Monthly Disk August 2008

Freeware

Display Tuner provides convenient access to the monitor settings, such as brightness, contrast, colour settings or geometry.In addition, if your monitor also has speakers or a microphone, this application will allow you to adjust their volume easily.

You can define several profiles with different colour settings (for example, "Films", "Text", "Games") and Display Tuner will allow you to easily change the colour settings, just press a hotkey! There is no need to use the OSD of the monitor anymore, Display Tuner is a much more convenient tool!

Display Tuner supports all monitors whose settings can be changed from Windows. It supports almost all video cards: nVidia, ATI, Intel, S3, SiS, Matrox, etc.

IsMyLcdOK - Ver: 1.0
IsMyLcdOK is a small program but effective solution to easily check for dead/paralysed/stuck pixels on LCD monitors.

IsMyLcdOK does not have to be installed and can be executed easily from the desktop, and can be carried on a small USB stick or other memory device.

OneLoupe - Ver: 1.01
Simple and easy to use, the small Magnifier is always ready when you need it to view fine details.

OneLoupe is very practical and user-friendly. And it is virtually no burden on the system, an installation is not required. Once placed on the desktop, it is always ready for use.
Adjustable zoom range, and the zoom factor allow adaptation to the needs of the user. This will of course be saved for the next start of OneLoupe with your favourite settings.

Getting colour pixels from your desktop screen is also implemented, and it offers the possibility for the quick creation of images from the zoom range, for comfortable work over the clipboard.

It is also suitable for people with visual impairments or weak eyes.
The control of the zoom window is done through direct input of the keyboard and mouse motions.

Sib Icon Editor - Ver: 4.0
There are various ways you can personalise and spruce up your copy of Windows. You can change your desktop background, the window colour scheme , add a few gadgets and more.

However, you can go far further than this. For instance, you can install a third-party theme or customise and change the icons on your desktop. Either find and download icons provided by icon artists, or design your own.

Creating your own icon is relatively easy. It’s made easier if you can source an image or an existing icon that you wish to edit or enhance. To do this, you need a specialist icon editor and one that enables you to produce icons for Vista.

Sib Icon Editor is an ex-commercial editor that has now gone freeware. You can use this to design high-quality icons, with transparency, 32-bit colour depth icons for Vista and more.

Digital Imaging

Drag and Drop mouse operation is well supported.

Features:-

• Convert and Rename images in batch mode
• Support JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF and JPEG2000
• Resize, crop, change colour depth, apply colour effects, add text, watermark and border effects
• Rename images with sequential number
• Support folder/non-folder structure
• Load and save settings
• And much more...

It uses the GTK+ toolkit (version 1 or 2) and runs on PC's via the GNU/Linux or Windows operating systems. Because of its simplicity it can also run on older PC hardware (e.g. a 200MHz CPU and 32MB of RAM).

Games

Home/Office

This software allows you to customise the duration of your work time and length of breaks.

During the break you may exercise your eyes, look away or look at distant objects either inside or outside, take a stroll outside away from your computer.

Frostbow Home Inventory Lite - Ver: 5.0.2
This program provides a free and easy way to start cataloging, organising, and tracking all the details of your household possessions. But getting the data in is only half the battle! This program also allows you to create reports with details on each item, including photos, for your own records, or to share with your insurance agent. The Lite version is file compatible with Frostbow Home Inventory 5 Pro so the transition is seamless if you decide to upgrade to the additional features found in the Pro version.

Twenty-three separate fields for inputting descriptive data on each item in your home inventory, including: item name, manufacturer, model/style, serial number, engraved or not engraved, insured or not insured, category, location, status, condition, date acquired, purchased from, warranty, cost each, quantity, total cost, current value, total value, heir, two images, description, and comments.

You can store multiple image files for each item in your inventory

Description and comments fields for adding additional identifying or descriptive data.

Easy to use search, sort, and filter tools.

Supports using multiple inventory files and provides backup and restore functionality.

Generates and prints 12 pre-defined reports you can use to track your possessions and provide a listing of your household effects for your home insurance company. Also includes two blank data entry forms.

Reports can be exported as portable document file (PDF) files for use with Adobe Acrobat™, or other free PDF readers.

Generates and prints 16 different charts for viewing summary statistics about your collection. Choose from horizontal bar charts, vertical bar charts, or pie charts.

Global Weather 3D - Ver: 1.5
Global Weather 3D gives you the possibility to explore the entire world's weather using a very realistic 3D globe.

