Alarm Clock by Tarry91 is an effective alarm clock

Overview:

"Alarm Clock by Tarry91" is a professional alarm clock that does not require installation. You can configure multiple alarm events including recurring alarm and optionally launch a file or MP3 song when the time is up. Other features include a choice of GUI color, customizable alert messages and system tray support. No installation needed, copy the *.exe file to a folder of your choice.


Review:

Alarm Clock by Tarry91 is a simple and neat app for creating and managing alarms. This program will allow you set daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly alarms that are customizable with text and music. Optional features include making Alarm Clock by Tarry91 start with windows, display dynamic messages when events occur, shutting down your PC after an alarm and a "travel mode" that is made specifically for pendrives or other portable devices. Alarm Clock by Tarry91 has an easy interface, can handle several alarms and just works so if you are looking for app for managing your alarms then try Alarm Clock by Tarry91 since it's pretty good. Available for all versions of Windows oh and sorry for taking so long in reviewing your program Tarry91.


Get it at http://tarry91.quotaless.com/index.html

WishList will allow you to create and manage lists of stuff that you want to buy

Overview:

Manage your WishList's with ease!

Review:

Another app that came from the NANY 2009 competition is WishList, It's a simple and portable app for managing wishlists. With WishList you can input the name of your desired item, a note (like for example the URL of the product), the item price and rate the item in terms of importance or how badly you want it. You can have various lists for different items so you can have a wishlist for games and another for movies, each wishlist will be saved in separate files which is unfortunate since i prefer to have a single database with subgroups but nonetheless Wishlist's method works allright. In conclusion this is a neat app that should be useful for people that want to write down their wanted stuff. Available for Windows XP/Vista.


Get it at http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=16429.0

Feedr is an ultra simple RSS reader

Overview:

Simple RSS Feedreader application.


Review:

Feedr is an extremely barebones RSS reader from the Nany 2009 competition, just copy the URL of a feed into Feedr and click "load", a list of new items shall appear. These items shall be stripped of everything but text so you won't see any pictures or clickable links and that's pretty much what Feedr does. You can't import your own feeds or anything like what other readers do, the key here is simplicity and that is something that people might find appealing, it certainly catched my eye. Anyway in order to install Feedr you will need to have installed the Adobe Air enviroment. Available for Windows, Linux and MacOSX.


Get it at http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=16353.0

Dad's Around is a simple and portable boss key app

Overview:

A simple boss-key app.


Review:

Another one of the Nany 2009 apps that caught my eye (mainly because i had nothing else to write about, damn mondays) is Dad's Around, this simple and portable program is basically a boss key to hide the stuff you are watching on your monitor. Using a single customizable hotkey you can silence your speakers, kill the foreground process, minimize all windows and show a black screen all over screen (press esc to show desktop again) Cool huh? anyway if you are on vista you may need to change the default hotkey since it clashes with something and the program uses 5MB of RAM which is good. In conclusion this a neat and simple app, try it! available for all versions of Windows.


Get it at http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=16354.0

The Suffering is a free game with ad supported play

Overview:

The Suffering is a third person action shooter with a horror theme.


Review:

I have been playing The Suffering a lot recently, it was originally a paid game from 2004 but in september of 2008 Midway made the game free to play supported with ads, an internet connection is required otherwise The Suffering won't run. The game is a third person action shooter with a horror theme, you play as Torque a convict who allegedly killed his wife and kid tough he said he doesn't remember, Torque is then sent to Abbott State Penitentiary on Carnate Island which as we learn trough the game is a pretty horrible place. As soon torque is placed in his cell all hell brakes loose, literally! you will fight all kinds of horrors and mutations trough Carnate insland and do some light puzzle solving along the way, which is a long way btw since i still haven't finished the game even tough i have played it a lot. The game suppossedly has 3 different endings depending on what deeds you did during your journey so that adds a little replayabilty to the game which is fine by me. Like i said at the beginning the game is ad supported so you will probably see some ads when playing, the ones i have seen personally have been some banners advertising the new G1 phone or something tough i have read that other people had to sit trough some videos when loading like for example movie trailers, this may turn off some people but remember that you get a full game for free. I am not 100% sure if the game will work in every region of the world but if it doesn't (like it happened to reader of mine in another game) try to put a U.S. proxy into Internet Explorer and run the game, hopefully The Suffering will think that you are in the United States and allow you to play normally. If that doesn't work you are screwed and i am so sorry.
In conclusion if you like action games with a bit of horror then The Suffering is a pretty good choice. Available for Windows 98/2000/2003/XP/Vista.


