TaskSwitchXP makes alt tabbing a whole new experience

TaskSwitchXP is an open source Alt+tab enhancer, it offers a wealth of features like; thumbnail previews of windows; windows XP visual style support; task management capability; mouse and keyboard support and much more!.
This program is very lightweight and will not take many system resources, in addition it is highly configurable and easy to use.
TaskswitchXP is a great utility that will make you handle your programs better if you use it right. Available for windows 2003/XP.


Features:

* Small and FAST!
Pure Win32 API programming guaranteed for fast running with high graphic quality. TaskSwitchXP is optimized for Windows XP. It takes a few system resources and uses less than 1 MB memory for certain!

* Designed for Windows XP, based on XP Visual Styles
Unlike the standard Windows switcher, TaskSwitchXP can render using Windows XP Visual Styles the end user currently has selected. TaskSwitchXP also allows standard Windows XP shadow and transparency effects, fade animation and more.

* Window snapshots as thumbnail preview
TaskSwitchXP displays small screenshot of the currently selected application in addition to the associated icon and caption. All child windows of the task are displayed on the preview image including modal dialogs and floating palettes.

* Task management capability
TaskSwitchXP provides a lot of advanced task management capabilities with handy popup menus and multiple selections.

* Highly configurable
TaskSwitchXP can be customized on a per-user basis with optional font and color settings, interface schemes, list and preview styles, appearance effects, hotkeys, exclusions and more.

* Full mouse and keyboard control
Besides the classical Alt-Tab switching, TaskSwitchXP fully supports mouse and keyboard control. You can switch and manage tasks a lot faster using the mouse wheel and shortcut keys.

* Multilingual user interface
TaskSwitchXP supports Unicode based language extensions. If you would like to localize it to your native language, see instructions at TaskSwitchXP\lang\ subfolder. Then you can submit your translation at NTWind forums.

* Full source code available!!!
TaskSwitchXP is distributed very free under an open source license. You can download the full source code to all versions of TaskSwitchXP at SourceForge.net project page.



Get it at http://www.ntwind.com/software/taskswitchxp.html

Automatically shutdown your PC with Shutter

Shutter is a small utility that can shutdown your PC automatically. It supports various events and actions. Events : Countdown, On Time, Low CPU Usage, Battery Low, Winamp Stops, User Inactive; Shutdown Actions: Shutdown, Reboot, LogOff, Lock Workstation, Sleep, Hibernate, Monitor Turn Off, Alarm; in addition it can play a custom sound and run a specific program. plus it has a web interface in which you can remotely do any of the supported actions on a far away PC.
Shutter is a great lightweight utility that requires no installation. Available for all versions of windows.


Get it at http://www.den4b.com/projects.php

Add special effects when launching icons and folders with UberIcon

UberIcon is a lightweight utility that can add special effects when launching icons and folders. the program sits on the system tray and it allows you to choose effects from the currently installed plugins. The default effect plugins are "Flatout", "Ibounce" and "Izoom", you can add some new effects from the project`s website or even make your own using the plugins SDK. Unfortunately it seems that this program is no longer being developed actively and therefore it doesn`t has a wide selection of effects since i found only six plugins in the addons page which is a bummer.
UberIcon is a great utility if you want to add some life to your desktop and don`t want to go crazy using many system resources. Available for windows 2000/2003/XP.


Features:

* Improves the look of Windows
* Extremely efficient
* Plugin-based for complete customization
* Integrates with your Desktop, Explorer and most software
* Unicode compliant
* Simple plugin SDK for creating new effects
* And best of all...its FREE


Get it at http://ubericon.com/

Start your screensaver quickly with Saver Starter

Saver starter is a lightweight utility that can launch the windows screensaver using designated hotspots. You must select which corners of your screen will be hotspots and the activation time. Then just place your mouse on the selected corners to launch the current screensaver. In addition you can select and configure your screensaver quickly using the context menu.
Saver starter is a handy program that requires no installation. Available for all versions of windows.


Features:

-Allows a screen saver to be started by moving the mouse over a corner of the screen.

-Prevents a screen saver from starting when the mouse is in a corner of a screen.

-Starts the current screen saver quickly.

-Gives easy access to the screen saver configuration settings.


