Convert is a handy unit conversion tool
When you’re unsure about Fahrenheit vs Celsius, feet and meters, or just wondering how large a petabyte really is, there’s no substitute for a good conversion tool.
There are plenty of candidates online. Google has several (search "convert F to C" for an example). But if you just need something lightweight for your PC desktop, then Convert could prove very useful.
Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer 1.2 now available
Microsoft has updated its handy troubleshooting tool Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer to version 1.2.
The Scan screen has been redesigned to add new tools. An "Office Alerts" section displays links to relevant Office support documents, while corporate customers will find help with Key Management Services activation issues.
NConvert -- an amazing command line-based image processor
In an increasingly touch-oriented world, the idea of using a command line utility to process images might seem, well, just a little old-fashioned.
And maybe it is. But if you regularly need to resize, rotate, crop or convert multiple images, then there’s still no substitute for a console tool like NConvert.
ASCOOS Web Server is a convenient Apache/ MySQL/ PHP bundle for developers
If you’d like to test your latest web development project locally then you could download Apache, then whatever other components you might need, install them individually and hope they all work together.
Or you could just grab a copy of ASCOOS Web Server, which does most of the hard work for you.
First look: DrawPad Graphics Editor
Australian developer NCH Software has announced the availability of DrawPad Graphics Editor, a straightforward and easy-to-use free vector graphics tool.
The program’s tiny size (566KB) didn’t leave us expecting very much. This isn’t just a downloader, either: even when installed, DrawPad requires barely more than 2MB drive space.
Google, Bing, Yahoo keyword rank checker Rankaware adds scheduler
The keyword rank checker Rankaware has been updated to version 1.4.
The highlight is that this release finally adds a scheduler. You don’t have to manually initiate an update any more: enable the schedule and the program can check your current Google, Bing and Yahoo! rankings when the program starts, every day, or on any specified day of the week or month.
APUSB 47 restores USB drive autorun to Windows 7 and 8
At first, Windows AutoRun seemed like a very good idea. Just connect a removable drive, and as long as it’s configured correctly, a program is automatically launched to help process your files (or whatever else you want to do).
But then, of course, malware authors realized that this was a great way to infect PCs without anyone ever noticing. Individual users could turn AutoRun off, but eventually Microsoft decided this wasn’t enough, and the feature was disabled for all but optical media in Windows 7.
AVI ReComp supports custom target file sizes
It’s been almost two years since the last release, but the excellent AVI compression tool AVI ReComp has finally been updated to version 1.5.6.
There’s only one significant addition in this build, but it’s a good one. When choosing a target size for the output video, you’re no longer restricted to the default choices. Click "Custom sizes", add whatever new sizes you like, and in future they’ll appear along with the standard options.
OpenClonk is a free, multiplayer -- and strangely familiar -- action game
It’s now almost 20 years since Clonk first appeared, a fun multiplayer platform and real-time strategy game.
The core program gave you control over "Clonks", "small but nimble humanoid beings". You moved them around a 2D horizontally scrolling world, reworking the landscape, setting up mining operations, managing your economy and taking part in "fast and fiddly melees".
Opera Developer 21 updated, promises improved start-up times
Opera has updated the alpha version of its web browser with the release of Opera Developer 21.0.1432.5 for Windows and Mac. The new build fixes a few regressions, plus implements new tab-related tweaks to improve start-up times.
Version 21.0 opens with a number of important fixes, restoring Adblock to full working order and promising an end to the "Harlem Shake" when hovering over tabs on the Mac platform. It also fixes a number of unspecified crashes.
View, edit and batch process your photos with Photoimp
If you’ve tried a few free photo managers then you’ll know that the vast majority are, well, disappointing. Most have absolutely no original ideas. And some don’t even match up to the basic functionality you get with Explorer, all on its own.
We didn’t expect very much from the image viewer Photoimp, then -- but it turned out to be a real surprise.
Manage offline Windows updates with Windows Hotfix Downloader
In an ideal world, updating Windows would never require any manual intervention. You’d set up your PC to install updates automatically, and get on with other things, leaving your computer to manage any patches all on its own.
Life isn’t always that simple, of course. If you need to update a PC which doesn’t have a fast (or any) internet connection, or maybe you have to manage the updates for several systems, then the regular Windows Update applet may not be enough.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1 Beta unveiled, supports commenting and annotating on text ranges in Writer
Apache Software Foundation has unveiled the first public beta of its forthcoming Apache OpenOffice 4.1 release. The new version continues to build on the major changes introduced when version 4 was released last year.
Although termed a minor release, version 4.1 does add one major new feature -- the ability to commentate and annotate on text ranges -- as well as a number of significant improvements. It also moves to 64-bit only on the OS X platform.
Make your mouse cursor disappear with AutoHideMouseCursor
Go to work on the Windows desktop and the mouse cursor is normally very useful, a helpful guide which ensures you’re always pointing and clicking in exactly the right place.
Sometimes, though, it’s a little different. If you’re taking screen grabs, maybe watching a full-screen application, you might not want the mouse cursor around. And that’s where AutoHideMouseCursor can help.
TotalEdit Professional is a powerful -- and now free -- Notepad replacement
TotalEdit Professional is an interesting and very capable Notepad replacement. But it used to cost $29.99, a major issue when competing editors such as Notepad++ cost nothing at all.
It seems that the developers have also realized this is a problem, though. And as they’re looking to Android and iPhone products as a means to generate revenue, TotalEdit Professional is now available for free. (It still installs as a trial version, but just register with the license code 2D5B073C-93D0-6D40-8970-B041-C2C and it’ll be activated right away).
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