Windows Live Messenger (formerly known as MSN Messenger, colloquially MSN) is one of the most popular free IM clients, and since July 22, 1999 when it was first released it's been going through severe improvements year after year, and version after version. However, this is the first time Windows Live Messenger brings a really interesting set of novelties starting with the year as a version number, but changes and novelties go far beyond nomenclature issues. Not only there are external and aesthetic enhancements but also in terms of features, possibilities and functionality.

This brand new Live Messenger 2009 was launched by Microsoft not alone but as a part of the general renovation of Live applications. Unlike older version 8 which went through so many phases in several attempts to clean its appearance: minimalist, modern, lite, and not only did never get to fit but also presented many incongruities, in my opinion, the novelties brought by version 2009 are various and make of it a much more solid IM client. Today we are going to go through them in this article, which is the result of having personally tested this version on Windows 7. Read the rest of this entry »

Standalone Flash Player 1.2
License - Freeware
Publisher - StandaloneFlashPlayer.com

Standalone Flash Player is a FREE stand-alone Flash player, it can play all Flash format files, include ShockWave Flash (.swf) and Flash Video (.flv), it can detect the installed Adobe Flash Player, if there have no Flash installed, it can automatically install all needs files to play Adobe Flash on your, it is one small and smart tool, all the best, it is one absolutely freeware for any private use.

Main Features
1 - Absolutely free
2 - Support plays ShockWave Flash (.swf)
3 - Support plays Flash Video (.flv)
4 - No need install Macromedia Flash Player
5 - Stand-alone software
6 - Support full screen mode
7 - Small, simple and easy to use 



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A Live CD is an autonomous operating system (usually accompanied by a set of applications) stored on a removable media, traditionally a CD (hence its name), which can boot from it without the need of installing anything on the hard drive. Live CDs enable users to be productive through the use of the RAM memory as a virtual disk and its own media as the files system, so there is no need to access or make changes on the computer's HDD, although some preferences can be saved if desired.

So, since PC RAM grew large enough and CD-RW speed reached such a level to make it possible to run the kernel, the use of Live CDs' gained popularity among PC owners. It is a very common characteristic that they include capabilities such as running a window manager and GUI applications directly from a CD device without causing any trouble on the already installed operative system. Nevertheless, Live CDs may also include tools that let you install some software on your hard drive.

There are so many similar Live CDs available making it very difficult to narrow the search down to the only five candidates, however, I'm going to tell you about what in my opinion are the five most popular Live CDs, their features and functionalities.

Knoppix
Knoppix is a Debian-based GNU/Linux Live CD which uses KDE by default but in the boot menu you can specify the type of graphical interface you want to use (Gnome, IceWM, etc..). It is developed by the GNU/Linux consultant Klaus Knopp. It consists of an extensive bundle of GNU/Linux programs, it brings automatic hardware detection, including graphics and sound cards, SCSI, USB and other peripheral devices support. Knoppix offers a desktop Linux system and can be used as a production environment, an educational CD, a system rescue tool. Additionally it can be adapted for its use as a platform for commercial software demos or trial versions.

Of course, you do not need to install a single bit on your HDDs. This solid Live CD performs on-the-fly decompression, Knoppix uses cloop module to run from a compressed image, recorded on the CD-ROM, so in a single CD you are able to handle up to 2GB of executable software, being over 8GB for the "Maxi" edition which is available for DVD.

Knoppix can be used in different ways:
• To show GNU/Linux system in an easy and fast way, especially as operative system.
• Quickly try hardware compatibility under Linux before you buy or use, especially for graphic cards.
• Use the tools included to restore a corrupted or lost data.
• Run a firewall or router.
• Bootstrapping a Debian installation.

You can freely download Knoppix Live CD from here. Read the rest of this entry »

Incollector 1.2
License - Freeware
Publisher - Marcin Krzywonos

Incollector is an application to collect various kinds of information (like notes, conversation logs, quotes, serial numbers, source code, web addresses, words). All the entries can be tagged, so you can find them very easily. There are also search folders which allows you to search for entries by specified criteria. You can also export (and import, of course) entries to an external file.

Incollector has a very simple, intuitive graphical user interface, so you can start being productive with it right away. All the information you put into Incollector is easy to find again, too. Entries can have a "type", like "note", "source code sample", "serial number", etc, and they can be tagged as well, making searching and browsing a snap.

It's easy to share entries with friends and make backups in IC using the built-in importing and exporting features. Search folders are available in IC also, similar to what you may already be using in Evolution or Outlook. Search folders let you create a "saved search", making frequent identical searches painless.



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We all care about our system's performance and stability. We clean our Recycle Bin on the Desktop, uninstall unnecessary programs and delete useless files for the hard drive. But there are places that are hidden from our eyes, like temporary files folder. People don't realize that Windows gathers there ninety percent of all junk that ever reaches our hard drive. Installer files, unzipped temp files, some backup installers, etc. Lately I have had about 2.5 GB of useless files there, and I wouldn't know because I simply forgot about some self-extracting installers that I was using the other day. Fortunately for me I have discovered very good tool to take care of your computer. Say hello to Advanced SystemCare 3 Personal.

