novoparatus :: technology explained for the rest of us. » App.Paratus

Clear Those Windows With Aero Shake!

novo — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:36:01 +0000

No windex for you. You’re a professional now.

AeroShake brings the Windows 7 Shake feature to your Windows XP or Vista computer. You simply shake the current window you’re on and all other windows will be minimized. Shake again and all windows will return.

Instillation was a very quick process with nothing to configure. Once installed, the program takes up a minimal amount of processing power. You certainly won’t notice a decrease in speed. If you enjoy this feature, you’ll want to make sure it stays in your startup folder so it starts every time your computer does.

Before Aero Shake

After Aero Shake

If you’re a Windows 7 user, you’ll have no need for this since it’s already a standard feature, but if you’re still using Windows Vista or XP, you might want to give this a try. The best part is it’s completely free. Meanwhile, we felt the need to tell you that glass cleaner is potentially poisonous when swallowed… so you know, just keep that in mind.

:: Aero Shake

Tags: Aero, Clear, Shake, Windows

Oh SBar! You make me smile

novo — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:24:51 +0000

If you’re in the mood for a better Windows taskbar but don’t feel like upgrading to Windows 7, you should ask your doctor if SBar is right for you. While you’re at it, you may want to ask if AeroSnap is right for you as well.

SBar replaces your boring, not-very-functional taskbar with a tasty little Windows 7 treat. After downloading and installing, your new taskbar will give you most features of the Windows 7 taskbar including:

1.Group taskbar buttons more efficiently
2.Thumbail previews for all opened windows
3.Jump lists with pin support
4.Additional tasks in the jump list
5.Pin support to taskbar
PLUS
6.Support to Skype 4.x and Firefox 3.x

Now my friends, you can do stuff that you never thought you could. View thumbnails of open things when you don’t feel like minimizing your current window, group and move buttons around the way you see fit, and pretty much everything else Windows 7 taskbar allows you to do.

We experienced a couple minor bugs, but they were remedied pretty quickly with the newest version. We also had some problems getting Windows Vista 64bit edition to work correctly. You may be out of luck if you’re in this category.

Meanwhile, SBar should only be a tweak to hold you over for a little while. We really do recommend upgrading to Windows 7 as soon as you feel comfortable. It’s definitely worth your time and money. Plus, you don’t need health insurance to do it.

:: SBar

Tags: SBar, Taskbar, Windows 7, XP

3 Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office

novo — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:41:37 +0000

Forget to buy Microsoft Office for your new computer right before the big prom? We’ve all been there before. Fortunately, we’ve got three free alternatives that should get you through the night.

1. Open Office
If you’re looking for a similar experience to Microsoft Office, Open Office is just your thing. This suite is the most comprehensive office software available for zero dollars. It includes everything a standard office user needs. A word processor, spreadsheet editor, presentation editor, database, and even a drawing tool for diagrams are all incorporated into a solid piece of software.

Our only beef with Open Office is its outdated interface. It still kinda looks like it was made in the early 90’s. This is obviously a minor criticism and if spiffy graphics and a colorful interface don’t bother you, Open Office is a very good choice.

2. Google Docs
Google Docs is a relatively new office suite that’s been launched to compete with Microsoft. This Google suite includes a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editors. Unfortunately, Google Docs do not provide a database or diagram editor like Open Office does.

In the beginning you could only work on documents online. This has since been remedied with Google Gears. In addition, you’re also given the ability to share and collaborate on your documents with other people. This can be a necessity for teams and some companies.

3. Zoho
Like Google Docs, Zoho is very similar to Google Docs. It allows for online collaboration and sharing with group members. Unlike Google Docs, Zoho offers a host of other office tools, such as a note taker, wiki page and project management software.

Depending on your needs, these three office suites should make for a comparable alternative to Microsoft Office. They’re a great way to save a few (hundred) dollars in crazy economic times, especially when you need to save money for a tux!

Tags: Alternatives, Free, Microsoft, Office, Three

A Tale of a Painless Snow Leopard Upgrade

novo — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:32:11 +0000

We mated a leopard with a snowman, but that turned out to be disastrous. Who knew leopards have to mate with other leopards? So then we decided to go out and buy Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Let me tell you, much easier.

P.S. We know we’re totally late in the game, but we felt the need to tell you how delicious OS X 10.6 really is.

Starting from the beginning, it was by far the easiest operating system installation we’ve ever experienced. Our hats are off to Apple for its ridiculous user friendliness. All you have to do is pop in the disc and the Mac pretty much does the rest.

Once we got the kitty installed, we felt the basic applications were more responsive and a bit zippier than OS X 10.5. Apple re-wrote much of the operating system code in order to utilize 64-bit processing power. If we ignore the nerd talk, this means your stuff is going to run much faster. And faster is better!

Beyond the speed increase, a plethora of features and tweaks were added, but we really didn’t feel they were significant enough to mention. However, we did find easier integration with exchange accounts and better backups with Time Machine. This leads us to conclude that the upgrade has made our applications run faster and smoother. Fun for everyone!

If you are a Mac Leopard user, you should do yourself a favor and pick yourself up a copy of Snow Leopard. For $29 dollars, you really can’t go wrong… unless you’re a snowman.

Tags: Apple, Installation, Mac OS X, Snow Leopard, Upgrade

Firefox 3.6 Released. World Hunger Ends.

novo — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:07:37 +0000

Okay not yet. But someday! And if you’re a Firefox user, you need to update yours as soon as possible. Nerds and normal people alike will be happy to find improvements across the board.

