Description: MobaLiveCD is a free program that can run Linux Live CD’s on Windows in emulation mode without the need to burn the Live CD ISO into a CD and boot into it.

What this program enables you to do is quickly run Linux in virtual mode from within the Windows environment. I came across MobaLiveCD while researching Slax Linux and tried it out; it works impressively well. Here are more notes

• Installation: MobaLiveCD is a single executable of 16 megs and does not need to be installed; simply unzip and run from anywhere (including a USB).
• Context menu: can optionally add an entry in Windows’ context menu that enables you to launch any Linux LiveCD ISO file using a right click.
• How to use: once a Linux LiveCD ISO is launched, you will be inside a windowed Linux environment. Press Alt+Ctrl+F to toggle fullscreen on and off, Alt+Ctrl to access the Windows environment.
• Performance: compared with actually booting into your Linux environment, MobaLiveCD is significantly slower. Perfectly adequate for testing purposes, but if you intend to work with applications, etc., you might want to boot into Linux instead.
• Virtualization: MobaLiveCD is based on the open source processor emulator Qemu which, to quote the Qemu entry on Wikipedia "can be run on any PC, even those where the user has only Limited Rights with no
  Administrator access".
• Limitations: I tested with two Linux builds and found that I was not able to access my PC’s hard drive for read or write operations, was not able to access the CD drive, etc. (although I was able to access the internet connection). Note that these would have been all readily accessible had I booted into Linux.
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Description: Slax is a Slackware-based Linux operating system that can be run on Live CD, booted from USB, or run from RAM. It is small in size yet highly customizable and comes with a full range of pre-installed applications.

Slax is a USB-bootable Linux that allows you to take a portable desktop environment with you wherever you go. You can run your USB-borne Linux from any computer that will allow you to boot into USB, instantly delivering a complete operating system that includes everything you need including applications, email, and personal files.

Despite the title of this blog, there are frequent times when my knowledge of the software I am reviewing is less than I would like it to be. This is especially true when writing about Linux and is true in this case. I should note that my interest lies mainly in the USB-bootable Linux rather than the LiveCD. I am aware that most Linux builds offer LiveCDs and USB bootable versions, but there are a number of reasons why Slax is noteworthy, as follows:

1. Easy USB install: compared to my previous experience attempting to install Knoppix on a USB, installing Slax on a USB and making it bootable was a breeze. All you have to do is literally de-compress the TAR archive to the USB and run an executable. Yes, really. Moreover, unlike some other distributions Slax works on U3 flash drives without requiring a U3 uninstall.
2. Small size: at 188 megs, Slax is considerably smaller than most Linux builds yet manages to provide a fantastic user experience and to pack a wide number of applications. I installed it on a 1-gig USB.
3. Look and feel: is just tremendous. Slax is feature rich and highly customizable. It looks and feels good and provides built-in applications to handle most computing needs.

Here are more notes on this software:
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Description: PrinterShare is a free service that allows your computer to share printers with any other computer, given that both are online and running the PrinterShare software. Runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Imagine the following: computer A has a printer attached to it, while computer B does not. If both are online and running PrinterShare, computer B can send a document to print that is received by A and printed on the attached printer. Now imagine that computer A happens to be in Seattle while B is in Istanbul.

At the core of it this is a document sharing program where instead of a document on your desktop the end result is a hard copy on your printer; (closer to a FAX machine than to email). Here are more notes on this service:

• PrinterShare accounts: you will have to create a PrinterShare account for every computer you would like to connect. This requires (a) choosing a login name, and (b) providing a valid email. Other requested info is optional.
• Encrypted communication: PrinterShare promises that your printed documents will be encrypted as they are sent online and decrypted on the other end. Your document will be transferred through the servers of the PrinterShare service.
• How it works: once both computers have the PrinterShare software installed, you can right click and share any connected printers in the main interface. You will also have to “find” the other PrinterShare accounts (you can search by account name) and once that happen’s you’re ready to print. PrinterShare lives in the system tray and will be displayed as a printer in your printers list. Predictably your documents will take slightly longer to print using PrinterShare than if they were printed directly on a connected printer.
• The printers: you can share any printer including network printers and virtual printers (such as the PDF-generating PDFCreator or PrimoPDF).
• Differences between the free and paid service: the free service will generate a cover-page that includes an ad. This is an extra page that you can discarded afterwards; your document’s integrity is intact without watermarks or modifications.
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Description: Microsoft Image Composite Editor is an advanced, free program that can combine overlapping images from a single scene or location into a larger, high-resolution panorama that incorporates all constituent images. Output images can be exported into a wide variety of formats including tiled formats like HD View and Silverlight Deep Zoom.

