Software | WindowsTalk.org

Dec

Which Internet Browser Should I Use?

So many browsers, so little time… As it turns out, the majority of computer users automatically use some version of Internet Explorer by Microsoft. Most Internet Explorer users are happy with the browser’s performance and don’t give it a second thought. But what many people don’t realize is that there are several other competitive browsers available that may offer better features tailored to meet your needs.

Let’s start with the most familiar…

Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 is the latest browser version available, and it offers the ability to pin favorite websites in the taskbar. This will provide quick shortcuts to the websites that you use the most on a day-to-day basis. The browser now has a redesigned Notification Bar that will allow you to browse the Internet and process notifications when it is most convenient for you. Internet Explorer also now (finally) has a download manager and the One Box feature for singular search and navigation.

Firefox

Firefox is holding second place in the market next to Internet Explorer. It can be used with Windows, Linux, and OS X and provides a wide variety of features. These features include spell-checking, a download manager, private browsing, and tabbed browsing. You can also explore through literally thousands of Add On features that can be downloaded and installed directly to improve your browsing experience.

Safari

Safari is the browser by Apple used by Mac users, and there is also a version available for Windows. Safari is aesthetically pleasing, to say the least. It offers searchable history, full page zoom, and fast performance, similar to Google Chrome. If you’re an RSS user, Safari provides an RSS reader, RSS bookmarking, and RSS aggregation.

Chrome

Chrome by Google made a splash in December 2008. It offers the simplicity that has been trademarked by Google with improved speed, stability, and security. Chrome is minimalistic, which sets it apart from many competing web browsers today. However, Chrome is much faster than other browsers and offers convenient tabbed browsing. Security is another attraction for Chrome users; Chrome relies on the Google sandboxing technology to protect a computer from viruses, spyware, and other malicious programs from fraudulent websites.

Opera 11

Many computer users may not be familiar with the Opera 11 browser, but it is ideal for those with older, slower computers. It uses significantly less memory than other browsers and can load quickly, even if you have a slow connection. Unfortunately, it isn’t compatible with quite a few popular websites and also won’t support instant streaming on Netflix.

Bethany Ramos is a full-time freelance writer that co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump. The Coffee Bump specializes in a wide variety of coffee makers Bunn and assorted coffee and espresso products.

Categories Microsoft, Software, The Desktop Experience
Comments (26)

Dec

PDF Files: A Refresher Course

by Contributed

Okay. Right now you’re probably saying to yourself, “A refresher course on PDF’s? Who needs that?” Fine, maybe you don’t. Maybe you know all about Adobe’s Portable Document Format. After all, it’s been around since 1993. If that’s the case, feel free to leave this page to those of us who, for whatever reason, might not be tapping into the full potential of the PDF and could use a brief review of the many features and benefits that PDF’s have to offer.
Multiple Platform Convenience: PDF documents can be read anywhere on any device that can support Acrobat Reader or other PDF reading software. Unlike Word, the software to read PDFs is free and is supported on many different devices and operating systems. In other words, if you’re using Windows, you can send a PDF document to a Mac or Linux user, even someone on a mobile device, and know that they will receive and be able to view the document exactly as intended, without any changes. Also, when you click a link to view or download a PDF, it opens automatically in your browser window, making it possible to view the document without opening or downloading any other program.

PDF documents are secure: PDF’s were originally designed for and used by the Federal Government to insure the utmost security while handling sensitive documents and communicating internally and externally. Unlike other documents that can be easily edited, resaved or copied, PDF files are read only by default and can only be edited or changed when deliberately converted into a word document or other editable format. PDF files can even be password protected or encrypted to prevent converting, editing or reformatting altogether. This functionality is essential for keeping proprietary information secure. In addition, PDFs are almost completely immune to viruses, spyware and other virtual dangers, allowing them to be distributed and opened safely.

Multimedia support: PDFs support many types of multimedia and interactive functions such as hyperlinks to direct users back to a website, bookmarks for large documents, web forms that can be filled out directly, and even music and video. And the best part is that all of these features and functions can be embedded as a part of the document itself.