Get it at http://www.brianapps.net/saverstarter/

Make quick notes using Whiteboard PS

Whiteboard PS is your personal board which you can use to write notes very quickly. There are 10 tabs in which to write your notes with basic tools like an undo/redo button, copy/paste,font manager, Etc . After writing down your thoughts click the save button and the tabs contents will be saved in 10 RTF files located in a subfolder of the folder that contains the program executable. This program requires no installation and can be placed in the system tray pushing the appropriate button.
Whiteboard PS is an interesting note taking tool for windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.


Note: This program requires the .Net Framework 2.0


Get it at http://www.pindersoft.com/whiteboardps.htm

ImgLikeOpera controls the loading of images in firefox

ImglikeOpera is a firefox extension that controls the loading of images. You can select to load no images , cached images, images that only come from the website that you are visiting or load all the available images. In addition you can set custom filters for specific URLs, placeholders for images, cache expiration time and more!.
ImgLikeOpera is a great extension for firefox that will help have more control in surfing the internet.


Features:

- placeholders for blocked images (hi, LJ treads!);
- (re)load image from context menu or Ctrl+rightMouseClick;
- forced expiration time (5 minutes - 3 months);
- policies for tabs;
- filters.


Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/1672

Save images from video files and live streams with ImageGrab

ImageGrab can extract images from video files or live streams. you can manually take the screenshots or using the powerful intervalometer feature take them automatically.
this program uses directshow filters (video codecs) that must be installed in your system in order to properly see the videos being handled.
A interesting feature of this program is the "Stealth" fucntion that will completely hide imageGrab from sight. the only way of stopping in that mode is to use the task manager and kill the process manually. this is a good option if you don`t want to let people know that you are taking screenshots from lets say.. a web camera.
ImageGrab is a great program that doesn`t require installation, available for windows 98/2000/XP/Vista.


Features:

-Take screenshots from AVI, MPEG, WMV and not encrypted DVDs files

-Live stream support

-Automatic extractor

-Command line support


Get it at http://paul.glagla.free.fr/imagegrab_en.htm

MSTS-Dictionary helps you know the definition of english words in firefox

MSTS-Dictionary is a firefox extension that can search the definition of english words using a nifty popup window that doesn`t get in the way. It can search words in 3 different online dictionaries, however it doesn`t have the ability to add custom ones, but i think most people will be happy with the default selection.
Even tough this extension is focused to people that want to learn english it can be used by all people that want a quick and unobtrusive way of knowing word definitions.
MSTS-dictionary is a very useful firefox extension.


Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/4175

Hide Menubar will hide the main menu toolbar in firefox

Hide menubar is a firefox extension that will hide main menu bar from the firefox browser. you can get it back by pressing ALT.
Hide menubar is an interesting extension that may be useful for someone out there (not me tough).

Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4762

Pazera Free Audio Extractor will get the audio from video files

Pazera free audio extractor is a little utility that can extract the audio from video files. Just add any number of video files then select the audio encoder and its setting and the time limit duration plus the output file limit, after all that just press convert and you will get the extracted audio.
Pazera free audio extractor is a great program that doesn`t need installation, available for all versions of windows.


Features:

* Conversion from AVI, DivX, XviD, MPEG, MPG, WMV, ASF, MOV, QT, FLV, SWF, MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, RM, RMVB, MKV, VOB, VCD DAT to MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA or WAV.

* Many predefined profiles.

* Saving and restoring encoder settings.

* Don't need any installation. Just extract ZIP archive and click AudioExtractor.exe file.

* Portability. This program doesn't use system registry and can be run from portable devices. All settings are written to INI file.

* Supported languages: english, polish.

* 100% freeware! - for commercial and non-commercial use. No limitations, no adware, no spyware.



Get it at http://www.dhost.info/jack1024/audio_extractor_en/

Protect your privacy with the firefox extension TabRenamizer

Tabrenamizer is a firefox extension that can rename the title of every tab you have open. this is useful if a tab has a questionable name that will put you to shame if your mom, boss or classmate comes by and takes a look at your screen.
You can make tab titles from any websites or make up your own. you can choose the name for each tab or go in to panic mode and rename all open tabs automatically with a single click or keyboard shortcut.
TabRenamizer is a handy extension for firefox.

Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2987

AutoFill Forms fills boring online forms with a single click

Autofill forms is a firefox extension that can automatically input your info on the appropriate fields when filling online forms.
You can make various profiles and create custom rules for different websites making this a powerful tool for filling forms, Plus it can use encryption in order to keep your sensitive information safe.
Autofill forms is a great firefox extension.

Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/4775

URL Fixer will fix your typos

URL fixer is a firefox extension that will fix any typos you make in the address bar. For example if you type google.col URL fixer will automatically correct it to google.com.
This extension supports common misspelling of .com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, .mil, and all other mainstream TLDs, as well as the protocol (http:, https:), if you right click the address bar you can make it ask you before it makes any corrections.
URL fixer is a handy extension for firefox.

Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/2871

Stop-or-Reload Button can save some space in Firefox

Stop-or-Reload Button is a firefox extension that merges the reload and stop button. This is very useful since a single button will function as two saving you some space, available for windows.

Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/313

Save space with the firefox extension Tiny Menu

Tiny menu is a Firefox extension that will compress all the firefox menus in a single popup menu.
So if you want to have as much screen space as possible this extension is a great choice, available for firefox.

get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/1455

OpenSearchFox can add search engines to the search box

Opensearchfox is a firefox extension that can add any search engine to the firefox`s search box. just wait until a webpage is completely loaded then right click on the input field of keywords and then click on the "Add opensearch plugin", finally change the search engine name and icon and voila!, you just added a new search engine to your search box.
A handy extension for firefox.


Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3698

Manage your windows better with XNeat Windows Manager

Xneat windows manager is a little utility that gives extra features to the windows taskbar.
It can send any window to the system tray, hide windows, make windows transparent, rearrange buttons from the windows tasbar and make windows stay on top. in addition to all this it can remove certain elements from the windows taskbar like the start button, windows taskbar, system tray and clock.
Xneat windows manager is a great utility that doesn`t take much space on the system memory, available for windows 2000/XP/Vista.


Features:

*Taskbar sorter that arranges taskbar buttons
*Keep windows always on top of other windows
*Send any window to the system tray
*Make any window transparent
*Tweak the taskbar appearance
*Hide any window
*Switch active window faster
*Improves productivity by making frequently-used applications faster to locate


get it at http://www.xneat.com/windows-manager/

Drive Image XML backups your drives as images

Drive image XML will backup your drives and partitions to image files. just select a drive and then choose a destination for the image file, the image can then be restored to the same or a different drive. also of importance is the ability to copy directly to drive to drive and a built in backup scheduler. this program only has the ability to backup only drives, it can`t backup files or folders which is a bummer.
Drive image XML is a great backup utility, available for windows 2000/XP/Vista.


Features:

# Backup logical drives and partitions to image files
# Browse these images, view and extract files
# Restore these images to the same or a different drive
# Copy directly from drive to drive
# Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler


Get it at http://www.runtime.org/dixml.htm

Alarm gives you a reminder with text and sound

Alarm is a simple digital clock that can be set to display an alarm with text and sound. just input a time, a message and a custom sound if you desire and then set the alarm, you will be reminded of your important task.
Alarm is a handy and simple utility, available for all versions of windows.

Features:


Options/Features

* Shows the current time in Configurable LED's
* Beeps or plays a sound (you can replace the default alarm siren)
* Plays music (you can use your own mp3, mid, wav and so on music files)
* Shows a small dialog or alarms you with a Full Screen Alert with your text
* Option to Preview your alarm
* Customizable Snooze function with Interval Setting
* Runs on Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/2003/XP/Vista


Get it at http://bluefive.pair.com/alarm.htm

FSL Launcher gives you access to all your programs and files in a single place

FSL launcher is an application launcher, with it you can place all of your programs and files in different groups for easy access, just drag and drop them in the desired group then place your mouse on the top left corner of your screen and hold it there for a little while and the launcher will appear, it will hide itself when you take the mouse off of it , the time in which this happens can be changed in the setup screen.
When i tried this program the memory usage was in between 9MB and 11MB which was pretty good i think, a bad thing about this program is that all of the advanced options like keyboard shortcuts are disabled since are part of the "privileged version" that is only available to people who have donated , i am not whining tough, i understand that making a program is hard work and a good way of getting some money for development is to make a version of a program for people that have donated.
FSL launcher is a good program that can save you a lot of time if you have dozens of programs in your computer, available for windows.