Not only are there a range of competitive commercial office suites, such as Sun Star Office, Ashampoo Office and Ability Office, there are free equivalents, such as Open Office and the most recent release from IBM, Lotus Symphony.

Lotus Symphony ships with three modules: Documents, Presentations and Spreadsheets, which means you’ll be able to write documents, produce presentations and calculate your basic finances. Although Symphony supports and pro-actively encourages you to use the new Open Document Format (ODF), all modules enable you to read and write to Microsoft Office documents.

The user-interface is a departure from the normal Office 2003 format you find across most Office suites (as they can’t use the new Office 2007 ribbon interface). It’s somewhere between the two and is certainly fairly easy to use.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats
By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007.

The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats.

Natural Healing Introduction - Ver: 2.2
Natural Healing Introduction lists and describes alternative medicine therapies such as:

Aromatherapy, Acupuncture, Autogenic Training, Ayurveda, Biofeedback, Chiropractic Treatment, Colour Therapy, Herbs, Herbal Remedies, Homeopathy, Hydrotherapy, Hypnosis, Massage, Magnetic Fields, Meditation, Nutrition, Sound Therapy, Therapeutic Touch, Tissue Salts, Visualization, and Yoga. The opening page gives a quick overview of the available articles which can be opened by clicking on the corresponding button.

Natural Healing Introduction adds samples - like the Herbal First Aid Kit - and interactive pages - like the Tridosha Self-Test. Included with each page of this educational software are pictures and photos as well as listings of useful applications for each particular therapy.

Internet

CitrixWire is a multi-platform Gnutella client with features like auto-connect, browse host, multiple search, upload throttling, connection quality control, library management and sophisticated filtering. It is built for the both the beginner and advanced user.

CitrixWire is an excellent tool that enables you to easily trace those hard-to-find files on the Internet. It operates on the Gnutella file-sharing protocol and returns tens, hundreds, even thousands of hits in heart beat. The friendly tabbed interface lets you monitor upload/download activity, add and remove remote hosts, and connect to remote hosts based on content, connection speed, or locale.

NOTE: The program will try and install the P2P Energy torrent toolbar. If you do not want this, please remove the tick from the relevant box.

Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D - Ver: 2.5 Beta
Virtual Earth 3D brings you another step closer to knowing "what it is like out there".

You can easily browse, search and organise local information viewed in three dimensions, just the way it exists in the real world.

This enables you to more effectively find the data that is relevant to you, making Live Maps more useful than ever. Even better - it's just plain fun!

Virtual Earth 3D doesn't support the 64-bit version of Windows Internet Explorer. If you are running a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows, use the 32-bit version of Windows Internet Explorer to view 3D maps.

PicLens for Internet Explorer - Ver: 1.7.0.3459
PicLens instantly transforms your browser into a full-screen, 3D experience for viewing photos and videos on the Web.

• fast performance;
• an elegant user interface,
• easy bookmarks,
• pop-up Blocking,
• inline find, tabbed browsing,
• SnapBack,
• automatic form filling,
• built-in RSS,
• resizable text fields,
• private browsing,
• and security.
  

SelectView Filter blocks In-Page ads, which pop-up blockers can not do. It's another layer of protection to improve your online experience. Version 2.2 adds more aggressive JavaScript blocking and additional element blocking.

The following is a review from Download.com:-

This Internet Explorer add-on is a great tool for removing all the ad clutter while browsing the Web.

SelectView Filter consists of a simple shortcut icon that fits snugly on your toolbar. There's a tabbed Preference menu with checkboxes for choosing the kinds of ads you want to filter, and it works on all kinds, from flash ads to banners. The white list lets you add URL's for sites that you don't want filtered. You can also allow ads on the fly for entire sites or single pages with the shortcut icon. The Help menu is just an FAQ page on the publisher's site, but using SelectView Filter is very easy. As simple as the program is, it packed a powerful punch and worked great for us. When activated, it blocked pop-up and banner ads, and our pages loaded faster. We thought for sure that the filtered ads would leave gaping holes in the site, but instead, the information below the ad was bumped up to fill in the ad space without messing with the overall site design.

We highly recommend this free program for anyone tired of weeding through ad clutter while browsing the Web.

• IP Calculator
• IP converter
• IP Scanner
• Netstats
• Ping
• Port listener
• Scan
• Resolve host
• Tcp\IP configuration
• Trace route
• Who is

It is dedicated for video download, finding all kind of files like MPEG, AVI, WMV, and MOV. Using the most recent p2p technology you will obtain excellent results by speed and by the number of search results.

