Migrating applications, personalized system and application settings, and other important data from old PC to new PC isn’t only time consuming, but also a wearisome task, as one needs to make a list of all the installed applications, Windows components, User Profile folders, System settings including Personalization, Color Management, Fonts, Accessibility, Keyboard and Mouse settings etc., and then manually transfer the settings and data to new PC. In the past, we’ve covered numerous applications such as Backup Utility, Backup Folder Sync and DataGrab, which let users effortlessly backup User Profile folders without having to manually transfer Documents, Pictures, Music, AppData, Roaming and other important folders. Applications like Special Folders Manager not only makes it easy to create copy of Users profile folders, but also help restoring them at their original locations with a click, but what if you want to migrate entire system including Settings, Applications and data saved in local drives from old PC to new PC?

In this post, we will take a look at the easiest way of migrating Windows 7 system and user settings, local drives, and other required data to new PC running Windows 8. Although Windows 8 final Version is yet to be released, the steps involved in migrating data from Windows 7 to Windows 8 would probably not change.

To begin, login to Windows 7 PC, and launch Windows Easy Transfer from Start Search. Windows Easy Transfer is Windows 7 native utility that allows you to copy files, system and user settings from one PC to another. It presents an easy wizard that guides user through the process of selecting files and system & user settings, and transferring all the selected files and settings to another PC.

The Files and Settings Migration instructions are divided into two parts, saving Windows 7 files & settings to external drives, and transferring saved settings and files to new PC running Windows 8.

Save Files And System & User Settings To External Hard Drive

After launching Windows Easy Transfer wizard, click Next to choose the type of target location, where all the specified settings and files will be saved. You can use Easy Transfer Cable, Network location, or External hard disk to move the settings to your new PC. The first two options require connecting your new PC to old PC in order to send the files and settings. However, if you’re planning to upgrade your PC to Windows 8, select the third option that moves your system settings along with files to external hard drive. We will use an external hard drive to save the settings, and then move them to Windows 8 PC. Just plug-in the external hard disk, and then Select An external hard disk or USB flash drive option to proceed.

Now, select This is my old computer option to transfer files and setting from current PC.

In this step, it shows currently logged-in User profile and Shared Items options, allowing you to choose the folders from both User Profile and Shared locations. You can customize the default folder and file section by hitting Customize. The Customize link present in User Profile section lets you pick Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Program Settings and Windows Settings, whereas the Shared Items section’s Customize link will open a Shared Items menu, allowing you to choose the shared items that are to be moved.

In order to manually pick User profiles’ folders, and files from hard drive partitions, click Advanced to open Modify your selections dialog. It presents a simple file browser to select the Windows folders and local volumes which are to be transferred. After the Windows folders and local volumes are selected, click Save.

Window 7 Easy Transfer wizard saves all the settings, user folders, and files from hard disk partitions in a MIG file. It also lets you apply password-protect this file from unauthorized usage. Once you’ve selected the files, it will ask you to enter the password to secure the transfer process. Clicking Save will prompt you to specify the external hard disk folder where your files and settings are to be copied. It’s worth mentioning here that USB drive/External hard disk formatted with FAT-32 file system does not support saving file larger than 4GB. So, before you select the external hard disk destination, make sure that it’s formatted to NTFS file system.

When the destination folder is selected, it will start copying the settings and selected folders. The time it takes to complete the copying process depends upon the volume of selected data.

Once copied, open the destination folder to verify the copying process. Now, eject the external hard disk, and move to PC running Windows 8.

Transfer Settings And Files On New PC Running Windows 8

Now that you have saved the system & user settings, and files from old computer in Windows Easy Transfer file (Windows Easy Transfer –Items from old computer.MIG), it’s time to restore all the files, user profile folders, shared items at their original position. Just like previous Windows versions, Windows 8 comes with Easy File Transfer utility to help you move the data from old to new PC, and to restore the saved data in MIG file to original locations.

To get started, open Windows Search from Windows 8 Start hover menu, enter easy transfer in search bar, and then click Apps. Now, launch Windows Easy Transfer utility from main window. If you don’t find the Windows Easy Transfer, first install Windows update to install all the additional Windows 8 components.

In Windows Easy Transfer wizard, select An external hard disk or USB flash drive option to restore data and settings saved in MIG file.

