This past year was not the best for new software developments. There were no surprising game-changers like Google Chrome in 2008, and no watershed moments. However, that doesn't mean there weren't some cool releases. I suspect that much of the best software of 2009 winds up becoming the foundation for innovations in 2010.
Obviously, the continuing development of Google Chrome was a major story, especially since it skyrocketed in market share based on its zippy engine and smooth JavaScript handling. If you're not using Chrome, you owe it to yourself to try it out. But it's not new. What is new, and is owed in no small part to Chrome, is that software development cycles have been significantly accelerated. We can see this in Chrome's competitor, Firefox, with five beta versions released for a minor-point upgrade. Users are demanding more frequent updates, and situations where popular software such as Adobe Reader suffers for months from the same major security hole will soon be untenable.
Microsoft Security Essentials
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Speaking of, Windows security is never far from the top of any list. It's somewhat ironic that this year first gifted to us the mutating Conficker virus--which exploited a security hole in unpatched and bootlegged versions of Windows XP--would end well for the security field. But Microsoft Security Essentials and Panda Cloud Antivirus are two programs that prove that not only can free security programs be effective, but they can also be lightweight and work well on those processor-light, horribly-named "Netbooks."
Although it wasn't brand-new, Symantec's Norton refresh earns a mention for its surprising turn-around from their horrible mid-decade products. The overhaul started in the 2009 version, and the 2010 editions that came out in September were impressively fast and lightweight, overall, as well as being effective at detection and removal. Yes, just to reiterate: this is the same Norton that's been included as bloatware on new computers for years. Who knew?
While security was exploring the clouds, social networking came down to earth and your desktop. Desktop-based social networking coagulators TweetDeck and Seesmic serve up multiple protocols in a convenient, unified interface. They give users an expanded tool set for managing their social networking streams, including multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook news feeds, and most recently Twitter lists. Both offer mobile support, with TweetDeck on the iPhone and Seesmic on Android, Blackberry, and through a Web-based interface.
BumpTop
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)Staying social for a moment, Trillian Astra is another noteworthy resurrection of an already-existing program. The first major multiprotocol chat client, Trillian hadn't seen a refresh in three years and the previous version was a slow resource-hog that was also feature-deficient. Astra isn't exactly light, but it's not the RAM monster that version 3 was. There's also better support for newer networks such as Google Chat and Facebook, and it works with Twitter.
Bumptop finally debuted in 2009, three years after a YouTube demo enthralled viewers. BumpTop is a freeware replacement desktop that makes the items on your computer's desktop more manageable, or at least differently manageable. Its strong suit is that it's intuitive: You can drag or fling folders and icons, and they have weight, which is related to the icon's size. The size is related to its importance to you, which is determined by how often you use them or if you customize them. Files and folders can be stacked, flipped as if they were pages in a book, spread out arbitrarily, or arranged in static grids. BumpTop may not set the software world on fire, but it's an interesting alternative and could take off as touch screens become more affordable and widespread.
Postbox is a heavily remixed Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client with an emphasis on social networking tools: think Gmail thrown in a blender with Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr, and then served hot over a serving of Thunderbird. Postbox would have retained more of its buzz from the spring and summer if it hadn't gone behind a pay wall, even though it's a flexible wall--under the right circumstances; you can get an official copy for 50 percent off. The trial version is still impressive, with deep hooks between your contacts, messages, attachments, and photo and video uploading. $15 is still cheaper than Outlook, but it's $15 more than Thunderbird 3, which can do many of the things that Postbox does.
Postbox (pictured in beta) is now available as a stable release.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Ninite is another interesting piece of software, and indicates how Web tools and desktop tools are merging. Go to the Ninite Web site and you'll see a vast list of mostly-freeware programs. Check off the ones you want, and then go get a cup of coffee as it downloads and installs them. It's an excellent tool for those with new computers and a preference for publisher-default settings. Fortunately, Ninite ditches all the installation bloat like toolbars, and keeps your installation clean.
Looking ahead to 2010, some developments will be easy to predict. The Google Chrome OS will be big, even if it eventually fails. The browser wars will continue, as Opera showed that it can remain competitive by significantly boosting its speed with the Opera 10.50 prealpha release. One improvement I'm hoping for is for friendlier installations, where users will not have to opt-out of bloatware toolbars and search engine changes that they don't want. OpenCandy is doing some interesting work in this area.
Do you like this list? Do you think I've missed something major? Tell me about it in the comments.
Disclosure: CNET's TechTracker product uses OpenCandy in its installation.
The icons that reside in the Windows notification area (near the clock in the taskbar) convey much useful information at a glance. Is my network link live? How's my notebook's battery? Is there really yet another Windows update ready to be installed?