Multi Media

Songbird is committed to playing the music you want, from the sites you want, on the devices you want, challenging the conventions of discovery, purchase, consumption and organisation of music on the Internet.

Songbird is a player and a platform. Like Firefox, Songbird is an open source, Open Web project built on the Mozilla platform. Songbird provides a public playground for Web media mash-ups by providing developers with both desktop and Web API's, developer resources and fostering Open Web media standards, to wit, an Open Media Web.

Vuze - Ver: 3.1.0.0
Vuze is an online entertainment platform that allows you to watch, publish and share original DVD & HD quality video.

You can discover high-quality entertainment by browsing through channels and categories containing thousands of TV shows, music videos, movies, video games and more. And if you'd like to publish your original content, you can monetise it the way you want and maintain complete control and flexibility.

Version 3.1.0.0 is the first version that features the name changed from Azureus to Vuze, and introduces social networking to the client.

NOTE: The installation program will ask if you want to change your home page and if it can install the Vuze toolbar. If you do not want this to happen, please remove the ticks from the relevant boxes.

Security

The erased information will hold secure even if special methods are used to sense weak magnetic information off your hard disk surface!

Free Wipe Wizard is fully functional and free of charge. The tool takes care of your files in a simple and efficient manner. Just run the tool, select a file to delete and click "Delete File" to wipe off its content forever. No data recovery tool can ever restore the contents of your file - guaranteed!

Free Wipe Wizard is based on a cryptographically strong open-source code, and is distributed with GNU General Public License.

Drag and Drop support from Windows is supported and direct access to the
processes running is also available. Password protection will prevent changes being made when others use your computer and a full set of extra options is also available (start with windows, loading options, etc). fsLock has an easy to understand inter-face that blends easily with Windows and makes you feel more at home, while making sure that all of the main options are easy to access, while offering a full logging system that allows you to track every event that happens while the program is open.

Executables (EXE) and Dynamic Link Library (DLL) files can be used, but support can be turned off if you feel this support is not needed. Full support for multiple lists in ‘Secure Files’ allows you to create several lists to be used at different times, while full support for spawning a new instance of fsLock is also supported.

• hidden processes
• hidden services
• hidden files
• hidden registry keys
• hidden drivers
• drivers hooking SSDT
• drivers hooking IDT
• drivers hooking IRP calls

GMER also allows you to monitor the following system functions:

• processes creating
• drivers loading
• libraries loading
• file functions
• registry entries
• TCP/IP connections

It achieves this by disabling the CLSIDs of popular spyware ActiveX controls, and also prevents the installation of any of them via a webpage.

This allows you to run Internet Explorer with Active-X enabled, but it will never download or even prompt you for any of the known ActiveX controls. All other Active-X controls or plug-ins will work fine.

The SpywareBlaster database contains information on these known spyware Active-X controls and can be updated with the click of a button.

The application windows displays a list of all controls that it is able to detect (this is not a list of what was found on your computer). SpywareBlaster cannot detect if you have any of the known objects already installed, but if you do, they will be disabled.

Utilities

Disk read errors may be the first typical sign of the possible disk failure. Ariolic Disk Scanner makes a raw sector read check of the hard drive and shows the result as a picture of your disk, where the good and bad clusters marked, so you can see the status of your disk at a glance.

Features:

• Ariolic Disk Scanner does not require a setup - it's portable. Run it directly from CD or a Flash drive.
• See the check result at a glance
• Works with hard drives, flash disks, CD, floppy
• Nice and simple user interface
• and many more...

And while opting for third-party help sounds like a simpler solution, it can still involve days spent looking for tweaking tools that actually work as you'd like, rather than being scams or a delivery mechanism for adware.

Fortunately, there is a better way. Install Ashampoo WinOptimiser 4 and you'll find a host of different PC maintenance functions crammed into the same simple, easy-to-use program.

Choose the Cleaning Tools section, for instance, and you'll find a tool to free up hard drive space by locating and deleting redundant files. The Registry Cleaner removes orphaned Registry entries left over by long-removed applications, while the Internet Cleaner maintains your privacy by clearing your browser tracks.

The Tuning Tools section includes modules to manage your Windows startup programs, optimise your Internet connection, access common Windows tools, and more.

