Daily Discoveries found on Download Squad: FormatFactory, DesktopOnTop, USB Image Tool, Allway Sync, and Undelete Plus

I’m excited about this one. While there are plenty of shareware and payware ways to convert media files to different file types, freeware programs that are designed for this task has always left me scratching my head. Now there’s a new option in FormatFactory, which Download Squad notes: “What could be better than a program that will convert audio, video, and image files from and to just about any format you can think of? How about one that does it all batch-style with minimal clicking? FormatFactory doesn't care what files you want to swap in what order, just feed it your sources and watch it go to work. Unlike a lot of similar apps, this one doesn't limit you to only video or audio, or even to one file at a time. Dump in as much as you want of whatever you want, and FormatFactory will do all the heavy lifting. It even supports the iPhone and PSP, and 3GP as well - making it a great way to cram multiformat goodness onto your favorite portable player.” Very impressive! Read the rest of their review.

DesktopOnTop is made for people who don’t feel like minimizing their work windows to reach things on their desktop. This is done by showing you an interactive virtual view of your desktop. Download Squad explains: “If you just want a list, you can right-click on the DesktopOnTop icon in the system tray and get a start-menu lookalike with a list of programs and files on your desktop. But a left click brings up a picture of your desktop. Sort of. The first thing you'll probably notice is that the wallpaper doesn't match yours. If this bothers you, you can either change your desktop wallpaper to match DesktopOnTop (which nobody really expects you to do), or you can select a solid color that looks good with your desktop an adjust the program's transparency level.” While I keep my desktop almost completely clean, I know quite a few who do not. Read more about it from Download Squad.

USB Image Tool makes an ISO image file from your USB thumb drive - or whatever you stick in your ports – for backup purposes. Download Squad reviews it: “This isn't the same thing as copying and pasting all the files on a flash drive to a new directory or zip file. Instead, every chunk of data on your flash drive is saved in a single file that you can then burn to a disc, upload to an offsite storage location, or just save on your hard drive." Read the rest of Download Squad's review.

Allway Sync is a personal file synchronization program that can be run from a USB drive. Note: It is free for personal use but you can't sync more than 20,000 files in a 30-day period. That being said, Allway Sync can synchronize your data with just one click (or two, depending on your mouse properties settings) from and to your USB thumb drive or external drive. There are more features that are explained via Download Squad: "The latest version also adds support for synchronizing files with an FTP server or Amazon S3 storage. This makes Allway Sync a great little tool for backing up your files to offsite storage. The only problem is that there's no built-in scheduler. You have to initiate each sync job manually... But the advantage of performing manual backups is that Allway Sync provides detailed information about each new, changed, or questionable file." Read the rest of that at Download Squad.

Undelete Plus is probably the best file recovery software available. While Piriform Recuva is a great tool, Undelete Plus has few matches in this area. I've actually blown people's minds comparing it to their payware, store-bought software on their own systems! I love doing that. Download Squad has a review available of one of my favorite apps. They say: "It quickly completes its scan for potential targets, displays them in a detailed list that includes likelihood to be recovered, size, date created, and path, and even gives you a second pane with totals grouped by file type. We tried the recovery on formats that typically gives these programs fits - images and video - and Undelete Plus recovered each one without issue. Granted, there are going to be times when it can't - no recovery app is perfect - but we were certainly impressed in our testing." Read Download Squad's review right here.

(All images courtesy Download Squad)

Daily Discoveries: Runescape, Glubble, Kidzui, and TrueCrypt

Runescape has let it known that they have a new, revamped version with higher quality graphics and fullscreen capabilities. Runescape is a highly addictive MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) in the vain of Everquest, Ultima, World of Warcraft, etc. that you can play right in your browser! Check out this YouTube video showing off its latest features.

Glubble Family Edition is a Firefox Add-On that integrates kid-friendly internet viewing with your browser. According to Download Squad: “The interface is reminiscent of social networking sites - family members can write on the Family wall and you can see the sites your children last visited. Also, children can connect with other family members by sending messages and asking for new sites to be added to their homepage.” Glubble also features parental controls.

