Newsletter Archive Reviews Archive 
Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter
April 6, 2008
 Hi Everyone. Thanks for reading my newsletter. Each week, I will have freeware reviews, tips, tricks, news, and lots of cool websites for you to check out. I hope you enjoy this week's letter. Be sure to write me for advice or yell at me for messing up. |
REVIEWS
Browzar - your private web browser?
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink Web Browser
What is it?
Browzar web browser advertises that their web browser is a great solution for surfing privately on a shared PC. This browser is not supposed to leave behind records of browsing history, cookies, auto-complete entries or any other traces from past sessions.
The Browzar browser is basically a simple skin over Internet Explorer. That means that it's subject to any of the security flaws that you may already have in IE. I did notice that their default security settings are a bit more strict than those in IE alone.
I tried and I really couldn't find anything seriously wrong with Browzar. I'm not saying I'll be using it or that I enjoy using it, but it seems to be doing what it says it should be doing.
What features do I like?
• small download - 220k
• no installation needed
• clearly labeled and easy to use features
• 3 nice looking skins
What features do I hate?
• the default search engine can't be changed
• new tabs don't form when SHIFT, CTRL or a center click on links
• the default security settings sometimes are a pain
What are my alternatives?
For secure surfing, I can recommend CosmoPod, Incognito, and any portable browser on a USB stick such as OperaTor, XeroBank or PortableFlock.
What do you recommend?
If you have your own preferred ways to keep your browsing private, let us know in the comments below.
click to expand picture
Quote from the website
Search and surf the web without leaving traces on your computer.
Browzar is based on the Internet Explorer engine, which means it's such a small file that it only takes seconds to download. We've made it disposable; so you have the choice of keeping Browzar on your PC, or downloading it each time you need to protect your privacy. You don't even need to install it: with Browzar you just click and go ... • No browsing history, stored files, or cookies
• No embarrassing search auto-complete
• No installation. Just click ‘run’ and go
• No registration required
Incognito - live CD for anonymous surfing
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink - Security Tools - Operating System
Drop this CD or USB stick into a PC and presto! Once it boots, you will be inside a PC that can surf the web anonymously. Good for public PCs and Internet Cafes.
Here's a bit of an article from the Anonymous Living blog.
| Incognito is yet another Linux Live-CD for network anonymity when you are on the movie. It’s based on Gentoo Linux and boots into a complete Linux system where all the network traffic goes through the Tor onion router.
The CD comes in a “small” version with Firefox, Fluxbox as as window manager and Tor/Privoxy and a full version with KDE and a whole lot of network security tools. |
Quote from the website
Incognito can be used from either a CD or a USB drive and has several Internet applications (Web browser, IRC client, Mail client, Instant messenger, etc.) pre-configured with security in mind, and all Internet traffic will be anonymized. To use it, you simply insert the CD or USB that you have installed Incognito on in a computer and restart it. Incognito should then start as an independent operating system instead of Microsoft Windows or whatever operating system you have installed. It is also possible to run Incognito as a guest operating system inside Microsoft Windows by simply inserting the media while Windows is running which should present you with a menu.
http://www.browseanonymouslyanywhere.com/incognito
Clip2Net - easy way to publish screenshots
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink Web Service
Clip2net installs a screen capture utility into your system tray. Anything you capture can be sent to their image host by simply hitting the "Publish" button. I like the basic caption editor that lets you add text, boxes, circles and arrow to the image before you publish it. After you publish it, you can edit the image using the online PicNik editor.
The service includes video as well. Here's a quick video I made.
Click the arrow to start the video
There are plenty of other features that I haven't even tried yet. So far, I really like this service and I hope it either survives, or encourages other hosting services to offer similar features.
Quote from the website
This service allows you to upload desktop area image or files on the web really fast.
Features:
• Desktop area capture and upload
• Video capture and upload
• Upload image from Clipboard
• Upload text documents
• Upload any number of files from Clipboard
• Multiple file upload at once (link to zip file will be generated)
• Drag-and-drop any number of files into Drop Zone
• Preview of clip or list of files before upload
• Visual Text Editor
• Publishing by e-mail
• Music/Video sharing and playing from web-site
Screen Recordster - capture audio and video from your desktop
Notes from ClifNotes, Mar 2008, permalink Video Encoders/Converter
Screen Recordster is a nice little video capture tool. It does have some nice features and there is a pay version of it at the site.
