What a handy gadget! After installing this Firefox add-on all I have to do is to hover over a link and wait a split second for a little blue dot to appear and then hover over that blue dot. This action automatically opens a new page for that link, and it stays open until you close it or move your mouse away from that webpage. This is a great helper for webpage editing, surfing, and online shopping because you don't have to click as much. CoolIris is definitely a keeper.
One of Clif's friends told us about this one.
From BluPwrdUp:
a friend turned me on to this neat little ultra-kewl plug in for Firefox and IE ( Cooliris ) http://www.cooliris.com/Site/index.html I believe your readers will find this one indispensable.
Cooliris Previews is software that lets you view links without having to click or leave the page you are on. Previews makes it easy to navigate through multiple links quickly and easily.
At my day job, I have to park my car under a set of power lines. There is a family of sparrows who nest nearby and you can guess the results. Many times I've raised my fist to the air and cursed them. After playing this game for a few minutes, I now see how much fun it is to fly over cars and "dump" on them. Potty Pigeon is a simple game with simple goals. You'll catch on to it quickly and I hope you'll start seeing things from the "bird's point of view" like I do now. Maybe next time my car is a mess, I'll wave at the little birdies with a grin on my face.
To play the game, download it, unzip it, and double click the file "potty.exe". No install is needed. When selecting game levels, use the arrow keys and the space bar (not the enter key) to select your level. Use the arrow keys for moving the bird and the space bar to drop a load.
Quote from the website
The original C-64 Potty Pigeon version was fairly unspectacular, however the idea of dropping poop on speeding cars gave it that certain something that made it worth playing. It also had some awesomely smooth scrolling!
I've put a lot of effort into the graphics, though admitedly I got lazy with some of the animations towards the end of the project. However most of the cool features remained, such as:
picking up twigs to build your nest
cars, aeroplanes, dogs, snakes, and helicopters to avoid
Hawks that cause you to drop your precious twigs
All in all, I'm quite happy with this remake. It may be a weird derivation of a Choplifter clone, but that's not such a bad thing?
I encourage everyone to try new freebies out. Aditya tried this one and sent me his review. Respect2Glory (here at Freeware Wiki) did some research and found out that this program might be safe to use, but it might also include some adware, according to Infinishare's TOS. So far, we haven't read any reports that the authors have included adware, but if you use it, you do give them permission to do so. Here's what Infinishare's terms of service says about their software:
Infinishare may include advertisements in the files, data and other information you may share using Infinishare's software and services. You may also receive announcements, promotional materials and advertisements from Infinishare without the ability to opt out of receiving them.
Below, see how easy it is to share your experiences with free software. If you really like it, then tell us about it. I even have a nice template with questions for you to answer at my WriteYourOwnReview page.
Thanks for sharing Aditya.
From Aditya:
IS IT FREEWARE? - Yes.
WHERE IS THE WEBSITE AT? - www.purplenova.com
IS THE DOWNLOAD LINK EASY TO FIND? - Yes there's a download button on the home page. It links to:
- Allows resource hosting directly from user machine
- Installs on PCs and removable drives
- No limit to number of files hosted
WHAT VERSIONS OF WINDOWS ARE REQUIRED?
- Windows any, as per the company
- I've used it on WinXP Home and Win2K Professional.
DOES IT REQUIRE ANYTHING ELSE? (LIKE .NET)
- No additional plugins/configuration.
IS IT A LARGE OR SMALL DOWNLOAD? - Small @ 2.2MB.
IS IT AN EASY PROGRAM TO INSTALL? - Yes. - Also I asked a friend who says "it is portable and doesn't make registry entries or install weird com objects". It's g(r)eek to me, but may be useful to you :-)
DOES IT COME WITH AN UNINSTALLER? - No. - It can be removed completely by deleting the folder it is installed in.
WERE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS? - Yes. I wanted to be able to remotely access my files and documents without uploading them anywhere.
WHAT ARE YOU USING IT FOR? - Privately publishing important documents from my office PC. - Works inspite of my office firewall.
WHAT WERE YOU USING BEFORE YOU FOUND THIS? - Flash drive. But I had to bother about re-saving the files I needed each time I made changes to them.
HAS IT SOLVED A PROBLEM YOU WERE HAVING? - Yes. I always have remote access to the latest version of my files.
WHAT PROBLEMS HAS IT CAUSED? - None so far. - I've used it for 3 weeks now. My office computer is always online. No viruses or system crash.
IS THE PROGRAM EASY TO USE? - Yes. I figured it out without help.
DOES IT COME WITH HELP FILES? - Yes.
WHAT FEATURES DO YOU LIKE OR NOT LIKE? - Depends on internet connection. Dialup is no no. - Small box to manage files.
WHAT FEATURES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ADDED OR TAKEN AWAY OR CHANGED?
- Slicker user interface
- Better file hosting management.
Quote from the website
Purplenova is a tool to safely and securely host any content directly from your PC.
Text files, Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets
Music Play lists, Photo Albums, Videos
Web pages, Websites, Blogs
Web-Services
You can host any number and any type of files
You specify content files to host: privately or publicly.
Your audience uses a regular web browser (like IE or Firefox) to view/download/stream hosted content.
People DO NOT get access to your PC at all. They cannot modify files on your PC in any way.
You are in full control of hosted files, and only the files you explicitly select for hosting are accessible.
If you want added security and choose to encrypt your transmissions, file contents are transmitted encrypted end-to-end using SSL.
There is no limit to number of files you can host, but in the interest of good user experience, we have kept a 10 MB limit to individual file size for now.