Official site

Download mirror #1

Download mirror #2

Download mirror #3

Convert audio files and merge them with Free Mp3/Wma/Ogg Converter

Overview:

Convert all your Mp3, Wma, Ogg, Wav files. Simple, very fast and effective.


Features:

• Convert WMA to MP3, MP3 to WMA, convert WAV to MP3, OGG to MP3, MP3 to OGG files;
• Convert to MP3 files from WAV, WMA, OGG etc;
• Support batch conversion;
• Merge multiple files into one big file, support MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG formats;
• Copy ID3 tag between audio formats ( reserve ID3 tag during conversion);
• When converting to MP3 files, bitrate, VBR or CBR, stereo or mono are selectable;
• When you convert WMA to MP3, Bitrate is selectable.

Review:

Free Mp3/Wma/Ogg Converter is a little program that like the name says can convert music to the most common formats used today like WAV, MP3, OGG, and WMA. The program couldn't be easier to use , just select some audio files, choose a format and click "convert". Before converting you can tweak some options like the bitrate, if it's variable, stuff like that. Also with Free Mp3/Wma/Ogg Converter you can merge several audio files into a single file like the previously mentioned MakeitOne, however unlike MakeitOne Free Mp3/Wma/Ogg Converter lacks several features like for example editing the tags of the resultant file before the join process, you just can merge some audio files and that's it.
In conclusion Free Mp3/Wma/Ogg Converter is a pretty straightforward converter that works pretty well with a not so good merge audio files feature. Available for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.


Get it at http://www.freemp3wmaconverter.com/freemp3wmaconverter.html

MuvEnum Address Bar is a replacement for the missing address bar in Windows XP SP3

Overview:

MuvEnum Address Bar is the ultimate replacement for the missing address bar in Windows XP SP3. It recreates the experience of the original address bar while adding many new features including Internet Explorer, Firefox 3.x, and Google Chrome support in addition to a system-wide hotkey, that allow you to quickly open websites, navigate to favorites, start programs, search the internet, and more from the Windows taskbar!


Features:

* Shows Favorites, Bookmarks, and History from Internet Explorer, Firefox 3.x, and Google Chrome.

* Set focus to the address bar using a global system-wide hotkey. Defaults to Ctrl+Shift+A.

* Supports the following original address bar features: Environment Variables, System Locations, Favorites, Quick Search Aliases, History, and Inline Auto-Completion.

* Option to automatically check for updates.


Review:

If you installed the Windows XP SP3 you may have noticed that the address bar in explorer went missing, well it was removed for legal reasons or something so users that found it useful were screwed. Anyway MuvEnum Address Bar hopes to fix this problem by providing the same features found in the original address bar while adding some very neat features of it's own. MuvEnum Address can draw results from the history and bookmarks of IE, Firefox and Google Chrome making it a handy tool if you use any of those browsers. finally you can call MuvEnum Address bar with a system wide shortcut. In order to enable the MuvEnum Address Bar you must right click in the Windows taskbar and select it from the toolbars menu, this will take a large chunk of your taskbar space unless your resize the address bar tough doing that will probably make the bar less useful. Of course if you have a big monitor this point is moot but if you have a small screen this maybe something to pay attention to. In conclusion if you fancy a more powerful address bar then MuvEnum Address Bar is a good choice. Available for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.


Get it at http://www.muvenum.com/products/freeware/

Send files directly into Comparer using the Send to menu

Comparer is a nifty tool that allows you to compare files using a simple interface however i wanted to make it even simpler using the Send to menu in Windows XP. What this guide will show is how to create a Comparer entry in the Window Send To menu so that you can compare files. It's actually quite simple to do but maybe someone doesn't know, therefore i made this guide.


