Explore deep space with Aladin
Aladin is an interactive sky atlas enabling users to visualize and explore a host of astronomical images and data. Or, if that sounds too complicated, you could just use it to look at gorgeous pictures of deep space. Which works for us.
As long as you have Java, there’s no setup required. Aladin is a single executable, and you can just download it and run on Windows, Linux and Mac.
Typora is a distraction-free markdown editor
Typora is a minimalist markdown editor for Windows and Mac. Markdown is a simple language which uses plain text formatting to create rich text documents, but you don’t need to understand any of that to get started.
Typora opens much like any other editor. Start typing and you can style text, copy and paste, find and replace, undo, open, print, save and more, with all the keyboard shortcuts you know already.
Cut your animated GIF file sizes with GIF Optimizer
If you’ve ever tried creating animated GIFs, you’ll have noticed that they can get very large, especially when using complex sources like TV footage. That’s no great surprise -- the format was designed for simple animations, not full color video -- but GIF Optimizer Free may help you shrink your file sizes.
Setup is easy, because there’s no installation required -- just unzip the download and run gifoptimizer.exe.
Auto-close unused Firefox tabs with Dustman
You can resize Firefox tabs, group them, send them to another window, but it won’t make any difference: there’s never quite enough tab space to go around. Dustman is a free Firefox extension which helps out by automatically closing tabs which haven’t been used in the last 20 minutes.
That could be potentially risky, but as with the similar Tab Wrangler for Chrome, the developer has used several tricks to reduce the chance of problems.
Manage virtual CD, DVD, HD-DVD or BD drives with ImgDrive
ImgDrive is a free tool which can mount multiple disc images as virtual CD, DVD, HD-DVD or BD drives. The program works with iso, ccd, cue, isz, mds and nrg images.
Everything is controlled from the program’s system tray icon. This opens with a single drive letter, and you’re able to mount a new image, then access it in Explorer just like any other disc. If the single drive letter isn’t enough, another system tray menu option reserves up to 7.
Image to PDF or XPS is a portable PDF creator
Image to PDF or XPS is a compact tool which imports multiple image formats, saving the results to PDF or XPS files. Supported source formats include BMP, GIF, PNG, TIF, WMF, EMF, XPS, JPG, JP2 and J2K files.
Your chosen images may be imported via an "Add Files" button, or you can just drag and drop them onto the program window.
Tor Browser 6.0 arrives
The Tor Browser team has announced the first stable release of Tor Browser 6.0. This edition adds code-signing for OS X, which should allow Mac users to install Tor without any Gatekeeper hassles.
The core Firefox build has been updated to Firefox 45-ESR, and there are similar updates for OpenSSL, HTTPS-Everywhere, Torbutton and more.
Calendar and Countdown: quick and easy task countdowns for Chrome
Calendar and Countdown is a free Chrome extension with some handy calendar and task management features. Click C&C’s address bar icon and a full year calendar appears, along with week numbers and links to view different years.
If you’ve some major event coming up, click that date and give it a text description and color code. The color code is visible on the calendar, and hovering your mouse over that date displays the text, as a reminder.
Grover Podcast is a smart podcast manager for Windows 10
You’re running Windows 10, enjoy browsing podcasts, but really don’t want to install the bulky iTunes? Grover Podcast is a free, easy-to-use Windows 10 app which covers all the podcast basics -- and more -- and just might have everything you need.
The app opens in a "My Podcasts" area, initially empty, but it doesn’t have to stay that way for long. In a click or two you can be entering feed URLs, or maybe importing an OPML file if you’re already managing podcasts elsewhere.
KOPLAYER is an Android emulator for Windows
KOPLAYER is a free Android emulator which allows mobile gaming on your PC’s desktop. It’s a bulky 300MB download -- VirtualBox and an Android image, mostly -- but installs easily enough, and within a minute or two your virtual Android device appears.
KOPLAYER opens with a quick tutorial, explaining some of its basics. We would have liked more detail, but even this level of documentation is more than you get with some of the competition.
Squeaky Mouse plays WAVs when you click mouse buttons
Squeaky Mouse is a quirky Windows application which plays custom WAV files when you click specific mouse buttons. This could be useful audio feedback for anyone who can’t clearly see the mouse, perhaps because they’re visually impaired, or they’re some distance away, perhaps watching an in-person software demonstration.
Or you could just use it to really, really, really annoy someone.
Stop data leaks with GiliSoft USB Lock
Networks, Internet, USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, CD, DVD, Blu-ray -- modern PCs make it easy to exchange files with the outside world. Sounds great. Unless you’re running a business, perhaps managing several PCs, each packed with confidential files which you don’t want copied or shared without permission.
GiliSoft USB Lock ($39.95 right now for a lifetime license, $49.95 normally) provides a range of ways to lock down your PC, and limit unauthorized data leakage.
Cryptomator: free client-side encryption for your cloud files
Keeping your data in the cloud offers some protection against disaster, but also brings privacy issues: could anyone else access your files?
Cryptomator provides transparent, client-side encryption to keep your data safe, and allows access on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS (a $4.99 commercial app), and via Java (Android is "coming soon").
Take full control of your PC’s sleep modes with Stand-Bye!
Stand-Bye! is a free tool which suspends your PC when it’s idle, saving energy and extending battery life. This starts much like Windows, with a simple "activate standby after x minutes idle time" setting. Simple.
What’s more interesting is that Stand-Bye! gives you complete control over how "idle time" is defined.
Listary 5.0 is a massive update
The powerful search tool/ launcher Listary has hit version 5.0 with a huge list of major new features. You can now use Listary to run searches on your favorite websites, with the results opening in a new browser page.
A smarter launcher is able to launch Windows 8/ 10 apps, and run desktop applications as an administrator, even when Listary is launched normally.
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