I am off on my summer vacation for the next two weeks :).

(Picture from last year - we are going back as it was so nice and so very peaceful)

For the past week I have been too busy with my day job to write any posts. The normal having to do two weeks work before I go on leave and two weeks when I get back!

I had hoped to get a couple of posts ready before I go but haven’t had the time so please be patient service will resume as normal when I return. In fact if things go to plan I will have written a few posts on my trusty old Acer laptop while I am away.

If I can find an Internet cafe where I can upload I may be able to  post something but I can’t count on it.

Barry

Popularity: 27% [?]

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What Is It?

A freeware application that allows you to control multiple systems using the same keyboard and mouse. It is a software substitute for the keyboard and mouse part of a Hardware KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) switch. You need a monitor for each system and you need to be able to easily view them from where the keyboard and mouse you are using are positioned.

Why Would You Want It?

To be able to control two or more computers, each with its own monitor, from the same keyboard and mouse. The obvious uses are:

• Where you operate 2 computers from the same desk position.
• Where you plug your laptop into your home network and want to use your main keyboard and mouse to operate it.

I am sure there are other uses but the fact that you need a monitor attached to each PC/Laptop restricts the number of computers unless you are going to have some sort of multi-monitor wall.

Why Do I Want It?

I have a slightly different reason for using it. I have a main computer with a multi-monitor (2 monitor) setup. This is the PC I use for most things. You can see the setup in the photo above. It uses a Samsung SyncMaster 913N as the primary monitor and a Tatung LCD TV as the secondary monitor. This means I can watch TV or use the monitor or use the Picture in Picture feature of the TV to watch both. (I am a bit of a sports fan so I find this a good way of using my PC and following some of my favorite sports ) The degree of “sadness” in my overall setup also involves another LCD TV and a Slingbox but more of that another time.

Getting back to the point. The Tatung LCD TV/Monitor is also attached by a KVM to a second PC which I use as a server and also to take the load of my main PC (when I am trying to do several things at the same time without having the main PC grind to a halt). I also attach my laptop to the home network some times and this sits just to the right and below the Tatung (at desk level). Until a year ago I used the KVM quite happily for the 2 PCs and swivelled round in my seat for the occasional use of the laptop. The usefulness of the KVM was restricted when I purchased a Logitech G15 keyboard which needed to be connected directly to the main computer via USB to function properly. I had to resort to using a second keyboard and mouse for the second PC, just using the KVM to switch the Tatung between being the secondary monitor for the main system and the primary monitor for the server. ( I also used Windows remote desktop but that can be the subject of another post).

When I saw a post on Raymond.CC this morning it prompted me to have a look at Input Director and I was not disappointed. Not only does it solve my problem of the second keyboard and mouse for the server but it also means I can control my laptop on the occasions when it is connected to the network.

Raymond.cc also reports on Synergy which is a similar but cross-platform solution. I have experimented with this in the past and it does provide an alternative but somehow I never felt it was quite what I wanted. Maybe if I looked at it again it would meet my needs, I will have to give it a try!

What Does It Do - The Essentials?

Summary:

• Allows use of a single keyboard and mouse for more than one windows PC/Laptop
  (Requires PCs/Laptops to be on a network)
• Shares the clipboard between the PCs (Optional)
• Shutdown Slave PC
• Records/Plays keyboard macros

Pros: What’s Good?

• Freeware

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Popularity: 54% [?]

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A ProReviewer Mini-me Review

What Is It?

Laptop Alarm is a simple application that emits a loud sound when certain actions are taken with an unattended laptop.

Why Would You Want It?

Are you concerned about the security of your laptop? Laptop Alarm provides a useful way of deterring casual theft or interference and snooping by co-workers, fellow students etc. when you leave your laptop or PC unattended. However it is easily and quickly turned off and should be considered only as a simple deterrent and not a solution to such problems.

However there are also some other simple steps that you can take to prevent such things.

What Does It Do - The Essentials?

Emits a very loud sound when:

• The mouse is moved
• The mouse is removed
• The power supply is removed
• Shutdown/Suspend
• Requires a password to deactivate*

*See Cons below

Pros: What’s Good?

• Freeware

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Popularity: 43% [?]

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What Is It?

A freeware video conversion tool that will convert a large number of different video formats to AVI allowing a wide range of options and the codecs XVID, DIVX50 and PMP. It uses mencoder as the conversion engine.