1.- Open "My PC" and then click on "Tool" and then click again in "Folder Options" , go to the "View" tab and make sure that the "Show hidden files and folder" option is selected and then click "Ok".

2.- Go to the C: disk and go inside the "Documents and settings" folder, then go inside the folder with your name and then finally enter the folder labeled "Send to".

3.- Right click in a blank space and in the context menu select "New" -> "shortcut", a Wizard should appear asking for the location of an item, click on "Browse" and navigate to where Comparer's executable is, then click next and change the shortcut's name if you want. finally click finish and you should be able to see Comparer in the Send To menu.


Yeah it's that simple, anyway you can use this guide to place any other program in the Send To menu.

Compare your files with Comparer

Overview:

Comparer is files compare application which uses Total Commander's WDX plugins.


Features:

* possibility to export viewed details to CSV, HTML or BMP files;
* possibility to use external HTML and CSS files for better details export;
* external comparing applications can be configured on separate tab;
* thumbnails support for various file types (thanks to WLX plugins);
* view modes: either all details view or differences only;
* debug mode (view empty) - allows to see plugins' names for which information cannot be extracted;
* drag'n'drop support for adding new plugins - drop WDX file into proper area and you will get files extensions suggestion (if plugin supports it);



Review:

Like i said i am going to take a look at some programs from the Nany 2009 competition that i found interesting and today i am taking a look at Comparer. Like the name says this program will allow you to compare 2 files viewing their attributes side by side, just drag and drop them into the program window, if files have different attributes they will be colored red on the hand if they are the same they will be black. By default comparer will not display any info that you couldn't get from the Windows explorer itself however you can download a bunch of plugins that highly enhance Comparer's power. Using plugins Comparer can display information about music tags, image details (height, width and more) , HTML files, Word files, Excel files, Open office files and even Firefox extensions (XPI files) In conclusion if you need to compare files then look no further and use Comparer. Comparer is available for all Windows versions and requires the .NET 2.0 framework.


Get it at http://fenixproductions.dcmembers.com/

NANY 2009 page

List of working plugins

Urban Terror is a fast paced, realistic, free online FPS

Overview:

Urban Terror™ is a free multiplayer first person shooter, that (thanks to ioquake3) does not require Quake III Arena. It is available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh. The current version is 4.1.

Urban Terror can be described as a Hollywood tactical shooter; somewhat realism based, but the motto is "fun over realism". This results in a very unique, enjoyable and addictive game.

No registration required: Download, install, play!


Review:

I was bored the other day so i decided to download an online FPS (first person shooter) that i had heard about but never played, that game was Urban Terror and boy i'm glad that i found about it. Basically Urban Terror is a fully online FPS that is a little bit more realistic that most shooters, for example you need to manually reload your weapons, be careful of not jumping from great heights, bandage your injured limbs among other stuff. Thankfully ultra realism is not what Urban Terror is all about since the game also lets you do double jumps, sweeps, etc. adding lots of fun when playing online. The only fault that Urban Terror has in my opinion is that unless you have Quake III you can't use the anti-cheat technology Punkbuster, this could potentially lead to jerks using cheats online but i have to say that my experiences playing the game have been pretty smooth. In conclusion if you would like to fight boredom blasting random strangers online then Urban Terror is a pretty good choice. Available for Windows, Linux and MacOSX.


Get it at http://www.urbanterror.net/

Quickly change your Internet Explorer proxy with IE Proxy Changer

Overview:

Fast way to change your proxy settings in IE. Enable or disable the proxy, or set it to a default setting or an alternate setting. Minimizes to the system tray where you are only a right-click away from changing the setting. Great to use if you need to change your proxy often. (You may need to restart IE when you change the proxy for the change to take effect) No need to install, runs right from the exe file. Requires the .NET Framework from Microsoft.