I did notice that it was missing a "follow the cursor" feature that I really liked when I tried out AviScreenClassic.
click to expand picture
Quote from the website
Screen Recordster is a tool used for recording screen activity into a standard AVI video file that can be played within any Microsoft Media Player or converted/ compressed for streaming off a web site. If you move the cursor, launch a new program, type some text, click a few buttons, or select some menus - anything that you see on your screen – Screen Recordster will be able to record and allow you to play them back later on. And that's not all! Record from the microphone (or any record device supported by your sound card - i.e. speaker output, line-in, stereo mix, etc.), as you record the video, to have your audio instructions or background music / audio embedded within the video. Pretty handy for recording a video you want off the net - play the video and record!
http://www.code-it.com/software_info.htm
There are two versions, a trial and a freeware.
PDF-XChange Viewer - faster than Adobe
review from ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink PDF Tools
I've been using Foxit PDF Reader instead of Adobe. I decided to try the free PDF-XChange reader and now I'm tempted to use it instead. They also offer a portable version now.
click to enlarge
Quote from the website
why not speed up and improve your PDF Viewing experience by downloading the free PDF-XChange Viewer now!
In addition to all the standard features here are some of the features available in the PDF-XChange FREE Viewer
http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/pdfx_viewer/
Old Newsletter
I like to look back and see what I was thinking about. Here's another letter from the wayback machine.
TIPS AND FEEDBACK
Frapper - you people live all over the world!
Wow! Over 900 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.
What free software do you need?
Notes from ClifNotes, permalink Windows Tips
So what do you need? Write it down below and I'll see if I can find it. If you know the answer to someone else's question, add your answer there.
Previous What Do You Need comments
Search all the comments
List of nice free E-book libraries
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink E-books
Many thanks to trimariner, who commented on another E-book service and left us a great list places to find freely downloadable E-books. Let us know what your favorite E-Book reader is.
| Quote from trimariner:
Reading is my great passion and free ebooks are the only way to go. I have an ebook reader that I can take with me when I travel. It can hold up to 200 ebooks.
Here is a partial list of my free ebook sources.
http://www.archive.org/details/texts http://www.sfwa.org/fiction/db.asp http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/indexaf.htm#FA http://manybooks.net/categories/ http://users.erols.com/jonwill/freebooks.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_Audio_Books_Project
enjoy.
|
Koma-Mail - A Portable and Useful Email Client
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink E-mail Programs
I ran across this review of Koma-Mail portable email client. It looks pretty good. If you are looking for a nice email client to take with you, give it a try. Naturally, you might also want to try Portable Thunderbird.
Has anyone here tried a portable email client?
| click to expand picture
There are lots of applications which are portable, which means you can run them from your USB drive without installing them. Koma Mail is a portable Email client which can be run directly from your USB drive. In most of the companies, web based email application are not allowed because of security reasons, so in this case Koma mail can help you check email from USB drive and no installation required ...
|
IdleBackup: Backup your files when you're not doing anything else
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink Backup Tools
I found an article about this great looking backup tool at the DownloadSquad. Have you tried it? How do you back up your PC?
 Quote from the DownloadSquad:
So you want to perform regular backups of all your important files, but you don't want to leave your computer on all night to run your backup software of choice. IdleBackup will copy your files to any hard drive, folder, or network drive only when your computer is idle.
You can set IdleBackup to run only when your system has been idle for a set number of minutes. And you can choose what idle means. By default, IdleBackup will start if you haven't touched the mouse or keyboard and when the CPU activity is low. But you can skip the CPU check and just monitor the mouse and keyboard activity, which makes it more likely that IdleBackup will spring into action when you leave the room for a few minutes.
|
Zoolou - screen magnifier and capture
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink Desktop Tools
CC wrote to tell me that he's found a nice screen magnifier tool. Here are the details.
Quote from the website
Zoolou is an easy to use program that magnifies the screen area around the current position of the mouse cursor. The virtual magnifying glass is sizable and allows full screen operation with support for dual or multiple monitors.