Why Would You Want It?

There is often need to convert from one format to another . This may be to suit a particular portable video playing device that you have or it may be to convert some less used formats to one that suits your main player on your PC. It also may be that you need to convert from a larger file to something smaller using a more efficient codec.

I came across this program when I was looking for a utility to convert the files from my Aiptek Camcorder - See my post on this gadget here - Budget HD Camcorder and Camera - Aiptek AHD-200 (A-HD 720P USA)

What Does It Do - The Essentials?

Provides a simple user interface to select files to convert and a wide range of parameters such as bitrate for audio and video, codec, screen size, subtitles, etc.

Summary:

• Converts Video from one format to another
• Unified Interface (GUI)

Pros: What’s Good?

• Freeware
• Relatively simple to use
• Versatile & Useful Options
• Provides detailed information on source file parameters
• Batch conversion of folders
• Batch conversion of filetypes (eg .mov)

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Popularity: 49% [?]

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The Aiptek AHD-200 boasts an HD Widescreen (1280 x 720 720P) Camcorder and 8 Mega Pixel still camera for under £150 UK (in fact I paid Less than £120). The equivalent USA model (which looks exactly the same except for the writing on the outside of the fold in LCD screen) is the A-HD 720P which has a price of $159.99 which is a real bargain compared to the UK price.

What Does it Do?

Records HD 720P widescreen video or up to 8 Mega Pixel still shots to an SD or SDHC card. It connects to your PC and charges the onboard Li-on battery via a USB port. Charging can be through your computer or with the supplied AC adaptor. It connects to your TV with a component HD connector (NOT HDMI) or an AV connector.
Full technical specs are given at the end of this review.

Why Would You Want It?

There are several reasons why the Aiptek could appeal to you:

It is a low price way of getting HD video along with still photographs.

It is lightweight and fits in your pocket. It starts very quickly giving you a handy “point and shoot” camcorder or still camera all in one package.

At this price point and size you can ignore some of the worries and inconvenience of larger and more expensive camcorders or still cameras for certain situations.

Features:

• 1280 x 720 H.264 Video @30fps
• Personal Media Player & Recorder
• Up to 8 Mega Pixel Digital Camera
• .MOV Video Format
• 2x Digital Zoom w/ Fixed Focus
• 2.4″ Swivel-Reversible LCD Night Shot
• Flash w/ Red Eye Reduction
• 32GB SDHC Card Slot Expansion
• Easy Charging via AC or USB
• HDTV Component Output
• Lens Cap Included

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What Is It?

CCleaner is essentially a system optimisation tool removing unwanted and temporary files from the system along with a registry cleaner. It also removes traces of your PC use on web browsers and opened documents history.

My recent post My Current XP OS is Dying (and Holiday Weekend in the UK) outlined problems with my current XP installation. This is part of the normal cycle for a Windows OS which becomes overloaded with all sorts of files and registry entries over a period of time. Particularly for my type of use where lots of programs are installed/uninstalled and all sorts of changes are constantly being made to the system to se how things work. I though that as I am about to reinstall the system this would be an ideal opportunity to experiment with some system and registry cleaning utilities.

This will be the first post outlining the main features of CCleaner in the same way as a normal review. I will follow this up shortly with my experience in using CCleaner on the system to see what improvements it makes and any problems that result.

Why Would You Want It?

Essentially to try and get your Windows Operating System into a state where it runs more efficiently. This can be partly achieved by removing invalid entries from the registry and deleting unused temporary files. It also will remove your web browsing and opened documents history along with the associate cookies, files, shortcuts, registry entries, etc. if this is important to you. As many of the files and entries are hidden or not obvious to the average user this is almost impossible to achieve without an application such as CCleaner.

What Does It Do - The Essentials?

Summary:

• Registry Cleaner
• Removes Temporary Files
• Removes Web Browsing Traces/History
• Removes unneeded System and Application Files

Pros: What’s Good?

• Freeware
• Portable (+ Installed option)

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Popularity: 51% [?]

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What Is It?

A simple and very versatile program to encrypt and decrypt text or files (less than 10mb in size).

Why Would You Want It?

To quickly and simply encrypt some text within a text file, word document etc. or to encrypt a small(ish) file.

