Steam

Steam is an online service and application that can be compared with iTunes, but for games. You can find any game you want for the PC and MAC and buy it either online on the steam website, or using the application. The great advantage of using the steam application is that it can keep your games updated without manually looking for software patches. You can also create wishlists. Like many other personalized services, you will first need to create an account. This will allow you to create wishlists and save them online as well as other personal services. The games offered in steam are usually highly discounted and can be instantly downloaded upon purchase.

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FireFox Addon: Siphon

Siphon is an addon for FireFox that gives the ability to keep track of all your installed addons and have them also installed (or not) on other computers you have. This can also be used to reinstall all the addons you had when you have to reinstall FireFox or when you switch computers. Unfortunately it does not sync the settings of each addon, which could be handy for some addons.

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FireFox Addon: FastDial

FastDial is an addon for FireFox that adds the ability to have a page (can also be set as start page) of links to your favorite websites with previews. You can also create folders with links and thus create groups. By default it will create a preview of the website (or folder) or you can choose your own image instead. To add a link simply click on an empty spot and enter the URL and a description, or right-click on a page you want to add and select �add to FastDial�. A very handy alternative to using bookmarks since it is easier to find a website by it�s appearance rather than it�s name.

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Freemake Video Downloader

Freemake Video Downloader is a free and user-friendly program that can download video�s from YouTube, Facebook, MTV, Hulu, Vimeo, and other sites, extract lossless audio, convert online videos to AVI, MKV, MP3, iPod, iPhone, PSP and Android.

Upon entering the url of the video you wish to download, you can choose the quality of the video to download and even convert to another format so you can save it and play it on your mobile device, or simply extract the audio only.

I really love the interface and the simplicity of this application and that it combines download and conversion in one. Normally you would have to download the video using one program or browser plugin, then convert the video using another program.

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Z-TaskHelp

Z-TaskHelp is a tool that can schedule running applications on your computer. It uses the Windows Task Scheduler to run tasks, so it does not take any resources on your computer and only works as a front-end for the more conspicuous Windows Task Scheduler (that can be hard to find and use). If for example you wish to run a program once every hour of the day, schedule it to run once a day and go to the �advanced� section. There you can schedule the task to run every hour for the next 24 hours, since you have scheduled it to run once every day.

I have posted about FireTask before, but found it a bit buggy and a bit inefficient to have an extra task scheduler running while I have the Windows Task scheduler.

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f.lux

Ever notice how people texting at night have that eerie blue glow?

Or wake up ready to write down the Next Great Idea, and get blinded by your computer screen?

During the day, computer screens look good�they're designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn't be looking at the sun.

f.lux

F.lux fixes this: it makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.

It's even possible that you're staying up too late because of your computer. You could use f.lux because it makes you sleep better, or you could just use it just because it makes your computer look better.

f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you're in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again.

Tell f.lux what kind of lighting you have, and where you live. Then forget about it. F.lux will do the rest, automatically.

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Windows Live Essentials 2011

Windows Live Essentials 2011 offers some free and useful applications. Here is my overview on all the optional applications. You can choose what applications you wish to install if you click on �Custom install� when prompted.

The good:

Mail
Windows Live Mail is an excellent mail program. I have used Mozilla Thunderbird but it was very unstable and the interface looked outdated (compared to Live Mail). The ribbon interface makes the program very easy to understand and use. Also the overall modern feel of the program and fast response makes it very pleasant to use. The quick search with live results is also extremely useful.

Writer
Writer can be very handy if you have a blog. You can add all your blogs in this program and compose / edit your posts. Easily insert images or videos by uploading them or choosing a video from an online service by pasting the video URL or logging in to your online video account like YouTube. The only feature I miss here though is to see a total overview of all your posts per blog and be able to delete posts.

Photo Gallery and Movie Maker
Photo Gallery is highly improved compared to the standard Windows Photo Gallery that is shipped with Windows. Now it comes with face recognition and you are able to easily upload photos to your online account like Facebook, Youtube, etc,, If your preferred online sharing service is not listed in the publish box, try to find it in the Plugins that you can download.
Movie Maker is also a very handy free movie editor. It can accept almost any video and image format and comes with transitions, effect and you can even speed up or slow down your video. Publish the movie directly to your YouTube account or other sharing service, or save the video on your desktop.

