WebDrive is system utility which allows you to connect to an ftp server and map it to look like a local drive on your PC.  This let's you use any program on your PC that works with local files work with your ftp sites even if they are not internet-enabled.

Wikipedia's History of NAS: http://en.wikipedia.org/w.../Network_Attached_Storage

App Name	Zoho DB & Reports
App URL	http://db.zoho.com

Who is this app designed for: Someone with minimal programming expertise who wishes to create a moderately complex relational database online - although an understanding of relational database tables is probably a good idea.

Intro: FileBoss is a robust and full-featured file manager replacement for Windows.  Some of the features include: multi-pane multi-tabbed file groups allow you to browse your files in many different ways.  Advanced copy features allow you to copy files with robust error recovery so the copy does not fail because one file failed.  FileBoss includes a powerful batch renaming function,
and the ability to touch files and manipulate attributes of many files at the same time.  It has an advanced file find function that allows you to specify search definitions and save the searches in virtual folders that can automatically update when you open FileBoss again.  This is a file manager literally chock-full of tools to let you manipulate files the way that you want to.

InfoLayout is supposed to have all of the features of standard disk cataloging software.  It states that it organizes by disk, but the catalog is easily rearrangeable, categorized, and searchable, even across multiple disks.  Infolayout is supposed to be able to automatically extract information from documents, eBooks, audio and video files. It can generate image thumbnails and video previews, retrieve descriptions, create document snippets, and obtain relevant information from zipped archives...

Wez's Evil Shell is, as the name suggests, a shell replacement for last generation NT-based Windows OS. But don't fear, it's not evil at all (apart from some mysterious crashes that I'll comment later), quite the contrary, as is barely noticeable on your computer, save for a few interface elements.

The story goes that Wez Furlong (self-titled as Dr. Evil), his sole author, and one of the developers of PHP, is a supporter of the idea of virtual desktops, but less-than-good experiences with 3rd party managers, and other shell replacements prompted him to write his own replacement, which gets ideas from various places.

The Evil Shell uses a dock ala OS X pre-Leopard, that does a double task as a launcher and taskbar, apart from having a section to house the system tray and the clock, everything packed in a compact interface. The rest of the shell is accessible via context menus, including the Start Menu, the filesystem and several Windows functions, like the shutdown menu. Plus, it has support for up to 32 workspaces, with various method to switch between apps and workspaces (hotkeys, the dock, a glorified Alt-Tab with thumbnails, and a Expose clone).

App Name	Breakaway Audio Processor for Windows System
App URL	http://www.claessonedwards.com/winmore.htm

Breakaway is an audio processor that runs in WinXP/2K/Vista. It's main function is to enhance whatever comes out of your speakers.  I found it really interesting, because it made my crappy laptop speakers to sound... well, actually, pretty nice.

The website says it all:
   • Multi-band dynamics processing restores spectral balance to your music library.
   • Multiple look-ahead peak limiters provide distortion-free transient control.
   • Makes tunes sound louder and punchier, while bringing out subtleties you never knew existed.
   • Automatically adjusts volume dynamics and spectral balancing.
   • Corrects song-to-song volume shifts and overdriven speakers.

Sebran's ABC is a cute, small (~700kb) edutainment application for small children (4-9 years). It features a few minigames, some cute clipart graphics, and MIDI music (!). Make sure you give your children headphones.

A few screenies:

Linkman - a Bookmark Management Program from Outer Technologies:

Linkman is a standalone or browser independent bookmark organizer and search tool. You enter bookmarks into it and organize them in any way you want. You create folders to organize them in, much like you would create folders in which to organize your files. You can import bookmarks from all the popular browsers and some bookmark organizers.

Linkman really begins to shine though once the bookmarks are entered. First off, Linkman will validate the bookmarks, similar to Martin Aignesberger's AM-Deadlink utility. In addition to making sure the links still work, Linkman will download the description and keywords from the website. This makes it easier to find the link when you are searching if you can't remember the bookmark name.