I recently read an article from Dave's Computer Tips newsletter. He spends hours and hours trying out the top anti-spyware tools.
CounterSpy and SpySweeper are the anti-spyware programs that Dave picks as his top two choices, but SpySweeper won the match. Both are payware programs so I won't use them. Therefore, I still recommend SpyBot and AdAware and I still use them at home every week. If you really feel you need the extra protection, Dave's picks are a great choice.
Quote from the website
Here we are at end of the anti-spyware test. In the last issue of the newsletter I presented a table of results and Excel spreadsheets of all files and registry keys. If you missed them you should take a look. I've created a new table that shows the whole picture below. Have a look and I'll go into more detail ... AdAware and Spybot were about right where I envisioned them. Both did a admirable job of deleting what they did find, but both missed quite a few infections. If I were limited to only one I would choose Spybot.
I'm not a big chatter on the net, but I've tried many of the most common chat services. This service probably will never become as popular as MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, or ICQ, but it does try to fill a unique spot on the net.
Chat With Me Now integrates with Outlook and Outlook Express email programs, so that you can include a button in every email that allows your contacts to chat with you while they are reading the emails you have sent them. The chat button can also be displayed in many of the webmail services such as Yahoo and Hotmail. It can also be displayed on a web page as you can see below.
The folks that click on your chat button won't need to have any special software installed. CWMN opens up a page in your web browser and uses Adobe Flash to display the chat windows. The window includes text chat, voice chat, and web cam.
I haven't had much of chance to try this, but you can help me out ...
If the button below is green, you can click on it to chat with me.
Quote from the website
Chat with Me Now is a free add-on to Outlook or Outlook Express that lets your email recipients see
when you are online and start chatting with you instantly.
Microsoft does occasionally offer some great freeware. I tried out the screensaver that comes with this set of software and I really liked it. It is unique and fun to watch.
Quote from the website
Give Greeting Cards with Style
Turn your photos into customized holiday cards with these easy-to-use greeting card templates. Send your cards in e-mail or print out and mail.
Decorate Your Desktop
Let these wintry desktop scenes included in the Winter Wallpaper Changer help put you in the holiday spirit. Watch as your desktop background rotates through six different winter images.
Chill Out with a New Screen Saver
Give your photos a wintry makeover with this unique Winter Screen Saver. Select photos of your choosing and watch as they get covered with frost and snow.
Looking for a replacement for Adobe Pagemaker, Microsoft Publisher or Quark Express? Check out Scribus.
Pluses - I can think of three words: Ho-Ly-Cow! It's all here, shapes, graphics, layering, templates for any publishing project you need, from brochures to full magazine layout. Too many features to mention. It's open-source, so there is never a problem with file compatibility between clients, vendors, or other collaborators. They can simply download and install Scribus, and you're set. When was the last time you could say that with a pay-ware program.
Minuses - Like any publisher program, it's not for the faint of heart. Read the tutorials.
Quote from the website
Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of "press-ready" output and new approaches to page layout.
Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed some links in the comments from a person known as "Lusher". I was curious, so I checked them out. I found these articles to be very informative, well written, and as accurate as I need them to be. I learned a good deal from them.
I'm fairly certain Lusher is one of the main contributor's for the articles below. If so, he doesn't claim to be a "security expert". Expert or not, you can trust the info there.
A CastleCops service dedicated to the capture, retention, and collaborative updating of important information assisting computer security education.
Malware Removal and Prevention
A procedure developed by CastleCops Staff to assist folks who are having problems dealing with malware and/or who want to prevent (re)occurence of malware issues.
Anti-Spam Topics
A number of topics relating to the detection and removal of Spam
Tips from Tiffany - Dance of a Thousand Hands
From Tiffany, Jan 7 2007
Hi Clif,
Just received this from an old school friend, and I think it's without a doubt one of the most spectacular videos I've seen. I hope it's not too long to put in your newsletter, as it's well worth watching to the very end - sensational!
There is an awesome dance called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin.
Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all DEAF. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring. Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics.
But it had long been in the repertoire of the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries. Its lead dancer is 29-year-old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from The Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival celebrations this year.
Thanks to everyone who commented on the articles last week. You gave me more ideas and some good advice. If you see comments on an article, you will be missing out if you don't click on them to take a look.
If you commented last week, check to see who commented on your comment!
How do I find out about so many different freewares? I surf all over and one of the places I visit hosts blog articles from Mitch Keeler. I like Mitch because he writes about free stuff most of the time. Drop on by to visit Mitch sometime. I rarely write about the same stuff he does, so you'll be seeing a few items you've never seen before.
There is only one thing I don't like about Mitch and I ain't afraid to say it. Lose the hat Mitch, it looks tacky and you're getting too old to pull it off.
Mitch is currently working as a freelance contributing writer to Lockergnome.com and Ping! Zine. He also holds moderating positions at Lunarpages Web Hosting and Web Hosting Chat. Also be sure to check out some of Mitch Keeler’s other projects ...
As some of you may have guessed by now, I"m a big fan of OSS (Open Source Software). I think of it as "software for the people, by the people". I recently ran across this blog website. The author seems to be trying to keep us up to date on some of the latest developments in the OSS world. Drop by when you get a chance.
I couldn't find out a thing about the author except maybe his nickname. If the author drops by, I'd like get a comment from him. I'd like to know a little more about this mystery person.
You need a free 2.7 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. I'll send you an invitation right away if you write me and say I WANT GMAIL.
I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
Wow! Over 400 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
Write your own review
I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.
What do you have to say?
Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.
Quote from Mitch's blog 
Source - 