Windows Live Mesh
Allows you to share and sync folders with friends and other computers in your personal network. It uses a �p2p� (peer-to-peer) or (computer-to-computer) system so the transfers are directly to the other computer rather than through several servers. You could say that it is like �cloud� file sharing, as it can also download the same file from other computers in the network to speed up transfer. I use this a lot to sync my music and wallpapers with all my computers. There is no file size or sharing limit (like other similar paid services do).

The Bad:

Messenger
Personally I do not use this. I remember years ago when I used one of the first versions of MSN messenger. It was a small, lightweight, advertising-free chat application. In time I have seen it change. Tabs and banners were introduced and some other things I rather not see. Since then I stopped using MSN Messenger and moved to Pidgin, also because I have a Gmail account and wish to be available on Google Talk as well. I did test the new Messenger and it was just as I expected. The program got even bigger (visually) and now it�s more a browser than a small and simple chat client.

Messenger Companion
Since I do not use Messenger I did not bother installing this. In the description is says that it allows you to share links to websites with your friends. I wonder what happened to the good old �Select URL, CTRL+C, click on chat window, CTRL+V ?

Family Safety
I have tried this myself and have set it up to block only �adult� websites. However, it was also blocking me from viewing regular sites and I had to constantly allow access to sites that do not contain �adult� material. Also sometimes the online service was down and I could not allow access to a regular website until the online service was back up. I highly recommend using K9 Web Protection instead of Family Safety.

Bing bar
Just what the world was looking for, another toolbar to add to the Internet Explorer clutter. If I want to use Bing I rather go to the website or add Bing search to my FireFox search box. I have even tried Bing myself instead of Google and too often it did not find what I was looking for. The difference with Google is that usually the first result in google is exactly what I have been looking for. In Bing it is usually the fifth or never.

READ MORE - Windows Live Essentials 2011

ClipDiary

ClipDiary can save a history of text and images you copied to your clipboard. This can be very useful if you frequently copy and paste items to the clipboard. As a programmer, I use the clipboard a lot and usually I have to paste the same code that I copied a few minutes ago (after I have copied something else). Using ClipDiary I can quickly paste one of my previously copied items by either using the quick search key combination (I get a preview of the clipboard item that I want to paste and to me this is the most useful feature) or using the main window and either clicking on the item or searching for it.

The program can be evaluated for 30 days (fully functional) and costs only $19. I have tried many other free clipboard managers but none were as stable, clean and useful as ClipDiary. In one of my earlier posts I talked about Ditto (free clipboard manager). However after using Ditto for a while I found that the program sometimes did not respond, it started playing the �copied to clipboard� sound rapidly out of nowhere (like it was catching up with all my copy actions) and the interface looked like it belonged in Windows 95.

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DriverBackup! 2

DriverBackup! 2 is a simple tool that does not need installation, so you can also run it from a USB drive. It allows you to backup all your hardware drivers into folders. The drivers will not be packed in a special type of archive file, but rather copied into their own device name folder. This allows you to easily install the (missing) drivers when you do a reinstallation of your Windows system.

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NetWorx

NetWorx is a simple and free, yet powerful tool that helps you objectively evaluate your bandwidth situation. You can use it to collect bandwidth usage data and measure the speed of your Internet or any other network connection. NetWorx can help you identify possible sources of network problems, ensure that you do not exceed the bandwidth limits specified by your ISP, or track down suspicious network activity characteristic of Trojan horses and hacker attacks.

The program allows you to monitor all your network connections or a specific network connection (such as Ethernet or PPP) only. The software also features a system of highly customizable visual and sound alerts. You can set it up to alert you when the network connection is down or when some suspicious activity, such as unusually heavy data flow, occurs. It can also automatically disconnect all dialup connections and shut down the system.

The incoming and outgoing traffic is represented on a line chart and logged to a file, so that you can always view statistics about your daily, weekly and monthly bandwidth usage and dialup duration. The reports can be exported to a variety of formats, such as HTML, MS Word and Excel, for further analysis.

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Freemake Video Converter

Freemake Video Converter is a very slick looking and easy to use free video converter. Simply drag and drop your videos and / or pictures to the interface and click on one of the buttons to select what you want to convert it into. It also allows you to quickly edit the video or stitch videos together. You can also pick the target file size and it will make sure the video will be converted to fit the target size.