File compression: PDFs can compress, optimize and reduce the size of documents and data without sacrificing any of the original elements or quality. This means that you can transmit the same document at a smaller size and a faster rate when you convert it to a PDF file. In light of the current size limitations providers have placed on email attachments—which can lead to undeliverable emails—the ability to create documents and compress them to the smallest file possible while still retaining image quality can save a lot of time, trouble and headaches.

Document legality: In order for a document to be admissible in a court of law, it must be kept in a format that cannot be altered or changed. It’s little wonder that PDF files are the preferred format of the U.S. Judicial System. Due to their secure nature, PDF files cannot be altered without leaving an electronic footprint or record of the changes. With this unique capability, PDF files meet all legal document requirements, allowing for the capture, creation and transmission of sensitive documents without any chance of their being compromised and rendered inadmissible in the process.

Authenticity: Another unique advantage of PDF files is that they can be imprinted with marks of authenticity, such as watermarks and digital signatures. This is especially valuable to financial institutions or corporations conducting sensitive transactions where the authenticity of all parties involved must be verified. When recipients view a document bearing such distinctive marks—which, like the document itself cannot be altered—they can be sure that the document is genuine and came from an authorized source.

Simplicity: With all their features, PDF files are surprisingly simple to create, provided you have the right software, aka, a PDF Converter. You can also scan paper documents into PDF format. In either case, all elements in the PDF file, including tables and graphs, will remain intact and will always resemble the original document. And with PDF, consolidating, transmitting and archiving data becomes a manageable task, even when dealing with large amounts of data originally generated in other formats. And as technology continues to evolve away from paper, PDF makes it possible to integrate paper based and electronic document systems, resulting in files that can be readily and securely stored, or shared and viewed universally for years to come.

Jared Rivers is a freelance writer who specializes in computer technology.

Categories General, Software, The Desktop Experience
Comments (27)

Dec

Free Video Editor Software

by James M. Fisher

With the approach of Christmas, Wondershare Software Co., Ltd., a leading software developer dedicated to providing multi-media solutions for both Windows and Mac users, has launched its 2011 Christmas Giveaway Program.

Wondershare has prepared an amazing gift for WindowsTalk readers – its Video Editor software for free! All of our readers can get a free, full-version Wondershare Vivideo Editor (Windows & Mac), which is an ideal video editor to personalize your Christmas videos, on our Facebook page.

When you click the above link, it will take you to the WonderShare Facebook site and you will see a screen like this:

Just fill in the details and get your free keycode for Vivideo Editor!

Categories Promotions, Software
Comments (9)

Dec

JPG to PDF Convertor

by James M. Fisher

Screenshot of JPG to PDF

Today I was alerted to a new Windows freeware tool: JPG To PDF and I thought I would pass the news along to WindowsTalk readers.

What is JPG to PDF?

The top features of JPG To PDF are:

Fast. Once you test the program, you will know how fast it does what it is supposed to do
Make the conversion without Adobe PDF Software installed.
Tiny size, and a portable version is available.

JPG To PDF offers a powerful algorithm that produces a quality PDF ebook from images very fast. Users can convert a single image to PDF, or multiple images to a multi-page PDF file.
The installation file size is only 1.04MB. There is also a portable ZIP version for USB drive, and the file size is only 808KB.
JPG To PDF runs under Windows ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7, also tested under Windows 8 Preview version and it runs very well. The program is a 100% freeware with no virus/spyware.
The program website: http://www.jpgpdf.net/

Categories General, Promotions, Software
Comments (13)

Dec

What, Me Worry? –PC DIY repair is the future

by James M. Fisher

For those of you who haven’t heard, PC home repair is the future.

Twenty years ago, when most of us were confronted with an alphabet soup of abbreviated formats and technical terms, we preferred to pay a technician rather than deal with a tangle of multicolored cables, and unintelligible streams of code.

Let’s face it, back then we were also taking broken toasters to be repaired.

I’m suggesting that at the first sign of trouble you throw your PC out with the recyclables (and if you are, I’ve got dibs on it). But if you are reading this, chances are you are computer literate; you know what a USB socket looks like, you have installed hardware and software all by yourself, and you have at least heard of SATA (and no, I can’t remember what it stands for either).