Review:

Changing the proxies in Internet Explorer is not what i would call easy, specially if you are testing a bunch of proxies to see which one works. IE Proxy Changer changes all that by providing a simple but effective way of changing your IE proxies. Just copy a proxy and paste it into IE Proxy Changer in order to change proxies. You can have up two different proxies and change between them easily, also you can enable and disable proxy browsing at will with the click of a mouse, doing all this is made easier with a handy system tray icon that is shown when you minimize the app. The only fault that i can find with the program is that it doesn't have a Firefox version. In conclusion IE Proxy Changer is a very simple software that will help you change proxies much easier that with the default way oh and it's portable. Available for all versions of Windows.


Get it at http://www.allscoop.com/dotnet-software/proxy-changer.php

View opened TCP/IP ports with CurrPorts

Overview:

CurrPorts displays the list of all currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports on your local computer. For each port in the list, information about the process that opened the port is also displayed, including the process name, full path of the process, version information of the process (product name, file description, and so on), the time that the process was created, and the user that created it.


Review:

CurrPorts is a small portable utility that can list every opened TCP/IP and UDP ports opened in Windows. If you have no idea what ports are think of it as addresses that programs use to connect to the internet, go read the Wikipedia article for a more in depth look at them. Anyway CurrPorts will show pretty much every process that is currently using a port along with it's protocol, port number, remote address, process path, process description, the process service, it's date of creation and a bunch of other useful stuff. CurrPorts can also kill processes and close their TCP connections which is very handy if you suspect a file is shady, thankfully identifying these kind of programs is made by easier by the fact that CurrPorts will paint pink any processes that doesn't have any version info or icon. You can filter the results that you get with CurrPorts using several types of criteria like for example excluding specific programs or only show results from a certain port. Finally all the results can be exported into a text, HTML, or XML file for easy viewing. In conclusion CurrPorts is an excellent way of checking your ports, i'd recommend it. Available for all versions of Windows.


Get it at http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

Hey you, check the new 35 free applications posted over at Donationcoder.com

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the N.A.N.Y. challenge (New Apps for the New Year) over at the great Donationcoder forums but if you aren't you are in for a treat. Apparently every year a bunch of guys decide to write programs and then they give them away, for free! crazy right? Anyway this year over 44 coders have written 35 applications with a wide variety of uses. Everything from a Bible quiz program to a file comparer is here, the wide range of software makes the challenge pretty unique in my opinion. I will probably feature some of the apps right here in my blog once i stop being a lazy bum which should happen soon...yeah soon. Anyway go to the N.A.N.Y. challenge page and check the free software, who knows? maybe you'll find something useful.

TeraCopy is truly the best way of copying files in Windows

Overview:

TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user a lot of features.


Features:

* Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives.

* Pause and resume file transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click.

* Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer.

* Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files.

* Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual.

* Full Unicode support.


Review:

Copying large files in Windows XP just sucks, a lot. Not only do you get subpar speeds most of the time, the damn remaining time fluctuates so much that you wonder how nobody at Microsoft could come up with something better. Thankfully there is a much more competent alternative in the form of TeraCopy. Not only TeraCopy is faster that the standard explorer copy it can also pause and resume transfers, skip bad files without canceling the whole copying process, add files to the queu in an already started copying process and completely replace the standard Windows explorer copy which is something truly awesome and handy. Teracopy also shows accurate progress reports in the form of percentage of copying so far, time remaining, numbers of files to be copied and did i mention it's portable? For all this reasons i truly suggest you ditch the old crappy way of copying files in Windows and use TeraCopy. Available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista.


Get it at http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php

UltraSurf will let you browse the web while using a U.S. IP

Overview:

UltraSurf is a free software which enables users inside countries with heavy Internet censorship to visit any public web sites in the world safely and freely. Users in countries without internet censorship also use it to protect their internet privacy and security. With UltraSurf started, you can use web browsers (like IE, Firefox) the same as before, but all are under UltraSurf's protection now.