I will have to admit that the people at Microsoft are coming up with cool free software at ever increasing frequency. Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE for short) is a powerful program that is both elegant and easy to use.

What is noteworthy about this one is that the actual stitching is fully automated without any user input. However, there are quite a number of user interventions that can take place after Microsoft ICE has put the panorama together, ranging from manipulating camera motion (which in fact will prompt a re-processing of the images), zooming or rotating the image, changing the perspective and/or point of view (at least in the so-called rotating motion mode), and finally cropping it.

For the purposes of this review let me note that I was not able to find much documentation/information on the Microsoft ICE page, and therefore all of the information below is based mostly on my experience. Here are more notes:

• The user interface: drag and drop images into the interface or select a number of images and right click “stitch images” in the explorer context menu to process them. The program interface itself is sleek, simple, and highly functional.
• Output formats: “common formats” such as JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and PSD (flat or layered) as well as multi-resolution tiled formats like HD View and Silverlight Deep Zoom
• Ease of use: you will be generating panoramas quickly and easily, and will be able to intuitively figure out most controls with a minimum time investment. Very impressive for a program of this kind.
• Camera motion: this defines the way in which your images will be stitched together. There are 3 “planar motion” modes, an “automatic” mode and a “rotating motion” mode. The last one is the most interesting and brings with it the option to change the viewer’s perspective/point of view (which the other modes don’t) but is probably best suited for scenes that rotate around the viewer in a semicircle (or full circle). My advice with respect to these different modes is… experiment with them and see what works best.
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Description: OSD-Mute is a tiny free app that displays a semi-transparent “Mute On” message on your desktop whenever the system volume is muted.

I found this little gem over at the Donationcoder forum. It’s a little Autohotkey-based app that displays a semi-transparent “Mute On” message on the desktop whenever the PC volume is muted. Yes my friends (to borrow from John McCain) the days of panicking because of not knowing why there’s no sound coming out of your computer are over. More notes:

• EXE provided: you do not need to have Autohotkey installed; an executable is provided on the Donationcoder forum page (or you can download the Autohotkey script).
• Full vs. Lite: two versions provided. The full version is a larger download and allows you to change the placement of the message on your screen and to tweak the font style. The lite version doesn’t.
• How to use: create a new folder where you would like the app to exist and copy the exe into it, then run (the “full” version of the app will generate 2 contingent files). You now have an additional, new volume icon in the system tray. Next to remove the original windows icon go to control panel > sound and audio devices properties and uncheck “place volume icon in the taskbar” (this works on XP; not sure about Vista). You can add OSD-Mute to the startup folder to make it start with Windows (I use freeware Starter to manage my startup items).
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Description: Satsuki Decoder Pack auto-installs a collection of media decoders and filters on your system. It will allow you to view or open almost any media file or DVD using the enclosed Windows Media Player Classic or from within any other application. In order to avoid conflicts and clutter this pack does not include codecs, only decoders and filters.

Although I’ve often extolled the virtues of Media players such as The KM Player and VLC that support internal codecs and do not need codecs/filters to be installed system-wide, I have found that many situations will invariably require system-wide decoders. This is the case when you need to access the files in your media library by programs other than your all-internal-codecs media player, as in the following examples: you need to embed a video or media file inside a presentation software, you need to open a media file using video editing or conversion program, you want to generate thumbnails for your media files inside a media management or file management software (or even in explorer).

This is why I was recently looking into installing a so-called codec pack (such as CCCP, which is one of my favorites). However, what I also noticed was that there was a big difference between the media formats that I need my programs to be able to READ (i.e. pretty much all of them) and those that I need to WRITE. In the past year, for example, I have only encoded videos using the Xvid encoder as well as FLV, and aside from these I have very little use of any encoder on my system, as it will simply consume resources and clutter up my system all the time without having any practical use hardly ever. My guess is that 90% of PC users out there (if not more) are in the same situation.