In next step, choose This is my new computer option.

It will now ask you to plug-in the external hard disk where the MIG file is saved. Plug-in the external hard drive and select Yes to specify the Windows Easy Transfer file.

On selecting the MIG file, it will ask you to specify the password. Enter the password to restore the data, and click Next.

Once access is granted, it will ask you to choose what to transfer from old PC. At this point, you can select the files and settings that are to be transferred to your new PC. Click Customize under User Profile and Shared Items sections to select the folders. However, if you want to customize the drive map options, click Advance Options. It will open a separate dialog to tweak with map user accounts and local drives settings. Once you’ve selected the settings and folders, hit Transfer to begin the settings and data migration process.

While transferring files and settings from your old PC, it may ask you to enter the password of your old PC to transfer the protected content. Once correct password is entered, it will immediately restore the system and personalization settings of old PC including user account details, desktop theme and numerous other settings.

After all the files and settings are restored from old PC, you can take a look at the files that were transferred during the process, and applications which you might want to install.

Clicking See what was transferred option will open Windows Easy Transfer Reports utility, letting you view the transferred user accounts, documents, documents, program & system settings.

The Program report tab shows the list of applications that you need to install on new PC. You can view detailed information of listed applications by clicking More information.

There are numerous third-party migration utilities available out there, but none provides as easy a way of migrating data from old to new PC, as Windows native data transfer utility.  The Windows Easy Transfer Reports maintains a log of transferred data and settings in a separate file. When you want to view previously transferred files and settings, open Windows Easy Transfer Reports from Windows 8 Start Search, and choose the required report from View Report pull-down menu.

Want to migrate installed applications with saved settings to new PC? Check out PickMeApp.

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Many people using Android devices, especially Froyo based devices, have stated experiencing hangs in the Android Market during app installation or even during downloading the apps. It’s said to be due to a certain folder that can easily get corrupted, thereby posing problems for your downloads and installations. However, there is an easy fix for those who are facing these problems and want to rid themselves of it for good. Read on for a complete guide.

Now the fix is more like a semi-permanent solution as the folder that causes trouble, can get corrupted again. In that case, your best bet is to simply redo this process again. So let’s get on with it.

Instructions:

1. To begin, navigate to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications and click on the SD Card tab as shown in the image below.
2. Now select an app one by one moving them to your phone’s internal storage by using the Move to phone tab as shown below.
3. Now open any file manager on your phone (we used the Astro File Manager) and look for a folder named .android_secure as seen below and delete it. Considering that you moved all your apps as told in Step 2, you don’t need this folder anymore.
4. Now reboot your phone and once it does, simply move all your applications back on the SD card. You should be able to use the Market without any of the pervious flaws.

Let us know if this method was helpful to you.

[via ANDROID CENTRAL]

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A while back, we talked about Windows OS being devoid of an App Store and advocated Npackd as one good choice for installing and managing Windows applications. Going over Npackd features, we couldn’t help but say that it lacks a lot of features in terms of organizing and searching applications by different categories, such as, Internet, Security, Video, Converter and so on. AllMyApps is a freshly baked utility which is, however, in beta phase yet seems promising in addressing the user needs when it comes to choosing a feature-rich App Store for Windows. Fortunately, it covers almost all the essential options which you might look for in an App Store. Be it application types, categories, runtime environments, download manager, or complete product description with ratings that you want to check before downloading, it brings all these necessary features of an OS App Store in a drop-dead UI.

Since it’s going through testing phase, you might not be able to find plentiful of application software, desktop utilities but most celebrated applications, add-ons, browsers, IDEs, etc., are provided in respective categories, such as, Adobe Flash, Firefox, Google Chrome, VLC,  Notepad++, Skype, Live Messenger, Spybot, Paint.NET, and many more.

The very first step is to register an account with AllMyApps, so you can manage your applications from multiple systems. Once registered, download the desktop utility and sign-in with your account.

After the connection is established, it will start populating applications into multiple categories. You can navigate through categories, add, and manage chosen apps in My List from left sidebar. A search bar at the top will help filtering out applications by supplied keywords in realtime.

After you’ve selected an application, it will show you EULA and other details with an option to install the application.

