The Fiery Source » Vista

The Best Free Apps Worthy of Downloading

Bob — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:54:05 +0000

Knowing our 30 Recommended Software Downloads for Free article was now a year old, we decided to give it an upgrade. After we got started I didn’t fully realize just how many applications we had tested throughout the year, and how many had made the cut until I started putting this list together.

When we finished compiling all the notes the list was hugh, after pondering for a week what to cut I decided there was simply to many to cut it back down to 30 software programs. Therefore the upgrade got tossed, and a new article listing what we feel are the best software applications that deserve to be on your machine is here.

We’ve picked out the best free software programs that we could think of, so there’s no need to spend dollars to get quality applications and utility software. Whether you’re looking for free anti-virus software, or free Office software, you’ll find it here. This is not the complete list, so if your favorite got overlooked please tell us about it in the comments.

1. 7-Zip performs all the archiving and extracting power you need, an excellent compression tool.
2. AbiWord a word processor thats compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.
3. AdBlock Plus (see also: 50 Recommended Firefox Extensions)
4. Adium an instant messaging app for Mac OS X that can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, and more.
5. Avast! (see also: Best Free Antivirus Software)
6. AVG (see also: AVG 9 Free is Now Available for Download)
7. Audacity is a free sound editing and recording application
8. AutoHotkey a free utility thats unleashes the full potential of your keyboard, joystick, and mouse.
9. Blender (see also: Here’s your Chance to Learn Blender with free e-book)
10. Boxee if you want to get rid of that cable bill this is how you do it
11. CCleaner one of the best file and registry cleanup tools around.
12. CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs.
13. Defraggler (see also: Seven Best Disk Defragmenters)
14. Digsby manage all your IM, email, and social network accounts from one application.
15. Dropbox is more than just File Syncing
16. Eclipse IDE an open source community, where projects are focused on building an platform.
17. Evernote an sophisticated app for putting notes, thoughts, ideas, all in one place.
18. FileZilla a cross-platform FTP client that supports secure file transfer, and the only one I use.
19. Firefox an excellent free browser that provides a secure and friendly browsing experience.
20. foobar2000 an advanced audio player for the Windows platform
21. Foxit Reader a very nice lightweight alternative to Adobe’s Acrobat PDF reader
22. GIMP this software does most of what Photoshop does except it’s free.
23. Gmail my account gets less spam than any other I use, I love it.
24. Google Chrome another excellent free browser that provides a secure and friendly browsing experience.
25. Google Pack one-stop software package of a wide range of essential PC programs.
26. HandBrake a multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.
27. ImgBurn a CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application and supports all windows versions.
28. iTunes this popular desktop media player needs no introduction
29. Juice is an excellent podcasting client.
30. KeePass is free, open source, light-weight and easy-to-use password manager.
31. Launchy helps you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and your file manager.
32. OpenOffice.org full featured alternative to Microsoft’s office suite, a prized application for sure
33. Opera another excellent free browser that provides a fast secure and friendly browsing experience.
34. MediaMonkey a Media Jukebox, Music Manager, CD Ripper & Converter
35. Media Player Classic supports many different audio and video file formats.
36. Microsoft Security Essentials (see also: Microsoft Security Essentials First Look and Impressive)
37. Mozilla Thunderbird powerful, simple and lightweight email and news application.
38. Notepad++ fully featured text editor that supports around 50 different programming languages.
39. Paint.NET a image and photo editing software for Windows, another excellent Photoshop Alternative
40. PDFCreator can encrypt PDFs and protects you articles from being altered or printed by third parties.
41. Picasa a application that lets you organize and share your digital photos.
42. Pidgin a instant messenger allowing you to use Yahoo IM, AIM, Google talk, MSN and others at one time.
43. PuTTY a free SSH and telnet client for Windows
44. Rainmeter a desktop customization platform, set up a killer desktop without a line of code.
45. Revo Uninstaller a fast and powerful alternative to “Windows Add or Remove Programs” applet!
46. RSSOwl is a solid cross-platform RSS client
47. Skype allows you to make phone calls from your computer
48. SpyBot Search & Destroy a spyware detection and removal program.
49. Songbird (see also: Songbird 1.4.2 Released, Brings New Features)
50. Sumatra PDF is a blazing fast alternative for Adobe Reader and my favorite
51. TeamViewer remote access and remote desktop sharing that works behind any firewall or NAT proxy
52. TeraCopy is one of the best known alternative file copiers on the planet.
53. Transmission is the most popular BitTorrent client for OS X on the planet
54. TrueCrypt open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux
55. Ubuntu (Ubuntu 9.10 ‘Karmic Koala’ Final and Released, and Ubuntu Pocket Guide Available for Free)
56. µTorrent is the most popular BitTorrent P2P application for windows.
57. UltraVNC control another PC remotely via Internet or network
58. VirtualBox is a cross-platform virtualization application that is extremely feature rich
59. VLC is a media player that supports many different audio and video file formats.
60. Winamp this alternative to windows media player has tons of plug-ins and skins.
61. Windows Live Writer software for blog posting and a favorite with many pros
62. WinSCP a free open source SFTP and FTP client for Windows
63. XBMC a complete media center solution for Windows, OSX, Linux, and XBOX

Get Windows 7 Themes into your Vista or XP

Bob — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:32:33 +0000

Lots of hard work went into the creation of Windows 7 themes, Microsoft put forth more effort into Windows 7 than any of the previous versions. Naturally this also created a ton of buzz, and Microsoft’s largest pre-order sales ever. Aesthetically, Windows 7 looks way better than any of it predecessors, the transparent start menu bar and unique styling of windows give it that new, better and faster sensation that many of us must have. For me it was like getting a new car, I just love the smell of a new cars interior.