Upon testing I have tried to convert one .mkv video into an avi, but I found the output quality to be a bit disappointing even though the target file was 1.5Gb for a 2 hour video. Instead I have used Format Factory to create the same avi file with the same codec in the same size, and the result was a lot better but it took longer to convert as well.

Personally, I love the simplicity and beauty of Freemake�s interface but I feel it still needs some more work on the quality of the encoded videos. Also the �to YouTube� option does not not more than upload the video to your YouTube account. They could ask for video details and convert the video to a high quality before uploading (like Microsoft Movie Maker does) to make the file size smaller and save time on uploading.

Another interesting feature I found is that it can also convert audio files into mp3! So far I have tested it with M4A and FLAC files, and amazingly enough it worked perfectly!

READ MORE - Freemake Video Converter

DreaMule

DreaMule is a p2p (peer-to-peer) application that allows you to download files shared by other users who use one of the many eMule-type clients and DreaMule is one of them. DreaMule is in many ways an improvement on eMule and even eMule Plus. For years I have been using eMule Plus to download stuff and one day I decided to switch to DreaMule. I noticed that all the files that took ages to download suddenly downloaded a lot faster. Also the interface looks better and is more efficient. The only downside is the banners in the start page of DreaMule, but on the other hand I understand that the developer deserves some money for creating this fantastic mod on the original eMule in the form of non-intrusive advertising. You can search for files from within the program. However, I recommend using specialized �ed2k� link sharing websites to easily find and download stuff as the internal search usually results in fake search results.

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FireFox Addon: Brief

Brief is an RSS reader addon for FireFox. With Brief you can keep track of all your favorite RSS feeds. It integrates in the FireFox sidebar and status bar. The status bar icon show how many new undread RSS posts there are for you.

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FireFox Addon: TamperData

TamperData is an addon for FireFox that allows you to track and modify HTTP requests. This can be very useful for web developers. For example, if you wish to send form data to a server that is not allowed by a javascript restriction, for example using characters that are not allowed.

Another scenario that TamperData can be used for is for example if you are developing a flash based game and send the score to the server. You need to have a specific score to get a certain response from the server. Getting that score can be a pain to test over and over. Using TamperData you can catch the HTTP request that flash is about to make and modify it (example change your score) before sending it to the server.

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FireFox Addon: QuickJava

QuickJava is a Firefox extension that allows you to easily enable/disable Java, JavaScript, Images, Flash and more directly from the toolbar and/or status bar. Very useful for developers if you want to test your no-javascript support messages or simply want to surf without having to deal with javascript popups and window resizers. Blue icon means that the javascript or flash support is active, red means that it is inactive. Toggle between active and inactive by clicking once on the icon of the service you wish to disable or enable.

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FireFox Addon: FireSizer

FireSizer can show the current browser resolution and allows you to change the resolution of the browser to any format. Ideal for web developers and designers.

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FireFox addon: Add to Search Bar

Add to Search Bar allows you to quickly add a search service to your quick search bar. Simply right-click on a search field and select �Add to Search Bar� in the context menu.

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CamStudio

CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs).

CamStudio also has it�s own video codec (you have to download it also from their site) to keep the file size of the captured video�s small and reduce the load on your hard disk while capturing / editing the video. You can easily edit the captured video in Windows Movie Maker.

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Game Booster 2

Game Booster 2 from IObit can boost your PC�s performance for gaming sessions by checking for driver updates, closing applications that are not needed while gaming and tweak your system for optimal performance. When you are done gaming you can switch the gaming mode off and all closed applications and processes will be restarted.

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SKTools

SKTools is a multi-function application that includes more than 60 tools and allows an easy but powerful maintenance of Windows Mobile devices. Clean up your registry and file system, free-up RAM, backup and restore, find duplicate contacts, appointments and tasks. SKTools can manage installed applications, Today plugins, software keyboards.

The most useful feature that I use is the complete system backup option. It can create a single .exe file (can only run on Windows Mobile) that contains the entire backup of your system (excluding data on storage card). I save this backup on the storage card and then backup the entire storage card on my computer, including the self installing backup file. In case my phone is damaged or lost, I will still have a complete backup of my entire system including contacts, photos, videos, etc�

I did use Microsoft�s MyPhone service before (free online phone backup). However, it has a few drawbacks. The online storage is only 200Mb which is not enough if you have photos and videos. Because the backup is over the internet, it can be very slow and sometimes I get strange sync errors and crashes.