Noteworthy improvements include increases in speed, security and reliability. 3.6 is definitely the fastest version of Firefox to date. Javascript performance enhancements have also helped with stability. So far we’ve experienced fewer crashes than previous versions. This is a welcome improvement to many web intensive users.

Of course, Mozilla also included a host improved features as well, ranging from the Awesome Bar to a Firefox’s style manager called Personas. We think they’re just terrific, but not so much needed. A lot of people may not want all the fluff that comes with 3.6, but at least you’ll know it’s there when you get bored.

New features and needed improvements all make this a very tasty browsing experience. After using Firefox for 5 years, we must say this is the best version yet.

Tags: Firefox, Latest, Mozilla, Release

Update That Thang Girl!

novo — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:12:09 +0000

Your computer, not your face. We think you look cute just the way you are.

See, your computer runs at its best when its hardware and software are updated with the latest improvements from its creators. Updating Windows or Mac OS X can fix a plethora of common problems. The same goes for updating your PC’s hardware drivers.

Updating your stuff will vary depending on the type of operating system you’re using. If you’re using Windows XP, you’ll want to head over to http://update.microsoft.com in Internet Explorer. While there, select the ‘Custom’ button. This will allow you to choose exactly what you want. When it’s finished scanning, make sure you have all the high priority updates checked. After that, you’ll want to click on the Hardware optional link and check each hardware update. Lastly, click finalize and install.

If you’re using Windows Vista or Windows 7, your life will be a little easier. All you need to do is head to your Windows Update section found here:

Start > Control Panel > System & Security > Windows Update

The high priority updates should be selected and installed automatically. Below the update status will be a link for optional updates. This is where your hardware updates are found.

Now if you’re a Mac user, updating your computer’s software and hardware is as simple as going to the Apple Icon and clicking Software Updates. It’s rough. We hope you can handle that by yourself.

Once you’re done with all your yummy updates, you’ll probably be asked to restart. After the reboot, sit back and enjoy a skinnier, better looking computer… without the plastic surgery.

Tags: Apple, Mac, Updates, Vista, Windows 7, XP

Too late for backup? Recover your deleted files

novo — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:33:56 +0000

It’s not the end of the road… yet. If you follow these instructions, you might be able to recover your accidentally deleted file.

First things first: Cease and desist – Immediately stop what you’re doing. When you delete a file, your computer only flags it to be written on top of. The file physically remains, but the more computing you do, the lower your chances of recovery are.

Use free recovery tools – We’ve had success recovering files using Recuva, UndeletePlus and Restoration. It’s a good idea to download these tools now so you don’t accidentally overwrite your missing file.

Recover – Once you begin the recovery process you will notice a plethora of random files with gibberish names. This is where the fun begins. You’ll need to sort through the thousands of files to first find the type and then find the name. This will take some time, but it can be done and it’s certainly worth it if you are successful.

Save – When you finally find your file, you will need to save it to a folder or your desktop. This can be done by simply right clicking the file and choosing a location for it.

If you lost your files from a complete hard drive crash, your situation is a bit more painful. Your best chance at recovery is to bring your PC into a data recovery specialist. However, if you’d rather save the money and do it yourself, you will want to try PhotoRec and TestDisk. Both of these programs will require much more effort on your part as the recovery will be a little more complex.

After this terrible experience, you may want to consider never letting this happen again.

Tags: data, Deleted, Files, Recover, Recovery

Organize your desktop and smell better

novo — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:00:24 +0000

Because everyone knows a disorganized desktop causes some fierce body odor.

If you’re as disorganized as us, your computer’s desktop looks like someone just threw up a rainbow. Trying to find stuff can become a 15 minute chore! Luckily, we found a terrific organization tool called Stardock Fences. This free program allows you to separate and organize your icons into similar groups and border them with “fences”. You can arrange the groups on your desktop any way you’d like. Once you’ve got them set, you can add or remove icons at any time.

Fences also comes comes with a feature that allows you to hide everything. Double click the desktop to completely hide all your icons. Double click again and they come back.

After installation, we noticed little to no speed degradation since Fences uses very little computer resources. This is very surprising, especially considering the fact that it’s free.

We’ve found that a clean desktop is a happy desktop. As for the odor, we think it’s mostly gone.

Tags: Desktop, Fences, Icons, Organization, Windows

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Your computer, Decrapified.

novo — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:26:10 +0000

You know it’s bad when your computer’s full of crap. But maybe you don’t know it? That’s where PC Decrapifier comes in.

Quite frankly, we can’t think of a better way to end the Four days to a faster computer series, but we recommend washing your hands after this one.

As we speak, your PC may be full of unwanted software (fecal matter) that could be removed to boost hard drive space and speed. This is especially true if you just purchased a brand new laptop or netbook. You could individually remove this junk through Windows control panel, or you could use this little gem to remove them all with one click.

The best part is, decrapifier updates its unwanted software list every time you choose to update. So anytime HP or Dell includes a new worthless program, decrapifier will automatically know to remove it. It’s the fastest way to remove all the pre-loaded filth that comes with your new computer.

Of course there’s always the possibility of accidentally removing software you actually wanted. Fortunately, decrapifier also comes with a system restore option that allows you to undo your mistake.

We couldn’t be happier with this tool. It’s been crucial to keeping us regular. Also, don’t push too hard. You don’t want to catch a hernia.

[ :: Series :: Four days to a faster computer ]

Tags: Computer, Decrapifier, Faster, Remove, Software