Some folks like the Windows 7 look and feel but don’t want to upgrade. Others just love their XP or Vista and are not willing to part with it. Then there are those that just don’t have the extra cash to upgrade, I mean the economy is bad and you can’t blame anyone for saving a few bucks these days. But that don’t mean you can’t have your cake and ice cream too. There’s still an option to get the beautiful visuals of Windows 7 on your XP or Windows Vista machine.

OK, so we know we can’t just extract those files from Windows 7 theme gallery and install them to our operating system. But we can use a few nifty utility tools like 7-Zip and John’s Background Switcher (both are free) to snatch each theme pack’s files, install them so we get the look, sounds, cursors, and all the other attributes running. It’s a little more work involved than clicking the install button, not to extensive though and the payoff is a nice, new bundle of themes, wallpapers and other mods that are compatible with your current system.

Download and Install Windows 7 Themes on your XP or Windows Vista Computer

via Lifehacker and Digital Inspiration

Create a Bootable Vista or Windows 7 USB Flash Drive

Bob — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:06:18 +0000

This is a simple guide to creating a bootable USB flash drive for a Vista or Windows 7 installation, you may know of a USB flash drive to be called a pen drive, thumb drive, USB drive or a memory stick. Hopefully that brief explaination has clear the air as to what we are taking about.

The guide below is a step by step walk through for creating a bootable USB flash drive for the purpose of installing a Vista or Windows 7 OS. First thing is make sure we have everything need to perform this simple task. So lets get this party started and check the list below:

* a USB Flash Drive with a capicity of 4GB or higher
* Microsoft OS Disk for Vista or Windows 7
* A computer running Vista or Windows 7

STEP 1 is to Format the Flash Drive:

1. Plug your USB Flash Drive into the computer’s USB port that you will format

2. Open a command prompt as administrator ( click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Right Click Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”

3. Find the drive number of your USB Drive by typing the following into the Command Prompt window:
diskpart
list disk
The number of your USB drive will be listed. You’ll need this for the next step. I’ll assume that the USB flash drive is disk 1.

4. Format the drive by typing the below block of instructions into the same window. Replace the number “1” with the number of your disk .
select disk 1
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=NTFS
assign
exit

When that is done you will have a formatted USB flash drive. Now we have to make it a bootable USB drive.

Step 2: We make the USB Drive Bootable

Next we’ll use the bootsect utility that comes on the Vista or Windows 7 disk to make the flash drive bootable. In the same command window that you were using in Step 1:

1. Insert your Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD into your drive.

2. Change directory to the DVD’s boot directory where bootsect lives:
d:
cd d:\boot

3. Use bootsect to set the USB as a bootable NTFS drive prepared for a Vista or Windows 7 image. I’m assuming that your USB flash drive has been labeled disk G:\ by the computer:
bootsect /nt60 g:

4. You can now close the command prompt window, we’re done here.

Step 3: Now we copy the installation DVD to the USB drive

The easiest way is to use Windows explorer to copy all of the files on your DVD on to the formatted flash drive. After you’ve copied all of the files the disk you are ready to go.

Step 4: Set your BIOS to boot from USB

Hopefully you know how to do this for your computer. This is where you’re on your own since every computer is different. But try and see if the below instructions help, if not you will need to find the manual or Google the information.

BIOS utilities are normally available only from a power-on restart. So shut down your computer by turning off the power switch, let it sit for a minute then turn it back on. Watch your PC ‘s screen very carefully as it boots up, for the key to press to get into the BIOS. Often, it’s DEL, F2 or F10.

If the OS starts to boot, you are too late. You have to try again by shuting the power off again to get another shot. Once you are in the BIOS, you will need to look through the screens to find the one that has the “load defaults” option. It’s usually not that difficult to find.

There is another method called WinToFlash that’s a bit easier than the above. You can find the procedure here.

via Kevin’s blog

Video: Fences just left beta and rolled out its 1.0 release

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:57:28 +0000

The much anticipation version 1.0 of the popular desktop organization application Fences, has been released today, and it continues to keep your cluttered desktop icons in attractive, minimal, organized groups.

Fences is a free software application that allows you to draw labeled shaded areas on your desktop, which become movable and re-sizable containers for your desktop icons. These groups can help bring organization and consistency to your computer’s desktop, solving the “constant mess” problem that has plagued the desktop since its inception.

Fences also helps you finally appreciate the wallpaper you have hiding behind all that clutter. In addition to its organizing features, Fences offers a patent-pending quick-hide feature. Double click your desktop, and all your icons will fade out. Double click again, and they’ll return.

The video below should give you a good idea of what Fences does and how it might come in handy on your personal computer. Fences is a freeware utility, Windows only.

Download: Fences 1.0 (free)

The Fiery Source » Vista

The Best Free Apps Worthy of Downloading

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Get Windows 7 Themes into your Vista or XP

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