Backup your phone using SKTools is super fast and very stable. There is no size limit except for the free space on your storage card.

Compared to other offline phone backup solutions out there, SKTools is the best deal considering that it also comes with 60 tools to optimize your phone.

READ MORE - SKTools

Paragon Backup

Paragon Backup is one of the best free system backup tools. It offers all the functionality you need to keep your entire system backed up. Use the �entire system� backup option to create an �image� of your entire system into one (or multiple split) files. It can exclude �auxiliary files� like the Windows hibertnate file and memory file (can be gigabytes in size) and you can also add your own categories and exclusions to speed up the backup and save on backup disk space. You can schedule the backup plan so that you won�t have to forget backing up your system.

I would advise the following setup if you want to be able to restore your system no matter how damaged or unbootable your system has become:

1. Get an extra hard disk. I would advise an external (USB) disk and use it only for backups. External disks you can unplug or power down so that it is not available if you are not backing up / restoring. The advantage is that your backed up data cannot get deleted by accident or a virus, so it is always safe.
2. Clean your system with CCleaner (with CCEnhancer) and System Ninja. This will remove all unneeded files from your system that you do not need to back up and thus speed up your backup and make your backup file smaller.
3. Scan your system for malware using your installed antivirus software and other tools like MalwareBytes, DrWeb and HitmanPro. Make sure your system is clean before backing up. You don�t want to backup an infected system.
4. Create a backup plan in Paragon Backup and exclude the auxiliary files and other folders that you do not want to be backed up to reduce the backup file size. The location for your backup files will be your external (or internal) hard disk. Never backup on the same physical disk even if it is on another partition on the same disk. If for some reason your hard disk fails, you will not be able to restore your backup. Always have your backup on another physical disc than where you have Windows installed. Also never backup your stuff on optical disc, as the chances of data loss are a lot higher due to corrosion.
5. When the backup is done, power down and unplug the external disk. Also create a bootable rescue CD using Paragon in case your system becomes unbootable.
6. If you know your system is always clean because you have a good antivirus and you don�t fall for the fake virus alert popups online and never run unknown files, then you might want to use an extra internal disk or leave the external disk always plugged in and on so that you can create an automatic monthly backup plan in Paragon. If you do manual backups instead, then just repeat steps 2 to 5 once every month or so. It is very important then to make sure that your backed up system is clean of infections. You do not want to restore to an infected state.

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PWGen

PWGen is a password generator. It can help you in creating random passwords or a list of random codes. This can be very useful for programmers for example if you need a huge list of random codes for use in vouchers or if you need random codes for an encryption system you are writing.

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Virtual Image Printer Driver

Virtual Image Printer Driver allows you to print to image files. This means that you can export a print as an image file. This can be useful if for example you receive a PDF document that you need to use as an image. Simply open the file, print using the image printer and you have converted your document to an image or series of images (per page).

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Nitro PDF Reader (and printer)

Nitro PDF Reader is a free PDF viewer and printer. Yes we all know about Adobe�s Acrobat Viewer that is also free. However, Adobe�s PDF viewer has become heavier and slower due to the many added features that perhaps only 1% of user will actually use. It has become so heavy to load that they even had to add a �speed launcher� that always runs in the background when you start your computer to speed up the launch of Adobe�s Acrobat viewer. Not to mention the countless large updates.

There are many free alternatives to Adobe�s Acrobat viewer and Nitro PDF is one of them. What I really like about Nitro PDF viewer is the use of Microsoft�s �Ribbon Interface� (like in the new Microsoft Office). It blends in very well with Windows and makes the the program very easy to use.

Nitro PDF also gives you the ability to add on-screen notes to existing PDF documents, add text, stamp your signature and a lot more. This is ideal for commenting on PDF documents you received. You can even extract images from PDF documents.

Nitro PDF also comes with a free PDF printer. You can print any document to PDF format and thus create PDF files.

The software is available for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. I did not manage to make it work for my 64-bit Windows 7 (Home Premium) machine because the installer keeps encountering an error. Other users did not encounter this error so I suppose it must be an anomaly with my machine only. Leave a post here if you have any problems with the 64-bit version.

