Architects tend to like to have their own creative freedom. The problem is, this creative freedom can cost you extra money when they attempt to interpret your ideas for your home extension, in their own style. If they have to go back and make changes to their design, they're going to bill you for these changes. Now, we're not really capable of designing our own structurally sound extension and simply hand this to our builder, so we have to rely on the professionals. However, there's no reason why you can't design a basic extension yourself and tell your architect that you want him to make sure you design works.

Google SketchUp 7.01 is available in two formats, but basic free version will enable you to create a simple sketch, such as home extension or new kitchen. You simply draw the outer structure and then drop in the components. The latest version includes collaboration features so more than one person can work on your design.

Google SketchUp link.

Keeping your PC free from clutter not only helps to maintain a smooth running machine but it's also essential for privacy reasons. Many files that accumulate on the average PC are relatively harmless but there still may be some that are more sensitive and may contain personal information. There are tools that are better than others at completely removing these files, so it's important to find a reliable application that's proven to work, so you won't have to second guess its thoroughness.

CCleaner Portable 2.17 is a portable version of the hugely popular cleansing tool. The portable version enables you to run the application without installation which enables you to customise cleansing options and take the software with you, on a memory stick or portable drive.

CCleaner Portable 2.17 link.

From the launch of Mac OS X, PDF technology was built directly in to the operating system, under license from Adobe. This meant you could double-click on a PDF on your desktop and open within Preview. It also meant you could create commercial-quality PDF documents from just about any Mac application. This is essential for the Mac as PDF documents are the pre-requisite for sending to a printer for duplication. Problem is that we have to rely on third-party software to create PDF documents on a Windows PC.

With the April 2009 issue of PCW, on-sale right now, you can get the full current version of novaPDF 6 Lite, worth £15. This tool is the 'professional' version of the free doPDF from a company that has had years of experience creating PDF technology. It will enable you to produce a PDF document in a format ready for web download or required for commercial printing.

PCW April 2009 link.

When you're self-employed or a small business, getting away isn't easy. Convincing the wife that you need to take your laptop on your vacation is even more tricky. Strange thing is, I took my laptop with me when I was over in Italy last summer and there was nothing better than waking up on a warm morning, grabbing a coffee and checking the latest news around the web. Of course, as my work is all online, it was possible to earn money on the road by adding content to our site whilst away. Still, the problem is with any project work, if there's more than one person working on the project, it's tricky to work out who's doing what, when and to which deadline.

LiquidPlanner 2.0 is web technology that will allow your company to set up multiple users to track a project on the fly. It's a proper Microsoft Project-style management tool that you can use from within your web browser. Even your Blackberry can access the web. The latest LiquidPlanner 2.0 has been released with a host of new features such as workspace chatter, so the project colleagues can chat within the browser.

LiquidPlanner 2.0 link.

Believe it or not, the original widget engine was called Konfabulator and this toolkit enabled you to drop standalone widgets (or gadgets) on your desktop. Better still, it was available for both Windows and the Mac. For many, including us, it was a far more effective widgets manager than either the Vista sidebar or even the Mac-based dashboard. Yahoo bought Konfabulator and it was renamed the Yahoo Widget Engine. It's still impressive software as it enables you to drop the widgets on your desktop and place on any location.

Yahoo Widget Engine 4.5.2 is the latest version and is still worth consideration. We use Yahoo Widget Engine to power a CPU meter and weather widgets on our desktop. The opacity is set low, so they don't interface with open desktop applications. If you look through the Yahoo widget library there's bound to be a widget you'll find interesting for your computer.

Yahoo Widget Engine link.

It's really easy to burn your own home movie these days. Even the free burning tool that shipped with your computer will enable you to create basic video and then burn directly to disc. Photo managers will collate your favourite images and then create a auto-running slideshow that will run from your disc. The problem is when you want to burn some of your old videos to DVD. For example, the old video of your favourite band that was filmed in the 90s and then encoded with a codec that has long-since been discontinued. Most recent disc burning tools will not bother supporting some of the older codecs as they either don't want to pay a license or do not think any recent user will need to burn old content.

DVDFlick 1.3.0.6 is a free DVD authoring tool that will enable you to source video content from a range of sources, add your favourite audio track and then burn to disc. It supports a wide range of video and audio codecs, so whatever you decide to throw at DVDFlick it will most likely support. This could be an old video you've sourced from the Internet in the 90s or a video you've managed to download from YouTube.

DVDFlick link.

Not everyone has the luxury of being able to install Microsoft PowerPoint on their laptop. In a corporate environment, every license costs. However, most corporate laptops are restricted so that you can't simply just install your own software, so OpenOffice is out, too. This can leave you with a dilemma when you realise you need to pitch for a project and really need to produce a professional-level presentation.

280 Slides is an excellent alternative. It's web technology that enables you to create a presentation from your browser, without having to install desktop software on your computer. As everyone has access to a web browser, using 280 Slides is an easy way of creating your presentation, quickly. It ships with some basic themes to get you started and you can save your presentation as a PowerPoint presentation, if you need to access it from your desktop PC at a later date.

280 Slides link.

Some of the most popular areas on the Internet are news blogs where people offer a personal opinion (or rant) about some recent current event. Indeed, a news blog can be a quick synopsis of a more formal press release. It's also easier to get the users opinion, rather than read through what the press department wanted us to read. For this reason, some blogs are proving popular destinations. Snag is, gone are the days where a professional blog can look like you've designed it in under 30 minutes. You need something a little more professional.

CMS Theme is a website that offers various blog-related designed themes, for free, for the various blog toolkits on the market. For example, you could download a theme for Wordpress or MovableType. There are only a small number available, but they are well designed. If you know what you're doing, you could enhance these with your own improvements.

CMS Theme link.