Review:

Some while ago i talked about HotspotShield and that it allowed me to browse U.S. only sites without too much fuzz, well recently HotspotShield has been failing me. Every time it gets connected to the Virtual private network (VPN) i get horrible speeds and then i get disconnected. This sucks so i was forced to find an alternative, i ended up with UltraSurf. This small and portable program was originally created to allow people in information repressed countries to browse websites that are banned by their goverment. Just download and run the executable (u.exe) and UltraSurf will automatically open Internet Explorer using a U.S IP, extra options include the ability to delete the cookies and history of Internet explorer when closing UltraSurf along with IE itself. If you don't like using IE too much (i can't blame you) there is also a Firefox addon available but i couldn't make it work, maybe you'll have better luck than me. While using UltraSurf for browsing webpages worked well and fast (no ads!) i did encounter some problems on specific pages, sites Like Hulu and Pandora just won't work when trying to streaming content, maybe UltraSurf has them disabled so that they don't suck all of their bandwidth, it's a free service after all. In conclusion UltraSurf is probably more useful for bypassing your work's internet filters than for watching video on Hulu when you are outside the U.S. Available for all Windows versions (I think...)


Warning: It has come that my attention that UltraSurf has been flag as a trojan by some antiviruses and therefore it maybe dangerous so use it at your own risk. I never did encounter problems but just to be at the side of caution i erased Ultrasurf from my PC. I am truly sorry for posting software that maybe potentially dangerous but it seemed pretty legit legit to me and it worked as advertised so i wrote about it. Anyway only use this software if you are willing to take a risk with it.

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

ReadPlease 2003 will read your text out loud

Overview:

Reads any text you see on your screen - all purpose text-to-speech software.


Features:

* Microsoft voices: Mike, Mary, Sam
* Customize font and background colour
* Reads text via Windows clipboard from any program (copy/paste)
* Control reading from system tray
* Reads e-mail emoticons such as :) or :(
* Adjustable voice speed (rate)
* Low vision colour option
* ReadPlease Enable your website


Review:

If for some reason you would need to have text read out to you using voices then ReadPlease 2003 is a good option. ReadPlease 2003 will read out loud any text that you copy or load up into it using 4 distinct voices (tough more can be downloaded even ones with foreign languages like spanish) the voices that come with ReadPlease 2003 can be pretty robotic when talking but for the most part they are understandable, one thing that i found to be pretty cool is that ReadPlease 2003 knows several abreviations and symbols and reads them as you would do normally. For example "Ave" becomes "Avenue" and "#" becomes "Number" this greatly helps the listening of text. Also you can place links in text files that you open that will take you to other text files (only if they are in the same directory tough) you can make a table of contents this way if you'd like. ReadPlease 2003 has a"Plus" version that you can buy if need a lot more features.
In conclusion ReadPlease 2003 is a pretty solid way of doing text to speech. Available for all Windows versions.


Get it at http://readplease.com/english/readplease.php

Convert multimedia like videos, music and pictures into another formats with SUPER

Overview:

If you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) or play any Multimedia file, without reading manuals or spending long hours training, then SUPER © is all you need.It is a Multimedia Encoder and a Multimedia Player, easy-to-use with 1 simple click.


Review:

SUPER is basically a front end for several command line only converters that are out there. With SUPER you can pretty much convert anything into anything, even music! The interface for converting videos can seems very complicated for converting videos so if you are an inexperienced user then i would suggest you'd try the less complicated Any Video Converter. On the other hand videophiles have here all the tools to tweak all the aspect of a conversion like size, aspect ratio, FPS, Etc. I found two features of SUPER interesting and those are that you can create a gif from a series of pictures and change the file format of pictures, unfortunately i couldn't make either of them work but they seems interested indeed. Also you can stream files online and use the built-in player to play files. Anyway SUPER is a solid converter that is worthy of a download in my opinion. Available for all Windows versions.


Get it at http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

(If you have trouble downloading the setup file then check this handy guide)

Super is also available for direct download at Filehippo.com

Turn your pictures into art with FotoSketcher

Overview:

FotoSketcher is a 100% free program which can help you convert your digital photos into art, automatically. If you want to turn a portrait, the photograph of your house or a beautiful landscape into a painting, a sketch or a drawing then look no further, FotoSketcher will do the job in just a few seconds.