Just click Install to start downloading the application. After the application is downloaded, it will start installing the application in silent mode. You can keep AllMyApps at your fingertips by minimizing it to system tray, from where you can bring it up anytime and sign off. It doesn’t matter where you are, in home, off for vocations, or in office, My List containing applications can be remotely managed through its web application.

Below you can watch a brief demonstration video.

As per our testing results, we didn’t find any sort of problems and errors. Developers are open to suggestions and eagerly need user feedbacks & requests to ensure availability of their favorite applications. It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Download AllMyApps

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It can be difficult to keep track of updates for all your installed computer applications. R-Updater simplifies this task and provides a convenient solution for keeping all your software programs up-to-date.

The portable application offers a user-friendly interface. Upon launching the program, it will instantly check your system to create a list of all applications currently installed. After populating the list, it will scan the applications for their updated versions. You will be prompted for updates that are found.

The application makes it super simple to navigate from one list to the other. All options and buttons are clearly highlighted. Search filters enable you to instantly look for a particular program. Additionally, you can also add applications manually to the system. The application also features a Give Away Of the Day where one application is offered as a freebie everyday.

The application highlights program updates under three columns – New Catalog Version, New Users Version and New Beta Version. A description for this classification is not given on the product or developer site.

For advanced options, go to Settings from the bottom. You can configure the columns and trays that are to be displayed. You can also configure your Internet connection from the Internet tab. Scheduler tab enables you to specify a period after which the application looks for new updates.

It supports Windows 7 OS; testing was carried out on Windows 7, x86 system.

Download R-Updater

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Stick is a simple utility which is designed to stick multiple windows on the desktop as widgets (called screentabs) to keep customized folder explorers, web browsers, notes, and RSS feeds window always open for quick access. The screentabs supports full customization and let you change the overall look of the sticky windows. You can change the size, transparency depth, color, tabs themes, and play around with whole lot of other features and options.

After the application is installed, it will sit in the system tray and prompt you to start off with creating a screentab of different categories which includes; Notes, Navigator, News Feed, TaskBar Tab, Calendar, and lot more.

Handling screentabs is cinch, it wont be taking much space on your desktop as a single click will  expand/collapse the screentabs’ window. You can move the windows as a slider and smoothly set positions of different screentabs windows.

You can add screentab window of any category right from the system tray’s icon. Right-click will bring up its menu letting you add tabs and configure other settings.

For configuring the screentabs options & settings, open Stick Settings window, where you can set tabs’ transparency, change title, set slider speed, and other various options for customizing the windows as you want.

It is one great application which comes useful to create customized windows and keep them on desktop for quicker access, this eventually enables user to keep tab on multiple things in less time.

It runs on all Windows based OS, we tested it on Windows 7 x86 system.

Download Stick

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As usage progresses, it is quite likely that your system will get loaded with various useful applications. We all know how developers like to roll out newer versions of their applications, with latest bug fixes, newer and better features, enhancements, and so on. With a bunch of applications, keeping track of updates can be a tedious task, especially considering the fact that not all applications would cater the option to ‘check for updates’ in the first place.

AppSnap is an open source, free software that sports a decent library of popular software in various categories, and allows you to download and install latest versions of several applications in one simple step.

The software’s interface is a simple window with a pull-down menu on top and several buttons with clear functions on the left. Apart from these, a list of software is present which can be altered between all, installed, not installed, upgradeable, etc. Right below the software’s name resides the category to which it belongs.

Using the drop-down menu, you can choose the type of software which is listed. For example, in the screenshot above, the software has checked my system for those installed applications from whom matches are present in AppSnap’s library. It offers software filtering based on a wide variety of software categories.

When you click an item from the list of available software, it will expand, showing the latest available and installed version. The two little blue arrows with the software’s name will take you to it’s website.

Usage is simple. Check all the programs that you want and click any of the buttons from left sidebar. ‘Download’ will get an installer on to your local system, while ‘Install’ will add it to your installed programs. If you have some software that can be updated or upgraded (from trial to full versions, for example), use the corresponding buttons. With one simple step, you can have as many software installed, updated, upgraded, and removed without hassle.

AppSnap was tested on Windows 7 x86 system and worked flawlessly. With the ease of use that it brings, combined with the nicely large software library that it supports, this application is a must have for users with systems loaded with useful programs.