READ MORE - Nitro PDF Reader (and printer)

Volumex

Volumex is a smart volume manager for Windows Mobile devices. One of the most useful features of Volumex is the ability to mute your phone and it unmutes itself after a while. Usually when I am in a meeting or in the cinema, I mute my phone and every time I forget to unmute it, resulting in missed calls and alarms. With Volumex you can mute your phone for the next 10 minutes, or 3 hours if you like. Volumex has many other useful features too. For a complete list, visit the developer�s website. The software is not free though, but it gives you time to evaluate it and has a very decent price.

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MobileTag

MobileTag uses your phone�s camera to scan all kinds of barcodes. With this scan you can find the product and look for better deals online or save it in your list for later. You can also comment on the product or set a price alert.

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mConvert

mConvert is a free unit converter application for Windows Mobile. It has a touch friendly interface and units are sorted in categories. Can always be very handy to have with you at all times.

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Cradle Alarm

CradleAlarm supersedes the poorly featured alarm clock of Windows Mobile. With this application you can set multiple alarms, that provide a large number of settings to let you start your day as pleasant as possible, to remind you of an appointment or many more.

I have tested many popular alarm clocks for Windows Mobile and CradleAlarm was my personal favorite. I love the stability of the program as it never fails to wake me up in the morning (like all others did). The alarms can be customized via a �wizard� type inteface that leads you though the configuration process. Custom background images per alarm and random alarm tunes give your alarms a personal touch and you don�t have to wake up with the same song every morning.

It also comes with simple �pizza timers� or �egg timers�. Ideal for when you are cooking.

The program is not free, but well worth the 5 euro!

READ MORE - Cradle Alarm

Waze

Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. Instead of reading this boring text to learn more about Waze, why not watch a guided tour?

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PADGen

PADGen is a free application that assists you in creating PAD XML files the software you create. PAD XML files are used by many popular software distribution sites to keep the information they share about your software updated. Whenever you release an update for your product, you update the PAD XML file and upload it (overwrite) to your server. The software sites will notice that your XML file is updated and also update the information on your software.

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System Ninja

System Ninja is a program for cleaning your computer of unwanted junk that constantly slows your entire system down. System Ninja features a fast and powerful file cleaner, Startup Manager, Process Manager and Startup Log Generator, plus several useful tools such as CCEnhancer, FileAnalyzr and MalRunDestroyer.
System Ninja is created to supplement CCleaner for the files it missed. I recommend using both CCleaner (with CCEnhancer) and System Ninja for optimal file cleaning.

READ MORE - System Ninja

MyDefrag

MyDefrag is an advanced free disk defragmentation utility that also comes with a defragmentation screensaver and scheduled defragmentation jobs. Keeping your files defragmented is important because it can speed up your system.

If you are unfamiliar with defragmentation, here is a quick explanation. Files take up disk space. The bigger the file size, the more disk space is needed. Files are written as chains or blocks of data. Ideally, the blocks of data are to follow up right next to each other on the disk in a continuous sequence. The harddisk head only has to move to the start of the file and keep reading until the end of the file is reached. However in a fragmented state, the file is divided in pieces on the disk, so the harddisk head has to move to the start of the file, then move to the next piece somewhere else on the disk, then move to again somewhere else, etc�That is why some harddisks make crunching sounds when reading files. Defragmenting puts all those pieces of file together into one long block, thus the harddisk head does not have to �travel� a lot to read the entire file and thus save time and thus read the complete file faster.

READ MORE - MyDefrag

System Monitoring Gadgets

If you are looking for a nice set of system monitoring gadgets then perhaps you might want to check out the �addgadget� website. The �All CPU meter�, �Network Meter� and �Drives Meter� complement each other and give you a great deal of information on what your system is doing. If your computer is slow in response, simply check the CPU, Network and Drives monitor to see what the computer is currently doing. The CPU meter can also show a logo of your processor.

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VirusTotal (Firefox Plugin and Uploader)

The VT Firefox Plugin and VT Uploader can help you scan any file (online) for possible infections. The scan is performed by dozens of antimalware scanners simultaneously.

The VT Uploader adds a right-click functionality into your Windows shell. By right-clicking on any file and selecting �send-to VirusTotal Uploader�, you can send the file to the VT server for analysis. It will first create a �hash� code of the file to check with it�s online database of scanned files to see if someone else has already scanned the exact same file, so that it does not need to re-upload the same file again. Thus you can get the result faster rather than wait for the upload and analysis to complete. If the file was not seen before, then it will be uploaded and analyzed.

