Safari 3: Apple's Web Browser a Welcome Addition to Windows - 8/8/2007 Moving beyond the Mac, Apple will soon release a Windows version of its Safari 3 Web browser. At first glance, Windows users may think there's little reason to turn to Safari, but surely Apple has bigger plans in mind — enhanced support for iTunes and iPhone perhaps?
The Dude: Network Mapping and Monitoring the Free Way - 8/1/2007 Network management tools typically cost several hundred dollars or more, but The Dude is considerably less expensive than that. In fact, it's free, and while the oddly-named utility doesn't have even close to the same level of polish as network monitoring tools you have to pay for, it's certainly serviceable, provided you're willing to spend time figuring out its rather idiosyncratic interface.
Exploring Office 2007: Excel 2007 Tips for Creating Functional and Attractive Charts - 7/26/2007 Excel charts have been given a makeover in Excel 2007 and the Chart Wizard of earlier versions is now gone. Our Exploring Office 2007 series continues with a list of the top tips for creating functional and attractive charts in the new Excel 2007 release.
iTunes for Windows 7.4: Video, iPhone, and DRM-Free Music Support - 7/18/2007 Apple wants its freeware iTunes software to play your music and videos, but mostly it wants to sell you more. Find out what Apple has introduced and improved in the latest release in hopes of getting you to spend more on multimedia content.
XnView: Light on the Wallet But Not on Functionality - 7/11/2007 If you've settled into the habit of expecting less from freeware offerings, the feature-rich XnView will easily exceed your expectations. This combination multimedia viewer and image editor handles all of the fundamentals and even sports some unexpected extras.
Windows Vista Tips & Tricks, Part 1 - 7/3/2007
After more than five years of working with and getting to know the ins and outs of Windows XP, sitting down with Vista can seem like a hike through uncharted territory. Whether you've already made the move to Vista or are about to, we have some Windows Vista tips and tricks that should help ease the transition to Microsoft's latest operating system.
Exploring Office 2007: PowerPoint 2007 Tips and Tricks - 6/27/2007 PowerPoint 2007 delivers a wealth of new features and enhancements that make it easier to create attractive, professional-looking presentations. Our Exploring Office 2007 series continues with a list of the top tips for getting the most out of the new PowerPoint 2007 release.
Ashampoo Burning Studio 7: Burn, Baby, Burn - 6/20/2007 When you want to write data, music, or video onto CD or DVD discs, an app like Ashampoo Burning Studio 7 makes it easy to back up files to disc, copy discs, and respectively turn music and video files into audio CDs and movie DVDs. ABS7 proves to be particularly easy to use and best of all, you can try it out for free to see if it will work for you.
RSS Options for the Desktop and Beyond - 6/14/2007 RSS feeds aren't just for the digerati. New options make receiving information easier than ever, both in the office and on the road.
Exploring Office 2007: Outlook 2007 Tips and Tricks - 6/6/2007 While Outlook 2007 may look a lot like older releases, there's a great deal to like about the upgrade and plenty of new tools to help you be more productive. Our Exploring Office 2007 series continues with a list of ten top tips for using Outlook 2007.
Microsoft Word 2007: A Word of Caution - 6/1/2007 Our new Office 2007 Apps In Depth series of reviews for the major applications featured in Office 2007 commences with a closer look at Word 2007. New features and enhancements abound, but is it worth the upgrade?
7-Zip: The Digital Equivalent of a Sledgehammer and Crowbar - 5/23/2007 A good compression tool like the freeware 7-Zip can be a helpful friend that saves storage space and reduces upload and download file transfer times. The real question is how 7-Zip stacks up against its well-entrenched competition, WinZip and PKZip.
Exploring Office 2007: Using SmartArt Graphics - 5/17/2007 Office 2007 delivers an abundance of new features and enhancements, many of which aren't exactly obvious at first glance. The first article in our new Exploring Office 2007 series takes a closer look at working with the SmartArt tool to easily create everything from simple diagrams to cutting-edge business graphics.
Windows Vista Tips & Tricks, Part 2 - 5/10/2007
After more than five years of working with and getting to know the ins and outs of Windows XP, sitting down with Vista can seem like a hike through uncharted territory. Whether you've already made the move to Vista or are about to, we have some Windows Vista security and performance tips and tricks that should help ease the transition to Microsoft's latest operating system.
Microsoft Expression Web: A Worthy Web Dev Successor to FrontPage? - 5/3/2007 Expression Web is a new professional Web development tool designed to replace the venerable FrontPage. Our reviewer takes a look under the hood of this program and finds some unexpected surprises.
The Wonderful World of Google Software and Services - 4/24/2007 The search technology giant has expanded into blogging, mapping, shopping, research and more. In fact, Google now has so many services it's hard to keep them straight. Here's a quick rundown on what the company has to offer.
Ashampoo Office: An Office Suite for Less - 4/12/2007 Looking for a viable alternative to Microsoft Office? Ashampoo Office offers a running start with a solid word processor and spreadsheet. And at $70, it's far less than what than what you would pay for Microsoft Office.
Sereniti NetTrooper: Protect Yourself and Your Home Network - 4/4/2007 Managing a home network has become more of a challenge as network devices — and threats to them — continue to evolve. Sereneti's new NetTrooper software aims to help manage and secure you home network, but how does it stack up against other products in the market?
WhatsUp Gold v11: Gain Control of Your Network Now - 3/29/2007 With a starting price tag flirting with two grand, WhatsUp Gold certainly isn't for every business, but there's no question that those willing to pony up the cost will get an enormously powerful and flexible network management utility in return.