Download AppSnap

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Launchy is a one-stop replacement for your start menu, desktop icons and shortcuts, file manager, and much more. It is a cross platform utility that can index almost everything and launch your files, programs, folders, websites with just a few key-presses.

The application presents itself as a simple launcher-like dialog window with a text entry field and the icon relevant to the current item. However, the interface is highly customizable and there are various other skins present for the user’s choosing.

Usage is simple and efficient. Enter the first few letters of the program/file/object you want to locate, and it will start showing all the probable matches. Launchy does not limit to basic launching, but can also be used for reaching a folder directly, or to launch a program within a program, or even present quick access to some context menu items for a particular software. For example, typing C:\Prog and pressing the Tab key automatically puts you inside the Program Files folder, where further key-presses accompanied by Tab can be used to dig in deeper.

You can also use the same technique for opening websites. For example, type ‘fire’ in Launchy, highlight Firefox and press Tab, then enter the desired URL. Pressing enter will open that location in Mozilla Firefox directly.

Right-click anywhere in the Launchy window to access the Options menu, which offers plentiful control over how the software looks and behaves. Launchy also supports a wide range of plugins to enhance functionality even more.

Finally, during installation, the software also offers a portable version of Launchy, which can be carried around in a USB. Launchy has been tested to work seamlessly in our Windows 7 x86 system. For more, also check out previously reviewed Blaze.

Download Launchy

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In many cases, we need to make some quick changes to our windows settings, for example, when you move between home and office and you need to change the network connection settings, default printer and such sort of other things a couple of times daily. Quick Config helps in such situations. It can create profiles, each with specific settings and then allows users to quickly change between them.

The working of this tool is very simple, first create one or more configuration profiles and set  the required settings for each profile. Whenever you need to change the settings of your system, simply activate the particular profile. I have created two profiles Home and Office, so now I can activate any one of them alternatively when ever needed.

In order to create a new profile, click the Create New option located under the Profile section, name this new profile, then check and configure the required options.

Once done, hit the Save button to complete the profile configuration. You will now find this new profile saved.

Now in order to apply the profile, simply right click the Profile and choose the Apply option.

The complete list of features include, as mentioned on the developer’s site:

Network

• Network connections TCP/IP settings (IP address, mask, gateway, DNS server, MAC), state of network connection
• Computer identification computer name, domain or workgroup membership
• Mapped Network Drives map, unmap network drives
• Shared resources share, unshare local resources
• Hosts file
• Routing table

System

• Sound sound volume, sound theme
• Printer set default printer
• Services start, stop, restart system services

Internet Browser

• Internet Explorer network connection settings, Home Page
• Firefox network connection settings, Home Page
• Opera network connection settings, Home Page

Desktop

• Display screen dimensions, color depth

Applications

• Default applications default Internet Browser, E-Mail client
• Launch applications launch selected applications after applying profile

Download Quick Config

You will also find the portable version of this app, but it failed to work on my Windows 7 64-bit OS. However the installer package works perfectly on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Enjoy!

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We all know that Windows allow users to add/remove startup programs quickly, but what if you want to change the startup order?

If you are looking to speed up your Windows login then changing the startup programs order is important. There are many applications that load during startup and most are not even needed at that time. Windows will load them all(gives equal priority to all), therefore reducing the startup time and eating maximum memory.

Start-Q(Start Quick) plans to change all that by helping user select which programs to launch first and which one later. It allows users to assign higher priority to some programs and lower priority to others. Therefore in other words, it speeds up your Windows login and startup.

When you run the tool under Administrator account, it will ask if you want to change the startup order for your account only or for all accounts.

You can add the programs in queue so that each program is loaded turn by turn. It doesn’t help users who have already cleaned many of their startup entries, but will surly help those with lower or medium-end computers filled with multiple startup programs.

Update: We have removed the download link because according to some users, it has Trojan virus. We handle such situations very strictly. For alternatives, please check out Oolauncher, LaunchMeNot, and Security AutoRun.

It works with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Enjoy!

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You might not know that several applications on your computer system may be accessing the internet without your approval. This can also become a security hazard as hackers may exploit your system using these applications. In order to put a check on the usage of the Internet by various applications and to disable the unsolicited internet usage of any such application running on your machine, go through the following simple steps.

