Let’s be realistic: presentation software can be dull. Very, very dull. Boring templates, gradient fills with text boxes, images if you’re lucky, step from one page to the next, maybe export as PPT/PPTX.

We didn’t expect much from the free presentation builder Notzy, then -- but the program turned out to be a real surprise.

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Windows programs can crash sometimes: it’s just a fact of life. Annoying, too, although at least you'll typically see an error message with some kind of clue about the cause.

When a program locks up, it’s a different story. There's no error dialog, no system-level sign of trouble. If you don't have the application window open then you may not notice it’s stopped working at all.

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Utilities developer Icecream Apps has released Icecream PDF Converter, a capable tool for converting a range of file formats to and from PDF.

There are plenty of similar applications around, but what’s interesting here is most conversions are handled in the background by a bundled copy of Open Office.

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Comodo Group has announced the release of Comodo Antivirus 8 and Comodo Internet Security 8.

The new build brings smarter sandboxing with a new default "auto-sandboxing policy", keeping unknown programs isolated from your system.

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Do you like free stuff? Of course you do -- everyone likes something for nothing. Hell, I go to Costco with no plans to buy anything; I just walk around eating all the free samples. Is it low class? Yeah, totally, but it's essentially a free buffet with a cornucopia of flavors -- Swedish meatballs, salad, granola bars and more.

Today, T-Mobile announces that it too is going the free route, offering a tablet at no cost! It is an Android tablet -- the Alcatel ONETOUCH Pop 7. Never heard of it? Me neither, but it actually looks pretty nice. It runs Android 4.2.2, has a dual-core processor and best of all, supports 4G data. Even though it is a "Black Friday" deal, the carrier will be offering it a week early. Will you be successful in scoring one?

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IObit has released a first beta for Start Menu 8 v2.0, its free alternative Start Menu.

The improvements start with more comprehensive searching. Enter a file name and the program now crawls your entire drive for matches, displaying hits wherever they might be.

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Accessing websites via an encrypted HTTPS connection is a great way to protect your personal information, and especially important when you’re using public Wi-Fi.

It’s easy to forget, of course, or use HTTP by accident. But that’s where SSL Enforcer comes in. It’s a free system-level tool which looks out for HTTP connections from any application, reroutes them to use HTTPS, or otherwise blocks them entirely.

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Power Zoom is a Chrome extension which makes it easier to browse thumbnail images online.

There’s no clicking, no opening images in a new page or tab, no need to click Back afterwards: just hover your mouse cursor over the thumbnail, the linked full-size image is downloaded, and displayed in a pop-up over the current page. Move your mouse away, it disappears, and you can repeat the process elsewhere.

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Organizing files in Windows can be a tedious experience. You'll view your source files, maybe create a few destination folders, select each group of files, move them to their new home… Then start all over again.

Sounds familiar? Then Files 2 Folder might appeal. It’s a free Explorer extension which can automatically move files into new folders based on your preferred rules.

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Piriform has released the first beta for CCleaner 5.0, its popular system cleanup tool.

The only change so far is the move to a flat interface, and even that is largely cosmetic. Functions and features are organized just as they were before, but the toolbar icons are replaced by plain stencils, and the title bar is now also a stark-looking white, whatever your Windows settings happen to be.

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Bitdefender has announced the final release of Bitdefender Adware Removal Tool, its free portable malware hunter.

As with the beta, the finished program is basic in the extreme. There’s no real-time protection, no Explorer integration, no choice about what to examine: just a single Scan button which checks your entire system.

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Microsoft has released Visual Studio Community 2013, a revamped edition of Visual Studio Professional 2013 which is free for individual and small business use (teams of up to five people).

It’s a versatile product. You can code apps and applications in C++, C#, VB, F#, HTML5, Python, JavaScript and more. Designers, editors, debuggers and profilers help to polish your work. There’s web tooling for ASP.NET, Node.js, and JavaScript, and Apache Cordova and Unity tools mean you can target iOS and Android, as well as Windows.

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Windows 8 supports several ways to log on to your PC: password, picture password, PIN number, or of course automatic logon with no password at all.

VSUsbLogon is a free tool which also enables you to log in via a USB storage device, like a key, camera, phone and more. This is faster, arguably more secure, and you can also use the key to automatically trigger certain actions, perhaps shutting down your system as soon as it’s removed.

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In theory, mind mapping software should help you generate ideas, then organize and arrange them for easier sharing with others.

But then you launch your chosen package, stare at a blank screen, and are left wondering exactly how to begin. The end result is you’re wasting time dealing with the mechanics of the program, rather than thinking about the core issue you’re trying to address.

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German developer Boris Eyrich Software has released Artweaver Free 5.0, a major new version of its painting tool for Windows. The app, also available in a more fully featured Plus version, boasts a number of new tools and improvements.

These include a new high precision 16-bit brush engine, better file-saving mechanism, support for the OpenRaster file format and support for exporting all presets. Plus users also gain a new Mirror Painting tool.

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