Computer manufacturers are known to use numbers and statistics in a way that is often confusing, with each manufacturer claiming to offer a better machine than the next. These numbers a great if you know what your looking at and can decipher the relevant information but for many, but this promotional jargon can confuse some computer users. Some computers are advertised as 'good value' but it's little use buying a machine that's designed for managing media when you really need one for surfing the web or gaming.

PerformanceTest 7 is a useful tool for comparing component performance, enabling you to compare items from a constantly updated online database. It's possible to check similar products online, before purchasing or upgrading your machine.

PerformanceTest 7 link.

A good antivirus is one of the first things you should equip your computer with; after all, there are plenty to choose from no matter how limited your budget. Many of the leading names in computer security now offer freeware antivirus solutions that are more than capable of identifying and protecting your computer from everyday virus threats. These freeware alternatives can also be used before you purchase the full version, if required.

PC Tools AntiVirus 6 is a freeware application that provides real-time virus protection. PC tools products are widely used and are trusted by many and this free tool does what it says on the tin, it also benefits from regular database updates and comprehensive system scanning.

PC Tools AntiVirus 6 link.

Creating an artistic work from scratch using your computer isn't as easy as it may sound; this is largely due to the lack of more 'natural' painting applications available. Nowadays most applications are geared towards editing or enhancing existing photos or other images, so many of the tools that ship with them are fairly useless when it comes to creating more artistic, original works.

TwistedBrush Open Studio 15.70 is freeware version of the popular paint and image editing application. The software gives you more freedom to create original works using your mouse and keyboard or drawing tablet. It supports around 5,000 brushes and the pro version includes a handy brush editor, the application also ships with numerous other features including masks and filters.

TwistedBrush Open Studio 15.70 link.

What's the future of software development? It's difficult call. Traditionally, software developers would release a new application every 9-12 months, with three or four core new features. It became silly. I remember Macromedia used to be over at our offices demonstrating the new version of Dreamweaver every 9 or so months. The next stage was to move to a yearly license, where you pay a subscription to 'rent' your software. The key advantage is that you get all upgrades within this period, free of charge.

The new model is what they describe as a 'cloud' where you software is hosted on a remote server and you access through your web browser. Luckily, Adobe Air now enables software developers to produce a desktop client version of a browser-based application, but it still seems to be the way we're moving forward with our software.

Lovely Charts is no exception. This is an online business tool that you can control from your web browser. There's a free version that will enable you to create one business diagram. This means you could sit on the train on a morning and build a proposed organisation chart from your laptop and have it finished by the time you reach the office. Lovely Charts enables you to draft up just about any kind of formal business diagram, from wireframes, network charts through to organisational charts and more.

Lovely Charts link.

They say that more and more employees are starting to work from home, but then the only access we have to our work colleagues is through email, personal instant messengers and the phone. Problem is that many projects now rely on multiple users, situated in different timezones, sharing the same files and with different operating systems. There aren't too many chat clients that you can use between both your colleagues and temporary people who are contributing to a project.

Propane is a Mac tool that uses the Campfire network within a desktop client. Campfire is a chat system that you can use privately, within your company, to enable colleagues to chat, share files and track projects. Problem is that Campfire is a web-only project and you won't want to keep opening your browser to chat to other users. Step up Propane which brings these features within a desktop client. Ideal, although it would be far better if the author had produced a cross-platform version, perhaps using Adobe Air?

Propane for Mac link.

The problem with your home family computer is that it tends to be used between multiple users, from your living room. This is fine for most families as they trust each other with their personal information. Problem is that it's too easy for your daughter's boyfriend to use your home computer to check the latest football scores, to quickly realise there's all sorts of personal info left on the machine. The solution is to install cleansing software that can go through your computer and clean it from all the temporary files, trash, personal info and other files you want to remove.

Webroot Window Washer 6.5 is one of the better system cleansing and optimisation tools are we're giving you the full current version with the latest Computeractive magazine, issue 288, on-sale right now.

Computeractive issue 288 link.

If you use a computer each day for work, you've probably got a routine that you stick to. For some, many of the daily computer based task are incredibly uninteresting but need to be done. It's possible that your workload could become less laborious with the aid of a simple automation tool; such a tool could help perform basic tasks like copying and pasting and even send emails by using simple key combinations.

RoboTask 3.3 is a simple tool that enables you to automate simple, time consuming tasks. You can program the application with basic commands and use keyboard shortcuts to automate these actions. This could be useful for completing mundane or tedious tasks. 

RoboTask 3.3 link.

Most people's first experience of browsing the web may have been with IE as it has shipped with the Windows operating system since 1995, but after years of popularity the browser fell out of favour with many as it increased in size and became overblown. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is still the first choice browser for many as it has been for many years but more and more users have began to search for lightweight alternatives all based on different engines, but what about a browser based on the IE?

Avant Browser 11.7 is a browser based on the IE engine that has a similar look and feel but benefits from added features and options. One handy feature is the ability to deactivate certain elements of particular web pages including Flash animation and pop-ups.

Avant Browser 11.7 link.

It's possible to work as a programmer or web designer from a laptop, freelancing for various companies across the world. If you're good, you're always be in demand, often managing multiple projects. This is fantastic, but you need to be able to invoice in the right currency, on time and make sure the companies who commission you also pay on time. It's so easy to send an invoice and simply forget whether it's been paid.

Billable 1.2.4 is a Mac-only tool that's designed for the freelancer to keep track of the various projects and clients. Links with other Mac applications, such as your adddressbook, so you don't need to enter client information, twice. You can design and send invoices directly from within the application and be reminded when they are overdue.

Billable link.

No matter how little you spend on a new PC even the most basic model with ship with a fairly large hard drive. Although having a large amount of space is hugely useful, it can be difficult to keep stored data organised. It's often the case that the more room available, the more chance there is of misplacing a folder or file. One way of organising your drive is to divide it up into more manageable sections by creating separate partitions.