We are part of the next generation of PC users. We have the knowledge, and the experience to confidently tinker and tweak our personal systems. Who knows? Years from now, instead of fond memories of adjusting the carburetor with dad in the driveway, we’ll be reminiscing about time spent with our kids, installing a new graphics card.

But knowledge isn’t enough to empower the layman user, you need the tools; tools that are readily available, easy to use, reliable and reasonably priced.

Yes registry cleaners and data recovery software are abundant. They might help speed up you system, get rid of all that junk, but the fact is that they are as cosmetic as changing the light bulb on your dashboard rather than fixing that oil leak. Even the antivirus software that we trust implicitly will not repair the damage left by viruses. This not only causes hardware and software to fail or crash, but unrepaired damage leaves your system wide open and vulnerable to future attacks. And yet, even if your machine is 100% malware free, throughout the normal life of a PC, installing and uninstalling applications can cause a lot of wear-and-tear that will have a similar consequence.

Thankfully, there is a tool on the market that can deal with all of this: Reimage PC Repair (http://www.reimage.com).

All reviews I have read (PC World, Fox News, TechCrunch, etc.) for this software have one thing in common – Total surprise that it actually works. The reason Reimage lives up to its promise is probably because it was originally designed and used by PC technicians. Thanks to popular demand, Reimage simplified their product to enable the average user, with basic computer literacy, to repair their own computer, in the comfort of their own home. For the price of one average technician’s house call (about $60-70) you get a full year’s worth of support and the accessibility to this miracle repair software.

Reimage scans your entire Windows OS and corrects any compromised setting, or replaces any missing/damaged file according to the most up-to-date Microsoft security specifications. Even files that have been accidently deleted or moved by the user, can be fully restored, effectively rendering your system as good as new, improving speed and ensuring system stability, extending the life and efficiency of your PC, and ensuring that that your system is running at its full potential.

Categories Software, The Desktop Experience
Comments (16)

Nov

VIPRE Antivirus Black Friday Sale

by James M. Fisher

It’s that time of the year and once again GFI is kicking off the holiday season with an incredible Black Friday Sale.

VIPRE Antivirus 2012 for ~~$39.95~~ NOW $9.95!

VIPRE Internet Security 2012 for ~~$49.95~~ NOW $19.95!

This weekend’s VIPRE Black Friday Sale makes it easy and affordable to stay safe online this holiday season (and in years to come).

This offer is only valid Friday, November 25th through Monday, November 28, 2011.

Categories Promotions, Software
Comments (6)

Nov

5 Ways to be More Productive on Microsoft Word 2010

by Contributed

Microsoft Word is a word-processing program which helps you write and organise documents efficiently and which allows you to work easily with others.

The latest version – Microsoft Word 2010 – comes as part of the Microsoft Office 2010 package. Microsoft Office student offers are available online from reputable software resellers and give incredible discounts on software for pupils.

Here are just 5 ways that this latest version of Word 2010 can make you more productive:

Work in Word from virtually anywhere – Access Word in your browser and on your mobile phone! With the ability to access your information from more places, your ideas, projects etc can still be done even when you’re not at your desk. Microsoft Word Web App is an online companion to Microsoft Word which allows you to edit your documents in a Web browser when you’re away from your desk, without compromising on quality.
Working together on a project is something all students encounter at some stage on their course. Word 2010 helps you work together more successfully and without having to wait your turn. Its co-authoring capabilities mean that you can edit documents and share ideas with your colleagues at the same time and in other locations. You can also communicate instantly with others as you work.
Create visually compelling documents more easily – Word 2010 has many new and improved tools which provide artistic effects for both pictures and text. New picture-editing tools enable you to add special effects without using additional photo-editing software, enabling you to turn a simple document into a work of art.
With Word 2010 you can locate information faster and easier using the improved Navigation Pane and Find tools. Now you can view a summary of search results in a single pane, and click to access any individual result. A visual outline of your document means you can browse and find what you want quickly and easily.
Recover unsaved work – Have you ever spent hours on a document only to accidentally close it without saving? Now, in Word 2010, you can recover draft versions of recently edited files quickly and easily, even if you forgot to save the document.