· Up to 10x magnification for screen, wordprocessor, web browser etc...
· Support for multiple monitors
· Resizable window
· 4 preconfigured half-screen positions: top, bottom, left, right
· Transparency option avoids blind screen area *
· Multiple instances of the program can be run at the same time
· Crosshairs in magnifier window correspond to mouse cursor position
· Crosshairs thickness is sizeable and color is selectable
· Microsoft Windows 98 / 2000 / XP / Vista compatible
Use Zoolou to reveal details that are difficult to see due to inadequate screen size or resolution, or in case of light visual impairment
Zoolou relieves eye strain and makes it possible to operate the computer farther from the screen.
http://www.emdem.com/html/zoolou.html
Internet Fixes Weekend Windup
tips from Gary at InternetFixes, Windows Tips
From Clif:
Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do this!".
Sign up for Gary's newsletter?
Weekend Windups are now available online
http://www.internetfixes.com/weekend_windup/
Last Wednesdays News Letter Tips
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1. On my Laptop, Microphone Settings are Disabled. Whenever I double click on volume control, I cannot see microphone settings. Please guide me to enable microphone settings.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01621.htm
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2. How can I Print a Page without the URL Path showing at Bottom of the Page? I got a new pc and now can't eliminate this URL when I print a web page. I am running Windows XP Pro.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01622.htm
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3. Whenever I get an error with my Internet Explorer 6.0, a pop-up appears asking me if I would like to run Dr. Watson Debugger. Is this a legitimate program?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01623.htm
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4. Double-click with Mouse on Windows XP. I used to be able to double-click on icons and get them to open or run automatically. Now I can't do that anymore, and have to click once and then on the drop-down menu, click "Open", to actually open the folder. However, that means that when I open a WinRAR folder or similar to run an application, I can't double-click on the application to let it run.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01624.htm
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5. I had 2 sessions of Windows Explorer open the other day and I hit some Key Combination that arranged both windows on my screen evenly. Basically I had 2 windows explorer screens each taking up half of my screen. I cannot seem to make this happen again? Is there a key stroke (or command) that evenly arranges all active programs (windows) on the screen? I am using Windows XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01625.htm
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6. I am using XP Home, Version 2002 with SP2 Firewall, also have Norton anti virus 2005 anti-spyware edition with firewall. I have read somewhere that it's best to use only one firewall, Is this correct? If so which one do you think would be best?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01626.htm
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7. When I try and access 'Help and Support' I get an error message telling me Windows cannot open H & S and telling me to fix the problem by starting service named 'Help and Support'! I'd be very grateful for any help.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01627.htm
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8. I need to find a way to Print Out The Results of ipconfig /all. When I press Print Screen I get no output. Have I overlooked something as I can remember doing this successfully in the past i.e. Windows 3.1.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01628.htm
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9. I'm not sure what I did but my URL address under my tool bar no longer appears and I'm not sure how to get it back. If I want to type in an address I can't I have to do a search to find the site. It's really frustrating. I'm sure the answer is simple but I can't seem to figure out how to get that URL section back under my tool bar. I know it must be a dumb question, If you can help I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01629.htm
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10. I prefer to see the lists of subdirectories and files in "list" or "detail" format rather than as icons of some sort, which seems to be the default setting on my computer. I always have to go change the way the info is displayed. How can I get Windows XP to present the data listed as I would like to see it, in non-iconic format?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01630.htm
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11. I'm using XP Pro (SP2). I've noticed that all of a sudden, and only recently too, the names of many of my files appear in blue text when I view them in Windows Explorer. Not all files are affected, and it seems that ANY file type can be affected. All the files open as normal and behave as normal so this blue text doesn't seem to have affected the file in any other ways, so it's more of a mystery than a problem (and it's beginning to annoy me now because I can't figure out what caused it). Any ideas about what may have caused this and how I can fix it?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01631.htm
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12. How do I clear the list of documents that have been opened or looked at? Anyone can hit documents and up comes the last 20 or so files that have been opened.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01632.htm
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13. I have a WINDOWS XP HP Pavilion desktop, I would like to know if it has a database? That information can be submitted to from a webpage locally?. Like this page I am writing on now only done offline locally but so a administrator can use to submit information to a database?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01633.htm