Kidzui is a child-friendly browser that was formerly payware (but still has a pay-for Membership option). The browser is available for Windows and Mac and offers avatar creation, a slick interface, social features, and more. In Download Squad’s review, Dolores Parker writes: “With access to over 600,000 websites, pictures and videos reviewed by parents and teachers, Kidzui is an immersive web experience. To compare Glubble and Kidzui in terms of user experience, Kidzui is the slick Ferrari loaded with features, while Glubble is your basic Toyota Camry, dependable but drab. Glubble will get you there, but if you like style and features, Kidzui's the sweet ride. You can just imagine which one your children will choose.” Read Download Squad’s comparison of these kid browsers at their site here.

  TrueCrypt is an on-the-fly encryption tool for all major Operating Systems just released Version 6. It’s a staple on my PC and should be on anyone’s that needs file encryption protection. Download Squad heralds its new release: “One of the biggest advances is support for multiple processors, which provides a boost in the encryption/decryption speed equal to the number of processors/cores in use. Other tweaks have increased the overall speed by as much as 20% in some operations - on top of the parallel processing gains. And - holy crap - how about being able to run a fully encrypted, hidden OS? Yeah, version 6 can do that, too. There's even a handy guide on Truecrypt's website. It'll also hide volumes, and on Vista and Windows 2008 you can even hide a system volume (not on XP, though).” We’ll get over it.

(All images for linked Download Squad articles are used from their website)

Daily Discoveries found on Cybernet: Howcast, CyberSearch, Mozilla Weave

Howcast is an online video site filled with useful how-tos , video tutorials, and editable wiki-guides. From Cybernet: “The topics that they cover really varies, but the one thing that they all have in common is the professional nature of the how-to videos. Every video I watched while exploring Howcast was very professional and engaging which makes a difference.”  Read Cybernet’s review here.

CyberSearch is a Firefox Add-On that enables you to search Google and see results all in Firefox 3’s Awesome Bar. Cybernet says: “It lets you perform various types of Google searches right from the address bar in Firefox 3. As you’re typing the extension will send your query to Google, grab the results, and then display them along side the history results that Firefox normally shows.” It’s a very useful addition to your browser. To see Cybernet’s article, click here.

Mozilla Labs gives an update to its new fangled Add-On, Weave. The software enables any Firefox user to sync bookmarks, Passwords, History, what-have-you, so that they are available on other Firefox browsers you use (running Weave with your account) on other computers regardless of its Operating System. Cybernet gives us their take on Weave: “The new version contains all sorts of enhancements like a simplified setup process, intelligent scheduler for determining when to synchronize data, and much more.” Read the rest here.

Daily Discoveries: Automatic Text Replacement, Pocket Wikipedia, Picjuice, Cocoalicious, MakeMeBabies.com, Worry About You, Locate32, CrystalDiskInfo, StumbleUpon, Better Lifehacker, WPanorama, Bookmark Previews, del.icio.us to Firefox

It’s a big one today, folks. On with the show!

Text replacement programs save time if you type certain words repeatedly. Cybernet has a great article listing its three favorite programs to help you. Lifehacker’s Texter, PhraseExpress, and Mac-only RapidoWrite. My fingers could use the rest. Read it here.

Ever been away from a an internet connected computer only to get into an argument that can easily be resolved by using Wikipedia? Well, those days are over. Pocket Wikipedia takes a lot of Wikipedia’s articles and trims them for offline use. It’s available for Windows, Linux, and PocketPC. Read Lifehacker's review over here.

Picjuice is yet another online image editing webapp. However, Picjuice’s gimmick relies on simplicity and ease of use. Read Download Squad’s take on Picjuice over here. For my money, nothing can replace Picnik.

Cocoalicious is a Mac-only, Apple Mail like del.icio.us browser that helps with the organization of your del.icio.us saved bookmarks. While this is great for Mac folks, the point of del.icio.us is the ability to access your bookmarks regardless of who’s computer your on or what OS your using. Hope to see this go cross-platform. Read Download Squad’s review here or Lifehacker’s review here.

MakeMeBabies.com is a fun “What if so-and-so and I had a kid?" webapp. You can put a picture of you and a celebrity together to see the results, or you and a friend. Not only is this, uh, ...service compatible with MySpace and Facebook, it also has apps for them both. Find out more fuss at Download Squad's review.