Click File Tools and you'll find options to split, join, encrypt or securely wipe files. And then there's the DiskSpace Explorer, which produces reports to show exactly where all that hard drive space has gone.

The Tweaking Tools section completes the set, with a Tweaking module that delivers easy access to more than 100 useful Windows settings. And if you're a little bored with the regular look of Windows, then look no further than the Visual Styler. In a few clicks you can replace standard Windows icons with your own, create a transparent taskbar, or apply various other special effects.

SERIAL CODE

Still dreaming of your own personal robot? Technology isn't there yet, but you can have a personal computer robot to save you time and serve your whims. Find and Run Robot - FARR for short - comes with a large stock of simple commands, and you can create your own or plug in add-ons as you go.

Once installed, FARR shows a blue F icon on your image tray. You can access the program from there, but it's easier to use the default (and otherwise not-too-useful) Break key. Start typing the name of the program, folder, or file you want in the text field. FARR works very quickly to pull up the best matches. To open the first entry in the list, just hit return. For another one, scroll down and select. But launching programs and opening files are just the tip of the iceberg.

FARR works with "aliases," short phrases that access other programs and parts of the computer. Want to run a command without opening a prompt? Type "run" and the command name into FARR, and it happens. Looking for the real meaning of the word "mensch"? Type "define mensch," and you get access to fifteen online dictionaries and thesauruses. Wondering what the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is doing these days? Type "imdb buffy," and there you are at an appropriate IMDB page. (These are just examples; interest in bloodsuckers or Yiddish are not required to appreciate this program.) FARR comes with many more aliases, and you can create your own by drag-and-dropping folders in the Options window.

Another benefit of FARR - one that makes it different from SlickRun and other favourites - is that it comes from a developer at donationcoder.com, an active site for software developers. The forums there are lively, but not too busy to keep up with. Browse through the Farr Add-ons forum to unearth old standby plug-ins and discover new ones just as they post. (Hint: Scroll down each page to make sure you're getting the latest version.) Signing up at the site gets you posting privileges, where you can ask questions or make requests for new add-ons.

NOTE: This program is donationware. It is free to try, but the author accepts and encourages donations towards further development.

Glary Registry Repair - Ver: 2.8
Glarysoft Registry Repair is an advanced registry cleaner for Windows that allows you to safely scan, clean, and repair registry problems.

Problems with the Windows registry are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. Glarysoft Registry Repair allows you to fix your registry and optimise your PC's performance with a few simple mouse clicks.

Good Timing - Ver: 1.9
Good Timing is an intuitive alarm clock program. It can sound an alarm at a particular time or in a specific amount of time.

HotKeyMan - Ver: 01.0
Ever wanted to setup personal shortcuts for often used tasks to be globally available in all open programs? With this small freeware program you can do just that.

It is easy to set up the program for your personal needs. A simple guide will help you setup the initial hotkey settings the first time the program is started. After that, the hotkeys can be used all over Windows.

You can setup hotkeys to manipulate window state, close a running application, open a document, save screen capture to file, exit Windows or send keystrokes to the active window.

Selected features:-

• Maximise / Minimise active window
• Close active window
• Open a file or run an application
• Grab screen capture of active window or the whole screen
• Turn off computer or log off Windows
• Send keystrokes to the active program

Java software in general and the Java JRE in particular allow you to run applications called ‘applets’ that are written in the Java programming language. You probably have Java JRE installed on your computer because these applets allow you to play online games, chat with people around the world, calculate your mortgage interest, view images in 3D, as well as many others.

Java and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

NOTE: Beta or prerelease software is not intended for inexperienced users, as the software may contain bugs or may potentially damage your system. We strongly recommend that users exercise caution and save all mission-critical data before installing or using this software.

It is a feature of the Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE) technology that controls access to the hard drive. If S.M.A.R.T is enabled when a computer is set up, the BIOS can receive analytical information from the hard drive and determine whether to send the user a warning message about possible future failure of the hard drive.

SMART monitors elements of possible long term drive failure, such as 'Spin Up Time', the number of start/stops, the number of hours powered on and the hard disk temperature.

DiskCheckup displays the current values of the SMART attributes, along with the Threshold value for that attribute. If any attribute value is close to or below the threshold, the drive is no longer reliable and should be replaced.

Note that SMART attributes change slowly over time and are helpful attempts to diagnose the life span of a particular drive. DiskCheckup monitors these changes over a long period and predict the date (if available) of the Threshold Exceed Condition (TEC), which is displayed on the main window.

