Google Chromium OS has been on everyone’s lips for a few weeks, and is finally available for download – only as source code, though. The new operating system developed by Google is intended to dramatically change the way we use our computers today, and definitely move on to the Cloud.

I’ve tested this very first version of Chromium OS on VMware, and I have to say that my first impression has been one of disappointment. After reading so much about it I expected something else… at least something more than a web browser! Because that’s exactly what Chromium OS looks like: a simple, standard web browser.

After the initial shock, the truth is that having a web browser as operating system – or viceversa – is quite a revolutionary idea, with a few positive sides to it. First, everything’s done online: you use online apps, you store files online, you work with online documents. Everything is available anytime, anywhere. Second, it makes the system much faster and lighter on resources. Chromium OS hardly takes 10 seconds to boot up, and has been developed with netbooks in mind. Third, the web browser interface saves you the pain of having to learn how to use a new operating system. You’ve probably been using web browsers for a few years now, so you know how they work. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: You’ve probably never heard of it, but QQ Messenger is the most popular IM client in China. With over a billion registered accounts, it  has everything you need: support for voice and video, tons of smileys, customization options, photo and file sharing… all of it in a nicely designed interface that makes the program a pleasure to use.

iPhone: Tower Defense has to be one of the most addictive game genres of all time. This free iPhone version of the game sees you try to defend your sheep from aliens who want to make scarves out of them. TowerMadness Zero: 3D Tower Defense arms you with a variety of different weapons that you need to place strategically on the field in order to block the baddies’ route.

Mac: The creation of Letterbox is a good example of developers responding to simple user needs. Letterbox takes advantage of widescreen monitors to make using Mail a much easier experience. It’s ideal for those using Powerbooks, MacBook Pros and Cinema displays, although it’s appropriate for anyone with a widescreen display. It makes reading clearer and organization more stress free.

Everyone loves sharing their photos online on Flickr, Picasa and other similar sites. The risk of it is that some people think all online images are public property, so they can simply take them and use them anywhere else. Unfortunately there’s little you can do to avoid this without getting too complicated, like disabling right click or preventing image hotlinking. But you can try to discourage people from taking your photos with watermarks.

Watermarks are text messages printed on top of images, usually with subtle transparency or engraving effects, that mark those photos as your property. These texts won’t prevent people from taking your photos if they want to, but they will at least identify your images online – and who knows, maybe work as a promotional campaign for your work!

Watermarks are generally easy to apply. Some programs - such as SnagIt - already feature watermarking tools, but you can also find dedicated watermark utilities like Siotra Watermak. This simple app helps you add watermarks to your photos in a couple of clicks!

Siotra Watermark features a tabbed interface. All you have to do is select the source and target folders in the program’s first tab, and configure the watermark in the second tab. You can set a custom text, choose the font, tweak the transparency level, select the watermark’s position and include some extra elements like the copyright sign or the file’s name. Once you’ve done customizing the watermark, don’t forget to press ‘Save’!

Siotra Watermark doesn’t offer a watermark preview, but it does let you modify watermarked images as many times as you need to – without changing the original photos. The program only works with folders, so it’s great for watermarking images in batches, but not so useful if you only want to edit one.

Microsoft have finally launched a first Beta version of the much anticipated Microsoft Office 2010. You can download it from the Microsoft Office website, as long as you have a Live ID (your Hotmail address or Live Messenger account will do the trick).

Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus Beta is available in several languages, for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, and features a few differences from the Technical Preview we tested last July. First of all, the number of apps included in the suite has grown from seven to ten, with Infopath Designer, InfoPath Filler and SharePoint Workspace – the new name for Microsoft Groove.

Secondly, the interface in all the Office 2010 has been slightly redesigned. They still keep the ribbon toolbar, but in a much clearer, cleaner style. Also, the ‘Office’ button has been renamed to ‘File’ and opens up a different – and I’d say much more complete - information pane.

Another important new feature is the ability to share documents online, something that wasn’t implemented in the Technical Preview. You can now save any Word document, Excel spreadsheet or PowerPoint presentation to your SkyDrive account directly from the Share menu. Read the rest of this entry »

The most tedious part of buying a new computer is having to transfer all your data from the old system to the new one. With photos, music, documents and the likes there’s not much of a choice: you use your favorite backup software or simply copy and paste files and folders from one computer to another using an external hard drive. But what about your web browser data? History, bookmarks, passwords. All of that needs to be synced too. And here’s where Mozilla Weave comes in handy.

This project was released from the Mozilla Labs a few months ago, as an experimental Firefox add-on, and has just hit version 1.0 Beta. Mozilla Weave lets you sync browser data (bookmarks, history, tabs, passwords and user preferences) between multiple instances of Firefox installed across different computers and devices.