This tool makes it very easy to maintain good overall system's performance. Over time we usually forget about weekly maintenance, defrags and other system related tasks that could improve and help keep our system's vitality. Program has been called SystemCare not without a reason - it's a one stop ride for all optimization tasks you may ever imagine. It takes care of the Registry, junk files, temporary files, recently open files list, browsers cache, their history, and so on. Upon startup process ASC scans your computer for all these issues and displays the results straight-away. Read the rest of this entry »

AdvertisingCleaner 2.0
License - Commercial
Publisher - ProductsFoundry

Did you know that almost half of the bandwidth used on a regular Internet browsing session is consumed by downloading advertisements? Also, did you know that while you sit in front of your computer and you write confidential emails, documents or you share some information with your friends, in 90% cases, you are spied by a spyware, adware program?  All these went through your system protection and now they run in background.

Key Features
1 - Save your computer's resources
2 - Block spyware, adware applications
3 - Server Name Pop-up's Filter and Blocking
4 - Clear pages of advertisment and banners
5 - Block all new IE windows


 
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Mac Notepad for Mac OS X 6.5
License - Shareware
Publisher - Apimac

Mac Notepad is a Mac OS X note pad program in which you can paste and copy any piece of text you may want to have at hand everyday.
Mac Notepad is designed from the ground up to support the latest Apple technologies and provides everything you need to be more productive in your work with your Mac.
Mac Notepad lets you save and organize any piece of text you may want to have at hand: you can paste it in, drag it from other applications, drop it as a text file from the Finder or, of course, write it yourself.

Recents menu
A handy recents menu will furthermore keep track of the last edited notes.
Notes can be edited at will: different fonts, styles and colors are all available for text inside a note and, if you need it on paper, you can print it too.
Iconized window
Mac Notepad sports the brand new Iconize feature, just a click and your note pad becomes a handy and small window that stays on top of all the other windows so you can find it easily and get again it with a click.
Protecting with a password
The Password check button lets you protect your personal notes with a password. If this option is selected, at the opening of Mac Notepad a password dialog box will be displayed. To gain access to the notes it will be necessary to enter the correct password.
Advanced searching
Mac Notepad gives you two search options.



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Bugs happens, there is no way out… obviously, since Windows 7 is still in its Beta stage and unfortunately, we may expect them to be present and to bother us sooner or later in our testing period. However, they are not really big or significant and of course they will never tarnish its various awesome novelties and virtues and for sure they are going to be nothing but a bad memory when beta testing feedback data is turned into improvements for the final version.

Nevertheless, Windows 7 Beta already brings some options for us to perform some troubleshooting in advance on our own. This is undoubtedly good news, isn't it? Today I'm going to tell you about some tips which are going to help us to avoid some bugs and even prevent rude comments from happening.

Troubleshooting Tool
Included in the Control Panel there is a handy tool called Troubleshooting. To gain access to the wizard you have to click "Find and fix problems" under the "System and Security" category or if you switched view to "View by: Large icons" or "Small icons" is its right there between System and Windows Defender icons. Read the rest of this entry »

echo 2009 1.0.0
License - Freeware
Publisher - Culet Networks Inc

Echo - brand new experience in 2009
Echo is a new way to store and share your files, built on the idea that email can be more intuitive, efficient, and useful… and fun! After all, Echo has:


Fastest Access Your Files Everywhere
Nowadays, the capacity of Email becomes bigger and bigger, how to make it effective? Try using echo, which makes your Email as a free virtual network Drive. With it, you can upload and download files freely and easily, and complete the disintegration from Email to network disk.

Familiar Look and User Friendly Interface
Brand new interface makes you operating and visual experience excellently. If you are familiar with Windows Explorer, you already know how to use Echo to upload, download, search and share your files in moments



Built-in Multimedia Player Support
Listen your favorite stored music directly and view your collections of pictures with thumbnail/sideshow, and manage them as well.

Secure Online Storage and File Sharing
Echo uses your email account to login email server securely, and-ONLY-to it. And you can choose to encrypt your files to keep highest security.

Download echo 2009 NOW! Read the rest of this entry »

In the previous article I promised to share with you some configuration tips I found very useful for Windows 7 Beta. These tips will help us to get the most of it. By now you may be thinking "Humm… You said Windows 7 Beta was ready to go from the very beginning…" I know, you are right, and today's article may seem nonsensical, but in that article I was just talking about basic operative system functioning and the fact that I didn't have to configure anything. As a matter of fact, Windows 7 Beta automatically installed most of the drivers needed for my computer to run smoothly from the first time I booted.

Nevertheless, as we usually do, we want more, the basics are never enough, are they? So, let's see what is there behind Windows 7's curtain for us to start squeezing the real juice. So, now that we've managed to impress bits to metal, our new-born Windows 7 Beta is stable and running and if like me you feel grateful and released because you didn't have to go through the painful process of installing a myriad of drivers for it to happen, we can start our OS tweaking.

Display & Taskbar
As I said that one of the things that most surprised me was that multiple monitors worked so well from the very beginning, so, that is going to be today's start tip.

Lazy Monitors, Let's Work!
As I had an extra monitor lying there with no use, I thought I could make the best of my new graphic card which has support for dual monitors, and bought an adapter that allowed me to plug it in the DVI output:

After connecting it to the port I just checked that monitor resolution was the one I desired among the possibilities my hardware brought, to do that I right-clicked desktop and went to Screen Resolution. There you can choose the display from the list and below you can adjust resolution, orientation and the way it behaves in relation to the others by selecting one multiple display setting such as extend, duplicate or to show only one. Read the rest of this entry »