But one bit of information I often want to know is how much of my CPU is in use at any given time. Now the notification area gives me the lowdown on my processor as well. All I did was add a Task Manager shortcut to Windows' start-up folder and set the shortcut to open minimized.
Old-school taskbar customization
Windows gives you lots of options for altering the shortcuts on your Start menu (more on these below). Unfortunately, getting a CPU-usage indicator in the mix isn't one of the prefab customizations available. Instead, you have to do it yourself.
Add Task Manager's CPU graph to the taskbar's notification area.
(Credit: Microsoft)Start by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Open. Click or double-click the Programs folder and then the start-up folder. Right-click in the right pane and choose New > Shortcut. Type taskmgr in the location field and click Next. Give the shortcut a name, such as "Task Manager shortcut," and click Finish.
Now right-click the shortcut you just created, choose Minimized in the Run drop-down menu, and click OK. When you restart Windows, Task Manager's CPU graph will appear in the notification area. Hover the mouse over it to see the percentage of your CPU in use. Double-click it to open Task Manager.
Change your Start menu's behavior
I was surprised at how similar Windows 7's Start menu options are to its predecessors. To view your Start menu options, right-click the Start button and choose Properties. You can revert to the old-style Start menu by selecting Classic Start menu. If you're like me and prefer a combination of old and new, retain the default Start menu option and click Customize under the Start Menu tab.
By default, Windows shows Start menu items as links that you click to open. I like seeing Computer, Control Panel, Documents, and other system folders as menus, so I choose "Display as a menu."
This dialog also lets you change the e-mail program and Web browser shortcuts that appear on the Start menu, as well as the number of recent programs to show on the right side of the menu. To protect your privacy, return to the Start menu tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog and uncheck the options for storing and displaying recent files and programs.
Show Computer, Control Panel, Documents, and other Start menu folders as menus rather than links via the Customize Start Menu dialog.
(Credit: Microsoft)You can also customize the behavior of the icons in your notification area. Click the Notification Area tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog and choose the Customize button (make sure "Hide inactive icons" is checked). The default for most notification area icons is "Hide when inactive." To always hide or always show an icon, select it and choose Hide or Show on the drop-down menu that appears.
Windows 7's notification area adds an overflow pop-up window. To view its contents, click the up arrow to the left of the area. Click Customize to open the Notification Area Icons Control Panel applet. The options are renamed, but the actions are the same as in Vista: show, hide, or hide when inactive. (A couple of weeks ago, I described several more-useful new interface features in Windows 7.)
Automate your Start menu customizations
If you use Windows XP, the free Tweak UI utility (part of Microsoft's PowerToys suite) provides some one-click Start-menu customizations. Unfortunately, there's no PowerToys or Tweak UI equivalent for Vista and Windows 7.
Several freeware programs enhance your Start menu customization and management options. Start Menu Organizer from Winstep Software Technologies adds folders to the menu with links to system and Internet tools and lets you create your own custom Start menu folders.
Mithril Software's Start Menu Cleaner focuses on removing orphan menu entries and the useless items added by misbehaving program installers. Vista Start Menu from OrdinarySoft is particularly noteworthy for the many keyboard shortcuts the program adds to Vista's Start menu. However, CNET's reviewer was unable to get some of the utility's features to work, though it's unclear whether those functions are restricted to the paid version of the program.
Desktop customizations developer Stardock is giving you a few more ways to conquer desktop clutter with the release of Fences Pro, a premium version of the free icon organizer Fences.
When we reviewed Fences this past October, and as we followed the app's beta development in the many preceding months, we appreciated how Fences let us flexibly create, reshape, and edit windows on our desktop where we store our (relatively few) desktop icons. Our chief complaint was that all new icons downloaded to the desktop by default. We wanted to apply rules that automatically place specific icons in the correct folders.
Fences Pro now lets you create default rules for automatically-installed icons.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)Fences Pro ($19.95) largely answers our request; or at least it tries to. Fences Pro's settings menu not only lets you name a default folder in which all newly installed icons should appear, it also showcases a list of rules you can configure to deposit specific types of icons (images, music videos, etc.) into any of your "fences." The icon installation rules worked well in our tests, saving pictures we downloaded from the Web to our specified "Pics" fence, and application shortcuts to "Programs."
In addition, you can organize icons based on name, time, and customized rules. As you tweak or create rules, you'll choose from options like "the icon's type" "is" or "is not" a program shortcut, virtual item, compressed file, executable, and so on. You may have to spend some trial-and-error time with the drop-down menus in order to make your rule watertight.
Rules aren't the only extra features to crop into Fences Pro. ... Read more
One of about 150 themes available at launch in BlackBerry App World.
(Credit: DreamTheme)Starting Monday, BlackBerry devotees will have an easier time snazzing up their smartphones.
