Jonathan Wylie

The Internet is awash with screencast tutorials that show you how to do everything from completing Angry Birds, to mastering layers in Photoshop. These projects might seem as though they require expensive software and hours of video editing, but they're actually a lot easier than you might think--especially if you use a free Web tool like Screenr.com.

Screenr is undoubtedly among the simplest and most effective of the many screencasting tools available today. It requires no software downloads, so you can be up and running almost at once. Just press the Record button on the homepage at Screenr.com, and wait a few seconds for the recording frame to load.

Backing up your files is one of the most important things you can do to safeguard the data you create and store on your computer. To this end, Microsoft included a full backup and restore utility with Windows 7. Here’s how it works.

Backing Up

First you need to launch Windows' Backup and Restore utility. You will find it in the Control Panel by selecting first System and Security and then Backup and Restore. If you have never used this tool before, you'll see a message under 'Backup' that says 'Windows Backup has not been set up'. Click the link labeled Set up backup to the right of that message.

You don't need to shell out big bucks for Adobe Photoshop to make your family photos presentable. Microsoft's Windows Live Photo Gallery tool is free and fun to use, and it has more image-adjustment options than you might expect. Here's how to use some of its especially handy features.

Use Auto Adjust for One-Click Fixes

The core adjustments in Windows Live Photo Gallery are grouped together under the Edit tab of the ribbon interface at the top of the screen. The first of these options is Auto Adjust, which supports one-click fixes for many common problems that you might have with a given image. Generally it does a pretty good job; and even if you don’t like the results, they are provide a reasonable starting point for further tweaks. For a bit more control, click the drop-down arrow, and choose Settings. You'll be taken to a menu that lets you choose the specific adjustments (Straighten, Noise reduction, Color, and/or Exposure) that you want Auto Adjust to use.

If you are the proud owner of an iPhone, an iPod Touch, or an iPad, it is important that you know your options for backing up your device and all the media that you have painstakingly installed on it. If you are running iOS5, Apple gives you two choices on how to do this--iCloud and iTunes. Here’s a rundown on how to do each one.

Back Up With iCloud

With iCloud, your media, your settings, your preferences, and just about everything else related to your Apple are synced to your iCloud account. Apple gives you 5GB of free space to store your photos, videos, device settings, app data, home screen preferences, messages, and ringtones. You also have unlimited space for music, TV shows, apps, movies, and books.

If you share a computer with someone else, you might not want that person to be able to check your Internet browsing history. That record is easy to erase, however, in all of the major browsers. Here's how to delete your browser history in Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Erase Your Internet Explorer History

A useful keyboard shortcut for deleting your browsing history in Internet Explorer is Ctrl-Shift-Delete. If you press this combination of keys in a recent version of Explorer, you'll bring up a dialog box that lets you specify what you want to keep and what you want to purge. Simply check the boxes next to the history you want to remove, and then click Delete. Job done.

If you are looking to make digital backups of your favorite Blu-ray movies, you can find few better tools than MakeMKV, a freeware video transcoder that is quick and easy to use. Like HandBrake, MakeMKV is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. However, unlike HandBrake, it includes its own set of decryption tools. Here’s how it works.

Disclaimer: In order to let you make copies of your Blu-ray movies, MakeMKV uses built-in decryption tools that circumvent digital rights management technology. Such procedures currently occupy something of a legal gray area. You probably won't face any legal consequences if you rip your legally purchased Blu-ray movie collection for your own use, but we're just going to present the instructions and let you decide for yourself whether to follow these steps. PCWorld is not responsible for any damages that result from this how-to.

Addicted to movies? You can watch video on your tablet, smartphone, or portable media player, of course--but since none of those gadgets have optical drives, you can't put any of your DVDs into them. Although new disc releases with Digital Copy come with one free digital version of the movie, you need some outside help for dealing with DVDs that were released before Digital Copy became mainstream. Here's how to use the HandBrake application to rip copies of your DVDs into whatever format you like, so you can play the movies wherever and however you want.

Disclaimer: To rip encrypted DVDs, you'll need the DVD43 plug-in, which circumvents the publisher's digital rights management technology. Such procedures currently occupy something of a legal gray area. You probably won't face any legal consequences if you simply rip your legally purchased movie collection for your own use, but we're just going to present the instructions and let you decide for yourself whether to follow the steps. PCWorld is not responsible for any damages that result from this how-to.

A typical QR code.Nowadays, you can find QR (quick-response) codes on everything. These odd-looking, black-and-white, pixelated designs were originally used by the automotive industry, but today they are most often found in magazines, newspapers, and ads.

QR codes offer an efficient way to create links to websites, but they can also store text, phone numbers, email addresses, or calendar events, or send SMS messages. Here are some tips on how to use a QR app to access the data you want.

Buying the latest, greatest high-def camcorder or Digital SLR camera can be expensive, but the software you use to edit your footage doesn't have to be. A number of free or low-cost video editors do a very respectable job of prepping your home movies for sharing with friends, family, or the rest of the world.

1. Windows Live Movie Maker

Are you looking to buy a new lens for your digital SLR camera? With so many to choose from, it can be hard to find the most suitable one. Generally, when it comes to purchasing lenses, you get what you pay for; but for high-quality photography, you need to look at more than the price tag. So, when the time comes to purchase your next lens, consider the following five criteria.

Focal Length

It's important to know what type of photography you plan to use your new lens for, because some focal lengths are especially suited to specific shooting situations. For instance, wide-angle lenses that cover a range of between 10mm and 20mm are most appropriate for landscape or architectural shots.

Do you need an online haven for your digital images? You have a lot of sites to choose from, but not all of them are worth your time. Here we consider four of the best photo-sharing websites available today, and review their most outstanding features.

Flickr

If you have a photo printer (see PCWorld's recommendations), you have three good options for turning your digital photos into beautiful printed pictures. The first two ways involve using the Windows Vista and Windows 7 picture import wizard--a powerful yet straightforward tool for transferring images from camera to computer. The picture import wizard works seamlessly with most cameras and lets you organize and print your favorite shots easily. The third way relies on a technology called PictBridge to print directly from your camera, bypassing your PC altogether.

Print Photos From Your Windows PC

1. To transfer images from your camera to your computer, power down your camera, connect it to your PC via a USB cable, and turn on your camera. If you are working with a Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC, turning on the connected camera should engage the AutoPlay wizard.