All bookmarks have a name, path (url), keywords and description (both from website), comment (notes you enter about this bookmark), and six user defined fields, giving you more than enough ways to catalog, organize, and describe your bookmarks. Once your links are set up, you type what you are looking for: either the bookmark name or information in any of the other bookmark fields that you specify. All bookmarks are initially listed, but unrelated ones disappear as you type, leaving only the one(s) that meet your criteria. You then tell Linkman to launch the bookmark(s) and it will open whatever browser you specify and load the bookmark(s).

http://www.rainmakerinc.c...products/spellcatcherplus

Intro:

SpellCatcher Plus: Best I've seen in this category. It delivers on these features GLOBALLY in any application you work with:

- Check your spelling as you type
- Quickly access a  Dictionary and Thesaurus  so you can find just the right word when you need it...
- Helps you to type much faster by expanding shortcuts you've created into phrases.
- Performs checking on text selections that you've already typed.
- Processes text selections including counting the number of words, sentences, capitalizing sentences, removing multiple spaces, search and replace text strings, get statistics, convert case and more.
- spell Catcher is also a multi-lingual tool. It can check your words if you're working in nine different languages.
- Spell Catcher waits in the back ground until you want it, not taking up valuable screen space

I've always been a fan of MediaMonkey (http://www.MediaMonkey.com), but with it's recent version 3 release it's become the most exciting music player out there. MM has been just another one of a half-dozen or so leading players, but the scripts that its latest version is enabling make it top-of-the-heap.

The merits of music players is a frequent topic around here, and the tastes generally run to the utilitarian. This frequently means minimalist, but I wonder if that's because so much of the feature set in today's apps is eye candy and other junk that introduce complexity and bugs. The scripts that I'd like to tell you about really have use, so I hope they escape that criticism.

What to listen to?
My collection is large, so the biggest problem I've got is deciding what to listen to. There are external services to help you put together playlists (MusicIP is a good one), but I don't know of any that's well-integrated. Some folks have written MM scripts that I'd never have though of, but do a great job in building me a list of music to listen to.

Last.FM Node
This plugin builds a "best-of" list for an artist, or find tracks having a given tack, or research related artists, all based on actual Last.FM data. For each of these tasks it submits requests, then searches your own database looking for what you've got on that list.

The most basic operation is the "best-of" for an artist. Simply add a Favorite Artist, and it will get the top tracks for that artist from Last.FM:

But you can do other things with the artist. It's in a tree structure, so you can open up its node to see a list of related artists. In this picture I've opened Dream Theater, and within that, continued to drill down into Symphony X. For each of these artists, you can click on the node to see the "best of".

You can also get lists of top tracks having a given tag. Just add a Favorite Tag node, and click on it to retrieve your list. You can also drill into this to see top musicians having that tag, and repeat the process above to see their best songs.

RocketDock is a dock program, similar to ObjectDock, YZDock, etc.  I have already used previous versions, but now i was about to try it again and thought i could take you on this trip too

Well.. Invariably, in this kind of apps, the first thing we notice is how it looks good. RocketDock makes a great impression in that field, with lots of pre-bundled themes (and possibility of downloading even more from the web).

App Name	FastStone MaxView
App URL	http://www.faststone.org/FSMaxViewDetail.htm

Intro:
This is just the simplest image view ever.

Who is this app designed for:
This app is intended for anyone who has lots of photos, and is looking for a application better suited then the default windows image viewer.

The Good

• Fast: It come up as fast as the default windows viewer (which uses already-loaded windows stuff, AFAIK)
  

In fact, it's even good for writing reviews! This review was written in WikidPad and I hope this demonstrates some of the neat functionality that I think sets WikidPad apart as, what I describe as, a Thought Processor.

One of the things that makes wikidPad different from other notepad type applications is the speed and ease with which you can cross link your information. Links in a wiki are created by typing in WikiWords using CamelCase; cross links can also be created by using keywords.

WikidPad has a choice of database back ends to use and is also portable.