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14. I am new to XP down by the clock i have an arrow "show hidden icons" or "hide" how do i set this to show them all the time? and also coming from Windows ME I had another short cut section on the task bar next to the START button can i set this up on XP also? and if so how? Thank you so much.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01634.htm
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15. My friend's son has forgotten the password that he uses to get into his laptop running Windows XP. He was the sole user so I presume he must be the computer administrator. How do you get passed the bit that asks for a password when you don't know what the password is?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01635.htm
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16. My PC currently runs on Windows 98 so I would like to change the operating system to Windows XP but am no sure how to do it. Do I have to uninstall Windows 98 before I proceed with Windows XP? Or do I just reformat my PC with XP? I don't want to lose all my files in the process so will it help if I made backup copies and kept it in the 2nd partitioned drive?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01636.htm
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17. How do I restore the taskbar and desk top icons on XP that got delete/hid somewhere? Tried regedit/deleting the file. Even tried downloading some patches found on Ask Jeeves. Nothing worked but from searching this seems to be a common problem. I even tried to do a restore it won't let me go back but 4 days. When I boot on the folder with all icons showing comes up but not the desktop all that is on it is the wallpaper. Any ideas would be a big help.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01637.htm
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18. I note that after I conduct a search for a particular file or folder using the search companion - (XP Home SP2) all the files or folders with that name will appear in the search window. That's fine, but when I either use "Open Containing Folder" or just double click on that particular file (or folder) to open it, the search companion automatically creates a shortcut for that file or folder that appears at the bottom of the list. Is there some way to disable this behavior from happening so that a shortcut is not created?.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01638.htm
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19. When I choose "Shut Down" from the Start Menu, my computer hangs at the "Please Wait" screen.
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01639.htm
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20. I am having a problem when starting up Windows - a message appears with a Windows - No Disk error. I have seen similar posts, and have followed the first steps. I have run Hijack This and saved the log file. Also, when booting in Safe Mode, there is no error message. Any advice on what to fix based on the Hijack This log?
http://www.internetfixes.com/readers_questions/IF01640.htm
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150 WINDOWS XP RUN COMMANDS!
http://www.internetfixes.com/xp_run_commands.htm
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Click The Link Below To Join My News Letter.
The Form At The Link Below Covers Both Monday and Wednesdays News Letter.
http://www.internetfixes.com/newsletter.htm
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Download 1000 Of My Tips On Ebay!
Over 600 Windows XP Tips!
11/11/2007 Added 100 Vista Tips To The Download!
http://www.internetfixes.com/main_paypal.htm
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Function Keys F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12
http://www.internetfixes.com/definitions/IF01424.htm
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PC Problems? Use My New Detailed Help Form.
http://www.internetfixes.com/customer_support/help.asp
To Expedite The Answer I Send You Please Check Your Event Viewer And Include Any Errors It May Be Recording.
http://www.internetfixes.com/xp_event_log/index.htm
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TIPS WITH FULL GRAPHICS! ALL ONE LOCATION!
http://www.internetfixes.com/tips_with_full_graphics.htm
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Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, A-K
http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01051.htm
Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, L-P
http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01052.htm
Hardware And Software Vendor Phone List, Q-Z
http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01053.htm
Computer Motherboard And Chipset Drivers.
http://www.internetfixes.com/IF01057.htm
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK!
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How Do I Prevent CHKDSK From Running Every Time My PC Starts
http://www.internetfixes.com/question_of_the_week/IF01129.htm
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FIVE VERY POPULAR TITLES!!
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IF01766 Easy enable real Administrator Account in Windows Vista Home Premium
http://www.internetfixes.com/administrator_account_vista_home/index.htm
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IF01767 Keep User Account Control active, but get rid of annoying popups in Vista.
http://www.internetfixes.com/keep_vista_account_control/index.htm
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IF01768 Transfer User Accounts, System Settings from XP to Vista.
http://www.internetfixes.com/transfer_user_accounts/index.htm
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IF02011 Map a Network Printer In Windows XP.
http://www.internetfixes.com/network_printer/index.htm
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IF02006 Using The Windows XP Event Viewer Log.
http://www.internetfixes.com/xp_event_log/index.htm
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Comments last week
Thanks to everyone who commented on the articles last week. You gave me more ideas and some good advice.