First of all click Start and choose the Control Panel, once you are in the Control Panel, choose the Windows Firewall option.

Now locate and choose the option Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall in the left column of the Windows Firewall window.

Locate and click the Change settings button in the Allowed Programs window.

Uncheck those programs or features from the list, which you want to stop from accessing the internet.

That’s it, click OK and the unchecked programs will not be able to access internet without your explicit approval. Enjoy!

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Ubuntu’s Main Menu Bar contains three menus, Applications, Places, and System. The Application menu contains a hierarchy of sub menus, from which you can start the applications that are installed in your system. The Places menu offers quick way to navigate to directories in your system and the System menu lets you set preferences for your system and you can also find various administrator’s applications here.

If you need to change the settings in main menu, like enable/disable programs to show in Applications > Accessories, change icon and name of some application, etc, you can do it in a pretty easy way.

1. Hide application to show in Accessories

First of all right click on the Application menu and choose Edit Menus.

Main Menus dialogue box will be displayed. Here you will see list of application which are enabled , uncheck the application which you do not want to appears in Applications > Accessories and click Close. Please note that in this way application or program only gets hidden from Accessories, but it will remain installed in system and you can again enable it if needed.

2. Change Name of application

You can also change the display name of any application from Edit Menu option. Choose the application for which you want to change its display name, click Properties, enter new name of application and click Close. Just for demonstration purpose, I have changed name of "Calculator" application to "Ubuntu Calculator".

3. Change Icon of application

You can change icon of some applications from Properties dialogue box. Click at the application’s current icon, browse directory structure, choose a new icon from list of icons and click OK.

Thats all. Enjoy!

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When an important event occurs, who wants to miss it? Nobody. This is exactly what this post is all about. Whether a download has finished, the next track of your music playlist has begun, the battery of your laptop is going to die, or you have received a new email, both Growl For Windows and Snarl will notify you know about it instantly. I have reviewed both free system notifications tools in details, below.

Growl For Windows

Growl is a system notification tool originally build for Mac operating system. Growl For Windows is a Windows-Compatible tool. It will notify you instantly when an event occurs. All you have to do is install this tool and then download various plugins. These plugins integrate Growl into a number of applications, such as, Firefox, Outlook, Gmail, iTunes, Pandora AIR, Songbird, Thunderbird, Vuze, Virtual Studio, and much more.

Since this tool is still under development, the number of plugins right now are limited but growing. The developer provides API for this tool which you can use to integrate Growl in your favorite applications.

One of the best feature of this tool is that it notifies you about the alerts that you have missed while you were away. You can choose the idle time from the General tab, there is also an option to choose the sound that you want played during the alert.

The number of plugins that you have installed will be listed under Applications. You can change the way you want the alert to display from under Display tab.

If you have missed an alert or simply want to have a look at previous alerts, History tab does the job. You can also add additional security and get notifications over network computers.

Snarl

Snarl is a system notification tool for Windows with a special twist. Apart from it’s basic functionalities that are similar to Growl for Windows, it also shows notification alerts about system events. It has an advanced build-in app manager that allows you to control other Snarl applications that don’t have their own user interface.

Similar to Growl for Windows, the developer provides you with the API through which you can integrate Snarl into popular applications. You can enable sticky notifications to give a more eye-candy look, change hotkey, and set other basic preferences from General settings tab.

You can change the looks and settings of the notification alert box by going to Display tab. The themes can be changed by going to Styles tab where you can preview all designs before applying them.

By default there are thee build-in extensions that lets you change the way you want to view system notifications. The extensions are named as, SnarlClock(Notifies you about time, lets you set timer, and includes a reminder), SnarlInfo(Notifies you about Network, Battery, Disc, etc), and SnarlWare(Notifies you about different devices that are connected to your computer).

Snarlware

SnarlInfo

SnarlWare

Conclusion

Both tools are great for notifications and have their pros and cons. They both work on Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

Growl For Windows’s Killer Feature: Lets you see which alerts you missed while you were away. Has a whole History tab dedicated to past notifications.

Snarl’s Killer Feature: Shows notifications of System events. Has more community created apps.

Now which one is suited for you? That’s the question you should be asking yourself. Enjoy!