EASEUS Partition Master 3.0.2 (formerly EASEUS Partition Manager) is a comprehensive application that helps you to maintain an organised drive. It can be used to create and maintain partitions as well as resize, delete or format them. Partitions can be hidden for added privacy and data can be organised to enhance performance.

EASEUS Partition Master 3.0.2 link.

If you have a large music collection you are probably all too aware of how difficult it can be to keep them organised. With thousands of songs stored on your computer, there's bound to be an indiscrepency here or there, but going through your library and manually correcting these anomalies can be laborious. There are useful applications out there that can assist you with not only renaming song information, but tagging too. This enables you effectively correct and organise music collections quickly and easily.

Tag&Rename 3.5 is incredibly useful editing and creating information associated with audio and other media files. The window is split, Excel-like, into tabs, one for renaming files, one for multi-editing tags and another for getting tags from the filename. The application is incredibly useful, but it's definitely geared towards more advanced users.

Tag&Rename 3.5 link.

If you're a self-employed person, you often need to be pitching for new clients at the same time as attempting to complete projects for existing clients. Problem is that time may be against you and you soon realise that an all-important deadline is looming. Worse, you don't ever have time to send or chase outstanding invoices, so do not get paid on time. Many small businesses end up going bust this way - profitable companies are only profitable when they get paid. If their cash flow is affected, they can't pay their creditors.

On The Job 3 is a Mac-only tool that's designed for self-employed users who have multiple clients and possibly employ other people to help them complete their projects. You can use the tool to track your projects, competition date, invoice your clients and check whether these invoices are outstanding, thus improving your cash flow.

On The Job link.

Just who do you turn to in order to solve web-based copyright issues? An example: as a publishing company, we print various computer magazines. No-one would simply scan a page from one of our magazines and host on the Internet, so why do other sites 'forget' about copyright and simply take our editorial from our website, for their gain? We've had multiple situations where other download sites take our exclusive full application downloads and our editorial, place this on their site and even us the software on our server as their direct download. Incredible.

Gazup! isn't going to help our cause either. It's a web-based service that enables users to upload files to remote hosts so they can then provide links to files from these sites, on their homepage, thus saving their bandwidth. Fantastic, but what are you going to upload to these sites? Photos you'd put on Flickr or other photo-sharing sites. We find that these file hosting services do nothing more than encourage users to upload copyrighted software and then link from their server, with the claim that they are not breaching copyright as they aren't directly hosted on their site. Unfortunately they forget that they can be classed an accessory by simply providing the information (ie link) to other users.

Gazup! link.

After preaching to us consumers that we're pretty poor at managing our finances, thus getting ourselves in to credit card debt, perhaps the banks need to look at their own lending, especially when they're really keen to put money in to various 'investments' outside of this UK, thus getting themselves in to debt and resulting in the UK tax payer having to bail them out of their situation.

However, this doesn't mean we should still be care-free about our finances. It's good to keep an eye on our expenses, the interest accruing on our credit card and the performance of our investments and shares.

Money3 is a Mac-only tool that enables you to track your current, saving and credit card accounts and their performance over time. You could use this tool to see how much spare money you have at the end of the money, allocate additional money to your savings and perform a report to see the progress of your portfolio.

Money3 link.

Apple Safari 4 was released as a beta preview the other day and we were quite surprised to see how similar it was to Google Chrome, on Windows Vista, on first view. Since using it across our Windows and Mac computers, we're less keen on some of the user interface changes. The tabs at the top of the browser window are less effective and we miss the page progress bar.

Luckily enough for Safari 4 users, Apple haven't changed these functions completely and, if you know what you're doing, you can change the interface back to how it appeared in the previous incarnation. Random Genius have produced a list of commands you can use in the Mac-based Terminal to turn on the progress bar, turn off tabs at the top of the screen and much more. If you're a Windows Safari 4 user, you can simply edit the preferences XML file.

Random Genius link.

Unwanted and unused applications will quickly occupy space on your system, and can even drain vital system resources. Most people would turn to the Windows Add/Remove facility to remove the unwanted software, unfortunately though, it can sometimes leave associate folders and files behind. If you are in search of a more capable removal tool, it may be worth considering a more proactive standalone uninstaller.

Ashampoo Uninstaller 3.12 takes a snapshot of your computers Registry prior to the installation of any new application, determining where all folders and files are placed.
The application will then use this information to identify all related information so that an application can be thoroughly removed.

Ashampoo Uninstaller 3.12 link.  

Computers are pieced together using hundreds of components which are often sourced from many different manufacturers. There are a large number of computer manufacturers all offering different options, usually boasting bigger processors, more powerful graphics cards and upgraded memory compared with their competitors products. This method of building PCs is excellent for cutting costs, but does the finished article do what it says on the tin?

SIW 2009-02-04 is a useful system analysis tool that enables users to check there system for details on installed components. You can use the application to find out almost everything about your machine, including information on your CPU, memory and all other hardware contained within your system.

SIW 2009-02-04 link.

The browser wars was interesting in the late 90s. However, most of the rivals disappeared and were replaced by Internet Explorer versus Mozilla Firefox. Lately we've been blessed with a number of Internet Explorer-based browsers such as Maxthon, Google Chrome and, of course, Apple Safari for Windows. Did anyone really take Safari for Windows seriously? We don't think so and Apple have thought the same. So, what do you do? Look at what your rivals have done with your own technology (Webkit) and realise that they've done a better job on the front-end. So, you need to copy it.

Apple Safari for Windows v4 has just been released as a public preview and, on first load, it looks like a carbon copy of Google Chrome. It now places the tabs at the top of your browser window and ships with a Windows user-interface. On Vista, we could have opened Google Chrome by mistake and not even realised.

