Transform your printer and scanner into a powerful photocopier
Multifunction printers have many useful features, but the ability to work as a photocopier has to be one of the best. Place your document on the scanner, click the Copy button, and a duplicate should appear in just a few seconds.
You don’t have to miss out on this kind of convenience just because you’ve a separate printer and scanner, though. Grab a copy of iCopy and the program will combine your devices into a straightforward yet very capable photocopier.
One third of UK web streamers pirate film, TV and music
We all know that the internet is home to illegal software, music, movies and much more. It may seem like an impossible task to put figures to piracy levels, but a report by Ofcom, the independent regulator for the communications industries in the UK, has done just that. The Online Copyright Infringement Tracker report found that a staggering 30 percent of regular downloaders of media did so illegally.
The report looked at the period from November 2012 to January 2013 and analyzed UK consumption of online music, film, TV programmes, books, games and software. Compared to the previous three months, the percentage of web users accessing any of this type of content increased from 57 percent to 60 percent.
EaseUS Todo Backup adds support for selective file recovery from disk images
EaseUS Software has released EaseUS Todo Backup 6.0 Free and EaseUS Todo Backup 6.0 Workstation, major new versions of its image- and file-based backup tool. Version 6.0 adds support for recovering individual files from partitions, while WorkStation users also gain tools for simplifying migration between physical and virtual machines.
The major new feature affecting all users is support for recovering selected files from image-based backups. Previously users could only recover entire partitions or disks, but now users can either recover individual files using the Recovery wizard, or mount the image as a virtual drive for browsing and extracting files.
Tablets dance over PC's grave
Few are those who still profess a bright future for PCs and, starting today, even fewer will. According to IDC's latest forecast, in 2013 the PC market is expected to take another dive with shipments dropping by 7.8 percent. This is triggered by a shift in computing needs as users look for more versatility and less raw power.
"As the market develops, usage patterns and devices are evolving", says IDC program vice president Loren Loverde. "Many users are realizing that everyday computing, such as accessing the Web, connecting to social media, sending emails, as well as using a variety of apps, doesn't require a lot of computing power or local storage". Naysayers, it's time to face the music -- the average user can get away with a tablet or smartphone to get the job done.
System Scheduler lets you easily automate PC tasks
If you’d like to automatically run an antivirus scan at a particular time, or maybe defragment your hard drive, then it’s usually very easy. And that’s because security packages and defrag tools almost always include a scheduling option, which allows them to carry out some preferred action even when you’re not around.
Most programs don’t have this kind of feature, unfortunately, but automating them may still be possible, with just a little help from System Scheduler.
Google Reader, I'll follow you to the very end
On July 1 Google pulls the plug on Reader and, like many other users, I have decided not to be caught unprepared by its rapidly-approaching demise. Shortly after the search giant revealed its execution plans I migrated all my RSS feeds to Feedly, telling myself "OK, now's the time to move on". Skip forward a couple of months and Reader is still open in a Chrome tab.
I can't really move on. The RSS feed aggregator holds a very special place in my heart as I rely on it every single day to write news stories and catch up on things that I'm passionate about. It's like the perfect relationship except for that one tiny detail (huge actually) -- the expiration date is near.
Give your Android device a Windows 8-style makeover
The Best Windows 8 Launcher, from PRR Apps, is a new app designed to bring the Windows 8 Modern UI experience to Android devices.
It offers two modes -- tablet and mobile -- with full screen support and is highly customizable. There are 150 downloadable images of apps you can use as tile backgrounds, as well as 50 Windows 8 style icons, and widget and live wallpaper support.
Dear Linux, I'm leaving you -- for Windows 8
Microsoft Windows 8 is the best desktop operating system. Period. No Linux distribution or OS X can compare. I say this as a Linux user and lover.
When it comes to computing, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Microsoft Windows. Windows 95 was the operating system of my first-ever computer -- we could not afford a computer before then. As time marched on, I found myself dual-booting Windows and Linux on my future computers, with most of my time being spent in Linux. That is, until a few years ago when I exclusively ran various Linux distributions as the sole OS on my computer.
LG takes the wraps off Nexus 4 White
The rumors were true! On Tuesday, South Korean manufacturer LG revealed the new Nexus 4 White. The smartphone features the same hardware specifications as its black sibling, which was announced in late-October, and runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
"Nexus 4 set the standard for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean smartphones", says LG's Jong-seok Park. "Nexus 4 White delivers the same Google experience to consumers in a stylish and attractive color option". The handset follows its predecessor, the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus, in also sporting a white color trim.
PeStudio lets you analyse suspicious programs for malware
If you find a program on your PC which you think might be malware, then checking it with an antivirus tool is a good first step -- but it’s not the only option. You could also try "static analysis", which involves examining the executable file itself to learn more about it. Most static analysis tools are aimed at developers and extremely complex, but the free PeStudio is an interesting exception: it offers plenty of low-level detail, but also has more straightforward features that just about anyone can use.
It’s easy to get started with the program. Just download and unzip it, launch PeStudio.exe, and drag and drop your suspect executable onto the PeStudio window. Wait a few seconds for the program to run its analysis, and a detailed report then appears.
Opera browser takes a radical left turn with Opera Next 15
Opera Software has unveiled Opera Next 15, the first look at a major new direction for its cross-platform web browser. Opera Next 15 -- which installs alongside the existing stable version, Opera 12.15 -- sees the browser jump not one, but three version numbers, such is the radical nature of the new release.
The major news surrounding Opera Next 15 is the switch from its own Presto proprietary web rendering engine to Google’s open-source Chromium engine. But other changes include a revamped user interface, overhauled Speed Dial page, new Discover and Stash features, plus the dropping of all integrated email features, which will be available as a separate product, Opera Mail, also available in pre-release form.
Symantec phases out PC Tools security software
Symantec has dropped the PC Tools range of security software, leaving the Australian company that it acquired in 2008 to concentrate on its system tuning products.
Buying PC Tools gave Symantec a budget brand with the Internet Security, Spyware Doctor and Spyware Doctor with Antivirus products slotting in below the more upmarket Norton range. Now as part of Symantec CEO Stephen Bennett’s restructuring of the company, the PC Tools security products are being quietly streamlined out of existence.
CCleaner now better at cleaning up after Internet Explorer 10
Piriform Ltd has announced the release of CCleaner 4.02, and while it’s flagged as a minor release, the build includes plenty of worthwhile improvements.
Internet Explorer 10 included several low-level changes in how the program stored its data, for instance, which meant CCleaner didn’t handle it quite as well as previous releases. But that situation was never going to last for long, and this build now includes improved IE10 history, cache and DOMStore cookie cleaning for better results all round.
Microsoft: Social networking is underestimated in the workplace
According to a new survey conducted by research firm Ipsos for Microsoft, many employers are at odds with their employees when it comes to social networking.
The global survey, among 9,908 information workers in 32 countries, found that while 46 percent of employees believe social tools help with productivity, 34 percent of companies undervalue the benefit of such technology in the workplace.
Mozilla Archive Format offers a better way to save web pages
When you’re busy with some online research then you’ll often want to save interesting web pages for easy reference later. So it’s a pity that while every browser has some kind of “Save As” function, the end results are usually unimpressive, awkward to share with others, and may not even bear much resemblance to the original page.
This is such a fundamental requirement that you might have thought the big-name browsers would have come up with a solution already, but while we wait you can always try Mozilla Archive Format, a Firefox add-on which extends the usual "Save Page As" function in several very useful ways.
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