Marvin Lee Dot Net

I was recently introduced to a screen capture software, the X-Shot 2002.

Although it is dated, and probably limited in features, it does it job well if what you want is a quick and easy way to make screen captures.

It is especially good when you want to make a sequence of screen captures on a particular position of a screen or the whole desktop.

This software is created by a German and can be downloaded from its homepage at http://www.x-shot.de/download/download.html.

It does not require installation and you can just run the executable.

However, the program (exe) only runs on Windows and it will stay on system tray or windows taskbar.

The following are some screen capture of the software itself.

You can configure the filename prefix and also the folder where the screen captures will be saved to.
On the screenshot click, an image with enumerated number will be saved to the folder specified.
That’ll save a lot of time naming the file or saving it manually with the usual keyboard Print Scrn function.
You still have the option to perform those manually though.

There are options to select what time of file format and also the compression rate of the images.

You can even create a watermark with your preferred text and put it at the top, middle or bottom of the image.

Selection area is the area of screen capture. You can make a full desktop screen capture by unselecting the ‘Use Selection’.
Personally, I think this feature can be improved as it requires the user to know exactly the position of the screen capture area.

This program also allows you to schedule your screen capture. I think it is useful for servers, for monitoring purposes.

The above is an image of a screen capture where an area is selected.

The above is an image of a full desktop screen capture.

This is an image snapshot with a browser opened and screen capture selection area made over it, thus having the correct area of snapshot.

One very important feature that I think is missing, is the ability to capture screen and scroll, especially for browser.

There are quite a number of screen capture software available nowadays, differing in features like how quick and easy to use it, advanced features like scrolling screen capture, and also licensing options (paid or free software).

What is your favourite and most used screen capture tool? Would you mind sharing?

Good To Know, Review, Software screen capture, snapshot, x-shot, X-Shot 2002

Before the age of Marvellous Internet, there were the years of Marvellous Computer. And before that was Marvellous Hardcover Encyclopedias.

Encyclopedias used to be hardcover books, probably for durability and also so that it looks like some heavy stuff in your book rack.

If you have an entire set of Encyclopedias at home like the Encyclopædia Brittanica set, I think it speaks volume of your family’s wealth. 🙂

Then when computer came, the set of Encyclopedia is digitized to a format of better mobility, for instance a compact disk.

Even Microsoft had yearly editions of its Microsoft Encarta then.

I am constantly amazed by how they get people to compile so much of information into hardcover books and also CDs, only to be later pirated or copied by others.

And then when the Internet came, it changed the whole Encyclopedia game. People do not need to flip through hardcover books, look through index and search for pages anymore.

Search engines like AltaVista, Yahoo!, and now Google instantly became everyone’s best friend for searching information, and it takes less than a second to return a search results for whatever you want.

However, for definition and encyclopedia-like resources, somebody (Jimmy Wales, and Larry Sanger) thought of a collaborated dictionary or the Free Online Encyclopedia : Wikipedia.

Wikipedia started in 2001 and expanded exponentially ever since, until recently.

The English version hit the 2 million — article mark in September 2007 and then the 3 million mark in August 2009 — surpassing the 600-year-old Chinese Yongle Encyclopedia as the largest collection of general knowledge ever compiled via (TIME)

Wikipedia is now having lesser contribution of articles probably due to a few reasons:

• There are so many articles already, so everything that needed to be compiled are already done
• Problem in managing of the editorial team?

TIME had a report on it which basically summarizes why Wikipedia is having lesser articles and editors.

Eventually, things will grow and evolve, maybe online Encyclopedia will be going that road too?

Like MSN Encarta. 😉

While we are overloaded with information, businesses that survive on selling such information might be having a tough time to survive.

Or is this just a part of evolution? What is the next form of Encyclopedia?

Gossips, Internet, Technology Encarta, Encyclopædia Brittanica, Encyclopedia, Jimmy Wales, Larry Sanger, MSN Encarta, TIME, Wikipedia