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 is available to students and teachers at specially discounted rates – often with savings of up to 90% – as cheap as £37.89 inc VAT . The package includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Publisher 2010, Outlook with Business Contact Manager 2010, OneNote 2010, Access 2010, InfoPath 2010, SharePoint Workspace and Lync.

Categories Microsoft, Software
Comments (16)

Nov

Computer Maintenance For Grandmas

by Mitz

Whether you’re an actual grandmother or anyone else a little hesitant to do your own computer maintenance, you’ll find the following simple instructions will help keep your computer working well for years to come.

Computer Maintenance Tips #1—Befriend A Geek

Despite the media’s portrayal of computer geeks as nerdy young men, computer geeks come in all shapes. My grandmother’s best friend, another grandmother, is a computer geek.

Befriending a computer geek is by far the best computer maintenance you can do. Your geek friend will teach you how to use your computer the right way, will fix problems when they’re still easy to fix, and can explain to you the many things about computers that require specialized knowledge. As a nice bonus, most computer geeks often give away their old technology to their friends, meaning free goodies for you.

Computer Maintenance Tips #2—Run Anti-Virus

Many grandmothers I know live on a tight budget, either because they have to or because they’re used to it from years of practice (raising a family has never been cheap). So a lot of you probably wonder whether it’s necessary to renew your pricy anti-virus subscription.

Many modern computer viruses are designed by criminals to carry out their illegal businesses. They infect your computer and use it to send spam or attack other computers or spread child pornography. But the government can’t tell that your computer is infected, and more than once, the police have arrested somebody for crimes committed by viruses on their computer.

But even if you’re not afraid of being arrested for child pornography or other crimes, viruses use up the computing resources of your PC, ruining the value of your $500 or $1,000 computer. Compared to that, a $30 or $50 a year anti-virus subscription costs nothing. Protecting your computer from viruses is very important.

Computer Tips #3—Make Backups

Some grandmothers use their computers all the time; some only spend an hour a week online. But no grandmother wants to lose the result of the effort they’ve put into their computer.

Yet few grandmothers backup their files. Unfortunately, every computer hard drive will eventually fail, taking with it to the grave any unpreserved data. An easy way is to simply backup files to an external hard drive.

Talk to your computer geek friend about how to make backups. You want a simple regular system that doesn’t require much maintenance. Windows comes with a backup wizard that you can use with an external hard disk, or you can use a online service like Mozy. Just make sure you get your backup system setup soon.

Computer Tips #4—Examine Error Messages

I bet I know what you do when an error message appears—you click “Ok” and hope things keep working. If they do, you quickly forget you ever saw the error message.

But little error messages like those indicate that there’s something wrong with your computer—something that could become a big problem later.

Whenever you see an error message, write down its keywords before you click Ok. Then show those keywords to your computer geek friend. He or she will either recognize the error or know how to search for it online. Then you can take care of any required computer maintenance once and for all.

My name is Mitz Pantic and I’ve been working with computers for over 25 years and love to teach people how to use their computers. Be sure to visit me at my computer tips website and say hello in the comments section. Also do not forget to sign-up for my free computer tips newsletter and receive a free 59 page Computer Terms Dictionary!

If you have any tips for computer maintenance please share them with us by leaving your comment below.

Categories Software, The Desktop Experience
Comments (39)