I have a homebuilt spare PC in the bedroom and when it's on it sounds a bit like an airplane (loud).

One of my favorite features of windows that many people don't seem to take advantage of is "Standby Mode", which basically puts your PC into a very low power state, very quickly, that it can very quickly wake up from.  It's a great alternative to shutting down and restarting if you just want to turn your PC off for the night, etc.

BUT

I noticed recently that my PC stopped going into a silent standby mode, for no apparent reason!
What was the cause? How to fix it?

Well, it turns out that there are at least 2 different kinds of Standby modes (S1 and S3) that a PC can go into.  S1 leaves the fans and usb connections on, S3 turns off the fan and usb (this is the quite mode).

And there are several things that can control whether your PC goes into S1 or S3 standby mode.

For me, the answer was to go into the bios and change the bios power setting to "S3 ONLY" mode.

There is also a registry setting that addresses this issue, though it's not clear to me whether you should set this INSTEAD of the bios setting, or in addition to.

For a longer description of related settings see this nice post on the matter: http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/29899.aspx

From your bios you can also do some nice stuff like configure your power button to go in and out of standby mode.  For a spare bedroom PC this is a great setup -- push the button at any time and the PC wakes up or goes to quiet sleep in seconds.

This is a tiny little how-to guide that will show you how to handle cookies in a way that preserves your privacy, but lets you browse the web conveniently, and requires minimal effort on your part.

Cookies are tiny files created on your computer when you visit certain websites.  Most often they are used to enable websites remember who you are.  They are also occasionally used by advertising services to track your behavior across multiple sites [Read more].

For people who are very concerned with their privacy, their are tools that act as watchdogs over all cookies (e.g. CookieCop), and you can configure browsers to block all cookies except those you approve, and get an alert any time a new website tries to add a cookie (firefox extensions).

The main problem with these utilities and addons is simply that they can require too much trouble on your part, approving and rejecting cookies every time you visit a site.  And it may seem like a waste to run one of these tools constantly.

Plus, it's increasingly the case that a site simply requires cookies be enabled in order for you to navigate around the site, so blocking cookies completely while you are on a site is just not going to be an option sometimes.

I've found that the most sensible approach is to use a cleaning utility which allows you to keep a whitelist of cookies you want preserved, and then simply delete all non-whitelisted cookies occasionally.

Create Web 2.0 Images in seconds!


QuickWebCreations (QWC) is a web application that makes Web 2.0 images. You can make logos, banners, buttons, and with a range of options, such as colours, fonts, stripes, gloss, glare, shadows, you name it.

Although PhotoLine has already arrived at version 14, it has remained largely unknown outside its country of origin, Germany.  PhotoLine is an advanced image editor which also packs considerable vector editing and page layout functionalities. Highlights are for example the 16-bit capability throughout the program, LAB  color space and CMYK support, color management,  and extensive options for lossless editing.  Since I am used to do my vector graphics in CorelDraw I never did learn the vector and page layout aspects of PhotoLine and this mini-review is focused on the bitmap- or photo-editing capabilities of PhotoLine. I have been interested in photo enhancement and image editing for a long time, but could never get used to the unwelcoming photoshop user interface.  Thus I have used Paintshop Pro instead for years as it is easily usable without memorizing a multitude of keyboard shortcuts. I did switch to PhotoLine 32 (now named just PhotoLine) a year ago, as it is similarly mouse-friendly but provides several more advanced features.

Arca CookingAction 2005

This is a Recipe, Meal, Grocery List Management app.  It has three main interfaces:
1.  Grocery List
2.  Recipes
3.  Calendar

Grocery List
The Grocery List app allows one to create ingredients, organize them into categories (such as supermarket aisle) and add them to your shopping list.  Categories can be multi-hierarchical.  IMO, It's very intuitive.  