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Are you looking for a Windows software, well no problem. Are you looking for a software that works on Ubuntu, now that’s a bit difficult. There are tons of directories and sites hosting applications for Windows, a simple Google search will show you all types of windows software. But when it comes to Ubuntu, very few directories are hosting it’s applications.

Appnr is one such rare directory which hosts all applications related to Ubuntu. You will find almost all software released so far in this simple-to-browse directory. You can install any software by clicking Install button next to each application, but you will have to first install AptURL protocol handler(Ubuntu 7.10 uses AptURL by default).

To install AptURL from Terminal, type the following command.

sudo apt-get install apturl

Now once it is installed, you will have to add AptURL protocol support to a web browsers. The details of which are given here.

Once done, restart your browser and you will see Install button next to the applications. To Install an app, just click Install and you are done. Enjoy!

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Usually when a program hangs up on Windows, we head over to Task Manager and try to kill that program. When this method fails, we try to terminate the program with some 3rd party applications. But wait, there is even a better way of doing it.

Meet Process Assassin, it enables the user to select a non-responding application and terminate it immediately without calling any other external programs. And that too can be done in a single click. Just click Assassinate and select the program that you want to Terminate, that’s all.

Additionally, it includes some predefined options to terminate famous programs such as Firefox and other web browsers, Microsoft Office applications, Windows Process, etc. I have listed them all in the screenshots below.

Terminating Windows Processes

Terminating Microsoft Office

Terminating Web Browsers

Terminating Other Applications

It is a portable tool which can be carried in a USB drive and works with all versions of Windows. Enjoy!

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I recently learned a small handy trick which allows us to start multiple applications at once. If you are like me who has to open 5-6 programs at once then it will come really handy. Running multiple programs turn by turn is too boring for me, that’s why I use this trick to open multiple programs instantly.

Open a notepad and type,

@echo off

Below this line write the code to open any application, for e.g the code for opening Firefox will be,

start “Firefox” "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

Here is how you write the code, first type start and then name of application and then it’s location. Name and Location of application must be in quotation marks respectively.

You can find the location of the application by right-clicking it and then selecting Properties.

After you have written the codes of all programs that you wan to open, go to File and click Save As, now save the file as [any file name].bat and next to Save as type, select All files as shown in the screenshot below. Please note that I have added .bat(batch file extension) at the end of file name.

Since I open 5 different applications whenever my computer starts, here is how my .bat file looks like,

Click your batch file that you have created and all programs which you  have added will open at once instantly. Enjoy!

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Are you always carrying a USB Flash Drive around? If yes then you can get a lot of useful applications on your USB drive instead of just carrying them around with backup files. We have gathered 6 applications that will transform your USB drive into a power device for doing tasks ultra quickly on the go.

Note: If you don’t like carrying software on your USB because they will mix with other files, just like I worry. Then make a folder named “Power Tools” in your USB and move all these software there. You can later hide this folder and work with your USB like you normally would.

….And if you are an uber geek like me and always carry your iPod around, then it is better to carry these software in your iPod.

Miranda IM – Instant Messenger

Miranda IM is a small, fast instant messaging client with support for almost all popular protocols. It’s designed to be resource efficient. It supports AIM, Jabber, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo, and other instant messengers.

IrfanView –  Image Viewer

IrfanView is one of the best graphics programs I’ve ever used, and you can even use it to create slideshows. It’s very fast to get into for tasks like working with screen captures and even more. It is an excellent tool to replace your Windows Photo Gallery.

SG TCP Optimizer – Internet Optimizer

TCP Optimizer is a great little program for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. It doesn’t require installation—just run it and optimize. It tweaks TCP/IP parameters in the Windows Registry and many other parameters so that you get the best performance possible on every internet connection.

Foxit Reader – PDF Viewer

Foxit PDF Reader is an alternative to Adobe Reader, that allows you to view and print PDF files. Unlike Adobe Reader, it opens PDF files very fast, without any delay. It supports all the standard features, as well as browser integration, and also an option select/copy of text from the documents. Furthermore, you can create a snapshot from a selected portion of the page, fill interactive forms and more.

Jarte – Word Processer

Jarte is a free word processor based on the Microsoft WordPad word processing engine and is fully compatible with Word and WordPad formats.It is an easy to use and lighting fast word processor.