Review:

FotoSketcher is a little portable program that can apply several "Art" filters that can turn any image into something made by Piccaso or Picasso (yeah i don't know any other painter) Just load any JPG, JPEG or BMP picture into FotoSketcher and click into the brush with the pallete to select a type of painting style. If the style doesn't suit your needs just adjust it using the sliders and the options available, you can also set here if you want a frame and if you want some custom text placed into the new image. Finally click "Draw it!" to convert your old boring image into something that could be placed in a museum, a museum of printed images that is. FotoSketcher can also batch process several images so you can artify your whole family album in a row. FotoSketcher is extremely easy to use with it's large buttons and simple interface the only fault that i can find with it it's that it doesn't support more image formats like PNG but that is a small flaw in my book, FotoSketcher is well worth a try. Available for all Windows versions.


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

USBDeview can show detailed info about your USB devices

Overview:

USBDeview is a small utility that lists all USB devices that currently connected to your computer, as well as all USB devices that you previously used.
For each USB device, exteneded information is displayed: Device name/description, device type, serial number (for mass storage devices), the date/time that device was added, VendorID, ProductID, and more...
USBDeview also allows you to uninstall USB devices that you previously used, and disconnect USB devices that are currently connected to your computer.
You can also use USBDeview on a remote computer, as long as you login to that computer with admin user.

Review:

USBDeview is a small portable utility that can list all of the USB devices that are connected in your PC or previously used ones along with some very useful extra information. For instance you can know an USB device's description, if it's connected, if it's safe to unplug, if it's disabled, it's creation date, class, subclass, protocol and more. Basically all there is know is there. Besides giving info USBDeview can also disconnect, disable, enable and even uninstall an USB device from Windows entirely which is better compared to the usual way of doing it in Windows XP. The last feature that is want to talk about is the capacity of USBDeview of executing a batch file when an USB is inserted, this could be pretty handy in some situations, tough i can't think of any right now.
In conclusion USBDeview is simple and works so if you need an app like this one give it a try. Available for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.


Get it at http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

Get Sam & Max episode 104: Lincoln Must Die! for free

Overview:

The president's lost it. Federally mandated group hugs, a pudding embargo... what's next, gun control? Sam & Max are off to Washington to take care of this bozo, but the political climate will only get stormier... and a new power will rise...

This is the fourth episode of Sam & Max: Season One, and as of November 5 2007, it's absolutely FREE! Just click the green "Download the Free Demo" button to download the full game.


Review:

Sam and Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die! is the fourth episode of the first season of the Sam and Max series of adventures games made by TellTale games. It was originally a commercial product but it was released for free in november 7 of 2007. Sam and Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die! puts you in the task of stopping a giant president Lincoln made of stone...yeah don't try to make any sense of this so just enjoy the wackiness and the humour that you will get in the 2 to 3 hours that takes to finish the game. Yes the game is very short but i found it to be a very enjoyable ride, plus you can't beat the price! so if you like adventure games then give Sam and Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die! a chance, i am pretty sure you won't regret it. Available for Windows XP/Vista.


Get it at http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/lincolnmustdie

Get disposable email addresses with Mailinator

Having your inbox flooded with spam emails because you had to give your email in order to sign up for whatever can really suck, thankfully there is a better way in the form of Mailinator.This free website allows you to create disposable emails for the sole purpose of receiving spam that is deleted after a few hours. There is no sign up of any kind so the only way of checking your email is to either create your own email address or use a randomly generated one by Mailinator and click "Go!". the email address that you use can be used by ANYONE as long as they have the name, so there's no real security to speak of , therefore don't be an idiot and use it for handling sensitive affairs. The emails that you get are heavily stripped of fancy stuff like HTML, pictures and stuff like that so all that you will be left is text and links making it perfect for activating accounts in websites. A single address can hold up 10 emails which is enough for most people. In conclusion Mailinator is a handy service for stopping a little the threat of spam, just remember that is no real security here.


http://www.mailinator.com/