• To find an ingredient, just Ctrl+F and type a string.  F3 to iterate the search to the next match.
• To add an ingredient to the shopping list, just double click it.  To remove one from the shopping list, just double click it when it's in the shopping list.
• To move an item from one category/aisle to another, just drag it to the new category.
• The region on the top is where you display, change, and select grocery list items from your products database . Here are the products listed that belong to the category that is selected in the left region.
• The region on the bottom is where you display, and change the products of your current grocery list .
• The region on the left is where you display, change, and select stores and categories . If you select a category, it's products are listed in the top region.
• Each region has it's own context menu (right mouse click on the region). The same functions are accessible through the normal menus above the tool bar. The menu items are sometimes grayed out if they are not accessible at the current state of the program. If you move the mouse cursor over the tool bar buttons and hold it there, a hint tells you what each button does.

   

Fusemail Information
Website: http://www.fusemail.com

I was initially looking to outsource e-mail for my company's communications. We found Fusemail. Although, we now use our web-hosts mail servers, one of the neat features of the webmail interface of fuse is that you can add POP3, IMAP, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.. all into the same interface, creating rules for that account for messages to go into one folder etc..

authorPOINT Lite is a program designed for converting PowerPoint files to flash files, to be deployed on the web, or  to anyone who does not currently own PowerPoint.

Who is this app designed for:
This application is designed for users who wish to deploy their PowerPoint presentations to the web or want to share their presentations with others (who do not have PowerPoint, or not using a PowerPoint viewer). Also, the Save for web feature in PowerPoint, generates pages that only function correctly in Internet Explorer.


The Good
- Easy to use interface
- Manage all of the converted presentations in one interface (left pane)
- Keeps all animation effects that were applied
- Context menu added in Windows Explorer for PPT files

The needs improvement section
- To find the files to upload to web, you will have to navigate to: C:\Documents and Settings\your username\My Documents\authorGEN Projects - no direct way to see the files.
- No way to edit the individual colors of objects in the program

Pidgin IM runs on Windows, Linux, BSD, and other Unixes.

It claims to support these IM protocols (copied from their homepage, (comments) added):

• AIM
• Bonjour
• Gadu-Gadu
• Google Talk
• Groupwise
• ICQ
• IRC (ok, not really IM but oh well, it's used for chatting)
• MSN
• MySpaceIM
• QQ
• SILC
• SIMPLE
• Sametime
• XMPP (a.k.a. jabber)
• Yahoo!
• Zephyr

basically helps you print your photos, but, it has to be said: it helps a lot, which it would want to for its price(s).

http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/

Qimage is our world renowned batch printing and processing software.     * Optimal print quality regardless of size [see first image below]     * Optimal arrangement of prints on page     * Mix and match different size prints on each page     * Print cropping tool remembers all your crops     * User controllable final print "smart sharpening"     * Fully ICC aware color management     * View slide shows, send photos via e-mail     * Batch convert, create files for photo labs, etc.     * Automated job log, save and recall jobs/settings!     * 30 day trial available: see demo link on left     * Free lifetime upgrades!     * More... Qimage is now available in Lite, Professional, and Studio Editions. You can upgrade from one version to next for the cost difference (Compare Features Link).    * Lite Edition: $34.95     * Professional Edition: $49.95     * Studio Edition: $89.95

I've tried over 15 different movie database/organizer programs in the last four days in my quest for finding the best suited for my needs. I was surprised by the sheer number of programs available in this category.

I've narrowed down my choice to five six, no doubt there are other good programs in this category, some of which have been mentioned in this thread.

Five of the programs I've picked deserve a mention coz they're worth trying out once at the very least and may suit you best, depending on your requirements.

The sixth, which I think is the winner, I've covered in a little more detail...

App Name	Direct Access
App URL	http://www.nagarsoft.com/
App Version Reviewed	1.6.6
Pricing Scheme	$39.95

Nagarsoft's Direct Access came onto the text expansion and application launcher scene just over a year ago and went head to head with the likes of ActiveWords and Quickeys. These are all applications that allow you to type a word, phrase, or abbreviation in any window and have a discrete dialogue pop-up offering to launch a file, open a folder, launch an application, launch a webpage, send an e-mail, insert boilerplate text or complete a phrase.