7Zip – Zip Achiever

7-Zip Portable is the popular 7-Zip packaged as a portable app, you can carry it around and work with your compressed ZIP, RAR, and more formats on the go. You can place it either on your USB flash drive, iPod, or a portable hard drive and use it on any computer anytime, anywhere.

If you can’t find your favorite software from the list, do let us know which one is missing in the comments.

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In Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 applications by default run on all available cores of the processor. If you have a dual or quad core processor, then you can set affinity to an application to control which core of the processor an application can use, in this way you can assign one application or a program to use only one processor while other application can run on other processor. Although you cannot set priority to system services but you can set affinity to applications like Google Chrome, Firefox or any Anti-Virus, in this way you can achieve a good overall performance.

Windows XP

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open Windows Task Manager, and go to the Processes tab and look up for the process name that you want to set the affinity for. If you don’t know which process is associated with which application, go to the Applications tab and right-click on the application name and select Go To Process.

In the Processes tab the specified process will be highlighted. Now right-click on the process and select Set Affinity.

In the Processor Affinity dialog, you will see 32 check box options, only the number of cores in your processors will be available to set affinity to.

In a single dual core system you’ll see CPU 0 and CPU 1, from here you can check or uncheck the core you want the application to use.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Windows Task Manager.

On the Processes tab, at the bottom click on Show processes from all users button.

Right click the process (application) whose processor affinity you want to change and choose Set Affinity. Now Check the CPU(s) that you want the process (application) to run on and click OK

Note

• It is recommended NOT TO change the Process Affinity for System Processes.
• The processor affinity setting lasts as long as an application is open, when you close the application or restart the computer, the affinity returns to the default.

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We covered a way to manage startup programs easily so that it  can increase system performance here almost 2 weeks back. Today we will explain another method to stop startup programs through Windows Defender that is installed by default in Windows Vista.

If your computer seems to be starting up slow, it is most likely because of startup programs. These are programs, often unnecessary, that boot up automatically when the computer does. New computers are notorious for having this problems as vendors reduce the price of their computers by making deals with software providers to preinstall their programs. These programs are often worthless, and are usually trials and not even the full program and such programs are normally referred to as bloatware. This said, below is an outline of ways to remove these unnecessary start up programs from starting up automatically. This method also works in Windows XP.

Open Windows Defender by clicking the Start orb button > All Programs > Windows Defender.

Note: Windows Defender will be disabled if you have installed Microsoft Security Essentials. In this case you need will need to type msconfig in the Start Search, hit Enter, and then navigate to startup tab.

Click the Tools button, and then click Software Explorer.

In the Category box, select Startup Programs.

Select the program that you want to prevent from running, and then click Disable.

Click Yes to confirm that you want to stop that program from running.

Alternative Solution

Type msconfig in the Run command

Select the Startup tab and uncheck the program whichever you want not to start up with Windows and click Apply.

By unchecking or disabling the unnecessary programs to load at start up decreases considerable amount of time for Windows to load.

Editor’s note: I argued in the last post that Windows Defender method is not very effective for me, therefore I disable my startup programs by going to MsConfig. What do you think? Is the Windows Defender method working for you just fine? Do let us know which method you use.

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There has been a long running debate about web applications replacing desktop applications. While some functions are better suited to web applications, it is my belief that security concerns and legacy systems will prevent desktop software from becoming obsolete. What actually defines a Web Application Vs a Desktop Application? A web application is an application delivered to users from a web server like the Internet. Some businesses run web apps on an intranet, as well. They are becoming more popular due to the widespread use of the web browser as a client. Here are my top 5 Web based applications that have replaced my desktop apps.

Zoho: Office Suite

Zoho is one of the most comprehensive online office suite that is capable of replacing any desktop Office suite. In addition to the regular Word, Sheet and presentation, you also get a Wiki page, planner for managing your to-do list, tasks and notes, and many more features that you can only find in a paid desktop application.

Zoho is much more an all-inclusive products, with different emphases based on their different primary audiences. It has the largest package of functions, with a planner, a notebook, a wiki, dedicated chat, and an e-mail client added to the personal productivity side, and eight applications, from database to CRM, available in a business applications section.

