Google Chrome 43 adds web MIDI hardware support, improves permissions API
Google has unveiled Chrome 43 FINAL for Windows, Mac and Linux. Version 43’s main new feature is support for hardware MIDI instruments.
Chrome 43 also implements a couple of behind-the-scenes tweaks for developers that will help benefit end users through reducing the number of unnecessary prompts for action without compromising security.
Process Hacker gains new features
Fabulous PC monitoring tools Process Hacker and Process Hacker Portable have been updated to version 2.35 with some welcome extras and enhancements.
One major addition is support for viewing the load time and load reasons for process modules, on Windows 8 and above. If a long-running process like Explorer.exe is developing problems, you can now sort its modules by load time to get clues about the cause.
View hundreds of retro graphics formats with RECOIL
Viewing images is easy these days. No matter which platform you’re on, or what application you’re running, just about everyone uses the same standard formats, and these can typically be displayed on your device’s native viewer, with no need to install anything else.
In the early days of computing, 30+ years ago, it was different. There was no JPG, no PNG, so companies like Atari and Commodore had their own graphic formats. Even these weren’t fixed, with new variations all the time, which makes it very difficult if you’d like to view any of them on a modern computer.
EncFSMP: a real cross-platform encryption tool
Encrypting your most confidential files can be very easy, at least with the right application. Create a container; choose a password; drag, drop, done.
Sharing those containers is often more difficult, especially if the recipient needs to install a copy of your original encryption tool, and it’s not available for their platform.
Extract, convert and process your PDFs with PDF MultiTool
"PDF MultiTool" sounds like it’s going to be yet another PDF toolkit: the usual set of basic functions, none of which work very well, which only exists at all because the developer hopes you'll install its assorted toolbars.
But no: this really is different. There's no adware here, no toolbars or similar irritations, and the feature list includes plenty of interesting extras which you'll rarely find elsewhere.
Access folder contents instantly with Wincmder Shellex
If your desktop is cluttered then you could create a few folders to hold shortcuts, important files, whatever you access regularly. That works, but it’s less convenient: you’re forced to open a folder to view the contents, then close it when you’re done.
Install Wincmder Shellex and just right-clicking a folder displays a menu listing its contents (shift+clicking gets you the previous context menu). Choose a shortcut or file and it launches as usual, no need to open the folder at all.
Comic Seer is a one-stop comic viewer and manager
Viewing comics can be easy. Really, really easy. If you have a CBZ file, say, rename it to ZIP, open it in Explorer, and browse the images it contains -- simple.
That works well for occasional viewing, but if you’re a big comic fan, or just want the best reading experience, it’s worth installing a specialist tool like the free Comic Seer.
InPixio Photo Editor is a 1-click photo enhancer
Photo editors for the Windows desktop typically compete on the length of their feature list: file formats support, range of selection tools, layer handling abilities, whatever it might be.
InPixio Free Photo Editor ignores almost all of that, and instead focuses on app-like ease of use, just providing a quick and easy way to tweak an image and share it with others.
Add motion animations to your videos with Express Animate
Freeware developer NCH Software has released Express Animate, a key frame-based animation tool.
The program can import videos, images, text, shapes and audio tracks. Objects may be moved, resized or rotated, while key frame support gives smooth, high quality results.
How to display Windows 8 toast notifications from your own scripts
Scripts and batch files are great for automating complex tasks, but they’re not so good at keeping you informed about their progress. Typically you’re forced to Alt+Tab back to the command prompt window to try and figure out what’s going on.
ToastNotification is a tiny console tool which offers an alternative, at least for Windows 8 users. It allows you to display toast notifications -- pop-up status messages which disappear after a few seconds -- from your own scripts.
Lakka is a DIY retro games console emulator
If you’re a retro gaming fan then installing something like MAME gives you access to a host of classic arcade games on your PC.
You don’t need a modern PC to run some 25-year-old game, of course, but that’s where Lakka comes in. It’s a lightweight OpenELEC/ RetroArch-based Linux distribution which transforms small computers into retro games consoles.
Extend PowerShell’s command line with PSReadLine
Let’s be frank: Microsoft’s command line environments are terrible. When we’re having to wait until Windows 10 to get proper Ctrl+C/ Ctrl+V copy/ paste support -- something which the GUI has had for as long as many PC users have been alive -- you know there’s a problem.
Moving to PowerShell doesn’t in itself improve the situation, but at least you get access to PSReadLine, an excellent PowerShell module which does a lot to improve the command line editor.
Share files on 50+ hosting services with Image Uploader
Image Uploader is a free Windows application which uploads your chosen selected files (not just images, despite the name) to any of 50+ image or file hosting sites: Flickr, Imageshack, Imgur, Picasa, Twitpic, Dropbox, Google Drive, SendSpace and generic FTP servers, amongst many others.
Getting started is easy. Once you’ve set up a default service, you can upload files or folders by dragging and dropping them onto the program window, or right-clicking them in Explorer and selecting Image Uploader > Upload…
NirSoft announces SimpleWMIView
NirSoft has announced the release of SimpleWMIView 1.0, a compact portable tool which uses Windows Management Instrumentation to uncover a vast amount of information about your PC.
If you’re familiar with WMI query generators then you’ll have no problems here. Choose your target computer, namespace, query and query type (synchronous/ asynchronous) and the results are displayed in the usual NirSoft table.
SSH client SmarTTY 2.0 adds in-place file editing
Sysprog’s free SSH client SmarTTY has been updated to version 2.0 with in-place file editing for your remote files. There’s no need to try to find your way around a Linux tool, just hit File > Open and work on your files in a Windows-style editor.
The program now supports accessing multiple sessions from the same window, each with its own set of tabs and file transfers.
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