Direct Access is visually stunning and does what it is designed to do very well.

Basic Info

App Name	Kaspersky Internet Security 7
App URL	http://www.kaspersky.com/...spersky_internet_security
App Version Reviewed	7.0.0.125
Pricing Scheme	$80/3 licenses http://usa.kaspersky.com/store/ $25 competitive/upgrade discount available from http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5365948

Intro:

The field of desktop antivirus and "Internet security" is pretty large these days. Despite having been around for quite some time, there's still a great deal of variety between the approach and quality of the offerings. I've been through many of them, driven in equal parts by upgrade pricing and reported quality.

I've been using Kaspersky Internet Security 7 for about 10 days now. I installed as part of a complete rebuild of my system following a bad infection that ruined my whole OS, under the watch of Panda (which the virus managed to deactivate). So I was looking to lean far more toward the quality side of the equation, rather than pricing.

Basic Info

App Name	xplorer² [pro] (a.k.a xplorer2, x2, x²)
App URL	http://www.zabkat.com
App Version Reviewed	1.7.0.4 [Unicode] (30.Jun.07)
Test System Specs	Windows XP, 60GB HD, 1GB RAM, P4 4GHz
Supported OSes	Windows 9x, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista (!)
Support Methods	Email support. Also has a large active user forum
Upgrade Policy	"Although there is no explicit "free for life" upgrade policy for xplorer2, all upgrades were free since 2004. At any rate I wouldn't base my selection on the future so much as on what the software can do *now* to help me with my file management tasks"
Trial Version Available?	Yes - 21 day trial
Pricing Scheme	$29.95 - 1 User License
Reviewer Author Donation Link	Click Here to Donate Now
Screencast Video URL	screencasts and screenshots of xplorer² in action doing various operations.. check these out!

Intro
xplorer² (x² from now on) is a windows based file manager. What exactly is a file manager? A file manager is some thing you use to arrange and organize your (computer) files.. If you are using Windows you are probably familiar with Windows Explorer - the stocked file manager that comes with windows.. it is heavily integrated in to the windows system. You may know from usage of Windows explorer is that is a) too slow, b) missing a lot of functions and c) lacking great customization - such as being able to hilite certain file types, save layouts, adding toolbars, etc.

Welcome to x²! One of the first things you will notice with x² is that it has 2 panes (2 window areas you can work with - at the same time).
2 panes you say? Yup, 2 panes.. you would be amazed at how much of a time saver this is when working between many folders.. Instead of switching between 2 or more Window Explorer windows, you can be in one x² window, working with folders side by side.. drag and drop (as well as cut and paste) operations are so much faster and easier!

x² can also use tabs.. Just like FireFox can have many tabs under one window/instance.. x² can have many tabs open on each pane..

With Windows, you visit download sites like FileForum, Portable Freeware, osalt.com, File Hippo and others to search for or download the latest. In many Windows programs, you can also set them to automatically check for updates each time you open them, or you can use a program like WebSite-Watcher to scan the web for page updates of selected programs. Windows itself has long had its own updater which maintains the OS with Windows Update.

GNU/Linux is somewhat similar, only the process is almost entirely automated for system, drivers, and user-installed software. Like Windows, there are thousands of programs, many of which aren't that good, or a percentage of which has been abandoned...

Eric's Movie Database is a free program that you can use to put all your movie titles into a database. I've been playing around with it for a few hours and I'm quite happy with it. It's definitely good enough for my needs.

It doesn't matter if they are DVD or some compressed container format, EMDB is suitable for just about anything related to movies. It's simple to use: Just click on Add, enter the title of the movie, hit enter or click the Search IMDB button, and it does the rest for you.

It has a nice HTML template setup, although the default template is rather crude and needs some kind of tags to allow you to use tables and tweak image height & width for covers (if these tags exist, I am not yet aware of them). It's export feature is also very nice, letting you decide exactly what information you want to put in the text file. The covers feature seems to add the cover sideways when you add it manually, but there's a fix for this by un-checking "Automatically rotate images when needed" in the options dialog. A feature to open the cover by clicking on the preview would be welcome also as the thumbnails are very small.