Features:

· Categories organization (multi-tab launcher) with fast selection menu
· Shortcuts management for applications, documents, url links, folders path and more.
· Backup and restore for shortcuts and settings.
· Multi-Users management: separated shortcuts database for each Windows user.
· Drag & Drop support (copy or move from-to desktop or Windows folders)
· Auto-hide function with
customizable show and hide timings
· Stay on top option.
· Skins management with selectable background picture.
· Capability to copy or move shortcuts trough categories.
· Button mode; compact icons view without shortcuts name with button frame and spacing options.
· Single click launch option.
· Program icon options: Show On Taskbar, Show in the System Tray and Don't Show.
· Show shortcuts info tip box: name only or detailed (name, type, size, date and other hints).
· Auto select group when mouse move over group tab option.
· Hideable button bar, in order to reduce the launcher size.
· Support for MSI shortcuts (like MS Office shortcuts).
· Support for MS-DOS program files.
· Support for screen with Large Icons.
· Support for Windows Vista 120 DPI screen mode.
· Selectable program loading progress startup screen.
· Check for program updates feature.
· Multilanguage: English, Italian, French, Czech, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Bulgarian, Hungarian, German, Russian, Portuguese, Valencian, Dutch, Turkish, Slovak and Catalan with support for non latin languages translations.
· Free support forum for bugs report or requests.


Get it at http://fsl.sytes.net/launcher.html

Encrypt and shred important files with the portable utility OmZiff

Omziff is a small and portable encryption utility, it can encrypt files using several types of cryptographic algorithms, generate secure passwords, shred files using DOD (department of defense) standards, split files, create file hashes, append a file to another file, create decoy files and a random number generator.
this program doesn`t require installation of any kind, it can be easily used from a pendrive or another portable device.
there is a small thing about this program that could be a problem depending on your point of view, a file that has been decrypted doesn`t have any file extension whatsoever, in order to make it usable you have to manually change its extension for example if you encrypt a text file and then you decrypt it the text file will have no extension so in order to view it you will have to place the .TXT extension manually, of course this could be an advantage since nobody outside you would know what type of file you encrypted, i just wish there was an option to keep the file extension when a file is decrypted.
OmZiff is a great encryption utility with interesting tools that will help you keep your secrets safe, available for windows 98/2000/XP.

Features:

-File encryption

-Password generator

-File shredder

-File splitter

-File hash generator

-File appender

-Decoy file creator

-Random number generator



Get it at http://www.xtort.net/xtort-software/omziff/

IColorFolder gives your folders a world of color

Icolorfolder is an open source utility that can allow you to change the color of the folders in your system, you can make them red, blue, yellow, green, gray, Etc.
also the program has skin support that will make your folders look even nicer with themes from Vista, mac OSX, Etc; there is a nice pack of extra skins that you download at the official site.
A good thing about Icolorfolder is that it doesn`t use any space in your memory since it uses a native feature of windows XP, the bad thing that annoys me about the program is that if you use the "miniature view" while there is a file inside the folder that can be previewed the color and skin you have applied to the folder will be gone and you will be left with the default look of the folder.
IColorFolder is a great utility that can color up the boring yellow look of folders to something more...fashionable?, available for windows XP.

Get it at http://icolorfolder.sourceforge.net/

Spybot - Search & Destroy keeps you computer clean of adware and spyware

Spybot S&D is a donationware spyware and adware remover, it can detect keyloggers, tracking cookies, dangerous but not yet installed programs, Etc.
after a scan it will display all of the currently placed items on your PC that it considers dangerous and gives you the option to remove them or keep them in your PC if somehow they are useful or needed to you, S&d uses a simple and useful interface that makes selecting each tool very easy.
Spybot search and destroy and is a necessary utility for the PC when advertising companies are trying hard to gather information about your habits by placing cookies and other tracking tools in your computer, use S&D and keep your PC safe from prying eyes, available for all versions of windows.

Get it at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

Digital Video Repair can fix broken AVI files

Digital video repair is a small utility that can repair broken AVI files, files that have not been completely downloaded , files that can`t be played, files that you can`t seeked (fast forward),Etc.
Just select an AVI file and the program will automatically check if the file is damaged in any way, if it is you can try to repair the file using the "Check and repair" button that will create a fixed copy in the same directory where the original file is located.
i couldn`t find a a damaged file in order to test this program which is a bummer but i am pretty sure it will work as advertised ( i hope.... >_< ). Digital video repair is a handy utility to have for damaged AVI files, available for all versions of windows.

