Adobe Reader is monstrously large, slow to load, and includes many features most users will hardly ever need. Foxit PDF Reader pares down its PDF-reading code and comes up with some neat features, like annotation tools, to give you a PDF reader that's far more appropriate for the average PDF user.
PDFs open from the Internet in their own Foxit window, instead of sucking browser resources, and the interface mimics Adobe's so you won't have to change your reading habits. In our test, the text readability wasn't much inferior to Acrobat's. The 1.6MB program starts surprisingly fast. Foxit's biggest flaw in the old version was hogging memory and that has been corrected. We did find it incredibly irritating that URL hyperlinks were unclickable, and that some features were secretly blocked in the freeware copy.
For quick retouches, Photoshop is more than overkill--it's like going rabbit hunting with a nuke. All that bloat can take much longer than is necessary. Paint.NET, on the other hand, is an open-source editor with all the essentials, including tools to crop, rotate, resize images, adjust colors, and create collages. Unlike many free image editors, Paint.NET supports layers and has an actions manager. The pleasing interface boasts semitransparent windows for ease of use.
Paint.NET supports common image formats--JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and others--but not high-resolution RAW files. There are enough basic and intermediate effects and features to keep image-tweakers happy, though the red-eye removal tool is notably weak; those images may require manual attention. Way more advanced than Microsoft Paint, this is a must-have for even experienced digital image demigods.
Belarc Advisor is one of those tools for Windows users that you didn't know you were missing until you started using it. It's hard to understate how important this program can be, as it provides a free analysis of your machine's security weak points.
By looking at elements such as whether antivirus software and definitions are up to date, or whether all the security flaws in Windows have been patched, Belarc works quickly to inform you of what you're missing and provide links to how you can fix it. It uses the Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmark test to give the computer a score showing its overall security level and produces a report that can be viewed in a Web browser.
Not only does it analyze software and operating system components and tell you where problems are, but in its comprehensive report it tells you what your computer's physical components are: not just how much RAM you have, for example, but what kind of RAM and which slots are occupied. Simply put, the clear advice given on how to address each issue is invaluable.
As great as it is to have tools such as Firefox and Thunderbird, backing user profiles and all their moving parts can be a tedious process. MozBackup is a tiny program that makes saving and restoring all your bookmarks, extensions, and other personal settings a streamlined and stress-free experience. It's dead simple to use because it walks you through both the backup and restore features. So, for example, even if you've backed up everything but you only want to restore your bookmarks, you can do that easily.
The program works with Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, and Netscape on Windows platforms. It doesn't work with Firefox Portable, Sunbird, Songbird, or Flock, but for standard Windows iterations of the programs in the Mozilla suite, it's almost silly to not use this program. If you've got a specific or a complicated set of extensions and settings on your work machine, and merely thinking about how to transfer them makes you want to revert to using an Underwood, MozBackup should quell your fears.
KMPlayer lacks a help file but makes up for it by being one of the most powerful freeware video players we've seen. It includes a vast array of video- and audio-capturing options, as well as skins, a plethora of playback controls and tweaks, and broad DVD support. You'll have to learn the ropes yourself, but if you're familiar with where things ought to be, and willing to patiently wait for the mouse-over label to confirm your suppositions, KMPlayer has the potential to be immensely rewarding.
It supports nearly every file format we could think of testing. It did have problems with RealPlayer 11's video capture IVR format, but not much else. Throw in the advanced features such as frame capture and a frame-forward feature, the ability to stream TV and HDTV, playlists, and the ability to choose codecs on a video-by-video basis, and you get a media player that demands attention.
Rich in Web content, short on cash? Open-source FTP application FileZilla is handy if you're looking for a feature-rich tool for Windows, Macs, and Linux machines to handle transfers and don't want to part with your bucks. The multilingual app caches directories to speed up browsing, and multiple secure connection options ensure that you can move files around without concern.
FileZilla supports all the major features you'd expect from a top-notch FTP client: bookmarking, a site manager, QuickConnect for fast switching on the fly, the ability to connect to multiple servers at once, and a powerful filter. It lacks a task scheduler, but makes up for that by eating a manageable amount of memory. Hands down, this is one of the best FTP tools around.
Hopefully, there aren't too many Windows users left who don't have Auslogics Disk Defrag. In case you don't, though, this is an excellent time to stop using the slow, native Microsoft defragger and upgrade--for free!--to an app that works better and faster: Auslogics Disk Defrag.
Even on older Windows XP systems, the program runs reasonably fast. Chose a hard drive from the drop-down menu to get a read on its stats such as free and used space and get a visual comparison in a pie chart. One click starts the defragging, and along with a visual table representing the various bits and bytes that are being shunted around, you also get a running ticker of the file currently being defragged. Disk Defragger spits out a bar graph and an HTML report at the end, lacking only a final sector map.
(Credit:
Idlebackup.nl)
If you're like me, backing up your computer is an irregular affair at best. Burning DVDs, dusting off external drives, cleaning up and preparing all of the files...it's a hassle. For lazy downloaders looking to duplicate their critical files on an internal/external drive or network folder with as little muss or fuss as possible, the freeware IdleBackup might be a positive step toward assuming the necessary mantle of their backup responsibilities.
IdleBackup doesn't look like much at first glance, and unfortunately, its interface is not hiding any tricks behind "advanced" buttons. It does deliver on its promise and lets you easily set any local directories on your machine to be copied to a network folder or mounted drive. You tell IdleBackup how often you want your files to be backed up, minimize the program to your system tray, then never think about it again.
As mentioned in the CNET Download.com review, managing your list of directories isn't one of IdleBackup's strong points, and it does seem to use a significant amount of memory despite its small download size and supereasy installation. However, for users seeking a free application to automatically back up specific folders to one specific location, it's a quick and easy solution.
See also: SyncBack Free.
The age of video distribution over the Internet has just begun, and open-source and DRM-free Miro for both Mac and Windows is perfectly poised to take advantage of the still-growing, still-unsettled paradigm.
Along with standard multicodec video playback, Miro supports torrents and completed torrent playback, watches to manage both old and new content in user-defined folders, resumable playback, video sharing and hosting, and assistance in creating videos. One of Miro's most compelling features are the channels that organize video feeds by topic--integration with Google, Yahoo, YouTube, and other search engines and video Web sites makes discovering favorites and new material exceedingly effortless.
Although Firefox and Internet Explorer have claimed the lion's share of the Web browser market, that doesn't mean there aren't other worthwhile browsers out there. At the top of my list for a reliable second to Firefox, and holding the overall number one spot in many user's hearts, is Opera.
Available for Windows, Macs, and cell phones, Opera is stable, loads fast, and comes fully equipped with robust features including widgets and built-in syncing capabilities. The mobile version can now upload and download files directly from a phone without switching over to the phone's native browser, making it a great tool for updating your social networking pages on the go, and the appeal of having all your desktop's bookmarks just a sync button away from your cell phone shouldn't be understated.