This is where a software such as the Satsuki Decoder Pack is most helpful. What this is is a decoder pack that provides codecs and filters to allow your machine to read/view almost all media formats out there, but it does not install encoders that facilitate the process of encoding/writing files. This means that you will be able to view most every kind of media file, but will have to seek out and separately install any encoders when and if you need them. Here are more notes on this program:

• Supported formats: mpeg 4, real media, mp1, mp2, mp3, ac3, ape, ofr/ofs, flac, aac/mp4, ogg/ogm, mkv, dvd, xcd, wmv 7/8, vp6, mpc, XVD, h264, as well as flash (FLV, SWF).
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Description: xNeat Clipboard Manager is a free clipboard manager program that allows you to maintain a history clipped text, files, and folders and to use these to perform a number of useful functions, including pasting historical items, searching for clipped text in Google, translating clipped text, making clipped items “permanent” (sticky) for later use, and a number of other functions.

This program will allow you to copy multiple items at once, and then paste whichever item you had previously copied at will later on.

I often have an internal debate as to whether or not I will post a certain program. What I do in these cases (and xNeat Clipboard Manager was such a case) is install on my computer for a few days in order to gauge its usefulness and/or its user experience. I now decided I like this one enough to keep, and will go through the pros and cons of this software below.

But before I do let me describe how it works; anything you copy will be added to the xNeat Clipboard Manager history. Next, instead of pasting the clipboard contents as normal (CTRL+V) pressing (CTRL+Shift+V) will display the small program dialog that lists all items retained in history. At that point you could either click on the item you want to past it or otherwise perform a number of functions on any of the displayed items, such as searching for any entry in Google, launching a Google translation (for some two dozen languages), or making an entry “sticky”. If the clipped text is a URL you have the option to open that URL in the browser.

PROS:

• Make sticky: anything you clip can be “made sticky” in the sense that it will always be there, similar to the basic functionality provided by a program such as PhraseExpress.
• Items captured: maintains a history of clipped text and copied files/folders. The latter enables you to use this program as a kind of file basket; all you have to do is copy a file, folder, or executable and then make it sticky. Next you can invoke the program dialog and use it to access the file/folder by right clicking “open” (remember though that the default action is “paste”).
• Search Google: clip some text and open the program dialog, then right click on “search Google”. Works from all apps/locations.
• Translate: a very handy way to translate text; simply clip it and launch a Google translation (from a choice of 24 languages) from the xNeat Clipboard Manager dialog (see first screenshot above). On the flip side, the text has to be re-pasted into the form once the Google translate page opens, and you will have to determine what the language the original text is in yourself. Read more »
  

Description: Circle Dock is a free, customizable launcher in the shape of a circular dock that can grant instant access to your favorite programs, files, or folders.

If you’re looking for a launcher for your favorite apps, folders, and/or files take a look at this one. Circle Dock looks like a circular version of the Mac dock and manages a balance between being useful and practical on the one hand and providing a visually interesting launcher with a lot of room for creative customization and on the other. More notes below:

• Activated by hotkey: (F1) by default. Also invoked by middle mouse-button and moving the mouse over a side of the screen. All of these can be customized and/or switched off (which is good if you, like me, don’t care much for things popping up on screen when you accidentally move the mouse over the edge).
• Drag and drop: to add icons to the launcher simply drag and drop program execs, files, folders, bookmarks, etc. Dropping shortcuts will work too, except the launcher will always point to those shortcuts rather than their target destination and the connection will break if the shortcuts are removed or moved.
• Behavior: you can rotate icons on the circular "disc" with the arrow keys or mouse wheel. Great effect, but apparently has no practical function. Hovering over the icons will display the title of the program, file, or folder.
• Managing shortcuts: done by right-clicking on the icon, whereby both the Windows context menu entries and the Circle dock entries are available. You can set command line parameters for each item on the dock as well as the startup folder. You can also drag and drop icons to change their placement.
• Organize in dock folders: you can create dock folders that can help organize your shortcuts (e.g. a folder for bookmarks or for your personal files or for all video-related software, etc). Clicking on the button in the middle of the launcher will bring you back from folder view into the main view.
• Customizable: most every feature can be changed/customized in the settings section, including the icons, the visual style of the dock itself (as well as it’s width, transparency, etc.) as well as the "button" at the center of the dock. The behavior of most every visual element is customizable as well.
• Icons: comes with a large collection of cool icons that can be used to further customize your apps and folders, should you feel that the default icons are not up to the coolness standards required.
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Description: Gbridge is a free software that can connect multiple computers. It forms a VPN between multiple computers and provides remote computer access, folder synchronization, automatic folder backup, remote computer control and/or screen sharing, and chat. Gbridge can use Google’s Gtalk network to connect remote PCs and requires Gtalk (Gmail) accounts.