There's a lot more than user-interface changes. The next thing you'll notice is that you are welcomed with a pictorial view of your 'Top Sites'. Click on a site and this is brought to the front of your browser window. Click on your bookmarks and you can view through a cover view style visual flip function. Did we mention that this browser was fast? Very very fast. Pages load immediately, almost as if they've been pre-cached.

We were never fans of Safari for Windows (or even the Mac version). We are impressed - so far - with Safari 4. Looks good, some interesting new functionality, launches pages impressively and so on. The only thing is lacks is the number of addons and extensions you can get with Mozilla Firefox.

[UPDATE] Although the new Safari v4 ships with a new Windows-native user interface, there are still some Apple-esque elements that remain. For example, the downloads window shows a blue aqua progress bar. Still, it's a lot better than the previous version.

[UPDATE2] Just need to point out that we do NOT think Google Chrome, Safari or others are based on the Internet Explorer HTML engine. We just wrote that quickly - we meant Maxthon and other IE-based browsers are available, whilst there are also WebKit-based browsers such as Chrome and Safari. Ok, no more complaints, please!

Safari for Windows v4 link.

It's not only Word but the whole Microsoft Office suite is something that many computer users have become accustomed to. Although it's a very able package, it is also expensive and many of the features that ship with programs such as Word often remain unused, yet people will still go ahead and buy the package without ever trying or considering an alternative. Why not look at some of the many open-source alternatives now available? Some of which enable you to open, edit and save documents using the popular the Word Document file format .doc.     

OpenOffice Portable 3.0.1 is an able freeware alternative to Microsoft Office. The suite ships with a spreadsheet tool, word processor and a presentation application as well as other utilities. This is the portable version of the popular opensource tool enabling you to take the whole suit on the road.

OpenOffice Portable 3.0.1 link.

Getting your PC to perform as you'd like usually involves a lot of trial and error, so establishing the areas which would be most beneficial for you to optimise is a good starting point. The sheer number of variables when optimising your system can be another problem, and you could end up spending more time adjusting settings than doing anything productive. System optimisation tools are designed so that users can quickly enhance a number of areas of computer performance, all within a single application.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 6.20 is a suite comprising of a number of useful utilities designed to help you optimise system performance. Use it to manage different areas of your computers performance, from booting speeds to online performance and do so with minimal effort, even if you don't have the time or in depth knowledge to manually adjust complex settings.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 6.20 link.

Apple's MobileMe promised a lot and initially delivered far less. These promises included push email, so your devices would always have the latest email available, without you having to manually download or automate an email check. Other highlights included the ability to share your MobileMe files with other users and be able to synchronise your Microsoft Outlook contacts and calendars with your MobileMe account. The latter two features have now be included within MobileMe, so you can share your files with other users and now use MobileMe on your Windows machine to synchronise content.

Apple MobileMe for Windows 1.3 is simply a control panel that you can install on your XP or Vista machine and then open this panel to configure the content you want to synchronise. Good news and bad news: you need iTunes 8.02 installed on your machine to use MobileMe, whether you want iTunes or not. Not a good start. You also can't synchronise bookmarks from either Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, both of which are far more popular than Apple Safari for Windows. The good news is that you can now synchronise your Microsoft Outlook contacts and calendars, as well as your Windows contacts, Google contacts and Yahoo addressbook.

Apple MobileMe for Windows link.

Like everyone else, it's too easy to believe that the commercial security software from so-called heavyweight established developers will give better protection from the latest Internet threats. Problem is that I was offered one of the 2009-edition security suites from an established security development company and have since found that it checks, literally, everything. When we test local web content, this security suite checks the page for 'threats' before it loads in to the browser. Result? Everything is suddenly about 30% slower - email takes longer to download and process, every single file that's opened or copied from drive to drive is checked for threats and even the web browser checks the page content, making browsing a slower experience.

Irony is though that most of these security checks are superfluous. A web page that we create does not need to be checked when loaded in to the browser, locally. Files copied from one location to another location, on the same system, do not need to be checked for threats. So, all these options had to be disabled manually to keep our system sane and working smoothly. Problem is, this security suite now complains our PC is constantly 'at risk'.

One conclusion is that these so-called established security developers are seeking new ways to 'protect' your PC but, really, they are battling to protect themselves against the latest threats, thus resulting in virus developers seeking brand new methods to get in to your computer. Result is that the security software checks everything, all the time, just in case. Your system slows as a result.

Comodo Internet Security 3.8 is a completely free security suite consisting of an anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall modules. The latest version has an improved AV engine, support for Comodo's community threat database, better support for native Vista security features and much more.

Comodo Internet Security link.

If you aren't particularly experienced in using illustration applications, it can be difficult using a computer to get ideas on screen. For a designer, there's nothing quite like pen and paper for quickly developing ideas and sketches and computers can affect the spontaneity of exploring ideas. One option is to scan in your hand drawn images, but raster images can't be used with popular CAD programs.  

RasterVect 14.4 is a useful application that enables users to convert raster drawings into a more versatile vector format. You can scan hand drawn images, convert them as well as open and edit them in almost any CAD application. The program has four different conversion methods and includes a selection of viewing tools.

RasterVect 14.4 link.

Passwords are part-an-parcel of computer use, they are used to log onto a work computer or access online banking and networking sites, in fact, you need one for just about everything. Remembering all of your passwords isn't easy so many people resort to scribbling them down on a scrap of paper and they inevitably end up lost or in the bin. A far easier and more convenient way of keeping your passwords both safe and secure is to use a password storage utility, which can be accessed with a single master password.

Efficient password manager 1.0 is a free solution that provides secure password management that also ships with an integrated password generator. All stored passwords are fully protected with an advanced encrypted login and the application provides a number of other useful features such as hierarchical grouping and adding attachments to password entry all within an easy-to-use interface.