REVIEW
Netscape Navigator - good bye old friend • Comments (View)
Portable Flock - an easy way to try it out • Comments (View)
Cool MP3 Chopper - chopping up those long mp3s • Comments (View)
Sizer - resize active windows to exact specs • Comments (View)
FEEDBACK
Best Firewall for 2008? • Comments (View)
The 13 Best of the Best Free File Hosting Options • Comments (View)
Microsoft Not Sure Of Its Own Future •
COOL
WaveMyPic - Apply the lake effect to your pictures • Comments (View)
Wowio - download free e-books • Comments (View)
WRASAP - free hosted contact form • Comments (View)
COOL WEBSITES
Moor Computer Productions
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink Software Collections
CC wrote to show me a cool site with some nice free programs. Check these out ...
2 Pic - image editor
Audioblast - sound editor
Easy Cash Manager - easy book-keeping program
LogTek Puzzle Maker - program to create Japanese puzzles
Caballero - strategic board game
Helicopter Race - arcade flying
Kloon! - funny board game
Quote from the website
I am Peter Moor (1984) and I'm from a small village in eastern Holland. I have two parents, an older and a younger sister and a very sweet little dog.
At the moment I'm living in Enschede, a city near the German border, where I'm studying Psychology. I also have my bachelor's degree (BSc) in Computer Science.
http://www.moor-software.com/0.php?page=overzicht.php
Photoshop Express - free photo hosting and image editing
Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink Web Service
I recently read a short review of Photoshop Express by Brandon Watts at Lockergnome. There are two items he didn't mention that will be disappointing to some people. You need to register to take advantage of many of the services and it's only available for U.S. residents at the moment.
Quote from Brandon:
Realizing that online image editing is more than just a fad, Adobe has launched Photoshop Express for all of us to enjoy. This online version of Photoshop offers a lot of the same functionality that can be found in other online image editors, but don’t expect it to be just like the full version of Photoshop ...read the rest
I decided to give it a try. If it's better than my current line-up of photo hosts, I'll let you know. Currently, I'm using a mix of four services; PhotoBucket - ImageShack - Flikr - Clip2Net
Some of these services also allow online photo editing.
Here's an album I just uploaded. These are pictures from a recent hiking trip into the Smoky Mountains.
Click the picture to see my album...
Quote from the website
Amp up and show off your photos
You shot it — now do something to it. Make it pop. Make it impossible to ignore. Upload, sort, polish, and store up to 2GB of photos. All for free. Resize, tint, distort, and more — add your mark to all your images. Then show them off on Adobe® Photoshop® Express or your Facebook page.
http://www.photoshop.com/express/
CoolSites Newsletter this week
Here are a 6 links (out of dozens) from Mark's CoolSites Newsletter. Be sure to visit his site and see the rest of his links this week.
• 101 Fantastic Freebies. PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143642/article.html
• Comparison of media players - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_media_players
• Freeware Portal. Jeh`s Freeware: http://www.mnsi.net/~jhlavac/freeware/
• How to convert PDF to Word DOC for free- a comparative test Review & Download Link - http://www.freewaregenius.com/2008/03/28/how-to-convert-pdf-to-word-doc-for-free-a-comparative-test/
• Image generators by RedKid.Net: http://www.redkid.net/generator/generator.html
• Open Source Living is a dynamic archive of Open Source software (OSS) spanning all major platforms: http://osliving.com/
Quote from the website
COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.
http://luem42.googlepages.com/coolsites.html
NEW NEWS
SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware
Source - http://snapfiles.com/freeware
News from Sarah in Tampa
Source - http://sarahintampa.com
Security news from Malware Advisor
blog by TeMerc Internet Countermeasures, source
Infected? Go to http://temerc.com for help
A view from CyberNirvana
CyberNirvana: Zia's blog about the web and web technology.
OTHER STUFF
Get Gmail! and Get Firefox!
You need a free 6 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.
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.
Chatting at FreewareWiki
Now you can chat with anyone visiting a website by using Meebo. To see who's gabbing at this website, click here.
Find out more about Gabbly.com
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.
Have fun and surf safely.
Clif
http://clifnotes.net & http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com
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