The VT Firefox plugin allows you to scan any web page for malicious code and scan any downloadable file before you download it. By clicking a file to download you select �Scan with VirusTotal� instead of �save� or �run�.

READ MORE - VirusTotal (Firefox Plugin and Uploader)

eBoostr

eBoostr started out as a Vista�s readyBoost for Windows XP, but in time (now at version 4) got lots of improvements. I am using this program myself and I must say that it works really well. The free version allows you to use the program for the first two hours or so. For purchase it comes in 4 flavors ranging from $20 up to $40. The price might sound high, but compared to the speed you get in return (that is if you use proper high-speed USB drives and SSD cards), it is well worth it!

READ MORE - eBoostr

VReveal

VReveal is a program (free with limitations) that makes it very easy for you to create professional looking footage. It has a set of one-click video optimizing filters such as resolution doubling, sharpening, video stabilizing and more. The free version adds a few seconds of the VReveal logo on the lower-right corner and some features are not available (double resolution, HD export, and more�). The free version allows you to stabilize the video and do some sharpening and auto contrast, good enough for sharing your videos online. However, if you wish to make high quality footage (re-edit your wedding video) for DVD, then you might want to buy the full version as the price is very worth it (compared to the �proffesionals� who can clean up the video for you). I really love the interface too, as it looks modern and simple.

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Tip: Add Favorite Links to file dialogs

Here is how you can edit the Favorite list in the file dialog boxes you get when you open / save a file.

1. Open the explorer by double clicking in �My Computer�.
2. Locate the folder you want to add to the Favorites list.
3. Right-click on the folder and select �send to->Desktop (create shortcut)�
4. Open any program that can open files, for example notepad.
5. Click in file->open from the menu of the program you opened.
6. Right-click on an empty area in the Favorite Links pane (left pane) and select �open favorite links folder�.
7. Drag and drop the link to the folder you created into the favorites folder you just opened.

READ MORE - Tip: Add Favorite Links to file dialogs

FolderIco

FolderIco allows you to set custom folder icons and colors using a right-click menu. This can be very useful if you need to quickly identify a folder because it will be �standing out�. This version is designed for Windows Vista and Windows 7. For Windows XP click here.

Note that if you have Windows7 64-bit, you will have to use the program itself to change the folder instead of the right-click menu.

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Easeus Partition Master

Easeus Partition Master (Home Edition) is a free partition manager. Partitions are sections on your hard disk dedicated to a specific drive letter. For example you can have drive C and E on one and the same physical disc. With Easeus Partition Master you can manage your drives and partitions with ease(us) :)

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Firefox Addon: Firefox Throttle

Firefox Throttle is an addon for Firefox that enables you to slow down your download and upload speed within Firefox. This might not be useful for most users, however it can be very useful for web developers, specially Flash developers. With this you can test your flash preloader as it would appear on the web and simulate a slow internet connection. You can also use it to test how your overall site loads on a slow connection and optimize it.

READ MORE - Firefox Addon: Firefox Throttle

Windows Mobile: ScreenWriter

Screen Writer is a free advanced quick notes application for Windows Mobile. It has some advanced features like reminders, pencil thickness, pencil colors, page colors, plugins, save as bmp, multi-page view and more.

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�Torrent

�Torrent is one of the most popular lightweight torrent downloader that remains running in the background. The interface is pretty clean and easy to use.

READ MORE - �Torrent

GrindStone 2

GrindStone 2 is a free time tracking tool. If you need to track the time you spend on projects, the this is an excellent tool achieve that. It comes with a timer that you can easily pause and start, or let it automatically pause and start again for you. It can detect when you leave your computer due to inactivity and ask when you are back if you want the time you spent off your computer to be added to the project time (if you had a project meeting for example).

READ MORE - GrindStone 2

MyMobiler

MyMobiler is a free application that allows you to control your Windows Mobile device from your PC. It is like a remote desktop connection to your mobile device. Very handy to create and send SMS messages using your keyboard rather than your phone keyboard.

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PicPick

PicPick is an application that can create screenshots. It also comes with other useful features for web developers such as a color picker, color palette, magnifier, pixel ruler, protractor (measuring angles), crosshair and whiteboard. It can also do some basic editing on the screenshots and save it in various popular formats. Best of all is that it is very user friendly with a modern interface and it�s free.