Password Depot 4 is another free password manager designed for maximum user-friendliness. It ships with a function for that enables you to automatically complete fields on a web page with your username and password. The application also enables you to install Password Depot on a USB Flash drive so passwords can be taken on the road.

Who made the decision that we should upgrade our operating system every few years? Computing technology doesn't change too much and, in theory, Windows XP is a strong, solid and reliable operating system which, with the right drivers, will support even the latest hardware. When Vista was released, it caused businesses to upgrade their software to 'support' the latest operating system. There shouldn't be a situation where an operating system dictates the software you can use and install. However, Vista does have some benefits and one of these is the improved user-interface.

ViOrb is a tool that you can use to replace the existing Windows XP Start button with a Vista-style button. Better still, it supports themes, so you are not stuck with the default start Vista-style start button. There is also a new version of ViOrb in development that will give you a Windows 7-style glowing Start button.

ViOrb link.

Most modern anti-virus applications are equipped to deal with a variety of different malicious items, from spam email messages to a full blown viral infection. There are always threats to look out for, but depending on how you use your computer, it's important to identify a solution that would best suit your individual needs and if so, is it worth spending money on a commercial application or would a freeware alternative do the job.

Avast! Home 4.8 is a free antivirus suite that offers protection against a broad range of general online threats. The software ships with a behaviour blocker that can be used to identify and prevent any unusual behaviour and a scanner for screening incoming and outgoing messages.

Avast! Home 4.8  link.

We've all used the Windows task manager at some point, either to view running processes or to manually cancel unresponsive applications or tasks. The problem with the standard Windows Task Manager is that it only provides basic information and options, and doesn't always provide the required details. Sometimes a more information is required to identify problematic processes or applications and it may be more beneficial to use a third party replacement for the basic Task Manager.   

Extended Task Manager 1.0 is designed to provide users with additional Windows process management features. The application provides detailed information on disk and port usage and enables users to view and monitor which applications are utilising system resources.

Extended Task Manager 1.0 link.

Before we begin working from a new computer, many of us make changes to our machines settings in one way or another based on personal preferences, usually via the system preferences menu. The preferences menu will enable you to adjust basic visual options, but it doesn't enable you to completely customise certain visual aspects of your operating system. Luckily, although the options within the standard preference menu are limited, there are a number of third party tools available that can be used to personalise Windows more extensively.

WindowBlinds 6.4 enables you to thoroughly customise the appearance of many areas of Windows. There are thousands of different themes available that require virtually no extra memory but the application will need to be installed for these changes to be made.

WindowBlinds 6.4 link.

As many of our friends and work colleagues are connected to different social networking sites, it's too tempting to start a new account, with another site, just to keep in touch. This makes keeping in touch with your work colleagues more difficult. At work, we need to do more than chat. We need to share projects, files and 'to do' information. You can't do that by connecting to more than one business networking site.

AlertThingy 3 is a free cross-platform tool that enables you to follow people from various social and business networking sites, from one interface. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Huddle, Basecamp and many others. Better still, you can follow the latest news by subscribing to news feeds and integrating these in to your feed. As AlertThingy is based on Adobe Air, you can download and use the same application on either your Windows or Mac computer.

AlertThingy link.

Peer-to-peer file sharing has had its fair share of dad press and we all remember the controversy surrounding Napster in its early years, and even now there are still a few applications such as Limewire who still offer a free, stripped down alternative of their own software. Even though there are more 'legitimate' P2P solutions available, file sharing remains a controversial subject, and although developers are still producing applications based on the technology, it's ultimately the user that is in control of what they wish to share.  

Vuze 4.1.0.2 is a P2P sharing technology which enables users to take advantage of Internet connection speeds. Not only can you schedule downloads but you can also control and manage connection speeds by using the Autospeed feature and because it's on a Java platform, it offers a solution across multiple operating systems.

Vuze 4.1.0.2 link.

Quite frankly, I'm bored of using Microsoft Outlook and spend quite a bit of time seeking an alternative. Now I've finally realised why so many business users keep buying and using Microsoft Office - Outlook is such a good business collaboration tool that it stops you seeking a legitimate alternative. The biggest problem we have with Outlook is that it's so darned slow. Start your computer, open Outlook and it can take 15 minutes to download and process 200 emails. Of course, that's factoring in using a security tool to check incoming email for possible hazards.

However, there's a brand new email client available and it's looking good. Postbox 1.0b7 is the first public preview of the new technology. We've tried both the Mac and Windows edition and our opinion is that the Mac version is superb, and already a replacement for Apple Mail, where the Windows version is decent, but we've had to go back to Outlook. The Mac version is designed brilliantly and enables you to run quick searches, with the minimum of fuss. The Windows version looks like it's been converted from the Mac version and needs a bit more work.

Postbox for Windows link.

Take your Blackberry on the road and you'll be able to receive and send new email, add contacts to the device, arrange your calendar and much more. However, you'll also want a copy of this information back on your computer, so you can track email responses and make sure the calendar is synchronised between computer and device. Although the Blackberry ships with computer synchronisation software, there are better alternatives, particularly if you're a Mac user.

The Missing Sync for Blackberry 2.0 is a commercial tool for the Mac that enables you to make sure the information from your computer is synchronised with your Blackberry and vice-versa. This means you can keep your calendar up-to-date across both devices, your email, text messages and much more. The latest Missing Sync v2 now enables you to synchronise wire-free with your Mac, via Bluetooth.

The Missing Sync for Blackberry link.

Unless your computer is not connected to the Internet, it's inevitable that at some point you will encounter malicious software of some kind. Malicious software can be disguised and distributed in a number of different ways and is becoming increasingly difficult for many applications to identify let alone protect against. Some applications claim to protect against the very latest online threats but many of these tools are bloated with useless tools when all that's needed is a functional, non obtrusive security application.