It seems to be portable too. Don't ask me if it's stealth or green or whatever, but I do know you can move the directory around and the program runs fine wherever it's placed. Overall though, I'm very impressed with this little program. Send the author a donation and he'll even put your name at the top! I'll let the screenshots tell you the rest.

Dr.Explain is a help authoring program with a focus on visually describing the Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) of programs. It is an excellent tools for easily creating those “Quick Start” guides that have lots of screenshots of the program and help you learn where everything resides in a program. It is also great for detailed user manuals that document all of the features and options reachable through a program’s GUI through highly annotated screenshots. Dr.Explain’s well thought-out design and intuitive workflow means even the default configuration produces attractive user-friendly interactive documentation with a minimal amount of fuss.

Intro:
Evrsoft First Page 2006 is a free HTML editing program. It makes the common tasks easy and also features:

• Image Map Maker
• Toolbars with different codes
• Hundreds of Predefined Javascripts
• Visual Designer on Internet Explorer Engine
• Spell Checker

More features are shown at: http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage3-features.shtml

Every OS comes with some great ideas, and just like software, I've always wondered: why not combine the best of each to make a super OS? Ah well, I'm sure there's a simple answer, like "because." But here are some good ideas I've seen so far in GNU/Linux.

(01) Live CDs/DVDs.
Just boot straight from the CD to test GNU/Linux in any given distribution. If you don't like it, exit, and remove the disc. You're back to Windows, no harm, no foul.

(02) If you do decide to install the distribution, it will automatically partition your drive to cooperate with Windows.
I haven't tested every distribution out, but most all of them provide this option in a clear manner during setup.

(03) "Package Managers" or software installation managers.
There are several different ones depending on your taste, but these will list all the applications known to work with your chosen distribution. Every time you boot, it updates every piece of software on your system from the package manager. No worry, no conflicts, no fuss. You don't have to mess with .exe or .msi files, and the manager even cleans up installation debris after it's done. Each Linux distribution comes with hundreds and possibly thousands of application programs included. This alone can save you thousands of dollars for each desktop system you configure. For the more technically inclined, development tools, such as compilers for the C, C++, Ada, Fortran, Pascal and other languages, are included as well as Perl, PHP, and Python interpreters. Editors and versioning tools also are included in this category. Whether you are looking for Instant Messaging clients, backup tools or Web site development packages, they likely are all included within your base Linux distribution.

(04) No rebooting upon updates.
One of the most frustrating things about installing or upgrading programs on certain operating systems is the constant need to have to reboot. This is especially true with drivers or system files. The only thing that requires a reboot is if you upgrade the kernel itself, which incidently, is named "Linux." How is this possible? When you open a file, the kernel follows the link, and assigns the inode a file descriptor (a number that it keeps track of internally). When you delete the file, you are "unlinking" the inode; the file descriptor still points to it. You can create a new file with the exact same name as the old file after deleting it, effectively "replacing" it, but it will point to a different inode. Any programs that still have the old file open can still access the old file via the file descriptor, but you have effectively upgraded the program in place. As soon as the program terminates (or closes the file), and starts up (or tries to access it again), it accesses the new file, and there you have it, a completely in-place replacement of a file!

(05) GNU/Linux runs well on old hardware.
This extends the life of your computer, and saves money. I can get behind that idea. Because of a combination of the internal design of Linux and development contributions from a diverse community, Linux tends to be more frugal in the use of computer resources. This may manifest itself in a single desktop system running faster with Linux than with another operating system, but the advantages go far beyond that. It is possible, for example, to configure a single Linux system to act as a terminal server and then use outdated hardware as what are called thin clients. This server/thin client configuration makes it possible for older, less powerful hardware to share the resources of a single powerful system thus extending the life of older machines.

