Review – Rainlendar v2.8.1

I didn't like having to hover the mouse over the clock in the system tray to get today's date, nor double-click it to see the current month.  And when I started to use XP I noticed that with a limited account I wasn't even allowed to open the calendar view in the first place (odd).

Using Rainlendar however lets me see the current date and month on my desktop, along with any upcoming tasks or events that I have set.  Now when an event is 6 days away or less I will see it in a simple window on the desktop's background image so that I will be sure that I won't forget.

You can change the user interface using skins, have it sync with your Google calendar too.  In fact it exports to the iCalendar format, so I can see my events and dates when looking at the calendar on my iPod.  Most useful.

If you have trouble keeping up with dates or simply want a nice way to remember when you have scheduled things, this app is a keeper.  Never miss another anniversary!

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URL: http://www.rainlendar.net/

Review – Revo Uninstaller v1.91

Sometimes you need something that provides a little extra "oomph" than the alternative. Something that will add more than just basic functionality.  In this post, I present to you Revo Uninstaller.

I used to be content with the Add/Remove control panel entry when I was using Windows 95 and 98, but once I upgraded to Windows XP I got fed up quite quickly with how long it took to simply load and display the list of installed programs on my system.  I just never could understand how such a simple task could take up so much time (both mine and the CPU's).

What makes this program stand out for me is quite simple: the speed at which it loads up the entries, that it can back up your registry using system restore before running an uninstaller and the nice file and registry scan it performs afterwards to make sure that there is no junk left once a program has been removed.

Oh, let's not forget the very special "hunter mode" that let's you click on a program that is currently running (even in the system tray next to the clock) to close and uninstall it.  Quite nice when you just want to get rid of useless apps for good.

As always, use caution when using system tools like this.  Otherwise, enjoy and happy cleanup!

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URL: http://www.revouninstaller.com/

Review – Runescape

Runescape has always been a favorite of mine.  An excellent online RPG (MMORPG), it offers literally countless hours of game time with the many missions to play through and skills to train.  Not to mention that the world is enormous.

I started playing back in 2000 or 2001 (when it first became public after the beta stage) and it took me a few years time before I found myself playing it a little less at a time.  Real life and all that.  Though I still do load it up now and then for the special holiday quests and items.

The missions vary greatly, from shearing a sheep to spin its wool into balls or going to a remote island to slay a huge dragon.  The members have extra features, items, skills and quests that free players do not, yet I've never felt the urge to pay to play it.  The free game access already has so much to offer I couldn't possibly go through all the new stuff I'd have to do and learn, but at least every member gets his or her money's worth!

So if you'd like to give it a shot and become a mighty warrior, a great mage or a skilled archer, make sure you have the java runtime environment installed and head on over to try the demo, no free or pay account needed!  If it tickles your fancy you might wind up training your smithing, cooking and fire making soon enough!

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URL: http://www.runescape.com/

Review – Secunia PSI v2.0

Keeping software up to date can sometimes be tricky, other times it can be a pain.  Using Filehippo's update checker is a good start, but what if an important security exploit becomes known publicly and you don't know about it?

Secunia PSI is another software update checker, but it has a focus on security fixes, bugs and patches.  There is an online version of this scanner, but it catches fewer items.  I suggest you run it now and then, as you are sure to be informed of any serious exploits right away and directed to the proper updates.  Better safe than sorry.

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URL: http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

Review – SizeMe v2.0.0

If you're like me then you tend to download or create a lot of stuff on your computer.  Some friends have said that I've downloaded the entire internet!

Well, free space on a hard drive doesn't last forever so eventually you're going to have to back it up.  SizeMe is a very nice program to have around because it helps you space out your files to optimally fill your media.  What this means is that if you've got, let's say, a total of 9 gigs of files, it will separate it to perfectly fit two blank DVDs and you can keep the remaining files for the next time.  This way you never end up with discs that are filled up to 70 or 80 percent which would make you lose money and waste blank discs.

The interface is a little odd at first but once you get used to it you can sort your files to backup discs in no time.  Yet another free little program to add to your collection!

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URL: http://lars.werner.no/?page_id=2

Review – Super Mario Crossover

If you're like me you still enjoy playing the first Super Mario Bros game from the NES (Nintendo).  What would you do if you could play it as Link from the Zelda games?  Bill from Contra?  How about Megaman, Samus from Metroid or even Ryu from Ninja Gaiden and Simon Belmont from Castlevania, all with special powers and moves?

Welcome to Super Mario Crossover.  I suggest that you stop reading this review and go play it right away.  Come back afterwards though! ;)

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URL: http://www.explodingrabbit.com/games/super-mario-bros-crossover

Review - Sysinternals

I've always found it handy to keep a few system utilities on hand since after all you never know when you're going to need them.  Sometimes though you'd need one or two that were a little more advanced.  That's where the SysInternals suite comes in.

The great tools in this set let you do pretty much anything you could need: there is a utility that monitors file access, one that monitors open net connections, another that wipes files securely off your hard drive, and even one that can be used as a replacement for the task manager that comes with Windows.

Overall I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't take a look and see what's available on their site.  There are easily 30 or so utilities there, all of them are free too.

One last note for fun: the apps are so good and handy that Microsoft went and bought the company!  Enjoy.

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URL: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals

Review – Unlocker v1.9.0

Here's a quick review about a handy utility to have around when working with files on a busy system.  Unlocker does just that to your locked files: it allows you to move, delete or rename your files that are in use.

Ever see a prompt in Windows telling you that the file you're trying to work on is in use?  Annoying isn't it?  Fight back.  Start up Unlocker and point it to the file and choose to unlock it, then do the desired action.  No need to reboot.  Just watch what file(s) you use it on because you could make something crash.

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URL: http://unlocker.emptyloop.com/

Review – 7-Zip v9.20

In a digital world filled with exchanges of information, compression is your best friend.  Save disk space, upload and download files in less time too.  But with so many choices of compression software out there, which one will meet your needs?

I present you with my favorite one: 7-Zip.  It's free without nag screens, it's fast, it's light and bare-bones in the best way possible: no useless features!  This handy program can handle plenty of file formats and offers a simple shell extension paired with a nice file manager style interface in the main app.

I've used it for a few years now (only a few since it's still somewhat new!) And so far I must say it's rather nice and stable, even if the version I use says that it's a beta.  One nice feature is that it can create ZIP files that have higher compression ratios then with other software, yet they stay compatible, for when you want your uploaded files to remain as accessible to your family and friends as possible.

This is one of the first apps I install on a PC and I can highly recommend it to anyone.

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URL: http://www.7-zip.org/

Review - VirusTotal

Having a good anti-virus these days is essential.  Sometimes however it's good to have a second opinion.  Well what if you had 42 of them?

VirusTotal is a nice site to have around for times when you seriously want to scan a file and make sure that it's clean.  When uploading, it calculates a hash of the file and lets you know if it has been scanned in the past to give you the result right away and avoid waiting for the scans to take place, although you can ask it to re-analyze it since newer definitions to the scanning engines have since come out, detecting newer viruses and removing some false positives.

Another nice feature is a shell extension that you can install on your computer to upload and scan files with a simple right-click.  This is optional however, and is available for your convenience.

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URL: http://www.virustotal.com/