There has been a proliferation of free tools and protocols that aim to provide various remote connection services (e.g. Crossloop, Mikogo to name but two). These services will require the installation of some sort of desktop client locally and many will require the creation of user accounts in order to access a centralized network used for the connection. With the various protocols that these tools use, it may or may not be possible to connect in different settings depending on whether the different computers are behind firewalls, behind routers (whether or they have a public IP), and whether the tool/service offers a centralized network on their own servers. What is noteworthy about Gbridge is that it will try multiple ways to connect based on what will result in the best performance, but the lowest common denominator (if you will) will be connecting through the Gtalk network (a Gtalk/Gmail account is a requirement to use the service). Here are more notes on this software:

• You WILL be able to connect: Gbride will automatically figure out the best way to connect the various computers to provide maximum throughput and privacy; it will attempt to create a tunnel through NAT or firewall or if that is not possible it will connect through the Gtalk network. The user does not have to worry about complex technical configurations and the likelihood that you will achieve connectivity is high no matter what context your PC lives in; Gbridge, to quote their site “solves the real world naming and connectivity issues for almost all networks”.
• VPN for non-experts: see point above. Gbridge will allow any user to install, logon, and be on their way.
• Highly versatile: you can control which folders to share with which of your contacts and which users to require password authentication to access your shared folders, etc. You can also share an unlimited number of files, folders, and - interestingly - unlimited file size (I read somewhere about successfully sharing a 5 gig file).
• Wide range of services: will try to keep up with the terminology here. Share a file or folder with yourself or others (Secureshare), synchronize folders automatically across computers (AutoSync), backup files across computers (EasyBackup), view the screen and/or access remote computers (DesktopShare), chat with friends (Chat). Gbridge automatically generates thumbnails for media files, and allows for media streaming of shared media files without downloading first (LiveBrowse); also offers the ability to run 3rd party applications (e.g. FTP) over the VPN.
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Description: Folder View is a free utility that provides access to your favorite folders in multiple locations on your machine, including the toolbar of any open folder, the system tray, the windows open/save dialog, the left/side placesbar on the open save dialog and from a shortcut on your desktop. It also installs two context menu entries that make it easy to move or copy files to your favorite folders or alternately to quickly add folders to your list of folder favorites.

I’ve come across many programs that provide shortcuts to favorite folders in various places; what sets Folder View apart is that is sets out to make your favorite folders available pretty much everywhere you can imagine. Specifically, Folder View can be accessed from (1) Windows’ Folders Toolbar, (2) the normal open/save file dialog, (3) through an icon in the System tray, (5) the left hand placesbar on the open save dialog, and (5) from a shortcut on the desktop. Another nice function is the easy copying or moving of files into your favorite directories from the context menu.

Note that you can (mostly) pick and choose where you want your favorites folders to be displayed. You can easily remove Folder View from the Windows folders toolbars, you can remove the shortcut from the desktop, and you can remove it from the open/save dialogs through the settings. However, it does not seem that you can remove it from the tray icon or remove the Folder View entries from the contextual menu. Here are more notes on this program:

• How it works: the first thing you will do is point Folder View to your main folder that you work with and it will grab all subfolders as folders shortcuts. The best thing to do in my opinion is to point it to a blank folder somewhere (say on the root directory) then add shortcuts to your desired folders inside that folder. You can add any folder from within explorer by right clicking on it and using “Add to Folder View” in the context menu (see image to the right).
• Browse recent folders: aside from your favorite folders, Folder View will always provide an browsable entry for any recently accessed folders, which can come really handy. Note that you can disable this in the settings if you do not want it.
• Access in folders’ toolbars: this is my favorite (see first screenshot above). Open any windows folder and your defined favorite folders will be embedded as buttons in the toolbar (you will have to enable this the first time you use it though either from the program options or by right clicking on a folder toolbar and checking “Folder View”). What is cool is that hovering over the folder buttons will make them open, cascading menu style, and allow you to navigate the directory structure. Note: although this is the case here it does not seem possible to do this cascading menu folder browsing in the other places Folder View installs itself.
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