(06) Way too many distros! But wait, this is good.
You have a choice — to choose a distro based on your goals and your system. For example, there's a gamer distro; server distros; graphics/video editing distros; "small" distros that install only the basics and then let you install whatever else you want to customize your system; enterprise distros; distros for education; distros for kids; 32 & 64-bit distros, and so on. Your choice. Vista sorta has this idea, but everything under Vista Ultimate merely disables features, and the Mac OS comes in one flavor: vanilla.

(07) The command line. Not as bad as it sounds for us Windows users
because of all things, I left the command line behind when I left DOS. Every time you here command line, instead think "shortcut." Every distro I've worked with so far didn't require me to even go near a command line if I didn't want to. But running a few commands allowed me to solve the mystery of where my second drive is (within the larger "filesystem"). Much like DOS, most everything you do at the command line is no more than 12-20 commands, and that's if you're the power geek.

(08) It's a Community Relationship, not a Customer Relationship.
Other operating systems are the products of single vendors. Linux, on the other hand, is openly developed, and this technology is shared among vendors. This means you become part of a community rather than a customer of a single manufacturer. Also, the supplier community easily can adjust to the needs of various user communities rather than spouting a "one size fits all" philosophy. This means you can select a Linux distro (or vendor) that best addresses your needs and feel confident that you could switch vendors at a later time without losing your investment — both in terms of costs and learning.

(09) It's free.
If you download a user-friendly distro like PCLinuxOS or Kubuntu it will fit on a single CD, so a single CD-R disc is all it will cost you. Heck, Ubuntu will even send you a CD for free. It's free in a more important sense, too: no one stops you from copying Linux: the trademark is owned by its creator Linus Torvalds, and the code is owned by many programmers worldwide, but the actual code is released under the GNU Public Licence (GPL) so anyone can do what they want with it. You can install it wherever you like on as many PCs as you want, copy it, sell it, give it away, create your very own distro and distribute it, even hack into the code and change it if you know how. You never need to activate, validate, authenticate, or register it.

(10) Interoperability.
GNU/Linux is built for networking, even beginners can connect to the internet, create a SoHo network, even communicate with Windows PCs thanks to Samba, which is software that allows Linux to act as a client on a Microsoft Windows-based network. In fact, Samba includes server facilities such that you could run a Linux system as the server for a group of Linux and Windows-based client systems. Shared printers on a Windows PC are accessible from a GNU/Linux PC and vice versa. Once again, Linux is very strong in this area. In addition, Linux includes software to network with Apple networks.

________________________________________________
Part-01: My journey from Windows to Linux
Part-02: Which Linux distro to choose?
Part-03: First impressions and first problems after installation
Part-04: The "User Guide" as life raft, more n00b problems
Part-05: Ten Great Ideas of GNU/Linux

Freeware from Iconico, who make some really awesome screen measurement tools.

Example email

Zaine's Massive Three Part Word Processor Review is now finished and live on the site.

If you enjoyed part 1 which was published a few months ago, you won't want to miss the full thing which looks at the online contenders and lesser known tools.


It's a long but great read.. A Classic.

ps. please send zaine a credit or three and a little thank you, to show him how much we appreciate his hard work.

HovText is a small freeware and open source Windows application that removes any formatting from the clipboard and it also works as a simple clipboard manager. Any text in the clipboard will be pasted as raw text without any HTML code, font size, color or layout etc. HovText remembers also the last 10 copied texts (both formatted and unformatted) and you can filter out whatever text you need with regular expressions.

