Rating: 4

Version tested: 8/31/2007

Description: Homepage Startup is a web service that consists of a page of thumbnailed website links intended to be used as a home page. Users can define the URLs they would like on their page and arrange their positions at will by simply dragging them.

A couple of months ago I put together my own browser home page using an HTML editor that is very similar to this. I noticed, at the time, that I was using about a dozen websites almost every single day, so I put links to these on a page, clustered by category, and made that my home page.

Homepage Startup does something very similar to what I describe above, although by using thumbnails it certainly looks much prettier than my page of links. Note that Hompage Startup is neither a so-called webtop (i.e. a web-based desktop such as Pageflakes, Netgear, or Protopage), no’r is it as a social bookmarking site in the vein of Del.icio.us.

Here are some notes on this service:
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Description: Easily terminate visible applications and processes using RevoUninstaller.

Imagine that an application you are working with (let’s say its called “XYZ PDF Creator”) froze or stopped responding, leaving an open window on your desktop that refuses to be closed. Imagine further that you next pressed CTRL-ALT-DELETE and found that the task manager for some reason took a long time to open. When it finally did open you discover that the program you want to close is a process and not an application. After a few minutes of searching you are able to identify the offending process, but it took a bit of time because for some reason it is named “pdfcr” with no mention of XYZ in the name. Finally, you are able to end the process.

Sounds familiar? I experienced something similar to this recently where it was very difficult for me to locate the correct process to end from the list of processes. That’s when I remembered Revo Uninstaller’s hunter mode, which makes killing visible windows easy. Here’s how it works:
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0

Description: CD Art Display is a small, memory resident program that displays the cover art and lyrics on the desktop for whatever song is being played on your media player. It will look for the song artwork locally on your hard drive and, if not found, will download it from various sources on the internet. It also provides a comprehensive range of media player controls from the desktop.

This program reminds me of moreTunes, but there are differences between the two (see below). Here are some notes on CD Art Display:

• Displays album art: will look for artwork files locally and, if not found, attempts to retrieve it online. Allows you to set rules/priorities for where to find artwork. For example the program defaults are : read ID3v3 tag cover first, the look for folder.jpg in the song folder, then in the same place look for front.jpg, then look in a specific folder under %artist% - %album%.jpg. If not found it will then do a search on Amazon.com (or any of the other country Amazons). Rules are customizable and priorities easily changed.
• Lyrics: can download and display song Lyrics, and will save these locally for future access. Will show Lyrics in a nice floating window above the artwork thumbnail (as opposed to the browser, which is how most programs do it). Can be set to display lyrics on all songs played by default.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 0.8.7.7

Description: Xdn Tweaker is a free Windows tweaking program that can perform a number of useful and interesting Windows customizations. It features some interesting tweaks and a well designed interface.

I do not like most so-called Windows tweakers, and while I know that the more options a tweaker has the more it actually is able to do I find many of these programs to be (a) too much to handle because of all the possible configurations and tweaks, and (b) interchangeable; ultimately they all do the exact same thing, don’t they? The exception is Microsoft’s own TweakUI, which is a favorite of mine.

I recently tried Xdn Tweaker and liked it very much. The reason this one is different is that it seems to be a compilation of interesting tweaks that are presented in a very user friendly way. Each category in the left hand side panel contains 2 to 4 tweaks that are very well presented. Here are some of my favorites:

• Removing Windows Media player entries from the right-click context menu. (Yesss!)
• Adding a context menu entry when selecting a folder to open a command prompt within that folder.
• Ability to switch on/off the option to view zip & cab files as folders in explorer.
  Read more »

Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 1.6.5.3

[Note: this review was written by Jonathan Plutchok; see his blog reviewing free and cheap utilities and web sites, "Jonathan’s Tool Bar & Grill" at http://jonathanstoolbar.blogspot.com]

Description: Xplorer2 lite (that’s “explorer squared”) is a full-featured dual-pane file manager that is intended to replace Windows Explorer. It provides far greater functionality than Windows Explorer. Basic functions are intuitive, but more advanced functions come with a learning curve.