Themes are a new download category in the BlackBerry App World, both on the online catalog and on the App World app you can download to the BlackBerry. There were just shy of 150 free and premium visual themes at launch, including animated themes.
App World took a few extra seconds to update when we launched it this morning to check out the offerings. Otherwise, the minor application update was a smooth transition.
(Credit:
CNET)
There are a few sales over the Thanksgiving long weekend here in the U.S. with some developers slashing prices on many popular iPhone games. Huge iPhone game developer, Gameloft, is having a 99-cent sale on many of their popular game titles throughout the weekend. EA Games is also in on the action, offering price cuts to several of their big titles. Some games I've talked about here like Madden NFL 10, FIFA 10, and NBA Live are $6.99 for a limited time (usually $9.99) and there are a lot of other great deals. If you've been waiting for the prices to drop on some of the bigger games, now is the time to check out the iTunes App Store--you just might be pleasantly surprised.
This week's apps include a stylish clock app and a new Star Wars game that lets you relive some of the great moments of the original movie.
Choose from many different clock skins
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)PerfectClock (Free for a limited time) lets you display stylish-looking clocks on your iPhone screen that are perfect for when your phone is sitting in an iPhone Docking Station. The app comes with a handful of clocks you can choose from, or you can easily download free clock skins from within the app. Along with the beautiful designs, PerfectClock lets you set alarms, offers a number of different ways to display information on screen (date, month, day of week) and you can disable the autolock so the clock stays visible while you're charging it.
PerfectClock also comes with a number of ambient sound loops like rainforest sounds, ocean waves, and more. That way if your iPhone charges on your bedside table, you can set PerfectClock to play sounds of nature for a set amount of time (and even fade out) while you doze off. Overall, if you would like to use your iPhone as your main alarm clock and want a few more options, or would just like to check out some of the imaginative clock designs, you should download this app.
Try to avoid Darth Vader's crosshairs as you fly down the trench
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Star Wars: Trench Run ($4.99) lets you relive the moments leading up to the destruction of the Death Star from Star Wars IV: A New Hope. You can play arcade mode and choose between a dogfight with Tie Fighters on the surface of the Death Star, or Trench Run, where you fly your X-Wing fighter down the trench evading Darth Vader and blowing away gun towers. The mission mode lets you fight your way through the ending moments in sequence up to firing your rockets in to the exhaust port and blowing up the Death Star. The controls are fairly simple: tilt your iPhone to steer your X-Wing and touch the right side of your screen to fire your weapons. You also can use a Force slow-down skill by touching the left side of the screen--a great option when the action gets particularly intense.
Though Star Wars: Trench Run is a fun diversion for a little while, the game doesn't offer much in the way of long-term replay value. Once you've done each of the missions and played the different types of game modes a few times, the action gets kind of repetitive. Still, with original sound effects and music by John Williams paired with smooth 3D graphics, this game will appeal to Star Wars fans who dreamed of doing the trench run so long ago (myself included). For more on Star Wars: Trench Run, check out Rick Broida's column here.
What's your favorite iPhone app? Have you found any good holiday app deals? Do you have a better clock app to share? What do you think of Star Wars: Trench Run? Let me know in the comments!
The Dock is an integral part of OS X that Apple has styled in a one-size-fits-all manner. While the feature does work well, Apple's approach has kept a number of people at odds when features of the Dock have changed. For instance, in Leopard when Apple added reflections and changed the indicator to a white dot, many people found the view to be rather unappealing.... Read more
When you look at your Windows desktop, what do you see? A neat and tidy display with a few judiciously picked icons, or a meaningless morass of files, folders, ancient pictures, and Web links that were dumped without logic and continue to steadily march across your computer screen? Stop me if this sounds familiar. Stop me again if the thought has crossed your mind to clean house on a dozen occasions in the last few years, but the prospect of sifting through the refuse has deterred you every time.
Look Ma, I cleaned my desktop.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)Happily, a pretty darn good solution is at hand. ... Read more
Creating a custom Windows log-on screen has never been faster or simpler. Two free utilities let you do more than replace the boring Windows default start background with a picture of your pet hamsters, though you can do that, too.
Add system info to Windows' start-up sequence
In a post earlier this month, I described the beta version of the free TweakNow PowerPack 2009 utility that makes it easy to view system information, maintain Windows, and customize the OS' interface. As that post stated, I encountered a couple of rough edges in the beta version I looked at, but that's to be expected in a beta.
One TweakNow feature I took advantage of right away was the program's ability to add a "legal disclaimer" screen to Windows start-up. One practical application of this feature is to add information about the system to the screen's text box, which can make life a lot easier for you or for whoever has to maintain the machine.