Worry About You is a search engine for music. While this is nothing new, it claims to have 15 million songs in its index. I haven't been able to test out this site thanks to traffic overload (as of this writing) but I'm looking forward to it. Another thing to note is that the songs are downloadable. Whether this is legal or not (probably not) I can't say. Download Squad reviews Worry About You here.

Locate32 is a lightweight Windows desktop search app designed to help you find files faster. From Lifehacker's review: "Locate32 uses Unix-style databases and locate commands to find files by name, size, creation dates, or any other system criteria. While it can't search the insides of files like Google Desktop, Vista's Search 4.0 Preview, or other full-featured tools, it runs fast, simple, and seriously light on system resources." It's also USB portable, too.

 CrystalDiskInfo is a hard drive monitor program. While there are plenty of these about, CrystalDiskInfo can give you a guess on how long your hard drive will function. Lifehacker's Jason Fitzpatrick writes: "Free utility CrystalDiskInfo keeps tabs on your hard drive health, including temperature, S.M.A.R.T. disk reporting, and the number of power cycles and run time on each disk. Although there is no silver bullet that can predict hard drive failure, if you're paranoid about your data you might factor in how many hours a disk has been running to determine it's replacement schedule." Read the rest here.

StumbleUpon is a great service that suggests sites via you and other users' input. While StumbleUpon has had a toolbar/Add-On for Firefox (and Internet Explorer) before, there's a new version that integrates your "likes" with Firefox 3's "Awesome Bar". Lifehacker explains: "A new option in the latest version of the previously highlighted StumbleUpon add-on lets you download all the sites you've rated with a thumbs up/"I like it!" into your bookmarks, giving you as-you-type access to that last cool link you saw but can't quite remember." Heavily suggested by yours truly. See the review here.

The Better Lifehacker Extension is a Firefox Add-On that gives you more control over your Lifehacker surfing experience. From the site: "Live on the East Coast and want to see Lifehacker's post timestamps on Eastern time? Sick of having to check the "preview comment" box every time you write a comment? In the tradition of the Better Gmail Firefox extension, today we present the Better Lifehacker extension, which adds useful functionality to Lifehacker and its sibling sites, including io9, Gizmodo, and Jezebel." Get it here.

Have you made or put together any panoramic photos? Would you like to show them off? WPanorama takes your cool panoramic photos and takes them further. Cybernet writes: "WPanorama is a panoramic photo viewer that can animate your images to make it seem like you’re standing in one spot looking around. It can then transform this animation into an AVI video or even a screensaver that will play on your computer. The screensaver can also be configured to rotate through dozens of different panoramic images if you’d like." Its home site even has panoramic images for download, in case you don't have any. Cybernet and Lifehacker both have reviews up.

Don't you wish that you could go through your Firefox bookmarks and remember what they were. Would a visual clue help? Firefox Add-On Bookmark Previews shows thumbnailed images of your bookmarks at a glance. Not only that, it will impress you with its iTunes Cover Flow type view. Lifehacker says: "Apart from the impressive eye candy, Bookmark Previews could be an especially handy tool for organizing and cleaning out your bookmarks, since rather than inspecting each link to determine what it's pointing to, you can just check the thumbnail to determine whether or not you need it." Lovely! Read Lifehacker's version of it over here.

The del.icio.us bookmarking service is something of a lifesaver as far as keeping your bookmarks in one centralized location. While there are Add-Ons that sync your browsers with your del.icio.us account, very few offer good browser integration. del.icio.us to Firefox merges your del.icio.us bookmarks with your browser bookmarks - tags and all - so that they can be taken advantage of by Firefox 3's tagging system and Awesome Bar. Lifehacker gives it to ya like this: "After providing this web site with your backed up del.icio.us and Firefox bookmarks, it merges the two so that sites you've already bookmarked will also be tagged, and you can start searching for bookmarks by tag from the comfort of Firefox 3's AwesomeBar. Once you've made this change, if you're syncing your bookmarks with an extension like previously mentioned Foxmarks, you may not even need del.icio.us anymore (unless you're into the social aspect)." I just did it myself, and I have to say It’s awesome to be able to type in a tag and get a list of sites to choose from – very highly recommended!