Microsoft Malicious Software Removal tool 2.7 is a freeware utility from Microsoft that enables you to identify the latest threats to your operating system. You can run system scans manually and view the full results. You can use the Microsoft website to ensure that you have the latest version.

Microsoft Malicious Software Removal tool 2.7 link.

If you use a computer on a daily basis it's important to maintain a certain level of organisation, especially as hard drives continue to increase in capacity.  It's not only larger drives that make it harder to keep files and folders organised but file transfer via portable devices can also contribute to the disorganisation. Not only does a cluttered drive make searching for items difficult but it could potentially lead to more serious problems such as slow start up times and other erratic system behaviour.

UltraDefrag 2.1 is an opensource defragmentation tool that enables users to easily maintain a healthy drive. The application could help prevent crashes, slowdowns and, in more severe cases, system failure. The interface is basic but the application features all the necessary components for effective defragmentation.

UltraDefrag 2.1 link.

Larger hard drives make life easier when storing data but when it comes to transferring or backing up this information; it can become both confusing and time consuming. When it comes time to transfer data, maybe to a new machine, the sheer amount of data can make the job less straight forward than you may think. The chance of encountering problems will also be increased if your new machine ships with a different operating system, so it may be worth using a synchronisation tool to help you manage and transfer data more easily.

Easy2Sync for Files 1.33 is a freeware utility that's designed to assist users when transferring data across multiple machines. The application has a number of useful applications but is especially useful when moving files and folders from and old computer to a new one, or when moving data from a home computer to a work machine, irrespective of operating system.

Easy2Sync for Files 1.33

You might be part of a web development team that's close to launching a brand new website. If you're on the road, with your laptop, then you might have limited access to your regular web design tools. If you have remote access to your company server, there's no reason why you can't login and access or view the web pages, from your laptop, before they go live. You will want to do more than just view the pages though - you might want to test and view the CSS applied to the page or test the load times for the page and components that make up the page.

Firebug for Firefox 1.3.2 is an extension for Firefox that enables you to view the web code, CSS and other components that make up your web pages. Better still, you can edit the code within these pages and preview the pages live, before you commit the changes. The extension also enables you to test the load capacity of your site and pages to see how it will perform on a slow broadband connection.

Firebug for Firefox link.

It's essential you get in to the routine of backing up your drive or a drive partition. Now we spend our time storing our audio files on our hard drive, rather than CD, it's way too easy to lose this data and, it's not possible to go back to iTunes and requested tracks you've previously purchased and downloaded. You need to purchase and download again. Therefore it's imperative you keep this partition and data backed up.

With issue 286 of Computeractive magazine, on-sale right now, we're giving you the full version of Acronis True Image 10 Personal, which is designed to backup your drive or individual partions. You can back them up to an external drive, a blank disc or other locations. You can schedule a backup, so it's performed weekly.

Note that this promotion is only for the magazine readers and is not a free public promotion for all Internet users.

Computeractive 286 link.

Highly portable USB devices are widely used as they are a quick, easy and convenient way of storing and transferring data between different computers. Modern USB drives are not only convenient and reasonably cheap, but they also store a large amount of data considering they are small enough o take on the road. The only downside to all this data moving back and forth is that identifying recently edited and transferred documents on these larger drives can be a nuisance.  

Allway Sync 9.1.7 is a useful application that enables you to synchronise files across multiple computers whilst ensuring recently edited and saved documents are synchronised to save confusion. You can automatically synchronise documents at chosen intervals as well as perform manual synchronisation.

Allway Sync 9.1.7 link.

There are few business social networking clients. LinkedIn is the closest, but that's just a directory of contact information and only if the people you want to connect to, bother to add you as a contact. If they don't, then you can't follow their news, updates or contact them directly for a business proposal. Skype is another alternative. However, Twitter is becoming popular as anyone can follow your thoughts or announcements. For business users, this could be used to put out some information about your company, a software release or similar update.

Blu is a new Twitter client for the Windows platform that uses Microsoft .NET 3.5, so is only applicable for Vista and Windows 7 users. It's very well designed. Very much inspired by Mac software. However, as a result, it takes a huge amount of system resources. Worse, when installed on one of Vista machines, it led to a Windows blue screen of death, twice. That hardly ever happens on Vista, so it's rare to see it happen a couple of times.

Blu Twitter client link.

Every now and again we stumble upon a website or webpage that may contain items of interest, but don't really want to add it to our bookmarks. One option would be to print these pages but this would result in poor quality images, or you won't be able to print at all if the page is made up of dynamic content. Taking a screengrab would be a more viable option, especially for reference purposes as they are easier to store and refer to.  

WebShot 1.66 is a single purpose tool designed for taking grabs of interesting websites, then exporting grabs as images. Grabs can be adjusted, printed and stored for use at any time. There is also a professional version available that boasts a more extensive feature set and interface.

WebShot 1.66 link.

When we purchase a new computer the facts and figures published are obviously based on the hardware installed, but it's not just what is installed, the quality of each component will make a difference too. Many computers that are advertised or on sale in computer stores may look like good value, but to save money the components are often sourced as cheaply as possible, which when pieced together, could hinder potential performance. Top find out what hardware your machine is running, use a system analysis tool.

Everest Ultimate Edition 5.0 enables you to run a full analysis of your system and identify performance statistics of installed hardware. The application can be used to both compare components and identify hardware which may not be working correctly. The latest v5 fully supports Windows Vista and ships with an improved hardware monitoring module with alerting feature.

Everest Ultimate Edition 5.0 link.

Yesterday something strange happened to the browser community. Foxmarks 2.7 was released with a feature that's completely unique to the software (a rarity these days). It now enables you to synchronise the same web browser bookmarks across the three primary web browsers, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Apple Safari. This means you can now have your Firefox bookmarks on your Apple-based Safari, when you use your Mac laptop. Superb.