DiskCheckup also displays some additional drive information, such as the drive serial number, model number, firmware version, device capacity, partition capacities, the number of cylinders, tracks, the sectors per track, etc...

PC Health Optimiser Free Edition - Ver: 2.5
PC Health Optimiser Free Edition offers a dozen maintenance tools that can help you improve overall system performance and security.

It can find and fix a range of problems related to hard disks, memory, registry and more. The program also includes a file shredder for secure file deletion, a privacy cleaner and a spyware cleaner with real-time protection. Other features include email backup and a file splitter.

ProcessActivityView - Ver: 1.01
ProcessActivityView creates a summary of all files and folders that the selected process tries to access.

For each file that the process access, the following information is displayed: Number of times that the file was opened and closed, number of read/write calls, total number of read/write bytes, the dll that made the last open-file call, and more...
ProcessActivityView doesn't require any installation process or additional dll files. In order to start using it, simply run the executable file - ProcessActivityView.exe

After running it, select the process that you want to inspect, and click Ok. After clicking Ok, ProcessActivityView will start to display the information about any file that is opened by the selected process.
After you select a process, ProcessActivityView inject a special helper dll (ProcessActivityViewHelper.dll) into the selected process. This dll intercepts the internal file I/O API of Windows, and sends the information back to ProcessActivityView utility.

Only then we realise that we deleted an important work file that we were temporarily storing on the desktop whilst we were making important changes.

Files sent to the Recycle Bin and then emptied through the Recycle Bin are far from lost. Indeed, if those files were only deleted a few days or even weeks ago, there’s a very good chance that they can be recovered in full. Files sent to Recycle Bin aren’t really deleted from your system. Windows is told that it can write files to the location where they were stored – eventually the old file data will be overwritten and recovery will be difficult, but in the short term your files are recoverable.

However, you need recovery software. Recuva is a tool that will enable you recover files that you’ve accidentally deleted in the past, particularly those that you sent to the Recycle Bin and then later emptied from the bin. You can also use Recuva to attempt to salvage photos deleted from your digital camera memory cards, songs from MP3 players and much more.

Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store, manage, retrieve and view files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to regularly get copies of files from another location to add to primary location; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping track of whether the locations are synchronised in their heads. Other users may use two or more applications to provide this functionality.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows, is an easy to use, highly customisable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronisation of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customisation is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronised folder.

NOTE: Beta or prerelease software is not intended for inexperienced users, as the software may contain bugs or may potentially damage your system. We strongly recommend that users exercise caution and save all mission-critical data before installing or using this software.

Yadis! - Ver: 1.9.3.30
Yadis! is a free and simple backup application that protects your private information within minutes. It's intuitive design will guide you through a few steps, and before you know it, your personal data is brought in safety.

When you use a backup-tool, it's often a hard job to learn to know all of the features. And when you've finally managed to understand every possibility of that tool, you realize it's not just that what you wanted.

That's why we've created Yadis! Backup. Take a look around and discover all of it's advantages...

It's small
It's easy to use
You can decide what to backup
It copies one on one your files to almost any destination you want
You don't need Yadis! Backup to access the backed-up files
The marked folders are backed-up real-time (no scheduling needed!). You make a change? Yadis! Backup makes a backup
When your backup destination isn't available, Yadis! remembers the changes you have made. Whenever the location becomes available Yadis! starts backing up the changes.

ZenKEY lets you control your computer via keystrokes and menus that are available in all applications. You can set up hotkeys and macros to run programs, perform management tasks, switch windows, and whatever else you can dream up. You can customize ZenKEY's menus to add programs, documents, and tasks for easy access. This program is so complex, it's important to spend some quality time with the comprehensive Help system before diving in.

Essentially, ZenKEY is whatever you make of it. The default Desktop Map is plain black with colored squares showing open windows; click on a square to bring that window to the foreground. However, you can customize the Desktop Map with graphics and applets galore and maximize it to overlay the Windows GUI. The powerful ZenKEY configuration manager lets you tweak program settings, and an always-on-top icon gives you one-click access to that tool and to ZenKEY menus from any application.

This open-source program is released under the revised BSD License. The source code is available on the author's Web site, as is an interesting configuration called "Samurize" that looks like it would be fun to try.

NOTE: ZenKEY is probably best for power users who are willing to commit the substantial amount of time needed to customize the program, and who will benefit from its amazing capabilities.

Video