Daily Discoveries: 30+ Must-Have Firefox Add-Ons, PlacesBar Editor, Splashup, Linux Mint, Portable Start Menu

Mashable has a great review of 30 some-odd Firefox 3 Add-Ons at your perusal. While I certainly don’t use all of them, there are a few there I hadn’t discovered before.

Download Squad has a piece covering the Melloware PlacesBar Editor. From the site: “Ever since Windows 2000, Microsoft has included 5 handy buttons on the left hand side of most open and close dialogs in Windows. PlacesBar Editor lets you customize those folders. Just launch the open source utility and choose the folders you'd like to use. If you never store anything in your My Documents folder, for example, why not replace that button with one that says Temp or Download?” Very nifty. (Image courtesy Download Squad)

Splashup is a webapp for image editing with real similarities to Paint.NET. It also integrates with Flickr and Picasa Web Albums. I wish this site had a Firefox Add-on like Picnik does.

Download Squad praises the new release of Linux Mint Elyssa. The new Linux OS is based on Ubuntu Hardy Heron but has its advantages over its open-source cousin. From the post: “The most obvious improvement on its parent distro is the fact that it actually contains codecs and Flash support out of the box. The desktop layout is more similar to Windows, making this a good migration path for Microsoft refugees.”

I’ve used Linux Mint in the past and can’t say enough good things about it. If you’re curious to trying Linux, download the LiveCD here.

Portable Start Menu is a handy portable program that scans your USB key/Portable Hard Drive for .exe files and displays them in a Start-type menu. Download Squad covers it over here. (Image courtesy Download Squad)

Windows Steady State – The Ultimate in Windows Security?

This is amazing.

Raise your hand if you are related to the following:

Do you have kids?

Do you have teenagers?

Do you have pets that love your mouse and keyboard?

Do you own or operate a business that offers customer access to computers you own?

Do you frequently surf "unsafe" areas of the internet?

Are you a systems admin that's tired of cleaning computers of LOLcatz?

Do you just not trust yourself to operate a computer?

Well, the solution is here -Windows Steady State keeps your computer from being changed during a user's session. Changed? Yeah. No matter what is downloaded to, deleted from, hacked, disabled, changed, etc. Windows Steady State will keep your original setup and anything modified is "reset" on your system, no matter who or what caused it - viruses included.

How it works is Windows operates via Windows Steady State in a "sandboxed" environment and puts any and all changes in a cache folder. Delete its contents and everything, EVERYTHING, goes back to the way it was. Marvelous.

Here's a link to Download Squad's review - Windows Steady State Bulletproofs Your System

To download Windows Steady State - click it here.

(Image courtesy Download Squad)

Daily Discoveries: XP, Vista, and Firefox 3 How-Tos, 99 Online Apps, Mouse Gestures and GIMPShop for Ubuntu

SimpleHelp has a tutorial up on their site showing you how to change the info in XP’s System Properties. This comes in handy if you build custom computers or just like to personalize your own. (Image courtesy SimpleHelp)

CyberNet has a very informative article listing some of the “tips and tricks” you can do with Firefox 3 via the about:config panel. The article also has how-tos from Firefox 2 that also work with 3. This one will definitely be useful. (Image courtesy CyberNet)

Internet Service Deals has a long list of 99 webapps you can use instead of being tethered to just your computer. I highly recommend a lot of these services and this is a good article to bookmark for safe keeping. From the site: “Web apps are incredible tools because they offer users a way to have functionality just about anywhere they can go. Whether you’re on vacation or just at a different office, you can always log in to web apps and know that all of your tools and information will be available. So why don’t you ditch your dusty old desktop programs and fully make the switch to web-based applications? With these apps, that just might be possible.” Indeed! Everything’s here from office apps to WebOSes.

Ubuntu Geek shares with us a way to get universal mouse-gestures in Ubuntu with Gestikk. This article also shows you how to install and configure your new mouse-gestures. 

