Articles about Free Software

If you're managing or troubleshooting a PC then it's often useful to keep track of an important Windows service. The regular services applet handles the basics, but the free ServiceTray goes further with extra features and far better real-time feedback.

Setup is simple, mostly about choosing the service to be monitored (it only tracks one at a time) and your preferred system tray icon. ServiceTray can then generate an icon in the Startup folder, or your desktop, as required.

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Windows Explorer does a reasonable job of displaying thumbnails for standard image types, but it’s not so good with videos. You might get lucky with a few basic formats, but others -- FLV, MKV -- are usually ignored, leaving you with basic placeholder thumbnails which tell you nothing at all.

If that sounds familiar then Icaros may be able to help. It’s a collection of Windows shell extensions, powered by a custom version of FFmpeg which can extract thumbnails from just about any media format every created.

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Looking for a digital solution to the raft of sticky notes plastered across your desk? ZHorn Software has just unveiled Stickies 8.0a, the first major update to its free desktop sticky tool for Windows since November 2012.

New features include support for inserting images in text stickies, the ability to stack desktop stickies together and periodic automatic backups.

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Tedious PC tasks can sometimes by automated by scripting, command line switches, maybe an application’s own built-in scheduler. But if those options don’t work for you then you could try MouseController, a very lightweight tool which records and replays your mouse actions.

The program is absolutely tiny -- a 32KB download -- and doesn’t require installation. Just unzip it, launch the single executable and you’re ready to go.

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Why Can’t I Connect? is an open source tool which can help to identify and solve TCP/IP connection errors.

Typically you'll use the program to try and connect to one of many common server types (Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL Server, FTP, SFTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, IRC, LDAP and Usenet are supported, along with generic servers and clients). Why Can’t I Connect? then tries to make the connection for you, reporting on what happens at every stage, and offering possible explanations for whatever errors crop up.

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As someone blessed with the opportunity to try the Surface Pro 3 early, I can say it is truly a game changer. It is very light, has great battery life and a big beautiful display. The tablet/laptop hybrid is far beyond offerings by competitors, including Apple. If you even consider buying a Macbook Air over this, you are arguably making a huge mistake.

With that said, the Surface Pro 3 will begin hitting stores this Friday, June 20th. While the computer is great out of the box, it is not complete until you install useful apps and programs. But wait, aren't apps and programs the same thing? Yes and no. They are both pieces of software, but apps run in the Modern UI, and programs run in the classic UI. While Windows RT variants of Surface cannot install extra programs, the Pro 3 can, since it has an x86_64 Haswell processor. Below is a list of my suggested programs, apps, games and hardware accessories.

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Everyone needs a good archive manager, and you've probably chosen one already. We're fans of 7-Zip: the current release may be three years old, but it still performs very well.

There is some competition around, though, and B1 Free Archiver is an interesting example which really does stand out from the crowd.

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If you need to process your PDFs then there’s no shortage of free options. JPDF Tweak alone can crop or rotate pages, apply text and image watermarks, encrypt, decrypt them, and so on. You’ve probably come across similar toolkits yourself.

Even the best of these programs will have some gaps in its functionality, though: some security options missing, limited batch processing, inflexible split or merge tools, maybe can’t create linearized (web-friendly) PDFs. And so sometimes, just occasionally, you’ll need a heavy-duty solution like the command line QPDF.

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Normal antivirus software works by looking at signatures and behaviors to prevent or remove malware infections. However, many infections now stem from exploits in legitimate programs which means that it's possible for nasties to slip onto the system unnoticed.

A new Anti-Exploit tool from Malwarebytes released today is designed to protect against vulnerabilities in mass-market applications such as browsers, Java, document readers, media players and others.

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WinTrezur looks at first much like any other image viewer. There’s a folder tree on the left, a set of thumbnails on the right. Double-clicking any image displays it full-screen; pressing Esc returns you to the thumbnail viewer again, and you can view everything as a slideshow.

So far, so very standard. But explore a little further and unusual extras begin to appear.

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MyFolders is a free Windows shell extension which makes it easier to copy or move files to any folder, or to open common folders in a couple of clicks.

The program installs quickly and easily. There’s no obvious interface, so to see how it works, select a file in Explorer, right-click and choose the new MyFolders menu.

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If you’ve ever spent time troubleshooting low-level PC problems then you’ll know that understanding Windows services can be very helpful. The standard Services applet (Win+R > services.msc) tells you a lot about what’s happening on your system -- but there is one important exception.

Windows 7 and 8 support service "triggers", a mechanism which allows Windows services to start when a particular event occurs (a device is plugged in to the computer, say). The Services applet highlights these by listing their Startup Type as "Manual (Trigger Start)" or "Automatic (Trigger Start)", but double-click a triggered service and it won’t tell you anything more.

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Adobe has released a major update to its web media player and runtime platform with the release of Adobe Flash Player 14.0 and Adobe AIR 14.0.

The new releases deliver a number of new features and updates: a PPAPI Flash Player content debugger, support for Atom-based Android devices and -- of most interest to end users -- support for the AIR Gamepad API.

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It doesn’t matter how many refinements and new features are introduced into each new version of OS X, you always end up wanting more, particularly when it comes to the Finder. Thankfully there are usually a slew of third-party apps -- many free -- that can fill in the gaps.

Take the Finder context menu for instance -- if you feel like it could be a little more helpful at times, then you need to install FinderPop 2.5.5.

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Bartels Media GmbH has unveiled Phrase Express 10.1, a major update to its versatile tool for extending AutoText and AutoComplete to any Windows app. Version 10.1 contains a number of improvements and adds a new cancellation hotkey.

The tool, which is free for personal use and is also available in portable form, allows users to build a personal library of text snippets and phrases for quickly inserting into documents, forms and other windows.

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