Some key features:
· Removes all formatting from the clipboard (removes HTML code, color and layout etc.)
· Clipboard manager that remembers the last 10 entries
· Can be activated or deactivated via a hotkey or a single mouseclick
· Possibility to remove identical lines
· Possibility to remove leading/trailing whitespaces or linebreaks
· Possibility to copy links only and choose linktype (movies, pictures, emails etc.)
· Possibility to recreate old copied text (a simple clipboard manager)
· Possibility to specify a regular expression seachstring as a linktype
· Possibility to delete all settings from the registry (no unnecessary mess)

http://hovtext.com/index....hp/?page=features&lang=en

Part 2 brings me to which distribution, or distro, to choose, where you'll install it, and with which desktop environment (shell). Fortunately, there's lots of help here online, perhaps the two best places to start are:

(1) DistroWatch Top Ten
(2) PolishLinux.org
(3) LinuxQuestions.org Distro Reviews

First, consider for what and how you will use GNU/Linux, as a:

• Primary system for all your major tasks, mainly productivity or programming;
  
• Secondary system for background tasks, such DVD burning, Usenet, BitTorrent, running a server, domain, etc.;
  
• Server, for your home network, a domain, or whatever;
  
• Test system, e.g., to learn GNU/Linux.

How you will use GNU/Linux will affect which distro you select..

App Name	Microsoft OneNote 2007
App URL	http://office.microsoft.com/onenote
App Version Reviewed	2007 (v 2.0)
Test System Specs	Windows XP SP2
Supported OSes	Windows XP with SP2, Vista, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, or later
Upgrade Policy	Version licence. Upgrade price $79.95
Trial Version Available?	Yes - 60-day limit - see product home page
Pricing Scheme	Standalone price $99.95. Also included in various Microsoft Office editions.

Intro: It's the GUI, stupid: Long ago, I remember posting here about how we judge new programs. I recall saying that a new program had at most 10 minutes to leave a good impression or it was dead.

A memorable recent experience showed just how wrong I was. No program has as long as ten minutes to make its mark.

I needed a program to share databases with my wife. We were researching the property market, and we were also planning a holiday. We needed to share information efficiently, seamlessly. No more scraps of paper.

I showed my wife my favourite "information dump" - Ultra Recall (http://www.ultrarecall.com). A power user's program. Robust, scalable and can share databases on a network.

She took one look at the GUI and said no. She hated it. Folders, menus, panes. Old-fashioned. Complicated. Boring. Took her less than ten seconds to dismiss it.

I only had one other program that I thought might fit the bill. Another program I'm fond of. Microsoft OneNote. My wife took one look. I explained the interface (took about 30 seconds). She loved it. Within 30 minutes she was creating a shared notebook on our home server. And she didn't even know we had a server. We've been using OneNote ever since. And my opinion of it only gets better.

Microsoft-bashing has been an international sport for many years. And quite often, they deserve it. Outlook 2007, for example, is driving me nuts. Appallingly slow compared to the 2003 version.

But in OneNote, Microsoft show just what they can do when they listen to customers. It is a triumph, and one of the company's finest products.

About two years ago I embarked upon a quest to find an alternative to Photoshop 6 that was affordable and would allow me to do more than just edit photographs.

This led me to PaintShop Pro 9 which I quite liked but felt that it started up slowly. When PSP X came out about four months later, I upgraded because the upgrade pricing was very reasonable and it was touted as being both much quicker to startup and less resource intensive than PSP 9 (and I was an idiot and opened my wallet without even downloading the trial first!). In practice, its startup was significantly slower and resource usage more intensive... I stayed away from PSP XI, having learned my lesson with the upgrade to X and noted the howls of protest from PSP sages that I encountered everywhere on the internet.

Despite this, I was thrilled when I won a full version in an online contest! However, although my initial installation incorporated the first patch, rather than improving upon X in the startup and resource utilizaiton departments, it is easily the worst of the three, taking over a minute and half to load! PSP 9, at 32 seconds to load, is positively QUICK in comparison.

Thus I found myself on another mission - to come up with a powerful alternative that wouldn’t cripple my aging notebook. Zaine’s excellent The Great Software List site led me to PhotoFiltre. It loads very quickly (13 seconds), has a simple, uncluttered GUI and does everything that I need it to do and then some. The free version (currently 6.27) is more than capable of replacing PaintShop Pro in my workflow, but I very quickly found myself springing for a license for the Studio version because I really wanted to support development.