BOOT CAMP 544 (30/09/08)
Freeware Top Tens part 8, Odds & Ends
It’s
time to wind up our guided tour of the best free software money can’t buy. This
week’s offerings are the odds and ends, programs and utilities that have been
difficult to categorise or were left out of earlier episodes through lack of
space.
For
the last time I have to remind you we cannot answer any technical queries and
if you use any of these programs, upon your own head be it. If you like what you
find please pay the licence fee, or, if asked, make a small donation. As well
as giving you a clear conscience, you’ll be cocking a snoot at the big boys and
helping this small but vital corner of the computer industry to thrive.
BitMeter II, XP
& Vista, 1.2Mb
http://tinyurl.com/6hzdhq
There
are plenty of bandwidth meters around but BitMeter is different. Data flowing
in and out of your PC is displayed as colourful graphs. It shows you what’s
happening, both in real time and over longer periods and there are some useful
extras, like an alarm, to warn you in case you have a set monthly download
limit. It also has a built-in stopwatch, a calculator and you can even monitor
your Internet usage remotely, using its web-server facility. Fun to watch even
if you don’t have to keep tabs on your web usage.
BricoPack Vista Inspirat Ultimate 2, XP, 27.6Mb, http://tinyurl.com/q639x
Here’s
something for all those of you who quite like the look of Windows Vista but
don’t want to take the plunge just yet. BricoPack Vista is a collection of
visual themes, icons, sounds and tweaks that can make your XP computer look,
and to some extent, behave like a Vista PC. You decide how far to go depending
on your PC’s spec and the features you want, like 3D flip, Thumbnail Preview
and Aeroglass and for good measure it also comes with a Mac-like ‘docking bar’.
BurnAware, XP &
Vista, 7.0Mb
http://tinyurl.com/65marr
CD and
DVD disc burning can be a tricky business but not with BurnAware Free. It’s
easy to use and has everything you need to burn data, audio and video discs. No
fuss or gimmicks and as an added bonus it also handles the new generation Blu-Ray
discs.
Darik’s Boot and Nuke, XP
& Vista, 1.6/2.0Mb, http://tinyurl.com/6hxqlw
This
aptly named utility is the ultimate disc wiper. Load it onto a floppy, CD or
USB drive and use it to boot your PC and it quickly deletes all of the data on
the hard drive, rendering it unrecoverable by any normal means. Invaluable if
you are about to sell your PC and worried about any sensitive data it may
contain, also handy for those working in the PC industry who need to process
large numbers of second-hand computers.
Natural Word, XP &
Vista, 38Mb
http://tinyurl.com/684utk
Microsoft Word is without doubt the world’s
most popular word processor but it can be a nightmare for newcomers and casual
users. NaturalWord tames the beast. Rather than hunting around the menus, when
you want it to do something, press a simple keyboard shortcut, highlight a word
or sentence and type in what you want it to do, like ‘make 14pt’, or ‘make
red’. There’s no need to memorise commands, it will try and understand your
request, even if you don’t know the exact words, and most of the time it gets
it right.
Personal Task Manager, XP
& Vista, 270kb, http://tinyurl.com/5mlxju
So,
what have you been up to today? If you don’t know, or simply want to keep track
of how much time you are spending on certain jobs then Personal Task Manager
can help. Throughout the day it monitors what you and your PC have been doing
and when you need updating it produces logs and summaries so you can make more
effective use of your time.
Rainbow Folders, XP &
Vista, 783kb, http://tinyurl.com/58nf86
Windows
Explorer shows you the files and folders on your PC but it’s not very helpful
when it comes to identifying the different categories of data. That’s where
Rainbow Folders comes in, it’s a simple little utility that lets you
colour-code your folders. For example, you could paint all your picture folders
blue, documents red, music green, and so on. You can also protect coloured
folders and if you or anyone tries to change one it temporarily halts the
action displays a warning message.
WinAudit. XP & Vista, 830kb
http://tinyurl.com/olgkv
Everything you ever wanted to know about your
computer and much more besides will be revealed when you run WinAudit. You
don’t even have to install it; it runs directly from a USB drive or floppy. The
amount of detail it digs up is impressive, everything from the time your PC was
switched on and how long it is since you changed your logon password to the
make, model and serial number of your hard disc drives.
WinPatrol, XP & Vista, 706kb
http://tinyurl.com/aphn
WinPatrol is like having a friendly IT tech
keep an eye on your PC. It checks the programs that launch with Windows,
monitors critical system resources, warns you about any attempts to install
malicious software or hijack your browser and generally keeps you up to date
about what is going on behind the scenes.
XnView Shell Extension, XP & Vista, 4.9Mb, http://tinyurl.com/2q9nye
XnView is a Shell Extension that turbocharges
the right-click or ‘context’ menu in Windows Explorer when handling image
files. In addition to all of the usual options it adds a raft of new functions
that includes file information and a thumbnail preview of the selected image.
There’s a one-click option to convert the file into .gif, .bmp, .jpeg, .pcx, .png.
.tiff or .tga format, set it as wallpaper, save it to the Clipboard and much
more.
Next Week – Mobile Broadband
JARGON FILTER
3D FLIP
Eye-catching
feature in Windows Vista that displays and steps through open applications as a
series of cascading windows
BLU-RAY
Recently
introduced optical disc format with 50Gb capacity -- 6 to 10 times more than
DVD -- used principally for high-definition video but also capable of storing
data
SHELL EXTENSION
A program or
component incorporated into Windows Explorer (the Windows
'shell'), usually accessed from a right-click menu'
TOP TIP -- BONUS UTILITY
LittleFox, XP & Vista, 200kb, http://tinyurl.com/2tumro
LittleFox is a Firefox
theme that’s perfect for anyone using a notebook or sub notebook with a small
cramped screen. It shrinks the icons, menus and toolbars so they take up less
valuable screen space, leaving more room for web pages. Easy to install, and it
has no impact on performance.
Don't forget, there's a
full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.pctoptips.co.uk
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© R. Maybury 2008, 1009
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