Bring the Windows Experience Index back to Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 delivered plenty of worthwhile improvements: extra app docking and resizing options, a "boot to desktop" option, automatic app updates, SkyDrive integration in Explorer, and a sort-of Start button, amongst many others. But it also took one feature away in the form of the Windows Experience Index (WEI), a simple tool for benchmarking your PC hardware.
If you miss the WEI, though, there's no problem -- you can easily restore the feature by installing ChrisPC Win Experience Index.
RawCopy lets you copy any NTFS file -- even if it’s locked
Copying files is normally a very straightforward process, but there are one or two potential problems waiting to trip you up. If Windows or another application has the file open, for example, you’ll probably just get a "File in Use" error. And if you don’t have the necessary permissions to access the file then you could also be blocked.
You might be able to get around some of these issues, with a little work (using Unlocker to manually close a file, say), but RawCopy offers a simpler and safer approach. It’s an open-source console-based tool which copies NTFS files using low-level disk access, bypassing all the usual restrictions. Whether the file is locked by an application, Windows, or you just don’t have the necessary permissions, there’s no problem: RawCopy will copy it regardless.
List the installed software on any network PC with Basic Software Inventory
When you’re managing a network then it’s important to keep track of the software installed on each system, and Basic Software Inventory is convenient way to help, quickly listing everything installed on your target system.
Well, maybe not quite "everything", the program can only itemize applications installed with the Windows installer, a significant restriction. Don’t let that put you off, though, because Software Inventory has other interesting aspects, including the fact that it’s an HTML Application, a plain text HTA file, so you can see how the program works and even tweak it to suit your needs.
Stay safe -- flush your Windows cache to disk with Sysinternals Sync
If you regularly use removable drives on PCs then you probably already know they should be ejected (right-click in Explorer, select Eject) before you unplug them. This is because Windows normally caches disk writes for performance reasons, temporarily saving them in RAM; unplug a drive before its cache is flushed and you’re going to lose data.
It's not only removable drives which are at risk, though – Windows caches writes to regular hard drives, too. This is only for a few seconds and so unlikely to cause problems, but again, if something drastic happens before the cache is written -- a blue-screen crash, a power outage -- then data will be lost.
Create professional video slideshows with PhotoFilmStrip
Converting your favorite photos into a video slideshow can be a great way to share them with others, and there are plenty of free tools to handle the task (Pic View EXESlide, say). But most deliver only very basic results, simply cutting from one static image to another: not exactly interesting.
PhotoFilmStrip takes this idea a little further by making smart use of the Ken Burns effect, where your slideshow smoothly pans and zooms across each image. It produces a much more engrossing and professional video, and is surprisingly easy to set up.
New Paint.NET 4.0 alpha adds Bezier curve, tweaks status bar
Two months after the initial alpha release, dotPDN LLC has released a brand new build of Paint.NET 4.0 Alpha, its free image-editing tool for Windows. Build 5105 of this pre-release software includes a number of tweaks, improvements as well as the usual flurry of bug fixes associated with pre-release software.
Only one new feature is added to build 5105: a Bezier curve can now be applied using Paint.NET’s Shapes tool. Users should also find both line and curved shapes now work when the rounded line cap styles is applied.
Learn to love the command line (maybe) with cmder
Many PC users need to access the Windows command prompt occasionally, but its awkward interface means this is rarely a happy experience. Line editing works differently, you can’t use the clipboard as normal, even the window won’t resize properly: it’s no great surprise that most people avoid the console just as much as they can.
You don’t have to put up with the standard Command Prompt, though. There are plenty of applications which can make your console life very much easier, and cmder is the perfect way to start trying them out.
Brighten up your PC with the best Bing homepages of 2013
Bing is a decent search engine, and the daily images that adorn its homepage are always worth a look. Late last week the Bing team announced the ten most popular homepage images for 2013, which includes an aerial view of Gardens by the Bay and the Super Trees in Singapore City, a night shot of Mount Shasta in California, a mangrove seen from underwater in the Seychelles, and Lulworth Cove along the Jurassic Coast, in England. As well as showing off the pictures, the Bing team provides a link so you can download them for use as desktop wallpaper.
If you’d prefer to have the images cycling in a screensaver, the Bing team has now made that possible too, in the form of a new 13MB "Wallpaper & Screensaver" Pack.
Sysinternals Disk2vhd 2 supports WinRE volumes, VHDX
Windows Sysinternals has unveiled Disk2vhd 2.0, a tool for converting physical Windows systems to virtual formats.
The major plus in this release is support for VHDX, a significant update to the VHD format which offers much-improved performance, increased reliability, and more. Just leave the "Use Vhdx" box checked and the program will create a VHDX file for you.
The UK’s most-used TV guide app goes global
Television used to be simple. When you only had a few channels delivered via an aerial or a cable, deciding what to watch and where to watch it was easy. But with multi-channel digital services, the ability to watch on mobile devices, catch up with programs you’ve missed and more, it’s now a whole lot more complicated.
Little wonder then that apps which help you work out what to watch are proving popular. YO.TV, the UK's most used TV guide with five million customers, now plans to expand to 50 countries in 14 languages. Available on Google Play and the App Store, YO.TV lets users see listings for all their favorite channels across broadcast providers. Its Now and Next options streamline the scanning process, giving a cross section view of the full channel listings for any given time block. Personalized features let users set themselves reminders on their personal calendars so they don’t miss a favorite show or share their tastes in TV via social media.
CCleaner adds individual cookie cleaning, Nero 14 support
The holiday season is upon us, and utilities developer Piriform has delivered a Christmas gift to all CCleaner users with an update to version 4.09.
The latest release now offers finer tuned cleaning, with an option to delete individual cookies from the Cookies interface.
LookDisk searches your drives for files, duplicates, text, more
Your PC’s hard drive is packed with files. Windows doesn’t provide all the search power you need, and you don’t have the time to research a host of specialist search tools, either.
The answer? LookDisk. It’s versatile, searching your drives for files, text, duplicate files and more. A host of configuration options ensures the program works just as you require. It’s also free, and portable, so ready to use almost anywhere.
STDU Viewer opens PDF, MOBI, TIFF, CBR/CBZ, EPub, PDB files and more
If you’re working on someone else’s PC and need to view a PDF file, then it probably won’t be an issue. Just about everyone has a copy of Adobe Reader (or something similar) around, allowing you to open and browse the document as usual.
If you’re faced with a DjVu file, though -- or a TIFF, MOBI, EPub document or PSD image -- then you might need to do a little extra work. And that’s where STDU Viewer comes in.
Get a REAL Start button and menu in Windows 8.1
So Windows 8.1 is finally here and although it is a massive improvement over its predecessor (I recently had to install Windows 8 on a laptop and couldn’t believe how bad it is in comparison), Microsoft’s new Start button really isn’t what a lot of people were hoping for.
If you want to enjoy the benefits of the new operating system without being bothered by the Modern UI there are lots of alternative third-party options available. And when I say lots, I mean it. Some cost money, others are free. I’ll list my favorite three and then suggest some others to try if those don’t appeal.
Avast 2014 update improves detection, performance and compatibility
Avast Software has announced the update of Avast 2014 (including Free Antivirus 2014, Internet Security 2014 and Premier 2014) to build 9.0.2011. Don’t be fooled by the minor version number, though -- this is a major update with some significant new features.
The installer now uses Avast's self-defense driver from the moment it launches, for instance, making it much more difficult for active malware to shut it down.
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