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3RVX

3RVX is a customizable volume control for Windows. Choose the volume indicator type and hotkey combo you like to set the volume up, down or mute. You can also set a key combo to eject the cdrom. Volume step is also customizable. I use this program for two reasons. One is that the Windows volume control that comes with the Intellitype software responds too slow. It takes up to 5 seconds for the volume to display and adjust while 3RVX is instant. Second is that I have a cheap remote control for watching videos from my computer on the tv, but it only changes the volume of the media player and not the main volume that I can only adjust on the keyboard. Using 3RVX I can choose any button on my remote to change the main volume. Also very useful if you like the MAC style volume indicator.

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PocketShield

PocketShield is a Windows Mobile application that can lock your screen and has many useful features. The screenshot above is PocketShield with a Windows Mobile 7 skin. It shows in short your reminders, calls, sms messages, emails, agenda, battery status and voice mail. You can quickly view all these items without unlocking your screen.

Also there are various ways to lock / unlock your screen. The default way is to slide the screen down / up. You can also unlock by removing the stylus (and lock when sheeting the stylus back). Or unlock after rotating your phone or when removing from your pocket (using light sensor).

Other functions include unlocking using a pin code, showing a big photo of the person that is calling you, etc� Skins can be downloaded from the application, so no need for complicated download, copy, install procedures.

The price is about $15, but I got mine for $10 because of a limited time promotion.

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NaviComputer

NaviComputer for Windows Mobile is a free GPS mapping software that can also be used offline. Using the provided software, you can download open source maps for any country and region to your Windows Mobile device. You can select any zoom level and download a map region as a single file. Depending on the zoom level detail, the map can be small (a few Mb) or very big (a few Gb). You can also use NaviComputer online and have the maps downloaded if you have internet on your device. This software is ideal if you are going on vacation and wish to have a map of where you are without paying for internet costs.

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Omarket

Omarket allows you to browse, download and install software for your Windows Mobile device. You can see ratings and reviews on the software, show what software you have downloaded and installed and even allows you to uninstall them. All downloads are free and consist mostly of freeware.

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BurnAware (Free)

BurnAware (Free) is a CD burning tool that can burn CD�s, DVD�s, and blu-ray discs. It supports all the standard features you expect in a CD burner. The interface makes the program easy to use and gives you a handy menu where you can select what you want to burn.

There is also a paid version that offers CD copying, however you can also make an image first and then burn that image will give the same result :)

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Microsoft Image Composite Editor

Microsoft Image Composite Editor is a very handy and free tool from Microsoft. Unlike other panorama composite software, this one automatically stitches the photos for you. You don�t even need to position the photos or set the order. Simply drag and drop the photos to the application, and the rest is done for you. If you have made a 360 degree photo, you can export it as a 3D panorama photo in web format.

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Cheat Engine

Cheat Engine is designed to tamper with the stored values in the memory. This can be useful if you want to cheat in a (online) game. The process is pretty easy. First you select what process or program you want to search in. If it�s an online game, then you select the browser you are running the game in. If it�s a normal game, then simply select the game from the process list. If you know the exact value you are searching for (example 100 for health), then select �exact value� and start a �first scan�. Once you lost some health, enter the new value (example 90) and click on Next Scan. Keep doing this until the result list is reduced to just a few results. Double click on one of the results to send it to the list below and either freeze the number by clicking on the checkbox, or enter a new value by double clicking on it in the list below. All too complicated? Don�t worry, there is a tutorial included.

If you do not know what number to search for, but you do know when that number increases, decreases or remains the same, then start the first scan with �unknown initial value� and afterwards select �decreased value� or �increased value� or �unchanged�.

Another useful feature is the �Enable Speedhack� option. This will attempt to slow down the game and can be useful in games that rely on your speed to get high scores. However it does not always work, but worth a try.

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FireFox Addon: TrashMail.net

TrashMail.net addon for FireFox helps you to easily create a temporary disposable email address. This can be helpful if a specific service requires you to fill in a valid email address and verify it by clicking on the link you receive in the email.
On TrashMail.net you create your own account by entering your real email address. This will be used to forward any email sent to the temporary email address. The temporary email address can be set to self-destruct after a specific amount of days have passed, thus the spammers will not know your real email address.
If you link the addon to your TrashMail account, you will be able to create and manage your temporary email addresses with a few clicks.

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