Foxmarks for Internet Explorer has also been updated, which means you can now synchronise between Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Foxmarks for Firefox is certainly one of the best add-ons available and far better than the official Mozilla Weave, which enables you to synchronise your data (bookmarks and passwords) across multiple editions of the same browser.

Many of us have access to a high speed broadband connection of some kind, whether at work or at home. Most of us sign up to broadband packages based almost solely on published information and figures and pay our bills each month, but how many of us actually know if we exceed bandwidth usage before the bill is paid? It's possible you could be paying over the odds for unused services, but how do we find out? The only way to know for sure is to use a monitoring tool, or to set incoming traffic limits.

NetWorx 4.6.3 is a free monitoring tool that enables users to evaluate bandwidth usage and network activity. The application has the facility to set usage limits over a set period of time which could help you to avoid incurring any charges from your ISP.

NetWorx 4.6.3 link.

If you are a fan and user of Firefox, using an alternative browser can be frustrating. Sometimes though, you may be using a different work computer or family member's machine which may be equipped with a default browser such as Internet Explorer or safari. It's always nice to have familiar apps available and Firefox is a hugely popular and widely used browser, so why not take your favourite browser wherever you go?

Firefox Portable 3.0.6 is a transportable version of the popular web browser which can be launched directly from a portable storage device. The application is self contained which means all your browser history, cookie information and bookmarks remain on whichever portable device you use.

Firefox Portable 3.0.6 link.

Backing up important data is something we should all do, but something very few of us do on a regular basis. It's often the case that we don't worry about these problems until it's too late, and we quickly realise how important not only our music and photographs are but how much personal information is often stored on our computers. It may be worth using a backup tool so data can be backed up at regular intervals automatically, so you don't have to worry.

SyncBack SE 5.3.0.18 is a tool that enables users to backup folders, files and other important data at regular intervals so that, in case of an emergency, your backups are as up-to-date as possible. You can backup and store information on a blank CD-R or Flash drive, or by utilising homepage space and by doing so, you can access this data from anywhere in the world via the Internet. 

SyncBack SE 5.3.0.18 link.

Internet Explorer still remains the most widely used web browser available, even though there are good alternatives around. There are several reasons why it's so widely used, the main reason being is that it has shipped with Windows for a number of years and people become familiar with using it, but another reason is that some websites still require you to use Internet Explorer to view them correctly. Although many people have migrated to browsers such as Firefox and Opera because they provide more customisable features, IE is still preferred by many and more and more add-ons are being made available.

IE7Pro 2.4.5 is an add-on designed for Internet Explorer that enables you to adjust the browser to your own preference. These features include mouse gestures, tabbed browsing, ad blocking and more. The latest version also supports he 64-bit version of Internet Explorer, as well as a Google search option.

IE7Pro 2.4.5 link.

Most standard printer drivers will include a number of basic functions which often include landscape and portrait printing options and DPI setting depending on paper quality. As printer manufacturers often require you to use their own cartridges, which can be costly, they don't exactly encourage you to save ink but there are print management tools available which may help you get more from your printer and its cartridges.

FinePrint 6.06 is a small utility that helps you to get the most from your print management system. You can use it to add letterheads, watermarks, footers and other features to documents. The new v6 contains a number of new features including an improved user-interface, the ability to re-arrange pages, better printing settings and more.

FinePrint 6.06 link.

The copy and paste function is something everyone uses, especially if you use a computer regularly. Text, graphics, pictures and spreadsheet data can all be copied but not all applications will paste data correctly, and some may not enable you to paste items directly into a document. A useful utility for storing copied data would be a clipboard tool, you can use these tools to gather text, images and other information you may need to refer to or use in a document at a later date.  

ClipMate 7.3.14 is a small utility that can be used to grab and store any data you may want to edit, use or refer to. Using this application could help you put documents together more quickly and will enable you to save the original data for reference. It also has a screen capture tool for capturing any area or object on-screen.

ClipMate 7.3.14 link.

Use a laptop whilst you're on the train on the way to a meeting and it's fairly difficult using Windows to judge the remaining charge, effectively. Sometimes the amount of time remaining can fluctuate wildly. One minute you have a couple of hours left, the next it's dropped to just over an hour. Battery monitoring is dependent on CPU and disc usage. Playback a disc from your laptop and the remaining charge will drop suddenly. You want a legitimate indication of the remaining power so you can judge how much time you have until you need to power down your laptop.

BatteryBar 3.0.48 is a free battery monitoring software device that's a definite improvement over the technology built in to Windows. It constantly monitors battery usage, reports back when you are potentially running low or performing a task that is taxing your battery power.

BatteryBar link.

If you're a business user, there are few options for chatting with other users. LinkedIn is an obvious place to keep in touch, but it doesn't have real-time discussion possibilities, nor can you connect through a messenger client. Skype is a clear alternative. We use it to keep in touch with colleagues from other offices (when they can be bothered to login). Of course, the primary reason for using Skype is cheaper international phone conversations, via VOIP.

Skype 4 has been in development for a while and has had an official release. Why they developers of Skype can't produce a multi-platform client, releasing the same product across Windows, Mac and Linux, I don't know. Confusing. Anyway, the latest v4 brings a brand new interface (and we've still not decided whether it's better or worse than the previous version) which is geared towards video communication. If you don't intend to chat via webcam, go back to 'compact mode' which brings the interface more in line with the previous version of Skype.

Skype 4 link.

If you develop web code, you'll want to set up a system to manage your code more effectively. Using a text editor doesn't offer enough and requires you to use other apps to preview your code and then upload to your server. Powerful suites such as Dreamweaver are often overkill for many old-school developers who just like to write code simply and quickly. Once you've finalised a web page, you'll want to preview it live, on the fly, before you commit the page. You might need to share web components with other developers, such as style sheets and more.