 GIMPShop is a wonderful alternative for Photoshop for both people who can’t afford Adobe’s image editing juggernaut and people who shouldn’t. The GIMP is special, for sure, but some folks have a time with the layout. GIMPShop echoes Photoshop’s layout to provide for those used to it. From the site: “GIMPshop is a modification of the free/open source GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), intended to replicate the feel of Adobe Photoshop. Its primary purpose is to make users of Photoshop feel comfortable using GIMP. It shares all GIMP's advantages, including the long feature list and customisability, while addressing some common criticisms regarding the program's interface: GIMPshop modifies the menu structure to closely match Photoshop's, adjusts the program's terminology to match Adobe's, and, in the Windows version, uses a plugin called 'Deweirdifier' to combine the application's numerous windows in a similar manner to the MDI system used by most Windows graphics packages. While GIMPshop does not support Photoshop plugins, all GIMP's own plugins, filters, brushes, etc. remain available.”

It’s available for Windows, OSX, and Ubuntu Geek shows you how to install it in Ubuntu.

The How-to Geek, guest writing on Lifehacker, has a great article up there showing you how to get Vista to be less annoying. From the post: “Whether it's the nagging prompts or the irritating notifications, Windows Vista’s default settings can grate on your nerves... which doesn't help you be the productive person you want to be. A few simple tweaks can cut down on the irritation—and drastically alter your views on Vista. Let's take a look at some of the best ways to tame the Vista beast and make it a less naggy operating system to work on.” When I talk to my customers, they always fuss over these issues. I don’t blame them.

Daily Discoveries: Paint.NET, AllCDCovers, Open It Online, aTunes, Make Firefox 3 Faster

Paint.NET is MSPaint on steroids. I’ve used it for a few years now and I love it. Visit it here.

AllCDCovers is a website dedicated to bringing you high-res scans of CD, DVD, and video game covers and box art. It comes in handy for used discs and digital media that’s missing its cover. Read the Lifehacker article here for more info. Go to the AllCDCovers site here.

Open IT Online is a cross-platform Firefox Add-On that gives you the option to “download” a document to an online service or to your computer via the “Open with” dialogue box. This way, you can send a text file you’ve discovered online and open it in, say, Google Docs without it touching your hard drive. Read the Lifehacker article here. Download it here.

aTunes – From the Lifehacker article: “aTunes has a host of features including tag editing, drag and drop playlist creation, Last.fm Audio Scrobbler integration, playback statistics, CD ripping, podcasts, and a multi-window interface so you can arrange individual components such as playlists, lyrics, and the main library as you see fit.”

aTunes uses the Java Runtime Environment and is cross-platform. I just might try this one out. To get it, click here.

Raymond.cc has an article up claiming that he found a way to make Firefox 3 load websites faster. From the post: “Although the new Firefox 3 is able to load up website much faster than previous version of Firefox, there is still a way to speed up and optimize Firefox 3. I was skeptical at first, so I made a full backup of my Firefox profile, tuned Firefox 3 with a click and website loads EVEN FASTER!” Read the rest here.

UPDATE: Please Read

I have good news and bad news. The good news is I will be updating the site as much as I possibly can. The bad news is I don’t have as much time as I’d like to be writing.

So here’s what I’m gonna do -

Instead of having an extensive article about every piece of free software I can find, I’m going to change the format to adding posts with several “blurbs”, covering useful software and webservices that I’ve found throughout the day. For now, I’ll call them “Daily Discoveries”.

I will be doing extensive reviews occasionally, at least once a week.

Too much software + not enough free time is hard to deal with. I hope none of you are too disappointed. I apologize for any inconvenience and hope you stay a reader.

Firefox 3 is OUT! I Got Mines!

(Image courtesy Lifehacker)

It’s time to set a World Record! Instead of adding to the craziness, let me just give you the links to all the coverage going on.

Cybernet’s coverage starts here: Firefox 3 Download Day Starts NOW

Lifehacker gives you it’s full coverage here. They also assume that you already have it and offers you a Power User’s Guide here: Power User's Guide to Firefox 3

Download Squad has its take on it over here: Firefox launches today; Five reasons you can’t live without it and Download Day: The perils of shooting for a world record.

What if you want Firefox 3 to be portable? Download that here.