Features: Xplorer2 lite’s feature list is far too long to describe thoroughly here. Though I have been using it for a few years, I still have barely scratched the surface of its capabilities. My favorite and most frequently used features of the lite version (most of which are lacking in Windows Explorer) include these:

• You can see the contents of two folders at once with dual folder panes. You can further subdivide a folder pane with tabs.
• You can copy or move files between panes with one key press, or drag and drop.
• Xplorer2 displays the sizes of folder, including subfolders. (This alone is reason enough to switch from Windows Explorer.)
• You can create a new folder with one key.
  Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 2.2.0

Description: View3Dscene can open and view VRML 1.0, VRML 2.0 (aka VRML 97), 3DS, OBJ (Wavefront) and MD3 scenesfiles created with 3D modeling programs without the need for having a 3D modeling program installed on your machine. This free program offers a number of features including flexible navigation/viewing of objects, playing animations, raytracing, collision detection, as well as a command line operations.

View3Dscene provides a number of interesting navigation/viewing options. It is particularly useful if you want to view a 3D file that you downloaded or somebody sent you without installing a full-fledged 3D modeling program such as Blender, Sketchup, or 3D Wings. Here are some notes on what this program has to offer:

• Navigation: the ability to move in and around the object using a variety of mouse and keyboard controls.
• Viewing options: a rich variety here: the ability to change colors, including the color of the object and the background; also gives you the ability to switch a number of options on or off, including vector (vs. solid), smooth shading, fog, blending, texture, point size, etc.
• Raytracing: if your file includes at least one source of light, you can perform raytracing on the object from View3Dscene (and I must say it seemed rather efficient at this in terms of performance).
  Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 0.42

Description: “Ghouls’n Ghosts Remix” is a side scrolling platform shoot em up. It is a “retro remake” based on a conflation of the old 80’s arcade games Ghosts’n Goblins, Ghouls and Ghosts, and the newer Super Ghouls’n Ghosts.

I knew I was going to have to write this game up as I’ve been a fan of the Ghosts’n Goblins since the good old days when the Commodore Amiga was the hottest thing around in the late 80’s. The storyline, if you need one, is that you’re a knight striving to free your princess from the clutches of a demon boss or somesuch, and have to fight through his minions and legions of, well, ghosts, goblins, and other monsters to get her back. (click here for the Wikipedia entry for Ghosts’n Goblins). Here are some notes on this game:

• Playability: very playable game; faithful to the originals (and, well, the reason there were three of these games is that they’re very playable). Incidentally these games were known to be somewhat hard and this one is no exception.
• The graphics: look appropriately retro (i.e. will have a somewhat pixellated look on big screens even on the highest resolution); very well done and faithful to the original, actually.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.6

Description: WinSplit Revolution is a utility that can quickly move, resize, or arrange your open windows across your screen. It resides in memory and is invoked using on-screen controls (see screenshot) or hotkey combinations. Also works with multiple monitors.

Not to be mistaken with a file-splitting program that has a similar name, this program can do 4 different types of actions: quickly reposition/resize a window, fusion of 2 windows (a side by side split-screen), automatic mosaic-like tiling of all open windows, as well as provide a hotkey for the instant closing of all windows. Here are some notes on this program.

• Reposition/resize a single window: you can either use the on-screen pad or hotkey combinations to do this. If you imagine your screen divided into 4 quadrants (as pictured), you can easily send your active window so that it occupies any one of these quadrants, the top half of the screen (1+2), the bottom half (3+4), the left half of the screen (1+3), or the right half (2+4). Or you can do fullscreen.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 0.14

Description: MP3 to iPod Audio Book Converter will combine a number of MP3 files into a single .M4B audiobook file. Ipod M4B audiobooks support a number of features including remembering last listening position and the ability to adjust reading speed.

Having recently transferred an audiobook consisting of some 56 MP3 files into my new IPhone, I realized that it wasn’t possible to use ’song shuffle’ without getting these files played as well, interrupting the music, and requiring a human intervention. I had tagged these MP3s as "audiobook" genre but being as there is no "shuffle songs from all genres except" function I started searching for an MP3 to Audiobook converter and found this program. (Why use an app like this instead of an audio converter or transcoder? because it will both convert and combine in one action, as well as provide an interface for sorting chapters correctly and editing the tag info of the resulting audiobook).

Fitst, here’s a list of reasons why Apple’s audiobook M4B format is a good thing:
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Rating: 5

Description: Desktopography.net presents a selection of backgrounds/wallpaper for your computer created by professional designers. Already in it’s third year, this nonprofit project sponsors an annual exhibition of nature-themed submissions that are made available for anyone to download.