Features:

# Detect the bad data
# Repair the index of AVI file
# Detect the key-frame for these codecs:

* XviD
* DivX 4, 5
* 3ivx
* Microsoft MPEG4 (versions 1, 2, 3)
* DivX 3.11 and late (versions 1, 2, 3 Low è Fast)
* Angel Potion (versions 1 è 2)

# Support the Standart AVI file format (Microsoft Video for Windows)
# Support the OpenDML AVI file format
# Process of AVI files with a several audio-track
# Delete not important information from AVI file (chunk JUNK)
# Multilanguage Support (English, Russian) via System Menu:


Get it at http://www.risingresearch.com/en/dvr/

Virtual Floppy Drive keeps floppy disks accessible

Virtual floppy drive is a utility that lets you have a virtual drive in which you can mount your floppy images, since most new computers these days are coming without a floppy drive this is a useful utility if for whatever reason you still need access to your previously saved floppy drives, you can even write on them with this program!.
Virtual floppy drive is a handy utility for windows NT/2000/XP.

Get it at http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/vfd.html#top

Fourth poll results

The fourth poll has ended and in regards to the question "Do you find useful the freeware software i post on the blog?" 6 people voted yes and no one voted no.
truthfully i only asked the question because i couldn`t come up with something better but anyway i am glad that all 6 of you found my posting useful, incidentaly i have 6 people subscribed to my feed....could those 6 be the same ones that voted on the poll :0

SIW (System Info) gives deep knowledge about your hardware and software

SIW (system info) can gather very detailed information about your computer, things like the operating system and the hardware installed for example, but SIW goes much deeper than that, you can know what drivers you have installed, what DLLs are loaded, files associations, hardware temperatures, open networks ports, BIOS information... you name it!, if you are looking for info on your PC SIW will probably help you find it.
in addition to the system information tools SIW comes with a nice set of additional features like Eureka! that will show passwords behind asterisks, a MAC address changer, a win9x password cracker,Etc.
SIW is a great program that doesn`t requires installation, unfortunately it ran a little slow on my crappy PC but i am sure it will run just fine on faster computers (i am sure all of my readers probably have better PC than me T_T), available for all versions of windows.


The system information is divided into few major categories:

* Software: Operating System, Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key).

* Hardware: Motherboard, Sensors, BIOS, CPU, chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Printers.

* Network: Network Cards, Network Shares, currently active Network Connections, Open Ports.

* Tools: Password Recovery, Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks, MAC Address Changer, Monitor Test, Shutdown / Restart.

* Real-time monitors: CPU, Memory, Page File usage and Network Traffic.


Get it at http://www.gtopala.com/

Partition your disks with Cute Partition Manager

Cute partition manager can create, erase and resize disk partitions using a DOS like interface, after you download the setup file you can create bootable CD/DVDs and floppys that will boot on any computer,just be careful because you can easily erase your entire disk if you are not paying attention.
Cute partition manager is a handy utility.

Partition Manager - Main Features


* Lets you create more than 100 partitions per hard disk.

* Lets you preview changes before you can save them.

* Lets you edit advanced partition parameters such as boot flag, partition type, etc.

* Lets you remove every single partition in your system.

* Does not require an operating system to run (everything is built-in).

* Can be booted from CD, DVD, Blank Floppy, DOS Boot Floppy, etc.


Partition Manager - Installer Features


* Can directly create a "Cute Partition Manager Boot CD or DVD" in one click.

* Installer is fully automatic. Self-extracts the program and runs it for you automatically.


Partition Manager - Support and Document Features


* Document is being updated continuously.

* Document is in HTML format.

* Round the clock email support.




Get it at http://www.cutepm.com/

Tweak various security and privacy settings with XP-AntiSpy

XP-AntiSpy is a system utility that can turn off and on various windows security and privacy options very quickly from a single location , for example you can disable the "Automatic updates" service, clean the "recent documents folder" at shutdown, show file suffixes, Etc.
when run for the first time it will create a profile based on your current configuration so you don`t have to worry if you screw something up, you can always go back to your original profile, also it comes with a "recommended profile" that you should try first and see if it suits your needs.
XP-AntiSpy is a great program that gathers all of the difficult to find options in windows on a single place, available for windows XP.

Get it at http://xp-antispy.org/