Review – Aviary

When I need to quickly touch up an image or create a simple one to upload somewhere I hate having to load up a big editor on my PC.  I figure why not have one that can get the job done in a snap and start-up quickly too?  That's when I find Aviarys website particularly useful.

The apps are made in flash and are rather powerful.  This also means that you don't have to install them and can use them anywhere.  On the site you can find many handy apps like a vector editor and an image editor (which easily beats stuff like MS Paint) and even a sound editor.

I uninstalled a program I was using to learn a bit about creating vector images when I found this site just to give you an idea of how impressed I was.

There are many other online image editors out there but I've found that this one is the most complete.

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URL: http://www.aviary.com/

 

Review – Avira AntiVir Personal v9

I've tried many anti-virus programs in my day.  Some were too slow, some were too resource intensive, others just became so bloated that it was darn right silly.  Why, in a time where computers had much less RAM and hard drive space, would you make your security program so big and laggy?

The computers we use today no longer have such limitations, but it is no excuse to stop using well-made software.  Avira Antivir is a commercial anti-virus which also comes as a very good free version.  In fact, it rates highly in the av-comparatives.org test results every time.  The only price to pay for such security is a pop-up window once a day during definition updates.  But that's not that bad now, is it?  You have a small, fast scanning, regularly updated anti-virus to protect you.

I've tried others and yet I keep coming back to Avira.  Why use anything else when you have a free product that is as good as or better than pay products after all?  Save yourself some money and get yourself some peace of mind.

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URL: http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

Review – Canabalt

This little flash game got me hooked on the first try.  Imagine if you will a game so simple, you only need to use one key on your keyboard.  Sounds like an old school game from Atari or something, right?  Well what if I told you that you didn't even need to move around, but only jump using that one key?

Canabalt is a very fast-paced side scrolling game where your player is running at high-speed through a city under attack and you must help him jump over obstacles, through windows and from one rooftop to the next.  It sounds rather simple but you really must pay attention because anything can and will happen.  The events and buildings are generated randomly every time you start the level so there's no way you'll be memorizing a way through it all anytime soon.

This one is a classic and a definitive keeper.  Most highly recommended to anyone.

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URL: http://www.adamatomic.com/canabalt/

 

Review – CCleaner v3.04

Privacy on a computer may be an oxymoron, but a bit of help never hurts.  Enter Ccleaner (formerly called Crap Cleaner), a small and fast utility that can be used to remove certain traces of your computer usage to give you back a bit of privacy from snooping eyes.

The most basic function that this program offers is to clear out MRU (most recently used) lists from Windows and supported apps on your computer, such as text editing programs and web browsers.  It also goes beyond that to clear out temp files, invalid registry entries and your DNS cache.

Two other included features are basic control over what programs start with Windows and an alternative to the Add/Remove control panel list which loads up faster than the OS equivalent.

As with all system utilities however, caution must be used so that your system doesn't get pooched, but I am including this review for the more tech-savvy user anyhow.

Enjoy!

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URL: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/

Review – Defraggler v2.03

Although I have previously reviewed MyDefrag, I wanted to quickly mention Piriform's Defraggler.

This program can defrag a drive for you the same as other defrag apps, but what I like about it is the option to defrag individual files.  This way if you only have a dozen or so files that are fragmented you won't have to run through the entire drive.  There are some disadvantages however to foregoing a proper defragmentation and optimization procedure, so a program like MyDefrag is usually prefered.

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URL: http://www.piriform.com/defraggler/

 

Review – Fancy Pants Adventure

I've never seen such quality in a flash game.  This one is so much fun with an incredible attention to detail.  Lots of action, tons of special moves!  A great time all in all.
I can't really describe it to you, you must play it to believe it.  I recommend this game to anyone at any time.
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URL: http://armorgames.com/author/DrNeroCF

Review – FileMenu Tools v5.8.1

Now here is a great tool for the power user.  Power-up your context menu with a list of handy built-in functions and add in your own too!

Split and join files, create new folders with ease, select certain file types in the current folder or even securely delete files, just to name a few of the built-in functions.  The real power is that you can add in shortcuts to other programs when selecting folders or files, or running a specified editor of your choice when you right-click on a file.  You could add in a few web browsers and choose which one to launch with the HTML file you just clicked or select all images and move them to a folder of your choice.

These are all just quick examples but there is so much you can do with this program it's almost unreal.

Definitively recommended for any serious user for extra control and for saving time.

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URL: http://www.lopesoft.com/en/fmtools/info.html

Review - Dropbox

If you ever need to share or sync your files with different computers, users or even on smartphones then this app is for you.

Dropbox creates a folder on your hard drive and monitors it for changes.  Anytime a file or folder is created, modified or deleted in it the program syncs it with your Dropbox account online.  From there, any other Dropbox client set up with it will automatically update its own copy.

Another nice part of this service (which uses Amazon S3 so it is fast and has good uptime) is that you can easily share links to files that are placed in your public folder.  You can send these to other people who do not have a Dropbox account and the link will always point to the updated version of your file.  Public links cannot be searched so people can't stumble upon your other files, and you have 10 gigs of bandwidth a month for your shares.

You also have a gallery folder which can be used to create and share image galleries with others.

Your free account will give you 2 gigs of space but you can refer people to the service and get more quite easily.

An excellent service at an excellent price (free for basic) I suggest you try it out if anything in this article has caught your eye.  After all, having an offsite backup can always come in handy, and Dropbox lets you recover deleted files and even go back to earlier versions if you wanted to undo file changes.

One last note: If you click the Alternate URL link below when you join up and install the program, we will both get 250MB extra space.  I’d appreciate it.

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URL: http://www.dropbox.com/

Alternate URL: http://db.tt/tBUR9hJ

Review – FluffyApp v1.05b

Mac users have a nice little utility they can download called CloudApp that let's them upload files by simply dragging and dropping them on the icon in the taskbar.  FluffyApp is a windows program that allows you to do the same thing.

When you drop a file on the cloud icon in the system tray it will be uploaded to your CloudApp account (also free) and the link for it will be copied into your clipboard, ready to be pasted into a post on a forum, in an e-mail or an instant message.  It serves its purpose well, taking a few steps out of a usually boring and repetitive process.

It requires the .Net runtime to work, and takes about 40 megs of memory.  If you need to share images, links or text often with others online then this app just might be for you.

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URL: http://www.fluffyapp.com/

Review – CoreTemp32 v0.99.8

This is a handy utility that stays in the system tray and shows you the temperature of your CPU core(s).  I have it set to show me the highest value at all times so that I can passively check how hot my PC is running.

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URL: http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Review - Grooveshark

I found this site a short while ago and must say that I've been hooked ever since.

Using a browser that supports HTML5 (such as the previously reviewed Chromium) you have access to an on-demand streaming music service.  Contrary to another one of my favorites, Shoutcast, Grooveshark has not only a couple of streaming stations, but a vast library that you can listen to by searching for artists and song titles.

The songs load quickly so you'll be listening to your favorite tunes in no time.  Try typing in some obscure one hit wonder from years ago and you will most likely find it.  I've read that since it is managed by users some of the songs will be of lesser quality, but those I've played so far sounded great to me.

So the next time you're relaxing around your home or working on the computer, why not stream a few tunes to pass the time?  Like they said during Intermission: "Music soothes even the savage beast".

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URL: http://www.grooveshark.com/