into the blank Notepad document, we can move on to the cool part! Take the following string and place it in the space we left in between the <body> tags above.

Hello World!

Once you have done this, save your document as 'index.html'. You can save this document by clicking 'File', then 'Save As'. Please note that you must change the file extension drop down box to say 'All Files'. Then click 'Save'.

Finally:

Open your favorite web browser. Once it has loaded your home page, we must open our Hello World! document. In Internet Explorer and many 3rd Party browsers, this can be done by pressing the keyboard binding Ctrl + O. These keys must be pressed at the same time. Alternatively, you can click File - > Open.

In the dialog that appears, choose 'Browse'. Then navigate to your documents folder and choose index.html. Choose Open, then Ok.

There it is! our Hello World! HTML document.

Conclusion:

Anyone can become anything they want to be, including a software developer. What we just did in this tutorial is HTML programming at it's most basic level. If you are interested in learning more about this language and / or wish to become a more advanced HTML developer, I highly recommend you follow the W3C Schools HTML tutorial located here.

Change your Windows Logon Screen Background

Introduction:

In this tutorial, I will guide you through the very easy process of changing the background image of your Windows Logon Screen. I will start with the method for Windows 7 because it is the newest OS from Microsoft, but will finish with the method for Windows XP, because it is the most popular.

Preparation:

You will need a few things before we continue.

• A JPEG (.jpg for Windows 7, .bmp for Windows XP) image that you want to make your new Logon Screen Background. Please note that this image is limited to 250KB in size.
• This .REG (compressed in .rar from intowindows.com )  file that will be used to create the proper registry settings ( for Windows 7 users )
• An Administrative Account.

If you are a Windows XP user, please scroll down to the heading 'Windows XP'.

Windows 7 

Step 1:

The first and probably most important part is to merge the settings located in the .REG file I mentioned above to the Windows Registry. To do this, navigate to the location you saved the file. After you are there, double click, choose 'Yes' on the Permission Prompt. Then, choose 'Yes' to continue, and 'OK' after t has completed.

Step 2:

After the settings have been merged to the registry, navigate to 'C:\Windows\system32\oobe' and create a new folder called 'Info'. Create yet another folder called 'backgrounds' inside the Info folder.

Finally:

Copy the image you chose above to the folders you just created. The structure should look similar to this 'C:\Windows\system32\oobe\Info\backgrounds\YOUR_IMAGE.jpg'

That's it! Now, when you restart, shutdown or boot up this image will be displayed on the Logon Screen!

Windows XP

Step 1:

Click 'Start', then 'Run'. In the 'Run Dialog Box', type 'regedit'.

Step 2:

After the Windows Registry Editor has opened, navigate to the following key by expanding the boxes to the left. 'HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP'

Step 3:

After you have expanded the correct keys, you will see several values, one of which is called 'wallpaper'. Double click that value to edit it's content. In the box that appears, type the full path to the image you chose above. i.e 'C:\Documents and Settings\USER\My Documents\My Pictures\IMAGE.bmp'  This assumes your username is USER and your image is stored in My Pictures and is named IMAGE.bmp.

Finally:

Click OK and close the Registry Editor. Now, when you logoff, shutdown, restart or logon... you will see your image instead of the default Windows XP image!

Conclusion:

Most people don't realize how easy it actually is to make changes like this. Now that you have changed this, what will you change next?

Convert and Resize Images Free Online

Introduction:

This is the second tutorial posted here. The first one applied mainly to IT Pros, so I figured this one should apply to even the most basic computer users. This tutorial will guide you through the process of converting and resizing an image online free using CoolUtils Online Image Converter.



Preparation:

To use this converter, you must obviously have an image you wish to convert and/or resize. After you have chosen your image, open your browser to http://www.coolutils.com/online/image-converter/ .

Step 1:

Once the web page is loaded, choose the 'Browse' button to locate your image. This converter supports all the major formats, and then some. This makes it easy for users to use it because they don't have to worry about what image format their current image is in. After locating your image, select 'Open' to begin the uploading process.

Step 2:
After the image has finished uploading, choose the format you wish to convert your image to. Just like Step 1, it supports all the major image formats.

You can also resize your image by choosing 'Resize' to the right of the conversion format selection box. Enter the width and height that you want your image to reflect. Please note that it is possible to increase the size of your image, but highly Not recommended. When an image is increased in size, it stretches the pixels to accommodate the new size, thus the image becomes blurry.

Rotation of your image is also available, but that is self explanatory, so we won't go into that now.

Finally:

After you have chosen the option and format you want, chose 'Download Converted File' to get your new image in it's new format and size!

Conclusion:

Who ever said image conversion and resizing had to be a pain? With new utilities and free tools like the CoolUtils Online Image Converter, it streamlines the task and makes it more bearable! This tool doesn't leave any watermarks or claim ownership of your file, so you can do what you wish with the finished image! You are allowed to use this tool an unlimited number of times without a waiting period between conversions.

If there were an award for "Best Image Conversion" or "Best Free Online Tools", I think it should definitely go to CoolUtils!

Create a Bootable MS DOS USB Flash Drive

Before I knew the easy way of turning an ordinary USB Flash Drive into a Bootable USB Drive with the MS DOS operating system, I searched for hours looking for a good tutorial that worked.  This is good for those who need to perform tasks such as flashing BIOS and other tasks of that nature.
This tutorial will guide you through this process, and provide links to the relevant resources and tools you'll need.

Preparation:

You will need the HP USB Disk Format Tool to perform the actual "transformation". You may download that here. Download and install this tool.

You will also need the Windows 98 Setup files, which can be found here. Download these files and save them to a spot you'll remember. Usually saving it in My Documents (or Documents in Windows Vista and 7) is the easiest place to remember.

A USB Flash drive will be required. If you currently have data on the drive you would like to use, you will need to back that data up because the drive will be formatted and all data will be erased. I recommend using at least a 2GB drive.

Step 1:

Insert your USB Flash Drive into an available USB port.

Launch the HP USB Disk Format Tool by clicking it's icon on the desktop, or the Start Menu. If you are running Windows Vista or 7, you will need to run this program as an Administrator by right clicking the icon and choosing "Run as Administrator".

Step 2:

Once the tool has loaded, select the drive letter of your USB Flash Drive. If you are unsure which letter is the USB drive you want to use, the easiest way to check is to open My Computer ( Computer in Windows Vista and 7 ) and locate the USB drive you want to use. The letter displayed next to the label of that drive is the one you want to select in the HP Disk Format tool.

Beware of which drive you select as that drive will be formatted!!

Step 3:


After you have chosen the correct drive letter,  choose 'FAT 32' as the file system, then check the 'Quick Format' box to save a little time.

Now, we need to specify the Windows 98 System files we would like to use. Check the 'Create a DOS Startup Disk' box, then choose the '...' button and browse to the location you saved the Windows 98 System Files. Choose the folder that contains the system files, then choose 'OK'.

Your window should look similar to this now:

Final Step:

Press 'Start' to turn your USB Flash Drive into a bootable USB MS DOS Disk.! This may take a few minutes, depending on the size of the drive. After this completes, you are finished and can now boot your MS DOS USB Drive!!

Conclusion:

That's it! You have now just created your very own bootable MS DOS USB Drive!

If you require any further assistance, or have any questions, comments or concerns about this tutorial,  please feel free to comment below.

Welcome

Welcome to i7's Tech Tutorials. This blog will guide you through how to use some of the most popular, and coolest software. My goal is to be able to help not only basic computer users, but also IT professionals. Have a software product you would like to see a tutorial on? Let me know, I'll see what I can do.