Here are some notes on this site:

• There are 10 downloadable images from the 2005 exhibition, 25 from the 2006, and 40 from 2007 for a total of 75 images.
• All images are original and all are digitally manipulated in one way or another.
• Image sizes are typically quite large, and multiple downloadable sizes (e.g. 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1900×1200).
• The site offers a very nice user experience, with a flash user interface and atmospheric music.
  Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.5.0.0 pick

Description: RadWinMan enhances the Windows shell by adding extra window management functions such as windows roll-up, minimizing to system tray, automatic resize, snap to other windows, window transparency, always on top, and a few others.

This program includes most of the functions mentioned in my recent posting entitled "4 Utilities that tweak working with open windows" (thanks Radad for mentioning RadWinMan in the comments). I have been using RadWinMan for about a week and like it immensly; here’s why:

• It offers a very nice combination of functions, and yet …
• You do NOT get the sense that everything is in there but the kitchen sink like other shell enhancement programs that tend to overwhelm you with options.
• Consumes a mere 4 megs in memory.

Here are descriptions of program usage (mostly) taken from the program’s website:

• Right click on title to send the window to the back.
• Double click on title to roll-up the window.
  Read more »

Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 1.30

Description: Revo Uninstaller is a combination Windows add/remove replacement, startup manager and hard drive cleaner. It provides the ability to scan uninstalled programs and delete residual files and registry keys, as well as a number of other functions such as unrecoverable deletion for individual files or even entire hard drives.

Although I very seldom am accused of under-rating a program, my review of version 1.10 does not do justice to subsequent releases of this program. The most important difference in this newer version 1.30 is the impressive post-uninstall scans and removal of leftover files, folders and registry entries.

This program is not just an uninstaller but a collection of the utilities/functions outlined in the description packaged a nice glitzy interface. Here are some notes on the different parts of this program:

The Uninstaller:

• Uninstallation: Revo runs the uninstall executables provided with the programs but performs pre and post-uninstallation scans to identify residual files/folders and registry entries. It presents a list of these and prompts the user to manually check elements that the user wants to delete. In more than 90% of cases you will want to delete everything that it finds, however I would recommend that you always look at these just in case and err on the side of caution. For example, when uninstalling the DivX player, Revo identified a handful of files and registry entries that were not related to the player but to the DivX codec itself. What’s really cool is that Revo provides a lot of info on the elements it finds that makes deciding on whether to delete them or not a fairly simple undertaking. Read more »

We’re going camping, so no postings for a couple of days. In the meanwhile check out the sitemap for a list of cool freeware apps reviewed on Freewaregenius.

Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0.1

Description: Weft QDA is a tool for narrative/text analysis that can be used to organize a number ot text sources into something akin to a database structure. It provides the ability to categorize text into thematic segments and provides a powerful search/query functionality for these.

The best way to describe what Weft QDA (short for Qualitative Data Analysis) can do is to illustrate using an example. Imagine that you are writing an article on the differences and similarities between, say, the Democratic candidates for the US presidency, and that the material you are using for this are various transcripts of debates and public appearances that the candidates have made. You can use Weft QDA to outline the different candidate’s positions on different issues, to quickly compare/contrast their stances, and to quickly find sections within the narrative that deal with a certain subject(s).

This is a rough outline of how you might work with Weft QDA to do this:

• First off, you would load all of the different transcripts and texts into your Weft QDA project. These can be .TXT or .PDF files
• After this, you would go create categories that make sense for your analysis. Assuming there are 7 candidates, for example, you would start off by creating a category for the name of each of the candidates. You can also create subcategories (e.g. “Foreign policy” might be a category, and “Iraq”, “Iran”, “Pakistan”, “Russia”, etc. would be subcategories). Creating categories will be an ongoing process that evolves with your analysis.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0 beta 2

Description: Folder Scout gives instant access to your drives and your frequently used folders and files. It includes a folder search function, the ability to define folder favorites, as well as easy access to recently used folders and documents.

Another day, another application that aims to quickly connect you with your frequently used folders. Folder Scout runs in the background and is accessed via a tray icon. Folder Scout’s user interface features Firefox style tabs on its main screen that are organized around its various functions. Here are some notes on these:

• Searching/finding folders: type in a few letters and in the “find folder” search box and Folder Scout will instantly display matching results. This is a really cool functionality and is surprisingly fast.
• Favorites: define your favorite folders for quick access. You can also add favorites conveniently using the windows explorer context menu.
• Recent folders: will keep track of the history of accessed folders; can be filtered by date (if, say, you only want to look at folders you accessed yesterday).
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