The first thing you have to do after installing Weave is create a user account, either on the Weave servers or your own. This account is used to sync data from your browser to the server, so that it’s available when you need to sync it with other instances of Firefox or other devices – your laptop, your mobile phone, another computer. The account creation process also gives you the chance to customize the extension’s settings and choose the syncing method: merging data between the local computer and the server, syncing from computer to server or syncing from server to computer. Read the rest of this entry »

Webcams can be fun. They enable you to have video chats with family and friends – no matter how far you are from each other – and also create hilarious image effects with the appropriate software. But they can also be used for more serious purposes, such as monitoring your business or your own home when you’re away. Thanks to tools like Vitamin D, you can set up your own private surveillance system in a couple of minutes and without having to invest a small fortune on it. A webcam equipped computer is enough!

Vitamin D is an easy-to-use webcam utility with motion detection technology. You can use it to monitor any given area in your office or your home, and the camera will record a short video clip every time it detects any kind of movement. We were honestly surprised by the camera’s efficiency – it detected virtually any movement we made in front of it – though not that much by its accuracy in distinguishing people from objects. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: Having the appropriate codecs is essential in order to be able to play any audio or video format. With K-Lite Codec Pack Mega you can rest assured that you have all the codecs you need on your PC, plus a bunch of interesting related tools. The latest update 5.4.4 includes the most recent versions of a handful of codecs, plus other changes and improvements.

Santa’s Run: Being the actual Father Christmas is not a job I would relish, given the amount of work the guy has to put in. However, playing the role of Saint Nick for just a few minutes can be jolly good fun, as Santa’s Run proves. The game charges you with the task of delivering presents to children across the planet. You need to throw the presents into the chimneys or doorways, using your finger to flick them in the air.

Mac: Are you frustrated by the inability to use the webcams in MSN Messenger for Mac? aMSN (now updated to version 0.98 1-1) is an alternative to the classic MSN Messenger with more features - including webcam support (but not audio) - yet a more slimline interface. The aMSN developers have delved into the preferences menu, adding extra little features like event alerts and sounds and conferencing support.

Today I reviewed Speccy, the lastest utility from the Piriform team (the guys responsible for CCleaner, Recuva and Defraggler, all of them great apps). Speccy is a system information tool, that is, a program that analyzes your system and generates a complete report with all its hardware and software features. But it’s not the only one. In fact, taking a quick look at our System Analysis category, you can find a bunch of tools for that same purpose.

Oh, and don’t get me wrong here: knowing the speed of your CPU, your graphics card brand or the size of your hard drive is not something only computer geeks may be interested in. All those details can help you optimize your system, find the right RAM modules when you want to upgrade the computer’s memory and be better informed when trying to sell your PC - or when buying a new one! Here’s a selection of tools to shine some light on your PC’s insides.

• PC Wizard 2009 - Advanced system analyzer with thorough reports and lots of powerful benchmarking tools.
• HWiNFO32 - Obtain detailed information about the hardware installed on your system. Also available as portable app.
• SIW - This utility generates complete reports for hardware, software and network configuration in your system.
• Winaudit - Quick, exhaustive system analysis that includes virtually every detail of your computer configuration.
• Fresh Diagnose - Get a detailed report about your computer’s hardware and software, and benchmark its performance.

Windows: If you need more space but can’t be bothered to buy another external hard drive, try online storage. With SkyDrive Explorer you’ll be able to access your Live SkyDrive free storage from Windows Explorer, just as it it was one more local drive on your computer. All you need is a Windows Live ID, and 25 GB of online free space will be yours for free!

iPhone: If you’re a interested in space exploration, this NASA app for iPhone is a must. This app basically allows you to follow all of NASA’s missions. The main screen lists the missions you can follow, and touching any of them takes you to a description of the mission with a counter for the time elapsed since the mission started.

Mac: Renaming files can be an absolute nightmare if you’re faced with a batch of wrongly-named ones, or recovered files which have had their IDs corrupted. A Better Finder Rename (now updated to version 8.37) is a comprehensive file renaming solution for Mac and can rename huge numbers of files in seconds. A Better Finder Rename allows you to do just about everything you need to rename files.

Google Reader is the only RSS reader I’ve ever used – except for the ones I’ve had to test and review for Softonic -  and I wouldn’t change it for any other. I simply love all of its features: it works really well, it’s available everywhere as long as you have an Internet connection, it has extensive support for keyboard hotkeys and best of all, it includes some handy sharing features that enable you to easily share interesting articles with friends, workmates or even readers of your blog.

Sharing articles and blog posts in Google Reader is as simple as clicking the Share link below each one of them. If you want to add a personal comment as well, click the Share with note link instead.

These shared items will automatically be added to your public page, a website automatically generated by Google Reader that updates with every story you mark as shared in your feeds. To check all the items you’ve shared so far, simply click Shared items in Google Reader’s sidebar.