Nov

Data recovery tools: Don’t wait to think about a file recovery service

by Contributed

The wide use of computers in personal and professional areas has created a need for possessing a strong recovery tool. This would ensure an uninterrupted work schedule and save unwanted trouble. Data loss is a taxing experience and being pro-active pays you in the long run, when you actually face such a situation. Equipping yourself with a dependable and comprehensive data recovery tool is essentially needed. You can save from losing your personal data, confidential documents and the priceless family pictures and memories.
There are many data recovery tools available to your rescue. You can choose among them, based on your individual requirement(s) and suitability. Many can be found available free on the web.
Test Disk: This powerful software works with command line. You can perform different functions ranging from having a backup, rebuilding the boot sector, fixing FAT tables and MFT, copying deleted files from partitions to recovery media, to finding lost partitions in numerous formats in locating your lost data. It can be used on Windows, Mac and Linux. The Test Disk can perform better than some of the Microsoft tools like the Fixboot and Fixmbr. Even though it has no Graphic User Interface (GUI), you can find it easy to work with.
Recuva and PhotoRec: Functionally, Recuva and PhotoRec are similar but Recuva is more user-friendly as it has a GUI. Recuva works on Windows and provides a simple file-recovery wizard. The wizard is flexible enough to restrict your search type to pictures, documents, videos, or all files etc. You can set the search location (if you happen to know it). The manual mode gives a specific platform to search for your lost files when you are aware of the location to be searched, thus saving the effort of searching the entire hard drive.
The PhotoRec, contrary to its name, is not restricted to photos or images recovery. It is a quick and reliable tool to copy your deleted files to another disk. It saves the undue intrusion into partitions. PhotoRec penetrates into your disks in a safe, read-only mode without disturbing partitions and file systems, and this concentrates only on the missing files.
Restoration: This standalone recovery tool is simple and straightforward in application. It runs on Windows. You can use it to recover files which got removed from the recycle bin, or directly deleted from within Windows. It has a small size (406k), but can perform the basic functions of data recovery software. Although it cannot be applied on all types of deleted files, users have found it worth.
Undelete Plus: It can recover files removed from the Recycle Bin, or which have been permanently deleted from Windows. Files can be sorted by types.
There are other tools like removable media such as memory cards, pen drives, sim cards, zune data, digital pictures and others which are utility specific and can be applied in particular cases. For instance, the removable media data recovery tool is an effective utility, using which you can recover lost, missing, erased or deleted files and folders.

About the author: Alia Haley is a writer who is all into machines, cars and consumer electronics. She blogs for health, parenting and beauty as well, but technology and gadgets tops the list of her favorites. Mobile reviews and social media have recently caught her interest.

Categories General, Software, The Desktop Experience
Comments (20)

Nov

Working From Home With Your PC

by Jesse Langley

Teleconferencing is quickly catching on as employees attempt to avoid stand-still rush hour traffic and employers attempt to go green. With great flexibility comes great gadgetry. Unfortunately, many remote employees drop too much money on programs they don’t actually need.

Whether you’re setting up your first PC-based telecommuting office or trying to convince your boss to let you spend Fridays at home, check out our list of the best programs and software to get you through your work day.

onConference

Yes, you can technically use Skype to group chat and participate in a video conference. But with unreliable connections and limited usability, it’s not the most professional of tools for the home office. Instead, try a service like onConference, which will give you 24/7 assistance in case you or your callers have any issues.

The service charges you 19 cents per minute and per line, but it’s an expense you should be able to justify to your company. Unlike other services, though, it will only charge the person who is hosting. This is a perk for your clients who won’t end up paying a third party just for the privilege of speaking with you.

Google Docs

Google Docs has been the go-to for group collaboration. Take the same power home with you for your home office. It will let you work on the same document as a co-worker across the country. If you haven’t used Docs in a while, it’s worth a second look. They’ve added the options to create online forms, presentations (think a minimalistic PowerPoint), and even collections that let your organize projects.

Unlike the functionality of Dropbox, Google Docs lets you see changes being made in real-time. Dropbox is convenient for file sharing, but not for active collaboration. There’s a distinct difference, but far too often people try to get by on file sharing when they should be working together, simultaneously. Set up a Google Doc and some sort of chat program (Skype works well here) and you should be on your way to working as if you were on location.

Join.Me

Sometimes co-workers feel the need to peek over at each other’s screens to explain things. Working remotely doesn’t take this desire away magically. Luckily, join.me provides a pretty nice fix. You can share control of the screen so you can point things out and they can respond. It allows for up to 250 viewers, but it’s doubtful you’ll need more than five. You can set up join.me for meetings and for simple collaboration on projects that are too big for Google Docs to handle, such as when you’re using Creative Suite programs like PhotoShop.

Join.Me is free, but offers a paid version that’s really only necessary if the entire office is comprised of remote employees.

Jesse Langley lives near Chicago and is a frequent contributor here at WindowsTalk. He divides his time among work, writing and family life. He has a keen interest in blogging and social media and also writes for Professional Intern.