Suppose you need to find out what type of memory your PC uses, what type of processor it runs, its current version of Windows, or even the toll-free support number of its vendor. It's not always easy to find all this information, which resides in various locations on your system. Utilities such as TweakNow can help you collect this type of data, but you'll still find yourself clicking around their various nooks and crannies to unearth what you need.
You could create an image containing this information and make it your Windows Desktop, but adding system information to a screen that appears early in the Windows start-up sequence not only saves you time rummaging around Windows settings, it also lets you get the info off a machine without having to fully load Windows. This is a capability a lot of IT staffers will likely appreciate, but anyone who maintains multiple PCs could find it a time-saver.
The system information I needed was available in various other TweakNow screens, but it was much easier for me to copy the main System Information screen, paste the data into the text box in the TweakNow Legal Notice dialog (click Windows Secret > User Accounts > Miscellaneous), and edit it there. I added the toll-free support number of the PC's vendor, just in case.
Add system information to the Windows log-on screen via the free TweakNow PowerPack 2009 utility.
(Credit: TweakNow)
Place text in a custom welcome-screen image
If you're one of the many people who simply want Windows to load quickly, you won't be happy having to click through yet another screen before you can start your workday. Stardocks offers two free programs that let you create your own welcome screen, complete with any text you want ready access to.
LogonStudio Vista and LogonStudio XP can replace the default welcome/log-on screen with a more visually exciting image from a free online library, or you can create your own welcome image.
Stardock's LogonStudio Vista makes replacing the default Windows welcome screen as easy as 1-2-3.
(Credit: Stardock)To test the program, I opened an image in Paint, added a text box containing information about the system, and then loaded the image using LogonStudio's Create and Upload options.
Place a text box holding system information into your custom welcome screen via Stardocks' free LogonStudio utility.
(Credit: Dennis O'Reilly)Frankly, I was more pleased with the presentation of the information in TweakNow's "Legal Disclaimer" screen than in LogonStudio's custom welcome screen. But if you want to avoid an extra start-up click and don't mind taking the time to create a custom welcome screen, it doesn't get much easier than using LogonStudio.
Every time Microsoft delivers a new OS it's possible to get many of the features of a Windows upgrade in the previous version of Windows. Windows 7 is no exception. Here's a roundup of a few things you can do to make Windows Vista as Windows 7-like as possible, without shelling out for the new OS.
We'll start out with a couple tweaks, then tell you about four free apps you can download. And a tip of the hat to the amazing Gina Trapani at Lifehacker, from whom I picked up several of these tricks.
First the taskbar. Windows 7 lets you "pin" apps to the taskbar and we can approximate that in Vista. Here's how.
Right-click on your taskbar.
Select toolbars.
And choose Quick Launch.
Now drag the icons you wish to "pin" into the left side of the taskbar.
Right click on the taskbar again and uncheck "lock taskbar."
Now click on the three rows of dots, hold down the mouse, and drag the bar over until you see all your icons.
Now, they look a little small like that, so let's make them bigger. Make sure the taskbar is unlocked.
Now right click on the taskbar again.
Select the view menu and choose large icons.
That's OK. But if you want a real Mac-like dock, forget all that and install RocketDock. It gives you a whole new Macish dock that you can put down at the bottom of the window instead of the taskbar.
But your Windows still looks all Vista-y. One more interface tweak before we move on. Download VistaGlazz 1.3. It's a utility that changes some system files to allow you to implement third-party themes on Vista. Launch VistaGlazz and, if you're sure, agree to allow it to modify your system files. I did it, and had no issues. But I make no guarantee.
... Read more
(Credit:
CNET)
As an integral part of the Mac OS X interface from the beginning, all Mac users know the Dock is where people can launch their most-used software and check to see which programs are currently running. I always find it interesting to see how people use the Dock on their Macs because its inherent flexibility makes it something personal for every user. Everyone has a specific way they work or play, and the Dock is easily customized to fit each person's style.
A program I discovered today makes the Dock in Leopard even more flexible and customizable for the different ways that you use your Mac. Docks makes it possible for you to take a snapshot of your Dock and save it by assigning a name. Once your Dock is saved, you can drag icons off or add new ones, knowing that you can restore your original Dock in only a couple of clicks. This means that you can create and name customized Docks for the various ways you use your Mac and you'll have a handy list to select the Dock you need at any given time. You could have a "work" Dock, for example, with each of the programs you use to get through your workday, or a "games" Dock with all your favorite games easily accessible. To switch, simply use global hot keys and pick the Dock you want to use at the time.
Name your docks so you know which ones to choose later
(Credit: CNET)The latest version of Docks adds support for Spaces making it possible to launch a customized Dock automatically when you switch to a different Space. This demo is a 30-day trial of the software and costs $10 to buy. I think that once you get used to switching Docks on the fly, you'll find that it improves your work flow and makes an already useful feature in Mac OS X Leopard even more flexible.