Xdrive: File Storage

There are many online storage sites around, but the one that really impressed me with its features is Xdrive. The reason being, it gives us a whopping 5GB of online storage to backup all our data and documents. We can also listen to our mp3 songs via the built in music player. To make things easier, there is also a desktop client where I can sync and backup my files regularly.

Meebo: Instant Messenger

Meebo offers access to AOL’s AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and MSN Messenger. (The service also lets you connect via iChat, ICQ, and Jabber, though it doesn’t link to them directly from the home page.) To connect to an IM service, you simply enter your existing screen name and password in the spaces provided. You can connect simultaneously to as many services as you’d like.

tinymail.me: Anti Spam

The downside of leaving your email address in forums is the fact that spammers check those sites to get new victims. If you want to avoid this, then you have to go to Tinymail.me. With the site, you’ll be able to protect your email by creating an identity through the site which you can then use as your email address. This will allow you to still get updates from the forums you visit, but it will confuse spammers, reducing the clatter in your inbox. The process takes seconds; all you have to do is tell the site your email address.

Jottit: Notepad

Jottit is a simple notepad that you can use to easily use to record notes. There is no beautiful design or complicated layout. When you first go to the site, there is only a simple text area for you to write down your note. When you are done, press the Create a site button and it will create a personal note link for you. Next time you need to edit, or add on to the note, simply point your URL to the link.

What is your favorite Web apps that have replaced your desktop apps? Do let us know.

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Remote desktop sharing applications are the ones which sometimes save the day of a developer (specially the freelancers) or anyone who is working as a distributed team and need desktop collaboration, supporting a remote web application that you had built or need to manage the work computer from home. There are great free remote desktop applications which helps to build this remote connection.

Yuuguu

Yuuguu’s main application window looks just like a chat window storing all your contacts. Adding a new contact on the list consists in typing in the desired email address. The software will connect to the server to let you know if that contact is already signed up to Yuuguu or not. If the user is not using Yuuguu, an inviting email will be sent providing all needed information in order to get started.
Setting up the program is a cinch. You can change your account details (name and password) and configure Yuuguu to start with Windows in minimized mode, enable automatic login and sound as well as enable fast screen-sharing. Once all the settings are made, you can proceed to sharing your screen. Each user starts his/her own screen sharing session. It is kind of awkward, as generally, local computers ask for permission of viewing remote desktop and the other part accepts or declines. In this case, the remote part initiates screen sharing and the local computer has to accept/refuse the connection.

Download [ Yuuguu ]

TeamViewer

TeamViewer is a simple and fast solution for remote control, desktop sharing and file. Connecting to another computer can’t be simpler, just run TeamViewer on both machines without the need of an installation procedure. With the first start automatic partner IDs are generated on both computers. Enter your partner’s ID into TeamViewer and the connection is established immediately. It allows two people to do file transfers, remote support (with or without installation), remote administration of unattended servers/pc’s & remote presentation of products.

Download [ TeamViewer ]

Dimdim

Dimdim is a free Web conferencing service where you can share your desktop, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk, and broadcast via Web cam with absolutely no download required for attendees. It’s Web Meeting service is available in open source and commercial enterprise editions capable of supporting thousands of attendees. And unlike all other web meeting solutions, It is available in both onsite (you install it on your servers) and hosted (we install it on ours) configurations.

Try it out  [ Dimdim ]

ShowMyPC

ShowMyPC is a Community for Remote Support providers. Providing tools for Instant Support to Service Providers and Users. The tools on this site are meant for Online collaboration, Desktop Sharing and Remote PC access, as an alternative to subscription based sites like WebEx or Gotomypc. Version 2900 adds ability to schedule meetings also.

Download [ ShowMyPC ]

Mikogo

If you’re looking to host an online meeting without being hit by high prices, then Mikogo is the perfect solution. As a free tool, Mikogo allows you to share your desktop in true color quality with up to 10 participants simultaneously. Mikogo can be employed for a range of uses, including online meetings, desktop sharing, web conferencing, product demonstrations, online presentations, or remote support. Furthermore, to enhance the Mikogo experience it features: screen sharing, change presenters, remote control, pause transmission, application selection, and file transfer Most importantly, there is absolutely no cost whatsoever. Mikogo offers high quality screen sharing software that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Download [ Mikogo ]

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