Microsoft Office 2007: Wrap a Ribbon Around This Shiny New Office Suite - 3/21/2007 If improved productivity is your goal, Microsoft promises the world with the new Office 2007 suite. Still, while the stronger chart graphics, new and intuitive interface, PDF file conversions, and efficient Outlook scheduling are welcome, are there enough enhancements and additions to appeal to the legions of casual users who mostly write documents and dabble in Excel and PowerPoint?
Site Kreator: Painless and Professional Web Design for Less - 3/15/2007 Want to create an interactive Web site, but have little or no experience? Site Kreator may be the perfect tool for you, with options for painlessly creating Websites with CSS and implementing blogs, image galleries, mailing lists, and more.
AOL OpenRide: A Trip into the Next Generation of AOL - 3/7/2007 AOL's new Helix (formerly OpenRide) software features an innovative QuadPane design that integrates the AOL Web browser, AOL Mail, AOL instant messaging (AOL People), and the AOL Media Center tools into one easily accessible interface. While Helix promises to help you do what you want online in fewer clicks and fewer hassles, is it really worth taking the trip in this case?
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 4.0: Optimize Windows to Your Heart's Content - 2/28/2007 WinOptimizer 4 takes a bold leap ahead of its previous release with the ability to now adjust well over 450 Windows system settings. Whether added or upgraded, the tools and tweaks contained in version 4.0 set a new standard in optimization versatility.
Windows Vista: Worthy of the Hype? - 2/21/2007 You've undoubtedly heard the hype. But is the new Windows Vista worth the upgrade and the money? Here's our take on the launch of Microsoft's latest operating system.
Internet Business Promoter: Successful Search Engine Optimization in a Suite? - 2/17/2007 Internet Business Promoter (IBP) effectively combines a number of search engine optimization (SEO), Web site promotion, and SEO results tracking tools into an interface that is both easy to understand and work with. Its capabilities don't come cheap, but the suite can easily pay for itself in a very short period of time with better search engine results.
HomeNet Manager 3.0: Manage Your Home Network More Efficiently - 2/13/2007 The third iteration of HomeNet Manager boasts a host of helpful network management features, including wireless network configuration, network-resource sharing, and device management and troubleshooting.
Windows Live Mail Desktop: Out with Outlook Express, In with Windows Live Mail - 2/8/2007 Even though it's still in beta, Windows Live Mail is already a quantum leap ahead of its Outlook Express predecessor. Its excellent handling of multiple mail accounts and security features may even tempt some that have previously abandoned Microsoft e-mail clients.
Network Magic 4: Network Management Made Simple - 2/6/2007 Network Magic provides information about your network and helps facilitate mundane tasks such as sharing of folders or printers, acting as a helpful, easy-to-use intermediary between your router and your computer. Interface improvements and new features in the v4 release put this home network management software in the must-try list.
BitDefender: Comprehensive PC Protection with a Serious Pedigree - 1/25/2007 Not content to tackle security issues from just one vantage point, the BitDefender trio of internet security products comprehensively safeguards computers from a range of threats. The BitDefender line carries considerable clout in the security sector, so what exactly makes the products so great?
Skype 3.0: Streamlined and Enhanced for the New Year - 1/11/2007 Skype is ushering in the New Year with an update to the Windows version of its software. Version 3.0 features a handful of tweaks designed to streamline the tabbed interface while also emphasizing features that were not always easy to find in previous versions.
Norton 360: A Full Circle of Protection for Home Networks - 1/3/2007 Symantec has repackaged its security features and PC utilities into a consumer-friendly product that comprehensively protects your PCs and backs up important data online. While Norton 360 doesn't currently do everything that Symantec's standalone packages can, it should serve as a competent security mix for home networks.
FileHawk: Taking Desktop Search Beyond Your Desktop - 12/19/2006 FileHawk goes beyond simply searching your PC's hard drive by extending its search capabilities to CD/DVD drives, external hard drives, and flash memory drives, but does this new desktop search tool have enough to make up for its price tag and somewhat limited interface?
NOD32: Nasties Have No Chance Against This AntiVirus Powerhouse - 12/14/2006 What it lacks in bells and whistles, NOD32 more than makes up for in sheer antivirus muscle. The app boasts a vigorous ability to meet and defeat threats in real time using its patented ThreatSense heuristic technology.
Windows Defender: Microsoft Delivers Free Real-time Protection from Spyware - 11/29/2006 Anyone that's used Windows for longer than fifteen minutes has probably had an unpleasant encounter with spyware. Whether the result of design flaws in Windows or simply due to the operating system's ubiquity, it seems only appropriate that Microsoft should offer users a way to keep their systems free from spyware, and with the release of Windows Defender, Redmond finally does.
WinNc.net: Bringing Back the Best of the 80's? - 11/16/2006 The feature-rich WinNc.net file manager claims to bring back the best of the 80's with an abundance of goodies packed into a Norton Commander-esque file manager interface. While we found that WinNC.net does in fact offer many things missing in Windows Explorer, it doesn't always deliver as expected.
Moving Beyond PC-cillin: Trend Micro Internet Security 2007 Plus TrendSecure - 11/9/2006 Beyond scratching the old "PC-cillin" name, Trend Micro has created an impressive new security suite that
incorporates its predecessor's antivirus engine while offering new features to root out rootkits, spyware, phishing schemes, spam, hackers, WiFi attacks, smartphone threats, and more.
MojoPac: Making Your Personal PC Portable - 11/1/2006 When is a Windows PC not really a Windows PC? Perhaps the best way to describe the new MojoPac app is as an "external user profile" that's portable and exists outside the confines of a specific computer.
