Though there are many FFmpeg Frontend GUI applications available for free to be used with Windows OS. But I will review two most easy to use and very powerful tools. WinFF and Avanti.

WinFF – FFmpeg based Free Video Converter

WinFF is probably the most easy to use video conversion utility I have ever used on Windows. It is basically a simple FFmpeg GUI with a very simple but intutive user interface.

Usage:
Pressing the Add button you can add a file you want to convert. Then in the Output details you select the format you want to convert this file to, device preset and destination folder. Device preset allows you to set quality parameters for the converted video, you can define where you want to use this converted file for example you can choose web, iphone, mobile, etc. Not all device presets are available for all formats. For example if you want to convert a file to WMV you can not use iphone as the device preset. Clicking on the option button opens the advanced interface where you can set the advanced settings for the conversion.

Support:

WinFF comes with documentation and support forums where you can go to get help if something goes wrong. It is also an open source application released under GNU public license which means you can freely redistribute and share it. It also comes in many languages.

Avanti – FFmpeg frontend for Windows

Avanti is an advanced Audio Video Conversion utility, with a Graphic User Interface for FFmpeg and with the option to insert Avisynth as pre-processor. It gives you more control over selecting the codecs and different parameters of conversion. It has many advanced options and more features than other FFmpeg front-ends. Avanti’s interface might look a little confusing, the installation is also a little complicated and you may not be able to understand few features. But still it is a very powerful tool to convert different media files using FFmpeg.

Avanti Installation:

Once you download the .7z file you will need to download 7-zip compression utility to uncompress the file you just downloaded. Uncompress it to its own folder and then open that folder, there you will see another folder ffmpeg. Since Avanti does not come with FFmpeg you will have to download FFmpeg separately and copy paste the FFmpeg.exe file to this folder. After that go back to main Avanti folder and double click on the file Avanti-Gui. This will open the Avanti interface.

Usage:
In the source file section you can select the file you want to convert. In the Destination Audio Settings and Destination Video Settings you can define how you want to convert this file and into what format and container. For example in the video settings you can select the codec Xvid and container avi. Then click on the Start Process button, if it does not work then you need to press the Start process button again. Avanti also comes with its own help file located in the installation folder. Also you can get more help from videohelp forum’s Avanti thread.

Converting multimedia files into different formats is something that every home user comes across at some point. So your friends and family would really appreciate if you share this post with them on Facebook or twitter.

So you are happy with your fast internet connection and all the content that you can now download. And you are also happy that the great tools that you have installed which help you create cool documents, videos and much more. This is good unless you are forgetting something.

We often forget that computers need maintenance for better performance. Otherwise after a while they will get slower and you might face some serious issues. Here is a quick list of things you should do at least once a month to keep your computer healthy.

1. Run Disk Clean Up wizard once every month. (Windows XP | Windows Vista)
2. Back up your files.
3. Uninstall programs you don’t need any more.
4. Delete unwanted files and folders.
5. Organize your files and folders.
6. Check your Hard Disks for errors. (Windows XP | Windows Vista)
7. Open disk defragmenter and analyze your disks and then Defragment those who need to be defragmented. (Windows XP | Windows Vista)
8. Run an anti-spyware program to scan your computer for internet threats.
9. Run an anti-virus program to scan your computer for viruses.
10. Make sure automatic updates are turned on.

I don’t do all of these things once a month. I clean up disks twice a month and defragmentaion once every three months. How you maintain your windows PC? Please share your tips in the comment box below.

CAUTION:
Easy life takes no responsibility if this method doesn’t work as expected or causes any damage to your computer or data so try at your own risk.

First Step:

• Open Explorer window and go to folder you want to customize.
• Click on Tools > Folder Options
• In the View tab under Advanced Settings check the radio button that says Show hidden files and folders.
  
  

  Folder options dialog box in windows xp

• Click Apply and then Ok.

Second Step:

1. Now in the folder, right click and select Properties.
2. Properties dialog box would appear. Click on Customize tab there under customize menu click on Change icon button and select an icon for your folder. Press Ok.

Third Step:

1. Previous process should have created a “desktop.ini” file in your folder.
2. Sometimes this file remain invisible so if you can’t see it don’t worry it is there.
3. Open this file with Notepad if the file is invisible go to folder and manually type desktop.ini in the filename field to open it.
4. Add these lines of code in your “desktop. ini” file
   
[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}={BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}
[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
IconArea_Image=C:\Windows\Greenstone.bmp
5. In this code line IconArea_image tells your explorer window to display a background image. In this example we are using Greentone.bmp you can change it with your image and provide the path to that image.
6. Save “desktop.ini” file.
7. Refresh the folder.

Now u can see your favorite image in your desktop background.