Espresso 1.0 is a public beta preview of the latest web editing technology for the Mac. It enables you to edit and open multiple code, manage your assets, preview as you develop and even upload to a remote server. You can merge with other code and synchronise files so that you always have the latest version.

We do wonder why these superbly designed web development tools are Mac orientated? The Mac already has Coda, RapidWeaver, CSSEdit and many others.

Espresso link.

Work on some files on your Mac laptop and you will want the same files on your desktop computer. However, it's far too easy to forget which file was last updated on each machine. Recently I was working on my end-of-year accounts and wanted the same spreadsheet to be updated on both computers. With Macs, you can use the MobileMe service, which works effectively for small files. If you want the Mac-based files on your PC, you will encounter problems. You can't synchronise a file from your Mac desktop back to your PC, automatically, using MobileMe.

Syncplicity 0.1.33 is the first public preview of the Mac-based version of the backup and synchronisation tool. Work on a spreadsheet stored in your 'Documents' folder on your Mac and the same file will be automatically synchronised to your 'My Documents' folder on your PC. Edit the same file on your PC, update and the same file will then appear back on your Mac.

As we've said many times, we use Syncplicity regularly. The Mac version can be a little flaky at times, however. Sometimes CPU usage will be high (initially) and you need to be more patient. Still, it's a public preview and they welcome your feedback, so download and test as they're giving you a free 2GB account to get started.

Syncplicity for Mac link.

Although few virus developers are going to go out of their way to find ways of getting in to a pre-production operating system, no-one should run a new OS without a firewall and other security tools. You never know if a virus designed for Vista may work as effectively on Windows 7. Problem is that Windows 7 doesn't support many of the existing security tools, so you can't just install your favourite application. Besides, the problem with a new license for the new OS might mean that you can't legally install anyhow.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Technical Preview for Windows 7 is the latest version of the anti-virus tool designed specifically for the new operating system. As the OS is still in beta preview, this is merely a technical preview of the forthcoming anti-virus tool. This updated version includes an updated interface and improved heuristic scanner.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7 link.

Can anyone remember the time when you walked in to your company stationary cupboard and it was full of sticky notes that you could use to post to your desk or, more likely, your computer monitor? Problem is that those notes ended up losing their stickiness, over time, resulting them falling off and the office cleaner moving them to trash. If you wrote down that all-important phone number, there might be no way of retrieving the information. There must be a better way? The obvious solution is to post virtual sticky notes to your computer desktop, rather than the old paper-based notes.

PNotes 4.5.106 is a free virtual sticky notes system that enables you to post those sticky notes on to your desktop. You can choose different coloured notes depending on the task, a different font depending on the seriousness of the task and even setup a scheduler to remind you of a forthcoming task. You can easily iconify each note, so you do not have to keep looking at every open note when you boot your computer.

PNotes link.

There are plenty of recommended free archive managers, but there are good reasons why you should look at some of the popular commercial alternatives, such as Stuffit for Windows. The primary reason is that this archive manager will enable you to handle just about any archived format, including the Mac-based .sit format. This archive format grew popular on the Mac as a version of Stuffit was included free with the Mac operating system for many years. Although many Mac users have moved over to .zip, it's still a well-used archive format on that operating system).

Stuffit 2009 for Windows is a comprehensive archive management tool. The other good reason for choosing Stuffit for Windows is that it enables you to create self-extracting archives, which are an excellent way of sending archived files to novice users. Alternatively, you can use a self-extracting archive to extract the files and auto-run a setup file.

The latest Stuffit 2009 for Windows supports the popular 7z archive format, ships with an improvement user-interface and much more.

If you want a camera to take on holiday, even basic digital cameras will offer a minimum 10 Megapixels of processing power. Who needs 10 Megapixels? Unless you're going to output your photos on to an A3 sheet, it's an unnecessary feature. Problem is that your images are now too large to email to other users. You could place them on your homepage, but then your bandwidth may be limited. Of course, you could upload them to a public image sharing site such as Flickr. The other option us to use a file sharing tool which will enable you to both share your files and find others.

LimeWire 5 is one of the most popular peer-to-peer file sharing tools. The latest version has a brand new user interface. It also supports Jabber, so you can chat to other users about the files you want and have available to share.

LimeWire link.

It doesn't seem long ago to us, but a few years ago there used to be many different web search engine providers and there was no clear front runner. Indeed, web browser developers enabled you to perform multiple searches across the various engines and would give you the results within your web browser. As each one uses different techniques to locate sites based on your search terms, it gave you the chance to find smaller and newer sites that tend to be overlooked if you just use one major search engine.

Microsoft Live Search for Firefox is an official Microsoft add-on for Firefox that enables you to search via the Microsoft Live engine. It's not an 'add-on' as such, as it's code that adds the functionality to Firefox. However, it gives you another option and you can see how it compares to the standard supplied Google search engine.

Microsoft Live Search for Firefox link.

Buy your new PC and after a few months you'll find that it takes far longer to boot, applications start more slowly and your computer attempts to access the drive constantly. There are simple reasons for this: we all like to install, test and remove new software. Over time this causes drive fragmentation, unnecessary entries in your Registry and leaves your system attempting to start applications that you've deleted, when you launch your computer. The answer is a tool that you can use to tweak, optimise, cleanse and enhance your PC.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5.11 is our latest full commercial application, currently on-sale for £25. This tool is everything you'll need to keep your PC in-check. Better still, it's supplied with a 1-click optimisation facility, which should do most of the hard work for you and save time. In addition to the tweaking and tuning features, Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5 ships with file erasing modules, a drive cleanser, system benchmarking module and undeletion facility so you can find and recover lost files.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5 link.