But there’s more to this Shared items feed than just displaying a list of selected blog posts. From here you can check how your public page looks like (by clicking the little blue arrows beside the feed’s title), view and edit your Google profile, and also tweak some sharing settings. These settings enable you to decide who can access your shared items, customize the appearance of your public page and find more people to share items with, to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: do you need help handling your downloads? Then jDownloader Portable is made for you. This powerful download manager doesn’t require installation and makes the whole process of downloading from file sharing websites much easier and faster. No more pop-up windows, waiting times and hidden download links. Let jDownloader Portable will take care of it!

iPhone: The default battery indicator on the iPhone looks pretty, but it doesn’t really give you much information other than a general idea of how much juice you have left. About Battery delivers a more powerful and advanced way of monitoring battery life on your iPhone. Rather than just give you an overview of the remaining power, the program breaks it down into calculations of the remaining time you have left for certain tasks.

Mac: There are basically two options to run Windows on a Mac - using Boot Camp which involves installing Windows on a separate partition and rebooting it in Windows or, running Windows in a virtual environment such as the one that Parallels Desktop provides. Parallels 5 presents more than 70 new features which allow users to define how much or little Windows they want to see, a new Crystal view mode.

When upgrading to a new operating system, one of the most important elements to take into account is compatibility. On one hand, we have to make sure the new system is compatible with our hardware – that is, all the devices and peripherals connected to our computer. This is usually solved with the latest versions of their drivers, updated to support the new operating system.

But on the other hand, we also have to take software compatibility into account. If we’ve become particularly fond of a certain software utility, we should make sure it also works in our new operating system: Windows 7.

Upgrading from previous OS versions

Windows 7 can be safely installed as an update on Windows Vista, as long as you follow these correspondences:

This means that you won’t need to backup anything and install the new operating system from scratch. All the documents, software and user configuration settings you had in Vista will still be there after installing Windows 7. This method is supposed to make system upgrade easier, but in my personal experience, I always prefer to do a clean install when changing to a new operating system.

Windows Easy Transfer

Installing Windows 7 as an update for Windows Vista means you can keep all your documents and user settings safe through the installation process. But what if you’d like to choose what to keep and what to erase? And most importantly, what if you’re upgrading from Windows XP – and not Vista? In those cases, you can use Windows Easy Transfer.

This tool lets you transfer your personal documents to your newly installed Windows 7 in several ways: using a special Easy Transfer cable, burning a CD or DVD, via a local network or using an external hard drive. Windows Easy Transfer is free and available for both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: Do you need to convert any audio or video file? Oxelon Media Converter is the perfect tool for the task. This simple app can convert multiple media files simultaneously, and it works surprisingly fast! Oxelon Media Converter supports dozens of formats and is perfectly embedded with Windows Explorer, which enables you to convert files with one click.

iPhone: Halloween is upon us once again, but if you haven’t got the money or the inclination to go trick or treating this year then check out Spooky Photo Free. This app allows you to make scary scenes out of your photographs. For example, you could put a zombie into a wedding picture, make bats appear in the sky above your house, or add a menacing pumpkin head onto an image of your dog.

Mac: Keychain on Mac does a pretty good job of managing passwords but once you’ve tried 1Password you’ll probably never look back. If you’re tired of making up passwords to access sites or worried that your passwords are not secure enough, it really is invaluable. 1Password creates strong, unique passwords for you, then remembers and restores them all within your web browser.

Windows: The quintessential optimization suite for Windows is back! The all-new TuneUp Utilities 2010 has a new redesigned interface and a bunch of new features and improvements that make it even better: Turbo mode, Live optimization, TuneUp desktop gadget, Optimization report and support for Windows 7 in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

iPhone: Aside from a jellyfish attack or a sudden downpour, another guaranteed thing to a ruin a day at the beach is an attack by the entire Japanese Imperial Navy. Blood Beach puts you in the unenviable position of a soldier who must take down the entire Japanese WWII fleet alone. You’re holed up on a thin stretch of beach in the Solomon Islands and must take down the waves of planes, boats and foot soldiers landing on the beach.

Mac: Renaming huge numbers of files can be a real pain, especially when you only need to make a few minor changes. Renamer (formerly known as Renamer4Mac) makes it easy to rename a huge number of files at once, in several different ways. One possibility is to search and replace certain components or words, much like using a word processor. Alternatively, you can simply insert or copy over a chunk of text to multiple files.

TuneUp Utilities is one of those programs that improves with every new release. We were particularly eager for its latest version, TuneUp Utilities 2010, because it offers full support for Microsoft’s brand new Windows 7 in both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions. But this isn’t the only new feature in this excellent program. Let’s take a look at all the new functions and improvements we can find in TuneUp Utilities 2010.

Redesigned Interface
The Start Center in TuneUp 2010 has been redesigned. A quick glance is enough to learn about the system’s current status and find out if there’s any problem. A cleaner, more minimalist style makes the program more comfortable and easier to use.

Turbo Mode
When you’re playing your favorite game, you need your computer to offer the highest performance possible. Turbo Mode can help you with that, disabling all superfluous Windows services and background applications with a single click. Read the rest of this entry »