Finding this utility started the other day, I needed to quickly encrypt a small amount of text. Full file encryption and attaching to an email seemed like a lot of work so I thought it would be useful just to encrypt the text. I then thought that quite often I send files to other people where we are developing the text but I don’t want some of them them to see all of it. So rather than cut out the text and send this to some of the group and then send a different file to others with all of the text, then have to get back different files and cut/paste the text into a master file, it would be better if I could just encrypt the sensitive information and send one file to everyone along with the password to reveal the hidden text to those who need to see it. This set me off on a mission to see if there was a suitable utility available. So I “Googled” using some of my essential keywords at the start of such a search which include “Freeware” and “Portable” - CliipSecure came up in the results so I downloaded it and tried it out. I was delighted with what I found .

What Does It Do - The Essentials?

Summary:

• Encrypts/Decrypts Text
• Encrypts/Decrypts Files (smallish)

So that is a pretty short list but the way it does it and the options available are what makes it so impressive.

Pros: What’s Good?

• Freeware

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Popularity: 47% [?]

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Or

A Cautionary Tale With a Happy Ending when You Don’t Backup Regularly

The real point of this post is that to not backup your essential and important personal data is often likely to end in disappointment and loss of perhaps your most precious memories in the form of photos and documents. This is one instance where the bullet was dodged.

So What Happened?

I spent this UK bank holiday weekend with my daughter, granddaughter and new grandson. As usual I was asked to do a few DIY jobs and to sort out a couple of things on her computer:)

It all started with trying to fix a simple wireless networking connection issue. The main problem she was having with her PC was connecting the wireless router and had resorted to trailing wires across the living room to connect the router by the network cable. At least this gave the necessary access to the router and to the Internet if needed. Sorting out the router was basically down to setting the router name and password using the web based settings utility rather than the provide GUI based utility on the broadband providers setup CD. Not that the CD utility didn’t work but it was just more difficult than using the web based setup screens. A triumph of creating complication when trying to simplify things for a less knowledgeable user. Reference was made to the web based utility at the end of the instruction book “For Mac Users” so the average windows user would never realise it was there.

So setting up the user access to the router and connecting to the PC all went relatively easily. We had been out earlier that day and my daughter decided to transfer the pictures she had taken to her PC. Apparently at some point this froze and she turned the PC off with the power button. If only she had said something to me first! We could have at least looked at the options of invoking the task manager with Ctl-Alt-Del before going for the doomsday solution. As to whether anything done in setting up the wireless router caused the crash I don’t know, my personal feeling is that so many things get changed by installation of programs, windows updates, etc. that any OS is often only one or two changes away from “meltdown”

Disaster

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Just a quick post for my loyal readers.

My current installation of Windows XP is now grinding to a halt. (Not sure if that is the right expression as whenever a Windows OS reaches this stage, in my experience, it is in fact resulting in endless disk activity and very little else

Anyway the time has come to reinstall an earlier backup, update with the latest “Windows Security Updates” and then reinstall the essential software.

This gives me a great opportunity to share with you all the details of the software I currently have installed, the programs I consider essential and the ones I won’t be bothering with in future . Of course this will be my very subjective view but I hope it will be of some use to you all in your decision making. A you probably know by now one of the main aims of my Blog is to help you in making decisions about what software and particularly Freeware to install. So the next couple of pots starting next week will cover this aspect.

So I intend to produce a table of my currently installed software, whether I will or won’t reinstall it and the reasons why!

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Popularity: 44% [?]

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What Is It?

Recuva is a Portable Freeware Utility designed to very simply find and recover deleted files including photos on your hard drives or removable media including flash memory cards used in digital cameras, PDA’s and mobile phones, etc. It is deceptively simple to use but very effective and with a little experimenting surprisingly powerful. Hopefully this review will reveal a couple of things not obvious in a casual trial.

Having recently permanently deleted (i.e not sent the files to the Recycle Bin) a small test set up then decided I needed to re-run it with the same settings I used Recuva to get back the files. I have used several free and commercial utilities in the past for file recovery and was immediately impressed with the ease of use of Recuva, this prompted me to write this post.

Why Would You Want It?

If you have ever accidentally permanently deleted a file or suffered some hardware failure that has partially corrupted the media or file referencing/indexing system then the first thing you need is a file recovery utility. With a Windows OS a lot of file writing goes on behind the scenes so you should attempt to recover files immediately.

What Does It Do - The Essentials?

Summary:

• Recovers Deleted Files
• Works with fixed drives and removable Media

Pros: What’s Good?

• Freeware

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Popularity: 48% [?]

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